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Calibration 74: Chapter Fifty-Nine
Calibration 74 is a serial novel experiment, posted raw and unedited as it is written. It is recommended you start at the beginning.
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Chapter Fifty-Nine
Another door, another window. A portal to the past. The sea is silent on the other side. Graceful and harmless beneath a clear night sky. I step inside to escape the cacophony.
And am greeted by a stench I’d forgotten.
The stink of the ocean and what calls it home. Salt rimmed with the musk of life.
Yet, it’s a magical night, if one can ignore the nausea.
A flash of light and the moan of a horn as the lighthouse warns the sailors of the shore.
And on the rocks, I count them all.
One two three four five
Six, seven
And there’s number eight.
An octopus’s fistful of sea lions. They bark my name, calling me to join them in a swim. A feast of fish awaits me, they promise, if only I take the plunge.
But the air is cold, and the salt stings my skin, as it is cast by the wind across the waves.
They sense my caution and bark even louder. Until their screams burst my eardrums and blood rains from my skull.
A baby carriage or an escape route.
I am forced to make a choice … and find myself back in the hallway.
The sea lions rush me, and the leader turns to stone. A statue of memory in a pocket.
