~~Epilogue – my life and lost shoes, Ode to Sleep, Girl at the Rock Show

My Life and Lost Shoes

I rub my hands together as I push open the bathroom door, man I got to pee! I shuffle to the wall on the right, the bathroom is about ten by eighteen with three urinals on the wall, with about one stall next to the three urinals and one big handicap stall against the wall.
I made it to the middle urinals and unzip my pants, fuck man that was close. Me and the Big Guy had to outran these two goons one with red spike hair and one with blue spike hair, they both worn black jogging suits. Freaky, I let the pee flow, thank god!
Too think man this day all started with a dumb little pair of shoes, I look up at the celling. Not much just some yellow residue, dead bugs and some gum. Why do people do that, they toss there gum up on the celling floor, why it’s just fucking stupid.
I look to my right, then I look to my left and back down. My heart rate increase. On my right is a man with red spike hair in jogging suit. Then on my left is a man with blue spike hair wearing a jogging suit, they men that wanted to beat me to a yellow stain on the bathroom floor, they are pissing right beside me.
FUCK! MY! LIFE!
I lifted my head and look at both of the spike hairs again, they look at me. I look down and then look up again, they look at me.
“Ok so I think we may have gotten off on the wrong foot.” I said. They zip up there pants and move in closer. “Come on guys, I just wanted to know about the shoes.” Red smile and put his hand on my shoulder. “Are you sure you want to do this?” I ask. Blue crake his knuckles. “Ok, when were done me and one of you are going to have a long talk. Kay?” Red tighten his grip and jump back.
I flew back with my feet sliding, I zip up my pants, my back bash against the wall. Red and Blue came at me both of them slamming there fist together, I did the same.
“BURST BOX!” I scream. I slam my fist together and scream.
As they came my fist glow, a bright light wash over my body. Little nets form around my whole body. The network form an armor around me, my fist open and the net quickly made my weapon of choice, long slender katana sword. My Bust Box is open bitches!
They spike hairs did the same, Red had boxing gloves, red I add. The other also had boxing gloves, blue as well.
They came at me but I held up my sword, “whoa! Hold up Rocky one and two, what’s with the gloves!” I ask. They both look at each other.
“What were brothers. “ Red said.
“What it’s to you?” Blue said.
“Just asking dude.” I said. They came at me, I jump to the left and slash downward and took off Red’s arm, and he fell to the side and curse.
Blue scream, “ AHHHHHHHHHHHH!”  He caught me on the chin, I bounce back against the wall. White plaster falling from the wall, He ran at me and started to pummel me, his first striking my chest. Small bits of light blue data chip away off my chest, the nets breaking down!
 I kick him in the balls, he fell back, “you kick me in the dick!” Red scream.
“Yean I did, bitch!”
“Fuck you Slim!” Red scream.
 His fist came at me, I swing my sword in a sideway motion and cut him across the arms and chest, his nets drop down like little blue feathers of dust.
BAM!
 My world went sideways as a Blue fist stuck my cheek, Blue now came at me on my right, Red on my left. I duck to the right, Blue first struck the wall urinals, “AHHHHHH! SHIT!” Blue yelled. He fell back and I swing upward and cut him down the middle. His nets breaks apart all over his body. Small crakes appear all over and in a bust of light blue he fell, his arm back. He slump against the wall, knock out you might say.
Red eyes went well red and he came at me, I toss my sword in the air and lean back doge his red fist of fury. Rocky one scream and swing, I lean back in and raise my fist, swing at his big already cut up jaw. My arm arch back and I took a wide swing, connecting with his jaw, he faltered back, and I swing again. My fist struck his cheek, he slid back some and I tore off my sword from the ceiling.
“You need to learn how to fight without your weapon, a punk like you only knows how to throw your burst around.” I held my sword out against his neck, “ya need to learn how to walk before you can run dude. So come at me, kid.” He did.
“Fuck you! SLIM!!!” Red scream. He swing like a mad dog, not even aiming anymore just throwing around his fists, like a child. I move left and smack him on the chin with my sword, he was stun for a moment and with that I cut his head off.
