(Sci-fi/Myst/Dra/Act) The Six Year Sleep [T]

Alright, everyone. It's a brand new story for you all. This story is actually based on a dream I had last night and I thought 'hey, that would make a great story'. So here it is. I hope you enjoy it. I hope you are as interested in it as I am. I am really looking forward to writing this one. Here's the first chapter! Feedback and comments are most appreciated.

The Six Year Sleep

by Mr Spork

Chapter 1

Some days it is calm, some days it is turbulent, some days it is bright, some days it is overcast, the beach has many faces to it. One can never be sure what face it will be wearing and even then, it can change its emotions in an instant. The ebb of the tide can always be counted on though. No matter what face the beach has, high tide and low tide always come. Sea creatures depended on it, fishermen relied upon it and beachgoers gazed upon it. Every day the tide came in and every day the tide went out as sure as the sun rise and the sun set. Theodore Williams thought about this as he walked along the foreshore. He watched as the waves gently rolled in and over his feet. The water reached its highest point before receding back from whence it came. Theodore pondered that the highs and lows of the tide were like the highs and lows in one’s life. They were inevitable and they were essential. If you never had lows you would never develop as a person, you would never discover who you really are. If you never had any high points in your life, then there was nothing to look forward to. High points could be anything from a lottery win, however unlikely that may be, to a simple smile from someone you pass on the street. It could even be a walk along the beach, enjoying the sand between your toes and the cool water enveloping your feet. Theodore stood still for a moment. He closed his eyes. He listened to the seagulls crying out overhead. He tasted the salt in the air. He felt the wind blow through his hair. He took in the beach without his eyes giving him all the information. Each sensation was incredible in its own right and they all came together to give him the beach. With his eyes closed, though, he did not see a larger wave rolling in. The mass of white foam, about waist high, collided with him. It sent him tumbling on to the sand. The water washed over him, completely submerging him. It receded as quickly as it had came. He gingerly got to his feet, his red T-shirt and his board shorts completely soaked. He imagined that the sight of an 18 year old guy getting knocked over by a rogue wave must have been quite amusing to onlookers. Theodore looked around as he brushed the sand out of his short, brown hair. Sure enough, there were a few people pointing in his direction with quite large smiles on their faces. His face went red for a moment.
Of course, he thought, there are those times when life throws something unexpected at you.
The teenager tried his best to wring the water out of his T-shirt as he continued down the beach. He looked down at his drenched apparel and sighed.
“Mum’s going to have a fit when she sees this,” he lamented. “And I’ll never hear the end of it from my brothers and my Dad. Knowing this place, they probably already know. I can hear the jokes now ‘don’t let water push you around!’, ‘water you weak or something?’, ‘life’s a beach, ain’t it?’. Great, now I’m talking to myself.”
“That’s not such a bad thing,” came a voice.
Theodore looked up to see where the voice was coming from. There was a man, a bit too young to call a man though, walking down from the sand dunes. Theodore froze. It seemed that there definitely were times when life throws something unexpected at you. That thought went through his mind, though he didn’t realize it at the time. His focus and gaze were both fixed on this person walking towards him.
“Y-y-you’re…” Theodore trailed off.
“I’m you,” said the person.
Theodore looked up and down this person. This person looked exactly like him. There was nothing different. Not even the subtle differences between identical twins. It was as if he was staring into a looking glass.
“It’s like staring into a mirror, isn’t it?” said the doppelganger. “I thought the same thing when I was you.”
“That’s impossible,” said Theodore.
“It would seem that way, wouldn’t it?” smiled the doppelganger.

