Spirit Intercom

by Sean Adami

  “I don’t know! Maybe it’s tired?” Harriet freaked out. The bee was inches above the sand. Colliding into the sand, the bee awkwardly tumbled, launching the two in opposite directions. Andrew’s body inhumed into the sand, which also clogged up his mouth. Upping his body, he squinted his eyes, but the sand partially covered up his vision. Searching for Harriet, he scurried around the bee’s body, which remained unconscious. A few feet in front of the bee laid Harriet’s buried body. Only her legs stuck out. Pulling her out of the sand, he saw her face was expressionless. Shaking her shoulders, he attempted to wake her up. He knew she wasn’t dead. No blood was present. The G-force put her out of her conscious state. Shaking her again, he saw she didn’t wake up. Deciphering on whether to pick her up, he came up to the conclusion not to since her body was too heavy. All he could see was sand. He walked forward in an attempt to journey to the rift. Above, the hot air balloon creatures prevailed in the skies. They were slowly gaining distance on Andrew. Nervous energy swept through him, causing him to run the same direction the bee had originally gone. Panting greatly, he buried each footstep into the sand. He put every ounce of energy into his muscles. His time in the Spirit World was ticking. The endeavour was almost concluded, and not knowing how much time existed worried him even more.

  On the sand he saw a decayed blue beetle. It had no life.

  Checking behind, he saw the grotesque creatures had appeared bigger, and their altitude shrunk. Running faster, he saw another dead beetle and then another. Later, a dead green deer with square hooves decomposed. Next to that was a red boar with no eyes—dead, of course. Farther into the sandy distance appeared a big pile of dead beetles, jumbled closely together. Andrew felt he was on the brink of a heart attack. The floating stingrays were disturbingly close now. One of them was approaching Andrew head-on. Scared out of his mind, he dashed to the right. The creature was almost arm distance from him. It had wavey green tentacles. These tentacles tried to touch his body. One of the tentacles oozed a green substance out of it. Andrew figured they were poisonous. The creature was right behind his tail. Another creature flew towards him from the front. He was about to be sandwiched. Dashing to his left, he escaped both of these creatures. A fat purple koala remained dead by his feet. Andrew figured this ludicrous of a sight meant he was near the rift.

  Still chasing him, the flying creatures couldn’t keep up with him. He moved too quickly. He saw a distilled yellow shine subtly sparkle through the sandy air. It had to be the rift. Getting closer, he saw huge hoards of dead creatures so tightly packed near each other that he couldn’t recognize what they looked like. Moving in jagged directions, he lost the creatures that were chasing him. The light had become defined, and the sand was less rampant. The rift could be seen. Andrew was in awe. The gigantic oval-shaped rift glistened as a portal, revealing a forest on the other side of it. It was ten times taller than Andrew. An array of lively colors outlined the portal, which also floated a foot above the sand surface. The other side of the portal portrayed green trees. Andrew magnified his vision into the rift and saw a beetle from the forest fly through the portal, reaching the desert biome that he was in. Near the rift felt warm but not hot. He stood right next to it. He attempted to put his hand through it, but the rift pushed his hand back, almost like a mirror. This time he tried walking into it, but the portal still restrained him. Looking through it, he saw another world—a world that seemed familiar to him: the north. If the beetle managed to fly through the portal from the forest and if Andrew couldn’t go against the portal current, then it wasn’t a coincidence. Something unique was going on. Andrew began processing this. According to Herb, he said that the portal arrived when his mother came into the dimension, meaning eight years ago. And if she was the first one to enter the Spirit World, then she was responsible for the making of this portal. But why? Thinking even harder, he realized the stuff going on in the portal was an inversion of the south. But why would a planet have a portal of its same planet in an inverted way? Andrew finally came up with the best realization he had ever thought of. The rift was a coding error of the Spirit World that was originally implemented when his father had his mother journey to the Spirit World. Inside of the portal was the physical world while the side he was on, of course, was the Spirit World. Only things from the physical planet of Nirvana 74 could enter the Spirit World while stuff from the Spirit World couldn’t possibly enter the physical world because that would break basic physics principles. Therefore, the beetle that went through the portal came from the physical planet of Nirvana 74. It was all making sense to him now. The rift was a bridge from the physical world to the Spirit World. The rift was just one big glitch.

