[At the thought of Casius, Carl Opens his eyes and becomes angry.
Fucking Casius! That's why they came looking for me.]
Pacing the lab for a moment before digging through drawers looking for something, Carl thinks aloud to himself about the soldiers.
"They had to have come looking for me because I know what happened to Casius and I'm sure the same thing had to have happened to the other guy..."
Carl pulls a cell phone and a battery for it out of one of the drawers in the rear of the barn lab and attaches the battery to the phone. After impatiently waiting for the phone to turn on he begins to dial a number.
He is pacing around the lab as he speaks:
"Hey sweetheart, bad news hun, I think we lost the house. I..I.. I know. I'm sorry, you know how dangerous the research we were doing was. It was only a matter of time before the military would find interest in it and want it for themselves... Yes baby, I know. But it was freaky, there was a girl... Yeah, Yeah...OK. Look just don't come back too soon. You're much safer where you are. For all we know they will come after you for me. This is a dummy phone, and it's safe, but don't call it unless you need to. Get another dummy from Gerald to call me from. I may need information and help, because I have to go get Casius... I know it's dangerous, but I have to...Ok... I love you hon."
Murmuring to himself
"I guess it is time to use all of this..."
Carl opens a cabinet and pulls out a dark trench coat a black beanie and a pair of driving gloves and puts them on. He turns and pulls a pack of cigarettes and a lighter out of a drawer adjacent to the cabinet, takes one out lights it and heads over to the car.
Seeing his own reflection in the driver's window of the car, Carl gives a menacing and mischievous grin before entering the car. As the car is started the quiet humming of the fluorescent lights and lab equipment is broken up by the roar of a heavily modified V12 engine. The car emits a jet a like whine underneath the growly exhaust note notifying the attuned ear to the presence of a heavy-duty supercharger. The large main doors of the lab begin to open exposing a mildly glowing skyline as the day is approaching.
Carl slowly rolls the car out of the barn and stops. He looks to his left and sees billowing smoke rising above the tree line - his home being burned to the ground in the distance. Carl shakes his head and heavily accelerates down the dirt road leading away from the barn connecting with the main road beyond a line of dogwood trees and an old beaten fence. The roar of the speeding Bentley quickly fades off into the early morning.
Monday, September 28, 2009
A series of unfortunate events Part 9
[From a child, Carl has always been extremely talented at anything he did. He was more than a genius as his excellence has been far more than just academic. Carl could just pick up any task and adapt with ease and efficiency. It is no wonder why he entered college at the age of sixteen and cut through medical school 3 times faster than the average person usually would. It continues to be no wonder why that barn existed the way it did...]
As Dr. Sharp enters the interior of the barn a large cross-over of a garage and a lab can be seen. There is plenty of equipment whose purpose can't readily be determined amidst metal working materials and run of the mill shop tools. Near a large door at what would be the front of the barn is a seemingly brand new Bentley Continental. The car has been heavily modified to be in the most minimal description, a very defensive vehicle. Along the wall adjacent to the parked car is a workbench littered with parts that have been pulled from the car and replaced with aftermarket and custom parts.
Carl walks over and runs his hand across the car reflecting on the memories that the car conjures and mumbles the name Teresa, under his breath. He closes his eyes and flashes back.
Teresa Amador, a lab assistant at Georgia Tech was 24 when she met Dr. Sharp. She, a slender Salvadorian woman who moved to Georgia to attend school, was a quick witted yet quiet woman of extraordinary inner and outer beauty. She never made any great effort to alter her looks with make-up or styling her hair. She was by Carl's description, a plain beauty, she need not do anything to be attractive because she was plainly so.
The two first met when Dr. Sharp was invited as a guest by a professor, Gina Silman, to Georgia Tech's campus to speak before one of her psychology courses. Gina and Teresa had become acquainted through mutual friends and often did lunch together. The day of Dr. Sharp's presentation, Gina invited him to one of her and Teresa's lunches. The moment the two laid eyes on each other, history was already in the making. Gina, who was also very fond of Dr. Sharp remained her rather professional self and watched the two get their fill of each other for lunch that day.
It only took two years for Carl and Teresa to fall in love and marry. It was shortly after their wedding that Carl's career ending accident occurred. It was only by a chance mix-up that Teresa was not on the trip with him. Somehow her airline ticket was booked for the wrong date and there was an emergency at the lab. Unfortunately, Carl's half brother Casius was with him.
At the thought of Casius, Carl Opens his eyes and becomes angry.
Fucking Casius! That's why they came looking for me.
As Dr. Sharp enters the interior of the barn a large cross-over of a garage and a lab can be seen. There is plenty of equipment whose purpose can't readily be determined amidst metal working materials and run of the mill shop tools. Near a large door at what would be the front of the barn is a seemingly brand new Bentley Continental. The car has been heavily modified to be in the most minimal description, a very defensive vehicle. Along the wall adjacent to the parked car is a workbench littered with parts that have been pulled from the car and replaced with aftermarket and custom parts.
Carl walks over and runs his hand across the car reflecting on the memories that the car conjures and mumbles the name Teresa, under his breath. He closes his eyes and flashes back.
Teresa Amador, a lab assistant at Georgia Tech was 24 when she met Dr. Sharp. She, a slender Salvadorian woman who moved to Georgia to attend school, was a quick witted yet quiet woman of extraordinary inner and outer beauty. She never made any great effort to alter her looks with make-up or styling her hair. She was by Carl's description, a plain beauty, she need not do anything to be attractive because she was plainly so.
The two first met when Dr. Sharp was invited as a guest by a professor, Gina Silman, to Georgia Tech's campus to speak before one of her psychology courses. Gina and Teresa had become acquainted through mutual friends and often did lunch together. The day of Dr. Sharp's presentation, Gina invited him to one of her and Teresa's lunches. The moment the two laid eyes on each other, history was already in the making. Gina, who was also very fond of Dr. Sharp remained her rather professional self and watched the two get their fill of each other for lunch that day.
