Sweet 70's State Of Mind 2p185

Sweet 70's State of Mind

Kevin Densmore

Published by Kevin Densmore, 2021.

This is a work of fiction. Similarities to real people, places, or events are entirely coincidental.

SWEET 70'S STATE OF MIND

First edition. July 19, 2021.

Copyright © 2021 Kevin Densmore.

Written by Kevin Densmore.

Also by Kevin Densmore

Scary Things Happen in Lakewood Scary Things Happen in Lakewood Scary Things Happen in Lakewood 2

Stories to Inspire and Tales that Terrify Stories to Inspire and Tales That Terrify. Stories to Inspire and Tales that Terrify (Volume Two) Stories to Inspire and Tales That Terrify.(Volume Three)

Standalone Strange 80's State of Mind Savage 90's State Of Mind The Devil's Missing Children What the Rain Washes Away Sweet 70's State of Mind

Table of Contents

Title Page

Copyright Page

Also By Kevin Densmore

Dedication

In Memoriam

A Sweet Little Introduction

Walking Life

Long way up

Short Way Down

Backdoor to Mars

Right Direction

Romantic Death

One Child’s Imagination

Paul and His Magical Tour Van

The Late Train

Kitty Kat Rocket

My Boys

Finally Free

That night in the Kentucky Ballroom

A Long Way From Home

Now for the real Lowdown (Author’s Notes)

About the Author

This Book is for my Mother. Anita Ann Lassiter. I never once called you "stepmom" you were always my mom. I love you and I miss you.

In Memoriam

THIS IS MY FIRST BOOK to ever have an in memoriam section and before we truly get started I feel obligated to mention the following people who without them some of these stories would have never been made. Anita Lassiter—-I was done writing this book when I found out you had ed. It was a punch in the gut. But I am glad I got to see you one last time and I am also happy that my son got to meet you. You will forever be my mother and I will forever miss you. This book was originally going to be dedicated to you before you left us. Which makes this even harder. Rest easy mom, I love you. James Hoop—-Thank you for all that you taught me grandpa, I regret not being there to say goodbye but you being the man you were I think you know that I miss you. Faye Hoop-—Grandma I know you tried your best, and I never blamed you for anything that happened when I was a kid. I love you and I hope you have found peace Dorrie Lemieux——Granny I miss you, I regret losing touch but I know you have found peace. Raymond Lemiux Sr.-—Pap you were a stern man yet fair. I will always respect and miss you sir. Jenny Densmore—-You were always my favorite cousin. The things you taught,the you gave, I will never forget you. Ken Densmore-—Hey you were a good man. A little rough but I know you tried your best. Rest easy soldier. Joseph Campbell—-Buddy that day I got the call that you died was the worst day of my teenage years. You were taken too soon. I know right now you are cheering for me from the beyond. Thanks for that bro.

Noelle Petty—-You treated me like one of your own even though I was an awkward white kid hanging out in a black neighborhood. Thank you for your love and kindness, and always feeding me. Rest easy Nana Gary Densmore—-Okay dad, I will never forget the hell you put me through. But for better or worse it made me who I am today. While I am not sad you are gone, nor will I ever miss you I will be the bigger man here and say, I forgive you, may you finally have a semblance of peace, even though those that were your blood never found any until you died. Alright now that that is over let's move forward....

A Sweet Little Introduction

WELL HELLO THERE FRIENDS, how have you guys been.I am so glad you guys could me here for this groovy little trip down a musical memory lane. So here’s the skinny, my state of mind books have always been just that. A trip down memory lane, as I revisited songs and maybe a few memories that led to me writing the stories I write. And while I kept that vibe intact this volume of my state of mind series is indeed my most personal one. Because every story here, while not only being inspired by an old 70’s classic, are stories of my past. They are also ways of me letting go of some deep rooted emotional issues. Also, instead of these stories being all horror stories, which seems to be my wheelhouse, I decided to keep the overall feel of this book mostly positive. Yes I did write a couple of horror stories. But I think I succeeded in writing a few tearjerkers and feel good moments as well. Like always at the end of the book I reveal what songs inspired each story but this time I will also talk about what parts of my past brought these stories to life. But I still want you guys to see if you can guess the songs. I mean that is still part of this little game of mine. And to help you guys out, this time there are characters in each story that are named after a member of the band, or the artist who performed the song. That was no easy task let me tell you. Ok well let's get this show on the road. Pop in that 8 track, roll the window down on your old chevy van with the cheesy mural on the side, and let's go on a trip. I do hope though that you guys enjoy this side of me that I kept hidden for too long. Alright, everyone in, ass, gas, cash, or grass, no one rides for free. So let’s blow this taco stand, ya dig what I’m saying. Well what are you waiting for? The lowdown is just a page away...

Walking Life

BARRY WAS CONFUSED by what he had just done. Sure people have the gift of bringing dead plants back to life with proper care and skillful gardening techniques. But when Barry touched the seemingly dead fern in his apartment lobby, it sprang back to life right in front of his eyes. The fern had been sitting in it’s little hanging planter, with dead brown wilted leaves hanging over the side. But when he touched one of the brown leaves, the thing just sprang back to life pretty much instantaneously. The leaves perked up and quickly one by one, turned green and all at once there was now a beautiful lush fern inhabiting the hanging planter, instead of a limp dead one that occupied that space seconds earlier.As soon as it happened Barry looked around to see if anyone had seen what he had just done. When he saw that his miraculous touch went unnoticed he beat a hasty retreat out of his front door and walked away from his building like it was on fire, the whole time staring down at his hands with wide eyes, and then he ed the rabbit. Suddenly a rush of repressed memories came flooding back and he ed that this was not the first time he brought something back by just touching it. Because almost fifteen years ago during a harsh winter, Barry had found a dead rabbit on his grandfather’s farm. Illinois winters were known for having two temperaments. Gentle with a manageable chill, or a brutal hell of wind and ice. One winter’s break, three days after his tenth birthday, Barry traveled down state to spend a week with his grandparents. He was of course over the moon. He loved his Nana and Paw-paw, and every moment he spent with them, on their farm, was always eventful, and exciting.While the first half of the week was the gentle side of winter, the second half of the week was indeed the brutal hellish side, that led to the long since misplaced memory of the rabbit. Barry first saw the rabbit when his grandfather pulled into his driveway. Barry spent most of the time looking out his window on the way there sharing silly stories with his grandpa. While he tried his best to focus on his grandfather's clever yet sometimes out of date anecdotes, Barry was always mesmerized by watching the world change drastically from the back seat of his grandfather’s car. Going from the city of Aurora into the deep countryside of Little Rock was

indeed a magical experience to a child. He watched as the concrete buildings and bright city lights gave way to a lush tree line and wide open spaces of farmland. Animals never seen in the city also caught his eyes, whether it was a lone hawk flying across a field or a pair of squirrels chasing each other around the base of a tree, everything changed drastically in only a couple of dozen miles. To the average adult it was just a way of life, but to a child it was indeed magic. Nothing went unnoticed to Barry, so naturally he saw the rather large rabbit sitting just a little to the left of his grandfather's porch and he could not help but to blurt out, “Oh my God Grandpa, that rabbit is huge!” His grandfather slowly brought his old station wagon to a full stop and said, “Well of course they won’t stay out of your Nana’s garden, but between me and you sport I don’t think she minds.” Barry smiled as he got out of the car,but the smile quickly turned to a frown when he realized that the noise the door made as he opened it sent the rabbit scurrying off. Of course Barry’s grandfather being the kind of man he was, detected the brief sadness welling up inside of Barry and walked over and placed his calloused hand on Barry’s shoulder. “Don’t worry sport”, He said as he gave Barry’s shoulder a gentle squeeze, “that guy has it too good here I am sure you’ll see him again, now what do you say we go in and see what your Nana is up to.” Some of Barry’s most cherished memories always began with him standing in his grandmother’s kitchen, and this one was no different. Even now as he stood there on that sidewalk looking down at his hands, he could in perfect detail everything about his beloved Nana’s kitchen. The smell of cookies lingered in the air, as she beamed a bright smile at him when he walked into the kitchen. Her warm embrace as she wrapped her arms around him. He even ed the way his grandmother smelled. Lavender and lemon. His winter break had officially begun. “Oh how is my little Barry doing?” She asked as she released him from her tight hug, before playfully pinched his nose. “I’m fine Nana” Barry laughed while blushing. “Nana” Barry started, “Where did the big rabbit run off too?” Barry’s grandmother let out a little snicker, “Oh you saw him did you? Well my guess is he ran around back and hid in the barn, don’t worry though I am quite

sure you’ll see him again before your week with us is done,” She then turned around and went back to the stove where she was cooking something that Barry ed smelled divine. “Why don’t you go get washed up and get ready for supper.” Barry of course did what he was told and in a matter of minutes his hands were cleaned, his bag was in the spare bedroom,and he was back at his grandparents table eating supper, as his grandmother had called it. His parents had gotten in the habit of saying dinner, but to Barry supper sounded more distinguished. The rest of the night Barry talked about school, his grandparents talked about their farm, and some new crops his grandfather was excited to try to grow. After dinner they sat in the living room and watched some television until it was time for bed. Barry though did not go to bed right away. Instead he sat up in the spare bedroom,on a small footstool by the window that faced the backyard, watching for the rabbit. After about an hour of looking out that window and wiping away the condensation his breath was leaving behind the rabbit finally made a brief appearance. Barry smiled as he watched it hop around for a bit, stopping for a moment to sniff the air, before running off in the direction of a small field to the left of his grandparents backyard. Barry watched as the rabbit disappeared into the overgrowth that seemed to be able to only grow during the winter when his grandfather didn’t tend to his fields. A little yawn escaped from Barry and confident that he would not see the rabbit for the rest of the night Barry strolled off to bed. Barry realized that he had been standing in the middle of the sidewalk, not moving, looking down at his hands for a good five minutes or so. People ing him were starting to give him annoyed, and worried looks. So he pushed his hands into his pocket and began to walk in the direction of the hospital where his grandfather was now staying. His grandfather had been there for almost two weeks now. And at a hundred and two years old Barry thought it was indeed a miracle that his grandfather had lasted this long on his own. A bad heart took his grandmother away three years ago. But even she lived to the nice old age of ninety-five. Maybe his grandfather would have an answer for him. But for the time being Barry walked and continued, to that cold week at his grandparents farm. The next day of that particular winter break was cold, but it was also manageable. There did not seem to be any sign of the brutal Illinois winter weather that was commonplace in December. And for that Barry was thankful.

Because being at his grandparents house was not always fun and games because there were chores that needed to be done. He bundled up in his jacket and sweatpants and went outside with his grandfather to feed the chickens and check on the other animals. As they made their way to the chicken coup Barry caught a glimpse of the rabbit from the corner of his eyes. Barry turned his head and for a brief moment he locked eyes with the little creature. Then it bounded off in the opposite direction. While they began to spread feed on the ground for the five hens and one lone rooster Barry asked, “Grandpa, have you guys given the rabbit a name?” “Nah” His grandfather said with a little laugh, “I don’t think we are” “Can I?”, he asked. His grandfather tousled his hair and said, “Of course, I don’t see no harm in it” “Ok his name is Hopper!”, Barry said very adamantly. “Hopper it is then”, His grandfather agreed, “Now let’s finish this and I’ll introduce you to our new calf” Barry was excited to see the new calf, but he was also feeling the overwhelming excitement of naming the rabbit as well. To Barry that meant the rabbit was now his responsibility, even though it was still just a wild animal. But Barry was sure that at some point in his week there that the rabbit would become his friend. He just knew it was possible. The next day and a half went by normally. Barry did get a few glimpses of Hopper, and his grandmother even let him pile up some vegetable scraps, like potato peels, and carrot ends for Hopper at the edge of the barn. But during the evening of the third night of his winter break. Winter decided to show its ugly side. In just two hours the temperature plummeted from manageable forty degrees, to a bone chilling twenty degrees. As if the temperature wasn’t bad enough, snow and ice began to fall from the sky. Now snow was indeed pretty to look at but in Illinois it was definitely not something you wanted to be caught out in. Which made Barry worried for the well being of the rabbit.

“Nana” He asked, “Will the rabbit be okay” His grandmother smiled a reassuring smile and said, “Of course dear, I am sure the little critter has found suitable shelter in the barn and is just going to ride this out” She then smiled and pulled out the ultimate distraction, “Would you like some hot cocoa and some cookies, and then we can go watch a Christmas movie?” “Oh yeah” Barry blurted out in excitement. So for the rest of the evening Barry and his grandparents huddled in the front room as a newly lit fire crackled away in the fireplace. They watched two Christmas movies before Barry stumbled off to bed, with his belly full of cocoa, cookies, and popcorn that his grandfather popped on a cast iron kettle over the fire in the fireplace. He was asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow. He did not even once think of the rabbit until the next morning, when he saw the hawk circling the barn. A fluffy six inches of snow blanketed the ground and Barry being a child of course needed to play in it. So after feeding the chickens and eating a hearty breakfast, Barry was not only allowed, but highly encouraged by his grandparents, to go play in the snow. He was not outside for more than five minutes when he finally saw the rabbit emerge from the barn. It dug itself out of the barn and burrowed it’s way upwards out of the snow, creating a perfect entrance and exit in the snow that it could freely use to go back and forth from the barn. Barry stood perfectly still, not wanting to frighten the little creature away. Instead he held his breath and watched as the rabbit began to hop around, searching for something to eat. Barry wanted so bad to inch his way close to it, but knew that the moment he did he would probably frighten the rabbit and it would run off, so he stood there entranced. But then suddenly he heard the unmistakable cry of a hawk come from above him. Barry turned his head skyward and saw a rather large brown hawk circling the sky and knew that it spotted the rabbit as well. Now in the full grips of panic Barry turned and began to shout at the Hawk, yelling at the top of his lungs while waving his hands back and forth in the air, hoping that his actions would frighten the rabbit and cause it to scurry back into the barn. Instead the rabbit

froze in fear and tried to make itself look smaller, but it only managed to make itself nothing more but a perfect target for the hawk. The one amazing thing about this memory that Barry just could not wrap his head around was how fast hawks are when they decide to target their prey. The hawk tucked it’s wings close to its body and then immediately began a nose dive towards the defenseless rabbit. Barry being a spry and wiley ten year old was not slow by any means, but he was essentially helpless as the hawk fell from the sky and towards what it hoped would be its next meal. The rabbit though did not move and Barry watched in horror as the hawk suddenly opened its wings and then extended its legs and feet that were tipped in razor sharp talons. Then in a flash the talons pierced the rabbits hide and then the rabbit began to scream. Hearing a rabbit scream was both unnerving and confusing, because the sound a rabbit makes as it is being attacked or killed is not something one would expect, but scream the rabbit did. Barry watched as the Hawk attempted to lift the rabbit off the ground and it began to struggle, almost as if the hawk's eyes were bigger than it’s stomach. But the talons had done their damage as Barry saw blood begin to stain the white snow underneath the rabbit. The hawk succeeded in lifting the rabbit off the ground a few feet and the rabbit’s screaming had stopped. But the rabbit had grown limp and slumped loosely in the hawks talons. Ribbons of blood poured through the hawks talons and the red patch on the snow began to grow significantly larger. Barry acted in the only way a ten year old could, he pulled off his right mitten and held it in his teeth before reaching into the snow and gathering up enough of the wet stuff to make a snowball, that he quickly compacted to a hard slushball, that was a bit harder than a snowball. He then with all his might threw it at the hawk. The slushball flew through the air with surprising precision and speed and it struck the hawk right in the center of its left wing. Barry’s jaw dropped as he saw the slush ball strike the hawk. But his shock was quickly replaced by a new wave of panic as the hawk released the rabbit from it’s talons. The hawk regained its composure but took off when it realized it was under attack. Leaving Barry to stand there and watch as the rabbit plummeted back to earth. The rabbit struck the snowy ground with such force that it made a small impact crater in the snow, where it’s now limp broken body settled.

