Bring Out the Dead Volume 3

I kicked the basketball across the field in complete dispair. It was a gloomy afternoon. The sun was behind an infinite brushing of grey clouds. This was a typical sky in late winter south western Ontario. The basketball bounced and rolled along the wet, brown grass until it came to a complete stop against the back of some hedges. I knew this would be the end. I looked around me. Just to be acquainted with this scene. The final scene. I was in a school yard, but the part of the yard I was in was in fact a soccer field. There were goal posts on either side. The soccer season hadn't started yet, so there were no boundary lines made with that awful chalk/paint that they use once the season begins. Parts of the school yard field opened up onto people's backyards. Other sections were divided by either fence or hedgerows. To my right side would be mostly pavement. On the pavement was the basketball court, a hopscotch game, and a long steel railing that would be used to lock up any bikes a student might ride to school. There was a large jungle gym too. No children were outside today. Recess either just ended, or it was just about to begin. The air felt dead. I could breath, and the air felt fresh going through my nostrils. But when I held it in for a moment, like, really keeping it in so that I felt truly alive and embracing the moment, the air went dead. It was a sore accumulation of poisonous gas that sat in my lungs. I almost couldn't keep it in me, and felt like coughing after exhaling each and every breath of air. Why was I still here, and how could I be surviving? A wind blew. I felt the shiver of a late March winter/spring breeze cut through my jacket. The wind reached my skin, going into the pores. My face immediately went tense, and my teeth closed shut inside my mouth. Either spontenaeouty or an urge to engage my body heat caused me to move my feet. I ran towards the ball. The basketball. The basketball was the end of it all. I ran towards the ball, and for some reason I ran through a mud puddle that was in the very heartland of the soccer field. Normally the water of a puddle would break up and seperate once the pressure of a foot pressed onto the ground below. This puddle, on the other hand, was seven feet deep. My foot went right in, and my body followed. I smashed my jaw against the other side of the puddle, as my whole entire body sunk below the surface. I was knocked out cold, but only for a moment. In that moment I had a flashback to a family toboggon party in 1989. I would have been seven years old, and it was at Prospect Elementary School. The school was in the north end of the city, and the north end of the city was build on many hills. Hills that were high. Hills that overlooked the South side of the city. I was from the south side of the city. We would get together and toboggon the first day of the year. The whole family. Cousins, aunts, uncles, moms, dads, and grandparents. It was always so much fun. It was the special time in a family with a third generation growing up. The grandchildren, nieces, nephews were all still young enough that the get togethers felt genuine. All of the parents were younger than fifty, and the grandparents were younger than 75. A great time indeed, and every family has them. I wonder why I had a flashback to that time. It doesn't matter though, because that's exactly what happened. I woke up almost immediately once I was immersed in the mud puddle for probably all of 1.5 seconds. I sank to the bottom and pushed myself up towards the surface. I could have lept out of that puddle, the amount of energy, so thankfully it did not take me so long to get out. Once I got out it was some heavy walking, and cold to boot, but I made it to the basketball. I centered myself behind the ball, in perfect distance to give it another good kick. I ran, I approached, I kicked. The ball flew across the wet, brown field until it bounced its way to a complete stop. On the pavement, no doubt. I started to run. Getting to the ball was easy this time. No mud puddles. No flashbacks. Just shooting across the wet soccer field like a star. I made it to the basketball and picked it up. I would have been only just a couple of feet from the basketball court. I decided to make my way towards the net in a half-assed layup. I jumped in the air with the ball, ripping apart Larry Bird's reputation as talent in the NBA, and slam dunk the ball. My fingers tightly grip the rim as the ball is already through the hoop, bouncing on the ground. Everything is in slow motion. The school that looms over this entire scene makes a noise. The bell that sits at the very top of the school is rung by a long rope that goes into the close-nit music room. The rope slackens and tightens with each ding-dong. Within just a few seconds two hundred and fifty children under the age of twelve run outside. I swing while holding onto the rim, celebrating my make-believe victory with this slam dunk. As I swing, there is an even louder noise. This noise surpasses that of the school recess bell. This noise grabs the attention of every student and supervisor that is out for recess. Everyone outside brings their hands to their ears, as the noise becomes far too powerful. The ground shakes, as the noise gets louder. I am still swinging. This made up state of glory. Such a farce. The children outside begin to fall to the ground, and the supervisors collapse. I move with the momentum of my swing, letting go, and move throught the air. I land on my feet, and for some reason yell, "Yes!" I look to see the a group of small figures make their way towards me. They are naked, yet have no sexual reproductive organs showing. They have three eyes, and eight fingers on each hand. They have two legs and two feet, but no toes. They have hair just like humans, and a nose and a mouth. I can't tell if they have teeth. The one figure in the front opens his mouth to display what seems to be a hundred sharp little teeth. He spoke in English. He said, "This is the end."