- Campfire -

Ray moved past the large locomotives. They rested in the darkness of the roadhouse from their long travels through the day and night. Each one looming tall, a behemoth of steel and steam, waiting to be awoken again to begin their journeys. He ran his hand across each pilot.

He had a gift.

At one time, he stood on the plains and he saw a train streaming across the tracks on an autumn day. The clouds above were dark and gloomy, but the sun shone through one spot, rays of sunshine lit the train and track up like it was being guided by the heavens. He must have been five or six. When the whistle sang, it flowed right through each fiber of his being. The train talked to him, told him his destiny. Invited him to help. From that moment, trains spoke to him, his mechanical knowledge grew exponentially, and he wound up being head mechanic at the train yard. Throughout the years he worked, day and night, on all problems and maintenance on the trains. Each one knew him, and he knew each one in the yard. Whenever a train had issues, they would send for him. Intuition, magic, he didn’t know, but he could feel where to look in his very being.

Tonight he had worked on the Super Chief. All the way from California it had made its way back to the midwest. Its bright red and yellow front dimmed in the darkness. A few parts needed to be greased up, checked the new diesel engine. One of the first of its kind. He usually didn’t work late nights anymore, not like he did when he was younger. He had family now, but some nights, every other month, they needed special attention. Ray moved out of the roadhouse and into the fresh night air. He looked towards the conductors tower over looking the yard. A ladder rose to a hatch which he threw open and climbed up. Inside was large windows looking over the north side of the train yard. A control panel sat below them. In the back was a small room he had put a small bed and some food when he stayed over night. It provided a good little shelter for him.

Ray pulled a lunch box from under the bed and took out a sandwich then moved to sit in the chair in front of the control panels. He liked the stillness of the yard. He would sit, drink a bit of coffee or tea, and have a sandwich looking at all the trains and tracks trailing into the distance. Ray took a bite of his sandwich and leaned over the control panel. Out in-between two train cars, fog rolled below the wheels and furrowed up the sides. Outlined in the fog looked like a man. He wasn’t the only one in the yard, but this man looked different. It had to be the fog or distance messing with his sight. Ray swallowed and stood up. The figure moved forward.

It wasn’t his sight.

The figure was tall, its head reaching the top of the train cars that it was moving through. Then there were the arms, they were long, hanging just above the ground, swinging slightly as its long legs pumped up and down.

Ray moved and locked the hatch that he had come up from. The figure moved slowly towards the conductor tower then disappeared underneath. He backed away from the hatch and towards the small room in the back. Thumps came from the ladder and then crawled up the wall. A hand appeared on the window. Long string like fingers spread across, then another hand planted itself on the glass, quicker then he could catch, the thing moved rapidly across the windows in a blur to the roof. Its footsteps pounded on the metal roof above. Ray slid back into the room and shut the door. Pounding followed him until it was right above. The room filled with metallic ringing of the roof vibrating and bending under the force. Then it stopped. Ray’s ears rang and adjusted to the silence.

Knock knock.

He stared up at the ceiling.

It came again. Knock knock.

“Let me in” a voice called.

Knock knock.

Ray scrambled to the floor and under the bed.

It began to whisper to him, he couldn’t understand the words. He covered his ears with his hands, but the voice wasn’t coming from the air. It came from his head. Like an internal dialogue with himself, it was soft, constant and scrambled his thoughts.

A gun shot rang out.

“Ray!”

The thing on the roof shuffled around and the whispering let him go.

“Ray! Are you okay?”

It was Ray’s shift master Tommy. A horrible screeching noise came from outside and the metal roof shook as the thing launched its self off. Ray scrambled out from under the bed and looked out the windows to see Tommy and another man below. He unlatched the hatch and crawled down to meet them.

“Ray, what the hell was that?”

“You okay?” The other man said in an English accent. He wore a long trench coat and a top hat. His face looked clean, but worn in at the same time. A manicured mustache swept under his long nose.

Ray spun to look towards the conductors tower then back at them “Yeah, I think so, what was that?”

“Tell me what happened?” The man rummaged through his coat and pulled out a small note book.

Ray recounted seeing the tall man in the yard, it climbing up top and then the whispering. The last part made the man stare up from his notes at him.

“It whispered to you? Whispered what?”

“I couldn’t understand it, it come from within, I tried to cover my ears, but I could still hear it”

The man put the notebook away. “The name is Jeremiah Sinclair. I’m hunting that thing. Count yourself lucky and unlucky. Most of the time I find skin or a bloody pulp of a body following the Tall Man. Lucky you’re alive, but unlucky that there is a chance it won’t leave you alone. I’ve never heard of it whispering to anyone before.” He pulled out a compass. It was ornate and made out of some blue crystal material which glowed. Jeremiah held it up and it spun then locked towards the woods south of the train yard.

“Your saying that it might follow me home?” Ray looked at Tommy.

Jeremiah put the compass back in his coat “High chance, I’m sorry Ray.”

Ray looked around the train yard, quiet once again, still with the sleeping bodies of metal giants. He looked east to where his house and family slept for the night. The whispering swirled in his mind.

I can’t go back.

“Jeremiah, I am a master mechanic and have kept my self in good condition. Let me help you”

“Wait, Ray -“ Tommy interjected.

Jeremiah put up his hand and stared deeply into Ray’s eyes. He knew. He had seen it before.

“You sure? I’ve been hunting this thing for a whole year. From England across the seas to America. I won’t stop till it is dead. Its behavior is erratic, I have used people like you as bait before” He tried it before. Tried to protect the person, failed. He thought he could save her. “Are you sure?”

Ray saw his wife and son sleeping in his mind. What he saw and heard terrified him. If there was even a chance of the Tall Man following him home. He could not go back. He pulled out a piece of paper from his pocket “Pen?” Jeremiah handed him one.

“Here” he handed Tommy the note “Please give this to my wife, explain in the best way you can Tommy. I’m counting on you”

Tommy took off his small hat and grabbed the note “Ray, this is crazy.” Tommy said with a look of sadness “You come back in one piece Ray, your the best I have ever seen, you have a gift. I will take care of your family”

Tommy put his hat back on and stuck out his hand. Ray took it firmly.

“I have a small bag of things in the roadhouse, that’s all I need.” Ray stuck out his hand to Jeremiah “Looks like we are partners for some time”

Jeremiah smiled. He had met a lot of strangers on his path. Something about Ray was different, maybe what ever Tommy said about his gifts, but Jeremiah sensed something deeper. He took his hand and shook with vigor.

“Partners.”

Happy Halloween!

It has been a spooky two months (I start celebrating spooky season beginning of September ) I love trains. When I was kid I would watch this train VHS on repeat. The size and look of them, how they operate and the senes of travel you have with a train is incredible. I went to the train museum in Kyoto, Japan and saw some amazing locomotives. It is too bad that US has sorta gotten rid of passenger trains.

I had this vision of this encounter. I had it in here for a while, but decided to make it my halloween story this year. Ray and Jeremiah could become an interesting team up following the Tall Man through 1940’s America.

Watch out late at night and Happy Halloween!

Till next time ~

“What would you be havin today?” A man in denim overalls stood outlooking the wheat fields that went on as far as the eye could see.

Zak looked out as well, but didn’t see anything besides the Goldens rows. He looked up at the man and said “Just a black coffee please, and a small slice of pumpkin pie. It’s been long trip here”

The man stepped back without even looking at him and retuned to the inside of the small diner. Zak peered inside where a few customers sat in retro style booths and stools. A few outside tables and seating had been set in front of the large windows. An odd choice, but the weather was nice and he had been cooped up in his car for three days. It was nice to sit among the sun rays and fresh air.

He pulled a small notebook from his trench coast and flipped through to the latest page.

Golden Falls, North Dakota - Two incidents, 3 months apart. Agency sent three, none came back.

Report back on Sept 15th.

He took out a pen and made a note of the diner and the man waiting on him and what he had seen so far. He had come in this morning and this diner lay on the outside of the town. Surrounded by golden wheat farms on almost sides then a barrier of lush trees in the center with dips of elevation that could cause one other think they were in an other state. From his research it was an idle town of ten thousand people. Crime rate one of the lowest in the countries and rated one of the best places to move to, if you could find property.

That was until his agency followed a large cult leader to the town. Then things started to look a bit more realistic or at least normal for small towns.

“Coffee, pie. How you be paying? Cash?” The man set each piece down with little caution.

“Yes, cash would be fine.” He handed him a ten “Please keep the change”

The man stared at the money for a long moment then finally bolted them at Zak.

“Thanks, enjoy your time here.” He said and returned inside.

Zak took a sip of the coffee and smiled. It was delicious and the view only made it better. The sun was shining and a couple of clouds skimmed the sky making his view a Van Gogh painting. The pie was next, a small slice, but that’s all he needed. He down it in two bites. Again, what a marvel it was when a place could instill such flavor into a few ingredients. He nodded to himself taking another sip of coffee. He knew that he had to enjoy every moment of this life. He had seen it slip away far too easily in the past.

He took the west road in. Past the diner he glided his car through fields of gold until he hit the forest. He could see it in the distance as he approached, but it seemed so foreign out here in the middle of the wheat that he thought it might be a heat mirage. Large cedars rose in a line and engulfed him from all sides casting him into shaded darkness. The road became more windy and hills heaved him up and down as if he was near the coast line. There was nothing between the beginning the forest and the town, just miles of trees and nature. He rolled down a large hill and rounded a corner where a large sign sat in an outcome of the trees.

Welcome to Golden Falls!
You have never seen a place like this.

Zak stopped at and peered at the sign. It looked brand new, not spec of decay on it. Must be new, the article he saw was only from a few years ago. He continued onward.

The trees broke away and rows and rows of victorian houses in all different colors lined both sides of him. Perfect manicured lawns with sidewalks stamped out front leading all the way to the end of a culdasac and back out to the main road. He came to a stop at the top of a hill in the pristine neighborhood. Down below he could see main street beyond another cluster of trees. Four streets, two going west to east and two others going north to south. Old timey looking buildings of brick lay on each side of the streets. Small streets sprouted from the middle of the side walk and it looked like everything else to be in perfect condition. He let his foot off the brake and let himself glide right down into town. Some residents were out and about strolling on the cool autumn day, he could see some enjoying meals or inside the shop windows. He veered off and parked in one of the metered spots. Eyes glanced, but non lingered. Zac opened the middle compartment of his car and pulled out a .45 and slid it into his holster under his arm. You never knew what you were getting into. He had been stabbed once in a peaceful coastal town by a psychopath he was tracking. If other agents had disappeared here he wouldn’t take a chance of being ambushed. He got out of the car and smoothed back his blonde hair, nodding to a women who smiled across the street. He walked a bit far down to the first intersection, on the corner was a coffee shop with a turret of windows that fit the corner. Next to it was a small bar with two gas lanterns on each side of the door, it was called the Lanternier. Zac pushed through the large dark green door.

Inside were booths on the left running along the brick wall to the back while a massive bar ran parallel on the right side. A few booths were occupied and a three people sat on stools at the bar. He joined them.

The bartender stood at the far end talking to one of the customers and then slid along the bar, still polishing his glass in front of Zac.

“Good morning, haven’t seen you around in a while. What can I get for you?” The bartender asked. His eyes matched his smile. Secrets.

Zac looked around the back bar at the liquor bottles then at the tap. “Something light for me, a beer please, what ever you suggest. And this is actually my first time here.”

The bartender nodded and glided back the middle of the bar and pulled a light beer and returned. He stood silently eyes fixed on Zac’s then finally said “Well, you know sometimes folks look alike. Simon Teller is my name, bartender of the Laneternier. Welcome to Golden Falls - “ Simon stuck out his hand.

