The Cost of Magic #5
Dec 19th, 2008 by Jack Lhasa
This is the fifth section of my novel. If you haven’t read the first four, you might want to start here.
Sleep til We Die
—–
Minus drove with a fierce determination. He had not asked Jane where she needed to go. He had merely begun the trek back to his own home. Jane was silent the entire way. They pulled in to his gravel drive way after a fast twenty minute drive.
His yard was over run with weeds and flowers that had not been there when he had left. Vines climbed up the porch railings. He actually kind of like this. The heavy mist was present here as well. He told Jane to follow him, and she did so as quickly as she could.
When they had both entered, Minus fasted perhaps a dozen inside locks on the door. He pushed her through to another door, which lead down a flight of stairs into a converted basement. The basement was like a studio apartment with a wine cellar to the side. Again, he locked the door behind them.
“We should be safe here for a while,” he said to Jane, not shaking as much as he probably should have been.
“We’re laying low?” Jane was again confused and frightened. Then she felt the red pills hit. The anxiety washed away from her, now she was merely curious.
“Yeah, we need to be out of sight for a while. Figure out what is going on. Turn on the news, let’s see what we missed in the last three years.”
Minus was handling this very well. It surprised Jane to see the odd, awkward drunk she had met so long ago, acting with such determination and even a little grace. She found that she loved him. The thought had never occurred to her while they were in the bar. But now she knew. She loved him completely, and without question. That’s a pretty scary idea at twenty-two.
CNN hadn’t changed a lot in the last three years. They learned of a new president. They heard about some major advances in technology. But nothing unfathomable. And nothing as devastating as Minus had expected.
“We haven’t slept in three years, Jane. Here’s an Ambien. We can figure out more tomorrow. We’re safe here.” He handed Jane the small white pill, and a glass of red wine.
Without a thought, she tossed her hair back and swallowed the pill and wine in one gulp. Minus did the same, but Jane was almost certain he held more than one pill before they disappeared down his throat.
“Help me roll out this couch. It’s a bed, too. When we wake up, things will make more sense.”
They unrolled the bed. Minus fetched some blankets, and they curled up into a beautiful, dead sleep.
*****
At the end of section five, we see the close of something, and the opening to things very bizarre. Keep reading!
Jack
I Listen.
The Cost of Magic
Section #5
Sleep til We Die
