The Obdurate Avidity

Chapter 15

 

         By TurtleBoy

 



          The world around me grew dark; the room was no longer throbbing, but faded and obscured.  Without warning I felt myself falling into nothingness.  My legs and arms struggled for something to grip to, but there was nothing.  The feeling of weightlessness startled my senses while my heart leapt to my throat.  I could not make a noise; though frightened out of my skin, an ease of heart confused me.  As that glowing blackness seemed to focus; I felt again.


            Finding myself laying in prickly thorns and jagged rocks, I climbed to my feet.  This was definitely not where I was supposed to be.  There were trees not twenty yards away, with a stone carved structure to the right.  I felt myself drawn to it, and without another thought I was raising my hand to its blackened stone.  Although it looked coarse to the eyes it was smooth to the touch.  Why was this here?  What was it for?


            The stones were formed in a circle the centre was maybe a 20 foot radius.  It stood a good 15 feet high and curved making arches at every entrance.  Patterns were carved threw the middle of every stone, kind of like vines weaving themselves together.  In the middle of this remarkable structure was two posts raised over what looked like a well.  There was no ceiling, only stars above.  The ground below it was made of a glass like substance.  It was red but transparent.  Perhaps that was what made the stones glisten like they did.  There was nothing natural about this place.  It didn’t even look like it could be standing.  With the carvings that were chiseled through the stones, the integrity of the structure had to be compromised.  But this place seemed to defy gravity and the laws of physics. 


            All things considered, I was not frightened any longer.  It was like I was supposed to be here.  Everything seemed right, even though I couldn’t work out why.  With out a second thought, I made my way to the centre of the oddity.  Placing one of my hands on the two wooden posts, I peered into the hole in the ground.  It glistened, and reflected.  I could see myself and the stars above me.  The posts made my hands tingle with warmth, which comforted me.  It was then things began to become really weird.  The reflection tainted to a heavy red.  I felt my hands being engulfed into the posts, while the ground left my feet.  I was dangled over the centre of the enigma.  The rock around me seemed to move, as the carved vines grew out of its centre towards me.  Below the red water dripped upwards with every drop falling onto me.  I closed my eyes taking a deep breath, still calm.  I was strangely relaxed, like I knew everything was supposed to be happening.


            The red liquid now violently exploded upward, wrapping itself around me completely.  The stone vines circled me, creating a cocoon like shape; trapping me inside.  I breathed in deeply, as my surrounding filled with the liquid.  A smile crossed my face.  My lungs were filled with the stuff, but I could still breathe normally.  My body felt refreshed, and my soul satisfied.  It was like nothing else mattered.  I could feel the stone pressing into me, digging into my skin.  It did not hurt it was more like; someone was sliding an ice cube all over my body.  There was than a pressure on my back, it burned.  It was like someone was sticking a bunch of red hot needles between my shoulder blades.  I tried to scream, but it was impossible due to the liquid that filled my lungs.


            I opened my eyes in a panic.  In confusion I jumped to my feet.  I was standing in front of James in the middle of his living room.  The credits were rolling up the screen, and James was laughing at me.


“You okay?”  He asked with a giggle.


“Umm, yea.  What happened?”  My eyes were still blurry.


“You fell asleep.”  James smiled.


“Wow, that was the weirdest dream ever!”  I stated as I flopped back down on the couch, and wrapped my arms around James.


“Hehehe, you seemed to like it though, you were smiling the whole time.”


“Really?  It was so…. I don’t know, real.  There was a stone circle, and it was black…  I got stuck to these two wooden sticks over a well, and I was in a rock cocoon, and it filled with red water, and I could still breathe…”  I tried to explain.


“That was supposed to seem real?”  James teased, placing his hand on my forehead and kissing the back of my head.


“I guess.  Hey, where’s your brother?”


“He went to bed just before you woke up.”  James smiled.


“Oh.  How long was I out?”


“Maybe two hours.”


“The movie’s just ending now?”


“No this was another movie, Unbreakable.  We could watch it again if you want.”


“I think I saw it.”  I told him, while kissing under his chin.


“Okay, so whatcha wanna do now?”


“You don’t have monopoly do you?”


“Doesn’t everyone?  You wanna play?”  He questioned seemingly surprised.


“Yea…  Don’t know, it just popped into my head.”


“Okay, I’ll go get it.”  James said while walking out of the room.

 
            I laid back on the couch and stretched out.  Letting my muscles tense up and than relax.  I allowed the moment to just absorb, I was so relaxed.  My mind was oddly peaceful, like I had just had the most cozy bubble bath ever.  I took a long deep breath, held it in for a moment and exhaled with a comfy sigh.  I closed my eyes for a moment, and was satisfied.  Peeling myself upwards off the couch, I sat up and awaited James return.  Hehehe Monopoly, this is going to be great.  A great way to see the very soul of a person is to play that game.  Everyone has a different method.  Some are violently buying everything, and making deals left and right.  Others just play by ear and grab what ever comes there way.  But if you watch closely, the way a person reacts to getting all that power on the board, can give you a peek into their soul.  Or their imagination.  Either or, it’s close to the same…

 
            James returned within a couple of minutes, carrying a black and silver metallic box.  Oh my…  Monopoly, Resident Evil Edition.  Seems monopoly had an edition for everything.  I had the Toronto edition.  With a smile on his face, he sat in the middle of the living room and opened the box.


