Tunnel

“I’m stuck. I’m bloody stuck. This is the worst writer’s block I’ve had so far and if this is what I have to deal with as a writer, then it’s better to quit early on.” I pulled at my hair and sighed for probably the billionth time. No matter how hard I try to rack my brain, nothing mind-blowing seems to come. It’s all the usual generic stuff that I don’t want to write about again. A couple of weeks have gone by and I thought that by now this block would have passed and I would be pumping out novel stories one after the next, but sadly my notebook and my google doc were practically empty with only a few blobs of ideas that I didn’t know what to do with. 

“This is just the worst.” I groaned and dropped my head with a loud thud on the dining table.  

“What the hell’s wrong with you this time?” An annoying voice said from my side which belonged to none other than the busybody of a sister of mine. 

“It’s nothing. Now buzz off.” I said annoyed and not in the mood to entertain her.

“Attitude much Mr. Writer?” She huffed and nudged me on purpose to open the fridge.

“At least I’m not a drunk like you,” I said under my breath which earned me a smack on the head.

“Hey!”

“I heard that. And at least I enjoy getting drunk. Not to mention it comes with being a college student.” She spoke into the fridge while rummaging through it. 

I rubbed my head and glared at the back of hers. She doesn’t give a shit about her studies but still always manages to get straight A’s and I have no idea how. I used to think she cheats her way into getting good grades, but strangely enough, my sister was never the one for taking the easy way out of things. She may be an irresponsible and reckless fool, but never a cheater or liar…but that still doesn’t change the fact that she’s a drunken fool.  

“Drucken social freak.” I spat.

“Introverted little pussy.” She countered back.

“Mom!” I hollered to her where she was sitting in the living room with my dad probably watching her stupid K-dramas.

“And you’re a mama’s boy too!” My sister exclaimed and slammed the fridge door after taking out two apples and a jar of peanut butter. She had a satisfied smirk plastered on her face after riling me up.    

“Hazel dear, language please, and don’t pester your brother.” Mom said in a monotone voice like a recording and probably didn’t even hear us bickering in the kitchen. 

“Yes ma'am~” She sang and plopped herself in front of me after getting a knife and a plate to go with her apples and peanut butter. She was going to dip the apples into the jar and claims it’s one of her favorite snacks. I just find the whole idea of it to be unappetizing. Peanut butter should only go with jelly on a piece of bread with the crusts cut off. Ain't no better way to eat it. Well, save for eating it straight out of the jar with a spoon.

“Pig.” I said, staring back at the screen.

“Careful brother dear. I’m the one holding a weapon here. Also, we ran out of milk so go get some.”

“What? Why should I? Go get it yourself.” 

“Because I said so. Besides, it’s not like you’re doing anything.” she said, rolling her eyes and cutting her apples into slices. 

“Don’t you see I’m writing here!”

“Hah! And you haven’t a single decent sentence and you’re saying you’re writing.”

“I was going to before you showed up! See, “Once upon a time, there was a fat bitchy pig at the dining table who died because she choked on a nutty apple slice. The end.” How’s that?” I said typing up my last word.

“Cute, but I think you forgot to write how she hacked off her brother’s teeny tiny excuse of a dingaling with her crazy ass ninjutsu skills.” she said waving the knife around as a show of her skills. I was not amused at all whatsoever. 

“I can’t believe we’re arguing over this.” I mumbled. 

“That’s exactly what I was about to say.” She said in a mocking tone. 

“First we argued about beer and now over a carton of milk and since you can’t have either, I say you get me both and call it quits while you're ahead of yourself cause you know at the end of the day I always win in our arguments.” she grinned while pointing the dagger at me.  

I glared at her and clicked my tongue before going back to just staring absently at my screen. I could feel the anxiety creeping in and I balled both my hands into a fist above the keyboard. 

“Okay, seriously. What’s wrong with you? You’ve been distressed for weeks now? Did something happen at school?” Hazel inquired as she dipped an apple slice into the jar and munched on her sticky slice. I just scrunched up my eyebrows and nodded. A lot was going on actually. Not only was I facing a terrible writer’s block, but my first writing project was due for my English class in less than a week and I haven’t gotten anywhere at all. This counted towards a lot for my grade and I was already falling behind in my other classes. Not to mention I had another stupid fight with Gracie about her dumb jockass boyfriend. He’s a piece of shit and treats her like dirt, but she still hangs out with him and his dumb group of friends cause they’re popular and she wants the attention too. God, she’s infuriating. What happened to the sweet pigtailed glasses girl I’ve known since elementary? She did a complete 360 when we got to highschool and boy did it do a lot to our friendship. I sighed and started to scribble on a page in my notebook. Everything was falling into pieces and I didn’t know what to do.  

