"29":: Chapter-17

Fabrice struggled to keep his head up. The water rapidly pushed him away like a corpse. He struggled to breathe, frequently trying hard to come up, only to be pushed away with more water. Fabrice sub suspiciously surrendered to the fact that death was finally here in this strange illusion that he still hadn't understood.

A sudden upward force pulled Fabrice and before he could give a thought about it. He was up in the air being pulled away over the waters, the skies were dark and his view was still getting accustomed to the open air. His wet body made him shiver and he looked up to see that familiar face yet again. His mother was smiling looking ahead as she flew him away.

Fabrice stared down to see the endless waters finally coming  to an end as a patch of shore made way to a city-like set up. On close notice he realized that he had reached back to his city of New-Waters. His winged angel of a mother finally dropped him down on top of a building which Fabrice knew was more than 80 floors high and housed the stock market within it, He wanted to thank his mother and ask about the series of unexpected events, he had undergone. But she did not wait. After dropping Fabrice down she flew back towards the waters and disappeared into the distance.

He was back home but something still wasn't right. The timer was still up in the sky, with the 12 hour in its 56 th minute. His wonderment was interrupted by the sound of the hustle bustle , he ran up to the fencing ahead and saw a mob blindly headed to a single direction.

Another noise from the opposite direction made an interruption. Fabrice turned back to see a helicopter that has risen from nowhere. It looked at him like a giant hawk. Immediately the helicopter showed some movement pointing two hollow nozzles from its either ends. The nozzles immediately filled up with two missiles.

Fabrice gulped some cold air in his throat, looked at the clock striking the 50th minute of the 12th hour and nervously froze there.

"29" :: Chapter-16

The wheels were drawing near, with the sound drawing even more near as the vehicle moved towards Fabrice. The vehicle was making the entire bridge vibrate even from a distance. Fabrice closed his eyes, the distant roar of the engine was interrupted by the thunder in the sky, the serpent was still lying on his chest. 1...2...3  Fabrice began a count in his head. 4...5 were rather too quick, he immediately began rolling his body to the left side. With eyes completely shut Fabrice couldn't see if he had rolled over the serpent but a few moments later he felt its body touching his legs.

Fabrice kept on moving till he had rolled all the way to the end of the bridge, the vehicle had now turned and it was coming all the way towards Fabrice. He got up and looked at the vehicle drawing nearer and nearer. Fabrice couldn't think of anything so he jammed the knot of the rope tied to his hands and hung outside the bridge. He popped his head a little only to see that the vehicle was too close now. It was a two wheeler, red in color with humongous wheels at the bottom of its covered surface. The vehicle hit the bridge so hard, that the impact made Fabrice sway away in the air.

The surface below the bridge was made up of concrete leading to the waters below. Fabrice waited for a while, but no one came in view. Suddenly the bridge began rumbling with a light vibration. Before he could figure out, Fabrice was jerked hard by the rush of water below his legs. After lifting his legs away from the water's flow, Fabrice could hang comfortably. But the hanging was getting a tad bit uncomfortable so Fabrice decided to pull himself up. But a little face popped out from above. It was Emilia, she was smiling, which definitely meant something. She lifted her hand to expose the blade, and began cutting the knot of the rope holding Fabrice to the bridge. "Emiliaa!" shrieked Fabrice  "Stop" he shouted. But she kept cutting the rope, smiling all the while with an innocence that defied what she was doing.

Fabrice kept shouting till the rope finally snapped. He fell, the flow of water pushing him down, numbing his whole body. It was all happening way too fast but it appeared to happen slowly. Right before the plunge, Fabrice saw the thirteenth hour in its twenty sixth minute, and then the water took over his body and his breath. 

"29" :: Chapter-15

Fabrice could feel the breath of the old man behind his neck, the blade still touched his neck. They were walking the road with deserted sidewalks on either sides. It seemed that Emilia knew where they were going. She was leading the way, walking in a very playful manner, taking double strides with every leg, like she knew it all.

The road which was four lanes wide now led to a concrete bridge. The bridge hid the area below, from Fabrice's view. After leading him to the middle of the bridge, "Get down on your knees" said the voice behind.  Fabrice felt something tying up his hands. After his hands were tightly tied, "Now lie down" the voice commanded. Fabrice had no choice, and he lied down with his hands at the back making his shoulders hurt. But the pain didn't matter at that very instant, when he saw the face of the one who was tying him up.  He was a she, only sounding like a man but not looking like one. It was a woman he knew very well, it was his step mother, Martha. He couldn't really understand the madness that was happening, it was as if the shock had paralyzed him and he didn't retaliate as she tied his legs together. All through, she had a plastic smile on her face that she wore every time.

After a while Fabrice couldn't spot her face moving around, he could feel the rope tightly piercing the skin of his calf. Suddenly Emilia and Martha appeared from either sides. Fabrice saw both of them were smiling. Martha came a little closer and kept something on Fabrice. He bent down to see a pair of blue eyes staring from a long, slender body. It was a serpent, black in color with a peculiar pattern of yellow over its head. The serpent, lying on Fabrice's chest, raised its head in an attacking position and looked at Fabrice. Fabrice could feel the vibrations inside the snakes body on his chest. Behind the snake, Fabrice's attention focussed on an approaching object. It was a wheel, drawing closer and closer. Once it was close enough, Fabrice realized that it was a two wheeler with huge wheels, approaching right towards him, to where he lied. Fabrice screamed for it to stop. But it didn't.

Fabrice screamed again, but the vehicle honked twice and still kept on moving closer. The thickness of the wheel increased as it drew nearer. Fabrice screamed for one last time, the loudest and there was a screech of brakes which was again followed by the sound of the engine accelerating. Just then, he heard Martha's manly laughter, it seemed as if Martha and Emilia were right there, looking at him die. The timer in the sky struck the 13th hour, at a very apt time indeed.

"29" :: Chapter- 14

The players remained unaffected to the mishaps. The shutters were up, barely holding the bulls at the side.  Fabrice looked at his team mates  quickly taking up their positions. With a whistle the ball was tossed forward, a team mate leaped forward only to be struck by a knife halfway up in the air. His lifeless body fell on the ground but the ball kept moving, pass by pass, bodies kept falling. The opposition was merely toying with the players. Like a time bomb, the ball blew every player who held it. With exactly 3 players remaining, the cage at the side opened.

