Nightmares From a Lovecraftian Mind by Jordan Krall Read Free Book Online Page A

with
skepticism.
    I have never seen anything
get destroyed. I have never seen anything ruined or in any state of decay.
Perhaps I have lived a sheltered life but for all I know, every object, person,
and idea is immune to any form of degeneration or decay. People, objects, and
thoughts are frozen in time but allowed to move just enough to give the
impression of progress, of an eventual movement towards some destiny far off in
the future. It will be a future of sameness and of an unchanged maturity.
    But, like I said,
perhaps I have lived a sheltered life.
    When I arrive at
the hotel, I find out that my room is on the top floor for which I am pleased.
Despite not liking water in general, I am looking forward to a good view of the
ocean. It is better than looking out at the city with all its buildings puffing
smoke, noise, and artificial light. There are too many people in the city, too
many busy people who live to work and work to live. The ocean provides a blank
slate for my thoughts whereas the urban landscape provides nothing but a
reminder of the unnatural state of things, at the chaos that eats away at the
very soul of a human being. Of course, it is not something I have ever
witnessed personally but I have heard stories about cities and I wish to see no
decay…..only stillness and some form of purity. I do not even want to catch a
whiff of urban putrefaction. So this is why I was glad to have the view of the
water.
    Upon entering the
hotel room, I see that the housekeeper must have spent a good amount of time
getting it ready. Everything is immaculate, even the television remote control
which, from what I have heard, should be the filthiest thing in the room.
    I sit on the bed,
exhausted from the trip but not exhausted enough to lie down and nap. Sleep
would be needed eventually but not yet. Things have to be done before I can
give myself the luxury of dreaming.
    The windows appear
freshly washed. It is as if there is no glass separating me from the outside. I
stand up and walk over to check for sure that there is something protecting me
from falling out of the building. I put my hand out and touch the warm
smoothness of the glass. I am worried its temperature will soon rise to the
point of melting. I do not want to be burned by fiery glass. I do not want to
fall out of the window.
    I pull my hand away
for it is like touching a warm corpse.
    Still, I stay put,
looking out and watching the dark green sea as it ripples and pulsates. After
staring into its surface for a few minutes, I go back to the bed and turn the
television on with the freshly cleaned remote control.
    Television
provides me with life outside of my thoughts. But maybe I just like the noise.
It produces sounds I don’t have to take part in, voices I don’t have to respond
to. It is a way of being a part of society without actually taking
part in society .
    Therefore I have
little need of real friends or family. Instead, I let the television programs
act as the outside chaos that would otherwise engulf my senses and emotional
stability. Television broadcasts never decay. They are, in a way, eternal .
    I never followed
any particular program, though. I don’t make any effort to have the television
on at any particular time. I let my whim dictate my interactions with the
shows. The randomness of my viewing exposes me to a myriad number of life
experiences. I never know what the day will bring.
    This particular
hotel room television is ancient. I am sure one of the dust-covered speakers is
blown out because the noise sounds lopsided and muffled which makes everything
that comes out of it resemble slow ocean waves. I am soothed into a state of
calm.
    It is during this
state of calm that the hotel starts to collapse.
    One would think
such an event would be frightening and disorienting but I find it a relief,
something akin to an orgasm. There is a rumbling below me and I feel the bed
drop out from under me and I am falling, the ceiling following me down