The blood had drained from Theodore’s face. He was as white as the salt in the sea.
“I-I-I g-g-gotta be hallucinating,” stammered Theodore.
“You’re not, I can assure you,” said the double.
“W-what do you want?” asked Theodore, his blood showing no signs of returning to his face.
“You,” said the double. “I want you to go into cryonic stasis. It is of the utmost importance.”
“Okay, now I know I’m hallucinating,” nervously laughed Theodore. “There must be something bad in the water or something.”
The doppelganger’s eyes seemed to glance over at something else for the briefest of moments. A worried expression crossed his face but vanished within seconds.
“Come with me if you want to live,” said the doppelganger.
“Now you’re quoting The Terminator,” laughed Theodore. “Something must be in the water, and now I’m hallucinating a manifestation of my favourite time travel movies. You are a time traveler, right?”
“I sure am,” said the double.
“I knew time travel had to come in here somewhere,” said Theodore.
“And now you’re quoting, well, paraphrasing Star Trek four,” smugly said the double.
“Of course you know that,” said Theodore. “You’re a hallucination; you’re in my head after all.”
“I wish it was a hallucination, Theodore,” said the double. “But we really need to get you into cryonic stasis now.”
“The only place you need to get me right now is to a doctor,” replied Theodore. “Whatever is making me hallucinate can’t be good for me.”
“I can’t stress how important this is,” said the doppelganger. “The fate of the world depends on it.”
“HA!” Theodore burst out with a laugh. “The fate of the world? Hahahaha. God, how cliché could you get?”
“It might be a cliché, but it’s true,” the double’s expression was deadly serious now. “The fate of the world rests with you. And only you. You have to get in to cryonic stasis as soon as possible.”
“If the fate of the world depends on me,” said Theodore. “Why do I have to go into cryonic stasis? I can’t believe I’m actually conversing with my hallucination. Why can’t I save the world now?”
“Because if you don’t go into cryonic stasis,” began the double. “You won’t live to be able to save the world.”
“And why’s that?” said Theodore, rolling his eyes.
“Three years from now – ” the doppelganger suddenly stopped, his eyes glanced over to something else again. “We have to go now.”
The double grabbed Theodore’s arm and started running back the way he came. Theodore was taken by surprise. It was a few seconds before he realized what was happening.
“Hey, let go of me!” cried Theodore.
“Why aren’t I cooperative?” sighed the double.
“Get your hands off me!” exclaimed Theodore.
“You’re going to appreciate this later on,” said the double as he continued running as fast as he could with Theodore stumbling behind him.
They ran up over the sand dunes. The searing sad burned in the hot sun. It was difficult running in the dunes, the sand was fine and their feet sunk in. It took a tremendous amount of energy to continuously pull their feet out of the sand. They eventually made it up the dunes and on to the road that ran parallel with the coast. It was a wonderful scenic route for tourists, on one side was the magnificent ocean, and on the other side was the towering concrete jungle of the city. The double ran quickly across the road. While he was hasty, he was not foolish and waited for a break in traffic, albeit the tiniest of breaks.
“Let go of me!” Theodore cried once again.
The doppelganger refused to listen to him. He continued running as fast he could, his grip on Theodore’s arm as tight as a vice. They ran down one of the urban canyons; buildings towering skywards loomed on either side of the street. Suddenly, the double turned down an alleyway. He ran a short distance before stopping at a door. He opened it as fast as he could and dragged Theodore inside. They stumbled through a few darkened rooms. Theodore could not see where they were going, it was too dark and he was much too confused to make sense of what was happening. Without warning, his double stopped. The sudden halt caused Theodore to run into his double, his inertia still carrying him.
“This is the place,” said the double, paying no attention to Theodore’s collision.
The doppelganger walked over to a sheet covering something in the corner. He pulled it back to reveal a cylindrical object lying horizontally on the ground, it was completely black and looked to be bigger than a person. The double pushed something on the side and a door running the length of the cylinder opened on the top of it.
“Get in,” said the double.
“What?” said Theodore. “I’m not getting there. You’re just a hallucination.”
“I guess sometimes you just gotta force yourself to do something,” said the double.
As soon as the doppelganger finished speaking, he grabbed Theodore and lifted him up. He quite roughly threw Theodore into the cylinder. Theodore winced as he landed heavily on his back inside the cylinder. Before he could respond, the lid closed. He was about to yell out when everything started fading to black. Within moments he was enveloped by darkness.

