“Awaken my child, and be one with your family.”
I tear open my eyes to see nothing but darkness, it’s emptiness ripping at my insides. I gasp, air almost causing my lungs to tear themselves apart. Looking around I see nothing, at first, but as my eyes slowly adjust I am brought to the realization of where I am.
I'm in the old playground, one I used to frequent as a child. Even now, as I make my way to work on normal days, I look over my shoulder to see some small beings sitting and swinging back and forth. I sat up, a sharp pain burning up in my abdomen causing me to halt. I looked down, my mouth filling with vomit quickly after the horror bestowed itself onto me: there were several bullet holes in my abdomen. Blood was leaking from the wounds in vicious amounts, pouring over me and soaking what was left of my clothes.
Even considering how much pain I was in, I needed to find help. I stood, slowly, and jut out one foot in front of the other. Taking uneven steps and holding my side with a firm and shaky grasp, I made my way. I had no idea where I was going but who the hell cares when you’re bound to bleed out. Then I heard it again, the voice that called me awake.
“Come to me, son, and join me in our victories.”
I turned, looking every way I could to find where the voice was coming from. I continued walking, nearly collapsing onto the harsh concrete as one foot caught on the other. I regained my balance, taking another step whilst applying more pressure to my wounds. Knowing that at this rate I was bound to die, I collapsed onto the concrete beneath me. The feeling of something getting closer as I felt a slight tug on my shirt. The echo of a small girls’ voice calling out for her parents tumbled throughout my mind.
I looked around, my breathing heavy and my palms coated in a thick layer of sweat. I looked down, my daughter, Delilah, had been tugging on my shirt to grasp my attention. She had been the one to rip me from my delusion. I gripped her arm, gentle in an attempt to not hurt her, and leaned close to whisper into her ear.
“Daddy’s not here right now.”
I said as I grabbed the handle of a steak knife behind me.