Barry began to chant the word “No” over and over as he ran over to where the rabbit had fallen. When he got to the small impact crater where the rabbits lifeless bloody corpse now laid he began to cry. Slowly he reached in and lifted the rabbit up. But as soon as his gloveless right hand touched the rabbit something odd and magical happened. Right before his eyes the gaping wounds left behind by the talons of the hawk began to close, and they did so at a fairly rapid pace, before he knew it every wound was closed and sealed. The patches of fur that were torn off suddenly grew back, and the once dead bunny was now breathing at a steady pace. Barry watched as the rabbit opened its eyes and turned its head to look at him. Then suddenly realizing that it was being held by a human the rabbit started to thrash and squirm, and Barry not having a decent grip on it allowed the rabbit to quickly wriggle free. As soon as the rabbits paws hit the ground it was off and running away from him, not once looking back, But Barry was not really paying attention to the rabbit, instead he was looking down at his hands puzzled by what had just happened. So naturally he did what any ten year old would have done after the shock wore off. He turned and ran towards his grandparents house, calling for them the whole way. His grandfather was the first one out of the back door, followed closely by his grandmother and Barry had his arms outstretched and when his grandfather went down on one knee to catch him Barry pretty much collapsed in his arms. “Shhh boy,” His grandfather said trying to console him, “What’s wrong?” “The rabbit” Barry blurted out, “the rabbit was there, then the hawk came down and killed it” Thinking that was it his grandfather continued, “well buddy that’s the way the world works sometimes and...” Before his grandfather could finish Barry once more began rambling, “And when I touched it, it stopped being dead, there was no more sores and Hopper just ran off” At that moment Barry’s grandfather gave his grandmother a very concerned look, as she stood there on the back porch, hand over her heart and jaw agape. Instead of continuing to console him, Barry’s grandfather placed a calloused right hand over Barry’s eyes and said softly, “Sleep”.

Barry suddenly stopped in his tracks. Suddenly the once gone memories were now bright and vibrant. The sudden recollection of that lost memory, confused him, but one thing was certain. His grandfather knew something, that look he gave his grandmother was not by chance. There was something else in that expression. Plus the memory just ended with his grandfather asking him to sleep. Something strange happened that day and Barry needed to find out. So he looked forward and once again walked towards the hospital. He practiced in his head over and over what he was going to say when he saw his grandfather. He was kinda perturbed by the entire thing, and Barry had so many questions. Good thing it had been a house plant this time, but what if it had been some random person or co worker who suddenly suffered a life threatening injury he had touched. Come to think of it this could explain so many other weird things in his life. Like how he had never gotten sick, or if he had a girlfriend he was intimate with, never gotten sick either, until after their relationship ended. There were so many questions. Hopefully his grandfather would tell him. In less than thirty minutes, Barry found himself in the elevator going up to the fourth floor where his grandfather lay in hospice. As the doors slid open and Barry waved at the nurse who nodded in acceptance of his arrival and then he went straight to his grandfather's room. Who was now sitting upright watching television. He was smiling when he saw Barry in the room, but his grandfather saw the look on Barry’s face and knew something had happened. Before Barry could say anything his grandfather softly asked, “you ed Hopper didn’t you?” Barry went wide eyed and before he knew it he was approaching his grandfather and with an aggravated tone said, “Why did you keep it from me?” “Because buddy,” His grandfather said, “Not everyone would have the best intentions for a young boy with magic hands.” Barry stopped in his tracks, and his eyes went wide, he opened his mouth to say something but before he could his grandfather held up his hand to signal him to stop and began to talk: “You see boy,” His grandfather said, “Your bloodline is a very noble yet feared one,You're from a race of mystics people now call Druids, healers of the Earth

we are! You see, this gift you have is a curse. If the wrong people found out about you then you would be dead, because our people were always ostracized and persecuted for our gifts. It started in where we first gathered and continued here in the states, starting at Salem and even today.” His grandfather let out a little cough, “You manifesting your gift at ten was frightening, so I erased the memory, hoping that when you rediscovered your little gift you would be able to handle it, was it another rabbit this time?” “No,” Barry answered, “A fern.” His grandfather gave a slight chuckle before continuing, “Nice, well buddy, you have a gift that whatever you touch is healed, I mean you figured that out.” “Then why are you dying?” Barry asked, “I’ve seen you a thousand times,” “Have you touched me since I have been here?” His grandfather asked. “And before you do, please don’t. I lived longer than I should have,me and your grandmother. Our birth certificates say one thing, but if they had my real birthdate, I would have been burned at the stake a millenia ago. Look there are still those that would do you harm, but now that you know, you have to be careful.” Barry furrowed his brow and said, “But I have so many questions” His grandfather smiled and said, “well ask them then my dear boy, I still have enough time left to answer them” So for the next couple of weeks, Barry asked his questions. His grandfather gave answers and the more Barry learned about his heritage, the more he understood why he needed to be careful with his gift,and hide it from prying eyes. Then exactly three weeks after the fern incident, his grandfather ed away. And Barry was careful not to touch his grandfather during any of this time. A week after his grandfather's burial a lawyer appeared at his door and Barry learned that he had inherited his grandparents' beloved farm. Something that particularly excited him. And he took advantage of the situation almost immediately. Within a week he was living on the farm and began to settle in quite nicely. For two months Barry lived in relative seclusion on what was now his farm. He

contemplated getting chickens and other forms of livestock to keep him company. He prepared to live a long healthy life, alone if need be, then something strange happened. Barry was outside rebuilding the fence that surrounded the chicken coup when he heard the distinct sound of a cat meowing behind him. He turned and looked down and saw a rather peculiar black cat sitting directly behind him. “Well hello there fella” Barry said. “You lost?” Instead of answering him or anything the cat simply turned and began to walk away from him. Barry felt compelled to follow the cat so he did. The cat disappeared around the side of his house obviously heading towards Barry’s front yard so Barry went through his backdoor and walked through his house and onto his front porch and that was when he saw the cat approach a woman who was standing in his front yard. She was dressed casually in jeans and a T-shirt and she smiled and waved when she saw Barry step out of his front door. “Uh hi” Barry said as he waved back, “Can I help you?” The woman still smiling bent down and scooped up the black cat and walked towards Barry. “No but I think we can help you Barry,” She stopped when she was face to face with him and said, “My name is Issadora, and we have a lot to talk about”. And for some reason Barry felt at peace and could not wait to hear what this woman had to say. THE END

Long way up

“OH MY GOD ANGUS, LOOK OUT!!!” That was the last thing Paige ed screaming. Before everything went black. Her and Angus had been arguing over a childish stunt he had just pulled at her best friend Nancy’s house party. Angus who had been drinking a bit at the party, had taken his eyes off the road for only a second, somehow managed to veer his ‘78 Camaro onto the wrong side of the road, and directly into the path of eighteen wheeler where it was driven by an exhausted trucker who himself did not have time to react. Angus shouted something as well, but Paige did not hear him, because the trucker sounded his horn and it was deafening. She helplessly stared into the bright headlamps of the oncoming truck and then there was darkness. Paige was suddenly startled awake and she looked around and realized she was still sitting in the enger seat of Angus’ Camaro. The car was now sitting in a ditch, it’s headlights still on, illuminating the world in front of it. Paige felt oddly energetic as she fumbled for the door handle. She had gotten in the bad habit of not buckling her seatbelt when riding with Angus because she trusted him immensely. But everything seemed to have worked out. As she swung open her door she looked over and saw that Angus was not there. The driver seat was completely empty and his door was closed. “What the hell?” She said out loud, before stepping out of the car. Paige looked at her surroundings and realized she did not recognize where she was. There was a sheer cliff on the opposite side of the road that seemed to go up for miles and on her side there was a lush wooded expanse of trees that seemed to grow up what could only be described as a mountainside. She was unfamiliar with this area, as a matter of fact she didn't think there were any mountains close to where her and Angus had just been. So where exactly was she? She looked around before shouting out, “O.K. Angus this isn’t funny!” She waited for a moment, but nothing happened. Angus was a bit of a bully and juvenile, but the moment she got upset he always stopped whatever antic he was up to.

Now in the full grip of panic she started shouting, “HELLO, CAN ANYONE HEAR ME?” Paige nearly jumped out of her skin when a soft masculine voice spoke behind her, “Well of course you are shouting dear” Paige spun around with such intensity that she lost her footing and fell squarely on her backside. She looked in the direction of where the voice came from and sitting indian style on top of Angus’ Camaro was a peculiar looking man with a mid length beard dressed all in Bright white. White not being the appropriate word really. It was almost as if the man was casting a glow that pushed the night sky away. Sure it looked white, but it was so much more.There was also a sweet smell of citrus in the air which was oddly comforting. When Paige saw the man though she felt a strong sense of peace wash over her and whatever panic she had was gone. Still she was a bit uncertain of who this man was so she asked. “Who are you?” “Good question!” The man exclaimed as he unfolded his legs out from under him and let them dangle over the enger side of the Camaro, “I mean really good question, let’s see” The man then began to scratch his beard as if he was in deep thought. Finally his eyes went wide as if he suddenly was struck with a moment of perfect clarity and he looked at Paige and said “I like the name Micheal, I believe that’s what they call me in the Book, so yes I am Micheal, and you are Paige ''. Paige was suddenly dumbfounded. How did this man know her name? Before she could respond though the man pushed himself off the top of the Camaro and landed on the ground in front of her with ease. “You are Paige right?” he asked, “I was told you would be here,” he then scratched his head and said, “oh man if I am at the wrong place, he is going to have my wings for this” “No my name is Paige,” she answered, “But how do you know my name?” “Oh well that’s because I’ve been expecting you dear” He responded. “Expecting me?” she retorted, sounding very puzzled. Micheal smiled at her and said, “Yes for eighteen years I have been waiting for you to show up here. Welcome to your afterlife!” He then clapped his hands together rather excitedly.

“I’m dead?” Paige asked. Not sure how her mind was so at ease with this sudden revelation. “Unfortunately yes dear” Micheal said with a hint of solace in his voice. “Even now your parents are being informed of your ing, it really is sad, but it is part of life” Paige stood there for a moment, staring past Micheal. The shock of what she had just been told was washing over her. She was dead. Which made sense, but if she was dead where was Angus, where was she as a matter of fact. Micheal laughed and then said, “my dear you are on the path to paradise, the last test, as for Angus” He then frowned a bit before continuing, “I am afraid he is on his own journey and it’s best you not worry about it” Paige looked at him and asked, “You can read my thoughts?” Micheal shrugged and sheepishly said, “Yes unfortunately for the time being your thoughts are open to me. See I am to guide you up this mountainside” He then pointed behind her. “I am to walk with you and answer all your questions.” Paige turned around and looked at the mountain in front of her. The incline itself wasn’t that steep but it still could present a challenge. The trees were far enough apart so as not to create a hindrance on the path. But still it looked like a rather long journey. “What’s at the top of the mountain?” she asked . “Peace,” Micheal answered, “And you can take your time, because honestly time stands still here, but it's a hard climb. But nothing here can harm you. So just push forward, trust me the reward is worth it!” Micheal smiled at her before adding, “We can go whenever you are ready” Paige stared at the path now fully visible before her. She was suddenly overwhelmed with the desire to see what was at the end of the climb before her. But she was also a bit nervous. But she didn’t want to spend all eternity standing in this ditch with Micheal so she turned to him and said, “All right let’s get this over with!” Micheal clapped his hands together and smiled a very bright smile, “That’s the spirit dear, lets go!” And together they walked into the wooded area at the foot of the mountain.

Paige noticed that the moment they crossed the threshold of the trees the world behind them sort of just disappeared, almost as if the trees closed that part of the world off from them. But that didn’t bother her. She didn’t think anything could. Because after finding out you’re dead nothing else could really be much worse than that. Slowly she started up the incline of the mountain side and began to push forward looking upward. The path before her seemed to go on forever but she could see the top of the mountain from where she was at and there seemed to be a twinkling light at the very top almost as if it was welcoming her. True to his word Micheal was standing right beside her, giving her his comforting smile. So she took the first step and her journey began. The ground under her feet felt like normal earth. Loose dirt and pebbles crumbled with each step challenging her footing, but she stayed upright and continued walking up the incline that somehow was gradually getting steeper. Not steep enough to where she needed to bend over and use her hands to pull her up, but enough to where she felt her calves tightening up with each step. Meanwhile Micheal was still walking beside her. No sign of struggling whatsoever on his face. Instead he was smiling. “This isn’t going to bother you is it?” She asked. Micheal smiled and said, “Oh no the first couple of times though were a challenge, but now it is all in a day's work!” “How many times have you done this?” She asked. “8,241,739,412 times” He said rather matter of factly, “But each time was extremely different, I can’t wait to see what gets in your way!” Paige snapped her head back forward. What did Micheal mean by that? What was going to get in her way? And then almost as if to answer her a little puppy suddenly came bounding out of the woods on her right and ran right up to her. “Oh!” Micheal said, “This should be interesting!” Paige ignored him and bent down to greet the puppy. The puppy then rolled over on it’s back exposing its belly to Paige in what was clearly a sign that it wanted a belly scratch, which she happily obliged. The puppy wagged its tail and then

rolled back over until it was standing upright and then it darted around her and began running down hill away from her. Paige stood up, turned and looked in the direction of the puppy. Every fiber of her being wanted to chase after but she looked at Micheal, who immediately looked away from her and began to whistle. Paige smiled, and shook her head. “Really, people chase the puppy?” “Well sometimes it's a kitten, a rabbit, once there was a frog!” Micheal said as he held a finger to his chin obviously in deep thought. “But yeah more people than you know chase down whatever crosses their path” He smiled a wide toothy smile and exclaimed, “But not you!” “Yeah not me” Paige responded. She then looked over her shoulder back towards where the puppy had gone and saw that it was sitting there a good twenty feet behind her. And behind it was nothing but a wall of darkness. It cocked it’s head to the side and yipped a happy little bark once more. But Paige ignored it and turned around and pushed forward, climbing up the mountainside. Both her and Micheal continued on in silence, while Paige focused on the bright light at the top of the mountain that loomed ever closer. Finally after growing uncomfortable with the gnawing silence Paige spoke, “So what would have happened if I followed the puppy?” “Uhm I actually don’t know” Micheal answered, “Best not worry about it because I can’t imagine it would have been anything good” Then he looked forward and his eyes widened, “Oh it’s time for round two, “ He said rather casually. Paige turned her head forward and suddenly heard something large crashing through the trees heading towards her. She braced herself preparing to face whatever was about to appear in front of her. Suddenly the loud sound of a truck horn pierced the air around her and soon she found herself engulfed by the headlamps of an oncoming semi truck. Her mind raced as panic began to overwhelm her. She closed her eyes and covered her ears and then went down to one knee and began to scream trying to drown out the noise of the horn. Her entire body wanted to just turn around and run. Run back down to the relative safety of Angus Cameron into the darkness, away from the loud truck that seemed to be barrelling down on her from the top of the mountain, through the

