Smashed Against Rock
a piece of literature of
indeterminate genre
by Eli Dupree

I wake from the nightmare and I find myself lying smashed against rock. There is the rock, a broad jagged expanse; there is the water, churning, lapping up against me; There am I, immobile, smashed against the rock. My muscles will not answer me; I have no head; I have no right arm;
I wake from the nightmare and I find myself lying in a bed of
but it wasn't a nightmare because it wasn't bad
straw IN A HOUSE OF STRAW. (Everyone
what would be bad about that?
else's houses are made of feathers) It makes me so angry
NO! I don't want to like that.
HATE HATE HATE
I don't want but but I am myself smashed against rock
to be a titan, crushing these pu-
There is the water
ny timbers
NO! I just want to wake up.
they are killing me
I wake from the nightmare SCREAMING screaming with a bookcase against my head. ARGH no it's not a bookcase, it's a... scorpion cobra anaconda DEMON locust ARGH no. no, no, no, no, ARGH ARGH please DON'T HURT ME, it's warm, flat, sloshes...
hot water bottle

what happened?

I am 48 years old. I have been working tirelessly for the last twenty-odd years sneaking food and supplies past the blockade. They loved me and depended on me and then they couldn't save me; I have no right arm; my head smashed against the rock; no, please
no, I am the 85 year old wizard of the British court, been working tirelessly for fifty years to discover the secret of the philosophers stone please PLEASE

okay, I'm sane now, for the moment.
I am 14 years old.
I have been working tirelessly for 14 years AAAARRRGGH

I descend into sleep and find myself lying floating
no, not quite sleep, I am conscious
in water. the rock
is far away and I almost
just below the surface
don't remember it but there's all
this blood
lying here is peaceful
and I still haven't found my head
or my right arm
NO! I just want to die
I wake up.
Come on, I don't want to go to that meeting. I'm insane but I'm not stupid.are you going to let me ouT OF HERE LET ME OUT OF HERE
i HATE you - HATE HATE HATE
and stop crushing my head under that bookshelf DEMON bookshelf
I wake from the nightmare and find myself lying on a faraway shore. A young man discovers me lying there and carries me back to his palace where the physicians build me a prosthetic right arm
and a few days later they have finished making for me a prosthetic head; I am almost happy again; they're very excited as my presence is a good omen and I have helped them discover the final few secrets of the philosopher's stone
and we finally finish making
	the stone and it's
		all black and dirty
			with tentacles reaching out everywheERARARRRRGGGHHH

that is why I hate being awake.
-- I'm not going to talk to you until you take that bookshelf out from under my head.

I sleep and
it's like the border between life and death is all rough and pebbly, and sleep is closer to death than wakefulness - but even if you're nearly dead while awake, like I am, you can't die just by going to sleep; you run up against the border, which is why I
wake up having had no nightmares. the clock demon CLOCK SERIOUSLY IT'S A CLOCK says I slept for like twenty seconds I CAN'T SLEEP
okay; I can't sleep.
okay... hey you! I'm sane now; this is a hot water bottle; I don't know how long I'll last but I'm sane for the moment, so listen. Will you send a message to my family
don't be an idiot, I mean will you seriously send them a message, not like
DON'T LIE TO ME
get off me
get OFF me!

Actually no I don't
care what you do with my head
BECAUSE I HAVE NO HEAD
I HAVE NO RIGHT ARM

~(May 2008)