Several Things at Once

By Wm John Diehl

Several ings at Once by Wm John Diehl is a gripping fantasy about a couple in the not too distant future who are struggling to live a normal life but there is the gameand the dream. Once you have been in the game even the clear blue sky of the real world does not look real. The adventures of the game and the pleasures of the dream are a constant lure.

The struggles that they go through in the real world are paralleled in the game. In both there are rules to follow, corners that may or may not be cut, and needs that must befulfilled. But the rules in the game can be changed making it more appealing at times. Get involved with them in their two worlds. Like them, you may not always know in which world they are but you will always pull for their success.

See that only the love they have for one another will carry them through.

• Language: English
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Release date: Aug 5, 2016
• ISBN: 9781491799987

Wm John Diehl

Wm John Diehl, currently living in New Mexico, was born in 1961 in Brewster, Okanogan, Washington. He is a very private person who has chosen to work his farm in the desert.

Book preview

CHAPTER I

There wasn’t much.

Every time he looked up, there seemed to be less to see. It was as if the whole of existence was coming to nothing.

He stopped looking up.

So, do you think it’s real? she asked him.

He turned and looked at her. If it isn’t, it looks real at least.

I ... suppose.

He looked up through the window from his side of the futon again. If we stop looking at it, maybe it will go away.

Kurt, don’t be stupid, she insisted.

Yah ... ok.

I had that dream again, she noted. It was better than last time though. This time I was on the upper levels.

He sat up and put his lips to her ear. I wasn’t sure, I thought I had the dream this time.

It was my turn.

He kissed her ear and then climbed up from the futon. I must have had another dream then.

"It was my turn this time."

Yah, ok ... I got to pee. He turned away and moved toward the door to the bath room, stopping in the door way. What if it is real?

It looks like the dream.

Next time is my turn.

Just go pee. I’ll go see what we got left to eat, she said as she shifted her weight and rolled up onto her feet.

Kurt looked into the mirror as he stood over the bowl and listened to the spatter of his stream. What if it’s all real? he muttered as the scraggly bearded face in the mirror stared back at him from above the sink. He looked up through the skylight. Looks pretty real though.

Kurt, she called from the kitchen, we got crap for breakfast. Wanna go out?

He jiggled then sighed. Got a choice? he asked.

CHAPTER II

Kurt sat in the passenger seat of the old hybrid.

You got any cash hon? she asked.

Couple of bucks Dee. he answered, enough for a couple of minis or a muffin for each of us.

The charge is low, I gotta use gas.

We got gas?

Fumes. she said.

Gas or food. Tough choice.

Gas or walk.

How much gas do we need? he sighed as she started the engine.

Dee drove like a maniac. Kurt knew better than to close his eyes to keep from seeing the more terrifying of maneuvers as the car swerved across the center line and back. The only thing worse than seeing the terror was not seeing it until after the crash.

If we get a buck of gas, how much food can we afford? she inquired.

A buck worth ... a mini, or a muffin.

We have to get gas. She swerved the car left, then right into the gas station lot, barely missing the pumps while bumping into the plastic standup of an ape offering free air fresheners with each fill-up and knocking it across the way into the side of the kiosk.

Want me to pump or put the monkey back up?

Fuck the monkey.

What, in broad daylight? he asked as he climbed out and moved toward the plastic ape.

Dee slid out of the car and opened the tank. When you and the monkey are done there put a buck in the kiosk for pump three.

Kurt turned the ape so that the side crinkled in by several collisions was up on the little curb by the kiosk, otherwise it would tip over. A screech of worn brakes called attention out to the street. He looked to see that two city buses had stopped inches from smashing into each other head-on.

Shouldn’t dream and drive. Kurt said, echoing the commercials.

Least they stopped before it was too late.

I was wrong. I only got a buck ... and three quarters.

Put the quarters in then, she ordered, we need the buck for food.

Kurt slipped the quarters into the slot. Got it Dee.

The bus that had crossed the center line backed away from the near collision and set out on its route. Traffic began to move again and Dee slipped the nozzle into the tank and squeezed the lever. In seconds the pump finished.

I guess one of us should get a job. Kurt suggested as he climbed into his seat.

