The World of Hope

by Parker Fentress

  They got into the car, slowly and in pain, and Tommy pressed the button, holding his thumb down on the fingerprint sensor.

  The bright blue car vibrated on.

  Sam and I still stood on the side of the hotel. I became worried that perhaps Tommy had been hurt, and that now Anthony had to make sure he didn’t suffer.

  “Do you hear that,” I said.

  Thankfully, after having waited and sweating through my shirt, the blue car came from the lower boundaries of the hotel.

  The car rumbled to a stop, and finally, the cool air could be felt again. Sam opened the door,

  stepping in front of me to get in with force.

  Tommy didn’t look back, he stared out into the streets.

  “Which way?” he asked.

  Sam replied, “you just have to go drive east, as long as we get to the Jersey River, I can see as to where we need to go.”

  “That isn’t much help, but whatever,” Tommy said negatively.

  He began to drive, and I tried to keep to myself.

  I couldn’t help but to say, “Tommy, what is wrong with you? What happened? You’ve been quiet this whole time, won't tell Anthony anything, you act as if nothing ever happened. You guys took forever.”

  “Nothing happened, Luis, I am fine, seriously. I just want this to be over. I am so tired of being worried, I am so tired of worrying. I am stressed, I am drained, I did nothing to try to stop them down there. They kicked me, I really felt nothing. I am totally fine,” he said and sighed.

  “I worry too you know? We all need to be aware of how we feel, we are all alone here. I am afraid, that if we start feeling the drag of it all, we are all going down it. Let dreams be dreams, but don’t let your feelings prevent you from continuing this. We don’t need to do anything, we could waste away, let the sources deplete more, let Unity lose all hope of everything, send our world into an anarchy. I am here, because of what I have experienced, not because I feel that it is necessary to save the world. I asked The Councilor to let me go back after helping him, and he sent me home. This is home right now, and I will let Earth be a dream, but for now, I am living in the present, and we are doing this.” Anthony said.

  There was silence for a moment.

  “I know I know. I don’t know how anyone is supposed to get through this without going crazy. I am not old enough to start experiencing what someone experiences in a corrupt society. I don’t know how to handle this,” Tommy said.

  Anthony turned around and looked back at me and Sam, “We are here to do one thing, I only need one person to fix this situation, and to bring us back to normality. I just need Kolash, we can take a day or two to rest at Sam’s grandmother's house, but after that, we need to go to Dunshop. We have no time to waste, sitting around taking valium like nothing is going on. They will try to break us apart, there is no need to stress yet.”

  There was silence again. Driving through the big city was unlike anything I had ever experienced. Again, the emptiness, not a single car, not a single person. It was as if the whole world was empty, and we were the last to be in it.

  Tommy stopped the car right at the edge of the cookie cutter townhouses. Litter covered the street. This is the first time I had ever seen streets dirty on KS, this is how I knew the last of their presence had left the world.

  The total control used to infuse the people of KS, but now it is Unity, preventing the people here from knowing the truth.

  Tommy said, “I think guys, this is where we really begin our journey. I highly doubt that what we see out there, will be normal.”

  I laughed to myself, knowing what could be out there is already dark and dim, and they probably didn’t already figure. They don’t know what Dunshop was, or how this would go, and frankly, I didn’t either.

  Tommy began driving again and exiting the city, from the thick dense towering structures to almost complete openness.

  Like the windows were open, I imagined the thin, oxygen less air floating through my hair, like a daydream, it would never be the same.

  Time flickered by like it had only been days since I had returned. Three people, she, him, and he, we were tired.

  Pulling up on a lone house, dark grey wood, rotted, lights coming through the crooked windows, it was windy and dry.

  Sam looked out and then back at me, “I wonder if she is still there. Back home, she lives in a real neighborhood, her house is pretty.”

  She didn’t want to go in.

  I remarked, “we have to check it out, how old is your grandma anyway?”

