Nathan's last day

No one would forget the day Nathan left.

            Nathan worked diligently at his desk, intermittently looking up at the clock. It was the Friday afternoon of Nathan’s last day at work and he wanted to leave on a good impression. His work was not bad, nasty or degrading like some, but it consumed the majority of the day, often working eight to fourteen hours a day. Nathan didn’t mind the work or his co-workers but the lack of free time wasn’t his only issue. Nathan felt like a jazzy caterpillar excited to see what kind of butterfly he would eventually change into. Or more realistically, what kind of monstrous moth he would transform into, haunting the minds of all who gazed upon his terrible visage.  Nathan wanted to grow and become something more, but his co-workers and heads of the business were content being fat caterpillars. Not progressing further as individuals but instead plumping up on the ripest of leaves.

            Nathan’s caterpillar metaphor was probably inspired by his garden salad that he would take quick bites of in between furious typing. He felt as if he was typing the next grand novel, with the amount of work and pressure he was enduring to write the text. Instead the text belonged to a manual that no one would read except the servants of the big bosses. The information in the tome would then be transcribed and then broken down into easier to digest portions and then hand fed to the big bosses like feeding grapes to a king.

            The day dragged on and while Nathan had hoped that staying busy would hasten the day, the day moved with the speed of frozen peanut butter being defrosted by a lighter. The spirit of the last day at work hung over Nathan’s shoulder to interrupt his work and occasionally spill coffee on his desk and papers. Then the spirit would give a half hearted apology and walk off to talk to Brenda about how Nathan was “Being so weird and grumpy today”

            Nathan had the mind of a child and the intellect of a man beyond his years. He was a shining sparkle in the night sky with all of the majesty of a mentally ill dolphin. So it did not need to be said that his uniqueness was wasted on any job where the people around him were only one thing. Such mundane humans that never dreamed of greater things and if they ever did quickly squashed their thoughts with reality and other boring words and phrases.

            Nathan knew that this manual would not be the end of the project he worked on and that it wouldn’t even be the biggest blip on anyone’s radar but he wanted to leave knowing he did a great job one last time before he moved on.

            Time ticked down as the end of the day approached, One of Nathan’s co-workers Jeff Bobertson, walked up to Nathan’s desk with the grace of a stumbling cow as he let out a loud bored sigh. “whaaats happening man?” Asked Jeff, Nathan started to open his mouth but Jeff continued talking. “Right right, man can you believe this day? Its been so long and boring. Like my daughters dance recital or something” Jeff complained loudly. Nathan kept working without replying and Jeff just nodded. “right right, ok good talk man. Hey! Good luck with your last day huh?” Jeff said as he drummed his hands along Nathan’s desk.

            Nathan realized that after today he would not have to deal with the likes of Jeff Bobertson any longer, though worried that another equal annoyance would take his place in Nathan’s life. Nathan opened the top drawer of his desk and gentle caressed a claw hammer sitting neatly inside. The hammer was the only object in that drawer and it was placed so neatly and carefully as if it were a prized egg, so delicate and adored. “Not today old friend, not today” Nathan whispered as he ran his hands along the hammer lovingly.

            Nathan’s phone began to ring loudly, it was the theme song from a video game that only he and three other people played. “Hellloooo!” Nathan answered with a long drawn out voice. This was his silly voice and was enjoyed by all who knew him, unlike Jeff’s voice, who everyone hated because hes a dick. Screw Jeff.

            Nathan’s amazing and talented cousin Stephen had called to wish him a happy last day. “Its your last day! Are you going to go out swinging? Maybe play some loud fighting music as you take out a few co-workers who ate your potato salad that one day?” Stephen asked with the voice like velvet and a lisp like an awkward five year old. “No, probably not” Nathan replied with a chuckle. The two friends giggled like girls over talk of video games for the next fifteen minutes and would have done so for much longer if not for the clock finally striking midnight and Nathan’s day was finally over. It was literally the next day and his employers couldn’t hold him any longer. After a few more giggles and fond wishes the two friends hung up their phones.

            Nathan collected his things and began to walk out of his office. He said his farewells to a few people as he left, but was so tired he just wanted to leave as quietly as possible. “Hey Budddddy! You’re all done! Wanna go to the strip club or something?” Asked Jeff as he magically appeared from behind a copier machine. “What do you even do here Jeff?” Nathan finally asked after years of working in the same building. “Not much bro-syphilis. I’m the son of one of the big wigs. SO my dad makes me wear a tie and I have to hang around until he leaves. I just drink coffee and make awkward sexual advances on the secretaries and clerks who need the job too much to say anything” Jeff replied. “You know what Jeff, I WILL meet you for drink. Lets go to the strip bar all the way down town. Ya know the one with the hot strippers in the bad section of town? Meet me there in an hour” Nathan said with a wicked grin. “OH?! Awe-some. Man” I’ll see you then. Jeff slapped the nearby desk of Todd Wilkerjams. Who was abruptly startled and jumped back in his chair. Todd swore under his breath as Jeff slapped walls and doorframes on his way out of the office.

