10/31/08
Happy Halloween!
A short story I recently completed:
Waiting
"What time is it man?" "Oh, let me see. Exactly half past ten. And to clarify for people who went to the sunshine school, such as yourself, that means its 10:30 in the pm." "Wow, you're a real clever young man aren't ya? You should take your act on tour. You know what, I think I'm gonna give you a beat down." At that they both grinned at each other and Adam punched Ben on the arm. "Come at me son." They laughed again, then were both quiet for a while.
"Man, I wish they would hurry it up", Ben said, not for the first time that evening. "I finally got myself all psyched up for the big day and they are already a frikin half hour late. I'm still pumped, but the nervousness is settin' in a little, you know?" "I knew it dude", Adam responded. "Deep down you're yella." Bob took a fake swing at him and Adam jokingly threw up a block. Then Bob asked quietly, "Come on man, tell me you're not at least a little scared." The grin dropped from Adam's face. "Of course I am. Mostly I've got a major adrenaline high but I'd be lying if I said I'm not scared."
They were both quiet again then Ben smirked. "You know what I just got out of your little speech?" "What?" "You've got a big bright banana yellow stripe running from your head all the way down to your..." "Did I ever tell you my dear Ben that you are a walking piece of human garbage?" Adam interrupted." "Come to think of it you may have mentioned it a time or two", Ben said.
They both laughed again. After a few minutes Ben turned and stuck out his hand. "In all seriousness, I'm really glad we got to go at this whole thing together and if I had a choice I'd do it over again." "Same here", Adam responded seriously. They shook hands gravely. Nothing more was said by either, both of the men lost in their own thoughts.
Five minutes later a knock came at the door. Bob head jerked up, fear and excitement making his eyes go wide. Then he grinned and said "Did you order room service?" Adam smiled a little and called out, "Come in honey." The door opened and a young man in his mid twenties with a handsome face, perfectly groomed hair and an impeccable gray and red uniform came into the room. Bob jumped up and walked toward him. "My my, ain't junior looking purdy today pa." Adam nodded in agreement. "Good enough to eat I reckon." Then he said in a deadpan voice, "Yeehaw." This caused both Adam and Ben to howl with laughter.
The young man frowned angrily. "You should take your situation a little more seriously I think" he said in his lightly accented voice. This caused them both to go into a fit of hysterics. They laughed until tears streamed down their faces, while the young man in uniform got more and more angry. Finally he yelled "Alright enough! Time to go!"
He rapped loudly on the door and two other uniformed men came in. He motioned toward Adam and Ben and they grabbed each of them roughly by the arm and the back of the neck. "Fine, fine, no need to get rough with your guests of honor. We're ready to go." The young man calmed down and even looked a little apologetic. "Then lets us proceed" he said.
He led the way out of the room with Ben and Adam behind him and the two others bringing up the rear. They walked silently down a long hallway toward gray double doors at the end. The realization of what was about to happen really started to hit them both. Bob heard Adam muttering something under his breath. "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee..." Bob elbowed him and gave him a quizzical look. Adam looked back at him, dead serious. "What’s up, am I bothering you or sumthin'?" Bob dropped the look. "No man. Not at all. If I knew any prayers I'd be saying them too right about now."
They went through the gray doors and into an alley surrounded by tall buildings. Three black vans were idling at the curb with more men in uniform standing around them. The young man in front led them to the middle vehicle and they all entered it through the sliding door on the side. The men waiting got into the first and last vans, and the small convoy pulled away from the curb. They headed down the alley and turned onto a strangely deserted main city street. They made their way through the city in complete silence. The evening was clear, although you couldn't see the stars because of the city lights. The city itself was big, tall buildings rising up in front of stark but modern shops and apartment buildings. But every street they turned onto was completely deserted.
As they got closer to the edge of the downtown area, a huge domed shaped building loomed closer and closer. They went into a tunnel and after a few minutes emerged into a brightly lit underground parking garage. They pulled up to a set of wide concrete stairs which led to a loading dock. They exited the van and walked to the foot of the stairs. At the top were about 20 more men in uniform. The oldest among them was a distinguished looking man with white hair and several rows of medals on the front of his gray jacket. As he walked forward, the men around him stepped aside deferentially. "Gentleman, we have been expecting you", he said with the same slight accent. Bob was tempted to blurt out the old Three Stooges joke "Who came in", but decided it just didn't fit the situation. Besides, he was so nervous it would probably come out as a squeak anyway. Adam just looked at his shoes and continued his Hail Marys under his breath.
