Daniels Delousions

The day was stressful and busy like usual for Daniel. He ducked into the crowds of normal easy-going people as he hurried to the subway. He was going to see his kids who had been waiting for him to come home early all week. He stood quietly on the subway platform silently fidgeting with his cufflinks. He was interrupted by a light tap on his shoulder, and he looked up and around wildly as people chuckled around him. The person points to the subway train and he nods to them, murmurs a thank you and walks quickly to the train, and sits down. He sits there silently, deep in a jumble of incoherent thoughts as his anxiety begins to consume him and then another tap on his shoulder rouses him from his thoughts, he turns to see a man with bright blue eyes and fluffy brown hair with a well-shaven face who extends a hand that Daniel hesitantly shakes "my name is Michael Sheppard" the man said smiling "I'm Daniel" he responds shyly. Daniel catches a couple watching him confusedly out the corner of his eye, but he ignores them as the man continues to speak "You seem tired, aren't you tired of the same cycle everyday Daniel?" Daniel thinks for a bit and then nods "Yes... actually, I am quite tired of it" The man nods "I have a proposition for you- and please don't take this the wrong way but you just look lost and my job, as appointed by god above is to guide lost souls to freedom and salvation- but me and my group who are lost just like you are going out onto the walk of life trail on Sunday... it's at 9:00 am should I make room for you? Daniel looked at Micheal with surprise "Ah... a trail walk... how long will it be? I need to ask my wife if I can go" The man nodded "I understand completely. The trip will be for 2 weeks so make sure you pack accordingly, and I will make room for you in case" Daniel nods "I'll ask her. I'll ask her" The man nodded and then got off the train at the next stop. Daniel was left wondering if he should take up the man's offer or if anyone else had talked seen or talked to the man but when he looked up all he could see were people looking at him confusedly and suddenly all the eyes on him made him wildly uncomfortable. So much so that he got off the train at the next stop and walked 5 miles to his home, his home was a 2-story family home with pristinely trimmed hedges and a brown brick exterior, he walked into his house, closing the door behind him and began to look for his wife Cecilia who was in the kitchen busied with the dishes. "You're home late... again" She turned to him waiting for an answer "Ah- I got busy... talking to an old friend of mine I met on the train" Daniel didn't know why he lied but it just slipped out and apparently she believed it because she just nodded and went back to washing dishes he took a minute to admire his beautiful wife her ginger brown curls cascaded down her back and her beautifully freckled skin, as well as her vibrant emerald green eyes, is what drew him to her a little over 10 years ago and her snappy attitude made him stay. "The kids are upstairs and dinners not finished yet" he nodded and started to leave before he stopped himself and turned back around "hey honey... you know my friend- the one i met on the train?" his wife nodded "not personally but you just told me you talked to them" daniel nodded "his name is micheal sheppard" she turns to put up some dishes "hm... no i still dont recognize him... but go on" he takes a deep breath "hes having a little hiking trip on the walk of life trail... and he invited me... its a 2 week long trip" she turns to him with a look of slight annoyance "and?" "i was wondering if i could go its on sunday..." she sighed "seriously daniel? You cant even be here for your kids but you want to go on a 2 week hike with a friend you haven't seen in forever?" daniel goes silent "daniel." daniel nods "its a way for me to relax..." his wife scoffs "you can relax with your family daniel." daniel frowns "Daniel, seriously Hayley has a recital on sunday anyways and you ARE going" daniel looks at her confusedly "a recital? What time is it?" cecelia rolled her eyes "its at 8:00 in the morning." daniel chewed his lip indecisively "you'd better be there daniel. I'm tired of you always coming home late or missing your kid's milestones because of your poor time management. This recital is the last straw, if you don't come to this, me and the kids are moving to my mother's house." Daniel nodded but had already made up his mind before she spoke. He was overly stressed and his being late was never really his fault people just never understood him- except for Micheal, yea Micheal understood him clearly he could tell by Micheals's kind eyes. His wife and kids would