Post by Hobbit-eyes on Jun 20, 2005 14:23:00 GMT -5
Finally, this chapter is to my liking. But criticism is gratefully received, and compliments even more so ;D
Bifrost: Floor Zero
Did you know that only five universes populated by humans have figured out how to describe the smell of wet cat? They have managed to express the very essence of the odour in just a few words. And by doing so, they discovered the very nature of the human race, and haven’t quite recovered since.
You may be wondering who I am. Well, it’s a tough question. My name was forgotten a long time ago. It’s really of little relevance. I have little purpose in this world, and all the others, other than to record strange stories. I have looked into the Bermuda Triangle, the Vanishing Cauliflowers of Clomin 7, and the fact that there are always less chocolate buttons in a packet than you’re expecting. And so I know better than anyone that there are many strange stories out there. But this one I am about to tell you is one of the strangest.
It has battles, adventures, friendship, stripy socks, other universes, rebel groups, strange white headbands, and several cucumbers. It has a boy and a girl, called Sam Fletcher and Ashley Piper, two humans from Universe #23392742.
And, most important of all, it has a lift. Which is where it all began. Or, rather, where my research began.
Security footage from the department store Williams & Perkins shows that, even though Sam Fletcher reached the lift several seconds before Ashley Piper, they both turned and headed towards the lift at the exact same moment, but for different reasons. Sam had just seen a security officer looking in his direction, and turned and ran into the lift. Ashley, on the other side of the shop, saw her mother looking the other way, and made the same journey.
The moment when they both made that decision to escape in the lift was the moment that changed their lives, their world, and several other universes. Sadly, it went unnoticed by nearly everyone except the security guard, called Bob, a bored five-year-old called Becky who had been dragged with her mother to look for shoes and saw Ashley making her escape, and an official in Universe #4 called Syramus who had been left to watch the monitors during lunch. None of them paid much attention, but at least they noticed so that the moment does not go forgotten.
Sam tore down the aisle and ran into the lift, where he skidded to a halt, span round in the same movement and slapped his hand against the number panel. The doors began to close.
At that same moment, Ashley rounded the corner. “Wait! Hold the lift!” she shouted, racing towards the lift.
“I’m sorry,” said Sam, “But I’m really in a hurry-”
“Hold the damn lift!” yelled Ashley. Sam glanced at the security guard, sighed and pressed the ‘door hold’ button. Ashley sprinted the last few feet, leapt into the lift and crashed against the opposite wall. As soon as she was in, Sam pressed the button again.
“Doors closing,” said the lift pleasantly as the doors slid closed, “Going… down?”
For a moment, both Sam and Ashley leant back against the walls of the lift, sighing in relief and in an attempt to get their breath back. Neither of them said anything, which is not surprising; they were both strangers, and in a confined space.
Eventually Ashley, feeling that the ice had been sufficiently broken by her swearing at him and ordering him to hold the lift for her, said, “Thanks, by the way.”
Sam inclined his head in acknowledgement.
“Were you running away from someone too?”
Sam looked up suspiciously. “What makes you think that?”
“I didn’t think you were running just for your health.” Sam turned away from her and stared resolutely at the wall. Most people would take this as a sign that the person did not wish to talk about whatever they had been asked about.
Ashley was not most people. “Who were you running from?” Sam didn’t answer. “I’ll tell you who I was running from. My mum. Long story,” she said quickly, seeing Sam look up at her in surprise, “Just needed to escape. But there, I’ve hinted at family dysfunction. Your turn.”
Sam sighed. “Security.”
“Really? What did you do?”
“Something bad.”
“So you planned to make your escape in a lift?”
“I’m just going down the one floor. Hopefully be able to ‘make an escape’ from there.” His tone of voice suggested that he thought this entire situation was rather tedious.
“Ah.” There was silence again. Suddenly Ashley said, “How can you go lower than the ground floor?”
“What?”
“What button did you press?”
“Er, zero.”
“Zero? Where’s that?”
“What do I care?” said Sam in disbelief, as though he couldn’t understand why someone would take an interest in lift buttons.
“There’s the first floor, and the ground floor. Where’s floor zero?”
“I don’t know! The basement?”
“There isn’t a basement. I should know, my mum’s brought me here enough times.”
“Is it really that important?”
“No. But if it was, I wouldn’t talk about it.”
A slightly awkward silence followed this. Sam was pretending not to, but occasionally glancing at Ashley, and thinking Completely bonkers. This girl had turned up out of nowhere, wearing extremely old looking but spotlessly clean jeans and a baggy purple and pink tie-died T-shirt with a stencilled black rose design which looked home-made, and started questioning the lift. He was looking forward to getting out of the lift and away from her.
Ashley, however, was looking around the lift, thinking about why there was a ground floor and a floor zero. Occasionally she glanced at Sam as well. He was wearing all black; black trousers, black shirt, black leather jacket which looked as though it had once been expensive. He had black hair too. Someone who wanted to show the world what he thought of it, she thought. But he wasn’t truly depressed or maniacal, she could tell. If he had been, he probably wouldn’t have held the door for her.
