12:40 - 1:00
Gary leads a boring and monotonous life. Now in his forties. This is contradictory to the youthful rebellious nature of his being in the past. It's like someone put xanax in his coffee every morning and rather than waking up with intentions for the day to be a beautiful and unique, interesting experience, he finds comfort in complacency and repetition. Sometimes he wonders though. Why has it come to this? This marriage is not necessarily failing but there is nothing cute about his relationship with Cheryl anymore. The sense of legal obligation maybe. They sleep in different beds and bicker occasionally, you know, just to do it. Gary works at the local newspaper for this small harbor town. He used to be an investigative journalist, curious and thriving, down in california. He grew up in Washington. And lives in Washington now. Gary and Cheryl. Their house is buried in an evergreen wilderness but they have neighbors on either side. A main road cuts through the front of their drive way and they hear horrible car accidents every couple of months. Their house is pushed back a hundred yards or so, up a gradual incline. The houses on either side follow the same formula, though tall wooden fences surround the yards of both of their neighbors. Gary and Cheryl do not have a fence around their property but their neighbors fences serve as a barricade from them at least. Behind their house is a few acres of Northwestern forest, evergreens and blackberry thistle, and Gary was adamant to keep this passageway open. Their son Jake used to play in the woods with his friends when he was little and used to take pride in maintaining trails. Time swallows this memory and the trail is irretrievably overgrown. Little resemblance to what might have been hidden back there. Since they began developing on the ridge above them, house lights can be seen cutting through the woods, just as tiny specks of light like stars in space. Jacob built half of a tree fort back there but never finished. Cheryl often took pride in maintenance of her flower garden beside the house but neglected to plant anything last spring. A strange way to test Gary to see if he ever noticed the little things anymore. A mischievous way. Gary never noticed or never told her that he noticed. Or didn't think twice and went to the liquor cabinet to mix an after dinner drink for the kung fu movie of the night. One day the weather turns dark and the wind picks up. The newspaper gets closed down early for the day. Someone makes a joke about calling the game on account of the rain. Someone else laughs, slightly muted. As if ashamed. The man responsible for the weather report talks to Gary. They've worked together for a long time. Friends enough to go on fishing trips with each others friends. Or for thursday night poker games at Gary's place. These nights Cheryl either locks herself away up in her room (a two story house) or invites a girlfriend to go out to a new romantic comedy with her. Gary does not like the weatherman. Stephen. But also doesn't see the point in burning an unnecessary bridge. He does not have the energy to try and make real friendships so he kind of passively accepts Stephen into his life. This decision happened many years ago. Back when Stephen and his stupid family moved up here and he first walked into the office. Gary knew they would end up as quasi-friends although they both kind of hated each other below the surface. The storm is supposed to be the biggest of the century. Gary knows Stephen to exaggerate and doesn't believe the sky will open up. Of course, it is rare to be dismissed from work early due to the weather but Gary takes this as a sign of good fortune. Quicker to get home and mix a drink. Driving home, listening to the classic rock station he used to listen to in high school, with a DJ he used to tune in to 'Spike'. Spike pauses in between songs, last one being bob seger, a song Gary never liked, to warn commuters of the approaching chaos of this storm. Spike repeats Stephens claim that the storm will be huge and devastating. He warns those who live on the water that they might get wet. Then he plays 'Riders on the storm' by the Doors. Gary calls Cheryl to tell her he is coming home. The power is flickering on and off. Gary gets home while the storm is nearing full swing. Trees sway madly like mosh pits. The grind and chafe against each other, threatening to smash through the living room windows. Sideways rain pelts the roof and windows in a chorus. They can't even hear themselves think. Gary knows trees will be going down all night, and that Cheryls room is probably the least safe place in the house due to the gigantic dead Evergreen that seems to be uprooting itself in the wind. There is thunder. There is lightning. Gary and Cheryl sleep in the master bedroom together for the first time in many months. Like mother nature is angry for the maltreatment of her beauty. Before they retire to the bedroom, Gary flips on the tv and they react to images of houses being bombarded by great waves. The shore was less than a mile away. Gary was nearly tempted by a wild impulse to make his way down to the shore to see the damage. He reacts with excitement. Wow! Look at this honey! Cheryl reacts with more empathy for the people and more precisely their destroyed possessions. My god, Gary... I hope they have insurance for that yacht. (They see a swell pick up a sailboat like a toy and throw it into the huge panel windows of a shoreline mansion.) Gary claps. Cheryl says 'that's horrible.' Then the power cuts out for good. They don't have a working generator so they must survive the night without power. Cheryl gets candles. Gary wonders how anyone could ever read by candlelight without worrying about setting the pages on fire. They sleep a fitful sleep, dreaming about being crushed to death by giant evergreens. Trees fall all night. The mighty collapse of ancient life. These trees have seen this place before human influence. If they had eyes. With a great crash sometime after midnight. A tree lands in the spare bedroom. Where Cheryl would have been sleeping. Gary gets up to see this, half asleep, and if careful to congratulate himself on his powers of intuition because he can't help but wonder what his life would be like had Cheryl been sleeping in there tonight. Nothing to be done about this tonight. And he goes back to sleep. In the morning, the sun shines and illuminates the wreckage of the night before. Gary gets dressed and explores his yard. If the sun was not shining, he might have guessed cataclysm. The Mayans were right, dear god! There is a gigantic evergreen in the spare bedroom, collapsing the roof on that side of the house. Further investigation of the wreckage... There are three tree trunks, criss crossing, into his neighbors yard. The fence is rendered useless and Gary can see his neighbors yard for the first time. He can see an unscathed halfpipe at the far side. There is a rusty barbeque. Outdoor speakers. A neglected pool. It's soft cover did nothing to prevent hundreds of tree limbs from entering. Against the back fence is a smashed greenhouse. The door hangs haphazard from its hinges and the whole thing looks rustic and unused. Gary notices tall, green plants inside. Some of them buried under giant branches. Gary cannot name the plants but they are vaguely familiar. The house itself unscathed. A one story deal. Perhaps a basement. Feeling like a snoop, Gary goes to his garage to find his chainsaw and begin clearing the yard. He will need help. He needs gasoline foremost. He walks through the gaping hole in the fence to his neighbors with intentions to ask for gasoline and a hand at removing the tree branches that breached both properties. The green plants catch his eye again. He walks closer to investigate. His heart races. These are gigantic marijuana plants. Tall as humans. He can't believe his eyes. From behind him a voice. Hey you! What are you doing in my yard! Gary turns to meet his neighbors eyes.
