Chapter 4
941 Words
Chapter 4“I declare this land successfully conquered.” Carter crumpled a napkin and dropped it onto an empty pizza tray. He and Tina were surrounded by the murmur of other conversations, faint pop music from overhead speakers, and the savory smell of pizza.
“You’re very proud of your gluttony,” joked Tina.
“You sound like you’re still hungry. Should I order another one?”
“I ate enough for a normal person. You ate enough for three normal people.”
“As an act of pride for one of the greatest treasures this planet has to offer. Pizza will be our most valuable export to the galaxy someday.”
“If the best thing Earth has to offer is pizza, we’re doomed.”
“Name something better.”
“I don’t know. Water?”
“Nobody throws a water party.”
“Yeah? What do we know about parties?”
“They’re overrated. Probably. Unless there’s pizza.”
“Oh good. I feel better never getting invites now that I know they’re overrated.”
“We were just too cool for that.”
“Of course. I’m sure valedictorians are all known for being super cool.”
“I know at least one who is.”
Tina looked down at the table. She wasn’t sure if this is what blushing felt like. She wasn’t used to it. She looked back up and hoped it wasn’t noticeable.
“So what makes you super cool?” she asked.
“Being a planetary ambassador.”
“Who gave you that title?”
“It’s an honorary designation. Clearly I have the most documentation out of anyone we know.”
Tina paused for moment. “Documentation,” she considered. “You mean the same thing that any three-year-old could draw?”
“Hey, don’t mock those sketches. When they get displayed at the Smithsonian one day, you won’t be so quick to make fun.”
“And you’re sure you’re not just… imagining things?”
“I don’t think so,” said Carter with a serious tone. “I think I’m beginning to figure it out. It was never just doodles and daydreams. Especially after today. This was different. I think they’re being sent to me. Like a transmission.”
Tina put her elbows on the table and rested her head in her hands, studying him. Carter couldn’t tell if she was anxious or embarrassed.
“A transmission,” she slowly repeated, “that’s making you draw things.”
“Now you’re catching on.”
“Okay then, where are they coming from? What do they mean?”
Carter shrugged. “Maybe they’re invitations. To a special party.”
“But… you only see them in your dreams. Nowhere else?”
“Just flashes in my head. I’ve never actually seen anything like that before.”
Tina sat back in her seat and uncomfortably looked away.
“I know you think this is insane,” he said, “but if I knew where they were coming from, wouldn’t I admit that? And I know this is what got my grades in a mess last year and maybe you’re worried that’ll happen again—”
“What made this one different?” she interrupted.
“What?”
“You said that especially today, this one was different. How?”
Carter held his breath, debating if he should mention the signals and sounds from today. Those had never happened before. Even thinking about it now, he wasn’t sure if he heard it again or was just replaying the sounds in his head. He sat back in his chair.
“Maybe you’re right,” he said. “Maybe this is a misfire in my brain and I’m going crazy.”
“Don’t say that. Ever,” she said. “You’re not crazy. You just… need someone to listen. Besides, if you’re crazy, I’m crazy.”
Carter chuckled. “So what makes you—”
The world froze around Carter.
Everything stopped. He saw Tina go still as a statue right in front of him. As he looked around, it was like the planet had been paused.
The whole pizza place blurred and vibrated, then dissolved into pixels. From the top down, it all disintegrated around him in digital blocks until everything was gone. Carter hopped out of his chair just as it crumbled and disappeared completely. The table was next. Even Tina melted and vanished.
When every last molecule had withered into dusty ground, Carter found himself alone, standing in the middle of a desert illuminated by the moon. Thousands of stars specked the black sky. Silhouettes of distant mountains surrounded the valley.
He repeatedly spun and looked in all directions. There was nothing for miles. He yelled out for Tina but made no sound.
There was a sting in his neck as if something pricked him. A light breeze turned into a strong wind. He looked up at the night sky and the countless stars.
A portion of the star canopy faded above him. It started from a central point and spread outward. The stars dissipated and left a gaping hole of black in the sky. An outline of hard edges appeared. The gap took shape and something materialized.
It was a triangle.
Carter turned to run until a powerful burst of light from above froze him in place. He struggled against it but he was locked in this familiar prism and slowly rose into the air.
Multicolored ribbons of light fired upward from the desert ground. Psychedelic wavelengths danced through the air like wiggling eels in the sea. A discord of reverberating, electronic wind chimes blasted in this kaleidoscopic rave. He fought to grab his skull when a spike of pain hit him.
In a flash, the world turned to pixels again and collapsed on itself. Carter dropped to hard ground. He rolled onto his side and coughed continuously. Breathless and dizzy, he got up to his feet and looked around.
The desert was gone. He was on a flat rooftop. The night sky here had considerably less stars. The smell of pizza wafted from nearby ventilation shafts. Carter clutched his chest and caught his breath.
“Carter?!”
He jumped at the sound of his name. He turned to see Tina standing near a maintenance ladder built into the edge of the roof. Her eyes and mouth were wide open.
Carter shrugged.
“Abracadabra?”
She remained stunned for a moment, but finally spoke.
“Good golly goldfish.”
- Writer
