Aberrant: In the Beginning - Eruption Stories

[Titan]

Doris Witten opened the screen door, and let Skittles out. Grinchy and Pom Pom came in at the same time. She gathered her robe tighter around her body.

"You're going to make me miss it, now," she said. She tried to sound stern, but she loved her cats. They buzzed against her legs while she walked to the living room.

She sidestepped behind her tray and sat in her flowered, wingback chair. Her dinner, a Hungryman, was on her tray. Next to the Hungryman was the day's ticket.

Russell was watching 'Incredible Hulk' on that godawful SciFi channel. When he knew good and well.

"Russell, it's almost time." She tried not to sound too anxious.

He scratched one stockinged foot with the other. He lifted the remote, but only to rest his arm on his head. He took a bite of his Hungryman. Doris shifted her weight to the other foot.

"Russell. It is almost time." She said again, as though he hadn't heard her the first time. He snorted.

"You really think that you are ever going to win this thing, Doris?"

Doris was actually starting to maybe get a little miffed, actually. She felt a stab of pain behind her eyes. She tried to appeal to his sense of family.

"Oh, Russell. You know it only takes a minute, and how would it be if we won?"

Russell laughed, a mean sort of sound.

"If you win. Leave me out of it. I'm watching my show."

Doris frowned. The headache had embraced her head, and felt like it was squeezing. She felt suddenly like she may cry.

"Fine then. I'll watch it in the kitchen. But I'm not splitting it with you, if I win." She slid out from behind her tray, and again tied her robe.

Without looking up, Russell waved her away.

"I wouldn't take it if you gave it to me. It's just a waste of money, Doris. You're never going to win."

She muttered to herself on her way to the kitchen. She went behind the counter, petting Pom Pom before moving her away from the little TV. She snapped it on.

The man was just gesturing over to the pretty young girl, on the screen. Oh, she had missed the beginning, she didn't want to miss any more. Pom Pom crouched to jump down from the counter.

The balls. Doris watched the balls. She could almost see the individual balls. A bolt of pain ripped through the center of her head, but it only seemed to make her more focused on the balls. They spun and whirled, jumbled and tumbled. She saw it. 13. The woman slid the top off of the first tube. 13 swirled towards the open hole, bounced off of 6 and shot up the tube. Pom pom landed. From the other room, Doris heard the 'Flaangngngn' sound of David Banner beginning to turn.

One by one, she watched the balls go into the tubes. She had never seen them so clearly. She didn't look at her ticket, but only the balls. When the final ball entered the slot, the world seemed to speed up. Doris shook herself. The man on the TV was talking. She looked at the numbers up on the screen, and then her ticket. She shook her head the first time she read through the numbers. When she read them again, she still didn't believe. The third time that she read the numbers, realization struck her.

"Russell! Russ-"

She started to run into the living room, but she felt suddenly very weak. She sank to her knees, automatically tucking the ticket safely into the pocket of her robe. She crawled to the edge of the linoleum, where it started to be carpet.

"Russ..."

She lost consciousness. Russell glanced down beside his recliner, then jumped up and crouched over her body.

"Doris? Doris, what's the matter?"