Story #2.1 What just happened?

"Would you run that by me again?"

Right outside the lab Dr. Blake, Larry, Linda, Dana, and Jay, presumably, had just had the experience of a lifetime, a police detective was attempting to understand the forensics specialist's assessment of the scene.  Frankly, if you explained it to him one hundred times he probably still could not have understood exactly what had taken place inside the lab.

"I have already explained this five times...", said the crime scene investigator.

"And I'm asking you...again.  I will continue to keep asking you until I get an answer that makes sense to me", replied the detective.

"Well, good luck with that, because if you can figure that out you're doing better than I am, man."

The crime scene investigator walked back to his van as the now exasperated detective turned to stare him down as his back was now to him.

The scowl on his face was more than enough for his partner to chuckle a bit.

"I don't see a damn thing funny going on here, Mike", said the detective.

Mike, his partner, replied, "It's funny every time you get mad, Seth.  You look like a troll hiding under a bridge when you make that face.  It's really not becoming."

Mike sipped his coffee.  He handed Seth his cup as well.  Both men took a sip as Mike attempted to recount the scene of the crime.

"So we have one dead body, that the coroner claims had been dead for about...how long was it, again?", said Mike.

Seth grinned as he stared down at his cup of coffee, "Six weeks, she says."

"Six weeks, but this whole thing only happened two hours ago inside this lab.  According to any witnesses that were in ear shot of the gun going off, no one knows where this 'dead' person came from, how they got in, or even how a gun got on the premises.  Even the eye-witnesses in the room that saw this 'professor' shoot the victim are completely unsure where the gun, or the 'dead' person, came from.  Even the 'professor' has no idea where the gun came from, that he himself used.  And to top it all off, the 'professor' has a personality disorder that led him here to this facility to have a scan to possibly explain his condition, and then this happens.  Make sense?"

"Yep!"

Mike laughed, "Yeah, I'm clueless too, if you listen to that crap and don't read between the lines."

"So you're thinking what I'm thinking then?"

Mike looked at Seth, "Enablers?  Covering for the 'professor' and his condition?"

"Could be, but that still doesn't explain the coroner's initial assessment of the body.  She said it literally had decaying flesh on it's person.  Decomposition that looked like a period of six to seven weeks, as if the body were already dead when the 'professor' shot it.  Now, how the hell do you pull that one off?"

"She is going to do an autopsy, right?"

"Of course, but there's not much to look at and it's pretty cut and dry what killed this thing in the room.  No one is questioning that or denying it.  Only thing I can assume is we're dealing with a potential fraud case here."

"Fraud?"

"Think about it.  The doctor over this facility might be losing money, maybe losing grants for his research.  So, if you can't convince people to send you the money the right way..."

"You create a situation."

"A publicity stunt."

"Something to maybe cash in on the insurance claim for damages?"

"Exactly!"

"And with a stunt like that, you could have a corpse, and a gun handy with a group..."

"Looking for their cut."

"I'm with ya, Seth.  Then use a crazy person who may not know any better, keep them off  their meds for a few days, they'll believe anything you put into their brain if it will make them think for even one moment they aren't crazy..."

"Then go out there telling the right people what happened as well..."

"Maybe get an endorsement from those producers just up the highway filming that television show as well..."

"Hey, easy money!  Then vuala, you're back in business.  That's how you commit fraud."

"Detective Jennings!"

Seth turned his head in the direction of the person yelling  his professional name.

A young woman was running towards him, continuing to yell for him and his partner Mike.

"Detective...", the woman said with gasping breaths, stopping in front of him.

"Slow down now, what's going on, Lucy?"

"The body is gone!", Lucy replied, righting herself.

"What body, the dead one?"

Lucy nodded, "And the gun."

Seth and Mike looked at each other, then darted over towards the coroner's van.  Lucy, the coroner, was fast on their trail and thoroughly winded from  her initial running, yelling trip.

When Seth and Mike arrived at the open rear of the van, the body was indeed gone.

"Was this door open like this?", Mike asked.

"No!  I had just opened it.  When I did, the body just wasn't there.  Then the forensics guy said the gun was missing too, so I ran over to you."

Seth turned around and surveyed the area.  He couldn't believe a body could just disappear in broad daylight with hundreds of people around.

"I want a complete account of who is currently working this case; I want all non-essential personnel cleared out and all civilians removed from the area to a distance of one hundred yards.  Detain anyone in that perimeter that will not cooperate for questioning.  Someone get me the station, we need to confirm the whereabouts of our eye-witnesses.  Let's move people, this body did not get up and walk away", said Seth.

Mike cleared his throat.  This grabbed the gaze of Seth, who had an ickling of what Mike was about to say.

"Technically, it already did once, according to our eye-witnesses", said Mike.

Seth was not amused.

***********************************************************************************

Jay, Larry, Dr. Blake, Dana, and Linda were all sitting in an interrogation room at the police headquarters.  No police officer or detective was currently in the room.  Only a camera kept a watchful eye on them, as well as the two way mirror.  All of them sat slumped in their chairs, utterly whipped by the chain of events that occurred in the lab.  Dana had not spoken sense the event.  Dr. Blake was staring at the table, still somewhat mesmorized himself.  Linda had obviously been crying at times, but currently she was sitting there with her eyes closed.  Larry was fiddling with his shirt button with both hands.  Jay was resting his head in his hands on the table.  Finally, Larry broke the silence.

"So..."

No one responded to Larry, as he brushed off his shirt and leaned back forward, resting his arms on the table.

"...anybody else hungry?"

Dana, sitting to Larry's right, turned her head slowly toward him.  Larry looked at her, astonished by her response, somewhat, but acted normally.  Dana gave him a "go to hell" look, then looked back in the direction she had been.  Neither Dr. Blake or Linda responded.  But Jay began to laugh.

Jay leaned back and looked at his friend, "You're thinking about food at a time like this?"

"Dude, I'm starving!  I haven't had anything since last night because I was worried about you, man.  And this whole scan thing was supposed to be simple, in and out, back by lunchtime.  It's almost four o'clock now, man.  I mean, aren't they supposed to bring us something?  Anything?"

Jay just continued to stare at Larry, a slight smirk on his face.

No one else responded to Larry at all.

"Let's not go there right now, Lar", Jay said.

"I think we should.  It's a common need for survival we all share and I'm sure everyone in this room is hungry right now."

"I don't know if I can ever eat again", said Dana.

Larry looked her way, "Oh, she can speak, and from what I can tell you could probably use a few extra sandwiches every now and then."

"Screw you!"

"Love to honey, but I love a little extra cushion, you know what I mean."

"SHUT UP, YOU..."

"ALL RIGHT, KNOCK IT OFF!  Both of ya!  That's just pointless.  You'll both go round and round until you bring us all into a feud that ends up with us all still sitting right here, waiting.  On what, none of us know.  So why don't we just save the energy and see what happens next?", said Jay.

After Jay said this, the door to the room opened.  This grabbed everyone's attention.  With all eyes on the door, a bald man in a dark gray suit walked in.

"Good afternoon", the gray suit man said.

No one responded.

The man closed the door, then proceeded to smile.  He casually approached the table, sitting in the interrogator's chair.  He crossed his fingers together and politely addressed them all again.  It was obvious to everyone already in the room that this man was not a regular cop, if he was a cop at all.  He looked more like a salesman.  His three piece suit was tailor made, with a perfectly pressed white shirt.  The only thing that stood out was the tie.  The tie was multiple colors and not indicative of a man that worked for the government or any other agency.  They had no idea who this guy was, but they were all about to find out.

"So, you all had a very crazy situation unfold this morning?"

Still no one responded.

"Well, I can assure you,..."

The man leaned in a little closer.

"...you're not crazy."

He looked directly at Jay, then looked at everyone else smiling.

"We'd like to take you somewhere, somewhere that you can all clear the air.  Would you all be up for a trip?"

Again, no one responded, but the looks the man was receiving had changed.  They had gone from looks of confusion to curiosity, mixed with confusion.  Finally, someone asked the question that needed to be asked.

"Who are you?", asked Larry.

"Forgive me for not identifying myself.  I'm Pat."

