I wrote this a while back (like 7 or 8 years ago). Happened to run across it on my computer and I was thinking of revising it and maybe fleshing it out more to make the story longer and more involved. Just thought I'd see what y'all think of it. Feedback is great! Thanks:
Abduction
by Wes
This is a story about a man, a man who discovers the true corruptive and sinful capabilities of the United States Government. The account of this brave soul is horrific and disturbing, yet accurate and real. If this is what the government is capable of, God help us all!
* * *
Matthew Johnson lived in the small West Texas town of Midland. It wasn’t the most exciting town in the world, but it was home. He lived alone in a small white brick house with blue trim just south of U.S. Interstate Highway 20. He wasn’t the best looking guy there was; rather average, lust a little less than six feet tall and around 220 pounds. His jet-black hair shimmered in the sunlight as he walked along. One gaze from his deep blue eyes could pierce through any dim situation and instantly lighten the mood. He was the type of guy you loved to hate. Always smiling, never down. And that laugh, what a laugh. He was always the life of the party. Although, no matter how good he was with keeping the fun going strong, he was still just a little too white to dance. One could never tell, by his personality, the troubles he had undergone in his life. When he was born, his father was shipped off to serve in the Navy. Three years later, a terrorist group sank an aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf. Three soldiers lost their lives that day. One of them was Matthew’s father. When he was five, his mother overdosed on painkillers one night while he was sleeping. So Matthew was taken in and raised by his grandparents who lived in Abilene at the time. The day of Matthew’s high school graduation, his Grandparents where involved in a serious automobile accident while on their way to the ceremonies. A drunk driver hit their car head-on. The driver and Matthew’s grandfather where both dead on arrival. His grandmother had survived after a long period in the hospital intensive care unit, but she had suffered severe brain damage and amnesia. When Matthew went to visit her in her room, she did not recognize him. She even called for the nurse to come and “take that strange man away.” Yet despite his losses and his grief, Matthew still managed to attend Midland College that fall. He was determined to not get down and depressed. Now he was in his second year, and soon would transfer to Texas Tech University in Lubbock to finish out his education by obtaining his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology. Everything had been running smoothly until...that day.
* * *
It was Thursday, May 25; just another ordinary day. Matthew, or “Mellow Matt” as his friends had dubbed him, was on his way home from one of his friend’s parties that didn’t quite go as planned. It was almost 2:00 AM and he was still fifteen minutes from home when a loud explosion was heard and the vehicle he was operating skidded to a halt. “Oh great, now what?” Matt couldn’t imagine what happened, he’d just had his car inspected and it had passed with flying colors. All he knew was that he was going to have trouble waking up at 6:00 AM if he didn’t get home and get some rest. He opened his door and stepped slowly out of the driver’s seat. As he walked around the car, inspecting everything carefully, he noticed that all four tires where shredded. “Un-freaking-believable!” What were the odds of having all four tires blow out at once. He hadn’t run over anything. What could have possibly caused them to go like that? “Son-of-a-mother! Now what will I do?” He only had one spare tire, and it was two in the morning, no one was out on the streets to flag down for help. “Looks like I’m walking.” He kicked the car door before turning and walking down the street towards home.
Matt had been walking for only five minutes when he noticed some movement out of the corner of his eye. “Damn stray dogs.” He continued down the lane. A few moments later he noticed the movement again. This time he stopped and turned around to search through the darkness. “Am I being followed?” he wondered. He stood there for a moment before turning and continuing on his way. He began to kick at rocks on the side of the road as he wandered along. Then he heard a rustling of leaves somewhere to his left on the opposite side of the street. “Hello? Is anyone there?” he shouted. Silence. He was beginning to worry now. He slowly bent down and picked up a twisted tree branch and clutched it in his right fist. He cautiously made his way further along.
Now he was within two blocks of his house. He could see the front porch light in the distance. He tossed the stick off into a nearby vacant lock. He must have imagined the whole thing, because once he picked up that branch he didn’t hear anything else. He casually picked up speed when he realized it was almost three o’clock. “I’m never going to be able to get up at six.”
He yawned. It was no easy task to make it through a day with only three hours of sleep. He was within a stone’s throw of his front door when he suddenly felt a sharp stinging pain in his right shoulder. As everything began to blur and spiral out of vision he collapsed on the ground.
