Good stories should speak for themselves. So I hope this one does just that. It was written about a year ago and inspired by the Marilyn Manson song “Coma White”. I chose to make this inspiration obvious on purpose. I have many stories, more current and more entertaining, but this is most likely the only time I’ll ever post one online. Any input or criticism is welcome and thank you for your time. www.myspace.com/pollutionx35 / x35pollution@yahoo.com - PQT
Dave walked through the front door of his home with a genuine smile. He always wore that same smile when he woke up and when he came home. He was grateful to be alive and he was very thankful for his family. Dave set his briefcase on his end table and started in for the kitchen. He checked his fancy watch for the time. Normally, he wouldn’t have had such a flashy item but it was a present from his wife for their anniversary. 'Yup,' he thought, '5 o’clo-'
“Dave. Please get the kids down here. Dinner is ready.”
“Alright, babe. Can’t I get a hug and a kiss first?” he said lovingly and even followed it with a laugh. It made no difference; she was offended and acted like it was a chore to greet him in a friendly matter.
“I’ll get the kids.” Dave said. He threw his blazer on the coat rack, rolled up the sleeves on his dress shirt, revealing his grayscale tattoos, and walked up the semi-spiral staircase. He did his routine knock that his kids knew on all of their bedroom doors. “Dinner time! Foooood! You guys still eat don’t you?” he said casually.
They knew the drill. After Dave sat back down at the table, his children one by one filed down for the family meal.
“How was school, kids?” Sally, Dave’s wife, asked.
“Sucked,” Ricky the oldest instantly responded.
“Ricky!” his parents said, and looked at each other in response to yelling in unison.
“At school today,” Danielle the youngest daughter informed them, “Mrs. Jameson taught us about health.”
“That’s interesting Danny, what did you learn about health today?” Dave asked as they passed around the pasta, vegetables, and a variety of sauces.
“We learned that we need to have a balanced diet and eat lots of vegetables. And we learned that if you eat junk food it pollutes your body like drugs and you could get fat and die.”
“You hear that everybody? That means eat your vegetables,” Sally said followed by a grin. She was confident this was a hilarious joke she made, but no one was amused.
“Tina,” Dave spoke to his middle child in a concerned voice, “Why are you being so quiet today?”
“She’s always quiet Dad. Tina is a mutate(sic),” young Danielle said, mispronouncing the word “mutant” in a cute manner.
“That’s not nice, Danny. You should always put family first,” Sally scolded her daughter. “How’s the food everybody?”
“Good,” they all responded. The food was very good, yet they felt pressured into telling her it was regardless of its actual taste.
“I’m finished. That was amazing dear, thank you,” Dave said. He always stuck around after he ate for a moment to spend time with the family.
“May I have some more water, please,” Danielle asked.
“Oh, me too…please,” Ricky grinned.
“No problem,” said Sally as she got up and filled their cups up from the fresh pitcher of ice water. Dave picked up the newspaper and decided to skip through it. He didn’t really want to look at the paper but he didn’t want to be awkward or fidgety while he awaited conversation. He was reading the headlines in his head only half paying attention and then he realized it had been a significant moment since he heard the noise of his family’s chatter. He abruptly lowered his newspaper from obstructing his vision. It made a dramatic noise and he stared ahead in puzzlement at his loved ones. Seated at the table Sally was eating as slow as ever, picking at her food, and inspecting every piece as she always did. Tina sat in her all black attire, with dyed black hair, and simply stared straight ahead. She looked blank and emotionless. The oldest, Ricky, had also seemed affected with the same blankness yet he seemed dopey and happy with his slanted grin. Then Dave’s eyes cast upon his youngest, curly haired daughter. She was sitting at the diner table fumbling with a packet of pills that seemed almost empty. She took the last one from the packaging, popped it in her mouth, and swallowed it with some water.
“Danny! What - the - hell are you doing?!?!?!” Dave demanded.
“I’m taking my U - Fud pills, dad.”