"Pat?"

"Short for Patrick."

"And where are you wanting to take us?"

"Some place where all your questions will be answered."

Larry started laughing at that response.  Pat continued to sit there and smile, then he began laughing with Larry.

"Are you a cop?", asked Larry, still laughing.

"Oh no, I'm no cop", replied Pat.

"Of course not.  So where you gonna take us then?  Maybe Area 51?"

"Oh no, that place is too commercial these days."

Larry laughed even louder now.  Pat laughed with him again.

"Of course, what was I thinking.  There's been too many shows and movies about it.  Maybe it'll be some fantastic island, with a midget.  Or maybe where some mysterious power exists that no one knows about?"

"I've actually been to an island like that before."

"Of course you have, cause you've probably been everywhere..."

"...man", Pat finished Larry's sentence.

That made both men laugh hysterically.

Larry looked over at Jay, "This guy is a riot!  You should try it, man."

"I think I will.  Does anyone else know you're in here?", asked Jay.

"No, no one else does, and no one else knows you're in here as well."

"What are you talking about?  The police put us in here and left us waiting for hours."

"Did they now?"

With that statement Pat stood up and walked back over towards the door.  He opened the door, took a step to the side, and left it open.  He motioned towards the door with his left hand, "Have a look."

Larry was no longer laughing, his laugh had slowly disappeared since Pat's final response to Jay.  Jay looked at Larry, then proceeded to leave his seat.  He walked around the table over to the man standing in front of him.  Pat still continued to smile, his left arm extended towards the door.

Jay peaked around the open door.  What he saw outside was unbelievable.  He stood there, his mouth hanging open.  This had the attention of everyone else in the room now.  Linda finally spoke.

"Jay, what do you see?", Linda asked.

"We're not at the police station anymore", Jay replied.

Everyone else in the room stood up, to join Jay and Pat.

"Of course you're not, Jay.  None of you are", Pat said, continuing to smile.

Jay looked at Pat.

"You're at The Fleece, and I'd be glad and honored to show you around.  We've been expecting you."

Story # 1.11 The Scan Part 2

Dr. Blake took Larry and Linda outside the room, leaving Dana to monitor Jay.  He was still sitting on the side of the table, still with the Versed running into his veins.  But, Dana had already bolted the door to the padded room, unwilling to enter until the others returned from the corridor.

Dr. Blake shut the door behind him, as Larry and Linda turned to face him.

"Ok, so I see what you're saying now", said Dr. Blake.

"That man in that room is not my husband!", said Linda.

"Linda, just try to stay calm", said Larry.

"I am calm, Larry.  I can look in that man's eyes and I can see the same person that had his hand around my throat threatening me that night in our bedroom.  Whoever that is, I know, it is not my husband."

"I understand that, Mrs. Trent.  Believe me, he doesn't look or act like the same man we just examined over an hour ago.  But this is the bizarre nature of Diassociative..."

"No!", Linda interrupted Dr. Blake, "Don't you dare try to cover this up with the same crap those other doctors did.  I don't care about conditions, or mental degradation, or sleep deprivation.  That is not what is going on here.  I've seen it too many times and I'm telling you both right now, that man is not my husband.  HE IS NOT JAY!"

"Ok, I believe you", said Larry.

Dr. Blake just stood there and looked at Larry for a moment, then he looked down at the floor, pondering in his mind all that had just transpired.  Finally he looked back up at them both.

"Ok, if we go on the assumption that the man in the room right now is not Jay Trent...", Dr. Blake paused.

Linda and Larry stared at Dr. Blake, hanging on his every word now.

"...then who is he?"

"Only one way to find out", said Larry.

"We'll ask him questions, controlled questions that make him respond with a more indepth answer.  We'll try to find out where this place Anderson, South Carolina is at.  We'll try to get a name out of him, something to call him other than Jay, since that only serves to enrage him further.  Then we'll try to settle him down enough to sleep and see what happens", Dr. Blake surmized.

"So what happened with the console?", asked Larry.
"I don't know.  I've never had anything like that happen before.  The only thing I can think of is that it was a power surge of some kind.  But from what, I have no idea."

"Could that be part of what happened to him?  I mean before that happened, he was laying that sound asleep and as soon as it cleared, he was sitting up", said Linda.

"Perhaps.  But what that indicates is still a guess at best.  It essentially disabled the scanning equipment.  While we are in there I'll examine it briefly to see what kind of damage we are talking about.  But, why it occurred and if it had anything to do with his shift in personality, I honestly just don't know", said Dr. Blake.

"But what if it was a literal shift?  Like someone or something replaced his personality completely?", asked Larry.

This grabbed Linda's attention.

"Now you're talking science fiction, Larry", said Dr. Blake.

"Yes, but you don't know what happened in there, right?"

"Right."

"Then I don't think we can rule anything out, do you?"

Dr. Blake stared at Larry.  He didn't want to admit it, but Larry had a good point, although highly far-fetched.  No credible scientist is willing to admit an impossibility such as this, but when face-to-face with a virtual impossibility even the most respected of scientists have to lend some credit to the unknown.

"There could be greater forces at work, I'll admit", replied Dr. Blake.

Linda looked at the doctor now, "What forces?"

"Something that caused the surge, and changed Jay's personality, but there's nothing credible to hang your hat on.  I could range from anything.  Could be a complete fluke, to aliens, or even something supernatural.  But you didn't hear me say that."

"Your secret is safe with us, doc.  Let's go ask those questions and see what happens next", said Larry.

"Wait, I want to talk about this more, Larry.  I mean what are we talking about now?  Aliens?  Supernatural, like ghosts?  Demons?", asked Linda.

"It's highly improbable, but so is a man sitting up on a table with Versed coursing through his veins, Mrs. Trent.  We may actually have to consider all possibilities.  But for now, let's try to get more information.  Come back inside with me and let's find out", finished Dr. Blake.

The three of them re-entered the room.  Dana was still sitting at the consoles monitoring the man in Jay's body's status.  She couldn't take her eyes off of him.  She looked scared out of her mind.  The man was still sitting on the side of the table, staring right back at Dana.

"Is he stable, Dana?", asked Dr. Blake.

"He's creeping me out", Dana replied.

"That sounds like a yes to me", said Larry.

"Just keep monitoring him, we're going inside."

Dana wield around in her chair and stared at the doctor after his response.  She couldn't believe he was serious.

"Are you sure about this?", asked Linda.

"I'm sure", Dr. Blake replied, as he leaned down to turn on the intercom to address the subject in the padded room.

"Hello again, I'm sorry we had to leave, sir."

"Don't call me sir", the man in Jay's body replied.

"What should I call you then?"

The man sat there, staring back at the doctor.  He didn't answer for several moments.  Neither man looked away from the other.  Finally, the man answered.

"Call me Rob."

"Rob, I'm Dr. Blake.  It's a pleasure to meet you."

Rob grunted at him and looked away towards another part of the room.

"Is there anything we can get for you?  Perhaps something to eat or drink?"

He still looked away, but hen redirected his eyes back to the doctor as  he responded, "I can use a beer."

"What kind of beer?"

"I could use a Brau Lite."

"Brau Lite, what the hell is that?", asked Larry whispering toward Linda.  She shook her head, unsure as well.

"I'm not familiar with that brand", replied Dr. Blake.

"Why am I not surprised", said Rob, chuckling to himself.

"We will get you something complimentary, along with some food.  Would that be acceptable?"

"And can you take this damn thing outta my arm too?"

"Certainly."

Rob motioned that he was agreeable with these terms.  Larry went to fetch the food while Dr. Blake and Dana prepared to go into the room.

Larry came back with beer and pizza.  Linda found the combo funny, as Jay detested both.  Larry held the pizza up to the observation window and Rob seemed quite agreeable.  Dana stood next to the door to enter the padded room.  She wasn't about to open it until the doctor and Larry both entered with her.

"Rob, we're going to come in now with your food and to take that out of your arm", said Dr. Blake.

Rob nodded, and looked over towards the door as it was being unlatched.

Dana slowly pulled the door towards her to open it up.  Larry moved passed her as it opened fully and went in first.  He had the pizza in his hands.  Dana entered carrying the beer, and Dr. Blake was close behind.  Linda stayed outside in the observation room, waiting to see what happened next.

