Faux Blog

excerpt from phased_from_reality's journal at Blog Nation:

His name is Max and he came to me in a dream.

I peeled onions like bugs on a window, roasting like a dog on a sidewalk. Falling forward into the pit of demons with tiny pitchforks dancing about like a zombie rave. Music pulsating like blood through veins, rejuvanating the likeness of youth.

Me: You are who you say you are?
He: I am who that person that I introduced you as.
Me: Why are you doing this? Why this confusion?
He: Why not.

Replied said and done like a serving of dinner. An awkward eternity before the sun rises again for the third time in this portion of the dream. Lucid dreaming, a sea of possibilities?

Me: Who is scanning the spectrum?
He: I can't answer that.
Me: Why can't you?
He: I'm afraid to.

Acts go by, with the same scenes played out over and over. A record skipping is a thing that has to be heard, unlike a cd player. Bring in the old school, learn from the new and together we shall bond as one.

A Moment Out of Sink...

The summer sun was waxing across the sky, as Max's eyes flickered open. He was lying on the ground and had no inkling on how he got here and what he was doing. Vague images played through his mind like a 1940's newsreel.

His cellphone chimed.

"Hello," he said after answering on the fourth ring. He noticed several cuts on his hand and marvelled at that.

"Well?" the voice on the other end was feminine and impatient.

"Well what?" he inquired.

"Where the hell are you?"

"At this point in time, I really don't know," he answered truthfully. He got up from the ground and saw that his shirt was torn and there were blood specks. "But wherever I was last doesn't look too good at all!"

Bring Two

Dexter sat at his desk, looking out the window. The keyboard was in front of him and he really hated this part of the job; crossing the i's and dotting the t's. He had been riding the desk ever since "The Hyatt Incident".  His fingers danced over the keyboard like Olympic figure skaters and he was not reading the words he was typing at all. It felt like his brain was on auto-pilot.

His cellphone chimed. The theme from Shaft kicking in.

"Yo," he said as he brought it to his ear.

"Busy?" the voice on the other end asked.

"Not really," he lied. He needed the distraction to clear his head.

"I'll be over in a bit," the voice said. "I'm stopping by Kelly's. You want anything from there?"

"I could use a Bostom Creme donut," he replied. "On second thought, make that two."

Retrospectionary

Max sat at a booth by the window, a cold cup of coffee in front of him. He hadn't touched it when the waitress had placed it before him. The ashtray was clean and sparkling and it wasn't violated with a butt or two yet. 

A pack of smokes sat on the table, the wrapper still around them. His lighter was stationary like a sentinel waiting for orders. He had a lot of thinking to do; changes were coming and he didn't know what he should do.

Could I prevent them if I wanted to?

It was one of the fleeting thoughts going through his mind. He didn't know what he was going to do.

It was 2:34am and the 24 hour diner was empty save for a waitress sitting down at the counter reading an entertainment magazine. She glanced at Max and noticed that he wasn't doing anything at all except for staring out the window.

An Elvis tune played dimly over the noise of the air conditioner and the hum of the freezer. But the words and music could still be heard.

Max reached down and took a sip from the coffee, then he looked at the waitress.

"Isabel," he called to her. 

"Warm up?" she asked with a wink.

"You read my mind."

Incident at Moot Point

There was a horrible sound of ripping as if flesh was being torn apart. Frank and Angst, who were waiting by the car, looked up. Upon hearing the sound Angst keyed the two-way on the cellphone.

"Looks like the Professor was right," Angst said into the phone. "There's the anomaly as planned."

"It's about time," Mags said on the other end. "Does he have it?"

"Not sure," Angst said. She had been sitting on the hood of the car, soaking in some rays but she was sliding off now to go to the spot where the portal was opening.

Frank walked back to the the trunk and brought out a suitcase.

"Looks like he's got company," Angst said after witnessing the fabric of space and time open and deposit two forms like trash from a car window. "It's not an item. It's another person!"

"That can't be," an astonished Mags said from her end.

"Welcome back, Max," Frank greeted as he walked over to the bodies on the pavement. Frank did a double take at the body beside Max.

"How long?" Max asked.

"About two days," Frank told him. "Who's your friend there?"

"It's a long story," was the answer. "But that's the package."

Beside him was a formless being with no facial features or any other distinguishable body part.

"Well that's just freaky," Frank told him. 

Max reached inside his pocket and took out a sheet and gave it to Frank. After looking at the sheet Frank looked up at Max.

"You sure?" Frank asked Max.

"Yes," Max replied. "I couldn't be more serious."

Forgotten as Lyrics to an Unwritten Song

"The moon is blue and hangs low in the heavens," he said.

"And this means what to me?" questioned Suki.

"It's a song lyric," Max replied. He continued to stare out the window.

"What song?" Suki wanted to know.

"Sure beats the hell out of me," he replied. He glanced over at her and smiled.

"That's Maggie's job," Suki said with a wink.

Focus on Aspects

Max's fist slammed into the wall leaving a hole. He was really upset about this and he knew that there was only one option out of their current predicament.

"Are you sure?" Maggie asked. She held the picture up to see it again. "It's not a glitch or anything like that?"