The players started running back the crowd became loud. Fabrice eyes widened as the entering bulls made way for rhinos too. The raging animals thumbed the fields making a sound of numerous drums echoing in the empty space. Fabrice ran to the exit to the left with the ground vibrating under him. Inside the narrow pathway , the vibrations still did not stop. It was like they all were following him. All of them. He stormed inside the locker room rushing into the shower area to the right, He hid in the first shower compartment, with a slight view of the outside area. The sounds were increasing gradually and silenced with a quick abruption.

Fabrice took a few steps forward and BANG the hall outside exploded. The bulls, the rhinos and some hippos stormed in the locker room, randomly banging on anything coming ahead. The chaos persisted for a few moments, Fabrice had closed his eyes fearing that the crowd would infiltrate the shower room, but it didn't.

After a while, after ensuring that the silence lasted for more than a minute, Fabrice took out the photo frame he had in his pocket. His face was vaguely visible with a graduation hat. He kept it in and catiously stepped out, tip toeing towards the locker room. He was too afraid to go back to the field. So he headed outside, only to find everything deserted like nothing had ever happened there.

Fabrice stepped out of the black gate and stared at an endless road that extended to the right, all the way, from the underground road. A hand caught Fabrice from the rear end of the neck, an elbow tightened its grip around his neck and a cold blade touched his neck. "You cannot save yourself from an end that awaits you" said the voice.

The man who's face still remained unknown to Fabrice led him to the road ahead and began walking. Fabrice suddenly saw Emilia walking by his side. He looked at Emilia in shock as she smiled at him. That innocent face which hadn't smiled, smiled now. That innocent face, not so innocent after all.

"29" :: Chapter-13

With long strides Fabrice marched towards the field. Players were lined up in their respective order, random passes were being made. Their uniforms were a mix of red and grey. Fabrice took the center position, guarded by players on either sides. The crowd was moderate, faces mostly pale, moderately excited, conversing collectively in a strange harmony. Fabrice couldn't help to notice the strange expressions of the people in the crowd, he hardly spotted a smiling face. Games aren't meant to be this serious. Maybe this game was.

The opposition team stormed in, the green uniform was prominently noticeable. Their lowers were torn by the knees, their heads hidden in the black helmets. They swarmed in and quickly formed a perfect position like pre programmed robots. The timer in the skies was in 11th minute of the 15th hour. A loud announcement blared in through the loud speaker, "Let the game begin", a moderate applaud signaled the commencement.  And with the first throw to the player in the last row the chaos began.

For a few minutes all Fabrice could do was turn his head watching his so called team mates pass the ball to each other. A player on the right corner finally converted his pass for a run. He was a few yards from the touchdown till something very absurdly horrifying happened. An approaching player was thrown a chainsaw from the crowd, he turned it on and ran towards the attacking player. Within no time, the player was down, the running chainsaw slashing both his legs. He lay there shouting with the constant flow of blood, increasing the bloody red puddle around him.

Fabrice noticed the red eyes of the players glowing through their black helmet. They made their first touchdown in the 8th minute and with that came a flying grenade in the field blowing right in the middle making a body fly to the edge of the ground. They'd lost another player. In 10 minutes there was a touchdown, one explosions and two players out of action.

As the game entered the 11th minute Fabrice saw a shutter open up in the left, behind a cage there were bulls blowing out angry grunts and Fabrice knew that things get worse any moment from now. Things already were worse, the timer in the sky was in the 14th hour.

"29" :: Chapter-12

The bus picked up speed and the pace at which it went past the buildings made Fabrice feel dizzy. "Please stop the bus" shouted Fabrice failing to sound polite. The man quickly turned back in response, a smirk spread all over his face, reflecting  a strange type of madness. Fabrice got up from the seat sensing the anger rising up in his head.  He held the man by the arm which steadily held the steering wheel.

"Stop the damn car" , a laughter answered his command. Fabrice caught hold of both his arms and twisted them, the driver wouldn't let go off the steering wheel, making the bus turn in abruption. The sharp turn in the middle of the road made the bus stand on its left side before it crashed into a concrete wall.

The crash was too fast to notice, the windows were mostly broken and the driver laid lifeless with his head down on the steering wheel and droplets of blood trickling down. Fabrice got onto his feet, a little bump was formed on his head, the pain of his already injured jaw line was now added to the pain of little bruises on his arms. Little splinters of glass left little bloody marks on his skin. Fabrice looked back, trying to focus his dizzy vision. Emilia was right there, hands on face, unharmed, with not even a single visible scratch.

They walked  out to see the underground road they were in, there was light coming in from a far end. The light showed three silhouettes running towards them. "Finally, you're here'" a scream claimed. Stepping away a little, Fabrice held Emilia's hand preparing to run but one of the man came in view and there wasn't anything strange about him. Maybe, help had come. Maybe.

"Come now, we have to get you out of here" he said.

"But who are you ?" Fabrice asked.

"Ah, come on now. We've got very less time" he pulled Fabrice. Fabrice thought he wouldn't resist for now. The opening of the road led to that much familiar building, which was once a high school Fabrice had known. Looking just the way, it had been back in time. Fabrice was led in, there were a lot of people rushing here and there. All of them, looking normal. The man finally took him to a locker room. "Get dressed now" he said "It's game time"

Fabrice, about to question stopped in response to Emilia's signaling. He got  dressed, Emilia walked in, opened a locker and handed another frame to Fabrice. "With this quest you shall find the image in this frame too" she said "All the frames will collectively activate the exit vault"

Fabrice moved out from the narrow opening, the skies still dark. The timer in the 15th hour, he suddenly felt the hand of a man behind his shoulder as he watched his team march out. "I need touchdowns" he said. "Else..." he paused.

Fabrice looked at him with a puzzled glance "Else grenades shall touch down from the stands"

Fabrice swallowed, as the skies signaled him to start with a drizzle that began. 

"29" :: Chapter-11

The horror was unbearable; Fabrice trembled as he barely tried resisting the chill down his spine. His eyes scanned the canines, three pairs of eyes, one on the forehead and the second near the cheek, the dark brown eyes gleamed with a shine. Fabrice got out of the bed, and Charisa approached nearer, with each step she slouched a little lower. She was revealing herself, the only constant aspect remained the three pair of eyes while the entire body ripped the clothes apart with fur that grew out. Dark brown fur continually covered every part of the body and after finally tearing off the cargo shorts the growth stopped. It was an ape, a mutated ape. She, right there was Charisa.