Rob watched all three of them intently, not moving a muscle.

Larry laid down the pizza on the table beside him.  Dana also laid the beer down, the bottles clanging together in the six pack carton from her own trembling.  She was very nervous around him.  Dr. Blake approached him as well.

"Hey there Rob."

"Hi", replied Rob.

"Do you mind if Dana helps remove that needle from your arm?"

Rob looked over at Dana.  He could see her shaking.  He nodded in agreement.  As Dr. Blake watched him he did notice one unusual difference.  He had noted in his examination of Jay that the subject had blue eyes, but Rob's eyes were green.

Dana moved towards Rob, to begin removing the tape from the IV in his left hand.  Rob reached for a piece of pizza and took a huge bite.  Within a few seconds he had downed the entire piece.  It was apparent he was very hungry.

"You haven't eaten in a while have you?", asked Dr. Blake.

"No", replied Rob.

Rob took a swig of a beer, after popping off the top with his right hand.  He tasted it and loved it.

"That tastes just like Brau Lite", said Rob.

"I've never heard of that beer.  I've never heard of Anderson, South Carolina either.  Can you tell me more about where you're from?", asked Dr. Blake.

"Just that I'm not there anymore, and I'm not planning on going back."

"I take it something happened there?"

"You could say that."

Rob, realizing Dana was now done removing the needle pulled his hand away from her, so he could dig into the pizza much more quickly.

Linda was amazed.

"What happened in Anderson, South Carolina, Rob?"

Rob was eating and paused to swallow his huge bite, "Everything.  Anything."

"Could you be more specific?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Did something bad happen?"

"I said I don't want to talk about it!"
"That's fine, but we just want to know so we might can help you."

"You already have.  I'm not there, remember?"

"Well, how about if I ask you about other stuff?"

"Like what?"

"Maybe like, what country you're from?"

"The United States."

"Can you be more specific?

"You don't know what the United States is either?"

"I do, but what is the full name?"

"Are you going to do nothing but question me all damn day?"

"I just want to learn more about you, Rob.  I'm just curious."

"Well, you know what curiosity did to the cat, right?"

"Can you tell me who the President of the United States is?"

Rob took a deep sigh.  Dana was now back on the other side of the padded room, near to the door.  Larry was till at the edge of the table, and Linda watched on from the observation room as Dr. Blake and Rob continued with their exchange.

"If you must know, the President of the United States of AMERICA is Barack Obama, on planet Earth, with seven billion other people, in the Milky Way galaxy, somewhere in a big, black void we call the universe.  But none of that really matters now anymore."

"It doesn't matter anymore?"

"No, because they are all dead!  ALL OF THEM."

"What happened to them, Rob?"

Rob stared at Dr. Blake, still unsure of what he was hoping to accomplish, but becoming more willing to share information.

"Something bad."

"How bad?"

"Bad enough I never, ever want to go back, ok?"

"I understand, and I don't mean to frustrate you.  But these questions are the only way to help us know what has happened to you, Rob.  We have to ask."

"Well, I have told you enough.  Now can I get some more..."

Rob stopped mid-sentence.  Then he began to shake.  Finally, Rob's body flunge backwards violently and he became rigid.  Dr. Blake rushed over to him, as did Dana and Larry.  Linda came to the opening of the door and stood there waiting to see what was happening.  On the consoles in the observation room the white blinding light returned.  It went unnoticed this time as all four of them were fixated on Rob, in Jay's body, having some sort of convulsion.  Dr. Blake shouted out things for Dana to acquire.  Dana ran out to the observation room as Linda entered.

The light finally diminished, and with that so did Rob's convulsion.

Rob's body was laying there, his eyes closed, drenched in sweat.  Dr. Blake felt he was now calm.

"What in God's name is happening, doc?", asked Larry.

"I don't know", replied Dr. Blake.

Linda was right beside the table now.  She believed her husband may have returned.  But the moment of concern was quickly changed when Dana let out a blood curdling scream.  Dana fell backwards into the room, dropping all of the supplies she had in her hands.  She quickly moved away crawling behind the table.

Larry, Linda, and Dr. Blake looked on at the open doorway, but could not believe what they were seeing walking through.  Into the room walked a person.  A person who's clothes were soiled, torn, burned, and bloodied.  The skin on this person was ashen.  They were dirty, unkempt, and almost looked decaying where they stood.  But the worst part was in their face.  The mouth hung open, lifeless.  The eyes were grayed out, deathly.  This person embodied the appearance of a lifeless corpse, but yet was walking.  It looked like a zombie.

Larry was trembling.  Linda and Dr. Blake both moved back towards the back of the room, as Dana coward down behind the table in fear.  The creature was now aware of them and began moving towards them all.  It's mouth opening wider, and it's eyes seeming to light up with life from the knowledge that something it wanted was present in the room.

As the four of them stood silent, quivering, and unsure of what would happen next, Jay sat up.  He sat straight up at the side of the table.  But he wasn't empty handed as his body had been moments earlier.  This time he was holding a revolver in his right hand.  He cocked the trigger, aimed and fired at the creature approaching Larry.  The shot went straight through the creature's head.  The back of it's head exploded, blood splattering out on the other side of the padded room.  Then the creature collapsed to it's knees and fell limp on the floor.  It now appeared to be dead, completely.

As smoke still bellowed from the end of the revolver everyone took notice of Jay.  Jay lowered the weapon and placed it on the table.  Larry looked at the gun and thought, Where the hell did that come from?

Jay then turned to face Dr. Blake and Linda.  Linda looked at him, but more importantly she looked at his eyes.  They were blue again, even Dr. Blake noticed this.  Linda knew before Jay ever said anything, and ran to embrace her husband.  Apparently, he had just saved all of their lives.

Finally, after embracing Linda for a few seconds, Jay looked back up at Dr. Blake and addressed him.

"Dr. Blake, don't you ever put me back to sleep again!"

Dr. Blake couldn't agree more.

Story # 1.10 The Scan Part 1

Jay laid on a slab-like table in a gray, padded room.  Parallel to the table was an adjacent room, with an observation window.  Linda stared at her husband through the window as she stood in front of several computer terminals.  Her mind was wandering as she stood their watching a research assistant apply electrodes to her husband's forehead.  She was very tense to say the least.  The episodes had subdued, but only because of the medication Jay had been receiving while in the hospital.  However, he had been off his medication for twenty-four hours to undergo this experiment.  An experiment to possibly ascertain why Jay's mind was having such flights of fancy and why it seemed he became a totally different person in his sleep.

"So how many of these have you done?", asked Jay of the research assistant.

She smiled at him, "You're about the fourth we have tried.  Dr. Blake keeps perfecting the scans with each volunteer.  The last one actually caught a brain tumor the subject was unaware of."

"Wow!  It didn't cause the brain tumor did it?"

"No sir," the research assistant said, as she laughed.
**********************************************************************************

"He seems so normal right now," said Linda, watching on.

"He's going to be fine, Mrs. Trent, I can assure you of that," said Dr. Blake.

"Did you really find a tumor the person didn't know they had?", asked Larry.

"Yes.  It was quite impressive.  Unfortunately it didn't turn out to be such a good thing for that subject."

"Why is that?", asked Linda.

"They found out the tumor had metastasized from their lungs.  The prognosis was only about six months for them."

"Six months...for what?", asked Larry.

Dr. Blake looked up at him, "For them to live."

Linda rolled her eyes and acted almost exasperated. 

"But there is nothing to worry about here, Mrs. Trent.  Your husband has already received MRIs and CT scans that indicate there is no tumor present.  The truth of that case, I wasn't even looking for a tumor. It was mere chance that we found it."

"What were you looking for?", asked Larry.

"Basically a similar thing we are looking for here.  How Dr. Trent's brainwaves respond during sleep.  We can measure amplitude, frequency, and create an image of the brain to visualize what might be going on.  In the case of the subject with the tumor, the waves were looping around an object that seemed like dead space."

"Like a black hole?"

"Precisely, Larry.  It warped the waves, and the visualization of this was simply a side effect of the scan itself, but not something we were expecting."

