Isolate - 10.21.2020 flash fiction

Looking for a way out. The doors are locked, windows barred. Chains lay on the ground, clanking together as they move. Voices whisper amongst themselves. But there’s only one. A body scouring the walls, analyzing every crack and crevice. Looking and searching desperately for a way out. No light save for the moon through the window high up. Hushed and desperate conversation.

Insanity they call it. Isolation brings it, they say. Never leave them alone or face the consequences. They’ll kill you in your sleep. They’ll do it without a thought. One swift motion you won’t even notice. From dream to death. The slash of a knife through your throat. The barrel of a gun to your head.

Don’t isolate them. They’ll kill you. They’ll find a way out. Give them a friend. Listen to the whispers. Listen to their warnings. Tie them up, they say. It will keep you safer. Listen to us, they say. We can save your life. But you didn’t listen. Now there’s a price to pay.

They got out, didn’t they? They hover over your bed, don’t they? They hold a knife from your home, don’t they? Found the gun you hid, did they? Held it to your body now? Pull the trigger to your head? The knife to your throat? Or was it your chest? Was it painless? Or was it slow? Did they give you mercy? No? Well what did you expect? After what you did? You can still hear them mutter. A conversation to themself. A voice that follows you after death. Haunting you forever. You did this to them. What did you expect?

Don’t isolate them.