The Party

At some point you get invited to a party at someone else’s house. And never really being popular or even feeling apart of anything, you feel pretty excited about going.


You arrive and there’s already some familiar faces there including the person who invited you.


There’s a stereo in the corner playing some music. There’s a couple people telling jokes and some games going on. Within a few minutes someone hands you a beer and you start to meet the others.


The alcohol helps you open up and by your second beer you’re getting relaxed, listening to stories and settling in.


The room is filling up now as more people arrive. People carrying in cases of beer and cardboard boxes full with bottles of liquor. Mixed drinks start getting passed around. Someone hands you a cocktail on ice in a red plastic cup. It’s stronger than you’re use to but tastes alright so you drink it to be polite.


Now the people are getting louder so someone turns up the music to drown out their voices. Most of the lights start turning down till there’s nothing but a thumping base in a neon glow and a cloud of cigarette smoke.


The mixed drinks are kicking in and your guard is beginning to lower so now like everyone else you’re dancing a little and having a pretty good time.


And while on the side taking a break someone passes you a joint or offers a pill or whatever; it’s all a part of the atmosphere so you smoke a little and pass it on, maybe take a pill.


Another hour slips by and you’re really having fun now as even more people show up. Good looking people. They’re dancing with you, flirting with you. And for the first time in your life your self-confidence really starts to grow!


But even with all the fun you’re not use to being out this late and you’re body’s already starting to get tired. But you don’t want to leave so you start looking for another pill or something more to smoke to keep you going. You start wandering from group to group till someone finally offers you a line.


So now you’re pretty drunk, a little high, you’ve taken a couple pills but still feel in control so just to be cautious you only accept half the line they give you and, POW! You’re on top of the world! Suddenly, everyone’s your friend. Everything you say is funny. You can talk to anyone, flirt with anyone, dance with anyone. You feel great, you look great, and everyone loves you!


And with all this new excitement you want to wander around the house even more; see what other great things there are. And why not? Everything so far just keeps getting better and better!


So with a fresh drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other you start wandering upstairs where there’s even cooler lighting, more smoke, and better music as you feel your way down the long hall with doors on each side.


And you almost fall in as you open the first door then suddenly straighten to your feet again as you see two people having sex on the bed. And you think, “Wow, that’s wild! Just two people going at it in someone else’s house! Oh well, that’s cool for them but that’s not me.” So you laugh as you apologize for interrupting but they don’t even seem to notice you as you slowly close the door.


Further down the hall you open a second door and see a woman who’s changing a baby’s diaper. The baby’s crying as babies normally do and the woman picks up a joint from the ashtray and offers you a hit. But the whole scene seems just a little out of place as you think, “There shouldn’t be a baby here. But, it’s not my baby. And at least her mothers taking care of it.” So you close the door and keep exploring.


The third room is a tornado of blue and red lights swirling around as you see a couple guys dressed like cops handcuffing a third guy you remember meeting downstairs. And one cop looks at you and smiles and say’s, “He’s going away!” You laugh thinking it’s all a joke and say, “For how long?” And the cop laughs back saying, “30 years!” But you just roll your eyes and think, “30 years, yeah right. Just for partying.”


Then suddenly a fight breaks out pulling you back into the hallway as you get slammed and rolled along the wall. But then just as quick as they came the rowdy group barrels past and you’re left with a shoulder that feels twisted and a little messed up as you straighten your shirt. But you’re alright, even a little numb, as you come to the fourth door and swing it open.


Here you see a guy lain motionless on the floor in the center of the room. There’s another guy kneeling over him with a stressed look on his face saying, “I don’t know what happened, it’s the same stuff I’m on.” And over the burnt and booze stained carpet beside them both you see that someone dropped a needle and a bent-up spoon.


So now the alcohol and weed and pills and powder are all mixing together. And you’re having trouble distinguishing the reality from the hallucinations. So you decide to go find the person who invited you for some stability.


Back downstairs you find your friend and yell out over the music, “Hey, we gotta go. There’s like cops and sex and fights and I think someone’s sick or something…” But your friend whose still smoking and drinking and snorting and laughing says, “Don’t worry about all that! That’ll fix itself. Besides that’s just them; you’re you! You’re better than that!”


And when your friend turns in the flashing lights you focus a little and can see their cheeks are sunken in. Their nose has a little blood coming from it and there’s a weird sort of scab on their forehead. And as you stand there just staring at them wondering what happened, you notice you’re rubbing your own sore shoulder. You lift your sleeve and check it for bruises but you freeze when instead you see a scab of your own starting to peel.


Now you’re realizing you don’t just need to leave this party, you need to escape this party.


And now the music is its loudest as more and more people keep crowding in. The room is packed and your vision is getting blurry. And your thoughts are getting fuzzy. You can’t remember which direction is out. You panic looking around and around while sliding along the walls, opening any door you find. But everything just leads to more smoke, more crowds.


And now everyone seems to be having sex in every corner. Fights are breaking out on the dance floor. People are passing out on the couches and going into seizures. It’s a complete nightmare and everyone’s a stranger. And you can’t remember when you first got there but it almost feels like its been weeks or even years. It’s really all just spiraling together now.


Suddenly a quick flash of white light catches your eye from a ways away. You spin toward where it came to try to find it again. It’s a window. So you fight through the crowd pushing and elbowing till you’re at its sill. And as you wipe away the fog from the glass you can see a person on the sidewalk outside. Someone with a flashlight held over their shoulder shaking it back and forth to get your attention.


You look around but there are no exits, no doors. You’re terrified and dying here! So out of fear and rage you make a fist and punch through the window. With blood pouring down your arms and off your fingertips you climb through the broken glass while people inside yell curses trying to pull at your legs.


Finally, you collapse onto the ground outside. And you run and you trip and you fall and crawl to the person who helps you up. Quickly now, they jam you into the passenger side of their car as the engine fires up and the two of you speed away.


And just barely catching your breath as you wrap your shredded arms in what’s left of your shirt; you flip down the vanity mirror in front of your head and you see that your face is a wreck. Your cheeks are dark like shadows and sunken in, your lips are cracked and bleeding. There are scabs on your nose and forehead.


“How long was I in there?” you ask in disbelief.


“Longer than you think,” the driver says.


“How long were you outside signaling for me?”


“Since the second you went in.”