The Word Cloud

I'm not sure where I'm supposed to post my work on this site so I'll post my first competed short story on the blog.
I finished writing it last year and is my homage to those great post apocolyptic novels such as The Stand and I Am Legend.

BEACON.

His eyes opened sharply, the world around him seeping in vaguely, blurred, choked vision. His eyes ached, sharp fleeting pain bolted down from his head into those deep sockets that held is soft vulnerable eyeballs.

His vision returned to a stable hum that broke if he were to make any sudden movement,

Neil

That was his name, Neil... yes, that was it.

Neil put his left hand on his forehead and rubbed to massage the pain away, it helped a little, he looked around him, his bedroom, just where he was last night

Jesus how much did I drink last night?

Did you go to the pub last night?

I must have, how else can I explain this stupidly banging headache?

I don't remember going to the pub...

He got up off his bed, pain surged through his back, hot jagged knives stabbing him from his lower back, up his spine and into his head.

What the fuck did I do last night!!!!!?

First he had a shower, cold, cold was good when you had a hangover

I'm not sure if I'm hungover though

then he went through his usual process, breakfast, have a shit to flush out any of those unwanted chemicals of last nights antics.

 

Everything was deathly quiet that morning, he heard no birds, no dogs sniffing around the rotting rubbish bins, nothing.

He opened his front door to taste some of the mornings fresh air (and to smoke a quick fag). Nothing. The air was still, not a single breeze fluttered a leaf. He sparked up his cigarette and inhaled deep, then exhaled out a long plume of smoke, no breeze to carry it away, the smoke just hung in mid-air, motionless at first, then slowly began to decompose before his eyes. A feeling in his gut told him something wasn't right, he couldn't place his finger on it, he didn't let it play on his mind though, first he needed to change into some clothes.

 

Nothing seemed strange to Neil any more, since the plague had killed everyone, including those he loved and cherished, nothing would ever seem strange to him again.

Then why this feeling in the back of his head?

Why can't he help but think

What's wrong with today? I've got to see Bruce, speaking to him will put my mind at ease, he can confirm if we were drinking last night and perhaps he can explain why today seems so strange.

He looked at his watch...dead...he looked at his wall clock...dead...he looked at his digital radio FM clock...dead.

OK now something really is wrong, the power can't have shut down because my watch would still be ticking, and so would my wall clock, hang on a second...

He walked over to his TV, it came on, it was working, static, there was always static, when the final days of the plague chewed it's way through mankind's brain, there was nothing but static.

So the power is still on, but time is not still on, time has become static just like the damned TV!!

He pulled his clock off the wall and slung it across the room, it smashed off his door and shattered into bits.

OK I'm starting to lose it, calm down man, just go and see Bruce, he will have all the answers, he always did know everything, all those little facts that kept your day going fine.

But I have to get ready

You are ready

Oh yeah, of course I am, I must have forgot in the panic.

Yep that's how it goes I'm afraid, oh well, lets just go and see Bruce.

Bruce's it is then.

 

He packed his bag with a book, some food and a porn magazine to keep him entertained.

Bruce would know, he always knew, he just needs some clarity.

 

He began to walk, slow silent strides, pacing calmly up his quiet street, the air was still dead, no breeze...dead. Dead like the victims of the plague. Dead like his mom, Dead like his brother. Dead like his girlfriend. Dead like everyone who he came to love.

He began to falter, breaking his steady beat of a walk, all the memories, all the pain came flooding back to him, but he did not cry, he regained his step and carried on with his trek.

Bruce would calm him, he liked seeing Bruce. Before the plague Neil had known Bruce since school, they were never the best of friends but still spoke on those one off occasions. When everything went to hell only him and Bruce were left alive.

Neil asked why.

Bruce answered.

Neil asked many more questions.

Bruce answered.

It was from that moment Neil had found his partner, his information box.

Bruce was always right, never wrong, never stuttered and never back tracked.

Bruce talked fluently, Bruce's words flowed with such beauty it made Neil cry on occasions.