The older man led the way and the uniformed men fell in front and behind them. They marched through a maze of hallways and up several flights of metal stairs. Finally they came to what looked to be a locker room. The men in front of them moved off to the sides of the room and the older uniformed man again turned toward them. "There is no turning back now. You know this. Do what you have been preparing to do all these many months." Then with a little small he added. "Your adoring fans are waiting." Adam turned to Ben. "Ready to be celebrities man?" Ben slapped him on the back. "Let’s do this thing!" Ben walked past the silent men with an exaggerated swagger in his step, Adam slightly behind him. Ben turned to one of the men on guard. "Hey, want my autograph. This is your one and only chance." The man turned his eyes toward the ground, but other than that made no reply.
They walked out of the locker room and into a dimly lit tunnel with a huge gate at the end. As they got closer they could hear the roar of the massive crowd awaiting them. They could also hear air horns and very loud music. They closer they got the louder the noise became. Twenty feet from the gate, it started to lift open. The roar of the crowd was incredible. Ben covered his ears for a moment and then dropped his hands sheepishly. "They love us man", he said and rolled his eyes. Adam laughed, a short angry sound. "Yup". Ben turned toward him. "See ya when this is over" he said and winked. Adam stared back at him. "I hope so."
They walked into the arena. At the site of them, the crowd went insane. Bob and Adam looked around in wonder. There had to be at least a quarter of a million people inside the huge structure. The sheer size of the indoor stadium was incredible. It was so big that there were two small helicopters flying around under the domed roof casting their spotlights over the crowd. The crowd continued to roar as they walked across the arena floor toward the center. In the middle were two small round stages. When they got there they each climbed onto one of the little stages. The crowd went absolutely insane. Then suddenly the lights went out and the music stopped blaring. All the lights except two spotlights, one centered on each of the men.
Then a single drum started playing. Boom...boom...boom...boom. Another spotlight went on, this time on a large ornate balcony above the crowd. A robed figure approached the edge of the balcony and the crowd went crazy again. He got to the railing and stared back and forth as the crowd continued to scream in adoration. Then he held out his hands and the crowd was silent instantly. He stayed that way for a few seconds, then he spoke. His voice was low and powerful, a voice of complete authority. "These men you see before you have held us all spellbound for months. The step they are about to embark on and the journey they took to get here has been incredible. But now, we are at the story's conclusion. The final page......Let it BEGIN!!!
The crowd started its roar again. The lights came back on in the stadium, but much dimmer then they were. Gray and red smoke came from machines in the floor and ceiling. And from a gate opposite the one the two friends had used, a man emerged. He walked toward them slowly. He was tall and slender, and wore a long brown overcoat. At the site of him not only the crowd but Adam and Ben gave a quick gasp of fear. "This is really happening isn't it man. It's really happening." Bob shook with fear and tried to bolt out of his circle. "No!" Adam yelled. The edge of the circle sparked with electricity and Ben was thrown backwards. The crowd roared its approval. He got up after a few seconds, grimacing in pain. "You know you can't get out" Adam said, tears in his eyes, his face ghostly pale. Bob looked back at him but now he looked much more in control of himself. "Sorry daddy. I forgot." Adam couldn't help but laugh at that, and Ben laughed with him.
Ben's display of bravado suddenly gave Adam courage he didn't know he had. He turned toward the dark figure approaching them from the other side of the arena. "Come on scumbag. We're ready for you!" The man in the brown coat was now getting very close but he didn't look up or change his pace. He made no acknowledgment that he even heard what Adam said to him. He walked to a spot that was about 20 feet in front of and right in between the two little stages. The lights in the arena went out again and the crowd again was abruptly silent. Now there were four spotlights, two on Adam and Ben, one on the robed figure on the balcony, and the last one on the man in the brown coat.
He finally raised his face, his eyes seeming to look at them both simultaneously. Ben immediately decided that if there was a Satan he must look something like the guy in front of him. The man's face had several large scars but was otherwise completely expressionless. His lack of expression, his scars and his hard, dark eyes gave him a look of pure evil. Adam crossed himself and muttered "Come on freak, do your worst.” Bob turned his head. "A face only a mother could love hey Adam?" Adam grinned and responded, "I don’t think this turd ever had a mother."
They both turned and stared back at the figure in front of them. The man on the balcony raised his hand and the crowd drew in its breath. Adam continued to stare straight ahead and Ben closed his eyes, both men shaking and nauseous with fear. After several more seconds the robed man dropped his hand. The killer in front of them raised both hands in a blur of motion, his face still completely devoid of expression. The guns barked, the crowed roared, and Adam and Ben were finally done waiting.