It only took two years for Carl and Teresa to fall in love and marry. It was shortly after their wedding that Carl's career ending accident occurred. It was only by a chance mix-up that Teresa was not on the trip with him. Somehow her airline ticket was booked for the wrong date and there was an emergency at the lab. Unfortunately, Carl's half brother Casius was with him.
At the thought of Casius, Carl Opens his eyes and becomes angry.
Fucking Casius! That's why they came looking for me.
Sunday, September 27, 2009
A Series of Unfortunate Events Part 8
["You heard the man boys, Go ahead and start here then plant charges in the basement and first floor.
Two men with backpack flame-throwers ignite their pilot flames and prepare to go to work...]
Carl is moving through the woods as fast as possible away from his house with his mind racing over what on earth just happened. Who was that girl? Where the hell did she come from? Why did she come to warn him about what was going to happen? How did she know? The speed at which he's running seems almost inhuman. He bounds over undergrowth and around trees with the grace of a gazelle and the speed of a fox. He runs until he reaches a clearing where there is what appears to be a run down old farmhouse with an old and tattered barn. The area is quiet and looks as though it has rarely been used. Everything seems to be in a state of disrepair showing excessive wear from weather and neglect. The only thing that seems to have been kept up semi-regularly was the mowing of the grass. Carl approaches slowly from the tree line checking carefully for signs of anyone having been around before him or watching his approach.
It is dawn and the cover of darkness is being dissolved. He walks briskly to the side of the barn and carefully displaces two lose boards in the siding placing them back in their original positions as he enters into the barn through the opening. It's pitch black inside the small space except for a small green glowing light and a few streams of light protruding through the spaces in the siding. Carl blindly moves towards the green light and as he gets closer rolls his fingers across the unseen surface near the green light, pressing a few small buttons causing the light to blink. A door lock clicks signifying it has just unlocked and Carl pushes open a steel door into a very brightly lit room.
[mumbles] So here goes the rest of my life...
Carl is actually Dr. Carl Sharp, a prominent neurosurgeon. A subtly attractive man of a tall stature and medium build. He is half black and white with powerful hazel eyes. At only 32 years old he was a very young and successful doctor out of the Atlanta area. He was recently forced to retire early 4 years ago after he was involved in a major car accident during a conference in Los Angeles. Since then, he has became quickly well renown for his research on neurological disorders as a result of brain damage.
From a child, Carl has always been extremely talented at anything he did. He was more than a genius as his excellence has been far more than just academic. Carl could just pick up any task and adapt with ease and efficiency. It is no wonder why he entered college at the age of sixteen and cut through medical school 3 times faster than the average person usually would. It continues to be no wonder why that barn existed the way it did...
Two men with backpack flame-throwers ignite their pilot flames and prepare to go to work...]
Carl is moving through the woods as fast as possible away from his house with his mind racing over what on earth just happened. Who was that girl? Where the hell did she come from? Why did she come to warn him about what was going to happen? How did she know? The speed at which he's running seems almost inhuman. He bounds over undergrowth and around trees with the grace of a gazelle and the speed of a fox. He runs until he reaches a clearing where there is what appears to be a run down old farmhouse with an old and tattered barn. The area is quiet and looks as though it has rarely been used. Everything seems to be in a state of disrepair showing excessive wear from weather and neglect. The only thing that seems to have been kept up semi-regularly was the mowing of the grass. Carl approaches slowly from the tree line checking carefully for signs of anyone having been around before him or watching his approach.
It is dawn and the cover of darkness is being dissolved. He walks briskly to the side of the barn and carefully displaces two lose boards in the siding placing them back in their original positions as he enters into the barn through the opening. It's pitch black inside the small space except for a small green glowing light and a few streams of light protruding through the spaces in the siding. Carl blindly moves towards the green light and as he gets closer rolls his fingers across the unseen surface near the green light, pressing a few small buttons causing the light to blink. A door lock clicks signifying it has just unlocked and Carl pushes open a steel door into a very brightly lit room.
[mumbles] So here goes the rest of my life...
Carl is actually Dr. Carl Sharp, a prominent neurosurgeon. A subtly attractive man of a tall stature and medium build. He is half black and white with powerful hazel eyes. At only 32 years old he was a very young and successful doctor out of the Atlanta area. He was recently forced to retire early 4 years ago after he was involved in a major car accident during a conference in Los Angeles. Since then, he has became quickly well renown for his research on neurological disorders as a result of brain damage.
From a child, Carl has always been extremely talented at anything he did. He was more than a genius as his excellence has been far more than just academic. Carl could just pick up any task and adapt with ease and efficiency. It is no wonder why he entered college at the age of sixteen and cut through medical school 3 times faster than the average person usually would. It continues to be no wonder why that barn existed the way it did...
Saturday, September 26, 2009
A Series of Unfortunate Events Part 7
["By the way, my name's Jason. Looks like this is where we part. Good luck!"
While turning to lay flat, the man replies
"We'll be hearing about each other eventually, and the name's Casius... "]
2012
[whispers] "Listen, Do you hear?"
A very young girl stands at Carl's bedside. She has a light caramel complexion and has long wavy hair that flows just past her shoulders. She is dressed in a grey tank top, khaki shorts and is barefoot. The young girl stares intently at him as if she was seeing a ghost and is stricken with fear yet still very calm about it. Her hazel eyes are filled with conviction. Carl waking from deep sleep can't figure if he's dreaming or if what he is seeing and hearing is real. He slowly sits up and turns towards the girl.
Carl emits a barely audible "What?"
[Whispers] "Listen. Open your eyes. It is time to run..."
Carl being filled with confusion, "What??"