Everyday Neil visited Bruce, everyday he asked Bruce another question.

And every time.

Bruce answered.

Neil even asked him the question: “Why don't you come and live in my house?”

To which Bruce answered: “This town is small, very small, it couldn't hold the population of London. The plague killed everyone in London, it killed everyone in the country, maybe the world for all we know, and it killed everyone in this town. Sedgley, population 2. It maybe a small town but it's huge with just us two living in it. If we were to live together in such a desolate bone yard then we would kill each other from tension, cabin fever and what not, whereas if we live 10 minutes away from each other we have enough space and room to breath, we wouldn't be breathing down each other's necks. And besides it's not like I'm going to just go away and leave you to your own devices, and I'm sure you won't leave me.” Neil shook his head in response 'I would never leave you' his eyes said.

Bruce coughed and inhaled deep on his pipe.

Neil understood because Bruce was right. Bruce was always right. Bruce would never leave. Bruce was his soul mate.

 

Walking hurt his legs, and he was hungry. He decided to stop for a break. Bruce only lived a 10 minute walk from him but in a time like this, what was the rush? There was no-one to tell him to hurry up, no-one to call him a pervert just because he wanted to read a porn magazine for light entertainment. He had all the time in the world

especially now my watch has stopped.

He sat in a bus shelter and ate a sandwich of cheese and salt and vinegar crisps, he looked at the board to check what time next bus is due:

558 RUNNING TO WOLVERHAMPTON---- 1.15PM

 

There is a bus due...

he looked at his watch, frustration sparked in his eyes

I forgot, my fucking watch doesn't work!!

He pulled his watch off his wrist and slung it across the road

there no more stupid mistakes like that again

He smiled faintly to himself feeling a little more satisfied. He got up and began walking again, not to Bruce's, no not just yet, he only wanted to get away from that damned bus shelter so he didn't have to think of the concept of time.

I need to know what time it is though

Why?

Just to put my mind at ease

But why? Time is just a perception of the mind

I don't care what it is, I need to know what time it is, if I don't then I won't sleep tonight, and I need sleep because I will get tired and feel grumpy, and Bruce doesn't like me when I'm grumpy

Fine then check the time, it won't make a blind bit of difference though

But I need to know what time the next bus is due.

He walked to the church. He stopped. He looked up. He saw the huge clock at the top of the steeple. Sadness and anger filled his mind, confusion gnawed at his heart.

That has stopped working too

Told you it wouldn't make a blind bit of difference

Oh shut up, how was I to know?

You should have listened to me

I only listen to one person, and that is...

Bruce, yeah... I know

Neil turned away and walked on to the park, he sat down on the bench and ate another sandwich, when he had finished eating he pulled his porn magazine from his back pack and began to masturbate, no-one to see him, no-one to call him a dirty pervert and no-one to help him out. He began to cry, he couldn't hold it in, tears flooded down his face, his cheeks streaked wet, he promised himself not to cry, not until he had spoke to Bruce, but something in his heart told him nothing was right with today. He cried for half an hour exactly, then he stopped, wiped his face and began walking.

OK now I really need to speak with Bruce, he is my only hope of getting through this day sane.

 

The door was a dirty green, weather beaten and its paint peeling pointless like flakes off of its frame. Neil knocked loudly on its hard wooden surface

Once

Twice

Thrice

No answer....

Fourth

Fifth

Sixth

No answer....

Seventh

Eighth

Ninth

Still no answer, then with almighty thud,

TENTH!!

That was his last knock, he never knocked more than ten times, if their was no answer then there was a problem, he looked down and placed his hand firmly of the door handle and pushed it down...it clicked...he pushed the door open, the sickly smell of dust and decay filled his nostrils and made him wretch, he turned his head to the fresh air then put his t-shirt to his nose. He entered, taking cautious steps he called out “Bruce?” over and over...there was no answer, he became confused and scared.

He never goes out, not without me, even when I'm late, he always waits for me, we're the gruesome twosome, partners in crime, thick as thieves, he wouldn't just leave!!

