Olympus Mons of Mars

CW: References to drug use and some swearing

When David awoke from his sleep, eyes bleary and ears still partly closed, he felt, perhaps for the first time in weeks, well rested. His sleep was good. The almost otherworldly kind. The  ethereal and eldritch obsidian that pulls you in, a sweet lullaby by the void coddling you on your descent. He rubbed the sleepy from his eyes, swinging lanky legs over the bedside and standing up. After throwing on a tee and sweats, he departed baby blue walls and entered the hallway, walking down to the left and entering his mother's room after two, brief knocks. Upon entering, he saw the bed empty and made, curtains slightly blowing from the inch cracked window. This was surprising. Barbra likewise hadn't slept well for weeks, and despite her being the living personification of early bird gets the worm, David had lately been beating to the kitchen to began brewing the morning coffee. A hallway and staircase later, David found himself walking through the empty living room and kitchen, a yellow sticky on the fridge reading: Left for work, there's coffee in the decanter but I made some in the French press with the new Colombian beans we got at Costco. Let me know how it is. Love you.

David smiled, a furrowing of the brows following soon after. He opened the freezer and reached for a black pack that sat at the back. He unzipped it and looked inside; the last shroom square gone. An upwards crack broke along David's mouth.

"Trust me", Saul said yesterday on the drive up to his friend Matt's place, who grew the shrooms at his grandmother's house after being discovered growing them on campus grounds and subsequently being expelled. "It'll help with any stress or anxiety. Better than alcohol or weed. I had my mom do some back during the divorce. When things were really bad, you know. Hell, I even started doing it more often too. When dad...when Daniel ditched, and what he said to mom and me...you know I always thought me and and him were good, and that he loved me, only to find out that maybe he never did."

After stopping at Matt's to pick up the goods, David fulfilled his part of the deal, stopping by a liquor store to pick up a thirty pack of Pale Blue Ribbon for Saul, David being twenty-two and Saul nineteen. David had subtly suggested to Barbra that she consider taking some a few days ago, to which he was met with a scoff and disparaging shake of the head.

"Why would I need to?", Barbra inquired, flipping through papers with the speed of Hermes. "You know I'm fine with your partaking, anything that's natural and grows from the ground can't be all that bad. But I'm not in college anymore, Davey. And honestly, regardless of whatever you're imagining in your head, I'm fine."

Last night, David, coming home from a party at two in the morning (Barbra encouraging him saying he was spending too much time in the house and with her) walked through dark halls cast in shadow and found Barbra still awake and crying in her bed. When David's foot creaked on the floorboard, the crying suddenly ceased. David was going to open the door to Barbara's room, but suddenly found himself in dread and made haste for his bedroom. He wondered briefly if that made him a bad son.

After pouring himself some coffee from the new batch in the French press (which was indeed good) he quickly stripped nude and showered, eyes closed as warm water washed down him. David wasn't particularly religious, at least not for long while now, but he felt as if this shower was some type of cleansing ritual. His body felt clogged, as if filled with strange smoke that weighed him down like molasses. The steam cleansed the smoke away, and dissolved the molasses, which began at his head and ended at his feet. David could think now, and he opened his eyes and turned off the shower.

***

The Colorado sun was at its zenith, floating in the blue canvas like the eye of God, even though the tree canopy was thick like spider-webs, piercing through. Towering Ponderosa pine trees covered the ground, stretching up erect as if in worship. David could see why, though. The scene was so beautiful it made David wonder if some divine hand really did make all this, and then a mosquito bit him and the thought left his mind.

"There we go", Matt said, squatting down next to a gathering of mushrooms that lay hidden behind a bush. "Amanita muscaria."

David, along with Saul and Matt, had been hiking through the wilderness of Woodland Park in search of primarily Amanita muscaria, but also Psilocybe cubensis. David, along with a few of his buddies, had been fired from their job at Einstein bagels after a mother and her son overheard them make a joke about the genitals of an elephant, that perhaps in hindsight may have been inappropriate discussion for the workplace. A week later, Matt offered him a gig helping him forage shrooms and David agreed.

"Here", Saul said, bending down. "I'll get th-"

"No", Matt said, or more so yelled, swatting away Saul's hand. "You don't have gloves."

"I thought you said these weren't poisonous?"

"They aren't...mostly. Really, this requires a gentle touch, and I don't want your ape hands breaking these apart. We want them to remain enact."

"Fuck you."

After gathering enough to halfway fill their already small pack (Matt saying a lot of the mushrooms were no good) they hiked back through the mountains, the sun no longer at the height of its dawn and the beginnings of dusk not too far away. The forest and mountain was now enveloped in a dark gold.

After a lengthy drive, and a even lengthier smoke session, David now found himself walking up the walkway of his girlfriend Mia's house. Well, technically her father's house. After a few knocks and a hello, the door opened, Charlie standing.

"David!", Charlie exclaimed, swinging open the door.

