Herb
noticed it one Sunday morning. His alarm clock was gone. So was
his lamp. The ugly brown throw rug that used to be by the front
door was not there any longer. That spot on the carpet where it
had lain looked newer than the rest of it.
Someone
had been in there while he was at his computer working on his
novel. Why in heck would anyone take that nasty rug? It was ugly,
and his dog had wet on it, besides! The thieves must have wrapped
something up in it to carry away.
His
friend had given him a little ice last night and some pills. Herb
thought the drugs might enhance his writing skills and stir some
new creativity. He had been feeling a little down and kinda blue.
He must have been so wrapped up in the sci-fi saga he was writing
that he had not heard a thing.
Walking
around the beige room things seemed normal enough. Herb sat in
his big blue recliner and contemplated what could have happened.
Where had the things disappeared to?
He
must have dozed off again, for on awakening, he saw that now his
front door and outer wall were gone.. and as far as he could tell,
so was his front yard and the neighbors' big green house across
the way. This was beginning to be a really bad trip. There was
no mist.. no fog.. nothing.
His
bookcase full of Ray Bradbury, Stephen King and P.S. Gifford collections
was gone also. There was nothing there! Nothing left of them at
all. Now the bookcase itself was fading right before his unbelieving
gaze. Herb shut his eyes and then opened them and looked again.
What
the Hell was happening? Herb had never been so hungover! Things
were disappearing right and left. The ceiling fan slowly whirled
itself into nothing and the television set was slowly disappearing.
He
glanced out the window into nothing just before his navy drapes
disappeared and along with the bay window and his east wall. 'Wow',
he thought, 'This is getting spooky. Better kick back right here
in my chair and get some more shut eye and let this thing wear
off.'
He
knew it must be the effects of the drugs he had done last evening,
but, damn, this was so real! Realer than any drugged dream he
had ever had before. Not to worry; things would be normal after
a while.
Unable
to sleep, Herb opened his eyes and saw that there was nothing,
just nothing surrounding him and the recliner that he laid in.
Grabbing the handle, he thrust the chair upright and put both
white sock covered feet on the floor.. or where the floor used
to be.
His
midnight blue carpet was not there and he felt nothing else beneath
his feet. 'This is bullshit', he told himself. 'I`m gettin' outta
here for awhile.' Herb stood up and took one step then another
onto the nothingness.
Herb
felt himself falling, plunging, being swallowed up and then a
hissing, a merging of his soul and body into the nothingness..
and then Herb was no more..
Perhaps
he never had been...
