The Sleeper

The hard wooden edge of a ruler slams down on the desk wakening Tom

instantly. “Mr. James is my lesion boring you?”

“No…no mama I’m sorry I must have dozed off, I’ll try not to do it again.”

“See to it that you don’t or I’ll stand you in the corner for the rest of the day and

we’ll see how well you sleep standing up.”

A low murmur of laughter rolled across the room, as he forced his eyes to focus.

He found himself in a catholic classroom being stared at by a large Nun. “Now Mr.

James what can you tell me about the lesion I just gave; what can you tell me

about the first five constitutional rights?”

Instantly the thought popped into his mind, where am I? But for some reason he did

not dare to ask it to anyone around him.

Desperately trying to clear his head and answer the question at the same time his

eyes raced around the room for something, anything for his mind to grasp onto.

Suddenly his assailant turned and waddled away, tossing over her shoulder, “Fine if

you do not feel that you should pay attention to my lesions enough to answer a

simple question like that, then perhaps you should spend the next few weeks in the

broom closet while the other children go out to play.”

“But Sister wait, there is so much about the first five Amendments I don’t know

where to start could you narrow the question down a little, or at least give me a little

more of a clue as to what you want?” The large Nun stopped in her tracks and

turned to look at him with the nastiest look that he had ever seen in his life and

slowly spoke.

“Fine, Mr. James. Can you tell me what about the Fifth Amendment insures that we

as a people have the right to live as good Catholics?”

“No Mama I can not…”

Before he could finish she had cut him off and turned to walk away. “I did not think

so, had you been awake you would have known that the Fifth Amendment states

that we as Americans have the right to worship as we please and that………..”

“Mama.” Cutting her off the way she had done him. “I wasn’t finished, you ask what

about the Fifth Amendment insures our rights as Catholics, that would be the First

and not the Fifth, the First states that we as Americans have the freedom of

speech; belief, the freedom of the press and things like that. The Fifth is used

when someone is asked a question in a court of law that he or she does not want to

answer for one reason or another.” The class went totally silent as the nun came

to a screeching halt and spun around to face the child. “Mr. James, are you

correcting me?” A moment passed before he spoke. “Well I guess I am, at least

this time.” “Well I’ll be, now are you sure that you wish to do that?” A little more

confused now, “I think so,”

Then the strangest thing happened, the nun smiled at him; a kid on the other side

of the room passed out and fell out of his chair and the whole world held its breath.

“Very, very good Mr. James, you stood your ground when you knew that you were

right. You will make a fine Priest one day. “Just then the bell rang and every child

bolted from his seat for the door. As Tom walked down the hall looking down at the

history book in his arms and felling pretty good about himself, he raised his head

just in time to see the door as it knocked him out. Setting up with a bolt he found

himself lying in a bed in a mostly dark room. “Lay back down, my husband doesn’t

know about this place.” The words came from the young woman sleeping next to

him. “Husband!?”

No sooner did he say the words someone begins beating on the door and she too

was instantly setting up. Through the door they could hear the yells of an angry

man.

“Samantha. You had better be alone in there, I’m gonna kill any damn man I find in

there with you.” The two looked at one another. “I’m gonna shoot that sombitch right

between the eye’s then I’m gonna shoot you too.” With a small laugh she looked

over at him. “He’s bluffing; he doesn’t even own a gun.” The beating

stopped. “See?” Not waiting for the second round he jumped out of bed and started

grabbing for anything that looked like it might be his clothes. As he buttoned his

paints he heard the sound of a shotgun being cocked. “Then again, I haven’t seen

him in a day or two.” Suddenly with a loud blast there was a large hole in the

door. “Don’t just stand their get the hell out of here; go out the bathroom window

dumb ass!” In a flash Jimmy was in the bathroom tossing his clothes out a window

before there was another hole in the door big enough for who ever was on the other

side to see through. As he landed he heard the second shoot and what was left of

the door being kicked in. Then the woman with whom he had been laying with and

the voice of the angry man were yelling at one another. “Where the fuck is the lil’

sombitch!?” “There’s nobody here but me you big shit head. I’m just here to get

away from you for a while. Now we gotta pay for that damn door and put up with the

damn cops, cause you know they’re coming.” As he landed and gathered his stuff

he stood there deciding what to do. Suddenly noticing a pain in his leg he thought

oh hell I’ve been hit, but when he looked he found that it was where his car keys

had stabbed him in the leg. “This is not my day, I get shoot at and now my car

keys….. My car keys.”

Finishing getting dressed he gathered himself enough to go and attempt to find his

car, he had no idea what he was looking for and the only clue he had was the

remote to a car alarm and a key chain with the name Jimmy on it. “I guess I walk

around until a car makes a noise at me.”