"Charlie the chessman", David said, walking in.

"Mia's upstairs."

"How do you know I'm not here for you?", David asked, walking towards a pile of drawings that sat on the living room table. "What's this? New comic?"

"Yeah", Charlie said, running over. He rummaged through the pile before picking one up.

"Adam Lost", Charlie said, holding out the paper to David. On the front a rugged man in a spacesuit, standing atop a piece of space debris with his gun aimed.

"He's a soldier from world war three, which hasn't happened yet. When he goes on a mission to prevent a nuclear disaster, he's accidentally transported to another galaxy. That's why his name is Adam lost. Because he's stranded on some strange planet."

David considered the drawing a moment, before handing it back to Charlie.

"It's really good. You should make this a series, I would read it."

Charlie's face beamed with pride.

"Thanks."

"Charlie will you clean all this up before dad comes home", Mia said, descending a flight of stairs. She came to David, planting a kiss on his cheek. "You smell like dirt and lake water."

David chuckled. "Guilty."

Mia walked back to the staircase, stopping and nodding her head towards it.

"Help me with some boxes?"

***

As David stared at the blue celling, his fist clenching the wrinkled sheets, he felt a calm wash over him. A calm he hadn't felt in weeks, then he thought of Ruben, and the calm vanished just as quickly as it came. Though contradictory, certain hollowness filled him that was almost palpable, and David felt as if he maybe wasn't there on the bed. Wasn't here in the house, in Colorado, or the country, or the continent. Earth was no more, and David floated empty, staring at the blue canvas. He only stared, the smoke had returned and began to fill his head. No room for thoughts. Only a strange and nebulous longing and dread.

"David? David?"

Mia's voice reached into the plane where David found himself captive, and suddenly he found himself back on earth.

"Yeah?", David said turning to Mia, a grin plastered on his face.

"You okay? I mean, are you feeling okay?", Mia said, eyes going up and down in study of David.

"Yeah, yeah. Just thinking of tonight. We're having dinner with the Johnsons I think. You remember Logan Johnson from senior year, right?"

Mia nodded her head, eyes still observing David.

"Yeah, from Virginia. You're having dinner with his family?"

"Yeah, um...we actually started bunking together in the dorms a month or two back. He's  pretty cool. His dad is actually the owner of that Park Hill bakery my mom loves. They found out their sons know each other, and...well, you know how these things go." 

"Hm...small world I guess."

David turned back for the celling.

"Yeah."

***

"Can you taste the sauce just one more time, the pesto usually is already pretty seasoned on its own, but I just want to make sure."

David lifted the pot lid and grabbed a spoon retasting the pesto sauce as Barbra turned off the lamb steaks, removing the pan from the eye.

"Steaks smell good, mom."

"For this price, they better be."

David laughed, and Barbra followed suit. They put down their items and laughed for a good minute, until the last of the laughter chugged out and they resumed setting the kitchen, the only noise the running faucet, clanging of pots and pans and occasional droplet of oil to hit the eye.

"So...how was work?", David inquired.

"It was fine. Just average I guess, which is good. Edith hates me though, I'm sure of it. You should have seen the workload she gave me today. I've done some covert sleuthing, and she doesn't do it to the rest of the department, just me. Honestly, if I gather enough evidence I'll report her to HR, though what will they do aside from try to screw me over. I guess it's all ultimately pointless."

David nodded his head.

"Mm. You should take a vacation, see how they fare without you. You could use the time off anyways."

Barbra shook her head.

"No, I can't afford to now. I am planning on it though. When the time is right."

"The time is never right."

Barbra laughed, her lips breaking out into a smile.

"Very wise, David. Now would you get the wine glasses out. The good ones."

After David had got the glasses and finished seating the table, it wasn't too long before the curtains blew and David saw a Black SUV pull up in front of his house, a succession of doors opening and footsteps leading to the doorbell ringing. Harry Johnson and Sarah Johnson stood beside each other, Harry's big and hairy arms holding an assortment of baked goods. Sarah held a bottle of Obsidian Ridge Cabernet Sauvignon. Logan stood behind them, attempting to get his little sister Maddie to stop tugging his shirt sleeve.

Dinner went about as expected for these sorts of things. They moved their way to the kitchen and ate, a a little awkwardness at first, though laughter, drink and good food make all things more tolerable. Through the awkwardness always remained. Harry spilled a glass of wine, his third so far, onto his khakis. Upon discovery that the paper towels in the kitchen had been devoured, Barbra got up and went to the laundry room to retrieve another roll. Around the tenth minute into her departure, she hadn't returned. On the thirteenth minute, David decided to excuse himself from the table in search of Barbra. He found her in the laundry room. Her sundress lay crumpled on the floor as she knelt, hands over her face as she wept loudly.

"Whoa, whoa", David said as he knelt besides her. David wasn't sure what to say, and the scene distressed him greatly.

