Creative writing

[Magicdirt]

I had an idea that we could start a story and anyone who wants to contribute could add as little or as much as they like and we'll see where it leads.

I apologise for my literary style.

All my enthusiasm for all matters pertaining to creative writing was quashed at an early age by high school teachers who took pride in humiliating me and ridiculing my work.

In year 9 at high school several people in my English class chose to draw pictures instead of writing stories and their pictures were given higher marks than my short stories were, so I went on strike and have never written anything of substance since.

Anyway here's my first attempt at any form of creative writing in many years. I haven't given it a title as I don't want to lead the story in any way, maybe the title will become apparent as the story evolves.

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"I should have paid attention to that gut feeling this time"

Gary thought to himself.

The daylight was almost gone and in the twilight he was starting to see things again, things that he knew weren't there.

"It's just my mind filling in the missing pieces"

"It's not real, not real"

Sticks were starting to look like snakes and some of the smaller trees were starting to take on a new almost human form.

Sometimes having a psyche degree could work against a man in ways that a layman would never imagine. Every thought that enters ones mind is put up to scrutiny and sometimes the outcome is unappreciated or even resented.

"I've got to stay positive or I'll never get out of this mess alive"

He told himself again and again in an effort to ward off thoughts of his impending doom.

"Useless fucking cliché what does that even mean ?"

He also knew that sometimes ordinary people were capable of extraordinary feats when faced with adversity.

Staying positive wasn't going to be enough and Gary knew it. He was going to have to get creative and manufacture some way out of this situation.

Edited November 21, 2010 by Magicdirt

[Amazonian]

He took a deep breath.

[Horus]

A cold shiver ran thru him,

This was going to be a long night.

Another dark journey thru the canals of the mind.

Yep here we go again.

Edited November 21, 2010 by colhawk

[Rabaelthazar]

The cold shiver was too much for him to bear, and as the energy rushed through his body, he soiled himself.

"Oh, jeez," he thought "brown pants aren't going to help me get out of this. I really should have listened to my gut feeling"

He closed his eyes shut and forced his mind toward a different place, a new place, and all of a sudden he experienced a sensation unlike any he'd felt before. His bowel worked in reverse and all that mess in his trousers slid straight back up. He checked down below and, believe it or not, there was no trace of the accident.

"Did I just reverse time with my mind?" he thought. "Perhaps this little trick might help me out of my predicament."

[santiago]

and suddenly as I was walking down the street deep in thought a panther black doberman ran across the road with what appeared to be a human hand in its mouth, without hesitation and driven from the unstoppable adrenaline rush that human flesh inspires I chased the dog down a deep alleyway but the dog agile and nimble and proceeded to jump over two dumpsters and make its way into a hole in the tin factory wall......I could hear it barking manically inside and the sound of other voices but as i trembled crawling on my knees to follow it in i had second thoughts from the fear of what suprises lurked inside this sepid factory waiting for me...........

[Rabaelthazar]

"I'm more messed up than I thought" said Gary out loud "All of a sudden I just switched from a third person perspective to a first person perspective"

That thought processed for a second and then

"Hang on" he thought "What am I talking about? Could it be that I'm aware of a third person narration in the past tense as I live out this situation right here, right now? Do I even exist? Those stick/snake things I saw before were clearly only the very beginnings of an intense mind freak-out"

Sitting down to enjoy the deep mind freak-out, Gary suddenly became aware of something else lurking on the peripherals of his consciousness.

Edited November 21, 2010 by Rabaelthazar

[Sallubrious]

There was something eating at him something he tried to forget from long long ago.

No matter how hard he tried it was always there in the darkness of his mind lurking and nagging for him to deal with it.

Gary had been in denial but the bitter truth was raring its ugly head.

[Magicdirt]

"I've let this go way too long, If I don't deal with this now I'll end up losing my mind"

Just then Gary felt a familar sharp sensation in the sole of his foot and then a bright light beamed into each eye.

"Fucken neuro obs"

Move toes move, c'mon surely you can see that I'm moving my fucking toes.

Sometimes the conversation in the ward was clear and legible, but other days it was nothing more than a distant murmur. The last three days the conversation had been unusually clear and legible.

Gary suddenly remembered the gravity of his situation, today was Saturday and if there were no signs of life by Sunday the life support would be turned off and he'd be left to die.

[santiago]

all because of the holiday to bali, he met MIN tang his beautiful woman who adored him as a king, once the flesh eating virus took a hold within the tattoo parlour.....a few tourists had to have their limbs amputated due to the onset of the bug and the advanced stage at with it effected the minority pf patients and unfortuantely it effected gary...

[Magicdirt]

Chapter 2

Garys' family blamed Min Tang for the predicament he was in, even though she was in no way responsible for it.

Ron was a bitter old man and his outdated attitudes were largely responsible for his tenuous relationship with his son.

"I can't believe this is happening to me, I already have one disabled son and now this"

Ron whinged to Gary's mum Megan.

"It's not happening you, it's happening to Gary"

Min remarked in an angry tone as she walked into the room.

