[Part Three]
Exiting the rest room, Gary continued on his way.
(What kind of weird X-Files thing is this? This is probably a dream... OWW..... okay, maybe not....)
Chuck had no control over Gary's actions, so he just watched as Gary went through his day. It was a bit disconcerting to see the world through someone else's eyes but after ten minutes he got use to it.
(I wonder if I have any control.)
Chuck tried to raise Gary's arms with no success.
(This sucks... What exactly am I supposed to be doing here?)
The smell of fresh honey-roasted peanuts overloaded his senses as Gary walked past a peanut vendor.
(Ooohhh... peanuts...)
Chuck's mouth began to water. Famished, he realized he hadn't eaten since breakfast.
(I wish I had a bag or two.)
Gary stopped at the peanut vendor's stand and ordered two bags of peanuts, not really sure why. He had just eaten a big lunch with Marissa half an hour ago.
(Did I do that?)
Shrugging, Gary stuck them in his pocket to eat later.
(That's a good thing to know... I can put subliminal thought in his mind... I wonder...)
Chuck began to plot. There had to be a reason he was in Gary's body.
Gary walked intoK-Mart and headed to the area with the camping goods and outdoor equipment. He strolled the isles until he found the flotation devices. Unsure of which one he wanted, Gary examined all of the once in a decent price range.
(Take the orange, with the blue and purple polka dots... the one with the sea horse head coming out of it.)
"This one should be good enough," he mumbled to himself picking up the sea horse tube.
"Hey..." Gary called to a blue shirt employee who hurried by, "do you know where I can find some rope?"
"Three isles down on your right..." Employee quickly said and rushed off.
"Thanks."
With everything he needed in hand, he paid for his purchases. Now all he needed was to make one more stop. They walked past a convenience store, that's when inspiration struck Chuck.
(Stop! Go inside!)
Gary entered the convenience store. He stopped at the front counter and looked at the impulse items. Unsure why he entered, a confused look gradually spread across his face.
"Can I help you with something?" The clerk looked up from the magazine he was reading.
"Huh? No, no ... that's okay..."
(Take the paper out of your pocket...)
Gary pulled the paper out of his back pocket. Maybe he subliminally entered the store because he read an article about it earlier in the paper.
(Mark the numbers from the paper onto the lotto card and hand it to the clerk...)
Gary wasn't sure why he did it, but he did.
"Hey, did you know that the jackpot is over 25 million dollars?" the clerk said as he took the ticket.
"Twenty-five million? That's a lot of money" Gary scratched his head, still unsure why he was doing this.
(Twenty-five million dollar!! Pay for the ticket! Pay for the ticket!)
Gary handed the clerk a dollar and exited the store, staring blankly at the ticket.
"Hey buddy, good luck!" The clerk hollered as he exited.
(We're rich!)
"I don't need this..." Gary tore up the ticket into a whole bunch of pieces and tossed it over his shoulder.
(Nooooooo!!!!)
Chuck watched as their fortune trickled down like multi colored snow, down to the hard gray concrete.
(Why... Why did you do that...)
That extra stop put Gary behind on his schedule. He jogged to a near by gas station and used the air pump to inflate his inner tube. He looked at the gaudy thing and wondered what ever possessed him to buy it. Taking the rope from the shopping bag, Gary tied one end securely around the sea horses head.
(Bwah ha ... that thing uglier than the picture on the box....)
Gary looked down at his watch and realized he was running a little late. Slipping his arm through the hole in the center of the life preserver, Gary ran down the street to his destination.
(Run, Gary, Run! I wonder where we're going...)
The world spun around Chuck. That same unseen force which propelled him forward, seemed to be pulling him backwards.
---
With a loud splash and abrupt, Chuck found himself in the water. Sputtering in the frigid liquid, he looked left and right and realized he was in Lake Michigan, just off of Navy Pier.
"Hey!"
Chuck heard a familiar voice call to him as he treaded water.
"Chuck?!"
Chuck looked up and saw Gary standing off the pier.
"Gary! A little help here."
Gary tossed him the sea horse.
Chuck took one look at the garish thing and instantly regretted putting that subliminal thought into Gary's mind. He grabbed onto the thing anyway. It was better than drowning. Chuck half swam and was half dragged to shore.
"You okay?" Gary asked his friend once he was onshore.
"Yeah...Yeah... I'm fine."
"What were ya doing in the lake?"
"Swimming?"
"That's not funny. A few minutes ago the paper said you were an unidentified man who drowned in the found just off Navy Pier!"
"Hey man, are you okay man? Should I call an ambulance?" A bystander asked.
"No. I'm okay..." Chuck waved him off.
"Come on, let's go to my hotel room. You can tell me what happened."
"I'll tell you later. I've got to go." Chuck stood up and ran off, leaving his best friend with a bunch of unanswered questions.
"Chuck! Wait!" By the time Gary was up and running, Chuck was already gone.