“U – Fud? Where in the hell…who in the hell gave you those, Danny?”
“They gave them to me in school today, Daddy. They told me to eat them after a big healthy meal,” she replied.
“I don’t want you to take those things…Ever. Don’t ever take any pills or drugs unless Mommy, Daddy, or -“
“Dave,” Sally interrupted, “they are good for her.”
“No, they’re not,” he said to his wife, and then turned to his daughter. “No they’re not, honey. Every drug is bad for you unless you’re sick and the doctor says you need it.”
“Oh come on, Dave,” Sally insisted, “nothing bad has ever come from these things. They’re all over the news for improving people’s lives. They’re mostly vitamins and minerals and necessary -“
“Bullshit! Unnecessary bullshit!” Dave interrupted.
“Excuse you Dave! You have some nerve -”
“No, you’ve got to understand; I’ve never felt so strongly about anything in my life. I don’t want any of my children taking those horrible drugs. And they are horrible drugs. They’re a ridiculous cocktail of uppers and downers and they’re ridiculously bad for you. I wouldn’t be surprised if there wasn’t a single vitamin in any of them. Did you know…”
“Daaaaaave. We agreed not to argue in front of the kids, especially at the diner table.”
“You are absolutely right. But she’s going to stop taking them until we’ve talked about it. Danielle,” he turned to his youngest, “don’t take them any more unless me or mommy tells you different. We’re going to talk about it later.”
“Do you want me to stop taking mine?” Ricky asked.
“Holy shhhh…,” Dave barely stopped himself from swearing as his eyes caught his wife’s. “Tina, do they have you taking these damned pills too?” Silence. Tina just gazed off. “Tina. Tina. TINA!”
“What?!?” Tina said as if she was annoyed for being disturbed from her ‘awaken slumber.’ Dave realized things were really bad when Tina lifted her hand to wipe the drool from the corner of her mouth.
“Alright family. I…, I’ve just had enough for one day. I love you all and I will talk with everyone first thing tomorrow morning. Dave stood up from the dinner table and walked into the living room. He wasn’t usually the first to leave the dinner table; in fact, he was usually the last.
Dave sat down in his favorite recliner located in a premium spot in front of the TV. He was free of social activity, free from conversation. His family knew it was an extremely rare occasion to catch him in a bad mood, and to stay away from him.
Dave sat staring at the TV not even paying attention to anything on it. Every word he heard from the news program went in one ear and out the other. That was until a particular word caught his ear: “U – Fud.”
“Folks, today we’re going to talk about U - Fud. But it’s not the same praise you’re used to hearing. I have with me a man, a medical doctor,” the reporter corrected herself, “who believes that U - Fud isn’t good for you at all. In fact,” she paused for dramatic effect and stared directly in the camera, “he thinks it’s extremely bad for you. Isn’t that right Dr. Warner?”
“That’s right, Linda. The government tries to say this is a wonder drug. That it’s the “Ultimate Food/Ultimate Drug.” But we can see what’s really going on. The pharmaceutical companies have become so powerful that their reach has extended into Congress. And into the school systems. And into our homes. And these “wonder” drugs have made it into your children’s body. It’s hard to believe that the people working for these drug companies are even human. They’ve handed their entire species over for money,” said the sophisticated man rambling on passionately.
“Damn, he’s so right,” Dave felt the need to say aloud even though he was just sitting alone with the glow of the TV on his face.
“Wow, doctor, you’re so fired up about this. I hate to bring it up, but: How do you feel about the recent black market modification of the “U – Fud” pills?”
“Frankly, it’s an absolute tragedy. This thing was bad enough before it was modified. Now the possibilities are limitless. Yes, you can feel this,” he gestured with his hands, “and experience that, but at what price? This drug is going to destroy all of man kind if something drastic isn’t done right now. If you are one of the billions of dopes out there who is just going to ponder which poison to choose from, then I think you’re just as bad as the drug companies. You’re an accessory to the murder of human kind. Act now! You’ve got heavy competition out there in the community, in the streets, and even in our own damn schools.”
