C
crazyforchrist
Guest
Hey everyone,
I wrote this short story recently. It's a little long, but bear with me. Tell me what you think. You can pm me if ya want.
*Rebekah*
Graceland Hospital
By Rebekah Stidham
Pale skinned toothpicks lined the dark hallways of the large hospital in Graceland, Texas. The director of Health Associations around the World had called all denizens to report to the main hospital hallway. Resigned, pallid faces etched with dark upside down umbrellas underneath their eyes highlighted an inured state of languor. A putrid stench choked the hallways, forcing my hands to occasionally cover my nose and mouth. On my side of the hallway we all faced forward, but the row next to me faced the other way. My reason had been floating away in ephemeral flashes from standing here so long so I decided not to ponder this bizarre circumstance or else risk eventual madness.
I watched as each one disappeared through the tiny, blue speck at the end of our waiting line. I couldnt make out what this speck was since I had been placed in, what seemed to be, the very back of the line directly in front of an armed guard. For some odd reason there were no children present, but men and women packed in bunches, moving along in a perfunctory manner. Waiting seemed to take forever. I wiped the dripping sweat off my brow and fanned my face with my hand. Since we were not aloud to sit down, I rested my chin on my grimy, chest. When that didnt satisfy my discomfort I leaned my hot cheek on the cool, freshly whitewashed brick wall and drifted off to sleep. A sudden stab in my back jerked me awake. If only I could sleep for a moment. Right now sleep would have been a blessing. Curious, I asked the guard who had stabbed me in the back why we were standing in line. He answered me with an insensate austerity and violently pushed me forward with the same black rod hed used to rudely awaken me. As I was pushed closer to the speck, my thin, bony hands began trembling and my heartbeat increased in rhythm. What is going on? my conscience asked me.
An elderly woman soaked in thick, sagging wrinkles standing in the row parallel to mine pulled herself out of line and whispered,
Your life will never be the same after you come out of that room.
What do you mean? I asked. But before she could answer my question the guard behind her row had spotted her talking so she was dragged back in line. So thats what that blue speck is. I thought. And what did she mean by your life will never be the same? Because we were discouraged from talking, my conscience was the only thing keeping me company. After twenty minutes of boredom, I decided to examine the corpses around me. I, empathized with those who waited in line for the unseen. Their clothes as well as mine carried a slovenly appearance. In fact I wouldnt even call them clothes, but rather strips of sooty rags woven and tied together to form one full piece of skimpy garment. These were the habiliments we all wore while our overseers dressed in fancy expensive suits all the same shade of dark blue. Compared to our rags, the yellow piping garnishing the collar and cuffs of their jackets resembled a rich gold. Id give anything to have that jacket though it would be torture in this wretched heat. I glanced down the hall a ways searching for a clock and calendar with no avail. I wonder what day it is. I thought.
The cadaverous faces stared at me from their fixed positions. I could no longer stand the horror of it all. Burying my face in my hands, I sobbed despairingly.
Stop blubbering! The officer said firmly. Your turn is coming up. I lifted my eyes from inside my hands. The officer wore a sinister smirk on his face. I looked ahead of me. Clearly, I had some distance to go, for there were, what seemed to be, hundreds of people left crammed in this restricted hallway. Because there were so many, some piled down several other branching hallways as well, eventually merging together to join mine. So the only explanation was that the officer must have said this for his own sheer pleasure in heightening my anxiety.
Indeed, a disturbing sense of hopelessness invaded my troubled mind. For thirty years Ive been stuck in this torturous hospital in Graceland, Texas, unable to state my own opinions and make my own decisions. Back then when I had a life I could do as I pleased. Here I am trapped. A puppet forced to wait for commands before I can move a muscle. Graceland. The irony. Theres nothing graceful about it and now we are standing in line not knowing where we are being lead.
