UNDERCOVER The Secret of Luck

by James Kipling

  John had almost reached the end of the tunnel and the light was really bright. He noticed that the bright light was being partly blocked by a closed door. He was about ten feet from the door. Something told him that if he were to open that door, that bright light should come streaming in and save him. Behind his back, the crawlies were almost upon him. The outstretched hands of the crawlies were now scratching his jacket. John felt that one of them had its hands on his shoulder. At that moment, John had reached the door and pushed it open.

  Bright light streamed into the tunnel in glorious quantities through the now open door. John shielded his eyes with his hands. Behind his back, he could hear loud screaming. Just as he had hoped, the bright light was indeed destroying the creepy crawlies. He looked back to find an incredible scene. The whole tunnel looked like a long pathway that was bursting with fire crackers at some celebration. The whole tunnel was exploding with bright light. As the light streamed through the entire tunnel, it touched each of the crawlies with exploding shock. It was only then that John realized he was being chased by thousands of crawlies. The light also gave him a clear view of what they looked like.

  John was immediately reminded of the crawlies from that scary movie from his younger days. They each had a scaly body which was dark red in color. The whole skin was shiny, as if it was dipped in oil. Oil that would easily burn anything but these crawlies looked like they were already burnt. John continued as the light travelled through the entire length of the tunnel. John felt that the light was no ordinary light. Despite the length it was stretching into, it did not lose any of its intensity or potency. Once all the crawlies were burnt, the light started to decrease in intensity until it was dark again.

  John stepped out of the tunnel and landed with a thud on the ground. John noticed that he was out of the tunnel and stood in some kind of a forest. He looked up to find a clear sky with bright stars everywhere. He looked around him and found that the tunnel had led him to the edge of a pathway next to a river. The river flowed calmly, and there were tiny fish in it, swimming without a care. The moon shone brightly in the sky. John continued to look around to find the source of that light which saved him from all the creepy crawlies. He could see no such source anywhere. It was just another forest, and as with any forest, there were trees everywhere.

  John noticed that the lantern light had gone out. He decided not to light it again, since he had sufficient light from the full moon. John climbed above a large rock to see the best way to keep walking. He was still not sure where he was, and he was too much in a shock to figure out what was happening. Once on top of the rock, he could see a house about a mile away. One of its windows was open and it had a lamp burning in it. John thought he saw shadows, but it was difficult to make out clearly from where he was. He figured it would be best to go to that house to seek help and to find out where he was.

  He jumped off the rock, held the lantern in his right hand, and started moving through the jungle. The jungle reminded him of that horror movie again. He could not help think that he like a character in the movie which always terrified him when he was a small boy. As he walked, he could not help but feel that he was being followed. At one point, he even heard a small whistle, but when he looked in the direction of that sound, there was nothing. John turned around and resumed walking towards the house.

  He must have walked half a mile or so, when he heard sounds from the tree branches above him. He looked up and saw some movement in many branches. Soon, John could hear and see movement from almost every tree. That was when John saw them. Crawlies were on each and every branch, and there were dozens of them.

  John looked around to see if there were any bright lights to help him out, just like before. There was no bright light in sight. The crawlies started to climb down from the trees, even as John stood there. He was thinking hard on his next move. The crawlies had climbed down and were slowly moving towards him, with their bony hands outstretched. One of them started running and jumped. But before the skinny hands could grab him, something hit the approaching demon with an arrow. An arrow made of light.

  John turned around to see a man riding on a horse made of light. He was riding towards him with a bow that was glowing. It seemed to be made completely out of light. John heard another sound of something rushing to him. He turned just in time to find another dark and skinny demon jump on him. It scratched his eyes and John let out a huge scream. The pain was unbearable and in a matter of seconds, John fell to the ground. Unconscious.

  “John, wake up.” said a voice.

  John was slowly regaining consciousness. Everything around him was blurry. The man with the light bow in his hand was standing next to him.

  “John, are you okay? Hello! John!” said the voice.

  John’s eyes were clearing up a bit now. He saw that Rod was sitting next to him. John was lying on the floor. Rod had a torch in his hand. Seeing that his friend was awake, Rod helped him get up and made him sit on the sofa. John looked around to find himself back in his office. There was no light in the room. Beyond the windows, he noticed that it was all dark.

  “John, are you alright?”

  “I am fine, Rod. Why is it so dark?” asked John, still not sure what was happening around him.

  “There was a busted transformer in this city block. It knocked out the power systems. The repair guys are fixing it. You had called me this morning. You said you wanted to talk about something. When I came in, you were screaming loudly and you were on the floor. Is everything alright?” asked Rod, concerned for his friend.

  “I am not sure, Rod. I am not sure anymore.” said John, looking outside the window.