“I have to say doctor, I completely agree with you and it has been a pleasure and an honor having you on the show.”
“Tune in tonight for the 10 o’clock news. We will reveal to you the all new dangerous street variations of U – Fud. Apparently there are several. Some that can take pain away, some that can make you completely numb emotionally, and some that promise complete happiness. We’re going to explore the extensive brain damage of these illegal versions and we’re going to give you tips on how to tell if your children are using.”
Dave turned the channel and couldn’t help but shake his head in disgust and disbelief. There was an old music video on that he wasn’t paying much attention to. Not that the music wasn’t amazing, because it was, but it was just backdrop for the tragedy surrounding him.
“There’s something cold and blank behind her smile,” the music sang. “She’s standing on an overpass, in her miracle mile.”
~~~~~Click~~~~~
Dave turned the TV off. He walked into the kitchen to talk to his wife, Sally. He was feeling extremely saddened and he wanted to make things right. First he was going to apologize and then pour his heart out about protecting his family. He glanced at his wife and went to gently grab her arm when he noticed she was swallowing something. “Sal, what is that you’re taking, hun? Aspirin?”
“No honey, I was just taking some U - Fud. It’s good for you.”
“How long have you been talking it?” Dave asked.
“Oh, I don’t know. Something like three or four days. And I have to say I feel a lot healthier.”
“Of course you do, you’re doing drugs.”
“You would know, wouldn’t you? I can’t believe you of all people would have the nerve to accuse me of doing drugs, you damned junkie!” she said.
“How dare you call me a junkie. Listen, I haven’t done drugs in 20 years, Sal. Over 20 years! I don’t deserve you throwing that in my face. And yes, I would know. I know that devil, and I know he lives in those drugs, Sal, because I’ve seen him. His poisonous entity ran through my veins. He smiled at me and licked his lips. That’s when he lost his grip. He’s never going to get his grip around me again, and he sure as hell isn’t getting his arms around ANYONE in my family.”
“Hey, you can take the kids off them if the school will let you, but I’m going to do whatever it is I please.”
“I’ll settle with that for now. What do you mean ‘If the school will let me?’ Are they going to start requiring our children to take piss tests in the hopes that they’ll be positive for drug use?”
“Actually, they did send a memo home about it.” She retrieved it from the drawer in the kitchen counter, “Ah, here it is. Hey! They even sent home some sample pills in the memo! I didn’t even see that at first. Ha, silly me.” She smiled, despite being ignorant to her own behavior, and placed the sample pills in her pocket.
“I don’t even know how to respond to this. This feels like a bad dream or something.” Dave raised his head to the ceiling as if to speak to a higher power, “Is this a bad dream? If so, can you please wake me?”
“Oh Dave! Of course this isn’t a dream honey; it’s life. Can’t you feel it…racing through your veins?”
“That’s a buzz you feel racing through your veins. I’m going to talk to the kids,” Dave declared.
“Ehh.” Sally just shrugged as he walked out of the room.
Dave traveled through the living room contemplating all the various fraises he was going to tell his children. He made it past the bookshelves, past the TV and the furniture, past the front door, and onto the first step.
Dave placed his foot on the second step and there was a knock at the front door. It was a distinctive knock that only Dave himself and his best friend used. Dave swung the door open with half a ray of hopefulness in his heart. The momentary relief was just that: momentary.
“Bill, what the fuck happened to you?” Dave asked in astonishment. Dave was so puzzled due to the fact that Bill looked the opposite of what he normally did. His clothes were completely atrophied and disheveled. He stood before Dave ragged and torn as if he had lost a fight with a cougar and barely escaped. He was swaying ever so slightly and was also surprisingly docile. This too worried Dave because Bill was extremely hyper. The last and most disturbing factor was the dullness in his eyes; to be perfectly honest, he looked just plain stupid. This from a man who’s gears were always turning, and you could always see it in his eyes, well…up until this point, that is.