Just as soon as the darkness came, it went. Theodore recognized the inside of the cylinder from moments ago. Light began pouring in. Theodore saw the door opening up.
He waited for the door to completely open before he stood up and stepped out of the cylinder. He looked around, the sheet was on the floor, it was almost as if the hallucination has quickly put the sheet back on the cylinder before the door opening pushed it off. He shook off the thought.
“Just a hallucination,” he reminded himself.
He looked around to see if it was still there. There was no sign of it.
“I must’ve been really delirious,” Theodore told himself. “Glad that’s over.”
He fumbled his way in the darkness and squinted for an exit. He soon found the series of doors that had lead him into this dank and dusty room. Finally, he was in the alleyway. Theodore casually walked into the urban canyon again. He was passing an electronic store when something caught his eye. It was a TV. It looked like a TV at least. Theodore walked over to the window of the store. He studied the TV-like object. It seemed to be flat. Not flat like a flat screen TV, but flat like a sheet of plastic.
“Huh…” said John. “These must be these soft screens I’ve heard about…didn’t know they’d brought them out already.”
On the soft screen was a news report. It seemed that it was being wrapped up by the newsreaders.
“And that’s it from us on the February first, Two thousand twelve edition of the National News,” concluded the female presenter.
Theodore’s mind processed this for a few seconds, “Two thousand twelve….? Nah, I must be hallucinating again. It can’t be…”
Theodore looked around; there was something different about this city. His eyes went wide as he saw just how different it is. There was not just one thing that was different. It was a lot of tiny things. The fashions were different for a start. He saw a bus without a driver cruise pass. There seemed to be no signs on the shop fronts, Theodore could only describe what was in their place as holograms. Very few of the cars on the street were making noise. The cars were of no make or model that he had ever seen. It started to sink in.
“Two thousand twelve,” said Theodore breathlessly.


________________________

Well, there you have the first chapter! I hope you enjoyed it!

Oh cheers, a new story from Mr. Spork! (I envy your prolificacy.) This first chapter is most engaging, from start to finish (and I am quite sure you'll continue the trend!) The chapter unfolds marvelously, especially in the first several lines:

Some days it is calm, some days it is turbulent, some days it is bright, some days it is overcast, the beach has many faces to it. One can never be sure what face it will be wearing and even then, it can change its emotions in an instant. The ebb of the tide can always be counted on though. No matter what face the beach has, high tide and low tide always come. Sea creatures depended on it, fishermen relied upon it and beachgoers gazed upon it. Every day the tide came in and every day the tide went out as sure as the sun rise and the sun set.

The intensity of the action, and prior to that, the impact of Theodore's meeting with his double (and its subsequent development) was well executed, as the story moved at a brisk pace that drew me along. The idea you've presented, and your manner of presentation, is fantastic. Cheers, again! I wish you the best of luck with this new venture!

- Selah

Awesome Sporky! Truely amazing. I loved how the story began, and everything after that just seemed to get better. The conversation between Theodore and his doppleganger was especially interesting. I can't wait to see how this story unfolds. Amazing stuff Sporky, just as I've come to expect from you.

Thanks for the comments guys, here's the second chapter! I hope you enjoy it!

Chapter 2

Theodore stood still; his mind was absorbing everything he could see. A shiver ran ever so slowly down the back of his neck. This world he was in, six years from his time apparently, was as alien to him as the most distant of stars. What made him shiver was not how different it was but how similar it was. He could see the remnants from his time, technologies built upon technologies he recognized, fashions evolved from fashions in his time and buildings using the foundations from his time. It was like looking at the world as Theodore had known it through a glass of water. Distorted and twisted, yet still recognizable. Theodore’s legs seemed glued to the ground. His mind told them to move, but it had little effect on them, like a far off galaxy’s distant gravitational pull on the Earth. Theodore managed to catch the attention of a passer by.
“What day is it?” asked Theodore.
The passer by put on a fake British accent, “Why, it’s Christmas day,” the passer by laughed a hearty laugh, “sorry, I’ve always wanted to do that. No, seriously, it’s the first of February, in good ol’ two thousand twelve.”
“I don’t believe it,” said Theodore, almost in a whisper.
“Neither can I,” said the passer by. “Only seems like yesterday we were seeing in the new year.”
“Yeah,” replied Theodore distantly, not actually listening to the passer by’s words.
“Well, have a good one,” said the passer by before walking off.
“You too,” mumbled Theodore.
Theodore willed his legs to inch forward. Slowly, he began walking down the footpath. His steps were awkward, almost clumsy, as if they could not cope with this new world. The cold, hard cement felt more like oppressive and sticky molasses; his legs ensnared in the unfamiliar terrain of this alien world. It took all of his energy to walk. It took all of his will not to scream out at the top of his lungs. It took all of his resolves not to fall to his knees and sob. It took every fibre of his being just to walk. Theodore passed several shop fronts. A store he remembered as a take away was now a fashion boutique. Another shop he recalled was an arcade, now it was a newsagent. Yet another storefront he passed, this one he remembered as being an adult store. The adult store still occupied its premises though. Theodore could not help but smile.
“Heh, I guess some things never change,” he chuckled.
He continued his walk, dragging his legs behind him. He suddenly stopped. He realised he had no clue where he was going. A few thoughts ran through his head before he decided where he should be going.
“Home,” muttered Theodore. “Unless it’s been replaced with a fashion boutique.”