Neil searched the entire downstairs level of the house, nothing, no-one, just that horrid smell of dead flesh. He walked to the stairs

maybe he is asleep, Bruce always was a deep sleeper, maybe he fancied a lie in

and began to climb, one foot at a time, taking it slow. The stair case, as small as it was, seemed very steep to Neil, maybe it was the smell making his head bad, blurring his vision.

and what the fuck is that god awful smell!! Jesus what was he eating last night?

First he entered the bathroom, the door creaked as it opened, nothing, just an empty room, the blue tiles on the wall discoloured from neglect. Bedroom 1, he pushed the door open, it didn't creak

is this Bruce's house?

Of course it is you donkey, you've been here hundreds of times, before and after the plague

Okay then, I was just checking

he stepped inside...nothing, but the smell was getting stronger, penetrating his make shift gas mask. Bedroom 2, the last room of the house, the core of that devilish smell so it seemed, Neil's hands trembled as he slowly pushed the door open, this door creaked, it creaked something fierce making him wince.

He stepped inside and stared straight at the bed, the sight that befell his eyes made him step straight out the room and vomit, when he finished he walked back inside to make sure he wasn't hallucinating.

No wonder there was an awful stench in this house, Jesus Christ almighty!

He found himself staring at two bodies lying on the bed, decaying, one appeared to be male and the other female, they were both naked.

The plague must have killed them in their sleep, poor bastards.

He picked up a photograph that was perched on the bedside table, the image was that of a couple aged in their 60's, they looked happy, and alive, behind them were green bushes and plants, a colourful picture it was, taken in the days of sunshine and happiness, where no dark force could touch that sense of knowing. Neil began to cry, soft at first, but as the realisation of being alone kicked in, his sobs became fits of hysterical cries, he was in the right house, he had no doubt about that, but his confusion lead him to believe that Bruce had left him, that Bruce must have came up with a cunning plan to ditch him once and for all.

He exited the house streaked with tears, face flushed and eyes weary and bloodshot, millions of thoughts raced through his head, all of them about Bruce. He began to walk back to his home, taking it slow, he had all the time in the world.

How am I the last person in the world?

How do you know you are?

I don't know, I'm just assuming, seeming that the plague spread fast and killed fast

You are still alive

That I am

Why did Bruce leave?

So how do you know if there aren't more like you?

I don't

I need Bruce

Where did he go?

He wouldn't just leave like that

Maybe he was fed up of you asking questions

That's not true, he always enjoyed answering my questions

Do you know that?

Yes

How?

 

He walked past a house that he hadn't seen for a long time, William Groves' house, there were a lot of memories at that house. Neil and his friends all used to gather at Wills house, there were 5 of them, it was 3 o'clock in the morning, Will and his family were in bed and they were armed with a variety of weapons such as; eggs, tinned tuna, tomatoes, tinned sweetcorn, jars of curry sauce and spray paint. The way it used to go was like this:

First they stuffed the tuna into the front grill of Wills car so when his dad turned on the air conditioning he would get a nose full of rotten fish.

Second, they poured the tinned sweetcorn onto his window sill.

Third, they sprayed random shit onto his garage door with the spray paint.

Fourth, they smeared the curry sauce onto his front windows.

And finally, when all was said and done, they would get themselves ready, some with eggs and some with tomatoes, then they would throw them at the upstairs windows as they ran down the road and back into the dark alley.

They never hated Will Groves, they just found it funny to do that to his house, they never did anything to seriously damage his property, Neil and his friends were just a bunch of 15 year old lads who wanted to have a laugh.

 

Neil faintly smiled as he walked solemnly past Wills house, his mind was a flood of old memories, some bad some good, he began to cry again, asking himself where Bruce had dissipated to. Once again he felt lonely.

 

The front door to his house slammed shut behind him as he quietly stalked his hallway. He slumped into his sofa, a blank expression smeared across his face, he didn't think, no thoughts had entered his head on the last leg of his journey home, his whole body was blank, there was no way of telling what he was feeling at the time.

