A Collection Of Dreams

parts of a short story i wrote last semester.

     The man shrieked and writhed about in the incinerator, his arms and legs shackled to the walls, his body smeared with toxic jelly. As his captor absently added more coal to the fire, he began to speak to his victim.
"So," he asked, "do you like well done or extra crispy?"
But, the man had not heard him; the pain was excruciating. He caught the wretched stench of his scorched body as flames raised hurriedly, hungrily to lap at him, his flesh boiling. The thought, the probability of this occurrence alone was slim, but it seemed as Satan himself had drawn his ticket; his time was up, and this man, his tormentor, had come to collect his bounty. He felt his life waning away, slipping from his grasp, but he was not yet ready to die. He thought of Delilah and his son, and he began to weep openly, pleading to blind eyes and crying out to deaf ears...

     The sun hung high above the young man walking mechanically down the sweltering highway. The heat was abysmal, and the air was dry, much like the ground around it. The dust storms were particularly unforgiving. The self-caused martyr begged the sky above and about him, beseeching rain, anything but this atrocious punishment. It was too cruel. He prayed that the peak of the next ridge would hold some life, but he doubted it. He walked for hours on end, in the ferocious desertion, the heat choking him, slowly taking what strength he had left. If he did not find his ever so anticipated refreshment soon, he would end up as a bountiful feast in the wasteland. This could not happen; he had to reach her. He would not die for this. The sunlight quickly and suddenly became a blinding light, swallowing everything. He did not know what was happening; he thought that maybe the sun had imploded, and the human race was on the brink of an eternal radiated winter...
      Koji stood in front of a school, but this building looked more like a fortress than a learning institution. It was a monolith, a gigantic beacon standing out, rising above the miniscule world around it.  He heaved, and with great force, finally managed to push the giant doors open. His journey, up to this point, was just a collection of menial tasks; they meant nothing, just means to an end. He walked through corridor after corridor, ending up in an atrium in the center of the building. It appeared to be a cafeteria, with tables and benches scattered about in clusters. There was a legend at the front of the area, and it read the contents of the school. Koji walked about absently, like a ghost, wandering through halls that had never seen but had always known. This concept was eerie to him, the concept to intimately know a thing without ever occupying it. He knew every corner, every room AND its inhabitants. Koji was in a hallway on the second floor, peering over a railing when he heard a loud, sudden ringing. Class was over, and the students were in a passing period between classes. This was his chance, the sole reason that he was even here; he had to find her. She needed to read his words. Koji made his way forcefully through the oncoming current. Shoving faceless carcass after faceless carcass away, he strode urgently to make it to his destination in time. He knew exactly where she should be at this very moment, and he needed to spot a friend of hers before time was up. The slip of paper that he clutched held an excerpt of a lyrical work, and it read:

 

I just want to take you where our time won’t waste anymore
Through the mountains on the water we’ll stay engulfed in one another
And when I can wake up to see the sunrise in you eyes
then we’ll finally be free and I’ll know I’ve made it home

So let’s go out west and bask in the overcast
And walking through the rain we’ll see the beauty in life again

We can keep holding on...
    
 He found his middleman, gave her the slip, and made his way onward. Koji heard a cry to his left, and slightly glancing that way, noticed her coming toward him. She had seen him. He turned away and walked. He heard her called his name, but he continued to walk, oblivious. No matter how she tried to catch up to him, it was in vain. It was if she were suspended in space, watching in tears as the only person she had ever wished upon walked out of her life forever, not even taking the time to look back at a distant, fading memory...
    

     "The fear of losing the things that you love the very most is the most horrible nightmare that anyone should have to face in reality, let alone even think about! Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean that you should!"

     The child walked barefoot through the rain, screaming at his passerby. He was heard by none and seen by none. This irritated him. The boy's mother had once told him that raindrops were the tears of angels lamenting a grave loss. The next day, the boy had scraped his elbow while riding his bike. The streets were slick with rainwater, and this caused his bike to lose traction. When he went to his mother, she told him to cry to his content. He asked why, and she told him that tears were a cleansing of one's soul. The boy did not know why he remembered such a thing at a time like this, but he did. He cried to people in restaurant windows, elegant people enjoying a euphoric time in paradise. As he walked, cars drenched him with gutter water. It was bright and sunny earlier that day when the boy found out that his mother had died in a subway accident. She was the only relative that he had. His father had died in the military shortly after he was born. The boy ran out of his classroom, crying painfully. He ran without direction; he could not stop. He ran with hopes that he could catch up to his mother in time to save her. Too tired and cold to go on, the boy found an awning and sat beneath it. As he began to cry, he tried to go to sleep.

 

Reviews

[Kimmee Jean]

there are too many plot lines...its a little hard to follow but the lines taht are there are really good

[Gravedigger]

Very graphic; I love it! The begnning really grabbed my attention. I could feel the heat from the fire on my face as I read that. Every line held a new surprise and had extremely vivid detail, and I have to say that I love your vocabulary! All of the words made sense, but they weren't your run-of-the-mill words. They were awesome! There is only one thing I would liek cleared up; is Koji the man being burned in the beginning and /or the little child at the end? the lack of names just needs a little clearing up, but otherwise its gold.

Nice morbid, emotional piece.