The Path to Eden I - Atsuko (1/2)

I woke up from the most bizarre dream. Well, perhaps calling it a dream is inappropriate. A vision? Premonition?  I couldn’t tell why, but I knew it was real. I knew it was something that my mind had not made up. I knew, because after waking I could feel that there was something I needed to do. I knew that the task I had was extremely important. The fate of the world depended on it. I didn’t know exactly what it was that I must do, but I knew that I had to fly across the ocean, to America, to fulfill my part of the task.

The burden was heavy, but there was some relief in knowing that I had to go somewhere far away for who knows how long. It’s been a long time since I last felt safe in my own house with Kenji around. He was out now – a perfect opportunity for me to leave.

“Sophia,” I called out. The doll entered the room as the translucent door slid open. A metal construct, physically only vaguely resembling a human, and yet I felt a surprising affinity to the thing. There was a screen where its eyes would be if it were a person. The screen would display whatever state the machine was in. Right now, the characters for awaiting input were displayed. “I need you to pack my things. Only the bare necessities. I will later mail you the address of where I want the rest of them sent.”

“Certainly,” the doll replied in a voice that sounded like a very convincing imitation of a human being. “Shall I inform Master Kenji of this?”

“Oh, don’t trouble yourself. I’m sure he’s too busy to be reading e-mails now,” I lied, but the machine seemed content with the response. Then again, he might have been too drunk to notice an e-mail anyway.

It only took Sophia five minutes to have a small suitcase ready. I bid the doll farewell and left. The pristine elevator rode down to the first floor in an instant. I exited the lobby to find quite the commotion outside. People were huddled in groups gazing up at the sky, excited whispers filled the air. I looked up myself. The image of a giant multi-colored eye surrounded by flames returned to me, the echo of a headache and intense nausea returning for a minute, but then faded away in an instant. So that’s them, I thought as I watched the millions of white lights littered in-between the stars on the evening sky. That’s quite a bit more of them than I expected. Then again, they didn’t exactly speak to me,  did they.

I remembered hearing only one word: contact. And yet, they (whatever they were) managed to convey more information to me through some means I could not comprehend. I knew there was twelve of us. I knew that word referred to the girl in the middle. I knew where I had to go. But what happens once I get there?

A chill went down my spine. I couldn’t waste any more time. Everything about Kenji was a crapshoot lately. He could come back from work early or not come back for days without saying a word. I decided against taking any chances. So I stopped stargazing and went to the monorail as fast as I could. I was hoping I could reach the airport, but doing that in less than an hour seemed unlikely, considering all the crowds.

The ride was surprisingly easy. I spent it reading a PSA glued to the car wall about sexual violence in public transit. I was one of the few people who were on board the monorail. I guess the crowds were too excited about all the lights in the sky to actually care to commute somewhere. I got to the airport much faster than expected. But it was only then that the real problem arose.

The airport was filled to the brim with people. Some were glued to the glass walls, pointing and shouting at the mysterious lights. Others were lined up in front of the ticket offices, throwing fits, being reassured of something by the security. The lines weren’t moving at all. It looked like no one could actually book a flight or reach their terminal. I took a look at the departures board. I could feel my breath become heavy, sweat trickled down my neck. All the flights had been cancelled.

I walked up to one of the security guards.

“Excuse me,” I said as gently as I could. “What is going on?”

“I’m sorry to tell you this, ma’am, but no public planes will be departing today,” said the security guard. He was really young – I don’t think he could have been older than 20. His voice was shaking slightly, but I could tell he was doing his best to remain calm. “The lights that appeared in the sky are still unidentified and the federal government has demanded all flights to be cancelled. There are currently no planes in the air anywhere around the world. This is all to ensure everyone’s safety.”

“I understand. Thank you, sir,” I smiled at him and turned around.

I walked around aimlessly. What am I supposed to do now? I have to get there no matter what! Why did this have to happen? I sat down on the bench and put my face in my hands. I was just about to cry when I heard a familiar female voice call out to me.

“Atsuko! Is that really you?” A woman approached me. I instantly recognized her face. It was Mai Kashihara, an old colleague of mine. Her wide smile would always brighten my day. We used to work together until I took my leave. A noticeable baby bump was a new aspect of her that I hadn’t seen before. For a moment, I felt a burning surge of envy run through my veins. “It’s been too long!”

“Mai!” I blurted out in surprise. We threw our arms around each other. The embrace of a friend you thought you’d never see again – a feeling that no words can describe. “It HAS been too long! Look at you! When did this happen?”

“Oh, you know,” she grinned. “Six months. I’m supposed to be taking a vacation now. And what are you doing here?”