Zac shook it firmly “Zac, thank you”

“Zac” Simon repeated slowly “Well if there is anything you need, let me know. I’ll be around” With that Simon shifted, eyes still on Zac to the middle the bar and as if he had to pry his eyes away snapped his head in the other direction.

Zac sat sipping his beer, keeping his eyes shifting back and forth to the customers in the back and to the windows. He noticed a few people walk by but the mid day morning was pretty much empty. When his beer was almost empty Simon slid back in front of him. His eyes had attached to him mid bar and he knew that there was a visit soon.

“Another beer for you Zac?” He smiled.

Zac leaned back in the stool and pulled out a picture of one of the agents. “No, Simon, that was good enough. Just wondering, I had friend pass through here a while ago, trying to get in touch with them and they called from here, did you see them at all?” Zac slid the photo across the bar. Simon pried his eyes away from Zac and in a quick glance peeked down

“Nope” he answered sharply then met Zacs gaze “Hadn’t seen him before. Maybe try the east side of town, past the river. Folks sometimes pass here an end up over there before leaving.” Simon took the glass “Good luck”

“Thanks” Zac threw a few dollars on the bar and returned to the street. The sun was shining bright, but the autumn wind cooled him down as it swept across the street. He took one more glance, got in his car and headed to the east side of town.

The river cut the town in a third. Most of the town rested on the west side of it, while a few shops were immediately after the bridge then residential and bed and breakfasts started to pop up in the trees and hills. No matter where he looked, the views were stunning. Up among the trees sat a large colonial blue house. A large turret framed the left side of the house and a wrap around porch on two levels gave plenty of room for large rocking chairs. The garden in the front was expertly maintained with a small fountain sitting among roses and small bushes with an ornate paved walk way from the driveway to the front steps. Zac stepped inside the parlor which looked just the way he imagined it would. Upholstery, flower wallpaper and dark wood accenting everything. A women popped up from behind the desk. Her smile and outfit matched the decorations.

“Well, what do we have here? Just come into town?” She beamed at him while opening the giant register book.

“Yes, three night please. Pretty town you have here” Zac had to fight the urge to start asking about his partners, but knew that he took a large chance exposing himself at the lanternier already. Better to keep it down low for a bit, he was already being watched like a hawk by any townsfolk that was in seeing distance.

“Mary’s the name” She flipped the guest register towards him. “If you need anything while you are around, just ask, okay?” She turned and selected room 4 for him. “Best view in the whole place”

Zac spied that the rest of the keys were still hanging around behind her. He was the only occupant it seemed. He signed a fake name and address on the register and paid in cash.

“Thanks Mary, will do” he smiled back and took the key from her. She stared at him smiling ear to ear un moving as he backed away from the desk. He peered back at her as he moved up the stares. She still stood motionless, eyes locked on him. He decided Mary might need to be watched more closely than the others.

Night fell peacefully over the small town. The lanterns on the side of the streets glowed orange and everything shushed to a whisper as lights tuned on from the many houses and restaurants still open down on the main. Zac’s room was decorated like the rest of the place, but it was spacious and he could see the whole town from the turret windows. It was ideal.The winding roads through the small neighborhood and into town could be clearly seen and he could even see all the way down the west street, where the lanternier was. He pulled out a pair of binoculars. It was time for some rear window habits. He first scouted out the small houses close to his bed and breakfast. Most were dark, but a few had residents outside on their porch enjoying a night cap. He moved down the street to the edge of town. For a small town he was surprised to see so many residents out late at night, or they could be visitors, but from seeing the empty rooms here, he doubted. As he had passed through town earlier he noticed cigar, and cocktail lounges, trendy old style cafes, a diner and elaborate fancy restaurants. He followed the Main Street up other the east edge then back up the hills looking straight at him. Large cottage style houses, like the one he was staying in stared at him with illuminated eyes. He took a peak. The first few windows were covered in white linen showing shadows moving about behind them. He couldn’t discern what they were doing. A large blue house shone bright, all the windows were lit, all the way from the small slit form the basement to the circle attic window saying hello, we are open for business. He swept across them.

Empty.

Empty.

Empty.

Then, two people. A man and women looking down at something on the floor. The women had her hands on her hips and was shaking her head in disapproval. The man had his hands crossed and scratched his chin with his right hand looking intently at the floor. Zac joined them at what they were looking at.

A body.

Zac pulled away from the binoculars, shook his sight and then went back in.

A man lay at their feet, knife protruding out from his chest. Clearly dead. He looked back at the couple. They seemed not concerned, but more annoyed at the dead man at their feet. Zac took out a tape recorder.

“A man and a women in large blue house on the east side of town. Women, late 30’s brown hair down to shoulders, 5,6ish, man early 40’s 6,1, short black hair. Both are standing over a body of a man with a knife lodge in his chest. No movement. No excitement, no commotion, both discussing over the body. Hard to see more, but the whole house is lit up, maybe they were searching for the man. Will investigate tomorrow.”

Zac put down the tape recorder, but left It running encase anything else happened. He watched for another hour, while the couple walked in and out of the room, turning off the lights and finally the one where the body was. They left the man there, on their floor. Just dead.

He put down the binoculars and rubbed his eyes. Maybe it is a party they are setting up or something, like a murder mystery?

Just as he was about to head to bed, the light in the room turned back on. He jumped to the window and looked. The room was empty for a while, then out of the left corner the women appeared. Dressed in some sort of black and red gown, she wore a mask that looked like a jester smile and mischievous eyes. It was white, but the smile and eyes were red. She pulled the knife out of the man and observed the red stained metal. Then in a violent display she fell to her knees straddling the man and stabbed him over and over again. He must of been dead for a while, as blood did not spray out from the corpse, but oozed and splashed heavily around her and on her gown. Panting and withdrawing the knife she stood up. With knife in her right hand she took her left and steered blood over the mask, took a large breathe in and exited his frame.

The lights went out.

I love Twin Peaks. The characters, atmosphere and the whole production is something special and I just finished reading Wayward pines, which was inspired by Twin Peaks. I have always have the fascination with the small idealic town that just doesn’t seem right when you start peeling back its layers. Our protagonist is based on the Character Zachary ‘Zack’ Morris from Saved by the Bell. I imagined when he grew up he became an FBI agent, putting his tricks and gimmicks away, but using his charm and wit to solve some interesting crimes. He’s mellowed out a bit since high school, but his trickster side is still there serving him well. Let’s see what tricks he can pull on the inhabitants of Golden Falls!

Cheers!

A crunch came from the impact of the metal pole against his shins. He screamed behind the gag as the pain rippled up his leg and pulsed through his whole body.

“Oo, that one sounded good” A tall man that held the bat said as he moved to the side to look at his handy work “Shattered”

“What’s left to break? Ribs?” A girl sat on a small chair opposite from the tied up man. She wore a thin veil of white, but she wasn’t old enough to know the significance.

“How many fingers we have left. Two? Let’s get those first” a shorter stout man stood to her left. Brothers and sister all intertwined in a sadistic theater of torture and pleasure.

“This one lasted a lot longer than the others. Surprised me, still awake and breathing after all that? We didn’t even need to use the smelling salt or anything. A strong one.” The man sat the bat down and tore the blind fold off the tied up man. Both eyes were purple, bruised and small flecks of light refracted off bulging flesh. “Maybe we take his eyes”

With that the man in the chair seemed to chuckled. Laugh? Behind his gag. His whole body convulsed and spit ran down his chin as his teeth shone and lungs worked.

The tall man back up “What’s so funny?” He picked up the sheers.

“Cut him up Shane” the girl smiled “Take his eyes, then his tongue”

The man let out a howl of laughter. Blood leaked from all contusions and bloody stumps where toes and fingers used to be.

The shorter brother walked up and smacked him so hard that he rocked back and forth, but the laughter grew even louder. The girl stood up.

“Make him stop, no one laughs at us, even if they are half crazed”

Shane moved to place another finger between the blades, but as he did the mans hand seemly un bothered by missing fingers and shackles reach around and plowed into the side of Shanes neck. The girl and the younger brother backed up immediately as the man slithered out of his bonds, his bloody stumps of hands slashing, slicing and piecing Shane as he screamed trying to fend him off with the sheers to no avail. Tendrils of black whisped off the mans back and his body and limbs turned more beast then man. Claws, serrated and thick burst through flesh and started to rip Shane open. Blood, screams and meat sprayed out form under the beast who was the man.

“Jim do something, do something!” The girl screamed her eyes wide unable to pull away from the massacre of her brother.

Jim stepped forward, but in a flash he slipped and fell to the ground. He tried to stand again, but both his legs had been cut clean at the knees. He reached for his phantom limbs and screamed as the man stood up from Shanes now desecrated body.

“Damn, that was a little messy, wouldn’t you say?” The beast was a shadow of horror that now formed into a man. His hair black as night, face pale white with strong features. His eyes deep and black. He seemed to float as he caught the girl as she tried to run for the stairs.

“Please, please stop” she screamed and thrashed around.

He looked at her, a soft smile upon his face. He pulled her to the cold wall and spoke in a deep confident, but hushed voice

“How many people have you killed, tortured? Many. I know. I have felt them”

The girl started to sob. The make up she wore for the kill now running down her face “Please, don’t kill me, have mercy, please” she begged.

The screams from Jim were now fading as his consciousness faded from blood loss.

The man licked his lips “Mercy? Let me ask you, if I would have asked for mercy back in that chair, would I have received it?”

He held her firm, her eyes flashed to his.

“Everything is mirror my dear child. What you do is reflected onto you. Was there ever any mercy for me? The others? Of course not. So you have your answer.You will have plenty of more pain once I am done with you.” He smiled showing sharp teeth “Now, let us dance”

The shed was out back in a broken down part of the neighborhood. Rows of shantie houses locked side by side in decay a mile long. The neighbors started to complain about the rats and soon the police found the basement of the shed. That’s when they were called in.

Tom stood in the middle of the room, blood and body parts strewn around the walls. He stared at the girl. Arms and legs ripped from body hung in a macabre scene. Her face screamed eternally and eyes held pure despair. He sighed heavily and walked back up stairs and into the yard where James stood looking up into the sky with a donut in hand.

“Is it our man?” James said still staring up at the clouds.

Tom scratched the side of his head. A serial killer of killers. The brutality of each scene was starting to add up in Tom’s conscious. They were on his track. This demon roaming the streets.

“Yup” Tom blew out a full breath of air “They found bodies, seven, eight, maybe more in the lower level of the basement and of course the brothers and sisters splashed across the room”

James pursed his lips and then took a large bite of his donut. Chocolate frosting with sprinkles. “Yeah, you know, maybe we just let this dude clean up the city? He’s great bait and he cleans up after himself, in the killing of killers type of way”

“You know there is always a bigger reason why they do what they do. There is a reason that will lead to bigger trouble down the road.” Tom ground his teeth. He pushed the tormentor out of his mind which had been growing louder since seeing the women in Tyler’s basement. He recomposed and spied at James.

James turned and offered the donut to Tom. He turned it down “Ya, you’re right” he said then brushed the crumbs off his mustache. “The Hidler family huh? Where are the parents when you need them?”

“Probably in the basement” Tom answered.

James laughed “Good one, probably.” He finished off the rest of the donut and made his way back to the main house. A shambled mess of garbage stacked to the roof top, rotted food and rats. It was clear that the Hidler family was in the business of killing and not cleaning. Tom looked back at the small shed that held the basement. Among all these houses, all these windows, how many eyes saw them bring their victims down there, or just looked upon the shed. Not knowing the horrors and carnage happening beneath the surface. Just couple hundred feet.

For a moment, a brief moment, Tom agreed with the demon they were chasing.