“He-Ha. Davey, ‘ma boy! You dirt dog you -”
“Save it, Bill. What happened to you?”
“Ya see chap, he he, I, well my son rather, had these little thingies.” Dave dramatically pronounced the ‘g’ in ‘thingies.’ “Hahahah! O man! They’re called Happy! And that’s what they are, that’s what I is!” Bill retrieved a sandwich baggy full of pills, held it in his hand, and tried not laughing hysterically. He failed miserably at it as he talked through his laughter. “The, he, the damned things make you all HAPPY! AHAhahahah.”
Dave swiftly grabbed the baggy out of Bill’s hands in a swatting motion. “I’m going to hold onto these for you buddy.”
“Okey Dokey. Ahh - Hahahaahha,” Bill eloquently responded.
Thud!
Dave heard the noise and instantly visualized something heavy falling on his wife Sally. He rushed into the kitchen full speed while Bill casually followed. Bill had the look of a school boy who got caught getting into trouble, “Oooooo!” he taunted trailing behind.
Dave entered the kitchen for the third time that day, to discover his wife on the tile floor. She lay lifeless, with nothing around her, nothing on her.
That loud thud must have been her! Dave thought to himself as he checked the pulse on her throat.
“Call 911, Bill!!” Dave paused for a moment monitoring his wife’s increasingly weak pulse. “Sally honey, Sally,” Dave said in a way only a loved one could speak, trying to mask the fear in his voice. He turned to see if Bill had reached 911 yet. “Bill, don’t just stand there! Damn it, Bill!” Dave jumped up to grab the phone. He went to the base of the portable phone and it wasn’t there in the charger. “Of all the times in the world. There it is!” He discovered it on the couch cushion. Dave picked up the phone flipped it over to the dial pad and hit the “On” button. For just an instant, the dial tone actually ran for a moment as the popular folly ‘what’s the number to 911?’ scenario literally played out in his head.
9(Beep)-1(Beep)-1(Beep)
Dave noticed an added pause as sweat dripped from his forehead. Then he herd: “Eh – Ah, Eh – Ah Eh, – Ah Eh – Ah,” and over top of that, “The person you are trying to reach is busy at this moment. Please hang up, and try your call again.”
Dave’s eyes widened in disbelief as he pulled the phone away and stared at it as if it was personally responsible for the busy signal. He hung up and dialed 911 again. Again, he got the busy signal. He dropped the phone to the ground while it still rang and rushed over to his wife. He picked her head up over his knee, which was dead weight, and checked her pulse. It was gone. She was gone.
Dave gently set her down and stood up staring forward with a very stiff posture, looking at Bill. Bill was staring at the wall.
Not one of the family’s many paintings, but the wallpaper. He subtly turned his head to Dave. “Dave?” Bill asked.
“Yes, Bill.”
“Can we go play in…THE LEAVES!?!!?” Bill said, bursting into laughter.
“Maybe we’ll do just that, Bill. Let me go get the kids.” Dave walked passed Bill and up the stairs. He decided to go to Tina’s room first. She had the most emotional issues and she would need the greatest deal of attention. He knocked ‘his knock’ on the door, “Coming in, Tina!” he announced. “Tina, not you too. What in God’s name
are you doing?” Dave realized he was sick of asking questions after that.
“Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Isn’t it great?” Tina paused. She was speaking without emotion staring straight ahead at, well, nothingness. “I’m not sad anymore, Dad. I’m not anything. I’m blank.” She turned her head to look her father in the eyes and smiled. “It’s called ‘numb.’ It’s the greatest invention ever. You want some?” she held a baggy in her hand.
“No, I don’t, and neither do you Tina!” Dave scolded.
“Your right, I don’t. If you take ‘numb’ one time, you’re numb for life. That is what’s so genius about it. That’s what Ricky and Danny liked so much about it…“
“You didn’t,” Dave tried to interrupt.
“But they didn’t take too it well, Dad. It truly is a shame.” Tina stated in her emotionless, monotone delivery. Dave rushed over to his daughter, grabbed her shoulders, and violently shook her.
