Zifnab
15th Dec 01, 11:38 PM
Well, I came up with this out of nowhere the other day... I have no title for it, except that I've been saving it under the name "Joe in the Dark." Really bad title, in my opinion.
Anyhow, I have this bit of a story done, but I have nowhere to go with it after the point I've reached. I have no real destination, but I figured I'd post this bit and see what happens.
And I'll gladly take a name besides Joe.
It begins.
------------------------------------------------
Joe was cold. Very cold. The last thing he remembered was being nice and warm, in a bar in a back street of New York, in mid-summer, so he had no idea why he would be cold.
But, in his current state of mind, he really had no idea of anything...
Gradually his thinking cleared to the point that he could remember everything. Except why he was cold. And in the dark. So much for everything. He looked around, suddenly comprehending that he was in the dark as well as being cold. Things were getting strange.
He staggered to his feet and took stock of his situation. He was cold. It was dark. And, he had a certain bodily function he had to take care of. But he didn't know where, seeing as it was dark. He began walking forwards as carefully as he could, which wasn't very carefully in his present condition. He figured that he would have to find a wall or something at some point.
Suddenly the floor leapt up and smacked him in the face. This really puzzled him, and he spent several seconds cursing the living floor before he realized that he had tripped over something. He turned himself around and felt along the floor. His hand touched something cold and round...felt like a pipe. This, this must lead to a wall! Once he found a wall he was convinced that it would lead him to a greater understanding of where he was. Of course, at the moment, a greater understanding wasn't very profound. All he knew now was dark, cold, with pipe.
He followed the pipe for a very long time. He didn't know how long he felt his way along that pipe, but it must have been a long time, right? He kept asking himself that question as he moved in the direction he was taken.
Suddenly all his plans came to a screeching halt. The pipe met another one. Four pipes! Now he had to choose which one to follow. He blinked, slowly, his brain fogged by a long (long?) period of repeated motion. He decided to continue straight ahead. Carefully picking his way over the crosspipe, he continued on.
Having left the evil intersection behind him, Joe continued to feel his way along the pipe that he had been following since what felt like the dawn of time. He had to move faster, or he would have to change his pants sometime soon... He had it! He knew what direction the pipe went, so he would stand up and walk. Much faster. He got slowly to his feet, muscles slightly cramped from crawling along the pipe complaining bitterly.
He began to walk. Yes! It works! He gained a feeling of confidence as he took longer and longer strides. He had just reached the decision that he would have no more problems when the pipe grabbed him by the ankles and the floor leapt up to meet him. There was a shower of bright lights, then the lights went out for Joe.
Awakening.
Joe opened his eyes. His view didn’t change, so he closed them, and reopened them again. Nothing. In fact, it may have been less dark with his eyes closed. He was still cold, too. Add this to his newfound headache and you can see where his day was going fast.
Down the toilet.
A wash of realization washed, as washes tend to do, through Joe’s brain. That was where he was going! He moved his legs in order to get back up and they hit something. Slowly his brain chewed on the problem of what it was. Object. Solid. Near his legs. Vibrating slightly. Wait! He had it. It was the pipe he had been following before, the one that grabbed his leg, slamming his head off the ground. He kicked it, and succeeded only in hurting his foot. Now he had a headache and a footache.
Then it dawned on him that the pipe was vibrating slightly. This said to him that something was flowing through it, meaning that the pipe must lead somewhere useful, rather than plunging onwards eternally through the dark. Resuming his previous bent-over position, he resumed his travels along the pipe, searching for something resembling a toilet.
I realize it ends a bit abruptly, but that's all I have written and if I go much farther without a destination in mind I'll be writing in circles..
Anyhow, I have this bit of a story done, but I have nowhere to go with it after the point I've reached. I have no real destination, but I figured I'd post this bit and see what happens.
And I'll gladly take a name besides Joe.
It begins.
------------------------------------------------
Joe was cold. Very cold. The last thing he remembered was being nice and warm, in a bar in a back street of New York, in mid-summer, so he had no idea why he would be cold.
But, in his current state of mind, he really had no idea of anything...
Gradually his thinking cleared to the point that he could remember everything. Except why he was cold. And in the dark. So much for everything. He looked around, suddenly comprehending that he was in the dark as well as being cold. Things were getting strange.
He staggered to his feet and took stock of his situation. He was cold. It was dark. And, he had a certain bodily function he had to take care of. But he didn't know where, seeing as it was dark. He began walking forwards as carefully as he could, which wasn't very carefully in his present condition. He figured that he would have to find a wall or something at some point.
Suddenly the floor leapt up and smacked him in the face. This really puzzled him, and he spent several seconds cursing the living floor before he realized that he had tripped over something. He turned himself around and felt along the floor. His hand touched something cold and round...felt like a pipe. This, this must lead to a wall! Once he found a wall he was convinced that it would lead him to a greater understanding of where he was. Of course, at the moment, a greater understanding wasn't very profound. All he knew now was dark, cold, with pipe.
He followed the pipe for a very long time. He didn't know how long he felt his way along that pipe, but it must have been a long time, right? He kept asking himself that question as he moved in the direction he was taken.
Suddenly all his plans came to a screeching halt. The pipe met another one. Four pipes! Now he had to choose which one to follow. He blinked, slowly, his brain fogged by a long (long?) period of repeated motion. He decided to continue straight ahead. Carefully picking his way over the crosspipe, he continued on.
Having left the evil intersection behind him, Joe continued to feel his way along the pipe that he had been following since what felt like the dawn of time. He had to move faster, or he would have to change his pants sometime soon... He had it! He knew what direction the pipe went, so he would stand up and walk. Much faster. He got slowly to his feet, muscles slightly cramped from crawling along the pipe complaining bitterly.
He began to walk. Yes! It works! He gained a feeling of confidence as he took longer and longer strides. He had just reached the decision that he would have no more problems when the pipe grabbed him by the ankles and the floor leapt up to meet him. There was a shower of bright lights, then the lights went out for Joe.
Awakening.
Joe opened his eyes. His view didn’t change, so he closed them, and reopened them again. Nothing. In fact, it may have been less dark with his eyes closed. He was still cold, too. Add this to his newfound headache and you can see where his day was going fast.
Down the toilet.
A wash of realization washed, as washes tend to do, through Joe’s brain. That was where he was going! He moved his legs in order to get back up and they hit something. Slowly his brain chewed on the problem of what it was. Object. Solid. Near his legs. Vibrating slightly. Wait! He had it. It was the pipe he had been following before, the one that grabbed his leg, slamming his head off the ground. He kicked it, and succeeded only in hurting his foot. Now he had a headache and a footache.
Then it dawned on him that the pipe was vibrating slightly. This said to him that something was flowing through it, meaning that the pipe must lead somewhere useful, rather than plunging onwards eternally through the dark. Resuming his previous bent-over position, he resumed his travels along the pipe, searching for something resembling a toilet.
I realize it ends a bit abruptly, but that's all I have written and if I go much farther without a destination in mind I'll be writing in circles..