            Nathan sighed and was excited to go home, see his wife and get some sleep. For a brief second he hoped Jeff would be ok, but then decided he didn’t really care anymore and walked toward the front of the building.

            Nathan approached the exit to his work for the last time and as he neared the door he slowed his steps to appreciate the moment. A security guard named Stanley opened the door for Nathan and gave him a warm smile. “You’re free now, have a nice rest of your life” The security guard said fondly. “thank you Stanley” said Nathan with a smile. The two men stood there staring warmly at each other until Stanley motioned his head toward the exit and Nathan had a slight anxiety attack about how big the moment was. Now he was being hurried by Stanley the lovable security guard. If Stanley was lovable and he thought Nathan should leave, then disagreeing with that thought would make Nathan look like a jerk. Nathan didn’t know if he was ready for this moment as the reality of it all rushed through him like a tidal wave of uncertainty.

            Nathan slowly started to shuffle toward the door, nervously looking back as he began to leave. “Go already you freak!” Stanley yelled. This frightened Nathan who then in turn hissed loudly and scampered away out into the night.

            Nathan was finally free to set his own future and had the opportunity that few had. With a solid plan, a hard working enduring spirit, support from his wife and best cousin and the knowledge to get the job done, Nathan knew that things would be alright from that day forward.

            ALSO Jeff got stabbed in an alley outside of a strip bar by a drifter who wielded a dirty knife. LOL Bye!

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This was written with love and any persons, people or companies that this story might seem to resemble are pure fiction and not meant to insult any real people or places. Except Jeff, that dude is fictional but he's a dick.

Autumn Daydream

Heat beats on my home from the outside as the whirr of my air conditioner could be heard in the background. Its around this time every year that I lose my strength to the heat. I shamble through the end of the summer feeling drained from the heat and sun. I miss the cool breeze of autumn and the bright sunny days that aren’t blisteringly hot.

 

I grow tired of summer and though I know that Fall is on its way, I have a difficult time picturing it. I know that every year the first few days of crisp autumn air will be met with excitement and confusion. It always seems almost too cold at first but it is still a welcome temperature. I gain a burst of energy and I feel elated when the first cool breeze of Autumn rolls in. I feel surprise and joy equal to the first time I ever felt wonder of a crisp Fall day.

 

I feel like I am running out of words to describe how I feel. I love the Fall as if it were a two month long holiday. Halloween and Thanksgiving contribute to the festive feelings of Fall but it also has its own energy and joy. People go apple picking, pumpkin picking, pumpkin carving, hay rides and corn stalk mazes, or maize mazes eheheheh. People DO things like the season is a holiday with its own traditions. Granted summer has the beach and generally spring is when people first start doing out door activities. I argue that spring and summer activities are based on the weather. Going to the beach, bike riding, running, flying a kite and going on picnics are things people already enjoy doing but just have to wait for the right weather and spring and summer weather is best for those activities. Autumn is more than good weather, it brings out a creative side in people. They decorate more, they do activities based around Autmn, not just Autumn weather. Some might enjoy outdoor activities in the spring but those same activities could be done in the Fall. In some places that have cherry blossoms or rare seasonal plants they might celebrate spring using those plants and that is what people do every year in Autumn.

 

I will admit I am in the Northeast side of North America, so these are traditions I see all around me and assume most people take part in. I don’t know what other parts of the country do or what other countries do. I don’t think I could every live in a country or a part of the United States that doesn’t have trees that change from green, yellow, orange and red. Every year the forested areas look like a beautiful painting, painted by the creator of the world.

 

Every year I feel this mix of tired sadness and hope for the Fall and every year I write about it in some way. I hope I always feel this way because Autumn is such a great time of the year that the day I stop being excited is the day I have died, either in my heart or in my head.

 

I sit here listening to soft music and the sound of my Air conditioner whirring softly in the background, only a little longer till the best time of the year. Happy Summer everyone and lets all have a good second half of the year.

Auburn Hills (Grave Wagon)

Note: Sorry for taking so long coming out with another story. I have Arix and the Magic bottle half written. Today I was struck with a twinge of Halloween spirit and decided to write this Autumn story and post it early for those who cannot wait for the Fall season. This is also going to be a look into this years stories in October.

The cold gentle wind blew through the town of Auburn Hill. Tree branches swayed in the breeze as if the trees were coming to life. Each branch held only the slightest amount of leaves as most of them had already fallen or blown away. The soft sound of a squeaky wheel echoed through the neighborhood. The sound came from the small wheel of a child’s wooden wagon being pulled down the sidewalk. A small child wearing a red coat and blue jeans walked quickly and happily down the dark street pulling his favorite wagon. Night was well underway and the streets were empty, save for this child.

