Short Story: Lightning Struck, Part Five

By Sebastiaan

The fifth and final part to my story.


Lightning Struck, Part Five

If only it had been a dream...

There we were, with the overcast sky howling thunder at us. We argued, I was mad at you for acting so strange. That's when I changed, I lost myself. After all, it should have been you who was mad at me for acting strange.

I threw you out of the car and drove away. But I drove blindly, right into a tree. I was knocked unconscious.

When I woke up, it all seemed a bad dream. A doctor was hanging over me. "Good morning," he said. "Sleep well?" And it was here that the recovery process had started.

It is only now that I understand what beast lures inside me.

"I hope you can hear me, I hope you can see me," I called out loud on top of the hill were we last were. The car was standing next to me, a new car. I looked at the sky, which was rapidly turning a dark shade of grey. "It's these three words: I am sorry." I sat down, and waited for the thunderstorm to get here.

Lightning struck again.

Dust to dust... I thought. Storm clouds gathered all over my head.
Ashes to...

Short Story: Lightning Struck, Part Four

By Sebastiaan

Part four to my story.


Lightning Struck, Part Four

Perhaps it's time I came to terms with it.
"You don't have to. Tell us, I mean."
I stared him blankly in the eye.
"Are you still with us?"
"Yes I am, doctor Sherman," he answered.
Sherman whispered something in the ear of the man next to him, who then slowly walked forwards and started talking: "This won't hurt, it's just to get you to focus. Do you understand?"
"I certainly do," he replied.
"Good, then..." the man started, but he was interrupted by a smack to his face.
Doctor Sherman stood up and grabbed the sedative from the man who just fell to the floor. "You wouldn't hurt me, now, would you."
"I have... a name..." he hissed through his teeth.
"Yes, murderer is your name. You murdered your wife, remember?"
His eyes turned big. "Liar!" In rage he charged forwards, but the doctor avoided the attack.

Next thing I knew I woke up, bound to a bed... There was something.. vague.. about coming to terms... "Help!" I screamed. A man with a black eye came inside, he looked at me sourly. "That seems painful."
"It is," he said, grinding his teeth.
Then doctor Sherman came inside. "Good, you're awake. I'm sorry we had to bind you. We can't take another risk."
"I'm sorry, but I do not... understand..." I said hesitantly. "Oh.. oh... hey man, I'm sorry... I..." I said looking to the black-eyed man.
"You remember?" Sherman asked uncertain.
"Yes... I think I do." A flash shot through my mind, lighting everything. It was a bright flash. I shook wildly with my head, and then it dawned on me. "No.... no! No!!!" I started screaming. The doctor and the black-eyed man left the room.

Lightning struck again...

Short Story: Lightning Struck, Part Three

By Sebastiaan

Part three to my story.


Lightning Struck, Part Three

There was much going on. Mostly there was much confusion, but especially the striking resemblance between the two was remarkable! At least, that's how it looked towards the outside. What few noticed, was what was going on inside the, so to say, spacious cavern that was his. There was a lot of shouting back and forth, a lot of fighting. Yet few did understand...

Perhaps I should first make clear: he is not me. He is not even a part or facet of me. 'He' is just a bad dream, yet a dream I can't seem to control. At times I am not myself. It mostly seems to happen at night, which is why I sleep bad.

Yet perhaps I should first finish the story...

There I was, with you, in the car, remember? It wasn't too long ago, and we were simply waiting for the thunderstorm to pass over, for it was still right on top of us.

"I'm sorry..." you said. "It's just... you're so difficult to live with. Mood swings and such... you don't even seem to notice!"
I did indeed not understand what she was talking about, until much later, when it dawned on me that what seemed to here as mood swings... were...
"Please.. don't... be mad?" you asked. "Please forgive me..."
I stared blankly ahead, deeply in trance or such. Then I said: "It's okay, you have to do what you have to do." I understood perfectly what it was she would do next. Yet I didn't seem to care.
Amidst all the conversation, the storm seemed to grow. It was a perfect projection of what was going on inside the cavern.
"Goodbye." I watched you, as you slowly moved your hand away from me, towards the door of the car. With a soft click it opened, and you stepped outside. Then you shut the door. I couldn't watch. Yet still I knew.

It wasn't 'till much later, I realised this was not the way things had gone. This was my projection in the cavern, this was what my mind seemed to wish had happened...

Short Story: Lightning Struck, Part Two

By Sebastiaan

Here's part two to my short story.


Lightning Struck, Part Two

"What on earth are you doing?" you said.
"I... I don't know." he replied. "It's just like this body isn't mine, you know? You don't know, of course you don't. No one understands. No one..."
"You're not yourself," you said in a somewhat frightened voice.
"Yet.. I feel... so like myself. So much more myself."
"Snap out of it!"

He fell, face down on the floor. Snapped back to reality.

Next thing I saw was her face over mine. "You had a bad dream," came the words from your mouth.
I shook my head. "No, no, it wasn't a dream... Please, you have to believe me."
"All right, I will, but please, tell me what was in your dream."
"I saw... you, and, well, myself. It was as if I looked upon both of us... Yet.. it wasn't.. me?"
You shook your head, but I could tell from your face, you were bit shocked by me telling this. Yet your words contradicted this: "It was just a dream, come, let's go back to sleep."
"I... I don't think I can. I'll get a glass of water and do some crosswords."
"But... we've slept just over an hour!"

It was this, this last sentence of her, that triggered me. After I went downstairs, I looked at the time. 5:56 blinked the time. "Just over an hour?" I murmured. "And I had a dream in that one hour of sleep?" This can't be right. A great white flash blinded me. It came from outside the window. What to do...

Short Story: Lightning Struck, Part One

By Sebastiaan

I'm as much a poet as I am a writer, so here's a short story for you. It's not based on real events, it's just an exercise in writing. I will be posting it in a few parts.


Lightning Struck, Part One

It all began with the thunder that night, a bolt of lightning striking down mere meters away from us. You shivered, I put my arm around you, lightly caressing your arm, but you shook my hand off.
"What's wrong?" I asked you.
"Nothing..." you said under your breath. Then lightning struck again, and I decided we should hurry towards the car, which was nearby.
Once we had entered the car, I asked once more: "Please, darling, what's wrong?".
"It's just the weather," you replied, looking away.

In retrospect, I should have known. And I guess I secretly knew all along things would never be the same again. Just not exactly how bad it was.

It actually didn't start with the lightning; it started a few months earlier, with, of all objects, a carrot. Such a small and simple vegetable, orange, mostly, with a little bit of green on the top. The dinner you made me was wonderful, but for one small, seemingly harmless thing. You put carrot in the salad.

To any outsider, this would have meant nothing. But even though you knew I hated carrots, you put them in the salad. I didn't mention it to you. Perhaps I should have, but I guess, in the end, it wouldn't have mattered. This time, I couldn't save you, me, or us.

Lightning struck again, you shivered in the car, once more. I noticed you glancing outside. I said: "It's okay, you're safe in here, there's no need to go outside." You looked at me and smiled. A smile I had not seen before. It wasn't your smile... and the glance, it wasn't your glance, yet it told me everything.

You had every reason to go outside. Yet I didn't know it yet.

To be continued...