Thursday 6 June 2013

Momentary





It was boredom that drove me.   The drugs were simply for something to do.   Acid, peyote, salvia, shrooms, they were all just things to do. I’d read Castaneda, and Huxley, and the others.   The mysticism of it passed me by, the experiences all I wanted.

I was introduced to Petrie by the friend of a friend.   I loathed him.  Petrie was too thin and smiled too much, like Death with a dirty joke he was waiting to shock you with.

“You really want this,” he said and handed me a single blue crystal.  It looked like a teardrop and felt like gel.   I didn’t ask him what it was, wasn’t interested.   He called it “HPL” and laughed.

That night it melted on my tongue, bitter and lingering.    I sat and watched static on my television and waited for the effects to kick in.

Time slowed and I could no longer move.  Not breathe nor blink nor twitch.   Each heartbeat rolled like a peal of thunder taking an hour from start to finish.    Even that stopped.  The television static was truly still now, a collage of visual gibberish.

I could not stop my thoughts.  All else had stopped but not my thoughts.   Time had ceased and only thought persisted.    There was me, and there was an eternal moment that I would never be free of.

In my mind I screamed for centuries.

And my screams were heard.

The things that live in the gaps between moments came to stare.  I cannot describe them, but they felt like the presence of the bereaved.   And they came to stare at me like a freak in a sideshow.   For milennia they came and soon I knew them all.


“Weep,” said Petrie after ten thousand years, and he pressed a glass tube to my cheek.  I blinked then, only once, and a half dozen tears fell and became blue crystal in his keeping.

He smiled and crept away, and left me timeless.

20 comments:

  1. Beautiful and terrifying! LM x

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  2. Wonderful. Full of fantastic images - '..heartbeat rolled like a peal of thunder... The things that live in the gaps between moments...' A horrifying tale of what he lived through.

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    1. Thanks for the comments, really glad you enjoyed it.

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  3. I love the descriptions in this, but geez, Petrie made the hairs on my arms stand up. Being paralyzed except for thoughts is horrifying.

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    1. Glad Petrie came across that way- he was pretty foul in my mind. And I agree - dreadful fate. Thanks for commenting

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  4. Oy that's chilling. Like something Lovecraft would write. What wonderfully unique idea. I really enjoyed this one.

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    1. Glad you drew that comparison - the HPL reference to the drug itself may have given away the feel I wanted for this piece :D

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  5. That is absolutely awesome and creepy. It could be a PSA for saying no to drugs. Things in the gaps between moments staring at you...Yeah, that's chilling.

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    1. Thanks Draug, really glad you liked it

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  6. You do spooky so well.

    The laugh after HPL should have been a great big warning sign on top of the creepy drug dealer. Why didn't he see it coming? Now excuse me while I dig out the nightlights and flashlights, and rip out the TV cord from the wall before going to bed tonight.

    Thank you for linking up!

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    1. You're welcome and thanks very much for the feedback

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  7. Thomas, Not sure I can add anything original to these great comments but your story was eerie, slinky and wise. So darn good!:))

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  8. This is just gorgeous - every word is perfect. (I am still trying to puzzle out what HPL stands for...)

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    1. That was a little joke of Petrie's - but some clues may be in the comments above this one. And thank you

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  9. Never mind him screaming for centuries, this completely freaked me out! Amazing!
    Shudder.

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    1. Thanks so much Natalie, glad you liked it.

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  10. I've been following your blog for a while now but have never left a comment because, frankly, the caliber of your writing is a little intimidating to me and it was kind of like sneaking in to listen to a storyteller when you were supposed to be in bed. But this one, this one is unlike anything that I have ever read. It's beautiful and terrifying and absolutely fantastic.

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    1. Hi Shannon I'm really pleased that you liked the story - and that you like my writing as a whole. I'm not intimidating at all I promise, so please feel welcome to comment and give any feedback you choose.

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