Pyramid

He found the object on the bargain shelf at the thrift shop that was just down the road from his house. It was sitting next to an old deck of playing cards and a worn Lego set. He didn't know why he picked it up at first - the small, iridescent pyramid. This is so stupid, he scoffed as he turned it around on his fingers. What was this, some new age gimmick? A healing crystal or some other nonsense.

But he couldn't set it back down on the shelf. He turned it around and around, inspecting every bit of its surface area. Without thinking, he slipped it into his shorts pocket and started walking out of the store. He'd come to buy a new pair of work boots, but that could wait. As soon as he was outside, he took it out of his pocket to look at it again while he walked home. He couldn't remember ever seeing something that reflected light the same way this pyramid did. No wonder modern-day witches existed, he thought. I'd want to worship a crystal like this, too.

Looking at his pyramid, he didn't notice he'd walked into the street until the pick-up's tires squealed so loudly he managed to drag his eyes up right before it collided into him. Then everything went black.

When he opened his eyes, everything was white. He reached for the pyramid in his pocket, but it wasn't there; in fact, he wasn't wearing his shorts anymore. Had he dropped it? He started trying to look around, but found he couldn't move like he could just a few moments ago. He blinked. Where was he anyway? Hadn't he just been walking outside?

He tore his mind away from the pyramid to take in his surroundings. He was wearing a hospital gown, in a hospital bed. Then he noticed the doctor at his side, who was speaking in a gentle but concise manner.

"Can you hear me? Wesley, are you able to hear anything I'm saying?" Wesley realized that his name was Wesley and that the doctor was talking to him. He tried to speak, but his throat hurt, and he coughed. The doctor handed him a cup of water. Wesley sipped on it until his throat was soothed.

"Have you seen my pyramid?"

"I'm sorry?" The doctor replied.

"Have you seen a little pyramid about an inch wide? My pyramid."

"No, I'm afraid not." The doctor glanced up at another person in the room. Wesley turned to the stranger.

"Have you seen it?"

"Wesley... It's me, Diana, your wife." His wife. Interesting. He had always wanted a wife. It seemed like a very nice thing to have. But it didn't compare to his pyramid.

"Hello, Diana. I'm curious if you've seen any pyramids recently? I've lost my pyramid and I really miss it. The last time I had it, I was walking up Northwest from the thrift store, and I haven't seen it since. If you had any information, I'd really appreciate it."

Diana stole another glance at the doctor and then focused her gaze on him. "Wesley, can you tell me what year it is?"

"Can't seem to recall at the moment. I just woke up, though, so I am a bit groggy and worried about my pyramid." This seemed to distress Diana greatly, although he didn't understand why. Why didn't anyone seem to have any interest in helping him find his pyramid?

Diana looked into the doctor's eyes and spoke in a strangled whisper, "What happened to him?"

"Mrs. Campbell, can you please step outside with me for one moment?" The doctor started leading the sobbing Diana towards the door.

"Please look out for my pyramid while you're out there."

"Of course, please try to rest until we find it." Was the doctor's reply. Diana looked back at Wesley, who was scanning the room, trying to peer underneath the furniture. She turned back around and went out the door. The doctor closed it behind them.

Wesley didn't know how much time had passed before he heard the door open and shut again. "Hello, Wesley." Standing at the door was an elderly woman wearing a dress with a geometric pattern. "You may remember me, I'm a clerk at the thrift shop." She walked over to his bedside and dipped her hand into her purse. She pulled her hand out of her bag with a closed fist, then moved it closer to Wesley's face. She uncurled her fingers to reveal a small pyramid.

"My pyramid!" Wesley exclaimed with the pure, unadulterated joy of a little boy on Christmas day. "You've brought me my pyramid! You've done for me what no one else could, even my own wife didn't seem to care to help me find it. Thank you."

"Wesley, are you ready to know the secrets of the pyramid?" The woman said, still holding it in her hand.

"Of course I'm ready. I'm ready to know everything that I can know about this magnificent thing. I knew this was my destiny the moment I laid eyes on it. It stood out to me like a drop of ink on a blank piece of paper. And how long had it been lying on that shelf, untouched, I wonder? How many people passed it by, not appreciating its beauty, not sensing its power... Those idiots! But lucky for me! But maybe it's not luck, maybe the pyramid was drawn to me. Perhaps it sensed something special within me that made it reveal its true nature to me. Yes...this must be."

"You are not special," the woman scolded Wesley. "I placed the pyramid there because my leaders told me to. We must share only a glimpse of the power we hold. If we share too much at once, your minds might break completely. Even this small pyramid seems too much for you to handle. The humans of this age are weak; perhaps this was a mistake."

"No wait!" Wesley wrenched the pyramid from her hand. It happened too fast for his conscious mind to realize he had made a mistake. Images entered his brain of humanoid figures with pyramid heads, their mouths full of razor-sharp teeth, emerging from dark caves. He witnessed scenes so evil that they made him recoil in silent horror. Everything that he had thought about the world had been wrong. He grabbed the sides of his head in madness, for he had been driven entirely and utterly mad, so that he could no longer think or speak in any language. The machines he was attached to started beeping furiously.

The doctor rushed in, followed by a team of nurses. "What happened?" he demanded. The old lady nodded her head towards the patient, "This." He walked up to Wesley, whose machines had stopped beeping, instead emitting the sound of a flatline. He turned the machine off and scrutinized Wesley's face, which had distorted into a look of terror.

The doctor smiled. "Marvelous," he whispered with awe. He turned to face the others in the room."We are finally ready to open the vault of pyramids. Let us celebrate the beginning of a new era, the era of Pyramir!" The room erupted in cheers, for it no longer mattered who heard them. They had already won.