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Spacecraft
Spacecraft
Spacecraft
Ebook269 pages4 hours

Spacecraft

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About this ebook

This is not a book -it’s a scam.

It’s the story of Nick, a seventeen year old weed-smoking, acid-eating, suburban nihilist dropout who accidentally stumbles across an idea that is truly revolutionary. In this text you will find arguments against art, money, sobriety, religion, education, and the rule of law.

This is Benjamin Broke’s first novel and it is deeply flawed and wrong on many levels. You should begin downloading it immediately.

LanguageEnglish
Release dateJul 1, 2012
ISBN9781476071152
Spacecraft
Author

Benjamin Broke

Benjamin Broke is the pseudonym of an author who wishes to remain anonymous. He currently lives in Pittsburgh and works a regular job. Please download and read one of his books, it would make him happy. He can be reached by email at:bennybroke@gmail.com

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    Book preview

    Spacecraft - Benjamin Broke

    Spacecraft

    By Benjamin Broke

    Copyright 2012 Benjamin Broke

    Smashwords Edition

    Smashwords Edition, License Notes

    Thank you for downloading this ebook. This ebook remains the copyrighted property of the author, and may not be redistributed to others for commercial or non-commercial purposes. If you enjoyed this, please encourage your friends to download their own copy from an authorized retailer. Thank you for your support.

    Table of Contents

    Spacecraft

    About Benjamin Broke

    Also By Benjamin Broke

    Contact Benjamin Broke

    Insurgents Chapters 1 & 2

    1

    Donald Duck is the best. That’s what everyone said, and I was starting to believe them. A half hour after we dropped the acid I was already feeling the effects. We were tearing down the freeway in Steve’s Jeep and the ocean was still nowhere in sight. I wondered if Steve knew where he was going. He had the unnerving habit of rushing up on someone’s bumper and slamming over into the next lane suddenly to pass them. Every time he did it the Jeep rocked and I had to brace myself. He must’ve been doing 85 miles per hour. We had the windows down and the Jeep seemed very light all of a sudden -I felt like we were in some kind of child’s toy.

    HEY! Colin shouted from the back seat, SLOW DOWN, WE’RE GONNA ROLL THIS THING.

    DON’T TELL ME HOW TO DRIVE, Steve yelled over the freeway noise, I’LL GET YOU THERE!

    He started going faster to scare Colin and I considered putting my seatbelt on. For some reason the act of reaching around to get it was too scary at that moment. I thought the instant I looked away from the road Steve would wreck. I gripped the door with one hand and the seat cushion with the other and stared straight ahead. When Steve changed lanes I’d lean into it like I was on a motorcycle. At that point I thought every bit might help.

    I was relieved when he finally took an off-ramp. As the noise of the freeway faded I could hear the radio again, but it sounded wrong. It sounded like clowns being raped, but after awhile I realized it was just an ad for carpets. There were signs that the beach was close, I saw some seagulls, and we were passing surf shops and bike rental places and I could smell the ocean. Are you guys as high as I am? Steve asked.

    I’m definitely feeling it. I said.

    Me too. Colin said. Are we close?

    Yeah, just a few more blocks. Steve said.

    I lit a cigarette and blew the smoke out the window. Steve asked me for one, and as I handed it to him I noticed a group of teenagers in the car next to us. Some girls in the back seat were looking our direction. I wondered if we looked strange or out of place.

    It was a beautiful cloudless day, and everyone in the cars around us and on the sidewalk seemed to be smiling. The ocean was glistening with reflected sunlight and kicking up white froth. As we pulled into the parking lot I watched some kids playing in the shallow surf while their parents lounged under umbrellas. There were young girls sunbathing, and an elderly couple with wide-brimmed hats. The scene looked like a postcard, not because it was beautiful, but because it seemed fake or staged in some way. The whole beach scene- sun, water, sky, sand, birds, and all the people seemed to be participating in an elaborate hoax.

    As I got out of the Jeep my joints felt stiff and I was aware of my internal organs for some reason, especially my lungs and stomach. I rocked back and forth on my feet, transferring my weight from my toes to my heels and taking a deep breath. Colin was staring at the ocean in awe.

    Steve walked around the back of the Jeep with his towel around his neck. I told you this was the best beach. The cigarette was still hanging from his lips. Come on, let’s find a spot.

    He started across the sand toward the ocean and Colin and I grabbed our towels and followed. I took the last hit off my cigarette and dropped it in the sand, stepping on it as I walked. I wondered if I’d actually put it out or just buried the ember for someone else to discover with a bare foot. I was sinking a little with every step, which made walking feel unnatural. We passed a white-bread family going the other direction, and I was suddenly very self conscious. I hoped I didn’t look as deranged as I felt.

