Out of the Hole

Peck. Peck. Peck.  Our new vulture friend dutifully pecked away at our rock prison with its razor, sharp beak. I can't imagine it was the most pleasant experience for the bird, but nevertheless it chipped away at the rock. Perhaps it was doing penance. I don't know. I wasn't gonna question too much. When the vulture finally chipped away at the last bit of rock it looked up into the sky then flew off. Olivia and I climbed out of the hole. I stared at the sky, watching the bird become smaller and smaller until it  vanished.  "I don't think he's coming back." Olivia says. "No, I suppose not. Guess we're on our own again."

Toying with Us

Admitedly, I know virtually nothing about vultures. I don't know their temperament. I don't know if it is a good idea to stay perfectly still while it is sizing you up, but that's what I did. Maybe I thought it would be like in Jurassic Park when Grant and Lex tried to remain perfectly still to avoid being eating by a T  - Rex. After all aren't birds and dinosaurs practically the same thing? It studied for me for a long time. It felt as if it was looking deeply into my soul, pulling up cold feelings of despair and hopelessness. Somehow Olivia slept through the whole ordeal. I wanted to wake her, but I knew the moment I did, that's when he would strike. So, I'd wait it out. Let him toy with me. Let him think he won. Eventually he got to me. I snapped , shouting out "Make your move." The vulture squawked loudly. This was it. He was going rip out my liver and peck out my eyes. It opened its mouth wide and spread its wings. There was only one option left. I shook Olivia awake. Thankfully, I didn't have to explain the situation. I don't think she even fully opened her eyes. She simply extended her arm and shot a pink heart at the vulture. The vulture then lowered it's wings and closed its beak. It appeared stunned but unharmed. "That was very bad what you were about to do." Olivia says. "But we'll forgive you as long as you can get us out of here."

Lone Vulture

"What are you staring at?" A faraway voice asks as I look down at my stuck feet. "I said what are you staring at?" It asks again. I know it is more that likely just in my mind, but I answer it anyways. "I'm looking down." I say. "You should try looking up." "I don't want to." "But you should try it." I play along and glance up at the sky. There is a lone vulture circling above. I look down again. "Why'd you look down?" It asks. "There's nothing in the sky." I say. "I take particular offense to that. I'm in the sky after all." I crane my neck up, and I squint my eyes. "Are you the vulture?" "Indeed I am." "Aren't there usually more of you?" "More of me?" "I mean vultures. Aren't there usually more at once?" "I suppose." It responds. "Well, where are the others then?" "I haven't the foggiest." "Will they be here?" I ask. "Perhaps." "Do tell me if they stop by." The vulture circles faster. "Is my company not good enough for you?" "It's not that. It's just that I'd like to get this over with." "Get what over with?" It asks, confused. "Aren't you gonna eat us?" "Perhaps, but you'd have to wake up first." Not even taking a second to think about this, I jolt myself awake. The vulture is now at ground level and inching ever closer to me and Olivia.

Knee Deep

The dirt was as hard as rocks, but we were able to make a hole that was knee deep. At that point our muscles were beyond sore. We decided that was a good point to stop. We stood in the hole, fooling ourselves that it was that much warmer in there. Perhaps it actually was, I may never truly know. Real or imagined, we didn't get to enjoy the newfound warmth for very long. The next thing we knew there was a monstrous downpour. The little hole that we were standing in filled with rain water faster then we knew what hit us. And then, it went away as quickly as it came. I looked down. Cold mud wrapped itself around our legs. I tried to lift my leg out of the hole, but I found myself paralyzed. I looked down again. The mud turned to cement. We were stuck, knee deep in a hole, and it seemed there was no getting out.

Nightfall

The desert at night is not like desert during the day. It grows much colder. At first it felt nice. Refreshing even. It didn't take long, however, for us to change our minds. "We need to find shelter." Olivia says through chattering teeth. "Where?" I ask. "I don't know, but we'll freeze to death if we stay out here." "What do animals do?" Olivia shrugs. "Some burrow." "Good idea." I drop to the ground and I  start to scoop the hard earth with my bare hands. "What are you doing?" She asks. "I'm making shelter." "That'll take forever." She, somewhat helpfully points out. I look at her out of the corner of my eye. "Then we best start." Olivia sighs and joins me in digging.

Not Showing

The agents weren't without nicer qualities. They did give us both a minuscule amount of water. However, as the hours passed their patience grew shorter and shorter. They slowly, but surely realized that agent Duncan would not show up like we said he would. Naturally I expected them to once again threaten us with violence. Instead, they both turned on their heals. They both got into their black helicopters and ascended far into the sky. Neither one of them utter a single word to us as they left. I assume they were leaving us for dead to be picked apart by the vultures. But the thing is, as much as that did suck to be abandoned in the middle of no where, we were no worse of then we were before.

The Spot

It turns out the coordinate landed us between two three feet tall cacti. It was quite obvious that we had no idea where agent Duncan was at this point. But we could not admit defeat. We could not eat crow. Not now. Not yet. We said agent Duncan would be here alive and well. So we waited for an undetermined amount of time for a man who surely would not show.

Hopefully Maybe

This wasn't the first time I was ever threatened. It was however, one of the stranger incidents. Olivia and I were pushed into a helicopter and forced to locate a Agent Duncan. Duncan? I couldn't believe it. The guy had a name, and it was Duncan of all names. Of course we didn't want to find him, and we had no idea where he ran off to. So, we did what any reasonable people who were being kidnapped at gunpoint. We made up a coordination. Sure , it would most likely blow up in our faces, but we would be long gone somehow because we'd have a plan. Maybe... probably... hopefully.

Missing Agent

How many hearts does an octopus have? What is the state bird of Illinois? Where is the Red Vine factory located. These are all things that I have some knowledge of and would have loved to of been asked about. Instead I was asked "Where is he?" "Excuse me?" "Agent Duncan. Where is he?" "I don't know who that is." The agent shakes his head. "Don't give me that. He's the one who made the arrest."  "Oh, well I haven't seen him in a while." "Since when?" The agent says, getting into my face. "I don't know since he threw us in the van." "What happened after that?" "He drove into the desert and then vanished." "He just vanished? Like that?" "Or something took him." I say. The agent rolls his eyes. "Listen, why would I choose to be in the middle of the desert?" " I don't know. Why would you choose to be in the middle of the desert?" "I didn't. I have no clue where the man is!" The agent takes a deep breath. "I don't believe you. So, you're gonna help us find him." "Why should I help you find him." The agent casually unbuttons his coat to reveal the gun in the chest holster. "Right, the gun. Well, I'll see what I can do."

Two More Agents

"Rise and shine." I pier up to see the grinning face of a man with dark sunglasses and an earpiece. He is an agent no doubt, but a different one from before. This one is heavier and balder. "What do you know?" He says. "About what?" "Don't get smart." "Ok, I'll get dumb." He smacks me with the back of his hand. "What do you know?" "I don't know anything." The agent yanks me off the ground. He reveals Olivia with her arms held behind her back by yet another agent. "You think she knows anything?" He asks me in a sinister tone. "What are you planning?" The agents opens his jacket. He shows me a silver gun hanging in the chest holster. I bite my lip. "We might know something." The agent closes his jacket. "Just don't hurt her... or me." I say. The agent half smiles. "We'll see what we can do."

Black Helicopters

I've been here before. Perhaps not on this exact stretch of land in the middle of nowhere, but I've been here. I've been the wanderer chased by black helicopters. Or have I? Think, where have I seen black helicopters before? Where have I heard of them? There was a movie called Conspiracy Theory. Mel Gibson was nuts it. So, it was basically a documentary. Hey- O! "They're helicopters!" Olivia shouts. "What?" "They're helicopters. The things in the air. And they're following us." "What a boring ride for them." I joke. "They're after us." Olivia repeats. "Why? It's not like we have any useful information." "We might." Olivia says. I glance at the sky. "When do you think they'll land." Olivia shrugs. "Probably when we stop." "Then let's not stop ever." "We're gonna have to eventually." "Then I'll confuse them." "How?" "Watch." I run as fast as I can, then I stop, turn around, and run the opposite direction. After that I run in circles for a bit. When I'm all done I go back to Olivia. "Did that work?" I ask, panting. "No." "I have one more idea." I say as sit down. I start to close my eyes. "You have to get up." Olivia urges. "But I'm so tired." "I know, but you have to get up." "Just five minuets." "We don't have five minuets." Please, just five minuets." I say as I feel my eyelids close on their own.

Don't Stop

Just one day without water and the brain begins to get fuzzy. I have no idea how long it's been. Twelve hours? Maybe seventeen?  Who knows? It's the brain fuzz. It's getting to me. I stop walking and I stare at the sky. "What are you looking at?" Olivia asks. "Birds." Olivia nudges me. "Come one. We gotta keep going. Those aren't friendly birds." I continue to walk, but I look back at the sky every now and then. I soon realize that they are not birds like I thought they were. "Come on. We gotta keep walking." Olivia reminds. "But those aren't birds."I say. "Then what are they?" I squint my eyes. "They look like helicopters."

Stranded

The vultures started to circle the van. They knew it was only a matter of time till Olivia and I gave into our tiredness. Then they'd attack. They'd peck out our eyes. Rip out out livers. Do all sorts of grotesque, unspeakable things. I tapped my fingers on the dashboard. I felt that if I tapped them enough the answer would pop into my brain. "We can't stay here." Olivia says. "I know." "But if we leave we won't get far." "I know." I turn to Olivia. "What do we do?" "I don't know. And there's no signal on our phones so it's not as if we can call for help." I take a deep breath. I then open my door. "What are you doing?" She shouts. "We gotta get out of here." I say. "Yeah. But where are you going?" "I don't know. We have to leave though. We'll die here." "We'll die if we walk too." "Maybe. Maybe not."

Open Road

It seemed obvious that the van was a gift. It was less obvious, however, whether it came from God, the agent, or sinister forces. Those tidbits were less important to me. What truly mattered was that we had a car, and that meant freedom. Freedom to go anywhere we chose. I will admit though that it wasn't the most comfortable ride. In order to save on gas I turned off the A/C. Even with the windows rolled down it was unbearable. We were both feeling miserable and drenched in sweat. Eventually I caved and cranked up the air conditioning. Predictably, soon after I did that we ran out of gas. We were then stranded in the middle of the desert with no food or water, and no gas station in sight. It was perfect.

Barren

The desert is one of my least favorite places. It's hot, it's barren, there's no one around. At least no one that you would want to be friends with. Vultures and rattle snakes aren't exactly the friendly types. There's not even any cliffs or cacti to look at. Just red, hot sand and rocks. I carefully circle the van. From what I can tell there is no one in sight. But I notice something interesting as I glance in the drivers side. The key is still in the ignition, and there is a half a tank of gas. Perhaps things might be turning around.

