The half-forgotten
Other half of my short life
In short story form

 
I'm a Spy
1-26-1996

A huge, empty building with tons of corridors, strange staircases, ramps, etc., almost like a big empty church or university building or something, but it was very very large. There was no lighting, but all the walls, floors, ceilings etc. appeared in a whitish-grey. I was with a TON of people...all guys as far as I could tell, and we were there to play a sort of war game where you basically went around and shot people (not sure what everyone else used...I think some people had guns and stuff, but all I had was my index finger). Once it started, I pointed my hand in a gun-like manner and make "chew chew chew" sounds (as if it were firing) at people. Some guy got me from the side, and even though I dove, I "imagined" or rather, played it out, as if he had shot me in the leg, so I tried my best (although not perfectly, just as in real life, where if you're faking your leg is broken, you still sorta use it) to crawl around without a leg, shot a guy with my imaginary bullets (took him a second to respond, but he went face-flat on the floor), climbed up onto a stage, up a few steps, and to the door to the corridor (it started in what you might visualize as the main church part, minus the pews). There were people fighting (in fun, remember) all around me, but noone payed attention to me as I crawled along through some passages. When I knew noone was around, I started using my leg again and ran.

The place was so big, and eventually I came to where a room opened up into a very very large, upvaulted ceiling place. I found an energy rifle-pulse-type gun in my hand, and barged in, knowing I was the best and anyone in there was toast. Shitloads of demons and more people with machineguns threw fireballs and bullets at me, but I jumped and dove and ran and dodged it all, then ran again when other people heard the ruckus and decided to join in the fray.

I got to another quiet spot, and smelled ambush as I turned a corner. As I crawled through the doorway, a light in the wall turned on by me...a motion detector...then another...and I knew that they, whoever they were, knew where I was, so I got up and ran another way, through more small, white, low corridors, and around another corner and down a ramp. I ducked behind a wall just as hails of gunfire and lasers and stuff skimmed by my head, and chanced a peek around the wall. I heard people moving around, sorta close to where I was, but I couldn't see them. Unlike everyone else, they were silent, and white (no clothes...not even human...more gorillas? I think so.) fur, yet slightly humanoid. I guess they chased or dealt with the guys chasing me, and I made another break. I found a sort of tornado slide (basically a spiral staircase that went downwards, but I rode the railing), and had a flashback in my dream (not a flashback from real life).

In this flashback, I was with some guys...in a run-down neighborhood late at night. I knew one of them was JJ, but in retrospect, he looked neither acted anything like him. I had some him and his people aservice, and he had rewarded me with some "stuff" I thought was a bean burrito, but when I ate it, it was nasty and powdery...even after putting sour cream on it. He tasted it, then taunted me for not knowing what it was, and I parted.

...then the spiral ride came to an end and I was confronted by the same group of people, although they were more...evolved...less amateur somehow. They wanted to reward me again, even though I had done nothing this time, but I guess in their eyes, I had. They might've shown me the way back to the beginning of my dream.

In any case, I ended up there...the guys were still playing their game. I ran past them all, jumped down some stairs, past some pillars, and slid across the floor on the ground as I rolled with the fall. I shot a whole bunch of people...for real...then ran out into the open and shot someone else who was actually shooting back at me...for real...nailed them right in the abdomen. All was silent. Everyone was dead or fled.

Then my eyes focused on the last person I had shot...it was a girl. Actually a girl from high school (year behind) who lives in my dorm now...but not a girl I've ever (or do) have any attraction to (But I did see her on the bus earlier that day). She was dying, of course. She sorta muttered something like, "Eric...*wimper* why'd you do it?" I just stood there, dropped my gun, and felt remorse. "Why didn't you join us? This wouldn't have happened."

I commented something like, "I had to. I could never join you," and stood there for a while, looking around for a long time. Eventually I felt pretty sad and lonely, and walked over to her and lied down on my side so that I could talk to her eye-to-eye (same level, plus it was more comfortable). She said again, "It didn't have to be this way." (meaning the conflict, or her death, or something. I'm not sure.) I said something like, "But...you're a spy for them." She was bleeding all over the place, yet managed to sit herself upright. I was almost crying and felt really really depressed when I embraced her, just holding onto her, perhaps a silent tear, and almost sorry. I said, "It had to happen like this...I'm supposed to be alone...I'm a spy." (again, along those lines) A few silent moments passed by.

Then I heard people coming from all around, so I let her go.

posted by Phlegm at 11/23/2003