[Short Story #37] - Stuck in a loop
Image by @rocking-dave
”Must’ve just had a bad dream,” I thought to myself, having just woken up, covered in sweat.
I was wide awake, so I decided to browse Steemit. I sat up straight, took my phone from the night stand and placed my pillow against the wall to lean on for maximum comfort. As I unlocked the phone I checked the time. 2:48 am.
”I guess I’ll go back to sleep at 3.”
I fired up the site and went browsing through my feed. I was mostly following writers but at that hour I really didn’t feel like reading a story for 10 minutes that could potentially wake me up further.
I searched for the “image” tag and threw a bunch of upvotes at pictures of sunsets, hamburgers, goats, mountains and who knows what more. I needed a way to relax and calm down and that was exactly what I needed.
About 10 minutes later I started to feel uneasy in my abdomen area and it wasn’t the urge to pee. The rumbling sound of my stomach made it very clear something wasn’t quite right.
I tried my best ignoring it, browsing Steemit still, when at some point the pain became too much and I curled into a ball. I could feel my bowels moving and the tension in my gut building up. It was as if all I needed to do was fart to release the pressure, but I knew I would have a lot of cleaning up to do had I succumbed to that feeling. I could hardly move, but I had to reach the toilet. Fast.
I clenched my butt as hard as I could, got up and ran toward the toilet.
I didn’t even manage to pull my pants down all the way and fully crouch down on the seat when it came pouring out of me.
Orange-brown goo went flying everywhere, not only inside the bowl. On my butt cheeks, my legs, on the wall behind me… no place was safe. It was as if the Hoover dam finally gave in to the weight of the water and it came shooting out at unimaginable speeds.
I could’ve sworn I lost consciousness for a few moments, sitting in pain, waiting for the storm to pass.
It must’ve taken at least a solid minute of what I can best describe as a brown waterfall to end and leave me with my eyes closed, an upset stomach still and a sore butt. I didn’t dare witness the mess I had made. I didn’t even dare move.
”Maybe if I don’t open my eyes it’ll all go away,” I thought for a second there.
But the smell. The smell was persistent and not going anywhere. It was real. Very real.
The situation was far worse than what I could have envisioned in my wildest dreams and there was just no way toilet paper could be of any use. Contemplating my next move, I turned around and flushed the toilet.
The water slid down the sides of the toilet, spiraled, and before it fully drained, I woke up in my bed. Covered in sweat.
”Thank god! Wait. No, it cannot be.”
I picked up my phone and prayed it wouldn’t say 2:48 am. But it did.
I got up, ran to the kitchen in panic and drowned two Imodium capsules with a glass of water. I wasn’t going to let that nightmare happen for real. No way.
Having slammed down two Imodiums, I decided to chew on some dry oatmeal just to be sure.
With a hefty amount in hand, I sat down on the side of my bed and fired up Steemit. I don’t know why, but for some unbeknownst reason I browsed the “image” tag and I gazed in horror as all the images were the ones I had already seen.
When I finally came back to myself I locked the phone and placed it onto the night stand as if it was a touch-sensitive bomb, then waited in silence to see if I get sick or not.
Surely enough, the sickness came. Mild at first, as brutal as before soon after.
I ran to the toilet as soon as I felt my bowels begin to move and - in a slightly better manner than before – got rid of the foul smelling waste.
Defeated, I turned around, still sitting down, and flushed.
Moments later I woke up. Covered in sweat. 2:48 am.
Is there anything I can do to escape this endless loop?
in the comments below leave me a clue,
an idea for a story you'd love to read,
a journey to the unknown my keyboard will lead.
If you enjoy writing yourself, I am hosting a constrained writing contest, where each week I limit your writing with various rules and force you to be creative in brand new ways! If you're not a writer yourself, check it out and see what others have come up with! :D
I turn your writing prompts into stories.
Five minute freewrite challenges I have fulfilled:
Fire, Toilet, Flash, Soft feet, Pillow, Grounding, Surprise, Ending the pain, Going for a walk, Car Mechanic, Murderer, Dog hair, Ducks.
Next writing prompt to be fulfilled:
Leave your idea in the comments below and have it turned into a story!
Gif by @rocking-dave
Well that is not a fun, or appetizing, loop to get stuck in.
Hahaha :D Nope, sure is not. :3
And I very much hope I don't wake up at night, all sweaty... and it's 2.48. haha :D
Nice story