Someone's In My Head (WATTYS AWARD WINNER 2015)

Chapter Twenty

Honestly speaking, I had expected to wake up inside a wooden casket this time, or at least, in a morgue. I just can't believe that my luck hadn't run out yet, considering the number of times I'd been resurrected from the brink of death in the last 48 hours. And so this is why I was kinda taken aback when I opened my eyes to my surroundings.

I wasn't stuck in a coffin, nor in a cold, lifeless metal drawer. In fact, I was in a place that couldn't possibly exist on the face of Earth. It was sort of like, a supernatural dimension―dark, immense and complete―and within, I sensed a trace of foreboding, as if there was some omniscient being guarding the place, forbidding any outsiders from trespassing.

Want to know what the weirder part was? When I looked down, I saw nothing but an infinite, never-ending darkness that stretched on for God-knows-how-long. I felt like Gandalf as he fell from the Bridge of Khazad-Dȗm, except that I wasn't falling right now. Not in the way that I'm aware of, anyway. I had a feeling that this entire...setting might just be an illusion to trick me, and I wasn't about to fall for that just yet.

I took a step forward, half-expecting to tumble into the immeasurable abyss beneath, but nothing happened. My foot came in contact with firm ground, although I was dead sure my eyes saw nothing but air. This...glass, or whatever it is, ain't no normal crystal at all, for its transparency was just...phenomenal.

And suddenly my fuzzy mind registered something. I was walking! Not with Phil controlling my legs and driving me forwards, but me, all by myself. The feeling was so incredible that I almost would have launched into a sassy hip-shaking Salsa if not for the ominous atmosphere. For the meantime, I think I'll just resort to relishing my reinstatement as the rightful 'Governor and Controller of Jarod Wickernham's Body'.

Just when I was dreading that the darkness was absolute, there was a flash in the distance. It was like a star blinking awake in the night sky, or like a tiny speck of light appearing at the end of a tunnel.

Wait a minute. I froze. I'm not actually in a tunnel, am I? I have heard quite a number of 'Light in the Tunnel' stories, and most of it ended in very loud 'chomp-chomp-chomp' noises and ghastly squashing of bodies. I had absolutely no interest in continuing the horrible series.

For a few suspenseful moments, I kept completely still and listened to any hints that might suggest there's an approaching train. The slightest rustle of the wind, the faintest blasts of a train horn, the enlarging headlights of a speeding train...

Nothing. I heard and saw nothing out of the ordinary. Don't let paranoia get the better of you, Jarod. I chastised myself. Taking a deep breath, I started striding quickly but cautiously towards the source of the light.

I didn't dare to run. The glass supporting me might be bulletproof-strong, but I wasn't about to test its limits just yet. As much as this experience was feeling incredibly surreal to me, I had no intention in missing a step because of my over-hastiness. Skydiving without a parachute didn't seem like a graceful way to die. Or space-diving. Whatever. All I knew was that I calculated every step, made sure I had my balance before stepping forwards, all the way until I reached the light source.

Oh, and did I mention I was terrified of heights?

As I got closer to the light source, I realized, with a start, that the glaring light was being emitted from a spherical orb that was floating mid-air. There was something magical about this; I could almost hear Hedwig's Theme playing on a xylophone in the background.

The orb wasn't that large, just the size of those ordinary fence lights you see in ordinary terrace houses. But, like those fancy gyrating glitter balls in discos, it seemed to be rotating smoothly along its axis. I gazed at it for a good long while, and I felt my soul captivated by this preternatural...creature. It reminded me of the Palantír of Orthanc. I closed my eyes appreciatively.