Max was back in his apartment, sitting up on his couch, the dingy, worn out, grey material familiar against his skin. He wore nothing but boxers and the skin he was born in, the television was on, the scratchy static loud and grading. He felt heavy, like his blood was suddenly made of lead and it was hotter then the tin roofed outhouses had been in Afghanistan, despite the jerky hum of the a.c. unit in the window. As Max went to stand up, a school of brightly colored fish swam by in mid air and circulated the room like a tank at an aquarium. He shook his head to clear the cobwebs, he felt like he had the beginnings of a rough hangover coming on. "Wait, the fuck was that?" He said aloud to no one in particular. He needed to piss and get some pain killers, the strong ones in the little translucent orange bottle, so he stood up, a bit wobbly and headed to the bathroom.
He shuffled his bare feet as he walked, the carpet rough and dirty under him. Max walked and as he reached the mouth of the hall, a dark gaping maw yawning perilously at him, he was no longer walking on carpet, but on the wall. The hall ahead of him seemed miles long, the sideways bathroom door at the end was ajar. The broken florescent light flickering on and off, made it seem like an eternally winking eye. Max could feel the coarse and cold wallpaper under his feet. Still he shuffled along.
When he reached the bathroom he was once again on the floor and he immediately got his first task out of the way. He flushed and went to the sink, a ring of stubble left in the basin from whenever the last time he shave. Max washed his hands and splashed some cool, refreshing water on this face, he noticed a couple days of stubble on his face and that his usually handsome face was now pale and the dark circles under his eyes were accentuated by the flashing fluorescent light overhead. He quickly opened the medicine cabinet, to remove the stranger staring at him, and ten white doves flew out, jerky and graceless, like bats from a cave, in the strobe like lighting. A few ivory feathers floated slowly down to land in the sink contrasting the murky water still in the clogged basin, but when he turned to watch them fly away they turned into dark, shadowy bats. "Shit" he blurted and waved his hands over his head in a distinct shooing maneuver.
Max opened the door back into the hall, two dim built-in lights lit the way. He obseved a queer thing, a thin layer of snow, the color of blood, covered the floor and thick flakes of the same fell lightly from the ceiling. As he walked the flakes landed on him and melted tickling his skin as the liquefied snow ran down his body. His foot falls left blank spaces in the crimson accumulation. Just then he heard a knocking. The distance thumping sound muffled, like he had cotton stuffed in his ears. He walked to the front door, the knocking undulant.
Lt. Briggs looked through the peep hole in the front door. What he saw there surprised him, despite everything that has been going on. It was his estranged wife. He hadn't seen her since the last time he was in the hospital, with a broken hand, after punching the wall during one of their more heated fights. She had told him to get out or she would press charges and to not come back utill he could control himself. So, here he was and there she was. He opened the door slowly, squinting at the bright light from outside in the hall.
She was as beautiful as ever. Average height, fit, dark hair, dark, hard eyes and that line that always appeared between her eyebrows when she, "needed to talk.", was present as she pushed her way into his apartment. "We need to talk" she said, not surprisingly. Max was suddenly aware of his near nakedness as she scrutinized him. "Why haven't you called?"
"Ah..I've been busy." He stated, flabbergasted.
"Busy drinking, I see." She sighed and kicked one of the many empty cans on the floor, it soared into the air striking a fish as it swam by. " I thought you didn't want pets?" Sarah absently picked up a empty prescription bottle and glanced at the labeling, then scrunched her nose as she set it back down.
"Ah... they're not mine. Anyway, I don't know where they came from." he said honestly. "What did you want to talk about?" Max asked, thoroughly confused.
She gave him a wan smile and walked down the hall, Max followed. She turned to face him and said, "Come with me and find out." She crooked a finger at him, beckoning. Sarah turned back around and began unbuttoning her blouse as she walked, the pale blue garment falling slowly to the floor. Her skirt was next, grey material sliding down her legs, she lifted one leg out and turned, the skirt still clung to one foot, she flipped it at Max.
Sarah, his Sarah , stood there half naked and again raised one finger in a come hither gesture. Max followed as she turned, her round buttocks bounced playfully as she walked. She lead him directly to his bedroom. The half naked beauty before him opened his bedroom door and entered, becoming enveloped in darkness. Max followed still bewildered and stumbling slightly.
As he entered the room though, he began to fall, he fell into complete darkness.
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What could possibly happen next for our little Maxi. Quite a bit can and will happen. Read the next chapter and find out
And don't forget about that little star that loves to be tickled. And that dialogue bubble thingy that loves to hear from you....pssst I also like to hear from you, so don't be shy.
At the end of the next chapter I'm going to give a little insight into my inspiration for this story.
As always thanks for reading
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Dream Therapy
General Fiction"Dreams have always expanded our understanding of reality by challenging our boundaries of the real, of the possible." -Henry Reed Ex-army Ranger Max was angry and depressed. Mental illness plagued him. Now he's stuck inside his own dreams with only...