understand- in fact, they'd be proud to see their father grow into such an amazing man he smiled at his wife "I'll be there" She kissed him softly and went back to the dishes "Thank you Dan" daniel nodded and turned around again, he didn't know why he had lied but he just did. He needed his wife to just calm down, the trip was nothing really. He walked into the living room and sat in his chair he looked over at the stairs curiously, usually his kids Hayley and Gage come running to him. The soft patter of their feet and the way they called out to him would make him smile, the way Hayley's honey brown hair would bounce when she threw her arms up demanding to be picked up, and the way he would ruffle gages white blonde hair made his heart swell, the way they would both speak at once to tell him about their days- the innocence in their big brown green eyes... he shook his head and grabbed the newspaper from beside him. Maybe they were sleeping... it was late after all and Cecelia would get mad if I woke them... he began to read the paper and drink a bit of whiskey. He reclined in his armchair as the words on the paper seemed to consume him and the words became more spaced out as he drank. One story, in particular, caught his eye, a woman and her kids whose identities he hadn't cared to read about were sideswiped by a presumed drunk driver, lost control of the car, and crashed into a nearby forest. The culprit fled the scene and has yet to be found. He sighed and put the paper down feeling grateful that his wife and kids were safe and sound although he would tell his wife about the accident later and tell her to be safe on the road decided to go upstairs and go see his kids. On his way up the stairs, it was eerily silent and he was clearly drunk. He looked back down to see that his wife was gone and maybe she just went to bed. He walked up the stairs and stood silently in front of his kid's closed room door... they never closed the door- Cecelia must've done that did she not want him to see his kids? Was she in there with them filling their head with lies? He grabbed the doorknob angrily and turned it- locked. He tried it again- locked he felt his body fill with rage as he kept jiggling the doorknob "Let me in" he said quietly as he began to shake with rage- no answer "Let me in!" he screamed now banging on the door loudly- no answer still. He began to slam his shoulder against the door "Let me in!!" the room filled with horrified screams as the door broke down. Blind- blinded with rage he threw a misguided punch towards his son Gage and instead hit the wall "Don't you- don't you fucking dare lock this door" Gage just looked up at him innocently with tears streaming down his face- well that just made him angrier, who the fuck does he think he is looking into my fucking eyes? does he think he's better than me- possibly stronger? he grabbed the boy by the collar of his pijamas and picked him up "dont look at me you little shit! who the fuck do you think you are huh!?" he began to slam the boy against the wall angrliy "Answer me!" the boy shuddered violently as he sobbed but still... he didnt speak "daddy! put him down! im sorry mommy made us lock the door!" screamed out his daughter hayley as she grabbed his leg but he was too consumed by unreasonable rage and he shook her off of his leg and then kicked her, dropping gage on the ground hard "dont lock doors in my fucking house!" thr room filled with the pained cries of children and cecelia appeared in the doorway "you bitch! youre trying to take my kids away from me!" cecelia tearfully shook her head "no! daniel you need to stop this! this is crazy- you said you'd stop drinking if i stayed!" daniel scoffed "oh whatever you stupid bitch! you dont deserve to even be able to raise these kids! Youre a horrible mother!" she broke down "why are you doing this daniel? Why are you hurting us- why are you hurting them!? Theyre only 8!" daniel looked down and into the innocent and fearful eyes that watched him and then narrowed his eyes at cecelia "dont put this on me! This is your fault!" he grabbed her by her collar and lifted her from the ground "You made me do this! You made me break down that door! This is your fault! Theyre hurt because of you!" he threw her to the ground "im leaving you daniel! Im leaving!" daniel turned to her with fire in his eyes "youre not leaving shit. Ill fucking kill you if you leave! I'll kill all of you- ill kill them in front of you!" she began to sob silently and soon the room was filled with the sound of crying- he couldnt stand it "Shut up! All of you shut up!" he rushed to his room and violently pushed the door open- she wants to leave me we'll see about that. He began to throw all of her