Story # 3.1 Day Dream?

"So what exactly is history?"

Jay was standing before a lecture he was giving for one of his nursing classes.  This particular class introduced his students to the history of nursing, in and of itself.  But, Jay liked to take a walk on the hypothetical side at times, particularly where it pertained to history itself.  This particular time Linda, Jay's wife, was watching his lecture from home.  She always loved to hear him speak, even if it was about something as boring as history to her.  His spin on it was what made it so intriguing.

"Why is it our history is what it is?  Have you ever stopped to think about that sometimes?  Why did it follow suit the way that we today have it recorded?

"What if something is missing?  What if none of it is even true?  What if it has been altered?  None of us in this room were there to witness it, so we have to take everything that has ever been recorded on faith alone, as proof.  But what if it all truly is a myth, a lie concocted for some reason we'll never know or never understand?

For instance, how do we know that the Egyptians didn't have automobiles, planes, or electronic devices of all sorts?  Some mysterious hieroglyphs seem to suggest that something unusual existed back then, as you can see in the slides beside me.  Scholars would have you believe they were worn away glyphs that implied something else entirely.  But, really?  I mean, look at that obvious shape of a light bulb.  It wore the glyph away that uniformly?

"What if the Romans had nuclear weapons?  What if America wasn't the first to have invented the atomic bomb?  Immediately following the fall of Rome the Dark Ages ensued.  Now, was it just because of revolt and uprising or did a man made disaster occur on the part of the Romans?  Maybe they were responsible for the devastating eruption of Krakatoa in 566 A.D, with some sort of nuclear device?  Perhaps not, that's probably a stretch, but who knows.

"Or what if, going back to the time of Noah, the world then was exactly like the world we live in today?  What if they had skyscrapers, billions of lives, and a massive flood destroyed it all, wiped the slate clean?  After thousands of years there would be very little proof of such a thing, depending on when the flood may have occurred.  But what if our world today is just a cyclical rebirth of a world long since forgotten?  What does that spell for our future, and how will it end?"

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"Hey!  HEY!", snipped Rob at Linda, who appeared transfixed in thought.  She fell out of her gaze and looked up at the boy who was Rob.

"You better stay focused, lady.  There's no time for day dreaming here."

Rob and Linda were hiding near a loading dock at the back of the hospital for the area.  Only dumpsters separated them from a bevy of zombies nearby, wandering aimlessly.

"Do they always come in bunches like this?", Linda whispered.

"Sometimes.  Sometimes more, a lot more.  But the thing is, you could run right out there, right past them, and none of them even look at you.  Or, you could attract the whole lot of them.  It's just the luck of the draw."

"But, I thought they feed on us?  Our flesh?  Our brains, I guess?  Shouldn't they always come after us?"

"Only in a movie, lady.  These things don't act like that.  I really can't tell you what they want, I just know when they want something you had better be gone, especially if you're what they are after."

"You mean they....they can think?  What kind of zombie is that?"

Rob looked right at Linda, "One that's under someone else's control."

Rob looked back out at the landscape before him.  He saw a gap between several of them, one he thought they could slip through quickly to the adjacent building, where there would be safety.

"Ok, lady, let's go!"

Rob darted off, even as Linda pleaded for him to wait.  Hesitating only for a second, Linda jumped up and followed him along the path.

Just as Rob had predicted, none of the zombies were paying either of them any attention.  It was as if both of them were completely invisible and soundproof.  Having only seen this kind of thing in movies and on television, Linda was gasping as she passed within inches of several near the path they were on, but none lunged for her.  Both of them made it across safely to the building where Rob had set up his own camp.  It was an old laboratory building that was vacated some time before.

Once inside, Rob bolted the door with his makeshift lock, sealing them inside.

"We're safe in here now", said Rob.

"I can't believe that just happened?  I can't believe we just walked right through those things like they weren't even there?  This can't be real?" said Linda.

"Well, you'd better get used to it, lady, because it's very real."

"But why?  What's causing this?  And you said they are under someone else's control?  Who's?  Pat's?
  The people who sent us here?"

"Pat is just a player, I'm not sure anyone knows who's actually in control of all of this."

"What happened here?  The truth?"

Rob stood there for a few moments, staring at Linda.  This was a lot for a young boy to have to answer for.  Boys weren't supposed to have to do that.  They were supposed to collect baseball cards, play basketball, and play video games.  Rob was living a nightmare, and even he wasn't completely sure of why.

"I don't know the truth.  I just know one day the world was a lot like yours over there, and then the next it was this, and lots of people were dying."

"Over there?  Like Dr. Blake said?  An alternate reality?"

"Something like that."

"No, it is that, right?"

Rob went on to do something else, as Linda pursued him.

"You've been here for a while, right?  You have to know more than you're telling me, something?  Anything?  You can't just wake up in this world, and that's just it.  What are you not telling me?"

Rob stopped sifting through items, which he appeared to be looking for food, and planted his arms firmly on the table, his back to her.  Linda stood there waiting for a response.

Rob turned around to face her, "I don't like to talk about what went on here because every time I do something bad happens, or I go to sleep and something worse happens over there.  It's not worth it.  You think you've got it rough today?  HA!  Look what I've had to put up with, lady?  You're beating on me, people attacking me, all in a body I have no control over how I even got in it or when.  I just know that this is it, this is all.  So you can shut up and help me find food and drinks, or you can walk back out that door and try to save your own life all by yourself.  It's up to you."

