Sight Seers by P.S. Singleton (Sample Chapters)

Chapter 2: Passing Notes

When Ashton had taken me to his car, the fluffy, bear-like dog had been waiting patiently on the passenger side. Before my vision cut out for a short moment while getting in the car, I had read the German Shepard's tag as the name Captain.

On the drive to Ashton's house, black and white hues decorated the landscape. Fur under my palm told me my hand rested on a dog's back, but I couldn't see him. Just moments ago, I had claimed to be blind, but now, I didn't know what to think. I wished to understand, to have some clue as to how my vision worked. Turning up empty on the subject, I decided to let the quiet wash over me. With how little I knew, I needed a short break from the questions.

Captain huffed, drawing my attention. I stroked his back, trying to calm myself. With each touch, my vision glitched in and out again. I paused, my hand hovering in thought. A theory formed itself in my mind. Now worked as good a time as any to test it. I let go of Captain, and everything became pitch black. Returning my hand on his back, the room returned in black and white.

            It all clicked.

            I could see.

Just not through my own eyes.

Ashton remained quiet throughout the drive, his eyes occasionally peeking a glance at the backseat. His head stretched a mere inch away from the roof of the car due to his height. An armored suit hung to his form, and he wore a backward cap on his head of curly hair. A nervous smile had been permanently glued to his face.

            The city rested on a slope. At the bottom of the hill, the hospital we'd come from, shopping centers, restaurants, and the like resided cozily. Upward the slope, homes watched the town below from rows of their own neighborhoods. The dried leaves of fall drifted past the windows, all in blurred mute. Glitches across the horizon caught my attention beyond the leaves. The bright pigments of the sky divided into panels, complete with a false sun. I squinted for a better view at the artificial vault, following the cracks in the panels up to the top of the dome shape. What was wrong with the real sky?

"We're here!" came Ashton's voice.

A house sat in the middle of the row, two stories with all the windows I could see on the bottom floor. The front door waited at the end of a sidewalk path. A tall oak seasoned its leaves across the yard.

Ashton came around the side and popped open my door. Captain jumped from my lap, and my world suffocated in darkness.

Waving my hand around, I eventually caught my brother's grip. Like a light switch, color filled my sight. Painted a welcoming green, the house smiled with its white trim. We stepped up to the unfamiliar home. A welcome mat brushed our feet. It read, Doorbell broken, yell DING DONG really loud. That earned a smile.

            Ashton shut the door behind us. "Here, let me take a look at your arm." He walked me to the couch and sat me down.

While my brother tended to my scratch, I took in the house. Captain rest his face in my lap, my cold knees warmed by his fur. The couch resided to the left, the dining area and kitchen to the right. A narrow walkway led to a set of open stairs, decked like horizontal dominoes. Atop the stairs on the second floor, three rooms hid behind closed doors.

            "Her first day and she's already almost gotten herself killed," Ashton muttered. His voice seemed to be the only familiar thing I could grasp to, but for all I knew, I had fabricated the vague memory. My vision once again blacked out as Ashton's hands came off me. "Let me go grab something to clean that up, and then I'll be right back." His brisk footsteps slipped away.

            With the momentary quiet setting in, I grew less tense. I started with steadying my breath. My past, present, and future lay a mystery to me. A mystery imperative to unravel. But for now, my only responsibility was to breathe. That would be enough.