Drastic
Time ground me down. It passed slowly when I was looking for it to go quickly as the day job gutted me. The clock on the wall ticked but didn’t explode like a bomb. I wished it would, leaving the place covered in its remnants. My job was in an office, a place of crunching numbers, an immaculate white space where people were divided up like strangers. I despised its corporate slogans, its unoriginality, and the lies.
The coffee was disgusting, like tar. Every piece of truth sank into a slump, and the overall feeling had increased the tension. For me, it was a role to make money, not friends. I didn’t see it as permanent employment, it was only a part of the process. Progression was paramount, colouring in the cracks of was fundamental, but this dead-end job again was only for the income.
There were freaks here, tenacious, people bursting for the extraordinary. They lived for the dreams, their suits ironed precisely, every word they spurted was to gain popularity from the hierarchy. Above us, were the wolves and snakes, avaricious narcissists bending the rules, climbing the ladder of prosperity while we sat in cubicles, consuming enough Valium to see out the hours.
Time was up, dreams were obsolete. My thinning hair lost another layer. I was free to walk back into the busy streets, where the homeless screamed out for a magic wand and a chance. Of course, they wouldn’t be put in the frame or aided by the ruthless government or the rich men who whisked by like torrents of gold dust.
I was a small fry in this city. A spot on the concrete. I craved to be more than just a suit, more than an 9 to 5 servant. Believing that I could be someone with a sparkling future only increased the desperation.
In the midst of drunken revellers and the crowds, I walked a little and felt my heart belting through my chest, like it was ready to pop. The big screens and the lights flashed in my direction too, beaming onto my face.
I felt the influx of people looking at me like I was some sort of diabolical spirit. Maybe it was because I felt anxious, controlled by thoughts and feelings.
“This isn't a way of life, only a trap…I could then see the building collapse before me – the snakes and wolves fell to their death…”
These thoughts weren’t logical, and they were deeply embedded into my mind, a brain heavy and saturated.
I shrugged off as much as possible and navigated through the alleyway, peeking at the dwellers and the lost souls. They seemed drugged and spontaneously placed in a rush.
All their faces had turned to grey. They had been taking the new drug on the market. A drug called Drastic, a substance used to control the downtrodden, the most hardened of criminals.
I gazed into their eyes again, wondering if they knew who I was?
I reached the end of the alleyway like it was a tunnel to safety. A light shimmered through the edges; A grassy field was up ahead. Every step forward felt like a slog. I had no endurance, and everything seemed to slow down.
When I reached the summit of the hill, there was a crowd of junkies, monitoring all progress. They kept on shouting and sneering in my direction, fully under the influence of Drastic, showing me their dark ways of life.
They ridiculed me too, they spat on me, pushing me to the limitations, and I had taken their words of spite and locked them in memory.
Their hearts must combust, I thought, their vitals weakened by the drugs. Though, they were upright, they swayed in the wind. Every moment was precious to them, every fantasy was a dream.
And then a few fell into the mud. They shook and sputtered, crossed off by God. Some lay dying, some were screaming for another hit, and then I felt a nip, a nip that sent me to the highest point of euphoria.
A needle hung from my arm. These eyes flickered.
‘’Can you see the forest for the flames? Can you hear the sound of thunder in your head’’
Someone was talking into my ear as I felt a drop of water on my head.
The grass felt softer than usual. The smell of blood lingered, though I felt at one with my emotions.
In the distance, a woman stood, dressed in white, like a young angel. She then eradicated the flames on the hillside with one blow.
Was I drugged or was I going insane?
I needed to see the whole world rekindles its love, and she was the answer.
My throbbing head had then become easier to manage, and the world around me had turned from grey to a whole host of colours.
A voice chimed in again.
‘’This isn’t a way of life, only a trap’’
I could then see the building I worked in collapse before me.
The snakes and wolves fell to their deaths, ending up in a pool of blood. I then closed my eyes, thinking about the truth, when I’d come out of this trip, this unorthodox trip where things were bending and coming undone.
Through the visuals, I could see myself as a child, running through the streets carrying a toy gun, fixated on the cop cars and the deranged. My head back then was decluttered, fresh, blooming with ideas.
The scar on my cheek seemed to be gaping open, and the childhood memories were turning into nightmares. I saw my young-self collapse in front of a man and woman of stature, wearing gold and white.
They looked at me, through their tainted sunglasses, and they left me on the ground.
‘’Turn away’’
As I got up, the two arrogant people began to melt into the ground and their gold melted with them. I could see my young self-prays for the end of the world.
At that moment, I was stuck to the ground, ailing from the drug. A sickness came over me, a cold shiver shuddered down my back.
My young self-disappeared into a million fragments, scorching the earth. And then this girl grew into the frame, dabbing my cuts, whispering into ears her plans in the ruins.
This drug gained another level, and a realm swallowed me up, placing me into the darkness. She was there, I could feel her porcelain skin, her breath upon my face.
‘’Salvation can be found’’
Flickering lights had let me see her face. A beautiful face, rippled in makeup.
She kissed me on the cheek, and then faded into a dramatic storm. The skies poured heavily, the world was in pain, screaming, crying, deeply hurt.
I then pulled away from it all, left in a heap on the side of the road.
I was back in reality, swarmed by these thoughts and feelings, wondering if I could go on.