“Oh, I’m–“ I found myself at a loss for words. “Um…”

Mai’s grin faded. “Don’t tell me… Is it Kenji again?”

Well, you’re technically not wrong. I nodded. “I guess you could say I’m going on a vacation too.”

Her face remained stern, despite my feeble attempt at humor. “Well, none of us are going anywhere at this rate, so why don’t we just grab a coffee and talk?”

I was really grateful for her proposal. For a moment, I was able to forget my task, as we sat a Starbucks at the airport, sipping on our frappuccinos which were really more ice cream than coffee anyway. We had so much catching up to do – she told me all about her idyllic life as a happy wife and soon-to-be mother, who still manages to have a successful career in the gaming industry.

“So you’ve left Kenji?” she finally landed the question. She’d always been very blunt.

“Well, it’s not that simple,” I sighed. I considered telling her about my dream and my real reason to go. But I just couldn’t bring myself to it. I was sure I could trust her, but for some reason, a part of me couldn’t believe that there was any way she could take me seriously. “I don’t think he’s noticed yet.”

“No way! So you just ran away without telling him?”

“Yeah.”

“Wow,” Mai smirked. “You’ve got some balls, I can tell you! Way to go!”

For all her bluntness, I really enjoyed her company. There were things I never had to tell her about – she just knew me, she understood me. She never even asked about the real reason I had to leave work for a while. She knew it wasn’t health. She always knew exactly what to say to make me feel better.

“I’m so glad we bumped into each other,” I grinned at her. I saw her grin back at me, but by that time my grin had faded, as I saw two imposing, foreign-looking men in suits approach our table.

“Ms. Atsuko Tachibana?” the blond one said to me in a deep, cold voice. His Japanese was flawless.

“Yes?”

He pulled out a badge and showed it to me. The golden seal on it indicated that he worked for the government. “My name is agent Murdoch. This is my partner, agent Riley.” he beckoned at the dark-skinned one. “We have come here to escort you to your flight, on behalf of the federal government.”

“Oh?” I glanced at Mai who was just sitting there with her mouth agape. “I thought all the flights had been cancelled.”

“We will be boarding a government jet,” agent Riley said.

“Is it safe?”

“There is nothing to worry about.”

“Wait a minute,” I said. There was a silence. All three people with me were now looking at me. “Why should I go with you?”

Agent Murdoch rubbed his temple and then smiled. “I understand you have doubts, but you can trust us. If our badges don’t convince you, then let me just tell you that we are taking you to where the contact is.”

At the sound of that word, my heart stopped for a second. This is my chance.

“Atsuko, what’s this all about?” Mai was staring at me. I smiled one last reassuring smile to her. I tried to make it as warm as possible. I had the feeling I might not get a chance to see that face ever again. I stood up, went over to her and hugged her.

“I think it’s time to say goodbye. Take care of yourself for me, okay? That new life growing within you needs to get to know you well, you get what I mean?”

“Yeah, of course,” she grinned at me one last time. “Take care on your journey! Let me know if you ever need something!”

“Thank you. Goodbye, Mai,” I said as I waved at her and followed the two men on their trail. I later noticed I was holding my hand on my belly. I let it linger there for a while. A new life, I said to myself. Would things look different if I was able to…?

The Path to Eden I - Chance (2/2)

The view from the Ferris wheel was always breathtaking. I knew Hope loved it too. After taking in all the attractions we could during the fair, we could finally take a rest in a small wagon suspended in midair. Against the setting sun, the orange sky phasing into indigo, the white skyscrapers in the background looked pitch black. That is, until all the lights went up. That, however, made the sky take a darker shade of its hue. The time had come, I knew. Here goes nothing.

“You know, Hope,” I started. My voice sounded cool and confident. Perfect, because all my innards were shaking. “I’ve been thinking. About how much I love you.”

“Oh, shut it, scar face,”  she laughed. “Sorry. That came out a bit wrong. I love you, too. I’m just having so much fun.”

“I know, right?” I laughed back at her. My right hand clutched the pocket in my pants tighter. “It’s all so unreal. I can’t believe how happy you make me feel. You have literally given me so much hope in life.” We both laughed pretty hard at that.

“Well, you know,” she said, her full, kissable lips spread in a warm smile. “I don’t think it’s pure chance that we ended up this way.”

“You think so?” I grinned back. “Because, you know, it’s funny. How you mentioned chance. I mean, it’s not that funny, considering how we make these puns all the time, but, you know– Anyway, I guess I want to say that is that you’ve changed my life and you mean so much to me and I can’t imagine being happier than being with you. So I guess I just want to make sure if you feel the same, and,” I pulled out the small box from my pocket and got down on one knee. The cabin swayed a bit. “If you’ll take a chance on me.”

