-Message one. Sent yesterday at 10:15 pm
“Hey Derek, this is Kim. Will you let Barnes know I won’t be in tomorrow? Her voicemail is full and your number is the only number I have saved. Thanks, bye.”
-Press one to repeat, two to save, three to delete…
I press 3 and make note on a sticky pad to tell Barnes.
-Message two. Sent today at 12:16 am
"D. Simon? This is…well I guess it’s not important right now…well maybe, never mind. What is important are two things, one: I’ve never done something like this before. Well maybe once but it was ages ago before the rules were in place, ahh never mind. And two: Today your time is up. What I mean is, uhh, hold on. … (Muffled sounds) … … … Ok, yeah your time is up, today at 1 o’clock….pm. I know this is a lot to take in and it’s confusing but….wait, hold on… (Muffled voice, followed by a loud boom, like thunder.) … … … … … … I gotta go soon; I can’t believe I’m doing this! Let me cut to the chase, look you are going to die today, or at least you are on the list. This isn’t a threat; I’m trying to warn you. But you can beat it; Mr. D’s list is never carved in stone. Well I guess it used to be awhile back, but what I mean is it isn’t permanent, you can change the course by just….hold on…(muffled shouting, something breaking, sobbing?). OK, I really gotta go now, don’t go anyway near a train today, that’s my best advice. Ok, sorry to throw all this at you. Wait; don’t forget to tell Barnes about Kimberly. Oh no…”
I hang up the phone and stare at my Green Lantern screensaver. “Was that…” I mumbled to myself. “What was that?” I hit the number one to repeat.
-Message one. Sent yesterday at 10:15 pm.
“Hey Derek, this is Kim. Will…"
I hit the number 3.
-Message 3, deleted. You have no new messages.
“Wait, what? Message 2 where’s message 2?” I frantically check through my saved messages and recently deleted messages but the one I’m looking for is not there. I hang up the phone and cover my mouth with my hands. “What do I do? Is it real?” If I report it they’ll want proof, but there is none and everyone here thinks I’m a little weird as it is and this would just be fuel to their fire. I take a sip of my coffee and my hand is shaking a little. “Am I scared? Do I believe it? No, it was a prank call, must have been. I bet Kim did it, or had someone do it for you. How else would they know about me telling Barnes that Kim is out? But she didn’t know that I wrote a note to remind myself. Lucky guess? Nah, Kim’s not the smart. I mean she is smart, I mean...ah, never mind. Ok, what’s next? Leave for the day? I could do that, I mean just to be safe. Maybe spend the day at the park or the comic book store. Yeah I could do that, not that I 100% believe it but just as a precaution. Plus, it might be fun. But no trains, yeah I can do that.”
I turn my computer off and walk to Ms. Barnes’ office. She is just getting in and hasn’t even sat down yet as I walk in. I tell her about Kim and give her a cock and bull story about a stomach bug and walk out.
The streets are crowded and I take my time walking towards the park or the comic book shop, or both I still haven’t decided when I hear the rumble of the train. The noise is a common noise but it shakes me right through to the bones. I duck into an alley and press myself up against the brick wall. “What am I doing, the train is 8 blocks away?” But I can’t pull myself off the wall until I can’t hear the train anymore. I peeled myself off the wall and quicken my step. I make it to the comic book shop without hearing, seeing, or even getting close to another train. But it’s only 9am and the comic book shop is closed. Still, I tug on the door a few times, only because I feel the sweat run down my back and I just need to be in doors.
“Hey, they closed until 11am!” Someone yells from the opposite side of the street. “And the park is not a good choice, either!”
I spin around and look for the source of the voice. “Who was that? Did they say not to go to park? How did….was it… Things are weird.”
I cut across the street and go into Ray’s Deli, a cool place with good coffee. I order a large black and sit facing the window. The A/C feels nice in here and I hope I’m on the road to calming down and looking at this situation more rationally. I close my eyes and take some deep breaths and feel the calmness spread. My mom is a yoga instructor up north and taught me some calming techniques when the Redlin didn’t work anymore. I’m starting to feel better so I open eyes and almost fall out of my chair. On the opposite of the glass is homeless man, long hair, ripped ragged clothes, with one or two teeth; both rotten. He’s staring at me and holding up a sign.
REPeNT, The enD is neer
Worse than that is that he keeps shaking his head and mouthing the words “Soon.” The manager sees him and walks out to chase him off. I’m still staring at where he was when the manager comes back in.
“Sorry about that pal.” He says and gives me a slap on the back as we walks back behind the counter.
I sit there and feel the calmness slip out of me like air from a balloon. “Am I going crazy? What is really going on here? I don’t’ like this anymore.” I pull my phone from my pocket and dial Kim’s number; she picks up on the 2nd ring.
“Hello.” It’s Kim, groggy and tired.
“Did you call me last night?” I ask already realizing the answer is yes, and kicking myself for not being more specific.
“Yeah, did you tell Barnes?”
“Yeah, but I mean the second time after midnight?” My free hand I’ve balled into a fist and I can hear my heartbeat in my ears.
“That’s not last night, that’s technically this morning.” Her dry humor is not sitting well with me right now.
“Did you or didn’t you?” My voice is raising and I can feel the tremors in my hands.
“No Derek, I called you once. What’s wrong with you?”