  “She’s about seventy, I think. I’m not really sure if I am being completely honest,” Sam replied.

  We came to a stop, and the car lowered to the ground. Stepping out, I dropped into the yellow sand, like a pillow floor I sunk in.

  Like muck, every step I made toward the house just kind of stuck and sunk, stuck and sunk.

  Anthony said, “we need to be careful. We have to remember we don’t know what any of this is, it could be like a mirage. We can’t let ourselves go and miss something and all get killed, we’ll let Sam go up to the door, chances are her grandma will remember her better than she will have a moment comprehending why we are here with her.”

  Sam nodded her head, as she moved her hair out of her face.

  She walked through the sand, up the creaky old stairs. With her hands on the edges of the railings, she slid across the hot surface burning her hands little by little.

  She knocked, one, two, three times, “Grandma! Are you home? It's Samantha!” she yelled. She grabbed hold of the door handle and was surprised when the door opened.

  We all wrapped around her, as we slowly inched into the bright house. Like purity, a pure misty cloud in the sky, we entered the frightening home. Like entering a new dimension, entering into the facade that the old rotted building put off, instead inside, perfect like KS. This was not her grandma. It was a copy of what she used to be.

  Sam with ignorance, fooled just like they once did to me with my parents. We walked through the silver painted hall, and into the kitchen. Pill bottles lined the counter, all the same, bright red with a happy cartooned face, no letters, just frightening. On the couch sat her grandma, and Sam immediately became distraught. I could see the stress and the overwhelming feeling that that sunk her face.

  The old gentle woman, stood up, and turned around with a moment of silence, and in a bright optimistic way smiling she said, “hi Samantha! It is so nice to see you!"

  16

  The resemblance of Samantha and her grandma’s features were distinct. Her grandma came in and hugged her ever so softly.

  “Why’d you come here darlin?” Her grandma asked.

  “We are in trouble, dad was… he passed” Sam almost said killed. “There is a lot to the story, we are not really sure what happened to him, whether he died or is still out there, but we came here hoping you had space for us.”

  Her grandma replied, “I aint Grandma Mae for nothing honey if I aint got space!” She said over pronunciating.

  Sam smiled, and went in to hug Mae again. I felt reassured that we were safe here, but I looked over at the strange red bottles wondering if perhaps this was another facade put on by Unity, a parallel that the Councilor did to me.

  I looked over at Anthony, and whispered, “What is up with those on her counter? It seems like, Sam talks to her, and she only responds buy a moment later. It is so awkward.”

  The resemblance of Samantha and her grandma’s features were distinct. Her grandma came in and hugged her ever so softly.

  “Why’d you come here darlin?” her grandma asked.

  “We are in trouble, Dad was… he passed,” Sam almost said the word killed.

  Sam continued, “there is a lot to the story, we are not really sure what happened to him, whether he died or is still out there, but we came here hoping you had space for us.”

  Her grandma replied over pronunciating every single word, “I ain’t Grandma Mae for nothing honey if I ain’
t got space!”

  Sam smiled, and went in to hug Mae again. I felt reassured that we were safe here, but I looked over at the strange red bottles wondering if perhaps this was another facade put on by Unity, a parallel that The Councilor did to me.

  I looked over at Anthony, and whispered, “what is up with those bottles on Mae’s counter? It seems like when Sam talks to her, she waits a few moments before responding. It is so awkward.”

  Anthony replied, turning around looking up and down the walls, “it is strange that out here in the middle of nowhere, as if on the edge of a cliff, that they would put this wretched looking house here, with an interior as bright as heaven. Then there is little old Grandma Mae over here, all doped up on god knows what. It’s not as if she ever leaves this place, so I wonder who really lives here.”

  I remarked, “I have that feeling. You know, one of those instincts that we shouldn’t stay here long enough to find out.”

  Sam swayed over to us, gravitating like a magnet, “guys, this is my Grandma Mae, but just call her Mae. She says it makes her feel younger.”