The young girl begins to back pedal away from the bed towards the window as the sounds of feet and voices are quickly coming down the hall towards Carl's room. For a moment, it seems as time had begun to slow down as he sees her motion slow slightly. Carl turns towards the door frantically as time resumes its course and looks back at the girl who has since disappeared. Hearing the feet getting nearer Carl springs from his bed. He is already wearing a well broken in pair of jeans and grabs a shirt from the back of a desk chair. He quickly digs into a drawer and grabs his wallet and a strange chain and pendant.
He can now hear all the feet coming to a stop outside of his door as he turns and quietly slips out of his open balcony window closing it behind him gently. Through the corner of the windowpane he can see what seems to be soldiers slowly creeping into his room with their guns drawn. Carl dashes across the balcony with incredible speed without making a single sound. He jumps clear over the balcony rails into the bushes surrounding the early plantation style home. He disappears into the darkness of the night.
Sergeant David Reaver stands over Carl's bed tugging at his beard while starring at the tossed sheets. The room, while well appointed is in disarray. It is not very large given the size of the house but it is large enough for Carl and his wife to coexist in it together. There is clothing piled in the far corner of the room behind the door. Across from the bed is a large manager's desk with a number of papers strewn across it. The room reflects that something has been keeping Carl very busy.
In a growly war begotten voice Sgt. Reaver notes that there has been some haste.
"He left in a hurry. Someone warned him about us. Now who could do a thing like that aside from one of his own?
He pauses momentarily and quickly scans around the room. He sees nothing more of interest.
Well then, gentlemen, burn this place to the ground."
Reaver walks out the room nodding to PFC Daniels as he exits.
"You heard the man boys, Go ahead and start here then plant charges in the basement and first floor.
Two men with backpack flame-throwers ignite their pilot flames and prepare to go to work...
While turning to lay flat, the man replies
"We'll be hearing about each other eventually, and the name's Casius... "]
2012
[whispers] "Listen, Do you hear?"
A very young girl stands at Carl's bedside. She has a light caramel complexion and has long wavy hair that flows just past her shoulders. She is dressed in a grey tank top, khaki shorts and is barefoot. The young girl stares intently at him as if she was seeing a ghost and is stricken with fear yet still very calm about it. Her hazel eyes are filled with conviction. Carl waking from deep sleep can't figure if he's dreaming or if what he is seeing and hearing is real. He slowly sits up and turns towards the girl.
Carl emits a barely audible "What?"
[Whispers] "Listen. Open your eyes. It is time to run..."
Carl being filled with confusion, "What??"
The young girl begins to back pedal away from the bed towards the window as the sounds of feet and voices are quickly coming down the hall towards Carl's room. For a moment, it seems as time had begun to slow down as he sees her motion slow slightly. Carl turns towards the door frantically as time resumes its course and looks back at the girl who has since disappeared. Hearing the feet getting nearer Carl springs from his bed. He is already wearing a well broken in pair of jeans and grabs a shirt from the back of a desk chair. He quickly digs into a drawer and grabs his wallet and a strange chain and pendant.
He can now hear all the feet coming to a stop outside of his door as he turns and quietly slips out of his open balcony window closing it behind him gently. Through the corner of the windowpane he can see what seems to be soldiers slowly creeping into his room with their guns drawn. Carl dashes across the balcony with incredible speed without making a single sound. He jumps clear over the balcony rails into the bushes surrounding the early plantation style home. He disappears into the darkness of the night.
Sergeant David Reaver stands over Carl's bed tugging at his beard while starring at the tossed sheets. The room, while well appointed is in disarray. It is not very large given the size of the house but it is large enough for Carl and his wife to coexist in it together. There is clothing piled in the far corner of the room behind the door. Across from the bed is a large manager's desk with a number of papers strewn across it. The room reflects that something has been keeping Carl very busy.
In a growly war begotten voice Sgt. Reaver notes that there has been some haste.
"He left in a hurry. Someone warned him about us. Now who could do a thing like that aside from one of his own?
He pauses momentarily and quickly scans around the room. He sees nothing more of interest.
Well then, gentlemen, burn this place to the ground."
Reaver walks out the room nodding to PFC Daniels as he exits.
"You heard the man boys, Go ahead and start here then plant charges in the basement and first floor.
Two men with backpack flame-throwers ignite their pilot flames and prepare to go to work...
Friday, September 25, 2009
A Series of Unfortunate Events Part 6
["How the fuck I'm not completely retarded is beyond me, cus my head feel like I was hit hard enough to be sent back to the stone age."
The man tries to laugh at his own joke but it hurts too much to do so. Jason sees this and begins to laugh also, but he too is in too much pain to do so. The man can't help but laugh at Jason's misfortune in light of his and the two painfully laugh together for a few minutes]
The man then turns to Jason with a very serious tone.
"Something fucked up though. When I reached for the CD's in the back seat something felt really weird. Like slow. Then I came to as they were taking me out of the ambulance and I saw the defibrillator was busted. And by busted, I mean burned like something shorted the shit out of it...Like they used it on me and I blew it up. The paramedic was looking at me all freaked when I opened my eyes and looked at him."
Perked with interest Jason replies,
"Yeah, shit felt weird when I was getting tossed around and then I get knocked out and wake up with a bunch of wrecked cars around me and barely any injuries."
Before the two could converse any further, Dr Francis Miramar enters the room.
"Hello gentlemen, I'm Doctor Miramar."
Turning to Jason.
"According to the information you provided on the ride over and this chart you must be Mr. Jason Reyes."
"Yes Sir"
"Good, well then I'm going to have the staff take you down to get some x-rays and a cat-scan to make sure your head is all in one piece."
A nurse walks in and begins to prep Jason to be wheeled out of the room.
Turning to the other man
"You too are dealing with a head injury also. I’m making you next. Hang tight sir."
The doctor exits the room and the nurse begins to roll Jason away. As he is exiting Jason looks at the man and abruptly introduces himself in his exit.
"By the way, my name's Jason. Looks like this is where we part. Good luck!"