Charisa growled, Fabrice who was lying shell-shocked on the floor got up. Charisa leaped up in the air, landing just where Fabrice stood some seconds ago. Fabrice moved into the balcony, with sudden movements as if a seizure had hit him. He kept on moving back till the grill blocked him and he stood right there, trembling to random growls of Charrisa. He knew he was doomed, so he turned back towards the open balcony and saw the approaching hope.

The flying angel in the skies, his mother had come, just in time and so he took a leap to catch hold of her approaching hand. But his grip just passed through, in a flash there was nothing in the air and Fabrice fell hard on the ground. His fists had shielded his head but a bloodied jaw left marks on the dark colored tar. A burning sensation made him lay down on his back. Charisa was on the balcony, just like she was, beautiful and un-aped. She was smiling and the skies turned red. The number in the sky changed. From 20, the skies now showed the 16^th hour running back in time. Maybe there was a price that had to be paid for the moments of passion that were shared. Fabrice was now a couple of hours closer to the doom.

Emilia suddenly blocked Fabrice’s view, she held Fabrice’s arm and pulled him on his feet. Charisa was gone; a few faces were still popped out of the balcony, a few of them giggling in an airy laugh. A constant roar echoed from a distance, Fabrice looked behind and saw a bus, approaching towards them.  Without any signaling the bus screeched in front of them, skidding a little. The door opened and a spectacled man gave a welcoming smile. Emilia held Fabrice’s hand and led him to the first seat. The doors closed and the man accelerated.

There was silence in between, Fabrice wanted to think but he couldn’t. Too much was happening; it was all just happening pushing his thoughts behind an unknown barrier. Fabrice’s contemplation was interrupted by the bus driver’s voice,

After covering the miles,
We need to answer fate’s call…
From the nearing cliff,
To our graves we shall fall..

The lines he uttered ended with a laughter which could be heard prominently even while the engine roared noisily. Emilia turned towards Fabrice, “I sense trouble”

===

"29" :: Chapter- 10

The flashes of lightening momentarily illuminated the hole around Fabrice. He sniffed to detect some stink inside but it all seemed clean. Emilia signaled him to move up and so he did. The view was a little different, the buildings were different. There were buildings, not places where people would be living. The buildings had shops that were shuttered down and on the upper floors were balconies. Empty balconies, seeming mysterious in a strange way.

Fabrice climbed out of the sewer after helping Emilia out. Emilia dusted her black dress which anyhow looked spotless, ”Keep the photo frame safe with you, it will take you where you want to go” she said.

Fabrice felt the metallic frame in his pocket and moved ahead holding Emilia’s hand. He had just taken a few steps when a face popped out of a window. And then another one smiled from a window in the corner. 

There were many faces in numerous windows. It was surprising at first and then it started getting creepy. The faces just wouldn’t go in even after it started pouring hard. It was like the heads were held to the windows. Just the heads.

The road opened up into a crossroad junction. Some faces still stared from the Windows, random faces that happened to be non-identical, not known, just faces that could randomly exist. Then there was a certain someone standing in the balcony. Brown hair, long slender legs exposed down from skin tight cargo short and a bloody red tank top with flurry patterns falling on her arms. She was far away but Fabrice knew that she was staring right at him. Like a memory staring right at him from somewhere back in time, of a certain someone he wanted to be with. A memory from the final year at high school, and that girl right there, who wouldn’t accept his arm to hold as Fabrice wasn’t the who’s who of the high school. But she was right there, Charisa was her name and maybe she was calling out.

‘I hear you’ Fabrice thought.

Emilia watched Fabrice run like a dog till a door towards the far end banged shut and she sighed in response. The stair case ended even before it began and there was just a single door which was open. Fabrice stormed in the only single room that appeared to be there. Charisa had come into the room from the balcony, she was right there, on the bed. Smiling and talking at the same time. Pick up the glasses  Fabrice could hear her even though she was smiling. The voice was in his head, right there, so loud and clear. He followed the command, the tempting seductive tone that made him feel that he was slave by will.

The marble structure beside the bed started dripping inside a bowl-like structure below, until the liquid started flowing rapidly. It was wine and it was flowing cyclically through a fountain. Without a further command, Fabrice filled the glasses and they both drank it up. Maybe numerous times and just like that time flew and he was with her. Feeling her smooth flesh, every inch of her skin pressed again his, making the pursuit of pleasure even more satisfying than the final attainment. He heard her in his head, every response echoed and amplified, taking him to a trance. Fabrice saw her bend and welcomed her lips into his.

A little pain shot up in his lip. He knew she was intoxicated by the wine and the encounter alike. So he tried to climb higher on to the mountain of passion till the pain in his lips got unbearable. He moved back just to see a pair of large canines in Charisa’s mouth and the laughter rang in his ears.  

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I thoroughly enjoyed writing this chapter. Yep.
Still don't know where we're headed to.

"29" :: Chapter-9

The moment it was all turning too damn horrible, it had all blacked out. For fabrice, his eyes had blinked for a moment, and the curtains of darkness were pulled before his eyes for a couple of seconds. The darkness brought back a damp place, the darkness only broken by the light outside. Fabrice's feet struggled, feeling something holding them. He screamed and he was answered at once. The pull was hard and his entire body slipped away, towards the door. Slowly and steadily. The sounds were horrific screams that some how were joyful. Screams breaking into laughters, into howls. The human guests of the feast were half humans in deceiving skins. Fabrice heard muffled foot steps, his mind rapidly playing with a thought like a jigsaw puzzle. This isn't real, This isn't real.

Something came. This ain't real. This ain't real.

The shadow appeared. This ain't real. This ain't real.

It showed the hands raising an axe. This ain't real. This ain't real.

The axe was down, and Fabrice leg jerked a little too violently. The pain never came and in an instant Fabrice looked back. He had actually seen Uncle Andrew in the crowd earlier, it was proved, he was right there, smiling. Fabrice got up and somehow he knew he had to run. Straight ahead.

It was dark and the fact did not slow Fabrice down. He wanted to walk out. A door opened like a piece of darkness had been cut out in a vertical rectangle. And outside, she was there, Emilia. She held his hand and they ran in a back yard with a laddern hung to something unknown in the skies. Fabrice climbed it, pushing the little girl first. And the ladder moved up, Fabrice saw the half humans below, leaping up like hungry Jackals. Undle Andrew was there amongst them, with a smile. Fabrice smiled back. Emilia was right there infront and they moved up till a shade of white took over whatever was around. Emilia put a hand in Fabrice's pocket and took out the frame.