I have not seen myself in years so I wish I knew what I have turned into. At that moment I realized that I am one of them. Staring at them I could see my own reflection. This realization bothered me. I once looked strong and healthy, but now my youthful years are masticated from the tormenting daily routines. Mostly suffering through grueling hours of a special book we all are required to read or listen to and follow. Sort of down the lines of a rulebook. If one of us refuses to listen or breaks a rule, that person is sent to a designated room, where he is isolated from the rest of us. No one knows what has happened in the room except for the ones who have been in there. They are strictly instructed not to speak of it. Most likely it works because I have never seen him break another rule.
The heat seemed to increase in temperature each minute that passed. My lips dry and severely chapped from lack of liquids. Every half an hour a group of one hundred people would have advanced individually, taking a turn into the room as the door slammed behind them. I hoped to get closer more quickly so whatever it was could be done and over with. Hurry up. Get a move on. I continued to tell myself. All this talking to myself gave me the alarm that I may be developing psychotic symptoms. Is it possible that we may be taking a homicide march? I said out loud. Fortunately, the officer behind me who had been patrolling my row had been preoccupied with some other outburst from a small old man fighting his entrance in the room. Surprisingly, it took four guards to push him through. The row next to me continued to flow the opposite way.
Again I was pressed forward. Crack! Crack! The bones in my withered legs cracked with every step. I was almost certain theyd break any second now. Standing and walking. These were the only two things we had been doing for the last arduous few hours. My stomach grumbled and begged for sustenance. Sorry stomach. I whispered to it. My impatience doubled as each person was lead through the door. I nervously twirled my W.W.J.D. bracelet, bravely grasping on to my shrunken wrist. Its a miracle that I have been able to secretly hide it from the guards all these years.
At this moment I glanced back at the guard behind me. His evil grin expressed to me that some diabolical and painful act was going on in that room. I have to escape somehow. I thought, desperately. The guard overseeing my row returned to his position, standing tall and postured. If only I could distract him. His competence gleamed in his despotic, brown eyes. Where have I seen that face before? I asked myself.
All the while driven down the halls I studied his facial features to pass the time. All of a sudden a frightening reminiscence overwhelmingly hit me. He looked just like a Nazi soldier. I had read about them in school as a young child and never forgotten their facial characteristics. Each had the same insatiate mien, inscrutable to the naked eye.
All this thinking had brought me 5,000 people closer to the door and closing. Soon 4,000 ..2,000 .1,000 . I noticed the hallway growing in size as the lines decreased in numbers and length. . 500 ..400 . Some time now I had been able to see the color of the door. A blue door with white trim and a single brass door knob. There was no window, which only caused me to become even more edgy and uneasy .300 .200 100. As I approached closer to the door I now understood why the row next to me faced the opposite way. These people have already been in the room and are filing to return to their hospital rooms. They looked all right from what I could see, but compared to those who had not gone through yet their faces almost resembled a robotic, mechanical expression. I hope I wont look like that when I come out of here. ..50 ..40 .20 I was now close enough to scrutinize the features of the guard who patrolled those slowly walking through the door. He revealed a similar tight jaw like a Nazi and the same cruel smirk across his lips. His torso exhibited burliness and strength, the opposite of my own.
10 5 .3 2 I now stood behind a woman who looked in her forties. She stepped bravely through the mysterious blue door. I had no choice, but to stare through the guards horrific dark eyes as I waited for my turn. His ardor to throw us through this door like pigs in a slaughterhouse amazed me. How could a human being treat his fellow man like he treats us?
The door swung open, startling my concentration. The woman turned her head and gave me a deep glance that pierced my heart.
Move along. The guard ordered. I stepped through the doorway. My eyes met an intense bright light, blinding me.
Come here. A soft voice called to me from the center of the room. The voice sounded full, not hollow like it would have been if the room was larger. I cautiously dawdled over to her. The light faded till I could see a single chair sitting alone in the middle of the room. Next to it stood a tall attractive woman, very young and sweet, holding something in her clenched fist.
Sit down. she said. I sat down, trembling. Relax. I took a deep breath and loosened the grip of my fingernails from inside my fist. Before I could say anything she thrust a long needle in the back of my hand and pulled it out again. In a hostile tone of voice she said,
You are now marked.
