"Worthless" by Kevin F

“You don’t really mean that do you?” He said, stung by the harsh remarks made by his
friend.

“Of course I do. You’re nothing, but a worthless piece of garbage! Do you really believe
that your life is ACTUALLY valuable. Please, don’t flatter yourself.”

The friend’s words cut deep into the man, tearing away at the very little self-esteem he
had left. He’s right, I am just a complete waste. Why do I even bother to try to convince myself that I’m not ...no... He’s wrong. 

“What? Nothing left to say? Psshh- That’s what I thought. Sit there and loathe at your patheticness-” 

“No! You’re wrong! Everything you say about me isn’t true. Dr. Quinn told me not to listen to you! She told me that my life is actually meaningful. That I was put here for a reason.” He desperately remembered what Dr. Quinn told him. 

“Remember the three things I told you to do during your episodes Mr. Freigner,” said Dr. Quinn.
“Yes I do, stay calm, think positive, and...-”
“And most importantly, breathe,” replied Dr. Quinn

Mr. Freigner sat down and began to take in slow breaths, inhaling through the nose and
exhaling through the mouth. Think positive! Think positive! However, with every single breath he took in he felt his lungs becoming tighter and tighter. It felt as if his chest was being crushed by an enormous amount of pressure. He felt that his chest was going to give out and collapse, yet he took in even larger breaths in hopes that it’ll somehow take away the weight. 

“Do you really believe what Dr. Quinn says is true! Please, all she cares about is getting paid just like the rest of us. She actually doesn’t care about you, she just sits there and listens to your whining because she knows that in the end she’ll be able to go home and get away from your complaints. Think positive my ass!” 

His words were like a boa constrictor, tightening around Mr. Freigner. He felt like a helpless animal caught in the clasp of their predator, facing the final moments of their life as he’s preyed upon.
The gun he thought to himself. No I shouldn’t! I was specifically told to ignore it no matter what!
Mr. Freigner slowly opened his eyes and began to relax his breathing. His eyes motioned to that forbidden tool, he just couldn’t resist it. He slowly got up and began motioning towards the weapon.
“Finally, you stopped breathing! To be completely honest you were just getting flat out annoying! Then again, when are you not? Wait? What are you doing with that gun-” 

“SHUT UP! FOR GOD’S SAKE SHUT UP! I’M SICK AND TIRED OF EVERYTHING YOU SAY TO ME!” 

The friend began to sweat profusely and his face became pale as the surrounding walls of the room. He stuttered, “N-Now wait a second! Why are you holding that?! T-They specifically told us to never grab that!” 

“I’VE HAD IT WITH YOU AND EVERYTHING YOU TELL ME! I’M NOT GOING TO JUST STAND HERE IDLE ANY LONGER! I WON’T LET YOU INSULT ME WITH YOUR BITING REMARKS ANYMORE! I’M DONE WITH IT! DONE!” 

Mr. Freigner then instinctively placed the gun at the side of his friend’s head, pressing deeply against his temple and rhythmically shoving the gun with every spitted word. His head began to throb with an immense pain, as if his head was being brutally crushed by his own skull and he felt the room begin to enclose on him. 

“Do you think pointing that gun at my head is going to scare me into respecting you?! Don’t flatter yourself. I want you to understand that I am the ONLY person that’ll ever show a glimpse of care for you! No one cares about you Freigner!” 

“SHUT UP OR I SWEAR TO GOD I’LL PULL THE TRIGGER! I’LL PULL THIS GOD DAMN TRIGGER RIGHT NOW,” exclaimed Mr. Freigner as his face burned red with searing tears endlessly streaming down his face. “Out of all people, why are you saying this to me? WHY YOU?!”
“How many times do I have to spell it out for you, you’re worthless!” “Don’t say that! You don’t mean it!”

“YES I DO! YOU’RE WORTHLESS! WORTHLESS! WORTHL-” “ SHUT UP!” 

A loud bang fills the empty noise of the room. Then, the sound of a gun and Mr. Freigner’s lone corpse thudding against the floor echoes throughout the testing room. 

Suddenly, the sound of an intercom buzzes through the room as a voice speaks through it saying, “Subject C-13 is now inoperative. Test is complete. Proceed cleanup.” Three strange men enter the room wearing perfectly clean, pearly white lab coats carrying a stretcher. Two of the men grab Mr. Freigner’s lone, dead body and place it upon the stretcher while the other cleans up the crimson stains. 

“Wow, the tests are getting done much quicker now. How many days do you guess the next one will last?” 

“I don’t know, about 4? Honestly, at this rate we’ll be able to complete these tests in less than a day. Dr. Quinn is going to purify this world!” 

The sounds of footsteps outside the door echo in the hallway. They're getting louder with every approaching step. Knock, knock. 

“Come in,” replies Dr. Quinn 

An unfamiliar man walks in and says, “Uhhh... I'm here for the clinical trial. You help people suffering from schizophrenia, right?” 

A slight chuckle bellows from Dr. Quinn as she replies, “ Yes. Please, come in.”