    We set our towels out as far away from everyone as possible. I sat, pulled my shoes and socks off, and dug my toes into the warm sand. I realized I’d been grinning for a while, so I tried to relax my face muscles but it took too much effort, so I kept grinning and looked down at the sand that covered my toes so no one would notice. Steve was taking off his shirt and watch, getting ready to swim. I heard Colin laughing. Look at those kids playing with that dog man, that’s fucked up. He said.

    I watched as a young boy tried to pry a stick from a wet dog’s mouth. There was a younger kid laughing and screaming next to him. The dog growled and twisted his head around in impossible contortions. It looked like the kid was going to twist the dog’s head off. He finally got the stick free and hurled it into the surf. The dog barked and leapt in after it. Aren’t you gonna swim? Steve asked us.

    Yeah, I’m up for it. Colin said. You going in Nick?

    Sure, we’re at the beach. I said, trying again to relax the smile on my face.

    We should swim to that buoy out there. Steve said. You think you could make it that far?

    I looked out at the buoy. It was ridiculously far.

    I can do it if you can. Colin said. You think you can make it Nick-man?

    Uh, sure. What’s the worst that can happen? I stood up. Oh yeah. Death. I took my shirt off and put my keys, cigarettes, lighter and wallet into my shoes. If someone wanted to steal my six dollars they could help themselves.

    The water was ice cold, so I ran in and dunked my head to get it over with. Steve and Colin were already out ahead of me, but I didn’t care. I was going along for the ride, they were involved in some kind of macho competition. I ducked under the waves as they broke and kept moving forward. The feeling of all that water rushing and crashing over my head gave me a boost of adrenaline. I got out past the breakers and was going up and down with the swells as I pumped my legs and kept moving in the general direction of the buoy. I wondered how deep the water was. I imagined myself fifteen or twenty feet off the sea floor. I was feeling light and buoyant until I swam through a patch of cold water that shook my confidence.

    I stopped for a moment and looked back at the beach. The people looked small, and they moved around silently. I turned and looked at the buoy. It still looked far away. Steve and Colin hadn’t slowed and were increasing their separation from me. I began to move again, going wide around a clump of seaweed. I tried not to think of all the creatures that might live in there.

    I concentrated on my swimming and kept moving until I felt like I couldn’t go any further. I’d been out there for a long time, but it didn’t feel like I was getting anywhere. My arms and legs were sore, so I changed my stroke to a more relaxed frog style. I was in no hurry. It seemed like I’d been swimming for hours.

    I took another break and treaded water again. I could barely see the people on the beach. I thought about what a serious position I was in. I didn’t belong here, it wasn’t a place for swimmers, it was boat territory. If I got sucked under by some monster current and drowned, no one would realize I was gone for hours. I imagined Steve and Colin getting back to the beach and wondering where I was. They’d probably assume I’d gone for a walk or something. They wouldn’t suspect that I was dead at the bottom of the ocean until the sun went down. By then the sharks would’ve discovered my remains.

    I decided to keep swimming. The buoy didn’t look so far away anymore, and I could see Colin and Steve hanging on to it. It was a lot bigger than I thought it would be. It was painted white with red stripes and had a bell at the top. There was bird shit all over it. We thought you drowned, man. Colin said, grinning as I swam up. His eyes were all pupil.

    Yeah, what took you so long? Steve asked.

    What are you talking about? We’re in the middle of the fucking Pacific Ocean. I can barely see the beach. I said, grabbing on to the buoy. Even my hands felt sore. My leg brushed it’s slimy underside as it rocked back and forth. The bell was making an eerie clang every once in awhile.

    We saw a jellyfish down there a minute ago. Freaked us the fuck out. Colin said.

    Nah, Steve said, that was just a plastic bag or something. There’s no jellyfish here.

    It had tentacles man, It was definitely a jellyfish. I wonder what else is down there. He said looking down. I looked too, and saw a chain attached to the bottom of the buoy stretching into the murk. I realized there was a massive amount of water beneath us. I tried not to think about sharks.

    Steve was looking at me strangely. You okay Nick? You got a big vein sticking out of your forehead.

    I reached up and felt my forehead. I could feel the vein.

    Oh yeah, Colin said, that’s freaky.

    Thanks guys. That’s exactly the kind of thing I want to hear right now. I appreciate that.

    You should get your blood pressure checked out. Steve said.

    Yeah, thanks.

    Steve pushed off from the buoy and told us he was heading in. I’ll see you guys on the beach. Try not to drown. He dove under the water and came up far away. I wondered how he held his breath that long.