“What did you do, Tina? What did you do to my children?”
“Ricky took too much. And Danny… She’s too young.”
“You think?” he exclaimed sarcastically. “You… you monster.” Dave let go and his right hand trembled. He never under any circumstances would hit his children, and this was the ultimate test of that. He stormed out of Tina’s room and into his youngest daughter’s room.
“Danny?!?!” Dave said while opening the door. He didn’t need to say her name anymore. He walked slowly to her, face down on the bed, and checked for a pulse. He couldn’t find one. Dave’s ‘tough guy’ exterior was broken and tears flowed rapidly from his face. “Whhhhyyyyy!?!?!?!?” he screamed and sniffled.
He went to Ricky’s room expecting the worst: his lifeless body. That wasn’t even the worst, though, and that’s what Dave discovered. Ricky was sitting in his computer chair partly slouched down. Dave spun him around. “Ricky. Ricky!!!” Dave screamed through his tears. Ricky sat unaffected. He was breathing and drooling heavily, but that was it. His eyes were all white, as if his pupils had been stolen. Dave moved his hand back and forth in front of Ricky’s face. He even pretended to swat him in the face, stopping short; no reaction. Ricky was blind, deaf, and dumb.
Dave walked down the stairs and hoped that Bill was sobered up. He wondered if all the Modified U-Fud pills were permanent lasting, or if it was just the fatal ‘Numb’ Pill. He reached the bottom of the stairs and looked over at Bill who seemed like he might have actually sobered up.
“Can we go lay in the leaves NOW, DAVEY?! Ha ha ha ha aha!” Bill asked.
“Yes, Bill, we can go play in the leaves outside.” Dave grasped his blazer from the coat rack and put it back on. “So, Bill, how do these ‘Numb’ ones work, and how do these ‘Happy’ ones work?”
“You eat them, Dave. A huh." Bill tried hard not to laugh. He regained his composure momentarily. “And I don’t know anything about the ‘Numby’ ones,” Bill said, pronouncing the ‘b’ in ‘Numby.’ “But I do know if you take one of the ‘Happy’ ones you kinda see things, kinda strange, and really funny. And if you take two of them, then you can talk to God. Most people get really happy then.”
“Let me tell you what, Billy. That last line’s really got me sold. Let me just grab a drink to wash them down with and then we can go play in the leaves.”
Dave walked into the kitchen, carefully stepped over his wife, and got a glass. He brought it to the refrigerator, put in two small ice cubes, and then filled the large glass to the rim with Vodka. He had to sip it right away so he didn’t spill it. He stepped over his wife and walked into the living room.
“Alright Billy-Boy. How many did you take?”
“I only took one ‘Happy.’”
“Damn. And you’re twisted. I’m taking two. Wait a minute. I don’t know which one is which. They look exactly the same,” Dave said while holding the baggies up. “And they have about the same amount in them, too. Hmmm. Fuck it. Either I’m a vegetable or I talk to God. Fifty-fifty odds. Maybe I should take one of each. No. That sounds like a bad idea. I’m gonna pick.” Dave moved them up and down weighing his options. “Two of this one. I wonder who I would talk to if I took the whole damn bag?” Dave asked as he popped two pills into his mouth and chased them with the entire glass of vodka. “Wheew,” he said to Bill while chucking the glass against the wall of the living room. “Let’s go play in the leaves. Oh shit. Wow. Is this stuff working already? Or is that the booze? Because either way it’s heavy and it hurts.” Dave turned and looked at Hairy, his ironically named hairless housecat. He was extremely independent and almost always stayed in the background, keeping to himself.
“Relax, Dave,” Hairy said causally to him. “Quit being a pussy.”
“Yeah, you’re right Hairy,” Dave responded. “I guess I should just try and enjoy it, huh?” he said in a dopey way, somewhat concocting a smile. Dave tried to focus on the cat while the entire room behind him spun. “Hey buddy,” he gestured his hand in a ‘goodbye’ fashion to Hairy, “We’re
going to go play in the leaves now. Smell ya later! He he he.” He lightly chuckles as he walked.
