Object x, p.25
Object X, page 25
Her chest tightened. Her legs numbed. Anxiety set in, crippling her mind in the same fashion that it paralyzed her body. Everything turned warm and fuzzy despite the cool dead air all around her. She'd experienced this before. Not in a moment quite like this, but what approached just on the horizon was far from a first in the life of a busy working mother.
Wendy was on the verge of a panic attack.
She questioned where her initial confidence originated from. She'd left Tommy and Annabelle by themselves in a little car, wandered outside by herself without a weapon or even a light to guide her, and did so all with absolute positivity that everything would be fine. This was her moment to be duped, wasn't it? As ridiculous as it was to her to watch Jax fall for the door's deceitful ways by capitalizing on his emotions, she imagined that anyone would feel the same if she attempted to explain the reasons for her own self-assurance.
She considered running back to the car until she heard something. Deep and rough—once the first thing that came to mind when she pictured security, but now the pillar of dread and despair. Sam's voice rivaled any horror that she'd witnessed with her own two eyes tonight.
“I knew you'd come back.”
Wendy stepped forward.
She screamed at herself to stop.
Wendy took another step forward.
She was on a predetermined path in a script that already contained an ending. She walked alongside a fence that she couldn't see, on grass that her numb feet barely felt, in a world that she didn't recognize. She was a doll in a lucky little girl's dream playhouse, manipulated to fit a role that she didn't recall signing up for, and unsure of how to break free from the chains dragging her forward against her will. She would drive a lifetime with Tommy in the back seat if it meant that she could spend just one more day with her son. She didn't even need to hold him. Just hearing his voice and savoring his laughter would be enough, but her most recent catastrophic decision left her wondering if she would ever experience such a privilege. Suddenly, she questioned if she would ever see Tommy again.
“You always come back,” Sam said with his back still to her.
She looked down at her sneakers as she reached the edge of light shining off of Object X. Red and black. Dirty, but nothing that a quick trip through the washer machine couldn't take care of. Comfortable and at an impressive discount thanks to a timely sale combined with a coupon. Stepping out of the darkness and into the light caused her to appreciate little details that she often took for granted. It cleared her stuffy mind, allowing her to think clearly in ways that night typically prevented. Like a switch being flipped, Wendy abruptly rediscovered the purpose of her mission.
“It's so beautiful.”
Wendy took one final step forward before coming to a stop. She stood three feet behind Sam, staring at Object X over his thick head of hair that she often loved to run her fingers through. She reflected on his latest words with a look of genuine disgust. The object in front of them wasn't beautiful. It was sinister and destructive. It came to a wonderful place and destroyed everything in its path without prejudice, and she failed to find any beauty in that.
The light allowed her to observe part of her surroundings for the first time since leaving the car. Spiderwebs covered the fence and the pine trees nearby, trapping everything from leaves to squirrels in its thick white strands. The tallest tree rattled slightly, causing her to turn tense in anticipation of something unveiling itself from the shadows, but she remained in place behind Sam. She was too close to run away. Mere feet stood between her and the answers she so badly craved, and she refused to allow that chance to slip through her fingers.
“You did this, didn't you?” she asked.
“Someone had to.”
“Someone had to what?” she questioned, speaking to the back of his head for one of the few times in her life. He always had the common courtesy to look her in the eye before this thing showed up in their backyard.
“Someone had to do what needed to be done,” he clarified himself. “The world is full of weak people, Wendy. Weak people like you.”
Object X seemed to glow brighter and whiter. She looked down, noting how the light that once ended at her shins, now met the middle of her thighs and highlighted the ruggedness of her blue jeans. This thing wasn't just a door. It lived. It breathed. It was so much more than just a way to and from someplace that she still didn't understand, but she failed to find the allure in it that Sam clearly did.
“You cut Tommy's hand.”
Sam responded with silence.
“He told me what happened. You went into his bedroom and—”
Wendy did everything in her power not to scream as she cut herself off sharply. She jumped what felt like miles off the ground, somehow managing to remain in the diameter of Object X's light rather than turn and run like any sane soul would. A massive black spider emerged from behind Object X. The light emphasized all of its many ghastly features, revealing more hair on its body and legs than she'd previously thought, and livelier fangs that seemed to operate separately from the rest of its limbs. Each of its twelve red eyes appeared to have a life of its own. The spider wasn't in a hurry, though. It didn't attack with its acidic-like mist or paralyzing fangs. And then, as if she hadn't seen enough impossibility for one night, she realized the reason behind its placidity.
Sam held his hand to it.
The spider approached slowly, lowering its head as its long outer-fangs settled on the grass below. Sam turned his hand, his palm facing up to the non-existent stars, and dragged his knuckles along the top of the spider's small head. One would mistake what Wendy watched as a man and his dog if not for the mortifying beast obediently standing just feet from her. Sam pet this thing. This monster. This vicious animal. Sam pet it, and it didn't dare raise its head while he did!
Sam tussled its head roughly, like an owner would to excite a golden retriever for a fun game of fetch. It then scurried off into the shadows after he gave it one final rub to send it on its way.