Slowly he turned his head left and looked at his coffee table, there sitting proudly on top of it was a framed picture of him and Jenny, the girl whom he had loved from beginning to end. He picked up the framed photograph and stared at Jenny, in the corner of the frame was a little teddy bear holding a big red love heart and all across the rim of the frame were more little red hearts with the word 'love' next to them. That framed picture was his first valentines day present off Jenny.

Neil stared longer, he felt his cheek become wet as tears began falling from his eyes, all the memories began flooding his mind, the happiest days of his life were the times he spent with Jenny, the most vivid memory however, was the most recent, of Jenny dying in his arms.

 

The plague had spread fast, no one knew where it came from, or how it started, all they knew was that it killed anything and everything. Neil had first hand experience.

The day was warm and humid, the air was sticky and it was hard to breath for the both of them, it was unnatural weather for England, it was like a tropic summer. Jenny fell ill the day before, it started with what seemed like the sickness bug, vomiting, diarrhoea and cold sweats, the next day she was dying, Jenny knew it but Neil didn't. He held her in his arms comforting her,

“Babe I wouldn't hug me if I were you, you don't want to catch what I've got” she coughed,

“I don't care about getting ill Jen, all that matters at the moment is that you are looked after”

“Aww you're good to me Neil” another cough, this one filled with phlegm “but seriously, I really don't feel good at all, I think I might be dying”

“What? Don't be silly, you're gonna be fine babe, you've just got the sickness bug”

“You don't have chesty coughs with the sickness” her voice became a whisper and remained that way until the end,

“Maybe you caught the cold as well, listen you're gonna be...” he was cut off by the savage fit of coughing and sneezing from Jenny, she turned and vomited off the edge of the bed,

“I'm sorry” she said softly looking at him with pain in her eyes, she began to cry,

“Don't apologize, it's not your fault” he hugged her tightly as she sobbed into his neck “everything's gonna be alright Jenny, I'll always be here for you, I made a promise to you, when we first met I said I'd promise to look after you no matter what” tears began to fill his eyes, he began to realise that this could be the end, he cried with her.

“Neil, I love you, I always have loved you, and I always will love you, in this life and the next” she stared deeply into his eyes, he kissed her passionately not caring about the fresh vomit in her mouth, when he finished he gazed back into her eyes,

“You're going to be fine Jen, no more talk of this next life thing, you've just managed to catch the cold and the sickness bug at the same time, it's just bad luck” he tried to hold back his tears but he couldn't,

“we both know what's happening, it isn't just me who has this, there are many more people with the illness I have got, the news said it's becoming an epidemic, haven't you been watching the news?”

“No, I haven't had time with work and all, I've noticed people in the area have the illness so I just assumed it was a local thing, everything works out though” he found it hard to speak, he cried more, now it was Jenny who comforted him,

“Neil remember when you told me what your idea of heaven was? You said it would be just us two, together for eternity in that hotel room where we first made love, remember?” Neil nodded “I'll be waiting for you, I always said I could wait an eternity for you, when I go I will be in that hotel room lying on the bed, naked, waiting for you to give me an eternity of pleasure, but don't rush, I want you to ride this out Neil, promise me you won't follow me straight away unless this illness gets you too”

“I promise, I always said I'd do anything for you, but I'm so scared Jenny”

“So am I Neil, but in the end, it'll all work out, we will have each other again” she coughed some more, her body became more wet as the sweat dripped off her, but Neil still held her close to him,

“Neil Meridian, I love you” Jenny whispered into his ear softly as her breathing became more shallow,

“Jennifer Polly, I love you too” Neil whispered back, her body became weaker, Neil could feel her grip on him loosening, with the last piece of energy she had left Jenny smiled at him and Neil fought back the pain and smiled with her. That day Jenny died in his arms, that day the world ended.

