The Escape

SWISH! BAMM! CA’BOOM!

“OUCH! SON-OF-A-BITCH!” I spouted.

The laser beam scorched the side of my head, as it ricocheted off the tree I was leaning on. It probably missed scrambling my brain by a gray hair.

Christ, give me a break, I thought, as I gasped for air.

I had just stopped running for a second to catch my breath.

The stench of burnt flesh strained my nostrils. I lifted my hand to the side of my head to feel the damage. Blood smeared my hand, but was washed away quickly, as it was raining cats and dogs. To add to my misery, I was soaked to the bone and shivering like a vibrator.

Shit! That was too close. You best keep moving and keep your head down, Tommy boy.

I’d been dodging numerous laser beams ever since departing the dome. The laser gun just happened to be the chosen weapon here in the future.

Where are the screaming anti-gun fanatics when you need them?

This has got to be a violation of my Second Amendment right. It seemed everyone after me had some sort of a weapon and was bound determined to terminate my ass. I didn’t even have a stick or stone to fight back with.

It would have probably been a good idea to have checked the weather report before I decided to venture out this dreary evening. But then, I really didn’t have time to conjure the circumstances. My outside contact believed they were on to me and told me that I best be getting out of Dodge on the double. I took his advice and ski-daddled, with only the shirt on my back and no foresight of the consequences.

Monroe must had gotten wind that I was up to no good, because he and few of his warrior’s have been hot on my trail ever since I had left. It had to be that damn tracking device they installed in my big toe, because I had discarded the communications helmet right after departing the dome. In my hast to make tracks, I had forgotten about the darn tracking device.

My great-great-great-great grandson had brought me and many others to the future to help preserve the human race. He had convinced us we could help save mankind from extension.

Well, getting shot at by your sibling and his cronies isn’t much for preservation. Someone told a big fat lie. Or maybe I should say, someone didn’t tell the truth, the whole true, so help them God. So why, pray tell, was my grandson now trying to scatter my brains all over the place?

Right now, your guess is as good as mine. But on second thought, I probably know the answer. Talk about being naive and gullible. It took awhile but eventually I discovered Monroe had been hiding the truth from us. When I accidentally discovered it, I knew there was really only one option. I had to join some other originals like me, who had escape the Dome earlier. Some had told me that we had been deceived, but I didn’t believe them, until now.

The wasteland outside the Dome was really not a good place to be on the run. Especially in this type terrain and weather. It was hard enough to find food and shelter, let alone a friendly face. But, my contact, had assured me there would be no problems. He said he had it all planned out. Then he had to go and get in the way of one of those laser beams, before he had time to let me in on the plan. I’m in a heap of trouble now, to say the least.

Chilled to the bone, feelin’ and most likely lookin’ like a wet rat, the Kid is now on the run out here in no man’s land. I haven’t a clue as to what to do or where to go. I’ve been running around like a chicken with its head cut off. I knew I should have stayed in bed this morning, or at least gotten up on the right side.

SWISH! BOOM! Laser beams were lighting up the dark and dreary sky. My surroundings looked like a scene straight out of a ‘Terminator’ movie. The bad guys had the upper hand and looked to exterminate anything and everything that moved, which apparently included my ass.

Christ! Move your butt, Tom, I barked to myself. The bad guys are a comin’ and their laser guns are singing a death song.

One big gigantic problem here. I hadn’t the slightest idea where to run. Where does one run in a wasteland when getting fired upon, with no place to hide? I just knew I’d best be movin’, or I’d soon be toast, with my peanut butter and jelly scattered to kingdom come.

Another laser blast hit the tree right above my head and provoked me to make like a scared jackrabbit and high tail it as fast as my legs could carry me. I should had been going to the gym and stayed in shape, cause the muscles in my legs were cramping. Hindsight is not foresight. But then, who could have foreseen that I would be dodging laser beams a hundred and seventy years in the future.

Come on man, I’m getting to old for this shit.

The heroics belonged to my marvel hero buddies. But they again, were nowhere in sight.

My movement intensified the laser beams, which made a bad situation even worse. All the laser lights had me thinking I was in the middle of a rock concert, only it wasn’t music blasting me.

There really was nowhere to hide and definitely nowhere to run. I could eat a whole box of Russell Stover assorted chocolates right about now. I could definitely sense some post-traumatic stress disorder coming on.

I heard someone shout, “Set your laser's to stun. We must take him alive.”

Somehow, those words were not very reassuring. Had no idea what a ‘stun’ would feel like and I wasn’t going to hang around to find out.

I hadn’t run far, when an ear splitting blast and it’s force propelled me through the air. Hey, I ain’t no Superman, nor Spiderman, but I took to the air without a cape or web.

It was not a soft or dry landing. The wind was sucked out of me as I flew head over heels, tumbled, and crashed face down in a horrendous stinky mud puddle. It was not where I nor anyone for that matter, would want to land.

A skeleton, filled with smelly squiggly nasty looking varmints, popped to the surface, with me in its arms. Not the type of hug anyone would crave.

AHHH! Holy shit! Get off of me you son of a bitch!

Hey, I appreciate a hug now and then, but not with this horrendous guy. My blood pressure spiked as it scared the you know what out of me. I didn’t have my ‘old fart’ diapers on for this event, which just added to the stench and my misery.

I thrashed about in a panic to escape the nightmare I had sailed into. My frolicking about just stirred up some frickin’ rats that had been gnawing on the skeleton bones. You know how I hate them suckers. But they would be the least of my worries.

I hurdled the bones off me and frantically crawled out of the mud pit. As I looked up, Monroe came charging on a huge, and really mean lookin’ black stallion. It’s fiery red eyes spoke of the devil himself. Fire shot from its nostrils as it reared to trample me. The thought of being a carcass was not very reassuring, as I thrashed about in the mud hole to escape the flying hooves of a horse with no name.

Monroe’s head was enveloped with a blue static electricity halo, that was not of an angel. Behind him charged a band of his warriors screaming bloody murder with their laser guns spittin’ hell and damnation.

Monroe waved a sword type weapon that shot a laser beam from its tip. Flashing him the Vulcan peace sign had no effect. His facial expression told me he was hell bent on frying my ass.

A blast from his laser sword dissipated the two middle fingers on my left hand. Before I could contemplate two missing fingers, another blast hit a dead tree just a few feet to my right.

I could of sworn someone had said to set their laser's to ‘stun’. Apparently he hadn’t gotten the message.

I watched in slow motion as the dead tree fell towards me. I was frozen in my tracks as it smothered me under its mass. The weight of the tree pinned me beneath the mucky water. I’m back among the rats and skeleton bones. My lungs begun to fill with the murky water as I grasped for a straw. This was turning into one horrendous nightmare.

A horrific blood curling scream, that gyrated from deep within my gargling throat, jolted me from my sleep. The scream protrude through my body, bolted me upright and back to reality. It scared the crap out both Karen and I.

“What is it Tom? ” She asked.

I was shaking like a leaf on a very windy autumns day. The bed sheets were soaked in my sweat. My heart was pounding like I had just crossed the finish line in a marathon.

Oh man! Another nightmare and it was a dilly. They had increased these past few weeks.

For Pete’s sake, what the hell is going on with Tom?

Excerpt from the yet named sequel to "An Abduction Revelation". Thomas L. Hay, Author