clothes out of the closet and onto the floor angrily "Daniel! Please stop! I'll stay! I'll stay!" Daniel opened the window and began throwing her clothes into the backyard and onto the ground- even her wedding dress hit the ground without grace. He got up close to her as she stared at him, horrified "Don't even try it, Cecelia. I know you, I know where you'll go the police can't always protect you" She fearfully nodded and turned around, going back to her kids- probably plotting against him- he heard the whispers, saw the stares and glances they gave him. He wasn't wrong for what he did, it was discipline for turning against him-for all those times they talk about him so loudly, extremely loud- almost yelling at him, and then when he'd ask- nothing, they'd say nothing but he wasn't stupid, he knew and he was going on that trail. "You-you're not sleeping in here- you spiteful bitch and I'm locking the door so you don't try anything." he slammed the door closed and laid down on the bed. He woke up to the front door slamming loudly and the sound of hurried feet he jumped out of bed and rushed out of the room to see that his kid's room had been gutted- all that remained were empty bed frames and mattresses- anger filled him and he rushed downstairs and out the front door just in time to see them backing out hurriedly- that bitch- that bitch. He grabbed his keys and rushed to the garage- he owned a car, and they owned 2 but he worked in a city that was impossible to traverse in a car unless you wanted to sit in near standstill traffic for hours on end before he knew it he was speeding after them- it was an accident, it wasn't supposed to happen like that- reality hit him like a bus as he watched the SUV rollover and into a ditch- he was frozen as the car burst into flames- the screams of his family echoing in his head as he stood there shakily- it wasn't- this wasn't supposed to happen. He jumped back into the car and sped away- back to the house- he went the same way back but the house looked different. It was run down and 3 of the windows were boarded up and the garage door was destroyed. He shakily rushed into the house and up the stairs to his room. The walls were stained with dried blood and the window he threw her clothes out of was still open, one of her dresses still hung halfway out the window as the wind blew eerily. He stared at the alarm clock which seemed to be stuck on 8:30- tears burned down his face as he began to pack his clothes into a bag quickly and then he rushed down the now partially rotted stairs and onto the ground which now felt as if it were leaning and there were visible cracks in the ground where flowers and other greenery began to grow from. He rushed out the front doorway- the door had rotted away and as he staggered out of the house he took one last look, the roof had caved in and the house looked abandoned there even was a sign-out front saying the house would be demolished. He looked down at his hands to see that he didn't even have any clothes- he had packed clothes he was sure of it. He jumped into his car and began to watch as the world around him began to rot- the thoughts of what he had done to his family haunted him- it had been too long, so long he forgot why he did it- the case went cold but her family still hated and blamed him and rightfully so- he couldn't stand the thought of going to jail, nobody ever thought about how he felt ever not even when he was young- but Micheal did he remembered the trail and realized he still had time before they left. He turned back to the house once more before speeding off- why did he even start drinking, to begin with? How did it end up like this? He sped through the semi-empty streets until he found the trail- and suddenly the clothes he had packed earlier appeared next to him- he was terrified until a familiar voice distracted him "heya daniel! You're right on time!" and suddenly he forgot what had happened earlier- all of his fear and uncertainty melted away "ah-y-yes" he chuckled a bit "my wife said I could come." Micheal nodded "Well... what are you waiting for Dan? Let's go meet the others" Daniel nodded and got out of the car. Micheal introduced the people he'd be walking with by name but Daniel couldn't seem to concentrate on their names. Their faces looked familiar but unfamiliar and easily forgettable, their voices all seemed to bunch together when they greeted him and in response, he just nodded. Micheal stood confident in front of them, his blue eyes seeming to glow- the effect mesmerized Daniel as he stood and listened "This trail is called walk of life and this trail will help you find yourself, and learn to face the past and learn from it-" Micheals gaze drifted over to