The Annihilation of Foreverland

dead on arrival. The other occupant is a male, also in his late teens, and severely injured. Neither person had identification on their body.
    The female was Caucasian, 5’ 7”, 130 pounds, long red hair and green eyes. The male is Caucasian, 5’ 10”, 180 pounds, shoulder-length black hair, and brown eyes. He was taken to Elkview Hospital but was mysteriously missing shortly after being admitted. He was last seen wearing denim jeans, work boots and a brown t-shirt.
    If you have any information regarding their identification and the male’s whereabouts, please contact local police.

10
    Danny stared at the popcorn texture of the ceiling. His face was fat; his lips rubbery. Every joint in his body ached.
    The curtains were closed. A sliver of light etched the dusty air, falling on a plastic cup on a tray next to his bed. Danny reached for it, winced when the scabs on his elbows cracked and his entire head throbbed, front to back. The crown of his head was crusty and bruised. He leaned on one elbow and took the cup, drinking the water in three swift gulps, noticing the medical equipment on the tray, the blood pressure cuff, thermometer, and bandages.
    Mr. Jones’s smell was all over the place. Danny threw the covers off and sat up, the floor cold on his bare feet. Nothing but underwear .
    He didn’t want to think about Mr. Jones putting him in bed. Problem was, he couldn’t remember anything. A cloud filled his head. He dropped his face into his hands to think a moment but it was hopeless. There was a strange taste in the back of his throat and all he could think about was more water.
    He took the cup to the sink. There, in the mirror staring back, was a circular bandage in the middle of his forehead. He touched it, gently.
    The fog cleared.
    The Haystack and the fan and the mist. The needle.
    Vertigo smacked him. He held onto the sink. It got worse. He sank to his knees and crawled to the bed while the memories settled. It was strange how his mind was like water and the memories swirled like grains of sand. There was something he was supposed to remember but it was so hard. Summer camp? FBI? Damn, he couldn’t remember it now.
    He had journeyed through the needle to some… dream. Foreverland .
    It was torture to get there.
    The taste still lingered, but it wasn’t just in his mouth. It was in his head, too. Metallic. The taste of the needle.
    The price to pay for reality limited only by the imagination. Danny looked at his hands, turned them over and studied the creases in his palms. Is this Foreverland, still?
    He decided it wasn’t. But it was hard to tell.
    When the doorknob slowly turned, Danny threw the covers over his lap. The door cracked open. An eyeball slid into the opening and the door closed again. Before he could decide if it was Mr. Jones’s eyeball, the door flew open and banged on the wall, followed by a mob.
    “Danny Boy!”
    Zin was the first one in the room. The others were right behind him. Danny curled up under the covers just before they piled onto him. They were slapping his back, his legs, his butt, shouting his name and whooping loudly.
    “What a player!” Zin threw open the curtains, stabbing Danny’s eyes with light. “The kid went lucid on his first round! ON HIS FIRST ROUND!”
    There were high-fives and another dog pile on top Danny. Zin mercifully pulled them off. The celebration continued in the center of the room.
    “You all right, Danny Boy?” Zin asked
    “A few aches.”
    “Yeah, but you did it,” Zin said. “You did the impossible, you opened your eyes. No one does that.”
    The room got quiet. They stood like they were posing for a group photo, waiting for Danny’s words of wisdom. He had none. They looked at him, expectantly. Everyone was there, except Parker.
    “Poof.”
    That was Sid’s explanation for Parker. He snapped his fingers, said, “Ole Parker is a puff of smoke, Danny Boy. He’s gone on to bigger and better, my friend. Bigger and better.”
    No one explained it much beyond that, other than Parker graduated and was likely on his way back home, all healed up.
    Bigger and better.
    “Poof.”
    That was Sid’s explanation for Parker. He snapped his fingers, said, “Ole Parker is a puff of smoke, Danny Boy. He’s gone on to bigger and better, my friend. Bigger and better.”
    No one explained it much beyond that, other than Parker graduated and was likely on his way back home, all healed up.
    Bigger and better.
    T he slam dance of celebration