"Well he's in trouble, he has more holes in his head than any other man alive," said Linda.

Dr. Blake looked at her and grinned.  Larry chuckled a bit.

"Ah, marriage", Dr. Blake replied.
**********************************************************************************

"All righty, Dr. Trent, we've got you all wired up," said the research assistant.

Jay looked down his body at all the electrodes connected to his chest.  He tried to look up at his forehead, but of course could not visualize the electrodes there.

"This won't electrocute me, will it?", asked Jay.

"No, Dr. Trent, it won't, I promise," the research assistant said, with a comforting smile as she leaned in and placed her hands on his right shoulder.

"Please, call me Jay", he replied, with a grin.

"Call me Dana, Jay."
**********************************************************************************

Linda didn't like this at all.

Dr. Blake was chuckling, knowing full well his assistant's demeanor was both soothing to men, and dreadful to other women.  That was part of the reason he had hired her for this type of work.

"She's harmless, Mrs. Trent."

"Oh yeah, that's what you said about the last patient, and that the scan was harmless.  Look how that turned out?", replied Linda.

"Yes, but I'm quite certain there's no threat from her of stealing your husband away from you.  She's homosexual."

Larry's eyes lit up as he took a better look at her than he had already, multiple times.

"Damn, such a waste," said Larry.

Dr. Blake laughed.

Linda wanted to throw up from all the testosterone in the room.

Dr. Blake turned on the two-way speakers in the room as Dana exited and closed the door behind her.  She looked at Linda and smiled, as Linda looked away from her in disgust.

"Dr. Trent, can you hear me clearly?", asked Dr. Blake.

"Like I told Dana, call me Jay."

"I'll take that as a yes then, Jay.  Dana has prepped you and started your IV drip.  The agent is Versed, a sleeping drug commonly used for anesthesia during surgery.  Dana is a trained CRNA, so she will monitor your vital signs from here.  I can assure you we have taken every precaution.  We're using Versed to insure you will in fact go to sleep.  At that point we'll begin the scan and monitor your brain activity in a sleep state.  As far as you are concerned though, Jay, it'll be just like when you go to bed at night."

"That's what I'm afraid of."

Dr. Blake could see Jay's vitals were starting to alter.  His heart rate and breathing were steadily increasing.

"There's no reason to be afraid, Jay.  We'll be right here the entire time monitoring any activity that occurs.  You'll just have yourself a nice nap."

"I hope you're right, doc."

Dr. Blake chuckled, "Do you have any questions before we begin, Jay?"

"Yeah, can I have one of those really good, juicy hamburgers from downtown waiting when I wake up?"

Everyone in the control room laughed at his question.

"Absolutely, Jay."

"In that case, doc, I'm ready.  Let's do this."

The drip had already begun, with the Versed moving down the tubing and into the intravenous access in Jay's arm.  It felt cool going into Jay's blood stream.  Jay could feel a little tingle as it began to enter.  Quickly the agent coursed through Jay's body, back to his heart, into his lungs, through the heart again, and out through his arteries allowing it to permeate his being.  Jay was already beginning to feel the effects of the drug.

Dr. Blake assessed the vitals with Dana, who gave him the OK.

"Now, Jay, I'm going to countdown from ten.  You will become very drowsy during this.  Ten...nine...eight...seven...six...five...four..."

Before Dr. Blake was even through, Jay had already drifted off to sleep.

"And he is asleep.  Beginning scan and imaging", said Dr. Blake.

Linda stared on at her now sleeping husband.  This was the best he had slept in months, even if it had been only a few seconds.  He was so peaceful, the total opposite of any of the activity she had experienced with him recently.  Compared to that, he looked as if he were a body lying in an open casket.

The monitor brought up an image of Jay's brain, along with an algorithm that was assessing Jay's brain activity.  It was showing low brain function, as it should with an agent such as Versed.

"He is in a deep sleep already.  This is the type of activity you would expect with a brain under sedation.  Little to no activity, so that the subject or patient doesn't experience anything during this sleep.  That's why it is so readily used for surgery."

"So, how will that help us if he won't experience anything?", asked Linda.

"Well, the goal here is to see if anything will happen like you have described.  You can't get in too much of a deeper sleep than this without being in the deepest sleep of all."

"You're talking about death, right?", asked Larry.

"Yes."

"You had to ask that?", said Linda.

"Hey, just clarifying", replied Larry.

"All vitals are normal, Dr. Blake.", said Dana.

"We are at two minutes under sedation", said Dr. Blake, for the record.

Video cameras and voice recorders took down everything being dictated in the control room, as well as any activity in the padded room.  If something was going to happen, it would be documented.

"We are at ten minutes under sedation."

"It's like a watched pot," said Larry.

"Yes, whenever you want something to happen, that's when it doesn't," replied Dr. Blake.

More time passed.

"We are at fifty-nine minutes under sedation."

"What if we go through this and nothing happens?", asked Linda.

"Even a small amount of activity could be useful, but..."

Dr. Blake stopped as the scan began to detect something.  The waves on the algorithm changed slightly indicating a minute amount of activity within Jay's brain.

"Fascinating," said Dr. Blake.

"What?  What's fascinating?", asked Linda, leaning in more over his shoulder.

"We're picking up low levels of activity around the amygdala.  It's minimal, but significant," replied Dr. Blake.

"That's something, right?", asked Larry.

"That is something, but hardly conclusive for the type of activity either of you have described."

"I could just be the beginnings of the REM cycle?", said Dana.

"It could be, but the wave frequencies aren't as profound", said Dr. Blake.

"What should the waves be like?", asked Linda.

"With REM sleep, the activity of the brain should be almost the same as when you are awake.  That's one of the possibilities we were going to investigate today.  Whether or not Jay is experiencing RBD", said Dr. Blake.

"RBD?", asked Larry.

"Rapid eye movement sleep behavior disorder.  What that means is when you're sleeping your muscles normally become atonic, or flaccid.  With RBD, that flaccidity ceases and the person can actually move around, act out violently, even seem awake."

"Like another person?", asked Linda.

"Perhaps, but not typically to the extent you described.  I believe that is why they diagnosed Jay with Disassociative Identity Disorder for the changes in persona you and Larry both experienced."

"Yeah, the doctors couldn't explain that party either, so that was their best guess," said Larry.

"And in the face of not knowing, any practitioner goes back to their roots.  That's just norm...."

Dr. Blake was suddenly interrupted as the monitors showing an image of Jay's brain and brain waves both when white.  The intensity began to grow rapidly, blinding everyone in the room.  Larry, Linda, Dana, and Dr. Blake had to hold their arms up to block out the light because of the intense brightness.  A low, steady hum was audibly heard from the recording devices as the intensity was sending out waves distorting their signals.   Finally, the sound ceased and the light began to diminish.  The four of them could not see in the room again, as their eyes began to re-adjust to their darker surroundings.

"What the hell was that?", asked Larry.

Larry was still squinting and rubbing his eyes, as was Linda.

Then, before both could completely get their bearings they heard Dr. Blake utter something they didn't expect.

"Oh my God!"

Both of them looked down at Dr. Blake.  He sat there, with Dana, both staring straight ahead into the room Jay occupied.  Linda caught a glimpse of the monitors and saw that Jay's brain waves were highly active, as if he were awake.  Then she heard Dana speak.

"That's not possible.  He should be asleep."

Linda looked over at her, then looked up to Jay.  She put her hand over her mouth as she looked on at her husband.  Jay was now sitting up on the side of the table, staring back into the room at the four of them.  The Versed was still running and by all accounts Jay should be completely under sedation.  But he wasn't.

Larry just stood there, staring with his mouth hanging open.

Dr. Blake turned on the intercom to speak to Jay.

Linda looked on in horror at Jay and knew this image all too well.  It was the same man she had seen in her bedroom that first night, the man she had seen multiple times since.  She could see this man in Jay's eyes and knew, once again, it was not her husband.

Dr. Blake finally spoke.

"Jay, are you all right?"

Jay looked around the room, as the sound of Dr. Blake's voice coming in from the speakers caught his attention.  He looked back through the window again, knowing the source of the voice came from one of the people in the next room.  Finally, he spoke as well.