 

            The low rumbling in the distance joined the echo of the child’s wooded red wagon wheel. A giant shadowy mass approach the town, the mass let out sounds like high pitched squeaking wheels in need of oil, rumbling of a heavy weight being dragged across the land and the low roar of a beast waking from slumber. The giant shadow grew closer and closer to the town and as it did the townspeople woke from their beds and turned on their lights. Men and women left their house in their pajamas and night gowns, all standing on their front lawns as they peered out into the night. The mass grew closer and the first thing that could be seen was a giant skull mounted onto the front of some kind of machine. The machine had wheels, was made of wood and metal and was adorned with skulls and bones. It was easily fifty feet tall and must have weighed over a ton. Panic struck through people of Auburn Hill, causing them to retreat back into their houses or take to their cars and drive off into the night. Some used their house phones to call the police, some drove to the police station but many retreated to their basements or left town entirely.

 

            The skull-adorned machine didn’t fit in the normally peaceful and quiet town of Auburn Hill but the towns folk were not surprised by its appearance. The world knew of the Grave Wagon, a ghastly machine that appeared in random towns across the world and would harvest an entire town down to its last and then disappear into the night. The Grave wagon’s squeaking gears and perpetual “chunk-a-chunk-a-chunk” noise was distinct and could be heard across the whole town. This was a sound that would be familiar to anyone who watched the news the day after Halloween. The Grave wagon only harvested towns in October and there was usually one video of the attack every year. Only video could be found the next day, never survivors. No one knew what was inside the machine, where it came from or who drove it. The only thing known about the Grave Wagon was the appearance, the sound and the fact that it wiped entire towns off of the map.

 

            Adults ran for their lives, drove away or loaded guns and hid in the basements of their house. The child with the little red wooden wagon was scooped up by his parents and put in a car. He looked out the back window of his parent’s car as he saw the Grave wagon roll into his neighborhood and as the parent’s car turned down the next street the large tank tread like wheels hit the first house on the block, knocking it over and crushing the wood and glass as if it were made of paper. Light from lit torches danced out from the eye sockets of the enormous skull on the front of the wagon. The child never got to see who or what carried the torches or what happened to his house and red wagon.

 

            As the boy and his parents fled from town in their sedan green glowing mist began to rise up from the ground all around them. Pavement split and noxious fumes boiled up from the cracks in the earth. The ground beneath the car began to shake apart so the father stepped on the gas. Shrieking and howling could be heard in the distance. It could have been the victims of the wagon or the demons that must have been harbored inside of the awful machine. The family sedan rocketed down the crumbling street as fear gripped the family. The houses of Auburn Hil began to shake and sway until they toppled over, debris flew into the road causing the father to jerk the steering wheel hard to avoid the glass, wood and metal. The family car spun put of control and crashed into a tree.

 

            The child awoke to his mothers voice calling to him. As he opened his eyes he saw his frantic mother pull him out of the back seat and lift the small boy over her shoulder. She ran for the woods as thick fog and screaming filled the air. The trees swayed in the wind as it blew harder and harder but it wasn’t just the wind that made the trees seem alive, some of the trees actually started to move and come alive. The trees grew awful faces that dripped glowing green ooze as their branch arms swiped at the mother. The little boy could hear his mother scream as she ran but couldn’t do anything to help.

 

            The Mother ran through the forest and slid down a hill covered in dead grass and dried crunchy leaves. As she slid the sound of the Grave Wagon grew louder and louder until finally it stopped. The screaming and howling stopped as did any sounds associated with the Wagon’s movements. The danger sounded like it was over but the mother was too stricken with fear to move.

 

            For the rest of the night the mother and son huddled together, jumping at every rustling and noise in the forest. The sun slowly rose up over the Auburn Hill and the mother knew the danger was over. She and her son were the first two people to survive the Grave Wagon’s attack.

 

            When the military arrived they found the mother and son and rushed them to the nearest hospital, all reports, and photos showed that no sign of Auburn Hills was left. The town of Auburn Hills was now a giant empty field of black ash. No trace of the town remained.

 

            That day burned itself into the boys mind and as he grew he always thought about the Grave Wagon, where did it come from? Who made it? Why was it wiping out towns? John Pharris was the boy who escaped Auburn Hill and then became the Man who would stop the Grave Wagon once and for all. But that is a different story for a different day.

Auburn Hills (Grave Wagon)

Note: Sorry for taking so long coming out with another story. I have Arix and the Magic bottle half written. Today I was struck with a twinge of Halloween spirit and decided to write this Autumn story and post it early for those who cannot wait for the Fall season. This is also going to be a look into this years stories in October.