Theodore saw a bus approaching. The destination displayed on the top of its front windscreen was quite near his home. The slightly bewildered teenager hailed it down. The bus came to a stop, much more silently than Theodore expected. The door slid open with a ‘whoosh’. Theodore stepped on to the bus. There was no driver as he had observed earlier. An automated message seemed to be activated as soon as he stepped on.
“Please press your thumb on the Print Identification Panel,” said the message.
Theodore noticed that where the driver would usually sit was a small pad of sorts. A sign above it indicated that it was the Print Identification Panel that the message had referred to. He hesitantly pressed his thumb on it, not sure what was supposed to happen.
“Print not on file,” said the message. “If you are a tourist or you have not given your print to the local governing body, please deposit three dollars in the coin slot.”
Theodore rummaged in his pockets briefly. He quickly found the required amount of money. He deposited the money into the required slot.
“Thank you for using public transport,” said the message. “Please be seated.”
Theodore took a seat near the front of the bus. He sighed and rested his head against the window. He looked at his reflection. He wore an expression of confusion, of loneliness and of fear.
“Are you alright?” asked a woman sitting behind him.
Theodore turned in his seat and looked at her. She was quite an attractive woman. She appeared to be a few years older than him. Theodore thought for a second that he was actually probably older than her. Her eyes looked upon him with concern. Her slightly curly and dark hair framed her face quite remarkably. She flashed a smile at him. It was quite a warm smile and to Theodore’s surprise, it calmed him quite a bit.
“Just…a bit disoriented,” said Theodore, trying to do his best to smile back.
“We’ve all had that feeling,” said the woman as she sighed. “Most of us have since The Event.”
“The what?” asked Theodore.
The woman laughed, “You’ve got a good sense of humour.”
“What event are you talking about?” asked Theodore.
The woman laughed again, “I don’t know how you manage to keep a straight face. I really needed a laugh today. Well, here’s my stop.”
The bus pulled over to the side of the road and the doors whooshed open. The woman stood up and flashed another smile at Theodore.
“I hope you feel better,” she said just before disembarking. “See you around.”
“Thank you,” replied Theodore.
The bus eased its way back into traffic. Theodore closed his eyes. He let out a long breath before opening his eyes, hoping somehow that it was all just a dream; that it would all go away and he would be back walking along the beach, enjoying the waves rolling in.
For the rest of the journey, Theodore simply went back to resting his head against the window. His focus shifted from his reflection to the happenings on the street outside as the bus smoothly drove its passengers to their destinations. It was not long before Theodore arrived at his stop. He quickly got off and stood on the footpath as the bus went back to its route. Theodore looked at his surrounds. They were instantly familiar yet he was instantly disoriented. The small differences threw him. Small things were different. Theodore noted a tree was missing, a house had a different paint job, a new fence surrounded another house and myriad other differences that he could not quite put his finger on but was well aware of them all the same. Theodore began to make his way to his house. It was already in view. It looked quite the same as he remembered it, though with the subtle differences that everything else seemed to have. His house drew ever closer, his legs were beginning to feel heavy again. It felt like he was melting into the ground. He knew he had to press on though and he did. Theodore was soon at his house. He opened the gate to the yard. The squeak in the hinge was gone, he noted. Slowly he walked towards the stairs. His house was high blocked; there was nothing underneath except for a carport and the laundry. Theodore began is ascent up the stairs to the front door. The door was open. There could not have been more than twelve or thirteen steps, but it may as well have been as far as one must climb to get to the peak of Mt Everest. Theodore made it to the top stair. He stepped into his house. Unsure of what he was going to see, he held his breath for a second. Though it was just for a second, it felt like he was under water, trapped beneath one of the waves he had been admiring earlier; water washing over him, relentlessly refusing to yield, smothering the life out of him and only giving him relief when it wanted to. He let out his breath. Theodore walked into his house; there was no one in the lounge room. He walked through to the dining room. His family were sitting down to lunch. Theodore saw his mother and father, both of his brothers and two women he did not recognise.
“Hi,” said Theodore, his voice barely audible.