trees. Then that was when her common sense kicked in. If the truck was indeed racing down the mountain towards her, it would have already struck her. She also noticed that ever since she closed her eyes and covered her ears the truck itself had not gotten any louder. Meaning it had not moved. Instead it was waiting for her to do something. Slowly she opened her eyes and looked back up the mountain and in the direction of the incoming truck. Then she slowly and carefully stood up and took her hands off her ears. The truck then once again raced towards her. But instead of running, Paige balled up her fist and and pounded them on her hips and then screamed in the direction of the truck. Because if Micheal was right she was already dead. And this was just an illusion in the form of the truck that had killed her. And for some unknown reason, she was compelled to fight every instinct in her body that told her to run and instead face her cause of death. Still screaming, Paige kept her eyes open and an ethereal image of the truck came into view, and like an illusion the truck harmlessly ed through her. When the truck was finally gone and with the sound of the truck's horn fading away behind her, Paige collapsed to her knees and began to sob. Micheal walked over to her and placed his hand on her shoulder. “There, there,” He said. “That's always the hardest part. It’s not easy confronting your death. But you did it.” Paige stood up and wiped her nose with her forearm. “Yeah that kinda sucked” “I have a question” Micheal spoke before asking, “The guy driving the truck, do you blame him?” Paige shook her head, “No it wasn’t his fault, he’s probably is more upset than me” “Yay!” Micheal exclaimed, “Ok lets keep going, only one more thing then paradise” Paige looked over at Micheal and gave a slight sigh. She may have accepted the fact that she was dead but she was in no way happy about it. But there was work to be done, and she really wanted to know what was at the top of this mountain. So she only nodded her head and continued upwards towards light at the top of the mountain that was now so close that it lit up the surrounding area. Head down and with newfound perseverance she moved forward, then after about only

twenty feet she heard the sound of Angus calling her name, and he sounded like he was in pain. She suddenly stopped and asked Micheal, “Do you hear that?” “Mmmhmm” Micheal hummed through tightly pressed lips. He then looked at her and shrugged. Paige quickly knew that this was indeed her final test that Micheal had alluded to earlier. But that was Angus and she still loved him, and he did not sound like he was screaming from behind her, instead his voice was coming from her left, behind a row of dense trees that looked imable, so she ran over to the cluster of trees and called back to Angus. “Angus!” she called out in desperation. “I can’t see you, where are you?” “Paige? Paige is that you?”, Angus shouted back, “I can’t see you either, are you O.K.?” Paige turned around and looked at Micheal who was still standing there looking at her rather sheepishly. “We have to help him!” She shouted at him. “Do we?” Micheal asked. He then just turned his head and looked up the mountain, “Not much farther now I reckon,” He then turned back to Paige and sighed. “You have a choice to make dear” “Choice? What choice? That’s Angus and he was....”, She started “....Driving the car that you died in.” Micheal finished for her. Suddenly Angus began to scream on the other side of the treeline, “Paige, I need you to help me. Oh God, please help me! The light, it’s going away!” Paige looked back at Micheal and then back up the mountain and saw that the light on her side of the treeline was getting brighter and closer. She lowered her head as realization sunk in. Angus was not the nicest of guys. Actually he was a bully. With a foul mouth and she was pretty sure he had cheated on her. She only stayed with him because she saw him as a fixer upper. Someone that when shown enough love and patience would change. She wanted so badly to save him. She even yielded when he pressured her into have awkward painful sex in

the back of his car. Her eyes went wide as she suddenly realized that her entire relationship was nothing more but him using her and she was nothing more but a conquest to a truly toxic lost soul. Angus let out another scream, but Paige knew that there was no saving him. She lowered her head and turned towards Micheal. “Let’s keep going” she said with tears welling up in her eyes. “It’s ok to cry dear” Micheal said in a kind soothing voice, “But some people you just can’t save” “I loved him or thought I did,” Paige whimpered as she reached up and wiped the tears from her eyes. “But he was such an ass and it is his fault we’re here” She then turned head and looked over her shoulder toward the row of trees and said “I still hope he’s O.K., but he has to do it on his own.” “Best not to think about what’s going on over there,” Micheal said. Then he suddenly clapped his hands together rather loudly. So loud that it made Paige jump a little. Micheal pretended not to notice and said “Alright let's go see what's up there shall we” He then reached his hand out to Paige. Paige smiled and took his hand and together they began to walk back towards the light that was now closer than she thought. In a matter of moments they were now at the top of the mountain and standing face to face with what looked like a large portal of light “So what’s it like there?” Paige asked. Micheal smiled and said, “It’s paradise dear”. He then reached over with his free hand and patted the top of her other hand that he was holding. Paige smiled, faced forward and still holding Micheal’s hand stepped into the light. THE END

Short Way Down

ANGUS WAS AWARE OF Paige yelling something at him, but all he could hear were the sounds of the truck’s horn blaring and his own rising heartbeat as the headlights of the oncoming truck grew closer. He did not notice that he was driving on the wrong side of the road. But in his inebriated state of mind that was not too much of a surprise. What was surprising was that for some reason he was frozen in place, with his foot pressing down harder on the accelerator. It was almost as if he wanted to plow into the front end of the truck. Angus had plenty of time to just turn the wheel, getting the Camaro out of the way and into safety. He was also pretty sure that Paige was telling him to “look out” or something like that. But he just could not do anything. He did start screaming just before his Camero slammed into the front of the big rig. Then there was darkness. Angus opened his eyes after what felt like only seconds and when he looked around he realized that Paige was missing. He looked out of his windshield and saw that there was no damage done to his Camaro. Which was a relief. He turned and looked out of his back window and saw that there was nothing behind him. He looked around a bit more until he was confident he was alone on this strange stretch of road. Then he opened the door and stepped out. His car was on the wrong side of the road. On the enger side was a steep mountainside thick with trees. On his side of the car there was a rather relaxed downhill pathway that went through the trees and at the bottom of that pathway was an eerie red glow. Assuming that that was where Paige had to have gone, Angus brought his hands up to both sides of his mouth and began to call out for Paige. After the third “PAIGE!!!” a strange yet menacing sounding male voice spoke up behind him nearly causing him to jump out of his skin. “I wouldn’t worry about her, fucko,” It said, “She’s in a better place but I can assure you my friend, you are fucked.” Angus spun around and saw a strange man dressed in a pitch black t-shirt and jeans that matched sitting indian style on top of the Camaro. “Hey get off of my goddamn car asshole!” Angus yelled at him.

The man on top of the car threw back his head and laughed. “Your camaro?” He asked “Oh my dear idiot YOUR camaro is halfway under the front of about forty tons of jackknifed big rig.” He then stood up and looked down at Angus. “And you and your precious Paige are nothing more but wet spots on the highway” Then he clapped his hands together and started to laugh. Angus staggered backwards a bit as if someone just punched him in the stomach. Was what this man was saying was true? Was he really dead? He began to shake his head back and forth saying “No” over and over. “Oh yes yes yes” The man in black said, he then stepped off the roof of the car and landed on the ground with ease. He then walked over to Angus and held out his hand, “I’m Damien bud and I’ll be your guide today. “ Angus recoiled from Damiens hand. Then as fresh tears welled up in Angus’ eyes he caught the scent of something that smelled like burning leaves, but that didn’t matter right now. Because he could not believe he was dead. He looked up at the strange man who just introduced himself as Damien, and asked “My guide for what?” Damien lowered his outstretched hand and said, “To hell you fucking idiot, I’m here to take you to hell!” Angus stammered a bit before blurting out “W-w-w-what?” Damien rolled his eyes and said, “you heard me you twit,” He then pointed a long pale white finger at Angus and continued, ‘And why are you acting so damned surprised? It’s not like you were a decent person or anything. As a matter of fact you were quite the asshole, especially tonight. I mean you mistreated a couple of high school chumps, or as you called them losers, and then had one too many,” Damien stopped talking for a moment and held his hand up to his mouth, formed a cup with his fingers, and pretended to take a drink before continuing. “And then you forced sweet little innocent Paige to get into this crappy little car with you and then BAM,” He shouted the last word rather loudly then clapped his hands together to emphasis what he meant, “Killed her, and you of course, but she was the true loss,” Angus suddenly became enraged, and shouted towards Damien, “Watch your mouth, that is not a crappy car, that is a ‘78 Camero, a goddamn classic, and it wasn’t my fault, that truck came from out of nowhere!”

Damien tilted his head back and laughed a loud and deep laugh, then he turn and stared at Angus and said, “Really, you defend your car and blame the helpless man who was doing his job, providing for his family, Driving on his side of the road I might add, oh my if anyone ever belonged here it is you, well let's get started!” Angus watched in horror as Damien suddenly began to rise off of the ground. His arms outstretched and soon he was hovering over Angus and this time when he spoke his voice was deafening. “Ok little boy look past me and you will see a light at the top of this mountain, that light is not for you, but I want you to know it is there, HE wants you to know it is there, because as you fall further down the mountain, your fear and despair will grow, and soon all hope will be torn from you, just know each time as you look back and you see the light getting farther away, that was a place you could have been, now turn around and get moving!” Angus looked up at Damien and then turned around and looked down the mountain, it didn’t look that steep, more of a gentle incline that could be easily traversed, but if what Damien said was true than that light at the top of the mountain was the ideal place he wanted to go. So Angus turned around and looked up at Damien and said, “No.” Damien once again let out his loud almost maniacal sounding laugh, before saying, “My boy you act as if you had a fucking choice.” Then he waved his arms and the Camero exploded. Angus was only a few feet from the car as it exploded and the force of the blast sent him flying through the air. Oddly enough he felt no heat from the fireball, no pain, just a concussive force that knocked him backwards. He felt the sensation as if he was floating before he began to quickly fall back to the ground. Angus tried to turn to brace himself but he fell on his upper back and shoulders, and his momentum sent his feet upwards causing him to do an uncontrollable backflip, down the mountainside. He tried to twist his body but he was moving too fast at first, but it wasn’t long before his momentum began to subside and he was able to flip onto his back and began to skid to a stop. He came to a complete stop by a tall tree covered in black moss and he was able to pull himself up to see what damage had been done to his body. Angus held up his hands to his face and saw they were unmarked, they were dirty, but had come to no harm during his tumble. He felt no stinging wounds or burning sensations, so he also

managed to escape the fireball unscathed. There was also no pain in his shoulders, back or head, something that should be present after the type of fall he took,but again, nothing. Angus then turned and looked back up the mountain and saw that the light had indeed gotten farther away, and his Camero was gone. Suddenly there was a brief column of flame to his left and when it subsided Damien was standing there smiling at him. “My god that was fucking epic!” Damien exclaimed. “You sure you weren’t a gymnast in high school?” He then shrugged and said “Oh well let's get this over with, I don’t got all day” Angus stared at Damien with utter disgust and said, “What did you do to my car?” Damien chuckled and said,”Oh my hell, again with the car, really dude, that wasn’t your car moron, and seriously that’s what you're worried about? You just went ass over teakettle down a mountain side,came out with no broken bones and you’re still worried about the car? Oh my they are going to have fun with you!” Angus looked at Damien and asked, “Yeah how did I not get hurt?” “Because you’re dead dummy, but don’t worry, the real pain starts when we get down there” Damien answered then pointed down the mountain, “So again let's go!” Angus once again puffed up his chest in defiance and said, “NO!” Damien let out a sigh and shook his head, “Always defiant” He then turned towards Angus and said, “Look I don’t have pain, but I do have fear, so last chance to go willingly” Angus said nothing, just shook his head and balled up his fist. Damien held out his arms and said, “Ok have it your way” Then he snapped his fingers and finished by saying “Beep, beep bitch!” Angus was confused but that quickly ed when the sound of a loud horn that would belong to a semi-truck blared to life directly behind him. Angus turned around and saw the same truck that he couldn’t seem to avoid hitting with his

car, was now, as impossible as it seemed, barreling straight down towards him. Angus let out a little yelp, before turning around and running down the mountain side trying to finally escape the truck that killed him. He nearly lost his footing a couple of times but the entire way down he found himself cursing the driver. Why didn’t the moron driving the truck get out of the way? Angus refused to believe that he was solely responsible for the accident. The guy driving the truck had to share the blame. So Angus decided maybe he could confront the guy and tell him how he really felt. So Angus decided that he could dive to his left and the truck would just roll on ,maybe even coming to a stop. And if the asshole driving the truck decided to step out Angus would give him a piece of his mind. Angus could still hear the truck crashing through the trees behind him and when he felt that he would be safe from the stopping truck Angus dove left and began to roll away from the truck. He then scrambled to his feet and turned and was shocked when he saw that there was nothing there. No truck, and no signs there was ever a truck there in the first place. Everything around him looked the same. The side of the mountain he had just run down looked untouched. It was as if the truck wasn’t real. “What the hell?” Angus said out loud. He looked back up the mountainside and saw that the light was now quite a distance away and suddenly he was overcome with an intense feeling of sadness. It felt as if his very soul was in pain. So he sat down and started to cry. He didn’t want to go to Hell, and he didn’t want to be dead. “This has to be a bad dream” He said aloud as he sucked back the snot dripping from his nose. “Yeah, I’m just asleep” So he stood up and wiped his eyes, and began to slap himself in the face. But he felt nothing. Suddenly panic started to set in and he did the only other thing he could think of doing. He started to call out for Paige. Then after a couple of minutes of calling for her, he heard her voice from the other side of the trees directly behind him. “Angus'' He heard her call out, “I can't see you. Where are you?” “Paige? Paige is that you?” He immediately shouted back, “I can’t see you either, are you O.K?” She did not answer him, instead he heard what sounded like her talking to

someone else. Was she with another guy? Was she cheating on him? She promised that they would be together forever no matter what and she was just ignoring him? Suddenly without warning Damien appeared beside him and said, “Oh my hell, really dude, your last act here is to succumb to a fit of jealousy. Jesus, I don’t even have to read your mind to see it, it’s there all over your face” Damien then tilted his head back and started to laugh again. “God you belong here” Angus looked at Damien and then back up at the mountainside and saw that the light had gotten even farther away so as a last ditch effort he yelled out, “Paige I need you to help me. Oh God, please help me! The light, it’s going away!” But there was no answer, instead he felt Damien grab his arm and heard him say, “O.K. fucko, let's get this over with” Suddenly Angus felt himself lifted off the ground as Damien effortlessly lifted him up and then in one swift motion, threw Angus down the mountain side. Angus felt himself crash onto his back and then he was sliding uncontrollably down the mountainside, without warning it felt as if the mountain side was now a little more steep and Angus was now sliding uncontrollably towards the bottom of the mountain. He felt paralyized as he looked down past his feet, which he was unable to move and the sensation was almost like what a child would feel sliding down a playground slide. Suddenly the slope began to straighten out and soon Angus found himself laying on his back on a flat square area of dirt. He quickly got to his feet and looked around. The light at the top of the mountain was now gone and the only light that was around him seemed to be coming from an orange glow that was originating in the ground under his feet. There was a sudden rumble as the ground began to crumble away and quickly Angus turned and ran from the now forming hole. Bright orange flames shot up out of the hole and Angus could feel the heat on his skin. He smelled his hair as it was singed and he shook his head and said, “Fuck this” and turned to try to run back up the mountainside. But instead he ran right into Damien who quickly reached up with his right hand and grabbed Angus by the throat. “Aww where are you going, fucko?” Damien asked as he lifted Angus off the ground. Angus beat at Damien’s outstretched arm as tears began to stream down his cheeks, “I’m sorry” he said rather weakly.

