Chapter 2 - Have a Nice Trip

Friday

9:33 A.M.

4.839 inches

The mountains looked beautiful. He couldn't even believe something so amazing could exist. The grass was the darkest shade of green he'd ever seen, the sky the lightest shade of blue... not a single cloud in the sky.

Have I found Shaun? Norman thought to himself, admiring the view.

"No," came a reply from behind him.

Norman spun around to find Carter Blake.

"What the fuck are you doing, Jayden?" Blake asked him. "Helping the Origami Killer now?"

Norman sighed deeply, putting his hand to his now sweating brow.

"Ethan Mars... is not... a killer," he told Blake, angrily.

"I've had enough of this shit!" Blake yelled, pulling a gun out from the waist of his pants. "I'm gonna kill you, then I'm gonna find that sick bastard."

Blake raised the gun to his eye-line, pointing it at Norman.

"Nighty-night, Norman."

He pulled the trigger. Norman only had enough time to blink as the bullet entered his forehead.

XXX

"FUCK!" Norman yelled, waking up from his nightmare; he looked around.

Where the hell am I?

He appeared to be in... well, he didn't quite know. The room was dark, wherever it was. It also smelled terrible. He sat up against the wall (or what he thought was a wall), and rested his legs on the floor.

Dark room... smells like shit... where's Ethan? I swear to God if he just left me to die somewhere... what time is it?

Norman then remembered his dream. The mountain... he had seen it once before, when he was using A.R.I.

A.R.I.!

Norman reached into his coat pocket, feeling around for the high-tech glasses. His hand hit something solid. He pulled the glasses out, and unfolded the arms. He raised them up, and pulled them towards his face.

"Shit!" he yelled, having jabbed one of the arms into his right eye. He lowered them, then began to rub at his eye.

Too damn dark... I'm probably gonna kill myself in here.

Attempting the action again, Norman successfully put the glasses on, pushing them up the bridge of his sweaty nose. The moment the glasses were on, the room was filled with orange hues. He could finally see.

What... the... fuck...

Bodies - mutiliated beyond identification - and blood were strewn all around the room.

"Ethan?" Norman called out, bile making its way up his throat. "Etha-" He puked. The smell... the sight... it was all too much.

Suddenly, a door burst open, and a bright light flooded the room. A man stepped through.

"Ethan..." Norman began, wiping the vomit from the edge of his mouth. "Where the hell are we?"

Norman's eyes followed Ethan's left hand as it went down to his coat pocket. Ethan's hand disappeared inside the pocket, and when he removed it, Norman could clearly make out an origami figure.

"I'm the Origami Killer, Norman," Ethan began, not a hint of emotion in his voice.

Norman watched as the origami figure transformed into a knife. Ethan ran at Norman, snarling.

Norman rolled out of the way as Ethan ran into the wall.

"Ethan? What's gotten into you?" Norman pointlessly asked, jumping to his feet. "You're not the killer, dammit!"

Ethan quickly turned around, and charged at Norman once more, knife raised.

Norman caught Ethan's left arm just as it came down.

"Ethan, are you insane?" Norman asked, A.R.I. indicating that his heart rate was 132 BPM.

Since when has A.R.I. told me that? He thought, pushing the note out of his head when he remembered he was in a desperate struggle for his life.

"No..." Ethan said, gritting his teeth. "Just mad!"

Ethan must've went into overdrive, as his arm suddenly broke through Norman's hold, and cut down the agent's chest.

"FUUUUUUUUUUUUUCK!" Norman screamed, leaping backwards.

Ethan began laughing, slowly walking towards him.

"Where's Shaun?" Norman asked, thinking of anything to say to keep from feeling the excruciating pain pulsating from his chest.

"Shaun?" Ethan asked. "Shaun is dead you stupid fuck! He's dead, and it's all your fault!"

"My... fault?" Norman asked, vision blackening.

I'm gonna pass out, and this crazy bastard's gonna kill me!

Tripto! He had to have it! It would help him.

Ethan, this time with absolutely no warning, ran at Norman, and thrusted the knife right through his gut.

"Rot in hell," Ethan whispered in his ear, pulling the knife out slowly.

This is-

Norman fell backwards, head smashing against the concrete floor: dead.

XXX

"It happened again," Norman told Ethan, staring at the dull wall of the warehouse they were hiding in.

"Huh?" Ethan asked, snapping out of his own trance.

"That weird... dream. The one where you kill me." Norman said.

"The same dream, three times in just two hours?" Ethan asked. "It sounds to me like you need to actually get some sleep."

"I know why I'm seeing these things..." Norman told him.

If I tell him my secrets, what the hell's he going to do? Tell the cops?

"I, uh... I have some- problems."

"Problems?" Ethan asked. "You mean... like a drug problem?"

This guy can read minds.

"Uhm... yeah... yeah, like a drug problem. But you see," Norman replied. "I have these glasses; they're called A.R.I. They help me with my investigations. Ever since they were issued to me, though, I've found myself using them just... just a little too much."

"A.R.I.?" Ethan asked. "I've heard rumors about that. The technology wasn't thought to exist."

"Well, I can assure you, it does," Norman said matter-of-factly. "And because I use A.R.I. too much, I've been forced to use Triptocaine to help me find a balance. After using A.R.I., I start to have these... trips. That's when I inhale some Tripto..."

Ethan had a strange look on his face

"I just felt like telling you..." Norman began. "Never told anyone before..."

There was a few moments of silence.

"Well..." Ethan started, awkwardly. "Just this week, I've suffered from two blackouts, and when I came to... I found an origami figure in my hand."

Norman's eyes got wide.

Just like in the dream!

"You mean... you really are-?"

Ethan shook his head.

"Honestly, I don't know," Ethan told him. "See... I may suffer from a split-personality disorder without even knowing it. I have this theory, that maybe my other half is trying to test my love for Shaun."

"That actually doesn't sound too far-fetched. Probably not true, but it is a possibility."

Listen to the way I'm talking to this guy... he could be the killer, for Christ sakes! But, no... it just doesn't make any sense.

"You got the time?" Ethan asked, checking his wrist only to find he had no watch.

Norman - Just like that dream... - pulled out A.R.I. to check the time.

"9:48 A.M." was in an orange hue.

Orange... what's new?

"It's about 9:50." Norman told him, taking A.R.I. off, and pocketing it.

"We don't have much time," Ethan told him, jumping up. "We've rested long enough... we have to find Shaun... I have to find Shaun..."

Norman stood up as well.

"Alright, so how do you plan on getting to Rainbow Lane? We don't have a car... we're fugitives. Not a good combination if you ask me."

"I just might have an idea..." Ethan told him. "Face down, back-alleys only... don't walk too close."

Ethan ran for the exit, and pushed it open, stepping out into the extremely heavy rain.

I still have no idea what the fuck that guy's talking about half the time...

Author's Note: Once I sat down and began writing this chapter, it all just came naturally (that's what she said). Quickest completed chapter so far (one day). Basically, this chapter was just to show how bad Norman's A.R.I./Tripto relationship can get, and to establish a little trust between Norman and Ethan. Also, because of that ending, I actually already have an idea of what'll happen in the next chapter. I know it was short, but I felt like there was a long over-due update needed. Remember; review! Thanks.