"I've told you people before, my name is not Jay."

Dana looked at Dr. Blake, as the doctor continued looking on at Jay.

"Who are you then?", Dr. Blake asked of the man sitting on the slab.

The man, in Jay's body, looked back at all four of them.  He fixed his gaze on Linda, which sent chills down her spine.  The man's face got more demonstrative and he smiled an evil grin at Linda and the rest in the room.

"Well, you'd love to know that, wouldn't you?", replied the man.

"Please do something!", said Linda.

"Linda, just calm down.  This is what we wanted", said Larry.

"Yes, we need to question what he's wanting, speak to this person like they are the real person", said Dr. Blake.

The man inside Jay replied, "I am the real person."

This stunned Dr. Blake because the intercom had not been on while the three of them had been talking.  The man inside Jay spoke again.

"And what I want is to never leave here, or ever set foot in Anderson, South Carolina again...for as long as I live."

Story # 1.9 Identified

G8

RELAY: CAPRICORN REGAL INFINITY MU SAMSON OMEGA NIGHTLY

*****************************SECURE TRANSMISSION*****************************

LINE IS NOW SECURE

COMM C:  G8-84231680

COMM LINK:  The Fleece

IDENTITY CONFIRMED.  BEGIN TRANSMISSION.

SIT REP G8:
Target acquired.  Non-hostile.  Current location:  Lat 34°39'37N, Long 082°49'25W  .  Objective:  Identify cause.  Potential Hostiles:  Female, Caucasian, 64" 56.81 kg; Male, Caucasian, 75" 100 kg.  Target entering Thomas Lab, Human Research and Development Center.  Do you wish to pursue?

AWAITING REPLY...

THE FLEECE:
Negative.  Observe only.  Confirm target cause identified.  If any anomalies remove potential hostiles and acquire target.  Identity of target known?

AWAITING REPLY...

G8:
Affirmative.  Target ID:  Jameson Michael Trent.  Voluntary admit at psychological institute for Disassociative Identity Disorder.  Numerous episodes.  Fa no longer with target.  Employment:  Terminated.  Minimal Fr/Fa outside of home.  Episodes consistent.  Duration of episodes consistent.  Response to episodes consistent.  Fulfills EDR protocols.

AWAITING REPLY...

THE FLEECE:
Excellent.  Again observe only unless situation deems necessary to intervene.  Will follow-up.

AWAITING REPLY...

G8:
Affirmative.  End transmission.

COMM LINK:  Terminated

******************************END SECURE TRANSMISSION***********************

A man in a suit sat at his desk in an elaborately decorated office.  The transmission with G8 had just ended on his laptop.  He now had paper documents strewn all over his desk.  The documents all pertained to Jay.  His entire life history sat out in front of this bald headed man, as he sifted through the contents analyzing it piece by piece.

The man put down a paper document and picked up an image that laid on the desk below.  He leaned back in his plush, leather chair and took in the view before him.  The image was a family portrait of Jay, his wife, and his children.  From the looks of it, the picture appeared to have been straight out of Jay's home.

He stared at the image, focusing primarily on Jay.  He did not bat an eyelash.  He did not twitch.  His gaze was focused and comprehensive as he took in every element of Jay's appearance, contemplating the character of the man in the image before him. 

He squinted his eyes and said aloud to himself, "So you're the one who will set this all free?"

Story # 1.8 Is he gone?

"Larry, how bad is it?", asked Linda.

Larry and Linda were standing outside Jay's psychiatric hospital room at Paul D. Johnson Mental Institute, just outside Smithville.  Jay had checked himself in, voluntarily, with much convincing by both Larry and Linda.  Since that day at the house where Jay had an episode in front of Larry, Jay had spent the past two weeks trying to right himself.  However, Larry was attempting to run interference at Smithville University in the hopes that his friend would get to keep his job.  Larry was about to give Linda the scoop.

"It's bad, Linda.  They have all of the reports of the physicians and nurses here, and I've told them how he's progressed from my standpoint, but the bottom line is if he can't come back in two more weeks, they'll have no choice but to let him go."

Linda looked down and began to walk slowly away from Larry.  Larry looked down, saddened at what he had to tell Linda about her husband's job.  He felt he had to add an air of hope to the conversation again.

"Linda?"

Linda, her back to Larry, turned back around to face him.  The strain of this ordeal was taking it's toll on her.  Larry could see it in her face.  She had no idea how to deal with something like this.  Now with the prospect of Jay losing his job, it was all too overwhelming.

"I think that's positive, Linda.  At least they haven't already given up on him."

"Positive?  You think it's positive that a job my husband has performed to the best of his ability for fifteen years could be yanked out from under him after a few months of inactivity when it's clear he is having some sort of life crisis?  Positive?  He's not doing this on purpose, Larry.  He's not doing this to get out of work."

"And that's why they have been trying to stick by him, Linda.  But the bottom line is, they need a teacher to teach the students.  If he's not there, they have to find someone else that will be.  They really don't have a choice.  Believe me, they don't want to let him go."

Linda looked down, trying to process what Larry was telling her.  She took a deep breath and looked back up at Larry.  She realized that he was in fact right about this.

"I know, Larry, I know.  I understand.  I know Jay does too.  He would be the first to say that the students have to have a teacher.  We both know that."

Larry stood there looking at Linda, as tears began to form in her eyes.

"I just can't believe this is happening.  One day, Jay is his normal self, happy, loving, caring, doing what he always does.  Then out of nowhere he just starts having these crazy stories he brings up.  He brings them up to you, to me.  Where did this come from?"

"Well, the docs called it Disassociative Identity Disorder.  Especially from the reports you made about him being a completely different person at times."

"I know what they 'diagnosed' him with, Larry.  I also know that diagnsis stems from conditions in their childhood sometimes.  I can look things up on the Arpanet too.  Jay had a normal childhood, his parents love and adore him.  His life has been about as stressless as you can get.  Sure there's the everyday things we all go through, but nothing ridiculous, Larry.  He's perfectly normal."

"Then what's been happening when he is sleeping, Linda?"

Linda just stared back at Larry.  She could see he was questioning her stories now too.  She looked away for a moment, contemplating what Larry had just asked.  My God, he's going to start thinking I'm crazy next.  That was all real, that really happened to me.

"Linda?"

She turned back around to face Larry, who had come up closer to her now.

"I've gotta tell ya, these stories are crazy.  I mean, I don't know what to think.  He's a completely different person and is awake when he's supposed to be asleep?  He's seeing zombies chasing after him?  He's seeing explosions outside his home that don't happen?  I don't think crazy describes it well enough, Linda."

Linda continued to look at him, stone faced, as a tear ran down her right cheek.

Larry put his hand on Linda's shoulder and turned her slightly to face him.  He looked straight into her eyes so she could see the truth in them as he spoke next.

"But I saw something in his eyes when he finally snapped back to reality, Linda.  He really believed he had been somewhere else.  He really believed he was in that place called Anderson, South Carolina and that a bomb had just gone off.  Not just any bomb, but a nuclear bomb.  He looked like the life was just scared out of him, like he had actually been there."

Linda could see in Larry's eyes, he meant what he was saying.  This was a message to her that he did believe something could be going on.

"I saw a different man those nights, Larry.  When I looked into his eyes I could see that was not my husband looking back at me.  For God's sakes, Larry, one time his eyes looked brown.  They are hazel, always have been.  How could they change color?"

"I don't know, Linda.  But that's why I keep trying to help.  That's also why I talked to my friend up at Crimson.  I told Jay about him too.  He does studies on people with dementia."

"Dementia?  You think he's completely losing his mind now?"

"I think we need to explore all possibilities.  Some of the symptoms of dementia can mimic issues with this other diagnosis they've stuck on him.  The main thing is this guy has the ability to scan Jay's mind.  He can hook him up to electrodes and such, scan his brainwaves and see what might be going on in his head.  Listen, I want to believe Jay isn't losing his mind.  But something is going on that no one here seems to be able to understand.  I mean, they're thinking about putting him in the padded room on a permanent basis if he has many more outbursts like he did last night.  And I'm sorry, but I don't want to see him like this again."

