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Previously on Listening For That Sweet Tune:
I began to head down the hole feet first
but once my body was inside and my head nearly poking out I realized that there
was something blocking the path. I kicked my legs against it a few times and it
sounded wooden, maybe hollow. I brought up my arms to pull me back up and the
sounds of the underground stopped forcing me to hear the racket of the skipping
record and the digging. I really should be able to hear this down the hole but
there was some threshold right below the surface. The sound of dripping water
and muddled music was all I could hear. I patted off the dirt from my shirt and
pants disregarding the fact that I was heading back down but I looked back out
from under the stairway to see the bodies stacked three times as high. I looked
back down and began my decent.
Nearly immediately after squeezing down
the narrow tunnel my lungs felt heavy from the lack of oxygen from burrowing
under the ground and claustrophobia overtook my mind thinking that the dirt
walls around me were going to collapse on top of me but I wasn't in the dark. A
small window in the door shined through the hole revealing a large hallway on
the other side. There was no door handle, which began to worry me I started
punching the door hoping that it would break but nothing budged. I looked
through the window hoping that someone would show up but all was quiet on the
other side of infinity.
I started seeing spots as I continued to
exhaust myself so I tried to get out of the hole but my body was too fatigued.
I looked at the window determining if the thickness was a minuscule amount so I
could reach through the other side—or at least call for help. I started
pounding at the glass and sure enough it gave but at the cost of a huge gash
along my right forearm. I began to yell for help louder and louder but no one
thought they should check on the sound. I quieted down to hear voices and more
music at the end of the hall—some joyous festivity. Cool air pushed through the
window as I pushed my face against the opening and if it weren’t for me being
down a hole I would be at peace.
I reached my arm through the window
hoping that there was a doorknob and in a moment I felt like an idiot swaying
my arm back and forth when the doorknob was clearly in one place. I was able to
touch it in the tip of my fingers but I feared that I was to far away so I
pushed myself further against the door. The glass on the edges of the window
began to cut through my shirt and near my armpit forcing a horrible feeling
down my chest and down my legs but it was enough. The door began to swing open
peeling open my skin under my arm before I was able to even think about moving
my body. I fell out onto the glass cutting up my hands and knees but at least I
was out—that's what mattered.
I lifted my head up and eventually rose
to my feet to take a few steps forward looking towards the sections of the
hallway. Depressed arches supported by fan vaulting were every ten feet of the
hallway then proceeding to another vault just like the one before. There were
at least ten vaults leading to the end of the hallway with columns supporting every
midsection with gas lateens on every column—more gothic architecture. I began
to sweat because I feared I went to the exact place I was trying to run away
from. Moony was something one shouldn't mess with and I only feared the day I
would see her again—or just any wretched.
I hastened up my pace to the end of the
hall till I saw two people cross the adjacent hallway. I pushed myself behind a
column peeking past making sure I wasn't seen and I wasn't. The two men had
champagne glasses in their grasp as they wore black tuxedoes, slim black shoes
and skinny red bowties. They stopped in the middle of the cross section and one
turned around to the other and placed his hand on the others shoulder. I
couldn't make out what they were saying so I closed my eyes and slowed down my
breathing to focus on the topic they had on hand.
'—not and will not admit what we really
are. Even though I feel like a dead man walking trapped in some make believe
world. One person has control over the rest and that just doesn't seem fair.'
'Like we have any choice.' Said the other
man. 'Just wait till he gets here and everything will be done and we can go
back to peace.' For a second I thought they were talking about me but how could
they be waiting for me when I don't even know where I am? I thought back to
where I woke up in some kind of fuzzy mixed up world. How everything had a
certain progression to it till I wound up here? I looked back down to the cuts
in my arm and all was left was dried up blood. I thought back to where I was
before and even though I knew what happened I could not recall how I got here.
I looked back down the hall and the other two men left so I got back into the
hall and moved forward.
It's difficult to comprehend what was
really going on. Everything continued to look like different colours of cream
like on a painting. The black pushed up against the white and somehow they
mixed together creating a grey. I looked back down to my ragged dirty clothes
and thought of wearing a tuxedo like the men were and before I took another
step forward it was as if it was painted on top of me. I felt the clothing and
sure enough it was real—I was now standing where the men previously stood. The
hallway continued to my left and right going till everything went black in the
distance. I looked at the wall in front of me and visualized a door, closed my
eyes then opened them again. Nothing changed and I thought to myself what could
I do. I then put my hands on the wall and closed my eyes. A steady push caved
the wall in and as I opened my eyes again two large wooden doors were against
my hands and I was pushing myself into another room.
