The Deepest Hole - Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community

docbungle · 03-29-2005, 09:05 PM

Nine days ago I found a hole in my head.

I was taking a shower, washing my hair, and there it was. In the back, where most men my age begin to grow a bald spot. About an inch in diameter.

When I put my finger in, I couldn’t feel the bottom.

I couldn’t feel anything.

I stood motionless in the shower for a long time.

The edges were smooth, not like a sore or a scar. Not like something that had been ripped out. Not like a puncture.

I didn’t go to work that day.

I sat on the edge of my bed and tried to wake up. I sat and I tried and I played with my hole. By the time I went to bed that night I knew I’d been awake all along.

It was real.

The next day I wore a hat to work. Hats are not permitted. When they made me take it off I stood with my back to the wall. For the entire day I stood with my back to the wall. Customers approached and asked various questions, which I answered in great detail - using various specific hand gestures - but I did not move from the wall.

***

When I woke the next morning there was a hole in my pillow. It was about the same size as the hole in my head. I picked up the pillow and saw the hole in the mattress. It was a perfect hole. Not like something that had been ripped out. Not like a puncture.

Under the bed, the hole in the floor was the same size. I crawled under and peered into it. In the apartment below me, an elderly woman lay sprawled motionless across a recliner. A coffee mug hung loosely from one hand, all the coffee having spilled onto the floor. Her hair was gray and bushy and erratic. In the center of her forehead, a little off to the left, there was a perfect hole.

I didn’t go to work that day.

I stood in front of the mirror and looked at myself. I tried to turn my head so I could see the hole. I knew I wouldn’t be able to see the back of my head, but I tried for a very long time.

I put my finger in it again and when I pulled it out this time there was nothing there.

My finger was gone.

There was no indication of a cut or a rip. It simply wasn’t there anymore, and appeared as if it never had been.

I began to feel afraid.

***

I slept on my side that night.

Several times throughout the night I awoke with a jolt. My dreams were not the good kind. By morning, the bed sheets were saturated with my sweat. I looked at my finger and it was still not there.

Some parts of my apartment were missing. I could see through the holes in my kitchen wall into the hallway and the apartment beyond. My coffeepot was halfway gone. The refrigerator was missing most of the freezer. Half-packages of chicken and beef sat thawing in the open air next to the melted ice cube trays.

In the back of my head, I began to feel a dull pain. I felt tentatively around the edges of the hole and realized it had nearly doubled in diameter.

***

The next morning my furniture was different. Not the furniture itself, but rather it’s placement.

Everything had moved closer to my bed. The recliner’s movement had left gouges in the hardwood floor. The coffee table sat at the foot of the bed, having thrown off the telephone - which was still connected to the wall and lay in a clutter on the floor.

***

By the next morning my head was a constant throb. The pain was unbearable. I took 7 aspirin and later I took 7 more. The pain never eased. I cried for an unknown period of time. The phone rang and rang until I ripped it from the wall and smashed it under my feet. I began to think I could hear a sucking sound from somewhere behind me.

***

The next few days I don’t remember. There is not even a blur, just an open piece of time, a blank piece of paper.

At some point I acquired another phone, because well, there it is.

Several pieces of furniture are no longer around. My coffee table has disappeared and most of the padding appears to have been sucked from the recliner.

The hole in the back of my head is no longer there. There is no scar tissue. It’s as if it was never there.

***

When I woke up this morning there was a bump on my cheek, under the skin, just below the left eye socket. When I touched it, it moved. I poked it with my index finger and watched in the mirror as it slid down the inside of my cheek and came to rest on the point of my chin.

I stared at myself in the mirror for a very long time.

TexanAvenger · 03-29-2005, 09:50 PM

I'm wowed, but can't really place my finger on the exact source. Thanks for sharing, I'll have to think a little longer on what catches me so much.

vonstalhein · 04-02-2005, 11:53 AM

That's scary and original and good..but i feel it would benefit from a little denouement. However, as it is, it's still very unsettling!

cierah · 04-11-2005, 06:41 PM

I really liked this. I'm not entirely sure why. It's a common terror perhaps? Terror of the unexplained - (not of getting holes in your head!) I am interested in what the inspiration behind it was. At any rate I enjoyed it....

Hain · 04-11-2005, 09:26 PM

:shivers: Good but reminds me of the half second I was forced to watch Furi Curi or Foolie Coolie or whatever it is.

I seem to relate with this guy... only the hole is more interior than exterior to my head.

Let's read some more of this guy's unfortunate body.

ryborg · 04-12-2005, 07:06 PM

I read in a science magazine, I believe it may have been Discover, that there is a possibility for microscopic black holes to appear in our everyday environment, picking away a few atoms here and there. Perhaps a black hole formed inside your head, and because you remained essentially motionless most of the night, it began to suck matter away from your pillow, your bed, and even the apartment below you. Later it became increasinly poweful, sucking half your refrigerator into your head and destroying all of its mass. However, for reasons beyond scientifc understanding, it suddenly collapsed (or whatever it is they do) and turned into a worm hole to another dimension, sucking matter from the extraverse and pumping into...well...your cheek. That's my take on it

roboshark · 04-14-2005, 12:06 PM

Strong stuff. Very strong.

But the ending is weak. It goes nowhere. Fix that, and the story will be perfect.

I can't dare to give suggestions regarding the ending, because that has to emerge from your own brain, just like the rest of the story. Otherwise the whole just won't fit together.

Keep writing....

