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Shaemus Wulff and the Latent Senses

Written by Drew Campbell

By Drew CampbellPublished 3 years ago 10 min read
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Shaemus Wulff and the Latent Senses
Photo by Keagan Henman on Unsplash

EARLY FALL 1995

In a completely silent room, an alarm clock suddenly disrupts the calm. Having hardly slept, a young man is forced up by the loud tone. He sits at the foot of the bed massaging his temples in attempts to sooth the pain. His entire life, he suffered from an over-active mind, sleeplessness, and migraines. It was something he had become used to. However, since his recent twenty-first birthday he had noticed these issues slowly worsening. He used much of his energy to leave the house and spent the remainder of the day running on fumes.

Taking its precious time, 3p.m. was finally upon him. Having finished classes for the week, he left school and headed off to enjoy some recreation.

His friend Billy lived in his parent’s backhouse. As the young man entered, the floor by the door was littered with cables, wires, and other tripping hazards he had just barely avoided.

“Wulff-man! What’s going on?”, Billy said, welcoming his friend.

“What’s this mess?”

“A project of mine. I’m trying to make the world’s first set of wireless headphones.”, Billy spoke, proudly.

“Maybe you should focus on making the floor wireless…”,

Billy rolled his eyes and shrugged it off.

“I don’t get it, Billy… You have all this crazy technical knowledge, but you aren’t doing anything with it. You’re almost twenty-three, you’re not studying for a degree, you work 16 hours a week at an electronics store. And you still live with your parents.”

Billy responded, “Why bother with school, or working full time? I have a gut feeling that one of my passion projects is going to take off, and it will launch my career. No more red lights, no obstacles, just me and my work. You’ll understand someday when you find something you’re passionate about, Shaemus… You’ll want to put everything you have into expanding your potential.”

Shaemus thought about it for a moment, then quickly changed the subject. “Whatever you say, Billy… Now what do we have to drink around here?”

“Nothing yet. Samantha, Claire, and Jerome are coming by. They’re bringing the beers. Let’s play a few rounds of King’s Corner while we wait.”

After a few hours, the five friends had emptied two cases of beer, and a handle of whiskey. As Billy, Claire, and Jerome took turns playing video games, Shaemus sat nursing an intense migraine.

“Hey, did you have too much to drink?”, Samantha asked as she sat next to him.

“I’m alright… I just haven’t been sleeping very well.”

“Here, have some cold water.”, she said, handing him a large, decorated bottle. As Shaemus grabbed it from her, a sharp sensation hit his upper body. Flashes of Samantha in pain ran across his mind.

He did his best to conceal this reaction from her and struck up a conversation to help stay focused. “This bottle is really neat.”, he said before taking a drink.

“Thanks! It used to just be a boring water bottle from the department store, till I got creative…”

“You drew all these characters?”

“Yeah! They’re from my comic series.”, Samantha replied.

“You created your own comic?”, Shaemus asked.

“I did! They sell copies at that shop downtown. They’re actually pretty popular. I’m constantly having to restock. I have some with me if you want one.” Samantha got up to grab her backpack. She removed a folder that contained copies of her handmade book and gave one to Shaemus.

Another immense feeling riddled his body as he touched the comic. He saw visions of Samantha chained to a chair… Stacks of crumpled paper littered the corner of the dimly lit room. An aura of fear surrounded her as she sobbed. This time Shaemus could not keep his pain subtle. He twitched, grunted, and fell to the ground.

The three playing games turned toward him while Samantha tried to see what was wrong. “Are you okay, Shaemus?!”, she asked as she tried to rub his shoulders. When she touched him, the agony intensified, sending him into a spasm. His friends wisely decided to give him space, while keeping a close watch on him.

After a few minutes the pain mostly subsided. He stood up to catch his breath. “Sorry about that, everyone.”, Shaemus said. “I haven’t been feeling well recently, and I don’t think the drinking did me any favors either. Thanks for trying to help me. Especially you, Samantha…”

She smiled. “It’s okay. Get some rest, Shaemus. We’ll talk later.”

“Go ahead and crash here tonight, Wulff-Man”, Billy insisted. “I’ll walk our friends out.”

Shaemus walked directly over to the couch, lied down, and passed out immediately. Before leaving, Samantha placed her bottle on the table next to him.

“Are you alright to walk yourself home?”, Claire asked Samantha.

“Yeah, I’ll be fine.”, Samantha replied. “See you all tomorrow.”

The next morning Shaemus woke up, surprised he had slept through the night. Suddenly, Billy slammed down the telephone. The loud noise mutated Shaemus’ minor headache into another migraine. “What’s the matter, Billy?”

“That was Claire…”, Billy said in a dour tone. “She got a call from Samantha’s parents… Samantha never made it home last night…”

Shaemus was in too much pain to form a reaction. He sat up and vigorously rubbed his temples, trying to settle his nerves. He noticed Samantha’s water bottle sitting in front of him. Odd feelings bubbled up in his mind. They seemed to lessen the aches. Recollections of his strange visions crept back into his thoughts. He reached out and grabbed the bottle. The pain quickly spiked, but then completely disappeared in an instant.

“Shaemus, what’s going on? Can you hear me?”, Billy asked.