I thought of a big grassy meadow full of
flowers and trees in the distance on the other side of the door but as I pushed
the doors further I realized my wishes were not the reality. A large room with
a large ceiling decorated by ribbons and light in the shapes of balls and
pyramids floated above my head lighting nearly the entire room completely. I
was in the midst of several people—all of which in formal attire—but none paid
attention to me. Everyone continued to converse with one another as they held
their glasses full of wine or champagne. I could tell that several others were
paying their undivided attention to the center of the room as I pushed my way
between people.
I let out a 'sorry' and 'excuse me'
nearly every second as the crowd thickened around me till I reached a large
opening. People surrounded the center of the room leaving a diameter of several
yards of empty space in the center. I began to listen again and over the
constant talking and shuffling I could hear slight music echoing through the
airwaves. It was quiet and somber. The racing thoughts in my head calmed ever so slightly as I continued to listen to the soft piano, it wasn't just any song with a piano but Beethoven's Piano Sonata No. 14 or the Moonlight Sonata and the first movement had just ended.
People on the other side of the room
began to back up creating a foot or two path for someone in the back to move
forward through the crowd. The way stayed empty for a while as I continued to
listen to the music closing my eyes and motioning my neck back and forth
forcing my head to bobble along. Everyone soon grew quiet and I opened my eyes
back up to see further more nothing in the path but I thought as if this was a
surprise party to yell 'Happy Birthday!' when the person showed up. I heard a
clicking of heals hitting the ground as several clops of hooves following the
sound.
A woman in all white walked into the
hallway then people began to cheer—reducing the sound of music I could hear in
the air—as she pulled along a sheep with a full white coat behind her on a
leash. As she walked closer to me I began to realize that she was wearing a
wedding dress with a veil over her face covering the most definite of features.
She minced towards the middle of the room pulling her little sheep along and
for a little moment I could swear that she was walking towards me. The dress
went down past her ankles and dragged ever so slightly on the floor behind her.
Most skin was covered other than a slit in the dress that stretched from her
left thigh down to the floor revealing one of her skinny legs. She motioned for
the cheering to stop then crouched down to start petting the lamb.
'Many of you have waited for this day to
come.' She said 'It's been a long time since we have been summoned and several
of you have wished to breathe again.' A little more than half the crowd began
to cheer, as others stayed silent. 'And another portion of you wish to stay
silent and be at peace.' The rest of the crowd made their voices clear. 'You
will all come along because this is inevitable. We present ourselves to serve a
mission for our owner and we must complete his bidding for it is our purpose.'
I thought that they must have been
talking about me but I could only question how my own dream became self aware
to what was happening. I then thought of what she was talking about when she
said what we must do and I remembered that someone always gets hurt by my hand
as I sleep. I pushed my hands against my sides and held them there to guarantee
nothing bad will happen to those around me.
'He even stands with us right now! Let us
thank our creator, Rancor, the one of many, bringing us the gift of souls.
Please show yourself Ben Lamb.' I stood my ground as the others looked around
for me but the bride wasn't fooled. She stared directly into my eyes and
motioned for me to walk towards her. Soon everyone picked up on where I was and
pushed me out of the circle. 'Come Ben Lamb, come here.' She smiled towards me
and continued to motion her hand. I walked a few steps further towards her and
she began to walk towards me pulling her sheep along. When she reached a
whisper distance she stopped in front of me and handed me the sheep's leash
then leaned down and took a knife out from against her thigh then held it in
front of her for me to take.
'You must kill this sheep Ben Lamb. Be
the shepherd that you are and give this animal the peace that you offer.' I
thought to myself and wondered what was happening to my actual physical body. I
thought how this sheep signified innocence and being kind. I could only imagine
that I was standing among a young child with a knife. Maybe I could stop
everything from happening and maybe save a life if I didn't do this. I motioned
no to the bride and she withdrew the knife from between us. 'So be it.' She
said menacingly and glared towards me. She snatched the leash from my hand and
stepped away back to the center of the room. 'Ben Lamb will not take
responsibility! He thinks as if this is some game that he can just push aside.
We will show him what must be done.'
She leaned up against the sheep holding
its neck back then slit its throat. The sheep grew limp and fell to the floor
as the bride got to her knees and continued to stab the sheep viciously blood
got all over anything white as blood began to pool underneath her. Blood
splashed up against the veil and her dress. She then looked up to me and took
the veil off from her face revealing to me black eyes, sharp teeth and a
disfigured face.
'Kill him.'
The crowd began to surround me carrying
knives and hatchets of various sizes. I felt pain so such a violent degree that
I couldn't scream. My limbs were torn from me in seconds and my organs were
being cut out making my death a most appropriate one but I was only dreaming,
what's the worst that could happen?
Up next in Listening For That Sweet Tune:
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