It flickers, slowly dragging you out of the void. It luminescence like an epileptic episode, it blinks into life. The light dangles overhead, it's archaic glow buzzing as electricity sizzles through the few lasting strands of filament. Once again you find yourself back in this place, bounded to the solitary chair only by your own will. The will that knows it is best not to struggle.
It's the right thing to do.
But the wrong move to make.
You feel sparks fly between the two beings beside you, both trying to outwit the other in a battle of cunning and conviction. It's more like a dogfight than a jury, nevertheless, whatever the reason, it always snowballs to this and the outcomes are always less than clear. Somehow, you always happen to be stuck in the middle and by the time both sides have dragged you through the gutter and back, you're left deeper in the quicksand than you originally were, to begin with. Each time leaves you feeling with regret yet you always crawl back. A sucker for pain.
Hey, I'm not the one who told him to do it.
What? And you think I did?
I'm not saying that but it's better not to do anything than create an even bigger problem for ourselves.
Yeah... For ourselves. More like saving your own bacon.
Meh. A guy's got to look after himself first. Count yourself lucky that you can ride on the coattails of my idea. After all, if he falls we all fall.
They've been at it for what feels like an eternity. It always starts off nice. They drag you in. They throw you in the dark room. They flick on the switch. Nice and normal, calm and friendly like. You try to avoid the situation as much as possible but you just seem to be a magnet for trouble. It only happens when you make a mistake - a 'conscious crime' as they like to call it. One second you're minding your own business then WHAM! You're thrown into the slammer. The world goes black. The voices approach and then the spotlight blinds you, isolating you from the rest of society.
Do you think he's even paying attention?
It's always best to play ignorant but it never works for long. They know everything about you, every breath you make and every step you may or may not take.
Not when you're talking, obviously.
Your eyes flick to the left. That was the bad guy... or was it the good one? Around this time it's pretty hard to tell who's who but from the sarcasm dripping like poison you can make a safe bet that it's the bad guy. The one with the horns. But then again, you can't really place your stakes high, after all, bad decisions are what leads you to this place every single time.
You are listening, aren't you? Aren't you? You know we-, I'm here to help. Just listen to me and everything will be just fine.
Yeah, right. That's what the good guy always says. They try to lure you in with their kind words but then as soon as you fall for their angelic act, it's all over. Well, whoever you choose to listen to it's all over. That's the thing. No matter who's ideas you listen to, in the end, the result always ends up as bad as or even worse than you first thought out. Yes, you can run from it but you can't hide and the punishment always catches up with you. It's your choice though. You can choose your way to die. Essentially, it's the carrot or the stick.
Will you just shut it?
The question was more of a command than an inquiry and you can feel the bad guy's breath steaming against your earlobe. The heat is almost unbearable but it'll be over soon. You can feel it or rather you can see the torture coming to a close. The creeping darkness has started to fade from the outer edges of your peripheral vision and through the darkness, you can see a group of eyes staring in your direction. You sink deeper into your seat but as a numbing chill kisses your other ear, you shiver in apprehension.
Tell the truth. Honesty is the best policy.
Don't tell the truth.
Say it.
DON'T
SAY IT!
Suddenly, the ground tremors causing the beings on your shoulder to disappear in a poof. Your plane of solitude implodes.
It's time to choose. It's time to choose the angel or the devil.
A looming shadow breaks the horizon.
"Well?" She places her hands on her hips and you gulp instinctively as you tilt your head to meet her piercing gaze. "Did you break the projector or not?"
