Man in the Wall (Who is he?)

Chapter 28 - Destroy what destroys you

Peggy sat with the choice of ending my hell sooner but chose not to. She left me there to burn. I waited that day for what felt like an eternity. Hours had passed and I continued to sit in the exact same position, waiting for her like some profound fool.

After a while, my butt cheeks turned to stone. I had to get some form of feeling in them, so I carefully got up and began to wander around the filthy room. The deeper I went, the worse the smell grew. It was like fungus on steroids.

My hopes in Peggy of my rescue hadn't faded. I kept on thinking to myself, "She's going to come. Don't worry. She's on her way. She'll be here soon." Little did I know just how wrong I was. Hours turned into days and I soon lost count of time. All the while, my stomach growled in pain for any form of consumption. My throat burned in desperate need for a liquid to quench it. Even saliva refused to form in my mouth.

Yet somehow, my bladder and intestines continued to digest nonexistent resources inside of my body. Not knowing at the time what else to do, I cautiously made my way to the other far end of the room. Once I felt the two walls connecting, I turned against it and pulled down my shorts and underwear. I bent down to a squat position and relieved myself of urine and feces.

I knew that would only make the putrid smell engulfing the room more horrific, but what else could I do?

At times frustration took over and I'd make my way back to the door. This only occurred once my faith in Peggy started to diminish. When banging and yelling for help never received any form of response, I mustered all the strength that I possibly could and rammed myself into the door. I tried just about everything to get it to open but to no avail.

All it ever did was cause greater bruises and certain areas on my arms and hands were bleeding. Which went unnoticeable until I got tired of beating myself up and took a break by sitting behind the door.

Every few hours my eyes would begin to feel heavy and sleep would involuntarily take over. One minute I was sitting against the door or one of the four walls, the next minute I was lying on the ground fast asleep.

Sleep wasn't necessarily generous either.

I constantly dealt with nightmares. The worse part is that each and every single nightmare involved Steven. If I wasn't witnessing him kill Daniel, he was busy slaughtering my parents, Jessica, Lucas and even Nick. After killing them, it would be my turn. Each nightmare got more realistic than the previous.

I would find myself screaming in horror whenever my body allowed me to wake up. One occasion was so terrifying, I woke up feeling sick and threw up stomach acid.

Every time I walked or crawled to a different area, I kept my eyes shut and only slightly opened them once I reached the wall I was aiming for. It was so dark that my mind would play tricks on me and I would see things moving about.

Shadows of taunting figures sped pass me, others lingered about. I knew there was nothing yet I was convinced I wasn't alone. Every horror, paranormal movie started playing in my mind and I couldn't handle it. I was afraid because I knew that I couldn't fight forever. I could feel myself slipping away. All hope, faith, strength... Gone.

My heart grew cold as my soul grew dark. I slowly became one with my surroundings. I had no warmth in me. Every emotion flatlined. After what felt like an eternity, I took a moment and realized that this is it. This is how my life will end.

I'm never going to see my family or friends ever again. The life I once lived is gone forever. Nothing will ever be the same. I gave up fighting as soon as I accepted the truth. This is my reality. This is my new life. I can't change it. I have to adapt to it. The thing is, I'm not necessarily sad, I'm just really empty. It's an emptiness that has consumed me whole. An emptiness that's meant to stay. They say "destroy what destroys you" so, I destroyed myself.