Desserted

Take away all clocks and windows and time moves slower than the slowest sloth. Olivia and I sat in the back of the van, staring at the door in eager anticipation for what felt like days. We were ready to give up hope when the door ripped open. It literally ripped open. An invisible arm threw the door into the powder blue sky. Then the scenery changed to the southwest desert. Our car was perched on a tall cliff. I cautiously peaked my head out of the van. There was no one in sight.

Locked In

"Any minuet the door will swing open." I thought to myself for well over a minuet. "They're not gonna open the door." Olivia says to me, as if she could read my thoughts. "No. They will and we'll be ready." "What are you gonna do?" Olivia asks. "I'm gonna pounce." Olivia laughs to herself. "What? You got a better idea." "I'm gonna wait." "You're just gonna sit there and wait for certain death?" "Not death. But yeah." "Well, I'm not. I'm busting out of here." I tug at the door. It's locked. I try kicking at it. "Safe your strength." Olivia says. "It's locked." I inform her. "I know. Save your strength." I sit down next to her. We both stare at the door for a while. "What do we do now?" I ask. "Only thing we can do. We wait."

That Easy

There was a metal divider between us and the driver. So, even if we wanted to we couldn't ask the agent where we were headed. We could hear the thud, thud of the road and a muffler in desperate need of repair . It was our only indication of the outside world. I struggled to get free from the handcuffs. "I don't know why you wanted to go along with this." I say. " I don't know. It seemed like a fun adventure." "Adventure?" I say, in disbelief. "Well, yeah. Does he honestly look like a threat?" "No." "There you go." "I still don't like being in handcuffs." I say. "Come here." I scoot to Olivia. She bends her head low and plucks a bobby pin out of her hair. Then, just like in the movies, she uses the bobby pin to free us of the handcuffs. I rub my wrists where my shackles were. "I can't believe that worked." "Believe it." She replies. I notice shortly after there is no more thud, thud or noisy muffler. "You hear that?" I say. "Hear what?" "Exactly." I clench my fists in anticipation. I knew the door would swing open any minuet and I would be prepared.

Kidnapped

The agent ordered us at gunpoint to slap the handcuffs on ourselves. He then threw us in the back of an unmarked van. There were no windows. We had idea what was going on or where he was taking us. One was clear though, and that was that we were two people in the wrong place at the wrong time. I looked over at Olivia and she was unusually calm. "We didn't get to heart them, but I think I may be able to pick the locks." "Don't." She says. "Why?" "Because I want to see where this is going."

The Agent

We did as the agent said, lifting our hands far above our heads. We didn't see the agent as a threat, but sometimes it is better to do what others ask of you. Even if they seem to be a nuisance. "Who do you work for?" He shouts. "We don't work for anybody." I respond. "Who do you work for?" He asks again. "He's telling the truth. We don't work for anybody." Olivia says. "So you two are free agents?" "Something like that." "You know you two stumbled upon top secret government property?" "Yeah, we kinda gathered that." I say. "What did you see?" I shrug. "Nothing we understood." "Even if I believed you I couldn't let you two go." Olivia laughs to herself. "Something funny?" He snaps. "You think you can keep us?" "I do." The agent reaches into his breast pocket. He pulls out two pairs of handcuffs and tosses them to us. "Put them on." "No." "I'm not asking you." Olivia raises her palm. The agent quickly draws his gun on her. "I said put them on."

Crater

There was a huge crater, roughly about the size of a small house where the computer once stood. Smoke surrounded the area for minuets afterwards. When it finally cleared, the only remains we could see of the computer was a partially melted keyboard. I slid down the area to examine the wreckage. "Do you think that's a good idea?" Olivia asks. "No, I don't. But I'm curious." She shakes her head and follows after me. All I can seem to say is "Wow." Olivia, on the other hand is more observant. "We have to get out of here." "We can't leave just yet. Look how cool this is." "It's a big, empty hole. We can go. In fact we should go." "What's the rush?" She looks me dead in the eyes. "This was no accident." "That's right. This was no accident." A cold voice says from above. Olivia and I turn around real slowly. We see a man in a dark black suit and sunglasses. He points a silver gun at us. "Hands where I can see 'em."

Password?

Starting the computer with the charge from Olivia's bubble was no problem. The problem was when we got to the main frame. It was an archaic system with green graphics. It asked us the password.  I told Olivia to type random keys. Of course it didn't work. It asked for the password again. We tried a few more times to enter a random password without any luck. Eventually the monitor said in bold letters. FINAL CHANCE FOR PASSWORD. She typed another password. A bold green X popped up followed by the image of a skull and crossbones. "That can't be good." Olivia says out loud. The image of the skull and crossbones changed quickly to the number 10. "That really can't be good." I say in a panicked voice. The number changes to 9, and then 8. Olivia jumps up from the computer and pulls me away with her. We make it out just in the nick of time. A laser falls from the sky. It hits the computer, exploding it into many tiny pieces. Flaming debris flies everywhere.

Island of Misfit Toys

"What makes you so sure this isn't just a regular dump?" I ask. "Well.." Olivia searches for something to back up her claim. She picks up a tiny, electronic key chain. It makes beeping noises. "Is that a Giga Pet?" "It is." "So, what is this where relics of the 90's go?" "And older. Look around. This is like the Island of Misfit Toys. All these devices are still good."  I furrow my brow. "Are you suggesting we find a nice home for all these toys?" Olivia shakes her head. "No, but I see no reason why we can't take something with us." "Fair enough. How about this guy?" I say, pointing to the old computer. "I was thinking something a little bit smaller and lighter." "We don't have to take it. We can just see what's on it." Olivia nods. "That does sound intriguing. However, we are faced with one problem." "What's that?" I ask. "No power outlet." "We don't need a power outlet." "Oh, we don't." "Nope. You can generate enough power with your shield." "You think that would work?" She asks, sounding very doubtful of my plan. I smile. "I know it will."

Landfill

I'm not sure how far the town extended. There were never any signs indicating that we were in a new place, and the only landmark was corn. Followed by corn, and the occasional barn or silo. It was clear we were in the middle of nowhere. The scenery did change eventually. However, it didn't change to anything better. It changed to a landfill. There were piles and piles of garbage everywhere. The interesting thing though is that none of it looked like garbage. Noting was decayed or falling apart. The air was fresh, not rancid. The garbage trucks didn't even look like garbage trucks. They were all white panel semi trucks. Growing more curious by the minuet, Olivia and I spied on one of the semi trucks. The truck driver got out of his truck. He opened the back, and he took out an old computer. After carefully placing it on the ground, he got back in his truck and he drove off. Olivia and I examined the relic computer after he left. To our amazement there was no external damage. Everything seemed alight on the outside. "Why do you think he threw it out?" Olivia asks. "Who knows? It probably has some sort of virus." Olivia looks around. There are all sorts of things that appear fine on the outside such as clothing and electronics. They all have one thing in common she notes. They're all out dated. "I don't think this is a landfill." She says. "What is it then?" "I think its just a place were old models of things go."

Not the Movies

In the movies when the hero discovers a cool, yet failing business they hatch a brilliant plan. Usually this involves throwing up flyers around town and announcing a big sale/ party. More people always come then expected. They realize how cool this business is and wonder why they have never been there before. Everyone is happy. Roll credits. But this is real life. Things don't always pan out that way. Sometimes they do, but more often than not they don't. In real life the owner often has only a month or a couple weeks before they inevitably have to shut down. It sucks, but that's just the way things are sometimes. Olivia and I took our little chat with the arcade owner as a sign that perhaps this town offered all that it could for us and maybe it was time for us to move on. As Morgan Freeman said in Shawshank Redemption "Get busy living or get busy dying."

The Arcade

The arcade was truly remarkable. It was filled with nothing but classic 80's games. Pac- Man, Spy Hunter, Centipede, Donkey Kong, Donkey Kong Jr. You name it, they had it. But the best part was that there no one else in the arcade. Meaning there was no lines. There was no waiting for any of the games. We could play as long as we desired, and we did. We played for hours. My eyes were blood shot. I wasn't even aware how much time had passed. That is until a man in his forties tapped me on the shoulder. He pointed to the clock on the wall. It read 12 a.m. He didn't seem upset at all, but wanted to let me know that I should probably wrap up my game. I did just that, and I met Olivia outside. It was dark outside, but my fragile eyes could not handle the street lights at the moment. I looked down at my feet, then I heard a door close behind. I turned around to see the man locking up the arcade. I apologize to him again. He smiles and tells me he's glad someone came in. "You don't get a lot of people coming in?" Olivia asks. "Nope. No need for it." "What do you mean?" He shakes his head. "Think about it. No one wants to come in anymore. Not when you can have all these games at home." "But it's so much better at the arcade." I say. He smiles again. "I know that but.." He shrugs. "It's just how things are." "What are you gonna do?" Olivia asks. "Gonna sell it. Or at least sell the games." "That's a shame." Olivia says. He nods slowly. "I know, but I gotta get with the times."

Two Options

It was obvious to us that the entire neighborhood had been under as spell. What wasn't so obvious to us was the how and the why. We were faced with two options. We could solve this mini mystery, or we could forget about it. Initially we choose the former. We thought it would be fun to sink our teeth into. The only problem was that in order for me to think properly I needed to walk. So we went on a long walk. The  scenery gradually changed from suburban neighborhood back to farmland. We must of walked for hours and we realized we were not getting anywhere. Literally and figuratively. Then I looked around. I saw an old fashioned arcade, and it was open. I asked Olivia if she wanted to kill some time at the arcade. She shrugged, thinking "What's the harm?"

Remember Us?

"Excuse me." I say as calmly as I can to the man in the bathrobe. But it is no use. I know that I gave him a freight as he clutches his heart. I apologize many times. "It's ok. My fault. I'm usually awake by now, but I'm not." "Do you remember us?" I ask him. The man studies me and Olivia. "No." "Think real hard." Olivia says. The man blows a raspberry. "I'm sorry. I'm drawing a blank. Who are you?" "We were treat or treaters." I reply. "When?" "Last night." "Is this a joke? Halloween was nearly a week ago." "It was, but the trick or treating went on for days." I say. "Bit early to be drinking. Don't you think?" He sneers. "You don't believe us?" Olivia asks. "No. Of course I don't. Why would I?" "Because you were there." I shout. "If I was there then why don't I remember it?" "Because you were under a spell. We all were." The man lifts up his hand, urging us to stop. "I've had just about enough of this." He starts to walk away. "We're not making it up." He turns around. "Enough. If you don't stop these ridiculous stories I will call the cops." The man walks away into his house. We hear the front door lock behind him. Olivia turns to me. "It did happen, right?" "Of course it did."

