Terrence, Part One.

by Sean Ryan

Terrence woke up and rubbed his face. The first thing he noticed was that his thumbs were gone. He panicked as he looked down at his now four -fingered hands. Where his thumbs once where, was nothing. A perfect slice right at the knuckle and the wound had been cauterized. He started to hyperventilate. He His breathing got short and sporadic. Terrence started to lose consciousness. As he fell back to sleep, and he then finally looked around himself. The room was completely bare and extremely clean. As his vision went black, we he caught the faintest glimpse of a woman. She was screaming and completely naked.

Terrence found himself back in the office. His cubicle looked over much of the floor. He could pretty much see what everyone was up to at any minute and at that minute, he couldn't help back but have looked at Michael. There he was, surrounded by a gaggle of not very attractive women.

They laughed at what he had just said. One of them hit him on the knee, "Michael you're terrible, I can't believe you did that!"

"Please girl, what was I supposed to do," Michael responded, adding extra emphasis on "supposed."

Terrence huffed and went back to his keyboard. He minimized and maximized his Outlook about six times and then looked back up at Michael. The girls were complimenting Michael on his pants, and he made some sort of comment about some guy he was able to get out of them. The laughter erupted once more. Terrence furrowed his brow, got up, and walked towards Michael and girls, then past them, into the bathroom. He "hello" nodded Larry who looked relieved to be leaving the bathroom as Terrence was entering. Terrence picked his urinal and right as he was comfortable, Michael walked in.

"Oh hey Terrence."

"Hello Michael."

"Ugh, it's hot as balls out there today, am I right?"

"Yeah, it's awful."

"I'm glad I bought a change of clothes today. I'm gonna sweat right fucking through this shirt," Michael continued as he checked himself in the mirror. Terrence, meanwhile, no longer had the need to go to the bathroom. He zipped up and went over to the sink to wash his hands.

"You going somewhere tonight? Like, you know, for the shirt... I mean..."

"Oh yeah," Michael said. "Me and some of the girls are going to Woody's tonight. You know, 'debauchery anyone?'"

There was a long silence as Michael washed his hands. Terrence looked over to Michael. Michael glanced over at Terrence, then looked back to the sink. He thought for a moment, breathed in heavily, and then asked, "Do you want to like, come with tonight? It'd be like a $15 cover, I don't know if that would be cool with you, or..."

"No that's cool."

"Oh, okay. So, cool. We're going to have a drink around the corner after work, then head over. Do you need to change or something? Should we meet you later?"

"No, I'm good. I guess I'll just come with you guys when you head out after work."

"Oh, okay. Great. I guess we'll see you later then," Michael said. He threw away his paper towel and left the bathroom. Terrence looked at himself in the mirror and gave himself a smile. His eyes widened and he ran back to the urinal.



Terrence eyes shot back open!. A sharp pain ran through his entire body as he convulsed over the room. The pain subsided a bit and Terrence was able to get his bearings. He found himself in still in that clean, bare room. Bare walls surrounded him on all sides. He noticed a light coming from the top of the room. Still sitting on the ground, Terrence staggered back to the wall behind him. Looking down on him were about a dozen beady- eyed, pink, and boney bony creatures that were laughing and pointing at Terrence. He could see every one of their pointy teeth as they continued to laugh.

One of the creatures elbowed the one next to him. The elbowed creature lifted up a remote and pressed the large button in its center. Terrence flopped around the floor again, withering in pain. The pain stopped. He noticed a small wristband on his arm. He also noticed he was completely naked. He quickly covered himself. The laughing from the upper deck got even harder. He was shocked again. Tears started to stream down his face. "What is happening to me?" he struggled to say.

He looked back up at the creatures. Their long, boney fingers were all pointing behind him. Terrence turned and the bare wall behind him had suddenly become glass. On the other side was a young girl, 24 years old, maybe. Even though she appeared to be pounding on the glass and yelling at Terrence with fear in her eyes, there was absolutely no sound. The girl was naked as well. She looked tired, hungry, and on the verge of breaking down. She kept trying to communicate with Terrence, but he couldn't hear a word she was saying.

"Honey, calm down. Please. We'll be okay," Terrence said. He was shaking. They put their hands up to the glass. Terrence noticed that she too had her thumbs sliced off. Then suddenly the girl pulled her hand away. She started to look back and forth at Terrence, as if she couldn't find him.

"Honey, I'm right here!" Terrence turned around towards the creatures. "Bring her back, let her see me again! What is wrong you people!"

The creatures didn't like this tone. Terrence was on the floor again, the pain unbearable.

Terrence looked back towards the girl. She was curled up against one of her walls, eyes filled with tears. A small door opened in her room, and she quickly turned to its direction. A golden retriever bounded into the room. The girl was a bit taken aback, but welcomed the dog into her arms. The dog licked her face and she petted it back. A smile started to crack onto her face.

Terrence turned back up towards to the creatures, with one eyebrow cocked. "What are you doing to her?" The creatures looked back at Terrence and just smiled. One of them pointed back towards the girl. So Terrence looked back at the girl, playing with the dog. She kept petting it, then looked up, smelling the air. She kept smiling and smelling the air. The dog even then began sniffing around the room. It bounded around the room trying to find the source of the smell. Pawing the walls, the girl kept smelling and was now joining the dog in the search for this smell. Her eyes were wide. Her smile was waning. She began biting her lip and starting to look worried. She turned towards the dog and glared at it.

Terrence covered his mouth. Water started to swell up in his eyes. He looked up at the creatures. They were watching looking intently at the girl and the dog. None of them were even moving, except for their heavy breathing. Terrence looked back to the girl. She was walking up to the dog, but before she could reach it, the dog turned back toward her, baring its teeth and growling.

They jumped at each other! They met in the air and fell hard to the ground. They wrestled on the floor. The girl was clawing and tearing at the dog's fur, as the dog was biting at her face. She screamed and threw the dog across the room. It smashed against wall. The dog stumbled and got up, but before it could turn back to the girl, she was on top of it. She had her fingers in its eyes. The dog yelped, swung its head back, and bit her right in the side. The girl screamed and placed her hand over the bleeding hole in her stomach. She ignored it long enough to lunge back at the now blind dog. She grabbed it head and turned it completely around. The dog fell to the floor, convulsing lightly.

The girl stood in the room, bleeding profusely from her side. She looked crazed. She smelled the air again then starting grabbing at her face. She clawed at it. She attacked the hole in her side. She ripped herself to shreds. She fell to the ground, alongside the dog. She was a pulpy mess, shaking, with blood pouring out of her.

Terrence was white faced and crying in the other room. His thumb less hand over his face. He could hear the laughter from above him again. He looked up at the creatures. They pointed down at him and just kept on laughing. One of them picked up a photograph of earth. It pointed at it, then to the girl and dog. It then started to laugh even harder. Terrence felt the pain rip through him again. The pain lasted longer this time. The pain was too much and he was starting to black out. All he heard as the world went black again was the laughter.



To be continued...