Rob immediately turned around and rummaged again.  Linda looked over the dimly lit room.  There were all manner of canned goods.  It was obvious Rob had loads of food at his disposal, and drinks weren't far behind.  It looked a little too well-stocked.

"Why did he send you here?"

Rob stopped again, holding a can in his hands, "Who?"

"Pat?  What did you do to deserve coming here, like me?"

Rob turned back around to her, laughing a bit.  "What makes you think he sent me here, like you?"

This puzzled Linda.

"I told you, this is my world, this is my home.  I've lived here my entire life.  My dad, Pat, was here with me too, my whole family and all of my friends.  You don't need to be asking why he sent me here.  You need to be asking why he came to your world in the first place?"

Story # 2.11 Why? Part 2

Light began to illuminate the field of vision.  Shapes soon started to appear.  Finally, the figure of a man, seeming standing over the person lying there, came into view. A hand reached toward, then back away as the line of sight became crystal clear.

"Welcome back, Jay."

The man standing there was none other than Pat, and the man lying on the table beneath him was Jay.  Jay looked from his lying position around the room, taking in his surroundings. To his left were a multitude of people.  Larry, Dr. Blake, and Dana were all there as well. Slowly, Jay began to rise up from the table and sit there, squinting and rubbing his eyes as he continued to get his bearings.

"You've been out for quite a while", added Pat, assisting Jay.

Jay took his hands down from his eyes to witness a room filled with dozens of people. Everything from workers from The Fleece to medical personnel. Jay was uncertain of where he was at the moment.

"What happened? How long was I out?"

"Several days. The important question here, Jay, is what did you experience during that time?" replied Pat.

"I don't remember anything." Jay paused, thinking about what he had just said.  "I don't remember ANYTHING."

"That's a breakthrough," said a medical worker-looking man standing to the left of Pat.

Jay was astonished by this, "If I don't remember, then does that mean I was just asleep?"

Pat smiled at Jay, "Miracles can happen."

This prompted a chuckle from Larry.

Jay asked him, "Lar, what happened here while I was gone?"

"Nothing but many people worrying themselves to death about ya."

Others in the room laughed.

Jay smiled a bit, then realized Linda was nowhere to be found.

"Where is Linda? The kids?"

"Safe and sound, she's got her hands full with those two little ones. She definitely needs you, sir", replied Pat, giving Jay a big toothy smile.

"Can I see them?"

"All in due time, my friend. For now, we need to run a few tests now that you've regained consciousness. We want to be sure everything is, in fact, ok. You had a nasty knock on the head. The physicians here just want to be sure with a CT scan that everything is as it should be."

"Well, I understand that, but I would just like to see them. Like Lar said, they've been worried about me."

Pat's tension level was rising, as were some of the others.

"In due time."

"Why don't you just let me see them? That won't take that long?"

"Jay, please don't get worked up. The test will only take about a half hour. Then you can see your family.  We need to run it while..."

"Let me see them!"

The doctor was now approaching. A speaker came over the intercom stating that Jay's vitals were again becoming eradict.

"What is going on in here? I want to see my family!"

Now, even Lar and Dr. Blake were attempting to restrain Jay. With hands all over him, Jay was becoming more annoyed. He swatted them away as the others tried to talk sense into him. Jay then took notice of a figure walking into the room through the door. As he continued to swat away, he looked up to see Britton standing at the door in a nurse's uniform. She quickly turned and went back out.

"Britton???"

Jay couldn't believe what he was seeing. He lunged forward off the table and away from the surrounding people, then out the door, Britton had just exited. He saw her walking down the center of a corridor that looked like something out of a hospital. Britton was walking along very slowly, slow enough that Jay could catch up.

"Britton, I can't believe you're alive..."

Jay grabbed her left shoulder and pulled her around to reveal something hideous. It was Britton, only a corpse-like remnant of her former self. Her flesh was grayed with rot, dried and fresh blood covering parts of her face, tattered clothing, and grayed-out dead eyes. Jay lurched back away from her, but Britton did not pursue. She stood there, motionless, appearing to stare unabashedly back at Jay. At that moment, Pat walked up behind Jay, startling him again.

"She won't hurt you, no one here will, Jay."

"What is this? What is going on here?"

"Jay, Jay. What do you think is going on here?"

Jay looked around the corridor, at Britton, then back to Pat, "It looks like the hospital I was in once, only now it's that other world that I go to."

"No, I'm afraid not, Jay."

"But that's where these things are, whatever it is."

"You know exactly what it is, Jay. Don't play dumb."

"A zombie. That doesn't exist here, everything is prestine here."

"Right, because you made it that way, Jay."

Jay looked back at Pat with puzzlement, "What do you mean?"

"This is your world, Jay. It's whatever you choose to make it."

"How?"

"Because it's all inside your head. You've created everything in it that you can see, hear, touch, taste, smell. All of it is inside your mind."

"But I'm awake?"

"Are you? Think about it, you're standing in the same hospital you were admitted to with a zombie standing in front of you. Surely you can't think this is real?"

"But back there, in the room, you said I had finally regained consciousness? All of the people I know were there."

"Except for your family?"

"Except for my family."

Jay looked back at Britton, who continued to stare at him, still motionless.

"Why would my family not be here?"

"That's something you'll have to figure out alone, Jay.  I'm merely an imprint of a person you experience in your conscious life. I only know what you know."

"I know my family would be here for me, awake or not!"

