"Next", the lady behind the counter calls the person in line forward. In the same fashion as usual, each person takes their steps into the following position, waiting for their turn. The lobby is cold and uninviting, white walls surround a pale tiled floor and an ivory ceiling. The only splashes of color that can be seen are from the views outside the bay windows and the plants that are scattered throughout the room.
[["Next"]]
Unlike previous times, and in direct contrast to common practice, a woman escorts a child past the rest of the line to the front counter. The gasps from surrounding patrons could rupture an eardrum. The woman speaks to the woman at the counter.
"He needs to be seen immediately! There is something wrong with him."
The administrative assistant looks at the boy and nods in an approving manner. From an outside perspective, the boy is seemingly normal. He is no older than ten years of age, has brunette hair that is cleanly cut in a bowl style and is very docile in nature. In fact, he has yet to utter a word.
The nurse returns.
The mother turns to her child and tells him to wait for her in a nearby chair. She then turns and leaves.
[[Sit Down]]
[[Stand by the chair]]
You have now started to see the world through this boys eyes. You sit patiently in the chair, but with each passing second, your heart rate increases and you begin to fidget a lot. Before long, you notice the entire lobby is empty. Everyone has left except another little boy. He appears very similar to you, except, he has better clothes and seems to be getting into mischief. He rifles through the plants and knocks one over. He climbs on the furniture and pounds on the windows. Bang, Bang, Bang...he mutters incoherent babble and screeches annoying sounds.
[[Say something]]
[[Ignore him]] You have now started to see the world through this boys eyes. You stand by the chair, but with each passing second, your heart rate increases and you begin to fidget a lot. Before long, you notice the entire lobby is empty. Everyone has left except another little boy. He appears very similar to you, except, he has better clothes and seems to be getting into mischief. He rifles through the plants and knocks one over. He climbs on the furniture and pounds on the windows. Bang, Bang, Bang...he mutters incoherent babble and screeches annoying sounds.
[[Say something]]
[[Ignore him]] "Hello, what's your name? Mine's Eddie!" you say.
He turns towards you, a sinister smile strung across his freckle-filled face, eyes barely visible from the mop of red hair on top of his head.
"I'm Jimmy! What's wrong with you? Why are you here?"
You really do not like answering personal questions so you just tell him you are there for a checkup. He notices a toy car sticking out of your pocket. A toy car you had forgot you brought to this boring place. The heathen child creeps towards you and yanks it from your pocket.
[[Tell him to give it back]]
[[Let him keep it, you have more at home]] The holy terror across the room notices you and decides he is done terrorizing the inanimate objects in the room. He turns towards you, a sinister smile strung across his freckle-filled face, eyes barely visible from the mop of red hair on top of his head. He approaches you and tells you his name is Jimmy.
You do not like this kid, he is annoying and you really do not want to reveal your name is Eddie. While he is standing there, he notices a toy car sticking out of your pocket. A toy car you had forgot you brought to this boring place. The heathen child creeps towards you and yanks it from your pocket.
[[Tell him to give it back]]
[[Let him keep it, you have more at home]] You look at Jimmy and tell him to give your property back. Jimmy looks at the car closer. He notices that one of the axels on the toy is slightly bent and decides the car isn't worth his time. He throws it at you and hits you in your forehead. The toy gashes your brow and crimson goo begins to pour from the wound.
[[Punch Jimmy in the face]]
[[Tell Jimmy that wasn't nice]] Jimmy looks at the car closer. He notices that one of the axels on the toy is slightly bent and decides the car isn't worth his time. He throws it at you and hits you in your forehead. The toy gashes your brow and crimson goo begins to pour from the wound.
[[Punch Jimmy in the face]]
[[Tell Jimmy that wasn't nice]] Adrenaline causes your heart to race, the muscles in your arms tighten and your skin turns a cherry hue. As you reach back to throw a punch, you are interrupted by the boys look. All color has left the boy's face, he begins to shiver and urine pools at the bottom of his right leg.
As you turn to see what has taken his breath, you realize that he was justified in that feeling. Before the two of you are two Doberman pinchers. Hunched down and snarling, they stare at you and the other child with foam frothing at the corners of their mouths.
