The Hallucigenia Project

by Darren Kasenkow

  A restless chatter was beginning to grow. Papers rustled and an undercurrent of electricity rippled across the tables.

  “Tonight,” Klementina continued, “there’s the choice to enjoy a drink, indulge in a discussion or two and head back to the life you already live, or turn your back on everything you’ve known and bring a true sense of meaning to what’s left of your time here on Earth. There’s something very big on its way and I promise you, things will never be the same.”

  Soft electronic sound scapes began to float through the room. She moved across the stage and disappeared into a side door, leaving John to look across the table at Joey as the mood around him intensified.

  “I gotta ask,” John began, “are you still just as confused as I am?”

  “Nah not really,” Joey responded with his thick New York accent. “I figured tonight was gonna be more of a meet and greet. If anything it’s got me curious for more. You gonna sign?”

  John looked down at the disclosure agreement and wondered what he was supposed to do. He sure as hell didn’t need a lawsuit, and so far the reason why he was there hadn’t even been made clear.

  “Up in the air to be honest,” he said.

  “A year and a half ago I’d never have come to something like this,” Joey admitted, “cause back then life was a lot different. Now? Shit, now I’m ready to join something that’s actually gonna make a difference. I want off this crazy train called life, you know what I’m sayin’?”

  “Maybe,” John sighed, “but it’d be nice to find out a little more.”

  “Situation like this, you gotta listen to what your heart’s telling ya. Look, I don’t know you and all that, but people that aren’t looking to shake things up don’t wind up at something like this.” He finished what was left in his glass and dumped it down on the table. “I gotta be honest and say I’m here cause I’m looking for something more than day after day of crap, and I’m guessing you’re the same.”

  John thought of the events that had led him to this moment. He couldn’t be sure that he was looking for anything other than what he was getting paid for, but Joey had managed to describe the life he’d been living lately. It was definitely a case of day after day of crap, and things probably weren’t in a position to get any better in a hurry. If it wasn’t for Bobbie, he knew, the temptation to avoid another day with an endless sleep would soon become a song too beautiful to ignore.

  He looked around the room and saw that a handful of guests were beginning to sign their documents, and when he turned back to the table Joey was smiling as though the punch line to a joke had just made sense as he reached down, grabbed the pen and tapped it against the side of his temple.

  “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking these last few months,” he revealed. “A lot of crazy things put me here tonight. Don’t worry, I’m not gonna ruin ya night by spilling my guts as though I’m the only guy in the world with some fucking problems, but what I’m getting at is this pen here is a key to unlock a new reality.” He held it out as though for inspection, twisting it slowly in his fingers. “If not, I don’t know if I can wake up with respect for the world anymore.”

  With a smooth shift of his wrist he brought it down onto the paper and signed his name, then looked across to John as though daring him to do the same. The soft and haunting tones of whale songs accompanied swirling synthesizers as the candle on their table finally extinguished with one last flare. John quickly began to weigh up his options but found his thoughts scattered and unsure. He was here because he was paid to be, and signing a piece of paper that pretty much said he wanted to join whatever it was they were offering wasn’t exactly part of the deal. If he didn’t sign it though, what then? Well, at least he’d managed to get away from the bombshell that was his life for a few days.

  Quietly yet tantalizingly, another thought was emerging and he wasn’t so sure he was comfortable with it. For some strange reason he was actually interested in finding out more. Maybe it was the way Klementina hinted at something profound to be learned, or maybe it was the desire to slip further into a world that didn’t know him or his demons. Whatever it was he could work out later, so he took a deep breath, picked up the pen and before he had a chance to second guess scribbled his name on the agreement.

  “I guess we both have something to put behind us,” Joey declared.

  “Actually Joey,” John replied, “you might be right more than you know.”

  “Here’s to signing up for a sense of purpose,” he said as he refilled his glass and lifted it in salute, “whatever the purpose turns out to be.”

  The tall man with the poker face began shuffling through the tables once again, quietly retrieving the paperwork as though in a trance. When he came to their table to collect his booty it became strangely evident that half of his left ear was missing, and with papers in hand he continued his shuffle to the back of the room.

  Following his movements with curiosity, John soon noticed someone talking with the host, Sara. The guy seemed pretty young and the way he was standing with a finger pointed into her face seemed to suggest some sort of argument was taking place, but from where he was sitting it was hard to tell. Considering the distance and the overhead music he couldn’t hear much, so figured it was probably a casino patron with a few too many under the belt working hard on getting kicked out. Whatever was happening, it wasn’t his business.

  He turned back to the table and poured another glass of wine when Klementina suddenly returned to the stage, triggering another round of soft applause. There was a new level of excitement in the room as she stepped closer to the microphone.