"That is entirely up to you, Jay. Just like whether or not this zombie attacks you. The literal definition of a zombie is someone under another's control. So again, it's up to you."

"Maybe she's under your control?"

"That's still an extension of you, my friend."

Jay was becoming angry now. He wanted this to end, to simply wake up for real this time.

"Why? Why have any of you here with me then?"

"The mind is a complex entity, Jay. It conjures up what it wants to perceive at a moment's notice, adding details to things that sometimes no one can explain. Just like your wife's grandmother."

That last part grabbed Jay's attention. He had lectured on a similar topic with almost the same example.  Is this really all just in my head? Have I completely lost my mind?

"Why is the most difficult question to answer. But I can offer this. And this is purely based on your own experiences. Why would a man need to dream about a world destroyed, riddled with zombies, where everyone and everything he has ever cared about no longer exists?"

Jay pondered the question for several moments.  Tears began to well up in his eyes. As a few drops hit the floor, Jay looked down. Then he looked back up and said aloud, "Because he doesn't want to exist at all."

With that, Britton snarled at Jay and began moving towards him. Pat then grabbed Jay, prompting him to look at him.  Pat, too, was now a zombie. The room filled with staff, and his friends poured out a horde of zombies, all making their way toward Jay.

Jay pushed aside Pat and evaded Britton to charge down the corridor. Zombies were now coming after him, so he ran away quickly. When he reached the end of the corridor, more zombies came around the corner. Jay was now surrounded by the horde. He saw one patient's room door still open and ran for it quickly. As the horde barreled down on him, he slammed the door shut and locked it from the inside.

Jay thought this would at least slow them down momentarily as he went over to the window to try and find a way out. When he pulled the curtain back, however, zombies littered the outside area as the room was on the ground floor. They took notice of Jay and began pounding on the glass. Jay could hear the glass giving way, as well as the door to the room. Once they got in, it was going to be all over.

However, Jay had a moment of clarity. He remembered a lecture about dreams he had heard as an undergrad and what the interpretation of dreams could mean. Zombies, in this sense, mean that someone's life feels out of control for whatever reason. At that moment, Jay heard a distinct and crystal clear voice communicating with him.

"Do not be deceived."

Jay acknowledged the voice as if the person talking was in the room with him.

"You are not in control of this. Someone else is."

"Who is in control?"

"You know who."

"Why?"

"Because you want to help, just like grandma."

With that, the door burst open, allowing the zombies in.  The window collapsed, and a horde spilled over. Jay was surrounded and would momentarily be devoured. But he had gained solace in the fact that something greater than him was in control, and if he survived this intrusion into his mind, he would find out what that something was and why it was here.

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Linda awoke, her face planted firmly in the asphalt. She sat up and brushed herself off. She was covered in dirt for whatever reason but was lying on the ground in an old loading dock where trucks had once frequented. As she got her bearings, she could see the ashen sky, gray, deadlike. Fog crept along the ground in the early, cool, crisp morning. She had no idea what time of day it was from her perspective, but her perspective was about to change dramatically.

She knew Pat had done away with her for some reason. She now knew Britton was alive. What she didn't know, however, was where she was at the moment. That, however, was about to change.

Linda heard footsteps approaching and quickly moved to pick up a rod she saw lying nearby. It had been part of the railing of the steps to the dock. She turned and readied herself to swing at the approaching person, only to find it was a young boy. He couldn't have been more than twelve and was disheveled. But the boy quickly grabbed her attention with what he said next.

"Don't swing, Linda!"

Linda stopped short of hitting the boy. She looked at him, bewildered by what he had said.

"How do you know my name?"

"I know a lot about you, Linda. I'm Rob."

Linda's jaw dropped. This man, the person inside my husband, is a boy?

Rob just stared back at her as he saw her lower the rod.

"Welcome to my world, Linda. Welcome to Anderson, South Carolina."

Linda looked around as the fog dispersed somewhat. She could see the hollowed-out buildings, like she was now occupying a war zone. The scorched earth, potholes, and dead bodies lying about. This was the world Jay had told her about from his dreams. The same world from which the zombie had come. For the first time, someone other than Jay had crossed into the other world he had been experiencing. Finally, it was proof positive: this other world is real. The real question is, why?

Story # 2.10 Why?, Part 1

Pat, Dr. Blake, Dana, and several other members of The Fleece staff and crew were in the large control center of the complex.  The doors came open swiftly and in marched Linda, with a full head of steam.  After having just left Rob and the conversation she had with him, she was ready to pry the truth from Pat's bald head.

She walked right up to Pat, who's back was to her, and stopped just short of charging right into his backside.

"I want answers NOW!"

Linda was breathing heavily, her hair wild and unkempt.  Sweat had formed on her chest as she glared at the man turning to face her.

"Ah, Mrs. Trent.  How can I be of service to you today?", Pat spoke, ending his statement with his patented smile.

"Stop smiling at me!  I've had enough of your bull!  I want to know why my husband is in the state he is in?  Why have you dragged us to this place?  Why are you allowing that...that thing to reside in my husband's body?  Why aren't you giving us the answers you promised when we first got here."

"Mrs. Trent, I can assure you that you have been dragged nowhere with malicious intent.  We even brought your children to you, as I recall, who are still present in this facility, safe and sound.  And I am sure you are aware that your own husband crashed into the wall, over there...," Pat pointed to the wall Jay had hit with his head, "...of which we had absolutely no control over.  Frankly, we're lucky he didn't kill himself, thus leading to the position of our unwelcomed visitor occupying your husband's body.  As for answers, I've given you all I know."