As I opened the box and the diamond ring gleamed, I could see her eyes turn wide. Hope had big eyes. But I had never seen them quite so big. For a second, she stayed silent. That second seemed to last an eternity. Then, a single tear rolled down her cheek and  she started laughing.

“Chance, I–” she said that between what I could no longer tell if they were laughs or sobs. “Of course I’ll take a chance on you!”

I put the ring on her finger. It was really thin, but nothing bigger would look good on those tiny hands of hers. We sat there embracing the rest of the ride, locked in the longest kiss I ever experienced. For a second I thought my luck could never get better.

I was right.

Everything went downhill as we were making our way back to the monorail. We wanted to get home fast, so we took one of the shortcuts I knew were there. It was a back alley that was almost completely dark, but I knew my way around it, so I didn’t think anything could happen to us. I guess you could say I pushed my luck.

“Chance F. Donovan?” I heard a distorted voice behind me. I wanted to keep going anyway, but Hope had stopped dead in her tracks. Her eyes wide, she stood frozen, looking at something in front of us. It was a huge, hooded figure, pointing a gun at me.

“Yes?” I asked. My voice sounded cool and confident, against all odds. How do I keep doing that?

“I believe you are in the possession of something that belongs to my superior,” said the voice from behind me .

“You mean the money? I had an arrangement with Mort. He said I still have time to pay him back.”

“Chance, just what did you get yourself into,” said Hope in a trembling whisper.

“I believe there has been a change of plans, Mr. Donovan.”

“I’m sorry, amigo, but I don’t think I can pay you back now. I kind of spent all the money and won’t be able to pay Mort back until next month.”

“My superior is not satisfied with the way his money has been spent, and thus he demands that you repay him now. It needs not be in cash. Another prized possession will suffice.”

For some reason, I just knew it in my gut. I knew where it was all going. That gut feeling made me act. I leapt even before I heard the gunshots. I threw Hope to the ground, probably a bit too brutally, but that was nothing compared to the pain she could have felt. The pain I felt. Two bullets entered m,y body. I couldn’t even tell where, the pain was too much to handle. I closed my eyes, I hoped I could just lose consciousness and wake up all patched up.

But that was just the beginning.

I opened my eyes to face a giant, burning, alien eye gazing down at me. It was surrounded by red, burning wings, descending down a whole in the clouds that expanded wider and wider the closer to me it got. And the closer it got, the hotter it felt, and the more I felt I was losing my mind on top of being in immense pain. I turned my gaze down and noticed a naked woman suspended in midair, surrounded by a crowd of people. A crowd I was part of. A red streak of light was connecting her forehead to the eye in the sky. I could barely focus, I felt that I was dying of all the pain, but still, the woman looked familiar.

“Angela,” an all too familiar voice came from my left. It was only then that I noticed Hope was clutching my hand. She was shaking, her hand cold and sweaty. Her eyes were fixed on the woman in the middle, which just as well could have been Angela.

The Contact, said a voice. It filled my head. There was no room. It was all too hot, too stuffy, the pain was too much. I felt like I was going to puke.

And then I opened my eyes, gasping for breath. I was in Hope’s bed. I looked around. The bed sheets were all covered in my blood, but I saw no trace of bullet holes on my body. The pain was gone. Hope was kneeling by the bed, clutching my hand with both of hers. Her doe eyes were swollen with tears gone by, but soon became wet again with a new batch.

“Chance!” she cried as she threw her arms around me. I embraced her and tears came rolling down my eyes as well. It was only after all the pain had gone away that I realized how scary it all was.

“Hope. Hope, listen,” I started talking to her. My voice was muffled by her golden curls. “Did you–“

“Yes, I saw it too,” she sobbed. “Chance, I–“

“I know,” I said. This time, I could hold back my tears. My voice was cool and confident again. “Don’t worry. We’re in this together. We can get through this.”

I then noticed the view from the window. The sky was dotted with lights, even though the sun was up. I wasn’t surprised, though. We both knew exactly what they were. They weren’t there by chance.

The Path to Eden I - Chance (1/2)

Drumming my fingers on the counter, I kept my eyes glued to the clock on the wall. It was five minutes to three. Only five minutes left. Just five more minutes and I’m outta here. The day was dragging mercilessly. Hardly a customer arrived and I could not wait to just get out of there and do my thing.

“Chance!” a voice boomed from behind me. I sprang up, hitting my knee. A piercing yelp of pain came out, startling the person standing behind my back. I must have been too caught up in watching the clock. Darryl, my boss, was a huge lump of meat that was impossible to not notice or hear from a yard away. “Jesus, man! You alright?”