  “Now that the formalities are complete it’s time to take a step closer to the edge of the abyss. For those of you who chose not to sign, rest assured your decision holds our deepest respect. Because we ask that you walk away from the life you know we understand not everybody is going to want to make such a jarring change. To those people that did sign, you’re going to find that things are about to move very quickly. Time is literally running out, and that means inductions will start tomorrow. If you can, you need to…”

  Her sentence was cut short with a gunshot that suddenly pierced the air, followed by another two cracks that rattled the wine glasses and shook the room. John jumped to his feet and was surprised to see Joey do the same as he turned and saw Sara collapse down onto the floor, her head catching the full weight of the fall.

  The guy he’d seen just moments before now aimed the gun towards the stage with an extended right arm and began marching forward. Screams erupted and chairs toppled as guests desperately scrambled out of the line of fire. Another two gunshots were squeezed off and John instinctively turned to the stage where Klementina dropped to her knees. From the corner of his eye he could see Joey beginning to crouch behind the table, and a split second later a gun appeared from the back of his waist and he began returning fire. The room erupted into complete chaos.

  With an instant and overwhelming rush of adrenaline he ran up to the stage and crouched down beside Klementina. Blood was already beginning to seep from a hole in the top of her shoulder, dripping through the golden shawl and her shaking fingers down onto the stage floor. As quickly as he could he grabbed her hips and slid her along her back to remove her from the line of fire as best he could, then stole a glance over his shoulder. Amongst overturned tables the shooter was now only steps away from the stage. Instinct kicked in again and he reached down to his waist for the cold metal of his gun, but of course it wasn’t there.

  His mind raced. He had no method of defence, and no way to attack. The only action he could think of was to run straight for the maniac and try to confuse him for a split second, so that’s what he did.

  A strange thumping sound echoed along the inside of his skull as he leapt from the stage and charged at the gunman. His on the spot plan must have worked, because he could see the shooter’s eyes open wide with surprise before shifting his aim and firing off another round. The bullet whisked by so close John co
uld hear the metal piercing through the air. He was almost on him, almost able to grab the bastard by the neck, snap his arm behind his back and rip the gun from his hands, but another shot shook the room and instantly the shooter’s face ripped apart from the centre. His frame tried to take a final step forward but his body jerked and collapsed onto the floor, legs thrashing as a final breath left dark red bubbles to break free from what was left of his mouth.

  John came to a grinding halt and looked down at the bone and flesh mess and knew death had come quickly. Crouched just beyond the fresh corpse, Joey lowered his weapon and lifted himself from his knees. With a silent nod he made it clear that he would secure the room so that John could head back to their host. Everyone else it seemed were in the process of squeezing their way through the doorway that led to the stairs, yelling at the first ones through to hurry up.

  John swept his eyes across the room to make sure there were no more guns pointed his way and rushed back to the stage where Klementina had her left hand pressed tight against the wound in her shoulder. A sheen of sweat glistened across her face as she winced and struggled to slow the blood that was gushing through her fingers.

  “What the fuck…” she managed through gritted teeth.

  “It’ll be better if you lay down,” John promised as he stripped off his shirt in an attempt to stem the flow, revealing a white singlet that was quickly smeared with fresh blood as he got to work. “Try to keep up the pressure.”

  Already the colour was beginning to drain from her face and her hands were beginning to shake. “Not exactly how I thought the night would end,” she stammered.

  “You make one hell of an impression,” John said with a false sense of calm, “I’ll give you that.”

  He turned and looked back across the room. It was almost empty now, except for Joey who stood looking down at the body on the floor and the tall poker faced man who was doing his best to calm down a hysterical Sara. Joey looked up from the mess by his feet and called out to John.

  “This guy’s toast. I don’t think we have to worry about anyone else, I reckon he was on his own.”

  “Just keep an eye on that elevator,” John called back.

  “I’ve got it covered, but you need to get her outta here.”

  John glanced back down at Klementina and saw that blood was already beginning to leak through the shirt he’d pressed against the wound. He began to reach down to try to lift her to her feet when the door by the edge of the stage flew open, sending an instant surge of adrenaline across his muscles as he prepared for another spurt of violence. He shifted his weight so that he covered Klementina as best he could and looked up. For a split second he thought his eyes were playing tricks on him, because it wasn’t a lunatic with a gun that burst from the side room but a woman in a red dress with fear etched across her soft features. John froze as realization set in. Holy shit, it’s Rebecca.

  She bounded across the stage and fell to her knees, gently wiping the blood from Klementina’s cheeks.

  “There’s an ambulance on the way,” Rebecca said as calmly as she could. “Team one have been notified.” Her eyes widened at the soaking shirt. “Oh god, we need to stop this bleeding.”

  Klementina managed to shake her head slightly. “It looks bad and hurts like a bitch, but I won’t be crossing over tonight.” Her breathing was becoming laboured. “You need to see, see if it was him.”

  “First we need to…”

  “Please Bec,” Klementina interrupted with a wince, “I need to know. It’s important.”

  “Okay, hold tight.”

  Rebecca took a moment to peer at John with obvious curiosity then stepped away from the stage and headed for Joey and the body. He watched as she leaned down for a close examination of what was left of the shooter’s face. Unsure of what exactly was happening, Joey could only stand there with gun in hand as she reached down and lifted the dead man’s shirt just enough to expose the bottom of his stomach, revealing a tattoo that marked his abdomen and part of his waist.