I hang up and down the rest of my coffee in one gulp and barrel out of the deli and back into the humidity as the world begins to spin out of control. I start to see double then triple then everything begins to teeter and I can’t focus. I’m about to pass out when a strong set of hands grab my shoulders and steers me against a wall in a smelly alley. Someone is shaking me.
“Come on D., come on. Shake it off, come on! What’s wrong with you?”
Things start to straighten out the world stop spinning and I begin to focus on the face in front of me. The lined face looks familiar to me, but from where? The man is a few inches shorter than me but much wider and stronger. His eyes are a soft grey and they look kind but with a hint of fire. These eyes, I know these eyes. When it hits me.
“Dad?”
“What? No, I ain’t your Dad. I’m just a concerned citizen, now straighten up and get going. Alleys are off the list for you now too. No trains, no parks, no alleys. Now get!” He slaps my face hard and is gone.
I race out of the alley but he’s not there, not anywhere. “My Dad’s been dead for 5 years. It couldn’t have been him. It kinda looked like him, but not really. The hair was different and there wasn’t that scar on his chin he used to like to brag about, but it could have passed for his brother. But dad was an only child. This day…this day is strange. Maybe I need to sleep it off. I flag down a taxi and hop in. I tell him where I need to go, explaining to avoid all parks, trains, and alleys. I promise him a sizeable tip if he accomplishes it. He takes a second to scan his GPS and we are off. I know better than to lie down in the back of a taxi, but at this point I don’t care I need some clarity and the outside world is too crazy to watch right now. I stare at the gray felt ceiling and feel myself drifting off.
The taxi comes to a stop and I sit up. We are parked in front of my apartment on the southside. I pay the fare and add on an extra $20. I grab my bag and walk up the steps to my one-bedroom. Once inside I put everything down and go straight to bed. I kick my shoes off, but that’s it, as I crash face first into my pillow. I lay there breathing in the cool pillow case cover. I roll over and look at my clock. It’s 10:45 am and I think that staying here in bed is my best bet until tomorrow. I pull out my wallet and phone to place them on the nightstand when the green light of my cell tells me there is a message. I take a sharp intake of breath as I unlock the screen. The phone tells me “There is 1 new message”. I click on the icon and prepare myself for some other prophecy about my dwindling life. The number shows unavailable and this does nothing to calm my nerves.
New Message: Sent June 00, 0000 at 00:00
“D. Simon. Soon. Still on the list.”
Damn. I jump out of bed and change out of my work clothes into something more comfortable and I even change underwear because you know what they say about dying in clean underwear. Yeah, I don’t really know either. I’m out the door quickly and half jog half walk to the community garage on the side and of the building and get my bike. It’s an old rusted out ten-speed but it’s all I have. I pedal myself away from the apartment and in the opposite direction of the train station and the park. I am coming to realization that I am not crazy, that I feel perfectly fine, and the events of today have a perfectly good explanation. They are really happening. And someone, maybe an angel, is trying to warn me. “But why?” I’m nothing special. I haven’t invented anything or the wherewithal to do so. I’m not passionate for a cause so there’s no revolution in me. And even if I was passionate I fear public speaking too much to do anything about it. I am the exact opposite of my mother. Whatever the reason, someone or something doesn’t think it’s my time yet. Here’s an interesting fact about this kind of mind set. If you believe in the supernatural and believe that death is hunting you, the world takes on a different look. There are small things you began to notice. Dogs seem to stop barking when I ride by, some even whimper, I think. The shadows of the trees look more like fingers and hands than branches and they seem to be reaching for me. It’s unnerving, but so far just par for the course. I turn down the last road that leads to South Frog Pond and pedal to one of my childhood ‘hideout’. Technically South Frog Pond is NOT a park so I think I’ll be safe, and it’s about as far away from the train station as I can get, but at this rate who knows? I park my bike and chain it to a tree when my cell phone rings.
“Hello?” I am worried and nervous.
“Mr. Simon?” A female voice is there, and she sounds troubled but authoritative.
“Yes, who is this?” Here we go again.
“My name is Officer Ellroyentize from the Northtown PD. Is your mother Donna Simon?”
“Yes.” Starting to lose feeling in my limbs the world tilts on its axis.
“Sir, we need you to come up state to Northtown General Hospital. Your mom was involved in a terrible accident and is in bad shape.”
Silence
“What? What happened?” I’m getting anxious and I feel like I am about to crack.
“She was in Rockface park teaching a Yoga class when the B-Line Subway came off its tracks and fell into the park below.
“Oh my God.” I drop to my knees next to the pond.
“I won’t lie to you, sir. She’s in bad shape you need to hurry.”
“Ok…” I don’t know what else to say. The absurdity of this day pales in comparison.
“When you get to the hospital ask for me and I’ll escort you to her, ok?”
“Thank you. It’s Officer Ell…Ellro…I’m sorry, what is your name again?
“Ellroyentize, but just ask for Officer Ally.”
“Ally?
“Yeah, my first name is Allison but every calls me Ally A-L-L-Y.”
“I’m…I’m on my way.”
CLICK.
I drop the phone and things began to blur again. This isn’t happening. “Pull it together!”
My phone chimes, alerting me to a text message.
New Message: Sent June 00, 0000 at 00:00
“Please disregard. Today is not your day. Wrong D.Simon.”
1 comment:
Very good, i like it
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