* * *
Matthew awoke in a daze. He couldn’t move, couldn’t even see straight. His head was pounding. He ached from head to toe. He lay there with his eyes closed for a moment for fear of collapsing again if he tried to stand. With a heavy grunt, he slowly pulled his heavy body to a leaning position against the wall. “Where am I?” he mumbled. His vision was still quite blurred. He decided he’d better not try to go anywhere till his sight was a little clearer. He stood for a moment peering around what seemed to be a gray colored room with bare rooms. When his vision finally was suitable to see, the first thing he noticed was a small calendar hanging near the door. “July seventh? That’s impossible! What’s going on?” Matt was beginning to get worried. He looked around the room once more. On the opposite wall there was a window with a thick grating over it. And in the far corner of the room there was a small sink with a mirror above it. Something wasn’t right. He couldn’t shake this strange feeling all over his body. He felt something hit him in the back of his left knee and with a quick twirl found that nothing was behind him. “What’s going on?” now he was panicking. He looked down at his feet in amazement. They looked a lot like human feet, but they were covered in a dark gray fur and each toe had a large claw attached to it. He slowly moved his gaze upward. His legs, thighs, stomach, chest...all still the same shape...but covered by that fur. He raised his hands into his sight. Just as he suspected. They had undergone the same treatment his feet had. “Claws? Fur? What is this?” Dare he look in the mirror? He cautiously approached the small piece of glass above the sink. When he was directly in front of it he let loose a scream in sheer terror. “What has happened to me?!” His face was no longer there. It was just like looking into the face of a wild wolf. He felt his face over carefully. Pointed ears; long snout; cold, wet nose; long whiskers and short fur everywhere! He looked so much human, yet so much wolf. He even had a tail! He suddenly felt faint.
* * *
His head soared. His mind was in chaos and his fear spiked. “What did they do to me? Where am I? Help! HELP ME!” He ran to the door and grabbed the handle. With a might yank the door fell to the ground. The hinges had snapped in half. “Oh my God! I have to get out of here!” He ran into the hallway. Empty. Where was everyone? Which way should he go? He was shaking with horror. He ran down one end of the hallway towards another door. This time he didn’t even slow down but plowed straight through the door, sending it flying into the opposite wall with a loud crash.
Another hallway. This time there were others in it. They looked like military men. Covered in camouflage from head to toe. All armed with weapons and lined against the walls every few feet. One of the larger men ran towards him.
“Halt. Don’t move another step.” He raised his weapon and pointed it towards Matthew.
“Wait, don’t shoot me! You’ve got to help me. Look what they’ve done...” He pleaded but with little success. He turned to look for an escape route.
“SOUND THE ALARM! THE CREATURE HAS ESCAPED!” the soldier shouted. He fired a warning shot towards Matt. Matt jumped and for fear of hi life ran! He ran and ran and ran! Doorway through doorway, hall by hall he searched for an exit. Finally he came to a large room with tall windows. He bolted to one of them, sirens echoing throughout the building. He had found a window to escape through but it was on the second floor. Could he survive the jump?
“I have to try.” he said, almost reassuring himself. He shattered the window with a nearby chair. Stepping up into the window, his heart pounded with a glance down. The door behind him exploded open with a loud crash.
“Stop right there!” yelled a guy in a white lab coat. “Stop him!” A group of troops ran towards the window. But they were too late. With a great leap Matt sailed towards the ground. He hit the ground great force but didn’t hesitate. It was almost like jumping over the porch railing at his grandmother’s house. It didn’t hurt at all. Weird. He darted towards a large gate just north of the large complex he’d just jumped out of. “That must be the way out.” he thought. He stopped at the gate and with a great heave, pushed one of the giant metal doors open. What he saw when he stepped through the gate almost made him turn and walk back in. Sand! Sand everywhere. He must be in the middle of a desert. But he didn’t have time to care. He just ran in any direction he could. He kept running. And never looked back.
* * *
After what seemed like an eternity of endless sand and fiery wind Mathew stumbled onto an empty highway. He chose to follow it east, away from the sunset. He was tired and had no clue as to where he should go...or even where he could go. What would people do when they saw him? How would they react to such a terrifying creature as he had become? He didn’t know what he would do; all he could do for now was just walk. Delirious from the heat he began to mumble ridiculous things. He started to talk to himself. “Oh my goodness! I’m naked! Or maybe I’m not; I am, after all, covered in fur. But still...am I nude or not? I’d better find some clothes. But they won’t allow dogs in stores. Especially naked ones. Maybe I should by a collar. I’d still feel naked though. Do they even have wolf’s clothing? Maybe I can find a sheep costume. Then I’d be a wolf in sheep’s clothing.” At that thought he burst into laughter. He laughed until his hearty bellowing turned into pathetic, frightened sobs, and eventually tears began to flow.