  John was suddenly aware of how bizarre the moment had become, as the soft whale songs that floated from the speakers became an unlikely soundtrack for the strange scene that was playing out. There was no time to contemplate the surrealism though. When he looked back down at Klementina’s shoulder he could see the blood flow was still strong enough that every minute moving forward was now an increasingly dangerous one.

  “I want you to take a few deep breaths,” he said with a tone of assurance, “and wrap your arm across my shoulder. Then together we’re going to stand up and get you out of here.”

  “I’ll do my best,” Klementina stammered.

  Rebecca ran back to her side and grabbed her hand.

  “It’s him, no doubt about it,” she said with a solemn sigh.

  “I guess a good heart isn’t enough sometimes,” Klementina replied as she struggled to reach an arm around John’s neck. Tears were beginning to pool along the base of her eyes, maybe from the pain, maybe from something else.

  “I’ll stay here and deal with the cops, then meet you at the hospital.” Rebecca rubbed Klementina’s hand then leaned forward and softly kissed her blood smeared forehead. “You’re one tough cookie, you know that babe?”

  “I think I pissed my pants,” Klementina groaned while attempting a weak smile. “Not exactly my proudest moment, that’s for sure.”

  Rebecca turned to John with sudden determination. “Please, you need to get her out of here, now.”

  John opened his mouth but figured there was nothing more to be said. As he began to lift Klementina he realized she had little to no strength left, so he reached down and slid an arm beneath her legs and back and lifted her from the ground. She cried out at the sudden movement but managed to squeeze her grip around his shoulders a little tighter. Once he’d balanced her weight he stepped from the stage and headed towards the elevator. Joey kicked a chair out of the way as they passed.

  “Let’s hope we can chat again sometime,” he said, “but under better circumstances.”

  “You saved a few lives tonight,” John offered.

  “And brought an end to one,” Joey replied softly as he looked down at the bleeding corpse by his feet.

  Although he hardly knew the guy, John understood the strange rush of confused emotions that came with ending a life. They could be subtle at first, even deceptively insignificant for the first few minutes or hours, but sooner or later reality came hitting home with a vengeance.

  The warmth of Klementina’s blood was beginning to spread across his chest, so with muscles in his arms clenched tight he rushed to the elevator and slammed the button. The man consoling a still sobbing Sara stepped over and handed him a swipe card.

  “Take this,” he insisted with a gravelly deep voice. “It will give you access to the service floor. You can get out to the street without having to use the front entrance.”

  John awkwardly grabbed the card as the doors slid open. Thankfully the elevator was empty and so rushed inside, activated the card and frantically punched the button for the service floor with a blood soaked finger. Now they were on their way.

  When the elevator doors slid back open Klementina was beginning to shake with the shock that was setting in. Before them was a large room with shelving either side that held various cleaning chemicals and utensils and a line of hampers overflowing with dirty linen. Overhead one of the lights flickered on an off while several uniformed staff members suddenly stopped what they were doing to stare at the dishevelled intruders.

  “Which way to the street?” John barked.

  With mouth open in horror the young girl closest to them pointed to a wide doorway at the far wall. He adjusted his hold and staggered past the surprised workers, heart racing and lungs demanding more air. The doorway revealed a slightly angled ramp that increased the pressure on his legs with every step.

  When he reached the top he used his elbow to depress a large green button and waited anxiously for the steel door to slowly ris
e. The sound of wailing sirens came rushing in with the hot night air and as he stepped out onto the concrete he figured they were at a side entrance to the casino considering the street was narrow and lined with bins and cardboard boxes.

  “How you doing there Klementina,” he managed between long gasps, “you still with me?”

  “I’m cold,” she replied through clenched teeth.

  “We’re nearly there so I need you to hang on and keep those eyes open okay?”

  Disorientated and feeling the pressing weight of every second, he had no choice but to pick a direction and start running as best as his legs could accommodate. Up ahead he could see traffic rushing past and the reflection of blue and red lights swirling against glass fronts. His throat was dry and lungs were burning when he finally reached the main thoroughfare where chaos was threatening to erupt.

  To the right, where the entrance to the casino pulsed and swirled with countless electric colours, lay a small convoy of parked police cars that blocked nearly half of the traffic filled road. From his position on the corner he could see uniformed officers jumping from their vehicles to rush into the complex with hands poised ready to draw their weapons, while nestled in the middle of the road with red lights spinning an ambulance sat at the ready.

  A large crowd was already beginning to spill out onto the street as he began to move. They were quick to jump out of his way when they spotted the blood that was smeared across his face and chest, choosing to stare with morbid fascination rather than offer any sort of assistance. John didn’t care though because he sure as hell didn’t need anything breaking his momentum. Instead he weaved his way through the mass of onlookers, ignoring the gasps and questions of what happened, and stumbled to the rear of the ambulance where the doors were already open.