While turning to lay flat, the man replies
"We'll be hearing about each other eventually, and the name's Casius... "
The man tries to laugh at his own joke but it hurts too much to do so. Jason sees this and begins to laugh also, but he too is in too much pain to do so. The man can't help but laugh at Jason's misfortune in light of his and the two painfully laugh together for a few minutes]
The man then turns to Jason with a very serious tone.
"Something fucked up though. When I reached for the CD's in the back seat something felt really weird. Like slow. Then I came to as they were taking me out of the ambulance and I saw the defibrillator was busted. And by busted, I mean burned like something shorted the shit out of it...Like they used it on me and I blew it up. The paramedic was looking at me all freaked when I opened my eyes and looked at him."
Perked with interest Jason replies,
"Yeah, shit felt weird when I was getting tossed around and then I get knocked out and wake up with a bunch of wrecked cars around me and barely any injuries."
Before the two could converse any further, Dr Francis Miramar enters the room.
"Hello gentlemen, I'm Doctor Miramar."
Turning to Jason.
"According to the information you provided on the ride over and this chart you must be Mr. Jason Reyes."
"Yes Sir"
"Good, well then I'm going to have the staff take you down to get some x-rays and a cat-scan to make sure your head is all in one piece."
A nurse walks in and begins to prep Jason to be wheeled out of the room.
Turning to the other man
"You too are dealing with a head injury also. I’m making you next. Hang tight sir."
The doctor exits the room and the nurse begins to roll Jason away. As he is exiting Jason looks at the man and abruptly introduces himself in his exit.
"By the way, my name's Jason. Looks like this is where we part. Good luck!"
While turning to lay flat, the man replies
"We'll be hearing about each other eventually, and the name's Casius... "
Thursday, September 24, 2009
A Series of Unfortunate Events Part 5
While waiting another man is rolled in on a gurney and transferred to a bed near his bed. The staff hooks him up to the monitoring equipment and leaves the room. The man rolls over in his bed to face Jason.
"What screwed up your day and put you in here?"
Jason barely hears the man strain to say this to him and turns over to him a bit confused.
"Wha-?"
The man takes a deep breath as if gathering himself from the pain that he is in.
"What the fuck happened to you?"
Jason mutters back.
"A damn car accident. But I wasn't in a car when it happened"
The man takes another breath before speaking.
"Damn that's fucked up"
"Yeah, tell me about it. But apparently not being in a car makes me very lucky because my car was unrecognizable. The only way you could tell that thing might have been a car was because it was on the freeway."
The man chuckles a little and chokes because of the pain.
"That's ironic. Real fucking ironic. I think that's what I hit after I went through the windshield of the piece of shit rental my brother was driving. I literally took the whole fucking windshield with me. I swear the piece of shit was taped on the thing…"
On hearing this, Jason tried to sit up in astonishment but the pain in his head lays him back down and he grunts out an astonished
"What the fuck?!"
"Yeah, the 105 freeway crack-up right? That's the one I was in and I saw the BMW logo on what I guess was the back of a metal ball on the side of the road right before I smacked into it. It was half pinched by a big red truck"
The man looks towards Jason in anticipation of a reply.
While squinting his eyes and holding his head Jason, in a near whisper responds with a "Holy fuck"
"Yeah you're telling me guy. I took my fucking seat belt off to grab something in the back seat of the car and next thing you know I'm chewing on your Bimmer for a hot second then I'm being rolled into this place. definitely not my idea of a good Friday afternoon. From what I heard going on coming into the hospital, I guess being injured isn't too bad cus some poor kid didn't receive a scratch but apparently his whole family is in here dying somewhere. My brother ate the steering wheel for lunch too cus the gotdamn airbag didn’t go off. "
He pauses briefly as he reflects for a moment.
"How the fuck I'm not completely retarded is beyond me, cus my head feel like I was hit hard enough to be sent back to the stone age."
The man tries to laugh at his own joke but it hurts too much to do so. Jason sees this and begins to laugh also, but he too is in too much pain to do so. The man can't help but laugh at Jason's misfortune in light of his and the two painfully laugh together for a few minutes.
"What screwed up your day and put you in here?"
Jason barely hears the man strain to say this to him and turns over to him a bit confused.
"Wha-?"
The man takes a deep breath as if gathering himself from the pain that he is in.
"What the fuck happened to you?"
Jason mutters back.
"A damn car accident. But I wasn't in a car when it happened"
The man takes another breath before speaking.
"Damn that's fucked up"
"Yeah, tell me about it. But apparently not being in a car makes me very lucky because my car was unrecognizable. The only way you could tell that thing might have been a car was because it was on the freeway."
The man chuckles a little and chokes because of the pain.
"That's ironic. Real fucking ironic. I think that's what I hit after I went through the windshield of the piece of shit rental my brother was driving. I literally took the whole fucking windshield with me. I swear the piece of shit was taped on the thing…"
On hearing this, Jason tried to sit up in astonishment but the pain in his head lays him back down and he grunts out an astonished
"What the fuck?!"
"Yeah, the 105 freeway crack-up right? That's the one I was in and I saw the BMW logo on what I guess was the back of a metal ball on the side of the road right before I smacked into it. It was half pinched by a big red truck"
The man looks towards Jason in anticipation of a reply.
While squinting his eyes and holding his head Jason, in a near whisper responds with a "Holy fuck"
"Yeah you're telling me guy. I took my fucking seat belt off to grab something in the back seat of the car and next thing you know I'm chewing on your Bimmer for a hot second then I'm being rolled into this place. definitely not my idea of a good Friday afternoon. From what I heard going on coming into the hospital, I guess being injured isn't too bad cus some poor kid didn't receive a scratch but apparently his whole family is in here dying somewhere. My brother ate the steering wheel for lunch too cus the gotdamn airbag didn’t go off. "
He pauses briefly as he reflects for a moment.
"How the fuck I'm not completely retarded is beyond me, cus my head feel like I was hit hard enough to be sent back to the stone age."