After Treats

I woke up bruised and bloody. I hurt everywhere. The pavement took off a layer of skin on my face, but my legs finally were giving me a rest. For that I was thankful. Olivia stood over me. She offered her hand. I took it, and she lifted me off the ground. "Thanks." I say. "For what?" She asks. "Breaking the spell. How'd you think to do that?" Olivia shrugs. "Lucky guess." "Well, it worked. I don't feel great right now, but at least I'm not trapped in an endless cycle." "Amen to that." I take a look around. It's daylight. Our trick or treater friends are gone, there's no Halloween  decorations to be seen, and some how the big pile of candy is also gone. "Where did they go?" I ask. "They left." "I know that, but where did they go?" "I don't know. I also blacked out." I stare at the ground. "There was an enormous pile of candy here." Olivia nods. "There was." "Where did it go?" "I don't know. They took it." "How?" Olivia half smiles. "You're asking questions that I don't know how to answer." I scratch my head. "Did that happen last night?" "I think it did." Olivia says. "Maybe it wasn't here." I say. "But it looks the same." "Indeed it does." I see a man in a bathrobe taking his trash can to the curb. I start to walk to him. "Where are you going?" Olivia asks. "I'm gonna ask that man if he remembers seeing us." "You think that's a good idea? He might think we're crazy." "You're right. But this is all I got right now."

Spellbound

We didn't want to go on, but we continued anyways going to the same houses over and over in and endless cycle. It was as if they put a spell on us and our legs were not our own. I watched as the mummy and the witch emptied their bags on the pavement. It grew and grew into an impressive pile. The sun set and rose. The weather changed, but we did not. Finally, I glanced at my wristwatch. It read Fri, Nov 3rd. "Guys, I think we stop." I say, weakly. "Are you kidding me? We just started." The witch says. "It's the third of November." I reply. The kids look at me blankly. "So?" "So? Your parents will be worried." Olivia says. The witch and the mummy laugh. "They will." Olivia shouts. The witch and the mummy turn and continue trick or treating. I don't want to move. I want to stop. I want to sleep. But my legs keep going. They won't allow me to rest. "Lean forward." Olivia says. "What?" "Lean forward." She says again. "And as much as you can." I do as she says, not knowing why. The top half of my body practically hits the ground. "Go lower." She says. I bend even lower. My knuckles now scrape against the pavement. I feel a slight sense of embarrassment. This must be the silliest sight. Me, fully bent over, dragging my knuckles across the pavement like an ape. Then I feel nothing but pain. I trip over myself and I hit the ground hard.

Cul de Sac

The witch and the Mummy pulled us out of the dark and into a well lit, suburban cul de sac. There were a total of five houses on the cul de sac and each of them had the adult of the household warmly waiting outside the front door with a big bowl of candy. After we hit all the houses on the cul de sac, Olivia and I expected to continue along the block. Instead the mummy and the witch turned around and did another tour of the houses on the cul de sac. None of the adults seemed to mind though. They happily passed out candy to us again. We continued our second tour of theses houses, then we turned around and did a third, and a fourth, and so on and so on. Olivia and I didn't bring any bags, but the mummy and the witch did and their bags were rapidly filling up. "I think we should call it a night." Olivia suggests. The mummy and the witch looked at her as if she were crazy. "Your bags, they're full. " She points out. "Good point." The witch says. She and mummy dump their bags on the pavement. "Now we can get more." She shouts. "But it's November now." I say. "So, it's always trick or treating time. " The mummy replies. The mummy and the witch run happily off to the first house, starting yet another tour of the houses.

The Mummy and the Witch

Initially we weren't in the Halloween spirit, and it didn't exactly make sense for us to go trick or treating. But I make up this story as I go, so sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. We went to Mrs. Thomson's house, after that We went to Mr. Judd's, and then the Pike's. That's all we had time for, three houses. Each house was a few miles apart. After the Pike's it was significantly darker outside. Olivia and I decided this would be a nice time to stop. We were tired and not exactly in it. Olivia emptied her pockets. There was only a handful of candy. "That's it?" I say. "That's it." She repeats. "Well, it's more than we had." I say, grabbing a Twix bar. "Yeah, I guess we did alright for ourselves." "Don't tell me you're gonna give up." A voice says. I turn around to see a child dressed as a mummy. "We're old." I say to the mummy. "Nonsense." Another voice shouts. I wonder where it came from. Then all the sudden I see a girl dressed as a witch standing next to the mummy. "Where are your parents?" Olivia asks. "It's Halloween." The mummy responds. "That may be, but I'm sure tick or treating hours are over by now." "They've just started." The witch says. The mummy grabs my hand. "Come on." The witch grabs Olivia's hand. "Candy." "We're really done for the night." Olivia says. "Nonsense." The witch replies. The young trick or treaters are strong. Much stronger than one could have possibly anticipated, and just like that they dragged us out in the night for trick or treats.

Trick Or Treaters

Call me crazy, but I've always enjoyed the dead corn stalk aesthetic. Not sure what it is exactly. Maybe its just because it is a symbol of fall, and this time of year seems a magical time for me. It's cool, but not cold. There is change in the air. You don't know what's gonna happen, but there's usually a feeling of wonderment. I see the crows enjoy the dead corn stalk aesthetic as well. Apparently the scarecrows are not doing their jobs. It doesn't matter though. It's not as if there are any crops for the crows to steal. It takes us a while for us to get to the little farmhouse. When we arrive we see an elderly man on the front porch. He wears overalls and rocks back and forth in his rocking chair. "Greetings." He says to us. "Hi." Olivia and I reply back. "Thought you guys would never make it." He says with a smile. "You knew we were coming?" I ask. "Well, sure. My eyesight ain't what it used to be, but I could still see ya coming. Now, who would you be?" "I'm Olivia and this is Scott." Olivia replies. The old man raises and eyebrow. "Where are you from?" "Illinois." I say. "I meant are you characters from a T.V. show? You'll have to forgive me I'm not as familiar with pop culture as I used to be." Olivia shakes her head. "We're not from anything." "So, you came up with these costumes yourselves?" We nod our heads. The old man half smiles. "Points for originality." He picks up a  plastic jack o lantern filled with candy by his feet. Olivia and I suddenly realize what is going on. "I'm sorry, there has been some miscommunication." Olivia says. He squints his eyes. "I don't understand."
"We're not trick or treaters." Olivia explains. "But you're in costume." "But we're not here for candy." I say. The old man sits up right. "Then what are you here for?" I shrug. "Just somewhere to rest for a couple minuets." The old man grabs his shotgun that was resting against the wall. "Listen, I don't know who or what you are, but unless you are here for candy you are tresspassin'." "We were just kidding. We're really here for skittles." Olivia says. The old man looks into the jack o lantern. "I have milk duds and twizzlers." "That's perfect." I say. He holds up the bucket. Olivia and I start to take candy. He pulls it away from us. "You're forgetting just one thing." Olivia and I look at each other. "You know, the magic words." "Trick or treat." We both say at the same time and a little unsure of ourselves. "That's right." He offers the candy again. We comply, taking a milk duds and twizzlers. We thank him, and start to walk away. "Mrs. Thomas is the next house over. I would hit her up." We thank him again, and then walk away with out looking back.

2 Mile Walk

We estimated that the nearest town was two miles away. How I wish that was the case. After two miles the only thing we saw was a massive cornfield.  However, I took that was a good thing. It meant that we were that much closer to civilization. Sure enough I soon spotted a farm house and a silo off in the distance. It wasn't close, but I started walking to it nonetheless. I felt a little tug at my cape. Then I looked back. Olivia was holding it firmly in her hand. "Where are you going?" She asks. "The farm." "You really think that's a good idea?" "Well, yes. They probably have food." "And if they don't?" "Then they have somewhere warm where we can sit down and rest for a few." "What makes you think they'll be so hospitable?" I shrug. "Just a hunch, I guess." "They could shoot you." Olivia says. "And you can shoot them. Remember, your pink hearts?" Olivia sighs and drops my cape. "Alright. Don't say I didn't warn you though."

Orange and Pink

I sat down in the cool mud for a while. I had no idea where I went or where I was currently, but I knew something important had happened. Something life changing. "Its good to have you back." Olivia says, creeping up behind me. "Its good to be back." I respond. "Where exactly did you go?" She asks. "Who knows." I say, gazing into the orange and pink horizon. "Where do we go now?" She then asks. "Who knows." Olivia sits down next to me. "I don't think there's anything here." "No, I don't either." "The nearest town is probably two miles." "You're probably right." I say. "You wanna walk into town?" She asks. "Yeah, but not yet. The sky isn't done putting on its show yet."

Cornelius

I knew I had seen stranger things in the past , but for whatever reason my mind simply did not want to believe that there was a headless man standing before me. I looked around the body, trying to see if this was some sort of illusion. "What's the matter? Haven't you seen a headless man before?" I raised an eyebrow. I grew more curious. How could it speak without a mouth? "I said what's the matter? Haven't you seen a headless man before?" It asks again. "I have seen many things, but I have never seen a headless man." I respond. "Then I'm glad I could be the first." He puts out his hand that isn't holding the candle. "Cornelius." I shake his gloved hand. "Cornelius?" I say, wondering why his name is the strangest thing so far. "Your name is Cornelius too?" He asks. "No,  it's-" "Doesn't matter. What do you want?" "What do I want? You were the one throwing pumpkins at me." "Thats right." He starts laughing again. He reaches into his frock coat. He pulls out a squash and hurls it at my legs. "Cut it out." I shout. "Is that what you want?" He asks. "Yes." "Anything else?" "I want to get the hell out of here." "Fair enough. " Cornelius snaps his fingers. He instantaneously disappears. My darkened room ripples. The reality slowly changes until I am back at the muddy ground with Olivia,  and it as if nothing had happened at all.

Post Meal

The red mist dropped me into the jaws of the skull. I fell for a while down a dark, black tunnel. Every now and then my fall would be interrupted by a bump. I quickly gathered that I was falling down a skeletal throat.  It was hardly a pleasant fall as I was interrupted every few moments by a bump. By the time I hit the cold stone bottom, my legs were so bruised that I could barely stand. I wobbled around, trying to find my place in the dark. As I attempt to find light, I heard laughter not to far away. "Who's there?" I ask, trying to sound as brave as possible. The laughter continues. "Who's there?" I ask again. Something whizzes past my head. I hear it smash on the ground. I examine it as best as I can in the dark. From what I can tell it feels like a pumpkin or some sort of squash. I stand up and clench my fists. "I demand to know who you are." "All in good time." A far away voice says. It throws another pumpkin. However, this one doesn't miss. It hits me in the arm. I bend over because it hurts so much. I hear a match. I look up. I see a white glove holding a candle. The figure walks closer. I can tell that whoever this is that they are well dressed. They wear a 19th century frock coat, but I can't make out the face. Then it raises the candle to its shoulder and I realize it has no head.