“Sorry about that, boss,” I said to him, wincing. My knee hurt. A lot. “You scared me.”

“I can see that,” the man laughed. “Watching it won’t make the hands move any faster, you know.”

“Sorry.”

“Nah, don’t worry. It is a slow day, after all,” he said, rubbing his shiny, black, bald head with his humongous hand. “You know, if you’re in such a hurry, why don’t you go already? Your shift ends in two minutes anyway, right?”

“Thank you so, so much, boss!” I exclaimed. I was already hanging my apron on the wall as I said that, then I shook his monster of a hand and almost jogged to the back exit. “I’ll repay you someday!”

“Don’t worry about it! And watch your step, kid. Don’t want you killin’ yourself before you get where you wanna be so badly,” he shouted behind me, but I could barely hear him. I’d already pulled out my card and flashed it in front of the receiver. With a gentle swoosh, the door opened.

The sky was perfectly clear on that day. The pristine white skyscrapers reflected the sun’s rays, magnifying the light that fell on the city. Everything was bright. I knew it would be a good day. It had to be perfect. So I ran. I didn’t have much time. The game shop was only two blocks away, but I still needed to get from there to Hope’s house on time. I crossed one busy street, then the next, maneuvering through entire crowds of people. I almost made one lady trip, but when I looked back later, she was okay. On the last crossing, I almost got hit by a car. It was a close call, but nothing too out of the ordinary for me.

I’d always had tremendous luck. The worst I ever got out of an accident was the small scar I have above my left eye. And I got that during a huge monorail crash back when I was still in high school. A lot of people died in that accident. People always told me that it was my name that kept me safe. I hardly believe such superstitions, but there’s no denying that I am an extremely lucky person. And that’s in more ways than one.

I stopped in front of the game shop. The tall windows  showcased a wide variety of  colorful games of various shapes and sizes. Video games, board games, card games, merchandise – this store had it all. I pulled out my woolen gray-blue wallet – Hope had made it for me for our first anniversary. I needed this day to be perfect. For that, I needed money. Quite a bit of it. And so, my wallet was filled with cash, which was a rare sight nowadays. Most of it I’d already spent on the “big gift”. What was left was no small sum, though. I was just hoping that day wasn’t the day my luck would run out and that the person I owed the money to would not ask me to give it back for another couple of days.

Inside the game shop, I found a familiar face behind the counter. An attractive girl with cropped, brown hair and numerous piercings in her ears smiled to me as I entered.

“Hey there, Chance.”

“Hi, Angie,” I said with a stupid grin on my face. I was feeling so good it was almost embarassing.

“Let me guess. Today’s the day?”

“Yup,” I said as I drummed my fingers on the white counter. “Hope you haven’t sold that thing I asked you to save me yet.”

“Don’t you worry,” Angie said as she dived under the counter. She returned with a small black box.  The front was adorned with a stylized image of a maze, all in white and gold. The sides were covered with white bunnies with little red spots on different areas of the bodies. “A find like this? I wouldn’t let you and Hope miss it for the world.”

“Dude, thanks a lot,” I said as I laid the money on the counter. The game was incredibly pricy.

“No problem, man,” Angela handed me the receipt. “So, any big plans for today?”

“Well, I have one very general plan. I intend to just go with the flow, as usual.”

“Funny. I thought days like today generally demanded a bit more planning.”

“Trust me,” I looked her straight into her big brown eyes, her face expressing amusement, her raised eyebrow indicating a hint of disbelief. “It can’t not be awesome.”

“We’ll see about that, then. Let me know how it went!” she said louder and louder, as I was already making my way to the door. I had no time to lose. “Oh, and say hi to Hope from me! We should go out somewhere all together soon!”

“Yeah, we will! See ya!” I waved her as I made a sharp right behind the door. If I hop on the monorail that leaves in five minutes, I can make it to Hope’s before she comes back from work. Piece of cake.

As it turned out, I did make it in time. As usual, the traffic lights changed accordingly to my needs, the monorail door closed just behind me, and I arrived at the right station ahead of time. Hope’s apartment was part of a larger complex of buildings that formed a hexagon around a very well groomed patio. The staircase could only be accessed with the right card, but I’d long figured out a way to get in without one. Right next to the door was a fence made of glass that led to a miniature yard with another entrance to the staircase – one that was usually open without a card. One of the panes of glass had been broken off, leaving a very narrow gap. For a normal person, that gap would have been too narrow to cross, but I’m a slender man with very flexible bones. As luck would have it, no cameras were fixed on that little spot, so I would never get caught. And even if there were cameras, life had taught me how not to get caught for… certain deeds.