The man tries to laugh at his own joke but it hurts too much to do so. Jason sees this and begins to laugh also, but he too is in too much pain to do so. The man can't help but laugh at Jason's misfortune in light of his and the two painfully laugh together for a few minutes.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
A Series of Unfortunate Events Part 4
“Uhhhh, sir? You… alright?”
The paramedic slowly places his hand on Jason’s shoulder in an effort to usher him back to being seated.
“Oh um, yeah, yeah. I- I’m fine”
He turns and sits back down on the steps of the rear fender on the ambulance.
“I should be dead,”
he utters pointing to the black metal ball that was once the forty-five thousand dollar luxury sedan he drove to work everyday.
“I uh, was driving that” The paramedic looks over in astonishment.
“Fuck man, you’re lucky to be alive. God favored you in this one. Looks like you took a hard one on your noodle though. We’re gonna have to take you in and get you checked out”
Jason reaches up and touches the back of his head where the source of all the pain he was feeling seemed to be coming from. He feels a cold sting as he touches the top part of the back of his head. He pulls his hand back to see his fingertips caked in blood and road grime. Wincing as he is touching the back of his head again Jason replies,
“Yeah, the hospital sounds like a good idea.”
Jason turns and loads himself into the back of the ambulance where he was strapped onto a gurney and driven to the hospital. Along the way he couldn’t help but wonder what happened to the woman who hit him and how he was going to explain to his client waiting at the airport what just happened. More so, how was he going to explain to his boss what happened. That will just have to wait till he could get near a phone, because his cell phone was now in what seemed like four hundred pieces in his surviving coat pocket.
The hospital is an unexpected change to the scenario of life at the moment, calm collected and full of the silence that produces the deepest of fears for those awaiting their turn under the scalpel. Jason is carefully unloaded from the ambulance and rolled down the corridor of the emergency care center. The low vibrations rising up from the wheels rolling across the polished vinyl tiles of the floor create a hum in Jason’s head that increases the pain of his headache ten-fold. He squints his eyes, grits his teeth and tries to drown out the pain but the intensity of it is too much to ignore by those means. The sensations are completely unnatural in nature and feels as though the pain is throbbing from the center of his brain and radiating outward in very evenly spaced shockwaves. It is almost as though some part of his brain has turned on for the first time and is making itself known to the rest of it.
Tossing and turning on the gurney as he rolls down the corridor into an open room, Jason's head feels as though it is being crushed by the weight of itself, exponentially increasing the pain he is experiencing. As the hospital staff attempt to transfer him to another bed the weight seems to increase more. Jason thinks to himself "Oh god, this weight has to be lifted off of me somehow." As though his thoughts were the answer from a divine force the pressure was relieved and Jason felt as though he weighed next to nothing. The assisting nurses and paramedics even notice. One paramedic is slightly disturbed by it and quietly asked one of the other staff if they felt as though the patient underwent a strange reduction in weight suddenly. She nods in agreement. They avoid any further inquiry into the issue and turn to Jason and inform him he will be looked at shortly.
"Don't worry sir, a doctor will be in to examine you shortly. I am going to take your blood pressure really quickly..."
Through the onset of the pain returning, Jason chokes out a light.
"Thank you
The paramedic slowly places his hand on Jason’s shoulder in an effort to usher him back to being seated.
“Oh um, yeah, yeah. I- I’m fine”
He turns and sits back down on the steps of the rear fender on the ambulance.
“I should be dead,”
he utters pointing to the black metal ball that was once the forty-five thousand dollar luxury sedan he drove to work everyday.
“I uh, was driving that” The paramedic looks over in astonishment.
“Fuck man, you’re lucky to be alive. God favored you in this one. Looks like you took a hard one on your noodle though. We’re gonna have to take you in and get you checked out”
Jason reaches up and touches the back of his head where the source of all the pain he was feeling seemed to be coming from. He feels a cold sting as he touches the top part of the back of his head. He pulls his hand back to see his fingertips caked in blood and road grime. Wincing as he is touching the back of his head again Jason replies,
“Yeah, the hospital sounds like a good idea.”
Jason turns and loads himself into the back of the ambulance where he was strapped onto a gurney and driven to the hospital. Along the way he couldn’t help but wonder what happened to the woman who hit him and how he was going to explain to his client waiting at the airport what just happened. More so, how was he going to explain to his boss what happened. That will just have to wait till he could get near a phone, because his cell phone was now in what seemed like four hundred pieces in his surviving coat pocket.
The hospital is an unexpected change to the scenario of life at the moment, calm collected and full of the silence that produces the deepest of fears for those awaiting their turn under the scalpel. Jason is carefully unloaded from the ambulance and rolled down the corridor of the emergency care center. The low vibrations rising up from the wheels rolling across the polished vinyl tiles of the floor create a hum in Jason’s head that increases the pain of his headache ten-fold. He squints his eyes, grits his teeth and tries to drown out the pain but the intensity of it is too much to ignore by those means. The sensations are completely unnatural in nature and feels as though the pain is throbbing from the center of his brain and radiating outward in very evenly spaced shockwaves. It is almost as though some part of his brain has turned on for the first time and is making itself known to the rest of it.
Tossing and turning on the gurney as he rolls down the corridor into an open room, Jason's head feels as though it is being crushed by the weight of itself, exponentially increasing the pain he is experiencing. As the hospital staff attempt to transfer him to another bed the weight seems to increase more. Jason thinks to himself "Oh god, this weight has to be lifted off of me somehow." As though his thoughts were the answer from a divine force the pressure was relieved and Jason felt as though he weighed next to nothing. The assisting nurses and paramedics even notice. One paramedic is slightly disturbed by it and quietly asked one of the other staff if they felt as though the patient underwent a strange reduction in weight suddenly. She nods in agreement. They avoid any further inquiry into the issue and turn to Jason and inform him he will be looked at shortly.
"Don't worry sir, a doctor will be in to examine you shortly. I am going to take your blood pressure really quickly..."
