Black Box 86ed (9 page)

Complete darkness. Did, d
id I die? Am I dead? I wonder. Is this where we go when we die? Just darkness? I feel this void travel though my veins settling in my stomach. Has all this praying been for nothing? Was it all just a game? To make me feel better? That there is a purpose to life? Wait, a distant light slowly
fades into my view. O thank God,
I ironically say under my breath. It slowly becomes brighter, bigger, more defined. It's a square light with the softest buzzing com
ing from it. Why is it square?
I’ve always imagined a circle, like a tunnel, the tunnel of light, right? Well obviously it's a door Will I tell myself. I try to start walking to it but am unable to move my feet as it continues to get closer. Alright God you ca
n come to me. Stopping about ten
feet from me serenading me with its soft buzzing. “He. Hel... hello?” I ask into it. No response. “Is there anyone there? Please I would really like some support here, dying is already stressful enough.” No response just the ever so soft buzzing coming from it. The light slowly grows brighter. Filling in the space around me. What is going on? Chairs tables and a sign suggesting a meal with fries and a drink appear around me. The entire lobby of my McDanalds slowly comes into view. I'm lying on my back directly in front of the cash register. I try and get my bearings looking to the clock on the wall but it's just an empty white circle. Hm I look around and nothing is defined. The coke machine has lost its words. And the sign are just outlines of happy meal toys. What the fuck it going on here? I struggle to my feet. I look outside and it's pitch black not even the streetlights are on and I can't even see the
gas pumps outside. Oookkaayy
? Turning to the grill I notice none of the ceiling lights are on. Only the faint glow of blank monitors and timers glowing greens and reds giving just enough light to give everything a silhouette.

“Hel.... hello?” No answer. The sound of the last working light above me snaps in and out sending the room into near darkness and back again finally sputtering out. Jesus, what is going on? Is this a joke? Or have I just been sent to hell? A light from the back room just beyond the grill and around the corner begins to sputter in and out. As if beckoning me to follow. I pass the deep fryers the familiar feeling of the humid, grease drenched air filling my clothes and hair. Turning the corner the light finally dying out followed immediately by a c
rrreeeaakk. The back door to the garbage dumpster lists open, a sliver of yellow light coming from the other side. Soft near silent cries flow through the opening. “Ah, hello?” Only the soft continuous cries broken by deep struggling breaths. “I'm really sorry about this but can you tell me what is going on?” I ask walking towards the cracked door, still no response. Just shallow rapid breaths mix with the wind whipping through the crack in the door. The only thing breaking the silence, as I slowly open the door. The yellow light from the McDans sign fills my face randomly blinking in and out casting everything in short lived shadows. Something catching my eye while I look to the sign. Huh, the stars. It’s
odd;
it looks like shooting stars, well with actual stars. Slowly each and every star in the sky take their own turn to fall away. The florescent light strobes strongly grabbing my attention. I look to where the cries are coming from. I see two people, about tw
en
ty feet down the sidewalk from me. A guy and a girl barely moving embraced in one another. His entire upper body convulsing as he almost silently sobs into the girls shoulder. Her hand slowly moving up and down his back.

“It’s ok, its ok I’m here,”
she says softly to him.

“Hey, I’m so sorry for interrupting but can you help me?” I ask as I slowly start to walk towards them. Once again I’m ignored. The light flickering between footsteps as I approach.

“Why, why didn't I just go with them? They would still be alive if I had just gone with them.”

“You don't know that for all you know you could have died with them. Then what would I do?” She asks in response. He adjusts his arms pulling her closer to him. The light goes out this time and doesn't come back. I continue towards them now just feet away.

“Hello?” I ask once more, now close enough to touch them. Suddenly the light comes back. Instantly I recognize them. Well I recognize us. Grace holding me as I bury my face into her shoulder. Tears soaking into her shirt. The light flickers again into convulsions like a strobe light till it goes out
.

Chapter…

“Will, WILL!”

My head snaps up with a pop and a terrible crick in my neck from being in the sam
e position for so long. “What?
Where am I?” I ask as light through the window blinds me.

“Ha you are currently in casa de Grace,” she smiles handing me a cup of tea. Nonchalantly I maneuver said cup to cover my extreme case of morning wood. She smiles, “and ya, you’re lucky I’m not a lumber jack” she winks.

My cheeks flush. “Ah, puberty is tuff on all of us.” I respond

She laughs.

“Thanks again for coming over last night, you probably didn’t half to. God I brushed my teeth twice this morning and I can’t get the taste out of my mouth. Did we eat last night or something?”

“What, you don’t remember?”

“Honestly I can’t even remember you coming here last night, I hope I wasn’t too much of a handful.”

“I would say you were more of a plateful.”

“O, sorry, how about I make you breakfast for all the trouble. If you want me to that is.”

“Uhm I should probably go home for a little bit, need to shower and all that good stuff.”

“O, ok.” she stares out the window stirring her tea. “You doing anything tonight?”

You, I think to myself quickly throwing the idea away for the sake of getting rid of my mini man of steel.

“Um no plans at the moment.”

“We’ll you should call me later, I don’t work and I don’t have any plans.”

“Ok I think I could do that.” I tell her as I nonchalantly maneuver my appendage from its current upright position to a, ahh well I guess downward facing dog. Standing I sip my tea and place it on the table. “I’ll call you in a few hours sound good?” She nods as I head out the door and drive home.

