Terror From Above

The cold marble was the first sensation that I felt as I woke up. The second was a splitting headache that seemed to radiate from the back of my head down to my toes. The third was that I was not alone.

I sat upright and saw a small bird perched on the branch of an oddly shaped tree. It’s coal black eyes seemed to be sizing me up as if it were getting ready to attack. Frantically I looked around for something to protect myself from the possible assault. All I found were two halves of a coconut. The sweet goodness still dripping from the broken edges.

The bluebird raised one leg, then the other. It’s tiny head cocked to one side and it let out a melodic screech that brought terror to my mind. I quickly picked up the coconut halves, one in each hand, and called back to the bird.

“You want me? You think you can take me?”

With utter disregard for anything that was spilling from my lips the bird rose deftly from it’s perch and began an aerial assault. It’s beak a missile coming for it’s mark. I raised my hand and threw one of the coconut halves with all the accuracy of a drunken clown. The bird cackled as the projectile passed right by it’s head. Undaunted it was upon me. The bluebirds beak pressed easily into me and my arm began to bleed. I swung at the bird with the other coconut half and the bird dodged away and landed back on it’s perch.

“End simulation.”

The tree and bird disappeared and I was standing on the cold marble, surrounded by banks of computers.

Softly and only to myself I mumbled a brief good night to my antagonist, “I’ll get you next time.”