Hush

Jack: Liquid Rat Killer

He watched his memory self pull away from the door and begin digging through his things. First his drawers, in which he threw his clothes everywhere and then his toy box full of action figures, toy soldiers, a couple of plushies he had outgrown, books. Not the thing he was looking for though. He glanced at his built in closet and hoped it was in there and he pulled the double doors open and ran his eyes across the floor of more junk and shoes and, yes! He breathed a sigh of relief and reached into the corner where leaning propped against the wall was the old baseball bat his dad had given him. Brief memories of joy from playing with his dad in the park with it came to mind, but again his memory was focused on this particular night, and Jack feeling a bit safer now, climbed into bed, pulled the blankets up to his chin and cuddled the bat as though it was his lifeline, his eyes began to drift lazily as he watched the door for what seemed like hours. And no sooner had they closed than it seemed they blinked quickly open. First his eyes went to the door, still locked, still safe. Then they shot to the little alarm clock on his bedside table. The time read a blurry 03:08AM, and he wiped his eyes. Listening for any sound from beyond the safety of his room, aside from the quiet hiss of pipe works the only sound to be heard was a muffled sound of the television playing downstairs. In this memory Jack could recall this being the first time he heard the voices.

But as he watched he only saw himself, and the confused expression on his face as at the time the loudest voice in his head explained that the babysitter was asleep, and now was the right time. The voice had sounded so familiar to him, but his mind wouldn't allow him to focus on it.

He watched as his younger self entered into a state of hypnosis as he climbed out the bed with his bat in hand, and without a care for any noise he may have made, he unlocked his door, dragged himself across the hall to the stairs, and stalked down without a sound. Jack watched as the dark room danced with shadows from the television left on as Lola slept on the sofa, she had made sure to make herself look presentable for his mum whenever she would get home. He came and stood in front of her, baseball bat in hand. He stared at her sleeping frame as he swayed back and forth, tears rolled down his cheeks. Jack watched as his memory self moved with some force as though fighting himself to do so, walking to the kitchen he went into the pantry and reached for a bottle of Liquid Tox, a rat poison you add to water. Still in a dreamy like state he prepared a glass, with an excessive amount. Then leaving the baseball bat in the kitchen, he took the glass to Lola, each step heavy as he went.

'Lola.' He murmured, sleepy and innocent.

She woke instantly and glared at him, noticing he was holding a glass of water. 'What do you want kid, piss the bed?' She rubbed her eyes and sat up, taking in Jack's unusual behaviour, she frowned. 'I'm trying to sleep. Beat it, freak.'

He lifted his eyes from the water to her pouty face, and something strange happened.

His eyes jet black as though possessed stared unblinking into hers and in this memory he recalled how the room chilled as he spoke. 'You are thirsty. Drink.' He offered her the glass of poison, his outstretched arm saturated in a darkness he couldn't see at the time. And without refusal, as though she herself were hypnotised by his eyes and words, she took the glass almost robotically from him, and the darkness crawled on to her, like a parasite.

'All of it.' Jack suggested, eyes never leaving her's as she instantly gulped half the glass of liquid.

The first gulp had her struggling against her own actions, as though she had been wrenched from her daze by the poisoned water, it spilled over her face as she fought against her own hand and the dark shadows assisting it, to remove the glass, but as she struggled she couldn't help but swallow more.

'You were at my birthday too.' Jack had said. Staring at the empty spot where she had been sitting, as she now bent over on the floor retching liquid from her mouth, the strong acidic scent of puke and chemicals filling the air, as more dark shadows blanketed her and entered into her mouth unknowingly.