Through the onset of the pain returning, Jason chokes out a light.
"Thank you
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
A Series of Unfortunate Events Part 3
As the sirens bear closer Jason finally regains consciousness and is thrown into a near panic as he sees the damage that is all around him and how his clothes are near shredded but all he has are a few cuts and scratches. His head is hurting like nothing he's ever felt before though.
“My god, what just happened?”
Jason murmurs inaudible words of confusion while attempting to stand and losing his balance. He stumbles towards one of the cars near him. Everything is a blur of smoke light and figures moving about assisting other motorists as he looses his balance towards one of the wrecked vehicles. He tries to brace himself on it, but falls short of it and hits the ground. Pushing through the debris on the ground, Jason attempts to scale the side of the car to get himself on his feet, but it’s a struggle he is not doing too well at. While struggling to stand the sound of feet crunching through broken glass, road debris and plastic shards approach as an individual and a paramedic have come to help him to his feet.
Kneeling at Jason's side the paramedic attempts to assess his injuries.
"Sir, sir. Can you hear me? Sir? I am a paramedic. I’m here to help. Can you walk?"
Jason gives a feeble nod without regard to the fact he has no idea if his legs really work. The paramedic and the individual lead Jason through a maze of cars. Some are total wrecks, others are traced by looping tire marks suggesting they had spun out while others are lightly dented and looking as though they were lucky enough to stop in time before sustaining more damage. They take him over to one of the many ambulances that have arrived on the scene to get checked out.
The paramedic puts on examination gloves and shines a light into Jason eyes checking his pupils.
"Do you remember anything that just happened? What vehicle were you in?"
Jason squints his eyes both reacting to the light and in an attempt to remember what on earth just took place. In an instant everything that occurred flashed by in his head and he stands up shocked at his memory of the events He wavers on shaking legs as he stares off into the field of scattered cars on the freeway. His current surroundings seem to melt away from around him and his memory plays back from outside of his body. Cars are blowing by him on the freeway again. Ahead he sees himself pulling over. As his former self gets out of the car Jason gets a frantic rush of fear for what he’ll see next. Moments later, a large red pickup truck blows a tire and veers uncontrollably from the middle lane towards his car. Other cars frantically dodge the truck as it goes colliding into Jason’s car at nearly full speed. He sees himself being tossed around like a rag doll. The pick-up truck is so large, half of it is still on the road and other cars unable to stop in time are sucked into the initial crash. Panic spreads all across the freeway and chaos ensues, sending cars everywhere in a flurry of smoke and road debris. Then Jason sees it. He sees when all the cars came careening onto him. His memory would not allow him to see what exactly happened to himself at the moment of impact and his recollection of the events fade back into reality.
“My god, what just happened?”
Jason murmurs inaudible words of confusion while attempting to stand and losing his balance. He stumbles towards one of the cars near him. Everything is a blur of smoke light and figures moving about assisting other motorists as he looses his balance towards one of the wrecked vehicles. He tries to brace himself on it, but falls short of it and hits the ground. Pushing through the debris on the ground, Jason attempts to scale the side of the car to get himself on his feet, but it’s a struggle he is not doing too well at. While struggling to stand the sound of feet crunching through broken glass, road debris and plastic shards approach as an individual and a paramedic have come to help him to his feet.
Kneeling at Jason's side the paramedic attempts to assess his injuries.
"Sir, sir. Can you hear me? Sir? I am a paramedic. I’m here to help. Can you walk?"
Jason gives a feeble nod without regard to the fact he has no idea if his legs really work. The paramedic and the individual lead Jason through a maze of cars. Some are total wrecks, others are traced by looping tire marks suggesting they had spun out while others are lightly dented and looking as though they were lucky enough to stop in time before sustaining more damage. They take him over to one of the many ambulances that have arrived on the scene to get checked out.
The paramedic puts on examination gloves and shines a light into Jason eyes checking his pupils.
"Do you remember anything that just happened? What vehicle were you in?"
Jason squints his eyes both reacting to the light and in an attempt to remember what on earth just took place. In an instant everything that occurred flashed by in his head and he stands up shocked at his memory of the events He wavers on shaking legs as he stares off into the field of scattered cars on the freeway. His current surroundings seem to melt away from around him and his memory plays back from outside of his body. Cars are blowing by him on the freeway again. Ahead he sees himself pulling over. As his former self gets out of the car Jason gets a frantic rush of fear for what he’ll see next. Moments later, a large red pickup truck blows a tire and veers uncontrollably from the middle lane towards his car. Other cars frantically dodge the truck as it goes colliding into Jason’s car at nearly full speed. He sees himself being tossed around like a rag doll. The pick-up truck is so large, half of it is still on the road and other cars unable to stop in time are sucked into the initial crash. Panic spreads all across the freeway and chaos ensues, sending cars everywhere in a flurry of smoke and road debris. Then Jason sees it. He sees when all the cars came careening onto him. His memory would not allow him to see what exactly happened to himself at the moment of impact and his recollection of the events fade back into reality.
Monday, September 21, 2009
A Series of Unfortunate Events Part 2
Flustered, the woman begins to nervously apologize before she had even gotten close enough for him to really hear. “I’m really sorry sir. I wasn’t paying attention and…” the woman could hardly get out another word before what sounded like a small explosion of breaking metal went off behind Jason and propelled his flailing body twirling through the air and landing back first onto the rear portion of her car, allowing him less than an instant to try and throw himself off the vehicle as he sees a large pick-up truck pushing the mangled wreck that was once his car towards him. The screeching wreck crashes into the woman’s car as Jason tries to roll to his left and lunge off the car. The impact projects him off of the car in the opposite direction the mangled mess is moving, slamming him against the top of the windshield and the roof of the pick-up and once again twirling through the air. At this point, it is as though time has slowed down to one-quarter of its normal speed. Jason sees the mess of metal and glass pass just barely below him as he continues to rotate over where his view of nothing but sky shortly turns into a cloud of tire smoke and screeching on-coming traffic. Time seemed to continue to slow even more as panic driven thoughts engulf Jason’s mind.