"That is a LIE!"

"I'm not lying to you, Mrs. Trent."

"He's not, Linda," said Dr. Blake, from behind Linda.

Linda turned and looked at him, astounded by his response.

"You can't be serious?" she replied.

"I know it sounds crazy, but while you have been distracted by your husband's series of unfortunate events, I've been trying to research all of this.  Pat has been helping me by offering whatever information he knows.  He's been very forthcoming in that regard."

"How can you say that, you idiot?!  You may have PhD after your name, but you have no common sense."

"And I think you're responding overly emotionally to everything."

"Lady and gentleman, let's not do this", said Pat, coming up beside both Linda and Dr. Blake, putting his hands on each of their shoulders.

"I think you're both responding with overly emotional reactions."

"I've seen some of the stuff The Fleece is involved with, while you've been busy, Mrs. Trent.  Hear me out here."

Dr. Blake walked over to a console as Linda and Pat looked on.  She was going to hear about this, but her mind had already decided on her next "reaction," as Dr. Blake had put it.

"They have all the same data we have from Jay's scans at Crimson. They show a minute, almost unseeable, development inside your husband's brain. It looks like a tumor."

Linda relaxed her posture a bit, "A tumor?"

"Yes! It looks like one, but it has none of the characteristics of any tumor I have ever seen. That appears to be where this 'shifting' is occurring between your husband and this Rob character."

"But why is it there?"

Pat interjected, "Because some thing or some one put it there."

Linda looked at Pat.

"That's right, Linda.  It could be the key to stopping all of this. It might even be why your husband dove into the wall the way he did. Perhaps he felt it somehow and was trying to...to...short it out or something", said Dr. Blake.

"Short it out?  You're talking like it's a remote control or something", said Linda.

"Interesting analogy, Mrs. Trent. That could be exactly what it is", said Pat.

"Someone..." Linda paused momentarily before continuing, "...or some THING is controlling my husband.  But why?  For how long?  Why now?  Why him?  He's just a nurse.  We're just a normal family, what purpose would it serve to bring this on him and his family, and tear their lives apart at the seams?"

"The only way we'll find out is to go in and look at it", said Dr. Blake.

Linda couldn't believe what she had just heard.

"Go...in?  You mean surgery?  BRAIN surgery on my husband?"

Dr. Blake nodded at Linda's question.

"Well, I will never give my consent for that."

"Jay already did", interjected Pat again.

Linda looked at him.

"Over my dead body. No one is touching my husband's brain, especially when he's not even in his own body."

"We don't know for sure that the man sitting in that room isn't your husband, Mrs. Trent", said Pat.

"You most certainly do. I DO! I can look in his eyes and see it!"

"Perhaps."

"Perhaps nothing!  You know that's a different man in there.  A man that doesn't trust you any more than I do."

Now Pat's smile faded.

"You've talked to him?" Pat asked.

"Yes, I have! He can be very interesting to speak to."

"And you really believe anything he talks to you about, Mrs. Trent?"

"I'd believe someone that is as confused as I am before I would you. You're not as forthcoming as he is.  He feels like I do that you're not telling us the truth or the whole truth. That's why I am here now, to find out why. Plain and simple, why are you lying to us?"

Pat stood there for a second, staring at Mrs. Trent. He was not smiling. He was stone-faced, a complete blank stare. It was as if he was staring through Linda rather than at her. Finally, after many moments passed, Pat was about to speak.

"Because it's necessary."

Linda took a step back. Does he actually admit he's lying now?

"Pat! We have a situation", said one of the controllers.

Pat looked over at them. The controller had leaned back from the console and was pointing to the screen. There, Rob in Jay's body was unconscious. The body was limp, with the head tilted back over the back of the chair. It was apparent that Rob was gone. But Jay had not shown up yet.

Pat scrambled an emergency medical team, including Dr. Blake and Dana. Linda charged through the door with them.

All Linda could think was that the injury when Jay crashed into the wall had ruptured something in his brain and potentially killed her husband.  If that were the case, Jay would be dead, and any connection to Rob could be lost forever.  All seemed like horribly bad things to consider. She wanted answers for what was happening, and seeing Rob's world might present her with what she needed. But, getting there would be the tricky part and she had no idea how.

As she ran down the corridor back to where Jay's body rested, one of the medical team turned around and grabbed her quickly. They immediately stuck a gun-like object up to her arm and injected her with something. Pat had also stopped to witness the injection.

Linda was stunned by all of this, but within a few seconds, she was becoming lightheaded and practically fainted. The medical staff member grabbed her and guided her to the ground. As she began to lose consciousness, Pat leaned in so she could see his face still.

"Pleasant dreams, Mrs. Trent. Good-bye."

With that, Pat turned and proceeded to the interrogation room.

Linda looked over at the medical staff member. The staff member was female, she could see their eyes, with a mask covering their mouth and nose. But the eyes let her know a woman was tending to her. As the light faded Linda wondered what had she been given. Was it a poison? She wondered why Pat had said "good-bye." Was she about to die? Why though? Then Linda's mind began to drift away. She could feel herself slipping away into complete unconsciousness.

Before her eyes closed and everything went dark, the medical staff member pulled down her mask to address Linda. The staff member smiled at her and spoke one soft phrase.