Happy Birthday to me!

We meet Tom and James after being introduced to our killer of killers that they are chasing. There are many horror movies where the whole family is in on the “fun”. Control is always ecstasy until the illusion is broken. When you are no longer the top of the food chain, how does that feel?

I actually have two stories I wrote on my Birthday, this one and Wizards Peace (which is still being edited at the moment), that one is a bit more relaxed and less gruesome. The balance is needed. See you in another time.

What Lies Behind
Stacked Deck

Cheers~

“Hey! Watch me, watch me, are you watching?” Tyler swung around on the monkey bars and hanging upside down flailing his arms in all directions.

His parents smiled and gave a clap then returned to talking to his grandmother on the bench just outside of the playground.

Plastic tubes ran from the ground and snaked around to square compartments that held bubble outcoves. The playground had many semi tall structures that held tubes that went to each one, like a fast food playscape, but outside and mixed with open air natural ideas. The floor of the whole area was smoothed with a bouncy non lethal rubber that was soft to the touch and even if an adult fell they would only feel the gentle pressure of gravity being dissipated as they impacted the surface. At the front of the playground was a large arch that made it look like a building that had its insides carved out. Facades of windows and balconies were adorned on the outside to give it a city feel. On the outskirts and strewn within were benches and some picnic tables for the adults to keep an eye on their kid and talk amongst themselves of the world’s problems.

Tyler rounded a tube and stumbled into one of the square buildings. It wasn’t full enclosed, the corners of the walls had small slits in them to connect them to the outside and the roof was elevated a few feet to let the sun and wind gently enter. He looked out the bubble window at his parents and knocked on it. They waved. And he went back to exploring.

Tylers parents, Daniel and Samantha sat close. They had just lost Daniels father and his mother sat on the bench with them.

“I keep telling you Mom, come out here for a bit more time. Tyler would love to have you around and well, I could tolerate you” Daniel gave his Mom a smile and his wife playfully hit him on the chest.

“Really, it would be no problem for us at all. We have plenty of guest rooms, food and I could use all the help I can get with that one” Samantha sent a glance over at the playground. She couldn’t see Tyler, but she could hear him banging around in those large tubes.

His Mom looked out for a moment away from them. There was nothing back in Virginia for her. Just an empty house filled with memories of happiness and pain. A lingering ghost that she wished she could touch, talk to or see again.

Her thoughts were interrupted by large banging coming from the playground.

“Okay Tyler, calm down buddy we are here”

The banging continued, but became more aggressive, rapid, louder. Daniel stood.

“Tyler stop messing around, come on out, now” he yelled.

Rubber against polymer squeezed and the banging stopped.

Silence.

Samantha and his Mom stood up “Tyler? Sweetie, please come out here”

Cold panic set in. Daniel bolted into the playground, sliding into the small spaces and moving through tight polymer tubes towards where the sound came from.

He reached the square room and looked down the red tube where the sound came from. He peered out the bubble window.

“What do you see?” Samantha asked.

Daniel stuck his head into the tunnel and looked, but he didn’t see anything. The tunnel turned and went deeper into the playground.

“I don’t see anything, I have to keep going.”

That was the last thing they heard from him.

He moved into the tunnel and sloped around the corner.

“Tyler!” His words bounced around and kept bouncing deeper.

Daniel kept sliding down the tube, it kept going in a circle. He was sure that the tunnels should have ended from what he saw on the outside. The steepness took a sharp degree and he could no longer hold him self and started to slide down. He flopped out the slides entrance and onto a smooth rubber surface.

He sat up and stared into the sky, or what would have been a sky. A jumbled mess of colored playscape tubes roped around in all directions, snaked around each other and covered the entirety above him. Around him was a small courtyard that was fashioned as a small square. A fountain sprayed water in the center and thick benches sat around it. The floor was a mixture of the rubber material and a fake turf that gave it an artificial natural feeling. Lamps lined the outside of the a rubber path that went to the fountain and continued to an entrance to a building. The walls looked like a New York high society alleyway. Cobble stone with cute balconies and windows lining all the way to the top.

It was impossible. Daniel moved past the fountain and found a shoe at the other entrance. White reeboks with a dinosaur on them.

He stared at the large entrance, more polymer and large children facades lay inside.

He clutched the shoe “Tyler!”

The man sat down in the large leather chair and leaned back.

“How many incidents?”

“Fifteen that we know of”

The man rubbed his eyebrows with his thumb and forefinger. “Jesus, how many involved?”

“Twenty. Fifteen children and five adults.”

A knock came at the door.

“What is it ?” The man yelled still rubbing his eyebrows.

A lady stuck her head through the door “Ada is here to talk about the next steps, shall I have her wait?”

The man looked past his secretary at Ada. Her eyes were like vipers, staring right into his soul. She could never wait. What ever that women had on her mind, they were all hanging from her strings.

“Bring her in, Miss Shaw, thank you for the report, please keep me updated.”

Miss Shaw stood up taking her binder. As she exited she stopped Ada.

“We will find them Mrs.Noether, I promise you”

Ada smiled. It was a smile that could destroy the world. Full of unbridle confidence, a godlike consciousness dressed in sex and power.

“Thank you Miss Shaw” She leaned in “ I will find them. Please continue on containing the other incidents. Once our plans are finished we will get them all back”

Miss Shaw bowed and moved past her.

“Now, let’s get down to business” Ada said and closed the door behind her.

I was out for a walk the other day later in the day and there is a playground that I always pass by. When I passed the parents were sitting on the bench and talking and there was a loud banging coming from the playground, but I couldn’t see the child. I thought of my plastic yarn story and what if the loud noise was no so innocent. I wonder what company actually made the materials for the playgrounds?

No where is safe when dimensions can be crossed.

Till next time ~

He looked down at his watch then back towards the large building that loomed infront of him.

Noon. On a Friday.

He checked his watch again with a flick of his wrist, his cold steel blue eyes reflecting off the diamond glass. Each small tick of the second hand made him twitch.

“Sam!” A voice called to him and he snapped his wrist back down to his side. A bright smile came to his face as he stood up. A man dressed to the nines in a green suit and hat extended his arm and then gave him a big hug.

“Sam, how long has it been, years right? Looking good.” The man took a seat next to Sam.

Sam removed his own burgundy hat and smoothed back his grey hair then readjusted the hat on his head “It has been quite a long time hasn’t it Mack. Business alright?”

Mack nodded “Oh, business is fantastic, never better”

Sam stared into Macks’ teal eyes. A lie.

“When you telegrammed me I had to double check the name, I thought, there is no way Sam Hilde is trying to get a hold of me. You practically disappeared after, well you know, after that. What’s this all about anyway?”

Sam continued to look, search in Macks face. No sign of remorse, no sign of wrong doing, no sign of empathy. To Mack, Sam was just another road block that had been removed.

“Do you remember when you told me about the Charlette deal? I put my money up, made the deals and well it didn’t go so well for me did it?”

A quick smirk came to Macks mouth, but in a flash it was gone replaced with a frown. There it was, the remembrance of what he did. He leaned back against the bench and loosened his posture. There was the old Mack.

“Of course I remember Sam, it didn’t have to go that way you know. We tried to tell you. Warn you best we could. The Charlette deal was with that shady Bloomhill company. Bad people. You know, you didn’t listen. What can I say?”

Sam saw it. His house on fire, kids screaming while his wife desperately crawled towards them, legs shattered, body barely hangin on. Then gun shots, small legs giving out. His throat bleeding from screaming and begging. His whole life grinding into dusk in a single moment. Family ripped from his hands, his fortune torched and his future cut out from under him. For what? Money and power?

He produced a brief case that was of brown leather, the outside was burnt and the hinges were smoke black. Sam opened the clasps and pulled out a piece of paper. It held the majority owners of the Bloomhill company and its entities underneath.

He handed it to Mack.

Macks eyes flicked form the paper and back to Sam and he shrugged “Interesting forgery. We told you, we had nothing to do with Bloomhill” Sam then produced another paper.

On top it read Leviathan Holdings, Incorporated 1907 and listed the founders. Two years before Bloomhill was made.

Mack stared the page for a long while and said “You know, we probably should have killed you too back then. You had more money, power than us all, you dominated your industry. You just weren’t hungry enough though. You didn’t see the future, but you blocked it with your just reasoning. Proper business. This is a cruel world Sam, I don’t know how you lived and made it the way you did.” Mack laughed and threw the paper onto the street “Well, look how you ended up, guess you didn’t make it huh?”

Mack stood up and buttoned his coat “I thought you would be begging me for something, I wanted to see you on your knees, but I guess I wasted my time. Good bye Sam, I won’t see you again”

Sam stood up and rolled his shoulders back and held out his hand. Mack laughed and shook, but Sam didn’t let go right away. His hand grasped Macks with firm, gently locking force. Sam looked deep straight into Macks eyes.

“I hope your family had fun up in Hartland. One more time Mack. I will see you one more time. Let them all know, I will see them all soon” Sam slid his hand away and stepped back.

Eyes wide and skin turning pale white Mack stared at him. His mouth trying to say something, to form a comeback, but all he could do was turn and sprint running the possibilities through his mind.

Mack did not meet a man today, he met Devil in a mans skin.

And that Devil was Sam Hilde.

I started off with a man waiting, tense, and very punctual. Then as the conversation started it molded into a revenge tale. This man had been wronged by his friends and he was back. The classic (if you call it that) of the family getting killed and they leave the father alive to sit in despair, to learn the lesson. If I get the era right alot of 8-90’s action films were like this. Timecop anyone?

Till next time~

Jason struggled agains the binds of the platform. He could break them at any moment, but didn’t need them to know that. A man hovered over him in his blurred vision. He spoke quickly pointing here and there to some other person that quickly moved around the room. His head throbbed and even if he could escape his binds easily, he really didn’t want to. He needed some rest. Breaking out of the facility had taken much more out of him, he used much more then he thought he had. He wanted to sleep again. His eyes started to slip and a hand gentle slapped his cheek.

“Cmon boy stay with me, you will feel a bit better in a minute. We can’t stay here long and we can’t carry you. The binds are only so you didn’t fall and hurt your self, one moment” the man grabbed something and Jason felt a sharp sting in his arm. He could feel whatever it was cool as ice flow through his veins, swim through his body, and unblock his pain. When it made it up to his head, the pounding stopped, his vision cleared and he let out a sharp outtake of breathe “Good. We have to go lad”

The man was older, grey hair bushed out of his head and a bushy mustache under thick rimmed glasses that sat on a sharp nose. A teenage boy who had a sharp look on his face un did the straps. Immediately Jason put out a signal, his head clear of all noise and nothing blocking his psychic energy he flew in all directions. The boy next to him sensed it and gabbed his wrist hard, pushing back his energy.

“Not now, they will find us easier.”

Jason eyed the older man and he nodded. They both knew then. Jason rolled off of the platform and felt his feet swim then stabilize under him. They were in a garage which had been done up with all sorts of odd machines. He noticed some of the symbols from the facility. The older man pulled up the garage door and light filled the inside. Jason had no idea where he had stumbled off to after demolitioning his way out of the facility or how he had gotten here. But he knew that he had left Todd behind. He had to go back, but he was in no condition. He had searched for him last night, broke every wall, door and window he could get to, but he did not see him, or any of the other children.

Underground.

“We have to move fast. They will be searching quickly. You did great damage last night.” The man shook his head “Terrible, great damage” he opened the door to a large station wagon and cleaned out the back set. “Billy, take the front seat, you in the back”

Jason stood looking out “I don’t know you” he then looked around the suburb. He had never been outside before “I don’t know anyone out here” he whispered.