He looked up in time to see a sign that read: “Las Vegas - 32 miles”. He was in Nevada. Nevada! “How did I get this far from home?” Then he remembered back in that gray room, the calendar said it was July.
The sun was just setting behind him. He walked towards the luminous glow in the distance. Las Vegas. What could he possibly do there? “I’m screwed!” he mumbled.
* * *
As he reached the city limits he decided it might be best if no one saw him. No need to cause a scene. He slinked behind buildings and cars trying to avoid attention. Every once and a while he’d disturb a homeless guy as he wormed his way by, but who would believe a drunken homeless man with no credibility whatsoever.
He made his way down to the strip. He was meandering through an alleyway when a dumpster caught his eye. He saw some clothes of some kind hanging out of it slightly. He ran to it and began to rummage through the fabric. “Aha! Just what I need,” he said as he pulled a long, black, hooded cloak. It was just the right size to completely cover his furry body and hide his canine face. Probably it was once part of a show they have in those casinos. He dug around a little more and managed to find a pair of black boot large enough to cover hi giant feet, as well as a pair of long, black pants that where a little tight, but were good enough for now. When he had finally dressed himself in these, he managed to work up enough nerve to face the public. Maybe he could find some way to get home to Midland. He wouldn’t be able to fly, or take a bus. Too expensive. He certainly couldn’t walk; he’d never make it through New Mexico. This was going to be more complicated than he’d thought.
He stalked through the city streets trying to avoid attention for while longer before finally stopping in a small park. He sat down beneath a tree to think. “What shall I do?” he thought, “I’ll never get out of here. And even if I do, things will never be normal.” He was almost in tears. He decided not to think of the future, but only to worry about the present. How to get home? Just then he had an idea spark. “That’s what I’ll do!” He jumped to his feet and cautiously made his way towards the street. As he neared the curb he signaled to a passing car and yelled “Taxi!” The small yellow vehicle pulled to the side and he climbed into the back seat. “I need to get to the city limit right away!” No questions asked, the driver started the meter and pulled back into traffic. Matt rode in silence to the edge of town. He decided this was far enough when he could see the city limit sign and told the driver to pull over. Then as he leaned up pretending to pay, he reached over and grabbed the driver’s door handle and flung the door wide open. Jumping into the front seat, Matt pushed the driver out of the car and onto the curb. He slammed the door and drove away with the petal to the metal. As he watched the driver running after him, yelling and flailing his arms, shrink in the rear view mirror, he felt a sense of calm fall over him. He’d did it, and without a slip up at all.
Matt, when he thought himself a safe distance outside the city, pulled to the side of the road and reached over for the glove compartment. Once open, he found a map, 200 dollars in cash, and a small handgun. He first pulled out the map to determine a route home. Then he placed the map in the passenger’s seat and grabbed the gun and slipped it under his belt. Then he pulled the cash from its large yellow envelope and stuck it in his pocket. He resumed his trip and as he pulled back onto the highway he flipped the radio on. After a few minutes trying to locate a decent station, he was set. The cab even had a full tank of gas. Matt reached up and turned the meter off. “Won’t need that anymore,” he said as a smile crawled over his face.
* * *
After an endless night of driving, Matt came upon a sign that said: “Texas - 87 miles”. He couldn’t help but grin from ear to ear. He managed to pull into Midland around 8:00 AM. He seemed to catch no red lights, what luck. As he turned down his street, his smile faded away. “Where’s my house?” He drove by the patch of earth where his house usually was only to find a vacant lot. Not a single two-by-four or nail in sight. He noticed in the rear view mirror several military vehicles and police cars approaching. He slammed his foot down on the gas. The car leaped forward then died. Frantically Matt flung the car door open and ran into an abandoned house nearby. He barred the door behind him. As he stood there hiding while hundreds soldiers surrounded the house, he suddenly remembered the gun in his belt. He pulled it out and held it to his head. He slowly opened the door and walked out into the yard. He pulled the cloak away and threw it to the ground. He yelled out to the frightened officers and soldiers, “See what the government did to me. You could be next. I know they’re after me. I refuse to be a tool for scientific manipulation and government corruption.”
The gun fell to the ground, sending dust flying through the air. Sirens sounded throughout the neighborhood. And the sky turned cloudy gray with the approaching storm. And then...Silence.