"Yeah," Max replied. He plopped down on the sofa. Dejected.

"Damn," Maggie said. She put the picture down on the table, and shook her head.

"Copyrighted," Max whispered.

Clothes Make the Man...

Suki could hear the changing in the rumble of the car. It sang to her that the car was going to be stopping shortly. 

"Time to earn our keep," she replied with Godhammer glowing. Max looked up from the paper he was reading and glanced out the window of the car. Still seeing only the darkness of the tunnel.

"Ak-Ak," Suki called to the back. The huge norseman glanced up from the book of poetry he was reading.

"You joining in or sitting this one out?"

The subway began to slow down; Max folded up the paper he was reading and set it on the seat. He picked up his two pistols and placed them into his back holsters as he stood. 

"Are we set?" he asked her.

"Yeah," she replied.

Akimoto stood up and joined them at the door. He was wearing a gaudy Hawaiian shirt and dark sunglasses.

"Next reality I am taking you shopping," Suki told Aki. 

"Oh really?" Aki replied. "What is the matter with the attire that I have on now?"

"That's so Magnum," she told him.

Prologue: The Waking Tide

Max awoke, convinced that he was hearing someone singing an ancient song. Though it sounded distorted and warbled, as if coming through static, low enough though that he could make out the lyrics. He brought his arm up to his head only to find that an IV needle was stuck in his veins.
 
Pain shot up his arm and that's when he realized that he was in a hospital. His throat parched and his body ached as if muscles were being used for the first time in a long time.
 
He was lying on a cot in some infirmary. He sat up. The ward was dark but he could make out several bunks from the low light. There was a nurse walking through the bunks, checking in on the odd patient when she spotted Max.
 
"The dead has risen," the nurse said with a smile. "Well John, it's nice to see you up and about."

Doing the Do

The moment that he walked through the door, he knew he was in big trouble. Max stood, scanning the room, noticing the devastation that was strewn about. Bodies scattered about like discarded toy soldiers after a child was bored with them. 

Max made no sudden moves, since he could feel a pair of eyes on him. He would have to thank Maggie later for that gift. 

"Brogan."

"Ah Max," a voice said from the shadows. "It's good to see you again."

"It's been a long while. You could have called." 

"I knew if I did this that you would come." Brogan stepped from the corner; he held a device in his hands that resembled a gun. "Like a bee to pollen."

"Enough with the games, Brogan," Max said. He stood there staring at the man.

"You killed me once," Brogan said as he stepped forward. "I doubt if you can do it again. I've evolved."

The Unseen Spectrum of Moments

Max slammed his hand on the table, making Frank and Goner look up from what they were doing. Frank was reading the paper, while Goner was doing a Soduku puzzle. 

"What's up?" Frank inquired.

Max ran his fingers through his hair before replying, "Still no word."

"Well, after all it's been only 12 hours," Frank replied. He had folded up the paper and placed it on the table. Beside the 13 clips that were loaded and ready for battle.

"Shouldn't there be a sign at least?" Max seemed more agitated than normal.

"What's up, Boss?" Goner asked; he noticed this as well.

"I'm not too sure," Max replied. "Something doesn't feel right at all."

Sentry Duty...

"What's going on?" Angst looked about. She walked across the roof to the spot where Suki was camped out.

Suki turned to look at Angst; she held a portable game player in her hands. She was in the middle of kicking alien butt.

"Nothing much," Suki replied.

"You're supposed to be on sentry duty," Angst said with a scorned look.

"I am," Suki stated. She finished off the level and then quit the game. "It's boring. Just sitting and watching, it's like doing math or something like that."

Angst sat down beside Suki and took the binoculars from their perch to do a quick glance.

"Besides, Trump is in the tree across from the building," Suki said.

"I hate that cat," Angst muttered.

"You and Max both," Suki said with a smile. "I can understand why Max doesn't like the cat but what's your story?"

Angst scanned the building and saw no movement. She scanned to the tree to find Trump sitting on a limb licking his right paw. He seemed to notice someone watching him so he peered toward Angst.

"It's a long and complicated one," Angst said.

"I got all night," Suki inquired.

"Well I don't," Angst replied. She turned to Suki and winked.

Prologue: The Awakening

Kelly's Diner sat on the outskirts of the city, a rest stop or a last chance to get a meal before heading off into destinations unknown. It was a relic from the past, erected during the 1950's and had managed to survive the radical changes as the city grew in the distance.

It had changed hands many times but never its style and that's maybe why the woman liked coming here every so often. She pulled into a parking spot in front of the diner and stepped out into the crisp morning air.

The waitress was sitting on the edge of the counter taking a sip from her coffee when the woman entered. The waitress straightened up from the stool and placed her coffee down.

"Good morning," the waitress said. 

The woman nodded and said, "Indeed it is." The woman was athletic, somewhere between her late twenties and early thirties, wearing torn jeans and a tank top. Her posture was straight but  not arrogant. She stood at the door and glanced around and decided to take a seat near the back.

"Do you want coffee?" the waitress asked.

"Yes please," the woman said. She stopped and turned to face the waitress. "Has there been a gentleman here? About 6'1. Sandy blonde hair?"