Slowly he walked around the front of the motel and prayed that who ever the angry

man was had never seen him before. With as much self-control he walked past

what had once been a door. The two were still yelling at one another when the man

saw him walking past. “Hey you!” Frozen in place he could not speak only point at

himself.

“Yea pal you, you see any body come or go from this room in the last few minuets?”

Trying desperately not to piss himself he gathered his thought and answered.

“You mean aside from you?”

“Well yea!”

“Ah there was some guy running down the street a second ago half naked. Maybe

that’s your guy. If you hurry you may still catch him, he went that way.”

“Thanks pal!” And with that the large man and his big gun went off in the direction

that Jimmy had pointed. The young woman wrapped herself in the sheet off the bed

and walked to what was left of the door. “That was pretty fast thinking, same time

next week?”

“Yea sure, now where is my car?”

She pointed to a car across the lot and said. “You don’t even remember where you

parked? I never knew I was that good; make sure you got your wallet this time.”

Checking he didn’t and she rolled her eyes and went to get it for him. A few

seconds latter, she came back and handed it too him. “You should get out of here

before the cops get here. I’ll call you ok?”

“Yea sure.” And he was off to get in his car.

As he walked up to the car he reached for the keys and from out of nowhere

someone hit him from behind, laying on the ground looking up through the fog that

accompanied the blow he could make out the shape of a man and the words “Give

me your wallet bitch!” before he passed out. Lying in the mud with his eyes closed

he tried desperately to clear the ringing in his ears. Then he realized the vibration of

the muddy earth around him was keeping time with the ringing; the sound of a high

pitch whistle from far away come out of the background noise and from the sound of

it, it was getting closer. With a sudden jerk he placed all the sounds around him.

He was in the middle of a war zone. Looking down the riffle in his hand confirmed

his fear; without thought he flung himself out of the whole he was in seconds before

the shell hit the ground. Shrapnel and mud filled the air propelling him farther than

he had wanted to go. Landing face first in mud he tried to pick himself up but found

he couldn’t. After a moment of bewilderment he traced the problem to its source.

His right arm right above where his elbow should have been down was gone. As

were both his legs. His scream of pain intertwined with the noise around him and

was lost. Laying there staring out into the emptiness of space above him he

watched as the war rolled pasted him and was gone, he like so many others had

been left for dead. Many hours past as he lay there looking up into nothing before

he past out from the pain or maybe he died he didn’t know or care anymore. As he

shut his eyes he sat up in bed just in time to see a woman walk across the room in

a bath towel. “Good morning honey. I didn’t mean to wake you.” With his left hand

he traced his right arm not wanting to look. It was there, as were both his

legs. “That’s all right I guess I should get up anyway.” His voice sounded strange to

him like he had never heard it before now. “Are you all right you look beat.” She

ask as she sat on the corner of the bed. “Yea just a bad dream I guess.” “All right.

Hey would you mind making breakfast for me and the kids while I get dressed?”

She stood up and walked over to a dresser as she spoke. “Ok..” As he turned to

look at her, she let the towel drop to the floor exposing her naked body and he lost

his train of thought. “I ah……” She turned to him. “It’s been a long time since you

looked at me that way.” Stile trying to find his words he spoke again. “You are so

beautiful.”

“Thank you, I love you too but you are not getting out of breakfast that easy.”

“All right.”

Standing up he took the house coat off the bedpost and went off in search of the

kitchen. As soon as he found the kitchen to his surprise he knew where everything

was and in no time at all he had made; scrambled eggs, bacon, toast, and orange

juice for five. Looking at the table he found himself thinking. Are there five people in

this house? Soon three children filled down the stairs and into the kitchen all

looking at him in disbelief.

“Good morning everyone.” They just stood there looking at him. “Ok. Are like you

and mom separating or something?” The oldest one ask as she stood in the door

behind her two younger brothers. “No Meredith we are not why do you ask?” The

woman he had woken up to was now standing behind their children looking into the

kitchen. “Oh my, you know Steve when I ask you to make breakfast for us I was

thinking more along the lines of cereal and maybe toast.”

“What’s wrong with this?” He ask. “Nothing. Just when I think I’ve got you figured

out you do something like this and surprise me totally. I guess that’s why I love

you.” Wadding through the three children she hugged him and sat down to eat. As

they all sat there he watched each one of them and listened to them intently, after

all he was still more than a little blurry on who everyone was.