Everyone looked at him. Their faces were suddenly drained of blood; they were as white as fresh snow. Their mouths were agape at seeing Theodore before them. A fork his father was holding fell out of his grip. It made a large ‘clang’ as it hit the floor, no one flinched though. Their eyes remained perfectly fixed on Theodore. It looked like everyone was trying to say something, but their words were stuck in their throats. Theodore’s mother pushed her chair out and stood up. She slowly walked over to her son. With an outstretched hand, she felt her son’s face, unsure of whether he could possibly be real.
“Is it…is it really you?” asked his mother.
“Yeah,” Theodore nodded slightly.
“But,” Theodore’s mother paused. “You’re dead.”

Amazing Sporky, really. It was superbly written, from the descriptions of the small changes, and how Theodore was feeling, to his conversation with the woman, and later, his family. Awesome, awesome chapter, and the start of what's sure to be an awesome story. Can't wait to see what happens!!

This is brilliant work Mr Spork. Wow! I can see this evolving into another one of your magnificent fictions, rife with suspense and marvel. Your attention to the small changes in detail that Theodore noticed was excellent. I personally think those resonate more with a person, at times, than monumental changes, since, as you noted, the structure of the old was still there, and thus the vista was still familiar, but was altered by new things, thus distorting the familiar (and, in affect, making them more painful to behold, sometimes). Character interactions were also well portrayed. Looking forward to an update!

Selah

Thank you so much for the comments, Belle and Selah. Here's the next chapter. I hope you enjoy it.

Chapter 3

“Dead?” said Theodore in surprise.
His mother nodded. Theodore looked into his mother’s eyes. They showed no emotion whatsoever. They did not weep and they did not smile, they just were. If they gave out anything, it was a mere stunned silence.
“I’m standing right here,” said Theodore, his gaze remaining on his mother’s eyes. “Obviously, I’m not dead.”
“B-but,” stammered Theodore’s mother. “You went missing…we…thought you were dead…we looked everywhere for you…for years…even if you were out there somewhere…there was no way you could have survived The Event…we found…but you’re here…”
Theodore’s mother burst into tears. She wrapped her arms around her son and held him tight. She held tight on to her son, like she was making sure he would not ever leave her again. His father got up from his seat and walked over to Theodore.
“Where have you been?” he asked, his voice as distant as his eyes.
“I…I dunno,” said Theodore. “I closed my eyes, then I opened them again and I was here...six years later…there was…”
“There was what?” asked his mother as she broke off her embrace.
Theodore thought for a moment about telling his family a story that involved himself from the future.
“I can’t remember,” he said.
“We’re just glad you’re okay,” said his mother.
“We sure are,” said his father. “We’re about to have lunch…you should join us.”
“I don’t really have anywhere else to go,” said Theodore with a half hearted laugh.
The three of them made their way over to the dining table. Theodore’s mother quickly got another chair from another room to accommodate her son’s unexpected return. He sat down at the table and looked at his family. They were slightly older and had changed a bit. He looked at the two women he did not recognise.
“Oh,” said one of the women, “I’m Julia.”
“And I’m Faye,” said the other woman.
Julia sat next to Theodore’s older brother, Brett, and Faye sat next to Theodore’s younger brother, Simon.
“So you’ve got a girlfriend, Brett,” said Theodore. “About time, eh?”
“She’s not my girlfriend,” replied Brett.
“Oh, I’m sorry,” apologised Theodore.
“She’s my wife,” replied Brett.
“Your wife?” now Theodore was the one with his mouth hanging agape and nothing to say.
“She sure is,” said Brett. “We’ve been married for nearly two years. We met…just under six years ago, some guy bumped into me and knocked me over when I was out one day. Julia helped me up and…what can I say? The rest is history.”
“He’s lucky I even helped him out, he only had a small scratch,” teased Julia. “We quickly fell in love with each other…even if he is a big wuss when it comes to small injuries.”
Theodore turned to his younger brother, Simon, “I suppose you’re married too?”
Simon laughed, “Hardly. Faye’s my girlfriend though, been going out with her for a while.”
“About a year and a half,” said Faye.
Theodore looked at both women, they were both quite gorgeous. Julia had dark hair pulled back into a pony tail and she had a healthy build; she was not stick thin like supermodels but she was quite fit. Faye had blonde hair that cascaded down to her shoulders. She too was of a build not unlike Julia’s. Faye seemed to be taller than Julia, though it was hard to tell when they were sitting down.
“Where the heck have you been?” asked Simon.
Theodore shook his head, “I don’t know. The last thing I remember, it was six years ago, it’s like I’ve had a six year sleep or something.”
“Damn, eh?” remarked Brett.
Theodore’s mother interrupted, “Julia, could you help me get this chook out of the oven, dear?”
“Sure thing, Mrs Williams,” said Julia politely.
“Please, Julia,” said Theodore’s mother. “I’ve known you for years, you can call me Trudy, y’know?”
“Sorry, Mrs Williams,” apologised Julia. “Oops, I mean, Trudy.”
Julia stood up from her seat. Theodore’s eyes went wide and were transfixed on her legs.
“Havin’ a good look?” asked Julia in quite a scolding tone.
“Huh?” Theodore snapped out of it. “What? Errr, no…your jeans…”
She looked down at her jeans. One leg went all the way down to the ankle, while the other leg of her jeans stopped at the top of her thigh.
“You never seen jeans like this?” asked Julia.
Theodore shook his head, “No, I haven’t.”
“I guess fashion has changed in the last six years,” remarked Julia.

