in paralyzing terror as the bathroom door swung open slowly, and the owls that were not owls came in.
Outside the apartment, on a balcony across the alley from Richard’s, there lay a cat. It was a fat cat who sat listening to the sounds of the night. First Misses Fat Cat heard the strange noises, then the sound of a man calling to someone. She heard more strange noises, banging and a struggle, and screaming. Finally there were no more sounds coming from across the alley and the night was quiet once more. The cat went back to listening for the sounds of the crickets, and the dogs and the owls, but there were none.
Chapter 5 : The Shower
His mind awoke to blackness.
He felt dizzy like he could feel the entire surface of the earth spinning beneath him. Then came the pain, like someone was suddenly karate chopping him in the side of his ribs over and over again. His face felt like plastic, as if all of his nerves had suddenly packed up and moved down to his side where all the pain was. There were certainly nerves there.
When he got ahold of himself he buzzed with the feeling of exposure, and he realized that he must be naked. Suddenly his mind ran through its own diagnostic check and realized that it could open his eyes.
His eyes sprang open and all he could see was white, it was a shiny white surface like staring down at the upper surface of the clouds from the window of a plane. Then his brain turned on the sound and suddenly he could hear running water.
Finally his brain decided to find the source of all this pain and turned the nerves back on to his entire body. Suddenly Richard was filled with the shock of cold water hitting him all around, he realized that his mouth was half full of water that had collected near his face. He felt the pressure of the weight of himself lying against his entire left side and his sense of balance came back to him as he realized that he was laying down. The white planet surface below, was actually a side surface of whatever he was looking at.
It was the tub, he was laying down in the tub, almost to the point of drowning. He raised his hand to his face to wipe the water from it, but before he could, he realized that his hands were deeply gouged and creviced with water wrinkles.
How long have I been out, Richard wondered. Suddenly he realized that the pain in his side, the karate chopping action, was actually frigid water coming out of the shower head and pelting him in his rib cage. He looked down and saw that his side was bright pink from being hit. So much so, that it looked like it would quickly turn into a large bruise. It also appeared somewhat scalded.
I…I must have slipped, Richard thought, not remembering even climbing into the shower. I must have slipped and knocked myself out…
He sat up high enough to turn off the water, and then laid back down, feeling dizzy. He stared at the side of the tub and tried to gather himself completely back together. Looking up at the sink, he could see that he had laid out a towel and pajamas for himself.
Suddenly, being dry sounded like the most wonderful thing in the world, even worth being dizzy over. He gripped the side of the tub as best he could and hoisted himself upwards in the most fluid motion he could conjure. Then by turning his grip so he could now push and using the other hand to stabilize himself against the wall, he heaved the full weight of himself up onto his unsteady legs.
Keeping one hand on the wall, he leaned forward out of the tub and grabbed the towel with his free hand. First he dried his face which still felt sort of numb and plastic. Then he dried off his chest and
Outside the apartment, on a balcony across the alley from Richard’s, there lay a cat. It was a fat cat who sat listening to the sounds of the night. First Misses Fat Cat heard the strange noises, then the sound of a man calling to someone. She heard more strange noises, banging and a struggle, and screaming. Finally there were no more sounds coming from across the alley and the night was quiet once more. The cat went back to listening for the sounds of the crickets, and the dogs and the owls, but there were none.
Chapter 5 : The Shower
His mind awoke to blackness.
He felt dizzy like he could feel the entire surface of the earth spinning beneath him. Then came the pain, like someone was suddenly karate chopping him in the side of his ribs over and over again. His face felt like plastic, as if all of his nerves had suddenly packed up and moved down to his side where all the pain was. There were certainly nerves there.
When he got ahold of himself he buzzed with the feeling of exposure, and he realized that he must be naked. Suddenly his mind ran through its own diagnostic check and realized that it could open his eyes.
His eyes sprang open and all he could see was white, it was a shiny white surface like staring down at the upper surface of the clouds from the window of a plane. Then his brain turned on the sound and suddenly he could hear running water.
Finally his brain decided to find the source of all this pain and turned the nerves back on to his entire body. Suddenly Richard was filled with the shock of cold water hitting him all around, he realized that his mouth was half full of water that had collected near his face. He felt the pressure of the weight of himself lying against his entire left side and his sense of balance came back to him as he realized that he was laying down. The white planet surface below, was actually a side surface of whatever he was looking at.
It was the tub, he was laying down in the tub, almost to the point of drowning. He raised his hand to his face to wipe the water from it, but before he could, he realized that his hands were deeply gouged and creviced with water wrinkles.
How long have I been out, Richard wondered. Suddenly he realized that the pain in his side, the karate chopping action, was actually frigid water coming out of the shower head and pelting him in his rib cage. He looked down and saw that his side was bright pink from being hit. So much so, that it looked like it would quickly turn into a large bruise. It also appeared somewhat scalded.
I…I must have slipped, Richard thought, not remembering even climbing into the shower. I must have slipped and knocked myself out…
He sat up high enough to turn off the water, and then laid back down, feeling dizzy. He stared at the side of the tub and tried to gather himself completely back together. Looking up at the sink, he could see that he had laid out a towel and pajamas for himself.
Suddenly, being dry sounded like the most wonderful thing in the world, even worth being dizzy over. He gripped the side of the tub as best he could and hoisted himself upwards in the most fluid motion he could conjure. Then by turning his grip so he could now push and using the other hand to stabilize himself against the wall, he heaved the full weight of himself up onto his unsteady legs.
Keeping one hand on the wall, he leaned forward out of the tub and grabbed the towel with his free hand. First he dried his face which still felt sort of numb and plastic. Then he dried off his chest and
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