In an instant his head fell and his body burst into a bright light, he fell to the floor bleeding. His head still attach to his neck, when your burst net is torn or damage you leave burst mode and cannot use your weapon for some time.
He look up at me, he smile with blood running down his face.
“DE-BURST!” I scream. The sword and netting disappear with a flash, I stated to sweat. My body felt weak, you use your burst box to much you could die, and I’ve been using mine all dam day. “So Red, there something I want to ask you?” I said. Red look up and spit in my face, I punch him and he fell on his back.” Ok let’s try you friend.” I said.
Blue still lay on the ground, vomit cover his sweat shirt, and I kick him and him and he roll over. He look at me with a look of wonder or terror, I can’t really say, “So were going to have a little chat. Ok?” I said.
“S-sure.” Blue Said.
“Are you going to lie?” I ask.
“n-no.” he said.
I pull my phone out of my pocket, the photo of a girl with ember hair with black highlights. She sat smiling at the camera with a dog in her lap. The dog is small, could fit in hand a little brown mess of a thing with two much fur and a small tongue and tail. It’s barking at who ever took the picture. They sat in a rolling chair you could see her shoes, black and red shoes, and “have you seen this girl?”
“y-yean I have.” Said Blue. “She use to play at the house.” a small music and dance club. The house is right next to the bash hall, so that’s why I found the shoes by the sign. I grab him and pin him against the wall. “Where is this girl? Who is she?” I ask.
“I d-don’t know?” Blue said.
I raise my fist and he scream, right than the door swing open and an old man walk at us and gasp. He look at me, he look at Blue and then to Red who still lay on the ground now whispering cursing to himself.
“Out of order?” he ask.
Me and Blue look at each other, “yean……. Could you come back later?” I ask.
“Sure…. Dam bashers.” He mutters as he left. The door swing behind him as he ran out, now back to the business at hand.
Blue now crying cover his face and weep, I let him fall to the ground. He didn’t know anything else. I put my phone away, I kick him in the shin and walked to the sink.
I turn on the cold water and splash water in my face, my face sting. I can’t believe this all happen in less than one night. I grab some towels and wipe my hands, the two spike heads still lay on the ground. I threw the paper in the trash and walk to the door. Your wondering what the hell is going on, right? Burst boxes, Bashers and something about a girl with ember hair who lost her shoes. Well let me fill you in, it could take a few to catch you up but trust me, this story will blow your mind.
I guess you could say this all stared about two hundred years ago, well more like one hundred and seventy one years, on that day a few things happen, my great grandpa met my great grandmother. A video was release on YouTube that is still the most view video in the world, oh and no one sleep, ever the world no longer need’s sleep.
This is the story of a world without sleep, a world of powers and evils, my name is Slim and this is my story. A story of a dream and a girl with lost shoes.

ODE TO SLEEP
At the start of the new year, of the year 2017. New Year’s morning a video was release. The video last about five minutes but it change the world.
It started with the 80’s song The Final Countdown playing, the video started out of focus. After a few seconds the video came into focus of a white background. Off screen a man ask “are we good?” the voice belongs to the assistant of the man who walk into the frame, Doctor Hans Napped.
Dr.Nap as he has been could walk in to the frame, he’s about five eight, blue hair with a really bad case of bed head. He worn no glasses but he had some on top of his head.
Dr.Nap worn a standard lab coat, a white shirt and jeans. It was later said that he worn no shoes in the video, weird….
He just stand there for almost twenty seconds grinning at the camera then he spoke. “Hello everyone! My name is Doctor Hans Napped! Nice to meet you all.” He holds out his hands towards the camera. He shakes it like he is shaking hands with the world. “I am here to tell you all one thing, I can’t sleep. Yean I could never sleep. Not one day in my whole life have I slept a wink? It’s made me a freak wherever I go. Look over there! They scream the freak who can’t sleep! In school all the kids said mean things and dud jokes about dream and sleep. “He stop talking now and stuff his hands in his pockets, he turn in a circle and says something off screen.