Feeding Time

I couldn't tell if the grey skull was looking at me or looking through me. This deep staring went on for a long time. How long I'm not exactly sure, but I began to rethink my decision. I tried to slowly back away to the safety and security of the pink bubble. However, before I had the chance to take a step, the red mist surrounded me. It held me tightly like a boa constrictor squeezing the life out it's prey. The grey skull opened its jaw wide. The red mist pulled me close. It lifted me high in the air. It dangled me there for a few minutes before finally dropping me into the jaws of the hungry, grey skull.

Confront It

The grey skull gets as close as it possibly can to Olivia's pink bubble, but it does not enter. Even an entity such as itself can not pierce the shield. It's fortunate for us. It means that as long as we stay in the confines of the bubble we are safe. The only problem is there is no telling how long we'd have to wait it out. It could be days, weeks or even years. That's when I realize we are going about this all wrong. "lower the shield." I request. "What?" "He's not going to go away." I say. "But that's suicide you're talking about." She shouts. "It's suicide if we leave it up. We'll starve to death." "We can come up with something." I shake my head. "There is no other way. We have to confront it." "But-" "I'll go myself . You stay here." "I'll come with." She says. "No, you stay here. Just in case." Olivia bites her lip. "I'll be back soon." I promise. "You mean it?" "I do." Olivia takes a deep breath. "Ok. I'll weaken the shield, but only in the back. That way you can slip out and sneak up on him.
I silently counted to three then slipped out the back. When I exited, the grey skull was already there waiting for me. It was as if it knew ahead of time what I would do. It inched closer to me. I looked deep into its black, concave eyes. I saw empty, swirling galaxies, and I felt colder than I had ever felt in my entire life. I took a breath and said to it simply, "Here I am."

Can't Find It

We frantically searched the muddy grounds for blueprints. At one Olivia asked "How far could it have gone?" Even though she innately knew answer was "Far." It was the kind of question that one asks aloud if only to ease tension. I saw the misty, grey skull barreling down the slide and I knew we wouldn't find the blueprints in time. So, I did the only thing I felt I had the power at the time, I walked away. "What are you doing?" Olivia asks. "He'll be here any minuet." I say. "Yeah, but you can't outrun it." "Probably not, but it's not wise for me to just stand here." "What if you had one of these?" Olivia says, throwing up her pick shield. I look up at her gigantic pink bubble of protection. I nod slowly. "Yeah, I guess I can wait it out in that."

Slide Burn

We gradually gained speed as we spiraled to Earth down a metal slide. Nothing could stop us, and that was the problem. We couldn't be stopped. We were like two speeding bullets. I tried to grab hold of the sides, but it didn't work. We continued to speed along. Thankfully, there was a pile of dead leaves at the end of the slide. It wasn't much, but at least it gave us some sort of cushion. We took a moment to collect ourselves. We were like two rag dolls. "I think I left part of myself on that slide." Olivia says, grabbing her neck. "Me too." I reply. "Why did you have to make it metal?" "Because metal slides are fast. Perhaps too fast." Olivia nods. "Not to mention they burn. Look at this." Olivia shows me her shin. There appear to be several layers of skin missing. I whistle. "We'll have to get something for that." Olivia glances at her surroundings. All she can see is dead leaves and mud. "Probably a bit of a walk into town." I shrug. "Maybe. Maybe there's a nearby farm." "That's still gotta be a bit of a walk." She says. "I can go by myself." I suggest. Olivia shakes her head. "No, I'll come with." We start to walk away, but something catches my eye in the sky. "What is it?" Olivia asks. "I think its coming down the slide." I say pointing to the entity. "Well, let's draw something on the blueprints then."  I search the ground. "What now?" Olivia asks. "The blueprints fell out fell out of my hands on the slide, but don't worry. They've go to be around her somewhere."

No More Cloud

As the entity drew closer we went backwards. I am aware there isn't much space on a cloud, but at the  same time it was the natural thing to do. This shouldn't come as a surprise when I say that we soon ran out of cloud. We feel backwards, then somehow mid fall Olivia grabbed my hand. Even though we were falling to uncertainty, this act gave me hope. I felt elation followed shortly by enormous pain. My body hit something hard. I knew it wasn't the ground though. I could still feel my body sliding. I lifted my head up slightly. Olivia and I were zipping down a metal slide. I smiled to myself thinking "better late then never" as I felt my body whip around a twisty slide.

Red Clouds

A red mist swept across the once peaceful, white clouds. It wasn't long before it turned everything red, and out of the blood red clouds came the giant, grey skull. "Get Out." It shouts again. I knew that this thing, whatever it was did not use logic, but for whatever reason I tried reason with it. I replied "We did." This only made the skull more angry. It let out a yell. It made the cloud Olivia and I were standing on shake. I fell over. My hand sunk into the cloud. It was quite warm. Much like being in furnace. I removed it quickly and got to my feet. I could see Olivia was steadying her hand. She was waiting for the skull to get close enough and then should would fire. "Almost there." I could hear her mutter to herself. Then as the skull opened its mouth again Olivia fired a stream of pink hearts at it. Unfortunately they didn't do anything other than exit the back of its skull. It continued to charge forward menacingly and we were rapidly running out of cloud.

Waiting for a Slide

"Where are we?" Olivia asks in stunned amazement. "On a cloud." Olivia glares at me. "I knew that. How'd we get here?" I shrug. "I drew a worm hole. This is where it took us. Not exactly the ideal situation, but at least we're safe." Olivia claps. "Well done. You think you can get us out of here though?" She asks. "Yeah, I might have an idea." I take the blueprints out of my pocket. "How about a slide?" I ask. "That works for me." I draw a fun, twisty slide on the blueprints. We wait a few minuets, but nothing materializes. "That's weird. I drew the slide perfectly." I say, staring at my drawing. "Say, can I take a look at that?" Olivia asks. I hand Olivia the blueprints. "I think I know the problem." She says. "What is it?" "This is a blueprint of the tower." "And?" I say, not knowing were she is going with this. "What if it did materialize, but at the tower?" She suggests. "You think that's what happened?" "Look around, do you see a slide?" "No, but maybe it's taking its time." "Maybe, but I think we should think of plan B." I sigh. "Maybe we can see where the cloud takes us?" Before Olivia has the slightest chance to respond we hear a loud, booming , "Get Out." We both go pale. We know without a doubt that the entity followed us through the worm hole. Olivia turns to me. "We need a plan B now."

Worm Hole

It is generally unwise to jump out of an opened window, but I had a plan. I had a glorious plan. I drew a cone shaped object on the blueprints. This object would act as a wormhole that would transport us to another dimension. The only problem was the worm hole was taking its sweet time to materialize. We free fell for quite some time. I saw the pavement rapidly approaching. I thought for sure there was going to be splat. I braced myself for impact. Then, at the last possible second, the cone showed up. Olivia and I were sucked into space. It looked like in Star Trek when the characters go through warp speed. I couldn't tell if we were moving fast or if everything around us was moving. At any rate this process didn't last long at all. Warp Speed ended quickly and we landed on a soft, puffy, friendly, cloud.

Caged Entity

"Where'd he go?" I ask. "I think he's that thingy right there." Olivia suggest, pointing to a red dot on the blueprints. I walk through the area where the red dot is on the blueprints. "You feel anything?" Olivia asks. "No, it's not even colder." "I guess that means he's out of our hair." "Perhaps. I'd still like to do something though." I say. I draw a cage around the red spot. A second later the metal cage materializes with the entity inside, and it looks as mad as ever. It's monstrous grey skull crashes against the bars. "What did you do?" Olivia asks, worriedly. "I don't know, and I dont think that cage can hold it." The entity continues to bang its skull against the bars. The bars begin to give way. I quickly scribble a cone shaped object on the blueprints outside of the building. "Are you ready to do something crazy?" I ask Olivia. "Yes, as long as it gets us the hell out of here." She shouts. Clutching the blueprints in my right hand and pulling Olivia with my left hand, I run to the open window. "What are you doing?" "This is the crazy thing." I respond. Then without saying another word we jump out the window.

Small Window

The human body is capable of incredible things while riding high on adrenaline. Such as breezing to the top of an enormous skyscraper in no time. I have no idea how tall the tower is. Perhaps as big as the statue of liberty, maybe even taller. When we reached the top floor of what was once Eagle Eyes office we scanned the room quickly. Luckily the blueprints were exactly where we left them. They appeared to be untouched. I grabbed the blueprints off the desk. I help them in front of me and smiled triumphantly, thinking of all the wonderful options that were at our finger tips. I must have been lost in thought. Lost deep inside myself. I didn't notice the impending danger. The red storm was forcing itself back into the building. From my vantage point I could tell it was some sort of entity. It had no limbs, but it's face resembled a skull. I stood there, frozen in fear as the thing drew closer and closer.  Thinking on her feet, Olivia raised the blueprints at the last possible moment. The entity crashed into the blueprints. The blueprints, however absorbed the entity and we were safe. Once the entity was fully absorbed by the blueprints Olivia placed them back on the desk. "How'd you know that would work?" I ask. She smiles nervously. "I didn't."

Aggravate the Ghost

We pelted the windows of the tower with everything we had, literally. We grabbed sticks, stones, debris from the explosion months ago. Some of our projectiles hit the intended target. Most of them did not, but all of them helped to aggravate the ghosts inside. At first nothing happened. Then we could hear restless rumblings coming from inside the building. After that a loud scream was emitted followed by the evacuation of a red mist from the upper floors. "Look at that!" I shout, pointing to the red mist, now in the sky. "That's him. He's leaving." Olivia says. She grabs my hand. We head towards an open window. "Come on. We don't have much time. Who knows when he'll be back."

Smashing Windows

"Now I just wanna get those blueprints even more." Olivia says, dusting herself off. "Yeah, good luck getting in there though." I reply. Olivia smiles. "Who said anything about getting in?" "Well, we kinda have to get in there to snag the blueprints and whatever that is won't let us." "Then we'll make it come out." "And how do you plan to do that?" I ask. "Watch." Olivia picks up the nearest stone she can find. She hurls it at a second floor window. The glass shatters into many tiny pieces. I raise an eyebrow. "Vandalism?" "It'll grab his attention." She says. "Yeah, but will it force him out of the building?" "You got a better idea?" She asks. I lower my head. "I do not." "Then grab a stone."

Get Out

"Don't move and don't speak." I instruct Olivia through a strained whisper. "What? Why?" "I believe that what ever this thing is  it can only detect us through motion and sound. I don't think it can see us." I explain. Olivia stares at me, dumbfounded. "Let's just try it." I say.  We stay there for a while, motionless and soundless. No big, angry voices shout at us, and nothing pushes us back, so I take it upon myself to crawl towards the stairs. I go undetected at first, and then my hand hits the first step. Just as expected we hear a booming voice shout "Get out!" This time, however, Olivia explains that we just needed to get something. The voice quickly replies "No!" It violently throws us against the cement wall. But it doesn't stop there. It continues to push us until we are in front of a steel door. The steel door whips open. We are then tossed out onto the street and steel door shuts tightly.

