Lavalamp

I come into the house; I sat my purchase on the counter. It was lavalamp I had bought at an estate sale. A green lavalamp, retro, a hold on from the seventies. The woman who had owned the place disappeared sometime about two months ago. She had a collection of seventies décor. This lamp was cheap and I also thought they were cool. I set it up in the living room on the coffee table in the center of the room. The funny thing about it was it required no electrical input, no plug-in, no batteries. It just seemed to power itself. The florescent green color seemed to glow more than it should. The light emitted from the lamp lit the whole room enough that at night I had to put a dark towel over it so the light didn't shine into the bedroom.

Weeks later, I noticed that my fresh fruits were spoiling quicker; it also seemed that the color of the paint on the walls was fading as was the furniture's colors. I also noticed that my wooden furniture was dried out and cracking. Then I noticed the things outside the apartment were fading also.

I just assumed I was having a bit of depression since I am prone to it. I went on with my life. The lamp seemed to have dimmed a lot since I brought it home. Now I no longer had to cover it, I would sit and watch it for hours.

More than three years have passed since I bought that lamp, my depressed state was gone, I had lost that extra weight that I had wanted too. I was dating a man and a woman separately. The woman was thinking of moving in to help with her bills. The man was only there when he needed some. Jerk. The lamp was still on the coffee table, it was still shining its green florescent glow all over the apartment, I now left the bedroom door open at night so those rays could come in. I was happy, prosperous and in love. Things were going good; I had hit the lottery for big bucks, six million. I had told no one of my win. I had played the stocks and now had fifteen million in the bank. My body was in the best shape ever, I had won three fitness competitions for best body.

Here I was thirty-one, single, rich and in good shape. I had two lovers, well ok one lover and a jerk. He was going to have to go.

Two months later, my friend had moved in, the guy was gone; it was just me and her. My bank account was almost fifty million and I was fit. Jean, my room and bed mate, was going through some similar to what I had. She was starting to come out of it though. She had changed jobs making twice what she had been. She had lost almost forty pounds, and gained two cup sizes in her bra. She was smiling all the time like I was.

One night we were out on the town, when this guy comes to the table. I could tell we both liked him. He went for drinks, Jean said, "We should invite him home for a nightcap and us."

I smiled at her, "Sure"

He returned with the drinks, Jean looked at him, "Would you like to join us for the night at our place?" She asks.

He looked at her, not believing his ears. He looked at me and I smiled at him. The man said, "Sure, let me tell my friends so they aren't looking for me at closing time."

At the apartment, we tore the bed apart that night, come morning the guy was gone. We figured he had slipped out sometime after we fell asleep. I didn't think anything more about it.

Several days later the police come to the door. They were looking for that guy we had brought home. We told them what had happened and that he was gone when we woke the next morning. We even let them look around. They were satisfied and left. We never heard from them again about that guy. Things returned to the routine, we were both happy and moving through life in a green glow.

Jean wanted to go out prowling again, "That threesome was fun, I think we should do it again." She said.

"I agree, let's go out Friday night and pick us a stud." I said.

"Nichole, you liked that night didn't you?" she said.

"Hell, yea, one of the best lays I ever had." I said.

"Good, Friday night it is then." She said.

We went out and found a man; he was about ten years younger than our early thirties. He didn't seem to care about that, he was going to have two women at the same time. The next morning he was gone, a few days later the cops were at the door. We again told them the same story; the guy was gone the next morning. They searched the apartment this time; they found his fingerprints and DNA all over the bed. Other than that they found nothing else anywhere in the place. They left us alone again.

We repeat this many times over the next year and a half. So many times the same detective just about moved in. We were a little freaked by now, we had stopped going out and picking up men. I skipped work one day, was about to go for a walk when someone knocked on the door. I looked through the peephole, it was that Detective. I let him in; he was a good looking man. I started thinking about him while he talked.

"You, two, have been staying home?" he ask.

"Yea, we stopped going out. Can I get you something to drink?" I ask.

"No, thank you. I'm fine." He said.

For some reason, I stood and pulled my sundress off over my head. I was standing there in just my thong and sandals. He coughed and looked away.

"Miss, put your dress back on." He said.

"You don't want this, Detective." I said.

Not looking he said, "No, please put your dress back on."

I walked over and sat in his lap; he jumped up and ran for the door. Before he got to it, a beam of light erupted from the lavalamp sucking him into it; it took everything that was his. There was no sign of him anywhere. I freaked and got dressed. I called Jean at work, "You need to come home now." I shouted into the phone.

"Nichole, calm down, what happened?" she asks.

"Not on the phone, I need you here immediately, like yesterday now." I screamed.

"I'm on my way; give me fifteen minutes to get there." She said.

Jean walked through the door; I grabbed her and pushed her back out the door. I guided her out of the building and down the street. She was asking what had me so shook up.

"I know where all those men disappeared to." I said, "I saw it happen right in front of me."

"Saw what happen?" Jean said.

"That damn lavalamp, it sucked that police Detective into it right in front of me. Damn, I put the moves on him for some reason; he refused but was still aroused. He got up to leave and the lamp sucked him in. Shit." I said.

"Seriously, that cop is gone, missing. Yea, shit. He was in our apartment the last time anyone saw him. With our names on so many missing person files, we are in deep shit this time." Jean said.

"We didn't do anything, that lamp did. We have go to destroy it. We can't allow it to take anyone else." I said.

"What are we going to do? If we tell the cops that the lamp took all those men they will lock us up." Jean said.

"Let's disappear, I have some money hidden, we can go to Miami or LA to live. Or maybe somewhere in South America, with what I have we will live like queens." I said.

"What about our stuff, we can't pack it all up and move without telling anyone." Jean said.

"We take nothing but some personal items and some cloths. I can transfer my money to an account offshore somewhere. I think I know a man who can do that." I said.

"What about the lamp?" Jean said.

"We take it with us. We are addicted to it. I think it was using us to feed; in return it gave us rewards. Money, fitness, and love, I know you mean more to me than anyone ever has." I said.

"I agree, you mean so much to me. But still if we take it will want to feed again. If we bury it somewhere, and hide it, will we lose what we have gained?" Jean asks.

I heard the answer to that in my head. "I will take it all away from you. Keep me out and alive" It said.

"Shit, it just spoke to me, it wants to live. It wants us to keep it alive. If we do that we will not be harmed. It will protect us. Shit, it says that the cop and the men have been removed from history" I said. I bent over at the pain slamming my head.

"What do you mean, removed from history, how were they removed?" Jean asks.

I heard the answer in my head, I repeated it, "They never existed."

"Shit, you mean that thing can change history." Jean said.

"Yea, now it's time we find a new place to live, it needs to be fed." I said smiling.

End