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“Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say…”

“Who said that?” Mark blurts, jumping out of unconsciousness.

Rustling sounds around him as Mark strikes his face on a small and thin yellow tree in front of him. His head, already bloodied from landing somewhat of a distance on the ground. There little space from one trees to the next.

A Scientist is thrown into the middle of nowhere. Thin golden trees everywhere, but no leaves. No branches. No barks. An endless sea surrounds Mark. He rubs his forehead, dazed due to his fall.

“Where am I,” Mark shouts, looking around. “Help! Help!”

“Did you not hear me, sonny?” A voice says from the distance. “I said, “Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space…”

“What does that even m-mean?” Mark stutters, rubbing his head.

Mark swiftly looks around, placing his hands out. The golden trees creates difficulty in Mark’s eyesight.

“Whoever that is, I can’t see you,” He shouts, keeping his hands out. “I-I-I’m stuck in like a….desert or something?”

“Sonny, this aint no desert,” The man in the distance laughs, coming closer. “What desert do you know has no sand?”

The muscles in Mark’s face tenses. A familiar voice.

“Uncle Carmine?” Mark coos, looking behind him.

A 75-year-old Caucasian man approaches Mark, moving the tan sticks out of his way. Uncle Carmine to his family. Never married, no children, but was a great man to his Kentucky neighborhood. Frail and hunchbacked, but a top Navy Vet from his day. Memory loss had began to overcome S.G. Carmine, who’s foggy brain triggered the man to relay quotes, some to which had no message. Uncle Carmine is cared for by his nephew, Mark, wife Catherine, who went by her middle name ‘Kelly’, and their three children.

“Uncle Carmine! Oh my God, where have you been?” Mark asks, approaching his uncle and brushing the dirt from his shirt. “We contacted the police earlier because you wandered out of the home?”

“I didn’t leave…” Uncle Carmine said, dazed himself as he looks around.

“You had to have if you wound up here,” Mark says, holding his Grandfathers shoulders. “Hell, where did I wander off to?”

Suddenly, the bright white skies grow dark at a dangerously fast rate.

“Mark, the grounds about to shake,” Uncle Carmine panicked, grabbing onto one of the tan trees. “Grab onto a tree to avoid flying?“

“What the-“

“Hurry! It’s getting closer!”

Mark quickly hugs a tree as tight as he can. All of the tan trees around them vibrate. The floor shakes uncontrollably, rocking both Uncle Carmine and Mark up and down where they hang. Both men yell in horror as the shaking increases, vibrations followed by a large squeal.

Then, all noise and vibration slowly comes to a stop.

Mark, still hanging onto his tree, is slow to leave but does as he steps down and onto the ground. His nerves rattle the way that he walks as he approaches Uncle Carmine, who appears calm.

“What the hell was that,” Mark pants in a weak and shaky voice. “And how did you know that was gonna happen?”

“It's happened three times today, sonny,” Uncle Carmine says, stepping down and looking around. “That’s why I said no one can hear screams in the void of space. No one heard my cries..”

“But where are we at?” Mark pushes, looking around.

“Afghanistan!”

Mark knows that his Uncle is out of age and of touch, reliving his war past with hints of dementia.

“Come on, Uncle,” Mark says, grabbing Uncle Carmine’s wrist. “We’ve gotta find our way put of these woods. Come on.”

. . .

For one hour, the men walked through the tan woods.

Uncle Carmine, frail, doesn’t walk for long without his medication. The old man sits on the ground, resting against one of the trees and wiping his sweaty forehead.

“Come on, Uncle,” Mark sighs, hands on his hips as he looks around. “We’ve gotta keep going.”

“Boy I tell ya', I’m not as strong as I used to be in my Vietnam Days…” Uncle Carmine pants, rubbing his forehead once more. “Y’know I used to run miles and miles with my partners. Whew! It just aint in these bones anymore…”

Staring mindlessly ahead of him, Mark spots something in the distance. A hot pink light, flashing, but no noise.

“Look Uncle,” Mark points, grabbing his Uncle’s arm. “Come on! I think I see a building!”

Both men jog in the opening, finally escaping the tanned trees. As Uncle Carmine stands behind, Mark sprints towards the lighting, bare feet splashing in a large blue puddle. He stops in his tracks, feet submerging in the unknown substance. To his left, a large yellow tunnel, blue liquid pouring from inside.

“What the…?“ Mark thinks.

“What’s all this?” Uncle Carmine asked, submerging his dirtied socks in the liquid. “Toxic waste?”

Mark looks inside of the large tunnel, looking at the design from the inside out. Disney princesses all over. Cinderella. Belle. Snow white. Princess Jasmine. Sleeping Beauty.