"Good luck."

The voice sounded familiar, in Linda's slowly slipping mindset. But the face was unmistakable to her.  The medical staff member was Britton. All Linda could think, her one last thought, how is she alive and why did she say good luck?

Story # 2.9 The Dream

Rob was still handcuffed with his arms behind the chair he was sitting in.  He was still alone in the room after Pat had left.  He was alone with his thoughts as well.

Why is this happening to me?  Why won't he help me?  I don't understand any of this.  Everytime I close my eyes I keep waking up to this horrifying dream.  He knows where I am, so why won't he help me?  There has to be a way out of this.  Somehow, someway, there just has to be.

Still buried in his thoughts, his affect flat as he stared down at the floor before him, the door to the room openned.  In walked Linda, Jay's wife.

Rob looked up at her, his green eyes shimmering in the light as the door closed beside her.  She stared at him without blinking, completely focused on the man before her.  If looks could kill, Rob would have died before she entered the room.

Linda slowly moved towards Rob, but not gingerly.  It was a motivated and determined gait.  She was there for a reason and it wasn't fear.

Rob took a deep breath, unsure what was about to happen next.  He remembered some of his previous encounters with her and knew they had not gone very well.

Linda stopped a few feet in front of Rob and stood there, still staring into the man's eyes.  All Rob could do is stare right back.  Finally, Linda responded.

With a quick stroke, she took her left hand and slapped Rob across the face as hard as she could.  The jolt nearly knocked Rob to the ground, twisting him sideways and causing a minute amount of blood to come forth from his lips.  Rob could taste the blood, and as he spit it out, he began to chuckle.

Linda continued to stare at Rob as the man leaned back up to face her, now laughing.

"I gotta tell ya, lady, you pack quite a wallop.  Too bad this is still your husband's face."

"You know who you're in?", she asked.

"I know, because I know I don't know you.  So I have to be somewhere else."

"Then why don't you leave?"

"Isn't that the real question?  Why?  Isn't that what's really on your mind?"

Linda just stared at Rob.

"I think the real question you should be asking yourself is will it ever end?  Your husband has been gone for a long time now."

"He'll be back."

"Maybe he won't."

"Maybe I'll make you bring him back?"

"Maybe he's dead?"

Linda got right in Rob's face, "Maybe I'll kill you first!"

"That's smart, kill the body of the man you love because of someone else's mind?"

"It's a risk I'm willing to take to get rid of you!"

"No it's not.  You wouldn't even be in here if I weren't handcuffed still.  You're terrified of me.  I've seen it in your eyes.  I scare you to death and you've never felt that way before.  You've had the perfect life with the perfect family up to this point.  This whole thing has destroyed all of that and it scares the life out of you.  But not because you're genuinely afraid, but maybe...just maybe you like it."

Linda got face to face with Rob, "I DO NOT LIKE THIS!  YOU DO NOT KNOW ME!"

"I know people's eyes.  You're lying just like Pat."

Linda couldn't argue with the fact that even she considered Pat a liar, as much as it disgusted her to agree with anything Rob was saying.  But nothing inside of her liked anything about this man.  At least, she thought.  Doubts were starting to creep in now with every utterance of his words.

"Why do you think Pat lies to you?"

Linda stood back up and took a step back, crossing her arms, "He claims he isn't lying."

"But you don't believe him any more than I do, now do you?"

"I believe he knows more than he is telling us, but that's always the case with men like that.  Men like you."

"Men like me?  When have I lied to you?"

"The minute you entered my husband's body."

"I had no control over entering your husband's body."

"Then who does?"

"Ask Pat."

"He plays games."

"So do you!"

"I'm not playing with you!"

"Yes you are.  You are right now.  Deep down, you like me being here and you just won't admit it.  You'd like to know me better because I'm different from your husband.  Because you long for something more than this life.  Because you're bored."

"You think that is what you see in my eyes?"

Rob knodded.

Linda charged at Rob, coming to rest in his lap with her hands firmly planted around his throat.  She had a death grip on his jugular.  She could feel the strain and anguish in Rob's face as he struggled under her grip.  His face was turning redder by the second as the oxygen supply was being cut off.

"You want to play games, then we'll play games!  You know what I see when I look into your eyes?  A scared LITTLE boy!  A weakling that can't fight for himself, so he takes it out on others when they least expect it.  I wanna know why this has happened?  I wanna know why you've taken my husband!  I wanna know why you did that to that girl!  I wanna know why you're here now!  I want you out!  OUT!  OUT!  OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!"

The light was starting to dim for Rob as Linda had just about choked the life from him.  But before he completely faded away, he spoke one thing that changed Linda's mind.
"I....didn't....kill....her..."

Linda heard this through fading breaths.  With that statement, she released her grip and back out of Rob's lap.  Rob cough incessantly, trying to catch his breath again.  His head drooped as he gasped over and over.

"What did you say?", she asked.

When Rob finally caught enough breath to speak again, he tried to restate his previous statement.

"I...didn't...kill her."

Linda thought some more about this statement.  Is he just lying to me to keep from killing him?  She looked in his eyes and although she didn't like the man, she didn't see anything that told her he was lying about this one.

"I didn't kill that girl."

This time, as he said it, Linda looked directly into his eyes.  He was not lying.  He didn't kill her.

"Did Jay?", Linda had to ask.

"I doubt it, but how do I know what he does when he's here?  The question is, do you think he's capable of that?"