“Lift’s taking a long time,” she observed, just to break the silence. Sam barely restrained himself from rolling his eyes. “I’m Ashley, by the way,” she said cheerily.
“That’s nice for you,” said Sam witheringly.
There was another silence as Ashley waited. Eventually she said, “Generally you tell me your name now.”
Sam turned and looked at her. “Generally.” He then turned away again.
Ashley nearly sighed in exasperation. She hated silences. Humans had developed language for a reason, she thought. This silence was massive, like a heavy weight…
“Hey,” she said suddenly, “Listen.”
“What now?” groaned Sam.
“Listen!”
Sam listened sullenly. “What?” he said in a stage whisper.
“Nothing,” said Ashley, “The lift isn’t making a noise.”
“Are you doing a survey on lifts??”
“Seriously! This lift is really clunky and loud. But it’s not making a noise. And we should have reached the bottom by now, it’s taking way too long!” she insisted. Sam didn’t even bother answering. He turned away and examined the opposite corner to Ashley, as though it wasn’t really that interesting but far more rewarding than listening to her.
Ashley folded her arms stubbornly. She was going to keep talking whether he liked it or not. “I don’t think we’re stuck. We would have felt it stop. And I didn’t feel it start moving when we started off…”
“Are you going somewhere with this, or are you worried your brain will start working if you stop talking?” burst out Sam, driven out of his silent disregard by sheer annoyance.
Ashley beamed. “Douglas Adams reference! I knew you weren’t as sulky as you were trying to be.”
“I’m not trying to be sulky!”
“You’re not trying very hard, certainly.”
“Who the hell are you?” demanded Sam.
“Ashley,” smiled Ashley.
So many different names for her came to Sam’s mind at that moment. But she looked so simple, so uncomplicated, smiling sunnily at him in her homemade T-shirt, that he couldn’t will himself to say them. He settled for turning away again.
“And who the hell are you?” she asked.
Sam was silent for a long moment. “Sam,” he said finally.
“Nice to meet you, Sam,” said Ashley, “I like you.”
“The feeling’s less than mutual,” said Sam, but, much to his annoyance, he knew it wasn’t true.
“Well,” said Ashley, “Now that you’re talking, you can try to help me solve the mystery of the non-moving lift!”
“How do you know it’s not moving?” said Sam in a despairing tone. He had hoped they were past this topic.
“I don’t,” admitted Ashley.
“You could always ask,” suggested Sam.
He wasn’t even that surprised when Ashley said, “Ooh, that’s a good idea. Excuse me, lift, are you actually moving?”
He was, however, extremely surprised when the lift answered her.
Bifrost: Floor Zero
Did you know that only five universes populated by humans have figured out how to describe the smell of wet cat? They have managed to express the very essence of the odour in just a few words. And by doing so, they discovered the very nature of the human race, and haven’t quite recovered since.
You may be wondering who I am. Well, it’s a tough question. My name was forgotten a long time ago. It’s really of little relevance. I have little purpose in this world, and all the others, other than to record strange stories. I have looked into the Bermuda Triangle, the Vanishing Cauliflowers of Clomin 7, and the fact that there are always less chocolate buttons in a packet than you’re expecting. And so I know better than anyone that there are many strange stories out there. But this one I am about to tell you is one of the strangest.
It has battles, adventures, friendship, stripy socks, other universes, rebel groups, strange white headbands, and several cucumbers. It has a boy and a girl, called Sam Fletcher and Ashley Piper, two humans from Universe #23392742.
And, most important of all, it has a lift. Which is where it all began. Or, rather, where my research began.
Security footage from the department store Williams & Perkins shows that, even though Sam Fletcher reached the lift several seconds before Ashley Piper, they both turned and headed towards the lift at the exact same moment, but for different reasons. Sam had just seen a security officer looking in his direction, and turned and ran into the lift. Ashley, on the other side of the shop, saw her mother looking the other way, and made the same journey.
The moment when they both made that decision to escape in the lift was the moment that changed their lives, their world, and several other universes. Sadly, it went unnoticed by nearly everyone except the security guard, called Bob, a bored five-year-old called Becky who had been dragged with her mother to look for shoes and saw Ashley making her escape, and an official in Universe #4 called Syramus who had been left to watch the monitors during lunch. None of them paid much attention, but at least they noticed so that the moment does not go forgotten.
Sam tore down the aisle and ran into the lift, where he skidded to a halt, span round in the same movement and slapped his hand against the number panel. The doors began to close.
At that same moment, Ashley rounded the corner. “Wait! Hold the lift!” she shouted, racing towards the lift.
“I’m sorry,” said Sam, “But I’m really in a hurry-”
“Hold the damn lift!” yelled Ashley. Sam glanced at the security guard, sighed and pressed the ‘door hold’ button. Ashley sprinted the last few feet, leapt into the lift and crashed against the opposite wall. As soon as she was in, Sam pressed the button again.
“Doors closing,” said the lift pleasantly as the doors slid closed, “Going… down?”