CHAPTER…

It’s a typical morning. I’m back home with a coffee in one hand and
menthol
in the other, sitting on my dilapidated concrete front steps. It’s quite peaceful, as always. With the sound of cars on the interstate off in the distance and plenty of birds welcoming me good morning. The sun is rising just over the house across the street. It’s blinding but I’ve never minded it. I feel the warmth on my face as I sip my way too strong for any normal human being coffee and take a drag off my cigarette. These five minutes every day are what life is all about. No cares, no worries, no wondering which college to apply to, or what I want to major in. Starting my 401 k is the last thing on my mind and I’m completely ok with that. I think it’s called Zen? Maybe? Whatever it is I need to call Marlboro and sell them this moment of my life as an ad. “Marlboro Zen, because you’re probably going to get cancer anyways, why not enjoy it?” Or how about “truly not giving a shit, because you’re worth it.” It sounds
all right
but would that be plagiarizing those over the top, buy our product or be ugly makeup commercials? My mind instantly flashes to the ridiculous acne cream commercials. Always having the girl with the most perfect skin pretending to wash her face with the expression that she just had the best sex of her life. We all know it’s a bunch of crap. Five years from now all those girls so use to being the face of sex that they’ll get surgery after surgery. Paying thousands for Botox and liposuction. Their dreams filled with needles full of their own asses getting pumped into their lips until the day they die. The people who survive and can still recognize them won’t know if they should be buried or recycled. I never understood how we can be the apex of evolution, the pinnacle of creation and still be so stupid. We’ve fought hunger, disease, ourselves, hell lions, tigers, and bears (O, my!) and yet we want to head to the nearest toilet and throw up our lunch the second our thighs touch. I guess evolution favors the vain.

The neighborhood is near empty. Not even someone’s annoying kids running around screaming. I do hear voices though. Huh… odd it sounds like a loud speaker. I look down the street to see what looks like an ice cream truck made by the FBI. As it gets closer I’m able to make out the words.

“This is a public service announcement, all U.S citizens must travel to Union Station by the end of the week in order to receive your United States citizenship bad
ge also known as freedom stars. All ages are required.
This is a mandatory duty of every American, and immigrant legal or
non legal.
The train to union station will be free of charge. That is all.”

What the hell was that? I think as the van slowly rolls down the street, its message slowly fading. I take the last drag off my cigarette and stomp it out on the stairs. I stand up and stretch, the sun warming my entire body, I turn and head straight for the TV. Turning on CNN I am instantly greeted with raw footage and the headline, “Rebel t
errorist control most of Oakland area, parts of other major cities.” I turn the volume up as a woman way to beautiful to have just gotten the job on her merits comes on the screen.

“In a wild escalation
of events the once peaceful occupy movement has made major inroad in taking control of many major U.S Cities. These cities include New York,
St. Louis, Saint Paul MN, New Orleans,
and Los Angeles.
With the latter mostly due to an uprising not seem
to be aligned with any particular movement, but more of a large scale riot saturated with shootings and lootings.
The U.S Military has expressed great concern in not only evacuating people from the region but has also implemented a labeling of citizens. Asking them to go to the nearest safe metro area or mobile center and apply for a freedom star.
Now these stars are more or less the stars from the United States flag and will show the mili
tary you are not apart of this apparent uprising and have not denounced the United States as the official ruling body. We are also getting word that the government has ordered every person within fifty miles of any major metro area in order to protect citizens while fighting to maintain control over these urban areas. Now our latest statistics have shown that the most aggressive or terroristic forces’ numbers have swelled to 150,000 strong mostly comprised of men as young as fourteen to even the elderly. Most of their success can be attributed to the fact that the military cannot tell the difference between these rebel terrorist and civilians. We are quite certain that the freedom star program is directed at not only solving this problem but also to get a better idea of the size of the force they are fighting. Now this is all preliminary information and everything we are reporting is subject to change but we will keep you updated to the best of our abilities.”

Holy shit, terrorists? Are they really calling them terrorists? And now everyone has to get a star so they don’t gun us down. I rummage through my pockets for my keys as my phone starts to vibrate on my coffee table. I walk over, its Grace.

“Hey.”

“Hey did a van go by your place this morning?” She asks.

“Ya isn’t that crazy? I guess we better get to Union Station if we don’t want to get shot.”

We both laugh at the ridiculous idea. “I know right, it feels like everything is getting so real.”

“Well we both don’t work today you just wanna go get em?” I ask, “They said the train was free and I wouldn’t mind hanging around Chicago for a bit.”

“Ya that sounds great, but we have to ride the Farris wheel on navy pier though, you promised me weeks ago.”

      
“God dam it what do you not understand about
me being afraid of heights?
Doctors even have a name for it so it has to be a serious condition.”

      
“O bullshit a promise is a promise and I don’t care if you start to cry on me we have to go”.

“AAHHH fine,”
I say thanking God that she can’t see the stupid big smile on my face. I love arguing with her. I don’t know why.

“We should walk through cause I just rolled a joint and its beautiful outside and I just want to ok?”

“Ha ok,” I say.

“Meet at my house and take the side roads?”

“Sounds good, I’ll be there in a little bit.”

“Haha, fine just hurry up the train gets here in an hour.”

“Ok I’m leaving now.” I hang up the phone, grabbing my keys I head outside. As soon as I leave my front door I notice something strange across the street. There are police cars and even an FBI vans parked all along the side of the street. I look to the house they are parked in front of. One police officer comes out holding my neighbors shot gun. I look to the house to my right as police exit holding a handgun in what looks to be an evidence bag. I sit down on my front steps and watch. The neighbor is arguing with the cops.

“I bought that legally, you have no right to take my firearm.”

“Sir, we are under orders to confiscate
all registered firearms.”

“That is against the law, you can’t do this!”

“I’m sorry sir these are direct orders if you have a problem please take it up with your congressman.”

The police get in their cars and take off down the street. I walk over to my neighbor.