"Toxic magical poisoning doesn't always have to be fatal. I'll do what I can," Isabella said as I passed out.
I was confused and scared as the darkness rushed in on me and kept on rushing. I could feel myself moving, but my sense of what was up and down wasn't working. I felt like I was being pulled in all directions. Finally, after what seemed like hours, a pinpoint of light appeared. The light was my only point of reference and it swung around me in a dizzying way that suggested I was tumbling.
The light began to grow larger until it dominated most of my vision regardless of where I turned. The white light began getting streaks of color until a whole rainbow stretched past me. I jolted to a stop and realized I was sitting in a waiting room.
I looked around for a clue as to where I was, but it was like any other waiting room I'd ever been in pastel colors and old magazines. The decorative art was a bit strange, but since I wasn't really sure where I was, I just shrugged it off. The digital clock over the receptionist window was the weirdest item in the entire room. It was in military time and read, '24:00'. There was no 24 in military hours, but I figured it was a mistake and it mean midnight. It didn't seem important so I shrugged that off too.
I wasn't sure why I was anywhere at midnight, but the number in my hand said 255, and on the wall near the clock another digital readout said, 'Now serving 254'. I was next and that made me feel good. Better than the DMV, I thought.
Across the room from me, a TV hung on the wall. An old rerun of The Price is Right was on and Bob Barker was hosting. Personally, I always thought he was the best host.
People came in and some must have left, even though the room never got crowded. I watched at least three episodes before I got bored and looked back at the ticket board. It still read, 'Now serving 254,'. Damn, I thought, this was going to take forever. And while the ticket number didn't change, the clock had. The new time read 23:15, which confused me for several reasons.
First, three episodes with commercials accounted for three hours, and yet, either I blacked out for close to twenty-four hours or the clock was going backward. And if it was going backward it should have been more than 45 minutes. I started to get up and go to the window, but I heard the theme song for Night Court. I loved Night Court and turned back to watch. Episode after episode of my favorite old shows played as I happily forgot all about speaking to anyone. I felt someone sit beside me and smiled when I saw it was Isabella who entered.
"Sorry, it's taking so long, but damn they have some amazing shows on."
"Alex? You're in great danger." She looked around for a moment. "Where do you think we are?"
"In a waiting room. Don't worry, I'm next."
"What are you waiting for?"
"Uh..." I tried to think but nothing came to mind. It didn't seem important so I said, "I'm not sure, but it shouldn't be much longer."
"How long have you been here?"
I looked at the clock and it said, '22:45'. "About an hour fifteen. I think I'm at the DMV."
"Time must be moving at a different speed here. You're not in a waiting room, you're dying. You haven't been here for an hour and fifteen minutes, you've been in a coma for three days. It's taken Brenda and me this long to break through the walls you have up. I don't know how much time so you have to listen to me.
According to Brenda, only you can get through this. She says your mind has created this fantasy world for you, but it'll also give you a way out. Look at me," she said as I stared at the TV. "You can't stay in this room or anywhere else, they're traps that'll keep you stuck. You have to keep moving forward, find a way out. Do you understand?"
"Sure, but have you seen what's on," I asked pointing toward the television.
A look of concern crossed her face before it turned to one of resolve. Her fist drove hard into my nose. Pain exploded throughout my face as my nose shattered. The walls of the waiting room changed and decayed until they looked diseased. The people in the room aged by decades as the blood gushed from me.
Disfigured orderlies rushed from the inner offices and grabbed Isabella. I tried to stop them, but they ignored me as they pushed me to the side. Isabella had become more radiant against the background of the grotesque office. She was no match for the monsters that pulled her from the room, but she made them pay for every inch they drug her.
As she disappeared through one of the doors, I heard her scream, "Don't give up, don't stop, watch the clock, it's counting down. Get out before zero!"
The door slammed before she could say more. I ran to but the door was locked. I kicked at it and beat it but it refused to move. I screamed in frustration and gingerly rubbed my nose. I thought if I sat for a moment it would feel better. Even as the thought crossed my mind the walls began to heal themselves and I began to feel better.
A loud thump slammed into the door as Isabella's voice rang through my head one last time. "Dammit, Alex, come home to me!"
Without thinking, I reached up and twisted my nose. The pain returned and so did the decayed walls. I tried all the doors, all locked. I went to the receptionist's desk and knocked on the window. Nothing, it wouldn't move. I was trapped and the urge to sit was getting stronger. Any time the thought crossed my mind I tweaked my nose and refocused.
The clock drew my attention and I noticed it was moving faster than before. Before it took hours for it to move forty-five minutes, but as I watched it seemed to be moving at normal speed. Maybe my knowing I had to leave was speeding the process. In my fear and frustration, I grabbed a chair and threw it at the receptionist's window. It shattered. I was expecting a desk, phones, and other office items, but I saw was none of that. I stepped closer and looked through only to see a deep blackness.
I looked around for something to help me through when the room began to crumble and shrink. I grabbed the sides of the window grimacing as the shards of broken glass cut into my hands. With strength born of desperation, I pulled myself through and dove into the unknown.
The fall was expected, but as it continued, I began to worry about how far above the ground I had been. After what seemed like very long minutes, I slammed into something wet and forgiving. It was a pool. The darkness disappeared allowing me to discover I was at a party, and all the guests were nude. The men and women were breathtakingly beautiful with perfect bodies. As I watched, it became apparent they had no qualms about who they fucked or who fucked them.
As I made my way to the shallow end of the pool I could see a man stop next to a woman. She had grinding against another woman, but at his touch, she dropped to her knees. Without protest, she opened her mouth and began pleasuring the man. When another man stepped behind her and she raised her ass so he could enter her too.
The other woman didn't blink an eye she just turned and found a man of her own. She lied back onto a lounge chair and pulled the man's face into her pussy. Others joined in until they were a writhing mass of body parts. None of them spoke, just pulled and pushed other people into a position before enjoying themselves.
