Vertigo

[Sephiroth]

Christmas day. All the festivities are over. We've exchanged gifts, ate ourselves bloated and decked the halls. It was getting dark and was about bedtime. I laid in the bed for maybe an hour, but I couldn't seem to fall asleep. A cold draft from somewhere was keeping me awake. I stumbled out of bed and went outside. I wandered around the outside of the house for a while, marvelling at the additions my father has made to it. Never again will I claim that he cannot do something he has set his mind to do. Nearing the back door I noticed it was open. That must be the source of the draft. I went inside the door and as I got just inside I saw two grey dachshunds (weener dogs) run down the foyer and into the gameroom. Now we have never owned a dachshund and I've never seen one, much less two roaming the neighborhood, but they sure as hell can't stay. Dad would throw a fit. So I went into the game room to try to corral the two out from under the pool table, back towards the foyer and the open back door. Finally successful I was about to close the door when something white caught my eye inside the foyer. I turned and was astonished to find a rather stout white ram standing before me. I opened the door wide and stepped aside to, hopefully, allow him to exit, without deciding to trample me in the process, all the while trying to keep an eye thru the door to make sure the two dachshunds don't decide to come back in. With a shake of his thick neck and a slow trot the ram moved thru the door and just as I was about to shut it, a white bengal tiger walked up. I quickly slammed the door so as not to become dinner. So hard, in fact, that the door came off it's hinges. I aligned the door over the openning as best I could and leaned a chair up against it. I had noticed while I was in the game room that all the windows were open and the screens were missing. I rushed back into the gameroom and slammed both windows shut quickly. A moment later my father comes into the gameroom. "What the hell is all the noise?" he asked. "I couldn't sleep because someone left the backdoor open and the windows..." I began to explain. "Well I can't sleep either with all this slamming going on." my dad said. While he did seem irritated, he wasn't terribly upset... "Eh, I couldn't sleep anyway. Wanna' play some music?" he asked. The crisis I had just averted which I desperately wanted to get my father's take on quickly faded from my mind at the mention of playing music. "Hell yea, I'll make a couple drinks." was my reply. While my father retrieved his guitar I made a couple bloody mary's behind the bar. Yes, we had a pool table and bar. Why else would we refer to it as a 'gameroom?' As my dad began to play a slow easy melody, I heard someone backing him up on a piano. As I turned I was flabbergasted to see Joe Pesci playing along with my father under soft, smokey bar mood-lighting. Now I have no clue where, how or when a piano had been brought into the gameroom, much less how or when spotlights had been installed which were pointed at my father and Joe. Just as I had finished making the drinks, someone knocked on the front door. I went to answer to find Duncan standing there. "Hey man. I know we were supposed to go hang out tomorrow, but something's come up and we need you now." he said. He seemed very hurried, or excited about something and when I looked past him and saw a limo waiting in the driveway, I knew something was up. "What's going on?" I asked. "I'm not sure myself, but Mr. Chapman wants to meet us tonight." he explained. I quickly grabbed my coat and was out the door. Duncan explained during the short drive that Mr. Chapman was to meet us on the river and that we were to wait aboard his personal yaught. Daniel seemed very excited about the whole thing. When we arrived at the pier, we were greeted by a woman who told us she was "Mr. Chapman's Personal Assistant." She was dressed in formal business attire, her hair pulled up and wearing full makeup. She told us that she had already prepared a room for us on Mr. Chapman's yaught on the fourth level. Daniel rushed ahead of us all and ran full speed onto the yaught. Duncan and I were lead by Mr. Chapman's assistant (I can't recall her name) on-board. We climbed a few flights of stairs and were then on the top level of the yaught. There was a pool, helipad and benchess all around. As the boat lurched from the pier and began speeding up river, I watched the moon dance over the water wondering just what was really going on. I stared across the water for a long time before I noticed that Mr. Chapman's assistant (whom I will from now on refer to as Selene, because she bore a striking resemblance to Selene from Underworld, tho her hair was pulled back and didn't appear as wet www.sonypictures.com/movies/underworldevolution/site/media/downloads/wallpapers/full/uw_wallpapers ), Daniel and Duncan were all sitting down and seemed to be waiting for me to join them. I sat next to Duncan and Daniel who were sitting on a bench opposite Selene. When I sat down she said "Good. Since I'm sure you have many questions, I'll try to explain as best I can. Mr. Chapman has had a band pull out of his show tomorrow night and would like you to audition for the position." Not wanting to appear to excited, I simply said "Cool." and quickly turned my head to hide my glee. "Mr. Chapman will join us shortly. He is flying in from California as we speak. We have a studio set up down stairs with instruments for each of you, if that is alright?" she continued. Duncan looked at me and Daniel in turn with a questioning glance. After we had both nodded, he said "That sounds great." A sly smile crept across Selene's face as she said "Marvelous. How about a drink?" Selene began mixing drinks at the wet bar located next to her and as she handed me one and I stared for a moment into the liquid, it began to swirl and shimmer in my sight. The world around me pulsed and faded swiftly.

I woke up in me bed.