She showed it to Fabrice. The picture was complete. The house, his innocent face back in time, the tricycle and his dad. For a moment Fabrice thought, he had seen his mother in the frame. Just for a momenet. The white was getting darker and dark. Till the ladder stopped moving and from a dark hole. Fabrice saw the clock in the skies.

20: 17 and going back in time. One second at a time.

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"29" :: Chapter- 8

The old man led them to the frontal area of the dry stone structure. It was a Church as it almost looked like one, but there weren't any prominent symbols of identification. Just like an unknown rule of this world Fabrice could spot the endless line of Churches extending on either sides.

“The feast is waiting for you, son” the old man said as he opened the door. It was dark inside but Fabrice headed in with the little girl. He looked at the skies before the door shut behind, it was the 27th hour in its 46th minute. The man quickened his pace towards another door that was inside. The interior betrayed what the building looked like from the outside. The old man opened the door, and a bright light spread into the dark room, “Come now” he waved with a smile.

Fabrice went in and it looked like a big feast was in place, the narrow hall had a long table, fully laden with lots of food. Fabrice sat on the chair with the little girl. Numerous ladies came into the hall, serving fabrice and after every part of the plate looked full. They stared at Fabrie, “You can begin now” . The moment Fabrice put the first crumb of bread in his mouth, numerous doors in the sides opened up and many people started walking in. Those faces were familiar, many of them Fabrice had seen in the home videos. Some of them were no more, according to Fabrice for he had seen many of them in home videos. Fabrice thought he had seen his Late Uncle Andrew but he has lost him as the room was quickly filling up with more and more people. They all had come to life for this magical feast. The little girl wasn't eating anything, she signalled at Fabrice to check his pocket. He rummaged through his pocket and felt the photo frame, he had picked up previously. On looking at it, he could now see an image forming in it. He could see his own face as a child. The little girl came closer, “The picture will complete as we proceed”

“What's your name ?” Fabrice felt absurd to ask this question but he some how did. “Emilia” she smiled for the first time.

Fabrice suddenly felt the old man's hand on his shoulder, “I hope you're liking it. Please remember, this feast is mutual” Fabrice wasn't sure what he was talking about. “After the feast, you're the feast” the old man gave an ugly smirk. People standing with their plates, dropped them down letting out shrill crashes of disturbances. The pretty waitresses started moving towards Fabrice, their nails growing with each step and their faces continually decompising forming dirty clay-like pores. Now the entire gathering turned towards him, surrounding him from every corner.

Fabrice looked back and the old man's face had changed, with his facial skin peeled off in various parts and his chin burnt. What made him more horrible was that he was still smiling. Emilia was breathing heavily and all Fabrice could do was utter a “Fuck” under his breath.  

===

Forgive the typos, if any blog.

"29" :: Chapter- 7

The heavy breaths let out by Scruffy seemed like heavy blows of air coming out from a furnace. He sure was hungry. The brown furred rabbit leaped out and Fabrice moved back. It moved in leaps that only look adorable if the creature is of a much lesser size. Fabrice bent down and moved beneath the cradle with the little girl (who still looked less frightened than Fabrice)

Scruffy repeatedly bumped the cradle letting our shrill squeaks. The cradle moved a little with every push. “On the count of 3, start crawling from the other side” said Fabrice, the girl nodded in a silent response.

“1…2…3” they began crawling towards the door. Fabrice felt his body shivering but Scruffy did not notice them. They got up once they reached the corridor outside and began running. “Stupid hamster” shrieked Fabrice and there was a noisy response from the room. As they were climbing down the stair case, Fabrice sensed from the noises above them, that the hamster wasn’t so dumb after all. He was right behind.

Out through the door the road was as serene as it was before. Fabrice began running holding the little girl’s hand. The road seemed endless and the line of similar houses on either side was never ending. There was a weird sound of hooting, right behind. Fabrice turned back, spotting the same red dots following them and then there was scruffy right behind. Those dots, those pair of eyes of something flying, there was no time to figure out what it was. The little girl was breathing heavily. Fabrice picked her up and ran towards one of the houses by the side. He went all the way to the backyard and things were a little different on the other side.

Fabrice looked at the structure of dry stone right in front, it looked like a church. Similar structures stood on its adjacent sides. The hooting returned, Fabrice looked back and flying creatures were right there, flying in completely random patterns, like bats, under an influence. There were a couple of them, and then a swarm descended from the skies joining them, to form a massive swarm. Fabrice wanted to run but it was too late. They cast shadows above him and he bent down with a little girl. With eyes wide shut, he held shielding her. The hooting was right above him, and then… it reduced a little.

Fabrice felt something touch his shoulder. His heart beat ran like an elephant. Boom. Boom. Boom. Boom.

He looked up and an old man was smiling at him, “Come now, we must leave at once, son”. The swarm was flying back as Fabrice glanced in the other direction. Fabrice wanted to thank the old man and maybe even ask the key to reality. But for now he just followed him, to another mysterious scenario.

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"29" :: Chapter-6

“So how will I escape?” Fabrice entered the living room, looking at the carpet which refreshed a forgotten memory of the picture it showed, a couple of men on horses chasing a flying bird. Even the fish tank was just like it was, the four gold fishes were right there, swimming carefree as if it was all too real. ‘Too damn real’ Fabrice thought walking towards the staircase adjoining the living room.

The little girl was walking right in front of him, “I’ll help you pass through” she said. They entered the first room to the right. Again very familiar, the light pink shade of the paint still looking the same. The cradle was there in the corner and the cupboard next, the room was dark with the light coming in from outside through the window, faintly exploring the shade of everything inside.

Fabrice noticed the little girl removing the photo frame from the wall. She gave it to fabrice , “Take this, you’ll need it” . Fabrice found it rather strange, to keep a frame which absolutely had nothing in it, no picture. Fabrice looked at the hamster’s cabinet, “Scruffy” he whispered. Scruffy wasn’t there perhaps he was on the other side of this prison where everything was real.

Fabrice saw that the little girl was now looking out through the window; he didn’t wanted to be bothered for some time. So he took a walk through his days of infancy, to his parents’ bedroom. Every single detail there wasn’t clearly recallable but seemed familiar, the grand dressing table, a big bed in the center and an unused candle holder on the table.