  Sam smiled over vivaciously as if she was trying to signal that something was wrong but to go with it anyway.

  Mae began to speak, “Sam told me all I needed to know, it is so sad that her daddy is missing, I think we all just need to sit down and relax for a little bit and go from there. I’d hate for us to all get so emotional before jumping to conclusions.”

  We all nodded, Sam looked over at the counter tops again.

  “Why don’t you all get settled in. There are several rooms down that hall there. I am so sorry, they are all quite a mess. I don’t really get around and do much,” Mae said.

  I replied, “It is not a problem at all, I think we will be just fine.”

  Sam motioned for Anthony and Tommy and I to follow her down the old porcelain halls.

  Sam spoke quiet, quick and concerned, “this is so strange. My grandma Mae would never be so hyperactive, she’s lying to us! I don’t know who that is, but it is no family member of mine. I think we need to be careful. Look around guys! What is this place, I don’t know why I thought even going in was a good idea! And the pill bottles? She was so healthy, there is no need for all the pills. She said the “doctor” brings them to her every afternoon to keep her stable.”

  Tommy quickly said, “I saw this at a friend’s house a week ago. His mom was on these red pills, they call them Bonkb63s, they call them stabilizers for short. My friend said that his mom’s doctor told her she had to take a bottle a day to stay stable, and that at a certain age, they are like vitamins to the people who take them.”

  I replied, “honestly, this is some weird brainwashing shit.”

  We turned into the first room, Tommy sat his things down, and then Sam moved to the next room and then Anthony to the other.

  “Well I guess we can share a room, I don’t mind anyway. Frankly I’d rather share a room than be alone,” I said.

  “Yeah, I am so tired man, all that running, was exhausting.” Tommy sighed and threw himself onto the plush bed.

  “Look how dirty this room is,” he said sarcastically.

  I couldn’t help but laugh.

  “I know right. She’s nuts,” I said.

  I thought to myself about all the crazy people there are here in this one house.

  “I barely know who this Grandma Mae is, but I don't trust her. I know Tommy is okay, he is just a little fucked up,” I thought.

  I wanted to clear the air, “Tommy, did anything happen when you were down in that garage?” I asked.

  “No. No, why?” he said boldly.

  “It’s just you didn’t seem yourself, Anthony said you were beat up, but you didn’t seem to be in pain, but it seems like you should’ve been. He said he saw you get the shit beat out of you Tommy, and I just want to make sure you are okay,” I said.

  He replied, “I am fine Luis. Seriously, I am sure you’ve had worse done to you, or is it all of a sudden you care?”

  “I don't know why you are getting so agitated man, I am just concerned. You are my friend and a lot has happened, I just choose to ignore everything that has happened, I don't try to use it like a shield of armor as if I haven’t suffered and still continue to do so,” I said before asking him to lift up his shirt.

  He looked at me for a second.

  “Fine,” he said.

  He lifted up his pale blue shirt, and like a painting of dark pastel clouds, he had bruises all over his sides, and dark red marks on his chest.

  “Jesus Christ Tommy, you should’ve said something. That has to hurt! Let me see if I can find some cream to put on that, I don't need you dying because you choose to ignore being injured,” I said angerly.

  Tommy finally accepted help, “okay, sure. I’ll just lay here until you get back.”

  I walked down the hall, and figured I’d first investigate Mae. She seems so warm, yet so cold. I walked down the pretty hallway, and on the couch there she sat. She didn’t move, she just sat there. There was no sound, no television or movie playing, she was just there.

  “Mae?” I asked, trying to get her attention.

  She didn’t even move.

  I said it again louder, “Mae?”

  Nothing. I walked up to her and tapped her on the shoulder, “Mae?”

  She was startled.

  “What? What? Oh dear. Which one are you?” she said loud and sort of angrily, but then confused me with a smile.