“Well good for you,” Damien said, “But it’s too late to be sorry, but hey you deserve this, all of this” Damien shook his head, “You know you had every chance to run up the mountain, all you had to do was just get over your damn car, take some responsibility and not have been such a little pussy you could have just ran right past me.” Damien once again let out his maniacal laugh, “I even told you I couldn’t hurt you, but you ran downhill anyway” Angus' eyes went wide as he realized Damien was right. Then Angus felt intense heat at his feet as Damien held him over what was now an opened pit to hell. “Please no,” Angus pleaded. Damien gave Angus a little crooked half smile before saying, “ Oh yes fucko, times up!” Then he let go of Angus. Angus then fell deep into the fires of hell, screaming the entire way down. THE END

Backdoor to Mars

DAVID WAS A HAPPY, excitable, and slightly hyperactive eleven year old. He did not have to want for nothing. Both of his parents were attentive and loving. His father worked hard and was home during the evenings, while his mother worked from home, answering calls pertaining to a certain amusement park. David had a great life indeed. As most children often do, David had his list of favorite places to go. While the park with the biggest playground was a solid number one, and home was a number two, his third favorite place was at his Uncle Keith’s and Aunt Caroline’s house. Now Aunt Caroline was a wonderful woman, she gave warm hugs and playfully pinched his cheeks, but it was his father’s brother, his beloved Uncle Keith, that he really enjoyed spending time with. Keith was a very young soul, he worked hard, but he was also a bit of a big kid. Which in a way was a bit unfortunate, because due to a horrible bicycle accident, Keith was unable to have kids, which was fine with Caroline, because she didn’t want to have any either. She liked kids, she just didn’t want to ruin her body. But it was very fortunate for David because he was an only child and their only nephew so they spoiled him. But things were changing. David was a bright kid and when he noticed his mother’s belly was growing, he knew something was changing. When they told him he was going to be a big brother he was completely over the moon with joy. When he found out he was having a sister, he was a little disappointed but he was still alright. Because that just gave him someone to protect. But the nine months flew by and it wasn’t long before it was time for his mother to have the baby. So while they went to the hospital David was going to be spending the night with his Aunt and Uncle. Now while they we’re never having kids of their own, Uncle Keith did turn the spare bedroom of their house into a place for David to stay when he slept over; it was almost like a home away from home. Along with Uncle Keith's childlike hobbies David was in absolute heaven. There were toys that his parents really didn’t approve of, stacks and stacks of

comic books, and the greatest of all childlike addictions, video games. David was no stranger to video games, he had a console of his own, but Uncle Keith had all the consoles, and it seemed like all the games as well. Even Aunt Caroline would pick up a controller and in the fun. Then there was the back yard, there was a treehouse and a path lined with some of the strangest red rocks David had ever seen, but nothing compared to the actual game room in the basement. There was a ping pong table, old arcade cabinets, a pool table, darts, you name it Uncle Keith had it. But there was one big rule. No matter what, no matter the circumstance, David was never allowed to go into the closet located in the back of the basement. It wasn’t like he could, it was always locked. Yet that did not stop Uncle Keith from telling David to never go near the basement closet. David asked why only once, because when he did Uncle Keith said simply, “Because if you do you will never be allowed to come over here again!” That pretty much sealed the deal. So David never went near the closet. Until the day his mother went to the hospital to have his baby sister. It was a normal drop off, Uncle Keith and David’s father exchange hugs and pleasantries, then just as soon as his father left, Uncle Keith turned to David and said, “Ok champ let’s see what mischief we can get into today!” And with that the fun had begun. The first thing they did was play video games.Aunt Caroline was at work so that meant there was a severe lack of feminine wisdom, so instead of a proper lunch with the video games David and his Uncle Keith ate nachos and oatmeal cream pies that were washed down with sugary soda. Which of course did nothing to improve David’s hyperactivity. After watching David sitting still on bouncy legs for a bit Uncle Keith decided that they should move their little party outside. Once in Uncle Keith’s open back yard a fierce game of tag was started, David quickly tagged Uncle Keith as “it” and soon they were running around the yard at full speed. Neither one of them noticed when Aunt Caroline arrived home until she suddenly appeared out of nowhere and began to run away from Uncle Keith as well. The sun was beating down and the air had gotten quite hot when in between deep breaths Aunt Caroline suggested that they go inside and play hide and seek.

Something that David was happy to oblige, because he yelled out “Aunt Caroline is it!” And immediately ran into the house to hide. David ran through the house laughing, in search of a hiding spot. Somewhere along the way he decided that the basement was indeed the ideal place to hide and when he arrived he saw something that made him stop in his tracks. The door to the forbidden basement closet was opened. Now it was not flung wide open, but it was opened just a crack, which was wide enough for David to see that it was not locked and that the closet was now able for him to explore.David was just a typical child and he had always been curious about what lay inside the closet. You can not tell a child a certain area is off limits without them wanting, or worse, needing to know. So he did what any child with obedience issues would have done. He walked over to the closet and opened the door. Holding his breath, while being both excited and afraid at what he might find, David stared into the closet, only to be completely disappointed. There was nothing except a few old coats hanging in it. Nothing on the floor whatsoever. Nothing on the top shelf as well. Just four old coats. Puzzled he stood there and he was about to just close the closet door, when he caught a small glimmer of light out of the corner of his eyes and felt a small breeze strong enough to move the bottom of the coats, so he walked into the closet and pushed aside the coats and was completely washed in a strange orange light. David was not quite sure what he was seeing. There seemed to be opening with a bright light beyond, about two feet high and three feet wide hovering right in front of him. It was obviously another door, but where did it lead? Again childlike wonder and curiosity took over and David slowly reached his right hand into this newfound opening. He felt warm air over his arm, but when he started to withdraw his arm, he felt what had to be a hand with long fingers grab hold of his arm and pull him forward. David was able to let out one long terrified scream before he was pulled through the opening he now wished he never discovered. David kept his eyes closed out of fear as he was suddenly pulled through the back of the closet. He then felt himself hit the ground with such an impact that all the air was driven from his body and his eyes flew open. Tears of pain welled up in his eyes but when he saw what was standing over him the tears of pain

became tears of fear. Three tall green, possibly nude, humanoid figures stood over him. Their eyes were solid black ovals, their noses two slits. And their mouths looked normal except the lips were dark green. Their heads were elongated and their arms and legs were skinny and long as well. They were speaking to each other, and were talking down to him, but he did not understand anything they were saying because whatever language they were speaking was indeed foriegn to him. The three creatures began to converse with each other when suddenly he heard Aunt Caroline’s voice scream his name from the left. David turned his head and watched as Aunt Caroline and Uncle Keith suddenly appeared out of nowhere, Keith ran over to David and immediately scooped him up into his arms, while Caroline stepped in front of the strange creatures and said, “No leave him alone!” And then she started to change. David saw Aunt Caroline’s skin start to turn green, her arms had started to elongate, when Uncle Keith placed his hands over David’s eyes and said, “No, no no, you don’t need to see that.” David felt the same sensation he had felt when he was jerked through the opening earlier, and when Uncle Keith removed his hand from over his eyes, David saw that he was back in Uncle Keith’s basement. “What was that?” David asked. “That was why we told you to stay out of this closet!” Uncle Keith answered. “What was Aunt Caroline doing?” David asked. Uncle Keith sighed and said “Let's wait for her to get back. I think it is better for her to explain it.” Then he put his arms around David and hugged him tight. When they were done hugging each other Uncle Keith led David upstairs and into the kitchen where he asked David to sit at the kitchen table. He then walked over to the freezer and grabbed two ice pops. One blue and one green. He then walked back to the table and handed the blue one to David and together they sat at the table and ate the ice pops while waiting for Aunt Caroline to come back from wherever she was. David was a little over halfway done with his ice pop when he heard a door slam shut and then he heard Aunt Caroline’s footsteps on the stairs and then she walked into the kitchen and walked over to Uncle Keith and touched his

shoulder. “Is he okay babe?” she asked. “I think he’ll live,” Uncle Keith said while winking at David. David squirmed in his seat for a bit before saying, “I’m ok” He then flashed Aunt Caroline a clearly nervous smile. Aunt Caroline walked over beside David pulled out a chair and sat down next to him. “David honey, I think I should explain what you just saw.” David, not really knowing what she was about to say, burst into tears, “I’m sorry Aunt Caroline.” He cried, “I didn’t mean to go in the closet.” Caroline gave a smile and pulled David into her arms and began to run her hands through his hair and said “No baby, I am sorry, because I was so excited to see you I forgot to shut the door behind me.” “Baby are you sure he’s ready?” Uncle Keith asked. Caroline looked down at David and said, “What do you think buddy, you ready?” David’s eyes went wide and without saying a word shook his head up and down. Aunt Caroline smiled and said, “Okay, lets see, there's no easy way to say this but where you just were, that was my childhood home. On Mars.” David’s eyes went wide. He stared at his aunt then at his uncle then back at his aunt once more. “The planet?” was all he was able to get out. Aunt Caroline smiled and said, “Yes dear, and I am a martian, I guess that’s what humans call us.” David tensed up and Aunt Caroline smiled and said, “Don’t worry baby ok, I am not going to hurt you, I promise and neither are my parents, and my younger brother, who you sort of just met.” David looked over at Uncle Keith and asked, “Are you a martian too?” Uncle Keith laughed and said, “No buddy I am a pesky earthling.” Which

brought both Uncle Keith and Aunt Caroline into a fit of laughter. David watched them both as they laughed. When they stopped Aunt Caroline turned to him and said, “All jokes aside we need you to keep this a secret ok. Mine and your Uncle’s relationship isn’t exactly normal, and while Martians hold no ill will towards our relationship, your earthling government has no idea how to handle their fears of simple relationship differences among each other, so you can imagine how they would treat us.” David looked down at his unfinished ice pop which was now nothing more but sugar water in the bottom of the plastic package. He then looked back up and said, “Okay, I can do that.” Aunt Caroline clapped her hands and Uncle Keith let out a little cheer. Aunt Caroline stood up and said, “ok now that that is over, what say we go back and you can meet my parents.” David looked up at his aunt and his jaw dropped, “Seriously?” He asked. Uncle Keith said, “Well sure, they seemed to like you and seeing as how me and your aunt can’t have children and we basically love you like you are our own, I think you are the closest thing to a grandchild they're going to get.” With that Aunt Caroline took David by the hand and together with Uncle Keith following close behind they made their way downstairs into the basement. Soon they were standing inside the closet and Aunt Caroline looked down and said, “Ok you ready.” David shook his head and felt Uncle Keith take his other hand and together the three of them stepped forward and in a flash David found himself in the same room he was earlier. The three Martians who he had just discovered were technically his family, even if by marriage, were standing there. Their large hands were folded over one another and he felt Uncle Ken and Aunt Caroline let go of his hands and nudged him forward. “Go on and say Hi’” They said practically in unison. So David walked up to the first martian and said “Hi I’m David” He then held out his hand. The martian took his hand and shook it up and down. When David looked up at the martian he saw what was clearly a smile, and all fear and doubt

he had completely disappeared. That afternoon while his parents were at the hospital, his mother gave birth to his sister. David though was literally a million miles away, playing a game of tag, with his newly discovered martian family. While that playground was always going to be high on the list of places he loved to be. It was no longer his number one place. His new number one place to be was his Aunt Caroline’s parents house on Mars. THE END

Right Direction

MICK WAS EXCITED TO take up jogging. Ever since his divorce and his new found bachelor lifestyle he felt the need to do more than just mope around his two bedroom apartment. After his daughter, who was much wiser beyond her thirteen years convinced him that he indeed had more life ahead of him, he decided that jogging was just the thing to reinvigorate his life. So every morning for the past three months, he was up at six and took the same route that he had grown comfortable with. It was always the same direction, and it was a basic simple circle around his neighborhood, leading him back to his apartment complex where he then would get ready for work. But for some reason, today he decided to jog in the opposite direction and take a path different from the one he was used to taking. Mick had no idea why he wanted to jog this unfamiliar path, all he knew was that something inside him told him he had to go in that different direction. It was a pull so powerful that he did not even hesitate. He just turned and jogged down an unfamiliar path. Even though it was not all that unfamiliar. He had traveled that direction while driving, because well that was the direction that his favorite grocery lied. But he never jogged that way, he was confident that he could easily find his way back home when the time came. But for now, he just had to jog down away from the route he normally took. He just needed too, and after jogging only a block he found out why he needed too. Because less than five minutes after starting his jog Mick heard what sounded like a woman screaming for help. Mick’s slowly steady jog quickly became an olympic sprint as he ran towards the direction where the woman’s screaming was coming from. In moments the calls for help grew louder and before he knew it he was standing at the entrance to a shadowed covered alleyway. With no hesitation he turned down it and that was when he saw what he knew had to be the beginning of what was to become a sexual assault. A young woman was pinned up against the wall of the alleyway, by what looked