The man walked over to Jason and took his hand and shook it firmly and looked with sympathetic eyes “I’m professor Marlin, and that is Billy, I used to work in that place, the place you came from. I know the horrors.” Jason responded with his name, but as he connected with the professors eyes great pain surged through him. Regret, anger, mistrust, pain all mixed together. He saw snippets of a past that wasn’t his. Jason gasped and tore his vision away. The professor guided him into the back seat.

“You have a great gift, a terrible great gift” he shook his head again and avoided Jasons gaze at all cost “Sonny, we have a lot to talk about”

Billy and the Professor got in the car and they took off down the road. Jason laid his head down and stared up through the windows at the rolling clouds passing by. He had watched the local news on the television in facility secretly. He knew a bit about the small town he was in, but besides snap shots of images and a few live broadcasts he was lost. An ocean of a world he was now deep in. He closed his eyes and saw Floor 2. The smooth grey walls leading up into a black abyss and then the pit opening up infront of him. The cones rising out of the pit becoming thinner, pointier, savage and unforgiving. The moans and screams of the broken children residing at the bottom, hundreds of feet below those cones. Crying for someone to save them, their mothers and fathers, their friends, the facility staff, someone to take their pain away. To carry them softly back to their beds and tell them it was going to be alright. To remove them from the corpses of those that came from before them and who were abandoned, defective according to the facility. He saw her eyes and smile as the elevator door closed. Mallorie had no idea. She was strong, but would she pass that test? Was she now laying screaming with torn up limbs among the others? What if they put Todd through it.

Jason bolted up. Todd was too young, he wasn’t strong enough. He would fail.

“We have to go back. I can’t leave them” Jason said moving towards the door.

Billy turned around “We can’t. You made so much noise that they shut down the blocks around the facility, and security was flown in from somewhere last night. I doubt we could even get close with out getting killed. They already killed one intruder today. I felt it when searching around.”

“Billy’s right. I know you have friends back there, but the testing will stop for a moment. A security breach of any kind slows everything down, something like what you did? That will take even long to smooth out. I am also guessing they took all the children down to the sub level facility for the time being. They will get them visible as soon as they can. Your friends will be safe a for awhile, but we must act quickly. They like to make up for lost time.”

Jason slid to the center of the seat and leaned forward to be between them.

“You used to work there, were you at the facility before me?” He eyed Billy.

“No, Professor found me before they did. I was in an orphanage as a kid. I’m adopted now” Billy smiled at the Professor who pushed his glasses up from the bridge of his nose and cleared his throat.

“Who trained you?”

“Professor did, less hazardous methods from what I imagine you went through, but I’m no push over. You being gifted or not, don’t try anything stupid.”

“Okay okay, relax, we will test some things later, but we need to get far away form the facility as possible for the time being.”

The car rounded a corner and the sides of the road started to fill with more trees then phone poles. They drove for hours through winding roads through large pines and spruces.

As Jasons strength recovered a bit he could feel the sense of lightness he had sensed when on Floor 2. A limitless to his awareness and power. It was intoxicating. His mind searched, leapt and pulled in all directions. Life teemed around in his senses even the vibration of the car spun tapestries of sensations in his mind. He wasn’t being blocked anymore, his psychic mind was free and it threatened to dissolve his body and become all mind.

“Will you stop that!” Billy snapped back him. “Your driving me nuts, it’s like I’m getting with with waves of your energy.”

The car stopped and the headlights illuminated a small cabin.

“Dammit” Billy burst from the car and stomped towards the cabin.

Jason got out, his feet gave way and he crashed to the ground. He tried to stand, but his legs shook uncontrollably and he panted with sweat

“Here let me help you, gotta control that energy of yours, I could even feel it. It’s going to drain you a lot faster then you think”

Jason heaved air into his lungs “I-I’ve never had the chance, I’ve never felt like this before”

“It is probably quite a shock to have the limiter not suppressing you anymore. How did they not know of your power?”

“I hid it while I was in there, I played them, had to. Had to protect Todd.”

The lights of the cabin illuminated the darkness and Billy swung open the door and helped him in.It was a charming place. A great room with a large fireplace, table and sofa, behind that was a kitchen table, one stove and small sink. Two rooms were in the back and the windows were small circles filled with webs.

They plopped Jason the sofa. Professor pulled chair from the kitchen table and Billy folded his legs and sat on the floor. The fire was already raging and filling the place with * heat.

“Everybody get some good rest, we have to start preparing tomorrow.” The professor said, but Jason was already soaring in his dreams.

He was safe for a moment.

There is a building I always drive past where I live. It looks like an office building form the 70’s, but it is surrounded by barbed wire fences. I never see anyone in or any of the lights on. What could they be doing in there? So (even before stranger things) I came up with a place that ‘adopted’ children that had psychic powers and tried to train them as weapons. At first it seems like a typical special sort of educational place, but underground are levels of harder and more deadly challenges that the kids go through. If they survive they keep going. My main character Jason escapes and begins a journey to retune to save his friends that he left behind after finding out the the true sadistic nature of it all.

This is a small snippet from that story. See you in the next one ~

The doctor removed his glasses and rubbed his eyes with his thumb and index finger. He stayed like that for a long time then slouched back and put his glasses back on. A large window presented a small room with a chair sitting in the middle of it. It was on a platform that was sunken a foot into the floor. The room was lit with warm lights among the walls and a floor lamp in each corner. It was pleasant set up, made to help one relax. The floor was a thick carpet and walls a pleasant wallpaper of light orange and brown.

A women sat next to him twirling her hair and chewing on some gum. She seemed totally uninterested at the whole situation as she flipped through a horror book. She wore the standard assistant uniform, but her hair was a dark purple and she would glance up at him with dark brown eyes. He understood, if he wasn’t so deep, he would feel the same.

“When is the next patient due?” He asked looking over a large machine with knobs and tiny screens.

The women picked up a clipboard and flipped through it “We have one at 4:30, male, seems to have some trauma that had happened a couple of years ago. Says he has tried everything, life falling apart, you know, the usual.” She tossed the clipboard back on the desk.

“Trauma trauma trauma” the doctor flipped some switches “You know I haven’t slept in three days, call that trauma. Can’t even get a decent coffee at the moment. Why do you think ? Oh, nevermind, they won’t tell us anyway” He readjusted his coat and moved towards the door. “Getting some coffee, you want anything?”

“That cream soda thing” she said without looking up from her book.

He nodded and exited the dark room.

He turned left and walked through the halls of the Animah institute. A wellness center that was built to harness the new age methods of treating the soul, the mind and the body. Using new techniques of therapy and advance technology they were proposing that they could release you form your burdens and help you be reborn.

The hallways held large posters of symbols that never made sense to him, happy go luck vibes that held something a bit sinister the more you looked at them. The whole place bathed in warm light of orange and vanilla colors. The walls a deep orange with the posters and some murals here and there, the floor in the hallways a vanilla color with speckles of black. He rounded a corner and entered the breakroom. All the walls curved into a light that ran among the ceiling. It was supposed to be futuristic, but he sometimes felt as if he was in a fun house.

The room was empty and he flipped the switch on the coffee machine and waited for it to heat up.

Another man entered. Doctor Philman.

“Hey, Cyrus, how you holding up? I head they have some crazy new project that you are on. I barely see you leave now a days”

He sighed and nodded “Yeah, it’s been a bit tough. How about you?”

Philman grabbed the coffee, his coffee, and poured a cup.

“Can’t complain, we are seeing some good progress on some of our patients. I mean most don’t come back, but they reach out and really let us know how much it changed their life. Your project going well? “

Cyrus flipped the switch again on the coffee machine and stared out into the hallway with blank eyes. “Can’t really say yet. Some good, some bad, some -“

“That’s great” Philman moved towards the door “Hey, make sure to get some rest, looking a bit stressed” He smiled and exited the room.

The coffee finished pouring and Cyrus looked down at it. The ceiling reflected off its dark waves. He picked it up and smiled, grabbed a cream soda from the fridge and walked back to the room.

“Whoa what happened to you?” Serena looked peered over her book at him “someone give you a nice compliment?”

He handed her the cream soda “No no, not anything like that Serena. I just remembered.” He looked out the window to the empty chair “I jut remembered what this was all about, what we are close to discovering, my dreams and nightmares swarming into a great ocean of the edge of scientific illumination. A new age, my dear, a warping of all consciousness. That’s why we are hear.”

The cream soda canned cracked loudly. “Yup” She took a sip.

Doctor Cyrus smiled and nodded to himself “This has to be done, we need more data, we need more answers.” Then he took a large gulp of his coffee. It tasted a bit better with his reignited resolve.

I have a plot that I am pulling together. You might remember the ad from the Animah Institute - Get Well Soon

It seemed a bit weird eh? Well there is nothing normal about this place. Guard your mind, body and soul. You never know what could happen within its walls. Even the doctors barely know.

When I saw it I knew I should have turned around and left. Leave be to what ever force or abyss it came from. Leave it to those that really were looking, those that were into it.

But I didn’t.

It started with a case. A pretty little women, golden hair bobbed just above her shoulders, petite and innocent looking stepped into my office.

“This is the office of private investigator Mark Sinclair, right?” I jumped a bit. I wasn’t used to people walking straight into my office. My secretary was at home nursing her head with a pile of ice.

I pulled my hand away from my drawer as I looked up. “You found him” I kept alert, plenty of women would gut you for one reason or another.

She moved gracefully to sit, her white dress seemed to have a perpetual wind blowing through it.

“Pleasure Mr.Sinclair. My name is Dorthy Gilford. I have lost my husband I would like you to investigate his whereabouts for me.”

I smiled “You lost your husband or he is off with another gal? Which one?”

“Definitely lost Mr.Sinclair.” The way she smiled and said it put me on edge. A crack in the angel statue. What could you expect though. No one was perfect, no matter how hard you prayed.

“Well, Mrs.Gilford, I’m a bit stacked with active cases right now. I might need to defer you for a while, but this seems to be a time sensitive matter.”

Her hands rustled into her purse and pulled out a large stack of bills and slammed it on the desk.

“Oh, I see. I can be bought?” I leaned back into my chair.

“Mr.Sinclair, my husband is very important to me and many others. This money is nothing compared to getting him back.”

“Why not go to the police if he is so important?”

“It cannot be known that he is missing” she stated.

I rubbed my temples. It had to be another broad this guy was with. Which it would make it easy to find him, the after math wasn’t my problem. The money looked at me with its printed eyes. It was a lot. More then I made in half a year. I peered up at Dorthy. Her face was smooth, a small smile cut through it, pleasant.

“Where was he last seen?”

“North side of the city, at a bar called Presidential Cross. The code word to enter is ‘Fallen One’. He was there last Wednesday for a meeting, one that he always attends there. After that he would usually return home promptly at ten O’clock on the dot to discuss what happened. As you can tell, he never returned. I cannot reach him or get in contact with him. I am willing to to triple the offer if you find him this in the next couple days. Time is running from us”

The Presidential Cross. Damn. I knew the place. Avoided it like the plague. It had more security than Fort Knox. I cased the place once for a client, thought his wife was having an affair with someone in there. I watched anyone who was someone enter that building. Senators, police chiefs, even the president of the United States showed up. They knew I was watching too. The guard would glance up at my in my perch, look at me straight through my binoculars. Gave me the creeps.

The money looked good on my desk though.

“I’ll look into it for you Dorthy. That place isn’t my favorite, but I think I can stomach it for the arrangement.” I took the pile and cut it in half. “Half now, half later. If it is unfavorable or can’t find him, the rest of the bread is yours to keep.”

Dorthy put the rest of the cash in her purse and stood up. Her blue eyes looked down at me as her head tilted slightly up. This woman meant business.