"My boy", Barbra managed to get out in between cries and wails. "My boy is broken, and he'll never be put back together again."

 David knelt in silence, his only words his palm which caressed his mother's back.

"...that's not true."

"I'm falling apart, Davey. I can feel it. Each new morning something's come undone in me. I just want to...I want to..."

David continued rubbing Barbra's back, feeling slight relief that she didn't finish her sentence.

"...Ruben's not broke, he's just going through a rough patch."

Barbra didn't say anything.

"D-do you wanna go visit him tonight? We missed last weeks visitation...I'm sure he'll be happy to see us. It's only seven thirty something, we still have a couple hours left."

Barba groaned, sounding like she had just been socked in the stomach. She nodded.

"Alright, I'm going to go tell the Johnsons we have to go. Family emergency or something."

Barbra nodded once more and David made his way to the kitchen, saying a cousin had just been involved in an accident and they needed to leave. After quick well wishes and sympathies, the Johnson family departed. Not too long after that, David and Barbra made their way across the dusk lawn and into their car, leaving for Highlands Ranch.

***

After arriving at the Highlands Ranch mental health and wellness center, and going through the arduous security protocols (all items left in locker, identification check and background check, pat down) and pinning their visitor tags to their jackets, David and Barbra went to the lunch room and waited. After a little bit, but not too long, Ruben came out the door, a nurse trailing close behind. Ruben was normally clean shaven, and liked to keep a buzz cut, but his brown hair now hung down below his ear and thick stubble covered his chin, cheeks and neck. His glasses were lopsided, and the left side appeared to be broken, a piece of tape wrapped around it.

"Hey, hey guys", Ruben said, motioning towards a table. "We can sit over here."

Barbra and Ruben set down, David having to get another chair from a differnt table, safety measures requiring all the chairs to be at least fifty pounds. With a huff and a grunt, David brought the chair over.

"I-I didn't expect you guys to come this late. Or really not until the weekend. I know you guys are busy with work and all."

David just smiled and nodded, having the desire to speak but unable to think of anything.

"Yeah, work is a lot, ecspeaclly with that bitch Edith trying her hardest to make things diffuclt for me-"

A chuckle escaped Ruben's mouth, and David's right after.

"-but, you know, we thought we'd swing by and check in on you. You know I think aobut you...here, all the time, and so does David."

Ruben nodded.

"So how are things?", Barbra inqured. "Here, I mean. Do you feel safe? A-are you comfortable?"

Ruben nodded.

"Yeah, I feel-by the way, there's water and juice over there at the kitchen area. They really hammer in how important drinking water is. Not just for us, either, but really for everyone . Do you guys know how important water is? It's crazy."

Barbra slid her hands across the table, clasping Ruben's.

"Yes, I know how important drinking water is."

Ruben nodded.

"Yeah, but anyways, it's cool here. I've made a lot of friends, actually. My roommate, he's this native American guy and he tells me a ton of crazy stories about his uncle, who's supposed to be a shaman."

"That's good, sweetie, but stay focused. How is it here? The staff, are they good?"

Ruben nodded again.

"The staff...they're like my team. My boys. Plus-"

Ruben leaned in closer.

"-mom, look at your sweater. The color."

Barbra looked beneath her black puffer coat to her baby blue sweater.

"...it's blue?"

Ruben nodded knowingly.

"Now look at the celling.

Barbra looked up at the blue ceiling.

"It's also blue.

Ruben leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms. "Exactly. You know, the doctor, on paper, he acts like he's diagnosing us, giving us medications, but if you can see between the lines, he's actually helping us harness our powers."

David felt something like a brick sink in stomach. He couldn't help it, and a sigh escaped his lips. 

Either Ruben didn't hear it, or just ignored it, but Barbra kicked David's foot.

The nurse who had been watching them from across the room approached.

"Unfortunately, we will have to take Ruben in a moment for his evening checskups and therpay session beofre we call lights out. Visistor hours do begin at noon tommrow, though."

Babra nodded.

"Okay, Ruben, we should proably be letting you go. If I'm not too tired after work, i'll try to come by tommrow."

Ruben nooded and mubled okay.

"A-are you guys okay?"

Barbra opened her mouth, only to close it just as fast. After a moment, she opened it back up.

"Yes, we're okay."

Barbra looked at David, who found himself staring outside the window and at the mountains that lie outside. David turned his head, and his eyes met Ruben's. He hadent looked at him for some time now, and as be did he wondered how much of him was there.

"Yeah, we're okay."

After standing up and exchanging hugs (David opting to give Ruben just a fist bump and pat on the back, saying he missed him) David and Barbra returned for the car, and for home. The dusk was now peaking, and the lowering  star cast a dark gold that bordered on crimson. David was silent, as was Barbra. For a brief moment, David thought of saying something, anything, but decided against it. He turned his gaze back outside the window, wherein sat towering and obsidian mountains which were casted in strange red like the  Olympus Mons of mars.