[[Back away slowly]]
[[Run as fast as you can]] Adrenaline causes your heart to race, the muscles in your arms tighten and your skin turns a cherry hue, but you control your anger. You turn to Jimmy and tell him that what he did was not right.
You wonder what you were thinking as he scoffs and blows you off, but then you notice his demeanor change. All color has left the boy's face, he begins to shiver and urine pools at the bottom of his right leg.
As you turn to see what has taken his breath, you realize that he was justified in that feeling. Before the two of you are two Doberman pinchers. Hunched down and snarling, they stare at you and the other child with foam frothing at the corners of their mouths.
[[Back away slowly]]
[[Run as fast as you can]] You extend your hand slowly and touch Jimmy's arm. Without speaking a word, he instinctively knows exactly what your body language is saying. Together you both start backing up, still facing the two vicious beasts that are licking their chops while watching their prey. As you move, you both realize that the only open door in the vicinity is the nearby elevator. Other than that, you both could sprint down the hall in hopes of finding another open door. Maybe you could outrun the hellhounds.
[[Run to the elevator]]
[[Run down the hallway]] You extend your hand slowly and touch Jimmy's arm. Without speaking a word, he instinctively knows exactly what your body language is saying. Together you both run as fast as you can. As you bound, the two dogs give chase barking and gnashing their teeth as they try to gain on you. Soon, you both realize that the only open door in the vicinity is the nearby elevator. Other than that, you both could continue sprinting down the hall in hopes of finding another open door. Maybe you could outrun the hellhounds.
[[Run to the elevator]]
[[Run down the hallway]] You and Jimmy barely make it to the elevator; the snouts of the shorthaired beasts snap and snarl as they try to reach you through the closing doors. Both of you are panting heavily and lean silently against the back wall as you try to regain your composures. Jimmy reaches forward and presses the button to go to the next floor higher.
Ding!
[[Exit the elevator]]
[[Press the Emergency Stop button and wait for help]]
All doors are locked and sealed. You and your Jimmy run until you come to a dead-end. The Dobermans close in, they pick off Jimmy and then turn their attention to you, then they lunge at you...at that moment...bang, bang, bang...you snap awake from your daydream. There is a knock on one of the office doors.
"Eddie, the psychiatrist will see you now." the nurse says.
You stand to your feet and follow her into the office where your mother is already waiting. Tears stream down her cheeks and you can tell she is avoiding your gaze. As you step into the psychiatrist’s office, he guides you to a nearby swivel chair and begins his line of questioning.
"Eddie, can you tell me what happened to the boy you met in the woods? His name was Jimmy and he was last seen alive with you." the doctor asks. You look up, make eye contact with him, but do not say a word. No tears or emotions leave your body.
"Do you remember pushing him down? Do you know how he hit his head on the rock?"
In a deluge of emotion, the memories overcome you and you remember what happened. You could replay the day that Jimmy took your car, how he threw it at you and had pestered you all day. You had had enough, so you punched him in the face and he fell to the ground. Unfortunately, you did not anticipate he would strike a large rock, nor did you expect him to die. Your life is forever changed and his is forever gone. That little boy will haunt you for the rest of eternity. Every action has consequences. Perhaps you will be wiser in your future choices.
[[End]]
Ding! The two of you have reached the next floor. The brass double-doors slowly open to reveal an empty hallway. As you step out, you realize that this lobby looks exactly like the last. You begin to look around to see if there is a way out. There is no exit from the building and all the doors are locked.
"This is your fault!" Jimmy tells you.
"Are you serious right now?" you retort.
Jimmy throws his fist at you and starts hitting you in the back. You turn around and shove his shoulder to stop him. He pushes you back.
"You know what Jimmy, I don't need you. Goodbye!"
You start running to ditch Jimmy, but he pursues you. He just will not leave you alone. Everywhere you go, he is right there. He is like a sickness you cannot kick. Before you get too far, you come to a screeching halt. Ahead, towards the top of the ceiling, you see a shark swimming through the air as if it were water.
