Ignoring the government, Austin quietly opens the door and peers inside a pitch-black hallway, his blue path leading into darkness. He hears water drops falling onto carpet and smells mold.
“Turn on light,” he whispers. A beam from his smartglasses illuminates the damp corridor. He follows the line up a creaky staircase to the second floor, tiptoeing past someone lying on the ground. The navigation ends at a door—Apartment 202.
His heart racing, he softly taps and waits for a response. He knocks louder and whispers, “Hello?”
“Who’s there?” someone yells from inside.
Austin grows pale. “…I want to place an order.”
The door opens and a flashlight shines in his face. He finds a middle-aged woman standing in the doorway, her face covered with sunglasses and a bandana. “What do you want?”
Austin hesitates. “…something that will let me escape. What’s popular?”
“DMT, heroine, 2CC…”
“What’s 2CC?”
“A psychedelic. Everyone loves it, and it will definitely take you to another world.”
“I’ll try that.”
He hands her money and takes a bag from her, then quickly heads back to the top of the staircase. He stops and inspects the plastic pouch, and then he opens it and tastes the white powder.
It’s so bitter.
He smells the narcotic and gags.
How can I take this? It smells like shit.
Breathing deeply, he mentally prepares himself for the ingestion. He stretches his left index finger and pours the powder onto it, then counts down as he exhales deeply.
3, 2, 1…
He snorts the powder in one quick inhalation and a sharp pain blasts through his skull. He falls to the floor and grimaces in torment, gagging and coughing violently as the bitter particles clot the back of his throat.
Someone upstairs shouts, “Get out of here!”
The staircase starts to rock back and forth. Austin tries to stand and loses his balance, falling down the steps and landing on his shoulder. He fights the pain in silence and tears stream from his dilated pupils. Nauseated, he slowly picks himself up and walks outside.
He leaves the building and approaches the bay, spotting the island of North Beach. Suddenly a wave of euphoria calms his body as a warm glow brightens.
Finally, some peace…
Sunlight breaks through the clouds and transforms the hazy, yellow-green sky into a deep turquoise blue. Orange and red colors stand out like the pages of a pop-up book. He smiles as heat radiates from his hands to his arms and legs.
I feel alive.
A bird leaves a purple trail as it soars above the ocean. He follows it to find clouds vibrating with an electrical energy. Colorful geometric patterns rotate in a gleeful symphony orchestrated by the sun.
“Isaac, take a picture of this.”
“I don’t understand.”
“Don’t you see the magic?” He spreads his arms and closes his eyes as a breeze relaxes his muscles. He takes a deep breath of the ocean mist and ignores a police drone flying overhead.
It feels so good.
Steam rises from the bay. He falls on his knees and crawls to the bank, inching closer to the shore. The golden sunlight illuminates the ocean floor, exposing metal objects. Bubbles rise to the water surface. He looks closely and spots a traffic post resting on the seabed.
Is there something written on that?
Suddenly, winds pick up and the steam intensifies as the water level falls. More relics of the past appear around him.
Austin laughs hysterically, his pupils fully dilated. “The ocean is falling down!”
A concrete highway comes into view as the water edge retreats. He reads a placard. “San Francisco City Limit. Population 2,445,334.” A trolley track appears. He gazes around in amazement.
The city’s back to normal.
“Dad!”
He hears a child screaming.
“Dad, over here!”
He squints towards North Beach and spots a brown-haired boy and a woman waving to him. “Son?”
“Come on, Dad, let’s go for a walk together!”
He races towards them. “Matthew, Olivia, I’m coming!”
The water recedes and exposes a street sign—Hyde Street. Austin walks along the rail, following the water’s edge as it falls. Victorian homes appear around him, their facades freshly painted in oranges and blues. The ocean disappears and the San Francisco Islands morph into one connected land mass.
I’m back home.
An automobile passes by, the driver yelling, “Get off the road!” Austin runs onto the sidewalk and smiles.
I miss this place.
A taxi parks. “Where you going?” the driver shouts.
Austin jumps in. “Take me to my family!”
“You got it.” The car passes a light and races for the intersection of Hyde Street and Lombard Street.
“This spot is perfect. Stop the cab.” Austin leaps from the car and approaches his wife and son. Tears stream from his eyes. He leans over and picks up his boy, hugging him intensely. “Matthew, I’ve missed you so much!”
“I missed you too, Dad.”
“Have you been good to your Mom?”
“Yes.”
With his son in his arms, he hugs his wife and buries his head in her hair. “Olivia, I’ve ached for you.” He smells her floral fragrance and kisses her cheek. “There’s something I have to tell you.”
Her expression is blank.
“Olivia?”
A passerby approaches them. “Would you like a photo?”
Austin reaches for a metal object in his pocket and pulls out a smartphone.
I haven’t used one of these in years!
He hands it to the stranger and poses with his family in front of Lombard Street with its rows of pink and white flowers. In the distance, Coit tower rises above the city.
“Smile!” the stranger shouts, snapping a photo and signaling with his thumbs up. “Beautiful picture.”
“Thanks,” Austin says as he takes back his phone.
A trolley stops at the intersection. Matthew points. “Dad, look! Let’s get on!”
Austin grabs his family’s hands and leads them to the train, taking it down Hyde Street towards Fisherman’s Wharf.
“Where are we going, Dad?”
“Wherever you and mommy want, son.”
A foghorn blares and seagulls fly overhead as the Golden Gate Bridge glistens in the afternoon sun. Tourists lean outward from the car, taking photos of Alcatraz Island.
Austin turns and looks into his wife’s eyes. “Olivia, I’ve wanted to tell you something from the bottom of my heart. I don’t blame you for what happened…”
They approach Ghirardelli Square and come to a stop. Matthew points. “Dad, let’s go to the chocolate shop!”
“Okay, son. Take my hand.” Austin steps off the train into a puddle. He takes another step and falls deeper, his ankles submerged in water.
What the hell?
He looks up and panics. “Matthew? Olivia?” The trolley moves on to its next stop. He looks around for his family and a wave of nausea overpowers him, sending him crashing into the ground.
The puddle grows into a pool and the ocean drenches his clothing. He tries to stand but feels his legs buckle.
“Olivia, don’t leave me again!”
Clouds obscure the sun. The sky grows dark and its deep blue morphs into a greenish hue. Alcatraz Island vanishes as the San Francisco archipelago reappears. Rivers of water gush towards him.
I have to get out of here.