  Immediately, he was pulled out of the Spirit World. He was brought back into the physical world where he was being fed with an IV. Harriet was next to him, but her eyes were still closed. Still dizzy, he asked, “Is the endeavour over?” His vision was now clear.

  He saw a red-suited guard that he’d never seen before in front of him. The man said, “No, the endeavour is not over.” No one else was in the black room.

  Andrew said, “Then why am I here? Who are you?”

  The man punched Andrew in the face. His right eye received a cut under his eyelid. The cut bled like an untangling spool of string. The man said, “I’m Rick. And Wallace told me that you haven’t done shit so far.” Rick slapped his face.

  Andrew was frightened. He was strained in the contrivance, so he couldn’t fight back. Rick said, “You haven’t given me my package yet, and you’ve been sitting on a chair the past week! Wallace is furious with you.”

  Andrew panicked. “Sorry! Just tell him that Spirit Intercom forced me to do a one-week experiment with their machine. He’ll understand.”

  “Are you kidding me!” Rick yelled. “He’s been watching you through your camera for the past week. You haven’t done anything that he said so far, and he told me to get you back into order. You owe me my package, too. Where is it?”

  Andrew remembered it was in his Sporksterbeale. He left the composition book in there also. “It’s in my car.”

  “Then move your ass and give it to me! I don’t have all day.”

  “I can’t though,” Andrew said. “I can’t have my father spot me. He’ll get suspicious and catch both of us.”

  Rick said, “Well then, I can always tell him about the portal that you just witnessed.”

  Andrew took a second to think and said, “Here, how about I make you a deal? If I go get your package, you won’t speak about the portal I saw. Okay?” He wanted no one to know the portal, especially his father since suspicion would arise.

  Rick grabbed him by the collar. “Deal. But you better do it quickly. As in now!” He grabbed Andrew up by the collar and threw him to the ground. The IV disconnected from his arm. Andrew was strongly surprised by his physicality. “Don’t let your father see you, and don’t tell him anything. If you do, I’ll kill you.” Andrew nodded spasmodically.

  Before he left, Andrew asked, “Sorry, but how much time do I have left for the endeavour?

  Rick said, “You have one hour, so you better get on moving!” Andrew left the black room. Once again, he was surrounded by infinite hallways. He didn’t know where each hallway led to. He made a left and sprinted forward. Each minute wasted here was a minute wasted in the Spirit World. Wanting to tell his mother of the rift, he had to get this “package” deal done with as quickly as he could. As he was running, he saw a meandering lab researcher.

  Approaching him, Andrew asked, “Sorry, but do you know where my car is located?”

  The researcher said, “You’re Andrew, aren’t you! Wow. How is the endeavour going?”

  “Good, good. So do you know where my car is?” Andrew didn’t want too much attention to spark.

  “Yes, Jr. Rutano. Walk down the rest of the hallway, and the elevator will be at the corner. Go to level 1, and just make your way to the entrance. Ask one of the security guards to bring your car over, and they’ll be m
ore than happy to escort your car to you.”

  “Great, great. Do you know where my father is too?”

  The researcher nodded and said, “Yes, he’s in his quarters managing the labs. You know, the usual.” He laughed. “You get it, don’t you?”

  Andrew laughed along and thanked him. Walking the opposite direction of the researcher, Andrew resumed his running. He reached the elevator, and thankfully, no one was in the elevator either. Pressing level 1, he descended 80 floors. Making it to the main complex, he looked down and walked to the entrance in a hope that nobody would notice him. Remarkably, he wasn’t noticed, that is, until he arrived at the entrance. A security guard said, “Look, it’s Andrew!” A bunch of them approached him and applauded. Andrew grew extremely uncomfortable.

  “Hey,” Andrew expressed. “ Could you guys possibly pull in my car for me? I forgot something in it.”