A short story I recently completed:
Waiting
"What time is it man?" "Oh, let me see. Exactly half past ten. And to clarify for people who went to the sunshine school, such as yourself, that means its 10:30 in the pm." "Wow, you're a real clever young man aren't ya? You should take your act on tour. You know what, I think I'm gonna give you a beat down." At that they both grinned at each other and Adam punched Ben on the arm. "Come at me son." They laughed again, then were both quiet for a while.
"Man, I wish they would hurry it up", Ben said, not for the first time that evening. "I finally got myself all psyched up for the big day and they are already a frikin half hour late. I'm still pumped, but the nervousness is settin' in a little, you know?" "I knew it dude", Adam responded. "Deep down you're yella." Bob took a fake swing at him and Adam jokingly threw up a block. Then Bob asked quietly, "Come on man, tell me you're not at least a little scared." The grin dropped from Adam's face. "Of course I am. Mostly I've got a major adrenaline high but I'd be lying if I said I'm not scared."
They were both quiet again then Ben smirked. "You know what I just got out of your little speech?" "What?" "You've got a big bright banana yellow stripe running from your head all the way down to your..." "Did I ever tell you my dear Ben that you are a walking piece of human garbage?" Adam interrupted." "Come to think of it you may have mentioned it a time or two", Ben said.
They both laughed again. After a few minutes Ben turned and stuck out his hand. "In all seriousness, I'm really glad we got to go at this whole thing together and if I had a choice I'd do it over again." "Same here", Adam responded seriously. They shook hands gravely. Nothing more was said by either, both of the men lost in their own thoughts.
Five minutes later a knock came at the door. Bob head jerked up, fear and excitement making his eyes go wide. Then he grinned and said "Did you order room service?" Adam smiled a little and called out, "Come in honey." The door opened and a young man in his mid twenties with a handsome face, perfectly groomed hair and an impeccable gray and red uniform came into the room. Bob jumped up and walked toward him. "My my, ain't junior looking purdy today pa." Adam nodded in agreement. "Good enough to eat I reckon." Then he said in a deadpan voice, "Yeehaw." This caused both Adam and Ben to howl with laughter.
The young man frowned angrily. "You should take your situation a little more seriously I think" he said in his lightly accented voice. This caused them both to go into a fit of hysterics. They laughed until tears streamed down their faces, while the young man in uniform got more and more angry. Finally he yelled "Alright enough! Time to go!"
He rapped loudly on the door and two other uniformed men came in. He motioned toward Adam and Ben and they grabbed each of them roughly by the arm and the back of the neck. "Fine, fine, no need to get rough with your guests of honor. We're ready to go." The young man calmed down and even looked a little apologetic. "Then lets us proceed" he said.
He led the way out of the room with Ben and Adam behind him and the two others bringing up the rear. They walked silently down a long hallway toward gray double doors at the end. The realization of what was about to happen really started to hit them both. Bob heard Adam muttering something under his breath. "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee..." Bob elbowed him and gave him a quizzical look. Adam looked back at him, dead serious. "What’s up, am I bothering you or sumthin'?" Bob dropped the look. "No man. Not at all. If I knew any prayers I'd be saying them too right about now."
They went through the gray doors and into an alley surrounded by tall buildings. Three black vans were idling at the curb with more men in uniform standing around them. The young man in front led them to the middle vehicle and they all entered it through the sliding door on the side. The men waiting got into the first and last vans, and the small convoy pulled away from the curb. They headed down the alley and turned onto a strangely deserted main city street. They made their way through the city in complete silence. The evening was clear, although you couldn't see the stars because of the city lights. The city itself was big, tall buildings rising up in front of stark but modern shops and apartment buildings. But every street they turned onto was completely deserted.
As they got closer to the edge of the downtown area, a huge domed shaped building loomed closer and closer. They went into a tunnel and after a few minutes emerged into a brightly lit underground parking garage. They pulled up to a set of wide concrete stairs which led to a loading dock. They exited the van and walked to the foot of the stairs. At the top were about 20 more men in uniform. The oldest among them was a distinguished looking man with white hair and several rows of medals on the front of his gray jacket. As he walked forward, the men around him stepped aside deferentially. "Gentleman, we have been expecting you", he said with the same slight accent. Bob was tempted to blurt out the old Three Stooges joke "Who came in", but decided it just didn't fit the situation. Besides, he was so nervous it would probably come out as a squeak anyway. Adam just looked at his shoes and continued his Hail Marys under his breath.
