//------------------------------// // Paranoia // Story: The Dark and Light Within // by mdonnelly //------------------------------// Jason opened his eyes to see a dark ceiling looking back at him. Light from the moon illuminated the center of the ceiling, while the rest of the room remained dark. Jason got up walking to the window, noticing the apple core in the garbage. It showed little decay, just a yellow color from explosion to the air. He took a seat at the frame examining the vastness of the farm. “What does the other side look like?” Jason asked himself. On that note, he thoughtlessly climbed out of the window and continued up to the roof. Every movement was quiet. He was sure not to let anyone else known of his presence in the house, especially since he was latched on the side of the structure. At the moment his hand clenched the roof, a voice called out to him from the ground. “What do ya think yer doin?” asked Big Mac “Umm…getting…to the roof.” Jason said dangling from the roof “What are you still doing up?” “Umm…I was just in the cellar…” Big Mack answered, surprised. “How long were you there?” Jason inquired, pulling himself onto the edge of the roof. “Um…I recon…almost twenty minutes.” Big Mac said thinking “Ok thanks.” Jason got up to his feet. “Why ain’t you sleepin?” asked Big Mac angrily. “I was, but I woke up.” “That ain’t good, you should get that checked.” “That’s kind of hard to do. I mean, after your and Applejack’s reaction to me. I doubt it.” Jason said turning away to walk up the roof. “Got a point, ya have a good night.” Big Mac replied heading inside. “Yea…night…” Jason said staring out at the other side of the apple field. For miles, apple trees were seen in every direction. One way was different though, the other pathway from the entrance. The road to the left, lead to Ponyville, but the other led to a river. Jason slid down the side of the roof landing in a mound of hay. He crawled out from it slowly and stopped, going into a fetal position. “Agh…yea…I’m not making a habit of that.” Jason said to himself. After collecting his bearings, began walking down the path. Upon reaching the entrance, he looked around to make sure nothing was following him. He continued walking, taking the path to the right this time. The trees, which blocked the light from the moon, caused shadows to cast down upon the path. The spacing of the trees left small breaks that the light slipped through. With every few steps, Jason would be illuminated by light and then engulfed in shadows. The path itself wasn’t special, dirt road, trees on one side and the farm on the other side. This part of the farm stretched for a mile and a half, when Jason reached the edge of the forest and the fence left to proceed in the opposite direction, away from him. Before him was a river with a precarious little bridge over it, continuing the path to the opposite side. The water from the river was fresh and cold as he took a drink and washed his mouth out with it. The moonlight reflecting off the water created a vision, showing the peacefulness of harmony and nature. Jason began walking along the edge of the river, near the base of the trees, away from the path. Jason finds an opening where the river turns into a lake. He looks around to make sure no one is watching him undress. He puts his cloths into the water and washes them. As soon as he finished, they were set aside to dry as he got into the water. “Ah! OH GOD! That’s fucking cold!” Jason quietly yelled out, looking around. Jason washed himself and quickly jumped out of the lake. He then glanced at his cloths, picking them up. “Fuck it. I’m done. That’s it, I give.” he said putting on his shirt and paints angrily. The cloths hugged him and no longer shielded him from the midnight breeze. Chills shot down his back during the walk to the house, hugging himself and rubbing his hands together, to keep warm. The cloths got much dryer as he finally approached the house, after an hour of walking. His gaze caught the cellar doors as he came up upon the house. They were closed and yet intrigued Jason. He opened them and continued down the steps. The floor at the base of the steps was cold, even with Jason wearing shoes. The right wall had a table with ordinary tools on it. The wall in front of him was bare, as well as the wall to the left. The wall behind him had shelves, filled with paint cans and jars. Below the shelves were some bags of cement. The ceiling was made of wood and had a wooden support beam coming down to the center of the room. The cement floor was covered in wood shavings, leaving a fresh cut wood smell. He left the cellar, unsure why he ever went in there. Jason opened the front door to hear growling. The sounds came from a brown and white dog near the table. Jason knelt down and held out his hand. The dog sniffed him for a second, then jumped up and licked his face. The dog tag read Winona. “Hey stop that.” he laughed pushing the dog off of him, “You remind me of my dog.” he said with sadness in his voice. Jason then crept up the stairs and into the room, grabbing his jacket. He then snuck back out of the house, putting on his jacket. “Winona, I’m going for a walk ok?” he said turning to the dog. Winona yipped back at him, as he closed the door. The light from the moon shined down at him, as he began his walk towards the town.