The window was open and the netted curtain did a random dance to the winds. Fabrice closed his eyes and watched the scenes of his early childhood roll right before his eyes. Fabrice wasn’t sure if the interrupting sounds were real or not, till they grew loud and he could clearly hear the crash and bang, it was right below where he stood. He hurriedly ran towards the other room, the little girl was still there right beside the window. Fabrice ran up to her, she looked back and raised her finger.

Fabrice looked back and he realized that the hamster’s cabinet was empty for a reason. Scruffy stood right there, huge, horrible and drooling with fat droplets of saliva.

=====

Dear imaginary reader,

Forgive me, in case of any typos and in case the story is allowing you to yawn.

"29" :: Chapter-5

The view below had now become noticable, the little strip of road was now surrounded by a full-fledged residential arrangement. The skies were still dark the faint texture of the clouds was illuminated by the timer that was still high in Fabrice's view. The 29th hour was running in its 18th minute. Fabrice's still hadn't gotten his answer about the mysterious scenario he had woken up to, the question itself did not haunt him as he was living the haunting. It was like the circumstances were laughing at an entire life that he had lived, claiming all the years to be unreal.

They glided down, drawing closer to the line of structures in the neighbourhood that moved backwards, a thunder now and then, would expose the greenery, of the trees and the lawns in front of the houses. The houses on both the sides were the same , exactly the same. To Fabrice the structure was familiar, yes another picture he had seen in those photos. A tricycle, a kid which happened to be him, dad and the same house in the background.

Among the line of houses, a house shone in a weird light that came from within it. They landed right in front of it. Fabrice got on his feet as his mother drop them down and flew, disappearing into the skies.

“She saves me and departs, just like before” Fabrice said looking up at the skies. He stared down at the girl, “Tell me now, is this a dream ?! If it is ? End it now! Please!” he cried.

The little girl walked up to him “It's a little more than a dream” she held his hand and began walking, trying to lead him somewhere.

“But how did I get here?”

“Ask yourself?”

Fabrice did ask himself, and there were fragments of thoughts all mixing together forming a weird sense. There was a birthday party, some smuggled whiskey. Yes, the whiskey, they had gone to the suburbs to that Asian man with small eyes. He called the drink “whiskey”, but it was some thing else. It had some herbs which were treated to a pressure of the smoke of some sort of essence sticks. He had warned that the whiskey if consumed excessively could turn your worlds upside down. It all made some sense. 'Upside-down. Upside-down. Upside-down” the words echoed in Fabrice's head.

The little girl had brought in front of the building that was shining under a mysterious, heavenly glow. The skies were suddenly coloured in a dark red colour, so dark that it strained the eyes. As the brightness of the light progressively reduced, Fabrice noticed the clock had struck the 28th hour.

“We have to get you, to your present” the little girl said. “I know a way out” she said suddenly looking up. The skies were dark again but there were little star-like red dots appearing closer and closer. They blinked too, like they were alive. Fabrice looked harder and the dots changed form and he knew he was staring at many pairs of eyes drawing closer. 

“Come now” the little girl pulled him into the house.

They rushed in and quickly shut the door. Fabrice looked around, he knew the place, he had grown up right here in this very two storied house. He was home, maybe in a different place in time.

--------

Dear imaginary reader,

Still have no idea where we're headed to...

"29":: Chapter-4

The blade drew closer and closer, Fabrice had his eyes tightly shut. There was no thought, no feelings, a little question drifted away in his mind asking him, how he had got here ? And then, there was silence and a silence shadowed by the darkness around his eyes, Fabrice waited for the impact, the pain to take over, but there was nothing.

Maybe this was how death felt like, the moment of liberation is just not felt. Maybe you depart moments before you are supposed to depart. 'Is this it?!' the thought echoed in Fabrice's head. He managed to open his eyes and what was before did match up the expectations he had. The skies were closer and the gush winds began blowing, like they were waiting for him to open his eyes. He looked down and blinked a few times at the land so very distant. Just a patch of road running beneath, which looked like a tiny line from the distance Fabrice hung from. Towards the right, a wing motioned effortlessly and towards the left, was her, the little girl, still looking indifferent and not very amused. “You're safe” she whispered finally giving a smile.

He looked up at a familiar face, and soon the realization grew upon him that a hand held him tightly in the air as a lady glided in the skies. That face was familiar and when it smiled, he knew her through the photos he always seen. She was his mother.

“Aren't you happy to see your mommy ?” asked the little girl.

“I have never met my mother. She had died when I was born” a cool breeze hit his Fabrice's face, his eyes became a little moist.

“Where am I ?” he cried in a breaking voice.

===

Juggling writing with a busy life. StorySeptember is about trying to write a story and trying to live one.

Thank you, if you're reading.

"29" :: Chapter-3

The silhouettes began moving faster. Whenever a silhouette briefly illuminated under the street light, a momentary shimmer appeared on the faces of the unknown figures. As the mysterious figures drew closer, a weird kind of screeching laughter filled the air.

Fabrice looked at the other direction, trying to find an escape through the road that extended into the darkness. ( Where ? Where ? Where ? Too late ! ) The sound of the halting motor bikes were right behind him. Fabrice closed his eyes, too scared to look back, but he did and his breathing froze. He began running his eyes at what was before, the two half bent legs, the two eyes with a big eye in the center, the abnormal ears protruding out, two canines reaching all the way from their mouths to their pointed chins . There were three of them, excitedly jumping with their tails swinging violently behind them. One of them leaped forward and kept a metal structure down. He pressed it a little and moved back.

Fabrice moved back, he looked at the little girl but she didn't show the slightest sign of astonishment. The metal structure vibrated and changed form, it expanded turning into a big rectangular inlet. The motioning stilled and inside there appeared a huge roller with metal spikes. The rotation began with the roller letting out a shrill mechanical sound. A long metalic pathway extended, forming a chair in the end. One of the demonic figures turned back making Fabrice wondered what they were upto. Fabrice immediately felt the tail of the demon rolling around his leg and was jerked with a strong pull. It made him fall, he tried fighting the force but he couldn't. The three demons were continually laughing. Another tail lifted him and placed him on the chair, and the chains appeared, pushing in his ribcage.

The game had begun. The chair moved and so did the blade and the demons waited on the other side. The pace increased and the chair drew closer. Fabrice's hair flew due to the gush of air let out by the moving blade.

