Somnambulance Pt 2

I boarded up in a random Motel 8
Off the side of Needles Freeway
The electricity was out
But I didn’t want to draw any
Unnecessary attention
So I just sat there in the dark
Trying to devise a plan

I’d taken the idiot road and run
Not showing up or calling in
Would not go unnoticed
And I realized that about an hour in

I’d finished off a six-pack
And was now formidably dazed
I was chewing on the left over ice
When the lights and TV flicked on and off
The split second image on the TV
Was of a man lying in a bed with a drink
Somewhat like me but not completely
It was eerie enough to bother me
But eventually I gave it up to coincidence
Or the booze messing with me
Probably both
Then I rolled over and fell asleep before I knew it

When I woke up
The lights and TV were on
But this time for good
I slowly rolled over to switch the light off
And saw a face in the window
Startled and with a throbbing headache
I looked away for a moment
Then looked back
It was gone

There was nothing remarkable about the face
Just a white male, with buzzed hair
A round face and big lips
He wasn’t smiling or scowling
Just looking
Needless to say, I was spooked

I reached around the desk for my gun
But the remaining bottle vision hindered me
Stumbling, an empty beer bottle
Crashed to the floor
That having woken me up further
I quickly edged my way to the door
Unlocked it and peeked out

I saw three men talking
Standing around the hood
Of a corvette
One of them was the man in the window
The other two were black

The booze taking hold of my nerves
I found myself angrily approaching him
“Why the hell you staring through my window?!”
My speech was slurred, but I didn’t care
I was at that point where I couldn’t
“Calm down,” he said softly
Looking me square in the eyes
But still with no expression
The two black guys seemed to be getting a little nervous
Now I was right in front of him
My stomach acting up a bit

“Are you five-o?” one of the black guys asked
“Do I look it?” I asked, snarling
“No,” the two said simultaneously
“You just seemed interesting is all,”
The strange white man cut in
“I thought you might like what I’ve got.”
A deal? Oh jeez, I thought
I could bust these three right here and now
But for some reason I didn’t want to
Maybe it was the booze
Maybe it was the fact that I’d committed a murder
And my priorities had changed
Probably both

I was never into drugs
I smoked pot a few times in school
But nothing hard
Just not my thing I suppose
But now it wasn’t sounding too bad
Maybe it’d take the headache away

“What do you have?” I asked
“I’m glad you asked,” he said
His composure never waning
How the fuck can someone be this calm?
Maybe it’s the drugs…
Yeah, maybe that’s it…
“I just got something new in.
It lets you go back to places in the past
And linger there.”
“Oh?” I questioned, puzzled
I’d never heard of anything like that
“Why would anyone want to do that?”
“Why wouldn’t they?” he asked me
“Think about a moment you’ll never forget.
Your first fuck. Your first kiss.
Your first love. Your first kill.
Whatever you want. You’re there.”
“Doesn’t sound that great to me.”
“Do you want some or not?”
Finally he was cracking a bit
A little impatient, huh
Maybe he was coming down or something

“Alright, I’ll take whatever.
Two doses I guess.”
“Good man,” he said.
He handed me these four green capsules
“Mix those with water
Then think about the moment you wanna go back to.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
I paid him and went back inside
This time I shut the blind though
So I wouldn’t catch him staring at me…

(continued…)