Daydreams (Be careful what you wish for)

I woke up some time ago, though I’m not sure how long, but I’m still here. The only question is, where is here? As near as I can tell, ‘here’ is some form of cage. A box. I felt the outline of what I think is a door on one side. It seems to have a vent, or air- holes, or something, but I can’t see out of them.

Gods, I hate how calm I sound, even to myself. On the other hand, I’ve done my freaking out already. A couple hours, it felt like. The whole kicking and screaming thing. The box didn’t budge. No one came to my rescue. No one even told me to shut up.

Then, as with everything else, the geek in me came through. I started to think about ways to get out, all the books and movies that I’ve gone through, I remembered that every girl in this situation, in every movie never got anywhere by kicking and screaming. Sigourney Weaver comes to mind, in Aliens IV. How she was clinical, if slightly deranged, about escaping, and killing everything. That helped. I realize that I won’t be fighting aliens of my own, or any other creation on H. R. Giger’s, but it calmed me down, none the less.

Stupid bastard was right. About being a telepath, at least. ‘Stronger than Professor X,’ he said. An assassin, turned mercenary. In my case, he’d bent his own rules a little, and was playing delivery boy. He told me all of this on our ‘date’ today.

Or yesterday…

I’d met him at the appointed place and time, and we walked a short way to an Italian place I’d been meaning to try, but never wanted to make room in my college-budget for it. On top of that, it was a popular place for business lunches, and was busy, but never packed. A nice, public place. I figured, what the hell? I’d be getting a free, nice meal, even if he turned out to be a dud. Right.

As expected, the meal started with the usual small talk, but shortly after we ordered and, I realize now, Jack knew the waitress wouldn’t be coming back any time soon, he told me.

“I’m a telepath,” he said, looking hard at me.

“Come again?” Hold on, I think I have some crazy in my ear…

“A telepath. I can read, not to mention manipulate, other people’s minds. I’m good at it, too. Stronger than you can imagine. Much like that…X? man, Professor X, I believe. You know of him, right?”

“Of course I know of him.” I stood. “I also know that you’re nuts, and I need to leave,” I said, reaching for my phone.

Jack chuckled. It wasn’t a friendly sound. That one action sent chills through me. “You should sit back down.” I sat, though I wasn’t aware of it at the time. “That’s not it, you know. I’m also a mercenary. Used to be an assassin. My specialty was in the discretion of the act. I told people that they should kill themselves, and they did. Made it seem natural. Or I can make them believe that they’re not who or where they think they are, so they inadvertently did it themselves. Nothing like what you could do, if you turn out to be what my employer is afraid of. Anyhow, I digress, that style was more for the marks that had some resistance to direct mind to mind contact. Mind you, I prefer the old fashioned way. It allows for the creativity to be seen by others, as well.

“But don’t you worry about that. I’m not planning anything of that nature for you. No, you’re…special. I just have to bring you home.

“You see, you come from a long line of Weavers. Illusionists. Your line is, in fact, the most powerful that has ever existed, however the Weavers themselves come along only once in a great while. There’s a loose pattern, so there’s a few generations to watch carefully, and lucky you! You happen to be the one and only member of the generation with the highest chance of inheriting the gift. It should help to know that your parents almost had us convinced that you had been a stillborn, and that they had no children. They made you very difficult to find, hiding you on another plane of existence, and themselves, never visiting.

“This is where I come in. If you do have the gift, I scramble things around in your head and you’ll become a mindless slave for my current employer, though I think I’ll have you spy for me, as well. Don’t worry. Your master would never know, and you won’t know.

“Or, if you don’t have the gift, I deliver you to the Academy, where you’ll train to become the only type of slave that is guaranteed never to breed. Perhaps I’ll come, and visit when you’ve completed the training.

“After all, you are the last of a line that I’ve been paid good money to make sure ends. We certainly can’t have you going off and having kids, now can we? You are, and must remain the last.”

I was speechless, to say the least. He’s crazy. Out of his fucking tree… I told him as much, and he just sat there, smiling at me. I got up again, and walked off to the bathroom. I heard him behind me, laughing in that creepy way.

I was reaching into my bag as I walked into the bathroom, and as soon as the door shut, all sense just up and left the world. First, there was nothing in my bag but maggots. I looked at my hand, and it was…covered. Crawling. In maggots. They started moving up my arm. Started…

…eating.

They were eating my arm. All of it, the flesh, the meat. I knew that it couldn’t be real, but that didn’t help much. My rational mind trying to explain to my eyes that I wasn’t in fact seeing clean white bone where fingers should be just wasn’t happening. More bizarre was that I could feel them moving, but not eating me. I ran over to the sink, and turned on the water as hot as it would go. Tentatively, I put my fingers under the water.

At first, the only thing that happened was that the water parted over the bones as though flesh were still there. Then, after what seemed like ages, the meat and skin reappeared. I put more of my arm under the stream, laughing. The maggots went away, my arm came back.

I ran back to my bag and grabbed my cell phone. Faster than I thought possible, I pounded out a text message to Lisa saying that he was a fruit, and that I needed her to come. Now. As soon as I sent it, however, my mind went a little funny. I felt the overwhelming need to return to the table, to Jack.

I got back and he was staring hard at me. I think he looked a little confused. He took my hand and led me out the door. We walked like this, calmly, down the street.

“You were doing that. The maggots,” I said, not making it a question.

“Yes. How did you banish them?” He didn’t sound entirely happy.

“I ran my arm under hot water. Where are we going?”

He smiled. “To my car.”

Neither of us said anything else until we reached it. My jaw dropped. A pristine Sixty-four-and-a-half Mustang, the same shade of blue as my grandfather’s ’71 had been. I was going to say something, though I don’t remember what it was anymore, but he cut me off.

“This was all just part of the plan to get you where I need you to be. Now get in.”

I got in, and that’s the last thing that I can remember until waking up in this box. The only other thing that’s happened since then is having overheard two men talking, and one said that we’d be at the Academy in a day or so. I guess that means I don't have the gift..

I don’t know how much of what he told me is true, about my family, at least. It still doesn’t change my situation. I’m still here, alone and confused.

In a box.