Maybe doom didn't wait for 29 hours , it was right here, right in front of Fabrice, ready to swallow him.

====

Is this it ?
What happens for the rest 27 days ? I write bad poetry. Yep.

"29" :: Chapter 2

The view around was blurring around Fabrice's eyes, like a faulty camera trying to adjust its focus. It took a while for him to realize that he was looking at the crushed metal that once formed the bonnet of the car. Fabrice relentlessly banged the door but it was stuck. He tried to reach to opposite door, feeling that a part of his body was stuck between the crushed dashboard. After resisting the pain in his arms, due to the trials of reaching out, Fabrice banged the door open, crawled out and tumbled towards the street. The “29” was bright and clear in the skies, a thunder shimmered in the background but the number remained.

A hooting sound began at a low pitch and quickly became loud. Fabrice felt his ear drums vibrating abnormally, creating an itching sensation in his ears. Lying there on the road Fabrice tried to shut the noise, he wanted to believe that this was a dream, but it was all to real, just like the hooter he spotted on the pole towards the other end of the road.

Fabrice got up at once, taking large strides towards the pole. He finally reached the pole and began climbing, right about now he began thinking about being in a dream due to the unbelievable strength that he felt running through his body.

Fabrice ripped the hooter out and it fell down with a loud clang. He leaped down, relieved, due to the soothing silence that was finally accumalating. The sigh he was about to take was interrupted by a sighting right before him.

A little girl in a black frock stood before him. Long black hair fell on both her shoulders, skin so fair that it would make you think that she had gone pale. Standing there she looked at him with a blank expression, even though she looked adorable, she had a look that made Fabrice swallow. A distant sound of a motor interrupted the encounter, Fabrice spotted a silhouette moving closer.

At first there were 3 motor bikes, within moments the humongous riders were noticeable and finally Fabrice saw their tails behind their heads swaying in the air.

A loud thunder exploded in the skies.

“Your doom is drawing closer to you” the little girl pointed at the skies.

Fabrice looked at the projection in the skies, which now showed 29 hours 59 minutes and the seconds slowly ticking away. He wanted to scream but he felt the time wasn't right because the time, was slipping away, one second at a time.

======

...And that's how we're rolling. Are you reading ?

"29" :: Chapter 1

Everything around seemed to follow an under-water pace. They were all just passing by Fabrice, even the bumps were too slow to be felt. Like an endless swarm, the crowd was never-ending. The faces looked the same, with a plastic smirk spread over them. All the faces were somehow unnoticeable. Many had party caps on their heads. Fabrice could feel a reminder sneaking at the back of his mind, about the ongoing birthday celebration, which happened to be his.

A pair of hands clenched his shoulders guiding him through the crowded hall way. Fabrice could sense, it was his Dad. Thinking about his Dad, made another realization trickle in, this time reminding of the whiskey he had smuggled in with a faithful accompanist and a good friend. Fabrice could see back into time, and that familiar stare with which his dad had looked at him, before he had fallen like a crippled man on the couch. The party was ending now; this birthday had gone too far.

The view cleared out and there was a certain degree of coolness in the air. The pair of hands reached Fabrice’s head carefully leading him to the bed. Fabrice felt like his perception was being treated by a “fast-forward” button and when his realization caught up, the smiling face of his dad appeared before his eyes. The view blurred continually before the eye lids gave up and his consciousness sank in.

It felt like Fabrice had turned away towards a different view. With eyes shut, still some things appeared so clear. In an instant he went from lying down to sitting straight up. There was a steering wheel right in front, and the interiors of a car unraveled as if light was slowly progressing its way into the entire view. A funny feeling in his stomach, told Fabrice that he was falling.

‘What’s up with the slow mo?’ Fabrice felt funny that he could clearly think in this peculiar state that wasn't real, but seemed a little too real to be a dream.

The pace returned as the car hit the ground with a loud crash, Fabrice felt as if he would leap out like a dolphin due to the abrupt impact but his rib cage hit the steering wheel. A faint pain shot up through his ribcage. Fabrice, hunched towards the steering wheel, saw a clear “29” projected in the skies.

‘This birthday had gone too far’ he thought.

=====

...and so it begins again. Another attempt to weave a story. So jump in, hold on tight and let the ride take control.

Anyone after-thoughts are always welcomed, as it would reassure me that my shit is being read. Yep.

The Blind Bookworm

The haze of confusion accumulated with time. Where ever he went, the haze followed. Blinding him to the world around. The people were a source of fear, for they projected themselves as blurry figures who mostly spoke words that pricked his soul.

The invisible hell around him was crowded today. A ritual called the weekend was being observed. He let his haze covered vision direct him through the crowded side walks, towards the park. The park had a red bench at the right hand corner, just beside the water fountain. The bench was clearer than anything he saw around. He walked towards the bench and sat there. After slowly rummaging through his bag he took out a hefty book.

The clear printed words became a welcomed sight for his vision. The words blocked his vision to the hazy world around. With each page he read he looked up, and the world around was clearing up. He kept reading on, till he finally reached the bookmark he had set for the day.

He closed the book, looked up and smiled. The haze was gone now. The world was clear for some time. He ran his hand over the red hardcover of the book, feeling the gratitude bring up a smile on his face.

Prisoner of the Lake

He was dweller of the lake; its waters were his home. A lake which was unnoticeable to the world around him as it gave very little idea about its endless depth. The lake’s depth was safely covered under its small, befooling surface.


Like a mermaid, he stayed there with the cold waters consistently numbing his body. People passing by would sit by the lake and talk to him. Some walked off sooner but some would sit a little longer. She was one of those people, the ones who would sit and talk to him. Just like many others even she queried about the bruises his shoulders displayed. “They hurt when it rains” he told her, something which demonstrated itself after a while.


It began to pour and the drops of waters continually lashed his dried wounds, like a jailer constantly whipping a convict. The hurtful sensation was accompanied by the voices inside his head. She held his hand but he was feeling helpless. With a last glance at her, he took a plunge into the lake remaining in the deep till the rains stopped outside and the storm inside him subsided.


After seeing the imagery of ripples stop on the surface, he swam all the way up. But she was gone. She was gone, just like an entire world which goes away after he surrenders to his haunting.


In the end, he was just a man prone to take a plunge into the pale blue waters that imprisoned him, hoping that someone someday will pull him out, once and for all.