Julia went over and helped Trudy with the chicken in the oven.
“So you wouldn’t know about anything that happened in the last six years?” said Simon.
Theodore shook his head.
“Ask us stuff then,” said Brett. “Ask us about anything you want to know about two thousand twelve.”
Theodore thought for a moment, “…the space program. Did they finish the International Space Station yet?”
Brett shook his head, “Nah, no one’s even been into space for years. The US scrapped their space program, saying it was too damn expensive. Curiously, the European Space Agency doesn’t operate anymore either, neither does the Russian space agency.”
“Why not?” asked Theodore.
“Something about saying it was a waste of money,” said Simon. “They said it could be better spent on ending world hunger and poverty and that.”
“And guess what?” said Brett. “World hunger and poverty are worse than ever. So the financial reason doesn’t wash with me.”
“It’s also might suspicious of when it happened,” said Simon. “Pretty much straight after The Event.”
“What’s this event?” asked Theodore. “I’ve heard it mentioned several times before. What is it?”
“The biggest thing to happen in well…all of history,” said Simon. “Three years ago…no one knows what to call it, so it’s just called ‘The Event’.”
Brett continued, “The Event was something that defies any explanation. Basically, half the world’s population just died.”
“Just died?” asked Theodore.
“Just dropped dead,” said Simon. “Everywhere at the exact same time, half the world dropped dead.”
“Exactly half the world?” asked Theodore.
“No, not exactly, nearly three billion people though,” said Brett. “Three billion…”
“Does anyone know what happened?” asked Theodore.
“Just that half the world is gone now,” sighed Simon. “No one knows for sure what happened, there are heaps of theories though, but there’s no evidence for any of them.”
“So there any connection between everyone?” asked Theodore.
“Just that they all died at the same time,” said Brett.
“We were lucky,” said Simon. “For some reason, our family didn’t lose anyone.”
“Other people lost everyone, though,” said Brett. “Entire generations of families were wiped out.”
“The streets seem so empty these days,” said Simon.
Theodore realised then something else about this new world that had contributed to his disorientation. There were very few people on the street. He had not realised earlier on. Many things were different and now that he thought about it, the city was a comparative ghost town to what he remembered of it. Tumbleweed blowing by would not have seemed out of place in the city streets.
“Hey,” said Theodore. “Technology seems to have progressed quite a way in six years.”
Brett laughed, “Yup, and guess when we started seeing a rapid rise in technology?”
“Just after The Event,” answered Simon. “All a bit suspicious. But again, no evidence at all that it’s connected.”
The facts of The Event began to sink into Theodore’s mind, “Three billion people…”
“I know,” said Brett. “There’s not much else you can say about it…the newsreaders…when they reported it…they just sat there staring at the camera…for the longest time they couldn’t say anything…somehow they managed to get it out what happened…then the rest of use were just like the newsreaders…those of us who didn’t see people just drop dead in the street for no reason…we were already like that.”
“Did you see it?” asked Theodore.
Brett nodded, “I did. I was just out window shopping, relaxing, when people all around me just…just…fell over…they didn’t move…they didn’t breathe…they didn’t struggle…they just…died.”
Theodore’s eyes fell to the floor, “That must’ve been…”
“It was,” said Brett, understanding what his brother was trying to say.

