Re-work

So to write this piece, I took some old writing of mine and reworked it into a new story with a completely different message involved. I was happy with the result and I like this re-work better than the original.

The Clock

Hour by hour. Minute by minute. Second by second. Tick, tiick, tiiick. The droning of the clock never ceases. Each second seems to modify in length, growing idler each instant; the shifting countdown of my sanity. Weary of the unrelenting life surrounding me, I create an empty vortex of artificial existence. Tick, tiick, tiiick. I must stay far away from this place, this deed, this crime. No one can accept the monstrous mask I so gallantly wear tonight. Other humans by nature are judgmentally sanctified and blessedly errant. By all that commands me, let it be. I accept the mendacity in the hearts of those I used to recognize to be all knowing and righteous. I allow myself to be a part of this whole, but my recent tribulation hath left me alone with shadows of demonic tones. One must find the balance between forgiven evil and the devil possessing the soul. Lightning swirls and dances outside my window in the gray, celestial sky. My eyes glow with every thunderous illumination.

Before was different. Before, there was an unfaltering ray of everlasting light. The divine, honest light. There was a soul. Tick, tick, tick. I am reminded of the grand clock in the corner of the room. Its paint is chipping away along with each movement of the secondhand. Time has resumed at a steady pace. I am losing faith that I could revert back to my stable mind. Tick, tick. Before, I was lively, I was open, I was free. Before was everything. The room becomes a faint blue. Power surges through my body, and every nerve-ending wakes generating a current pulsing through me like flames in my veins. My heart beat flutters and falters as I look up at the shadows. They are here, above the bed, above me. I look at the abysmal figures taunting me, their sadistic language rings in my ears. I must hide.

I cower beneath my covers and sink into the depths of my comforter, protecting my body and shielding my eyes from the blinding darkness. The shadows whisper “monster” with cool breath at the nape of my neck. They keep me sad, they keep me cursed. They keep me. Then silence. Silence… growing louder, mocking me! The solitude is treacherous enough, but silence! Chiming in with an electroweak force, killing the energy within me. Tick! Tick! Tick! A sudden roar escapes from time. Before, there was no fear. Now, I fear myself. One shadow has begun to caress my cheek, gliding its form slow enough to send stabbing shivers through my being. The other shadow is clawing at my stomach, and I feel my skin shredding as it digs deeper. Before, I loved. I loved with such a passion, purity, and precision. That was and always will be, before. Tick! Tick! Almost nothing left. I deserve these shadows, I deserve the darkness. I can no longer breathe, can’t think… I am about to complete my existence. Admitting my sickness would keep me here. But I cannot. I do not dare to speak words validating my malice. Tick! Tick! Before, I confessed my sins. Before, I refrained from darkness. Tick! Tick! Before, I could not inflict pain on another, especially one so dear to me…

Tick! Tick! Now I hear my scream! No, that cannot be. That is not me, that is another. The victim! Tick! Tick! After, I felt ashamed. The shadows are forcing me to remember my offense… and the guilt consumes me, attacks. Tick! Tick! Tick! After, I felt enraged. I felt strong, I felt frail. One shadow moves away from my freshly slashed torso to my eyes. Eyes are the only uncontaminated fraction of me that remains. I read the shadow’s thoughts; it’s bewilderment at the transparent splendor. Moments of hurried bliss paused the clock. But sooner or later, time must continue. Tick! Tick! The burning! My eyes catch flame staring into the perpetual oblivion of the shadow. Tick! Tick! After, my soul left me. I am a shell of a human that once was. A piercing jolt rages through my heart as another shadow returns to me and shrieks an ephemeral, frantic howl. Hopelessness… My consciousness is fleeting. Tick! Tick! TICK! After, I felt I died along with…!

Tick, tiick, tiiick. Second by second. Minute by minute. Hour by hour. I freeze while needles attack me with numbness. The shadows. They wrap themselves around me, constricting me of life, of thought, of sorrow, of faith. My throat is slit, and the blood trickles down my spine reaching the small of my back. I try to cling to my life but the shadows intend to take my vitality. I must forget that horrific, unspeakable second, and the beauty that once lived prior to this night. But before, I wasn’t a murderer. The shadows overwhelm, all goes blank. The world is hushed except for the tick, tiick, tiiick. The droning of the clock never ceases.