Mr. Sunshine's Dilemma

The odd little man was seeing the strange images again. He had told them when he was in the mental institution that he no longer saw them, but that was a lie so they would let him out. He thought about it now that he was free, and realized his statement was actually partially true. At the time, he didn't see the little oddities as much as he used to because he had learned to ignore them, but now they were back stronger than ever.

Just a little while ago as he had looked up at a painting on the wall of his small apartment, it began to do some very strange and disturbing things. It was the image of a woman. He began to notice that it was moving; swaying gently from side to side. The colors began to swirl and get darker. The woman looked down at him and began to speak. "Come a little closer, Mr. Sunshine," she said in a teasing, but almost seductive manner as her clothing and skin began to melt away. Mr. Sunshine was the name the workers in the mental institution had begun calling him to make fun of him.

He watched in a silent demented interest as each layer oozed from the woman until she was only a skeleton, still beckoning to him. Any fear he might have didn't last long because he knew it was just an illusion that his fractured mind had created. This was how it happened on almost every occasion; inanimate objects giving him a horror show. He was mostly used to it after all this time. He knew that he wasn't really quite sane. But knowing was enough for him to want to be free of institutional confinement. He could function just fine in society as long as he ignored these horrible visions. And he couldn't let anyone else know what he saw.

But now there was a new problem. He was watching the news on television when an urgent report came in. It was straight out of a horror movie. The anchorman claimed the dead were walking and eating human flesh! They even showed footage! This wasn't the kind of craziness that had happened to him before, so he wasn't quite sure what to make of it. His insanity had always been very consistent. It was always the inanimate! This new event was very different. Was this real?

So he decided to change the channels and find out if there was more. Sure enough, on the next channel they were showing shambling zombies chasing screaming people, and the news person was on the verge of panic. She said the zombies were overrunning the city! The woman continued on, saying everyone should take cover in their homes.

His twisted mind didn't know what to make of this new development. He wondered if this was just a new aspect of his insanity or if it was the outside world that was going crazy. He wasn't sure at all if this was something he should ignore, or if he should prepare to defend himself. If it was real he would have to protect himself from flesh eating zombies. But what to do if it was only his own warped imagination?

He thought about the rifle he had secretly bought a few days ago, and he wondered what he should do. What should he do!!!