by Adam Oster
Before Buddy fully registered what the sound meant, he found himself heading in its direction. He heard Ryan yelling something and once again couldn't make it out. He didn't care. His ears were ringing, but he was certain he could hear something, someone, screaming and something within him said he had to save that person.
He could no longer make out the beast through the cloud of dust and debris, but he knew he must have been directly beneath it as he arrived at the location of the screams. He made out the figure of a man sprawled out on the ground. Although Buddy's body was throbbing with pain and faltering under its exhaustion, he ran to the man's side.
Buddy leaned down near the man and saw he was completely naked. In one quick motion Buddy took off his coat, wrapped it around the man, picked him up, and ran as fast as he could. He knew the air would clear soon and his new-found nemesis, as well as whatever else had fallen from the sky, would be able to latch their ugly tentacles around him again, and it was unlikely he would be so lucky this time.
He saw the familiar lights of Maggie's Diner and ran toward them. He hoped to find somewhere safe to hide and someone to help this naked man who appeared to be seriously injured. He looked down at the man as he made his way across the street.
The man's eyes opened and looked directly at him. The man mouthed what Buddy could best guess was, “Buddy?”. His eyes closed again, but his face gained a look of comfort.
Buddy limped his way through the last few steps and reached the curb in front of Maggie's. He fell to his knees, dropped the unclothed, unidentified man on the curb, and fell backward. As his brain melted into darkness, he heard loud cheers coming from the crowd gathered in front of the diner. His eyes closed and rolled back in his head as he lost consciousness. A smile spread across his face, knowing the cheers he heard as the world went black were for him.
*******
I awake once again and again find only darkness. It's easy to arrive at the conclusion that my location hasn't changed. The pain I had felt earlier, however, seems to have left me. I sit up and hear rustling nearby.
“Hey Frank, I think he's awake!” The voice I hear is coming from somewhere very close and to the left of me. I then hear the sound of several different bodies moving toward me from different directions.
“Hey buddy,” another voice says, leaning in very close to my face, “you alright? Don't want to lose another one down here.”
I find myself incapable of responding with anything other than a small groan.
“Is it Charlie?” a third voice echoes from further away.
“Charlie, is that you? Talk to me,” the first voice sounds troubled.
I lean forward and rest my hands in my lap. Mustering as much energy as I am able, the words slowly escape my mouth. I struggle with every syllable.
“Damon. . . my name . . . is Damon.”
*******
Buddy awoke to find himself lying on the side of the road. His eyes opened and saw seven people looking at him with concern on their faces. Their faces quickly shifted into grins of relief. Maggie leaned in close and hugged Buddy, a smile forming that pushed her cheeks up into her teary eyes.
“Wuh. . . What happened?” Buddy spoke. He erupted into a fit of coughing. He turned his head to the side and spit a thick dark red concoction onto the sidewalk.
“Buddy!” Maggie exclaimed, tears falling from her eyes as though she had never expected to hear his voice again. Her smile somehow managed to grow even larger.
Buddy clutched his side as he tried to sit up. A man to the right of him held him down.
“You're going to want to stay still until the paramedics arrive. I think you may have some internal bleeding,” the man said.
Buddy let his head fall, and his eyes closed. The pain in his abdomen told him that the man was probably right. He felt a hand run through his hair.
“You're going to be alright Buddy,” he heard Maggie's voice say.
“The monster. . . what happened to it,” Buddy asked.
“We don't know, Buddy,” Maggie said, forcing herself to talk through the tears.
“It's gone, dude. There's big gross pieces of it everywhere. I don't know what you did, but it's like he ker-sploded into a billion disgusting bug pieces.”
Buddy cringed as he recognized Ryan's voice, but found himself happy knowing that he too was alright.
In the distance he heard the wail of an ambulance getting closer. It screeched to a halt as it reached his location and the paramedics rushed to his side. The last thing he heard as he succumbed to the darkness was the sound of his sister's voice.
“Just hang in there, Buddy,” she sobbed. “Just a little while longer, please.”
*******
“Damon, huh? I've spent a lot of time in these mines and I don't believe I've ever known a Damon to be down here. Are you new or something?”
“I don't know,” I respond, my memories of the past nothing more than a hazy glimmer. “Where are we?”
“You're in the mines, pal, probably about a half-mile underground,” a second voice says. “We got trapped down here during the earthquake the other night. We were doing some late night work securing some of the older tunnels. I was in charge of scheduling and, uh, I know I didn't schedule any Damons.”
“Jeremy, leave the guy alone, you saw what happened to him when we first found him.”
“Yeah,” Jeremy sounds agitated, “and I don't trust anything that can burst into flames and still be around to talk to me afterwards.”
Had I really burst into flames? Was that not a dream?
I hear a loud rumbling and the movement of rocks coming from several feet away and the cave suddenly doesn't appear to be quite as dark.
“Hey Frank, I think they got through to us!” The excited voice of Jeremy moves along with a barely visible silhouette heading toward the site of the new noise.
CHAPTER 4
“...long awaited rescue of the ten miners, we have just received word that they have, in fact, made it through..”
