The Mailman

Not Again

2008-11-22T22:57:00.002-06:00

Alex, now in the middle of traffic in Birmingham with his envelope still in hand sits stunned. "Oh boy, I can not believe this." He looks in the envelope and still sees the games. "Man, I need to go see a doctor or something." Alex goes through the rest of his day somewhat uneventful. At dinner he tries to explain to Gayle what is going on. She looks puzzled and laughs "Yeah right" she says. "So you're moving around in time like some kind of science fiction movie. Sure." "You don't really believe that do you?" Alex not sure what to says just sits quiet. Overcome with the situation he tears up. "I don't know what's going on Gayle, I guess I'm going crazy or something." She comes over and hugs him. "You just need some time off." "You have been working without an off day for weeks. You probably just keep falling asleep while driving." "You're probably right." says Alex "I'll call in tomorrow and get some rest." Before going to bed Alex thinks over the situation. "If this is real, whatever is in this envelope is the only thing that comes with me. I think I'm gonna try an experiment." Alex then slips into his closet where he keeps his Ruger 9mm pistol. He takes off the gun lock and loads the gun. He then slips it into the envelope with an extra clip and puts it under his pillow.

What's Going On

2008-11-22T22:27:00.002-06:00

The next day all Alex can think about was how real the dream was. And why in the world was his envelope in his pajamas. Alex put the games in the envelope and folds it closed. He sits at the dining room table and ponders the nights events before leaving for work. He opens his eyes and sees not his dining room but a wooden floor and a old west style bar. "What is happening to me?" The room is filled with a bunch of people in old west garb. The envelope still in hand Alex walks up to the bar to talk to the barkeep. "Whatcha want fella?" Alex stands stunned and says "What is this place?" The gruff old barkeep says "The Rattlesnake, whatcha want ta drink?" "Uh, nothing thanks." Alex looks around at all the customers and spots a large man being rough with a young lady. "How 'bout a kiss sweetie?" says the large cowboy. Alex walks over to see what's going on. The man turns to face Alex as he approaches and says "Back off boy we're busy." "I don't think she wants to be busy with you mister." Alex replies The man lets go of her arm and draws an old six shooter from a holster. Alex freezes and the place empties. "You should'da minded you're own business boy." Alex's eyes search the room for some kind of help. But the place is empty and it looks like Alex has made a bad move. Due to his mind being on the problem at hand Alex drops the envelope and the two games fall out. "Weird." he says. Distracted for a second by the fact two Xbox games are on the floor in an old west tavern. "Hand me that boy!" says the man with gun still drawn. Alex bends over to pick it up and sees a solid white mouse over in the corner. As he grabs the envelope he hears a car horn honk behind him. Alex realizes he is now at a red light in his Jeep in the middle of Birmingham.

Rude Awakening

2008-11-22T16:36:00.001-06:00

Alex wakes up to the sound of two men talking. "What happened?" Alex says to himself. "Where am I?" Alex remembers the deer and going down into the river but nothing else. Just then Alex notices that the two men are not speaking English. "Is that Arabic?" he says to himself. Alex opens his eyes and sees the men. The two are tall and lean. Both are wearing turbans that wrap around their face. They turn to him and speak angrily in Arabic. "What?" "I don't understand." The men laugh at him and then one of the two slaps Alex hard across the cheek. "What the...?" Alex tries to raise his arm to fight back but notices he is tied up with plastic bag ties. "What is going on, who are you?" "What do you want?" Alex is not used to being smacked around, he is over six foot tall and has a large frame. He played sports all of his life and could always hold his own. One of the two men walks over to a camera and turns it on. The other man goes over to a table and picks up a very large serrated survival knife. "Oh my...no!" says Alex. The two men begin to pray in Arabic and Alex begins to pray also. He has heard of this type of thing and knows what comes next. The man with the knife walks up to Alex and grabs his hair. Alex looks up to the ceiling with tears in his eyes and prayer on his lips. He sees a solid white moth on the ceiling by the light. Alex closes his eyes. The next thing that happens is the weird part. Alex hears snoring. He opens his eyes and he is in his own bed lying beside his wife. "What an awful dream." Alex sits up in bed. He is in his pajamas but notices something in his shirt. It's the large envelope.

The Mailman

2008-11-22T16:03:00.001-06:00

Alex opens his eyes as the alarm goes off at 4:00 A.M. He thinks about hitting snooze but decides to just get up. Alex looks in the mirror. "Boy do I need to shave." After brushing his teeth he goes downstairs to check the news and weather on the net before getting in the shower. "That new president is gonna have his work cut out for him." The shower water is hot and feels good on a cold morning. The weather report said it would be cold and windy all day. Alex checks in on Nicky and Alex Jr. before leaving. He gives his wife Gayle a kiss on her forehead as she sleeps and he leaves for work. This part of Alabama has lots of curvy country roads. The moon is still full and Alex notices a herd of deer in a field near the road. It only takes about 20 minutes and he reaches the post office. Alex enters the post office and sees his buddy Ted. "Morning Ted". "Morning Alex, how's it going?" "Good Ted, a little too cold though." Ted replies. "Yeah, I know how you hate cold weather." Alex smiles. Alex sorts his mail and jokes with Ted until time to leave on his mail route. Mail is pretty light so he is getting off early. "Hey Ted, before I go I need a big envelope." "I sold a couple games on Ebay and I need to ship them." "You got them with you?" asks Ted "Nope, I'm gonna pack them up at home, I'll bring them tomorrow." Alex pays for the envelope and stuffs it in his coat. On the way home the sun is bright and causes Alex to pull down his visor. The road home is curvy and runs along side a river. Alex likes to watch the river as he drives by it. As the sun shines down Alex squints and notices movement. A solid white deer runs out in front of his Jeep. He pulls the SUV to one side to avoid it then overcompensates and goes off the cliff into the ravine.