“Menial matters aren't important. They never have been, but you've always struggled to understand that, haven't you?”
Wendy stood in place, stunned, and unable to find the words to express what she just watched. Sam seemed to possess the ability to control these vile creatures. No part of her husband's attitude resembled her journey to the elementary school and back, but it wasn't his indescribable composure in the midst of mayhem that finally brought words to the tip of her tongue. No, it was his latest statement.
Her voice dripped with anger. All of her energy previously focused on her own personal fear, now pointed directly at Sam's despicable behavior. “Cutting Tommy's hand isn't a menial matter.”
“It sure as shit isn't important,” Sam argued with his back still to her. He'd yet to find the time to turn and face her. “Do you want to know what's really happening? It even surprised me once I finally realized it.”
Sam apparently interpreted her silence as consent to continue, because he went right ahead without her uttering a single word.
“You're familiar with the story of Noah's Ark, aren't you? I assume you are since you went to Catholic school when you were young just like me, but allow me to refresh your memory in case you've forgotten. You see, Wendy, the world was a wicked place many years ago. Once a society driven by the idea of service to others, the folks of the time started to focus exclusively on service to self. They drank to excess. They fucked with abandon. They turned their backs on God, instead fueled by the materialistic need to consume and worship false idols. But to live without purpose isn't to live at all.”
She reflected on the bizarre turn of events. Another spider crawled behind Object X without bothering to acknowledge either Sam or herself, and briskly disappeared into the darkness after escaping from the circle of light where they stood. She no longer feared what she knew she should. Her relentless paranoia regarding the safety of Tommy and Annabelle in the driveway temporarily faded for reasons she couldn't explain. For a moment, as ludicrous as it seemed after everything that'd unfolded, Wendy lost herself in a world with a man she once loved to death.
“So, God came to Noah,” Sam continued. He never once looked away from the glowing object in front of him. “Noah was a good man. A humble man. A man of God. He built a massive ark just as God instructed, spanning over five hundred feet in length and reaching heights of more than fifty feet off the ground. The people mocked Noah, however. They doubted and ridiculed him. They accused him of losing his mind and hurled insults at him and his family. None of those people understood the bigger picture. Those invested solely in themselves rarely do. Their only concerns involved their extravagant next meal or upcoming pointless dopamine hit.”
Wendy heard something rustle to her right, but she didn't bother to look at what it could be. It didn't really matter what was out here. She seemed safe from whatever lurked while in Sam's presence, but it wasn't like she could do anything to protect herself if that changed for some reason anyway. The unfortunate truth was that she didn't have any other choice than to stand here and listen to her husband's rambling thoughts.
“It's easy to view Object X as a cross, and myself as Christ. It's my responsibility to make a difference. It's my duty to sacrifice myself for the greater good. I'll be rewarded for my deeds—whether in this life or the next—and what I accomplish will save humanity for those too dumb and naive to save themselves.”
She questioned who she listened to. This man wasn't her husband. He wasn't her soulmate who'd swept her off her feet so many years ago and made all her dreams come true. As foreign as he seemed when he'd decided to let her fend for herself in the kitchen while she was being attacked, speaking so nonsensically helped to emphasize how much everything changed. It was as if a complete stranger had replaced Sam.
“But that's not true,” Sam said with nothing but assurance coating his deep, masculine voice. “Object X isn't a cross and I'm not Christ. No, Wendy, Object X is an ark, and I'm Noah.”
Wendy looked around for something to use as a weapon. A rock. A sharp branch. Anything would suffice as long as she could use it to defend herself from a man who'd clearly lost his mind, but only grass greeted her eyes as she scanned each and every inch inside the circle of light. She felt the urgent need to escape Sam's aura as quickly as possible, but running away wasn't an option. She'd returned for the object in front of her. She still needed to confront her demons and find a way to save Tommy. Sam, just like so much else today, saw fit to inconvenience her from doing just that.
“We're in the midst of the second great flood. The planet is being wiped clean of the burden of too many useless eaters and all the degeneracy that they bring to the world. Every so often, even the greatest civilizations need a reset, but I can't think of much that'll be missed in the world we've built. Consumerism. Toxicity. Greed and endless war. There's no need for any of it, so God returned to once again show his wrath. These magnificent creatures are the great flood waters, Object X is the glorious ark, and I'm Noah. Unfortunately, Wendy, there isn't any room on the ship for you.”
She felt Sam shine his spotlight on her. Physically, nothing changed. He remained in his seat, staring at Object X with his back to her. He clearly didn't view her as a threat, and the more she thought about it, the more she realized that he didn't view anything as a threat. Yet, even with his eyes looking ahead, she felt his gaze lock exclusively on her.
She knew that in his mind, she was part of the excess fat that needed to be trimmed from the world, but she didn't allow his subdued demeanor to lower her guard. It was only a matter of time until he asked the one question that she dreaded the most. One simple inquiry would set the wheels in motion. She prepared herself for Sam to tell her how he really felt, and his decision to do exactly that caused her to wonder if perhaps a little part of her husband remained in him?
