The Other Side

The Other Side

Chapter 1:

It had been a terrible day for Rick. One of those days were you just don’t think anything can possibly go worse yet it always manages to surprise. He had woken up to the hum of his alarm clock only to fall back asleep in a matter of seconds. It took an hour for his body to understand what had occurred and he woke up with a sudden jolt. Instantly he realized that he would be late for work and in a rush of activity that any late sleeper would recognize Rick was out the door in five minutes. As Rick’s car thundered down the highway he realized two things. One he had completely forgotten his tie, and two his flowy brown was in a tangled mess. “What a ****** day” he muttered to himself. If only he knew how true those words would be.

Upon entering the work building Rick darted to his office carefully avoiding detection. If anyone had missed him earlier he simply had been in the bathroom, so he reassured himself. The day went by with surprisingly little conflict. It was just like any other work day, a ridiculous amount of work to do and not one bit of it interesting. That is of course why Rick kept a flask in his drawer, which was used on several occasions on this day, though not more than typical.

Then without any warning Sally appeared in the doorway with a look of discontent on her face.
“ Rick, what the hell are you doing, you look like a bum.”

“Sally, give me a break I woke up a little late and had to rush to work.”

“Oh yeah, well Rick, I’m tired of excuses, that’s all you ever have. I’m tired of them, the whole office is tired too. Hell the boss is even tired of it.”

“What’s that supposed to mean Sally?”

“That’s why I’m down her Rick, the boss wants to see you.”

“Ah, well thanks for taking the liberty to tell me Sally, I’m sure you jumped on the chance to break me down.”
With that he hustled by her with a menacing look as he passed her way. ‘How dare she come in here and treat me like that’ were the thoughts that smoldered in his mind. ‘She didn’t use to treat me like this, but I guess a lot has changed since then.’

Then was four months ago to be precise. For months since Sally had caught Rick putting his tongue in the mouth of another women. Rick of course said he did not mean to, it was the alcohol. This was true, however Sally was not going to by into excuses. From that day on she treated Rick like the enemy, and as the enemy it was her job to make his life hell in any way possible. This was of course all far from Rick’s mind. This talk with the boss would be serious and he would have to be focused. Being the third trip of this nature of course did not help to ease Rick’s tension, there was simply no way to walk to the boss calmly. He could have put Gandhi himself into the physic ward for depression.

The boss’s room was cold. It had the feeling about it that could simply suck away any feeling of joy and replace it with despair. The walls were white and there was no form of decoration. Simply a large desk and chairs on either side of it, one being empty and the other occupied by the man himself. He was not a pleasant man, with a very roundish figure offset by beady little eyes that would not be out of place on a serpent. With the most degrading voice imaginable he uttered,

“How do you do Mr. Cunningham?”

“Fine.”

“Just fine then, eh? From the smell about you it would seem you’ve been having a lot of fun.”

“ Ah sir, I had aaaaa headache, that’s it a headache. You know those pills don’t do anyone good.”

“Well Mr. Cunningham, my sources tell me that this is a regular occurrence. Not to mention you seem to be under the impression that this firm starts a hour later than it actually does. And where is your tie?”

“ Ah, Sally put you up to this didn’t she. All lies, I was in the bathroom this morning, and I spilt some coffee on my tie at breakfast.” Even Rick knew how pathetic this sounded, but he had no other way out.

“You seem full of explanations, perhaps then you will be able to explain to everyone why your fired.”

“Wha, but sir, I ah dii erm, I promise you, I speak only the truth.”

“ My patience is spent, get out of this place, you are no longer welcome here. Good day to you.”

And that was that, Rick was fired from his job of three years. He would have said good-bye to some folks, that is would have if Sally had not turned the whole office against him. All there was left to do was gather the stuff and go home. Rick walked out of the building very dejected, like a boy who had just had his candy taken away. ‘Years of service and this is what I get, what a day!

Rick probably should have gone home and got some sleep, however he had convinced himself the best course of action was to go to the bar. Surely no harm could be done by having a quick drink or two his conscience told him. It was almost habit know. He would walk in the bar, sit in a stool and ask Joe to give him a pint. A pint all Rick ever planned on drinking, but on this night, like every other he had way too much. So much that Joe decided to cut him off.
“Aaaah come on Joe, I’mdrunk.”

“Boy, you ain’t safe to drive on da roads as it tis, no way I’m a gonna give ya more.”

