The Calling

Frank sat up in bed. His hand went to his chest: there was no pain there. It was just a dream. He swung his feet around and touched the floor and sat there for a few more moments. The time on his alarm clock clicked from 4:44 to 4:45am.

Man, that was intense, he thought as he stood and stretched.

He went to his bedroom window and looked out to the street. It was clear. Then he headed into the kitchen. He opened the refrigerator and rummaged around inside until he found what he was looking for, a container of orange juice.

He took an old glass from the counter, sniffed it to see if the contents were sour; satisfied, he poured himself some juice and put the container away. His phone rang as he took a pull from the glass. Caller ID showed who was calling.

"Morning Goner," Frank said. "Did you get that signal?"

"Signal," Goner sounded like he had suffered an anxiety attack. "Do you mean that nightmare I was having? Christ, I thought I was having a heart attack."

"Yes," Frank replied.

"What does it mean?" Goner started.

"It means that someone is trying to contact us," Frank replied with a wry smile.

Crossworlds & Crosswords

The rain splattered against the window, merging together and streaking down the glass. It had been raining for the better part of the morning and there was nothing more to do than sit and wait until the next assignment to pop up.

Frank was sipping from a mug, the newspaper folded down to the crossword section which was nearly completed. He was working on it with a pencil, his mind scanning the letters for clues to help him solve a question.

"What's your fascination with those?" Goner asked him. He had looked over the table and at the crossword puzzle. Goner perferred to do the jumble ones, since they were much simpler to unscramble the words.

"Crosswords?" Frank asked back. He didn't bother looking up from trying to piece together an 8 letter word, then he added, "It's a pastime, Gon. Some people read books, some play video games. I solve crosswords."

"Well, that's okay. I guess," Goner replied. "You'd think you'd give your brain a little break from all that activity after all we've seen and been through."

"It's stimulating," Frank says. "Keeps the mind honed and looking for little clues that seem to fall into place."

Goner slid out of the booth. "Well, I am going to stimulate more in the bathroom."

Frank chuckled.