“Nothing. It’s just stupid school stuff.” I mumbled after a bit. 

“Enjoy your angsty highschool youth Jam Jam. You’re gonna miss it for sure when you get to college.”

“I’ll keep that in mind grandma.” I huffed. “Also don’t call me that.” 

“Why not Jamie bear? I thought you loved that name.” She teased. I rolled my eyes. Nope. I hated being teased by my family as Jamie Wamie the Gummy Bear. It was a stupid inside joke about my love for gummy bears, which I love to chew on and I’m the kind of guy who loves craving sweets and candies. Cavities can just rot my teeth for all I care.

“Anyway, why don’t you go along now and get that carton of milk like I asked.  I’ll let you off with not getting the beer cause you’re a minor.” She said plopping some cash in front of me. I looked at her annoyed and she just beamed back. I didn’t feel like going out, but I wasn’t getting anything done here anyway. Maybe some fresh air might help me clear up my thoughts. 

“Fine. Why not.” I sighed, closing my laptop and standing up pushing the chair back.

“Thanks, drama queen. 2% please. Oh, and while you’re at it, get yourself an ice cream to cool off with. It’ll probably do you some good. I’ll also make you some spaghetti to cheer and clear that depression of yours.”   

“That’s mighty kind of you. Try not to pour wine into the dish. You’re already intoxicated af and I don’t want to become a drunk yet.” I retorted and grabbed the money before heading to the front door. 

“Can’t make any promises. Everything tastes better with wine. Oh, and beer can take second place.”

“Sure, sure. Whatever you say boozer nut. Mom, dad! I’m heading out for a bit to get a carton of milk! Do y’all need anything?!” 

“Nope son. We’re good. Dad called back.

“Don’t dilly dally and make sure you check twice before you cross the road!” Mom said in her K-drama mom mode.

“I will!” I said, rolling my eyes and throwing on my worn-out sneakers. 

“You guys are such worry warts. Now be off and bring back the milk safe and sound or no dinner for you.” My sister waved me off.

“Gee, thanks. I’d rather eat grass than the poison you cook.” I said over my shoulder. 

“Why you little—” I was out the door, pulling it close not bothering to hear the rest of what she was going to say. Which was probably just a bunch of curse words. I hopped down the stone steps and onto the driveway before turning left to walk to the nearest store which was only a 10-minute walk from our place. The night air felt so calming and relaxing. A gentle breeze blew and sent my wavy locks flying. It’s times like these that I feel the most relaxed. It’s as if all my stress and worries just disappear with the breeze and into the dark alleyway…alleyway…wait what? 

I stopped walking and stared down a narrow street that had a dimly lit lamp post that was constantly flickering as if it would go out any second. 

“What…where am I? I looked around me a bit puzzled and more so frightened. It’s been barely a minute since I went out, but I somehow ended up in a neighborhood that I didn’t recognize. The streets were deserted and the house looked old and run-down like nobody had lived in them in years. 

“Just where the hell am I?” My voice trailed off as I stared at the alleyway once again. Suddenly I froze in horror. Did…did I have another episode? Shit! I’ve been so stressed out and busy lately that I haven’t been noting down my sleep and wake cycles. God damn it! 

I still suffer from sleepwalking and though I should have grown out of it by now, I haven’t yet. The doctors don’t know why, but they’re not that dangerous. I usually wake up and walk around the house and my parents or Hazel just tuck me back into bed. But did I just sleepwalk while I was awake? How is that even possible? 

It was the first time something like this ever happened to me. And I know for a fact without the docs even telling me that this was dangerous. 

“I need to…call mom and dad and tell them where I am…and get Hazel to…pick me up…” I started to feel anxious and it was getting harder to breathe properly. Calm down James. Just calm down. It’s the worst-case scenario to get a panic attack on top of sleepwalking. 

“Damn nabit!” I couldn’t find my cell phone in either of my pant pockets and that meant I had left it behind at home on the kitchen table.

“Why am I such a forget me not!?” I cursed and grabbed a fist full of my hair. 

“Things just can’t get any worse…shit.” I shouldn’t have said those. They were practically jinxed. I glanced around at the empty ghost town I was in. There was probably no point and the place looked deserted, but I called out anyway.

“Hello! Is anyone there?!” I hollered but I was just met with silence while my voice echoed off into the barren suburb.