“oh god… My head hurts – I’m going to die – what happened to-? Why is every thing going so slo...”.
Time returns to full speed and the chaos resumes. Jason hits the ground face first and tumbles a few feet before he lay sprawled out in the number four lane. He makes a rather feeble attempt to stagger to his feet but his quivering legs only allow him to partially stand shakily and fall to his knees. With eyes shut from the pain, the sounds of cars skidding and colliding are building an image of a painful death in Jason’s head. To this thought, Jason opens his eyes just wide enough to see a wall of cars come skidding erratically in his direction. He knows there is no avoiding what is about to happen and in the fleeting second before impact, lets his mind travel off and focus on keeping himself ridged enough to survive this. The impact was just about as violent as it could be as the side of a skidding sedan smashes into Jason’s stiffened body. It was almost as if all the adrenaline in his body made him as solid as steel when the B-pillar and driver side doors buckle on impact blowing out the glass of both the driver and rear passenger windows in a spectacular shower of glass, knocking him over and back a few feet towards the initial wreck.
The calamity had come to some form of a rest all around Jason’s seemingly lifeless body lying in a pool of broken glass and automotive shrapnel. He lay there breathing erratically but unconscious as though trapped in a nightmare he cannot wake up from. In the horizon behind the rolling smoke, the sounds of nearing emergency vehicles begins to rise above the orchestra of sounds that varied from leaking fluids pouring across metal and hitting the ground, hissing radiators, struggling engines, and panicked motorists.
“oh god… My head hurts – I’m going to die – what happened to-? Why is every thing going so slo...”.
Time returns to full speed and the chaos resumes. Jason hits the ground face first and tumbles a few feet before he lay sprawled out in the number four lane. He makes a rather feeble attempt to stagger to his feet but his quivering legs only allow him to partially stand shakily and fall to his knees. With eyes shut from the pain, the sounds of cars skidding and colliding are building an image of a painful death in Jason’s head. To this thought, Jason opens his eyes just wide enough to see a wall of cars come skidding erratically in his direction. He knows there is no avoiding what is about to happen and in the fleeting second before impact, lets his mind travel off and focus on keeping himself ridged enough to survive this. The impact was just about as violent as it could be as the side of a skidding sedan smashes into Jason’s stiffened body. It was almost as if all the adrenaline in his body made him as solid as steel when the B-pillar and driver side doors buckle on impact blowing out the glass of both the driver and rear passenger windows in a spectacular shower of glass, knocking him over and back a few feet towards the initial wreck.
The calamity had come to some form of a rest all around Jason’s seemingly lifeless body lying in a pool of broken glass and automotive shrapnel. He lay there breathing erratically but unconscious as though trapped in a nightmare he cannot wake up from. In the horizon behind the rolling smoke, the sounds of nearing emergency vehicles begins to rise above the orchestra of sounds that varied from leaking fluids pouring across metal and hitting the ground, hissing radiators, struggling engines, and panicked motorists.
Sunday, September 20, 2009
A series of unfortunate events Part 1
2012
"I remember when I was a little kid growing up, watching cartoons and reading comic books. I always wanted to see a super hero in real life. I wanted them to be real so badly. Sometimes, I’d imagine what I’d do if I were a super hero. What would I do? Would I have super strength? Would I control fire, or throw bolts of lightning? It was all kid stuff. But even in my adult life, I was sucked into the ideas of abnormal human beings. Somewhere, the rules are always being broken. We as human beings have created laws that are broken all the time. Something in the universe created all the laws that govern how we move about our space. It’s about time they were broken too. But never once did I imagine leaping through the air and traveling 13 city blocks..."
Upon completing his sentence Render leaps forward into the late Los Angeles skyline creating a near blur of city lights bellow him. Cars and street lamps appear as a graceful menagerie of moving streaks of lights. They seem to spread in all directions. Render closes his eyes and slowly extends his arms outward as he reaches the apogee of the leap and for a moment, he is nearly suspended and motionless above downtown. Slowly, he begins to gather speed on his decent. He opens his eyes and spots the perfect rooftop to land on and lets himself accelerate down towards his target. Within a moment, Render lands gracefully on the rooftop without a sound. He casually strolls to the edge of the building and peers down, focusing on a street sign.
Annoyed by his shortcoming, he grumbles.
“Flower? Shit! That’s only 10 blocks! Auuugh, I’ll get it right eventually”
Render, formerly Jason Reyes, a five-foot-eight slender man, had rather elongated features and a commanding stature for a man of his build. His long thick black hair contrasts his light brown skin making it hard to hide his Filipino ancestry. He had been manager of research and development for an up and coming automotive performance parts manufacturer until the accident...
2008
“Ah shit... Late as usual” grumbles Jason as he weaves through traffic on the 105 attempting to make record time getting to LAX to pick-up a client. As if to add to the frustration, a taunting musical chime, muffled within the car denotes the constant beckoning of an ever-so-demanding cell phone.
“Fuck” he murmurs as he dedicates his right hand to shuffling through the items in the center console of the car and then onto the passenger seat where a mangled pile of automotive magazines managed to spread itself from the seat to the floor, and fill the space between the door and the seat. Amidst the mess he feels the vibration of a $400 electronic “personal low-jack,” called his cell phone, promptly snatches it up and flips it open to utter a frustrated “hello?”.
“Oh hey sweets. How are you? Yup. Traffic, traffic and more traffic, but at least it’s moving enough for me to get through it with a little ingenuity. I’m en route to picking up a cli-"
Before he could finish the statement the jolt of another motorist accidentally attempting to change lanes into the space occupied by his car causes him to drop the phone.
“Damnit!”
Attempting to keep his eyes on the road, he blindly grabs the phone up from his lap, rotating it in his palm to face upright before returning it to his ear.