“Wonderful!  I got dibs on the most hideous creature!”  I demanded jokingly.


“Well alright than you can have Claire.”  He giggled.

 
            Taking a moment to figure out the meaning of this comment, I returned with a ridiculous smirk, and a quick chuckle when coming to the conclusion it must have been a gay orientated joke.  We began our monopoly venture, and to my surprise James was harshly devious in the game.  He’d act calmly, while consuming available properties.  Than when it came to trades and deals, he ended up tricking me into my own defeat.  He would trade me full properties with hotels already on them for cheesy properties with little to nothing, than when most the board was his, I soon found myself in debt and finally bankruptcy.  I lost horribly.

 
“That was probably the shortest game of monopoly ever.  How embarrassing.”  I giggled at my own defeat.

 
“Well, we can’t all be pros.”  He teased.

 
“So, in the mood for another movie?  Board games don’t seem to like me.”

 
“Sure, lets watch it in my room though incase we get tired.”  He suggested.


“Cool.”  I agreed while folding the board and placing it in the box.


            With little talk after that we cleaned up, than retired to his bedroom.  He threw on some old slasher movie which I couldn’t place the name of, and we snuggled in and drifted off to sleep in a matter of minutes.


            I woke in a cold sweat, my back was burning and stung.  James was still asleep next to me, the sun was only beginning to rise.  I felt sick to my stomach, while my entire body tingled.  I wanted to run to the bathroom but couldn’t move.  With my heart racing my hands gripped the bed sheets.  My body seemed to be trying to escape itself.  I felt sharp pains shoot rapidly across my bones.  I found myself in a horrifying state of mind.  I knew I was in pain, I knew something was wrong; but I liked it.


            I could feel my skin split into pieces, while my body seemed to be growing.  My heart raced while adrenaline shot through my body by the gallon.  I couldn’t sit still any longer, I had to move.  My body leapt upward, I stood in the middle of the room rapidly searching.  The window.  With out another thought I drew it open and jumped out.  Hitting the ground with a slight thud, I began to run.  I had no destination, I just had to move.  My mind raced with excitement as I felt my body seem to defy any laws of physical possibilities.  My strides became more stretched apart, as I soon began to use my hands to increase my movement.  With every moment my body became stronger and stronger.  I felt a power rush through me that I could have never imagined before.  I had to do more.  Jumping from the ground to a tree, I climbed as fast as I could.  From there I jumped to another tree, than into a field across from my house.  It was the park.   The darkness around me became more and more clear but red tainted instead of lit.  With everything happening I still wanted more.  I ran through the field approaching some houses.  I increased my speed and leapt towards the nearest home.


            Digging my hands and feet into the walls of the structure I climbed to a nearby window.  Without another thought my body crashed threw the window and on top of a bed.   It was than the world became dark.  I felt as if I were asleep.

 
            I woke up the next morning next to James, with a smile on his face as he was watched my arrival into the day.  I felt a smile cross my face, and unwillingly stretched out in a full body squeeze.  Upon the end of my stretch, I reached out and pulled James in for a morning cuddle.  There was no resistance on his part.  I felt like a million bucks.  Actually, that is a drastic understatement but I’ll leave it there.  My body was all tingly and satisfied.  James yummy smell filled my lungs, as I kissed his forehead.  I could feel his hands traveling across my body.  His gentle caresses only increased my need for him.  I felt my pajama bottoms leaving my hips, as his lips travelled down my neck and chest.

 
“Mmmm….  Good Morning, AHHH beautiful.”  My greeting was interrupted by the feeling of his lips making contact with my morning wonder.  That was all that was said.

 
            After a remarkable morning treat, we ran to the shower before anyone else woke up.  And shortly after ran downstairs to start breakfast for everyone.  Chopping fruit and frying bacon and hashed brown potatoes, we constructed a horrific mess.  Piling the plates inside the oven on low to keep them warm we rushed to clean up before everyone woke up.  Just as we placed the last pan in the cupboard, and finished our last chuckle, James mom and brother entered the room with a drowsy morning scruff tattered across there bodies.  As we placed the plates and cups on the table, a smile crossed their faces.

 
“Wow, this is a wonderful surprise!  You should spend the night more often Adrian.”  James mom joked.

 
“Yea, you’d make a great maid.”  James teased as he jumped away from my elbow.

 
“You’d probably look better in an apron.”  I returned, poking out my tongue and sitting down at the table.


