Schroedinger's Shop Rite, chapter 5
Oct. 10th, 2006 06:04 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
evilbeej639 :(
So I had a little bit of a breakdown, right there in the elevator. It wasn't a big breakdown, there was no screaming and flailing and kicking-out of elevator walls or anything. Just a little breakdown. I sat in the corner with my bag and my laptop sitting on the floor next to me, tucked my head down between my knees, and tried the rocking thing. The rocking thing was actually rather soothing; I recommend it if you're feeling like flipping out. It's nice. It calmed me down a little.
It calmed me down enough that I could pull over my laptop and hide the clock so I didn't have to look at it. While I had the thing there, I checked out the map again, and if I got out of the elevator, I'd be right next to where the green dot was. Like, a door over.
"Okay," I said out loud; I was getting good at saying 'okay' to nothing. To myself, I guess. "Okay. The green dot is the TI-82. Jen has the TI-82. Therefore, if I go around that corner and open that door, I'll find Jen. Jen will know what to do. I may watch more Doctor Who than she does, but she's the smarter one. Okay. I'm getting up. I'm going."
I hadn't moved.
"Up, up. Come on. You had your wigout. Get up. Time to go."
Very, VERY reluctantly, I started getting to my feet. I got to my feet. I closed the laptop and put it in the bag. I adjusted my coat. I closed the clasp on the bag. I shuffled my feet. I adjusted my coat again. I had a staring contest with the door. I scratched my nose.
The door won the staring contest, and I sighed and pushed the 'open doors' button; the elevator doors slid open soundlessly, revealing a hall that was--
--FILLED WITH PEOPLE!
And they were *totally not human*!
I stared at them.
None of them moved. At all.
There was complete and total silence. I didn't even hear any breathing. Even my own.
That's when I realised I hadn't been breathing for the entire time I'd been awake. I took a deep breath and yelled really, really loud, "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?"
None of them moved. It was all-- they were all monsters and animal-people and rock-people and aliens, and none of them were moving, it was like a waxworks, it was like a really well-rendered 3D image, it was like--
Some of them were stopped mid-step. My eyes widened.
I would've put good money on my clock still reading 10:33 PM, if I checked it now. "Goddammit," I whispered, pushing out into the crowd of monsters, trying not to disturb them too much as I edged past and went for the door that Jen should be on the other side of. I thumped on it, and wasn't particularly surprised when there was no answer.
I didn't even have *room* to batter the door in, there were so many time-stopped monsters crowding the area.
"Oh," I said after a second; it had hit me like a ton of bricks. Or feathers. "Oh. Fotamecus. Shit. Magic and time travel. Shit. Jen is gonna kill me." I paused. "If I'm not ALREADY DEAD what the hell..."
Saying that goddamn servitor's name didn't deactivate the spell. I sighed and slid down the wall, folding up next to the door and hugging my laptop bag to my chest. If time sped up again, or-- or I slowed down, whichever-- then I didn't want to accidentally trip any monsters. When in trouble, when in doubt--
--take a nap.
So I had a little bit of a breakdown, right there in the elevator. It wasn't a big breakdown, there was no screaming and flailing and kicking-out of elevator walls or anything. Just a little breakdown. I sat in the corner with my bag and my laptop sitting on the floor next to me, tucked my head down between my knees, and tried the rocking thing. The rocking thing was actually rather soothing; I recommend it if you're feeling like flipping out. It's nice. It calmed me down a little.
It calmed me down enough that I could pull over my laptop and hide the clock so I didn't have to look at it. While I had the thing there, I checked out the map again, and if I got out of the elevator, I'd be right next to where the green dot was. Like, a door over.
"Okay," I said out loud; I was getting good at saying 'okay' to nothing. To myself, I guess. "Okay. The green dot is the TI-82. Jen has the TI-82. Therefore, if I go around that corner and open that door, I'll find Jen. Jen will know what to do. I may watch more Doctor Who than she does, but she's the smarter one. Okay. I'm getting up. I'm going."
I hadn't moved.
"Up, up. Come on. You had your wigout. Get up. Time to go."
Very, VERY reluctantly, I started getting to my feet. I got to my feet. I closed the laptop and put it in the bag. I adjusted my coat. I closed the clasp on the bag. I shuffled my feet. I adjusted my coat again. I had a staring contest with the door. I scratched my nose.
The door won the staring contest, and I sighed and pushed the 'open doors' button; the elevator doors slid open soundlessly, revealing a hall that was--
--FILLED WITH PEOPLE!
And they were *totally not human*!
I stared at them.
None of them moved. At all.
There was complete and total silence. I didn't even hear any breathing. Even my own.
That's when I realised I hadn't been breathing for the entire time I'd been awake. I took a deep breath and yelled really, really loud, "WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?"
None of them moved. It was all-- they were all monsters and animal-people and rock-people and aliens, and none of them were moving, it was like a waxworks, it was like a really well-rendered 3D image, it was like--
Some of them were stopped mid-step. My eyes widened.
I would've put good money on my clock still reading 10:33 PM, if I checked it now. "Goddammit," I whispered, pushing out into the crowd of monsters, trying not to disturb them too much as I edged past and went for the door that Jen should be on the other side of. I thumped on it, and wasn't particularly surprised when there was no answer.
I didn't even have *room* to batter the door in, there were so many time-stopped monsters crowding the area.
"Oh," I said after a second; it had hit me like a ton of bricks. Or feathers. "Oh. Fotamecus. Shit. Magic and time travel. Shit. Jen is gonna kill me." I paused. "If I'm not ALREADY DEAD what the hell..."
Saying that goddamn servitor's name didn't deactivate the spell. I sighed and slid down the wall, folding up next to the door and hugging my laptop bag to my chest. If time sped up again, or-- or I slowed down, whichever-- then I didn't want to accidentally trip any monsters. When in trouble, when in doubt--
--take a nap.