Linda thought for a moment, but replied, "No, I do not."

"Then there's your answer."

"Then who did kill her?"

This question was as equally important to both Rob and Linda.  For Linda it would be vindication of her husband's innocence.  For Rob, it would prove conclusively that he too was not capable of such an act.

"Well, think about that for a minute?  Who's the one person we both know that's lying to both of us?"

"Pat."

"He wouldn't have done it himself, he would have had someone else do it for him.  But it was all for a reason.  He had to have a reason to bring your husband here, just like he brought me here."

"I thought you said you have no control over being here?"

"I don't.  Someone or something keeps forcing my hand.  Until you figure that part out, you'll never have your question as to why this is happening answered.  And if you touch me again, I'll kill you!"

"Feelings mutual."

"Glad we agree on something."

"We agree on two things.  Neither of us trust Pat either."

"So you don't believe I killed that girl?"

"I'll need proof before I believe that one.  But you've given me some direction I needed."

Linda turned to leave the room and headed for the door.

"That's it?  I thought you wanted to know why?"

"I do and now I'm going to find out why.  You just sit tight, sweet pea.  You're about to meet your maker."

As Linda openned the door, Rob hollered at her.

"Did it ever occur to you that if Jay can bring things here, I can take things there too?"

The door was blocking Linda's view of Rob, but she stepped back slowly to visualize him again.  Rob was staring at her as she looked back at him.

"You need to be very weary of how you tread, lady, when it comes to your next action after you leave here.  You have no idea what you're about to mess with.  Of course, that is also a way for me to prove the person I am.  Just be mindful, if you start asking too many questions, you'll get answers you don't really want."

Linda thought about her response for a second, then leaned on the door to ask a legitimate question of Rob.

"Listen, Rob, is it?"

Rob nodded.

"If things go bad, can you take me there?"

"Take you...to where I come from?"

Linda nodded.

"You don't wanna go there."

"Is Jay there?"

"Yes, but only when I'm here. If I went back there, you'd still be with me, not Jay."

"But I could see why you want to be here so badly?"

"Trust me, lady, you don't wanna go there."

"We'll see."

With that final comment, Linda closed the door and left Rob alone again.  Rob sat there thinking to himself once again.

She believes me!  She actually believes me!  At long last, someone believes me.  I have to take her there.  She has to understand what happened, before it's too late.  Maybe she can help me end this horrible dream I'm trapped in too.

Story # 2.8 When they come around...

Larry, Seth, and Mike were lying on beds side-by-side at The Fleece.  However, it wasn't their deceased bodies lying there. Amazingly, all three men were still very much alive and improving in their conditions, if you wanted to call it that.

Larry should have died from an intracranial bleed, brought on by Rob, in Jay's body, slamming his head into the wall with great force. The blow actually sent pieces of Larry's skull into the back of his brain and the brain stem. He should have died days ago.

Seth's aortic arch had been severed by the bullet that penetrated his chest. That's instant death in most cases, but somehow, he survived long enough to be whisked away by his assailant.

But neither of those compared to Mike. Mike literally had his brains blown out at point-blank range.  You can't get more immediate for death than that. Yet, his vital signs were low, but normal and his wound was healing. Both were impossible circumstances.

But nothing is impossible at The Fleece.

Pat walked into the recovery room after leaving his son Rob from their little talk.

"How are our patients coming?", Pat asked.

A man dressed in regular clothing with no identification stood over the monitors, keeping an eye on the three men.

"They are progressing.  No surprise, the one shot through the head is taking considerably less time to heal than the other two", replied the monitor tech.

Pat smiled and shook his head.

"Amazing! Brain and cranial matter is so much easier to heal than arterial damage."

"You'd think it would be the other way around, though?"

"Yes, that's what our science tells us. But as you know, things have certainly changed."

The monitor tech paused for a moment and turned towards Pat. Pat looked back at him, a little stunned by the action.

"You do realize what we can do with this tech, right?", asked the monitor tech of Pat.

Pat simply nodded, giving his patented smile.

"We're looking at the cure for cancer, hepatitis, HIV, AIDS, ebola..."

Pat nodded to all, looking down at the monitors before both men.

"...even death."

"I hardly think we've found the death cure, don't you?"

"When a man gets shot through the head at point-blank range, he's dead. Yet that man is alive in there."

"He was in stasis, not dead. His brain activity had yet to cease, and his body was still warm. Had he laid there for more than five to ten minutes, then he would have been dead, and there would have been nothing we could have done for him. Besides, you imply that death is a disease that can be cured.  That's just a natural process of life. All things must end."

"But if we can regenerate tissue?"

"If you had started the regeneration cycle past the ten-minute mark, you would have brought something back far different than the man you shot at point-blank range, Steven."

"Is that what happened?"

"What happened...to what exactly?"

"You know what I mean, Pat?"

"No, I'm afraid I don't, Steven.  By implying something happening in the past tense, you're suggesting this happened before. We have no way of knowing what happened before. It's all just an educated guess."

"But isn't that what this Trent guy was brought in for?"

"Jay was brought in because he might have set a new precedent.  He's something...unique."

"And by unique, you mean expendable?"

"If it comes to that, yes."

"So, who is the guy that's in him now?"

Pat took a deep sigh as he looked back down at the consoles beneath them. Steven never took his eyes off Pat, trying to read his reaction.

"That man is an unfortunate case. He can't be helped."

"Why are you lying to me, Pat?"