    He’s on my nerves today. Colin said.

    Why?

    He acts like he’s better than us or something.

    "He’s okay. He has to act like that to justify hanging out with us. Look at it from his perspective, he’s like thirty years old and he’s hanging out with us."

    I’m too fried to care anyway. Colin said. He looked up at the buoy for a moment. Hey check it out, he said, doesn’t this thing look like a church?

    What?

    Not a whole church or anything. Just the tower part. It has a bell and everything. When I was swimming out here I thought it looked like something your grandma would sell in her store.

    I guess it kind of looks like a steeple. I said.

    You should tell her.

    Yeah Colin, I’ll tell her she should start selling buoys. Those should be a hot item. My grandmother has a shop that sells religious books and gifts. The bell clanged loudly.

    Being out here right now is messing with my head dude, I’m going in. He said. Are you coming?

    No, I’m gonna rest a minute. Go ahead.

    I watched him swim away. I was glad to be alone. I looked at the structure towering over my head. It rocked away and then toward me again and again. The clang of the bell happened directly over my head. My breath felt heavy and damp in my lungs. An airplane was flying by and I wondered how fast it was going. I knew it was traveling fast, but from my point of view it looked slow. I thought it must be because it was far away, but I couldn’t think of why that would make it look slower. When I was little my mom took me on a car trip to the mountains to see snow, and I remember staring out the window at the trees going by and wondering why the ones that were farther away seemed to go by slower than the ones that were close. I knew we were passing all the trees at the same speed. I wanted to ask my mom but I was sure it was a stupid question.

    I don’t know how long I floated there alone, but it was long enough to start thinking about the church-buoy connection. I thought maybe it did have some religious purpose -I couldn’t see what other function it had. Maybe it was a church for the spirits of people buried at sea. It was some sort of ghost-magnet, that was certain. I didn’t want to be near it anymore, so I headed in.

    When I reached the shore my body felt heavy and cumbersome. The beach was alive with color and movement and sound. I dragged myself out of the waves into a twisted carnival. The seagulls were making metallic squawks in stereophonic sound surround and kids were screaming and splashing each other menacingly. There were two dogs barking and running circles around each other, and someone had a radio on that was playing a gross parody of rock and roll. People strode by me with confident expressions on their faces and a whole family sat under an umbrella ripping birds apart with their teeth. I couldn’t see Colin or Steve anywhere and I was sure they’d left me. I tried not to show the deep fear that was screaming inside me.

    I pushed the wet hair out of my face and moved up the beach to dry sand, careful to avoid a couple pretending to play Frisbee. When I thought I wasn’t close enough to anyone to be noticed much, I looked around. The beach was teeming with life, Colin and Steve could’ve been ten feet away and I’m not sure I would’ve seen them. I looked out at the buoy. It was hard to imagine that I’d just been there. I realized I must’ve drifted down the beach when I was swimming in so I started walking in what I hoped was the right direction, careful to avoid eye contact and to give people lots of room. Every now and then I looked around, but there was no sign of them. I noticed a guy in sunglasses who was following me. He had one of those metal detectors that are supposed to find treasure in the sand. It was connected to headphones and he moved it back and forth as he walked. I kept going, trying to act natural, but I was starting to get very nervous about the guy. I was sure he was listening to my footsteps. I heard someone call me and I stopped and looked around. It was Colin. Yo man, you walked right past me. It’s a good thing I saw you. He said. He was sitting on his towel with an expression of concern on his face.

    Thanks, I didn’t see you there. I said, walking over and sitting next to him. The guy with the metal detector looked at us strangely and kept going.

    That fuckin’ guy is spooky. Colin said.

    I know. I said. He was following me. I came out of the water way down there and I didn’t know where you guys were. Where’s Steve?

    He went to the store to get something to drink. A soft breeze sent shivers across my body so I put my T-shirt on. I pulled my cigarettes out of my shoe and lit one.

    I can’t believe the beach is so crowded on a Wednesday. I said.

    I know, and this time of the year too. It’s making me kinda paranoid. You think there’s cops around?

    I laughed. No man, I think we’re safe. I watched the smoke from my cigarette curl in silence. Neither of us had anything to say to each other. I finished my cigarette fast and laid back on my towel. I shut my eyes and let the sun warm my body as I listened to the soft beach sounds. After a few minutes my mind started creating images to go along with the sounds. I saw an imaginary beach scene come together bit by bit. First some birds to go along with the seagull’s bickering, then some kids playing underneath them, and finally the beach and the waves. It seemed just as real as the beach I’d seen with my eyes open. I inspected all the details of my imagined scene and found nothing missing. I actually started to wonder if I had my eyes open or closed. I had to concentrate to open them, and when I did, I was staring up at the blue sky. I lifted my head and looked at the real beach and saw that it looked completely different than the one I’d imagined. I shut my eyes again and put my head back down on the towel. I was trying to recreate my beach when Steve walked up. Hey you freaks, what’re you doing? He asked, sitting down on his towel next to me. He had a large blue cup.

