Please be advised, this story is from a perspective that some readers may find uncomfortable. Thank you
“This is your last chance to back out and still get your money back…”
“No, there’s no longer any limit to the low things I might be tempted to do.”
“This isn’t like the medication, you can't undo it”
“I’ve crossed the line, if I push just another inch, there’ll be no coming back. I’ve made up my mind Doc, I'll be there”
He hung up the phone as he slipped into the warehouse. Papers were scattered about, and a pile of newspapers in the corner looked as though it had been flattened into a bed, which was fine by him. He made a point of leaving rubbish lying around, it was better if the local bums figured the spot was taken.
Nature crept in through the broken windows, vines twisted around the jagged shards of glass, claiming the brickwork. Moss edged the sill, unnaturally green, inexplicably so for the crevice beyond the reach of photosynthesis.
The insidious advance of the outside blushed the crumbling brickwork. The wafts of decay and rot, fungus and mould filled the room with a stale musty scent. He breathed deep as he crossed the room, letting the smell fill his lungs for the last time - he had grown to love it, knowing what it gave way to.
He fumbled in his pocket, trying to retrieve his keys by the brass one needed for the basement.
She was reading to the other children, the dim light of the lamp barely illuminating the pages.
“When Eddie rose from underneath the stampede, he was devoid of a shoe along with its sock, the collar of his shirt, two buttons of his fly and Crystal's ticket....”
She stopped mid sentence, hearing the jingle of keys seeking a lock.
She knew what was coming, the faces changed but the expectation never shifted.
In some ways, it was better at the house, the old man made her skin crawl, but if she did as he asked, and never breathed a word of it, he let her go to school.
Unfortunately this meant she could never invite any friends home to play, and she lived in fear that her secret would be discovered. She didn’t know, she had feared the one thing that would have freed her.
At least there, crammed in the basement with three other kids, she wasn’t shut up alone.
The heavy bolts in the door lifted with a grinding creak.
She jumped up, letting the book fall off her lap as she ran to greet him. She learnt a long time ago, looking eager could get her treats - the hot cheesy beef burgers wrapped in crinkly paper. The memory of the smell made her mouth water.
She waited, expecting the juddering clunks of the opening door.
He stood at the doorway, his resolve wavering.
He had been playing this moment out in his head all morning. Cold uncertainty twisted in his stomach as he retrieved his cell phone, his thumb twitching over the keypad. The icy grip tugged on his insides, closing his throat.
What if he had a brain freeze and ditched all his lines, said something that gave him away, or, worse yet, what if they sucked up his dna from Helen's clothes?
Fear hammed in his chest, he had to do it, he couldn’t live with himself anymore. He stacked his thoughts like defensive bricks, it was a only few times, he’d been off his meds, he’d get himself fixed, the others would never know it was him, he had to do the right thing.
Deep down, he knew he could never resist the temptation if it was right there.
The small disposable cell phone, clammy in the cold sweat of his palm, beeped with each button he pressed.
“There are four children locked in the basement of warehouse 67, off Colhem Street.”
The phone slipped easily from his hand, as he walked away.
There could be no going back.
Oh dear, sometimes the story that just grows between the prompts isn't one you would ever think to tell - a man trying to quit something with a cold break, and an extreme cure. I have spent the whole day trying to distract myself from getting to posting this, but all distractions seem to run out in the end. Eeek! Hopefully this look at something from another side is ok!
This is my entry to the second part of 
Check out all the entries under #literarymashup
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Extra love and sparkle ~ Calluna <3