“Uh hello, Hun? I’ve gotta go. I just got “body-slammed” by another car here. I’ll call you after I get back from the airport.”
Jason hangs up the phone placing it in his pocket and waves to the other motorist gesturing to pull over. The two cars gradually make their way across the traffic-laden lanes to the side of the freeway. Jason and the other motorist -a young woman- almost simultaneously get out of their vehicles and start to approach each other with apologies. She is a rather tall shapely but slender woman. Her hair is long jet-black and wavy. She is about the same skin tone as Jason, but the tone is a bit deeper carrying a reddish hue. Her facial features are generally soft except for around her lips and eyes, making them stand out more. Her hair waves and her blouse and skirt ripple as the gusts from passing cars combine with the wind to create pulses of air that are almost in time with the steps she is taking towards Jason. As she approaches, Jason leans back, seating himself on the hood of his car as he is captivated by her hazel eyes and is admiring each step she takes. Her steps are a bit miscalculated as a sign of nervousness but that does not stop him from being completely engrossed in her beauty. The two car-lengths of space between them allots ample time for Jason to take in the sight.
"I remember when I was a little kid growing up, watching cartoons and reading comic books. I always wanted to see a super hero in real life. I wanted them to be real so badly. Sometimes, I’d imagine what I’d do if I were a super hero. What would I do? Would I have super strength? Would I control fire, or throw bolts of lightning? It was all kid stuff. But even in my adult life, I was sucked into the ideas of abnormal human beings. Somewhere, the rules are always being broken. We as human beings have created laws that are broken all the time. Something in the universe created all the laws that govern how we move about our space. It’s about time they were broken too. But never once did I imagine leaping through the air and traveling 13 city blocks..."
Upon completing his sentence Render leaps forward into the late Los Angeles skyline creating a near blur of city lights bellow him. Cars and street lamps appear as a graceful menagerie of moving streaks of lights. They seem to spread in all directions. Render closes his eyes and slowly extends his arms outward as he reaches the apogee of the leap and for a moment, he is nearly suspended and motionless above downtown. Slowly, he begins to gather speed on his decent. He opens his eyes and spots the perfect rooftop to land on and lets himself accelerate down towards his target. Within a moment, Render lands gracefully on the rooftop without a sound. He casually strolls to the edge of the building and peers down, focusing on a street sign.
Annoyed by his shortcoming, he grumbles.
“Flower? Shit! That’s only 10 blocks! Auuugh, I’ll get it right eventually”
Render, formerly Jason Reyes, a five-foot-eight slender man, had rather elongated features and a commanding stature for a man of his build. His long thick black hair contrasts his light brown skin making it hard to hide his Filipino ancestry. He had been manager of research and development for an up and coming automotive performance parts manufacturer until the accident...
2008
“Ah shit... Late as usual” grumbles Jason as he weaves through traffic on the 105 attempting to make record time getting to LAX to pick-up a client. As if to add to the frustration, a taunting musical chime, muffled within the car denotes the constant beckoning of an ever-so-demanding cell phone.
“Fuck” he murmurs as he dedicates his right hand to shuffling through the items in the center console of the car and then onto the passenger seat where a mangled pile of automotive magazines managed to spread itself from the seat to the floor, and fill the space between the door and the seat. Amidst the mess he feels the vibration of a $400 electronic “personal low-jack,” called his cell phone, promptly snatches it up and flips it open to utter a frustrated “hello?”.
“Oh hey sweets. How are you? Yup. Traffic, traffic and more traffic, but at least it’s moving enough for me to get through it with a little ingenuity. I’m en route to picking up a cli-"
Before he could finish the statement the jolt of another motorist accidentally attempting to change lanes into the space occupied by his car causes him to drop the phone.
“Damnit!”
Attempting to keep his eyes on the road, he blindly grabs the phone up from his lap, rotating it in his palm to face upright before returning it to his ear.
“Uh hello, Hun? I’ve gotta go. I just got “body-slammed” by another car here. I’ll call you after I get back from the airport.”
Jason hangs up the phone placing it in his pocket and waves to the other motorist gesturing to pull over. The two cars gradually make their way across the traffic-laden lanes to the side of the freeway. Jason and the other motorist -a young woman- almost simultaneously get out of their vehicles and start to approach each other with apologies. She is a rather tall shapely but slender woman. Her hair is long jet-black and wavy. She is about the same skin tone as Jason, but the tone is a bit deeper carrying a reddish hue. Her facial features are generally soft except for around her lips and eyes, making them stand out more. Her hair waves and her blouse and skirt ripple as the gusts from passing cars combine with the wind to create pulses of air that are almost in time with the steps she is taking towards Jason. As she approaches, Jason leans back, seating himself on the hood of his car as he is captivated by her hazel eyes and is admiring each step she takes. Her steps are a bit miscalculated as a sign of nervousness but that does not stop him from being completely engrossed in her beauty. The two car-lengths of space between them allots ample time for Jason to take in the sight.
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Introduction to the project
Hello all or none. What you will read below is an experimental project on book writing. Basically, I am writing a science fiction novel by the project name of Cascade. And rather than have some publisher or writing agent or however the traditional process of getting a book exposure, I am going to write a significant portion of the book online. I feel like it would be very fun and entertaining to whomever it attracts to catch pieces of it as it is written. Maybe it will even build some suspense and in turn generate some sort of a following for a printed version someday.
So. What should you expect? A good read for starters. Unfortunately you cannot comment in an effort change or affect the course of the storyline. It's pretty much predetermined and any attempt to influence me to do something different will be frowned upon. However, if you have constructive criticism about clarity, punctuation or grammar, those comments will be received much differently. As for the written content there will always be errors and what not. We'll just call that added flavor to the book. Lastly, I haven't set the frequency of when you can be expecting segments to be posted but i think that will all vary by the amount of interest in the material that gets refined into motivation to write.
I give you my thanks ahead of time to any all of your interest in my written work. Let the adventure begin!
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