  John was still in some kind of shock. In front of him was his best friend Rod. Rod had a glass of water in his hand, which he was holding out for John. John took the glass of water and gulped it down. John had been having nightmares for a while now, but he did not realize that it could get this bad.

  “John, are you going to tell me at all about what is happening right now?” asked Rod. Rod noticed that color was coming back to his friend’s face. Rod moved away from John and went to the windows. He opened some of the windows and pulled the curtains away. Fresh air from outside filled the room. John began to feel better and that made Rod feel better too.

  “It was some kind of nightmare. I have been having these recurring nightmares. Every night it’s the same thing. I find myself in a dungeon. I don’t know how I got there, and I keep trying to escape through these crawlies. I don’t know if that is the right name, but that is what I call them. The only thing that can stop them from hurting me is light. Fortunately for me, there is light everywhere, but I need to search for it.” said John, hoping to not sound crazy.

  “Since when did you start having these nightmares, John?” asked Rod, trying to understand the situation.

  “They started almost six months ago, Rod. In the beginning, it was just about a guy waking up in a dark dungeon. Over the days, the nightmares kept getting greater and more dangerous. Now, it has become almost impossible for me to not wake up screaming. Most of the time, I am alone in my apartment, and nobody would notice it. Today, I don’t know what happened, Rod.” said John.

  “You have been having these nightmares for over six months, and you didn’t tell me. Guess that makes me someone you don’t even care about. Perfect, John. That is just perfect.” said Rod, shaking his head and expressing his disappointment.

  “Go easy on me, Rod. I did not want to worry you. That is all. Besides, I haven’t told anyone about this. Not even Mom.” said John.

  “I am glad that I decided to show up at your office today. God only knows how long you would have continued to suffer like this. Look, I know this shrink. You should talk to her. Take some things off your mind.” said Rod, pulling out a visiting card from his wallet and placing it on the table.

  John looked down on the card and at that table. Just over six months ago, th
at table would have been a hot bed of activity. Any given day, the table would be filled with coffee cups, client documents, pictures, videos, and so many other things. Now, it was just collecting dust. John took the card and slipped it into his pocket. Then he remembered something.

  “Rod, I almost forgot. What is the time right now?”

  “Twenty –five past eight.”

  “Mom had asked me to come over for dinner. She said that she had some important things to discuss. I should have been there by now.” John picked up his jacket from the sofa and collected his accessories from the table.

  “Are you just blowing me off, John? You can just ask me to go if you don’t want me to be here.” John heard hurt in Rod’s voice.

  “Rod, I am not lying to you. Mom really called me up this morning to come and see her. I am not blowing you off. In fact, I will speak to the shrink and see what she has to say about this tomorrow. I will book an appointment on the drive home, okay?” said John.

  Rod seemed pleased to hear that.

  “At least you have agreed to speak to the shrink. I will take that as a positive move. I don’t want my best friend to end up in a nut house. Okay, I will leave now. Convey my regards to your parents, John.” said Rod. He got up and let himself out of the office.

  Once Rod had left the office, John washed his face. He looked at himself in the mirror. His eyes were a little red, and he could see that his hair was a little messed up. It was only now that he realized it had been three days since he had shaved. He looked at the clothes he was wearing. They were okay, but not up to his normal standards. Even if his mother did not already know that something wasn’t right, she would know the moment she looked at him. He adjusted his clothes, combed his hair, and made himself look a little more presentable. John locked his office up and reached the elevator. He pressed the button to the lobby and pulled out his phone. Next he pulled out the card that Rod gave him and dialed the number to the shrink’s office.

  “Hello. You have reached the office of Dr. Venkman. How may I help you?” said the voice on the other end.

  “Hi. My name is John Russo. I am looking for an appointment with the doctor tomorrow morning. Is there a slot available?”

  “Mr. Russo, you are in luck. I just had a cancellation, and I can fit you in for the eleven am slot. Would that be okay?”

  “That sounds good. Thank you.” said John, hanging up.

  John had reached the lobby floor by now. He looked at the lobby reception and found that the lobby worker was dozing off. John did not do anything about it and walked past the visitor chairs and the fountain in the center. Once he was outside, he hailed a taxi cab. There was one waiting on the curb, and a few minutes later, he was on his way to his parent’s house.

  As the cab drove through the evening traffic of Primer city, a number of thoughts went through his mind. Why did his mother ask him to come to her place? Was she falling sick, or was his father falling sick? Are they planning to get him hooked up with another girl again? John’s parents had been trying to get him married for a while now. They wanted him to be just like them. John’s parents got married when they were in their early twenties, and they wanted the same for John. Then again, John had told them very clearly that he did not want to get married yet. His parents weren’t the type who wanted to force him into something that John would not enjoy. If so, his father would not have agreed or helped him with his decision to get out of his former business arrangements.

