Friday, January 30, 2009

ZERO

PRETTY PLANET

Police took a man into custody after Christmas Eve chaos in the city square. Police have not released the man’s name, but witnesses claimed that the man looked a lot like Col. Jacob Lubeck, a missing person from September. Bystander Lou Johns said, “When I asked his name all he said was ‘Zero’ he lost consciousness for a moment then started screaming ‘where is she?’. The cops got there at that point.”
Lubeck’s disappearance was not the only happening of September 9th if any of you recall the “Jesus Mystery” which has taken the world by storm. These occurrences have a lot of people fearing what the future will hold. This is Phillip Watts at CTRNOS NEWS.
“That’s great Phil, looked good, sounded better!” said a small stocky man from behind a T.V. camera.
“Do you understand what we just broke?” Phil asked the camera, “We have to get an interview with this man; we could have the story of the millennium. This could be bigger then Jesus him self.” scratching his chin Phil turned from his co-worker and said, “I need an interview.

*****

“Dr. Eastwell?” says a young girl with golden brown hair covering the left side of her face.
“Yes Jasmina” the doctor answers while fixing her glasses.
“Well…”
“Yes.”
“Well do you think I could go outside for my birthday?”
The doctor looks down the long sterile hallway and shakes her head “ Mina, there is nothing I’d like to do more, but you taking off from the group when we were caroling on Christmas Eve, is not going to let that happen. I’m sorry but your birthday will be spent here with the people you know, all of your friends.”
The girls young face began to twitch as though she were about to cry.
The doctor’s heart sank, “That man you helped could have hurt you, could have hurt us all. We don’t want you to get hurt Mina, it would break our hearts.” she said as her voice begins to crack “Your so close Mina, by this time next year you’ll have a job, a home, and maybe a boy-friend!” Dr. Eastwell says touching the young girls face.
“WOULD DR.EASTWELL PLEASE COME TO DIRECTOR TELLARS OFFICE.” The intercom barks frightening Mina and the doctor a little.
“Well Mina can we continue this conversation during tomorrows one on one session?” asks the doctor. The girl nods and hangs her head.
“I think that I remember that man I helped he looked so familiar...” Mina says quietly.
“We’ll talk about it tomorrow, O.K.? I have to go to the director’s office before I get in trouble.”
The girl looks up with a smile and asks, “11 am, Right?”
Dr. Eastwell smiles back and then walks down that sterile off white hallway to a door where she swipes her I.D. card opening the door. With one more look back at Mina she exits the ward.

*****

RING-RING “Watts” answers the man into his cell phone
“Jude, its Phil, how’s things.” the voice asks
“Shitty, all the crazies are out tonight, I just got off a call to an apartment building, where a guy ate his girlfriend’s throat… Now that’s a story for you, bro.” he states as turn a corner in his unmarked police car.
“Funny you say that, I need your help.” Phil says
“Yes?”
“I need to know the name of the man arrested in the city square Christmas Eve.”
“I can’t tell you his name Phil, they won’t tell us his name.” answers Jude.
“Who?” asks Phil.
“The Army, they’re all over this thing” Jude says pulling his car over to the side of the street. “I can tell you where he is.”
“I’m listening”
“River view, they’re holding him for a psychological evaluation” says Jude, “There’s no way to get in there, and not even I have clearance. But doesn’t Sophia work at Riverview now?”

*****

Dr. Eastwell walks up to a large oak door and raps at it twice.
“Yes?” a voice answers from the other side.
She opens the door and peaks her head around it saying, “Director Tellars, you called to see me?” she sees the director, a tall balding man in his 50’s, sitting at the large oak desk peering up at her.
“Come in, come in Sophia…” he waves her in, “... I have something very important to ask you. Please have a seat.” he points to a chair and asks, “How long have you been here at Riverview?”
“18 Months director.”
“Please call me Peter.”
“Peter,” she says with smile, “what is this all about?”
He sits back in his chair taking his glasses off and putting them on his desk, “Well, as you know we are holding that man from the city square incident here at Riverview.”
“I’ve heard that rumor” she says.
“Those rumors are true Sophia,” he says sitting forward with hushed voice, “and the military are breathing down my neck to release him.”
“Why is the army involved?” asks Sophia.
Peter takes a deep breath and rubs the top of his balding head, “do you remember the ex-special force officer that went missing in the beginning of September?” she nods “Its him he has been missing for almost 4 months now and they want to know where he’s been and what the hell happened at the city square on Christmas eve?”
“What does this have to do with me?” Sophia asks
“You have done great things with Mina. You know how long we tried to break her amnesia; she no longer has the delusions of being the earth and being raped by the entire world. In 6 months you have, on paper turned her into a well adjusted 17 year old girl. We are hoping you can do the same for Col. Lubeck.” He answers and slides a folder across the oak finish.
“When do you want me to talk to him?” she asks browsing through the file folder an inch thick, stamped “Top Secret”.
“4 o’clock tomorrow afternoon when,” he looks down at a post-it note, “General Vanoza, your military liaison arrives from Ottawa.”

*****

“Nothing you can do that can’t be done, nothing you can that can’t be sung, nothing you can say but you can learn how to play the game, it’s easy!” a voice sings out from room 143-1111.
A over weight orderly stomps up to the room looking through the small glass window on the door, “Ha! Quiet in there it’s 3 in the morning the ward is trying to sleep!” He says spotting Zero singing into the air vent. “What are trying to wake up the entire hospital pal?”
“No” he answers, “Just Singing a song, is there something wrong with that/”
“Save it till the morning and you can sing to your hearts content, but right now you have to be quiet, O.k.”
“Right” Zero says then sits on his bare cot and looks to the floor whispering, “All you need is love, all you need is love.”
The orderly struts down the hall humming the same tune only stopping to mutter, “I love that song.”

*****

“Mina, come on in.” Sophia says. The young girl walks in closing the door behind her and sitting down in the chair in front of her desk.
“Hi Dr. Eastwell, sorry I’m a little early.” Mina says looking at her feet.
The doctor shuts the military file she was reading and tucks it under some other folders, “Be sorry for nothing Mina, I was awaiting your arrival”
“Really?” asks Mina with a smile.
“Of course, I promised that we would talk today, and I have good news for you.” Sophia says with a giggle, “But first, I have some questions, you said you remembered the man you helped on Christmas Eve, where is it you believe you have met him before?”
“From long before I got here.” She answers
“Mina you’ve been here since you were 5 years old, so you mean you remember your life before the amnesia?”
“No, this is going to sound strange, but I think I met him when I was born.” She replies in a mousey voice.
“What do you mean when you where born? That doesn’t make any sense you couldn’t remember anything before you arrived here, you have never mentioned this, at all.” Sophia starts off raising her voice in the grips of frustration and bewilderment.
“He sings to me at night.” Mina smiles and touches her cheek with the back of her hand.
“WHAT?” Sophia belts out, then pauses to compose herself. “I Was going to let you have a day pass for your birthday, but this kind of talk has moved you back months in progress, maybe years. I just don’t understand why you’re destroying your chances at freedom Mina?”
“Something is happening to me, I feel the pains again, but when I think of him and hear him singing to me that pain goes away. I don’t want to leave now, not if he is here.” Mina says comb and strong.

TO COME IN FEBURAY............... THE FIRST INTERVIEW WITH ZERO.

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