            I noticed James moms face cringe as she sampled the home made hash browns.  She subtly maneuvered them off the side of her plate into a napkin that she cupped in her hand.  I felt my face flex into a smile, as I tried not to say anything.  However I soon found myself doing the same.  The potato was only half cooked, and partially burnt on the outside.  It was a glorious breakfast indeed, hehehe.  After a huge mutual outburst of laughter between us all we chucked the hash browns in the trash and threw some bread in the toaster.

 
“Looks like you boys wont be blue ribbon chefs anytime soon.”  James mom commented sarcastically.


“Funny mom.  Thing is I used your recipe.”  James smiled and stuck out his tongue blowing raspberries in her general direction.

 
“Hilarious really.  So what do you boys have planned for today?”  She asked.


“Dunno, haven’t given it too much thought.”  I remarked.

 
“I was thinking we go down to the ice cream shop, than hop over to the next town and catch a movie.”  James added.

 
“Huh?!  There’s a theatre around here?”  I came back excitedly.

 
“Yea, it’s about a half hour walk from the end of town.”  James replied.


“Well, make sure you ask your parents first Adrian.  I don’t want to get into trouble for letting you skip town.”   She said seriously, but the remark sounded sarcastic.

 
“Of course.”  I smiled with a nod.

 
“Well, we got a couple of hours till the theatre even opens, do you wanna play some video games?”  James suggested.

 
“Sounds good.”


            After cleaning up the remainder of the dishes and chucking out some trash we headed up to James room to play some playstation.   Game of choice, Devil may Cry.  Awesome!

 
“It’s no Halo but this game is amazing.”  James insured.

 
            The controls were a little different than the xbox that I was used to, and I spent more time dying than the devil spent crying.  But it was crazy fun, and James groveled in all his glory while cackling at all the stupid deaths I got myself into.  Apparently I sucked at it.  What did he expect?  I had never played the game before.

 
            After a very frustrating two hours of video games, we headed off to my place for my parents permission.  Than we scampered off for some ice cream and a long walk to the next town.  The walk was awesome, and I still felt amazing.  It was like the world around me lost its limits, and I was free to do as I pleased.  Every step felt light and balanced.  Every breath was free and calming.   Almost indescribable.  I could hear the animals hiding in the trees on either side of the road we were walking along.  I could almost hear the beat of their hearts.  The breeze filled my lungs and the scent of nature just filled me with desire.  I really had to fight off the urge to run into the forest and explore.  It was kinda like the trees were beckoning me to them.  Something calling me in.  However with James hand tightly around my own, I found the common sense to stay on our venture.

 
“So what movie are we going to see?”  I questioned.


“Dunno, I don’t even know what’s playing.”  He replied.


“Oh, well hehe ok than.”  With a smile I continued our peaceful walk to the theatre.


            It seemed like hours before we finally reached the town James was talking about.  It was closer to a forty five minute walk than half hour.  But it was still nice.  The next town was so much more lively than our own.  There were people running everywhere from shop to shop, and children scampering about doing things kids do.  There were teenagers playing football in the park, and cars clustered in the streets.  It was amazing, I finally had a sense of civilization return to me.

 
“Welcome to FairView!”  James exclaimed with a hint of excitement in his voice.

 
“Wow, real people!  Doing normal things!  I never want to go back.”  I giggled with almost a skip in my step.

 
            We ventured through the towns main street, it was at least ten times the size of Oakpoints main street.  We crossed a couple of roads and turned off down an ally, which was apparently a short cut.  There it was a not incredibly huge building, but a decent sized theatre.  I felt a smile cross my face, as we circled to the front of the building and entered its main doors.

 
“Oh wow!  I’ve never been so excited to be at the movies before hehehehe.  I love it!”  I stated as James laughed at me.


“Yea, I’ve begged my parents to move to this town so many times, but they are content with Oakpoint.  It’s apparently more convenient to go to other places.  I don’t get it, it’s like a five minute drive from town haha.  Dunno.”  James shrugged.

 
“Well, we really gotta come here more often!  Hey lets watch Lord of the Rings!”  I suggested.


“Sure, is it as long as the other ones?”


“Probably, but they’re usually worth the sit.”  I replied.


“Too true.”

            We bought some popcorn and soda, as well as the tickets… all at the same booth.  Than went into one of the two theatres hehehe.  We had a half hour to spare before the movie started so we just sat and talked about our past lives before Oakpoint.  I found out James used to be in all sorts of sports and after school activities.  He even went to martial arts courses since he was 4.  That was awesome, but I really couldn’t see James doing any of those things.  He seemed to be one of those laid back video game kinda guys.  Guess Oakpoint really does change you.  I wonder if he gets the same feelings as I’ve been getting lately.  Speaking of which, my back was still burning.  I guess it was from the material of the theatres seats that set it off again.  Wait a second, was last night real?



Chapter 16