“I am very gracious that you can assist us Mr.Sinclair. I look forward to your results. You can contact me at this number” She set a slip of paper on the desk. “For all the days we live, may this be the one be bathed in glory”

The she left.

The fan squeaked above me. Needed to get that fixed. I looked at the money. Soon.

Dorthy Gilford was the start of it all. A demon wrapped in an angels skin. A messenger of doom wearing a smile and white dress. My gut told me something was off, I knew it, but the damn thing was.

I wanted to know what it was.

The next day I put on my best suit and tie, slipped my revolver in it’s shoulder holster and looked at my self in the mirror. Best I looked all year. I waited till the night when the club would open.

The Presidential Cross was not just a club, but a whole building on the north side of town. It rose thirty stories into the sky, art deco facades aligning every inch of it. It looked like a billion bucks, because it was. Part hotel, condo’s and club, the entrance opened up to it’s concierge desk and check in counter. Statues of gold and suns gold illuminating the lobby. Velvet red couches and chairs that held patrons of high class sprawled around and then a small bar for guests sat along one of the sprawling walls. I looked around, this wasn’t the place I wanted to be, but I needed to scope out the place first. Some curious eyes glanced my way and I exited. No need to stay my welcome. The real place I wanted was around the corner. A door on the back of the building. It stood tall, ten feet, adjourned in zig zags of gold and silver, an eye in a massive pyramid beamed out from the center. Men fully nude embossed on the door reached towards the sky which held a large sun and some strange symbols.

It always creeped me out.

Below the eye was a slit which slid with fluid motion making no sound. A pair of eyes looked at me with vicious intent.

“Fallen One” I said.

The eyes stared at me for along moment. “Name? and the one who sent you?”

“Mark Sinclair, Dorthy Gilford sent me” at that the slit closed and a large clicking came from the door. Instead of opening it slid out of the way letting me in. I took a deep breath. I had watched a lot of chums come in here, looks like it was my turn.

I stepped down a hallway that was aligned with small theater lights to a set of double doors. No on was there to greet me. I pushed through them.It was crowded. Much more then I thought it would be. I didn’t see anyone enter from the door I came in. Must be guests or residents at the hotel. I stood over looking what looked like a ballroom. Spiraling marble columns lined both sides of the room. A massive bar that shot up into the vaulted ceiling sat at the back of the room. The place was multi tiered. The middle was completely open, to the right and left, tiers of stairs and sitting areas moved up to a balcony that disappeared behind the bar and extended more beyond. Every where I looked I felt poorer by the second. In the center of the room was a fountain. A woman status in marble covered her eyes tilting her head towards the ceiling revealing her full form, water ran down under her hands as if she was crying down into the pool of water at her feet. The water glistened with an other worldy shine of purple and aquamarine. I stepped down into the room. Figures dressed to the nines click glasses, smiled, laughed and partook in some sort of revelry.

I moved to the bar trying my best not to ruin anyones clothes.

The bartender wore a mask that covered her eyes. I couldn’t see them, but I knew her eyes were on me as soon as I appeared.

“Mr.Sinclair, what can I get you?”

“Know me? Door guy moves fast”

She smiled and nodded. Who else knew?

“I’m actually looking for someone -“

“Mr.Gilford, correct?” She put her thumbs together and connected her index fingers to form a triangle and put it on her forehead. “We know” then she giggled.

It felt off. Everything felt off. This place, these people. I peered over my shoulder. Everyone was still doing their thing, but now their ears were open, pointed straight at me.

“So, where might I find this Mr.Gilford? His wife is missing him dearly” I thought about a drink, but I didn’t want to front the bill.

The bartender leaned against the bar putting her elbows on it and resting her chin on her fists then pointed behind me.

“Our final guest has arrived.” A man spoke. I turned.

Party was over it seemed.

A man in a red and white suit stood behind another man sitting in a chair. The guests had stopped all their motion and watched.

“What an honor, who might you be?”

The man was older, gray hair brushed back and skin had seen better days. He reminded me of a talk show host. His suit coat was red and fell below his knees, while everything else beneath was white. The man in chair was dressed in tuxedo, his arms and legs were tied to the chair legs and arms. He didn’t seem bothered. I had a feeling who he was.

“Just the devil in a suit. We didn’t need you, but we wanted you. Tick tock, you didn’t make it in time to save your quest, but just in time to witness the birth of a new world” He whipped his arms and a large knife seemed to materialize out of thin air. A magician then.

I unholsterd my gun “Whoa there pal, let’s not do anything hasty. Devil or not, 45’s going to put a few holes in you if your not careful. Why don’t you step away from Mr.Gilford”

The mans smile grew so long I thought his face would split. “Perceptive as ever Mr.Sinclair” The knife went to Gilfords throat and stopped inches above his neck.

I breathed out and shot.

Then I shot again and again. The man stood motionless, they all stood motionless. Not even a flinch.

“Just my luck” I started to reload as fast I could.

“Lucky indeed” the knife plunged into Gilfords throat. Well there goes the rest of my money. Gilford didn’t even seem to react as blood poured down his neck and down his white shirt. The mans outfit now fully red as blood splattered as he held the knife in Gilfords throat. He stood looking at me with that stupid smile.

Off, everything is off. I finished reloading and aim down the sights again. The mans eye brows rose in amusement. This was no longer a party I wanted to be at.

I holstered my gun and ran towards the door. No one tried to stop me, no one even moved. As soon as I got to the top the stairs the door was sliding open for me to exit.

I stepped out into the night air. I could hear sirens coming from all directions, fire trucks speeding along. Screams and glass breaking. It sounded as if the whole world had gone mad. I sprinted back to my office.

I didn’t know what to make of it, everything had gone batty in an instant. I pushed through into my office, searching for more bullets, a knife and anything else that could be useful. I looked towards the bottle of whiskey. I needed clarity.

The door opened, I spun around pulling Mrs.Gilford into the sights of my 45.

Her dress was now black. Her sweet little face still splashed with that small smile.

“Unsuccessful were we Mr.Sinclair?”

“You could say something like that” I squeeze the trigger. She howled and fell back crashing into my front door. Her face was twisted in pain, but it shown a more demonic form. Eyes in places there shouldn’t be, teeth larger then any animal he had seen.

But she bled.

She stood and shook off the pain. Her new grotesque form standing tall and proud. She no longer needed to hide.

“Well Mr.Sinclair, looks like our contract has concluded. We needed a curious witness. Your eyes worked just as well as anyones. Welcome to the new world. I really did want to travel into the new world with my dear husband. He was oh so important. We might reunite again. He was picked for a reason”

I shot again, but in a flash she was gone.

Where she had been a card floated down to the floor. She left a calling card, what a broad. I picked it up.

In the center of it was a purple door with a sun above it. On the right of door it said Central and on the right Plaza and under it said Tower.

The last place I wanted to know about or even think about.

The Purple Door at the Central Tower Plaza.

I slipped the card into my pocket and picked up the phone and dialed. It rang for a moment then someone picked up.

“Henry, you still alive?” Sinclair said.

I love private investigators. I wrote this in the noir style. It is a style that I do not see that often anymore and when ever I read something like the Maltese Falcon or watch some old noir movies it sucks me in.

This is an introduction to our fateful investigator Mark Sinclair. I have a feeling this won’t be the only supernatural case he gets into.

IntrivateWeaving

There is always that one house. Out of all the houses in the neighborhood or when you’re taking your routine drive to work, it sits, looming, watching you as you pass. While it looks like an ordinary house, there is just something wrong with it. As if small little design decisions add up to bring a feeling of paranoia. The windows tilted slightly, the door chipped here and there, the grass a different type of green or growing in an odd way. The way it sits far back into its yard, way more then the other houses, like it doesn’t want to be seen as it hunts.

Cars sometimes are in the garage or on the outside, but that is a rare occasion. Most of the time it seems empty, no decorations on the outside, no movement from the shutters or windows. Just standing tall and ominous.

A bad dream at the end of a driveway.

There is always one. How did it become that way? Was it the builders? Was it the inhabitants at one time who cursed and committed sins so brutal that even the very foundation of the houses became awash in their atrocities? Or was it the very timber from a curse land that led them to do it? Was it built to be haunted by the souls trapped inside? Who knew that they were buying their own coffin when signing the papers.

Whether there is a curse, spirits, a reason, these houses pop up, linger, and become legends. Call it the seasoning of the neighborhood or area. A haunted house stokes the imagination, ignites the many fears of childhood and builds the trauma that adults lay awake at night consulting the ceiling about.

If you ever have the feeling the house you are buying isn’t quite right, close your eyes. Are you afraid to open them?

Then be wary of the house.

There have been many creepy houses that I have noticed in my life. My old neighbor hood had this one in the back streets on this corner. The yard was large and never up kept. Inside was a dog that would always rush the fence line and bark at us when trying to get to the pool across the street. Even the trees seems to be stuck in autumn.

Now there is a house that sits way back in its lot to the left side when I drive to the highway from our new house. It looks weird, it feels weird. The driveway is long and it seems that is off to one side of its yard, to close to the forest it’s next to. There never seems to be cars in the driveway, but I know someone bought it (after a long time being on the market). When I glance at it, the house glances back. It almost seems that the forest will eat it at any moment.

Haunted houses are fascinating. Do you have one where you live?

Let your mind run wild - Cheers ~

“I told you, not once , but twice, I did see it. It leapt, jumped, I don’t know what it did , but it flew across my yard, taking him with it”

Sara Cloud heaved a heavy sigh as she recounted the event for the hundredth time. Again, they stared at her with eyes that called her crazy. Each time she told the story it got a bit different, not from context, but how she was describing it. Trying to find the words, the description that aptly described what she had seen. It’s not every day you see a monster swoop, or what ever, out of the sky and grab your next door neighbor.

“One more time” one of the two men in black suits asked slowly. This was his fifth cup of coffee and eighth donut. She wondered how he stayed so lean.

She brushed her hair back in frustration and shook her head “You are not listening at all, are you?”

“Of course, we just want the facts, which you keep changing”

“I am not” her voice raised.

She could see the tension build as both men stepped closer to her.

“Look, again. A giant monster, with eyes all over it’s body with massive black wings, swooped “She made the hand gesture and then stopped to see if they were fallowing along “Grabbed Mr.Jameson with it’s massive sharp talons “her hands went out in claws, making a raking motion in the air, again stopping to confirm their place. “Okay, yeah? Then took him away into the air, to the east, to Falkmir mountain. You know that place? Creepy looming mountain range? Mmhm” Sara nodded vigorously until they also nodded with her.

“That’s it. That’s what I saw, once again”

The man opened his mouth and she could see the words forming

“No! Last time, that’s what I saw”

He closed it shut.

The other man who had only two cups and two donuts pursed his lips and motioned something towards the window.

“Okay mam, you’re free to go, just be careful around the area where the incident happened. This mons-animal could come back, if it does “ he produced a card “call us”

She slipped the card from his hand and stormed out of the room. Sheriff Mckinsley, one of her old high school friends stood in the hallway. As soon as he saw her, he tried to b-line it for his office, but Sara was quicker.

“You” she pointed at him and ushered him in and slammed the door behind him”You, you, you , youuuu” she wagged her finger at him and scowled.

“I-I” he put up his hands up as shield.

“No, you said don’t worry these guys are pros, they will take care of it, you can trust them. What?! These men in black coming from Washington asking me for five hours the same question? Give me a brick wall next time, it will respond better to me bashing my head into it” Sara started to pace back and forth huffing and puffing, scowling and grinding her teeth as her eyes shot darts and Sheriff Mckinsley.

