Chapter 01. PART 01.
He was running through the jungle. His feet were tired and all his muscles ached but there was no stopping him. It was humid and too hot for his taste. Large drops of sweat were rolling down his back and turning his shirt from light to dark green. His skin would crawl whenever he saw a snake but he was careful enough to never got bitten. The jungle was getting denser but he managed to cut through it with his machete. It was a large and heavy tool but much needed in this harsh environment. He felt the weight of it in his hand but did not mind. All he wanted was to get to the other side. There were sounds everywhere around him, wild sounds of nature that were telling him he did not belong there. He was clutching his jaw in pain and swinging his machete and then saw something move in the grass coming right at him. A badger.
“A badger?!? That can't be right? Where did that come from?
He scratched his head and decided it was time for a fresh coffee refill. He's been working on his novel for hours and the fingers on his hands were going numb from all the typing. Maybe his brain was going numb too because there was no way he could explain a badger in the jungle and why he thought of it.
It was time for his pills anyway so he decided to take a little break. After he took his pills and made the usual dissatisfied face a bird flew to his window and reminded him it was a glorious day outside. He quickly grabbed his keys from the table and run to his car. There was a park nearby that always did wonders for his inspiration. The sun was already shining so bright that he had to put his sunglasses on and as he did that he started the car and turned on the radio to dampen the sound of an old engine starting. Not a minute had passed and he was already on the road.
“Call me a badger, just a crazy little badger.”
He changed the radio station in irritations and switched to the one that had news on. Some current events to calm his brain and bring him back to reality.
“What kind of song was that anyway? Who would sing about a badger?” he thought to himself.
He concluded that it was obviously one of those days when nothing made any sense but the pills will kick in soon and everything will get back to normal and he could get back to his novel.
When he got to the park, he parked his car closer to the entrance than usual. There were never free spots so close and yet, today there were and it made him smile. It was something like his personal achievement to park that close. He got out of the car, made sure it was properly locked and started his little stroll.
The park was filled with people but he ignored them all, nature was all he needed. Nature was all he trusted to be real. When he came to a little pond he got surprised when noticing there were no ducks anywhere to be found. He sat on the grass next to a blooming yellow bush and sighed. He was fond of those birds and their ability to calm his mind.
Suddenly there was a rustle from the bush and a badger popped his little grey head from it.
“Good day to you sir.” the badger said.
“No!” Rocky shouted, got up and stumbled back in horror.
He woke up with sweat running down from his forehead. Some of it got into his eyes and it started to burn. How long was he sleeping? The clock next to his bed was showing 09:09 and there was sun coming through the shades. He shook his head and tried to gather his sanity back. That was a strange dream indeed, and more vivid than usual. It always took him some time to feel fully awake before he was able to get out of the bed. As he sat up and stretched his arms he got a funny feeling. Something was different but he just couldn't put his finger on it. He pulled the blanket off his body and there was a little badger lying between his legs.
“Good day to you sir.” the badger said politely, just as it did in the dream.
“NO!” he screamed and jumped out of his bed.
“This isn't real, this isn't real, this isn't real.” he started mumbling to his cheek as he was trying to decide whether to reach for his pills or the phone. He took the pills with one hand and the phone with another while staring at the animal on his bed.
“Dr.Badgers office, how may I help you?”
“Yes. I need to talk to the doctor right away. Please put me through to the doctor. Wait, what? Did you say Dr.Badgers office?” his pupils constricted in shock.
“Dr.Badgers office, how may I help you?”
He dropped the phone from his hand and it hit the flower smashing into three pieces. Muscles in his body were trembling and he was shaking his head left and right repeating “no, no, no, no…”
The badger started jawning and seemed bored with Rocky's little meltdown. It looked as if he witnessed this human behavior before but even its patience had limits.
“If one has a certain set of manners, one responds when a badger greets him and wishes him a good day.” it said
Rocky got irritated by that remark and started yelling at the badger.
“You are a fucking badger! You do not get to speak!” Rocky said, picked up one of the phone pieces, threw it at the badger, ran to the bathroom, and locked the door.
“That was rude.” the badger mumbled, “This is going to be harder than I thought.”
“Sir? Oh, sir? My name is B.G. and I mean you no harm. Would you be so kind and open the door?”
TO BE CONTINUED…
This is the first part of the "Into the quantum world..." novel, written for steemit that is featuring steemit users as characters. If you would like to be a part of it, feel free to message me or wait patiently until I message you and ask you first.
To be a part of this novel you need to be a member of @thealliance group, read all about it here: Eyes on - issue 11
List of confirmed characters
Novel will be published in sequels once or sometimes more than once per week. To read the introduction to it click here: INTRO
P.S. the badger image is from pixabay and is under CCO license so it is free for private and commercial use. The person who took the photo and is generously sharing it is andyballard