Not Welcome Here

Where there's a will there's a way. Olivia picks up the biggest rock she can find. She throws it at the window. It only makes a small crater, but it is a good starting point for us. We kick the rest of the glass in. Once all the sharp shards are cleared away we hop in. The inside isn't warm at all. It's just bright. It's  like being inside a neon light. I squint as I head towards the old, rickety stairs. Before I have a chance to take one step, something throws me against the cement wall. It hurts tremendously and I am forced to lay down. "Who did that?" Olivia shouts. "Get out." An angry voice shouts back. "Where are you?" "Get out." It says again, this time even more angry. "I'm not afraid of you." Olivia replies. "Get out!" It shouts yet again. "Show yourself." Olivia demands. Olivia is then thrown against the wall by the same invisible force. I can see she is in pain too as she hunches over. The voice  cries out yet again. "Get out."

Burning Red

We stumbled back to the tower feeling quite over caffeinated and full of wonderful ideas on what we could do with the blueprints. When we got back all the doors and windows were shut. This did not prove to be a red flag for us as it defiinitely should have. Olivia placed her hand on the front door, expecting it to push in. Instead, she jumped back and help her hand in pain. "Fuck." She shouted. "The door is a million degrees." I stare up at the bright red shining through the windows. "The building's on fire." "Impossible." I point to the windows that are glowing red. "I'm not convinced that's a fire." She says. "Then what is it?" "I don't know, but we have to get in there." "Are you crazy?" I shout. "We have to get those blueprints before someone else does. " "But the fire." "It's not a fire. Come on." Olivia leads me to the side of the building where we crept in through the window last time. Just like last time, the window was wide open. We motion closer to the window, and as if could read our thoughts, it slams shut. I turn to Olivia. "Ok, maybe it's not a fire."

Meanwhile

EXT. TOWER - NIGHT

The tower that formally housed Eagle Eyes stands  unguarded. There are no boards or locks on any of the doors or windows. Currently nothing is preventing anyone from bursting in.

The sky is a blood red. There is a slight wind, but it gradually picks up to an intense storm. 

The doors and windows are thrust open. They shake as the blood - red oozes into the into the building. 

Soon all the red from the sky is in the tower. The red shines brightly from the windows. The wind then yanks all the doors and windows shut, and the blood- red sky turns an ominous grey. 

Parallel Universe?

Olivia and I sit at a booth and drink our cappuccinos. I wouldn't exactly call them top quality beverages, but they were free, and it's hard for me to argue with fee. Especially if it contains caffeine. "What do you think Norm's deal is?" Olivia asks, blowing on her steaming hot drink. "What do you mean deal?" "C'mon , friendship?" "He missed us." Olivia raises an eyebrow. "You don't think he missed us?" I ask. "It just seems odd." She says. "What's odd about it?" "Friendship? He never talked like that before." "Maybe he's getting sentimental in his old age." I suggest. Olivia shakes her head. "I don't buy it." I shrug. "Then I guess we're in a parallel universe." "That doesn't make sense either." "Why not?" I ask. "Because he knows who we are."  "That's not necessarily how parallel universes work." I say. "Well, how do they work?" Olivia asks, leaning forward. I bite my lip. "It depends. You could enter another universe that is wildly different, or you could go to one that is virtually the same except for one detail that changed." "And that would be Norm being nicer?" I nod. "Think of parallel universes as other choices you could have taken or possibilities you could have had. They're all out there somewhere." I say, gesturing to the heavens. "So then are we in a parallel universe?" Olivia asks. "I don't know, and we may never know to be honest." Olivia half smiles. "What do you want to believe?" I ask. "I don't know. But I like this reality ok. Especially now that we have the blueprints. Speaking of which, did you bring them with?" "No, I didn't think to. I should have. That's not something we should leave out in the open." I say. Olivia shakes her head. "I wouldn't worry about it. No one's going up there. No one but us."

Cappuccinos

Norm studies our money carefully. He flips it over and over. "Something wrong with our money?" Olivia asks. "I told you. Your money's no good here." He says, holding the dollar up to the light. "And why's that?" Olivia asks. "Because we're friends." He says with a big smile. Olivia raises an eyebrow.  "We are?" "We are. And boy am I glad you guys are back. Heard you got sucked up into the sky. Sounds scary." "It was intense." I reply. Norm smiles. He pushes our money across the counter. "I can't take this." "Well, if you insist." Olivia says, grabbing her money. "I do. Now, what can I get you? ON The House?" "How about two coffees?" Olivia asks. "Coffee?" "Is that ok?" "Sure it's ok. It just seems a little strange coming in to a fountain shop and ordering coffee." "I know, but it's all we want." Olivia says. "How about a cappuccino? It'll give me an excuse to use the cappuccino machine." "That sounds fine." Norm scurries away. There is a little swearing on his end as he fumbles with the machine. But he comes back a couple minuets later with three foamy(slightly messy) cappuccinos. Olivia and I take our mugs. Norm stops us before we can take a sip. "To friendship." He says. "To friendship." Olivia and I repeat. We clink our mugs and take a sip. It's a bit more bitter that I was hoping for, but free is free.

Money Piles

I have no idea how long Olivia was at it making money. I passed out while she was toiling away. When I woke up there were piles and piles of singles. She had to of been at it all night. "Hows this?" She asks, handing me one of the dollar bills. I take the single and hold it up to the light. It looks authentic. At least to my naked eye. I don't know how she did it, but she some how got the little bar in there. "Does it look good?" She asks. I nod. "You think we can use it?" I shrug. "Well, it would be almost a waste not to." I say. "I was hoping you'd say something like that." "How long were you working on this?" I say, studying the piles. "Hours." She replies. "Wow, you look pretty spry and energetic." Olivia smiles. "I hide it well." She grabs a huge hand full of money. "Come on. Let's get some coffee."

Money Making

"Are you thinking of making more twenties?" "Close. Think bigger." Olivia says with a big smile. "50's? 100's." "Whatever we want. This is the start of something big." I take a deep breath. "I don't know about this." "What's the issue?" "Is this ethical?" I ask. "Just think of it as money making." "You mean money laundering?" I quip. "I like to believe that I'm not the only person who would use the magic blueprints for this purpose." She says. "I guess, it just feels..dirty. what if we get caught?" "Why would we get caught?" "Well, the American dollar has all sorts of crazy things on it to prevent a counterfeit copy." I explain. "And we have an exact copy." "Yes, we have an exact copy of the one you drew from memory." Olivia nods slowly. "I see what you are getting at. I need to have one that I can work off." "No. That's not what I'm saying at all." "What's the matter? Don't you trust my artistic abilities?" "I do, but-" "Then can I please have a twenty?" I sigh and reach into my front pocket. A second later I pull out a crumpled up single. "What's this?" She asks with a slight look of disgust. "It's a single." "No twenties?" She asks. I shake my head.  "It's all I got." "Well, I suppose it'll add to the authenticity." Olivia neatly places the single on the desk. She then picks up the pencil and gets to work.

Make a Snowman

Initially, I tried to brush off the sunlight as mere coincidence. Something that I should not give a second thought to. However, when Olivia showed me the lack of two by fours on every single door and window, I could no longer dismiss the facts. There was definitely a correlation between what was on the blueprints and what manifested in real life. We rushed back upstairs to the top office. We had infinite power in our hands. That was the problem. We didn't know what to draw first, so I went ahead and scribbled three circles. One on top of the other. After  I drew the last circle I made a top hat. "Oh my god. Is that a- " "Snowman? Yes." I say, interrupting Olivia. I add coal eyes, a coal mouth, coal buttons, a scarf, a carrot nose, and of course, a corn cob pipe. "He's kinda cute." Olivia admits, eyeing my drawing. I glance over my shoulder. "He's even cuter." Olivia turns around. She practically jumps upon seeing my snowman in the doorway. "Is he alive?" She asks. "No." "How are you sure?" "Because I didn't give him a speech bubble." "Of course." She says, sarcastically. "That is impressive, but I still think we can go bigger." Olivia adds. "Like what?" "I'll show you." I hand Olivia the pencil. She scribbles a twenty dollar bill. A second later a twenty dollar bill appears out of nowhere. It floats from the ceiling like a feather. Olivia snatches it as soon as she can. "This" She says, holding the twenty proudly " is just the beginning."

Here Comes the Sun

"Do you know what you just did?" Olivia asks, excitedly. "I just scratched my nose if that's what you are referring to." "No, that!" Olivia says, pointing to the sunny day. I raise an eyebrow. "You made the sun come back." She elaborates. "Excuse me?" "The blueprints. They must be magic. You made the sun come back. You did that." I smile and shake my head. "You did." She insists. "No, it was purely coincidence." "That's bullshit. Deep down I think you know that." I shrug. "I suppose it is possible... but very unlikely." "No, extremely likely. " Olivia replies. "Convince me." I say, looking up from the blueprints. "The doors and windows on blue prints were boarded up, right?" "They were, but I erased them." "Then that means that the real doors and windows will have nothing blocking them now." "Are you sure about that?" I ask. Olivia smiles. "Positive." She takes my hand and leads me out of the room.

Weird Moon

"What time is it?" Olivia asks, while still gazing at the outside world. "It's about a quarter to six. why you ask? You got somewhere to be?" "No, it's just cloudy all the sudden. I suppose that's not really out of the ordinary though." "Not really." I reply. I continue to scratch away at the blueprints while Olivia looks to the sky. "Huh." She says to herself. "What?" "It's the moon." "What about the moon?" "It looks strange." "Strange how?" I ask, my curiosity slowly peaking. "Its a crescent, but that's not the strange part. Its... well I can't explain. You have to see for yourself." I get up and I walk to the window. Olivia shows me the weird moon. "Cool. It's looks kinda like the moon I just drew." I say, not thinking anything of it. "You drew that moon?" Olivia asks. "Don't be silly. I drew a moon that just happens to look like the moon in the sky at the moment." I walk back to the blueprints. Olivia follows me. "It looks exactly like the kind of moons you draw." She says. "I don't know about exactly." "No, exactly." She corrects. I shrug it off. "Draw something else." She says. "Like what?" "Anything. I'm positive you did that." She says, pointing to the sky. I scratch my head. "Maybe I'll erase the clouds. I wasn't fond of them." I erase the clouds on the blueprints. A few seconds later there is bright light streaming in. I squint my eyes. "God, it sure got sunny." Olivia smiles brightly, recognizing the full potential of the magic blueprints. "It sure did."