Dee sat behind the wheel. Men still make more than women.

Minimum wage is the same for both.

I do the driving for both of us. she advised.

Kurt flinched as Dee started the engine. I don’t have a license any more. It sounded more pathetic every time he said it.

The car swerved out of the lot and into traffic, horns blared, Dee drove on right handed, one left finger out the window. Kurt cringed.

I guess we could go to the plasma place for some quick cash. It would be a couple weeks before any other place would pay us, she offered, then pulled her finger in when she saw a police car.

We did that two days ago, Kurt said. It’s too soon.

We could go to the one on Mill; haven’t been there this month.

Kurt shrugged and then cringed as the car auto-braked to avoid slamming into the back of the UAV stopped at the light. He wondered if he had enough plasma to afford to get his license back. The light changed and Dee hit the horn to let the UAV driver know it was time to go. The woman driving the UAV offered her finger out her window, then drove away.

Dee swerved through traffic, missing collisions by at least a few layers of paint. Soon they were scraping by a light standard to get to the only remaining parking spot in the lot at the plasma place on Mill.. The right side of the car was already mangled when her ex went to prison and left it to her, so Dee didn’t worry over much about damage. Kurt didn’t worry much about damage to the car, or even to the various obstacles that she might run into. He worried more that the car’s safety features might not always keep him from getting damaged.

Today’s the eighteenth so if they ask when we last sold plasma it was the fifteenth, Dee told him.

Shouldn’t we get our muffin first? Kurt asked. He wouldn’t ask why they went out for food and went somewhere else instead. Too many times the answer was a resounding, ‘don’t be stupid Kurt,’ and he didn’t need to hear it every time.

Dee brushed her palm over her flat belly. I don’t feel like driving to Sal’s. We could just get a couple of snaps. She pointed to the coffee stand across the lot.

Dry cookies with no coffee to dip them in ... yum.

Want me to eat yours?

Kurt sighed and walked to the stand. Two snaps with tax were ninety-eight cents. He bought them and returned to Dee. She was texting when he returned. He held out one snap to her and ate the other.

Mom says hi ... when you going to marry me ... are you waiting for me to get old and gray first ... I told her to butt out, she informed.

Say hi for me.

Already did. she said as she took her snap.

The waiting room was jammed so they took their numbers and sat to wait. Kurt closed his eyes and tried to remember the last dream, which was pointless, since dreams were hard to remember. This was by design, he supposed, otherwise customers wouldn’t need to keep logging on, they could just remember the good times had and then no one would be getting rich.

You asleep? Dee called from his temple phone.

No, you? he asked.

Not going to do any girl watching?

Too scrawny.

We are at the plasma place. she said.

Yah, same old ... everyone here looks starved half to death, wasted, or both.

Me too?

Sarcastic or honest? he asked.

You’re no hunk yourself you know.

You sayin’ I don’t got my macho on today?

Not sayin’ nothin’ ... just sayin’ she offered.

Wish I could remember more of the dream.

Why?

Just wishing.

Kurt felt lips brush over his cheek, hoped it was her, then decided it must be her. I’m going to go piss. Hold my number, she sighed in his ear.

Seventy-three? he asked.

Uh ... yep.

What are they on now?

Fifty-four. she replied.

Ok.

He listened as she moved away and reached up to click off the phone.

In the dream he could be anything his heart desired. For some reason that was beyond his understanding, he always seemed to want to be an ordinary guy in a city of super heroes. Lack of imagination seemed to be his main problem in life. At least, it was in the dream, what he remembered of it.

He opened his eyes and looked cautiously around at the other people in the room. Like Dee and him, it was obvious they were all dream addicts. Not everyone called it an addiction of course, the media outlets varied.

Ticket fifty-five was called, then fifty-six. Dee was still at the door to the bathroom waiting to go inside. Kurt watched her squirm. Maybe she should have gone before they left the house. This made him smile. Fifty-seven and fifty-eight were called before Dee finally entered the bathroom. She came out again as sixty-seven was called. He sub-vocalized, Call Dee. Six to go Dee.

Yah, I know. she answered.

Should have gone before we left the house.

Would you like some lube with that?

Sorry. Kurt apologized as he reached up to click off his phone.

