I stared down at the light green carpet, the funeral usher pushed back his thick glasses back to his face as he welcomed me and walked me back to a table in another room. All the lights were dim, the bar was empty, and I slowly walked behind the usher.
I was greeted by the stares of angry stiffs sitting at their according tables. Fancy tablecloth; the works.
The dim lights made their chandeliers, in which they illuminated, shimmered, and sparkled, ominously. The dim lighting was perfect for this dreary place.
Each stiff looked across each other, at their tables, with no emotion but with a deep regret that was seared into their eyeballs. These people had accepted their individual lot in life but they didn't have to be happy about it.
This place sucked the life energy out of you and recycled it back into waiters and waitresses that smile forcefully because they know that the funeral ushers are over their shoulders; watching without mercy in their hearts.
They slop crappy rich people food in front of you; just on glass dishes and cloth wrapped cutlery. The stiffs sit and argue with the waitresses about how many ways can their slop be served to them. They've been dead longer than they've known how to consume their portion in life.
The food is plastic, the funeral ushers are in the back wrapping bodies together in sheets of tin foil before they bake them at 450 degrees for ripe consumption.
I had to get out.
I couldn't stand it.
The stiffs faded in between the walls; silently watching and judging with stone hearts.
The smell of grease and dirty tablecloth hung in the air like cigar smoke.
The funeral usher fiddles with his thumbs and a glass of bourbon before waving goodbye. His words were like scribbly post it notes on a fridge.
When I walked back into the evening light outside, it blinded me, the tomb of the funeral home glowed in the sunlight because of how darkly painted it was.
Part Two:
Driving out on the outskirts of Marion, I was so tired that I almost fell asleep in the back seat, my eyes flickered between the cookie cutter homes.
This was it.
Robins, Iowa.
This was another meaningless town. Rich kid territory.
Here, the streets are paved with the brains of drunkard housewives.
Each person here lives invisibly, neighbors don't exist, and if they do; they're driving minivans and diesel pickup trucks. Swaddles of screaming infants are put on leather leashes and led up and down the streets.
They used to shoot off fireworks in the little town park, I remember walking through crowds of people, while crappy cover bands blasted away with songs that you were pained to remember; fireworks over the stage. Dogs on leather leashes. That changed. You only see the fireworks in the distance now.
I got back into the basement.
I'm only staying here for a short amount of time but even then; it becomes insufferable.
The windows are boarded up with cardboard and the walls are a sickly white.
It's cold.
I can't stand it.
It reeks of lifelessness.
I waited until the night; waiting as the daylight trickled beneath the cracks of the space that the cardboard left.
I walked out the back, the only lights being from the streetlights and cars slowly moving up the street every five minutes.
I walked onto the main stretch of town. The only thing on it are a bar and gas station.
I walked down the path of street lights before deciding to turn right.
While I passed a street corner, I noticed that there was a crowd of children huddled in a backyard; watching a movie that was being projected onto the back of the house. They even had a popcorn machine.
I stopped and thought about blending in with the crowd of faceless children but I didn't.
Cars would pass along the street corner; sending their spotlight all across the crowd. They were still faceless. All nameless and would turn back into shadowy figures as soon as the light was gone.
I continued down the way, I walked down the street after street of cookie cutter nothingness; I wondered if people actually lived in those things.
It was taking more and more of the farmland.
I used to be able to walk out on the driveway and still see corn but it's only roofs now.
Development and development being built to slowly poison and kill off the land. I could see the flood waters of yesteryear coming and washing it all away in a murderous silence.
I blinked and finally found myself surrounded by trees. I was on a small road covered on both sides by big hills overgrown with weeds.
The hills were starting to slow and I saw a car slowly pulled next to me. ''Great'', I thought. I was going to either get arrested or kidnapped and being forced to be a drug mule for a preppy college kid party.
The car window slowly came down and revealed the frightened face of a young couple. They were lost and needed directions so I pointed to the best direction and I was off in the dark again.
The hills came down and I saw the silhouettes of houses again. I looked on my left and saw the inside of a large house.
The basement lights were on and revealed a huge basement furnished with carpet and expensive furniture. I saw that it was filled with dudes with solo cups in their hands; they were all around this table that had someone laying on top of it. I couldn't figure it out though I was 20 or 30 feet away. I could of swore they all saw me and they proceeded to close the blinds.
Anything could happen.
I saw that there was a little city park up ahead.
The road went on forever; only leading to more hills and rich crazies with a lust for kidnapping so I huddled into the park.
It was surrounded on all sides by cookie cutters.
Everything was so clean and manicured; it all felt so plastic.
I saw two yuppie kids coming out of the darkness on scooters, I hid in the playground, and watched them trade each other Yu Gi Oh cards.
This places was driving me insane.
I saw the sky was lit brightly with the moon, so brightly, that I could see the passing clouds moving in the night.
It was only a matter of time until this place would consume me.
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