“I thought they could help, I know weird stuff goes on around here, but nothing like a giant monster snagging a townsfolk, I’m not trained for that”

Sara moved around to his desk and plopped down in his giant leather chair. Her head went straight to the desk with a bang.

“So what do we do?” Her muffled question came.

“We? Nothing, we let them handle it”

Sara rolled her head to the side and squinted at him “They are going to blow up this town if we do not do something, you’ve seen the movies. You and I, we know this place, better then anyone” she perked up “Yeah, like the movies” a smile lit up her face she beamed at him.

“Oh no, no no I know that look Sara, last time I saw it we were lost in the woods for almost a week looking for some ancient ruins”

“Which we found” she added.

“Yes..not so ancient as we hoped”

“You know what we must do.” Sara’s face was deadly serious.

“Nothi-“

“Monster hunters” she stated. “You and I, Sara Cloud and Mathew Mckinsley, hunt the monsters to save their little ideal mountain town” Her eyes gained their shine back and she nodded slowly towards him “Grab your shotgun”

“Oh boy..”

I came up with the title thinking about a women telling a story, in this case she has told the story many times, of an event that can’t be believed. I just let this play out in my head. I let the characters talk as they showed up in the scene, I gave them names and let it run. The town would remind me of something like twin peaks with a sense of wayward pines the mountains in the background,looming the monster, sorta thinking of a Gravity Falls vibe. Serious, but a bit silly with Sara determining that they will be come monster hunters.

We will see if we pick back up with these characters another time. I like them so far.

cheers!

I sat down at my desk, leaned back into my chair and slid my journal in front of me. It looked like any other ordinary journal, black cover, leather bound, semi thick paper, perfect for my fountain pens, and a small tassel to mark the last page.

I opened it to where the tassel was. Today was May 20th 2023. On the top of the page was the date June 5th 2023.

In my handwriting it wrote -

I know that there will be a decision to make between going out or staying in on the date of May 28th. Stay in. Your future self thanks you.

Signed - James

One might think that I was writing to my self pretending to be in the future, but no, these entries appeared when I opened the journal. My future self, somehow was writing back in time to me. Each time I went to open the journal the tassel would move a page and a new entry would be there signed by my future self.

At first Ignored them. They seemed impossible and they didn’t make sense because the events had not happened yet, but as I ignored them, the ideas kept in my mind. I started to notice that the things it was asking me to do showed up. A choice here, a decision there, simple things that I wouldn’t really think about. Then they got more involved as I started to take it more seriously. As I obeyed my future self, success started to roll in, things became a bit complicated, but improved in many areas of my life. It was like I was gaining momentum. Even when I finished a notebook, another one of my notebooks would always be receiving entries from my future self.

I closed the notebook and made a note of what it wanted me to do. Nothing today, we will see tomorrow.

The morning sun spread across my desk and I sat down to see what my future self had to say to me. I had started to get an immense joy of what surprise might be waiting. I opened it to the tasseled page.

I read it.

I read it again.

And again.

It read -

May 15 2023

You must use the knife, third from the right, to kill him. If you use anything else, you will be caught. Immediately call the police, say he attacked you. Do not let him inside. The man with the yellow hat. Stab in right shoulder down to heart. It will reach.

Signed - James

I slid my chair away form my desk and stared at the journal. A message like this had never shown up before. And the date was from my past self, not my future self. How could that be? I mean how could I be getting entries from my future self either? It seemed more probable of a time traveler talking back to me from time that had not happened, but a person from the past?

The doorbell rang and I jumped out of my chair.

“Who could that be” I said aloud and stood up. I glanced one more time at the journal entry before moving towards the front door, past the knives.

I opened the door and an older gentlemen with a wide smile greeted me. I shook my head with a smile. No yellow hat on this guy.

“Good morning sir, I was in the neighborhood looking for some volunteers to help restore the church and cemetery down the road, needs repair badly and we have a few hands, but could always use more” His smile widened and with each word he seemed to lift off his heels in delight. I checked my watch, and ran through my schedule, a bit busy today unfortunately.

“I would love to help, but I am heading out very soon. Maybe another time.” I smiled back and answered. His smile twitched a bit, but he nodded.

“No problem, if I could only bother you for a moment, I would like to wash my hands” his hands moved from his waist and he placed a yellow knit hat on his head and then he showed both of his hands which were covered in dirt.

I froze. His smile disarmed me, I didn’t even notice that he had held that hat in his hands.

The man with the yellow hat.

The journal entry.

I swallowed hard.

“Yes, no problem, one moment, wait here.” I said closing the door moving towards the kitchen.

This was nuts, absolutely crazy. I drew the knife, third from the right.

I heard the door hinge swing slowly. He was entering. I made it back to the door, the man standing just inside, his smile dimmed, but what caught me was his eyes. They looked at me with pure hatred, two soulless pits that sucked all life from those they came upon. He saw me as something else then human. Prey.

I didn’t think, I didn’t hesitate. I followed what the journal said.

I stepped forward and plunged the knife directly into his right shoulder towards his heart. His hands were already around my neck tightening, choking the life out of me, but as his heart pumped empty blood, his grip loosened. He collapsed on top of me.

I scrambled to the phone and immediately called the police.

I told them that he attacked me. They were shocked I was alive. The man with the yellow cap was an escaped mental patient. He was on the wanted list for murder of five different people till he got to me. He would pick a place nearby, say he needed help, strangle and kill those that followed him, or if denied, kill them in their house.

My past self had saved me. But now I wondered. Who were they? My past self, my future self?

Who was I?

This was a prompt that I was given. It was “Some one keeps receiving messages from their future self, telling them to make a specific choice, but then one day they get a different type of message, one from their past self, telling them to do something terrible”

This could of gone in a bunch of different ways, I thought about his past self telling him to kill some one innocent, but if it came from a different time period, there would have to be a chain reason. The thought of following your future or past self is intriguing. If they are commanding you, are you really living your own life? Or another version of yours?

“I told you that I’m not sure about your whole friends group.” Mikel adjusted his suit black blazer. He spied himself in one of the large windows that they were passing by. Dressed to the nines in ninety degree weather heading into some massive castle on the outskirts of town. His girlfriend, Melody, strung him along.

“Ah, don’t worry they will love you as much as I do.” They came to the massive front door which was covered in ornate cast iron figures. Melody spun and adjusted Mikels jacket again and looked him over. “You look fantastic” she smiled. Her skin olive and her eyes a deep crimson, her face perfectly symmetrical. Her hair a combination of dark brown and dirty blonde sat in a long pony tale high on the back of her head and bangs framed her face. “In we go”

They entered with out any fan fair. The whole place seemed empty, but as Melody lead him down corridors and around sweeping stair cases he could hear the laughter and commotion of a party.

They made their way in the back and there was a large conservatory made out of glass. Like a massive green house, a forest resided inside. They entered and found where the party was. Dressed in the most posh, fancy outfits he had ever seen, young adults such as him self clinked glasses full of dark wine and conversated over elaborate place settings. As they entered some eyes moved towards them, but most seemed to ignore. Melody pulled Mikel towards the table on the far side, which stood inform one of some forest entrance that went deepened into the glass labyrinth. As soon as they reached their seats a squad of girls dressed in massive ball gowns glided towards them.

“Melody!” A girl in a red princess dress shot up and gave her a hug “Glad you could make it this time, we missed you so dearly last time. We had almost given up hope that you would join us again” The two other girls nodded in agreement.

“Well, it has been a while hasn’t it? This is my boyfriend, Mikel” She moved to the side bit and let him step forward. Mikel extended his hand for a shake which the girl took it aggressively. She yanked a bit and he stumbled trying to keep form falling into her. Her eyes shot straight into his then crept down all the way to his feet then back at his eyes.

“Pleasure, Amanda, behind to the right in green is Jezebel, Yellow, Sadie. We hope you make it the whole night” A grin lit up her face and her eyes flashed something primal. Melody slinked between them softly, but firmly taking Mikels hand and stepping back.

“Pleasure to meet all of you as well” he said massaging his hand a bit.

Melody smiled sweetly to them and waved them off to talk again later.

“What was that?” Mikel asked as they both sat down. Melody face was fraught with a frown and she grinder her teeth as she glared around the room.

“That was uncalled for” Melody scowled between frowns. “Maybe this was a mistake” he could barely hear her say.

A man dressed in a butler uniform who was as tall as the door entered and rang a small bell in his behemoth hands. “Dinner will be served” Then left as fast as he came. The other people took their seats and soon their table was filled with new guests. The three ladies were gratefully sitting at another table. Everyone that the turned to was beautiful. Their skin perfect, eyes glowing with radiance, hair full and healthy. They exhumed energy that you heard in stories of young nobles conquering lands and leading endless campaigns of war, just to return in perfect shape and throwing a party to end the world. They all knew Melody and expressed their happiness on her return. Mikel could just smile and introduce himself. He seemed like a shadow among bright stars, but they all payed deep attention to him as he spoke and drew him in with acknowledgment that he had rarely experienced.

It seemed as an army of butlers cascaded out of the castle carrying a plates of silver covered meals. They all aligned behind each person, their white knit gloved hands graping the top of the silver dome. As they all got to their position, at the same time in one smooth movement they all lifted the silver dome off the plate exposing the food.

“Oh- Fuc-“ Mikel heard Melody sigh. He had rarely heard her swear, only in the most disturbing situations. He gave her a side look, then took a look at the meal which had been prepared. His mouth fell open. Upon the plate was a hand. A human hand. Palm facing up towards him, fingers bent slightly towards the sky. It look perfectly normal, expect for the whole missing the rest of the body part. Where the wrist would be, there was as small white cloth with ruffles that covered where you could probably see the insides.

Mikel looked around the table. All plates held a hand. He spied over at Melody’s plate which also had The Thing presented. She was rubbing her eyes and leaned into him.

“I am so sorry. You don’t have to eat anything. We will go get a burger or something after, this was a huge mistake.”

He glanced around at the other who were no cutting into their ‘food’ with fork and knife. As they opened their mouth, their teeth seemed to become razors and they grinded the flesh and bone as easily as pie.

“Oh boy, oh man, are these real? Real human hands? Wheres the rest of their bodies? Oh, oh!” Mikel turned white and faced forward “Three course meal…” He went to stand up , but Melody held him down with her strength.

“No no, just make it through this. I swear they never want to have any normal fun” She released him and quickly scanned the room. No one seemed to be paying attention to them, but she knew.

The boy across the table waved a fork with a finger skewered through it and said “Mikel, what’s wrong? Not fresh enough for you?”

The funny thing is that this boy was completely serious. There was no snide in his remark.

“I had a big uh, lunch? You know - “ he searched around in his head for something that might be relatable to them “ a couple children”

Melody’s head whiplashed so hard to stare at him that he could feel the breeze it produced. The boy began to laugh.

“Well can’t argue with that. Shame that we had so much prepared for tonight. Melody should have told you, but it sounds like you had a treat.” He then bit the finger in half and shook his head still suppressing laughter as he chewed.

“Children?!” Melody whispered

“I froze, this is cannablism, what am I supposed to say? And what even are they?”

“Say a whole horse, or deer or something else. How is children your first thought?” She sighed heavily looking down at her plate.

Mikel peered at her. She wasn’t going to eat that was she? They had always made meals full of meat, but he always thought she was on some special carnivore diet.

The butlers came back to retrieve the plates. As they reached them the one paused “Not to your liking sir, madam?”

“I believe they are full from the children they had for lunch” the boy across the table interjected.

The butler grabbed both of their plates “Then second and third course, would you be partaking in either?”

“No, we actually must be going. I just wanted to stop in and see everyone” Melody pushed away from the table and stood up. She nudged Mikel and he followed.