It is now know that he said how happy he is that he finally did it, at this point a minute five has pass, Dr. Nap stop moving and pulls his hands out of his pockets, in one of his hands is a hand gun.
“I hated them All of them so much they, bully me my whole life. I was bully and pick on! Call names and other stuff. So I decided to even the odds. What I am about to tell you none of you will want to believe, but it is true. I am about to become a nightmare man, a man who will become myth or legend. I will be known as the monster in your world. A dream killer you might say.” He jumps up and down and swing the gun around him, he toss it from hand to hand. “Enough of this, I am just come out and tell you the cold hard truth…..”
He lean in close in the frame, all you can now see is his face. His teeth are white and his eyes are light yellow. Some say it because he never slept but no one is for sure. For all we have research about the good doctor we know very little about him, after the video was release all records about him were wipe clean.
Still leaning into the frame he smile and scream at the tops of his lunges, if you slow the video down you can see his morals, they too are pure white. “YOU CAN NO LONGER SLEEP!! NONE OF YOU CAN! YOU THINK I AM PLAYING A FUCKING GAME!” he stop now and falls to the floor. The camera moves in on him.
We are now at ground level, we can still not see his feet. The video now is just pass the two minute mark, the good doctor look at the frame and takes at deep breath. “I am not lying world, I have put something in the air. I have also sent you an email further explaining the brave new hell I have all place you in. but yes you can no longer sleep. It won’t cause you any brain mess up’s or anything. I really don’t care if you believe me or not but…. I am running out of time.” He stands up again and takes another deep breath, “so in this brave new world we live in I have made a way to even the odds.” He holds up his hand, he makes a fist and turns it towards the lens. On his wrist is a small black box. Almost like it was drew on. “This, people of the world is a Bash box. A Bash box will let all of you summon a weapon of your own making. You can than attack each other in what I call bash battles. They all safe and will not hurt…. Too much.” He stop talking now and look off to another direction. “Oh were almost out of time, ok I wrap it up.” The doc says. Time is now at the three minute mark.
With no two minutes left he raise the gun and puts it against the side of his head, he cocks the gun and smiles to the world. With only a minute and 30 seconds left he says one more thing. “Why did I do this…? Made the world unable to escape to your dreams. Gave all you the power of warriors. I did it because I fucking wanted too.” He laughs and the assistant say something again, it was later found out that he said goodbye my good friend. The good doctor nods to him and speaks one last time with a minute left.
“I just wanted all of you to live in my world. To see what it’s like to be me, I was me for only twenty three horrible years…. You, the world will have to be me for the rest of your lives.” He pause and pull down his glasses, they slip some and he adjusts them. He grins one last time, “welcome to my world bitch.” He pull the trigger and the screen goes dark. That’s the way the old world ended, one man, and a mad man made a world where people could no longer sleep.

No one believe it at first, than no one slept. What have we become, it was the number one thing posted oh twitter for the next five months, what have we become?
What have we become…..? Some say we were now gods, gone were the chains of sleep we now could do anything! Some said we were now dead, the dream is over many said. Some people could not take it and they went to sleep for good, they took the same way out the good doctor took. Then came the Bash boxes.
It was a simple device, they just appear one morning. If you slam your hands together you could summon your weapon. It could be chosen or you’re personally or DNA would make one for you, most chose.
When you activated your Bash box you could fight someone, but only if they two had there Bash Box active. When you activated it your body was scan with a Bash net, a digital net that would serve as a shield for your real body. If you took too much damage, they net would break and you would leave Bash mode.
This Bash mode anyone could do, after your turn five years of age the box appear on your hand. What have we become, Bash boxes became the new warfare, no more dying just battles with fake bodies and only scrapes and broken limbs to show for wars, great right?
But some use the Bash boxes to commit crimes, crime went up all over the world. Urban wars started and soon things went from bad to shit storm. What have we become?