 

Neil still held tightly onto the photograph as he cried hard into his sofa, he imagined he was holding Jenny, he felt like ending his life, the illness never got to him, he was immune like Bruce, but he couldn't end his life, he had made a promise to Jenny, he had to wait, he had to ride this out, but to what end? And what cause? Where is this life leading him? What will he do now he is completely alone.

 

That night was white, snow fell softly and emotionally, the flakes fell as if they were rocks, there was no breeze to blow the white ice, it stuck to the ground, clung to the trees with desperate need, that night was cold, freezing, a contrast to what the temperature had been like in the morning. Neil stood at his door smoking a cigarette, inhaling deep and exhaling shallow, his face was smeared with moist fear, from the moment he woke up the day had been strange, now it had become downright weird.

Still, it was all so still, Neil turned on his television, static,

fucking static, that's what today has been, nothing but fucking static,

your whole life has just been static

what the fuck do you mean?

not now, isn't time to go into detail

no come on, you've got my attention, I'm not up to anything tonight so you might as well explain

 

Neil sat in his lounge staring at the small white maggots that scurried all over the black surface of the entertainment box, his mind had become empty, no voice, not he or himself, just the sound of static, infesting his brain, infesting his T.V.

That night he broke routine, he turned off his television

I can still hear the fucking static

and went straight to bed, he had no source of heat so he wrapped himself up with extra jumpers and t-shirts, it was deathly cold.

maybe that's what it is, maybe the reaper has finally took mercy on me and decided to take me in my sleep, maybe the coldness in the air is his touch, reaching into my life to take me out.

He lay on his back staring at the ceiling, his thoughts empty, nothing to declare, nothing to declare, nothing to declare, his eyes growing weary, he can see his breath, it puffs out with every heavy exhale, it is hypnotizing, it is clarity. It is bliss.

His eyes fell like lead weights and he slept.

 

His dreams were a taunting joke, a sadistic reminder of how beautiful his life was compared to the one he is living now. Was this his long spiral to hell? Had his mind been so full of guilt and upset that he'd sent himself into Satan's bosom?

His eyes opened to darkness, it was warm, not hot, but not freezing cold, luke warm was the term he searched for in his brain.

He was sweating, breathing hard, he threw his duvet off and stripped some layers of clothing off his weak body.

Smoke, he could smell smoke, the strong aroma of pipe tobacco, he searched around his bed making sure he didn't leave a lit cigarette before he slipped into a disturbed sleep.

Nothing, so

where is the smoke coming from?

He heard a cough, in his room, Neil panicked,

“who the fuck is that!?” he shouted cowering in his bed,

“have you forgot the smell of my famous tobacco already?” a hoarse deep voice spoke into the quiet dark, Neil opened his eyes, in the corner of his room Neil saw the faint glow of burning tobacco, he reached for his bed side lamp,

“don't turn that on Neil” the voice spoke again,

“why not? Who the fuck are you?” Neil shouted,

“you tellin' me you forgot the sound of my voice?”

“Bruce? Is that you? Jesus man is that really you?”

“finally, I thought you'd never ask, yes Neil it is me”

“holy shit man, I thought you left me! Where have you been?”

“I have left you, as to where I've been, I'm somewhere that's not here”

“Bruce what do you mean? What's going on? Is this a dream?” panic filled Neil's voice,

“no, this is no dream, this is reality, or at least your reality”

“Bruce what the fuck man? You never used to talk in riddles”

“I'm not, I am merely stating the truth, don't you know what I am?” this question struck Neil as very strange, he asked 'what' not 'who',

“you're my friend, a survivor of the plague, a person, is that the answer you are looking for?”

“actually Neil, no it wasn't, your friend I am, but the latter two I am not, see Neil you are a survivor of the plague, I am a creation of your loneliness and desperation”

“what do you mean Bruce? What the fuck are you talking about?”

“when Jenny died, you had a complete mental breakdown, you had lost your soul mate, your one true love, you couldn't handle life without her, then to top it off you were the last man alive, until you met me, until you created me”

“what the fuck!? That can't be! What the fuck is wrong with you man!! why do you want to fuck with my head!? Just fucking act normal!”

