Waves
Chapter 4 The Spider Tunnel

My head still hurt as a walked quickly away from the spaceship house. That was quite a place. If it wasn’t for escaping death I think I would have liked to take a tour. And riding that trolley up to the main house would have been a trip. On my run from the glider port to that house, there were no other structures built on the beach, so I’m sure it took some significant power and influence to get that house built, not to mention the money, more than I will see in a lifetime. So it appears that these power mad, wealthy, influential, gun toting scoundrels were my new enemies - lucky me. I only met one but Mr. Green Hat often talked in plurals. I just hope it wasn’t an army full. I should keep my eyes open for anything that looked...

Son of gun, the beach ended. The cliff turned and jutted out to the water. There was no more sand to walk on. I don’t think going back is a good idea at all, especially since I dropped the gun inside the wall. But I can’t be done. Why would Finnegan tell me to go south if this is where it ended? Maybe there was a way to keep going.

There were rocks, more like boulders, connecting the cliff to the water. As the waves came in, they splashed on these rocks like a scene from one of those silly romantic movies that my mom likes. I couldn’t see across this expanse of boulders because it continued around the corner of the cliff. I didn’t know what was around that corner. The only thing I could think to do was to start climbing. So I stepped up onto the first rock, it seemed steady enough. Then I took an awkward stride over to the next, then the next. I was starting to get the hang of this. Once I got to rock ten or so I was a little too confident. I put weight on a rock that wasn’t steady and I nearly lost my balance but I regained it and was more careful after that.

The small waves didn’t get me wet at all but the occasional big wave gave me some spray. It would have been easier to climb if I didn’t have this pool table ball in my right hand. There were times when using both hands would have helped me balance, but I managed.

After about five minutes of crawling over rocks and boulders, a cute little crab appeared. It wasn’t one of those crabs that you eat at seafood restaurants, it was a little thing. There are no crabs in Kansas, that’s for sure, so he was a fun little diversion. He climbed over his rock, onto mine and headed right toward me. He climbed onto my shoe then started climbing up my leg. What was this all about? It spooked me. Okay, I’ll admit it, I’m afraid of spiders and this thing looked a lot like one. I quickly shook my leg, almost losing my balance. The little guy fell off.

My mind wandered back to when I was five or six. There was a huge spider, must have been the size of a small dog, on the wall of my bedroom. Okay, maybe my brain exaggerated, just a little. I screamed for my dad who came running. He was somewhat disgusted with what he perceived as unwarranted hysteria. Nevertheless, he got a paper towel, quickly grabbed the spider before he could escape, smashed him in his hand then tossed the carcass into the toilet. That should have been the end of it. Alas, I was certain that other spiders would be visiting me while sleeping. I was afraid to go to sleep and definitely afraid to sit on that toilet again. I just knew that the little monster would be crawling up to get me. That night and many more thereafter I dreamt of spiders. Sometimes while sleeping, if an edge of my pillow touched my face in a soft, tickly way or if my hair fell onto my forehead, I would wake suddenly, freaking out at all the spiders attacking me. It’s not as bad now, but spiders still don’t hold a dear place in my heart.

So after the little crab fell off, he was determined and came right back, this time with reinforcements. Three little crabs were now fixated on me. All three started crawling on me at once. So I kicked and slapped and got rid of them.

Then I had a thought, maybe they were drawn to this three ball. Maybe animals are more in tune than people to the power emanating from this ball. The next thing I knew, crabs were coming at me from all sides. Dozens of the little buggers wanted me, or more likely, wanted what I had. I couldn’t run, not on these rocks. They were closing in, then they got to me. They climbed all over me. They were on my legs, on my body, on my arms. I was freaking out, flailing my arms in every direction. But for every five mini crabs that I flung off, it seemed like ten more climbed on. I was jumping from rock to rock, trying to get to the other side as fast as I could. I didn’t know what was waiting for me but it couldn’t be worse than this. Crabs started climbing on my neck and my head, and then down my shirt, even on my face, it was horrible. Twice I slipped while jumping and hit my shin hard on a rock, ripping my pants and causing a little blood, but I kept going. And as I rounded the corner of the cliff wall, I saw that this rock pile was almost done. There was a beach just twenty feet ahead. I kept jumping and flailing. Finally I threw the red ball ahead of me, onto the sand.

No sooner did that ball leave my hand then those crabs climbed off and went scurrying toward the ball. I wasn’t sure that was any better though. Were they going to carry it off? Now crab-free, I kept climbing, I was almost there. I looked out as the first crab reached the ball and touched it. It shot backwards as if it were electrocuted, then the next and the next, all with the same result. The power in that object attracted the crabs but was also too much for them. I got to the end of the rocks, stopped and just watched for a few moments as the crabs were propelled from this ball like popcorn. It didn’t take too long for the entire legion of crabs to get the message and disappear.

