22. They slumped over in their chairs and the store owner watched them to see if they were in a trance. They seemed to be. He didn’t know what to do while they sat there. He began to think that this was a bad idea. Maybe he could wake them, but he didn’t. Instead he paced around waiting to see what they would do. Maybe they would wake up and nothing would change. What was supposed to happen after they did whatever it was they were trying to do? Does walking around in some other reality change you?
He picked up one of the lighter fares of comic books and began to distract himself by reading it. The two just sat their in their chairs not doing anything.
He turned the page of the comic and they stood up. They lurched to a standing position like marionettes on a string. It was uncanny. They stepped forward and he moved in front of them trying to direct them so they would not smack into his wall or knock anything over. He could see they were headed for the front door so he unlocked it and pulled up the grill. They walked through the door and he closed and locked the door then closed and locked the grill. When he turned around they were headed straight for the scaffolding and he ran over to help them through the spider web of welded metal.
They kept walking and now they were on the other side of the wall. It was dark but he’d packed some flashlights in the bag where he’d put the comic books along with some other supplies such as granola bars and water. He was a pretty handy person to have around if you wanted to walk around in the dream of an alternate reality.
They kept walking and he could see that they were approaching what looked like an old factory. Just outside the factory they stopped. He watched them for a while and got nervous standing out there in the middle of the night. And then all of a sudden the painter went rigid and the girl woke up. She sort of stumbled a bit and then looked around her and cursed. The painter had relaxed again and was walking around but not going too far.
"Do you think we can guide him inside the factory and then you can tell me what happened? I don't like being out here."
"Yeah," the girl said.
They found guiding him inside the factory to be a fairly easy job. Like getting a sleepwalker to go in a particular direction by turning it.
Inside the factory the painter walked up and down the halls and they kept their eyes on him while she told the store owner what had happened.
"Do you think that you aren’t capable of aligning or was it something else?"
"I’m not sure."
"Do you want to go back?"
She nodded her head and said, "Ok."
He made her eat a granola bar and drink some of the water.
He took out the comic book, careful not to look at it and she turned it upside down and fell into a trance. He had taken his eyes off the painter briefly but found him standing on a gangway. He ushered him back towards the girl and tried to keep them from going anywhere. It wasn’t hard as shortly after the girl went back into the trance both she and the painter went rigid and stopped moving. He looked at them and wondered if something was wrong. He looked at the painter. He was breathing shallowly and he had a regular if slightly slower heart rate. His pupils were dilated but there didn’t seem anything physically wrong with him. He checked on the girl and she was the same. Well, maybe this was an improvement. At least he wouldn’t have to chase them all over the factory and keep them from killing themselves. He sat back and realized that he hadn’t brought his own comic to read. Well, he just would have to hope that they wouldn’t be long and that he wouldn’t fall asleep. He tried not to make himself too comfortable.
And then there was a noise. It sounded like someone else was in the factory.
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He picked up one of the lighter fares of comic books and began to distract himself by reading it. The two just sat their in their chairs not doing anything.
He turned the page of the comic and they stood up. They lurched to a standing position like marionettes on a string. It was uncanny. They stepped forward and he moved in front of them trying to direct them so they would not smack into his wall or knock anything over. He could see they were headed for the front door so he unlocked it and pulled up the grill. They walked through the door and he closed and locked the door then closed and locked the grill. When he turned around they were headed straight for the scaffolding and he ran over to help them through the spider web of welded metal.
They kept walking and now they were on the other side of the wall. It was dark but he’d packed some flashlights in the bag where he’d put the comic books along with some other supplies such as granola bars and water. He was a pretty handy person to have around if you wanted to walk around in the dream of an alternate reality.
They kept walking and he could see that they were approaching what looked like an old factory. Just outside the factory they stopped. He watched them for a while and got nervous standing out there in the middle of the night. And then all of a sudden the painter went rigid and the girl woke up. She sort of stumbled a bit and then looked around her and cursed. The painter had relaxed again and was walking around but not going too far.
"Do you think we can guide him inside the factory and then you can tell me what happened? I don't like being out here."
"Yeah," the girl said.
They found guiding him inside the factory to be a fairly easy job. Like getting a sleepwalker to go in a particular direction by turning it.
Inside the factory the painter walked up and down the halls and they kept their eyes on him while she told the store owner what had happened.
"Do you think that you aren’t capable of aligning or was it something else?"
"I’m not sure."
"Do you want to go back?"
She nodded her head and said, "Ok."
He made her eat a granola bar and drink some of the water.
He took out the comic book, careful not to look at it and she turned it upside down and fell into a trance. He had taken his eyes off the painter briefly but found him standing on a gangway. He ushered him back towards the girl and tried to keep them from going anywhere. It wasn’t hard as shortly after the girl went back into the trance both she and the painter went rigid and stopped moving. He looked at them and wondered if something was wrong. He looked at the painter. He was breathing shallowly and he had a regular if slightly slower heart rate. His pupils were dilated but there didn’t seem anything physically wrong with him. He checked on the girl and she was the same. Well, maybe this was an improvement. At least he wouldn’t have to chase them all over the factory and keep them from killing themselves. He sat back and realized that he hadn’t brought his own comic to read. Well, he just would have to hope that they wouldn’t be long and that he wouldn’t fall asleep. He tried not to make himself too comfortable.
And then there was a noise. It sounded like someone else was in the factory.
next