“I am acting normal, just calm down Neil”

“calm! How can I be fucking calm, I've got you here in my room telling me that you are just a figment of my fucking imagination!! but I knew you in school so fuck you!”

“you knew a kid called Bruce from school who was not I, think about it, personality wise I am like you, I'm everything you are, but you needed more in a companion, in your confused state you needed someone who would answer all of your questions, no one else could so I filled in”

“so what? All the answers you gave me were false?”

“in a way yes, but they were your answers, you couldn't bring yourself to answer your own questions, so I filled in for you”

“this is a fucking dream”

“I wish I could say so”

“So where are you then? What's this bullshit about 'other realities'?”

“You won't believe me if I told you, it would sound too mad, too 'science fiction'”

“try me, you've already told me one mad thing so you might as well ejaculate some more weirdness from your mouth”

“okay then Neil here it goes. I thought you already knew this first part but since you have been wrapped up in you own world I don't think you were aware from the start,”

“what do you mean?”

“I was never real Neil, I never existed, only in your mind, you created me just after Jenny died, you couldn't handle the fact that you were alone, the only one left alive, no family, no soul mate, no way of finding out what had happened, I became all those things for you, and more, you made me what I am, I am you, except I have brown hair and a beard and I'm slightly thinner than you and a my voice is more husky, your mind made the changes so you would convince yourself I was real. The reason why this revealing has happened is because there has been a change in clouds, and this brings me into the more bizarre part of my explanation.”

Neil remained calm, he knew Bruce wasn't real, he conditioned himself to believe otherwise.

“So what's the bizarre part Bruce?”

“I will answer your question Neil but you must believe me, and follow my instructions, my time here is growing short.”

“So you're not really here?”

“No I am not, I'm in another dimension Neil, another version of here, when the plague wiped out everyone no survivors were left, only you, Earth: population 1. There are many many countless dimensions parallel to ours and more that are different, when this world ended it became a dead dimension, nothing is ever going to become of this world, you created me in a dream Neil, your subconscience is the key to unlocking other dimensions, it only becomes accessible when you dream, you created me in another world and brought me to this one, remember what you said to me the first time we met?”

“I dreamt about you” Neil said softly,

“Yes that's right, I've been brought back to my world because the clean-up is about to happen, this is my main reason for coming tonight”

“What do you mean by clean-up? And if you are in another world how can you be here now?”

“There are many drugs that can enable you to communicate with other worlds, and the clean-up does exactly what it says on the tin, this dimension is old, used up, past it's sell by date, it needs to be removed so that new worlds can be born, They will be coming Neil.”

“what do you mean? Who are They?”

“They are the ones who will be coming to eradicate this dead world, the Daemons of the in-between. Dimensions are not all stuck together, there are spaces in-between worlds, dark spaces where creatures of your nightmares lurk, these are the creatures that are responsible for cleaning up the dead worlds”

Sweat began pouring from Neil's face, he became terrified, Bruce was right, Bruce was always right, doesn't matter if he was created in Neil's mind, the son of a bitch was always right,

“Why are you telling me this? Are you getting some sort of sick pleasure in watching me suffer? Why couldn't you just leave me and let it happen!?”

“I'm trying to help you Neil, just listen to me a bit more, I need you to do something, to go somewhere, it will save your soul trust me”

“Go on then, what is it?”

“Tomorrow at noon I want you to go to the Beacon and sit on the hill, that's all, you have to be there at noon or else your hope fails, can you do this for me?”

“Yes I will Bruce, but what's it going to do for me? Can you bring me into your world? Can I be saved?”

“I can't say Neil, just follow my instructions.” The smell of pipe tobacco dissipated, the room became deathly silent, Neil stared at the emptiness and fell back on his bed, he slept until the sun came up.

 

Neil opened his eyes slowly, they felt sticky, filled with gunk, his mouth tastes of something awful,

I hate when that happens

he sits up slowly, head throbbing, sweat pouring, heart hammering to some mad bass line that he could not hear.

