Bad Neck Day 2 rough draft

A Bad Neck Day 2

I yawned as I slowly opened my eyes, the sunlight seeping in through the window and into my eyes. “Time to get up I guess.”

I rolled over onto the floor. “Damit all.” I slowly pushed myself off the ground. “I am tired of sleeping on this couch.” I sighed and stretched my limbs. “Carien? Are you up?”

The house was eerily silent for a Sunday morning. “Carien? Hey where are you?” I stood up and made my way into the kitchen. “Hey are you in here?”

The kitchen was empty. I slowly walked over to the fridge and pulled out a left over piece of pizza; I wasn’t in the mood to make myself a proper breakfast. I took a bite out of the cold meal as I tried to think. If she isn’t here she must be upstairs in the gaming lounge. She moved everything up there after she let me crash on her couch so she could play into the night without keeping me up.

I finished my meal quickly and grabbed a water bottle from the fridge, after taking a few quick gulps I rushed upstairs. I found the door to the gaming lounge open with lights peeking out from inside. “Carien, good you are here.” I opened the door to see a lone monitor on but no Carien. “Well never mind.”

As I looked around I noticed a yellow note attached to the lit up monitor. I walked over and picked it up. “Sarah. I knew you would find your way up here eventually. I had to run out for the day. I will be back tomorrow. Whatever you do don’t answer the phone or the door. Also you are dead if you get on my account.”

I put the note down. “Why would she just leave without saying anything? And why doesn’t she want me to answer the door or phone?” I scratched at my head. “This isn’t like her.”

I yawned and left the room. “Ugh I am still tired. I am not getting enough sleep on that couch.” I looked at Carien’s room with weary eyes, her bed calling to me. “She won’t be back until tomorrow I am sure she won’t mind.”

I made my way towards the bed feeling the sheets, it had been weeks since I had slept in a bed. I could feel my eyes droop just running my fingers along the bed sheets. “Ugh I am so tired.” Unable to help myself I feel onto her bed, my world darkening. In moments I was fast asleep.

***

I awoke to a gentle breeze and harsh sunlight. I tried to shield my eyes but my arms couldn’t find my head so I squinted instead. “Something is wrong.” I looked down and saw the driveway, directly below me. “How did I get outside?”

I tried to stand up but I felt the soft sheets tickle my hands. I turned my head to see the window, and my head on the other side of it. More importantly, my neck had grown to an absurd length. “Oh great. Not this again.” I raised my head to look at my situation. It seemed as I had slept my neck had grown, up around the wall and out the window. “If it had grown any longer I would be touching the ground right now.”

I slowly got to my feet. “Ugh I forgot how awkward this is.” This had been my first transformation due to a Fredricks Fancy product. Back then I thought it had been a one-time thing. Oh boy had I been wrong.

I retracted my neck through the window only to hit my head on the ceiling. “Oww.” I looked around the room. “What time is it?” I saw the digital clock on Carien’s nightstand. “1:00 p.m. Well I at least I was able to get some sleep.”

I coiled my neck around my body, wrapping around twelve times. “My neck feels longer than last time.” I sighed. “That means it will just take longer for me to eat and drink.

The phone suddenly rang, causing me to fall onto my back. I shook my head. “Great, now my neck is in a knot.” I worked on untangling my neck as the answering machine picked up.

“Carien I know you are there. Now pick up. I need your help. This is serious. Please. Damnit Carien pick up.”

I stood up after untangling my neck. “What was that? I never heard their voice before. What do they want with Carien?”

My stomach growled. “Well as long as that creep doesn’t call back I don’t have anything to worry about. Besides I need something to eat.” I recoiled my neck and made my way downstairs.

As I came to the kitchen there was a knock at the door. I took a step towards the front door when I remembered Carien’s note. Don’t answer the door or the phone. “Whoever it is will just go away after a while.” I went to the fridge and pulled out an apple.

I sat down at the table, wrapping my neck around the legs. Before I took a bite I noticed I was still wearing my blue pajamas. “Well I am not switching out of my clothing now. I remember how hard it was to shimmy my shirt down my neck last time. I don’t have anywhere to be today anyways.” I munched on the apple. “It isn’t that bit of a worry.”

The knocking at the door continued. Well they are persistent. As I took another bite out of the apple I heard a crashing sound from the front of the house as I took another bite. “What was that?” I looked back at my hands. “Wait where did the apple go?”

I looked down on the floor but couldn’t see it. Eventually I saw myself in the mirror and noticed a big lump traveling down my neck. “How did I swallow that thing whole?” I shook my head. “I will figure it out later. I need to see what is going on.”

I coiled my neck up and walked to the door when suddenly a man in a ragged jacket rammed into me, knocking me to the ground. He pushed himself off of me, his green eyes slowly opening as he scratched his short ragged black hair. He then jumped up and screamed when he saw me. “What in the hell. Carien? Where are you?”

I quickly used my neck to wrap around him before he ran off. “Who are you?”

“Let me go.”

“Why when you broke into this house.”

“I am not telling you anything. You aren’t Carien.”

I sighed. I did recognize his voice. It was the creep from the answering machine. “You better start talking. Carien isn’t here and as it is I should call the cops on you for breaking in.”

“Hey how do I know that you didn’t break in as well?”

“I am staying here.” I shook my head and stood up. “This is going nowhere I am just going to call 911.”

