Achromatic

Chapter Nine

Murdoc sat at the kitchen table staring down at his bowl of oatmeal. His vision was less distorted compared to the night before, but his head and stomach were still stirring and showed no sign of stopping. The images from his dream continued to play in his head. The car. The glass. The void. His father. His singer.

The face, his figure, his eyes that were always full of fear...it all seemed too real.

Russel was also in the kitchen on the phone with David Pot. Murdoc scowled, cringing at how kind and polite Russel made himself sound when he talked and laughed with older adults. Murdoc knew that the second Russel would hang up, he would go back to being a cross and stubborn mule.

Murdoc caught on the last bit of Russel's conversation: "Yes, that would be just fine...What time? Yes, that sounds good. I'll let him know. Goodby," Russel hung up his cell phone and stuck it back in his pocket. He turned to the table and leaned on the chair next to Murdoc's. "That was David. He wants us all to come for a visit today. And I'm not gonna make you because you're hungover or whatever, but I figured we went and visit 2D."

Murdoc lifted his head at the bare mention of 2D's name. He did it with a straight face to contain his anxiousness. "What makes you think I'm hungover?" he said with a gravely voice.

Russel curled his lip. "Well, considering how much beer you drank last night, and the way you're slurring, I thought it was obvious,"

"Shut up," Murdoc said. "Of course I'm coming with,"

"Are you sure?" Russel asked. "Because I'm not forcing you to-"

Murdoc suddenly stood up from the chair, but lost complete control of his balance, causing him to support all of his weight on one arm. "I'm coming with you and that's final, Russ,"

Russel stepped back from the chair, staring straight at Murdoc's face. His mangled, greasy hair covered most of the features, but he could still see right through his dilating pupils and the sweat that beaded his forehead. Russel knew that something was off with Murdoc, but he couldn't figure out exactly what it was.

"Um...I guess I'll go start the car then,"

~~~

David and Rachel Pot resided in a very cozy home in the west area of Hertfordshire where they had been living ever since 2D was born. Granted that it was compact and old-fashioned, the Pot couple had always lived comfortably there, even as they were growing older in age. The walls were made of redwood and light blue wallpaper. A white shag carpet lined a majority of the floors, while the bare hardwood creaked in different places. A giant wooden cuckoo clock hung in the sitting room above an old piano. Dozens and dozens of portraits, all of 2D and his parents, were lined up in every hallway.

Murdoc spent most of the visit looking at all of 2D's portraits in the house several times, in awe of discovering what he looked like as a baby, a child and as a teenager. In the older portraits, 2D had his dark brown hair both of his eyes, which were sparkly and blue like sapphires. Murdoc reminded himself of the dream; 2D's black hole eyes begging for mercy. The glass. The water. His mind snapped back to the sound of a tea kettle shrieking from the kitchen downstairs.

"Oh, tea's ready. I'll be back in a jiff, dearie," Rachel said. Murdoc walked down the stairs as Rachel Pot left the sitting room and headed towards the kitchen. Russel and David Pot sat in two different chairs across from each other while they continued to converse.