Leaves and other Foliage
Autumn. Sunshine. A temperature around seventy-degrees Fahrenheit, in a town paying homage to a university of around twenty-five thousand students, its a beautiful afternoon here in Teos, Minnesota, although for the evening the same can not be said. But closer into this town, about three blocks away from campus on the sidewalk is a boy, heading to the university to attend his first class of the day.
Sporting a pair of green Chuck Taylors, comfortably fitting dark-blue jeans, and blue t-shirt is Jackson Douglas, a sophomore at Teos, Jackson is six feet tall with short black hair and a clean shaven face. Living nine blocks away from campus he walks to class everyday, for sake of saving gas and trying to find a parking spot he didn’t mind taking a bit of a walk. Although rolling around in the back of his mind is the fact that winter is around the corner.
Jackson, walking with a brisk pace reaches into his front pocket to check the time. Eleven thirty-six. Thinking to himself looking down to a beaten and outdated phone’s screen before letting it drop back down into the confides of his pocket. Jackson slowed his pace a little, his lecture on philosophy starting at noon he realized how early he would arrive today, the distance from campus now only a half a block.
A smartphone’s alarm set to 11:40 causes a massive touchscreen phone to vibrate while laying next to a mat of shaggy jet-black hair on a head resting atop a pillow, a man sleeping in his bed in his house in the town of Teos. Jared being nearly three hundred and twenty pounds, the middle of his mattress bent low to the ground to support his massive frame. His round cheeks were littered with short black hairs, facial hair much thicker in a goatee resting on his second and third chin. One look around Jared’s room and it would be apparent that he is a slob. Cans line the top his dark, wooden, dresser. Trash and dirty plates were spread across the barely visible blue carpet of his floor. Visible only because all the dirty laundry was piled to one corner, masking his room with a damp, gagging scent of body odor so musky it could be felt penetrating your sinuses and violating your throat if you were to breathe in the vicinity.
The phone continued to vibrate, humming loudly for about a minute until Jared jerked himself from sleep, taking a deep nasally breathe at the realization of being awake. Blinking rapidly while reaching for his phone and shutting off the alarm he yawned heavily, sitting up and scratching his back under a tye-dye shirt. Jared threw a blue comforter off himself, a waft of putrid aroma exploding from his crotch beneath the navy sheets. Swinging a behemoth-sized duo of khaki enclosed legs from his bed to the floor, rolling with the momentum to carry him up to stand. Shuffling his bare feet across the blue carpet of the room, he nudged a large, empty pizza box sluggishly out of the way with his foot as he made his way to put on his enormous pair of leather, brown, thong sandals.
Fitting the sandal’s thong between his big and middle toe, Jared looked up and out the window to the front yard of his brown house. Gazing at a canvas through dirty, stained glass as sunlight ignited thousands of orange, yellow, brown and red leaves. Resting peacefully on the branches of a giant oak taking up the vast majority of his front lawn. The air calm outside, each leaf frozen in time, motionless, creating a fireball suspended in the blue sky atop the colossal oak.
With a meaty cough he checked his pockets to make sure he had his wallet, realizing he didn’t grab his phone he retrieved it from his bed. Then exited the doorway to his room, the weak floor of the house creaking loudly with each step beneath his immense size.
Jackson walking amidst the huge courtyard of campus, orange trees shadowing the outer cement walks and grassy areas of campus from the blazing sun and empty blue sky. In the distance Jackson could hear a muffled voice speaking loudly in a direct manner, punching through the silent, crisp autumn silence.
The sidewalk Jackson treaded on was one of many, all leading to a flat, open plateau surrounded by buildings in the middle of the university’s campus. The muffled demanding voice growing louder and clearer as Jackson approached the plateau. The open cemented center of Teos was barren as the rest of the campus, save except for an elder shorter man in black shoes and slacks, a long-sleeved red collar-shirt tucked into his black waistband. The accusing muffled voice belonging to this small man on a little knoll of grass on the edge of the circular flatland made of concrete.
Jackson crossed over the part where his vein of sidewalk meets up with the large cement heart of the plateau, passing the preaching man on his right on the slight rise of earth, a bible clutched in his wrinkled left hand, waving his arms and pointing at nothing as he spoke. His voice monotone, each word dragged out and chained with the next.