Buddy awoke in a white room hearing a beeping sound intermittently over the sound of the television. He turned his head to the right and found a heart monitor with cables leading from it to his chest. He heard movement coming from the left of him, turned his head, and saw Maggie, slumped over in a position that showed how she had fought sleep for as long as she could before finally giving in to the peace of slumber.
Just beyond where Maggie lay, he saw that he shared a room with another patient. He tried sitting up to get a better look at his roommate, but the entire left side of his body erupted into sharp pains, keeping him from moving further. He laid his head back just as he heard the door open. A man in a long, white lab coat walked into the room and picked up the chart at the end of Buddy's bed. He looked up from the chart and saw Buddy was awake.
“Ah, good, you're awake,” the doctor said. His voice startled Maggie and she sat up. “How are you feeling?”
“Like someone put my body into a vice-grip,” Buddy said with a dry throat.
“Oh, Buddy, thank God you're okay!” Maggie said, getting out of the chair to stand beside him.
“Your vitals are looking very promising, Mr. Jackson. You're lucky. We were certain you received a concussion, due to your unconscious state, but could find no sign of head trauma. Of course, we did have to do a little bit of patch up work on those ribs of yours. I have no doubt you'll be able to go home within a few hours. But with those rib fractures you are going to have to take it easy for a while.”
“You really had me worried there, Buddy! I can't believe you made it out alive.” Maggie held Buddy's hand.
“Don't worry about me, Mags, I'm actually feeling pretty good,” Buddy said, honestly feeling better than he had in a while. Even the sharp pain in his side was beginning to subside. “So, it wasn't a dream, huh?”
“The whole thing with the-- no.”
“Damn. What happened to that guy I found? Did he make it out alright?”
Maggie looke
d over her shoulder at the man in the other bed.
“He's stable,” the doctor said. “He's lucky you found him when you did. He doesn't appear to have any serious injuries, however, we will need to keep him here under observation for at least the next 24 hours.”
“You were amazing, Buddy. I don't think I've ever seen you like that. The way you ran back there to save that man, it was, well, it was fantastic. But if you ever do anything like that again. . .” Maggie stopped herself mid-sentence. Slowly, Maggie's smile returned, this time showing something Buddy didn't remember seeing before. She looked proud.
“I'm going to have a nurse come in here and change those bandages for you,” the doctor said. “Your white blood cell count is still a little high, but your vitals are looking incredibly good for a person who has survived an ordeal such as yours. I feel comfortable in saying we can get you out of here very soon.” He left the room.
“Maggie, sit down. You look like you haven't slept in days.” She considered debating, but her exhaustion won out and she did as Buddy requested.
“Buddy. . . what was that thing?”
“I was going to ask you the same question. What happened to it? Is it still out there? What about the other thing that fell from the sky? Are there two of those things running around now?”
“They think whatever else came down from the sky destroyed that thing when it landed. There were pieces of it everywhere. It was disgusting. They still have no clue what the other thing was. There haven't been any sightings of anything since you. . . well, you know. You were the only person to really get a good look at it. I thought you were done for when I saw it sweep you up into the air. What was it like? Weren't you scared?”
“It was. . . horrible. Like something out of some old, crappy, horror film, except it wasn't made out of rubber and there definitely wasn't a zipper on the back of the costume.”
“I really thought I was going to lose you, Buddy.”
“Yeah. . . me too.”
“Whatever possessed you to go out there in the first place? Or to go back to save that guy?”
“I really don't know Maggie. I kept trying to run, but. . .”
Buddy and Maggie stared at each other for a few minutes longer, both wondering what to say next. Finally, without a word, Maggie curled herself up on the armchair she was sitting in and closed her eyes. Buddy laid his head back on his pillow and stared at the ceiling, playing out the events of the previous night in his head.
The nurse entered the room to change Buddy's bandages. She had a cell phone against her ear while performing her duties. Buddy overheard a discussion the nurse was having about how she hadn't been getting any sleep lately due to her neighbor's dog's incessant barking throughout the night. She was so preoccupied with the conversation she didn't notice how Buddy's wounds were already almost completely healed.
CHAPTER 5
Even a few days after the events at Maggie's Diner, Buddy struggled to remove the images of the garish beast from his mind. However, while feeling emotionally vulnerable, he felt physically stronger than he remembered feeling even during his days in the ring.
The doctor had told him he should take it easy for a couple weeks and Maggie was doing her best forcing Buddy to keep to the doctor's orders. The pain in his side was barely a memory now. The aches and pains he struggled with on a normal basis were also no longer as much of a nuisance in his life. His sister, however, was a different story.
“Now Buddy,” she nagged, “I have to head downtown today to finish some more insurance stuff. Are you sure you're going to be able to take care of yourself for a few hours?”
“Don't worry about it, Maggie. I can handle myself.”
“The doctor told you that you need to be on bed rest for at least a week to make sure everything heals correctly. I don't want to come back to find you sprawled out on the floor because you overdid it.”
“I'm fine. Quit fussing over me already and go do your thing.”
“And I know you're concerned about getting back to work, but I really think you need--”
“Maggie,” Buddy interjected, “I've got everything under control, okay?”