to be a strung out man.She was pretty much out of view because of the placement of a neighboring business dumpster. The man had his right forearm pressed against her throat and with his free hand he was trying to rip away her shirt. This angered Mick and without any warning he charged towards the man. The man did not hear Mick approaching, probably because the woman’s screams were so loud. Which was just fine. Because Mick was able to shoulder check the guy with such force that the man left his feet and released the young woman. Mick skidded to a stop and watched as the man crashed to the hard asphalt that covered the ground of the alleyway. The man collided with the ground with sickening sounding crunch and there was a loud “THONK” as his head bounced off the pavement. The man made no noise as he hit the ground. He just came to a sudden halt and laid there motionless. Mick turned towards the young woman and asked, “Are you O.K.?” The woman, who was obviously in shock, looked at Mick with wide fearful eyes, before shaking her head in acknowledgement. Mick dug into the left pocket of his shorts and pulled out his cell phone and dialed 9-1-1. He took a few moments to explain the situation before hanging up and turned back to the woman whose eyes did not look so fearful a moment ago. “Hi my name is Mick”, he said rather to loudly, “I called the police and I am going to wait here with you Ok” The woman closed her eyes and took a deep breath before saying, “Thank you” “What’s your name?” Mick asked. “Steph” The woman answered, “My friends call me Steph” Mick smiled a comforting smile at her and said. “Well Steph you’re going to be fine.” And true to his word Mick waited in the alleyway with Steph until the police showed up. The man he had knocked down did not move the entire time they waited. Three days after her terrorizing encounter Steph decided that she needed to return to work. Her captain at her firehouse had told her to take as much time as she needed, seeing as how she was almost the victim of rape. But she didn't want

to walk around her empty apartment. She had recovered enough. Plus with brave men like Mick out in the world the odds of her being attacked twice wasn’t so good. As for her assailant he was still in I.C.U. He had suffered a head injury and even though he was never going to the same man, the police still had him handcuffed to his hospital bed and for Steph that just made her feel safe.Also a firefighter’s job was never done. When she walked into the station a hush quickly gathered. Soon though her fellow firemen walked up and shook her hand or patted her on the back as a sign of solidarity. She was glad she made a decision to come back to work. With the kind of comradery that she was experiencing, the firehouse was the best place for her. As the day progressed not one of her colleagues brought up her attack. Instead they talked about the weather and traffic. Then the Alarm sounded. Quickly everyone including Steph sprang into action and soon they were on the ladder truck and driving towards what was being described as a very aggressive structure fire. They arrived on the scene and saw what was once a nice sized five bedroom mansion was now nothing more but a blazing inferno. The heat from the fire had caused the windows to explode outward, and flames were darting outward in search of the fresh oxygen that laid outside. There were already two ladder trucks on scene and a small battalion of firefighters spraying water into the blaze. When Steph and her team stepped off of their rig they were immediately met by the incident commander who began to bark orders at them. “I need you guys to get your hoses on the west side of this house now. This thing is going to burn the entire neighborhood down if we don’t get this fire contained now” He shouted. “Sir, is there anyone trapped in that house?” Steph’s captain, Bart inquired. “Right now as far as we know,no” The incident commander shouted making himself heard over the roar of the flames and idling fire engines, “The family is right now being tended to in the ambulances over there” He nodded his head towards the end of the street where three ambulances sat tending to the wounded at a relative safe distance from the blazing inferno. As if on cue an older woman who looked about forty five suddenly came

running past the ambulances where she was quickly restrained by paramedics. But every fireman on scene including Steph heard what she was yelling. “My Daughter is still in there, oh God please you have to save her!” Steph turned towards the house and without thinking or even understanding why she was doing it, took off at a full sprint towards the front of the house. She was vaguely aware that her captain, fellow firefighters, and incident commander were all yelling at her to stop, but she ignored them and charged head down into the front door that led into a blazing inferno. Mick was sitting in his old fading Lazy chair when his phone started ringing. He looked at the caller I.D and realized that his ex-wife was calling. His brow furrowed and his heart quickened a bit. Because his ex wife never called unless something was wrong with their daughter Bri. “Hello Sue” Mick said very nonchalantly as he answered the phone. Immediately he could tell that Sue was in hysterics as she screamed something over the phone. All he could make out were the words, “House” and “Trapped” “Wait, wait, slow down Sue” He said, trying to get her to speak more clearly, “What's wrong?” Mick heard Sue take a pause and then she screamed at the top of her lungs, “MY HOUSE IS ON FIRE AND BRI IS TRAPPED INSIDE!” Mick had never sprinted out of his home as fast as he did after he heard Sue yell that. Steph knew that there was no way this house was going to be saved. Already parts of the top floor were collapsing down onto the first floor as parts of the building s burned away and weakened as a result of the intense blaze. Even though she was dressed in her full gear she knew that she had only minutes to find that little girl before she herself would succumb to the inferno that was once a family home. She heard her radio crackle to life as the incident commander began to issue her orders. “Lieutenant Sanders” He said skipping formality and using her last name, “I order you to get out there now, there is no way you can safely locate that girl inside that house, we have a plan to enter what we are told is the child's room by

way of ladder, now get out!” Steph did not reply instead she felt something guide her to the rear of the house, near what was the kitchen. Once again Steph’s radio crackled to life and more orders were given for her to vacate the house immediately. And once again Steph ignored the orders and charged head down into the kitchen. When Steph burst across the kitchen's threshold she saw that it was not quite as full of flames as the rest of the house. Obviously the fire did not start here. She called out a loud “Hello Little girl?” and immediately heard what sounded like weak coughing coming from the kitchen sink area. Immediately Steph hurried over to the sink and saw no one was there, instinctively she flung open the cabinets, looked underneath the sink and that was where she saw the young girl huddled underneath the sink. The child had her eyes closed and was coughing but she was not really responding to any outside stimuli. Steph reached down and pulled the young girl out from under the sink and cradled the girl in her arms. Steph scanned the interior of the room and saw that there was a door in the kitchen that led outside. Quickly Steph walked over to the door and kicked it open, fresh air greeted her as she hurried outside. Just as she was a few steps in the backyard she heard a loud splintering noise and turned just in time to watch whatever room laid above the kitchen come crashing down in a violent cascade of flaming debris. Steph shook her head before calling over the radio. “Sir this is Lieutenant Sanders, I am in the backyard and I am currently making my way to the front of the house and I have the little girl I repeat, I have the little girl” There was a brief moment of silence before the incident commander said, “Heard Lieutenant, now bring your ass around front so we can get that girl to her mother” Steph smiled the entire time she carried that little girl to the front of the house. Mick pulled up in front of Sue’s house and when he did his heart sank. The entire house was a complete loss. The roof had completely caved in turning the once three story structure into a one story pile of flaming wreckage. Mick truly believed that everyone who made it out of that house alive was lucky. He looked around and saw Sue sitting in the back of an ambulance and he sprinted over to her, when he saw that Bri was in the back of the ambulance wearing an oxygen

mask and looking around his heart leapt for joy. He came here fully prepared for the worst but was overjoyed at the outcome he was witnessing. “Sue!” He called out as he ran over to them. Sue stood up and embraced him and began to sob uncontrollably. Mick held her as she did so but he looked past her and towards Bri who was now sitting upright with her eyes open. Bri said very weakly, “Hi daddy” which brought tears to Mick’s eyes. Mick and Sue began talking small talk when suddenly someone spoke up behind them. “How is she?” The voice asked. Mick turned around and his jaw dropped. Standing before him was the young woman he had saved just a couple days early from an alleyway attack. He barely heard Sue say “Mick this is the young woman who saved Bri” Steph was not expecting to see her savior from the days prior standing before her but here he was. She smiled and said “Well how is she?” Sue looked at Mick and shrugged before saying. “She is just fine, thank you so much” Steph replied, “It’s my duty ma’am,” She then turned to Mick and said, “I never got to thank you properly for saving me the other day” Mick put his arm behind his head and said, “I think you just did” and he then turned towards his daughter who was still sitting up in the back of the ambulance wearing her oxygen mask. Sue then looked towards Mick and asked “What are you two talking about?” Both Mick and Steph suddenly explained everything that happened the other day which caused Sue’s jaw to drop. By the end of the story she was crying. Bri heard the story as well and it brought a smile to the young girl's lips. After they were done Mick and Steph smiled at each other and began to chat more about the events that transpired. Words like fate and destiny were thrown around. But Mick was sure of one thing. If he had taken his normal direction when he went

on his run, his daughter might not be alive. He was now sure that sometimes it was okay to every now and then, go in a different direction. THE END

Romantic Death

ROBERT HAD ALWAYS LOVED Suzanne. Ever since high school. But he felt that she was out of his league, and the fact that she was a serial killer complicated things a little as well. It was not a big secret between them. Robert loved Suzanne so much that he allowed himself to be put in the friend zone just to be near her. Of course when he first found out, there was a bit of a negative reaction on his part of course. But why wouldn’t she confide in him? They were never officially lovers but Suzanne did refer to Robert as her best friend on several occasions. But still he was rather shocked when she told him. It was a warm summer day and they were sitting in the courtyard in front of their high school when she said, “Hey I need to tell you something, so please don’t freak out”. Expecting something simple like maybe a late period,or secret crush he answered with sincerity “You can tell me anything, you know that.” Suzanne took a deep breath and said, “I like to kill people.” Robert ed that confession as if it was yesterday. He ed how his mind shut down for a few moments. So much so that he was unaware of the shocked expression that was frozen on his face. All the colors of the world faded away and for a little bit he had lost all focus on the world around him. Somehow though his heart took over and all that deep buried love that he had for Suzanne bubbled to the surface and without knowing it he lowered his voice to a whisper and asked, “Are you for real?” Suzanne looked away as though she was ashamed and just shook her head up and down. “He was one of my daddy’s friends and I just didn’t like the way he tried to touch me.” She took a deep breath and continued, “We were in my garage and he tried to put his arm around me or something and I just felt like I had to kill him.”

“Was he trying to, you know, do stuff to you?” Robert asked. “Nah, he was just being friendly I think” Suzanne then turned towards Robert and what she said next chilled him to his very soul. “He just put his arm around me and said how ya been or something and this fire begin to burn in my belly, it hurt at first Robert, but then it kinda just washed over and right there in my garage I picked up one of daddy’s screwdriver and drove it through his eye.” Robert swallowed hard and when he asked her his next question his voice came out low and gravely, “What did you do after that?” Suzanne shrugged, “Well apparently when you stab someone in the eye they don’t die right away, but they also don’t scream for some reason, I think the pain like short circuits their brain” “Shock,” Robert interrupted, “It’s called shock.” Suzanne gave a weird look before nodding her head and continuing, “Anyway, I pulled the screwdriver out and stabbed his other eye, he started this weird gibbering sound that was actually kinda funny, then I just started stabbing him in the face with the screwdriver.” She took a deep breath and turned to look at Robert. Who was now staring at her with wide eyes. “I didn’t stop until the noises stopped.” “What did you do after that?” Robert asked. Suzanne sighed and said, “Well I dragged his body into the far corner of the garage and hopefully no one finds him.” “What!” Robert said out loud, “What about your parents?” But he already knew the answer to his own question. He knew everything there was to know about Suzanne. Suzanne’s father was a truck driver who did long hauls during the week, and Suzanne’s mother waited until her husband left and then she would go and find company of whatever man wanted to keep her warm that evening. So he knew that Suzanne had plenty of time to get rid of the body. After Suzanne confirmed everything he already knew she asked him softly, “Can you help me with him?” Before he knew what he was doing Robert answered simply, “Yes”

Thus began their strange and tumultuous relationship. It was hard cleaning up after Suzanne’s first kill. Yet Robert really hoped they could become something more and his love knew no bounds. That night as he helped dispose of dear old “Uncle Ed” that Suzane had called the corpse in the corner of her garage, Robert did not feel all that guilty. Because as he recalled neither one of Suzanne's parents had been home, so why was Uncle Ed over here anyway. And that was the thought he kept mulling over and over in his head as he worked with Suzanne to do what needed to be done. Together with bleach, Suzanne’s father’s tools, and some heavy duty trash bags, they made quick work of the mess in Suzannes garage, they cleaned without speaking, as a matter of fact neither one said a word until they were digging a hole in the ground, deep in the woods behind Suzanne’s house, when Robert asked her, “Do you think you’ll ever do this again?” All Suzanne said was, “I don’t know” Exactly one year later though Suzanne came to him in the middle of the night needing help disposing of another body. Robert nearly jumped out of his skin when he saw Suzanne’s number flashed across the screen of his cell phone. He immediately answered it on the second ring and what Suzanne said at first confused him, “Robert,” she said with a hint of trepidation in her voice, “I did it again.” Confused, he asked her, “Did what again?” and immediately after he asked a shiver crawled up his spine. Because he suddenly ed what they did a year ago. “I killed him,” Suzanne answered. “And this time I made a mess.” “Who?” Robert asked, realizing that he may already know the answer. “Derrick” she replied and Robert dropped his phone. Of course it was Derrick. He was Suzanne’s current boyfriend, and he was what was known around high school as a bad boy all the good girls want. But he wanted Suzanne, so she of course gave Derrick a chance. Robert was jealous of course, but he couldn’t really complain, because he never manned up and asked Suzanne out himself, so while he stayed in the dreaded friend zone, Derrick went

out with the girl Robert was madly in love with. And now according to Suzanne, Derrick was dead. Robert picked up his phone and heard Suzanne on the other end repeating the word “Hello?” over and over. “I’m here” he said, “I dropped my phone.” “I think I need your help again,” She said. Robert took a deep breath before saying, “Ok I’m on my way.” Robert told his mother he was on his way to Suzanne’s and then took his leave. He drove the entire way there doing ten miles under the speed limit, his mind wandering and he was surprised at himself for making it to Suzanne’s house safe and sound. Robert sat behind in his car for a bit and gripped his steering wheel so tightly that his knuckles started to go white, it was only when he saw Suzanne come out her front door did he let go of his steering wheel and step out of his car. He was surprised as Suzanne sprinted across her front yard and hugged him tightly. She was sobbing uncontrollably and Robert hugged her back as she cried on his shoulder. After a few moments Suzanne pulled away and wiped the tears from her eyes and said, “Ok he’s in the backyard, but it’s a mess, I don’t know what came over me.” Robert steeled himself for what was laying in wait for him in Suzanne’s backyard, but no matter how much he prepared himself, what he saw nearly drove him to madness. Suzanne was not lying, she did indeed make a mess. Unlike “Uncle Ed” who was left in one piece and just had several small bloody holes in his face, Derrick was quite literally in pieces. Robert felt as if his eyes were ready to bulge out of his head as he took the sight of gore and dismemberment in. A headless torso laid in the middle of Suzanne’s backyard Sticking out of the ground next to that torso was a long handled ax. As Robert got closer he noticed that both arms and the right leg up to the groin were also removed from the torso as well. He looked around the yard and saw that the arms were sitting next to the entrance of the

