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

 
Then There's Nothing
7-16-2005

I've just escaped from a massive corporate epicenter, an evil media juggernaught. It should be peaceful nighttime, but outside on the streets there is chaos. Police, emergency vehicles, rioters, news and even construction crews. Some there to do their job, others there to plunder and cause mayhem.

I choose my moment carefully. A corrupt corporate man I always hated is stealing a tank-like vehicle. He has the attention of the police. I jump onto another vehicle--which is out of control--and slip past everyone and into the building.

Armed with a sword, I make my way though the lower bowels of the complex. I see two people--a girl and a guy--floating around the base of a staircase. I run over and offer to cut them in half to make it easier. Memories of my escape invade me, memories of when I was cleaved. The girl, floating and holding onto the stairs above her, consents. "Okay, but I've never done this before." She moves back and forth in the air. "Keep still," I say. My first strike is weak, right on her abdomen, barely breaking the skin. The guy moves in to interfere, but I tell him to back off, I've got it. I hack again and saw my way through her body with the implement that was not meant to saw. She cringes and lets out a few yelps. Just a strand is keeping her together now. I run the sword through her again, but one piece of her will not come undone. A long strand is tearing up her side and into her shoulder. I try to hold her two halves apart while I cut at it with my sword. Eventually she comes free. The guy wants my sword, just a little while. I don't trust him. I run along.

At the back of the building, children are running outside as if going to wait at the bus stop. My sword is now a mere knife. I run through the sea of children to get to another entrance to the building.

Once inside, I dive beneath the floor into a sea of goo. Gadgets, weapons, junk can all be found here, lost or cast away from the world above. I find some blasters, capable ones at that, and resurface into the lobby.

Only a few employees remain in the building. It's supposed to be demolished by the construction crews outside in about thirty seconds, but apparently there's work that even now is so important that they have to cut it to the last second. One, a woman I trust, comes down the stairs. She sees me, knows my intention, and calls the attack.

I leap to the top of the building instantly. I am now a woman. The woman from below catches up. "You don't have time," she says. "He's been stomping." A powerful man, somewhere further above, using his powers to bring the place down. It's not just a building, it's a mountain, extending for miles further than I can see. She calls the shot. I'm hit by a thousand energy beams. I drop to the ground in smoke.

But I have a blaster, which means I am defiant; the closer to death I am, the more powerful I become. That was my plan all along. I rise up and fire at the mountain, this eden of mass media. A blue light infects it at the base and slowly consumes it as I hold the trigger. They fire at me but it doesn't matter now. Their objective will be complete in one second, but somehow the ticker doesn't move. My energy engulfs everything and then there's nothing.

posted by Phlegm at 7/16/2005  (0) comments

 
My Hero Woman
7-6-2005

I'm on a dropship with three people. We land on an island. One of us goes out for a drink with a friend who is on the enemy side and learns there are many more enemies here than we thought.

With our newfound information, we locate the underground enemy base. It has three entances, the easiest of which is through their medical supply depot. We know that we can find a profiler there, stashed away for us by one of our moles.

I obtain the portable profiler. As I'm scrolling through enemy profiles, I find one that describes me and has a blank message for me to fill in. I'm confused. Perhaps it's not really me.

Later, I'm descending an escalator with another guy. I wonder if he's the guy from the profile. He suddenly asks if I remember our purpose. He really doesn't know. Neither do I. He mentions Acitomyphentriphosphate. I ask, "Where does the Acito go?" None of my business. I figure he's lying and just doesn't know.

We meet up with a man missing two fingers. He's the main bad guy. I help them pack up a truck. I joke about ChemE waste products to try not go give away my interest in his waste.

Suddenly, there's an earthquake, and rocks spill through a window. I crawl out of a newly formed cack into daylight. The supply truck is outside already, so I steal it. I also suddenly twenty years younger; only a kid.

My dad is driving the truck with me over an ocean road. One lane each way over water for miles. A devilfish springs up in the middle of the road. I fumble for my camera but don't get a good picture; we're way past it. I don't have many photos left so I go through and delete some. I note a picture of children hugging by a tree.

We approach a roadside service building. Traffic stops. Helicopters close in. Bullets fly everywhere. I bail from the truck and duck behind behind a wall. Bullets come at me from both sides. The devilfish reappears and causes enough confusion among the enemy that I'm able to run and escape. My mom calls my name to give me my bag over a thin railing to the other side of the highway. I yell to never call my name, then take the bag and run. Many pedestrians move to let me by, and I worry someone will push me into the water.

I make it to a townhouse. A note on the fridge--written by me--says I like white cars with long seats. An old Jeep pulls up below, a man and woman in it. I go down. The Jeep is just one long seat and a steering wheel. The seat drops back for people to sleep on. It's awesome. The woman gets back in and drives us away. The man gives me a packed lunch. Nobody chases us. I want to bawl my eyeballs out but I hold it back.

The man picks up a porn mag and the woman chews him out. Says she doesn't want him impressing me and having me growing up like him. He puts it down.

We drive into the country. A huge black cloud rages past us. When it clears, we see a huge ugly castle in the middle of nowhere. A McDonalds hotel. I say I've been there. We go inside for ice water. An enemy agent is there looking for us. The soundtrack ends on a single note as I pan to my hero woman.

posted by Phlegm at 7/06/2005  (0) comments