  The cab was now driving through the Trident mall. John remembered buying that tablet gift for Sheila there four months ago. He looked back into the car and at the cab driver. Then, he decided to return to his thoughts. Should he tell his mother about the shrink visit he had scheduled for tomorrow? What if his mother was concerned about his dreams? What if she asked for more details but he did not have any details to give out? He decided not to tell her anything about the shrink visit. John thought that it had to do with the problems he was facing with his career. Or, like Rod said all those weeks ago, perhaps the boredom was really getting to him. Maybe he was losing his mind, just like Rod had guessed. Was he really losing his mind? John did not know. If Sheila was still around in the office, she would probably have an opinion. Unfortunately, she was not around. Running out of money forced John to let her go. Was John missing her being around in the office? Perhaps. Again, he did not have the answers to all these questions.

  The cab stopped in front of his parent’s house. John paid the fare, added a generous tip as usual, and stepped out. John looked at the three story house that stood in front of him. In many ways, his parent’s house was similar to Sheila’s house, only bigger. John had spent his entire lifetime at this house, except for the first five years. During his young age, his father was still setting up the business. John did not remember much of those days. By the time he was old enough, he was already living in the house.

  John walked through the gate and through the path. The sidewalk was decorated with a number of plants of various varieties. John’s mother took gardening rather seriously. She even managed to build her own little farm at the back of the house. It was something of an organic farm, and John had loved playing hide and seek in that garden. Memories kept flushing back to him, and they all disappeared by the time he reached the door. He noticed that the door was already open for him. As he stepped in, his Mom came running to greet her son and gave him a hug.

  The table was already set for him. John rarely visited his parents, and that meant his Mom made sure that every time he came, he had a grand meal. Just like the old days when he would come visiting from the University. John seemed pleased at the sight, and forgot about his nightmare and worries. John ate heartily as his mother told him about what was happening in the garden. She kept talking about her favorite television shows and two fights that she had with his father since his last visit. John heard every word she said. John liked to listen whenever his mother talked. It was one of the things he learned from his ex-girlfriend. Women love it when the guy listens, be it a girl friend or a mother. Once the dinner was done, he washed and put away the plates and sat down in his usual seat in the living room.

  “So, Mom. The dinner was great. As always. Thank you.” said John.

  “Son, you know I love you a lot. You do know that, don’t you?” said his mother.

  “Mom, what kind of a question is that?”

  “No. You answer my question. Do you know that your father and I love you a lot?” asked his mother again.

  “Of course, Mom. Now, get to the point. Where are you getting with this?” asked John, trying his best not to get angry or lose patience.

  “I just found out that you have not had any work for the last six months. Is that true or not?” asked Mrs. Russo.

  “Who told you about this? Was it Dad?”

  “It wasn’t your father. Why would he tell me now, when he did not tell me for the last six months? He has something coming his way for hiding this from me all this time. You better believe me when I say this.”

  “Dad was only doing what I asked him to do. I made him promise not to tell you anything. You have no right to become angry at him, Mom!” said John, losing a little bit of his composure.

  “I have every right to be angry at him, and you as well. We will get back to the topic of your father later. Coming back to you then, you really haven’t worked at all for the last six months, have you?” asked his Mom again, not budging from that question.

  John wanted to know who gave her that information.

  “Was it Sheila? I know you and she are friends.” said John. There were several times when his mother would imply that John get engaged to Sheila. His mother thought that she was the best woman John would ever find, especially considering the line of work he was in.

  “It wasn’t Sheila. She hasn’t called me in a while, nor has she visited.” replied his mother.

  “Then, who told you M
om? I need to know!” said John, almost shouting now.

  “It was your bank account, John!” shouted back, his mother.

  “I don’t understand Mom. My bank account? How can my bank account tell you about my job?” asked John, a little surprise in his voice.

  “I know the manager at the bank where you have your account. I was wondering why you did not get me my gift last month. I thought you may have forgotten by accident. Then, another week passed, and there was no mention of a gift. That got me thinking.” said Mrs. Russo.

  Chapter 4

  John thought back in his mind. He had a habit of giving his Mother at least one gift every month. He never forgot about it. The problem was, John was running out of money to spend on luxuries. On a side note, he that thought his Mother was pretty smart about the way she had gone about figuring things out. He let his Mother finish what she was talking about.

  “So yes, John, it got me thinking. Since I am still the guardian for your bank account, I was able to pull up your bank transactions for the last year. You have not earned a single cent for the last six months. Furthermore, you are almost at the brink of a zero balance on your account. So, tell me John, what is going on with you? Did you commit some crime? Did you do a grave mistake that has completely blocked you out of your business?”

  “Mom, I have not committed any crime, nor have I done something that might block the clients from coming to me. My license is still intact.” said John, losing his cool and looking down at the dinner table.

  Mrs. Russo waited patiently for her son to continue.