“Wow that was fun, huh, Davey?” Bill asked.
“Yeah, it was. Wasn’t it?” Dave stared down the street as they walked together, both ‘pie-eyed’.
“Hey. Hey Bill!! You said if I took two ‘Happy’ pills that I would talk to God.”
“Yeah?”
“Hmmm…I did just talk to Hairy for the first time. You don’t think that Hairy is God, do you? Hahahahahah!!!!” Dave asked jokingly. Then his distraught mind actually wondered if that were the case.
Dave’s eyes searched about, “Where are all the leaves, Bill?” he asked. He turned his head to Bill, but Bill was gone.
Everything outside slowly began to look animated. He felt like he was in a primitive child’s cartoon. Then the transformation progressed further. Every odd thing Dave visualized right before him became black, white, and shades of gray, even himself when he looked down at his hands, body, and clothes.
Dave threw his blazer off; he felt extremely hot. He was no longer walking, he was floating. He thought about all this, especially the lack of color.
‘Is this all a very elaborate dream? They say you dream in black and white,’ he thought.
“David.” A deep voiced echoed around him. Dave franticly looked around.
“Who…" As soon as Dave spoke, everything around him became white. She stood there now, not floating, in complete whitespace. There was an extreme echo on everything he said and heard even though there seemed to be an infinite vast emptiness. “Who are you?”
“Who are you, Dave. Really?”
“I don’t like talking to people I can’t see,” Dave told the voice.
“You wanted to talk, Dave, so talk?”
“I wanted to talk to God. Are you God?” Dave asked
“Let’s just say that I am. What would you say to God? What would you say to me?”
“I usually would have plenty of things to say. But after all I’ve gone through I feel the need to ask questions.”
“What question’s do you have, David?” the voice asked.
“For starters. Is this all a dream?” he asked, feeling it was a simple enough question.
“No…and yes. Yes and no. It’s not something your mind can understand. Understand?” the voice said.
“No. But just you can understand. Alright next question. Why did all this happen to Sally? And Ricky? Danny and Tina?”
“It didn’t just happen to them, it happened to the whole world. It happened to everyone, and the answer to your question is: because you let it happen. But not just you, people like you for a greater time period than you can possibly fathom. Some people didn’t promote it, or further it. They, like you, let it happen.”
“Am I dead?”
“Again, no. And yes. Yes and no.”
“Am I going to feel like this forever?” Dave asked.
“No.”
That was the last thing Dave remembered. It all felt like that long stretch of time happened in an instant. Like a dream. He rubbed his eyes and thought it was a dream.
Dave was in severe pain from his side. Dave wondered if he had been hit by a car. He stood to his feet, looked in front of him at an automobile half in a building. Glass littered the street and made a crunching noise as he stutter stepped along examining the totaled vehicle.
“Ha ha ha ha ha.” Dave was actually relieved it was all just a car crash. That the entire trauma he had experienced was all in his head from the crash. “I got hit by a car!” he screamed with joy. “I got hit by a CAR!!!!” he shouted. “Whoo!!!!”
Dave sported a powerful smile as he looked down at his watch. He was grateful for the gaudy thing for the first time in his life. Dave looked around in search of talking cats, spinning backgrounds, or cartoon trees and buildings. He found nothing of the sort. He did, however, notice that there weren’t many people in the area of downtown he was at. That was a little odd.
Dave also noticed that the car he was hit by was white and that the people he saw a little off in the distance were all wearing completely white clothing. He shook the smile off his face for a moment and then it grew back on. ‘Just a weird coincidence,’ he said to himself. He even chuckled a little. He put his hands down to his side and noticed some unnatural feeling objects in his pocket. He painfully dug his bruised hand into his pocket and retrieved the still yet unidentified items. He held them up high to examine them and realized what they were: two cellophane baggies full of pills.
– The End