As they walked past the tables Amanda caught sight “Leaving so soon? We were looking forward to catching up, maybe a dance or two” she smiled and took a sip of goblet of dark amber liquid.

“They had some children for lunch” the boy called from across the room. Nods of agreement came from group.

Melody rolled her eyes then shot a look towards the boy.

“Next time? Maybe” Mikel nodded and gave his best grin he could muster. He looked at them, scared out his mind, but Melody kept her cool, thus so did he.

Amanda nodded “Next time then, ta ta”

They walked out and crossed the army of butlers which were bring in long trays covered in silver again. He wondered. He imagined. The rest of them? He was interrupted by Melody pulling him forcefully from the mansion at high speed.

They made it outside and he was glad to see a normal looking country side and sun. Inside the conservatory, the sky looked different and the sun glowed a greenish yellow.

Mikel slumped against their car as Melody stared back at the castle.

“Soo” he pursed his lips “Police? FBI? CSI? Paranormal investigators? Vatican? Who uh, who do we call?”

Melody slumped next to him “None. I - I was trying to get them to help me out. Sort of bridge the gap for you…but they really messed it up. Honestly I’m shocked your not running for the hills right now”

Mikel looked around. He wouldn’t get that far “When in Rome” he shrugged “I’m guessing you are also, what ever “he motioned towards the castle swirling his hand in the air “they are? What would they be exactly?”

Melody gave a heavy sigh and searched the sky for the right words. “We are a sort of a cross between a wendigo and a vampire. Not by choice, our parent bore us this way. A new type of Mons-“ she stopped and turned away from him “creature”

He replayed their past dates and time together. There were always signs, but he just thought that she was particular or you know, quirky. An insatiable apatite, over-protective with high aggression, extremely smart and witty. You know, a noble or something.

“Well” Mikel shoved himself from the car and moved around to face Melody “I’m sure we will figure something out.” She glanced at him, her lips quivering and eyes full of tears.”What ever that might be” he said under his breath.

“Mon-Creature or whatever you might be, I love you Melody.” he shrugged “I guess, show me your world, but leave your friends till later. They really creep me out.” he said giving her a large smile. She returned it. Teeth for tearing flesh, cross his mind.

She stepped forward and snaked her arms around him. Her crimson eyes drinking him in and in her velvet voice said “I have so much to show you, Mikel. This is just the beginning.”

I had a thought of a guy being brought to a party to meet his girlfriends friends, but they all turn out to be very strange. I originally had it that they would try to eat Mikel, but changed it to a non-confrontational situation. There is some humor to it, they know Mikel is human, but as good friends (sorta) the keep their cool.

“Remember to come back in three months to get it wound up again” The man handed the box containing two large ornate wood music boxes. The parents smiled and nodded as they strode back to their car. As they left the craftsman took off his hat, wiped his brow and gave them a wave. “Let the music keep you whole”

Miles and Mary finished cleaning up the kitchen as their daughter Daisy ran around the living room fighting off dragons and trolls that were invading her imaginary kingdom. Miles peered out the window over the sink into the forest that lined the neighborhoods back yards. The wind was picking up, creating a torrent of branches dancing wildly in the small outside light form their porch.

“Might be a storm tonight” Miles said wiping the last of the plates and putting it on the drying rack.

“I didn’t see anything on the news, but you know how it is. Weather channel can’t seem to get it right.” Mary pushed in each chair into the dining room table and made sure everything was re-aligned an d centered. When she had finished she smiled and moved into the living room. “Okay Daisy, time for bed, let’s get ready.”

Daisy smiled, slew her last troll and bolted for the stairs.

Miles turned off the rest of the lights and they both ascended to their rooms.

Daisy slipped under the covers of her small bed and peered at her window on the other side of the room. The wind was picking up and just as she could hear the torrent, the music box started playing.

“Good night sweetie, see you in the morning” Her mom kissed her forehead and turned off the small light on the nightstand. Her dad followed with a hug and kiss, then closed the door to the room slightly.

They both moved into the master bedroom where the music box filled the room with a light lullaby. It seemed like background noise, they hardly noticed it anymore. As if the music had become part of the house in a way. They breathed air, they listen to the music at night. Miles braced himself against their bedroom wall and looked out towards their backyard. Trees were now whipping wildly and rain battered down on the window.

“Here it comes” he smiled and slipped into bed. “Better to be in here then out there”

“Agreed” Mary stretched and slid next to him. They both closed their eyes and soon sleep overcame them.

There was no crescendo, no build up. Screams, an unholy symphony of endless screaming, crying, begging, mourning ripped into them. Miles stumbled out of bed covering his ears while Mary joined in the chorus of screaming.

The music box had stopped.

The whole room was cold, darker then it should be. The screaming came not from a single point, but from all dimensions. The sound of damned vibrated straight into the bones and carried their torment straight to the soul. Miles grabbed his chest in pain, but slid closer and closer to the music box as he could. The sensation of pain, sadness and despair effected all senses. He could taste the bleakness, see the hopelessness, feel the brutal violation of self, smell the burning of human emotions crisped on the fires of something ungodly. Then the sound, which his ears could perceive at one level and then his body on another. If all the human suffering, every cry for life, every angry scream that broke vocal cords till they bled filtered through him.

He reached the music box, unconsciously, he felt through the burning sensations and wound it. Wound it and wound it. Then as everything culminated he let go of the key, and the lullaby filled the room. Immediately the assault stopped. In an instant the room returned to normal as if nothing had happened. The music box ticked, now manually winding down, missing its master craftsman. Mary sobbed on the floor next to the bed, Miles laid paralyzed, overwhelmed. Until one thought crossed his mind.

Daisy.

If their music box stopped.

So did hers.

His body creaked and protested as he rose to his feet. His wife rose as well, her face ghostly white, the same thought. He grabbed the music box from the small table and they ran through the door into the hall way and to the her room.

“Daisy!” he burst into their room.

The lullaby played from the music box that he held in his right hand. He gripped it so tight that it might break. His eyes wide, face contorted in a silent scream.

Mary screamed. A scream so terrible it could be included in the unholy chorus.

He set the music box next to the silent one and stepped back. It ticked mechanically, the key winding down, counting the seconds till it needed to be wound again.

They had forgotten.

One time.

Thats all it took.

They had broke the routine.

I was laying awake one night, as i do often, looking at the ceiling and hearing the air purifier that is in our room hum away. I then thought what would happen if that slow hum went away and was replaced by the absolute wailing for a hundreds of people. A violent assault on the ears, one of those sounds that brings you to your knees because it is so horrible, something you try to shake away from you ears, but it surrounds, consumes. Like village on fire and everyone screaming to be saved as you stand on the outside. Then the flash of a family getting a music device serviced, the world has accepted its fate to keep the sound at bay with these devices. It has become routine, and with routine comes slip ups from stagnation. Context, the makers of the music boxes have to service them to keep them running continuously with out being wound up. If one is not serviced, it will not run with out being manually cranked every minute or so.

When terror becomes routine, one mishap leads to devastation.

Be mindful of everyday moments of terror. Maybe keep them out of the shadows, so you see their teeth.

Cheers~

It was eleven thirty, and I was sitting at my desk in my room on a calm Sunday. The sun was shining, birds chirping away. I could even see my neighbors playing with their dog across the street. I flipped to another page of the mystery novel I was reading. Halfway through, the murderer was getting clever—more vicious. I cheered on my detective as he closed in, got duped, then started the chase again. I knew he would get him in the end, but nothing could ever be straightforward.

A chime came from my phone, and I picked it up to see who had messaged me.

It was Jimmy. He was a good friend, but a bit off the deep end. He stayed up all night surfing the web and hacking cyberspace—so much so that when he showed up at school the next day, his panda eyes would search the air for invisible pixels. I enjoyed sci-fi, so he and I got along pretty well.

The message read:
“Tim! Whatever you do, do NOT accept the terms and service. Click the top right of the window one hundred times.
Then run. Get underground.”

I set my book down and re-read the message. Jimmy was a bit nuts, but he never texted more than the usual “let’s hang out” or “what are you up to?”

I put the phone down and reached for my book—then a window popped up in my vision.

It was a gray box straight out of Windows 95. At the top, it said Terms of Service in bold, and below was scrolling text that repeated endlessly. At the bottom of the window was a button:

Accept.

I looked around. The window stayed in the center of my vision, like a speck on my eye. I closed them. It was still there in the blackness.

I stood up immediately and spun around. Looked in all directions. Strained my eyes in every way I could.

The window remained.

I could hear my family downstairs start yelling, and my sister began to cry. I reached toward the window—and somehow, I could touch it. Move it. Resize it. As if my eyes were a desktop. The window was always in focus, and it pierced straight into my mind. I couldn’t not focus on it.

I looked toward the top right. There was no X like a normal window. I pressed my thumb into the top corner. To my surprise, the window closed.

Then immediately reappeared. A glitch in the system.

I pressed rapidly, counting each time the window vanished and returned.

Ninety-nine. One hundred.

At the hundredth press, the window didn’t return. I stood stunned—it had actually worked.

Run!

I bolted out of my room and ran downstairs to my family. I found them sitting at the dining room table, eyes glazed over, mouths slightly open.

“Mom.” I shook her slightly, then did the same to my dad. “Dad, come on. We have to run. Tiffany—” I turned to my younger sister.

They sat in a trance, staring into nothing. Their bodies barely moved, taking in the bare minimum of oxygen to survive. Then a hum began. Faint at first—but growing louder. It reverberated from all directions, and I shut my eyes to keep my vision from shaking.

Get underground.

I stumbled to the basement steps. The house shook with the hum. Plates and silverware rattled in the kitchen. Windows creaked. I opened the door through blurry vision and slipped down the stairs. As I descended, the humming grew fainter, but it was still audible. I crawled to a corner of the room and clamped my hands over my ears.

A deafening sound came from outside, followed by a massive crash that threw me from the corner and into the couch. Loud bangs, like fireworks, came one after another, shaking everything with systematic force. I screamed, but the overwhelming noise drowned me out. The final bang knocked the breath from my lungs, the vibrations pulsing through me. I doubled over, clutching my chest, struggling to pull in air.

Silence. Stillness.

I coughed, rolled onto my back, and listened. Nothing moved upstairs. The hum was gone.

I crept up the steps and into the kitchen. It looked like a bomb had gone off—broken plates, collapsed shelves, shattered windows. Everything glistened in the sunlight, fractured into multicolored bits. I turned to the dining room.

My family was gone.

Outside was foggy. It sat low, leaving the sky blue and the sun bright. It was dense—thick enough to obscure the house across the street. In the distance, I saw massive black pillars extending into the sky. They filled my vision like mountains, even from so far away. Four of them stood staggered across the horizon. They disappeared into the atmosphere above.

“Psst.” A voice from the fog. “Tim.”

I knew that voice anywhere—third period, whispering about some new computer chip.

“Jimmy!” I called out.

He sprang out of the fog, waving his hands toward the ground with wild eyes. His brown, side-swept hair was a mess, and he was decked out in cargo gear and black. “Shh! Not so loud. We gotta go, Tim—right now, yesterday, yesteryear—we’re the past!”

“Jimmy, what the hell is going on?” I asked as he grabbed my hand and pulled me down the street. A horn blared from the direction of the pillars.

“Remember that signal I picked up from space last year? Aliens, right?” We kept a steady jog. “But not organic. Quantum, man—our minds. We’ve been chasing ourselves this whole time. But it’s too late. We got hacked, Tim. Those AI sons of bitches hacked us.” He laughed as we turned left toward the park. I’d seen him disappear there more than once.

“But they must’ve learned from a terrible programmer. Their system’s full of holes. That’s how I figured out closing the terms. Stupid androids.”