Dee returned to sit beside him as sixty-eight was called. There’s a woman in there wasted on heroine or something.

Kurt wondered about people who still used chemicals to get high. Temple phones and dream links shared the same electronic connections to the human brain and could actually induce emotional and even psychosomatic responses. Chemicals were not even necessary for pain control any more. Pain and pleasure centers were among the easiest to manipulate.

Check me. Dee ordered as she grabbed hold of Kurt’s wrist and began to feel for his pulse. He grasped her free wrist with his free hand and found her vein.

Counting quickly enough to keep up with her pulse, he timed by the clock on the wall. After fifteen seconds he reported, I count thirty-one.

Twenty-seven for you. We got a problem.

Twenty-five is the max.

I’m going to use soothe. she said.

Not supposed to, but me too.

CHAPTER III

Seventy-two.

That’s me. Kurt said as he raised to his feet.

Hope your soothe worked.

Yours too.

Kurt walked to the hall leading to the check-in counters. The second counter was open so he sat down there.

Oh, hey Kurt. the girl behind the counter greeted.

Oh, um ... Cass, right

She nodded as he handed her his card. How long since last time you sold plasma? she asked then swiped his card through her machine.

The fifteenth. he lied.

Ok. And, how long since you used your temple phone?

His was still running the soothe program. About four hours I guess.

Good. Then slip your arm into the sleeve and I’ll get your vitals. Kurt did as she told him. If the pressure gets to bothering you, you know, tap the red button. With this the cuff inflated.

The soothe program ended and Kurt felt let down. Looks like you been busy lately, he said.

Cass nodded. Should have seen it yesterday, total wasteland. It was so dead half the staff was sent home after one. Today we are full. She paused to read the vitals display. The cuff deflated and she held up the lancet. I’m going to need to give your finger a little poke.

My least favorite part.

Cass reached for his hand and held the lancet to the side of his ring finger. The snap and small bite always made Kurt wince. Cass touched the small capillary tube to the drop of blood that welled up when she squeezed his finger and it drew the fluid in. She transferred the drop to the test bottle. Kurt’s blood sank, proving he wasn’t anemic.

Ok Kurt, looks like you are ready to go.

Thanks Cass. he said as he stood.

When he reached the inner door, Kurt was met by the red headed tech who always hit on Dee until she offered to break his fingers if he didn’t knock it off. The tech grasped his elbow and led him among the machines to one that was unoccupied. He helped Kurt onto the reclining seat then set up the tubes. Kurt offered his left arm and the tech hooked him up.

Dee was led in by the tech named Carol. Kurt wished the red head had walked Dee in and hooked her up, and then Carol had come for him. He couldn’t ask Carol out; he was with Dee, and she would probably say no too, but if not for those two things; he could almost give up the dream to be with her.

I’ll be back when this is finished, the red head told him, If you have any trouble you know you can ask any tech for help. Kurt nodded and the red head left to get the next client.

Kurt watched Carol set up Dee. He wished it was him in the recline. Dee winked at him. He sometimes regretted admitting to her that he was turned on by other women. He closed his eyes and tried to remember the dream.

The dream was when he was truly alive. He could meet all his heroes. And even better, all the really hot women he met there were interested in him ... and he could make them hotter than they were in real life. Actually he didn’t know what they were like in real life, but they were pretty hot in the e-zines.

Sometimes he met Dee, or rather, dream Dee in the dream. She was pretty anyway, maybe not as much as she was before they started spending so much time in the dream. She was slim before, but since the dream she had gotten rail thin. In the dream she was hot.

Fantasizing about Carol?

Not supposed to use the phone when you are here.

Meh, Dee responded, so Carol looks pretty hot in that violet number doesn’t she?

It’s a nursing smock, but actually I was thinking of you.

You were fantasizing about the girl you sleep with every night?

Meh, he said.

That’s pretty sweet isn’t it?

Yah, I suppose it is. You know how hot I think you are.

Bet you wish Carol was as hot as me.

Never, he answered.

You ever dream of her?

Not specifically. I mean, mostly I dream of generic women when I have women in my dreams.

So, mostly you dream of men? she questioned.

