HAZED RUST
by KOBE THOMAS
Another day, awake again. The haze gets worse, and my heart gets blue. I often have trouble in the mornings, stumbling around, collecting thoughts. It’s hard to see things clearly some days. The mountain will speak to me, tell me things, and help me navigate the damning world around me. I leave camp to get some much needed solitude. Soon after, I hear some footsteps, crunching the nearby leaves. I don’t like to be followed, I hit the ground, a feeling overcomes me that I’ve never felt before. Face down in the leaves I see nothing but darkness, when I turn myself around I start seeing faces in all the trees, and then a figure appears. “Ace! I couldn’t take it anymore. I spiked your water supply, LSD.” I open my mouth, but words don’t come out, sweating bullets, looking for my dagger… I was ready to give this fool what he deserved. “Lemmy…I knew this day would come, and I knew you had to approach things…Your way.” I jumped up to my feet, and charged him. Swiftly sidestepping me, I again landed face down into the leaves.
When I brought myself to my feet this time around, Lemmy was nowhere to be seen. I knew that nearby a nice field was present, the hallucinogens that I had unknowingly digested had started to get more tense, making it harder to walk, when I arrived to the field, unbeknownst to me was also a pond, the water was glistening and I ran full speed ahead, and as soon as I was about to jump I felt a soft hand grab my arm. I suddenly felt as if I had been completely stopped in time. “Do you feel the haze?” a soft voice croaked at me. “I do… Everyday, it seems as if it’s overtaking me more and more. "We have to leave, we have to do it together.” she calmly said to me. I was worried that maybe this was just the LSD playing mind tricks, but I was starting to realize that maybe this was my saving grace.
She told me that in 2 days time we would start the journey, the journey to town that all the people knew as “Rust” although there was no rust in sight it was constantly blanketed in a deep haze, the air feeling like a sense of serenity. I had always heard fables of it but never thought I’d make it there. I still had a problem to solve before then though and the problem's name was Lemmy. I knew that he had to be lurking around here, I never even got her name. What if she was sent by Lemmy, what if this was a trap?! I was starting to go stir crazy, but brought myself back together. I hadn’t seen her since yesterday, nor even did I know her name. Maybe it was better that way. I had retreated to the side of the mountain I had been set up on, regrouping in a more discreet spot, cleaning my rifle, shining up my trusty dagger, and downing the last of the booze. I was starting to feel crazed, my last hurrah was inbound, before Rust I had to conquer my sense of self and the blueness taking me over, for years I had known that one day Lemmy and I would come to blows. I suddenly was in a state of madness, belligerently drunk and ready to raise hell on Lemmy. Once and for All.
Dusk was upon us, I had my dagger attached to my leg, rifle in hand, ready for war. Lurking around the woods I had started to make my way closer to the pond, where most of the haze around the mountain was, in the dark it made it even harder to see. Lurking for a bit I eventually heard some movement, so I moved in closer, I quickly realized it was Lemmy, suddenly inching closer I saw her as well, she seemed to be meditating by the water, I knew I had to quick, as Lemmy was going for the final blow. He couldn’t take this from me.
Swiftly I lunged towards him, with the butt of my rifle I struck him in the back, he gouged in pain, she turned her head, screaming. I started to throw punches at Lemmy until I felt something in
my side, he had drawn a knife! The agony couldn’t stop me, still with the knife imbedded in my side I drew mine, and was aiming straight for the heart, Lemmy laughing, grabbed it from my hand, kicked me off of him and started to charge, she was frozen in fear, as he was running at me I could faintly make him out due to the haze, he was running like a mad fellow, I still had the knife embedded, standing up finally, Lemmy is fully charging at me but at the last God given moment I side step him… turning around to see if he had stopped in his tracks I realize we were at the edge of the mountain. Lemmy, gone. The haze must have blinded him enough and he had run full force off of the mountain. I collapse, once again feeling much pain and carrying a blue heart I shut my eyes, maybe this is the end. I then felt the blade viciously pulled out of my side, and then she fell on top of me, crying. Holding me ever so tightly, “We’ll be there together, only now it will be forever in our hearts.” She was gone, she passed on top of me just like that, I once again had lost everything. Only then did I realize the LSD had worn off, and there I was alone again, with Lemmy right next to me.
Passed out, wasted again. I guess this is forever: to be so tortured by the pains of being alive and overtaken by the haze of the mountains. But I had to get back up. I had to get to Rust. I had to go vote.