“Just give me a minute. Don’t say anything…”. He closed his eyes and began a pattern of steady breaths. Gripping the bottle, he focused his mind and brought the images a greater sense of clarity. He felt Samantha’s pain. Chained down and forced to draw. Shaemus opened his eyes and composed his thoughts. “Billy, I need you to come with me. We need to walk towards Samantha’s house. On the same route she would have taken.”

“Why?”, Billy asked with confusion. “Did she say something relevant or strange to you yesterday?”

“I don’t really know. But trust me… There’s something I need to figure out. Please…”, Shaemus replied.

“Alright fine. Let’s go then…”

Somewhere near the halfway point between Billy and Samantha’s houses, the two young men came to an alleyway that was shrouded in shadows from the surrounding buildings. Shaemus felt a slight throbbing in his forehead. He sat on the ground just a couple feet inside the alley and concentrated. The visions slowly resurfaced, but this time it was different. It seemed as if he was seeing things from Samantha’s perspective. He felt a sense of serenity, like the red lights in his mind holding him back all suddenly turned green.

Shaemus saw himself walking the path, just as Samantha had the previous night. As she approached the unlit alleyway she was startled by a noise. Samantha stopped and attempted to see what it was but saw only darkness. She began walking again, then started to hear footsteps. But these were not her own… They were louder. Faster. Like someone running. It was coming from the alley… She turned around and quickly realized someone was coming for her.

A scrawny man emerged from the darkness and attacked Samantha. Due to his stature, she could have easily bested him in a physical confrontation. But this assailant came prepared… As he put his hand over her face, Shaemus could smell odd chemicals. Samantha’s consciousness went blank, but Shaemus stayed in the trance.

Her eyes eventually opened again. Though her vision was fuzzy, Shaemus could still see. The tiny man stood before Samantha, looking down. She sat at a table with paper and a pen. Shaemus could feel the chains locked to her feet and right hand. The man finally spoke… In a weasel-like tone he said, “I love your work, Samantha… Help me add to my collection.”

Shaemus opened his eyes and quickly jumped to his feet. “Billy, I left something at your house. We need to go back!”, Shaemus uttered as he began walking back the way they came. Billy followed him.

Back at the house, Shaemus searched on the floor near the couch. Finally, he found what he was looking for… Samantha’s zine. He picked it up and sat down as he slowly slipped back into his trance. While admiring the beauty of Samantha’s artwork, Shaemus soon realized that he was no longer in Billy’s house. He was now sitting in a strange, yet familiar room. Looking up, he saw Samantha helplessly scribbling forced creations. He was seeing this through the eyes of the pathetic creature that kidnapped her.

Suddenly, a single sound caught the man’s attention. He stood up and left the room. Shaemus’ view was carried into the man’s kitchen, where he pulled two pieces of nearly burnt bread from the toaster. As he stood at the counter spreading avocado on the toast, Shaemus was able to catch a glimpse outside the man’s front window. Directly across from the house was a very familiar landmark. The town’s library…

Shaemus immediately snapped back to his physical surroundings and stood up with a sense of purpose. “Follow me, Billy.”

Soon, Shaemus and Billy were knocking on the front door of the house across from the library. “Are you planning on telling me who exactly lives here, and what they have to do with finding Samantha?”, Billy questioned as they waited.

“Just trust me. No matter what happens.”, Shaemus demanded.

After a few moments the door opened, and before them stoop the very man that Shaemus was expecting. “Can I help you guys?”, said the tiny monster. Without any hesitation, Shaemus hit the man hard, directly in the face. As blood began to escape from his nose, he fell to the floor.

“What the hell was that, Shaemus?!?!”, Billy exclaimed, nearly in shock. “Who is this guy?!”

“Come on!”, Shaemus shouted as he ran into the house. “Samantha?!?!”, he screamed.

Toward the back of the house, they could hear a muffled response. “Shaemus?!” They ran quickly toward Samantha’s voice and found the dim room.

“Shaemus… How did you know?”, Billy asked.

“Stay with her… I’ll be back.” Shaemus ran back to the entrance and turned out the abductor’s pockets to find the key to Samantha’s restraints. When he returned to free her, she was overwhelmed by gratefulness as she hugged him. For the first time in years, he felt no pain as she embraced him.

The next day Shaemus and Billy stood talking on a bridge overlooking the highway that ran through their town.

“I don’t understand what happened yesterday…”, Billy said.

“Neither do I…”, Shaemus admitted. “My headaches turned into visions. And I realized those visions were like messages. Maybe one day I will understand this…” Shaemus looked at his car. “I have to leave for a while… I’m driving out west toward the coast. I need time to think… Focus… Figure myself out.”

“Do what you need to do… I’ll tell Samantha you’ll be thinking of her…”, Billy replied. “Good luck, Wulff-Man. I hope you find your calling…”

Shaemus stepped into his car and merged onto the highway. As he reached speed, he opened his window and tossed a key out onto the road.

***

Across town the little man awoke in his own dark room with a broken nose, and his vision obscured by blood. His body chained to the very chair he had put his victim in. With no one around to free him, this chamber awaited to become his tomb. More than likely, he would eventually be found. But both he and Shaemus Wulff knew that by then, it would be far too late…

Sci Fi
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About the Creator

Drew Campbell

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