ISOLATED

A dead therapist lays on the floor. Dry blood stains on her neck and the carpet floor. Scratching is heard in her therapeutic space. Judas, a jittery mess of a man scratches his arms as they are wrapped around him.

“Why did you kill her?”

Judas jerks his head to see Christopher, a neatly, well-kept man standing behind him.

“Fuck you! I never want to see you again!” Judas lashes out.

Christopher walks to the front of Judas.

“Dad would whoop you into shape if he heard you saying that,” Christopher comments. He stands above Judas and stares down at him.

“Fuck dad! Fuck you! Fuck everyone! I don’t want to talk to either of you!” Judas yells. He continues to scratch himself.

“You’re not well, Judas.”

“Yes I am! You don’t know anything about me. You’re the crazy one!”

Christopher sighs and kneels down to face him.

“You’re scratching again. You’ve been off your pills.”

“I don’t need them. I’m perfectly fine without them.” Judas looks up at Christopher. He smiles at Judas.

“You… you got Mr. Snuggles?” Judas asks.

Christopher’s smile fades. He turns around and sees a bureau with a small teddy bear on it. It’s missing an eye. He walks over to Mr. Snuggles and stares at the innocent bear.

“You’re not crazy. You’re just hurt.”

“Hurt from what?” Judas scratches himself until his arms begin to bleed. “Mr. Snuggles protected me from dad.”

Christopher breathes a very sorrowful sigh. He reaches over to Judas.

“Don’t you touch me! I said get away!”

Christopher stops. A small frown forms on his face. He steps back.

“I’m not a freak! You were wrong. Dad was wrong. You’re all wrong!”

Christopher turns to the dead therapist. He kneels down to face Judas.

“Is that why you killed her?”

Judas’ eyes water.

“She wasn’t supposed to die,” he mutters

“Judas,” Christopher says softly.

Judas jitters in place for a moment. He looks away from the corpse.

“Look at me, Judas.”

Slowly, Judas turns to Christopher

“Sh-She was nice, but when the cops were called I… I didn’t know what to do,” he admits.

“Did she find out about mom, or the guy at the park?”

“How do you know that?”

Christopher shrugs. Judas’ fingers are a bloody mess but he keeps scratching.

“The… the park. She was scared. She couldn’t be trusted. You have to believe me!”

Christopher wipes his dry eyes and takes a deep breath.

“I’m not dad. You can tell me these things, but if you still don’t trust me, maybe you can trust him.” Christopher holds Mr. Snuggles in front of Judas’ face.

“Fine. Fine. Maybe… perhaps… something isn’t right up in the attic.”

“Why can’t you just admit that to the cops?”

“The cops? Fuck the cops! It’s not about them!”

“It’s about proving dad wrong.”

Judas loses eye contact with Christopher. He tries to turn around, but struggles to in his position.

“It’s too late. The cops’ll swarm this place any minute. I’m done for.”

Christoper walks over to Judas. He wraps his arms around him, and stops the scratching.

“No it’s not. When you wake up, remember that they can help you. They have the tools you need.” Christopher puts Mr. Snuggles in between Judas’ arms.

“Wake up? I’m awake right now, dammit. What’re you on about?”

Christopher smiles and lets go. He looks his brother in the eyes as he slowly fades away. Judas looks around. The therapeutic room fades before him and turns into cushioned white cubes.

“Christopher? Don’t go. Please.” Judas' breaths become fast as he looks around. Mr. Snuggles also leaves him.

“Not you too. I need you,” Judas whispers.

He tries to reach out to his brother, but a stray jacket holds him back. He struggles to break through it to no avail. As the room comes into view, Judas realizes what happened.

“Not again,” he mutters. Judas takes a deep breath and nods continuously. “Guards? Hello! I… I got something to tell you.”

Follow Dale Consolini on Instagram @kosac777 or on YouTube @vitaemorte