Nameless Story

Nameless Story

By: Ethan West

     "Global Domination: For Dummies," I pulled the dusty book from the rickety, old library shelf curiously.  On the cover was the same old geeky cartoon man, but underneath the man was a sticker that read in large yellow handwriting.  "Used originally by Napoleon, Genghis Kahn, Alexander the Great, and Hitler.  I pondered this for quite some time.

     I went down the list of former users carefully.  Napoleon was captured and died on an island with nothing to his name.  Genghis Kahn died.  Hitler committed suicide while the Russians were knocking on his front door and Alexander the Great was some crazy Russian who hung his sister; or something like that.

     "But perhaps I could make things different," I though to myself happily.  "And this book could give me the knowledge to make it happen."  Looking back at it now I laugh at the pure irony of my thoughts.  I knew the book was most likely rubbish, but I checked it out anyways and left the depressing stillness of the library.

     I opened the door of my old, ratty Dodge Durango and sat in the tattered, stained seat.  I place the book into the cup holder on the right, as the one on the left was already full of miscellaneous garbage, turned the key in the ignition, and with a high pitched wail I set off for home in a cloud of black smoke.  But the truck broke down halfway to my house.  It shuddered and shook violently, and then what looked like one of the pistons in my engine blasted through the hood of my vehicle.

    Swearing violently I opened the door to get out.  But a logging truck was in the other lane and it smashed into my door, severing it from the body of my car.  This did not bother me much however as it really did nothing to change the value of my car.  But what did bother me was what happened next.  For the piston that had shot out of the hood of my truck had to come down sometime.  It stuck my head, knocking me out instantly.

     "Are you alright?"  Came a voice from what seemed to be miles and miles away.  "Sir," the voice was nearer now, and with a sudden rush of pain I was brought back to reality.  My eyes opened, but when I opened them I was looking straight into the sun.  With a yelp of surprise and pain I closed them again, seeing spots.

     "Sorry about that," came the voice again as I was turned to my side.  "Try opening your eyes now."  I opened my eyes again and nothing happened.  But something was strange, for there was my truck sitting there along the side of the road, but it was completely fine, no hole in the hood and the door intact.  I walked over to the truck to look inside.  A passing car's headlights illuminated the still ratty interior.  "But wait a moment," I thought to myself.  For something very strange had happened.

     For starters, when did it get so dark?  I had been blinded just a second ago by the sun's light directly overhead.  Perhaps I had been knocked back out by the light.  But that didn't make any sense at all.  The second thing that was strange was the book.  For it was on the roof of my truck, and as I reached up to snatch it my arm seemed to shrink as though thrust through a concave lens.

     The man who had awoken me walked over to my side and stared at the book.  "What are you doing?"  he asked.  "What do you mean?  I'm trying to grab the book I checked out from the library."  I replied hotly.  "What book?" The man asked curiously.  "It's sitting right on the roof of my truck and when I..."  But the book had vanished.  "How long have I been out?"  I asked slowly.  "You haven't," the man replied as his face contorted with wild eyed glee.  His cackling laugh faded away as...

     Once again the bright light of the sun shone to meet me when I regained consciousness.  I was back where I was supposed to be, stalled on the highway.  I looked down and saw the piston of my engine laying there on the ground.  I gave a sigh of relief and called the towing agency.  Then I continued my journey home on foot.

     My home was a rugged old cabin just outside town.  It had two rooms and a bathroom.  The first room was a kitchen/living room with a fireplace in the corner.  So I started a fire, and my fireplace burst into flames like it was made of, well, wood.  But wait a moment, my fireplace was not made of wood, that would be just ridiculous.  Or would it?  Perhaps I was still knocked out.  Maybe this was all just a dream.

     I stared into the flames that had, by now, engulfed half of my house.  I saw my book within the inferno, resting on my beer stained tablecloth.  "Now what in the world was it doing there?"  I thought curiously.  I had left the book in my truck, or rather, on top of it.  I reached my hand into the flames to grab the book, knowing that if this was a dream that I would feel nothing.  Or better yet the pain would wake me.  But I didn't wake.  Instead the flames wrapped themselves around my arm, burning away at my flesh.

     I screamed in pain, but kept my arm moving until it was inches away from the book's cover.  Suddenly my arm seized up just inches away from the book.  And, try as I might, I could not get a grip on the book.  I withdrew my hand from the flames as the pain grew too great to bare.  But my arm, once withdrawn from the flames, was perfectly normal.  Not a hair on it had been affected by the heat.  I stared for a couple seconds, oblivious to my still burning house.  I did not have much time to ponder this abnormality though because I suddenly felt what seemed to be warm liquid on my arm.  And to my horror I discovered that my arm that had not touched the flames had become liquid, the flesh melting off of the bone and pooling at my feet.

     I gave an ear-splitting scream of pain and terror as the roof began to cave in on me.  One of the support beams fell on top of me, crushing my mangled body, and just like that I was standing in line to check out my book, perfectly unharmed, but wide eyed and fearful.  Had nothing happened?  Was it all just a dream? Was it still a dream?

     I looked at the book in my hand and without a moments hesitation I sprinted away from the checkout stand.  I ran to the back of the library and placed the book back on the shelf.  It slid into place with an eerie finality, and as the book stopped a soft thud resonated around the room.

     Forget ruling the world, my world was strange enough.

Author's Note

Hey guys thought I'd post this from back from when I was in High School. There are probably a couple of spelling/grammar errors but it was one of my favorite pieces growing up. WARNING: This piece is dark.

Any input is greatly appreciated! Thanks guys! Also if you haven't checked it out I'm doing a Christmas book giveaway on my blog! Check it out :D

Reviews

[Roger Ferguson II]

Good consept and imagery. However the dialogue needs work, jamming a conversation into one paragraph makes it confusing to read. Separate them into their own paragraphs to make it easier to read. Over all I like the story, if you tweak some of the wording you have a great story.

[ewest1220]

Thanks for the review! I'm actually planning a rewrite of all my short stories for another publication so I really appreciate your input. Thanks for reading!

[Junert]

Hey long time, i like this story.

[Baby Ricochet]

Man that was one crazy library. I wouldn't check anything out from that place