BluePrints

"Check this out." I say, ruffling through the blueprints. "Is that the plans for the tower?" Olivia asks. "Yeah, but.." "But, what?" "Well, it's odd. It doesn't show the final version. Just how it is now, boarded up." "Maybe that is the final version." Olivia suggest. "That doesn't make sense. Why would they draw the building like this in the final version?" "Who knows. They are a strange breed. They do strange things. But you needn't worry about the blue prints. Put them away. This is our time." "I don't know. I think we should keep them." I say. Olivia shrugs. "Whatever makes you happy." I examine the blueprints closely. "Looks like it was done in pencil. That means we could easily adjust this." I rummage through the desk drawers. I find one short, nibbled on pencil. It isn't much, but I know it's a start. Olivia walks back to the window. "What plans are you gonna draw up?" She asks. "First I'm gonna erase these two by fours." Olivia smiles to herself. "That's a good start."

View from the Top

I had forgotten, or at least pushed it out of my mind that there was no elevator in the tower. The only way up was one narrow, banged up stair case. I don't exaggerate when I say it took a good chuck of the day to ascend the stairs. When we finally made it up to the very top office there was no one there. There was no Davies, no Todd, and certainly no Eagle Eyes. It was just an empty room with open windows. The only thing that was left behind was a desk with some blue prints on it. "I suppose we don't have to fight anyone for it." I say. "No we don't. It's ours. All ours." Olivia replies, staring out the window. I hear her laugh to herself. "What's so funny?" I ask. "I just wish we had a flag." "I could make one." I say. Olivia smiles. "No need to. This is ours." I join Olivia in looking out the window. "What do we do if the army comes back?" "We fight." She says, simply. "You think they will come back?" I ask. "Maybe. But I'm not concerned. I don't think this was ever really theirs." "I suppose if they're willing to come back and fight for it then there must be something to this building." I suggest. Olivia nods. "That's what I figured. I honestly don't know what I want to do with it yet, but I believe this building is the heart of the city. It's got to be important."

The Old Tower

We headed towards the tower, unsure if we were in a memory or were merely transported back to the abandoned city.  I didn't even know why Olivia wanted to take over the tower, but she led with such confidence that it was impossible not to get swept away. When we got there, it looked just as I remembered it, boarded up and desolate. "We're here." I say, looking up at the mile high skyscraper. "We sure are." "So, why do you want to take over the tower?" I ask. "Because." She responds simply. "Oh. Because." I reply, sarcastically. Olivia forcefully removes the two by fours nailed to a side window. She then pops the window open with little effort. After that, she crawls in the tower through the widow. I stand there, stunned for a second. "Are you coming or what?" She shouts from inside the building. I shrug and then crawl in.

Groundhog's Day

As I looked on the long abandoned buildings of the ghost city a deep melancholy overcame me. No matter what we did we could not escape this damn city. I feared we'd  be doomed to stuck here for all time. "This is our destiny." I say out loud. "Maybe." Olivia says, hopefully. She starts walking with a strange confidence. "Where are you going?" I ask. "I don't know." "But you looked so sure of yourself." Olivia smiles. "Isn't that half the battle?" There is a brief silence as we trek down the road. "You said this was a memory?" I say. "It might be." "Then what should we do?" "I don't know." I think for a minuet. "Maybe this is like that movie groundhog's day. Maybe we're to stay here until we  learn everything we're supposed to learn." "What do you think we need to learn?" She asks. "I couldn't say." There is another brief silence. "Maybe it's not about learning something new. Maybe it's about doing something different." Olivia says. "You could be right, but there are infinite things we could do differently." "I know." I study Olivia's face. I can tell something is cooking in her brain. "What do you want to do different this time?" Olivia turns to me. A big smile sweeps across her face. "I wanna take over the tower this time."

In Memories

"Norm, buddy, what's got you so rattled?" I ask my raccoon friend who is staring into space. He does not respond so I try Todd. "Todd, maybe you can help me figure out what's going on." He does not respond either. They both continue to stare in horrified silence. "I don't think they're really here." Olivia says. "Then what am I looking at?" "Not them. At least not the complete version of them." "I don't understand." I say. "That's ok. I might." Olivia says as she lowers her pink bubble shield. "Why'd you do that? Isn't there something out there?" I shout. "There is, but I don't think it's anything we need to be afraid of." I look at Norm and Todd. They continue to watch the invisible enemy. "I think they would say otherwise." "They're memories." Olivia informs me. "What?" "Just watch." I stare at Norm and Todd for a moment. Two purple tornadoes appear out of nowhere just like before. This time, however, they carry Norm and Todd away with them. "What the hell? Was that a mirage?" I ask. "No. They were memories. We were in a memory. Which means..." Thick purple smoke encircles us. It is only there a moment, but when it leaves we find ourselves back in the ghost city. My jaw drops. "I don't understand any of this." Olivia stands up straight. "I might."

Invisible Threats

I wasn't sure what Jack was trying to protect us from. As we continued our journey there weren't any aliens or threats of any kind. The stars were even becoming scant. It's possible that all these threats to our very survival were invisible, but I grew doubtful. "He thinks we're children." I said with the utmost frustration. "No, there is something out there." Olivia replies. "I doubt it. We've been walking for hours, and we haven't come across anything yet." "There is something out there." Olivia repeats. I roll my eyes. "Yeah, sure. Somewhere." "No, I'm telling you. There's something out there. I feel it." She shouts. Olivia strengthens the bubble. It glows even brighter. "What's out there?" I ask. Olivia hushes me. She stands concentrating for a moment. Nothing happens. Slightly disappointed, she turns to me. "I guess I was wrong." As Olivia is about to lower her concentration, two purple, mini tornadoes swirl in the center of the bubble. My fists were clenched. I was ready to fight whoever, or whatever these tornadoes were. Then, much to my surprise, when  purple smoke cleared I saw Norm and Todd. I was happy at least to see Norm, however, I don't think they even noticed us. They were frightened, but not frightened at suddenly appearing somewhere they weren't before. They were frightened at something that was outside the bubble. Truly frightened, and try as I may I could not for the life of me see what was scarring them.

Two Possibilities

"No one's here." I say to Olivia after quite some time. "You mean no one's here now?" She says. I nod slowly as I stare into the cold space. "What would be worse?" I ask."If someone comes or if we were all alone?" Olivia squints her eyes. "Excuse me?" "What would be worse? If someone comes, or if were were all all alone?" I repeat. "I've heard that before. Haven't I?" "Possibly. What do you think though?" "It's a quote,right" She asks, changing the subject. "Sort of." "Well, how does the one go that I'm thinking of?" "Two possibilities exist. Either we are alone in the universe or we are not. Both are equally terrifying." "Whoa." Olivia says, simply. I smile. "Right?" "So, who said that?" She asks. "Arthur C. Clarke. He was science fiction writer." "Ever read anything by him?" "Can't say I have." I reply. There is a brief pause. "Well, I know for a fact that we are not alone in the universe, and parts of it are indeed terrifying." She says. I nod. "Now imagine if we were all alone? Wouldn't that be kinda terrifying as well?" Olivia shrugs. "I guess, but that's hard for me to imagine because I know we are not alone." I continue to stare up at the empty space. "That may be, but we're alone here. Can we keep moving?" "Yes, but I'd like to keep the shield up. At least for now."

To Trust or Not to?

Our protective bubble only served to further confuse Jack. He tapped his enormous fingers on the outside of the bubble. It caused an intense reverberation that almost jostled Olivia out of her concentration. "We're not coming out." I shout to Jack. "What do you mean you're not coming out?" He asks. "We don't trust you." "You don't trust me?" He repeats. "No, we don't. We have no reason to." Olivia says. Jack shakes his monstrous head. "Give me a break. If I wanted to kill you I would have already." "He does have a point." I say to Olivia. "Perhaps, but I still don't trust him. I sill don't trust you." She shouts. "You don't want to trust me, fine. I'll leave you alone. But remember there are far nastier things out there than me." He exits without saying another word. We are then left alone in the black space, partially illuminated in our bubble. "What do you think he meant by nastier things than him?" I ask Olivia. "I don't know." She says. "I think we may have made a mistake." I tell her. She breathes slowly. "I know."

Familiar Face

After Jack's transformation into his alien skin, he reached out his enormous hand to us. He was going to pick us off he ground. I was not thrilled about it, but Olivia was frozen in place. She was terrified. I couldn't tell why, but knew something wasn't right. Jack's hand inced closer and closer. Then at the last possible second she threw up her pink bubble. It deflected Jack's hand. Olivia turned to me slightly, but kept all her energy on the pink bubble. "Don't you remember?" She says. "Remember what?" "Last year. It was us and Norm. We were in the pink bubble. You remember what we saw outside of it?" I point to Jack's alien form that's just outside the bubble. "That right." she responds. "So does that mean we transcended time?" I ask. "I don't know, but I don't think we can trust these guys." "So then what should we do?" "We wait. That's all we can do right now."

Transformation

True to his word, Jack found us a door out of the nursery. However, before we could explore the planet, he did something truly unpredictable. Jack turned his back to us. He then took off his ratty coat. I assumed he was going to hang it up. I was mistaken, it was all part of the show. The next thing I knew his skin turned pink. After that his back expanded and he shot up in the air fifty feet. His eyes became wide and bulgy. His arms thinned out. They looked like they stretched for miles, and he grew another pair after they were done growing. Olivia and I looked on in horror. Jack laughed a high pitch, alien laugh in response to our surprise. "What? I said I'd be your guide. I have to look the part."

Can't Cut It

I opened my eyes to see Jack and Olivia standing by me. "How did I..." "I gave him a stern talking to." Jack says before I have the chance to finish my sentence. "And I hearted it." Olivia adds. Jack rolls his eyes, as if he can't believe that she was of assistance. "I saw that." Olivia says. "Yes, it wasn't exactly subtle." Jack sneers. I push myself off the ground. "Stop arguing. The important thing is that I'm ok." Jack scoffs. "Find something funny?" Olivia asks. "You were attacked by infants." "Yeah, whats your point?" "My point is that there are far nastier things on this planet than a few children. If you can't handle the nursery then I don't know what we'll do." "If you feel that way then bring us back." Olivia says. "You know I can't do that." "Then be our guide on this strange planet." Jack takes a deep breath. "I suppose I can do that." "Great. Now that we have that settled, can we please leave the nursery?" Jack half smiles. "I thought you'd never ask."

Swing Swing

I ran as fast as my tiny little legs could take me. This time nothing was going to stand in the way of m Olivia. How wrong I was. Before I had the slightest chance to get close to her, one of the infants grabbed me by the cape. He lifted me into the air. There I swung, back and forth, like a pendulum. To anyone observing, this swinging would appear light. Almost innocent, good fun. But I assure you, for the person being swung this was hardly good fun. My field of vision was scrambled. It was all distorted. At this moment, the only I could do to save myself was to save my lunch. So, I closed my eyes and hoped it would be over soon.