  “I am Luis. I met your granddaughter, Sam, at Toodles,” I said.

  “Oh yes, she has told me so many great things about you Luis. You are such a darling. What’s up?” she asked me concerned.

  I kind of smiled trying to match the vibe she gave off, “well, my friend, the one with the blond hair is in my room, and he has some cuts and bruises and I was wondering if you had any antiseptic cream I could borrow?”

  “Oh? In your room! Let me take a look in your room,” she said sarcastically.

  “No, No. That won’t be necessary. I can just give it to him, he will be fine,” I said.

  Mae looked at me strangely.

  “Okay, it is up in my medicine cabinet, on the right side of my sink,” she said.

  I replied, “Thank you, it is just at the end of the hallway, right?”

  “Yes, my room is right down there,” she said still in her seated position.

  I tried to move in front of her, and she sat, with her eyes still as stone, and her breath slow as honey.

  “What the fuck,” I said under my breath before I left for the bathroom.

  Her room was fairly large. Larger than any I had seen in my old neighborhood on the Base. Her bathroom had plush purple carpets, chrome walls, and everything was mirrored. I could see myself everywhere, but strangely there was not a single smudge anywhere. Like it had never been used.

  I opened her cabinet, and inside there were several unopened red bottles surely with the word Bonkb63.

  “Hmmm,” I hummed.

  I grabbed the cream, and shut the door, in one hand, a red bottle, the other a yellow tube of ointment. I got back to the bedroom, and I slid the red bottle under my bag, and hopped up onto the bed.

  Tommy seemed to be resting, but I persisted and lifted up his shirt to apply the cream. I lightly rubbed in a thick quarter into his side first with the gash that seemed to need stitching. I carefully tried not to press any harder than I needed to when he stuck his hand out.

  “Man, that really freaking hurts please be gentler,” he said.

  “Why don't you do it man?” I laughed, poking into his side lightly knowingly causing him pain.

  When I finished letting it dry, I set up and hopped on the other side of the bed getting under the covers to go to sleep. Whatever time it was, I really didn’t care, I just needed sleep.

  I hadn’t dreamt in a while, there was no more darkness, there was no more place beyond where I was conscious that I felt unsafe. The house which Mae occupied was merely a figment of her imagin
ation, she clearly didn’t realize she was being monopolized by the government, she clearly didn’t realize she was being used at her old age so that she would revolt.

  Tommy was still laying there in the bed, on his side. The bruises on his body looked painful.

  Like rivers of purple blood, it was scattering further down his chest near his abdomen. It seemed worse than the bruises.

  While he was there, I quietly got up slowly opening the old wooden door separating our room of solidarity, and the halls of fracture.

  Figuratively, the house was a castle on the top of a hill for us. It was safe, and unsafe at the same time.

  I peered around the corner, into the bright white hall. Everything seemed just as it had been the day before when we arrived. I walked out into the hall and down to the living room where Mae sat, again, motionless. It didn’t seem as if she went anywhere throughout the night.

  “Good morning Mae,” I said loudly enough to get her attention.

  “Why good morning Luis. How is your friend?” she asked.

  “He is fine, the bruises are slowly growing larger. Don't they say, things get ugly before they get better?” I ask optimistically.

  “You should really let me look at it, I’d like to make sure that if there is anything I can do for any of you I could do that. I am sure that Sarah would be very happy to see me doing such kind things for her friends,” Mae said.

  I interrupted out of concern, “Samantha you mean?”

  “I said Samantha honey, you didn’t hear me clearly? Are you doing okay? You don’t seem well at all Luis?” Mae said.

  I looked around, everything seemed fine to me. I was fine, I felt fine, and I felt clean.

  “I am fine,” I said.

  I didn't even know why I had been listening to the old freak, I knew she was nothing but harmless.

  I dazed around and quickly left the living room back to my bedroom. I closed the door, and got back into bed falling back to sleep quickly, and that is when my dream began.