---
Exiting the rest room, Gary continued on his way.
(What kind of weird X-Files thing is this? This is probably a dream... OWW..... okay, maybe not....)
Chuck had no control over Gary's actions, so he just watched as Gary went through his day. It was a bit disconcerting to see the world through someone else's eyes but after ten minutes he got use to it.
(I wonder if I have any control.)
Chuck tried to raise Gary's arms with no success.
(This sucks... What exactly am I supposed to be doing here?)
The smell of fresh honey-roasted peanuts overloaded his senses as Gary walked past a peanut vendor.
(Ooohhh... peanuts...)
Chuck's mouth began to water. Famished, he realized he hadn't eaten since breakfast.
(I wish I had a bag or two.)
Gary stopped at the peanut vendor's stand and ordered two bags of peanuts, not really sure why. He had just eaten a big lunch with Marissa half an hour ago.
(Did I do that?)
Shrugging, Gary stuck them in his pocket to eat later.
(That's a good thing to know... I can put subliminal thought in his mind... I wonder...)
Chuck began to plot. There had to be a reason he was in Gary's body.
Gary walked intoK-Mart and headed to the area with the camping goods and outdoor equipment. He strolled the isles until he found the flotation devices. Unsure of which one he wanted, Gary examined all of the once in a decent price range.
(Take the orange, with the blue and purple polka dots... the one with the sea horse head coming out of it.)
"This one should be good enough," he mumbled to himself picking up the sea horse tube.
"Hey..." Gary called to a blue shirt employee who hurried by, "do you know where I can find some rope?"
"Three isles down on your right..." Employee quickly said and rushed off.
"Thanks."
With everything he needed in hand, he paid for his purchases. Now all he needed was to make one more stop. They walked past a convenience store, that's when inspiration struck Chuck.
(Stop! Go inside!)
Gary entered the convenience store. He stopped at the front counter and looked at the impulse items. Unsure why he entered, a confused look gradually spread across his face.
"Can I help you with something?" The clerk looked up from the magazine he was reading.
"Huh? No, no ... that's okay..."
(Take the paper out of your pocket...)
Gary pulled the paper out of his back pocket. Maybe he subliminally entered the store because he read an article about it earlier in the paper.
(Mark the numbers from the paper onto the lotto card and hand it to the clerk...)
Gary wasn't sure why he did it, but he did.
"Hey, did you know that the jackpot is over 25 million dollars?" the clerk said as he took the ticket.
"Twenty-five million? That's a lot of money" Gary scratched his head, still unsure why he was doing this.
(Twenty-five million dollar!! Pay for the ticket! Pay for the ticket!)
Gary handed the clerk a dollar and exited the store, staring blankly at the ticket.
"Hey buddy, good luck!" The clerk hollered as he exited.
(We're rich!)
"I don't need this..." Gary tore up the ticket into a whole bunch of pieces and tossed it over his shoulder.
(Nooooooo!!!!)
Chuck watched as their fortune trickled down like multi colored snow, down to the hard gray concrete.
(Why... Why did you do that...)
That extra stop put Gary behind on his schedule. He jogged to a near by gas station and used the air pump to inflate his inner tube. He looked at the gaudy thing and wondered what ever possessed him to buy it. Taking the rope from the shopping bag, Gary tied one end securely around the sea horses head.
(Bwah ha ... that thing uglier than the picture on the box....)
Gary looked down at his watch and realized he was running a little late. Slipping his arm through the hole in the center of the life preserver, Gary ran down the street to his destination.
(Run, Gary, Run! I wonder where we're going...)
The world spun around Chuck. That same unseen force which propelled him forward, seemed to be pulling him backwards.
---
With a loud splash and abrupt, Chuck found himself in the water. Sputtering in the frigid liquid, he looked left and right and realized he was in Lake Michigan, just off of Navy Pier.
"Hey!"
Chuck heard a familiar voice call to him as he treaded water.
"Chuck?!"
Chuck looked up and saw Gary standing off the pier.
"Gary! A little help here."
Gary tossed him the sea horse.
Chuck took one look at the garish thing and instantly regretted putting that subliminal thought into Gary's mind. He grabbed onto the thing anyway. It was better than drowning. Chuck half swam and was half dragged to shore.
"You okay?" Gary asked his friend once he was onshore.
"Yeah...Yeah... I'm fine."
"What were ya doing in the lake?"
"Swimming?"
"That's not funny. A few minutes ago the paper said you were an unidentified man who drowned in the found just off Navy Pier!"
"Hey man, are you okay man? Should I call an ambulance?" A bystander asked.
"No. I'm okay..." Chuck waved him off.
"Come on, let's go to my hotel room. You can tell me what happened."
"I'll tell you later. I've got to go." Chuck stood up and ran off, leaving his best friend with a bunch of unanswered questions.
"Chuck! Wait!" By the time Gary was up and running, Chuck was already gone.
---