Buddy had yet to let Maggie know about his lack of a home and somehow she hadn't heard about the closure of Flores Security yet, even though it was all over the news. Since Maggie was doing such a great job of playing nurse, he decided to keep her in the dark. He didn't want to complicate his current comfortable status as a person who sleeps on a couch with such negative thoughts as having no earthly belongings.
“Okay. But, if you need anything-” Maggie trailed off as she picked up her keys.
“I know, I know. I've got your number.”
Maggie walked to Buddy's side and gave him a kiss on the cheek. “Bet you can't wait to get back to the cot, can you?”
“And miss out on all the attention I've been getting?” Buddy smirked.
Maggie laughed as she walked out the door. “Stay on the couch!” she yelled as she went on her way.
Just as Maggie shut the door behind her, the phone rang. Buddy moved quickly to answer it.
“Hey, it's Maggie's house. Buddy speaking.”
“Hello, may I speak with Mr. Jackson, please?”
“You've got him,” Buddy responded, noticing his voice had somehow gained an unfamiliar happy tone.
“Mr. Jackson, this is Dr. Algen, from Sun City Community Hospital. You had brought in a John Doe the other day.”
“Right, yeah, the naked guy. How's he doing?”
“He's awake, Mr. Jackson, and he's asking to see you. Is there any way for it to be possible for you to make it down here sometime today? We have a lot of questions for him, but he refuses to discuss anything before he has the opportunity to speak with you.”
Buddy, looking for any excuse to leave the house, jumped at the request. “Yeah, I can get down there within the hour, no problem.”
“Thank you, Mr. Jackson. I look forward to seeing you.”
Buddy hung up the phone and ran across the room to grab his jacket, jumping over the couch in the process, and found Maggie standing in the doorway with a stern smile on her face. He froze.
“Oh, hey, Maggie. Did you forget something?”
“I heard the phone ring and thought I should come back in to answer it so you wouldn't have to get off the couch.”
“Ah, yeah, well, you know. . . “
“So, who called?” Maggie asked, having a difficult time holding her scowl when her brother looked so excited.
“Hospital needs to see me. That dude I saved wants to talk to me. No time to explain, gotta run.” Buddy was out the door before Maggie could contest it. She smiled a new smile, this one not saying anything specific, being merely one of happiness. She went to the doorway and yelled down the hallway after him.
“At least let me give you a ride!”
“Don't worry about it sis. I could use a good walk.”
“You're supposed to be taking it easy, doctor's orders.”
“Seriously, Maggie. The doctor is the one who told me to come in.”
Buddy was amazed at his surplus of energy. He felt young, strong, and vibrant. He walked quickly to the hospital, as though there was some prize awaiting him. He was actually looking, smiling, and waving at people as he passed them.
He noticed things he normally would have ignored, such as businesses he didn't know existed, graffiti he found interesting, and the female standing on the side of the road with a rickshaw.
The rickshaw seemed very out of place to Buddy. It looked like it had been made in ancient China. It was a simple machine, two large wooden wheels with thick spokes and a high-backed seat covered in some sort of plush red fabric. There was a red retractable cloth roof and two long slender wooden posts leading from the vehicle's seat. The posts were against the ground and the woman was leaning against it.
However, Buddy quickly became distracted by the many other details of his city he had long forgotten. The grin on his face made him lo
ok like an entirely different person. Here he was, no real prospects for the future and somehow he was managing to feel happy once again.
“Hey, you're Buddy Jackson, right?” said a woman appearing directly in front of him. He almost walked into her. He looked at her face and recognized her as the woman who had been standing by the rickshaw a couple of blocks behind him. He looked over his shoulder and saw the rickshaw was now unattended.
“Hey, weren't you just--?”
“Yeah, I know, how'd you get here, where'd you come from, can I get your number, blah blah blah. Are you Buddy Jackson or not?”
“Umm. . . yeah, I'm Buddy.”
“Great,” the woman said and then immediately disappeared. Buddy heard her voice coming from the street. He looked and saw her standing with the rickshaw. “Get in,” she said.
Buddy looked at the young woman in confusion. He then found himself staring at her. She was gorgeous. Her long blond hair reached down to just above her hips. Her hair served to accentuate the way her hips curved around the center of her body. Flowing from there were two perfectly toned and slender legs, bursting at the denim trying to contain them. Growing up from her center was the body of a goddess. The curves of her form were hidden underneath a red-hooded sweatshirt, but Buddy could still see she was given nothing less than perfection. His jaw opened slightly as he surveyed the beauty of this vixen and found himself wishing he were ten years younger.
“Hey, pal! Eyes off the goods and get your butt in the vehicle!” She sounded more angry at his lack of movement than she was at the fact he had been ogling her.
Buddy became aware of the rest of the world once again and struggled with the proper response to such an odd situation. He had difficulty thinking of any possible risks involved in a beautiful woman abducting an overweight man in a rickshaw and decided that if there were any, they might be worth it.
He climbed into the rickshaw and as soon as he rested his head against the red-cushioned interior he felt the entire world melt away and his body ripped from it. Outside the vehicle the world now appeared as some sort of technicolor day-dream, nothing but colors and lights streaking past.