Nova, Part 2
by Ted2112, HSM team writer
images by Olivia_Allin, HSM team photographer
Sam was tired, very tired. The past few days he wondered if he slept much at all. The days had been hazy, and the nights have seemed to drag on forever. One of the things about insomnia was it made you not really care at all about anything except sleeping, and Sam knew he had to find some way to get some. If not, he’d wind up getting run over in traffic, or canned from his job. The trick, he thought, was to somehow stay asleep even if he was dreaming.
Sam stopped at a drug store on the way home from work. He would skip hanging at the Spot tonight and instead try to get some sleep with some chemical help. He got a box of sleeping pills and some night-time cough syrup. Living with his parents wasn’t an ideal situation for a twenty-one-year old, but until he figured out what he wanted to do with his life it was the best living situation he could afford for this stage of his life. Nobody would be home that afternoon; his mother was working a double shift, and his father wouldn’t be back for a week, so he had potentially fourteen hours to sleep. His parents’ modest house was the top floor of a red brick triple decker. From Sam’s small bedroom window he could actually see the massive roof of the Hub on the other side of town. He got home and took three times the recommended dose. First, he ate six tablets of the sleeping pills, and chased them with a long swig from the cough syrup, locked his bedroom door and climbed into his bed. He had to sleep – life was blurring. That line between what’s real and what’s not seemed to be mixing. Nightmares or not, he had to sleep.
Twilight. The setting sun shone beneath the clouds, illuminating them from underneath, creating a palette of reds, yellows and oranges. The sky was on fire, and the wind rushed out to greet him from the open expanse of water beyond the trees. The sound filled his ears and his clothes rippled. He didn’t know where he was. In most of Sam’s dreams, he saw the space lady in the water, but this was no space station, this was paradise. Sam felt his mussels relax, the feeling strange and wonderful. He could think, he could remember. This was not like any dream he had before. Sam remembered taking the pills to sleep and wondered if he was high and this was a grand hallucination.
“Maybe I’m dead,” he said, and the wind stole his words from his mouth. He felt good, lighter. He felt his strength returning. Normal, he thought to himself, this is how normal feels.
The house was up the small hill and surrounded by palm trees swaying in the breeze. Their large leaves rubbed against each other to form a low growl. The light was fading, and twilight turned to dark as he walked through the grove of trees. The ground was wet, and his steps made no sound as he made his way to the house.The front door was open, and flickering light glowed far inside. The bungalow was empty, with pale white walls and not a stick of furniture. Sam stepped with caution along the dark, shiny tile floor, which seemed wet. A chill went up his spine. She was here.
The feeling of normal left Sam in an instant, replaced with the old feeling of dread at the thought of the lady. The glowing light came from a candle in the last room. Sam could make out a slender figure standing just outside on the balcony. Her face glowed as she shielded the candle from the wind and held it close to her face. This was the part when Sam’s feet turned to cement, but not this time.
“Sam,” she said, low and sweet, “you are here, don’t be afraid.”
“Who are you?” His words this time were more as a demand than a plea.
“I am.” The lady said simply.
“What do you want from me? Why won’t you let me sleep?” Sam asked sternly.
“I’m sorry Sam, is the only way I can talk to you. Please come closer,” said the lady, as she put the candle down and the wind blew out the small flame. In its place came a pale light that shimmered and moved on the walls. Small lines of light danced and filled the room with a cold light. The lady walked to the center of the room and knelt down and the rays of light seemed to come right from inside her. Sam could see the water in the room clearer now and it seemed deeper than before.
“Sam, I will not hurt you,” she said as she ran her fingers through the water. “You will wake up soon, and you must remember me.” Sam noticed the water level in the room rising and slowly spilling over to the other rooms of the bungalow.
“Not much time Sam,” she said sadly.
Sam was sleeping, he knew that. This could not be real and although it was the lady he had seen in his dreams before, this time was different. He was apprehensive, yet not afraid; he was not yelling and the sight of her didn’t jolt him awake as so many times before. This time he felt a sense of control. The dreams before were more like watching a scary move that he couldn’t look away. There was choice here. He knew he could turn and walk away if he wanted, but he needed answers, not more questions. He decided to move closer to her, maybe if he faced this it would be over.
Water splashed under his feet. The light from the lady made it shimmer and small ripples raced along its surface. Sam moved close to her and extended a hand to touch her.
“No Sam, please,” she said looking away for a moment, and then stood up. She was naked and her skin was the color of the pale light that shined out from her. Her long straight hair shined a different luminescence, and seemed to flow like reeds in a river. The water in the room rose along with her, and Sam could hear it flowing out the door to the other rooms faster now. Her wet slender form shined in a beautiful light.
“It is coming,” she said, looking Sam in the eye, “soon.”