Larry pointed into Jay's room at Jay lying in the bed.  Jay was dosed up with Haldol and was unconscious.  Linda could only stare at the shell of the man she once loved.  She had to find a way to help him, some way.

Linda looked back up at Larry, as they both had been looking at Jay.

"You know what the worst part is, Larry?  It's not the dreams or the person he becomes in the middle of the night.  Jay told me that he dreamed about Britton's death before it even happened."

"What?"

"And the frightening part about that..."

She paused for a moment to formulate words she never wanted to believe.  Larry stood there completely hanging on every word.

"...he thinks he killed her.  He thinks he raped and murdered her, Larry."

Tears started streaming down Linda's face.  Larry couldn't speak, he didn't know what to say.

"That's why I've been living in the camper.  That's why I've been staying away.  And it was all at his insistence, Larry.  Would a crazy person or demented person be able to rationalize another's statements and tell them a course of action to pursue?  I don't believe so.  But I do believe that the man I saw in the middle of the night sometimes could be capable of doing whatever he wants to whomever he wants.  And I don't believe  he'd bat an eyelash or shed a tear if it came right down to it.  I'm telling you, they are two completely different people, Larry.  My husband....and the devil himself."

Larry took all of that in.  He gave a look to his friend and colleague lying in the bed, nearly comatose to the world from medication.  He knew something had to be done.

"Then that's why we'll take him to my friend.  But for now, that stuff about Britton, we need to keep that under wraps."

Story # 1.7 Anderson

Knocking was heard at the front door.

A figure approached from the east side of the house, undid the dead bolt, and turned the knob to allow whomever was knocking in.

There stood Larry standing on the front porch, looking in.  Larry had an expression of joy on his face, to greet whomever answered.  But that expression faded quickly as he saw the appearance of the person standing before him.

Before Larry stood Jay, inside the foyer of his home.  He was disheveled, still wearing his pajamas and the sheets from the bed draped over his shoulders.  His eyes had dark circles under them and were puffy.  His nose was running and he looked as though he hadn't eaten or slept in a week.  Larry stood there, his mouth agape, processing the look of his friend and colleague.  Finally he uttered some words.

"Jay?  You look like hell, man!"

"Nice to see you too, Lar.  Care to come in?"

Jay pulled the door open more, but Larry didn't move.

"I don't know if I should.  I don't want whatever the hell you've got."

"Believe me, it's not contagious.  I'm glad it isn't."

Larry walked through the door, and once clear Jay closed it behind him.  Larry examined the main living room and it was apparent he wasn't the only one not keeping up with things lately.

"What happened in here, Jay?  Your house is usually immaculate?"

Jay sniffled and whiped his nose with the sheets.  This prompted a look of disgust from Larry as he watched the atrocious act.

"Linda hasn't been here much lately."

Larry stood there, stunned by this revelation.

"Jay, did you guys split up?"

Jay started laughing, hysterically it seemed.

"Did we split up?", Jay repeated gasping for breath to say the words through his laughter.

Larry was utterly perplexed now.  He's lost his mind!

"No, Linda has been living out in the camper behind the house for the last few weeks.  We both think it's safer there."

"What?  What are you talking about, Jay?  Safer?  What does that mean?"

"Why don't we sit down and I'll try to explain."

Larry walked into the living room, stretching his legs over obstacles strewn throughout.  Everything from sheets, to pillows, to toys were scattered throughout the room.  When Larry turned he caught a glimpse of the two front rooms and saw they were as equally in disarray.  It was as if a tornado had whipped through the house.  Larry moved some of the stuff off of a chair to find a place to sit.  Jay sat on the sofa adjacent to him.  As he sat, Jay stared at the floor for a moment, while Larry observed his friend.

Larry wasn't sure what to say or do for his friend.  He was just worried about him and worried about his wife and children.  Where are the children in all of this?  He's gotta make me understand this.

Jay came out of his daze and looked back up at Larry.

"I appreciate you coming by, Lar.  Bringing my stuff from class."

"Don't mention it.  Do you think you're any closer to coming back?"

"I don't know.  I've been hoping, praying I could, but nothing has worked out."

Larry tried to lighten the tone for a moment.

"Well, you have to come back before the Super Bowl party.  You can't miss that."

Jay laughed as he looked down again.

"Penny for your thoughts, man?"

Jay did not respond.

"Man, have you at least been to a doctor, I hope?  Have you eaten lately?  You want me to get you something and bring it back?"

"No, no, I'm not hungry and believe me I still have a good appetite.  I have too."

Larry didn't understand the last part, but went on.

"Have you slept much, any?"

Jay began to chuckle again.  As he laughed, Jay reached down into the pocket of his pajamas and pulled out a little pill bottle.  He held it up so Larry could see the label.

"Does this answer your question?"

The bottle was for caffeine pills, and it was almost empty.

"Why haven't you been sleeping, Jay?  That's not healthy."

"Neither is what I've been going through."

"What have you been going through?"

Jay looked straight down and took a deep sigh.

"Jay, if you don't tell me I will never understand.  I just wanna help, man."

Jay looked back up at Larry.

"Larry, I'm dreaming things.  Bad things.  Very bad things.  Everytime I put my head on the pillow and go to sleep the dreams just get worse."

"What kind of dreams?  Like nightmares or night terrors?"

"I only wish they were nightmares.  But they are so intense and so vivid, it's hard to even call them a dream."

"What are they about?"

"I keep seeing dead people.  People I know, people I don't know.  But they aren't lying around me in coffins, they are walking around just like you or me."

"What like the zombie thing you talked about a few weeks back?"

"Worse."

"How worse?"

Jay took a big gulp before answering.

"I at least know that kinda stuff isn't real.  But these, these things are."

"I don't understand, Jay?"

"Everytime I close my eyes to even sleep for a minute, they come for me.  All I can do is run.  There's nowhere to hide, no one to ask for help.  I'm completely on my own with them.  And when I wake up, they are gone and I'm back here."

Tears were starting to well up in Jay's eyes.  Larry could see the anguish, the fear in his friend's face.  He reached out to him and held his hands.

"Jay, you're not alone in this, man.  Ok?  We can find you some help.  You're never on your own.  I'm sure Linda is more than willing to help.  There's no reason for them to feel unsafe."

"Yes there is, Larry.  Because what I told you wasn't even the worst part."

Larry leaned back a little.

"What's the worst part?"

"Linda has told me that during the time I'm supposed to be asleep, I'm actually awake."

"What?"

"She says that when I go to sleep not long afterwards I wake back up and move about the house, the yard, heck she said once I even took the truck out for a spin.  And each time I come back, lay back down and fall back to sleep.  Then I wake up screaming, sweaty, gasping for air like I had been running for miles.  I even feel like I have been.  That's why my appetite hasn't changed.  You see, I'm losing weight because I keep having to run for my life in the dreams.  And when I get back here I can eat and replenish myself.  I've just been trying lately not to sleep, but sometimes I just can't help it and doze off.  Then it happens again.  And to top it off, Linda says I'm a completely different person during this time.  It's like I'm a whole other man."

Larry just stared at his friend, completely taken aback by this.  He really was beginning to think his friend had lost his mind.

"Stop looking at me like I'm crazy, Lar.  Crazy people don't know when they're crazy and the people around them certainly don't act like they are Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, then tell them about it rationally."

"Dude, Jay, this is maybe a bit too intense.  People don't loose weight in their dreams because they aren't really doing anything."

"And I'm trying to tell you I AM!"

Jay stood up, flabberghasted by his friend.

"Easy, Jay.  You're in a safe place."

"Don't patronize me!  I'm telling you these things are real!  I have lost 20 pounds in 3 weeks, not because of anorexia or some sickness, but because I've been running for my life from....from..."

"The undead?"

"Exactly!"

"And while you're doing this, you're a completely different person in real life?"

"That's what Linda has told me."

"Does this other person have a name?"

"She's never said.  He just brings up the word Anderson and talks about it like it's a place, not his name."

"I've never heard of anywhere named Anderson.  Has she communicated with this person much?"

