Rockstones Scene 2: Mindtwist

 Jared looked behind him and stared at the crowd. Some were looking at him, yet others were walking out the door in a hurry. Charlotte was gone. Maybe she went to the kitchen or took her leave? Jared was still wondering how she was able to make a portal.

Ethan and Greg were already running toward Jared. They grabbed him and rushed to the door. Jared heard a loud thump as he jumped out of the men’s grasp. Somebody had punched Ethen to the ground. Jared retained his balance in time to spot a girl with a straw rope attempting to tie Ethen’s hands. Greg got up and tried to stop her, but she whacked her rope and hit his thigh.

Greg paused. “Look, nobody is trying to hurt you. If you … just …”

“Move!” Jared heard a female voice behind him. He saw the woman in a thin green shirt and black skirt. She seemed just as scared as Greg was. She was holding a fire distinguisher this time. She pointed at the girl like it was going to stop her.

“Deeneta. You do want to stop this,” Charlotte said. She was by the door leading to the back exit, around twenty feet away from the other side of the room, which was near the opposite exit.

Deeneta held Ethan up above her head. “You have something to say?”
“Ethan!” Jared yelled. “Do something.”

“Sparkwitz …” Ethan murmured.

Yes! Jared knew that channeling sparkwitz might help him. He didn’t really understand how to start the process. Using sparkwitz was an instinct, like moving a finger, except it was also a skill, like learning to balance on a tightrope. Entering the sparkwitz state on the other hand … that was impossible for him.

Jared charged at Deeneta, but the girl didn’t even flinch. Jared fell back the moment he was about to hit her. He grunted as he hit the ground, and before he got up, he felt Deeneta plant her fist into his face, except she was still a few feet away from him.

Regardless of how much sense this made, Jared felt that he couldn’t get up anymore. He fell down and felt his face. Blood.

“Is this a present to me?” Deeneta asked, pointing at the item that Charlotte was holding.

“You don’t need to create that creature,” Charlotte continued. She pulled down on the fire distinguisher, and the water came out in red and green colors, almost as if it was painted. The liquid seemed to spread out towards the ends of the distinguished instead of in front of it and towards Deeneta.

The water formed a circle creating a sort of shield made of bubbles around Charlotte. The liquid’s color began to fade and turn back to the water, revealing Charlotte’s face.

Deeneta looked confused. “A talented show,” she muttered, throwing Ethan towards the roof. Charlotte flicked her wrist, and the water flung towards Ethan and formed a bubble around him. The bubbles hit the ceiling and bunched in the opposite direction, bringing the man to the floor. As the form touched the floor, the bubble popped, spraying big droplets of water on Jared, Deeneta, and … where was Greg?

Jared was going to worry about that later. It seemed he was the next target. Jared looked up at Deneeta, who looked right at her. He felt another punch in his gut but didn’t see a fist. He certainly felt the impact. Parts of his face and stomach were swollen; he was even bleeding.

Whatever was happening, Jared was going to make this Deneeta figure pay. Despite the pain in his body, his rage broke through. He ran to hit Deneeta, but the punch didn’t seem to do anything. His fist bounced back like a rubber band and hit the wall.

Jared screamed in pain. Charlotte tried to run either at him or Deneeta but failed to do so as she, too, screamed in pain for no apparent reason. She must’ve felt it too. Somehow Deneeta was playing with their minds.
Jared looked up at Charlotte. He hoped she was thinking the same.

However, Charlotte shook her head as if to say “no.” Jared didn’t know why. Instead, he jumped up and smashed the window, falling to the ground and scaring a crowd of teenage kids and an old man reading on his phone by the bench.

Jared looked up at the man, smiled, and got up in a flash. He looked around for Charlotte, Ethan, or anybody. But he saw the windows repaired. People were back in the Nic-Nac, chatting away. It was as if nothing had happened. What was going on?

“Hey,” Jared heard a voice. It was Greg. “Look, man,” he ran over to Jared, held his shoulder, and pointed to the bus stop. “Let’s have a chat, guy. We need to talk.”