“Can anyone hear me?! Hello! I’m a bit lost and trying to find my way home!” but there was still no response. The silence only grew deeper and I felt even more afraid. 

“What do I do now?” I agonized. I didn’t want to go near the abandoned houses to look around to see if I could find some sort of clue as to where I was. There wasn’t a single street sign or anything which was just so weird. 

“Maybe there might be one if I continue down the road…” My voice trailed off as I looked towards my right. I could barely see anything ahead except the outlines of more abandoned houses. 

“Should I just retrace my steps?” I thought and glanced towards my left, but it looked just the same as the other side. I probably couldn't even retrace my steps even if I wanted to. It’d be pointless to walk blindly into the deep night. Not to mention dangerous. Also…I just had a bad feeling that I shouldn’t go near those abandoned houses. It looked as if the night was getting deeper and darker. It was as if I was going to be swallowed any minute by it.

Suddenly a familiar gentle breeze brushed past me. I looked forward to the alleyway. The light was still flickering and I could barely see anything past the lamppost, but I could hear the sound of the wind blowing. It was a deep low hum and it was as if the wind was pulling at me. Urging me to take the first step and cross over the crack in the road and venture into the unknown alley. It didn’t help when pieces of gravel, some fall leaves, and a crumpled-up piece of paper tumbled past me and laid ahead after the wind pulled them in. This just made me all the more confused. It was the middle of summer, but there were fall leaves scattered about. It was also a bit chilly out compared to before when the air was humid, but still had a nice cool breeze to it. 

“Okay. This is freaky.” I gulped and stood staring at the narrow lane ahead of me. Okay, I have to make a decision now. I was out of options at this point. So, that just left me with…

I looked back at the alleyway and stared at it a second more before taking a big gulp of air and letting out a shaky breath. I was terrified to the core, but strangely enough, at the same time, I couldn’t help feeling as if something…magical was about to happen. I know it sounds cheesy, but I can’t really explain it. It’s just this feeling I have. Like how I saved an abandoned puppy from the trash can when it was barely breathing, or how my older brother would never return home on that rainy day...

Shutting my eyes tight, I grimaced and swallowed down the memories that started to resurface. I need to calm down or I would be stuck here till morning without finding my way home. I slowly opened my eyes and looked ahead determined to see what lie on the other side of this alleyway.     

“It’s now or ever.” I breathed. Then I crossed over the crack on the cement pathway. I took a couple of steps ahead and stood directly underneath the lamppost. There wasn’t any light ahead and I’d have to walk blindly hereafter. It wasn’t ideal, but...if I kept my hand pressed against the stone wall on the side, I might just find my way to the end without having to trip and fall flat on my face. I took another step and jumped a bit in surprise as my sneaker landed on the crumpled piece of paper. I heaved a sigh of relief and bent to pick up the scrap of paper before shoving it into the pocket of my hoodie. I honestly don’t know why people litter so much. Is it too much to ask to throw things in the trash or recycle bin? I shook my head frustrated and walked ahead. I placed my hand on the stone-cold wall and glanced back one last time towards the entrance. I could still turn back. I didn’t know what would lie at the end of this alleyway. I’d be pissed off if it was a dead-end but…I faced forward and continued my walk. The light slowly started to fade from behind me, before it eventually turned pitch black. I tried to keep my breathing steady, but it wasn’t easy. I’m not a fan of the dark, especially not in the situation I was in. I don’t know how long I was walking for, but I doubt that alleyways were this long. 

Was the alleyway somehow connected to a tunnel? As if to answer my question, a gust of wind blew from the direction ahead of me. I squeezed my eyes shut and tried to block my face with my other hand. The wind died down after a bit and then when I looked up ahead, I saw a speck of light in the distance. 

“Finally!” I exclaimed and hurried along. It was about damn time I reached the end. I was almost out of the alleyway and then I stumbled and tripped over a brick and landed flat on my face outside. 

“Ouch! What the bloody hell!” I swore, rubbing my nose.  

“What kind of nut job puts a brick there like that…” I yelled but came to a stop. The alleyway had somehow turned into a sewer passageway. I slowly turned around and what I saw before me took my breath away. I wasn’t back in my neighborhood, nor another place similar to the abandoned house. But I did end up on the main street or what looked like a main street. But it wasn’t anything like I saw before except for in movies and the books I read. That day, that alleyway led me to a future that was eons into the future. A dystopian cyberpunk society where the human population was few and at the mercy of A.I. beings. An interesting story plot if I say so myself, but I’d rather not be a part of. I shouldn’t have said those words before. Cause things just got a whole lot worse.