"Falling from the Sky" Grueberfest '07 (985 hits)
Category: NoneRating: 1.7 on 35 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Bigmike (View user info) at 2007-10-18 00:41:58 EDT
George sat bolt upright in his bed. His hair was a mess and there was sweat pouring off of his body. His breath was shallow and hurried and his heart was racing.
He was also screaming.
Once he realized that he was in the comfort and safety of his bedroom he began to settle down. his heart was still racing, but his mind was starting to convince him that he was in a safe place. He sat there for a minute and then swung his legs over the side of the bed. He placed both his hands on the sheets covering his mattress and grimaced. They were wet. They were so wet that he thought he had pissed himself in the middle of the night. Then he realized that the entire sheet was wet. He stood up and turned to the bed, grabbing the sheet by the corner of the mattress and, turning it down slightly, he could see the wet and stained mattress underneath. He let go of the sheet and placed the palms of his hands on his chest. Moving his hands around slightly, he could feel the sheen of sweat that was covering his body. He had never felt like this before, had never had nightmares in his life. As he peeled the sheet and blanket away from the mattress, he tried to think of other things.
After depositing his bedclothes in the washing machine, George went to his bathroom and started the shower. He shed the rest of his sweat soaked clothing and slid under the rushing water. The hot liquid rushed over his body and instantly made him feel better. Running the soap over his naked body and cleaning the night sweat off of himself had a tremendous effect on George. His breathing was finally getting back to normal, the tension had begun to dissipate from between his shoulder blades, and his skin was beginning to feel fresh as he imagined the nasty sweat running down his legs and into the bathtub drain.
By the time he was done cleaning himself his heart rate was back to normal and he was actually humming a Tom Petty tune to himself. He proceeded to the sink to shave and when he was done with that, he proceeded back to his bedroom.
As he entered the bedroom, he looked at the sweat stained mattress and made a mental note to clean it somehow. He then walked to the closet and pulled out a nicely pressed Brooks Brothers dress shirt along with a finely tailored Ermenigildo Zegna charcoal gray pinstriped suit. He laid the clothing gently over the ironing board that he had standing next to the closet door and crossed the room to his dresser. He opened the top drawer and pulled out a pair of Calvin Klein boxers along with the same brand of black dress socks. He put the socks and underwear on and crossed the room to do the same with the shirt and suit. He chose a navy blue patterned necktie from the tie rack in his closet and, once the tie was knotted around his neck and his collar flattened around it, he felt like a new man. The though of his night terrors had disappeared and the only thoughts he had were for what kind of money he was going to make on this most righteous of days.
After checking his look in the full length mirror he had on the back of the bedroom door, George headed downstairs to the kitchen. His coffee maker was perfectly on time with a nice steaming carafe of freshly brewed Columbian Supreme and he imbibed of it heartily while eating a few Stella Doro's from the package that was sitting on the kitchen table.
After breakfasting, George crossed to the closet by the front door and removed a camel colored Burberry trench coat. He placed the coat over his right forearm, grabbed the keys to his BMW looked down at the piece of throw rug that was next to the closet door. After perusing the six sets of black men's dress shoes that were waiting for him there, he decided on his Thom Browne loafers. Slipping his feet inside the fine leather shoes, he turned and walked out his front door.
George took one step out onto his stoop and he started falling.
He immediately started tumbling head over heels. The coat he was holding flew away out into the air and his keys flew out of his hand. He was waving his hands wildly, trying to balance himself somehow and his mind was waiting for the thud that would happen when he hit the ground. After a few seconds of tumbling, George frantically looked around and saw that he wouldn't be hitting the ground.
He was free falling in mid air and he was beginning to pick up speed.
Looking around frantically, George was in a mild state of shock. He couldn't figure out why he wasn't flat against the sidewalk. As he turned his head from side to side, he was moving his body trying to get some semblance of balance. The wind was picking up and making it tremendously hard for him to maneuver in any kind of organized fashion. He finally decided to try and just stop his tumbling and flatten out. His brain was screaming at him to do something, but with a strong wind at his back, he couldn't do anything but try to organize his thoughts. He could feel the clothing surrounding his body pressing and flapping against his skin. His shoes felt awfully tight all of a sudden and his necktie was strangling him. He reached up and loosened the knot on the tie and, as he did so, the back of his suit coat came up around his neck. The wind was flapping it tremendously around his head and shoulders. He reached up and pulled as hard as he could to get it up and around his head. The wind grabbed it, flung it over his head violently, and flipped his body around. He could feel the jacket being ripped from his arms as he flipped and he screamed as both his arms dislocated at the shoulder. He was now falling facedown and his arms were flapping around his body from the force of the wind. His eyes started to water from the force of the air, but he was still able to see where he was falling to.
