Skip to main content

"The Glitch"

Going on a road trip with my mom was supposed to be a relaxing time. She and I hadn't been around each other for a while, so we assumed this summer on the warm clear day we were having, would be the perfect time to see each other. She picked me up and we headed to the beach, which was an hour an da half drive. It seemed like a long drive, but it gave us time to catch up on what was happening in each others lives.
"How's the college life been treating you?" she asked.
"It's been rough the past couple weeks. I have finals coming up before too long and have been studying my butt off for them." I replied. I looked out the window and watched as the trees passed us by in a blur. "I needed this, to get away from all this stress."
"I know exactly what you mean, work has been rough the past couple of days. We've been swamped with so many customers that we had to hire on fifteen extra people this week to keep up!"
I was shocked, fifteen people was way too many to hire on anywhere at one time. We continued our chat for probably an hour, which passed by in minutes. It passed by so quickly that I had begun to question if the clock in the car was right. I checked it with my phone, and sure enough, it was right.
With being completely dry on anything to talk about, I looked out the window. There was a wide clearing with trees in the background clouded by smoke, could only be made out as silhouettes. I was watching the trees in the distance pass by when I noticed something. There were multiple trees in the distance that looked exactly the same, same tips, curvatures, thickness, everything was exactly the same.
I had begun to put a closer eye on this when the trees in the horizon were blocked by a forest of smaller trees that sat nearer to the road. I shrugged it off as nothing.
My mother started talking again, and we carried on a short conversation about some shows that we'd been into lately. After the conversation, I turned my attention back to the trees. Perhaps I would catch something similar to what I saw earlier. I took a glance at some of the small trees that flew by and noticed some similarities to each one. The limbs being bent in a particular way, which part of the trees had leaves blooming from them, even the height of each of them. They were each set almost similarly, as if someone had copy and pasted the same tree, but rotating them slightly to keep them from looking similar.
I turned to bring this up to my mother, yet was horrified when I saw nobody was at the wheel. The steering wheel was still turning as if by the hand of an invisible person. In horror, I turned my attention back to the road. This time, it was night out. It made no sense. I looked down at the time and saw the time had only changed by turning the A.M. to P.M. There's no way it could possibly be night time. 
My mom spoke again. I turned to her to find she was once again sitting in the driver's seat. How had nothing seemed out of the ordinary to her? I tried telling her what all was going on and her only reply was laughter, telling me I had an overactive imagination. Not a moment later, a man in a green trench coat was standing in the road directly in front of us. My mom didn't seem phased by this, as she kept on driving as if nothing out of the ordinary was going on.
I was at a loss when I saw that instead if hitting the man, we simply drove through him as though he had vanished. Then I heard the breath on a man in my ear. He whispered the words, "Run, the Simulation is coming for you."

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

01 "A Monstrous Storm"

  The shadows crept in through the window is the dark clouds overtook the mid-afternoon sky. A feeling of dread and hopelessness flooded me, tying my stomach into a knot. Looking at the clouds, I saw a streak of purple lightning streaking across the sky until it crashed down somewhere along the skyline with a thunderous boom, followed shortly by the ground rumbling beneath my feet. It was jarring. what started as a regular summer afternoon was quickly turning into something dreadful. The nearby trees were all swaying lightly in the breeze as rain gradually started pouring down, eventually creating a curtain of turrential downpour that threatened to flood the streets. Another flash of light followed by another thunderous boom forced me to look away from the window. It was becoming far too real for me. The oncoming storm was becoming too much to bear. I walked back into my bedroom and sat in front of my television. There was a news guy standing before a weather map. He was po...

"Hooked"

T he summer can be the perfect time to get away, to unwind while kicking your feet into the cool water while the hot sun is beaming down on you. But what if the bright summer sky was hiding behind it something even darker? I had been waiting for today all week. They'd finally opened the stream up for fishing. I was a little upset at the fact they'd decided to raise prices, but I didn't care, it was a nice day outside and I wasn't about to waste it sitting inside when I could be fishing. With my tacklebox in hand and my fishing pole in the other, I made my way to my truck. I threw everything in the back seat. I was about to head to the driver's seat but hesitated when I thought about bringing my cooler. I had one in the back ready for fish, as well as housing some canisters of worms. But what if I brought one along for some drinks? After a few moments I decided it might not be the greatest idea. It would be too much to carry and I didn't trust anyone that...

"Tapping"

T here are some things we are all afraid of, whether or not we choose to admit it to ourselves. Perhaps you feel that the ocean is a safe place, yet when you arrive you find yourself fearing what may be swimming below you. What brushed up against your leg? Can they feel you trembling? Can they smell your fear? There I lay, in bed in an attempt to fall asleep. My television was sitting at a low volume as to not awaken me by surprise as I drift to sleep. I've had the unpleasant experience before. Tonight, I turned to my side, facing away from the harsh light of the television, yet still able to make out almost perfectly what they were saying. What was on right now was a couple arguing in a sitcom. I didn't care much for what they were saying, but the roar of the laugh track after every line or two was somewhat soothing to me. I was so close to drifting to sleep, when across the room there came a tapping on my window. I sat up and turned toward the window. It was pitch black...