“DO NOT DENY HIM, ACCEPT HIM NOW AND HE WILL ACCEPT YOU IN THE AFTERLIFE! CHOOSE YOU THE BOTTLE OR PIPE TO BRING RELIEF AND YOU ARE CHOSING THE RELIEF OF SATAN! ONLY GOD CAN HELP YOU IN TIMES OF DIRE NEED, HIS LOVE EVERLASTING AND WRATH DIVINE. HE IS THE LIGHT AND THE SAVOIR OF US ALL!”
Jackson walking across the open plateau collected what the man in the red collar-shirt was preaching about and smiled. Being a Christian he praised the man’s words, comfort overcoming him while being reminded of the Southeast Christian Church he attendedevery Sunday morning on the East side of town. Jackson loved God, and thought he would until the day he died.
Approaching a small flight of grey concrete steps, he looked up to the tan brick building his first class was in. The words Henley Hall carved into the smooth tanned bricks above an entrance of various glass doors. Taking every other step up the stairs, Jackson’s right hand slid up a smooth, metal rail. Steel hot under his palm from the day’s brutal sun.
Earlier this morning, the basement of Henley Hall, in a dark, cool cellar with various pipes and poles strung about a gray, cement setting where the main vents for the air conditioning are located. Two men save their faces clothed fully in black are bent over the A/C unit supplying Henley Hall with cool, sweet, air. Rigging a foot-by-foot sized device on the side where air flows. The device containing two green, parallel pressure tanks held upright, an electronic looking metal strap with a small blinking red light on its face holding them in place. Once the device was attached the significantly larger of the two men stood upright, his deep tone accented with Russian as he rose.
“That is the last one. Let’s get out of here. Don’t forget the backpack.” His bushy, chestnut-brown mustache bouncing up and downon his upper lip with each word he spoke. Turning on his heel, long, greasy, light-brown hair whipped behind him as the Russian left for the exit to go upstairs. The smaller of the two sneered behind the Russian’s back, picking up the black bag resting on the side of the A/C unit by its left strap, throwing it over his shoulders as he followed the immense Russian.
Back in the present, Jared’s portly frame bounced side to side as he waddled down the sidewalk, his fat sandal clad feet whipping lazily forward beneath his khaki cargo pants. Fat arms swinging tremendously as he marched past the various little shops and stores on his left at the mini-mall on the western part of Teos. The University being on the eastern part of town, Jared picked up his pace a little, as he didn’t want to be late for his class at twelve thirty. The wooden signs of all the shops hanging from the large metal awning covering the walk of the mall passing by slightly quicker as Jared sped up.
Finally, arriving at one of the hanging wooden signs labeled “The Dream Merchant” Jared felt relief, as he didn’t know how much further he could walk without taking a rest. The tye-dye shirt he wore plastered to his flab, soaked with sweat and smelling foul. Jared ran his fat, wet fingers through his black, shaggy mat of greasy hair, reaching for the handle of the see-through door to The Dream Merchant with the other. But before he could, a black police officer of medium height, and a portly belly in an all black uniform pushed open the glass door, passing in front of Jared with a stern look, silent as he continued his walk among the various shops of the mini-mall. Leaving Jared standing in front of the head shop with a dumbfound look etched to his face.
As Jared Entered the shop, a tiny bell chimed with the opening of the front door. Jared cast his eyes around the store with a quick glance at the various smoking pieces lining the glass shelves of the walls of the store. Multiple fragrances of incense herbs drifted in the air, techno could be heard coming from numerous tiny speakers of the corners of the dimly lit shop. The only lighting coming from over the main counter to the right of the entrance of the store and the glass shelves of the walls of the store, light bulbs in a hollow of the ceiling with a dull glow. Jared loved this place, it was dark, cool, and had his favorite kind of music playing all the time. If he could, Jared would live in here.
From behind the main counter of the store from a closed white door came a middle aged woman in a black hoodie much too big for her and long blonde hair. Subtle curls could be seen among her various long locks, her blonde color making her tan skin even darker in the vaguely lit store, two blue flames danced in her eyes past her bronze complexion. Jared who was uncontrollably staring at her at the time stood in a similarly stupid stance to the one no more than a minute or two ago, mouth gawked open, staring into nothingness. The door closing behind the gorgeous clerk with click, locking as it shut.
“Heeeey Jared, hows it going?” The pitch of her voice high, laden with cuteness, Jared had always thought Shiela was beautiful and longed for her ever since he met her at a dub step show two years ago. Quickly raising a fat fist to his mouth with a short clear of his throat, Jared responded.