He was falling towards nothing.
As far as George could see, he could see nothing. The sky around him looked very bright blue, but there were no clouds anywhere. All George could see as far as he could was blue sky. As his eyes became somewhat accustomed to the gale force wind that was assaulting them, he began to make out other things too. Little black specks were falling in the air around him. He looked a little closer and saw that some of these specks were also tumbling somewhat while others were just falling steadily. As he looked closer, he came to another realization. These specks weren't really specks. They were other people. As he watched the falling bodies below him, he also risked turning his head to either side. There were bodies there too. Some tumbling, some not. He thought he could hear an occasional scream or two, but he wasn't sure because the wind in his ears sounded like a tornado.
George continued to be mesmerized by all the bodies falling around him as he moved through the sky. His face felt like it was going to be ripped apart as the flesh of his cheeks began to stretch. The flapping of his shirt and his pants against his skin was starting to hurt and his shoulders were screaming with pain. As he continued to look down at the bodies below him, he also started to see different shapes in the open sky.
Birds.
He couldn't really make out what kind of birds were below him but he knew one thing for sure. These were big birds. He could see them gliding through the air, weaving in between the falling specks. These birds were easily the size of his house, and as he watched one bird in particular flying below him, he made a gruesome discovery. The birds were eating the falling bodies. It was like a localized flock in a feeding frenzy. They were nowhere in the rest of the sky except for this one defined area. He watched as the bird below him took a body in its mouth and devoured it whole. He watched as it did it again and again and again. He also watched as he fell closer to this bird each and every second.
As he began to get closer to this flying creature, he realized the scope of what he was seeing. This bird was huge in comparison to even the largest dinosaurs he had ever seen. He began to fall closer, and closer, and closer until he could see the amber color of the huge beasts eyes. Those eyes turned up to him and when George saw it looking, he knew that he was a dead man.
At the instant the bird turned and lunged for him, George heard a screaming voice. Suddenly a body came falling past him at a tremendous rate of speed, missing him by no more than ten feet. George could see the body of a man fall beside him. He could see that this mans skin had begun to shear off and as he fell, huge clumps of bloody matter was spewing away from his body. George realized that this man was disintegrating as he fell. Before he could see anymore, the huge bird swooped up and caught the disintegrating bloody mass in its beak and swallowed whole. As George fell by, he thought he heard a loud snap as the mans body was broken in two upon impact with the birds beak.
George continued to fall.
There were more specks now, more bodies around him. He estimated that he was one of maybe a hundred thousand or possibly a million falling bodies. His skin felt numb from the constant beating of the wind on his clothes and he tried to close his eyes and think, and figure out what was happening to him. There was no reason for this. There was no purpose. There was only the fall.
George opened his eyes again after what seemed like an eternity of falling. His skin was raw and was starting to crack. He could feel the clothes covering his body start to rip at the seams. He could hear the fabric as it ripped, little pieces falling upward and behind him as he continued his descent. He knew he would fall forever. He knew he would fall until all his skin was gone, his body being peeled like a banana, his bones ultimately ground to dust from the friction of the air.
And then he saw something else.
More huge beasts below him. He could see them moving slowly in the air, waving their long slender tails behind them as a dolphin might move its back fin. The movement of this tail allowed them to mobilize their tremendously huge bodies.
From what George could see through eyes that were almost completely swollen shut was terrifying. These creatures had the appearance of gigantically swollen swordfish. Their bodies were long and fat, and they had impossibly long pointed swords coming from what he surmised was their heads. He could see them from the side, and he could see they were lifting their heads up to face the approaching falling swarm of bodies. As he got closer, George could see bodies smashing into the sides of these horrifying beasts. He could also see why they were pointing their heads towards him.
He could watch as the bodies would impale themselves on the swords of these gruesome beasts. He could watch as the bodies split apart as they were impaled. He could watch as tentacles would shoot out of these creatures mouths and catch the detritus that careened off their waiting swords.
George looked down and saw that a beast was positioned directly under him. He watched as he got closer and closer to the maw of this insanely grotesque creature. He started to scream a full minute before he was to be impaled and his splattered remains become the forage for many large tentacles.
As he hit the creatures sword, something happened.
George sat bolt upright in his bed. His hair was a mess and there was sweat pouring off of his body. His breath was shallow and hurried and his heart was racing.