The cold gentle wind blew through the town of Auburn Hill. Tree branches swayed in the breeze as if the trees were coming to life. Each branch held only the slightest amount of leaves as most of them had already fallen or blown away. The soft sound of a squeaky wheel echoed through the neighborhood. The sound came from the small wheel of a child’s wooden wagon being pulled down the sidewalk. A small child wearing a red coat and blue jeans walked quickly and happily down the dark street pulling his favorite wagon. Night was well underway and the streets were empty, save for this child.

 

            The low rumbling in the distance joined the echo of the child’s wooded red wagon wheel. A giant shadowy mass approach the town, the mass let out sounds like high pitched squeaking wheels in need of oil, rumbling of a heavy weight being dragged across the land and the low roar of a beast waking from slumber. The giant shadow grew closer and closer to the town and as it did the townspeople woke from their beds and turned on their lights. Men and women left their house in their pajamas and night gowns, all standing on their front lawns as they peered out into the night. The mass grew closer and the first thing that could be seen was a giant skull mounted onto the front of some kind of machine. The machine had wheels, was made of wood and metal and was adorned with skulls and bones. It was easily fifty feet tall and must have weighed over a ton. Panic struck through people of Auburn Hill, causing them to retreat back into their houses or take to their cars and drive off into the night. Some used their house phones to call the police, some drove to the police station but many retreated to their basements or left town entirely.

 

            The skull-adorned machine didn’t fit in the normally peaceful and quiet town of Auburn Hill but the towns folk were not surprised by its appearance. The world knew of the Grave Wagon, a ghastly machine that appeared in random towns across the world and would harvest an entire town down to its last and then disappear into the night. The Grave wagon’s squeaking gears and perpetual “chunk-a-chunk-a-chunk” noise was distinct and could be heard across the whole town. This was a sound that would be familiar to anyone who watched the news the day after Halloween. The Grave wagon only harvested towns in October and there was usually one video of the attack every year. Only video could be found the next day, never survivors. No one knew what was inside the machine, where it came from or who drove it. The only thing known about the Grave Wagon was the appearance, the sound and the fact that it wiped entire towns off of the map.

 

            Adults ran for their lives, drove away or loaded guns and hid in the basements of their house. The child with the little red wooden wagon was scooped up by his parents and put in a car. He looked out the back window of his parent’s car as he saw the Grave wagon roll into his neighborhood and as the parent’s car turned down the next street the large tank tread like wheels hit the first house on the block, knocking it over and crushing the wood and glass as if it were made of paper. Light from lit torches danced out from the eye sockets of the enormous skull on the front of the wagon. The child never got to see who or what carried the torches or what happened to his house and red wagon.

 

            As the boy and his parents fled from town in their sedan green glowing mist began to rise up from the ground all around them. Pavement split and noxious fumes boiled up from the cracks in the earth. The ground beneath the car began to shake apart so the father stepped on the gas. Shrieking and howling could be heard in the distance. It could have been the victims of the wagon or the demons that must have been harbored inside of the awful machine. The family sedan rocketed down the crumbling street as fear gripped the family. The houses of Auburn Hil began to shake and sway until they toppled over, debris flew into the road causing the father to jerk the steering wheel hard to avoid the glass, wood and metal. The family car spun put of control and crashed into a tree.

 

            The child awoke to his mothers voice calling to him. As he opened his eyes he saw his frantic mother pull him out of the back seat and lift the small boy over her shoulder. She ran for the woods as thick fog and screaming filled the air. The trees swayed in the wind as it blew harder and harder but it wasn’t just the wind that made the trees seem alive, some of the trees actually started to move and come alive. The trees grew awful faces that dripped glowing green ooze as their branch arms swiped at the mother. The little boy could hear his mother scream as she ran but couldn’t do anything to help.

 

            The Mother ran through the forest and slid down a hill covered in dead grass and dried crunchy leaves. As she slid the sound of the Grave Wagon grew louder and louder until finally it stopped. The screaming and howling stopped as did any sounds associated with the Wagon’s movements. The danger sounded like it was over but the mother was too stricken with fear to move.

 

            For the rest of the night the mother and son huddled together, jumping at every rustling and noise in the forest. The sun slowly rose up over the Auburn Hill and the mother knew the danger was over. She and her son were the first two people to survive the Grave Wagon’s attack.

 

            When the military arrived they found the mother and son and rushed them to the nearest hospital, all reports, and photos showed that no sign of Auburn Hills was left. The town of Auburn Hills was now a giant empty field of black ash. No trace of the town remained.

 

            That day burned itself into the boys mind and as he grew he always thought about the Grave Wagon, where did it come from? Who made it? Why was it wiping out towns? John Pharris was the boy who escaped Auburn Hill and then became the Man who would stop the Grave Wagon once and for all. But that is a different story for a different day.