This is the last part of this draft I wrote for NaNoWriMo. Partway through sharing, I didn’t want to keep going as it’s really, really bad writing… as though that has ever stopped me before. But I kept going because I feel it’s still an example of what can be achieved if you keep going with something, and also an example of knowing when to stop.

I was already burned out with doing NaNoWriMo every year, and I ran out of steam for this. However, I might end up wrapping it all up tomorrow. I’ll see what happens.

Prior parts: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9.

I hope you  enjoy.

—

Cave came running out of their room, looked at Harvey standing there, then looked at the cable on the ground. Harvey looked dully surprised, but there was something there that expressed something that suggested that they just had the same experience as Cave.

“What’s going on?”

“TV died. What’s going on with you?”

“The computer just freaked out. I was trying to gather more information and try to work some things out when the monitor started warping. Well, not the monitor, but rather what it was projecting. It became this indistinct mass and I couldn’t work out what was going on. Tried turning it off but it stayed on. Tried turning the computer off but it wouldn’t shut down. Then it shocked me really hard. Tried unplugging it, didn’t switch off… at least not straight away.”

“That’s… weird. Any lights stay on?”

“Yeah. Felt odd. Like I was being scanned or watched or something. Anyway, I think something’s gone wrong with the power.”

“Yeah, maybe.”

Harvey wasn’t quite in the mood to hear it as it meant that Harvey would have to do something and that’s not something Harvey wanted to deal with. At the same time Harvey knew that it was important to hear it all as it meant that there could be some sort of link, and maybe Cave was right. Maybe there was something wrong with the power.

“How old is the place, Cave?”

“I don’t know. You know as well as I do that it hasn’t had any maintenance done in a while.”

As that was said one of the lights turned on of its own accord and started buzzing a hard, electrical buzz. The two turned to look and decided it best to move away, but before they could the light shattered outward, sending glass rocketing. Lucky for them the two managed to avoid being embedded, but it was pure luck.

“I think we should switch the power box off and head on out.”

“Cave ran about and grabbed some things whilst Harvey ran outside to the power box. They switched everything off and soon Cave was there. For the moment they didn’t feel safe being in the house and so they decided the best course of action was to head on out and just walk away from things.

They walked in silence and they walked a long while. They walked out of town and into a more rural-feeling space in that it was significantly less developed than the surrounding area, and then they walked some more to a large pond that they knew of, just to find somewhere to sit next to and away from the house, and hopefully away from any more surprises. Perhaps it was not the most rational behaviour to engage in, but they weren’t thinking rationally at the time. It was much safer where they were, at least, or so they thought,

The silence carried on over across the gentle water, and some waterfowl floated along, creating their own disturbance on the surface whilst they looked for food, though it seemed much like aimless meandering. It was hard to tell as neither of the two were ornithologists, and neither of the two cared much for knowing the motivations of birds either way. Eventually the silence broke.

“You know, it really is interesting how during Mercury Retrograde technology doesn’t work as well.”

“What the fuck, Cave?”

“What do you mean? I’m pretty sure that there is no other way to put what I just said”

“Alright, firstly, Mercury Retrograde was yesterday. It’s over. It wouldn’t be happening anymore. It doesn’t have any lingering effects.”

“As far as you’re aware.”

“And secondly, what do you define as technology? How far does it go? Are you talking about things that seem like the future? Are you talking about the digital?”

“It’s technology. That should be clear.”

“Look Cave, if you want to get technical, technology could be just about anything. It could be almost anything from the developed world. It could be your pants, your shirt. Could be your shoes. Technology helped make fast food, so could that count, or does it not? What about pens? Pens came from the use of technology and were developed by technology. What about sports equipment? What about books? Chris, our fucking front door is some form of technological marvel in some way. Does that count? I don’t see your hanky trying to smother you to death though. Mercury Retrograde has no bearing on technology.”

“As far as you’re aware, but, well you see, the thing is that it affects the most current of things.”

“You are wearing a new shirt, for fuck’s sake. That’s pretty current if you ask me.”

