Soaring Vision

Traveling across country has always made me dreamy. The feeling of driving through familiar neighborhoods, the stop-and-go nature of the cities, racing through the flats, pretending I’m a professional racer drifting the hairpins in the mountains exhilarate my entire being. We were somewhere that had sprawling corn fields this time though. The mazes you could make and never get out of. How many could I create? Never enough, sadly.

“What was that?” my sister asked. I thought it was a strange question. It was corn. I glanced over to see if she had her hair in her eyes again, but it was up in a tight blonde bun. The same bun she favors when shes ‘exhaustively’ bored. She had her glasses on as well, so she could clearly see. Though maybe that sweater she always wears is fogging her glasses.

“What was what, Kara?” Mom asked. She was nose deep in that mystery book of hers. It was written by some new author she had personally met a few months ago. I don’t think I’ve seen her read anything else, and she wont let anyone else read it. Kinda creepy honestly.

“There was something in the corn. It looked… Weird! It was long enough to see through the stocks and looked so vivid and grotesque!”

“probably some monster looking to make us his meal!” Dad laughed. He loved great stories. Not surprising that he’d go with it. But his smile was just infectious.

“Yeah, maybe it only eats girls who wear sweaters all the time!” I added. I love seeing how frustrated she gets. She just can’t take a joke.

“Very funny, but I swear I saw something! Like something out of a bad dream!”

“Whatever you saw, we’re passed it now. So why don’t we calm down and I can get back to reading this book.” Mom retorted. Yikes.

The banter lasted a bit longer. The usual family car ride stuff. But it was about to get dark and we were heading into a concrete jungle. I never saw the city limit sign, so I didn’t know where were anymore. As the sun dropped below the horizon, it felt as though this city grew tall. I blame my dad for filling my head with these stories, but I went along with my imagination as it started to rain.

These streets are filled with dead men who only find release in the brains of their victims. Their decaying bodies shambling to their next meal. Vampires stock the skies in wretched bat forms, squeaking all throughout the night as they search for a new victim… or concubine! Werewolf howls at the full moon, on a never ending hunt for the kill. Giant worms crawling on the massive spires and crossing skyscrapers with ease, only to be seen in a flash of lightning.

Hold on… Giant worms? Those are new, I thought. I focused as hard as I could, waiting for the next strike. The flash came, but I wasn’t ready. I was hoping I saw nothing as I squinted to protect me eyes. Another flash but something was wrong. There was a giant worm! This couldn’t be real!

“Hey, dad? Are giant worms real?” I was nervous to ask. It was a dumb question. I knew it, He definitely knew it. I’ll get a joke and then a real response. Normally funny, I was too scared to appreciate it.

“Giant worms? Oh yeah, they’re real. They’re thirty feet long and as fat as this car!” He chuckled as he glanced at mom. She looked really annoyed, digging her nose further into that book. Dad sighed and looked back through the rear view mirror.

“Whats got you thinking of giant worms Roy?”

“Oh, nothing except the one I saw coming off of those buildings over there.”

He slowed down to look at the towers, but I knew he couldn’t see it. Hell, I couldn’t see it anymore.

“Never mind. Must have been my imagination running wild.”

“Jeez Roy, how absent-minded can you be? Dad, Roy is going crazy, we should leave him at a home or something!”

As I was about to deliver the worst-best insult I could muster, dad stopped the car. I watched as his demeanor change and he got out of the car. He walked 10 steps in front of the car and stood there. Mom rolled down her window and yelled at dad to return to the car, but a bolt of lightning lit the night sky… And the road ahead. Rather, the lack of anything beyond where he was standing!

“Uh… Where did the world go?” Kara asked shakily. No one said anything. Dad turned around and walked back to the car. I could tell he was scared, but he was trying to be brave. I wanted to tell him it was ok to not be brave, because no one in this car was feeling it anyway.

“Let’s uh… turn around. Maybe we got lost. Yeah. Lost.”