So the world government made the Bash wars, each region would hold a Bash War, think of them as wrestling meets fights to the death. Team fights, one on one it brought order to the chaos. What have we become?
Now people no longer sleep, no one has slept in almost two hundred years. We don’t need it anymore. No one knows how the good doctor did it, he said he put something in the air, but no one could find out anything about it.
The world has change, the rich now have personal armies of bashes and the slums are rule over by bash lords. This is the world we live in now, a world of no sleep.
So now where do I come in? Soon very soon, I just have to tell you one more thing. Before we get to me, kay.
With the world now sleep free, people gave up easy. Some just stop living. We call it the living sleep. Someone who does nothing, they only eat enough to live and that’s it. They just lay in a bed trying to sleep. I am from a family like that, I had no parents. My dad ran off and my mom just lived to try to sleep.
No one had had a dream in over a hundred years, what have we become? We have become the living sleep. All of us just waiting to die, we fight, bleed and fight more. This is my world. No one sleeps. No one dreams……. But last night after I lost the most important bash war of my life, I Slim dreamed.

The Girl at the Rock Show

The snow crush under my feet as I walk up my street, me and the Big Guy jog down the lane kicking up frost as we ran. We had just come back from the Bash Wars, we lost. We lost so bad that we may never fight again. A light snow fell on the sleepless down of Hallow Falls, Big Guy ran up the way some and stop in front of my house.
“Hellooooooooooooooooooooo! Miss. Slim catch any winks?” Big Guy yelled. The inside of my house stood in darkness. My home is a small run down white trailer. It has three room and one bathroom. The common room reads to my mother’s room, but she just lays on the couch all day, trying to sleep. “Nope. No one hope dude. “I ran up to him.
“You know mom, just lives to sleep…”
“And sleeps to live.” Big guy finished. He look me and the eye and pull up his hood on his big ass jacket. “I’m sorry about what happen tonight, dude it just went furbar really fast, you know.” He said.
I punch him in the gut, “don’t worry will beat those asshats another day. Anyway goanna go catch some few hours alone, collect my bearing and stuff. Kay.” I said.
“Yean. Got to go see to some things too. Oh yean did you hear anything from Lucy.” Big Guy ask. Lucky the red headed wonder of the slums of Hollowed Falls.
She always on the move and carry’s the world’s biggest hammer, don’t fuck with her, if you know what I mean. About two months ago she had come to one of our wars, she had stood on the stands closest to us cheering us on, after we won the match she had toss down a tennis ball to me, wrap around it was a piece of paper with an address on it, it said midnight, come anytime. I had not gone bye once, even know I live less than a mile from there.
“Not a word, all I got was that note.” I rub my hands together, god dam it cold. “I might go see her later. Well see ya, man.”
“Yean. See ya.” Said the Big Guy. We fist bump and he walk off. He stop and raise his fist in the air, “see ya space cowboy!” he yelled.
“Carry that weight!” I scream back raising my fist. He ran off, I shamble up my front walk, a small stone path that I had lay down about two year ago, the front was lock so I, look under welcome rug and found the key.
The house was just like I left it, clothes spill everywhere, food left out. And of course mom still laying on the couch, in her white bathrobe. I had left some food out when I left, I had been gone almost four hours and the sandwich I made her still sat on the table.
I knock over a pile old newspaper as I close the door, I look around. The night seem darker in here tonight. “Mom, I’m home. You ok?” I ask. She did not move. She had not spoken to me in almost two years. My mother Yukie Slim, is one of the living sleep. She just lays down on the couch with her eyes close trying to sleep. She only eats when she has too and she wears an adult size damper for the waste. I have no other family but her, It’s a miracle that I made it too the age I am, twenty two year old who just lost the only chance he had of getting out of the slums.
No one really knows what the living sleep is, some say it’s a form of depression. But my mom was born way after the world could no longer sleep, other say a brain problem is to blame. I don’t know, my mother, when I was young would always say that it’s not right. People need sleep. When she had me she had no idea who my dad was, she sell drugs out of this very house, how she got them well, she sold what she had to live, food, cloths, herself and eventually me. Like I said a miracle that I am alive today. I pat my mother on the head and go to my room.
