Train Fire [Intermission] and Herbert West

We were on a train at a big amusement park. The train was rather true to life. It was very greasy and smelled like coal.

There wasn't anyone else on the train. It went in a circle around a snowy mountain. The circle was rather large, so even though we went terribly fast, it felt like we were going straight.

Pop was taking advantage of the lack of both passengers and engineers by poking around wherever he could. He finally got the door to the engine open and invited us all in, a big grin on his face.

There was a metal barrel of something viscous and yellowish with a battered ladle hung inside. Pop smelled it, then reached into the coals with a huge pair of iron tongs. He brought out a large coal and stuck the tongs on the outside of the cab. There seemed to be a mount for them. The ash blew off the coal as we pressed on.

He took a big swig of the liquid and blew it at the coal. There was a massive fireball. Everyone was impressed.

Then Pop tipped the bucket so it slowly drained out the side of the train. It caught fire and left a huge burning line in the snow as we passed by. The circle the train made seemed to have gotten smaller, as it was only a minute or two before we reached the wall of flames Pop had ignited earlier.

Then Pop spilled the bucket, and the inside of the train caught fire. Luckily, the side away from the ground fire had some handles. We all ended up hanging from the side of the train, looking in at the fire through the windows, as well as the other fire through the side of the car.

The train went faster and we were pressed against the side.



At this point, I woke up. It was a normal time to wake up, but I had been up late the night before. So I took a little insulin, took a leak and went back to sleep.


I was in a big grocery store. It looked more like Fred Meyer's than anything. I was wearing a snappy blue suit with little metal doo-dads, because I was a security guard. Specifically, I was assigned to the bulk section.

There were other security guards in the grocery store, but we each kept to our own area. There were signals and codes to summon more help, but things were generally pretty quiet.

There was a bin of macaroni and cheese in the bulk section, by all the chocolates and gummi objects and weird grains. Warm, freshly made Kraft macaroni and cheese. I really wanted to eat some. I was pretty hungry. My break seemed a million years away. There were gumballs in the macaroni and cheese, but I think I was used to there being weird things in it. I would just pull them out.

Then I heard the whine of a small electric motor. A modified Cushman 3-wheeled car came around the corner of the aisle, from the aisle of organic foods. I was sort of annoyed, because I knew who it was.

It was Dr. Herbert West, from the Re-Animator films. He was the grocery store's head doctor. He got out of the car and started making inept small talk with me.

He was really, really short, about chest level on me.

He really wanted someone to try his new eye surgery on. Our supervisor had told him that he could practice on any employee he could convince to volunteer; they'd find someone to fill in for them.

He went on and on about it, so I finally said I would, just so I could get him to shut up. He'd seemed very concerned. I figured that he'd started at the other end of the store, so I was nearly his last chance.

The operation went okay. It involved adding more eyeballs to one's body. It hurt like being at the dentist's for braces adjustment; the dull ache of things moving around that shouldn't. I ended up with an eyeball in the back of each hand. The lids seemed very thick, which was probably for the best, as hands are a dangerous place for eyes.

It was hard to get used to having four eyes. It was easier if I put my hands up, so they were about level with my original eyes. If I closed my original eyes and covered them with my hands, it was just like regular vision.

I got a longer break and some cool blue leather gloves out of the deal, too.