“What!” Exclaimed Sam. “What is coming?”
“Listen Sam, you must be ready, I will help you.” The lady said as she stepped closer and a gleam appeared in her eye. “Please don’t be afraid, Sam, we will talk again.”
“When?” Sam said confused.
“Soon,” said the lady. “You were too close and need rest.”
The lady’s light suddenly faded, and the room grew dark. The gleam of her eye still shown, becoming a strange flickering point in the sky, a star of some kind, a distant point of light brighter than the rest. Sam knew she was gone and felt the tired coming back. He stumbled onto the wet ground into water now icy and dark. Sam was fading too; The fatigue swept over him and he felt the house fall away.
Sam woke in his bed, the sound of the wind still running through his mind. How long was he asleep? Sam reached for his phone and noticed the message light flashing, and checked the time.
“Twelve hours!” He bellowed to the room, trying to make sense of his dream. Sam hadn’t slept that long in a very long time. The sleeping pills worked, but he felt even more tired than he did before his nap. The dream seemed so real. It a strange way it had purpose, something his real life didn’t have a whole lot of. Real or not, Sam had to find the lady.
Sam changed his clothes and as he made his way to the Spot, listened to his messages. They were all from the other Misfits, wondering where the hell he was. He took the sky train and looked out the window as Central City passed below. The train ran from his neighborhood in the Ahshin district, what most people called the Action district, due to its age and urban feel. The phrase “action” in the Ahshin district was commonplace in the news referring to its crime problem. The train moved from a brownstone and brick sprawl, to the gleaming organized glass of the Shibuya business district. The train climbed higher to connect with Hub and people were looking out the train’s windows at the light in the sky. The comet was starting to become visible to the naked eye.
Sam felt better than he had for a while. At the Spot, he discovered Pence had traded some software for a keg of beer. The keg was probably stolen, but they didn’t care; if they were careful the beer could last them all summer. He and Tac were setting up the tap and trying to figure out how they could keep it cold. They brainstormed about stealing ice from the hotel at the top floor of the Hub. Sam wanted to tell the others about his dream, but for some reason he held off. The lady talked to him this time, again it was a vague warning, but this time it was more personal. He didn’t know if it was real or not anyway, so why risk the ridicule from the others? Sam thought again about her light, her body.
“Sam,” said Seiphie, “You still with us?”
“Sorry, rowing out to sea,” replied Sam.
Tac got the tap connected and started to pour foamy cups of beer.
“We might as well drink this stuff,” said Tac passing out the plastic cups. “We need to figure out our strategy at the Sodium Races this weekend, and that’s nothing to do sober.”
The races were about a half hour sky train ride outside of town. Huge crowds went to see the jet racers race along a massive steel track. The teams were all sponsored, and that meant corporate sponsor tents that had free beer and food, and that was what Tac was scamming to get into.
“My friend says that all we have to do is drop his name, he said were on the guest list, maybe,” said Tac.
“Maybe,” said Seiphie. What does that mean?
“Well, I guess you got to know him. Tac countered. “He’s a funny guy.”
“Sounds it,” said Seiphie.
“Hey what do we have to loose,” said Pence. We were planning on going anyway to bet some money for the party, so the chance of free beer and food is just icing on the cake.”
“It’s got to be better than this stuff,” laughed Sam shaking his empty cup, “hit me, chief.”
Tac poured each of them another round of warm foamy beer.
“The end really is near with this stuff,” he said chugging down the brew. “Maybe it’s bad or something.”
“No I think it’s just warm,” said Pence. “Why are we drinking this?”
“I don’t know; why do we hang out in an underground cement bunker?” Said Tac.
“I’ve got an idea.” said Seiphie. “Tomorrow, let’s go to the Sports Walk complex. They have these plug in tubs set up everywhere when there is a game going on in the stadium. There everywhere, the venders use them to keep drinks cold and stuff. I figure we can score one for the keg there.
“No more warm beer,” laughed Sam.
“Cold beer all summer,” said Tac proudly. “We go tomorrow,” and raised his cup. “Tomorrow,” the rest of the Misfits repeated.
June 27th, 2012 by ted2112 | 3 comments
ted2112 is a writer and a Bass player that has been both inspired and takes to heart Kurt Vonnegut words...."we are here on planet Earth to fart around, and don't let anyone tell you different."
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Ted, great writing. I love all the descriptions of the places and things Sam sees. It is easy to picture what he is seeing and feeling. I love the story so far and cant wait for more chapters to publish and see the final outcome. I also like all the usage of the Home spaces. I am so curious about what “the end is near” means and how the lady knows Sam. Excited for part 3!
Awesome Ted… loving this!
Another nice segment Ted. Keep it coming!