FLASH FICTION:-- HORROR, SCI-FI, HUMOUR, CRIME, SLICE OF LIFE, ETC.

Friday, 28 January 2011

Reality check

I had a dream, and in my dream I possessed super powers, I could fly, not with wings, but like Superman, defying gravity. I was blessed with superhuman strength, and bulletproof skin.

In my dream I put these powers to good use, saving the damsels in distress, rescuing the unfortunate victims of accident and crime, I became a legend, the city's saviour, where there were wrongs to be righted I was there.

In my dream I looked down from the window of my seventh storey apartment, a crime was taking place directly below, the mugger was sprinting away with the purse in his hand, this was another case for SuperDan, in scant seconds the criminal would be captured, and the purse returned to the sobbing young lady.

In my dream I launched myself from the window and gave chase....

In reality I didn't succeed in catching the mugger, but I did succeed in killing the sobbing young lady who I landed on.

In reality there is now only this bed, and the occasional face that enters my limited line of vision.

I now take all of my meals through a drip, and communicate in morse code eye-blinks.

Any dreams I now have are dominated by remorseful reflections on the folly of combining hallucinogenic drugs with tall buildings.

©2011 Stephen. J. Green.
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20 comments:

  1. ~Tim28 January 2011 at 04:24

    I keep thinking, "I reject your reality and substitute my own."

    Hah! My verification word is "ender" -- sometimes I think they do that on purpose.

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  2. John Wiswell28 January 2011 at 06:07

    You see, now this turns into the dark, tragic origin story for a brooding hero. Fall Man!

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  3. Steve Green28 January 2011 at 10:25

    Hi Tim, there's nothing wrong with substituing your own reality,I spend most of my free time utilising escapism, through writing, films, books, xbox, etc.

    Hi John, I wasn't sure which genre to place this under, because I actually wrote it a bit tongue-in-cheek, but the ending wasn't exactly fun for anyone, so I put it under unspecified to cover all the options.

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  4. Rol28 January 2011 at 16:26

    Ha. I especially liked the last line.

    Being a big comic book superhero fan, a couple of years back I set myself the goal of writing a series of short stories featuring similar "literary" interpretations of super-powered adventures. I lost interest after the first one, but that's the story of my writing life...

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  5. Harry28 January 2011 at 19:32

    OK, scratch shrooming the Empire State building. Bummer for SuperDan and especially for the damsel in distress. A cold Reality check indeed Steve!

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  6. Steve Green28 January 2011 at 20:19

    Thanks Rol, never mind about losing interest in the Superheroes, a person can only really write about something that "grabs" them, and gets their creative juices flowing.

    Hi Harry, yeah, this guy was certainly jolted back to reality. A good trip turned bad.

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  7. Icy Sedgwick29 January 2011 at 01:52

    See, I saw the opening scenes of Lethal Weapon when I read this. It's sad what happens when people experiment with things they should leave well alone.

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  8. Rachel Blackbirdsong29 January 2011 at 08:48

    I love how this goes from the typical dreams that many children have into something definitely darker, with bits of dark humor thrown in.

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  9. Steve Green29 January 2011 at 10:55

    Hi Icy, back in the days when 'acid' was popular,I heard all kinds of stories about 'good trips' and 'bad trips' and 'flashbacks'. I was always too scared to try it myself.

    Hi Rachel, thank you, you absolutely nailed my intention.

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  10. Eric J. Krause29 January 2011 at 15:44

    Good one! I was thinking sleepwalking, but drugs are an even harsher way to go. Ah well, at least he meant well.

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  11. Virginia Moffatt29 January 2011 at 16:13

    Oh man, what an ending...Nicely paced and built up to. Drugs and high buildings should never mix!

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  12. Steve Green29 January 2011 at 16:32

    Thanks Eric, This guy got plenty of time to think about exactly what it means to come down from a "High".

    Thanks Virginia, yeah, not a good combination, it isn't the fall that does the damage though, it's the sudden stop at the bottom. (Groan) :-D

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  13. Stephen29 January 2011 at 19:55

    I believe there's a fine line between fiction and reality. This poor soul apparently failed to see the demarcation before he crossed it. Too bad for him.

    By the way, the transition between telling the past and showing the present was well done.

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  14. Steve Green29 January 2011 at 20:13

    Hi stephen, thank you for the very positive feedback.

    From Dan's POV, at least he'll never have to work again.... or do anything again apart from lie there. This is where he could really do with the hallucinogens to take him away from his bed-ridden reality.

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  15. Tiffany31 January 2011 at 18:54

    I tried to comment a couple of times..I hope you don't get a bunch. I really got drawn into the dream he was having. You revealed the sad ending in just the right number of pieces letting the shock sink in. Such a well told story of a dream gone horribly, horribly wrong.-Tiffany

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  16. Steve Green31 January 2011 at 21:32

    Hi Tiffany, thank you so much for your very nice comments, sorry you had problems sending it, blogger must be glitching, duplicates wouldn't be a problem though, they can always be deleted. :-D

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  17. Anonymous1 February 2011 at 11:47

    I thought this was going to be about a boy dreaming of greatness, then, wham, it's a whole different thing. Shocking and sad, esp for the woman he lands on. I like the styling of the paragraphs too, 'I had a dream', 'In my dream'.

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  18. Steve Green1 February 2011 at 22:33

    Thanks Justin, In this kind of situation the harsh and conscious realities of paralysis would give him plenty of time to ponder the tragic consequences of his short lived drug-induced dream.

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  19. Rebecca Emin3 February 2011 at 14:40

    Wow, such a great twist. Hit like a punch in the stomach.

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  20. Steve Green3 February 2011 at 21:32

    Thanks rebecca, I hope it didn't hurt... :-D

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