03-29-2005, 09:05 PM	#1 (permalink)
docbungle It's all downhill from here Location: Denver	The Deepest Hole Nine days ago I found a hole in my head. I was taking a shower, washing my hair, and there it was. In the back, where most men my age begin to grow a bald spot. About an inch in diameter. When I put my finger in, I couldn’t feel the bottom. I couldn’t feel anything. I stood motionless in the shower for a long time. The edges were smooth, not like a sore or a scar. Not like something that had been ripped out. Not like a puncture. I didn’t go to work that day. I sat on the edge of my bed and tried to wake up. I sat and I tried and I played with my hole. By the time I went to bed that night I knew I’d been awake all along. It was real. The next day I wore a hat to work. Hats are not permitted. When they made me take it off I stood with my back to the wall. For the entire day I stood with my back to the wall. Customers approached and asked various questions, which I answered in great detail - using various specific hand gestures - but I did not move from the wall. * When I woke the next morning there was a hole in my pillow. It was about the same size as the hole in my head. I picked up the pillow and saw the hole in the mattress. It was a perfect hole. Not like something that had been ripped out. Not like a puncture. Under the bed, the hole in the floor was the same size. I crawled under and peered into it. In the apartment below me, an elderly woman lay sprawled motionless across a recliner. A coffee mug hung loosely from one hand, all the coffee having spilled onto the floor. Her hair was gray and bushy and erratic. In the center of her forehead, a little off to the left, there was a perfect hole. I didn’t go to work that day. I stood in front of the mirror and looked at myself. I tried to turn my head so I could see the hole. I knew I wouldn’t be able to see the back of my head, but I tried for a very long time. I put my finger in it again and when I pulled it out this time there was nothing there. My finger was gone. There was no indication of a cut or a rip. It simply wasn’t there anymore, and appeared as if it never had been. I began to feel afraid. * I slept on my side that night. Several times throughout the night I awoke with a jolt. My dreams were not the good kind. By morning, the bed sheets were saturated with my sweat. I looked at my finger and it was still not there. Some parts of my apartment were missing. I could see through the holes in my kitchen wall into the hallway and the apartment beyond. My coffeepot was halfway gone. The refrigerator was missing most of the freezer. Half-packages of chicken and beef sat thawing in the open air next to the melted ice cube trays. In the back of my head, I began to feel a dull pain. I felt tentatively around the edges of the hole and realized it had nearly doubled in diameter. * The next morning my furniture was different. Not the furniture itself, but rather it’s placement. Everything had moved closer to my bed. The recliner’s movement had left gouges in the hardwood floor. The coffee table sat at the foot of the bed, having thrown off the telephone - which was still connected to the wall and lay in a clutter on the floor. * By the next morning my head was a constant throb. The pain was unbearable. I took 7 aspirin and later I took 7 more. The pain never eased. I cried for an unknown period of time. The phone rang and rang until I ripped it from the wall and smashed it under my feet. I began to think I could hear a sucking sound from somewhere behind me. * The next few days I don’t remember. There is not even a blur, just an open piece of time, a blank piece of paper. At some point I acquired another phone, because well, there it is. Several pieces of furniture are no longer around. My coffee table has disappeared and most of the padding appears to have been sucked from the recliner. The hole in the back of my head is no longer there. There is no scar tissue. It’s as if it was never there. * When I woke up this morning there was a bump on my cheek, under the skin, just below the left eye socket. When I touched it, it moved. I poked it with my index finger and watched in the mirror as it slid down the inside of my cheek and came to rest on the point of my chin. I stared at myself in the mirror for a very long time. __________________ Bad Luck City

04-02-2005, 11:53 AM	#3 (permalink)
vonstalhein Insane Location: Where You Live.	That's scary and original and good..but i feel it would benefit from a little denouement. However, as it is, it's still very unsettling! __________________ No Win No Fee

04-11-2005, 06:41 PM	#4 (permalink)
cierah Crazy Location: Canada	I really liked this. I'm not entirely sure why. It's a common terror perhaps? Terror of the unexplained - (not of getting holes in your head!) I am interested in what the inspiration behind it was. At any rate I enjoyed it.... __________________ "You can close your eyes to reality but not to memories" -Stainslaw J. Lec

04-11-2005, 09:26 PM	#5 (permalink)
Hain has a plan Location: middle of Whywouldanyonebethere	:shivers: Good but reminds me of the half second I was forced to watch Furi Curi or Foolie Coolie or whatever it is. I seem to relate with this guy... only the hole is more interior than exterior to my head. Let's read some more of this guy's unfortunate body. __________________ ////\\// IRONSKY.NET \\//\\\\

04-12-2005, 07:06 PM	#6 (permalink)
ryborg Crazy	I read in a science magazine, I believe it may have been Discover, that there is a possibility for microscopic black holes to appear in our everyday environment, picking away a few atoms here and there. Perhaps a black hole formed inside your head, and because you remained essentially motionless most of the night, it began to suck matter away from your pillow, your bed, and even the apartment below you. Later it became increasinly poweful, sucking half your refrigerator into your head and destroying all of its mass. However, for reasons beyond scientifc understanding, it suddenly collapsed (or whatever it is they do) and turned into a worm hole to another dimension, sucking matter from the extraverse and pumping into...well...your cheek. That's my take on it __________________ Solve two problems at once. Feed the homeless to the hungry.

03-29-2005, 09:50 PM	#2 (permalink)
TexanAvenger Born-Again New Guy Location: Unfound.	I'm wowed, but can't really place my finger on the exact source. Thanks for sharing, I'll have to think a little longer on what catches me so much.

04-14-2005, 12:06 PM	#7 (permalink)
roboshark Crazy	Strong stuff. Very strong. But the ending is weak. It goes nowhere. Fix that, and the story will be perfect. I can't dare to give suggestions regarding the ending, because that has to emerge from your own brain, just like the rest of the story. Otherwise the whole just won't fit together. Keep writing.... __________________ I want no escape.