Eye-to-eye, Pat looked up at Steven, "I'm not lying to you, Steven. He's a lost cause. There's nothing we can do for him."

"Nothing?  Is he as lost as these men here? Because I'll have to tell ya, Pat, you can't get much more lost than these three people lying in this room."

"Those are physical losses. We can fix the physical. But we can't fix emotions, mentalities, or time.  That's still out of our bounds."

Steven looked back at the three men lying before them. Mike's healing was almost complete, while Larry and Seth were nearing completion.

"So what do you want me to tell them when they come around?"

Steven looked back at Pat.

Pat looked at the three men lying there and smiled. Then he looked at Steven, still smiling.

"Tell them, welcome to The Fleece."

With that, Pat turned back towards the door and exited the room.

The monitor began to beep wildly. Steven saw this and gave that particular monitor attention. He pressed a few buttons in sequence. The sequence maneuvered a syringe into position over Mike's chest.  The syringe was then shoved downward, directly into Mike's heart, and injected.

Mike's eyes were opened within a few seconds, and he was breathing on his own once again.

Story # 2.7 Who is Rob?

Rob sat in a dark, dimly lit room with his hands securely hand cuffed behind the back of the chair he was sitting in.  The only problem with this, however, he was sitting there in Jay's body.

This room had no mirror.  It was completely sealed off from outside influence of any kind.  The only people that would be talking or listening in this room would be Rob and his interrogator.

The reason for the room was by design.  No one wanted any leaks of what Rob might have to say, seeing as he was not the actual person that should be occupying the body he was in.  Larry was now in acoma, medically induced to try and allow his body to heal itself after the injury.  Everyone else was on pins and needles.  For the first time, this Rob character had remained in Jay's body for longer than a few hours.  This time, he had been in Jay's body for days.  Being kept in solitary was taking it's toll on Rob, however.

The outer door to the room Rob was in finally openned, and in walked Pat.  He gave Rob his typical smile, toothy greeting, to which Rob had little to know reaction to.

Pat pulled out the chair on the other side of the table in front of Rob, then had a seat.  Rob continued to stare downward at the table before him, unwilling to bend or brake.

"How are you feeling today, Rob?", asked Pat.

"Like a captive, as usual....Pat."

Rob looked up at Pat when he stressed his name.

This prompted a chuckle from Pat as he leaned back in his chair, laying his right hand on the table.

"Same old, Rob."

"Likewise for Pat."

"Can you tell me what you remember before you showed up here, Rob?"

"You know where I came from, Pat.  Why should I have to tell you again?"

"That may be true, but I would like to know for curiosity's sake."

Rob rolled his eyes at Pat, then looked back down at the floor.

"You know, the doctors have all said that the only reason you're still here is because Jay injured himself with the impact into the wall.  Against all odds, you're wide awake here with us in an injured body.  But eventually that could catch up to you."

"We both know that won't happen."

"It won't?"

Rob looked up at Pat and stared at him.

"Are you sure it won't?"

Rob did not answer Pat's question.

"I would hate for the actions of Jay to jeopardize anything going on here, or jeopardize our relationship."

Rob began to laugh hysterically at this statement.

"Relationship?  Seriously?  If you want to call it that, ok."

"We have a...unique relationship, Rob. One that is vitally important."

"Not important enough though, is it?"

"Rob, we did all we could for you."

"YOU DID NOTHING!"

Rob's demeanor changed, and Pat's smile went away. He stared at Rob who was now visibly angry.

"You left me there to die! You didn't even try to help me, Pat. You just did your thing and ran away like you always do. I didn't have a chance. But I beat you! I beat you and your cronies, and soon I'm going to find a way to stay here and be a thorn in the side of this world too. The very thing I know you don't want."

Pat continued to stare at Rob, emotionless.

"If you stay here, you'll never leave this facility, Rob."

"That's better than where I've been, Pat. Anything is."

"But you're partly to blame for what happened there."

Rob leaned forward in his chair, as far as he could with the cuffs on, and looked dead into Pat's eyes, "So are you, Dad!"

That last word from Rob's mouth made Pat cringe.

"I told you never to call me that, Rob?"

"Well, I never thought you'd abandon me, so we're even. How did you get here, anyway, so you could leave me behind?"

"That's classified."

"As always."

"This conversation is over."

"Indeed it is."

Pat stood up and began to exit the room. But before he left, he turned and spoke to Rob one more time.

"By the way, tomorrow we'll be injecting you with an agent to put you in a state of coma, so Jay's body can be allowed to heal. That will put you to sleep and for all intents and purposes render any chance of you returning to Jay impossible unless he is able to come back out of it. So this may be the last time we talk.  I must say, it was...fruitful. When you go to sleep, enjoy the world you wake up to."

"I'll just find another way in, Pat. I always do."

"We'll see about that. Have a nice life,....son."

With that last statement, Pat left the room and closed the door behind him.

Rob kicked the table hard enough to push it forward about a foot.  He hated his father for what he had done.  Rob's only concern was that this could be the last time he ever again awakens to the world of Jay.  It was a peaceful world, filled with life.  Where Rob kept coming from, there was always darkness and death.  A place like that changes a person.  It makes them more survivalist, and less humanist.  Rob could only remember the faces of all those that died before him, whether by his own hand or from circumstances out of their control.  The world he left and Jay entered was always gloomy, trying, hard, and terrifying.  Rob simply wanted it to stop.  He just didn't understand why his own father would leave him in such a place.  Why would he want him there, knowing what was to come.  Knowing that a world would end and eventually take his son with it.  Rob's only hope was to remain inside Jay in the hopes the end would come for that man instead.  He didn't care who Jay was or what he had done.  He just wanted to survive, anyway he could.