woods laid on top of each other in the shape of a “X”, the leg itself was in three unequal pieces just a few feet to the right of the body, but the head was nowhere to be found. Knowing he wouldn’t like the answer, he had to ask anyway, “Where’s the head?” “In the tree” Suzanne said, with a hint of whimsy in her voice, “I kicked it like a soccer ball after I lopped it off” She then mimicked kicking something and then smiled her brillant smile that always seemed to melt Robert’s heart. He looked away from Suzanne and up into the tree where he saw Derrick’s head looking back at him, he let out a sigh and said, “Ok let’s get to work.” Suzanne clapped her hands and exclaimed, “I'll get the garbage bags.” Before running off in the direction of the garage. Robert then started to climb the tree to get the head down. Cleaning up a dead body was a lot easier when it was done outdoors. While the blood puddle on the floor of the garage was a bit difficult, but outside in the dirt and grass it was a simple matter of turning on the garden house and the blood disappeared into the earth. The body which was already in several pieces was easier to dispose of as well, and just like they did with “Uncle Ed” they did not speak a single word while they worked. It wasn’t until they were done did they say anything. Just like last time it was Robert who spoke first. “Are you O.k?” He asked, “Why did you do this?” Suzanne answered with a sheepish and defeated sounding “I don’t know.” Before bursting into tears and collapsing in Robert’s arms Robert held her as she cried hoping to comfort her. The entire time though he was terrified and not quite sure how many more bodies he could help her dispose of. Surprisingly he was able to help her a lot more than he thought. For the next few years Robert helped her five more times. Each murder more gruesome than the last. But his love knew no limits, so he never once hesitated to help her. After a while he even began to grow used to it. He no longer gagged

or felt ill at the sight of blood. He no longer questioned her either. He had accepted her for who she really was and his love of course knew no bounds. But during the fifth body he knew that he could no longer be quiet. He was going to indeed tell her how he felt. Because after all he had done for her, he felt he had the right to tell her how he felt. And maybe if he told her, maybe she would stop these rampages and vile acts of murder. Maybe his love was indeed all she needed. After all, every single one of the men he had helped her dispose of was a failed romantic interest, or that was how he was starting to see it. So after they were done burying her latest victim in the woods, which have become a secret graveyard, behind her house he took her hand and said, “Suzanne I need to tell you something.” Suzanne looked down at his hand clamped firmly over hers before looking him in the eyes, “What is it?” She asked. It was now or never, so Robert took a deep breath and blurted out, “I love you, Suzanne, I mean I am deeply in love with you, I always have been.” “W-h-h-at?” Suzanne asked. “Ever since we were kids,” Robert continued, “I have been in love with you, and I just couldn’t keep helping you do whatever it is you’re doing here, if I didn’t tell you, I know I may be out of your league or whatever but I do, I love you.” After he was down he took a deep breath and looked into Suzanne’s eyes. Without warning Suzanne threw her arms around Robert and pulled him close to her. Before he knew what was happening her lips were pressed tightly against his. At first the shock caused him to awkwardly kiss her back but then his emotions and heart took over and soon he opened his lips slightly and they began to explore each other’s mouths with their tongues. Suddenly he felt her hands at the bottom of his shirt and suddenly she lifted upwards, pulling his shirt off over his head, and before he knew it they were both completely undressed and she was pulling him to the ground in her backyard. This was the moment Robert had always fantasized about and when he started making love to Suzanne he never wanted it to end. He looked down at her and their eyes locked and he saw love in those eyes, and he knew that he had done the right thing. They made love for nearly two hours before they were finished and then as they laid nude in her backyard they collapsed into each other’s arms,

spent and happy, and without knowing he was doing so, Robert found himself drifting off to sleep. Robert was jolted awake by something hard hitting his left side. He looked around and he saw Suzanne standing over him, she was wearing a bright yellow raincoat and she was holding an ax. Robert realized she was kicking him in the ribs trying to wake him and when she saw that she had successfully managed to wake him. She then moved around over his head and raised the ax high above her head. Confused and frightened, all Robert could do was ask, “W-w-why?” Suzanne looked down, smiled and said, “Because I love you too.” Then without any hesitation she brought the ax down violently, striking Robert right between the eyes, killing him instantly. THE END

One Child’s Imagination

JONATHAN WAS A PECULIAR child.His peculiarity started when he was three years old, that was when his parents, Sheila and Julian, noticed that their son was rather special. He played like most three olds, whined like most three year olds. He even cried for attention like most three year olds. But one day, in the middle of playing with his toy truck and small collection of wooden blocks, he just stopped playing, got really quiet, and walked over to his art project area, he gathered up crayons, a sheet of blank paper, and began to draw. Sheila watched her son as he sat at his little desk and she could tell that he was really concentrating on what he was doing. The playful look that Jonathan had in his eyes was gone, replaced by the eyes of someone intent on finishing something important. His tongue was sticking out of the side of his mouth as he moved the crayons quickly over the piece of paper. The entire incident lasted about ten minutes. Then when he was done he walked the piece of paper over to his mother, handed it to her and said “Momma cars go boom.” Then the sincere look of concentration on his face disappeared. Sheila watched in shock as her son quickly changed back to his happy-go-lucky self and skipped back to his toys and began to play gleefully once more. Sheila looked down at the piece of paper and what she saw chilled her to her bone. While it was a child’s crayon drawing of several cars lined up on the road, it was the way they were placed that was off putting. Some of the cars were bent and crumpled. Others were clearly on fire, and a couple were upside down. While all that was odd it was the inclusion of the road sign at the very front of the little crayon doodled pile-up. It was a near perfect replica of a highway sign and scribbled in the middle was the number 57. Sheila recognized that as being highway 57. She looked at her son and asked, “Jonathan sweetie why did you draw this for mommy?” Jonathan looked up at his mom and said, “I dunno, I just did.” He then smiled and said, “Mom are cartoons on? I wanna watch the one with the dog!” Sheila stared at her son before changing the channel to cartoons. As Jonathan

began to sing along to the cartoon’s theme song, Sheila knew that she was going to have a talk with Julian about their son’s little macabre drawing after Jonathan went to bed. That night less than five minutes after tucking Jonathan in for the night Sheila showed Julian their son’s little odd dark crayon drawing. “What’s this?” Julian asked. “Our son just kinda drew it today,” She said. Julian held it up, turned it upside down, then flipped it over. “Is this a car crash?” “It's more of a pile up,” Sheila answered, “And do you see the sign?” “You know accidents happen on that highway all the time,” Julian said, “He could have seen it on the news and just ed it.” He then looked at it and said, “You know if you looked past the fact that this is a disturbing drawing of a bunch of burning cars, it’s actually pretty good.” Everything Julian said made perfect sense to Sheila. And the drawing was pretty good. So she placed Jonathan’s drawing inside her nightstand and snuggled up next to her husband. After a few moments of laying there in bed with Julian she completely changed her opinion on the matter and dismissed it as nothing more than an innocent drawing, inspired from a past news story. But the next day while Julian was at work, Sheila was sitting on her couch watching Jonathan have a little pretend picnic with two of his teddy bears, when the program on television she was watching was suddenly interrupted by a special news bulletin. Sheila watched as the news reporter came on and began to talk about a horrible accident that just took place on highway 57. Sheila found it odd for them to interrupt any program on television with news of an automobile accident, but the sheer amount of devastation that occurred during this one made it newsworthy. Apparently over eighty-five people were thought to be dead,or uned for. With wide eyes Sheila turned to look at her son who had stopped playing and was now looking at the television. Jonathan then slowly turned his head and looked at his mother. He had that

vacant expression on his face and in a low, almost cold sounding voice he said. “See cars go boom.” Then the expression faded away and Jonathan went back to playing with his teddy bears. Sheila just stared at her son for a few moments before deciding she needed to change the channel. The rest of the day went smoothly with the exception that Julian was late getting home, he had to take an alternate route home due to the disaster that occurred on the highway. Sheila let Jonathan watch cartoons before going into the kitchen and watching the news to get more updates. As it turned out it was just an unfortunate accident, which all started when the driver of a semi truck hauling fireworks suffered a heart attack, (something that he tried to radio in, but he went quiet before he could stop the truck). The truck crossed all lanes of traffic and wound up colliding with another semi truck, which unfortunately was hauling a tanker full of fuel. Basically turning both trucks into one giant bomb once their cargo ignited. It wound up causing untold accidents going both ways on the highway, killing nearly everyone located in the blast radius. Also this being a holiday travel week the roads unfortunately were packed. The media and law enforcement both concluded that it was a freak unfortunate accident. Sheila then began to prepare dinner and prayed for the families of those i involved, she also prayed rather selfishly that no one she knew was involved. Julian arrived home and just as Sheila began to put the finishing touches on dinner. Sheila walked over and she could tell he had been crying, “”What is it baby?” She asked. Julian shook his head and said, “My brother Tommy was on his way to Nashville when the accident happened.” Sheila raised her hand to her mouth, she had always liked Tommy, he was a dreamer and a bit eccentric, but he was a good guy. “Oh no.” She said, “Did he?” Was all she could ask because she did not really want to say it aloud. Julian just shook his head then burst into tears once more. Sheila threw her arms around her husband and held him while he wept. Just then Jonathan walked into the room and called out “Daddy!” And then ran to his parents. Who both opened their arms and hugged him tight.

That night after they both put Jonathan in bed Julian asked her, “Do you think he knows?” Sheila, clearly confused, asked, “Knows what?” “About Tommy,” Julian answered. “I don’t think so,” She answered. “But when the news came on he looked at me with the same expression when he drew his little drawing and said something about cars going boom.” Julian furrowed his brow and said, “Do you think he had anything to do with it?” Sheila shot a look that instantly made Julian regret his question, “Really, how in the hell could a three year cause an accident like that?” “I mean he drew the picture,” Julian said. Sheila sat back on the bed and said, “Yeah I know, but still.” Julian shook his head and said, “Yeah you’re right, but that picture, maybe we should just keep an eye on it?” Sheila rolled over and kissed her husband on the forehead and said, “Ok babe.” They did indeed keep an eye on it soon days ed, then weeks, then months and Jonathan did not draw another picture other than his goofy sometimes refrigerator worthy drawings of flowers, weirdly proportioned animals and other things three year olds would scribble. They of course told no one of the picture.After nearly two years of no new pictures they forgot about Jonathan’s little drawing altogether. Then two days after his fifth birthday, on a Saturday, Jonathan handed Julian a photo that showed something really disturbing. It was a simple square building, with what was clearly a steeple and a cross on top. The disturbing part was that the building was completely engulfed in flames, and in the windows of the building you could see crudely drawn stick people also on fire. Underneath the building were two words which read, “Willow Crest”. Julian immediately knew that the building in this drawing was indeed the

church less than two miles from his house. Now while they were not active Sheila’s mother was. Julian looked down at Jonathan who still had a vacant expression on his face and he asked his son, “Jonathan why did you draw this.” Jonathan. Whose vocabulary had improved greatly in the past two years said,”II dunno dad, I just imagined it.” Then the vacant expression disappeared from his face and Jonathan turned and began to go back to his room to do whatever he was doing before he stopped and drew this picture. Julian then walked outside where Sheila was and showed her the picture. When Sheila saw the little drawing her heart dropped and when she saw the words underneath the burning church she asked, “Is that?” Julian shook his head and said, “You better call your mom.” Sheila did not hesitate, as she rushed past Julian and ran inside the house. She made a beeline for the phone on the wall and immediately called her mother. Her mother answered on the third ring and barely had the word hello out of her mouth when Sheila blurted out, “Mom, mom you can not go to church tomorrow.” “What, why dear?” Her mother asked and then Sheila was stuck. What was she going to tell her mother? She couldn’t say anything about the picture. Suddenly she got an idea. “Because me and Julian are taking Jonathan to the lake and we want you to come.” There was silence before her mother answered, “Well that sounds a lot better than going to church, what time?” “Nine o’clock sharp mom.” Sheila answered with a relieved sigh. They exchanged a few pleasantries then hung up and Sheila walked back outside where she found Julian burning the picture Jonatahn had drawn, in the fire pit. “Ok we’re taking mom to the lake tomorrow,” Sheila said.

Julian turned to her and said, “Ok but what about everyone else?” Sheila looked down at her feet as she shuffled them a bit and said, “I have no idea.” Julian looked away from her and said, “I have an idea, it’s a long shot but it just might work.” He then turned and told Sheila what he was planning and she agreed, that it just might work. The following morning at eight in the morning Julian drove up to the local grocery store. The excuse Sheila would tell her mother was that he was buying snacks and other items for their trip. But just before he went inside he found a small bank of payphones, they were vacant so he went to the first one picked it up and dialed 911. Immediately an operator picked up. “911 what is your emergency” Trying his best to disguise his voice Julian said, “Yes I placed an explosive device inside Willow Crest church. Everyone is going to die. Unless my demands are met.” “Excuse me, sir”, The operator said. Julian took a deep breath and said, “You heard me bitch.” He then hung up, and walked away from the phones. He knew that the parking lot of this local store wasn’t monitored, so he was pretty sure no one saw him make that phone call. He only hoped that his ploy worked. So he went inside the store and grabbed some various items one might purchase if they were to spend a day on the lake. As he was leaving he heard the distinct sound of sirens off in the distance. He prayed they were going to the church. When he arrived home Sheila’s mother had arrived and she waved at him as he pulled into the driveway. “Some commotion is going on up the way, half the county's fire department just flew by here heading that way.” Julian smiled and said, “Well hopefully whatever is going on everyone is ok.” Then he put his arm around his mother-in-law and led her inside. That day on the lake was one of the best days Julian and Sheila ever spent as a family. They laughed when Jonanthan dumped sand all over his grandmother and laughed harder when she returned the favor to Jonathan. Truly it was a

wonderful day. The church did indeed wind up burning down. But the firefighters and police arrived and evacuated moments before the blaze started. It turned out that the caretaker had set the gas can he used to fill up his lawnmower next to a faulty outlet. After a few sparks,the gas can ignited, then the fire quickly spread, mostly due to the age of the church. Two firemen and an officer with a bomb sniffing dog were inside when the fire started, but they all made it out safely before the blaze overtook the church. Julian and Sheila have since kept an eye on Jonathan. They know their son is peculiar, some might say special. And while it is ok to nurture a child’s imagination, they are always looking out for pictures that might be more than just his imagination running away with him. THE END.

Paul and His Magical Tour Van

WHEN PAUL WAS JUST six years old, he knew what he wanted to be. He wanted to be a famous musician. While most kids were playing with toy cars, dolls, or building blocks, Paul would pound out careful melodies on his xylophone that was built onto the back of a multicolored plastic caterpillar. It wasn’t long before his parents noticed that he was actually playing pleasant sounding and rhythmic melodies and they decided to enroll him in every music program in church and middle school that they could. By the time he was eight Paul was already singing in every choir and play that he could. When he turned ten his parents bought him a guitar and he took to it like a fish to water. He practiced it until his fingers bled. Then he practiced more. Paul’s mother signed him up for lessons at the local guitar shop and he began to quickly outshine every other student in his little class. Three months later Paul's teacher at the guitar shop felt that he could not teach Paul anymore and declared that at ten Paul was indeed a progeny. It wasn’t long after that, that music became the main constant and desire in Paul's life. A desire that his parents fully ed. They ignored his subpar grades in subjects like math and science, because they believed that music was indeed their son’s future. Paul was a staple in every drama and choir class in school and he was the standout star of the entire class. He began to learn other instruments and before long not only was he a wiz when it came to playing guitar, but he knew his way around a piano, saxophone, clarinet, harmonica, drums, cello, and even the xylophone. He would flaunt his skills at every talent show, and won every one he participated in, from eighth grade and on. The only thing his parents asked him to do, that was remotely close to interfering with his dreams of musical stardom, was to graduate high school. And out of respect for his parents wishes and because of the they showed him, he did just that. He graduated one of the lowest in his class but he was certainly the most popular. He was applauded heavily when he went on stage. Mostly from girls, some of whom he was able to swoon with a cover song played to perfection. He broke and melted many hearts during his four years in school and the applause was proof.