The old man went back to his phone, and the teenagers gave him a couple of looks. Nobody suspected much. “I know you think what it looks like, but everything is fooling you,” Greg explained.

“Why does nobody notice what happened?” Jared asked.

Greg shook his head as he sat at the bus stop. “Because nothing did happen.” Greg’s eyes were wide, either with fear or wisdom. “We speak of nothing. Your mind is being played with.”

Jared paused. He almost stopped breathing as the bus pulled up. “Lord Urunk is trying to test our loyalty to him.”

Greg shook his head and gave a tight-lipped smile. “You decide. There’s no real defining answer.”

Jared stared at Greg. “Ethan’s suffering in there.”

“No,” Greg said as they stepped on the bus and scanned their transport cards on a metal table. “He’s already one of them.”

___

It wasn’t what he wanted. His voice echoed through this cruel place. Ethen didn’t know what it was. Perhaps he was in jail or a dungeon, or maybe he was simply going crazy.

Ethen heard echoes, like the thumping of his heart or maybe Deeneta’s fist. He couldn’t get why he was taken. Why him?”

“Why you?” he heard a voice in his head. “Why what? You are redeemed, not taken, my brother.”

Ethen stammered. “You couldn’t possibly understand me!” Ethen tried to get up but soon realized he could see or feel.

“This one time, you thought you would run. But no. Now all you have is peace.”

“No! I …” Ethen tried to speak, but his lips were shaking too much. What was up with him? He wasn’t this scared. He was brave.

Ethen screamed. He could feel it now, but he felt wet. Almost … melting. A bright light blinded him, and soon he saw himself surrounded by sweet yellow light. He heard the voice of music, almost like a lullaby.

Ethen couldn’t see his body. His eyes, or whatever he was seeing, got used to the light. He noticed a brown fuzz in the distance. The fuzz grew bigger, or he was moving faster toward it. Whatever the case, he saw a face in the distance. The song began to be clearer now.

“Oh, men of wisdom,
Hear the voice of boredom.
The chambers have fallen from a height
To the worthless of your plight.”

The features on the face were not human-like. Spikes came from his head, its mouth was round, but its features were sharp. Black paint formed around these faces and yellow eyes. Almost like makeup. Who was this?
The song got louder as the face became so close that Ethan was able to put its height in perspective. Its head seemed to be ten times taller than him. Looking forward, Ethan was only able to see its mouth, being so close to this face.

He saw the head seemed to be made out of some sort of green olive color material. It seemed dry like wood, but its holes and its narrow places were like sponges. Some parts of its mouth, around its cheeks, seemed to be melting. Other parts, like around its forehead, didn’t look like anything at all, just like reddish mist or ash.

“Oh, men of wisdom,
Trust the sound’s rhythm.
To believe is a wonder
You never think to plunder.”

The rhythm ended. Silence fell.

“What are you?” Ethan asked, looking up at the face.

“Am I a man or woman?” the face spoke. Ash came out of its mouth. Its breath smelled like burnt sugar.

“Are you …” Ethan stammered, “a beast? You seem like neither man nor woman.”

The face smiled. “I am what you want me to be.” The face disappeared and turned to grains of sand. It became smaller, or Ethan was moving backward. Ethan would never know. Either way, the sand moved around like a storm. Finally, it formed into a tower, walls, balconies, windows, people, and roads. Soon a city was formed not just in front of him but all around him.

Soon, Ethan was able to make up the chatter of kids and parents. The skealing of the wisker chicks or the fangdrops. Ethan was able to feel now. The scratches of the golden sidewalks which pods and transfers would land on. The taller structures had floors spread out vertically like a candelabra of buildings. The light of Potetium and the trunks and trees waved around further off behind the silver gates guarded by black armed developer sharps.

“Remember this place?” Ethan heard a voice in his head. It was that voice that he had heard before. Except … he was thinking the same thing. He knew this place. He was here before Urunk called for him … and caused all the madness. He was here. He was home.

“Welcome,” he heard the voice. “To watch Totem Yard, kneel before us!” he snarled.