Darker Elements

Chapter 1

Everything has an expiration date.

The milk in the fridge, the person you like. The planet you live on. William closed the fridge door. The expired milk in the plastic jug reminded him of all these things and more.

“Waste of money,” he said and poured the rancid stuff down the sink, turning the water on to wash it down. It was three in the morning and the glow of the streetlights lit the place up well enough so there was no need to turn on the light. He tossed the jug into the trash without thinking and moved back to the fridge to see what else there was.

An old can of beer was there in the back and he wasn’t interested in water so he grabbed it. The thing still opened with a hiss. It was still good. The term good was relative – the smell was bad. He wasn’t even sure where this thing came from.

William walked the short distance back to the living room and sat down in his old chair. Sleep didn’t exist these days. Too many thoughts running through his mind. The television turned on with the click of the remote.

The news. Fires, mass shootings, plague, economic turmoil and riots filled the screen. William took a big drink and did his best not to gag. “For all the good we did,” he said and switched channels. Some cartoon from the late nineties was playing on a channel he never watched. It reminded him of a time when things made sense. Or they felt like they made sense, anyway.

A car drove by. The headlights illuminated the room for a second and he winced, wondering for a second about who’d be out there this time of night. He supposed it didn’t matter. Then the power went out.

“Damn it,” he said and took another drink in the dark. There was nothing he could do about it but wait. At least it wasn’t too hot in here but, with no air circulating, that was going to change. Worse was the quiet.

The silence washed over him like an oppressive wave, heavy, even. He could feel it and hated it, too. William took a deep breath, finished the beer and set the can on the cheap table beside him. He was awake and he couldn’t stay here. It was time to just go for a walk.

“You’re not going to leave me here, are you?” There was more than one reason to hate the quiet.

“Yeah, I’m leaving you here, you’re nothing but trouble,” he replied to the voice. “It’s been so many years,” it replied. “I’m stuck here in this box. I belong to you. Use me. Think of everything we could do together.”

William put a shirt on that was hanging off the back of a chair and slipped on a pair of old shoes. The shorts he had on would have to do.

“Like I said. You’re nothing but trouble. Shut up,” he replied, walked to the front door and left the apartment before it could reply.