Less than two hours after receiving his diploma, he was loading his trans am with a duffel bag full of clothes and his favorite guitar and informed his parents that he was one his way out west to the sunny shores of California, where he was going to become a famous and wealthy rock superstar, and when he came back he was going to take care of his parents, paying them back for all the gifts and they had showed him throughout his entire childhood. Then he graciously kissed his mother goodbye, then shook his fathers hand and without looking back he drove off ready to make a name for himself But unfortunately, Paul soon learned that the music industry was nothing more but that. A brutal unforgiving industry. Upon arriving in California, Paul looked for a place to rest his head for a couple of weeks and found a nice apartment complex that rented by the month. Thinking that would be long enough Paul gave his temporary landlord five hundred dollars in cash and immediately went to work trying to find someone in the city of Hollywood that would help him achieve his dreams. The first day was a huge blow to his ego. Paul was not accustomed to being told no, but when the first record label told him they were full and were not interested in taking in new artists, without even giving him the chance to play them a song, was quite honestly soul crushing. But Paul was not one to be deterred. He just took that no and turned it into determination. But as it turned out, the extra determination did nothing to improve his chances. Everywhere he went he was always told the same thing, It was “either sorry son, we're not g anyone new right now”, or flat out he needed to make a demo tape before anyone would consider listening to him. So he put his head down and tried even harder. He used the last of his money that he had to purchase a small tape deck and microphone combination and there in his temporary apartment, Paul cut a six song demo of original songs he had written. After making several copies of his tape he began to drop them off at various record labels. Each time he felt a little bit of his confidence return. But while he waited he needed to find work, and not knowing anything else but music Paul found himself going into local guitar shops and looking at the cork board bulletin boards at the front of the store. Where he knew he would find various flyers of aspiring bands looking for a lead singer or a guitarist. Paul picked carefully, as he pulled off the tabs of a few wanted signs he felt would be right

for him. Then he began to call each person. He tried out for three bands and each band was interested in hiring him, but Paul felt that his best choice was a group of guys who called themselves “Silent Crisis”. There was Eddie on drums, the guy who Paul had called, Bartley, a stoner who could play bass no matter how many drugs he had in his system, and Christian, a guy who even Paul thought was overly flamboyant and perfect to fill the singer role. Paul fit right in and connected with the guys almost instantly, and even though he didn’t want to be a guitarist in a cover rock band, this was going to have to do while he waited for his time to come. When his month was up at his apartment he packed up his meager belongings and moved in with Eddie. Eddie owned a house in a poor neighborhood just outside of Hollywood. During the day they would practice in Eddie’s empty garage and at night they played their hearts out at various bars, at which point they slowly began to gather a small following. A following that the rest of the band were happy to have but Paul felt like he deserved so much more than a few drunk barflies clamoring over each other for his attention. So he began to encourage the rest of the guys to try and write original music, because in reality no one really wanted to be a cover band forever. Except Eddie and Bartley were just fine with it. Their music was great and they had started to become a fixture of the local bar scene. So much so that they were being paid quite well, but Paul knew he was destined to be more. So while he pretended to be happy pounding one popular cover song after another for the ever growing crowd of drunks and horny middle aged single women, he was composing and crafting original songs that he knew would blow people’s minds as soon as he got them to the ears of the appropriate audience. There was just one big problem. While his music was wonderful, and complicated arrangements, his lyrics were simple, and sometimes nonsensical. But he kept trying. Four months of no news from any record label greatly discouraged and depressed Paul to the point that he started to indulge a little too much in strong alcohol and loose women. Soon he found himself settling into the rut of being in a cover band his entire life. As long as he was somewhat inebriated he felt less and less like a failure and more like a success and it was during one of his inebriated moments that Eddie managed to talk him into selling his Trans Am and use the money to buy a old 1970 chevy van, that they would in turn use as their tour van. As word spread about their band doing near perfect covers of classic rock hits, they suddenly found themselves playing all over California. So

they would need the van, but Paul did regret selling his car for a van, but the van itself was actually quite colorful. It was a bright orange with a gaudy purple trim along the fenders and bottom s. Yet the paint job itself could not compare to the striking mural of a scantily clad fairy sitting on a wide purple mushroom that was painted on both sides of the van. The innuendo was not lost on Paul, but at his stage of substance overindulgence, he thought the mural was pretty cool and the fairy unintentionally became the mascot for “Silent Crisis”. So as the band began to travel up and down the west coast Paul had accepted this as his lifestyle. But he was not proud of it. When he called his parents he found himself lying more and more frequently. He told them he was living the high life and soon he would be all over the radio. He was so embarrassed that he found himself crying to himself after he hung up the phone. It was during one phone call with his mom that he had decided that he was done being a cover guitarist. He had just got done lying to his mother saying that he had just recorded his twelfth song for his album when she let out a small sigh. “What’s wrong mom?” he asked. “It’s your father dear, he has gotten really sick, the doctors think it is just some minor stomach thing, but they also think it could be his prostate.” She said Paul’s heart sank. He knew all too well that prostate cancer was a thing on his dad's side of the family. All he could say was “Oh no”. “Now don't worry, ok son, the doctors aren’t worried yet, he could be just sick, they're just checking his prostate to be sure.” She then took a deep breath and said, “Don’t let anything I said to you stop you or slow you down, ok baby. You make that album and you take the world by storm.” Tears filled Paul’s eyes, as guilt washed over his entire body, he immediately began to regret everything he had said and knew that he had to stop doing what he was doing, because if his father had cancer he needed to make his old man proud before he ed. So he made up his mind right there on the phone with his mom that he was going to stop drinking and he was going to be a successful musician before the year's end. So he lied to his mom one more time and said “Ok mom well I have to get back in the studio, I love you.” He waited for her to say “I love you” back and then he hung up the phone. That night he told the rest

of the band that he was quitting after the next gig. Which did not go over well at all. He had never gotten in an argument with any of the guys before, but that night they felt his desire to become better was a direct slap to their collective faces. Bartley called him a prick and then smoked another t completely forgetting what was going on. Christian told him they didn’t need him and that guitarists were a dime a dozen, he even said that he knew of someone that could take his place in an hour. And Eddie, who Paul thought of as a friend, suddenly agreed with Christian and punched Paul in the face. Paul stumbled backwards and brought his right hand up to cover his cheek where he was just punched. “What the hell man,” He yelled at Eddie. Eddie just pointed an angry finger at Paul and said “Get your shit and get out, you’re fired!” Shocked and not willing to fight back, Paul once again gathered his meager belongings and shoved them in his van, which Eddie clearly forgot that Paul was the sole owner of. So Eddie stood on his porch and stared daggers in Paul's direction as Paul pulled out of the driveway and drove off. But just before he did Paul made sure to give Eddie a final middle finger salute before slamming down on the accelerator and leaving a fresh trail of burnt rubber in front of his ex drummer’s house. Paul drove for what felt like an hour before he came across a rest area on the side of the road and he pulled over and parked his van in one of the empty parking spaces. He then laid his head on the steering wheel and began to cry. He had no idea what he was going to do now. He was officially homeless, and had only about nine hundred dollars to his name. He had been lying to his mother for the past four months and he was not quite ready to face her, even though he knew that his parents would forgive him and take him back in, he had not forgiven himself. He lifted his head and took a deep breath. He then turned and looked in the back of the van. There wasn’t much back there and the floor of the van was carpeted and soft so he had a place that he could sleep tonight. Tomorrow he was just going to have to write the perfect song. He had to become what he told his mother he was going to be. No matter how hard he had to work.

If he failed then he would just give up and go home,which wasn’t sounding like such a bad idea right now. Paul ed that he had a blanket and pillow packed among his things in the back of the van so he got out of the van, walked around to the back and opened it up. He gathered up the blanket, the pillow, and just because he played music to feel better when he fell down, he grabbed his guitar as well. After opening the side door and laying down both articles of bedding he sat on the edge of the van's doorway, his feet planted firmly on the asphalt of the rest area’s parking lot and slowly began to strum his guitar. Paul suddenly found a suitable rhythm and before he knew it he was playing a peaceful little melody he had written about two months earlier. He was five minutes in when he heard the sound of a woman humming rather loudly and melodically perfectly in tune with his playing. Paul stopped and said, “Uh hello, who's there?” Suddenly there was a very high pitched female voice that came from directly behind him, saying, “awww why did you stop playing?” Paul jumped up and turned around and sitting on top of his pillow, was a scantily clad fairy. Not just any fairy though. She looked exactly like the fairy that was on the mural on the side of his van. Paul stared at her for a moment before saying, “No no no, I am not going to have a nervous breakdown in the middle of a rest stop.” “Well that’s good to hear.” The fairy said, “Now that you’re not going to do that you mind sitting down and playing some more, you’re really good.” Paul stared at the fairy, his jaw agape, shocked and not knowing what to do next. The fairy spoke again, “Well don’t just stand there with your mouth open like that, you’ll attract flies, now you gonna play or not?” “Hold on” Paul said with disbelief in his voice, “Fairies are not real, and the last time I checked murals painted on the side of vans can’t just come to life.” “Of course not silly, and yes fairies are not real.” Said the fairy which confused Paul even more, “But muses my dear boy are.” Paul knew what muses were, but he thought that they were just legends as well.

Something that people used as a way to describe sudden bouts of inspiration. He ed in high school during literature class where they studied greek mythology, and he ed something about muses being worshiped or revered or some even having a physical form, but just like fairies he did not think they were real. Paul was about to say something first, but the muse disguised as a fairy spoke up first. “Ok Paul I can’t hang around here forever, but my dear boy the powers that be see greatness in you and well my job is to help those who are lacking proper inspiration in the realm of music.” Dumbfounded, all Paul could say was, “O.K.” The muse let out a little laugh before continuing, “Ok clearly this is going to take awhile, let's start with the introductions ok” Then in a very mocking tone as if it was talking to someone of lesser intelligence the muse said, “Me Euterpe, you Paul.” Paul blinked before saying, “What?” “Oh good lord,” The muse said, “My name is Euterpe and I am here to help you write the song you were always meant to write, ok, we good, I know you have so many questions, but if you just pick up your guitar and start strumming everything will start to make sense, so let's get cracking!” Euterpe then took flight and flew over to Paul where she very gently landed on his left shoulder. “Ok dear boy play me something.” Paul knew he had clearly lost his mind. That this was it, he had snapped. But if it was a delusion, he was going to go ahead and do what he did best to cope with his problems, he began to play his guitar. Paul strummed and expertly began to play chords and before long he began to strum and play a song that he had never played before. The notes were beautiful and Paul was even surprised at how well they sounded. It was a chord progression he had never tried before but the music he was playing on his old guitar was heavenly. “That’s it my boy” Euterpe whispered in his ear, “Now go get one of your notebooks out of the back of the van along with that old mini tape recorder and

write these notes down, and get this music on tape!” Almost as if he was in trance, Paul jumped to his feet setting his guitar down carefully and with Euterpe, (still in fairy form and sitting on his shoulder), walked to the rear of the van and swung open the doors, he grabbed his notebook, tape recorder,A blank tape, and a blank music sheet. In a matter of minutes he had the music written out, note for note. It was a bit sloppy but perfectly legible. He then made sure the tape recorder had fresh batteries, popped in the tape, and soon he was playing the song once again. When he was at the point of the musical progression where lyrics would be sung, he froze and paused the tape. “What’s wrong?” Euterpe asked. “You were doing fine my boy.” Paul sighed and said, “I can write music all day long, but as a lyricist, I suck.” Euterpe chuckled and said, “Well that’s why I am here. I tell you what, let's start over and when it is time, just sing what you hear me whisper in your ear.” Paul nodded and rewound the tape and began to play his song over and just as promised Euterpe began to whisper lyrics in Paul’s ear, and without even thinking about it Paul sang the words out loud in his beautiful baritone voice. Paul was in his element at that moment. He sang his heart out he played and in one take finished what he knew was the best song he had ever written. He put down his guitar and jumped up and said, “Holy shit Euterpe, did you hear that!” But Euterpe was gone. Paul looked around, he stared off into the distance of the rest stop and after looking everywhere around the van he realized that he was alone. Paul bent down and picked u p the tape recorder and played back the song he had just recorded and it was indeed a work of art. Carefully he ejected the tape and put it back into its case,and then quickly scribbled down the lyrics in his other notebook. He then closed the door of his van and walked over to the mural and said, “Thanks.” Paul climbed into the back of the van and tried to go to sleep, but all he could think about was that song. Tomorrow he was going to go to the first record label and he was going to make sure someone heard his song. He did not know what

time he closed his eyes and fell asleep, but when he opened them again the morning sun was shining brightly through the windshield of the van. Paul climbed behind the wheel of the van, started it up, and headed into the city. The first record label he saw had been the one to reject him twice, but Paul felt that they would not reject him this time. So he put his tape in his front pocket and grabbed his guitar and walked into the front office. The receptionist behind the desk looked up when he walked in, she noticed the guitar in his hand, and said, “Sir we are not taking any submissions today so I am going to have to ask you to leave.” Paul looked around the office and saw that it was packed and that there were quite a few people in it. Most of them wearing suits and ties. Paul didn’t know who any of these people were, but they were about to get a show. So completely ignoring the receptionist Paul began to strum his guitar and when it was time he started singing. Once he started singing no one tried to interrupt, no one protested, instead everyone in that room listened to him. When Paul finally strummed the last note the entire room erupted with applause. Paul stood there smiling. Soon everyone stood up and Paul was in the midst of his first standing ovation. Soon one of the men in suits walked up to Paul and was holding out his hand. Paul took the man's hand and shook it. “Damn fine show there boy, damn fine, now let's get you upstairs and see if we can make you famous!” With a tear in his eye Paul happily followed. As it turned out Paul’s father did not have cancer. He was just sick with food poisoning. He was out of the hospital and resting at home when Paul called his parents and told them the news. Even though he was sick when Paul announced that he was recording his debut album and that money was no longer a problem Paul’s father got out of bed and did a little jig, before completely regretting it by vomiting all over himself. That following year Paul was nominated for a Grammy, and he won. After his acceptance speech he walked backstage and for a brief moment he saw Euterpe out of the corner of his eye. He turned and there was the muse still disguised as a fairy fluttering upwards, smiling down at him,clapping her hands until she vanished. Paul smiled and quickly walked back to his seat reing his parents

in the audience. Paul still has the van as well. Once a week he checks it and makes sure it is in tip top shape. He has no intention of ever driving it again. But just like Euterpe took care of him, Paul will make sure that the van will be taken care of. Just in case he ever needs it again. THE END