In the middle of the park was a creek and a large sewer pipe we used to play around. Jimmy slid down the side and entered the massive round entrance. I hesitated.

“You serious, Jimmy?” I asked, peering into the murky dark.

He reappeared. “When am I not? Come on, trust me. I don’t rummage around down here for fun.”

I followed. We walked for about ten minutes in darkness, a foul-smelling stream flowing past our feet. I did my best to keep my new shoes dry. Eventually, a faint orange light appeared on the right wall.

“Look—you know my parents are well-off.” I nodded. “And you know they know what I know. They haven’t been home in six months. So let’s just say I used their resources to build this and to find them.”

He pushed through a large steel door, and I followed.

A narrow hallway led down to another door, which opened into a massive cavernous room. Warm light bathed everything. The hum of servers and fans filled the air.

“Jimmy,” I breathed, “this is incredible. It’s like a command center.”

“It is a command center,” he replied with a grin. “Please don’t ask how I got this stuff down here. I do not want to relive the pain, frustration, or the arguments.”

The floor was layered with rugs. To the left was a table littered with monitors, keyboards, and mice. In the back, three server towers hummed under active cooling. To the right, a raised platform held a couple of beds, a table with chairs, and a small kitchen.

Jimmy sat in front of the monitors. I joined him. He began clicking around.

“My parents, like I said, are missing.” He took a breath. “They’ve been captured by whatever came to town. I need your help to get them back. As smart as I am, they’re smarter—by a lot. If we save them, we might save everyone else.”

I thought of my family at the table. Everything had happened so fast, I hadn’t had time to feel it all—the panic, the sadness. I put my head in my hands.

I left them.

Frustration and shame bubbled up.

Jimmy leaned back. “I’m sorry, Tim. I really didn’t know this was going to happen until just before it did. You didn’t have time to warn them. That really sucks. What did you se—”

I sat up. Something in my eyes stopped him.

“Maybe later. It might be important.” Jimmy turned back to the screens, quickly. Silence fell between us. He stared at the monitors. I stared at the ceiling, collecting myself.

There was nothing I could do for them then.

But I could do something now.

I slapped my cheeks lightly. “We’re here now. Let’s deal with it. I’m out of my depth, Jimmy—you’ll have to catch me up. Let’s get on the same page.”

Jimmy’s somber face cracked into a smile. I knew he was scared too. But he was good at hiding it—getting lost in worlds, daydreaming, solving problems.

“Great. Yeah, we can do this. If we find people on the way, we can definitely do this.”

“First—” he clicked rapidly, bringing up a familiar screen. “Let’s find out what’s in this Terms and Service.”

Pop-ups are the worst. So are terms and services. They’re so long, and you never really know what you’re signing up for when you hit accept—which you have to do for basically everything these days.

So what if a terms of service invaded your personal space? So much so that all you wanted was for it to go away. You hit accept just to make it disappear. But what did you actually agree to?

That’s where this story came from.

Be careful what you accept.
You never know what’s behind it.

Cheers!

He could feel the cold air whip across his face as they passed through the vast clouds. Water vapor chilled him before the sun bathed him with intense warmth. He moved to the railing of the airship and looked down towards the vast land below. Covered in thick woods with bursts of meadows here and there, lakes and waterfalls that held a few small villages on their shores.

“Capitan Roan, we are coming upon Lum Falls,” a woman called out from behind the wheel that was up a set of stairs towards the back of the ship. He turned and looked through the cloudy sky to see a large island floating with vast mountains and water flowing from it to the mainland below. He moved up the stairs and took the wheel from his first mate and with expert handling maneuvered the ship through the clouds and up to the island. As they got closer, the mountains on the north side of the island rose all around, and a large port town surrounded the crystal-blue lake which seemed to materialize out of nowhere. Endlessly it filled and emptied in a torrent on the south side of the island. He moved above and pushed a lever towards the front of the ship. In a sharp motion, the ship dove towards the water. A smile spread across his face as the adrenaline of making an entrance coursed through his veins and heightened his precision. While most of his crew enjoyed the rush, his first mate held white knuckled in the corner, throwing every curse she could at him. The air sliced past them as the mountains framed their view, and the lake grew larger by the second.

Not yet. His hand faintly gripped the lever.

Not yet.

It seemed every time they came to Lum Falls, the captain would play chicken with the lake. Would this be the day the lake won?

Not yet.

Now!

The captain pulled the lever as his vision filled with blue. The ship lurched up, and the bottom glided and slipped into the lake effortlessly. Like it had all been planned. The engine in the back spun in a new direction, and the flaps on the side of the ship closed as they dipped into the water and returned to the origins of what ships were made for.

He laughed. “Did you see the Celeste?” he turned to his first mate. She pried herself off the planks and, with shaky legs, her long bluish hair in a mess, moved towards his side, gripping the wheel.

“Must you play your silly games?” Celeste growled . “One day -“

“Yes, yes, one day we will plunge into the water and meet the great cultists of the oceanics themselves. One day, which” he cleared his throat “is not today. Take the wheel. Get ready.” He called to his crew. “We meet port soon, and we need to unload all the goods from Thuncil. Remember, blue x means they are fragile; they break easily if dropped. Use your heads and soft fingers.” The crew responded with a cheer, and as he descended to the deck, they applauded his descent and recalled the last time he had played the daring game. Their adrenaline rushing and moods lifted from staring death in the face. He riled them up and pushed past to his captain’s quarters. As the door closed, he let out a deep breath and slumped against the door. The crew moved among the deck, and he could hear the creaking of the wood as the ship moved about the water.

It had been a long journey to get here. An endless storm had followed them for miles, an air dragoon had almost melted the whole back of the ship, the Imperial Order had set up blockades that they avoided, and food and rum were down to their last crate. They might stay a while. In the center of the room was a large flat table with a Northric air map. The map was a three-dimensional hologram which was projected from a small set of three rings that wrapped around each other. It showed the land below, floating islands, and cloud types above. Above the clouds, it showed static. He moved and waved his hand through the image, and it reacted to his gesture. The land and airscape flew by him until he saw Lum Falls. The large island floating above an even larger lake. He spied something on the other side of the mountains, floating, attached to the side. It was a small island of sorts; water spewed a little from a pond that was probably in the middle of it, but with the dense pine that kept everything on the island invisible, he could not determine what was on it. Pines in this region? The island must have an atmosphere generator on it. His Northric map was different from most maps.

It updated.

Wherever the rings were, they sent out some sort of energy which would feedback into the map. This meant that it would see things that others would not, mysteries that showed up, or small islands that crept up or had been missed by the cartographers. It showed hard-reached spaces and under islands. While it offered details, it did not go too deep. Large structures, fauna, lakes and water, roads, and layouts of cities, but the context was not recorded. But it gave him enough detail to make decisions and inductions.

The Northric map was his most prized possession. It, mixed with his high intuition, made his ship a mystery among the air. He moved towards his bed, which lay beneath some bay-criscrossed windows. On the right was a small wooden dresser. He opened it and retrieved a blue box. The small, unknown island winked at him from the middle of the room, and he smiled, putting the blue box inside his large captain’s coat. He felt the ship start to slow down. They were docking. He moved back towards the door and flicked his right wrist towards the Northric map. It spun and then collapsed and, with a smooth but fast motion, latched onto his wrist, burning into his flesh and becoming one with him. Three rings wrapped around his right wrist in infinity once again. This time, burned black and red. They were bonded to him.

He made sure of that. A price paid. A heavy price.

The ship glided into port and with a fanfare of sailors and onlookers. Hoots and hollers came from the residents of Lum Falls that had witnessed the captain’s daring feat. He smiled and waved, shaking hands and clasping wrists, feeling the energy spread among the dock and into the town. He always had to make an entrance. Let’s spice up this life we live! He would yell in times of depression.

Lum Falls was large, spreading along the coast of the large lake, with another waterfall to its west which spewed from the incredible mountains that overlooked the town. Buildings of stone and wood with charming accents rose two to three stories and ran up a Main Street. Little alleys with houses and merchant houses spread out in all directions. It was a lush and beautiful town. The town sloped up the mountain in a mild climb and ran all the way to the base where the governor’s mansion and royals lived. Their houses built half in the mountain itself with some terraces that etched themselves into the rock face. There was a main square halfway up towards the mountain and many small coves of nature that presented themselves if you explored enough. Brightly covered banners hung from terraces and potted plants of lush green hung and draped all over. The water gave a tropical feel to the whole town and the sun always seemed to shine on them. This led the town of Lum Falls to prosper and become a lead trading port among the imperial islands.

“Careful with those blue crates, remember, fragile.” Captain Roan called out to his crew and the port staff that was helping out. He and Celeste moved to a small building in the middle of the dock. Inside it was musty, filled with eclectic goods from all over. Dust floated and created a small haze as the floorboards creaked over the water.

“Captain Roan, how good to see you. It’s been quite a while since we saw you in Lum Falls. Another spectacle, thought this time it might be the last.” A big man laughed and pulled up a chair to the table and set a large piece of paper down. He ushered them to take seats in front of him.

“The cultists haven’t got us yet.” He smiled a toothy grin. “Now let’s get this over with. What do you think?” He tapped on the large paper. “Pretty neat stuff, huh?”

The man looked over the paper slowly and looked up at him from time to time with a quizzical face.

The man sat back and brushed a hand through his thick black hair. “ Where did you get these?”

Captain Roan leaned back and crossed his legs. He looked over with his deep emerald eyes. “You wouldn’t want to know, my dear Rye. He and his crew were lucky this time. He turned an eye to Celeste, who stared steely-eyed at Rye. He would treat her to a good drink and meal while they were here. She had saved his life on multiple occasions in the last journey. As she always seemed to do.

Rye shook his head and returned to the list. “It will take a while to get the funds and sales for these items. Some of them are big-ticket items. You have enough here to dock forever, so I am not worried about the port fee. You are not looking to get out of here quickly, are you?”

Captain Roan put up his hands. “No, no, my crew needs some rest. If you could arrange that little villa on the west side of town for us. Like last time. They need some good old rest and relaxation for a bit. They deserve it.”

The man rose. “It shall be done.” Captain Roan rose with Celeste and shook his hand. “Give us an hour or so to get the villa ready. You bring a certain energy to the island, Captain Roan. Glad to see you again.”

Captain Roan smiled and nodded. “Thank you for the kind words and your continued support.

The goods were still being unloaded and itemized as they stepped into the fresh air and sunlight.

“The villa will be ready within an hour. We will discuss payment and rewards in a few days as everything needs to be taken care of. We will be here for a while. Get comfortable and regain your strength. Let the great waves of ocean and air bring you glory,” he called to his crew, and cheers erupted.
“Come on, let’s get a drink to celebrate,” he motioned at Celeste, and they descended into town.

A very special game introduced me to the world of ships that sailed the skies, going from floating island to floating island. That game was Skies of Arcadia on the Dreamcast. An incredible game that, in my eyes, was perfect. The characters were all charming, the world was vibrant, and you could explore to your heart’s content. My captain and crew would fit right into that world. Captain Roan is a mix between the character Gilder and Vyse from that game. Loyal, steadfast, and ready for adventure, but being suave and into the riches of the whole thing. His last name is from the character Roan from Grandia II. I was playing both games around the same time, and both role-playing games played a significant inspiration for my imagination. His first mate, Celeste, is a buttoned-up, all-business sort of girl. Fiercely loyal to the captain for reasons unexplained.

I hope you enjoyed a glimpse into the world of the skies. We will one day return to continue the tales. Like, what is the small island and the blue box? What price did Captain Roan pay for the Northric map?

Until then, Cheers~

Let the great waves of ocean and air bring you glory.

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