The End
I wrote this short story recently. It's a little long, but bear with me. Tell me what you think. You can pm me if ya want.
*Rebekah*
Graceland Hospital
By Rebekah Stidham
Pale skinned toothpicks lined the dark hallways of the large hospital in Graceland, Texas. The director of Health Associations around the World had called all denizens to report to the main hospital hallway. Resigned, pallid faces etched with dark upside down umbrellas underneath their eyes highlighted an inured state of languor. A putrid stench choked the hallways, forcing my hands to occasionally cover my nose and mouth. On my side of the hallway we all faced forward, but the row next to me faced the other way. My reason had been floating away in ephemeral flashes from standing here so long so I decided not to ponder this bizarre circumstance or else risk eventual madness.
I watched as each one disappeared through the tiny, blue speck at the end of our waiting line. I couldnt make out what this speck was since I had been placed in, what seemed to be, the very back of the line directly in front of an armed guard. For some odd reason there were no children present, but men and women packed in bunches, moving along in a perfunctory manner. Waiting seemed to take forever. I wiped the dripping sweat off my brow and fanned my face with my hand. Since we were not aloud to sit down, I rested my chin on my grimy, chest. When that didnt satisfy my discomfort I leaned my hot cheek on the cool, freshly whitewashed brick wall and drifted off to sleep. A sudden stab in my back jerked me awake. If only I could sleep for a moment. Right now sleep would have been a blessing. Curious, I asked the guard who had stabbed me in the back why we were standing in line. He answered me with an insensate austerity and violently pushed me forward with the same black rod hed used to rudely awaken me. As I was pushed closer to the speck, my thin, bony hands began trembling and my heartbeat increased in rhythm. What is going on? my conscience asked me.
An elderly woman soaked in thick, sagging wrinkles standing in the row parallel to mine pulled herself out of line and whispered,
Your life will never be the same after you come out of that room.
What do you mean? I asked. But before she could answer my question the guard behind her row had spotted her talking so she was dragged back in line. So thats what that blue speck is. I thought. And what did she mean by your life will never be the same? Because we were discouraged from talking, my conscience was the only thing keeping me company. After twenty minutes of boredom, I decided to examine the corpses around me. I, empathized with those who waited in line for the unseen. Their clothes as well as mine carried a slovenly appearance. In fact I wouldnt even call them clothes, but rather strips of sooty rags woven and tied together to form one full piece of skimpy garment. These were the habiliments we all wore while our overseers dressed in fancy expensive suits all the same shade of dark blue. Compared to our rags, the yellow piping garnishing the collar and cuffs of their jackets resembled a rich gold. Id give anything to have that jacket though it would be torture in this wretched heat. I glanced down the hall a ways searching for a clock and calendar with no avail. I wonder what day it is. I thought.
The cadaverous faces stared at me from their fixed positions. I could no longer stand the horror of it all. Burying my face in my hands, I sobbed despairingly.
Stop blubbering! The officer said firmly. Your turn is coming up. I lifted my eyes from inside my hands. The officer wore a sinister smirk on his face. I looked ahead of me. Clearly, I had some distance to go, for there were, what seemed to be, hundreds of people left crammed in this restricted hallway. Because there were so many, some piled down several other branching hallways as well, eventually merging together to join mine. So the only explanation was that the officer must have said this for his own sheer pleasure in heightening my anxiety.
Indeed, a disturbing sense of hopelessness invaded my troubled mind. For thirty years Ive been stuck in this torturous hospital in Graceland, Texas, unable to state my own opinions and make my own decisions. Back then when I had a life I could do as I pleased. Here I am trapped. A puppet forced to wait for commands before I can move a muscle. Graceland. The irony. Theres nothing graceful about it and now we are standing in line not knowing where we are being lead.