daniel and his voice got deeper and everyone turned to face him, their gazes burning through him "you know what you did and so do we. there is a special place for people like you" his gaze shifted down to the ground "I hope this Walk of life does you well- sick bastard" but daniel was lost in some sort of trance and Micheal turned back to the crowd "alright everyone, let's go- follow my lead!" daniel nodded and walked into the forest after them. As soon as his body passed the tree line the world got dark- really dark and the people in front of him disappeared instantaneously all except for Micheal. "W-whats going on Michael?" Micheal chuckled "I have a question Daniel and bear in mind that answering this isn't optional. Why couldn't you just stop drinking? It seemed like the therapy was working and then one day you just decided to throw that all away. That part confuses me Daniel" Daniel frowned, not ready to answer but the words just flowed from his mouth "I was tired of her mouth. No matter what I did she always complained and then they'd talk about me and leaving me behind my back" Michael nodded "Why did you stop taking your medication?" Daniel began to feel uncomfortable but he realized that his body was walking on its own "It was bullshit. The government was trying to poison me- they all were against me." he tried to turn around, to leave or something but Micheal again just laughed at his response "You can't escape fate, Dan. Your clock stopped a long while ago yet, you still seemed to stagger around like a pestilent bug. You let your delusions cloud your vision, you lost your job 5 years ago yet you still go down there- and then that house. Poor thing condemned and crumbling yet you still visit- as if your family is still there like you didn't kill them for no other reason than your own selfishness." Daniel frowned "I want to go- I want to leave!" Micheal turned to him "Oh do you? Your wife and kids wanted to leave too and you see what the fuck happened to them- what you did to them?" Daniel nodded "Yes, but that was different- I think... I don't quite remember it well..." Micheal continued his walk deeper into the dark forest "I know you don't. Your mind has been slowly degrading since childhood. You don't even remember your last name anymore, like I said you're a zombie, staggering around town. Quite sad when you really think about it- this dirty unkempt man used to be an innocent little boy, who did everything in his power to get the love of his father. Poor thing he wouldn't even look at you and then the beatings he gave you- and then he blamed you for his infidelity what an ass... it's just so sad that now, you walk the same dark, disgusting, and rotten path he did and maybe most of it wasn't your fault. You could say that but it was ultimately you who refused to take the medicine- it was you who decided to start drinking and as a result, you are here-" Daniel looked up at the man "Am- I in hell?" Micheal laughs loudly "almost. You're not entirely dead yet though- unfortunately, your soul is reluctant to leave the empty husk that used to be a successful business man- what a wonder the brain is really, one minute you're on top of the world and the next you're wandering around town and talking to yourself on a subway train." "who are you?" "I'm a soul reaper of sorts- my name is riftian- usually I'm not supposed to tell you that but... you won't really remember it. Who are you? How old are you?" Daniel was stuck in thought for a bit "I'm Daniel... that's all I can remember-" he sounded distressed as he spoke "You know, I got to meet your wife- she didn't walk this path of course but she couldn't let go and she still can't because there was no justice for her and her kid's deaths... why didn't you turn yourself in?" "I don't know" "You don't know or do you not remember?" Daniel looked down "I- I don't remember" Riftian nodded "I figured. I'll tell you why I think you didn't, you're a selfish fuck whos going to burn for what he did- everything you did to those kids for their short lives will be exposed and I and your victims will watch with glee as you sink into hell- hopefully you can accept your punishment" they reached a clearing in the forest and the sun blinded daniel "well, any last words daniel?" a ledge appeared in front of daniel- a far fall onto a sharp rocky shore with fast rushing water "why- why must I do this?" riftian rolled his eyes " this is a fitting way to release your soul from that empty husk of a body. Jump now" Daniel hesitated "I-I can't" Rifitan didn't falter "Jump now Daniel" "When we met- you lied to me... you lied to me!" yelled out Daniel as tears streamed down his face "I did." "You're a- a Demon-" "I am" "This isn't