All Your Fates (Currently editing/updating)

Chapter 8: Same as It Ever Was ~ Carrie Cutforth

Track list: 

Talking Heads: ONCE IN A LIFE TIME

///

DAVID’S POV

I sat on the couch finishing my mush as Atticus sat opposite to me…his shoulders slumping and slumping, and then…a soft snore.

I had to get out of here. Notwithstanding that I couldn’t bear to be in the same room with Atticus let alone the same universe, I had to stop him: my other self. I had to stop him from finding true love with that one Emma out there I knew existed.

The one that would love and cherish me for me…and not, you know…me for the other me’s out there.

I stood up quietly and tried to tiptoe round Atticus, which was less easy than expected considering my ‘sea legs’.

I  cracked opened the large metal door and it let out a loud squeal. I stupidly shushed it with my finger against my mouth to bid it quiet and then rolled my eyes at myself.  What had that doctorish-type female call me? Asshat asshat? Yeah…that…

On poking my head out the hallway, I realized all was dark still. Right! The fuse!

Fuse boxes are usually in utility rooms, right? I thought to myself. I crept back into the room and looked around, before getting that strange feeling I was about to play one of those flash-based Escape games. You know: solve-the-puzzle-to-unlock-the door-before-leaving types.

Thankfully it didn’t turn out to be so complicated, as I found it fairly quickly above and behind a stack of boxes and boxes of RAID spray cans. And to think all this time I had always only been concerned about rats! 

I carefully opened the fuse panel, and squinted at the fuses. The boxes of Raid cast a shadow too dark on the fuse box. I needed lights to fix the fuse in order to fix the lights. Just my dumb luck.

I squinted closer towards the box…it seemed to be…moving?? Or more like…writhing?? I squinted closer to it when suddenly there was a tap on my shoulder.

“Yeesh!” I cried out and then shushed the person standing now before me, who had been behind me but now in front…ugh…you get the idea.

“Why are you shushing me?” the doctorish-type female said crossing her arms and flashing a wicked grin, “I’m not a door.”

“Oh, you saw that did you,” I harrumphed.

“You have all the ninja escaping skills of Galapagos Tortoise. Yeah, I came back to bring you this,” she said, reaching into her lab coat pocket to pull out…

“A cookie?” I croaked, unsure of the gift but taking it nonetheless.

“Sure why not,” the doctorish-type—

“--Hey,” I regarded her with suspicion while taking a bite from the cookie….OMFG!! COOKIE!!! Is that apricot...honey…and cinnamon?? “What’s your name?” I said, trying not to spit crumbs in her face as I devoured the bite of cookie in my mouth.

“Oh,” she pursed her lips wistfully which made her look rather cute, “You can call me Doc.”

“Is Doc really your name?” I asked.

“Does Doc seem like it would really be my name?” she glared at me.

“Point taken,” I said. “Do you have your penlight still? I need to fix the fuse.”

“Sure,” Doc said, if that indeed was her name, “But you are going to need one of these first.” She riffled through one of the boxes labelled RAID and pulled out a can, thrusting it in my hand.