When the Curtain Falls

When the curtains fell on life at night, the city surrendered itself to a parallel life, with the street dogs ruling the streets, and the employees burning the midnight lamp, giving human kind a minority status for some time. A few souls silently worked at night, some weaving carpets, some guarding houses, letting the solace of the night cave over them and making their bread-earning responsibilities less difficult.

The guard at the light house was no different. He pointed his big beam of light from the tall tower outlet he sat in. Accompanied by music regularly over powered by static disturbances. He let the music play for it beautified the persistent silence around him as he looked at the sea, endless, infinite and beautiful, ignited by a full moon. The view, the low music and the caressing winds were his only company.

A rocky patch separated the sandy shore from the street. A little tea stall stood at the corner of the turn on the street. The tea stall facilitated a midnight routine of carpet weavers, patients and staff of the nearby hospital. Everybody sipped their tea while taking a stroll on the shore;  some breaths everybody would take before going back and plunging into their routines.

Sometime after three, the light house guard carefully fixes his beam of light and heads out for his cup of tea. It is routine for him, to head out at this time. A time carefully selected when there is less expectancy of an approaching guest from the sea.

The man at the tea house sees the approaching guard and starts pouring his tea with just the right amount of cardamom. The guard takes his tea, greets the stall keeper with a smile and sits on the rock he always prefers sitting on. His sighting is no different than what he sees every day, the dark shore, a fixed spot light in the sea, a moon reflecting down on the waters and the same man, clad in white.

The man who’s here every day, talking furiously on the phone, stopping only to sigh. Sometimes he looks at the spectating guard, with the light reflecting on his numb eyes. The guard always wanted to talk to the old man but he would never leave his phone.

This time the old man was quite close to the tower guard. The guard could hear fragments of the old man’s statements, describing his misery, his loneliness which added up to his sickness and made him feel like an “Unwanted mass of flesh”

The old man kept on speaking on the phone, till something very strange happened. The old man was interrupted while he was about to say something more. The phone he held on to his ear rang. The old man looked at the tower guard with numb eyes and walked away.

The tower guard saw the old man walking away and decided that from now on, he won’t hesitate to interrupt the old man’s disguised monologue. He hoped to see him the next night, when the curtain falls again.

Grandpa's Wooden Compartment

Nobody knew how Grandpa had come to the village. There were stories of how a thunderous night had given way to a new day when there was a hut right beyond the last fields of the village. Initially, for the villagers Grandpa was a saint and a great man of magical abilities. As time went by, the villagers were clarified about the old man’s abilities which were definitely magical.

Grandpa had a separate wooden compartment outside his hut. It was from here that Grandpa laboriously exercised his force to communicate with something divine. The wooden compartment was where Grandpa amplified the great rumblings of his tummy. The sounds were heavy and could easily be mistaken for thunder due to which many farmers of the village would some time run to their fields expecting a shower but every time to their utter disappointment it would be Grandpa fooling them from his compartment.

The compartment’s close proximity to the village would display the after-effects every morning. When the villagers would see fainted skunks, pigs and hyenas everywhere, it wasn’t surprising for the villagers as they knew the disastrous scent of Grandpa’s prowess. Every night the scenario was the same, the villagers would be fearfully having their meals and Grandpa would be ending his meals of radishes and onions in the wooden compartment.

Grandpa was known to make edible balls from a powdered substance, Churan. It was made up of spices, herbs and a bit of weed. He would keep these edible balls in large jars outside his hut with only the birds feeding on it. It was believed that Churan ignited an inner fire in a being which gave your rear the ability to roar like a lion, a roar that could shake up the heavens and the meditating Gods there. Birds who constantly fed on Grandpa’s Churan had changed quite differently into creatures with a constant feeling of rage, since they couldn’t let out the heat of their inner fires due to the absence of a rear outlet.

Some of these different birds had migrated to the city which had inspired a human game on them, which showed replicas of these birds destroying physical structures.

The villagers found a ray of hope when the talking donkey told them about the approaching bandits. That’s how the villagers fled overnight hoping to return only when the bandits were gone and so was Grandpa.

On a fateful morning Grandpa was chewing a radish with the leader of the bandits pointing his rifle muzzle at him. The other bandits were right behind him on their horses. Grandpa offered the gun holder a radish but he refused. The bandit’s intention to pull the trigger was interrupted by a sudden rush of birds high on Grandpa’s Churan.

As every bandit was on the ground struggling with the birds, Grandpa went from bandit-to-bandit, sitting on every bandit’s face and blessing him with a loud roar. Every time he blessed a bandit, the bandit shook like he had ingested lightning. After Grandpa was done with all 15 of them, they all dropped their guns and raised their arms and Grandpa said, “Welcome back to life, sons”

The villagers returned only to see Grandpa and his 15 bandits chewing their radishes and roaring at them with a smile. And from then on, things became very intense during the nights with not 1 but 16 wooden compartments.

Figment of a Memory

He lied down there, in utter bemusement watching the little twinkling dots of brilliance. A warm breath of air hit his cheek. On turning to the side, a twisted smile spread on his face. His hands reached out, feeling her silky hair. After a playful surrender, he held her warm fist with his fingers intertwined in her.

A tenderly gush of air started to blow, with her hair playfully dancing in randomness. Sometimes hiding a part of her smile, sometimes covering her beautiful eyes. Under the stars, between them, a universe was complete.

With an arm gently placed on her, he started looking up again. A sigh of contentment thanked the forces of nature for this perfect moment. The dark and starry sky broke with a sharp yellow dot. It pierced his vision making him shield his eyes as he grumbled in disgust.

Soon the sharp light went off and he looked up at a dark figure standing before, "Didn't I tell you to stop these late night homages, you retard?!" he heard a voice said.

Something immediately threw him back to sorts again. He got up, kissed the gravestone and ran away.

Celebration of the Moment

Jack sipped his black coffee sitting in a congested cabin. A place so tiny that even the cigarette smoke was finding it hard to disappear outside. He was about to light his fourth cigarette when he heard a knock on the door.

“Who is it?” he cried.

“It’s Alison” a voice replied back.

“Come in Al”

Alison walked in; he began coughing trying to accustom him to the suffocation inside.

“So Mr. Sheriff, What do we have with us?” Jake took a puff of the cigarette he had just lit.

