“It becomes a matter of public health as soon as it starts taking a toll on the morale of the populace for as long as it has been.”

“And how bad would you say it’s gotten?” Charlie asked, showing visible concern.

“We’re facing a public health crisis.”

Ivan turned off the television and just sat there staring at the empty screen for a minute before deciding to get up. The sun had set hours ago, and he had given up on trying to find anything out of the ordinary out in the woods. What started as an early morning search effort didn’t take long before devolving in a complete and utter waste of time.

Wasting time on chasing his paranoia had become too worryingly common for him, perhaps to a fault. Too much time on his hands, too little purpose on how to spend it.

As he got up and dragged his feet across the living room, he went upstairs and walked toward his room, exhaustion dragging him down like an anchor. He sat at his bed as it let out a loud creak, the mattress rough against his weight.

Lying his head on the pillow, he let himself drift away into the horrors of his dreaming he knew awaited for him eagerly.