Julia returned with Trudy. They were both carrying the chicken over to the awaiting family. They carefully placed it in the centre of the table and took their seats.
“So how did you and Simon meet, Faye?” asked Theodore.
“Not as interesting as Brett and Julia,” remarked Faye. “Just met each other when we were both out walking one morning. So, pretty mundane really.”
“Wait,” said Theodore. “Going back to The Event, you said that there was no way I could’ve survived, but you said that no one knows why people died…how could you say I couldn’t survive if you don’t know why everyone died?”
“Because,” said Trudy. “We found your remains.”

How very shocking...my hair's on end. Another amazingly well written chapter Sporky. The conversations were excellently done, and...as I said...shocking. Heh. Can't wait to read the next chapter, you evil cliffhanger fiend you.

Good heavens. And I thought the Event was the final shock in this chapter. Wonderful installment, Mr. Spork. I like the almost casual nature of the conversations, with their interwoven sense of strain... I look eagerly forward to the next update!

Thanks for the comments everyone. I am really enjoying writing this story, I hope you are having just as much fun reading it. Here's the next chapter.

Chapter 4

“My remains?” asked Theodore stunned.
His mother nodded, “Had a funeral and everything.”
“But,” said Theodore. “I’m not dead.”
“We can see that,” said Trudy. “It was definitely you though; I had to identify the body.”
“That can’t be,” said Theodore. “You must’ve been mistaken.”
Trudy shook her head, “No way was I mistaken. I could recognise any of my sons anytime.”
“How…how did I die?” asked Theodore.
His mother started cutting pieces of meat off the chicken in the centre of the table. She put a wing on to Theodore’s plate; his favourite piece of the chicken. He looked down at it and smiled. There was something terribly unnerving about it, though. Perhaps it was because it was quite unusual to be asking about one’s own death over a casual chicken lunch. The extraordinary and the ordinary had come together and blended as one, as they so often had in past history. His mind shifted to the thought of man playing golf on the moon; another ordinary activity combined with the extraordinary.
“You were shot,” said Theodore’s mother as she sat back down.
“Seventeen times,” added Simon.
Theodore’s hand trailed its way over his chest, as if searching for bullet holes.
“Found your body in the river,” said Theodore’s father.
“It can’t have been me though,” said Theodore, his hand still silently searching for some indication that this story was true.
“It was you,” said Trudy, her voice unwavering.
“Did they do a DNA test?” asked Theodore.
“Three times,” stated Trudy. “Ninety-nine point nine nine eight percent chance that it was you.”
“It was wrong then,” said Theodore, surprised to hear anger in his own voice. “It was wrong!”
“Then what happened?” asked Theodore’s father.
“I dunno,” said Theodore, the anger in his voice relenting to weariness. “Maybe, somebody drugged me, faked my death by changing the DNA results, and kept me drugged until today.”
Theodore thought this over, it would account for seeing his doppelganger and why he couldn’t remember the last six years. It was a pretty good theory.
“Why?” asked Julia. “Why go to all that trouble? There was never any ransom demand or anything like that.”
Theodore shrugged, “I don’t know, maybe…maybe, they thought I knew something and wanted me to keep quiet, maybe who ever did it was simply a lunatic.”
“That would make sense,” said Brett. “There’s no way there could be two of you.”
The family chuckled. Their laughter was warming to Theodore. It appeared to be warming to everyone. It seemed that it had been quite a long time since anybody had laughed. The joy in their eyes was infectious; it filled everyone’s hearts to be laughing. They had soon forgotten what exactly it was they were laughing at; the very laughter itself was what kept their laughter going.
“I haven’t laughed like that for years,” said Julia, wiping away a laugh induced tear.
“No one’s laughed like that for years,” said a despondent Simon.
“Not much to laugh about these days,” sighed Brett.
Theodore noticed that Faye was being awfully quiet, “You alright, Faye?”
“It’s just,” Faye paused. “All this talk of death, y’know.”
Faye’s eyes were distant and refused to look at anybody. Theodore looked upon her with concern, as did Simon.
“You alright, babe?” asked Simon.
Faye nodded as Simon caringly rubbed her back. She held his hand as he continued rubbing her back.
“If you need anything,” said Simon. “Just tell me.”
“Thanks,” replied Faye.