The older man led the way and the uniformed men fell in front and behind them. They marched through a maze of hallways and up several flights of metal stairs. Finally they came to what looked to be a locker room. The men in front of them moved off to the sides of the room and the older uniformed man again turned toward them. "There is no turning back now. You know this. Do what you have been preparing to do all these many months." Then with a little small he added. "Your adoring fans are waiting." Adam turned to Ben. "Ready to be celebrities man?" Ben slapped him on the back. "Let’s do this thing!" Ben walked past the silent men with an exaggerated swagger in his step, Adam slightly behind him. Ben turned to one of the men on guard. "Hey, want my autograph. This is your one and only chance." The man turned his eyes toward the ground, but other than that made no reply.
They walked out of the locker room and into a dimly lit tunnel with a huge gate at the end. As they got closer they could hear the roar of the massive crowd awaiting them. They could also hear air horns and very loud music. They closer they got the louder the noise became. Twenty feet from the gate, it started to lift open. The roar of the crowd was incredible. Ben covered his ears for a moment and then dropped his hands sheepishly. "They love us man", he said and rolled his eyes. Adam laughed, a short angry sound. "Yup". Ben turned toward him. "See ya when this is over" he said and winked. Adam stared back at him. "I hope so."
They walked into the arena. At the site of them, the crowd went insane. Bob and Adam looked around in wonder. There had to be at least a quarter of a million people inside the huge structure. The sheer size of the indoor stadium was incredible. It was so big that there were two small helicopters flying around under the domed roof casting their spotlights over the crowd. The crowd continued to roar as they walked across the arena floor toward the center. In the middle were two small round stages. When they got there they each climbed onto one of the little stages. The crowd went absolutely insane. Then suddenly the lights went out and the music stopped blaring. All the lights except two spotlights, one centered on each of the men.
Then a single drum started playing. Boom...boom...boom...boom. Another spotlight went on, this time on a large ornate balcony above the crowd. A robed figure approached the edge of the balcony and the crowd went crazy again. He got to the railing and stared back and forth as the crowd continued to scream in adoration. Then he held out his hands and the crowd was silent instantly. He stayed that way for a few seconds, then he spoke. His voice was low and powerful, a voice of complete authority. "These men you see before you have held us all spellbound for months. The step they are about to embark on and the journey they took to get here has been incredible. But now, we are at the story's conclusion. The final page......Let it BEGIN!!!
The crowd started its roar again. The lights came back on in the stadium, but much dimmer then they were. Gray and red smoke came from machines in the floor and ceiling. And from a gate opposite the one the two friends had used, a man emerged. He walked toward them slowly. He was tall and slender, and wore a long brown overcoat. At the site of him not only the crowd but Adam and Ben gave a quick gasp of fear. "This is really happening isn't it man. It's really happening." Bob shook with fear and tried to bolt out of his circle. "No!" Adam yelled. The edge of the circle sparked with electricity and Ben was thrown backwards. The crowd roared its approval. He got up after a few seconds, grimacing in pain. "You know you can't get out" Adam said, tears in his eyes, his face ghostly pale. Bob looked back at him but now he looked much more in control of himself. "Sorry daddy. I forgot." Adam couldn't help but laugh at that, and Ben laughed with him.
Ben's display of bravado suddenly gave Adam courage he didn't know he had. He turned toward the dark figure approaching them from the other side of the arena. "Come on scumbag. We're ready for you!" The man in the brown coat was now getting very close but he didn't look up or change his pace. He made no acknowledgment that he even heard what Adam said to him. He walked to a spot that was about 20 feet in front of and right in between the two little stages. The lights in the arena went out again and the crowd again was abruptly silent. Now there were four spotlights, two on Adam and Ben, one on the robed figure on the balcony, and the last one on the man in the brown coat.
He finally raised his face, his eyes seeming to look at them both simultaneously. Ben immediately decided that if there was a Satan he must look something like the guy in front of him. The man's face had several large scars but was otherwise completely expressionless. His lack of expression, his scars and his hard, dark eyes gave him a look of pure evil. Adam crossed himself and muttered "Come on freak, do your worst.” Bob turned his head. "A face only a mother could love hey Adam?" Adam grinned and responded, "I don’t think this turd ever had a mother."
They both turned and stared back at the figure in front of them. The man on the balcony raised his hand and the crowd drew in its breath. Adam continued to stare straight ahead and Ben closed his eyes, both men shaking and nauseous with fear. After several more seconds the robed man dropped his hand. The killer in front of them raised both hands in a blur of motion, his face still completely devoid of expression. The guns barked, the crowed roared, and Adam and Ben were finally done waiting.
posted by Michael Schaffer at 9:30 AM
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