I had this little spot where I liked to wait for Hope to come back in times like this. The hallway had walls covered in little niches between the doors. They served no purpose aside from being the architect’s grand artistic vision in creating his hexagonal masterpiece. I could always behind them, so that Hope wouldn’t notice me before she opened the door. I loved the look on her face whenever she got so startled and then so relieved that it was me. This time, that was not the case.

I hid as usual. I knew she couldn’t see me. And yet, this time, when I heard her footsteps grow closer and closer, the clink of her keys turning in the door, when our gazes met, there was no surprise at all in her face. I must have frowned in my disappointed, as in that exact moment, Hope burst out laughing. Her long, curly blond hair shook wildly as she was gasping for breath, unable to take in the hilarity of it all. I noticed she was wearing that daisy hairclip that I’d gotten for her.

“You’re breaking my heart, Hope,” I said in a mockingly sad tone.

“I’m sorry, sweetie,” Hope said as she wiped a solitary tear of laughter from her round, beautiful violet eyes. “I just… Somehow I knew you’d be there today. I guess at some point I was bound to get used to your antics.”

“But why today?” I said, with a grin this time. “Well, whatever. I got you something, birthday girl.”

“But my birthday isn’t coming up for another month!” she cried out in disbelief as we entered her apartment covered all in pastel wallpaper.

“So? I got your present early. Here,” I said as I handed her the black box. When she saw it, her mouth formed a neat little “O” and her bag fell out of her petite hands.

“No,” she gasped. “Is it…? How did you get this?!”

“Oh, you know me,” I said. My grin was making my face feel hot. “Pulled some strings. You can thank Angela later for getting a hold of this game. You like it?”

“Are you fucking joking!” she shouted with tears of joy in her eyes and threw her arms around me, kissing me passionately in the lips, our tongues intertwining wildly. “I just can’t take it. You’re too adorable.”

“Oh, I know,” I grinned yet again. “But my adorableness pales in comparison to yours, you know?”

“Like hell,” she grinned and then laughed again. Her laughter was nothing like a typical giggle girls often make in front of guys to look cute. She had hard, hearty laugh. Brutal, even. A genuine laugh that I was so in love with. She took off her coat. “So, you want me to unwrap the game and play it with you, or do you want to unwrap me and play another kind of game?”

“Actually, we’ll do both,” I said as I backed away a bit and grabbed the doorknob. “But before we do that, I have another idea.”

“Oh?”

James Gobble

Prompt:
Using the freestyle plot generator, I generated a random book blurb. Based on that, I wrote a short little scene. Here's the blurb:

James Gobble

A War Novel
by John Doe

The night of the carol service changes everything for Marion Russell, a 124-year-old lawyer from Truro.

One moment, she is discussing dice with her loving lover, James Gobble; the next, watching with horror as peculiar robots blackmail each other.

She knows these robots came from Madrid but she can't prove it - at least not without some killer bacon.

The gracious, witty woman knows that her contented life is over. She acquires some killer bacon and is reborn as the hero who will save the world from peculiar robots.

However, the end of the world approaches, and time is running out for Marion. She is left with two options: stop the peculiar robots in one hour, or allow the world to end in a ball of fire.

And here's the story itself:

Marion knew it was crazy, yet she had little choice.

“You know it is crazy, Marion,” said her lover James Gobble. As she gazed into his concerned bottle-green eyes, she recalled that fateful night and their riveting conversation concerning dice. “How can you be sure this killer bacon will prove those robots came from Madrid?”

“I can’t,” she sighed as she pulled out a dusty box from beneath a wooden floor as the light of James’ flashlight illuminated her. “But I only have one hour left. I have no choice but to trust what that woman said.”

“Let’s just get out of here,” James sighed. “This place is making me feel… peculiar.”

That word unsettled Marion. “James… What did you just say?” she gasped. James’ face turned cold and the lights went out. The woman felt the box slip from between her fingers, and a hand pushing her to the ground by the neck. A cold, metal hand.

“How-“ Marion breathed as the peculiar robot pulled her by the hair and whispered into her ear in an unmistakably thick accent:

“Give it up, or you’ll never see your lover in one piece again, señorita.” 

Dust

The walk took a while. I was starting to get thirsty, but that hardly bothered me. The weather was too nice for me to care about such things. I had already made my way past the river some time ago. Now, I was following the tracks, walking on the dry, yellowish grass, off the beaten path. Not a soul to disturb my pilgrimage.

