Into The Dark: The Story Of Wyatt

Chapter 2: Rest And Relaxation (But Not Really)

I used to be a radio show host. People liked me, I think. Things were good, but then they went downhill after WWCOMMS rose up. I guess I was one of the few who didn't like it, and I was fired. That's when it all started, I suppose.

Anyways, I spent the whole morning the next day walking. I finished up what I had left for cigarettes, and by midday I found myself on the edge of the city. Finding a crappy motel with a rusty sign nailed to it that read "Bar & Motel", I walked into the dusty front office of it. An older woman sat there with dark glasses on, her curly white hair contrasting from her dark clothing.

"What can I do for you?" she asked, not even looking towards me. Blind.

"I'd like to get a room. Cheapest option you have, preferably."

My voice sounded different. Hollow, almost. I her most of the money I had left, just enough for two nights. In return she gave me the keys to my room and a coupon for a free meal at the bar. Thanking her, I walked out of the office and up to the second floor to my room.

A big window looked out onto a pool which looked like nobody had been in for years, and a twin-size bed sat in the middle of the room, pushed up against one of the walls. A small, ancient TV sat on a tiny desk across from the bed. On the far wall two doors led to a surprisingly clean bathroom and a closet you could barely fit anything in.

I fell back onto the bed and took the remote off the bedside table, turning the TV on. The first channel was just a blue screen. Second one was news. Third was news. Fourth was news. Fifth, news again. Sixth, news. Seventh was kids shows. Eighth was more news. There were no more channels after that. I switched it back to the kids shows just so it wouldn't be completely silent in the room and got up.

I took my coat off, laying it down on the bed, and kicked my shoes off by the door. Looking in the bathroom mirror, I stood there for a second, examining my new appearance. Pure black eyes. That was definitely new, but not much surprised me by then. Scrapes on my hands, dried blood and a gash on the back of my head. My ear was bleeding, but was undetectable if you were just passing by since it was mostly hidden by my hair. Same with the gash on the back of my head.

After I decided to take a shower, I got in and turned the water the coldest it could, letting it wash the blood out of my hair and off of my hands. The icy water was welcoming, but I made a point to not stand in there for too long. My feet hurt from walking, and to be honest I had a small hangover from the night before.

When I got out I staggered to get my clothes on and stepped back to the bed and laid down. Part of me wanted to switch to the news, see what was going on, but I knew it would all just be WWCOMMS propaganda. I didn't need to see any more of that. I had memorized it all anyway.

There was a knock at the door. Before I answered it, I peered out the window and saw the woman from the front desk standing there.

"Yes?" I opened the door.

"Two boys came looking for you. They seemed like trouble, so I turned them away."

"Thanks."

"You better not be bringing trouble around here. We stay out of that now."

"Don't worry, I'm not."

She left mumbling to herself something I couldn't understand. I knew exactly who came looking for me, and I didn't like the feeling that they were so close. How did they find out I wasn't dead?

When I looked over at the television, there was a WWCOMMS commercial on.

"Are you afraid of heights?" the man asked.

There was a picture of the city.

"Wild World Communications needs you!" he said.

The logo flashed on the screen. Two seconds and it was over. It's not like I hadn't seen the same commercial over and over again, yet again it was different. I turned off the TV and curled up on the small bed, holding my lighter in my hand and flicking it on and off until I fell asleep late in the afternoon.