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.

Shave

With Jack's knife I cut off his grey, greasy, tangled beard. It wasn't exactly easy to do with a dull blade, and I would hardly call the finished product a work of art. It was patchy, but he was satisfied. In the end I guess that's all  that matters. Jack felt his newly shorn, slightly blemished face. "You missed a few spots." He says to me. "I know. It was difficult." "I'm sure it was, but I'm not complaining." "Well, I guess now that you're all settled and your beard is trimmed we'll be leaving." Olivia says. "Wait. There's still one more thing I need you to do for me." "What would that be?" I ask. "The pink hearts." "Why do you want them so badly?" I wonder. "Who cares? If it gets him off our back I'm all for it." Olivia says. She raises her palm.Then without saying another word, she fires a pink heart into Jack's chest.

Fresh Start?

"I'm not giving you the knife. How stupid do you think I am?" "Calm down. I don't want you to hand it over." He says. "Then what do you want?" I ask. "I want you to cut my beard. Give me a little trim." "What?" I say in disbelief. "I don't know if you can tell, but it's gotten a little bit out of control."  "He wants a fresh start." Olivia jumps in. Jack snaps his fingers. "Bingo." "No, no deal." I say, sternly. "And why not?" "Because you just want a disguise so you can go above ground." "I want nothing of the sort." "Really?" I say, unconvinced.  "I want a fresh start. That is all." "Yeah, a fresh start to be someone else." "Symbolically, yes. Physically no." He points out. "Why should I trust you?" I ask. "Because I have no reason to go above ground. Everyone has made it painfully obvious that they don't want me around." I reflect on his words for a moment. "Alright, I'll give your beard a trim, but stay still."

Hide Jack

When I left the sewer and the underground months ago I said to myself "never again." Little did I know that the sewer was not done with me yet. Olivia and I found a manhole in our journey  out of town. We convinced ourselves, and Jack that the best thing we could do was to hide him underground. We realized that it would be nearly impossible to climb down the stairs while he was still in chains, but for some reason our trust levels were unusually high. So, we took off his chains and ventured into the foul underground. It smelled worse than I remembered. I coughed uncontrollably. I almost threw up. Perhaps Jack was taking pity on me, but he informed me I didn't have to stay. "We have to hide you." I say through coughs. "Trust me. I'm well hidden." "No one's gonna want to go down here." Olivia says to me. "She's right." Jack replies. I shake Jack's hand. "I need you to do one more thing for me though." He says. "What's that?" I ask. "The knife."