    Nothing. Colin said. Just trippin’ on the waves.

    You want a sip of Slurpee? He held the cup out and I took it and sipped.

    Thanks. I said. What flavor is that?

    It’s all of them combined. He took the cup back. I think the guy behind the counter at the Seven Eleven was fucking with me. He started asking me all these random questions and we got into a long conversation. He must’ve known I was tripping.

    Colin and I laughed. What were you guys talking about? I asked.

    Communists. The guy was ranting man, talking about Vietnam and China and Russia. I swear it’s like they found a homeless guy and stuck him behind the counter… Either I’m really high or that dude had mental problems.

    Or both. Colin said.

    Yeah, probably both. Steve said. He took a sip of his drink.

    We should go talk to this guy. I said. Is it far?

    Nah, it’s right up the street. Let’s go, the guy’s a trip.

    The Seven Eleven looked scary. As we walked across the parking lot I had the distinct feeling we were approaching a fortress. The building was hunkered down on a massive slab of cement, and large metal boxes that could’ve been gun turrets were looking down at us from the roof. The door had an electric sensor that made three loud pings as we entered. There was a man at the checkout counter buying lottery tickets and a heavy woman waiting behind him with chips and a soda. Another man and a little girl were standing in front of the hotdog condiment counter. Everyone in the store looked at us, which sent a wave of fear through me. Colin made a b-line to the video game machine, Steve went to the cooler, and I walked up the candy aisle, pretending I was looking for something. Every movement I made was precisely calculated to appear normal.

    It was very bright in that Seven Eleven. I could see all the individual hairs on my arm standing at attention. They were sticking straight up and they began to shake. I ignored it and moved down the aisle as if I couldn’t find the candy I wanted. I glanced down at my arm hair again. Every single hair was swaying like a hula girl. I tried hard not to laugh. Colin’s video game machine blared loud music and sound effects.

    I noticed the little girl staring at me from the end of the aisle. I meant to smile at her, but it was more like a grin. She looked alarmed. Her father took her hand and sent a bolt of hatred towards me with his eyes. He pulled her to the counter where he bought two hotdogs with lots of toppings. I heard pings as the other man and woman left the store. I finally got a look at the guy Steve was talking about behind the counter. He was skinny with long black hair and a goatee. He had deep lines in his face and dark circles under his eyes. He handed the man his change with a blank expression. There was a loud explosion from the video game machine. Shit! Colin yelled. The guy with the hotdogs took his daughter by the hand and left the store in a hurry.

    So, you’re back huh? The guy said to Steve who was looking intently at the label of a protein drink.

    Um. Yeah. He said, putting it back in the cooler. My friend wanted to hear about… uh. Russia.

    Oh yeah? Which one?

    Him. Steve said, pointing at me over the chips. I froze.

    Well, come over here son, I’m not gonna stab you.

    I walked up to the counter, thinking he probably was going to stab me, otherwise why would he have mentioned it?

    What’s your name? He asked.

    Nick.

    Are you afraid of the boogeyman?

    Um… No.

    Well you SHOULD BE goddamn it! I flinched and Steve laughed. The guy continued. Trillions of dollars are depending on you being scared shitless of the communist boogeyman. Nobody gets rich if you aren’t scared son. Didn’t your momma ever tell you to eat your vegetables or the boogeyman’d getcha?

    I tried to process what he was saying. Wow, um. I don’t think…

    HEY! He said suddenly, snapping his fingers twice in front of my face. Stay with me here. The trillions of dollars we shovel into the gaping maw o’ the military industrial complex and all the secret programs and spy satellites and shit -that’s the nasty brussel sprouts you have to eat. Why? Because you’re afraid of the boogeyman. Never mind that he ain’t real. Hell, if it wasn’t commies they’d have to invent something else for people to be scared of. If the people ain’t scared, the whole backbone of the economy falls to shit and nobody gets rich. Don’t be one of the stupid people Nick. The whole show is crooked from top to bottom, ya understand?

    …Yeah, got it. I said. There were a couple more pings as a girl with high hair and her boyfriend came in. Thanks. I added, backing away from the counter. Steve shook the guy’s hand

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