"As little as possible.  She said he is hyperaggressive, mean, hateful, remorseless, violent, and looks at her like he could..."

"Like he could what?"

Jay stopped looking around the room and looked down at his friend.

"...like he could kill her."

"Ok, I just wanna say I didn't mean to patronize you, but you have to listen to me right now.  What you're saying to me is pure insanity, Jay.  Because I have ulterior motives for coming here other than just checking up on you."

Jay stopped pacing now and stood there facing his friend.  He sat back down on the sofa and listened intently to what Larry had to say.

"The school wants to fire you, Jay.  They need all the help they can get right now and between this with you and Britton a few months ago, they have to have people that can work.  So they also asked me to come by and see if you're fit to come back."

Jay nodded in acknowledgment of what his friend was saying.

"Now, I could go back and make up something, but if you keep not showing up they'll fire you and me for not reporting it.  But if I go back and tell them what I've seen and what I'm hearing..."

"I know, Lar.  I'm sorry you're caught in the middle of this.  But it is the truth.  I don't know how else to explain this."

"I've never heard anything like this before, Jay.  But, I'll tell you what might help?"

Jay was all ears.

"A nice shower and a shave."

Jay chuckled again as he looked down and nodded in agreement with his friend.

"Listen, why don't you jump in the shower and I'll wait here for you.  Then we'll go see the Dean and let him know how you're doing together.  Then maybe we can talk to a buddy of mine.  He's been doing a lot of research lately on the human mind.  He might know something we could do or someone we could talk to about your problem.  Cause I know shrinks are head cases themselves.  They'll just make you even more crazy than you already are."

Jay laughed.

"You're right.  Just wait here and I'll go with you."

Jay got up and left the room.  Larry sat there pondering what his friend had just said to him.  That's pure insanity.  There is no way that story will fly with the Dean.  How can I convince him to say something else?  While Larry thought, Jay was in the shower.

**********************************************************************************
Jay let the warm water soak him down.  He thinks I'm crazy.  Jay tried to keep his mind as clear as possible and focus on the shower.  He didn't want to think about anything else at the moment.  A shower and a clean shave sounded spectacular.  Jay couldn't wait to trim the stubble off inch by inch.

But the sound of the shower running was suddenly disturbed by utter silence.  No water continued to come out of the shower head.  Although Jay was soaking wet, the shower itself was not.  The shower actually contained massive amounts of dust and a little debris from the dry wall surrounding.  Then Jay heard audible footsteps approaching.  Big footsteps, that were determined in their gait.  Jay began to become afraid.  He looked to his left to see the faint figure of two people having just entered the bathroom.  Their images were obscured by the semi-transparent glass of the shower door.  He then heard the sounds of rumblings coming from his right, like that of thunder.

The audible sound of a radio communication then came through with one of the figures responding to it.  The dialogue sounded very much like military talk, but Jay did not understand it.

Another rumble occurred, this time louder and caused the house to shake all around.

Then Jay heard another communication.

"E.T.A. sixty seconds.  Stand down and secure."

The soldier, at least that's what Jay thought, acknowledged the communication.  Neither of the figures had taken notice of Jay standing in the shower.

Suddenly a massive jolt rocked the entire house.  Both of the figures lurched around grabbing hold of anything nailed down.  Jay lurched backward in the shower as dust and debris rained down from above.  Jay couldn't take it anymore.  He opened the shower door.

When he stepped out the soldier on the ground took notice and aimed his weapon up at Jay.

"What the hell?", the soldier yelled.

The other soldier, holding onto the counter top, turned around and saw Jay standing there, completely nude.

"What the hell are you doing in there?", the second soldier asked.

The second soldier's voice was distinctly female.

In both cases Jay was hearing their voices through radios connected to their gas masks they were wearing.

Jay had no idea what was happening.  He just knew that one second he was showering and the next he was standing in his bathroom with two soldiers and what sounded like a war happening outside.

Another jolt shook the whole house tossing Jay and the soldiers about again.  The soldier on the floor had to cover himself from falling debris from the ceiling as the other soldier lunged toward Jay.  Jay moved quickly passed them both and out of the bathroom, making his way around the corner into the hallway.

"WAIT!", yelled the female soldier.

Jay turned the next corner and ran into his own foyer.  What he saw was beyond belief.

The entire front side of his home had been blasted out, fire and debris strewn all around.  The gaping hole allowed Jay to see the landscape before him.  In the distance fires raged, and light flashes went off with the sounds of missiles streaking across the sky.  He heard gunfire, machine gunfire.  Jay was a custom to hunters in the area, but never machine guns going off.

It literally was a war zone right outside his home.

What is happening?  Where the hell am I?

Jay could then hear the sound of the radio again, from one of the soldiers in the other room.  He could hear it getting closer to him, but more importantly he could hear what it was saying.

"Nine...eight...seven...six..."

Jay knew it was a countdown, but he had no idea as to what the countdown would lead to.

Then Jay felt a tug on his shoulders as one of the soldiers grabbed him and yanked him backward to the now empty living room.  None of the furniture or clutter was present.  Jay was now flat on his back, the jarring collapse almost knocking the breath from his lungs.  He looked up and backward towards the back of the house.  The windows were all blasted out and holes were present in the ceiling.  Nothing looked like it had moments earlier when he was talking to Larry.

Where's Larry?

"Stay down!  Do not get up, sir!"

Jay wrestled with the man holding him down now.  As he struggle a piece of newspaper hit him squarely in the face.  Jay grabbed it and pulled the sheet away.  It was the front page of the newspaper, half torn away.  But there was enough for Jay to read the headline:

HEAVEN HELP US!

THE APOCALYPTIC ONSLAUGHT OF THE...

The ending had been torn away from the heading and no picture was present.  It also had been torn away.  One thing did remain and that was the date and city of publication.  The date was two weeks earlier and the city was Anderson, South Carolina.

A bright, blinding light shown through the decimated front of Jay's home.  Jay let go of the newspaper and covered his eyes.  He could feel his retinas burning with intense pain, having caught a glimpse of the light before covering them.  The next he heard was the roar of something approaching quickly.  He tried to look up and see what was coming, but could bearly see anything at all.  However, he did see the faint image of something completely recognizable in the distance.  He saw the image of a mushroom cloud rising into the air, just before the concussion wave hit and torn the house apart all around him.

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Jay was screaming and thrashing about.  Suddenly Jay realized he was not incinerating.  The room all around him was back to normal, normal for how it had looked when Larry arrived.  Hovering over him at the moment was Larry, trying to get him under control.

"JAY!  JAY PLEASE GET HOLD OF YOURSELF!"

Jay stopped thrashing and sat up.  He looked around the room to get his bearings and see if everything was all right.  He was breathing heavily, laying in the middle of the floor still nude and wet from having left the shower.  The shower was still running in the bathroom and there was no war going on outside.  Jay then paid attention to his friend Larry.

"Jay, what is happening?"

"I don't know.  But a nuclear bomb just went off and destroyed Anderson, South Carolina.  It all happened today, right here, right outside this house."

Larry could only stare at his friend, having seen the man run into the room, throw himself to the floor, then start thrashing as if he were on fire.  He had no way of explaining what he saw, he just knew it happened and had to finally say something to his friend.

"Jay, there's no such place as Anderson, South Carolina.  You're in Smithville, South Augustina.  South Augustina in the United States of Columbia."

"I know that.  It's not here in this world."

Story # 1.6 What's in a dream?

It was 2 AM...

All was quiet throughout the house.  Only the dim glow of the night lights strewn throughout could be seen, and the hue of the lamp in Jay and Linda's son's room shown with them.  Chad was sleeping soundly, for a change.  The six month old baby had a brush with what the doctor called "reactive airway" that had made Jay and Linda's lives a lot more interesting in recent weeks.  With the around the clock treatments needed to assist young Chad, the couple had to take turns in order to muddle through it.  Life, in general, had been very busy, both at work and at home.  Compound the issues with the Holiday Season, it was a miracle Jay and Linda even had hair anymore.

Because of the stress of the season and all that goes with it, Jay's dreaming had been slim to none.  He hadn't had a bad dream, or any dream for that matter, since the time of Britton's death.  But that was about the change.