Catch Her

Olivia fell and fell. I instinctively placed my arms out to catch her. Even though I knew this most likely wouldn't work. I stumbled back and forth trying to find the exact location that she would land. Then at the very last possible moment, when she was only a matter of feet away from me, she encompassed herself in a pink bubble. I quickly backed away. The bubble lightly bounced off the floor before rolling across the nursery. We were yet again  on the opposite sides of the room. This time, however, I knew she was safe.

Release Her

Crossing the nursery was like something out of a disgusting war film. Every few feet I had to dodge alien drool that hurled itself towards me. Like an unarmed soldier escaping his trench, I was doubtful as to whether or not I'd make it to the enemy territory. To my surprise and delight we did make it. We crept up on the alien child. It had its back to us, but I could see it held Olivia in one hand tightly. With another hand it was grooming Olivia's hair. "She thinks your friend is a doll." Jack says to me. "Well, duh." I say to myself. "I'll get her down. Don't worry." Jack cuffs his hands over his mouth. He then squeaks loudly in a foreign language. The alien infant turns. It sees Jack and its eyes widen. Jack squeaks again to it. The infant shakes its head. Jack squeaks yet again, this time, however, he does it with venom. The infant lowers its head in shame. It releases Olivia, unfortunately she is still a good thirty feet above the ground. I start running to her frantically. Even though I have nothing to catch her with other than my own breakable arms.

Nursery

On the other side of the door was a room full of strange beings. They all had pink skin that was the texture of sandpaper. Each one of them had many, many limbs with claw-like hands. They all had big, bulging eyes, and every single one of them was the height of a small building. But I noticed something even stranger. They were all in various states of play. Some were making forts out of blocks, some were playing hinde n' seek, and some were even naping. "Are these the adults?" I ask, even though I know the answer. "No, don't be foolish. This is the nursery." "The nursery? You mean they're all..." "Infants? Yep. Every single one of them." Jack replies. "Shit. How big does your species get?" "Big. But we're not here to talk about me." Jack says. "You said "that brat" earlier. You think you know who took her?" I ask, changing the subject. "I have an idea. We just have to look for a child playing by themselves." "What about that one in the corner?" I ask, pointing to an alien with its back to us. Jack shrugs. "It's a good place to start."

Star Walk

I walked with Jack to the end of the table. He pointed out various stars and constellations,  but he never explained to me where we were. I had to bring up the subject again. He chuckled to himself and then responded "On a table." "But where is the table?" "It's floating in space." He says, with a coy smile. I let out an annoyed sigh. "Perhaps you're not asking the right questions?" He says. "You're right. How did I get here on this table in the middle of space?" "There ya go!" Jack shouts. "Well, how did I get here?" Jack smiles. "I remembered who I was." "And you're an alien?" I question. "To you, yes." "What does that even mean?" "It means that to you I could be considered an alien. But to me you're the alien. You see it's all a matter of perspective." I roll my eyes. "I'm happy for really. Just tell me where I am and how to get back home." "You want to go back home?" He asks. "Ideally. Yes." Jack shakes his head. "I'm afraid to say it  was kinda a one way trip." I rub my face in exhaustion. "Could you at least tell me where Olivia is?" Jack squints his eyes. "The girl?" "Yes, the girl. Where is she?" "Isn't she usually with you?" "She is, but we were separated. She was placed in a different container." My words slowly sink in Jack's head. I can tell he knows where she is. "That brat." He mutters. Jack then creates a door out of nothing. He opens it and ushers me to come along. "I'd prefer if you went first." I say.Jack nods. He walks through the door. I follow him a second later.

Hologram

"Jack?" I say in a stunned disbelief. Even though, deep down I know that nothing should surprise me anymore. "That's me. Or at least an aspect of me. Listen, I'm real sorry about what just happened." "What did happen?" I ask. "Oh, one of the children thought you were a toy. But don't worry, he'll get a stern talking to." "That was a child?" I shout. Jack nods. "And a mischievous one at that." There is a brief pause. "I'm not on Earth, am I?" "Not exactly." Jack says. "May I ask where am I?" Jack nods again. "I'll explain." The holographic image of Jack vanishes. It is now just me and the night sky. I curse a blue streak demanding that he come back. After a minuet or so, a door appears out of nowhere. It opens up to intense ray of light, followed shortly by Jack. This time though it is the real Jack, not a hologram. "Hold your horses. I said I'd explain. I just wanted to get closer."

Claw Hand

I stood there frozen in fear. I watched in slow motion as the giant, claw-like hand drew closer. It opened its claws wider. I took a deep breath. Any second now it would grab me. Probably squeeze the life out of me. Just as it's about to pluck me off the table, I hear a blood curdling screech in the distance. The giant hand stops. It draws back, and the big eyes disappear. I'm left alone for a few minutes. I wonder what the hell just happened,  but the strange events are far from over. "Sorry about that." A loud, booming voice says to me. I look up to see Jack. He appears exactly how I remembered him. Same ratty clothes and patchy beard, except now how I see him as a hologram that is as big as the night sky.

Bright Eyes

I figured I was on a wooden table of some sort. I didn't,  however, know if I was on a gigantic table or if I shrunk again. Fortunately(or unfortunately depending how you look at it) my question would be answered a second later. I looked up. There were two enormous eyes staring back at me. The whites were like two football sized flashlights. Because of this I couldn't tell what color the irises were nore could I see around the whites. All that surrounded them was darkness. I shielded myself as best as I could from the bright eyes. I walked backwards slowly. Then it pounced. And elongated, pink, hand sprung out of the dark. It opened its boney, claw-like fingers. I could tell it wanted to pluck me off the table. I stood there, frozen in fear, waiting.

Shaken

As I said previously, the grass cushioned my fall,  but that does not mean the experience was not painful. It can be doubly said about what came next. Someone or something was shaking my glass enclosure. I violently bounced back and forth from wall to wall. The shaking in all honestly probably only lasted a few seconds, but it felt like a lifetime. When it did stop, I plummeted straight down. The fall hurt like hell, but I was glad not to be rattled anymore. If only that peace could last. My glass enclosure was lifted up in the air. I was then flipped upside down. After that I was hurled through the giant opening with the many blades of grass. I fell and I fell with the grass. I finally hit what looked and felt like a wooden table.

Cushioned

The grass cushioned my fall a bit. That is not to say I was without pain, but at least there was something to break my fall. I was on my back again. This time my view was blocked by a sea of grass, and this time I didn't feel like moving. I could try to climb to the top again. Maybe this time I'd have better luck. However, my motivation for escape somehow left me. So I stayed in that position for a long while. Eventually my blocked, darkened view was interrupted by an intense, blinding, white light. I had to turn my head, and look the other way. It worked until I felt the ground beneath me move. My glass jar violently shook.My body bounced back and forth against the invisible walls. I tried desperately to hold onto something, but every blade of grass fell through my fingers.

Glass Jar

I pressed my face against the invisible wall. I couldn't see Olivia. She was hidden behind many green spears. It was interesting looking at them from a distance. They looked strange, yet familiar. Then it hit me. The green spears were gigantic blades of grass and I was in a glass jar. I glanced up at the white dots. I knew they must be my air holes. I felt foolish that I just now understood where I was, but I was determined to get out. I climbed a blade of grass. It was much harder then I thought it would be. I slid off several times. However, I eventually got the hang of it. I climbed up further and further. I was going to squeeze through the little holes. Victory was mine. Unfortunately, before I could get a finger on the opening, the jar tilted. I lost my footing. I fell all the way down to the bottom of the jar.

Dots and Spears

I lie on my back and stared at the night stars that I knew were somehow sealed off from me. All of the sudden a tiny, white dot appeared in the sky. It was followed by another and another. The tiny, white dots rapidly grew in numbers. I can't explain why, but I felt infinately better as soon as they showed up. It was as if I could breath again. I stood on my feet and marveled at these dots. I'm glad I was looking up because the next second a long, green spear shot out of the sky. It nearly hit me. Then more of these things started shooting out of the sky. I soon found myself pushed against the wall and facing a field of green spears.

Invisible Walls

Olivia was less than a foot away from me, but I couldn't so much as reach out a hand to her. There was some sort of invisible barrier or  force filed that separated us. I could see her shouting at the top of her lungs, but even a whisper wouldn't reach my ears. "It's sound proof." I respond at my normal speaking voice. I'm not sure why I did that. I knew she couldn't possibly hear it. Sure enough I saw her squinting in confusion a second later. I hold up my index finger. The universal symbol for one second. I feel the wall to see where it ends. To my surprise, it circles around me. I could see we were trapped, but I didn't want to give up. I pounded on invisible walls with my fists. Whatever it was it was strong, but I a could be stronger if I wished. I was gonna give it my all. I backed up as much as I could. I then ran at the wall full force. I was expecting the wall to give way. Instead the wall fought back. It hit me with everything it had, and I I fell flat on my back.

Zig Zag

Freddy is a mysterious creature. He'll disappear for days, sometimes weeks only to resurface unscathed with a grin on his face. I have no idea where he is heading now, but I watch him walk away. He whistles an unrecognizable tune. It's undoubtedly made up, but upbeat none the less. A loud thunderclap happens above my head. It diverts my attention to the sky. "We should find shelter." Olivia says.  I notice a strange, white, zig zag in the sky. "Did you hear me?" She asks. "I did. There's something going on up there." I say pointing to the ever growing zig zag. "It's lightning. " she insists "No, it's not. Look closer." She stares at the zig zag with me for a moment. It grows even wider, splitting the sky into two. "What the hell is that?" She shouts. "I don't know, but we may already be too late. " The zig zag falls down from the sky. It zooms in between me and Olivia, and like a picture that was torn in two, we are split apart. I can see her, and she can see me, but we are both floating in space.

Confident Freddy

Much apologies were owed to Freddy. He didn't need our help at all. In fact he insisted he do it by himself.  I watched his as he prepared the store. It was clear to me that he was confident in his abilities. The only problem was that after he opened he didn't know what to do with himself. He just stood behind the register and stared into space. I'm not sure what's stranger,  him mindlessly staring into space for hours, or me watching him stare into space for hours? Most likely the latter. No one showed up the entire day. Perhaps Norm and Wilber knew that would happen somehow and they wished to give Freddy an easy day. At any rate, at nine p.m. Freddy removed his hat. He smiled to himself knowing he did well. He then started the process of closing the store.

Shadow Staff

We spent the remainder of the morning cleaning up the mess from the party. Freddy stumbled in around twelve shortly after we finished. Naturally I assumed Freddy would take a seat at a booth and play solitar. Instead he put on a paper hat and quickly got to work,  switching on all the machines. "Where's Norm and Wilber." I ask, not believing my eyes. "They're not coming in today." He says. "But what about the store?" Freddy crosses his arms. "I can run things." "We're sure you can. We're just concerned." Olivia replies. "I can run things. I can run things well." He says in a huff. Freddy runs back and forth from the walk in freezer carrying various drums of ice cream. He constantly mutters "I can run things." Olivia and I feel bad, but he is Freddy after all.

