run!

It is 2AM; most people are running around in their dreams. But in the real world, there’s a man running down the street. Pain floods his body. His bare feet are bleeding from the tar. He doesn’t stop. Following not too far behind him are dark figures with malicious intent. He looks behind him... “How did they find me?” Tears blur his vision. “I was so careful. I fought so hard to make sure they never found me again. I thought I was strong enough this time.” He stares up at the stars with broken eyes... “This will not end well for me...”

He glances over his shoulder. “Who is chasing me tonight?” Depression is there, Loneliness is not too far behind him. Grief and his brother Sorrow are both wearing those sinister smiles that say they are going to enjoy this. “This is bad! Hate isn’t chasing me. Out of all of them, he is the only one who lends me his strength. If Hate was here I could at least fight. This will not end well for me...”

Hopelessness –who’s still a small child, at least for now - catches up with him and jumps on his back. After a brief conversation the man stops “You’re right, it doesn’t help if I run” He turns around and waits for the rest to catch up with him. “They are going to hurt me tonight, but who cares anyway.” Only then does he spot him. The Monster breaks through the darkness. With blood stained teeth and sadistic red eyes he growls with anger. The man's eyes shoot open and his heart stops for just a little while. “No... not him... not him... anyone but him” He’s never given him a name. “If I give the Monster a name, I give him power. He has too much as it is. This will not end well for me...”

“Run!” His heart jumps back to life. He rips Hopelessness from his shoulder and bolts down the street. “The monster can’t catch me. I won’t survive him, not again.” He starts to cry, his pathetic screams light up the night. His crying has revitalized Depression who is now running twice as fast as he is. Depression leaps through the air and tackles him off his feet. He falls to the ground, scraping his face open. Each time Depression catches him it’s painful, but tonight... it’s unbearable. Painfully he stands up. Depression is still firmly holding him. He stares down the dark street. The evil red eyes approach. “The monster is here! This will not end well for me...”

He tries to run away, but Depression won’t let go. As he stumbles over Depression, the others arrive. Usually he just has to fight off one or two. But tonight, they are working as a wicked team. Depression and Loneliness pin his arms to the ground. Grief and Sorrow pin his legs. It’s over. The monster kneels beside him. With eyes filled with sadistic pleasure he whispers “I will let you experience pain brutal enough to destroy your soul. I will show you how to poison your emotions and how to use your thoughts as means of torture. I will teach you how to suffer. This will not end well for you...”

The monster sinks his nails into the man’s skull and rips out an image. “I see you have terribly painful thoughts. Let me show you how to use them...” The monster folds the image so that it forms a sharp blade. He smiles with horrific intent then stabs the man. Again and again the monster stabs the man, 30, 40, 50 times. The man screams with unbearable pain as the monster burst out in sinister laughter. “You have so much pain hidden in your thoughts. You have images that haunt you unbearably... this is going to be fun!”

As the monster and his companions laugh with delight, the man rips his arms lose and kick his legs free. He shoots up and races away. They follow quickly, desperate to torture him some more. Carefully he places the painful image the monster used in the back of his mind. His body is littered with stab wounds. His muscles should have stopped working hours ago. Every breath he breathes suffocates him just a little more. The skin underneath his feet is completely torn; he’s running on flesh and bone. Still, it’s better than the alternative. Standing still.

_____________

Life can get a bit much, so we hide our pain under our busy lives. We run around, because when we stand still, our demons catch up with us. They use our own thoughts to torture us so terribly. How do you remove painful images from your mind and take their power away? How do you stop running away from yourself?

I’d love to find the answer to that, but my demons are knocking at the door... I have to run!