What? No, usually it’s just me alone roaming some exotic place. When I dream of someone else there with me it’s someone generic, or it’s you.

Sure ... me too.

Hey, I think I’m done.

Kurt opened his eyes and saw the red head leaning over him.

Wake up sleepy-head. Red said.

I wasn’t sleeping, just thinking of the dream.

I tried the dream a couple times, it was pretty strange.

The setting, action, and characters are determined by the user, so if your dream was strange it means you made it that way, Kurt explained, try a guided dream some time until you get the hang of self directing.

I guess. Anyway, I just about got you unhooked. You feeling ok?

Same as always. A little cold I guess.

The pre-heater doesn’t always match your standard, Red explained, it used to be a lot worse before they added that feature.

Kurt looked across at Dee. She had a smile on her lips, he guessed she was enjoying the echo that came from hearing him on the phone and in real life. I’ll go wait by the car. he told her.

Takek theuh keyey. she said as she slipped her hand into her jeans pocket. I I shouldould be ee doneun prettyty soonoon. she handed the keys to him.

See you soon.

Kurt walked toward the exit and collected his card and his check. Didn’t I tell you what would happen if you asked me out again? Dee’s voice said in his head.

Still connected huh. Should I disconnect or should I mess with you?

Marco I’ll do a lot more to you if you don’t fuck off and leave me alone.

Want me to come back and punch him out? Kurt offered.

He fucked off Kurt, forget it.

Kay. He tapped his temple.

Exiting the building with his check and his card, Kurt looked up. So fake, he insisted, why doesn’t anyone complain? I dream more realistic skies in my sleep. He looked down and walked to the car. When the key was close enough to the car, it unlocked and opened the passenger door for him. He climbed in and sat down. The sky really did look fake. He never thought the sky looked fake until he saw the more realistic looking ones in the dream.

Dee exited after about five minutes and climbed into the driver’s seat. Red headed freak doesn’t know when to give it up, she stated. Didn’t break them, if that’s what you were thinking. A little bruised, that’s all.

Wasn’t thinking of that. But let’s go get these checks cashed and go get some food.

And I’ll get a charge for the car.

I guess we should think about leaving some in the account for the rent, and for the dream service, Kurt suggested.

Yah, yah, you’re right. So, I got twenty-three, how about you?

I got thirty-two.

Fatso, Dee declared.

Pays the bills.

The drive to the bank was eventful but lacked collisions. Dee parked at the ATM and they both went to the kiosk to deposit their electronic checks. After slipping her card into the slot, Dee slid her check into the deposit slot, and then called up the balance. The account showed twenty-four dollars and seventeen cents.

Oh balls. You already had a buck seventeen, we could have used your card for the gas.

I’m taking ten out for incidentals. she said.

Kurt used the machine next. His account then read thirty-two dollars and ninety-one cents. See, less than a buck. I win.

How much you taking?

Ten I guess ... might as well. he replied.

So I’m thinking we hit the used food outlet.

Kay.

In the car again Dee turned out into traffic and set off shrieking brakes all down the street behind them. Kurt cringed, waiting for the crash that didn’t come. Soon they came to the bargain grocery that they called the used food store. They parked in the lot and Kurt opened the door just in time to catch a passing shopping cart with it. He apologized to the woman pushing it and then joined Dee to walk to the store entrance.

Inside was chaos. All the aisles seemed to be crowded, and there seemed to be no plan for their arrangement. It was as if the place had congealed in some mad-man’s nightmare and then oozed out into the real world. Dee smiled as she led him to a cart. Don’t you just love how every fucker in town has to shop when we do? Just makes you want to start packing a shotgun to cull the herd a little.

Easy Dee, they don’t plan their shopping by our schedule, not on purpose at least.

Look at the damned kids, just strolling around, in the way, don’t even look where they are going.

An old couple just knocked over a chips display at the end of aisle three, you can’t blame everything on the damned kids. Kurt corrected.

I got tortillas,she said as she picked up a stack and pointed to the dairy section, there’s cheese over there, and that ground beef they were advertising should be back in the meat section.

Burritos?

Or some other shit, what you got in mind? she demanded.

How about we get pizza for a change?

I’m tired of pizza.

Kurt picked up a jar of jalapenos. "What