Dead Wrong

A blind man does not see the stares of men; yet does he feel them? As they cast there shadow of judgment upon him. Or does he simply not know at all of the scornful looks and desperate attempts to hide them, to forge some sense of human decency? Even if no such thing exist. One cannot know light without darkness, nor love without out hate. These men that live in their own world one with no day or night, save the soft rays the warm the skin on a summer day or the coolness felt on a spring night.

If only I could be such a man. For me I am cursed with site to see the very world I was born into crash and burn to the ground before me. Nothing left save these ashes only to rise up again like a phoenix. Yet I still must watch over it as it draws my innocence and life from my very veins.

No, a blind man doesn't see the end of the world. Although he is keen on its status. But to see is to have to accept for one cannot pass off sights nor can they forget. This is why I envy such men.

I laid in bed watching Jack get ready for work. The windows gave very little light for the rain was coming down hard and a soft rumble shook the Earth. Jack pinned his name tag to his worn pink and yellow striped button up and smiled at me.

"Baby why don't you bring James to the diner with me and you can eat something proper?" he asked sitting down again on the bed beside me. I shrugged. I was still lost in my thoughts.

Nothing seemed like it was anymore. Someone had broken down my wall I'd built. I knew in my heart that he was getting closer to me, with every breath I took he grew closer. I would end up hurting myself if I let my thoughts consume me, so rather than decline the offer I simply nodded my head. A smile lit up his face.

"You should probably get dressed" he spoke before walking out of the room. I looked over at the closet. I don't even remember the last time I'd had human contact besides James and Jack. All I could remember was that humans hurt. Being around them was hard.

I managed to slip on some clothes and make up. I looked at my reflection in the mirror. My thin body wrapped in an old band shirt and black skinny jeans. I was in the process of teasing my hair when I dropped the comb.
"Shit" I mumbled bending over to pick it up.

"Hi Lilly" I jumped at the voice and additional being in the mirror. James stood there beside me dressed.

"God, you scared me, James" I said placing a hand over my heart.
"I'm sorry I didn't mean to" he said hugging me.

"It's okay we're going to go eat breakfast with Jack at the diner"
"I know he told me" he said playing with my hair.

"Oh, okay then are you ready to go?" I asked. He nodded looking up at me with a smile.

"Is it bad?" I looked at him with a puzzled expression.

"What do you mean?"
"I mean is it bad to think these sort of things?"
"What sort of things honey?"
"Like you know bad things" What sort of bad things? Like monsters; kids were scared of those things still right?

"Like doing bad things to people" the words made a shiver go down my spin.
"Well… um"
"Does it make me a bad person if I think about hurting people sometimes?" he asked looking up at me with those eyes.

"I think everyone thinks some bad things every now and then"
"Oh, okay, do you ever think bad things Lilly?"
"Well of course"
"Do you ever think of bad things happening to you?"
What is this kid talking about? He's starting to scare me a bit.
"Well I mean yeah I worry about some things"

"Like what?" he said cutting me off.
"I dunno" damn that sounded a bit rude.

"What scares you?"
"I not quite sure, death I guess, losing those I love?" he giggled.

"Do you ever think about how you'll die?"
"I try not to"
"Oh, I think about that sort of thing sometimes, but then again if you do too then there must be nothing wrong with it" he said laughing a bit.

"Yeah, hey Jack's waiting on us we better go" I said turning off the light. I guess it could be considered normal for a kid that's gone through and seen what he's seen to think a little dark, but then again it's still disturbing.

The ride of the diner was a quite one, the grayness of the sky seeming to dull everyone's want to socialize. I just stared out the window of the car watching the rain drops fall down the glass.

The diner lights came into view. It looked the same since the first time I'd seen it. Same old and rusted tin roof, with an aged sign and overly dressed waiters. The inside was quiet only a few people sat at the torn booths. Mostly older folks reading the morning paper and sipping on steaming coffee.

Jack seated us next to the window. James colored on one of those Kid's menus that they had and I just sat there watching the rain fall. An old man in the corner booth coughed as he straightened out the paper he was reading.

He wore a faded brown leather jacket with a green flannel button up shirt and khaki pants. The little hair he did have was combed over his head in silver rows. Thin reading glasses sat perched on the bridge of his nose and a golden wedding ring was the only other thing the man seemed to have on.

He brought the steaming cup of coffee to his lips, his hands shaking a bit from age as his wrinkled lips sipped the brown liquid. The lighting flashed and the thunder cracked making the lights flicker on and off before finally failing.

A sudden bolt of lightning lit up the place for a split second. But that was all that it took to strike fear into me. As the flash lit up the diner the scene was no longer the pleasant old fashion diner, rather that of a gorier one.
The old man was nothing but a skeleton flesh hanging loosely from various bones and his eyes sunken in. His jaw opened and he gasped for breath a decomposed hand reaching out towards me from his table. Blood covered the walls and floors like someone had slaughtered everyone there then painted the walls with their entrails. The woman waiter lay faced down; slumped over the counter blood dripping from her lips, her guts exposed and falling over the floor like spilt sausages.

The old woman in the booth across from me sat with her head back against the wall. Mouth ajar. Flies and maggots ate at the wrinkled skin still hanging from her jaw bone. Like the waiter her guts we also spume about the crimson blood spilling over her pink floral dress like paint.

I could hear the demonic laughter all around me, as the scene engraved it's self in my head. The putrid smell of rotting flesh and moist blood filled my throat.

I screamed as the lights came back on, refusing to open my eyes in fear of the site.

"Lilly, baby are you okay?" Jack asked holding me against him. The place had returned to normal. The two elders and waiter perfectly intact, save the worried expression on the female's face.

"JACK!" she cried rushing over to the old man. He was coughing but it was horse and his neck snapped to the side as white froth oozed out his thin lips.
"I think he's having a stroke!" the woman called as Jack rushed over to the man. His body jerked and his eyes rolled back reveling the red blood cells underneath them. The older woman watched in horror as Jack tried to revive the man.
His dead eyes focused on me. The right side of his lip twisting up in a grin and his eye quickly winked at me before he gave one final twitch and ceased all movement.

"AHH!" the waiter shrieked, jumping back. Jack stepped back a look of terror on his face. I swear out of all the commotion I heard a laugh pass through James's lips. Jack ran to grab the phone no doubt calling for help.

The man was past help though, he'd long since passed. In all the panic I'd mistakenly let my shield down. The man seemed to come at me with the speed of light. One word rang out in his raspy voice.
"RUN!"