He was also screaming.
Once he realized that he was in the comfort and safety of his bedroom he began to settle down. his heart was still racing, but his mind was starting to convince him that he was in a safe place. He sat there for a minute and then swung his legs over the side of the bed. He placed both his hands on the sheets covering his mattress and grimaced. They were wet. They were so wet that he thought he had pissed himself in the middle of the night. Then he realized that the entire sheet was wet. He stood up and turned to the bed, grabbing the sheet by the corner of the mattress and, turning it down slightly, he could see the wet and stained mattress underneath. He let go of the sheet and placed the palms of his hands on his chest. Moving his hands around slightly, he could feel the sheen of sweat that was covering his body. He had never felt like this before, had never had nightmares in his life. As he peeled the sheet and blanket away from the mattress, he tried to think of other things.
He looked around the room and was disgusted. There were empty beer cans littering the floor and he could swear there was a pile of vomit over in the corner. He trudged to the bedroom door and walked down the hallway to the bathroom, kicking some dirty laundry out of his way as he went. He opened the bathroom door and went to the toilet, where he took an stale beer piss. The toilet was filthy as was the sink. He went back into his bedroom and perused the floor for some clothes. He decided on a ripped and dirty AC/DC T-shirt and some soiled jeans. He didn't bother to change his underwear even though he had been wearing the same pair for three days. After dressing, he headed downstairs.
Once in the kitchen, he opened the fridge and grabbed a beer . George had always been a believer in "The hair of the dog that bit you," and this morning was no different. He figured the beer would help him take his mind off of the freaky dream he just had. He shuffled over to the kitchen table and opened up the pizza box that had been sitting there for four days. He grabbed a slice of rock hard pizza and began to gnaw on it with vigor. He washed the disgusting pie down with ample swigs of Old Milwaukee.
When he was done, he decided it was time to go out and see if he could score. He was starting to itch for a fix and if he didn't have one soon, he would start to get the shakes. Once he got the shakes there was no telling what would happen. He staggered over to the closet by the door, pulled out a ragged Michigan State sweater, slipped on a pair of old flip flops, and walked out his front door.
George took one step out onto his stoop and he started falling.
User Reviews
Submitted by Bigmike (user info) at 2007-10-24 09:36:01 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by scourge (user info) at 2007-10-23 13:16:01 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
i'd put a smiley emoticon here as a sign of goodwill, but i hate those things.
No need scourge. Rules are rules. :)
********************************************************************************
Submitted by Siren (user info) at 2007-10-23 10:19:15 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
You have an imagination as active as a 9 year old, but with the grown-up twistedness of Stephen King, only you don't suck as much. You're more like Poe. It's people like you who make it worth checking ubersite every once in a while.
Such high praise Siren. I'm glad you enjoy my stuff. I surely enjoy writing it.
Submitted by FlakMonkey (user info) at 2007-10-23 13:16:34 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
LOVED IT
Submitted by scourge (user info) at 2007-10-23 13:16:01 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
i'd put a smiley emoticon here as a sign of goodwill, but i hate those things.
Submitted by Siren (user info) at 2007-10-23 10:19:15 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
You have an imagination as active as a 9 year old, but with the grown-up twistedness of Stephen King, only you don't suck as much. You're more like Poe. It's people like you who make it worth checking ubersite every once in a while.
Submitted by Bigmike (user info) at 2007-10-22 22:51:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by scourge (user info) at 2007-10-22 12:45:13 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Submitted by MudWhistle (user info) at 2007-10-22 12:42:15 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
you already won with this right?
ok, sorry mike but there are rules now
Submitted by MudWhistle (user info) at 2007-10-22 12:42:15 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
you already won with this right?
ok, sorry mike but there are rules now
Hilarious.
Submitted by scourge (user info) at 2007-10-22 12:45:13 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
Submitted by MudWhistle (user info) at 2007-10-22 12:42:15 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
you already won with this right?
ok, sorry mike but there are rules now
Submitted by MudWhistle (user info) at 2007-10-22 12:42:15 EDT (#)
Ranking: -2
you already won with this right?
ok, sorry mike but there are rules now
Submitted by Sacrilicious (user info) at 2007-10-21 15:43:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
The imagery was very vivid and I really like the story- it's a creative take on the genre.
I found some of your sentences/word choices a little bit awkward, which surprises me, because I don't often notice that in your writing. That said, it didn't take away from the story at all for me.