“Not bad Sheila not bad, just thought I’d stop in, maybe check out the new “incense” you guys got in today.” Raising his arms as he spoke, wiggling the fore and middle fingers of his hands as he mentioned the word incense. “Is it any good? Does i get you pretty fucked up?” Jared walked up to the edge of the main glass counter, various pouches, lighters, rolling papers, and brands of incense could be seen inside the glass.
“C’mon Jared! You know I don’t go anywhere near that shit, stuff’s not good for you at all…people die from it!” Caution and worry in Sheila’s response. “And don’t say your gonna smoke it while your in here, your lucky its just me and you here or I would have to refuse to serve you.” Jared nodded with a smile of apology and embarrassment, the black goatee surrounding his large lips bending to incredible lengths around his fat sweaty mouth.
Sheila leaned below the counter and opened up the sliding glass door that made up the back wall of the case, picking up a little black pouch with metallic foiling. Sliding the door back into place Sheila rose from below the counter and slid the bag face up across the surface of the counter to Jared, in bold orange lettering the words Déjà vu’ could be seen in front of a spark of flame. Jared from previous experiences enquired Sheila with an offer.
“Sooo wanna go out back and smoke a cigg?” Pulling a worn metal cigarette from his pocket, the kind used for smoking grinded marijuana. With a smile she looked at up at Jared, the dark eyeliner surrounding her eyes making them ever so white. Moving from behind the counter she walked to the front door and locked it. Pulling a chain to a neon “open” sign, shutting off business.
“I don’t think anyones gonna be commin here for five minutes, do you?” Sheila asked rhetorically, laughing as she made her way back behind the counter, pulling out a ring of keys to unlock the door to the back.
Jackson reached the top step of the small staircase, walking to the front of Henley Hall and entering the main lobby. It was an open area with brown carpet and various tables and chairs to study, a staircase to the left lead up to a balcony on the second floor. Jackson noticed three people all huddled around someone lying on the ground of the first floor, their body jerking and shaking violently. A look of horror was stricken on a girl’s expression facing Jackson, hands grasping each other over her mouth; she was wearing a pink short sleeve shirt. The other two facing away from Jackson were bent over trying to still what looked to be a blonde boy having a seizure, his head hitting the ground in rapid succession against the hard floor under the thin carpet,
Jackson approached the huddle to help but froze. Froze dead still. Horrified at what he saw next. The blonde boy having the seizure lashed out, biting the bare forearm of a brunette boy trying to help him, screaming in agony as a significant chunk of his arm ripped from his flesh, a fountain of crimson and tissue soared through the air accompanied by screams of terror. The brunette fell on his back yelling in pain, the muscles of his forearm could easily be seen working and pulling each other in a nauseating manner. The Perplexed girl in pink falling over in fright as she scuffled herself away with her elbows, kicking her shin high leather boots against the carpet to gain space, shrieking.
The third person that happened to be a boy was in shock, quivering as he gaped in dread at the long scrap of epidermis dangling between the crazed boy’s clenched teeth. Quickly the lunatic lunged for the traumatized boys face, gritting his face and digging his fingernails into his cheeks and eyes. Screams emitted from the poor soul whose eyes were being turned to jelly front of Jackson, who was still motionless, watching in utter dismay at the spectacle of gore playing out in front of him. He felt powerless to help; panic and fear clasped his heart with a tightened grip, increasing its beat to that of a hummingbird.
Jackson shook himself back to reality and scrambled for the phone in his pocket. Hands trembling tremendously he wrapped the tips of his fingers around his tiny black phone. With haste Jackson brought the phone from his pocket, the end of it catching the lip of the pocket, sending it off course through the air to the chocolate colored carpet below, bouncing forward twice before coming to a rest. Jackson sprang towards the phone, looking up and catching a flash of pink charging towards him in the peripherals of his eyes. Attention flashing upward, Jackson barely looked up in time to stop the girl in pink rushing at him in a fury, her arms flailing in angry swipes, seeking blood. Raising his hands to stop her bull rush Jackson was knocked on his back, the amount of force she possessed striking him with great surprise. Fueled with rage the girl clawed and bit at Jackson’s face, scratching him multiple times. Hardly able to hold her attacks back, Jackson bent his legs and sent a green foot into her abdomen, sending her flying off him. Jackson scurried to his feet, ditching the phone, running for his life, away from these possessed demons, away from the bloodshed. Feeling sickly as reality was becoming a twisted, demented, nightmare.