What the fuck happened last night? Was that a dream? Must have been, it felt like one, but so real.

He looked at his clock,

fuck I forgot, time is fuckin' broke

but he heard a faint ticking, he turned his head to the left bedside table, there it was staring at him like a dumb struck kid, his watch,

I thought I broke that thing, Jesus, I'm confused now

it was ticking, ticking, ticking, ticking, faintly but it was working. He picked it up and strapped it to his wrist, the time was 11 o' the clock. One hour.

One hour, I gotta get going. But what if it was a dream? Shit I shouldn't take the risk though, besides it's not like I've got anything important to do.

He got out of bed slowly, his bones creaking, his sweating ceasing.

 

Neil drew open his curtains...no snow, no cold, everything was clear again, the grass green, the trees green and brown, the snow had melted, but there was still no breeze, all was still and empty as it had been the day before. He decided to change into some cleaner clothes, and have a damn wash, he smelt foul from the sweat.

The door creaked as Neil pulled it shut, he began his short journey to the Beacon.

 

It was Sedgley's landmark, a big hill with a small tower that sat awkwardly in between two electric pylons, Neil was going to the main hill which was actually a huge water tank that had been disguised, the hill had a large flat field on top where you could stand and see for miles around you.

It took Neil fifteen minutes to reach the Beacon, he was wearing white trainers, dark blue jeans and his favourite t-shirt that Jenny bought for him on his birthday many years ago.

The walk was not tiring for him, he felt quite refreshed but rather hot, he felt happy about bringing a bottle of water with him.

 

Neil made it, the top, the hill, the Beacon, at 11:55am he sat down in the grass. At 11:57 he felt something that brought a tear to his eye, a soft cool breeze washed across his face, he smiled and waited.

 

12:00pm the waiting ceased.

 

“So this is it my friend, it's come to this, I hope you are ready” Bruce spoke from behind Neil,

“What's going to happen to me?”

“You are going to sit here and admire the beauty of the world Neil Char, you are going to stare at the sky and watch everything that happens until the end”

“What the fuck do you mean? I thought I was coming to your world, I thought there must be door or some portal that leads into other dimensions”

“I never said I was bringing you into my world, it doesn't work like that Neil, doorways and portals do not exist, unfortunately this is where your story ends, the reason I brought you here was because I wanted to to see how beautiful this world is before it gets taken away.”

Neil began to cry, he felt distraught, scared of his inevitable demise, it had all come so sudden.

“Don't cry Neil, all's not lost, Jenny will be waiting for you somewhere, all you have to do is think about that time you and her were happy alone. Can you feel that breeze? It's getting stronger”

“Why has the wind came back? Why did it disappear?”

“This always happens, the only way these Daemons can enter worlds is through the clouds. It's almost time Neil, I thank you from the bottom of my heart, you created me, it saddens me that it has to be this way, I wish I could hug you but I can't”

“It's not your fault Bruce, but I could really use that hug right now, it's been a ball man.”

“Goodbye my friend.”

Neil turned round, but Bruce wasn't there, had he been there from the start? Or was he communicating through Neil's mind?

Didn't matter now.

 

The wind blew hard and fast, it was cool and refreshing, Neil could taste it in his mouth, his blond hair flapped around his head, he admired the view and spoke his last words,

“I love you Jenny.”

He looked to the sky and saw the clouds turning a dark grey, they twisted and spiralled, the wind blew extremely hard now, but Neil never lost balance nor could he feel the force.

His eyes beheld a terrible sight, creatures leaping from the clouds, grey beings that looked divinely mechanic and frightfully organic, they spat thick globs of phlegm onto the earth. Thus began the clean-up, the eradication of a dead world to pave the way for a new one.

Neil chased all fear from his mind and body, he swallowed his saliva and breathed in, he held his breath and closed his eyes.

I'm there.

 

 

 

Sedgley, West Midlands,

12^th July 2008