"You have nothing to do with him for almost ten years and now you think you can march in here and just turn off the life support so you won't have to deal with it"

"You've go no say this girl stay out of it"

Barked Ron in a smug arrogant tone

" Actually I have, we were married in Bali and I just got back from the courthouse with an injunction to stop you pulling the plug"

Chirped Min in an uncharacteristic confident tone.

Min had studied law in Indonesia and knew enough about the Australian system to get things done.

Edited November 22, 2010 by Magicdirt

[Rabaelthazar]

Through the swirl of shapeless images and twisting paths of his mind, a voice licked across Gary's consciousness, a voice that meant something.

But what?!? Gary focussed on the voice, and slowly features began to appear. First, a set of almond eyes blossomed into existence, followed by a waterfall of jet black hair.

Min!!

Min! How could she have been anywhere but right there the whole time? How could he have forgotten her, even for a minute? The woman he'd grown to know as his soul mate, as his other half. His wife, for christ's sake! He focussed further, the thought of Min the first thing that had meant anything for what seemed like an eternity. He made himself remember the first time they'd met. He'd seen her across the room, that magical face, that tight little bottom... and probably his favourite thing about her... those perk little boobs.

..........

"Look" yelled Min, suddenly "A sign of life!". Sure enough, in the middle of the bed, like a newly metamorphosed butterfly emerging from its cocoon, something stirred, creating a tent like shape in the covers.

Gary's dad turned to look and his mouth fell open. He dropped to his knees and wept, singing "Praise be Jesus!! My son's aliiiive!!!". He slipped one hand into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a small, round wafer biscuit and popped it into his mouth. Then he twisted off the top of a small flask he kept on him at all times and drank long and deep of Christ's blood. A nice drop, he'd picked it up as a cleanskin for only $15, although it tasted more like a $40 bottle. Ron had once had a drinking problem, but since he'd found the Lord that was all behind him. Nowadays, he only partook in communion. Sure it was several times a day and often when he was alone, but it was communion, he swore in God's name.

[Magicdirt]

During the day Gary lapsed in and out of consciousness and each time he came around he was more alert than the last, by the next day he was sitting up and showing signs of being on the road to recovery.

The coma was short lived but it had taken it's toll. The virus had not eaten into Gary's flesh like it had with most other victims, it had manifested as viral meningitis and attacked his brain. MRI scans showed signs of damage around the cerebral cortex and some evidence of abnormal tissue around the hypothalamus and pituitary gland.

The damage had left Gary unable to sleep for long periods and his perception had changed, changed in a way that he couldn't properly explain to the medical staff.

He felt like his perception had shifted and normal vision was interspersed with a 3rd person perspective where he saw himself from outside his body. Sometimes being outside his body was comfortable and felt normal but at other times he felt detached and afraid that he might going into the light.

Gary began having flashbacks of incidents that were like lucid dreams, the kind of dreams you have just before you wake up where you can influence the outcome. Sometimes the flashback would result in a euphoric feeling that would last for hours and other times it would leave him shell shocked and almost catatonic.

Gary knew he should seek help but he also knew that help would involve the use of psychotropic drugs. Having a background in psychiatric medicine gave him a good idea of what sort of drugs would be prescribed and all the ramifications of those drugs. He decided that his case was different to most and introspection possibly with the assistance of certain substances not commonly prescribed could be of much greater benefit than the suppressive types of medications he'd prescribed all too often in his previous vocation as a psychiatrist.

After 3 weeks Gary was discharged from hospital, he wasn't really ready but a hospital is the last place you want to be when you're sick. His relationship with Min was still rock solid and he knew with the help of her and his friends he knew he'd make a much faster recovery at home.

On the way home from the hospital the third person perspective was in an unusually active state and his intuition was working at an exceptionally high level, before a song would start on the radio Gary would name the band and be correct every time.

"Take the offramp, this one now just take it, cans, cans there's cans"

He pointed to the ramp, Min looked at him in disbelief and said

"We live just up there about five minutes away"

Min missed the turn and almost straight away an announcement came over the radio that a truck had rolled spilling it's load of dogfood onto the road and the traffic was building up behind it.

Two minutes later they pulled up behind a line of stalled traffic to the sound of honking horns.

Could this be the third person perspective that kept emerging while I was in the coma, was that real or did I imagine it. Is this real or am I imagining this. Could it be a dream or am I still in the coma. Garys' mind was reeling with the idea that he could be able to see the future or that somehow he could have some influence over it.

"If the man in the car in front of us gets out his car and lights a cigarette, I'll tell her what's going on"

Gary thought to himself.

Seconds later the driver of the car in front got out and lit a cigarette.

"I don't fucking believe it"

Gary said aloud

"Don't believe what?"

Asked Min

"Who was that Yogi you knew, the one at the wedding, what was his name Rhamed or something ?"

"Rhami"

Replied Min

"He's into all that mystical 3rd eye crap isn't he ?"

asked Gary

"Yeh"

"We have to go and see him now, I can't explain it but we have to go and see him, maybe he can tell us both what's going on, turn around and go back to the last offramp"