From then on the conversation was not comprehendible to Rick, he had faded away and his thoughts were elsewhere. After some time of rummaging around the bar Rick finally found his way to his car and hopped in. It was dark and the monotonous road was hypnotizing to Rick in his inebriation and in no time he was at the final stretch to his house. Just had to make it over the old hill and his house was in plain site. Despite his condition he had made it home just fine. As Rick climbed up the hill he could not help but feel a sense of foreboding. He knew exactly what lay on the other side of the hill, but an unquenchable fear of the unknown overcame him. His stomach tightened and the hair on his skin stood on end. It was human nature, it happened to everyone when they were alone. Rick himself had felt this sensation hundred’s of times. However this time it felt different and Rick could not explain it to himself.

AS he finally reached the top of the hill Rick was relieved he could see his house and all the surroundings that were so familiar. But, he couldn’t help to notice, something seemed different. There was his house, the big old maple tree, the stray cats that normally wonder the neighbor hood. All was in order. But, wait. Where was the car!? Rick was floating! And now that he realized it nothing seemed the same. What he had thought to be his house was a mountain of what appeared to be ice, and the tree was moving. Then the sky! The sky was some deep mix of violet and crimson, not the black it had been before. And then whatever force had kept him afloat disappeared and Rick was sent crashing to the ground. With that the lights went out.

*prolly all Ill post on TWC. Please post your comments!

dammit kscott ...excellent stuff ..your work?

Thank you, yes this is my work

*redid this
Chapter One
It was cold, damn cold. The kind of cold thats gnaws on ones bones. The sun was sinking
to the earth and only a few straggler rays remained. Darkness was creeping over the hills
and in no time at all it had consumed all that lay before it. Joe just couldn't help but to be
depressed. Another day gone and nothing new accomplished. Another shot of whiskey for
Joe.

Its not that Joe had no life, in fact the casual observer would think him to be quite a happy
person. He was blessed with all the gifts a man could wish for. He was born to a middle
class family who loved him,scored top marks in all his classes, had been a star on the
school football team, and had looks that got him plenty of adoring girls. On outside Joe
even seemed happy. He was the type who always seemed to have a smile on his face.

None of this comforted Joe, it just all seemed so pointless. Being out in public was like
being an actor in front of an audience. Not that this intentional, just inevitable. Joe felt
like he was a robot programmed to behave a certain way with no ability to do anything
else. All just so pointless to Joe, people were just a waste of time. Inside he felt there was
something he was missing, something everything else had that he had somehow been left
out of him. Like some sort of malfunction. At least Joe had whiskey, it helped him escape
these thoughts that tormented him so.

Things at the pub were going slow that night, just the bar tender Big Tony, Joe, and that
lady Shirley from down the street. Shirley was a pretty girl, but Joe didn't want to talk. He
just wanted more whiskey.

Yo Tony, how 'bout you get me some more Bourbon.
Nope, im sorry but its getting late
Ah come on, just one more shot for an old pal?
I already told yas, no questions about it, your done
Who are you to tell me im done, I want my Bourbon.
Who am I? Who am I? Im the owner of this place and your welcome is expired. Get the
hell out of here before I kick you out.

All the while Shirley just looked at Joe in amazement. What was wrong with him? He had
always been such a successful kid in school, how did he turn out like this? Shirley used to
have a little crush on Joe, all the girls did. But this? This was just pathetic, Shirley wanted
to just leave and forget all about Joe, he just brought back too many unpleasant memories.
Memories that are best forgotten. But something inside told Shirley to help Joe out,
something out of her reach.

Joe, come on. I can give you a ride home.
I don't need a ride, I got my own damn car.
Sorry, just trying to help

Joe never heard those last words, he had stormed off. Whats with all this dummies. Can't
they see that he is fine. He could have ten more shots and still drive himself home, he was
a pro at it after all. He would show them. Joe scratched his door a little trying to get the
keys in, but no problem, it was just the dark, just all the damn darkness. The ride home
was mostly uneventful, just one jerk who was driving below the speed limit, but Joe
could get over that.

As he was driving up the hill that his house was on, a question popped into his head.
What was on the other side of that hill? The answer seemed obvious, but Joe couldn't bring
himself to believe it that his house was there. It just couldn't be, it had to be something
else. And then Joe noticed something else, the sky was no longer black, but crimson.
Well he called it Crimson, but in truth Joe didn't know what color it was, it was foreign to
him. The road was no longer the road, it was no longer even solid. It was like water and
Joe seemed to be sinking fast. All this was too much for Joe, was too overwhelmed to
understand anything that was happening. And the past over the top of the hill, and a jolt
of light boomed all around transforming all that was into nothing and all that was not into
something.. Joe simply passed out.