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Chad began to stir in his crib, as the sounds echoed in Jay and Linda's bedroom from the night vision monitor relaying them in.  This got Linda stirring as well.

Linda had long since loathed the monitors for their children, because they presented everything from a night vision perspective.  And just the thought that someone could potentially be looking back at you, children or not, gave her the creeps.  But, these were the best way to see what was going on with their children and not having to be in the room with them at all times.  Linda honestly didn't know how women kept track of their children before the advent of technological wonders, like the monitors.  However, she still didn't like them much.

Linda plopped her head back down on the pillow, realizing it was now time for Chad's next treatment, and most likely a feeding session combined with a diaper change.  And since Linda had done the previous treatment, it was Jay's turn.

Time to wake Jay up!, she thought.

"Jay?"

She nudged him, with no response.

"Jay?"

She nudged him again, still with no response.

"JAY!"

Jay awoke with a snort, babbling incoherently for a few seconds before finally sitting up at the side of the bed.

"It's time for Chad's treatment, can you go?"

Although Linda phrased it in the form of a question, this was actually a command, and one Jay had best adhere to.

Jay mumbled something that was, again, incoherent, scratched his thigh, then hoisted himself up out of the bed.  He made his way through the hallway, his shadow trailing behind him as he passed the night light nearby.

Linda proceeded to snuggle back into her sheets.  She laid there, half listening to the rustling going on in Chad's room as Jay assembled the necessities for the treatment.  Jay's lumbering steps, indicative of the fact he was still very much in a sleep-like state, amused Linda as a smirk lit up her face.  She could hear Chad, fully awake now, moving and lurching about as his daddy prepared to give him the treatment.  She could still hear Jay's footsteps in the room, now a little more determined, as if he were more awake now.

She was beginning to drift off to sleep again, until a sound she didn't expect grabbed her attention.

It wasn't just any sound either.  It was the sound of Jay talking as if he were addressing someone.  However, he wasn't addressing Chad, but someone else.

"So, I guess you're hiding behind that camera, aren't you?"

Linda began to wake up again, not completely sure of what Jay had just said, but listening.

"Yeah, you're in there all right.  You're in there living it up while we fight to stay alive."

Linda fully opened her eyes with that remark.  Now she was listening intently.

"What a coward.  You think you're something special, don't you?  Looking down on us, probably hoping something will just kill us off so you don't have to answer for anything anymore.  Don't you?"

Linda sat up in bed and looked directly at the monitor for Chad's room.  What she saw scared her nearly to death.

Jay was staring right back at her through the monitor, looking directly into the camera in Chad's room.  His eyes glowed a deathly gray from the black and white screen.  His face looked serious and stern, a slight grin curled around his lips.  As if Linda wasn't already taken by surprise from the image, what came next made her begin to tremble.

"You thought we'd just die off, didn't you?  Well, I've got news for you....we're still here.  And now I'm gonna come inside there and make you come out of hiding to help us, whether you like it or not."

With that statement, Jay shot off out of the line of sight of the camera.  But Linda wouldn't have to speculate on where her husband went for long.  She heard his much more pronounced and determined footsteps heading for their bedroom.

Linda just sat there, unsure what was going on.  She didn't know whether to jump out of bed and defend herself or just wait and see what Jay did.  She chose to wait when she saw Jay's shadow coming down the hall, before he finally entered the room himself.

"Jay, is everything all right, honey?"

Jay stood in the doorway, the illumination of the night light behind him.  It gave and eerie persona to Jay's stance, that looked very much like a man on a mission.  He stood there staring back at Linda, breathing deeply.

"Jay, you're scaring me!  Is everything all right?"

Jay did not respond.  Instead he turned to his left and proceeded passed the dresser, then turned to face into the bathroom.  The doors to the room were wide open, with everything inside visible, even in the dark.  Jay then began to talk to the obviously empty room, at least to Linda.

"ALL RIGHT!  YOU COME OUT OF THERE RIGHT NOW!!"

Jay was practically screaming as he spoke, loud enough to wake the dead.  Linda was petrified now.  She took turns looking at Jay's back, then looking into the empty bathroom.  There was no one in there, she could see it herself.

One thought came to Linda's mind, he must be sleep walking.  Please, God, let him be sleep walking.

"YOU GET THE HELL OUT HERE RIGHT NOW, OR I'M COMING IN AFTER YOU!"

He yelled so loud, Linda was worried the neighbors might hear him, nevermind the children she was sure he had woken completely up at this point.  She decided to say something this time.

"JAY?!  Stop yelling at nothing!  You're freaking me out!"

Jay then turned and looked back at Linda.  He had a very annoyed look on his face as he looked back at her.

"WOULD YOU SHUT THE HELL UP?!  AND WHY DO YOU KEEP CALLING ME JAY, WOMAN?"

Linda was completely freaked out now.  The look on Jay's face, to her, seemed like he was wide awake and totally aware of what he was doing.  That begged the question, Why does he not know his own name?

"YOU SIT THERE, SHUT UP, AND LET ME DO MY JOB!"

Linda didn't know whether to be mad or scared at the way he was talking to her.  But, she decided to do more than just talk to him.

As Jay turned back to look into the empty bathroom again, Linda got up and walked around the bed to approach him from behind.  As she came up on him, she was going to speak and ask him, again, what was going on.  But Linda was met with an even bigger surprise this time.

Jay wield around quickly, reached out and grabbed Linda by the neck with his left hand.  This stopped her in place as her husband stood there squeezing her throat with a death grip.

"I told you woman, get your ass back in that bed!"

Gasping a little for breaths, Linda attempted to speak, "What are you doing, Jay?  Please stop this!  It's me, Linda!"

Jay looked at her intently, "I don't know any Linda.  Who the hell are you?"

Now tears began to well up in Linda's eyes.  She looked back at his, in the dark, but could still see the truth resonating from them.  This man, the man that was supposed to be her husband standing before her, had no clue who she was at all.  She could see it in his eyes.  It was as if a completely different person were standing there before her, or someone had taken over her husband's body.

Now, Linda was scared for her life.  If Jay honestly didn't recognize her, what would he be capable of?

"Back off!  Get back in that bed, and leave me alone!"

With that last statement, Jay realized Linda's neck.  She gasped for air as she tried to right herself.  Jay, or the man formerly known as Jay, proceeded to turn around and head into the empty bathroom.

Linda clutched her throat, bending over slightly as she still tried to catch her breath.  Then she began to stand back up straight and looked into the room her husband had just walked into.

What happened next turned everything on it's head.  Jay switched on the bathroom light to reveal an empty bathroom.  He proceeded to turn on the facet.  He then leaned down, cupped some water in his hands and doused his face.  He then took a towel, dried off his face, looked at himself in the mirror for a moment, then turn the facet off.  He then turned off the light and turn to come back to the bed.  Jay stopped in his path when he walked up to find himself face-to-face with Linda.

Linda had no idea what to expect from him, but she certainly didn't expect what happened next.

"Linda?  What are you doing standing in the middle of the room?  What time is it?  Oh crap, is it time for Chad's treatment?  I'm sorry, I must have over slept."

Linda did not respond to Jay.  She just stared at him, completely befuddled by the series of events that had just occurred.  She switched on the lamp next to Jay's side of the bed so she could see him.  Jay looked away momentarily to let his eyes adjust, but hen looked back at her.  Linda could see in his eyes that she was standing face-to-face with her husband now.  What in God's name just happened?

"Linda, are you ok?"

Jay was confused now.  He had no recollection of the events that had just occurred.  No memory of talking like he had, or of screaming.  No idea he grabbed his own wife by the neck in a threatening gesture.  With this realization, Linda was both relieved and pissed off.  She had the most natural response any woman could have in this situation.

Linda rared back and slapped the bejesus out of Jay on the left side of his face.

With a now stunned Jay holding his hand to the side of his face now, Linda proceeded to grab the pillows from Jay's side of the bed and then uttered a proclamation.

"When you figure out who the hell you are, you can sleep with me again!"

With that, Linda walked out the bedroom down and back into the living room.  Jay watched her leave, unsure of what to do.  He could only think of one thing to say.

"What did I do?"