  “Of course,” a yellow-suited security guard stated. “I’ll bring it over.” He ran to the left side of the road and entered a different complex—probably only a complex reserved for security.

  While Andrew waited, a security guard asked, “Where’s your father at?” Andrew wanted to avoid talking, but he had to respond at the very least.

  “He’s just at his office doing lab stuff,” he said. “Work. You guys understand work. Don’t we all?” The other security guards chuckled.

  His Sporksterbeale arrived. He thought, thank god. He thanked the yellow-suited guard and entered his car. He found the box in the backseat and the composition book as well. Picking up the box, he decided to bring the book just in case. “Alright, that’s all I needed. Thanks men.”

  They simultaneously said, “No problem.”

  One said, “Whatever we can do we do.” Andrew appreciated their versatility. Keen for time, he entered back into the building, entered the elevator, and entered the hallway on floor 80. Running down the hallway with two things in his hands, he arrived at the black room door. He could not pass through. He needed the picture of Robert’s eye. Knocking on the door, he pleaded for Rick to open it. He now had less than an hour in the Spirit World. Rick opened the door.

  “Have the package?” Rick questioned. Andrew nodded. Rick let him into the black room. Andrew handed the box to him.

  “What’s even in it?” Andrew asked.

  “Shut the fuck up. Get back into the contrivance. You better get Kurt’s adoration soon, buddy. We need those lock combos ASAP!”

  “Who’s Kurt again?”

  “The lead security supervisor here. Geesh, you really don’t know any of the guard’s names here, right?” Seeing the book Andrew was carrying, he said, “Hand me that book.” Andrew gave it to him. “Have you said ‘hi’ to any of the guards yet?”

  “Yes.”

  “By their name?”

  “No.”

  Rick said, “Idiot! You’re so behind on your shit. Better get working on it. Time is ticking.” Andrew strapped the Spirit Emissary around his head. He saw Harriet remained unconscious. His IV rested on the floor.

  Andrew said, “I think I need my IV. Could you get a nurse to insert it in for me?”

  “Oh for crying out loud!” Rick announced. “You don’t need no IV for 45 minutes.” He picked up the IV from the floor. “If you want it so bad, I can take care of it for you.” Holding the needle, he forcefully jabbed it deep into his vein.

  “Aw shit!” Andrew expressed. Blood gushed around his wrist.

  Rick said, “Now you’ll maybe shut up for once. Again, do your shit, and less harm will come your way.” He turned back on the interdimensional communicator. Andrew was sent back to an unconscious state.

  Waking up on the sand floor, he coughed out some sand. The portal was above his head. His first thought: let mother know . He got up and analyzed what was in the portal for another time. Noticing a small gray blob behind the trees, he tried getting closer to it, but the portal barricaded him. The blob drew nearer towards him. It wasn’t a blob anymore. It was the rhino—the same rhino that had no eyes, ears, or mouth. Attracted to the portal, the rhino was only a few feet from him. Andrew thought, can this thing hear me? The rhino went through the portal and stood on the sand floor. The purple wedge on its forehead was vibrating softly. Andrew without thought grabbed its back and hopped on top of it. The creature made no noise or movement. Pointing the opposite direction that he had travelled to get to the rift, he said, “That way.”

  The rhino took off, speeding through the terrain. It moved quicker than a dopamine bee. Considering that it took 24 hours to get to the north for a bee, Andrew doubted the rhino could reach there in a span of 45 minutes. It was mathematically impossible. But he really wanted to tell his mother about the rift. Or at least say goodbye to her. While the rhino sprinted, Andrew saw Harriet’s body and the unconscious bee. He yelled, “Stop.” The rhino halted.

  Jumping off its back, he flipped over Harriet’s body. Her face still remained expressionless. Shaking her shoulders, he attempted to wake her up again. To his surprise, he saw her eyes slowly prop open. She grew startled and retaliated against Andrew. Coughing indisputably, she said, “Where are we?”

  “We crashed earlier. I ended up finding the rift.”

  “Really? Sweet. Can I check it out too?”