For a moment, both Sam and Ashley leant back against the walls of the lift, sighing in relief and in an attempt to get their breath back. Neither of them said anything, which is not surprising; they were both strangers, and in a confined space.
Eventually Ashley, feeling that the ice had been sufficiently broken by her swearing at him and ordering him to hold the lift for her, said, “Thanks, by the way.”
Sam inclined his head in acknowledgement.
“Were you running away from someone too?”
Sam looked up suspiciously. “What makes you think that?”
“I didn’t think you were running just for your health.” Sam turned away from her and stared resolutely at the wall. Most people would take this as a sign that the person did not wish to talk about whatever they had been asked about.
Ashley was not most people. “Who were you running from?” Sam didn’t answer. “I’ll tell you who I was running from. My mum. Long story,” she said quickly, seeing Sam look up at her in surprise, “Just needed to escape. But there, I’ve hinted at family dysfunction. Your turn.”
Sam sighed. “Security.”
“Really? What did you do?”
“Something bad.”
“So you planned to make your escape in a lift?”
“I’m just going down the one floor. Hopefully be able to ‘make an escape’ from there.” His tone of voice suggested that he thought this entire situation was rather tedious.
“Ah.” There was silence again. Suddenly Ashley said, “How can you go lower than the ground floor?”
“What?”
“What button did you press?”
“Er, zero.”
“Zero? Where’s that?”
“What do I care?” said Sam in disbelief, as though he couldn’t understand why someone would take an interest in lift buttons.
“There’s the first floor, and the ground floor. Where’s floor zero?”
“I don’t know! The basement?”
“There isn’t a basement. I should know, my mum’s brought me here enough times.”
“Is it really that important?”
“No. But if it was, I wouldn’t talk about it.”
A slightly awkward silence followed this. Sam was pretending not to, but occasionally glancing at Ashley, and thinking Completely bonkers. This girl had turned up out of nowhere, wearing extremely old looking but spotlessly clean jeans and a baggy purple and pink tie-died T-shirt with a stencilled black rose design which looked home-made, and started questioning the lift. He was looking forward to getting out of the lift and away from her.
Ashley, however, was looking around the lift, thinking about why there was a ground floor and a floor zero. Occasionally she glanced at Sam as well. He was wearing all black; black trousers, black shirt, black leather jacket which looked as though it had once been expensive. He had black hair too. Someone who wanted to show the world what he thought of it, she thought. But he wasn’t truly depressed or maniacal, she could tell. If he had been, he probably wouldn’t have held the door for her.
“Lift’s taking a long time,” she observed, just to break the silence. Sam barely restrained himself from rolling his eyes. “I’m Ashley, by the way,” she said cheerily.
“That’s nice for you,” said Sam witheringly.
There was another silence as Ashley waited. Eventually she said, “Generally you tell me your name now.”
Sam turned and looked at her. “Generally.” He then turned away again.
Ashley nearly sighed in exasperation. She hated silences. Humans had developed language for a reason, she thought. This silence was massive, like a heavy weight…
“Hey,” she said suddenly, “Listen.”
“What now?” groaned Sam.
“Listen!”
Sam listened sullenly. “What?” he said in a stage whisper.
“Nothing,” said Ashley, “The lift isn’t making a noise.”
“Are you doing a survey on lifts??”
“Seriously! This lift is really clunky and loud. But it’s not making a noise. And we should have reached the bottom by now, it’s taking way too long!” she insisted. Sam didn’t even bother answering. He turned away and examined the opposite corner to Ashley, as though it wasn’t really that interesting but far more rewarding than listening to her.
Ashley folded her arms stubbornly. She was going to keep talking whether he liked it or not. “I don’t think we’re stuck. We would have felt it stop. And I didn’t feel it start moving when we started off…”
“Are you going somewhere with this, or are you worried your brain will start working if you stop talking?” burst out Sam, driven out of his silent disregard by sheer annoyance.
Ashley beamed. “Douglas Adams reference! I knew you weren’t as sulky as you were trying to be.”
“I’m not trying to be sulky!”
“You’re not trying very hard, certainly.”
“Who the hell are you?” demanded Sam.
“Ashley,” smiled Ashley.
So many different names for her came to Sam’s mind at that moment. But she looked so simple, so uncomplicated, smiling sunnily at him in her homemade T-shirt, that he couldn’t will himself to say them. He settled for turning away again.
“And who the hell are you?” she asked.
Sam was silent for a long moment. “Sam,” he said finally.
“Nice to meet you, Sam,” said Ashley, “I like you.”
“The feeling’s less than mutual,” said Sam, but, much to his annoyance, he knew it wasn’t true.
“Well,” said Ashley, “Now that you’re talking, you can try to help me solve the mystery of the non-moving lift!”
“How do you know it’s not moving?” said Sam in a despairing tone. He had hoped they were past this topic.
“I don’t,” admitted Ashley.
“You could always ask,” suggested Sam.
He wasn’t even that surprised when Ashley said, “Ooh, that’s a good idea. Excuse me, lift, are you actually moving?”
He was, however, extremely surprised when the lift answered her.