The rusted tracks seemed to go on forever. But I knew I was getting closer and closer. The heady scent of wild flowers I didn’t know the names of numbed my senses. I was walking in a sweet delirium, yet still completely conscious of my surroundings. I passed the first train car. Deteriorated and dented though it was, it had a certain unique beauty to it. The sunlight reflected off of it made its surface glow like a fiercely orange light bulb.  And there were more like it. Some redder and scarier, emptier, while others were covered in mold and lime, others yet seemed virtually undamaged.

And then, I reached my destination. The door to the large, steel car hanged open. I pulled on it. With a loud clang it fell to the ground. I found myself inside. The sun seeped in through the windows, dust particles floating silently like tiny little galaxies in a cold, damp universe. One, two, three rows I passed and took a left. The seat was loose. Just like I left it. I lifted it up, pulling the dust galaxies into a frenzy, making them swirl chaotically, shake and collide. This frantic ray of light illuminated the person I had left under the seat. His hair seemed longer, his fingers bonier, his skin a shade greener. I could see his teeth now. It looked like a nasty little grin. The stench was putrid, but it was still nice to see him again.

“Hello again, old friend,” I said as I grabbed his bony, moldy finger. It seemed to be barely there.

Spiders

A man named Jacob lived in a house. It was an old building, large and filled with memories. Jacob had lived there since he could remember. He could never imagine living anywhere else, even though he may have been better off doing just that. For you see, Jacob’s house was full of big, scary spiders. And Jacob hated spiders.

Jacob hated spiders but he could never bring himself to dispose of them. For all the loathing he had for them, he understood that he could not stop them from inhabiting his home, as it was their home as well. They had probably lived there longer than him. And he knew they’d just come back if he decided to get rid of them. For the most part, Jacob ignored the spiders, which wasn’t very difficult. They mostly kept to themselves, spinning their webs in dark corners of seldom visited rooms and corridors. But Jacob would inevitably stumble upon one when taking a stroll along one of the house’s massive hallways. He hated that. It would ruin his whole day when he did.

Jacob, negligent as he was when it came to cleansing his house of the spiders, finally grew to accept them there. However, he was not ready to let anyone else get exposed to them. For the longest time, Jacob would refuse to let any one of his friends into his house, no matter how appropriate it seemed. Oh, it happened once, a long time ago. The person in question ran away when they stumbled upon a particularly nasty spider when doing their business in the bathroom. Jacob has never heard from them since.

Recently, however, something wonderful has happened. Jacob met Marie. Marie was a sweet girl Jacob had had a crush on for the longest time. After a long period of awkward advances, it turned out Marie reciprocated his feeling. Confident he would not face such disappointment again, Jacob let her into the house. The instant she saw the spiders, Jacob knew he had made the right choice. When she saw them, she merely smiled a sad, compassionate little smiled, looked him in the eye and said “I see you have them too.”

The Path to Eden I - Jamie

Author's note: The number here may be confusing - this is actually the second chapter of the "Eden" series, but it's part of the first act of it, so to speak. I may change this all up later. Link to the first chapter below the story, for all those interested.

_______________________________________________________________________

There are days when everything’s going exactly as I want it to. Days I don’t even have to do anything and everything just somehow falls into place. No effort, no stress, no nothing. Just pure, unadulterated bliss. And then there are the bloody days when even your fucking front gate hates your fucking guts. Days like today, I mean.

The bloody thing would just not respond to anything. I could shout at it, pound at it, kick it – nothing. The touch panel was broken. Must’ve been Trish or Susie that did it when they came back from that bloody party yesterday night. Why the fuck do we even have teens?

“Cat!” I shouted at the living room window. “Do you have the keys to this bloody gate? The digital lock’s busted!” Sadly, no answer came. I figured she was just having one of her moods again. After dealing the hellish contraption one final kick, I let out a sigh and threw my briefcase over it. Then I tried to throw my body over it. With much sweat and heaving, I finally managed to wrestle my belly over the gate and found myself on the pavement. I straightened my tie and wiped the sweat off my forehead. Well done, Jimbo. You’ve made it to the other side even though the world hates you today. You’ve earned a bloody medal.

The grey sky reflected off of my car’s freshly waxed surface. With a pleasant bwoop, the vehicle unlocked when I pressed the button on my keycard. I was glad that at least the car was being nice to me. Up until a certain point, at least.

The screen to my left showed me the same screen that greets me every morning. I tapped the same icons as usual, setting the course for my workplace. I put my hands on my face, trying to cleanse myself off all the remaining frustration, awaiting the car to take me away somewhere. That moment took longer than usual. I opened my eyes.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” The screen flashed red with a big “system error” message. As if the day hadn’t been bad enough, I had to drive the car manually to work. Don’t panic. You can do this. It’s just a 20-minute drive.