fair! This has to be a delusion! I have to snap out of it!" riftian tilted his head "Is it- a delusion Daniel?" he smiled a sharp toothy grin "tHiS mUsT bE a DeLoUsIoN" he said mockingly "Just fucking jump you, pestilent human. Give them the justice of finding your rotting, maggot-filled corpse here. They know you did it you know but they also know, though delusional and mentally deteriorated you're fucking illusive. Jump Daniel or ill fucking push you myself" Daniel clenched his eyes shut "It'll hurt... I don't want to feel that pain- extreme pain and then ill just lie there and you'd watch me suffocate and drown in my own blood" riftian laughed "She lived for 10 minutes after the crash you know. She suffocated on her own blood and she had to sit there and listen to her kids take their last breaths. This is no different from what you did to them- if anything it's a blessing. Yes, the pain you will feel will be excruciating but you won't be able to scream." Daniel sighed "I'm not doing this. It isn't fair- you're punishing me over something I can't remember" riftian scoffed "bullshit. Goodbye Daniel, I tried to give you a choice to do good but i guess ill have to do this myself" he snapped his fingers and Daniels's feet began to move against his will "No- no! No! Please!" riftian shrugged and before Daniel knew it he was falling fast. Before he could scream or even process the amount of panic he felt- a sharp pain ricocheted through his body and then hot iron-tasting liquid filled his mouth, spilling out of his nose and out of a hole in his head. He twitched slightly as the light around him began to fade- his heart that was once pounding in his head now pumping weakly he tried to move his legs but quickly gave up when he felt how painful it was "Tsk tsk. Daniel- something in me knew I'd have to do this but I thought you had some sort of remorse for what you did- oh well... look up daniel" daniels eyes unconsciously pointed to the sky and the ledge he had fallen off of- his wife and kids stood there... they looked happy- peaceful and beautiful... why did he do this to them- he regretted everything he had done in front of his kid's wide innocent eyes- to his faultless wife- the only thing they were guilty of was loving him unconditionally. Then an overwhelming sense of dread filled him as his bodily functions slowed to a halt. "Now, Daniel time for you to face judgment" riftian snapped and soon Daniel was outside of his body- looking down at himself, this feeling of overwhelming dread got stronger as he saw his mangled corpse, his blood washing away in the rough water around him. He couldn't speak so he just turned to riftian "Let's go Daniel" Daniel nodded and followed obediently, he had no thoughts of his own, no voice, and no free will. "you feel as if something bad will happen, and something bad will happen. it's only fate- karma too and unfortunately, you've outrun karma for far too long. It's time you stopped running and faced it head-on- you're a murderer, a child abuser, and a woman beater, you're an alcoholic with a degenerative brain disorder, unfortunately, no matter how many ropes people threw out to you, no matter how many hands were extended to you to pull you out of the hole you dug yourself, you ignored them. Whether it be ignorance or genuine naiveness you fell into a deep black void, one that was impossible to come out of, and now you're nothing more than a smear on this town's reputation, a distant memory- an example for parents to use to stop their child from drinking. although I hate it- we all do unfortunately you may be remembered longer than your victims- not a good memory but... a memory still. and even in your last words you never uttered an apology... even in your last thoughts there was not a hint of an apology. remorse, yes but we all feel remorseful when we die it's natural. you are a purebred monster. may the flames of hell burn you for eternity." his family on the ledge and Riftian watched silently as the ground opened up and swallowed Daniel whole. riftian turned towards the ledge "Are you ready to pass on now?" they nodded and riftian snapped and they were gone. he sighed and teleported to the ledge and walked back into the forest.

"the body of Daniel Simmons who was a suspect in a now cold murder case where he sideswiped his wife and kids 5 years ago was just found at the bottom of a ledge on the condemned and illusive "walk of life" trail the police has ruled it as a suicide and witnesses have said he was known to talk to himself and wander aimlessly around town" riftian watched as the town finally came together, to mourn Cecelia, gage, and Hayley and to celebrate the death of a heartless killer and a final guilty verdict.