  Andrew agreed. Assisting her body up, he said, “Get on the rhino and we’ll get there.”

  She looked behind him. “What rhino? I don’t see anything but the bee.”

  Andrew turned around and saw the rhino had disappeared. Andrew castigated himself. He was absurdly confused. “I literally rode it to get here. Where’d it go?”

  Harriet asked, “Andrew, is it one of your visions again?”

  “No, it’s not! This can’t be happening for a second time. It was here physically. How did it leave so fast?”

  She said, “I have no idea, but that’s fine. We can just walk.”

  Giving up on this mystery, he said, “Fine.” He began walking forward. Harriet followed. No flying creatures were in sight.

  “Anyway, where are those monsters that were attacking us?”

  “They’re gone.” After walking, they finally made it to the rift. She was in awe. She studied the colors on the outside of the portal.

  Harriet said, “This is a marvel—”

  “Of enchantment,” Andrew completed. “I get it. Look, we’re going to be taken out of the Spirit World in any minute, so adore it the best you can.”

  She asked, “And why is that?”

  He said, “Because the endeavour is going to end soon.”

  Andrew and Harriet grew unconscious. The endeavour had ended.

  Part THREE:

  Solution

  CHAPTER 17:

  Could the rhino hear him?

  Were Andrew and the rhino too akin?

  Endeavour was over,

  But Andrew’s endeavour wasn’t over, moreover.

  Permanently removed from the Spirit World, Andrew woke up in a world of physicality. Waving his hands around in disorientation, he peeked open his eyes. It was his grinning father, eyebrows raised. To his left was Marco, flickering his eyes with slight jubilance. Behind these two was a group of 20 lab researchers, smiling as well. Rufus was in the back. Supporting his shoulders up, Andrew looked at Harriet, who was awake. Robert said, “Congratulations, Andrew! Your endeavour was a complete success! We’re so proud of the two of you.” The researcher group clapped unanimously.

  Andrew didn’t pay attention to what he said. He was attempting to hold back the anger towards his father. Now wasn’t the time to appear troubled. It was important to be nimble out of all other times. Andrew said, “Thanks! That’s great to hear.” Andrew assimilated into their smiles. Harriet smiled at Andrew. She said something affirmative too. Bradford stood in the lab researcher group, but he wasn’t smiling. He had a blank face.

  Robert said, “We collected great data from your endeavour. We dictated that Nirvana 74 is, indeed, habitable for our guests. Moving forward, we will always r
ecognize your hard and dedicated work that you have helped us with. We will always recognize Harriet for her work likewise.”

  Stepping forward, Marco added, “Most definitely. Andrew and Harriet have done a spectacular job here.” Andrew felt Marco said nothing with that statement. There was no originality.

  Robert said, “We’ll get you guys situated back again. I’m sure you both are tired of the same IV serum you’ve been supplied with the past week. We are serving parmesan pasta with nurtured meatballs. Pummeled casseroles and steamed carrots are served on the side.”

  “Nurtured meatballs? What are those?” Harriet asked.

  Intentionally releasing a short laugh, Robert said, “You’ll understand what that means once you are given your meal. So I suggest that you two temporarily take a break from this room and head on over to the cafeteria.”

  Harriet said, “That sounds great.”

  Robert said, “Researchers, you are dismissed. And so are security guards.”

  She asked, “Wanna eat something, Andrew?”

  Andrew stared at the while tiles, noticing the meticulous craftsmanship. “Sure, I’ll come.” Before Andrew raised himself out of the chair, Robert held his shoulder.

  Robert said, “If I could have a minute before you headed off, I’d really appreciate it.” Andrew looked at his taut lower eyelid and agreed. Harriet departed out of the room. Marco followed behind her. There was no one but just Andrew and his father in the black room. Andrew slightly felt apprehensive. “I appreciate you taking the time to explore this world of mine. I know that it was not easy, and I wanted to thank you personally one-on-one. I love you, son, and I’m sorry if some of my decisions upset you. Just know that in the long run they’ll benefit you.”