Going Home

"Eureka!" An excited voice shouts. Olivia and I crane our necks, but all we can see is darkness around the light. "I did it. I did it." It jubilantly adds. "Did what?" Olivia asks. The voice walks closer to us. We can now see it is Jack. He smiles gleefully. "I made contact." Olivia furrows her brow. "With what?" Jack extends his arm. He gracefully points to the beam of light. "You're saying you did this?" I question. Jack smiles again. "Guilty." "But how?" "I told you. I just needed to remember who I was." Jack marvels at the light. "And boy, am I glad I remembered." "Are you trying to tell us you're an alien?" Olivia asks.  "We prefer extraterrestrial, but yes." Olivia and I stare at him dumbfounded. "Listen, it's been great talking to you, but I have to go. My family is waiting for me." Jack steps into the light. He waves us goodbye. Half a second later he vanishes, much like how the characters in Star Trek transport. After that the beam of light lifts up into the sky. Jack is gone without a trace. Olivia laughs to herself. "What's so funny?" I ask. She turns to me. "We really did get rid of him."

Rapture?

"I still don't get it. What do you think it is?" Olivia asks. "Maybe it's the rapture." I say, gazing into the white light. "The rapture?" "Yeah,  the rapture." "Well, if that's what it is then we should definitely tell everyone." Olivia insists. "I suppose you're right." I say, walking into the beam of light. I expect to automatically ascend into the atmosphere. Instead, I just feel a couple degrees warmer. I lower my head. "Were you expecting to be lifted into the sky?" Olivia asks. "I was. Does that mean I'm unworthy?" Olivia shrugs. "I don't know. That probably could be considered selfish." "So then if I tell everyone about this thing then will I be allowed into the sky?" "Maybe I'm not sure how these things work." I exit the light. "It's possible it's not the rapture. I mean if it were everyone would know about it right?" "I guess. What do you think it is though?" I shake my head. "Strange. That's what it is."

After Party

"Was it a good dream?" Olivia asks. "Yeah, I was on a dadelion." "It sounds like a good dream." "It was interesting." I say. I study my surroundings. There is a huge mess of empty bottles and no one to be found. "There was a party, wasn't there?" I ask. "Something like that." Olivia says. "Where'd everyone go?" "They left."  I glanced at the vacant counter. "What about Norm and Wilber?" "Them too, but they left the mess for us to clean." "How nice." I say, sarcastically. I grab a couple of the empty bottles. I get up to toss them out. I can't explain why, but right as I'm about to throw them in the trash, I head outside. Olivia follows closely behind me. She watches me staring at the grey sky. There is a small, circular opening in the sky that catches my attention. A pool of white light falls out of the opening and hits the Earth. "See that." I say. "I'm pretty sure that has something to do with the message we were given."

Wish Journey

As I floated in space I came to the realization that I was on a dandelion. I must have been blown off in the whimsical tradition of making a wish. I tried to grab hold of the many seeds that floated past me unsuccessfully. Then I wondered about the wishing process. Do all these seeds journey to far away land? Are they planted to be grown into dreams, and how do we pluck these fully realized dreams in a far away land? I wanted to know. It was my mission to find out. I reached out my hand again. This time I would get it. I did have luck catching a flying seed. Unfortunately, as soon as I caught hold of one I was no longer lighter than a feather. My body shot to the Earth faster than a bullet. I closed my eyes in preparation of impact. The smash would happen any second. I did feel something, but it wasn't me hitting the ground. It was as if something tapped me on the shoulder. I opened my eyes to see myself still in the fountain shop. "Had a bad dream?" Olivia asks. "Just a dream." I say.  "Just a dream."

In the Light

I was being brought into light reluctantly. I opened my squinty eyes slowly. Above me was a light blue sky. A studied my surroundings. The soft place I was in was some sort of jungle that consisted of huge, white, seed-like plants. I fell backwards once more as I felt the ground beneath me move again. I glanced up in the sky. This time I saw an enormous pair of chapped lips. The lips took up the entirety of the sky and they were pursed. The pursed lips drew closer. I tried to run away, but a wind storm hit me square in the chest. It made me do a backwards somersault. Feeling a little dazed, I went to stand up. However, as soon as I did, I was hit with another gust of wind.  This one launched me and everything around me out into space.

Soft Landing

Thankfully my tumbling was not endless. I did eventually stop. I landed on a soft surface. I was still in the dark, but at least I wasn't falling anymore. I stayed on the soft ground for a while. I tried to get my barrings. Unfortunately something or someone was preventing me from that. The ground beneath my feet moved. I feel backwards. I clung on for dear life as the soft ground moved up into the air, out of the darkness, and into a blinding light.

Tumbling World

I close my eyes and the world tumbles. It is as if I missed a step in the dark and I continue to fall without any end in sight. I open my eyes. The world is calm. It is unmoving. It makes sense, or at least as much as it can. I close my eyes again. The tumbling resumes. This time, however, it is faster, and more violent. I open my eyes once more. I am safe, I am calm, I am serene, but I am also tired beyond belief. My lower eye lids feel as though they are pulling my upper lids down. Trying their best to force my eyes shut. I do my best to not give into these bullies. To stay into the waking world. Unfortunately nothing at this early hour can hold my attention. Nothing feels interesting to my sleepy brain. So my body gives into these brutal bullies. My lower lids pull my upper lids shut. My body gives up with my eyes, and I soon find myself in the dark once more. I'm at the top of the stairs. I try to walk slowly. I try to find each step, but I do ultimately miss one. Then I fall, and I fall, and I fall endlessly.

Dilemma

We were given a cryptic message by prehistoric beasts. Our reality is ending and there is nothing we can do about it. That's what they told us. I had no idea what that meant or what we were to do with that information. It would be easy to forget such a thing. Assume it was a stress induced hallucination. But it wasn't. It really did happen, and we had to decide to tell or not to tell. On one hand it would almost make no difference not to tell. The reality was ending and there was nothing we could do about it. It was clear as day. Besides they'd probably laugh us anyways. I could hear them mocking us as we told our story with the utmost sincerity. However, as unlikely as it was they'd believe a word we said, we decided ultimately to tell. Knowledge is power, and they could do whatever they pleased with this information. Believe it or don't believe. The choice was theirs. Unfortunately, we didn't get to say much as we stepped into the fountain shop.  There was a loud "congradulations" and cheering as we entered. They didn't see a mad, homeless person with us. Therefore we did our job. Therefore we were successful. Wilber gave us beer floats. It was followed by beer,  and that was followed by another beer. I'm sure you know where I am going with this. It was a night of merriment and unearned celebrations, and slowly but surely the guilt sunk back in.

Messengers

We huddled close as the prehistoric beasts stared down at us with their blood red eyes.  Our teeth were chattering. "I really wish you wouldn't run."  One of them says. "What do you expect?We were being chased by dinosaurs." Olivia says. This insults both of them. "We are not dinosaurs."  The other says. "Oh no? Then what are you?" I ask. "We are pterodactyls." The fisrt says, confidently. I raise an eyebrow. "Aren't those the same thing?" "They most certainly are not." The second replies, outraged. "I don't understand. What's the difference?" Olivia asks. "We are two different species." The first one shouts. "But you existed the same time as dinosaurs. So wouldn't that make you a dinosaur?" I wonder. "No, that is not how that works. Squirrels exist in your time, but does that make you a squirrel?" "It doesn't. " I admit. "There. Now stop saying offensive things." There is a brief moment of silence. "What the hell is going on?" Olivia asks. The second pterodactyl caughs "I'll get right to it. Your reality is dying." I look around. "I know it's not the best neighborhood, but I feel like only we can say that." "Enough. Your reality is dying and there is nothing you can do about it." "Nothing?" Olivia questions. "Nothing. The program has ended and soon this reality will as well." "What program?" I ask. "The program for this world. It has run it's course. It is done." The first pterodactyl says. "Then what do we do?" "Other than wait? Nothing?" It says. The two pterodactyls open their wings. They appear to stretch across the sky. "Can we come with you?" I plead. "You cannot." The second one replies coldly. Without saying another word they take off into the sky. In a matter of seconds they are beyond the puffy clouds, and Olivia and I are left alone to wonder exactly what are we to do with this information.

Eager Anticipation

I watched the sky in eager anticipation. Slowly the black streaks began to take shape. Though they were still far away I could tell they were not falcons.  Their wings looked sharp and menacing. Everything in my bones was telling me that these creatures were not friendly. As if she could read my mind, Olivia grabbed my hand and shouted "run". We ran as fast as we could down the little, abandoned street, but like a bad horror movie, the creatures had already landed. Just like that we found ourselves gazing up at two, enormous pterodactyls.

In the Sky

Olivia and I are in no rush to go home. We walk because that's what we do when we are unsure. We walk. As I said before much of the city is the same. It's a bit depressing, but  I try not to let that get me down. It is a beautiful day after all. I look to the sky. In the distance I see two, long, black streaks. I know I have seen them before, but I'm not quite sure where. "Hey, you see that?" I ask Olivia, pointing to the sky. "See what?" "Those black streaks in the distance." Olivia squints her eyes. "Oh yeah. What about 'em?" "What do you think they are?" I ask. "I don't know. Could be anything." Suddenly it dawns on me. "It's the falcons. They've come back." "It can't be them." Olivia says. "And why not?" "Because they've never been here before. So they wouldn't be able to come back." "Then what do you think it is?" "I have no idea." She admits. "Well, I think it is the falcons. And I will wait right here for them."

Final Product?

After we left Jack we realized we weren't in a rush to get back. So we decided to explore the city some more. Despite the booming business at the fountain shop, much of the city was still in despair. We walked past countless uninhabited,  crumbling buildings. "I don't understand. I thought the city was supposed to remember itself." I say.  "Maybe it takes time." Olivia replies. We walk on for a bit longer. It's the same everywhere. Broken bottles, garbage and potholes everywhere. A depressing thought occurs to me. "What if this is the final product?" "The final product?" Olivia repeats. "Yeah. What if this is it? What if this is how it is supposed to be because the city already remembered itself?" Olivia shakes her head. "No." "No what?" I ask. "I don't want believe that." "Why not?" "Because it's sad." There is a brief pause. "So what do we do then?" I ask. Olivia sighs. "We keep trying. We keep doing our best. It'll change. It may take time, but it'll change."

His Request

Jack finally got what he wanted. Olivia fired a pink heart into his chest. She didn't ask any questions, she didn't think twice. She just did. Like in the past, Jack immediately had a stupid grin on his face. It was followed shortly by a slowed heart rate and him sinking to the dirty ground. Olivia took his pulse, making sure that he was indeed still breathing. After that we climbed the ladder to the above ground. We left Jack alone to his peaceful slumber to dream of who he was. I hope one day his mind may unravel that puzzle.