Day Eleven

Day 11: 12 Aug 2010

When I opened my eyes again, it was night, and I was no longer taped to the chair in the dark, empty room. Instead, I was sitting on a red couch, an old one by the looks of it, in a nearly empty living room. No tape, no IV -- just sitting. A lot of thoughts came into my head at the same time, but the most powerful of all was the need to urinate, and do so very soon.

I found a bathroom off to my left -- outfitted only with a roll of toilet paper, one white towel, and an unused bottle of hand soap. I took care of business -- took a little while, actually -- flushed, washed my hands, and headed back out into the living room.

"Hello?" I said. My normal speaking voice sounded immensely loud in the silent room. "Kevin? Am I un-kidnapped now?"

Nothing. The kitchen cabinets and refrigerator were empty save for one can of Red Bull in the fridge. As near as I could tell, I was alone. The couch and chair comprised all of the furniture in the place -- I guess Kevin didn't have a long-term lease. Or much stuff.

I tested the front door -- it was unlocked. I grabbed the Red Bull out of the fridge, popped it open, and chugged it as I walked out. I didn't know how long I'd been out at that point, but I felt like I'd had the dream thousands of times. I guessed maybe three days.

So I was surprised when I looked up and saw three meteors streak by in ten seconds -- the Perseids, I realized. It was Thursday. Only Thursday -- I remembered reading on the Web that we were going to be deep in the meteor shower by late Thursday night.

As I looked around the parking lot, I realized I wasn't far from home -- in fact, I could see my truck 50 feet off in the distance. I was in my own apartment complex, only three buildings over from my own. I walked home -- all I had in my pocket was my keys. When I let myself in, I found my wallet and cell phone on the table by my door. My BlackBerry was on the charger, and I picked it up. As I checked my messages -- there weren't any texts, emails, or missed calls -- the clock rolled over to midnight.