“I'm not here to die for the world's sins. Instead, I've been chosen to lead the new beginning. Do you think that spider would've left you alone if not for me? Do you think any of the ones lurking in the darkness would either? They'd ambush you the moment I walked away, and do you know why? Because you're not special. They sense that. They're not mindless. Like most creatures, they have a pecking order that they naturally fall into, and you watched firsthand how they see us. It takes a true leader to gain their respect. It takes someone worth saving in order to be saved. The bad news is that you, Tommy, and that little girl sitting next to Tommy in our driveway don't quite make the cut.”
Wendy tensed. She could tell herself that Sam heard her car pull into the driveway. It also wasn't any stretch of the imagination for Sam to assume that Tommy was somewhere nearby if she'd returned. However, there was absolutely no way for him to know that Annabelle sat next to Tommy in the back seat, and the gravity of the situation hit her like a ton of bricks after processing his words. What if she was wrong? What if Sam hadn't been transformed into a delusional maniac like she'd assumed? What if he was something far worse?
She couldn't just stand here and wait if Sam indeed possessed the power to control even a fraction of the world around them. She'd spent too much time tonight with a defensive approach. Every single one of her decisions over the past two hours was made with the intention of finding somewhere to hide or escape to, and she couldn't help but realize where she stood as a result. She was in her backyard. She was just a brief stroll from the same sliding glass door where she first journeyed outside to see something completely unimaginable. What if the answer involved willingly stepping forward instead of back for a change?
“Why are you still here then?”
Wendy soaked in every second of Sam's silence. He pondered her words, thinking of the best response for her surprising question. She didn't speak meekly. She stood tall, back straight and shoulders up despite the weight of the world crashing down upon her. She didn't feel as confident as she sounded, though, and she prayed that Sam didn't see through her facade.
“I'm here because I choose to be,” he finally answered, cocksure despite his lengthy pause.
“Shouldn't Noah be on his ark, though?” she asked.
She could live in a perpetual state of listening to him look for the right words. He wasn't as in control as he portrayed. Sam had weaknesses just like any mere mortal, and she poked at his most glaring doubt.
“I'll get on when I'm ready,” he said after another long hesitation.
“I think you've tried to get on,” she said as she stepped forward, able to touch him if she reached out and tried. “I think you've asked yourself the same question over and over and over again. Why is it making me wait? Let me ask you something, Sam. Did you ever consider the possibility that perhaps you're wrong?”
He didn't respond.
She stepped closer, able to press her thighs against the back of his chair if she leaned forward another inch. “What if you're not the one? What if you're just a placeholder?”
He didn't say a word as she stepped to his side.
“I've been inside it.”
His head snapped to the side to look at her after hearing her surprising disclosure. Blackness hadn't overtaken his eyes. Horns didn't grow from his forehead. There was no evil reveal along the lines of what one would expect of a Hollywood horror movie. Sam simply sat there, looking exactly the same as he did the last time she saw him, except so much had changed since then.
“I explored it,” she went on. She left out the fact that her trip inside Object X took place in a dream. It didn't matter either. Just the idea that she'd been further than Sam was enough to disturb him. “It accepted me inside so easily too. I barely did anything at all for it to show itself to me. Wait, you have been inside it, haven't you?”
He opened his mouth but only silence escaped. His eyes left Wendy to find Object X, studying it before turning back to her. He closed his lips, as if preparing himself to speak after moistening his throat, but failed to do so.
Wendy stepped forward again, this time putting space between herself and Sam as she neared Object X. She turned to the side to shield her eyes from its strong glow. “Like you, I've also come to realize something, Sam. I know that you've never been inside it. I can see it on your face. I can feel it in your tension. You desperately crave answers, but it keeps you in the dark just like it does so many others.”
“It won't let you in.”
“It already did,” she argued.
“You're full of shit,” he snapped, quickly regaining his composure. He spoke calmly once more. “It would never let you in.”
Wendy moved even closer to Object X. She could no longer reach out and touch Sam if she wanted to. The same couldn't be said about the glowing black object, however. She stood so close to it that she felt its buzz. Its energy. Its life. Suddenly, she believed that her trip inside Object X was anything other than a figment of her imagination. She came back here for a reason. It wasn't just her decision to return. No, something called her.
“You put Tommy's blood on it, didn't you?”
Sam looked at her, confused.
“That's why it let me in,” she said as she watched the last of his confidence replaced by a mixture of horror and disbelief when he finally caught up with her words. “I share a connection with Tommy that you don't. You know that too. You gave a part of our son to this thing, so I'm able to take a little piece of it back.”
Sam jumped to his feet when Wendy raised her hand, her fingers disappearing into the bright light surging off the surface of Object X. He was too late and the creatures that he controlled were too far away. She paved her own path now. Her journey to her future involved a trip back to her past, but she knew that it would be different this time. She would be the light that Tommy and so many others desperately needed in the hell of permanent darkness.
Wendy placed her hand on Object X.