Everyone began tucking into their meals. All conversation fell by the wayside and instead the air was made up of chewing noises and occasional groans and moans approving the cooking. Knifes and forks scraping against plates signalled that everyone’s meals had nearly come to an end.
“That was good,” said Theodore. “Feels like I haven’t eaten in six years.”
The rest of the family cracked smiles.
“What are you going to do now, Theodore?” asked Trudy.
“I guess we have to tell the police that I’m not dead,” said Theodore.
“What about after that, going to get a job or something?” asked Trudy.
“I don’t know, would I be qualified for anything?” asked Theodore. “I have been gone for six years.”
“Julia’s the editor of the local newspaper,” said Trudy. “You were keen on journalism.”
“Yeah, but I did six months of study before going missing for six years,” said Theodore. “I hardly think I’m the kind of reporter Julia’s looking for.”
“Actually, Theodore,” said Julia. “We are looking for someone, you would only be able to do part time stuff to start with, and you could start up your Uni course again while working at the Daily Globe. It’d be great experience for you, both in reporting and in getting to know what the world is like now.”
“That would be great,” smiled Theodore. “I mean, if it’s okay, Julia, I don’t want to get in the way.”
“Nonsense,” said Julia. “You’re working at the Daily Globe and that’s final.”
Theodore blushed, “Thank you.”
“First things first,” said Trudy. “We need to go down to the police station and sort this out.”

Trudy motioned for Theodore to follow her. He quickly waved goodbye to his family, Julia and Faye. Theodore followed his mother to their car. She opened the driver’s side and got in. Theodore went around to the other side and opened the door before sitting in the passenger seat.
“Welcome Trudy,” said a message played through the car’s speakers. “Where would you like to go today?”
“Police Station,” ordered Trudy.
“Please buckle seat belts for automobile ignition,” said another message.
Both Trudy and Theodore buckled their seat belts. Immediately after, the car came to life. Though, if it wasn’t for all displays lighting up, Theodore would have thought the car was off. The engine was quieter than any he had heard. It seemed to be even quieter than the bus he had just recently rode on. The car began reversing down the drive way before making its way on to the street.
“How come it starts up with just two seat belts buckled?” asked Theodore.
“It can tell how many people are in the car and where they are sitting,” said Theodore’s mother. “So it only needs that number of seat belts and in those locations to be buckled before starting.”
“It drives itself?” asked Theodore as the automobile navigated an intersection.
Trudy nodded, “It’s amazing how far technology has come.”
“Does it fail at all?” asked Theodore.
“No,” said Trudy. “Not yet anyway. Since these systems were installed, there has not been one accident involving cars with the self driving system.”
“No fatal accidents?” said Theodore more than a little surprised.
“No accidents at all,” stated Trudy. “Not one.”

The ride to the police station was as smooth as one could hope for. In actuality, it far exceeded Theodore’s expectations. They both got out of the car. Trudy began walking towards the police station entrance.
“Wait, aren’t you going to lock it?” asked Theodore.
“It locks automatically,” said Trudy. “It unlocks by reading my thumb print.”
“Just like the buses,” said Thedore.
“Exactly,” replied Trudy. “You’re catching on fast.”
Trudy and Theodore entered the building and walked up to the reception desk.
“Can I help you?” asked the male officer behind the desk.
“Yes,” said Trudy. “I would like to report that my son who was reported dead six years ago is alive.”
“Finally something good to report,” said the officer. “We’re going to have to ask some questions though, if that’s alright.”
“Of course,” said Theodore. “We think someone’s been drugging me, holding me against my will for the last six years. I don’t remember anything, it’s like I just woke up today.”
“That’s pretty serious,” said the officer. “We’d better go to an interview room.”
The officer pointed them in the direction of an interview room.
“An officer will be with you shortly,” said the receptionist.

They began walking towards the interview room. They walked in and sat in two awaiting chairs. Within minutes, a police officer walked in. He sat down and got straight to business.
“Tell me what happened,” said Theodore.
“Well, six years ago,” said Theodore. “I started hallucinating, then I blacked out and woke up today. I figure someone drugged me and held me against my will. Apparently my body was found with a DNA match to me shortly after I went missing. I think someone faked my death so that people wouldn’t come looking for me.”
“How long ago did you say this happened?” asked the officer.
“I went missing six years ago, when I was eighteen” said Theodore.
“Huh,” the policeman scratched his chin. “You haven’t aged a day.”