Time Out, a Short Story by Jennifer Weigel
It was a nondescript fall day. Walking down the street, I glance over my shoulder to the right. A flash of movement reveals itself as a squirrel darting up a nearby tree. Suddenly both the squirrel and tree break up into a series of black and white lines that are then replaced with an error message, something about too many requests, whatever that means.
Wait, what? The message also flickers in and out of being, as if the content is still trying to update. I stop and stare at the squirrel-tree-error glitch. As I focus all of my attention on it, my reality buzzes back into full consciousness. The squirrel continues its ascent and poises itself in the crook of a branch, chirp-barking at me in a shrill throaty rhythm from above.
Confused and not knowing what else to do, I continue walking. A house to my left glitches in and out, but only while at the periphery of my awareness, and then a parked car to my right, a little closer in this time. Next, a car stopped at a stop sign. The world all around me begins to flicker as if it just doesn’t have the bandwidth or some unseen computer program driving this reality is recalculating somewhere in space and time.
What in Hell is happening? I stop walking and try to get my bearings. I shut my eyes. I rub my temples. I try to wish it all away. Am I dreaming? Is this some sort of nightmarish conjuring wrought by eating tacos too close to bedtime or something? I can feel the sun streaking across my face. Behind the fleshy warmth of my closed eyelids, everything seems still. All seems… normal.
Refreshed and slightly hopeful, I open my eyes again to the world but it continues to break up. My surroundings are rife with error messages now. Nearly everything is affected. The world around me flickers into and out of being. Houses, cars, trees, grass, sidewalk… nothing remains static as all come and go from my awareness. Even the sky dissipates to an empty hole. Not the vacuum of space but a cloudless, colorless void awaiting some kind of a refresh.
My heart races in my chest as I gasp for air. I glance at my hand as it itself begins to fade in and out of being. Terrified, I consider running. But with the world bouncing to errors all around me, I cannot get my bearings or maintain my balance. I feel nauseous and drained. Everything begins spiraling all around me. I fall to the ground in slow motion and am engulfed by
This immersive integration platform is experiencing too many requests and some processes are being throttled. Please limit the number of requests to reduce throttling in the future.
-Mountains-
A serene mountain landscape yawns; monumental evergreen trees fingering a brilliant azure sky stroked with wispy clouds. The air is crisper and fresher here, wafting its piney fragrance along the meandering deer path that bends and swerves down the gradual slope…
-Reset-
-City-
A bustling urban environment beckons, its diverse, brightly-clothed denizens laughing with one another, casually parting as you stroll through their midst. Sunlight dances through the crowd, reflecting off of towering buildings, cars, and bicycles. Sounds swell together as though breathing life into all interconnected within this rich tapestry of time and space. The street is a cacophony of alluring smells, and the savory scent of kosher all-beef hot dogs…
-Vegetarian-
Fragrant cumin zing of vegetable samosas…
-European-
Perfume of freshly baked baguettes embraces you in a warm hug as you sit at a small metal café table, savoring an espresso…
-Caffeine Free-
Lavender cremosa…
-Non-Carbonated-
Limonade…
-Reset-
-Beach-
The warm sand squishes between your bare toes as the soft ocean waves lap at your feet, beckoning you to wade further into the cool water…
-No Swimming-
The woven rope hammock stretched between two perfectly-spaced palm trees sways slowly as you lounge in its cradle, sipping a Mai Tai…
-Non-Alcoholic-
Iced lemonade in a highball glass through a red plastic straw…
-Eco-Conscientious-
Paper straw, the citrusy elixir providing respite from the steamy…
-Less Hot-
Warm breezy summer…
-Spring-
Spring air, children…
-Nature-
Birds…
-Silence-
You close your eyes, hammock gently rocking you to slumber.
We here at My Universe wish to thank you again for choosing our services. We know that there are many post-cataclysmic alternative realities available, and we appreciate your business. Please enjoy your respite from the societal collapse, and remember us next time you need to unwind.
And feel free to check out more of Jennifer Weigel’s work here on Haunted MTL or here on her website. And if you really feel like getting away and helping clean up the beach a bit, check out this relaxing video from Dylan Clark titled Seagrass. Or maybe that wasn’t so relaxing after all… 😉
Somehow I came across an older Midnight Panther comic book, Feudal Fantasy #2 from the late 1990s to be precise, and I thought I’d reappropriate it into a new story as a collage. Anyway, this is what evolved. Honestly there wasn’t a lot of content to work with, but that isn’t surprising seeing as how that wasn’t really the point of the original… And sorry, I saved the erotic bits for another project, though even that was pretty tame in this one – just a bunch of boobies.
Images: Black and white line drawings of wide-eyed anime women and men in various states of undress, looking cute, being coyly pensive, and hack ‘n slashing.
Text reads: I like… men who are dying. We ought to just kill everyone involved. The scent of blood!! I never see his face, he always wears a mask. What a waste of time. I don’t like this. The horny bastard. What a pig!! -Slash- Sounds like it could be fun.
Images: More black and white line drawings of wide-eyed anime women and men kissing and hack ‘n slashing.
Text reads: Mercenaries of glorious Edo, if you can make the flowers that bloom along the rivers during spring drop their petals, then do so. I’m the Ferryman of the River Styx. Whssh.
OK, OK – here are some boobies since you stuck with this so long. And here’s a link to some more of my comic book collages, in case you are interested.
And feel free to check out more of Jennifer Weigel’s work here on Haunted MTL or here on her website.
Black Friday.
You can’t beat the deals. So many of us. Waiting. Readying. Checking the time. Counting down the seconds. You better believe I earned my place at the start of the line. I’ve been camping out here since late Wednesday. Yeah, yeah, the holiday was yesterday. Whatever, I had my family’s full endorsement.
Because that new high-definition television beckons. The best in zoning out technology. All channel access. Cutting edge entertainment. Bleeding edge. That blade is sharp, baby. Like a razor.
But this kind of escapism is costly. A reality check says it’s not in my family’s budget. We don’t make that kind of money, and so here I am. Among all the others vying for the same prize.
Only one will get there first. Only one available. Must have TV. Must have T.V. Must. Have. T. V.
An employee approaches the door. Nobody noteworthy. A soon-to-be-casualty. No more. No less.
We rise and lurch into place. Ready…
On your mark.
Get set.
Go!
Original images generated with Nightcafe AI art generator.
And feel free to check out more of Jennifer Weigel’s work here on Haunted MTL or here on her website. Or if you just want more zombies, might I recommend either Elvis or the Fashionistas?
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