It was a 20-minute drive when I used the autopilot. Turned out to be quite a bit longer when I had to do the driving myself. I always found the steering wheel to be a clunky device and I was pretty confident that whenever I took control of the car it would end in an accident. On top of that fear, I was growing more and more angry and frustrated over the fact that I was going to be late. Needless to say, my hands were shaking like a bloody Chihuahua.

Almost 30 minutes late, I’d finally arrived at my work’s car park. A glance at the mirror showed me my balding scalp had turned beet red and dripping with sweat. As I parked, the backside of the car gently brushed the wall. Don’t let it be scratched, please. Don’t let it be scratched. I quickly got out of the car and took a look. It did get scratched. I kicked the car’s tire, injuring my big toe in the process.

“Fuck!”

But then it was all okay. I’d straightened my tie again and was taking the lift up to my office. Through its glass walls I saw the magnificent cityscape. Despite the lousy weather, the jagged, glass horizon formed by all the new buildings never ceased to amaze me. Bent into striking shapes and illuminated by faint white lights even in the daytime, the structures were a sight that was for some reason soothing. I took a deep breath, feeling the frustration leave my body, when I heard a soft ding announcing that I had reached my destination.

Without making a sound, the door opened. As I entered, my heart sank. The whole room was empty. All the desks were vacant. The computers were mostly on, however, with several holoscreens flickering. It all seemed as if everyone just left the room to-

“Fuck!” I swore in a whisper that was much too loud. As if the day could not get worse, I remembered there was an important meeting scheduled for that day. The door to the boss’ office flew wide open and a crowd of smartly dressed people came filing out of the room, confirming my fears. I tried to force my way through the stampede and finally found myself face-to-face with Garry Ferguson, my boss. I was heaving and sweating yet again, clutching my knees as I leaned down to catch my breath.

“Nice of you to finally arrive, James,” he said with a grin showcasing his sparkling, perfectly even teeth. Despite their impeccable evenness, Garry had a lisp. That’s why I would always cringe whenever I heard him say my full name.

“I’m really sorry, Garry,” I said as I straightened my tie for what was probably the millionth fucking time that day. “It’s just… Everything’s just… Do you ever have one of those days-“

“You know what, James?” he said with that blasted lisp again. His grin, however, had faded. “I don’t really think this is working out.”

“What do you mean?”

“The meeting we had today was very important. That new Japanese doll system we mentioned some time ago, remember that? Well, that’s what the meeting was about.”

“Okay.” I wasn’t exactly sure if I remembered or not.

“And we’re implementing it next week. What that means is that we need to become even more efficient, more aggressive, more sleek.” I cringed at that last word. I know he did his best at it, but it came out as thleek. “We need to cut corners, is all I mean.”

“Well, that’s one thing I can be sure I’m good at,” I joked. He didn’t seem to get it. “Just ask my wife.”

“Boone,” he said with a stern face. My heart sank. If he addressed you with your last name, you could be sure that was no good. “This isn’t the first time that you’ve  proved inadequate and we can no longer afford to sustain people who lag behind. I want you to pack your things.”

“No, Garry, wait-“

“I want you out by 12.”

Before I knew it, I was out of his office and the wooden door slammed in front of my face. For a moment I was sure all I could hear was faint static at the back of my head. Next thing I knew I was in the lift again. The tall structures grew larger and more imposing the lower I went. I felt as if I was being crushed.

Still faint from all that had happened, I got in the car. Instinctively, my hand reached for the side panel. A red light came up once again. Guess I need to take the wheel again.

The drive home went surprisingly smoothly. Before I knew it, I was parked in front of my house. Maybe it’s all just some crazy dream? I mean, I’m not even angry. It’s all so surreal. The gate was still broken, so I leapt over it once more. This time I forgot to take my briefcase from the car with me, so I had to go over the gate two more times. I then stood in front of the door for a while. I felt so detached from everything, as if the body wasn’t even mine and I couldn’t feel anything. I giggled. The numbness felt funny. I grabbed the doorknob and opened the door, wondering what other interesting things might happen today.

I dropped my briefcase by the entrance and went straight ahead upstairs. At that time, I didn’t even hear anything or notice anything strange. I think I still felt that static. But the instant I opened the bedroom door, I noticed what was wrong.

“Fuck.”

The two bodies in my bed began to spin around in a panic.

“Why the fuck are you here?” my wife Catherine asked as she emerged from under the sheets, her auburn hair tangled and falling on her gaunt face. Her lips were trembling, her face pale as she fixed her gaze on me. And I must have had the dumbest expression on my face.

