Can I go out?

Image inspired prompt, actually >w< I loved how my drawing came out so I thought of using it here. Enjoy the art and the chills! Set this to during the bubonic plague, but it still kind of applies today XD

It had been months since Knox had last set foot outside their house. The world was at its end was what the adults kept repeating. For a 5-year child like himself, he never really understood what they had meant by that. All he knew was that each time he would peep out the window, he would see masked figures walking down the street. 

Their destination? He wasn’t sure. Yet he was just dying to have even just a few minutes in the nearby park. It would be the only thing he could ever ask for, at that point. 

It was by his sixth month locked up inside, that he started asking his dear mother if he could go out even for a while. 

Yet his mother bluntly said “No, it’s too dangerous to go outside”

Even when he wore the mask his father used when he went outside, his mother’s answer would remain a flat no. Not a day would pass that he would not ask, and not a day would pass that his mother would tell him to shut it or to just go back to his room. 

7 months passed, 8… then a year, yet it didn’t seem like he would ever get to go outside. 

On one particular night, when his parents drank themselves silly during his father’s birthday, he found a chance to sneak out. He passed by the front door since both his parents were too occupied in the kitchen to even notice him. He made his way down the street. For the first time in months, he could feel the cool, crisp autumn breeze brush against his skin. 

“I wonder why mum never let me out, it seems just fine” Was what he thought aloud as he excitedly skipped towards the park. It was just way too exciting to finally be back out again. He was even humming a tune to himself as he walked. 

When he finally arrived, the park was empty. It was a contrast to the last time he saw the park, which was bustling with people, pets, and children. He even questioned if it was the same park he used to play in. Yet right now wasn’t the time to be complaining. As quickly as he could, he headed straight for the playground and took his time on the swings, slides, and even in the sandbox. His last stop before he went home was supposed to be the snake tunnel that had a slide inside but upon entering, he had stepped on something soft, something similar to that of flesh. 

He stepped again, but this time, a pained groan came along with it. When he tried to take a closer look, he was then greeted with a crazed look by this man he had stepped on just moments ago.

“Why are you out with no mask!!!” The man exclaimed as he grabbed Knox by the arm. He shook him frantically, all while asking him repeatedly why Knox wore no mask. 

Knox was close to tears now, yet no matter how much he cried and asked for help, none came to his aid. His only escape was to struggle, and struggle he did. He tried wriggling out of the man’s hold, and in a few shakes he was free, and they were both forced out of the tunnel. 

He honestly wished he never went in that snake tunnel, to begin with. For the first time since he encountered this crazy man, he finally got a clear view of him. 

His face was… there was… his skin was black. And boils grew from his face and on some parts of his body. Blood dripped from the corner of his lips, and some parts of his face and body that seemed to be rotting. Knox could only scream out and rush back home. 

When he returned, he was fortunate that his parents had already passed out on the kitchen floor. He wouldn’t need to think of an excuse as to why he was out, nor where he had gone. He just rushed back to bed and tried his best to manage a good night’s rest. 

For the next few days, he had started feeling under the weather. His energy seemed to be lost, so was his appetite. After a week since he went out, he started to notice boils covering his body. Some parts of his skin started turning black. It scared him. As soon as boils started to grow on his face, he started wearing his father’s mask again, yet instead of asking his mother to go out, he just stood as far away from them as possible. 

He would always stand in the furthest corner of his room where he knew nobody would reach him. 

The changes in his actions started to scare his parents. And as the days passed, his mother tried coaxing him out of his room. Every attempt failed. 

Her last resort finally hit her when she saw him with the mask on. 

“Knox, would you like to have a quick trip outside?” When his mother mentioned going outside, he stiffened and immediately shook his head. 

“Come on, Knox. I’d appreciate it if you went out of your room” Again, his mother was nearing him now. And he could see that she was getting fairly irritated with how he was backing up into the corner. 

“For the last time, Knox. Tell mummy what’s wrong with you” She was growing impatient now. Her tone was raised and she was at arm's length from him. 

“Get that ridiculous mask off if you don’t want to then” 

Again, he shook his head and held on tightly to the mask’s edges “Mummy no- I’m sorry…” 

“What are you going on about?” It was the last draw for her. With an irritated mind, she quickly pulled the mask off but she had wished she never did. Her son’s was covered in boils, some of them got scrapped when she pulled off the mask so abruptly, causing pus to ooze out of those boils. 

“I’m sorry, mummy… I went outside because you wouldn’t let me” He was sniffling, almost sobbing as he tried to approach his mother who was frozen in place “Mummy… It hurts”

“Get away from me!” She said with a shrill cry as she ran out of his room, making sure to lock it the moment she was freed. 

From behind the door, she could hear him sobbing and pounding on the door. 

“Mummy… I’m sorry!” No amount of begging helped. He was locked in there for days, just begging and knocking until he lost all his strength. He perished in that very room. In that very house. 

Yet trespassers and people who eventually replaced the family that lived there would often make reports talking about a masked child that sobbed silently in the corner.