John sat at a small desk in his room illuminated by the light of a solitary lamp. The boy was intently examining the palms of his hands. The color had left the flesh and thought he could still move them the feeling had gone as well. He clenched one hand then the other. He clenched his fists and dug his fingernails into his flesh as deeply as he could. He felt nothing. He looked back down the nails had peeled back the waxy white skin but no blood ran, this numbness ran through his entire body. While he could still move and function normally, his body had no feeling left like his head had been severed. He looked at his wrists the crisscrossing veins had turned a dark blue and looked like they were rising from the skin. He followed the blood vessel's path up his arm and began to roll back the sleeve of his navy blue sweatshirt. Once he got to his forearm, he could see the slimy back side of a maggot. He felt the disgust he would expect, but for some reason, the experience did
This is a collection of anecdotes from the fringes of reality, a tapestry stitched together from our dreams as well as our nightmares, from the fears that haunt the collective imagination. These are the symptoms of the sickness known as the human condition.