I was reluctant to pick up the ball but after looking around intently, I did. I continued my southern trek, jumpier than before, but I pressed on. This side of that rock barrier seemed a lot more civilized. The cliffside ended and now off to the left were real buildings. I walked some more and walked under a pier. There were people, normal looking regular people, not nudists, not villains, just people. And the farther I walked, the more populated it became. Were those unbelievable encounters that I had just a dream? It seemed so surreal compared to this.

Eventually I arrived at a crowded, beautiful beach. There were umbrellas, sun bathers and swimmers everywhere. There were kids digging in the sand with buckets, buddies tossing balls and Frisbees around. To the left, where once stood a cliff, was a half wall, and past that a boardwalk of some sort with walkers, skaters and bikers, and past the boardwalk a parking lot. I meandered through, soaking up the atmosphere. I received a few odd looks. I had no idea why. I only had shoes, long torn pants, dried blood on the back of my head and neck, and was carrying a red billiard ball, with no pool table in sight. It sounded pretty average to me.

Now even though I was feeling more peaceful and safe on this side of the rock pile, I also felt confronted by my mystery task. On the other side, I was so isolated that I didn’t think about where and what my task might be. It seemed obvious that it was up ahead somewhere. But now I was up ahead somewhere. I looked around. Was there something or someone here that I should recognize? Was there something here to do? How far do I keep walking south? I wish Finnegan had been clearer. sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ FɪndNøvel.ɴet website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

I wasn’t going to just keep walking. I didn’t want to miss the key thing that I was supposed to find, or do, or see, or whatever. I was also still a bit freaked out from the crabs. I couldn’t help but wonder if all animals were going to behave this way. Can you imagine a pack of dogs sucked into this vortex that I was in the middle of? I kept my eyes open to be sure. My dad liked to say ‘keep your eyeballs peeled’, I think it was from some old western show that he grew up with. I say it sometimes too, only to myself of course.

So with all that in mind, with my plan to sit and watch, I made my way through the beach goers, over to the half wall, then past it. The boardwalk was actually just a sidewalk, outlined with scattered benches. I found one and sat myself down. There I sat and sat and sat. Occasionally I would move the ball to the other hand, but other than that, nothing was happening with me.

Eventually, I really had to pee. So I got up from my seat and walked along the sidewalk. There were a lot of happy people here. Something about the beach was just plain fun, apparently. This was my first one, other than thenudey beach which had an entirely different vibe to it. No one was sad here, I thought, as I walked to find a public bathroom.

As I walked, the parking lot was replaced by a grassy area where people were barbecuing. Man that smelled good. I was famished, but kept walking. Past the grass were the bathrooms. I went it, pretty disgusting really but it would do. After I did my business, which was no easy task with this billiard ball in my hand, I started to wash up a bit. Again, I dared not put that ball down anymore. I learned my lesson.

Over to the left, out of the stall came... Oh my, what was happening? Out of the stall came… me. That’s right, he looked exactly like me. He had on the same dirty shirt, the same torn pants and was carrying a red three ball. What was going on? I stared at him but he acted like I wasn’t there. Maybe I wasn’t. Maybe I’m not me anymore. Maybe he is. What am I saying? I’m delirious. There were no mirrors in this public bathroom so I couldn’t see if I still existed. I felt like I did. I had to get out of there. As I slipped out quickly, I bumped into two men entering. They were also both me. There were four of us now. Was I multiplying? What was this evil object that I was carrying?

I burst out into the fresh air then absolutely froze in my tracks. Everyone was me now. The swimmers, the players, the riders, everyone at that beach were now me. They all were dressed like me, they had my face and they all had the red ball. There were hundreds and hundreds of Paxtons. My heart was pounding. I felt the sweat pouring from my face. Then I started breathing frantically. I stumbled onto the sand and in a half delirium, staggered through the masses of me. As I was walking, I looked down at that red ball that I was carrying, that living object. Surely this freakish apparition was related to this thing. I had had enough. I took that ball and dropped it on the sand.

Instantly, everything returned to normal. Was I imagining things? Had I lost my mind? Well, I thought, let me pick up the ball and see what happens. I reached down but was afraid to touch it. I pulled my arm back and hesitated. A family walked by with two small children. The young boy wanted to pick up the ball, I could tell by his eyes. Oh I didn’t think it had anything to do with the emanating power that had drawn in the crabs, I think it was that it was a red ball. I got nervous that he might touch it and what might happen to him if he did. I was ready to stop him if he reached for it but he didn’t. He looked but kept walking.

I was growing in courage, that was for sure. I didn’t run away but it took me a few minutes to finally reach down and snatch the ball up. That energy exchanging symploncy occurred. I was getting used to that but much to my horror everyone on the beach became me again. It was awful. I dropped the ball as if it was a lump of plutonium, and come to think it, maybe it was. As soon as it fell, all the inhabitants of this beach reverted to their normal state. Perhaps I had some control of this, I thought to myself. I picked it up for a second then dropped it, just to see what would happen. It looked like I did have control because for that second, the beach was full of Paxtons again, then back to normal.

