Mayhem's Beginning (Everybody Changes)

Chapter 14: What's Happening To Me?

The Rubik's Cube, a puzzle so famous that it is hard to find a single person who hasn't attempted it. It was introduced to the world in 1974, and well, I bought one freshman year. Since then I still was unable to get even close to solving the thing. No matter how many tutorials I watched, or how much I fidgeted with the thing, solving one side was the closest I could get.

I was persistent in the puzzle, laying in my bed flipping and turning the cube in every which direction in attempt to get all the colors to match. I put it straight in front of my eyes, a solid green face visible. I fidgeted with every little mechanism, glancing at it again as the green side was ruined, but the red side was now solved.

“You sure you'll be alright for a while?” Adam poked his head in the door as I continued with my activity.

“Yeah, I'll be fine.” I didn't look over at him for my mind was too focused on the cube.

“Hey, pick up your pants.” I looked away from the puzzle and on the ground was a pair of jeans I had taken off to change into my shorts. I sighed, getting up and throwing them on my computer chair. Adam rolled his eyes at this, knowing I knew what I really should have done with them. “Oh yeah, don't use that fan so much.” He pointed upwards. Above my computer chair was a ceiling fan that had a slight rattle as it spun.. “It's really loose and can fall any second.”

“Okay.” I stretched my arm to the ceiling and pulled on a metal string, making the fan stop. “Happy?”

“What crawled up your butt and died?” Adam scoffed.

“Apparently a Rubik's Cube.” I held the cube up at him.

“Oh no! God forbid distracting little Andrew from his Rubik's Cube!” I rolled my eyes. “We'll be back in a few hours. No parties, and don't stay up too late.” He was about to leave, and then turned back around to notice my intent on the cube. “You'll give up sooner or later. Those are impossible. Don't spend too much time with that thing.”

“Yeah, thanks.” I plopped back onto my bed and started back up with my cube. “I got this right now.” Adam waved at me, and they both left, leaving the house to myself. I turned the fan back on because I felt that the room needed a little circulation. Plus the sound soothed me.

The cube was really starting to piss me off. No matter what I did I could never solve more than one side. It was like this piece of plastic was trying to mentally torture me. I've seen people who had been able to solve it in about thirty seconds. It's been years and I still haven't done it once! Then an idea came to me. If I could watch that man play the drums and be able to imitate him perfectly, I wonder what else I could do with such an ability.

I took a seat underneath the rattle and logged onto my computer. Within moments I had a video on the screen of two hands rotating their Rubik's Cube in front of a camera. The hands turned the shape in every which direction, revealing that it was indeed scrambled. In a little over forty-five seconds the hands had the cube solved.

My hands and my brain worked like peanut butter and jelly, imitating every movement I had just witnessed perfectly. I stared down at the cube in my lap and what I saw shocked me. It was still a jumbled mess! What had I done wrong? I re-watched the video a few times, realizing that the way his cube was scrambled was different from mine. I peeled off each one of the stickers and placed them back on until both of the Rubik's Cubes were identically scrambled.

With another attempt I trifled with the cube still remembering every movement I had just done. In less than a minute I held the cube up into the light of my computer screen. “Incredible.” I thought aloud as I rotated my hand examining the solid sides. How was I able to do this? It has to be that black liquid that old man inserted into my brain, but what was it?

The old man's words is what really got to me. He seemed like he was being urgent, as if I was some sort of importance to him. And also, why did those guys choose me? Some instances leave more questions than answers, and this was one of those times.

The rattling from above me grew louder, and louder, but I continued to ignore it as I stared at the cube in my hands. Imagine what could be available to me with such a power, what I could do. I'd never have to study again, I could imitate my favorite musicians, and I could solve even harder puzzles. Endless possibilities could unravel before me, such luck I had not before seen in my life.

Where should I start first? I could take the talents of painters, martial artists, be the most talented man in the world. I could play a guitar just like Jimmi Hendrix, play the drums exactly like Lars Ulrich. Imagine the riches I'd have, then Chance would regret ever opening his mouth.

SNAP! The sounds of electrical wires ripping apart was the most prominent sound in the room. My head jolted up as a surprised accelerated vision kicked in. From several feet in the air the blades of the fan was spiraling down towards me. The wind that the fan whipped around could be heard, even from where I was sitting. This was it, the end of Andrew Mayhem.

“It's really loose and can fall any second.”

I wished I could have been sitting somewhere else. I wished I wasn't such an idiot had listen to Adam. I wished I could be anywhere other than sitting in this chair!

As the ceiling fan came inches away from me, I felt the chair disappear from underneath my bottom. I was sitting on air, gravity bringing me back to the hardwood. The crash of the ceiling fan could be heard from where I was now sitting, on the ground. A glance revealed that I was in a new position in the room, and in front of my computer was broken shards of glass and a disassembled office chair. Floating upwards toward the ceiling was a cloud of dancing green smoke, creeping it's way into the smoke detector.

“What the fuck?!” I screamed as loud as my lungs allowed. I patted my hands all around my torso, arms, legs, and face. I instantaneously just went from one end of the room to the other. I didn't ever leave my seat, I also don't remember moving my legs as if I was intending on going somewhere. Seconds ago I was about to die, underneath the path of a falling fan. But now I was sitting across the room as plaster and aluminum scattered on the floor.

“Holy shit...holy shit.” I repeated a few times before I actually calmed down enough to stand up. My heart could be heard in my ear drums as I approached the scene that had just went down before me. White dust speckled the floor as the broken fan lay on top of the chair. My pants were still resting on the seat when it happened, the denim being visible in the mess. I pulled the pants our of the rubble.

A note fell from the pocket, a folded up piece of paper that floated downwards like a feather. I bent over to pick it up as it read on the front “To: Andrew Mayhem.” My first thought was what in the world it could be, but before I questioned it I saved my curiosity and just opened it up.

“Dear Mr. Mayhem:

We can not discuss much on this note, for it is far too dangerous. Just know that if you have awoken and are reading this you should be expecting a few changes. For more information research both of the topics; “MEP,” and “MCP.” Use your gift wisely.

Sincerely, Dr. Soran.”

I re-read the note several dozen times before my head became light as air and I needed a seat. I pinched the side of my thigh as hard as I could, hoping I'd wake up from some sort of sick nightmare.