I know I should eat but after what happen I’m not hungry. I look around, some old movie poster on the walls. A TV, a stack of old DVD’s of movies and cartoons, anime and TV shows. No one makes that stuff anymore.
I look down at the most important thing I own, my bed. I know weird right? Who needs a bed when people don’t sleep, but it’s how I relax, its how I think. I lay down with my white jacket still on. I close my eyes, maybe soon I’ll go out again and see her, and Lucy will be at the park in about half an hour. Yean I go see her. She cute, weird and little crazy but cute.
Man I haven’t talk to her in over eight years, the last time I talk to her was at that rock show, I picture it in my head, me and over a thousand screaming fans, freezing are asses off all waiting to see them perform.
I stood in the middle of the crowd, thirty feet from the stage, we all stood in that park. To my right, Lucy see sat on top of the swing, they took the stage. I turn my head then, I saw her Lucy standing up about to fall yelling her lungs out, I turn to see her, but now standing there was no swing. But another girl holding a sword.
“LADIES AND GENTMEN!! I GIVE YOU THE ONE AND ONLY… DIO!!!!!!!” The announcer scream. I look back and fuck me, its Dio.
But they died, a long time before I was even thought about, what the hell? That night we saw Bash Powers, not Dio. Wait? What going on? I look around no one was there but me and the stage. I turn again to find the girl, she stood where the swing set should be, and she wore a black t-shirt and a pink skirt. She had on red and white shoes, her hair is black with red highlights, she held out the biggest dam sword I’ve have ever seen, she look at me.
“Run. Slim and when you wake, come and help Me.” she said.  She raise the sword and angel her apart her feet. What she doing, there no one around to attack her.
Dio started to play, they played out the first few beats of Holy Diver, right than a roar screech out. I look up to see what made that sound, a dragon. A big fucking orange dragon. It landed right in front of the stage.
It was over twenty feet long, as big as a jumbo jet, it had scales going up and down its body. A long tail stuck out and around back to its head. Oh and what head it had. A long snort filled with dozens of sharp teeth.
The beast roar at the girl with the sword, she look up at the beast and ran at it, “no! Don’t you be killed?”  I scream. Dio played on and I scream and scream, than I shot up out of my bed. Stars shine in from in my window.
What the fuck? Did I just have a dream, I slowly climbed out of bed, my bones feeling heavy and tired. I had a dream, who was that girl. She was at a rock show, but I met Lucy at that show not her. What’s in the hell is going on.
I had to well what, help her? She was what going to find a dragon? That does not make any sense. I feel like I seen her someplace else, but where. I walk to the bathroom and took a nice long piss, I wash my hands and my face, I stuff them I my jacket pockets. I felt something in one of them.
I pull out a piece of paper, oh shit. I found this thing on my way out of the Bash hall. I UN crumpled the paper and nearly fell down.
Its’ her, the girl from the rock show, she stood against a back drop holding a pair of shoes. The paper I had kept it because it was just so weird.  Why would someone leave a lost flyer for a pair of shoes? They paper had no name or address. It just said please find my shoes and leave them where you found this paper, please and thank you. Her picture was right under the please and thank you, it was her. She smile at the person taking the picture.
I had took it because it seem funny, is this for real? Does she really need help? What the fuck? How did I have a dream? I don’t know what the fuck going on but I need to think this over.
I stuck the paper back in my jacket pocket, I ran out of my room. The living room still stood as it were. I don’t know what time it is but time does not really matter anymore, what had she said, when I wake come and help me?
I don’t know what to do, maybe Big Guy will. “Mom! I’m going out again. If you need me call my cell ok.” I said. She said nothing back.
I went to the door and open it to a cold winter night, I shut it behind me and lock it. Throwing the key under the mat, I ran off to the Big Guy home at a quick pace, I don’t know what going on with me, but I feel like I have to find out. My quickened my pace as I ran towards the longest day of my life.