They finished breakfast just in time to hear the school bus pull up and the two boys

ran out of the house. “Aren’t you going?” he asked the young lady who was still

sitting across the table from him. “No dad. Mike is picking me up remember we

talked about this the other night.” “Oh yea, sorry. I must have forgotten.”

Just then a car pulled up in the driveway and blows the horn. “There he is.”

“Mike who?” He asked her but she was already gone, leaving only the woman, his

wife, and himself. “Mike Jarruet. You know Justin’s oldest boy, we talked about this

two nights ago. Don’t you remember?” His wife asked “Oh yea.”

She looked down at her watch and stood up. “Well I guess it’s time for me to go

too. See you in a few hours.” She spoke as she leaned in to kiss him but stopped

just short. “Are you going to be all right here by yourself today?” “I just feel like

there is somewhere I should be going.” She smiled at him. “Remember, you

wanted to sell the business and take a break for a while. You could do something

with the garage.” And with that she kissed him and was gone.

“Something with the garage hun?” he thought, standing up and clearing away the

remains of breakfast. “Now where would I find the garage. I wonder?”

He soon found it, and wished that he hadn’t. There was a small path from the door

where he stood to the other end where he could see just a hint of a garage door.

“This should be interesting.” Making his way to the mostly hides garage door he

found himself looking at the history of this family strewn to and fro, what could have

been priceless memories or it could have been just junk he had no idea which. As

he reached for the door of the garage he thought to himself, For some reason I don’t

think this is a good idea.

As he pulled the door he heard movement behind him, following the sound the saw

a bowling ball rolling across a double rafter. The ball rolled until it came to a stop

against the end of a pair of skis, which bumped into a five gallon can of paint. The

paint can fell off its shelf landing on top of a tall green duffel bag.

And lastly, from the duffel bag exploded a basket ball like a missal out of a cannon,

the basket ball struck him square in the face and down he went.

Some where in the distant darkness a pinpoint of light emerges, slowly getting

larger and bringing with it the hum of florescent lights above him.

“I think he’s waking up Dr.”

The light quickly over takes the darkness and he tries to rub his eyes but he can’t.

Feat rushes through his body, oh no he was back in the war again.

Once his vision had cleared he found himself lying on the floor in a straight jacket,

to his relief both arms and both legs were there.

Somehow he found his voice.

“Where am I?”

“Mr. Martine, you had us all very worried. It’s good to have you back with us.”

“Where am I and why am I in this thing?”

“The jacket, why that was your idea, don’t you remember?”

“No. But since it was my idea, you think you could get me out of it now?”

“As per your request I have to ask you a few questions first.”

“Fine.”

“What is your name?”

“Tom Martine.”

“What are we doing research on?”

“Sleep and dreams.”

“What is the name of your pet dog?”

“I don’t have a dog; I have a cat named Grace.”

“All right get him out of that thing.”

Shortly after he found himself sitting across from a middle aged man over coffee

telling him about everything he could remember.

“Fascinating, so it felt like you were really there?”

“I think we may very well be on to something here, Just think with a little more

study we could be selling custom dreams to people, good bye night mares.”

“That is really what we are doing this for right? for the kids. So kids will never have

to go through another night mare again?”

“Certainly, but latter we could branch out to the custom dreams and….”

“No. That is not what my work is about, it will not be turned into some wet dream

pill.”

“Oh cores not Tom. Drink your coffee and relax.”

Sitting back Tom takes another drink of his coffee.

“So you haven’t told me how you like the coffee.”

His vision suddenly begins to go blurry.

“After all I mixed it up just for you.” the man said with a laugh.

The man and his voice drift into the now all too familiar darkness.

Again off in the distance he could hear the man again.

“Take good care of the good DR. he’s had quiet the bad time of it lately.

The sound of the doctor’s voice drifts away and is replaced by the high pitch

squawky voice of a woman.

“Wake up Herman. You’re talking in your sleep again.”

Rolling over he finds himself looking at a clock.

3:45 AM. Staring back at him.

“Are you taking your pills right? You know the doctor said they wouldn’t do you any

good if you don’t take them.”

“Yes dear.” he said and rolled over and covered his face with his pillow.

“They just seam so real…..”

“Don’t start again; I can’t stand another tail of being a school boy again.”

“But!!!”

“No butt’s, the doctor said it’s your mind attempting to escape reality. That really

made my day I tell you, you know right how to touch a girl and make her feel loved

now don’t you?”

Not knowing why but something told him that this was an old argument and one he

could never win so he let it go, or at least tried to.

“Should have listened to my mother, ‘Don’t get married to that bum’ my mum use to

say but would I pay her any attention? NOOOOOOO, not me I loved you, and just

look where that got me.”

Suddenly He wished he had not woken up at all.