Bursting from the glass doors of Henley Hall Jackson took one last look back, the boy whose arm had recently been shredded began to get up, the same look of anger and bloodlust as the girl in pink and blonde boy hung on his face. Jackson couldn’t believe it, he was now overcome like the rest of them. Flickering his eyes to the balcony on the second floor, Jackson had the time to notice other bloodied, shrieking people driven into relentless wrath, and the girl in pink and leather boots chasing him.
Outside the back of The Dream Catcher stand Jared and Sheila, Jared packing his metal cigarette with Déjà vu from the black aluminum pouch.
“I can’t believe you actually smoke that shit, it says on the bag “not for human consumption”.” Sheila stated in disbelief as she took a long drag of her tobacco cigarette. “People have fuckin died even from their first time smoking it. “
“Whatever everyone knows anyone who buys this stuff is gonna smoke it, I mean let’s be real.”
“Not worth it.”
“You’ve honestly never tried it?”
“No, and I never will.”
“C’moooon!”
“NEVER.”
“Fine! Fine!” Verbally giving up, his attempts to be high on synthetic weed with Sheila a failure. “Could I get that light?” Sheila hands Jared a plastic yellow lighter, sparking it twice with her thumb. Jared takes the lighter and sparks a flame, lighting the incense material packed into the tip of his metal cigarette. The embers crackled and snapped, Jared’s lungs inhaling the toxic fumes, absorbing whatever mind-altering substance will shortly enter his bloodstream, pumping this neuro-toxin chemical to his brain.
Exhaling an enormous cloud of smoke, Jared’s mind then began to feel it, whatever feeling or thoughts caused those kids in Henley Hall felt. Memories of everything they once were fading away. The chemicals from the burning synthetic eating away at the various dendrites in his brain, disintegrating and killing millions of cells as the poison flowed through his mind.
My Mom Julie Millikan, wait or was it Spell? What is my mother’s first name again? My father, Douglas, Douglas What? DO I have parents? A sibling? Courtney? Whats her last name? who the hell is Courtney? Where in the hell am I? Who is this woman to my right? I was happy once yes? Why am asking myself these questions? Ami I going insane? Who am I? how can I trust this woman? I don’t even know who she is! What the hell are? Are that’s a word? Who am I? My name doesn’t exist! What can I do to survive? I need to get out of here! They’re all out to get me, to get what I have, where did I get it from, trust no one, no one, one. One, one, one, one, one, food, food, food, food….
Sheila vigorously shaking Jared’s arm now, trying to snap him out of whatever coma of drugs his mind as wandered into. Repeatedly yelling his name trying to wake him up, panic and worry overcoming her. Sheila raised her hand to slap Jared until his attention turned towards her. Sheila heaving a sigh of relief.
“Finally! God for a second ther-“ Sheila was cut off mid sentence as one of Jared’s massive palms clamped the front of her face, slamming the back of her skull into the wall behind them with incredible force, producing a sickening crack. Mushy brains and chips of her tiny skull cascaded to a dripping splat upon the white side of the building. The flat of the back of her cranium scraping against the wall as she slid towards the earth, her body crumpling to a tangle of limbs, the blue flames of her eyes dancing no longer. Jared remained towering over her limp corpse, breathing heavily as a rosy pool of blood collected on the pavement.
The two men who planted the chemical bombs throughout campus are now driving, already out of the town of Teos. The smaller man at the wheel, listening to the giant Russian on his cell phone, the interior of the four door Lincoln was light blue, along with the outside of the car. The Russian’s mustache whisked from the breeze of the Lincoln’s air conditioner. The Russian pausing between each question as he spoke.
“The shipment was tampered with, yes?...and every where available in Teos has the tainted drugs?....Good…The military will shoot anyone in Teos after they quarantine the city, they will think it is infectious, they will have no idea when clearing the city…. Everything is about to change here comrade.” The Russian snapped the flip of face of his phone shut with a loud snap.
Exploding from the doors of Henley Hall, Terror’s grasp on Jackson’s heart increased. Among the other buildings on campus Jackson could see more of the possessed flooding out of exits and breaking through windows, all of them blind with insurmountable rage, flooding out to the plateau. The soles of Jackson’s green Chuck Taylors slammed against the cement as he bolted from Henley across the Plateau. Tears clouding his vision, any hope collapsing within his chest. Jackson contemplating the existence of God as the screeching of monsters rang through his ears. Jackson having no idea where to go started the sprint back to his house, nine blocks away.
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