The sharks belly is a pale scaly shade and the rest of him is bright blue, almost like a cartoon looking creature. While you take in the strange sight, you think to yourself this cannot be real, but, when you look over at Jimmy, you can tell he sees it too. Just then, the Shark moves its gaze and locks eyes with you. Its swim becomes invigorated, tail thrashing faster by the second as it descends towards the two of you.
You both turn and sprint back to the elevator, which is still ajar. You pile in and close the door. Jimmy resumes the assault he started earlier.
"This is all your fault! I hate you!"
[[Up and up we go]] As you press the stop button, the lights flicker and sparks fly out from the panel. The lift ascends at an accelerated rate. The doors on the elevator pop open but the lift does not stop. The two boys watch as floor-by-floor passes by.
Whoosh...Whoosh...Whoosh. It is picking up speed. No longer is the elevator passing by levels, it is now ascending on its own. Jimmy creeps forward and sticks his head out the door.
Shhwwicck...the elevator stops as Jimmy's head tumbles from his neck onto the floor in front of the lift entry. The head rolls until it rests in an upright position facing your way. The smell of iron and the sight of the crimson pool cause your stomach to churn, and the water begins to well in the back of your mouth, just between your tongue and throat. You look at the head once more and notice that it moves on its own to look at you, his eyes are wide open.
As you find yourself frozen in place, and unknown woman appears, walks over to the boy's body and grabs his head. As she picks it up, Jimmy gives you a wink as he is whisked away.
Bang...Bang...Bang! The sound of loud banging snaps you out of this trance. You find yourself inside a room with white walls. The ceiling and floor match the same hue as the rest of the room. There is a courtyard outside your window and a small plant on the sill. On the door, a small sliding window moves to reveal a woman's eyes.
"The doctor is ready to see you, Eddie."
You realize that the machinations you had dreamed were your imagination trying to cover up what had really happened. You understand that the Dobermans and the shark were the rage building up inside you. It was the way Jimmy had treated you and acted as if he were better than you that triggered your enraged lashing out. You had had enough. You pushed back and hit back, but when you did, Jimmy fell. He dropped from a top floor and was decapitated. This had all been your fault. Jimmy is dead and now he will haunt you for the rest of your life.
[[End]]
As the tussle commences, the doors on the elevator pop open but the lift does not stop. The two boys separate and watch as floor-by-floor passes by.
Whoosh...Whoosh…Whoosh. It is picking up speed. No longer is the elevator passing by levels, it is now ascending on its own. Jimmy creeps forward and sticks his head out the door.
Shhwwicck...the elevator stops as Jimmy's head tumbles from his neck onto the floor in front of the lobby. The head rolls until it rests in an upright position facing your way. The smell of iron and the sight of the crimson pool cause your stomach to churn and the water begins to well in the back of your mouth, just between your tongue and throat. You look at the head once more and notice that it moves on its own to look at you, his eyes are wide open.
As you find yourself frozen in place, and unknown woman appears, walks over to the boy's body and grabs his head. As she picks it up, Jimmy gives you a wink as he is whisked away.
Bang...Bang...Bang! The sound of loud banging snaps you out of this trance. You find yourself inside a room with white walls. The ceiling and floor match the same hue as the rest of the room. There is a courtyard outside your window and a small plant on the sill. On the door, a small sliding window moves to reveal a woman's eyes.
"The doctor is ready to see you, Eddie."
You realize that the machinations you had dreamed were your imagination trying to cover up what had really happened. You understand that the Dobermans and the shark were the rage building up inside you. It was the way Jimmy had treated you and acted as if he were better than you that triggered your enraged lashing out. You had had enough. You pushed back and hit back, but when you did, Jimmy fell. He dropped from a top floor and was decapitated. This had all been your fault. Jimmy is dead and now he will haunt you for the rest of your life.
[[End]]
Every choice we make in life will carry on with us. Every decision is littered with intertwining paths that will follow us until the day we die. Live every day as if it were your last, be thoughtful in how you treat others and be prepared to live with the consequences of your actions, whether good or bad.