So I tried a few more tests. I picked up the ball, again everyone became me, it’s funny how quickly you can get used to something. Then I tossed it up and down. Sure enough, out of my grip all was well, in my grip, bad. I had control, but control of what. This is not what I wanted! I was getting angry and during one of my tosses, I just let it fall to the sand. Well it looked like my anger changed everything because as soon as my attitude changed, so did my surroundings.

I was no longer at the beach. I was in a tunnel, a dark, cold, rugged tunnel. I could see the proverbial light at the end of it, quite a distance away. I stood there for a few moments, wondering what to do. I came to a realization that this entity that was shared between the red ball and me was growing. Growing to the point where it was overwhelming my mind. I did feel mentally stronger than when the day started but the power growth of this thing was out pacing me. I wasn’t keeping up. And if that indeed was the case, what was next? Was I just going to implode? I knew that this tunnel was vital. If anything was going to bring me to a new normal, I needed to reach the end. So I started walking. The lighted circle at the end was slowly getting bigger. I kept walking. This was too easy or so it seemed at the moment. Well I was right, it was too easy as just then, an enormous spider crawled down from the wall and stood between me and the exit. It was no exaggeration this time, this spider really was the size of a dog. It looked right at me, daring me to pass.

I knew what this spider was, it was my fears. And I knew I had to conquer it and them to regain control of my mind. So I walked closer, and closer still. The spider raised itself up on his eight legs in a battle position. Then he started hissing. Now spiders don’t hiss, but this one did. Spiders are also not sixty pounds. I wanted to stop but I didn’t, with all my heart I wanted to stop but I didn’t even slow down. I knew this wasn’t real, even though it felt real. I felt genuinely cold. I could hear the damp crunch of my footsteps in this muddy tunnel. I could smell the musty odor of this dank place. And the horrifying hissing became deafening as I closed in on that deathly spider.

When I was about a foot away, he attacked. He jumped on me with those eight arms, wrapping around me. I just kept walking, my fears off the chart high. While I walked, the giant spider crawled, poked and prodded me, up and down my body, sometimes over my eyes but I kept on striding. His angry hissing increased to an almost unbearable level as I came within a few steps of the exit. I could see outside, it was the beach and I was almost there. As soon as I stepped past the threshold, the spider let out one final squeal then disintegrated.

I was at the beach, the exact place where I stood before my tunnel experience. I hadn’t actually walked a step, at least not physically. I turned around to look at the tunnel behind me but it was gone, just the beach remained. At my feet was the red ball, just where I had dropped it. I was more confident this time to pick it up, which I did. Definitely a burst of symploncy poured through me but I was in control of it now. I was holding the ball and everything at the beach was normal, no more armies of me to contend with.

I started to realize what my enemies, whoever they were, wanted with this. There was power to do something, although I still wasn’t sure what. And that brought me back to my task. I felt better equipped to accomplish it, whatever it was. Hopefully I would know soon. I also came to a new epiphany about that crab attack. When I threw the ball, all of the crabs went for it, but when I was holding it, they weren’t going for the ball anymore than any other part of me. They seemed to be just as content to be on my left arm as my right. What that told me was while I hold this thing, this power is equally shared from me and it. Well maybe not equally because when the ball was alone, it overpowered the crabs. Still, I was starting to get the feel of this joint effort. I was starting to understand why Finnegan said that this one was ‘For me’. I didn’t know how this new knowledge was a benefit for me but it was one more ingredient in my soup.

I sat down on a nearby bench to gather myself. I had just been through an unbelievable experience and no one here had any idea. Part of me wanted to shout out what just happened, from the multiple me’s to the spider tunnel but no one would get it. I would just end up being one of those ranting looneys. It’s very weird, though, going through something big and not being able to share it with anyone. So I just sat and caught my breath, relaxed and looked out at the beach.

A nice looking young couple stopped to ask me directions. Me? Directions? I could tell them how to get to Venango Street and Sheridan but they were asking the wrong fellow about this place

“How do we get to the La Jolla Cove?” he asked. Funny, I was always told that it were women who asked directions, not men.

“I’m not from around here, sorry,” I answered.

“Thanks,” as they walked away to find someone else.

I sat some more, admiring the bikini girls. Eventually I got up and slowly walked back onto the sand, the oddest thing, I overheard someone else talk about this Cove, then another and another still. I kept hearing this word, Cove, Cove, Cove, over and over. I suppose it could be a sign, a direction. Anything was possible at this point. And when these people talked about this Cove thing they were definitely pointing south. Well I wasn’t doing any good here. I had gone through my rite of passage and now I was ready, or so it seemed. So off I headed, south, to the Cove, wherever that was.

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