He held up his hands. “No wait please. Anything but that.”

I looked at him in the eyes. “Then talk.”

“My name is Maxwell Penbrook. I came here looking for Carien.”

“I think I figured that out already.”

He sighed. “I need her help because I don’t have anyone to turn to. See I am in trouble with this lone shark. I took a lone out to try and get out from my gambling debt but it just made things so much worse. I tried going to my parents but they threw me out. I hoped Carien might help.”

“Why?”

“Because she is my sister. We are family and she is supposed to help me right?”

I looked away. I remembered that Carien didn’t talk about her family much. She had the brother in town that I had met, Gary. He was very nice but other than that I knew nothing about her family. When I asked about them on our last date she told me to drop the subject.

I loosened my grip on him. “Carien isn’t here.”

“Well I will wait here until she gets back.”

I didn’t want to get involved in Carien’s family drama. “I am sorry but I can’t.”

He fell onto my neck sobbing. “Please I don’t have anywhere else to go. Just let me hide out here for a few hours.”

“I ugh.”

“I just need the time for my bank to wire the money that is all.”

“Look I can’t just. . .” I sighed as I looked out the window. I didn’t have it in me to turn him away. “Fine. But only until tonight. Carien would kill me if she knew I let you in.”

“Thank you thank you. You won’t regret this.” He stood up, stepping on my neck. “Umm, I never asked but what is with the python look?”

I coiled myself up. “It is a long story.”

Maxwell laughed. “Long. That is funny.” He suddenly tensed up. “Did you hear something?”

I shook my head. “No?”

“I swear I heard someone pull into the driveway.”

Wow he is so jittery. “Look no one is here. You are fine.”

I suddenly heard tires spinning in the driveway. Maxwell jumped and ran behind me. “Hey you have to hide me. Wrap your neck around me or something.”

“Hey calm down.”

“Do something!”

“Look. Stay here. I will go to the door and see who it is.”

“Wait why? Just don’t answer it.”

I sighed. “Kind of hard when you knocked it down.”

“Oh.” Maxwell looked at the floor. “Fine. I will wait here.”

I coiled my neck up and walked towards the front door. I need to figure out what I am going to tell Carien happened to her front door. I am not telling her that her brother stopped by. I tapped my hand on the side of my neck. Maybe the sudden growth of my neck knocked down the door. That might work.

When I came to the door I saw a short woman in a well-dressed suit examining my door, her long blonde hair running down her left shoulder. She looked up at me as I approached. “Good evening miss.” She looked at my neck and scratched at her own. “I see that you are doing umm, well.”

I slowly uncoiled my body. “What do you want?”

She pulled out a sheet of paper with Maxwells face on it. “Have you seen this man? He is a wanted criminal?”

“Are you with law enforcement? I am not used to officers walking around in suits.”

She shook her deathly pale face. “Sorry but I can’t answer that. Now have you seen him?”

I crossed my arms. “No. I have been alone all day trying to deal with this bad neck ache.”

She raised an eyebrow. “I can see that. Must be killer.” There was a sudden sound of something crashing to the floor from inside the house. “What was that?”

I used my neck to try and block the door. “Umm nothing. I am not a good housekeeper and something must have fallen over. It has only intensified with this long neck.”

She ducked under my body. “I will find that out for myself.”

I tried to wrap myself around the lady but she proved too quick, running into the kitchen while I tangled my neck into a knot for the second time today. “Damnit.” I didn’t bother to untangle myself, instead coiling my body as best I could and rushed after her. I came upon her pinning Maxwell down in the kitchen.

“Give me the money you owe me. You can’t hide behind weidos.”

“I just need a few more seconds Gretchen.”

She dug her heels into his back. “Don’t give me that.”

I extended my neck and wrapped it around Gretchen. “Get off of him.”

“Let go of me. He owes me a king’s ransom.”

Maxwell stood up and dusted himself off. “I was trying to tell you I just needed a moment.” He pulled out a phone and held it up to her face. “See, the money has been wired to your account.”

Gretchen narrowed her eyes at him. “I know you. There is something else you are not telling me.”

He held up his hands. “Hey I am just here to pay the money. I did that. You have what you want so there is nothing more for you here.”

Gretchen sighed. “I guess not.” She pointed a stubby finger at Maxwell. “But if I find out this another trick no serpent necked woman is going to keep me from you.” I let her go. “Thank you.”

I sighed. “Just go.”

She walked towards the door. “Don’t worry. I am gone.”

I made sure to watch her leave, my head following her out the door. Once I was sure Gretchen was in her car I retracted my neck. “Ok Maxwell. Everything is ok. Maxwell?” I looked around but I didn’t see him. “Hey where are you?” I coiled my neck and searched the house.

I walked into the living room and noticed that a glass vase that normally sat above the mantel was missing. I narrowed my eyes and looked around. “Max!” I rushed into the next room and noticed the door to the backyard was open. I uncoiled my neck and looked outside, there wasn’t any sign of him.

“What am I going to tell Carien now?” I sighed. “Why would he run off with that vase after I helped him?” I shook my head. “Next time I should listen to myself when I say I don’t want to get involved with someone’s family. Now I am screwed.”

I pulled my head inside. “I might as well try and get the front door fixed. Then I will have one less thing that Carien will try and kill me over.”