Mom put her book down and put her hand on his shoulder. His hand rushed to meet hers in a tight grip. She winced, but let it happen. In all of our family road trip time, we have never seen anything like this. Sure, tight switch-backs, narrow two-lane cliff drives, hikes on even narrower rocks and some other very questionable circumstances. But this took the cake and would never give it back.

Dad turned the car back on and looked each of us in the eyes before he would drive.

“We’ll be fine. We just have to…” as another bolt of lightning illuminated our grim fate. A massive body of fur stood at the drivers door and smashed a hairy claw through the window, ripping dad out with a muffled scream that faded into the night.

“DAD!” “DON!” we all shouted in fear. Kara screamed and kicked and punched trying to get out of her seat belt. Mom scrambled to the drivers seat, struggling to get over the center console. I tried desperately to get into the rear and grab a flashlight or the shovel we carry for emergencies. But through all this, I couldn’t help that mom was still holding that book! Dads gone and she wont let it go!

Mom was able to get into the drivers seat, start the car and get us the hell out of there. I don’t know if she knew where she was going, but we took the turns sharp and hard. We ran over several things in the road, couldn’t be sure of what they were. Or even if I could come to grips with anything anymore.

We took a turn somewhere and ended in an alley we couldn’t fit through. Mom slammed the car into reverse and we heard the tires peel out. As the car gripped the road, the alley was closed off by a swarm of squeaking little monsters! They overwhelmed the car and got in through the drivers window. We screamed, but nothing like Mom. She was being bit and gouged and being pulled out of the car. I grabbed onto her, “Kara, grab moms legs!” Kara was near catatonic at this point and it was up to me.

I pulled with all my might, but the little bats were much stronger than me. I felt weak and hopeless. “I love you mom! I’m sorry!” She slipped through my fingers and was pulled out. The book fell to the seat. I read the title, ‘Soaring Vision’ by ‘Roy’. What was this?! I didn’t have time for this book. The bats left, but we were still in trouble.

I got out and pulled Kara with me. I picked her up. I couldn’t leaver her behind. She was the last bit of family I had in this hell of a place. I walked as fast as I could, knocking on doors as I could find them. I became horse with the shouting. No one would help, if there were any people around here in the first place.

A light was gleaming in the rain. It was a beacon of hope. At least it had to be hope. I couldn’t let hope, or Kara, die here. There was someone standing in the light! I called out to this person, but the ignored me. I continued toward them and called out again. It jerked unnaturally and looked at me with dead eyes! Why are the things I saw in my fantasy coming to life in this place! I turned to run and ran into another of these creatures. They reached for me as I fell and Kara spilled to the ground. She groaned and she tried to right herself since mom. I rushed to my feet, only to be surrounded by these creatures, cutting me off from Kara.

“Kara! You need to get up! You need to run!” I tried to get through, but there were too many. They came down on her quickly. I could hear her screams over their intense moans as they ripped her apart. All I could see was her tight bun. There was nothing else I could do. With tears streaming down my face, I ran.

I ran. There was nothing I could do. They were already dead, but I couldn’t do anything for any of them. Why was I last? Is someone messing with me?!

After running for seemingly hours, I made my way out of the city and into the corn. What was all that? Where was the road? Why was the corn so tall? I had so many questions, and my legs couldn’t carry me any further. Lost in a corn maze. As I catch my breath, I gained a new sense of dread. All of these events were from my dreaming. The wolfman, the zombies, the bats. I thought I’d get lost in a maze! Great. Family dead, and Im lost in a maze from my dreams. I sat there in the corn, crying, waiting for this all to end as a flash of light told me I wasn’t over with this nightmare. I was in a shadow. A great shadow as far as I could tell. I slowly turned to see what monstrosity had me in its sights. As another bolt came, I saw my death. A great worm, vivid and grotesque. It’s hellish red skin, dripping with some sort of ichor, glared at me. I saw its massive toothy maw. Rows upon rows of jagged teeth, circling a central point. All I could do is cry, as it engulfed me.

“What was that?” my sister asked.