Mark, runs out of the tunnel and towards the hot pink flashing lights, knocking on one of the many doors in the front of the building.

“Hello? Anyone? My uncle and I are lost and we need help getting back home!”

Mark slowly stops knocking, realizing that it’s not a door after all. Large leather squares, surrounding the model. A design.

But it’s not a building.

Flashing pink lights surround another Disney Princess, Princess Jasmine, covered in leather cracks due to wear and tear. Large white ropes in front. A rope sinking below, soaking in the blue liquid that surround the mens’ feet.

“Did someone answer, sonny?” Uncle Carmine asked, stumbling in the liquid.

Mark gazes up at the Princess and blinking light, mouth agape.

Everything clicks.

“Annie, she was playing with the…” Mark says to himself, rushing Uncle Carmine. “Uncle! Listen to me! We-”

Rumbling.

The shaking returns.

The water submerging the men’s feet ripple with rumbling waves as the men struggle to stay on their feet.

Suddenly, a loud smack, followed by a bang.

A large wave of the blue liquid crashes against the men, sending the men flying into a nearby wall.

“Annie! Annie! Hand mommy the gun,” A woman’s voice cries, rumbling above.

As the men try to get up, more of the liquid splashes the men in their corner. Mark places his hand out, trying to brace himself from the constant waves.

“And you spilled your….damned Kool-Aid on the floor…” The giant woman groans in frustration. “Annie! Come here, Annie!”

Coughing blue liquid out of his mouth, Mark struggles to stand as the ground continues to rumble and roar.

“Uncle Carmine, are you okay?” Mark shouts over the rumbling, helping his drenched uncle on his feet.

“Mayday! Mayday,” Uncle Carmine coughs, forcing his eyes closed in a panic. “Call General Franco and tell him we need a medic! A blast! That was a blast from the South-“

“Uncle Carmine, you’re not in war,” Mark yells over the noise. “I need you to stay against this wall to stay steady! I’m gonna attempt go get your medication! Okay?”

Uncle Carmine nods, keeping his eyes closed. Mark sprints through the large puddle of Kool-Aid when the bottom of a shoe bangs on the ground in front of him, splashing Mark back against the wall.

Mark’s down again, but not out.

Powering through the winds, Mark stomps through the big puddles to approach what he knows is ahead of him.

Mark’s giant wife and his giant 4-year-old toddler daughter, standing across from another. The family he’s used to towering over, now stands as skyscrapers above himself. Kelly. His wife’s large red heel, serves as a skyscraper in itself. Mark approaches his wife’s foot, screaming at the top of his lungs.

“Kelly, Kelly,” Mark shouts up at her, cupping his mouth. “I’m down here! I’m down here!”

Kelly cannot hear him.

“Nobody can hear a scream in the vacuum of space, or so they say…” rings in Mark’s head. Screaming into the void. Cries unheard.

“Come on Annie, carefully hand Mommy the gun,” Kelly’s voice roars, holding her hand out and pleading with her daughter.

“Hehehe,” Annie’s toddler voice giggles up above. “No, mommy. No, mommy. No!”

Mark stands in the center of the girls, shouting as his daughter despite knowing its useless.

“Annie, you don’t disobey your mother,” He yells, keeping his mouth cupped. “Give your mother the gun like she asked!”

Annie giggles again, raises the gun, firing at her mother.

A large blue light flare, cupping his face from the bright light.

“No!” Mark shouts at the top of his lungs.

A scream sounds in the air.

Spotting a smaller Kelly falling in the air, Mark runs underneath her, capturing her in his arms. The couple falls into the large blue Kool-Aid puddle behind them, lying in agony.

“Sweetheart, are you okay,” Mark asks her, wiping the juice from her face. “Jesus, I tried to stop her!”

Kelly fixes her dress, stumbling on her feet and looking around.

The large, wooded tan trees to her left. Carpet.

The large blue puddle below. Spilled Kool-Aid from her daughter's cup.

Flashing pink lights from Annie’s light-up shoes, bottom submerged in Blue Kool-Aid.

Kelly, who should be mortified, smiles.

“10 years in the making Mark, and our shrink ray has finally worked,” She says softly, turning to Mark. “It finally worked!”

Kelly hugs her husband, happy about their new scientific product. Mark grows pale, barely moving as Kelly wonders why he’s not sharing the joy.

“Sweety, what's wrong,” Kelly asked, arms still wrapped around Mark’s collarbones. “Do you know what we just invented?”

Mark gulps in horror.

“We invented a shrink ray, but…”

Kelly stands, waiting for him to finish.

“But what?” She chuckles.

“How the hell are we gonna grow back?”