I have not seen myself in years so I wish I knew what I have turned into. At that moment I realized that I am one of them. Staring at them I could see my own reflection. This realization bothered me. I once looked strong and healthy, but now my youthful years are masticated from the tormenting daily routines. Mostly suffering through grueling hours of a special book we all are required to read or listen to and follow. Sort of down the lines of a rulebook. If one of us refuses to listen or breaks a rule, that person is sent to a designated room, where he is isolated from the rest of us. No one knows what has happened in the room except for the ones who have been in there. They are strictly instructed not to speak of it. Most likely it works because I have never seen him break another rule.
The heat seemed to increase in temperature each minute that passed. My lips dry and severely chapped from lack of liquids. Every half an hour a group of one hundred people would have advanced individually, taking a turn into the room as the door slammed behind them. I hoped to get closer more quickly so whatever it was could be done and over with. Hurry up. Get a move on. I continued to tell myself. All this talking to myself gave me the alarm that I may be developing psychotic symptoms. Is it possible that we may be taking a homicide march? I said out loud. Fortunately, the officer behind me who had been patrolling my row had been preoccupied with some other outburst from a small old man fighting his entrance in the room. Surprisingly, it took four guards to push him through. The row next to me continued to flow the opposite way.
Again I was pressed forward. Crack! Crack! The bones in my withered legs cracked with every step. I was almost certain theyd break any second now. Standing and walking. These were the only two things we had been doing for the last arduous few hours. My stomach grumbled and begged for sustenance. Sorry stomach. I whispered to it. My impatience doubled as each person was lead through the door. I nervously twirled my W.W.J.D. bracelet, bravely grasping on to my shrunken wrist. Its a miracle that I have been able to secretly hide it from the guards all these years.
At this moment I glanced back at the guard behind me. His evil grin expressed to me that some diabolical and painful act was going on in that room. I have to escape somehow. I thought, desperately. The guard overseeing my row returned to his position, standing tall and postured. If only I could distract him. His competence gleamed in his despotic, brown eyes. Where have I seen that face before? I asked myself.
All the while driven down the halls I studied his facial features to pass the time. All of a sudden a frightening reminiscence overwhelmingly hit me. He looked just like a Nazi soldier. I had read about them in school as a young child and never forgotten their facial characteristics. Each had the same insatiate mien, inscrutable to the naked eye.
All this thinking had brought me 5,000 people closer to the door and closing. Soon 4,000 ..2,000 .1,000 . I noticed the hallway growing in size as the lines decreased in numbers and length. . 500 ..400 . Some time now I had been able to see the color of the door. A blue door with white trim and a single brass door knob. There was no window, which only caused me to become even more edgy and uneasy .300 .200 100. As I approached closer to the door I now understood why the row next to me faced the opposite way. These people have already been in the room and are filing to return to their hospital rooms. They looked all right from what I could see, but compared to those who had not gone through yet their faces almost resembled a robotic, mechanical expression. I hope I wont look like that when I come out of here. ..50 ..40 .20 I was now close enough to scrutinize the features of the guard who patrolled those slowly walking through the door. He revealed a similar tight jaw like a Nazi and the same cruel smirk across his lips. His torso exhibited burliness and strength, the opposite of my own.
10 5 .3 2 I now stood behind a woman who looked in her forties. She stepped bravely through the mysterious blue door. I had no choice, but to stare through the guards horrific dark eyes as I waited for my turn. His ardor to throw us through this door like pigs in a slaughterhouse amazed me. How could a human being treat his fellow man like he treats us?
The door swung open, startling my concentration. The woman turned her head and gave me a deep glance that pierced my heart.
Move along. The guard ordered. I stepped through the doorway. My eyes met an intense bright light, blinding me.
Come here. A soft voice called to me from the center of the room. The voice sounded full, not hollow like it would have been if the room was larger. I cautiously dawdled over to her. The light faded till I could see a single chair sitting alone in the middle of the room. Next to it stood a tall attractive woman, very young and sweet, holding something in her clenched fist.
Sit down. she said. I sat down, trembling. Relax. I took a deep breath and loosened the grip of my fingernails from inside my fist. Before I could say anything she thrust a long needle in the back of my hand and pulled it out again. In a hostile tone of voice she said,
You are now marked.
The End
Kept me in suspense.
