|| -------- -- -----  A E R I E   O B L I V I A N A . singular book of text wandertainment by Frank Edward Nora ------------------- ----------- IRREGULAR SHIRT--CUP 10--"SPEED LIMIT 85 MPH" <-------  ||  Severe Repair  ||  Irregular Shirt  ||  -------> (Cup SRis010, Created v2 (6/7/99), Copyright 1999) = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = So Doug got into the hole and crouched down, rubbing against Sally as he did, since she remained in the hole also. He looked at her as he was descending, and they stared at each other at close proximity for several seconds before Sally smiled and turned away. Then Doug looked down into the space, and saw that a tunnel extended into the distance, away from the opening into the library, but was completely dark. "You want me to go in there?" he asked. "Believe me, it's worth it." "Okay." Doug began to crawl on all fours into the darkness on the cold cement floor. "Nothing will be the same after this." Doug thought, for some reason, as he slid into a seeming oblivion. From behind him he heard Sally sliding the board back into place, as he also saw what little light there was disappear. "How'd you get the rug back in place?" Doug asked. "Well, I pulled the rug back into place first, and then just slid the board back into position." "Uh-huh. Hey, where I am going, anyway." "You'll see." "You know, if you wanted to kill me, this would be a great way to do it." "That's a nice thing to say." "Sorry." So Doug continued on, and heard Sally following behind him. In this space, he was able to crawl rather comfortably, but the top of the space did rub against his back as he did so. "Hey, are my books still out there?" Doug asked. "Oh yeah, they are." "Well what if someone looks inside? My name is in those books--they'd know I was in here!" "Oh don't be so paranoid. They'd see there was nobody in the room and figure you just hid them there for some reason." "Uh-huh... I guess so." "You know so." The crawlspace continued for a good distance, in total darkness. "How do I know when I've gotten to where we're going? I can't see a damn thing." Doug said. "You'll know. It's just a little ways further." Very soon the crawlspace began to angle downwards. "Hey, it's going down!" Doug said. "Yeah, okay, uh, the tunnel ends soon, and there a hatch in the ceiling." "Well I'm not there yet. Say, where exactly are we, anyway? We must be somewhere around the third floor of the building." "Yeah, I guess so. You know all these buildings are really just the one Big Building, so it makes sense that there would be spaces in-between the 'buildings' themselves--that's what this must be." "Well I know what you mean. The buildings are arranged so as to make it seem as if they're separate, I mean, with all the courtyards and such. But weren't they all built at different times? I mean--oh, I'm at the end." Doug's head had gently bumped against a wall at the end of the tunnel. "Okay, well, just open the hatch now, huh?" Sally said. "Ohhhhhkay." Doug felt above him, and it seemed to be wood, but he could feel no handle. "I can't feel a handle or anything." "Just push." So Doug pushed, and then pushed a little harder, and then the hatch gave way, revealing another room. Doug climbed out of the hole in the floor and marveled at what he saw. It was a medium-sized room with no other apparent means of entry other than the hatch. On of the walls was an amber-tinted window--looking down into the huge main lobby of the College Commons. The entire room was pervaded by a dark yellow cast, making its contents seem all the more bizarre. Looking around Doug saw a whole bunch of stuff. But it was the window that concerned him most. "What the--can't they see us up here?" he asked. "That's what I thought." Sally said. "But I went down there afterward--and y'know?--there's no window to be seen. Just gray stone." "How's that possible?" Doug asked, walking over to the window. "I don't know." Sally said. "Huh." "But check it out! Look at all this stuff! It must have been here for ages!" "Yeah." Doug said, taking a better look at all the stuff in the room. It was a collection of all sorts of stuff--shelves stuffed with vases, stuffed animals, cash registers, rocks, decks of cards, fake plants, and the like. There were also a few tables covered with similar junk. But when Doug's eyes reached one of the corners, he felt a sudden shock. He was looking at a speed limit sign, reading "SPEED LIMIT 85 MPH". Hanging from it was a purple, cyan, tan, and red striped shirt. "What is that?" Doug asked in a dark tone. "What?" Sally responded, but Doug was already across the room, grabbing the shirt and burying his face in it, smelling it. Finally, he looked up. "Can't you see? Benny was right! I DO have a future!" -------> ------------------- ----------- -------- -- -----