“Well, you know, I used to sleep in that bed with you. Is it really so surprising that I’m here now? And who’s the lad with you?” As soon as he showed his shaggy head from under the sheets, I recognized him. “Matt,” I gasped. Now that I did not see coming. Matt was a longtime friend of ours, along with his wife, Melissa. My eye twitched. “Now you’ll tell me Melissa’s there with you as well.”

He sent me a nervous grin as he got up from under the sheets and put on some trousers. He was tall and much more fit than I was, despite being roughly the same age. As he turned to me, I noticed the nervousness disappear from his grin. He now stood there in front of me. I think he was trying to intimidate me. I think it worked. The next thing I knew I had him pinned to the floor, my fist prepared to strike his dumb face.

“You can hit me all you want, mate,” he grinned. “But dear Cat here’s made her choices. It’s not my fault she’d rather fuck me than you.”

“Oh yeah? Are you suggesting it’s mine, then!” I shouted, spitting all over his face.

“Stop that, right now!” I could hear Cat shout from the bed. “I will not tolerate this!”

“And what if I am, huh? You’ll hit me? I’d like to see you try,” Matt’s grin became crooked. “You and I both know you won’t do it. You’re too weak.”

“Don’t provoke him!” Cat shouted. “Just let it go.”

Let it go, she says. I felt detached from everything once again. Despite my rage boiling somewhere deep inside, somewhere deeper I somehow did not give a fuck. Everything was messed up anyway. So I got up and turned around. I noticed Cat’s expression change.

“So you’re just going to leave this all like that?”

“You said yourself that you won’t tolerate it. I don’t think I give a fuck anymore at this point.”

“You don’t give a fuck…” I could tell she was fighting back tears. “So this marriage means nothing to you? You won’t fight for anything?”

“Why bother?” as I said this, I left the room. I could hear Cat shout something in the distance, but I didn’t care enough to even try to understand the specific words. On my way downstairs I bumped into Trish as she snuck into the house from the back entrance. “And why the fuck are you not at school?”

“Dad!” she gasped. She was clearly shaken, had deep shadows under her eyes and looked positively exhausted. “I thought you were at work.”

“Well, as you can see, I’m not. Let me guess, neither of you came back from the party for the night.” Her response consisted of looking down at her feet. A part of me was furious, but then it was replaced by something wonderful. I really didn’t have to do anything anymore. I could just leave it all behind and let someone else do the cleaning up. The world hated me as it was anyway. “Well, it’s none of my business anymore anyway, so bye!”

She said nothing as I left. The last time I saw her face, she was absolutely stunned by what I had told her. I hoped Susan was okay. Disregarding that, I approached the car, whose front window was now adorned with a lovely spot of bird shit.

“How lovely!” I shouted with a big grin on my face. My hands shook as I opened the door and entered the car. I didn’t even bother with the autopilot this time around, I just turned the keycard and just rode straight ahead of me. I was sure I was speeding, but that was the point. I wanted to go as far away as I could, as fast as I could.

Then I reached the roundabout.

Roundabouts are safe, they said. Unless some fucking twat decides to enter it when they shouldn’t. Needless to say, my car was hit. Badly. I lost consciousness. I was pretty sure I was dead. But then I found myself in a place that was completely white, almost blindingly so. I was standing in a circle that I formed with ten human-shaped shadows. In the middle of the circle, a naked woman was hovering in midair. The Contact, a featureless voice in my head said. She was quite stunning. She must have been in her late twenties. Her cropped brown hair gave her a bit of an edgy look, but that was evened out by the big brown eyes that seemed to shine with innocence in all this. To top it all off, she had an amazing body. It didn’t seem appropriate to gawk at that, however, so I turned my gaze away.

And then the light appeared. A red ray of light burst out of the girl’s forehead, piercing the sky above us, dispersing the milk-white substance that now looked a bit like clouds. Something descended from there. I couldn’t see it clearly from where I stood, but I believe it had wings made out of fire and a giant, rainbow-colored eye. The sight was pretty shocking, and yet I just stood there, unable to move, trying not to die out of the sheer terror I was feeling. I think it said something to us.

And then I opened my eyes. I was lying on the ground, my eyes gazing into the sky above me, at the numerous spots of light that were visible even despite the thick clouds. That’s them. I sat up on the grass. For some reason, I was in the middle of the roundabout, my car lay mangled next to me, reeking of smoke and oil. And yet there was no scratch on me. The people around me had left their cars, and gazed into the sky, a nervous murmur in the air. Even the police and the medics and the dumbass that crashed his car into mine were looking up with their mouths agape. I reached for my phone in my pocket. Thankfully, it was in perfect condition too. For some reason, I knew exactly what I needed to do now. So I booked a flight.

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The Path to Eden I - Angela (1/2)

The Path to Eden I - Angela (2/2)