“It reminds us that we should not rely on the developments of convenience for they are a burden, you know. It affects batteries and whatnot.”

“Oh, so the definition only goes so far as for you to be able to make statements that are convenient for you. What about asthmatics that rely in inhalers? Are they fucked because their medicine is a form of technological convenience?”

As Harvey went on Cave grew more and more silent and almost disappeared into themselves. It was possible that they hadn’t considered the possibilities of what their words meant, and of course words used at the right time had power, but Harvey didn’t know what Cave was considering, for Harvey was too ingrained within their tangent.

“You know, that’s the thing about all that Mercury Retrograde cosmic-level woo bullshit fuckery. It’s all lines on wheels and it keeps getting moved around and bent and curved as much as people see fit so as to justify their own shitty, fucked up beliefs. Some people say that, yeah, they only have a passing interest and the next thing you know they’re talking about how some people are either filthy peasants or ruling the world depending on whichever demographic they want to target and how they feel and what the rain is like, as well as how supporting those who are “low” in stature due to being poor and whatnot isn’t worthwhile unless you open their eyes to the reality of things, bot those poor people generally know a lot fucking better than some rich crystal-riding grifter who charges a grand a head for a bunch of people to be naked in the dark, around a goddamn fire in order to scream into the night.

Mercury Retrograde. It’s a load of shit Cave, it’s a load of fucking shit. It’s just a thing in the sky and that’s all. The planet does nothing to us, it has no impact and people use it hide their shittiness. It’s easy to attract a lot of assholes with some cosmic woo, and they’re fucking good at deluding themselves about it too. The planet has no effect on us, it’s just a thing and stop thinking it is a thing because you’re gonna go down a dangerous path if you’re not careful.”

“I think you went a bit away from the topic there, Harvey.”

“I don’t give a shit. It’s all relative.”

Cave couldn’t deny that maybe Harvey had a point, but that point was too buried and obfuscated by all the stuff surrounding it. To his credit, Harvey knew that his point was there but he took power from it by going on a lengthy tangent. Maybe it was the stress or sudden shock of having a house react the way it did. They weren’t sure.

“Sorry. Probably too long and needless a rant.”

“It’s okay. We’re gonna have to go back home sooner or later, you know.”

“Yeah, I know, but can we just take a bit of a break? Maybe head back a bit later. Bit of a wild day, you know.”

And so they sat there in some silence at the edge of the pond, watching the birds. The birds didn’t have much of a problem, but they were doing their own thing, and for a moment Harvey felt envy for them. They wondered what it was like to be a bird, and realised that if they were a bird they probably wouldn’t be wondering as to what it would be like to be a person; they’d just be getting on with getting on and doing the things that they need to do to survive. Maybe a little time for play.

The afternoon was drawing to a close and a display of colour spread out across the sky, but neither of the two moved. They continued to sit there in silence, hoping that they were imagining the whole thing, and hoping that, if they weren’t, then all that would need to be done when they got home was replace a light bulb. Could they even go home? It was hard to tell, for there was a force that was holding them there, almost as though it was telling them not to leave.

Maybe they were reading far too much into it.

The sun set and as it set the sounds around them changed into something more appropriate for a nocturnal experience. It had been a long day and soon it would be a long night, but it all seemed to rush on by. It was difficult to say if anything in particular stuck out to them; it was all so crammed with crap that it was hard to tell, but surely the lingering sentiment of it all would stick out. It usually does.

The two decided to get on up and head on home. It was too dark to stay where they were, though it likely would be safe regardless. Cave brought a torch along so they pulled it out, switched it on and the two walked on back home.

As they walked Harvey thought to themselves about the possibility that maybe Mercury did have an impact on the planet and maybe it did affect technology. Surely though there couldn’t be a link between what they saw and what was happening now. Sure, some things were a bit odd but they could be explained.

Harvey hoped that they could be explained, at least. They didn’t want to be wrong about this. They hoped that they were not wrong about what was going on.