“Evidence, sir, something that will feed our curiosities as we have lunch” Alison sat down, kept his hat on the table cluttered with files and hefty registers.  On the untidy table, a small monitor screen was kept. Jake looked at Alison tidying up the table as he patiently puffed out his cigarette. Finally enough space was made that would facilitate two people to have a comfortable meal.

“Alright sir. Are we ready?” Alison sat down.

“Yes indeed” Jake picked up the phone and placed his order.

Once the eateries arrived on the table, Alison inserted a small cassette into the cassette player. The small TV screen on the table blinked in response, showing a close up of a young man’s face. With his tongue popped out, one could make out from his unseen hand gestures that he was trying to adjust the camera.

After unknowingly giving funny expressions he finally stopped, “Oh! It’s on!’ he cried.

Minutes later this man who called himself Teeber started talking about his wife who had left him and how gravely it saddened him. He called the lonely nights, “Disturbingly haunting” and the days, “Lifelessly redundant”. He talked about his son Little Timmy who had referred to him as a “bad man” and how he had left with his mommy on that Sunday morning. He went on talking about working in a factory and a meager wage.

“Mommy! Only you know how Teeber feels like” he looked up. His cries began subsiding, giving way to sobs. “Get up Teeber! Mommy’s watching you. She’s asking you to get up on your feet” Teeber mumbled with his hands cupping his face.

“I don’t need reasons to rejoice!”  Teeber suddenly stood up as if something had taken control of him. Within no time he had lined up bottles on the table. After drinking three back-to-back, he turned on the music system and started dancing like a high voltage current was trying to sustain itself in his body.

Every now and then Teeber would come near the camera screaming and howling with a repeated claim, “I’ve won over everything!”

The time at the bottom of the screen read 3:11 am. “It’s almost time” Alison looked away from the screen and saw Jake with glimmering eyes.

At 3.16 am Teeber’s celebration was interrupted by vibrations around him. The camera fell down and was displaced to an odd angle which showed the roof of the place. A mass of concrete came down and the video went blank.

Jake wiped his eyes, “This unfortunate catastrophe might’ve not killed his spirit” he said.

They both sat there, observing a silent prayer.  After a while Alison put his hat and walked off.

Wild Encounters

The toad was croaking away for a reason only he knew. With his tiny body on a big rock, he stood there totally unaffected by insects flying over the still waters around. After staying there frozen for a while and croaking away something unknown, the tenor of the persistent stillness was interrupted when a series of scales appeared in the waters. The toad stood there watching the long body with hypnotic patterns move towards it. On getting close enough a long neck rose out to greet the toad with the tongue letting out a hiss. Both the creatures let their glances do some silent talking, after which the serpent turned back and the toad jumped on its body.

While moving towards the piece of land on the other end, the toad was greeted by fishes popping out from still waters betraying the fact that they didn’t have wings to rise and drop from such heights. The snake remained unaffected to the frequent splashes. After crossing the waters, there were tall grasses forming a patch of green. The snake slowly slipped into the grasses and became still.

The toad began croaking again but the snake didn’t move. In a jiffy the croaking toad was answered by a screech from the skies. All the toad could see was a pair of claws coming down to hold the serpent with the toad balancing itself on the scaled body. Within no time, the toad was staring at the sun which clearly appeared red to his layered eyes.

After a flight which lasted for some time, the flying bird lowered and landed on the ground. The snake suddenly motioned back to life and the toad jumped in response too.

They were finally on the hill. The eagle was already pecking out the green leaves from the cannabis plants growing on the irregular slope. After carefully selecting the right mushroom the snake had its body rolled around it preparing to make the swallow.

The toad looked at them and croaked continually, until a croak finally turned into an unclear cough and the toad exclaimed, “Will someone make me a joint?!”

= = = =

In a world of intoxication , peace persists.

The Blind Walk

For a blindfolded man, everything around was just an unclear picture. The sounds were just clues that pointed to a sight that may or may not match his interpretation. The only rule was to keep moving, with only the belief glowing brightly despite the pitch black impressions in sight.

The days were about the tiring walks, with the blazing sun shaking the will to move on, making the blind uncertainty look very severe and hard hitting. The nights consoled with the breeze tenderly touching the face, and just like that, the blind man smiled.

The hope of finding sight, was always kept in secrecy, protected from the day to day struggles.

One night, hope showed itself, by replicating itself in reality. The silent prayer was answered. And just like that, a certain beautiful lady had bumped into the blind man finally. She had opened his blindfold, and finally it was all so clear. The days of darkness were now making sense, by this much needed conclusion.

With the attainment of this beautiful sight, a life was brought back to life.

Just Another Weekend

The afternoon was just like any other Saturday afternoon, when the world was waiting for the weekend’s excitement to kick in. The bars, the shopping malls and the cinemas were deserted with only the pigeons contributing to the hustle bustle. A walk through the neighborhood would just let one witness the harmonious cacophony of television sets, which kept the half-awake people busy till they transformed into the party animals in the evening.

The weekend for Henry was the same too. He repeatedly tapped the remote control, letting the channels change. Every now and then there would be a channel that would be outrageously loud in volume, but there was no one to cry out to him, to lower the volume. For him the television set was like a shamelessly outspoken lady who just kept him distracted from his own loneliness.

This is enough, Henry thought flicking the remote on the couch. A nice little thought crept into his mind, there was an outburst of enthusiasm and he picked up the phone to make some calls. After a series of calls, he waited. Soon Henry was answering a series of knocks with a welcoming expression. By the evening, when everyone was getting out of their homes, the party at Henry’s place had just begun.

There was Mark, Terry and even the usually lazy Frank. There was beer and there were pizzas. The evening was turning into a beautiful night accompanied by songs and some mild dancing. After the beers kicked in, the old men became the young boys they once used to be. First it was the lazy Frank, then Mark and finally Terry who actually dozed off while describing his puppy love for his art teacher back in school.

Henry wasn’t really sleepy; he was just looking at the three drunk faces around him, three old men who were sleeping like babies. He felt an urge to cry in happiness for it was only these three guys who made him feel at home. Maybe because all four of them were just walking the same roads, in fact, not walking but still making their way through life together.

Henry never realized when he went to sleep. In the morning Terry shook him to wake him up, “Hey you, you forgot to turn off the lights last night” he said.

Henry saw that all of them were wide awake and preparing to leave. He went outside to see them off, as they made promises to party harder next weekend. With the final wave of goodbye, they parted ways. Three wheel chairs began making their way through the side walk and one wheel chair rolled back into the house.