Escapism

Chapter 2 - Cerebrate

     Zack's heart seems to stop. Panic and terror hits him like a train as his breathing starts to quicken. He jumps up to his feet, looking around in fear. Everything was blurry. He could see, but it was all blurry. He looks around in all directions. Just behind him is the base of a gray, stone staircase that goes up a single story, but has no destination. It simply goes into the sky.

     He swivels and mumbles in panic. Is he dead? He can't be dead. Shit, shit! He grabs the top of his head. He runs off, away from the staircase. Nothing changes, it's endless. He swivels and runs back. He looks up the blurry staircase. Nothing else to do. He runs up the staircase. The stairs are hard on his feet. He gets to the top.

     Zack's fall finishes; he slams into the floor of his apartment. His phone scatters away from him. The pain is gone. Zack instinctively curls into a ball, trying not to hyperventilate. He's back in the darkness of his apartment. His breathing slowly returns to normal as he focuses.

     Silence.

     Silence.

     Silence.

     Zack uncurls from his ball and opens his eyes. He is in his apartment. His phone illuminates the dark room, "91" illuminated by the screen. He feels fine. A bit of a bruised shoulder, but he's alright. No headache at all. He sits up.

     He grabs his head in confusion. What was that? He remembers what he saw completely. The gray landscape. The mountain. The beam of lightning. The staircase. The blurriness of it all. He shakes his head and cleans his glasses. What was that? It was all so real. It must be real.

     He puts his hand to his chest. He still has a heartbeat. He slowly gets to his feet and bends over and picks up his phone. He stares at what's on the screen for a moment. He was about to call an ambulance. Wow.

     So many thoughts are rushing through his head. "Stop," he mumbles to the apartment, "what just happened? I... it's-it's not important right now. I need... hospital." He may need to go to the ER. But, should he? It's expensive as hell. He ponders. He was always told not to go to the doctor when he doesn't need to. So maybe- "No. I'm not dad. I'm responsible." He demands to himself. He checks that his keys are in his pocket and walks out of the door.

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    The hospital waiting room was busy. Zack fidgets in his seat, trying to find a comfortable position. All chairs are built with a hole in the backrest for a person's tail. But he had the misfortune of having a large, thick, and long tail and having to sit against a wall. He sits once with his tail out of the hole, trying to coil it around him, then he sticks it through the hole and tries to slither it over the back of the chair. Neither work. He settles on sticking it through the hole and coiling it under the chair. His fur still uncomfortably rubs against the wall. He'll just have to deal with it.

     He distracts himself by getting on his phone. Doing mindless things to pass the time. But as he does he suddenly hears a tv switch on.

     "I'm just saying, Burns, families are scared out there. People are afraid of extinction."

     "Well, what about peoples' freedom? The founders of this federation-"

     "Let me just say something, Burns, the founders of this federation had no idea of the problems that would happen down the line. Parents are scared for their children, and they should be! Homosexuals and interracial couples are running out there, frighting our nation, corrupting the youth, and threating the survival of species!"