Submitted by monkeyswithguns (user info) at 2007-10-20 09:24:47 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Bigmike (user info) at 2007-10-19 23:00:04 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Danger_Ranger (user info) at 2007-10-19 08:06:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
It's all well and good to negatively/passively rate posts here, whinge and complain that the site's gone to pot and users need to lift their game, so it irks me somehow when good stuff gets an offhanded nought - even when it shouldn't.
Danger, it doesn't bother me how people rate. I never get the feeling that someone is rating me negatively because they don't like me or want to be a asshole even though I know it happens.
What difference does it make as long as a few people actually enjoy what I write?
I certainly have fun writing it.
Submitted by DasHeer (user info) at 2007-10-19 12:44:33 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by zwerg (user info) at 2007-10-19 12:27:11 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by BlazinBull (user info) at 2007-10-19 10:09:21 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Amontillado (user info) at 2007-10-19 09:46:11 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
good
Submitted by Ducky (user info) at 2007-10-19 08:58:02 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
It can be so difficult to capture the terror associated with dreams. You made me feel like I was there, and it was horrifying.
Submitted by Danger_Ranger (user info) at 2007-10-19 08:33:54 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
drums fingers....
you know there was this one time, at Serious Writers camp - I didn't go on account of my being grounded (I'd etched 'your mum' on my bicep, and Mum thought it was about Grandma), but the following Monday I'd overheard kids from camp saying that there wasn't enough latitude allowed, I sniggered a bit at their 'allowed', good grief its *ALOUD* you backward kiplings, anyway they were complaining about there being too many constraints, not being "allowed" (chortle) to express themselves, the format being too constrictive, write a short story based on two people meeting but not shagging, you know how it is. So anyway I thought fuck this I'm going to *express* myself, but then I got grounded again, for trying to write my name in the school pool, with pee. It was like living in nazi germany - I swear to god.
Submitted by ChaosJester (user info) at 2007-10-19 08:12:54 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
This was pretty freakin' salubrious...
Submitted by Danger_Ranger (user info) at 2007-10-19 08:07:11 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
have another
Submitted by Danger_Ranger (user info) at 2007-10-19 08:06:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
It's all well and good to negatively/passively rate posts here, whinge and complain that the site's gone to pot and users need to lift their game, so it irks me somehow when good stuff gets an offhanded nought - even when it shouldn't.
plus 4 big dyke. goes a way to explaining why I don't have a perfect 2.00 rating as well. morons.
Submitted by Hilarity_Ensues (user info) at 2007-10-19 07:48:23 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I'm not sure you can write anything that's less than awesome.
Submitted by ghola (user info) at 2007-10-19 07:46:10 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by HotWillie (user info) at 2007-10-18 14:24:04 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Is this one true also?
haha just kidding.
Submitted by Bigmike (user info) at 2007-10-18 13:24:25 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by Void_Where_Prohibited (user info) at 2007-10-18 13:15:58 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
"...little pieces falling upward and behind him as he continued his descent."
Falling upward?
Yes, to him they looked like they were falling upward.
Submitted by Void_Where_Prohibited (user info) at 2007-10-18 13:15:58 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
"...little pieces falling upward and behind him as he continued his descent."
Falling upward?
Submitted by triangle_man (user info) at 2007-10-18 11:52:45 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Old Mil
Submitted by Brdn_Nkd (user info) at 2007-10-18 11:36:34 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by CaptainThorns (user info) at 2007-10-18 09:46:53 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Although I knew the story was going to come around full circle, that certainly didn't make it any less enjoyable. Awesome idea, terrific execution.
Submitted by EatMeCompletely (user info) at 2007-10-18 11:00:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I enjoyed this thoroughly.
Submitted by BlazinBull (user info) at 2007-10-18 10:32:17 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Very creative. Much enjoyed.
Submitted by CaptainThorns (user info) at 2007-10-18 09:46:53 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Although I knew the story was going to come around full circle, that certainly didn't make it any less enjoyable. Awesome idea, terrific execution.
Submitted by Fungah (user info) at 2007-10-18 08:32:06 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
You beat me, so you'd better win this.
Submitted by orphelia (user info) at 2007-10-18 04:31:26 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Awesome.
Submitted by Merlina (user info) at 2007-10-18 03:55:12 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by supadupapupa (user info) at 2007-10-18 01:43:10 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
That was really good. I could actually feel the wind and the fall...
Submitted by Ballare (user info) at 2007-10-18 01:06:21 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by beer-turtle (user info) at 2007-10-18 00:51:05 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I dig it.
I like the circular story.