Hex Beat - Part 2

The second part of my novella Hex Beat is now live.

It's presented as a continuation of part one, rather than as a separate standalone entry, so the story still starts at the beginning.

Hex Beat parts three and four to follow!

She heard the rhythm in the back of her head like an ear-worm pop song that buries itself in your subconscious. Christine found herself tapping the pattern with her hands whenever her mind wandered; on the bus ride home she’d been so absorbed that she’d missed her stop and didn’t notice until she was almost six blocks away. At night she’d sometimes hear the voice as she slipped into sleep, always with the same question. She hadn’t told Nicki about that part of the dream, or the fact that she’d continued to have them. It was all a bit much, and she didn’t want Nicki thinking she was some kind of headcase.

Christine stared at her notes for the paper and wondered if she shouldn’t just scrap the whole thing and start over with something else.

The lamp on her desk was a retro design, two metal gooseneck arms with violet colored glass shades that curved to a point like a pair of tropical bird beaks. She squinted, letting the shape distort as she imagined the strange animal springing to life next to her laptop.

“You still haven’t responded to my query.”

Christine’s eyes shot open and she darted them around the room looking for the source of the sound.

“I mean honestly, you go about repeatedly summoning me and then can’t be bothered to answer one simple question?”

She rubbed at her eyes with the heels of her hands. “You’re just tired.” Christine whispered to herself.

“Know what makes me tired? People who continually invoke my presence, but then refuse to say what they want. It’s like someone ringing your doorbell and running away over and over again.”

Christine stood up and crossed the room; she had her hand on the doorknob but stopped short of pulling it open. If she told her parents, there would be no going back. And what would she even say to them?

“Leave me alone.”

“Afraid I can’t do that. Upper management gets testy if we worker bees shirk our responsibilities.”

“But I don’t want anything.”

“Oh come now, everyone wants something.”

“You’re just a figment of my sleep-deprived brain brought on by too many hours spent obsessing over this stupid project. I just wish the damn thing was done so I didn’t have to think about it anymore.”

“See how easy that was.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Hello?” Christine said and was relieved when there was no reply.

She shut down her computer and crawled into bed, though the idea of sleep with its unwanted dreams certainly didn’t appeal to her at that moment.

Christine lay there covered head-to-toe under a combination of comforter, blanket, and sheet, trying to pretend that the outside world didn’t exist.