But, Rob knew there was something special about this Jay guy.  He had crossed over before, with other people during the experimentations at The Fleece, but something was different with this guy.  For the first time ever, Rob could feel the presence of Jay with him, while he occupied Jay's body.  Unfortunately for Rob, Jay was beginning to wake up.



             

Story # 2.6 The Van

"Well, that looks like the vehicle we've been looking for."

Mike said this then took a sip of his coffee as he and Seth sat in the doughnut shop parking lot.  The same van that had been outside the Crimson lab, and supposedly used to transport their missing eye witnesses, was also in the same parking lot.  Whomever was operating the van was not worried about it standing out, especially with people having recently gone missing from it.

"I just don't get it?  This guy just pulls into the freakin shop like everything is just kosher and doesn't appear to have a care in the world as to whether or not anyone is following them or suspects anything?", Seth said outloud, directly his comments more at the air than at Mike.

"Dude, you're preaching to the choir.  It's kinda arrogant, but we really have to get them somewhere we can question them, other than a doughnut shop.  Don't really want to spook them."

"Yeah, yeah.  I really don't understand that FBI guy either.  And where'd he go?  I mean, it was like he just disappeared into thin air!"

"He probably got beamed up."

"That's not a damn bit, funny, Mike."

Mike was chuckling before he took a sip of his coffee.  Then he spit it out as the driver of the black van came out to get back into his vehicle.

"There's our guy!"

Seth got the keys ready to start the ignition, as he saw the van back up and pull away in the parking lot.

Seth and Mike followed the van out of the lot and down the highway.  The driver of the van did not appear to be in a big hurry.  In fact, Seth had to try really hard to maintain distance between the van and their sedan, worried that the driver might be on to them following him.

Suddenly the van peeled off at the next exit and that's when Seth suspected the driver was indeed on to them.

Seth floored the accelerator to try and keep pace.  Tires were peeling as both vehicles sped down the highway.

"Oh yeah, it's on now", said Mike, who always loved high speed chases.

Seth hated them, but he wasn't about to let this guy get away.

The van took a sharp turn down an alley way, forcing Seth to push the sedan harder to catch up.  By the time Seth reached the alley, however, the van was already stopped and in a parked position.  It appeared as if the driver had left it minutes ago even though seconds had passed.

Seth pulled the sedan directly behind the van and flipped on the blue lights.  He and Mike both got out of the car and withdrew their pistols.  Ducking down somewhat behind the car doors, Seth motioned for the two of them to move towards either side of the van.  Mike acknowledged and the two men began to move slowly down the sides of the van.

Looking into the vehicle from the side mirrors, neither Seth nor Mike could see the driver inside.  However, he could have been hiding in the read of the van, for all they knew.  Both men stopped just before the vehicle doors, still peering inside the vehicle from the mirrors.  Seth slowly worked his way around to see no one sitting in the driver's seat.  Mike inch around as well.  When Mike was in sight, Seth motioned for him to open the passenger door as he opened the driver's side.  Both men, on the count of three, yank the doors open, stayed low, and held their guns up ready for anything.  Looking into the back of the vehicle, there was no one.  Neither Seth nor Mike could believe it.  It was, once again, as if the person had just disappeared.

When the coast was clear, and the men let down their guard, Mike moved back outside of the vehicle.  That's when he was met face-to-face with the driver.  This time, however, the driver was holding a gun to Mike's temple, and didn't hesitate to pull the trigger.

With one swift pull, Mike's head erupted sideways, as his body collapsed to the ground.  This happened so quickly that Seth was not able to react fast enough to shoot the assailant himself before he shot Mike at point blank range.  Seth aimed his gun at the driver's head, and readied himself to pull the trigger.  But before he could, the driver shot Seth in the chest, flinging him backwards onto the pavement below.

When Seth impacted the ground, his gun flung away.  Seth was now laying there, clutching his chest where the bullet had just entered.  Blood was spurting upward and outward, as if the artery had been severed.  In fact, Seth's aorta had been cut from the shot, and he only had moments to live if he did not reach a surgeon quickly.

The driver came around the front of the van and stood over Seth, who was mortally wounded.  Seth was beginning to lose consciousness as he was losing large amounts of blood very quickly.  The driver just stared down at him, then he began to spoke.

"If you and your partner want to live, you'll need to come with me."

Seth was perplexed by this statement.  He had seen the driver shoot his partner in the head, a clean kill shot for any human being.  There was no living from that type of wound.  Seth was bleeding to death, so unless this guy was a highly skilled surgeon his chances were grim.  Still, Seth felt a calming effect in the presence of the man.  Maybe it was because his life force was slipping away quickly?  Seth didn't understand what was happening, but he really had no choice anymore.

The driver quickly picked up Seth and carried him to the back of the van.  He laid Seth on the hood of the sedan long enough to open the rear doors of the van, and then picked Seth back up placing him in the rear of the vehicle.  A few seconds went by again and Mike's now deceased body flopped down beside a dying Seth.  As Seth began to blackout, a strange white luminescence filled the van, with a loud hum filling the silence.  Seth thought to himself, Is this the end?

For Seth and Mike, it was only the beginning.