The Late Train

WHEN GLADYS ANSWERED the phone she was surprised to hear it was her mother on the other end. “Hey baby it’s your mom,” She said, “I have some bad news.” Gladys furrowed her brow, she could tell her mom was upset, just by the tone of her voice. But when her mother said there was bad news she could hear her mother’s words waver a bit almost as if she was about to start sobbing. “What is it mom?.” Gladys asked, “What’s wrong, is dad okay?” “Your dad’s fine sweetheart,” her mother said, “It’s Nana, dear. It’s her heart, it just gave out and the doctors don’t think she'll make it through the night.” Gladys gripped the phone cord and began to tug on it. Her mind raced, she had not seen her Nana for nearly two years.There wasn’t a falling out. She was just accepted into a prestigious school two states away and she hadn’t had time to connect because when she wasn’t in class she was working. “Ok momma, I’ll get on the next train out of town and I will try to get there as soon as I can.” She said, Her mother gave a little sigh and said, “Ok dear but be careful, try your best because this may be your only chance to say goodbye.Your father says you can put the ticket on the emergency credit card. I love you baby, see you soon.” Gladys told her mom “I love you too,” then hung up. The train station was only two blocks from her dorm so if she jogged she could be there in less than twenty minutes, they always had trains running so the odds of her managing to get on a train to say goodbye to her beloved Nana was actually quite high. So she made a quick tour of her room and grabbed a pair of jeans, a bra and a sweatshirt. She was not going to pack a bag because she left a bunch of clothing at her parents house so all she needed was her wallet and her keys. After making sure all the lights to her dorm were shut off she bolted out her door making sure to lock it

behind her and then she was jogging towards the train station. Suddenly she was overwhelmed and the jog turned into a sprint and before she knew it she was out of breath but was opening the door to the train station. The place was nearly empty, there was very little foot traffic in this particular train station after eight in the evening and right now Gladys was extremely grateful for that. She then walked over to the attendant behind the closest counter and said, “Excuse me ma’am, I need a ticket for the next train to Atlanta” The attendant gave Gladys a warming smile and said, “Of course hun, the next train leaves at nine thirty on platform three, there will be a short stop at the station in Columbia south Carolina, if there are no delays you should be there about three in the morning do you have any luggage?” Gladys shook her head and said, “No ma’am” The attendant smiled and said, “well that makes things easier, ok dear that’ll be eighty-seven dollars and thirty cents.” Gladys presented her father’s credit card, and the attendant smiled as they waited for the transaction to go through. Once the card cleared her ticket printed and the attendant ed both the card and ticket to Gladys, and she said rather politely, “have a safe trip dear,” Gladys gave a thank you and looked around until she spotted platform three, when she saw it she took off running and did not stop until she was ready to show her ticket to the conductor who had already let three other people on the train when she was approaching him. “Oh ho, lucky number thirty-seven,” He said with a smile, “Looks like you're the last one to board ma’am, you can take any seat open we’ll be leaving shortly” He then stamped her ticket and stepped out of her way as she made her way onto the train. The train car she stepped on was practically empty, there was only what looked to be a loving couple, at the front of the car and they were so engrossed in one another, that they did not seem to notice her getting on, so she took one of the seats in the very back of the car and looked out of the window. Fresh tears welled in her eyes, and it wasn’t long before she felt the warm tears roll down her face. She looked down at her watch and saw that it was now nine-twenty

five. The train would be leaving in five minutes which gave her just enough time to maybe say a little prayer. So she closed her eyes and began to pray, asking the lord to please keep her Nana alive long enough to say goodbye. When she finished the prayer with her “Amen”. Someone sat down next to her and said, “Well that’s a selfish prayer if ever I heard one dear.” Gladys opened her eyes and turned to see who had sat down next to her. Her jaw dropped when she found herself looking in her grandmother’s eyes. “Nana?” Gladys asked. “In the flesh dearheart,” Her grandmother said, “well sorta, but we can get to that later dear. For now I need you to listen to me dear” Suddenly the trained lurched forward and Gladys grandmother smiled, “Well not long now dear, anyways, I need you to get off at the next station dear, now I can’t tell you why babe, and when you do you do it quietly, everyone has their time, and dear, yours is not now” Gladys looked at her grandmother and just asked, “What?”

HER GRANDMOTHER SMILED and said, “Oh dear don’t worry your head none, you heard exactly what I said, now why don’t we sit back and enjoy this here train ride dear, I imagine we have about two hours before we get to Columbia baby girl, now go ahead and ask grandma all them questions you need to get off your noggin, because honey I am sorry to say you ain’t never gonna have this chance again.” That last statement shocked Gladys to her very core, what exactly did her grandma mean by that and since her grandmother told her to ask her questions she figured she might as well start with that one so she asked, “Nana what do you mean by that?” Gladys’ grandmother shot her granddaughter a quizzical look, she lowered her head and looked at Gladys over her glasses, then said, “Really child, now come on you are a smart cookie, now if I was in my deathbed when your momma called you, what could have possibly happened to cause me to appear on this train next to you?” Gladys felt her heart break, of course she knew the answer, so she said softly, “You’re dead, or I’m going crazy.” Her grandmother threw her head back and let out a very hearty laugh, “Now now child,” she said between chuckles, “Out of all my grandchildren you always had more sense than most, so crazy you are not. So I must be...” Her grandmother then held out her hands in the air as if she was trying to guide Gladys towards the right answer. Gladys burst into tears as she fully accepted the fact that her grandmother was now gone. She curled up her topped lip and in her whining voice she said, “Oh nana no no,” Her grandmother put her arm around her and said, “Shh now, now my dear child, death ain’t so bad, hell it’s not even the end. I mean if it was, would I be here telling you not to stay on this train after Columbia?” Gladys turned to her grandmother and said, “But if I get off the train, I’ll be late getting down to see you. And you know how your momma can get.”

“Of course I do child,” Her grandmother retorted, “I raised her, but let me tell you this, if what I was told is going to happen, actually happens, your momma will get over herself.” Gladys turned forward and gripped the headrest on the seat in front of her and began to sob harder. “I just really wish I was there nana, I could have said goodbye, I could have told you or showed you how good I am doing in school.” Her grandmother let out another chuckle and said, “Child I am here now, and I reckon we got a good hour before we get to Columbia, so let’s hear it.” Gladys sat up straight and began to tell her grandmother everything she was accomplishing in school. She bragged about her GPA, and even went into great and grim detail about some of the assignments she had to partake in during anatomy class. She told her grandmother about the boy she had been dating, (Craig), and how she thought he might be the one. Before she knew it her hour was up and the train was pulling into the Columbia station. “Oh baby, those were some great stories and I'm so proud of you but now, you need to get out of your seat and get off this train.” Her grandmother said. Gladys nodded her head and said “yes ma’am” She stood up and when she did so did her grandmother. They were face to face and Gladys went to hug her. She was shocked when she found herself in her grandmother’s familiar embrace. The scents, the touch, even the way her grandmother was rubbing her back was just the way she ed hugging her grandmother. She felt a warm tear run down her cheek and said “I love you nana, I’ll miss you.” She felt her grandmother let go and when she stepped back from the embrace she saw that her grandmother began to fade away “I love you too child, behave and be strong” her grandmother said and then she was gone. Gladys stood there for a second and blinked fresh tears from her eyes before turning and casually stepping off of the train. She walked onto the platform and made her way into the station where she looked up until she found the signs that showed her where the restrooms were. She then quickly made her way over to the restrooms and then went into the back stall where she sat down on the toilet and closed the stall door. As soon as the door latched closed, she completely lost control of her emotions and burst into tears. She did not stop crying until she heard the undeniable sound of the train leaving the station. She stood up, wiped

her cheeks, and exited the stall. After looking herself over in the mirror to make sure she did not appear completely disheveled she exited the bathroom and made her way over to the small bank of payphones to call her mother. She fished a quarter out of her pocket, and dropped it in the coin slot. She had dialed half of her mother’s number when she heard what sounded like a loud explosion. She turned and saw that other people in the station had heard the same thing and they were making their way towards the various exits around the station. It wasn’t until she heard someone screaming that she knew something was wrong. Gladys placed the handset back in its cradle on the payphone, she heard her quarter clang into the coin return slot but did not think to grab it , she instead found herself running towards the nearest exit. When she got outside she saw what looked like a black cloud rising in the air and it looked as if the woods that were about a few hundred feet away from the train station were on fire. Suddenly the sound of sirens rang high in the air, then the loudspeaker over the entrance crackled to life. A male’s voice that was clearly trembling spoke up “Attention everyone, due to an unforeseen disastrous accident, all inbound and outbound trains have been cancelled until further notice, if you have family or loved ones call them now. If you were with anyone who was on board that last train that departed for Atlanta please come to the counter now” Then there was silence. Gladys knew that by the way the man’s voice had trembled and cracked she knew that the train she was just on had crashed. She stood there on the outside of the station and it wasn’t until she saw a news van for channel 54 go speeding past that she knew that she had to call her mother. Gladys turned and hurried inside and saw that only a couple of people were on the payphones. The rest of the crowd was now gathered around the ticket counter and there was even a couple of people on their knees wailing in grief. She quickly made her way to the payphone she was going to originally use and dug her quarter out of the coin return slot. She then picked the handset backup, redeposited her coin and this time dialed her mother’s number to completion. She hoped that her mother was home and not at the hospital and was pleasantly surprised when her mother picked up the other end. “Hello!” Her mother answered, her voice sounded as if she was just crying.

“Mom! it ‘s me Gladys,” Gladys said. “Oh my Lord, praise his good name” Her Mother called out, “The newsman just came on the T.V.and said that a train just crashed.” “That’s what it looks like momma,” Gladys said, she then lied, “I had to use the bathroom and I missed the train as if left the station,” She wasn’t about to tell her mother that her grandmother’s ghost appeared to her and talked her into getting off of the train. “God works in mysterious ways baby, I don’t think I could have handled your death as well,” Her mother said. Then Gladys heard her mom begin to sob. “Grandma didn’t make it, baby, she died at about 9:25, or 9:30. I can’t really .” Gladys’ blood ran cold, 9:25 was the time she looked at her watch just before she said her little prayer that her grandmother called selfish. “Gladys, Gladys, you there baby?” Her mother asked. Gladys shook her head trying to clear the chill that was running through her, “Yeah momma I am here.” “Where are you, baby?” Her mother asked. “I am at the Columbia station,” She answered. “Ok baby you take your daddy’s credit card and get you a room in one of those hotels ok. Nothing to fancy and we will be there to get you in the morning. Ok dear.” Her mother said. “Ok mom, I think I need to lie down anyway.” Gladys replied. “Ok baby you go do that. You call when you are in your room so we know where you are, I love you baby. See you tomorrow” Her mother continued. “I love you too momma” Gladys said and then she hung up. Gladys did what her mother had asked, she walked over to the closest hotel, which was right across the street from the station, got herself a cheap room and

immediately called her mom and told her where she was at. After another round of I love yous and goodbyes Gladys hung up and turned on the television, which just happened to be on a local channel where reporters were covering the train accident. It turned out that a tanker truck hauling fuel had somehow stalled on the tracks and somehow the engineer piloting the train did not see it in time and crashed into it. The explosion caused the train to derail, killing everyone on board. Including the driver of the tanker truck. Before the news could go into anymore grisly detail, Gladys turned off the television and laid down in the bed. She looked up at the ceiling and said, “Nana, I don't know if you can hear me but I love you and thank you.” She laid there for a bit looking at the ceiling and when she was satisfied that she was not going to get an answer she rolled over on her side and closed her eyes. Surprisingly five minutes later she was fast asleep. The following morning she woke up fully rested and seeing as how she had no luggage let herself out of her room and made her way outside, where she saw her fathers oldsmobile pull into the parking lot. She waved at her parents and ran over to them and just as her mother got out of her car Gladys was throwing her arms around her. Her mother hugged her back and said, “Oh baby I am so glad to see you.” Gladys closed her eyes and as her mother hugged her back Gladys for the first time in her life noticed just how much her mother hugged like her grandmother. Gladys pulled away from her mom and said, “Can we go home now? I need to change clothes.” Gladys mother laughed and said, “Of course but I promised your father we could get breakfast first.” Gladys suddenly realized she was hungry and said, “Of course!” That breakfast was the best breakfast she had ever had in her life. As she looked around the table at her parents she couldn’t help but smile. This moment, along with every moment yet to come, was indeed a gift. A final gift from her grandmother, Gladys was going to everything in her power to not only honor it, but to make her Nana proud.

THE END

Kitty Kat Rocket

ELTON AND NORMA WERE two seven year olds who were way too intelligent for their own good. Born three months apart with Norma arriving first, both of them cousins, pretty much grew up together. And when two intelligent, mischievous kids get together mayhem does seem to follow. When they were five they managed to turn a toy race track and a car launcher into a very successful marshmallow launcher. Now while Marshmallows weren’t such a bad thing to launch, it was when they figured out they could launch eggs, that was when they got into real trouble. Elton’s neighbors moved three days after they came home and saw the entire side of their house coated in egg. A simple spray with the garden hose would have easily cleaned up the mess but they had witnessed the two children at play and figured it was a good time to just up and escape before the mayhem caused by these two unnaturally bright kids got worse. Which it did. Two months after the egg incident the kids got hold of some springs from an old trampoline, along with some broken tree limbs, various nuts and bolts, and several bed sheets they had pilfered from one another’s home. With these items they had managed to build a slingshot capable of launching something well over a hundred pounds. They used an old car seat and managed to create what they felt would be a working parachute out of one of the bed sheets. After doing a couple of test launches with some watermelons and pumpkins they had found, they decided that they were going to launch Elton. The kids did not know they were launching both the produce items onto a roadway, which caused someone who witnessed the incident to call the cops. The kids merely thought they were launching the melons and pumpkin over a treeline behind Norma’s house. They did not know their ammunition was landing on a well traveled road. This led to cops showing up just in time to stop Norma from pulling the safety latch loose that would have probably killed Elton. No one was hurt that day and only one vehicle was struck by a wayward melon. But still the kids got in real trouble that day.

But they did not learn their lesson. When they were six they stole a chainsaw, Norma’s big brother’s skateboard and Elton's training bicycle, and built their very own miniature go kart. That creation was the first time they truly suffered the consequences of their actions. The go kart worked like a dream, unfortunately the steering mechanism snapped and when Norma was driving it she crashed into a tree breaking both of her legs. Elton felt guilty because during his drive nothing happened but that did not change that he escaped injury while Norma suffered one. This caused the kids to slow down and play more practically. They continued to build their little contraptions though. They built a mouse trap that actually safely managed to catch mice and then launch them out of their grandmother’s shed and back into the wild. There was a frisbee that always came back. Which was something they cobbled together out of a yo-yo, toy helicopter, and of course a frisbee. Practical things that their parents approved of. Now their parents knew that their kids were more intelligent than most. They didn’t really want to stifle their creativity, but they also didn’t want their children to hurt themselves or others, and after Norma’s accident they enrolled their children in various programs designed to nurture and help young bright minds grow. It was in these programs where the children learned about rockets, and outer space and that led them to do the most insane thing they had ever done. It was two months after Elton’s seventh birthday and three weeks after Norma was finally able to move around without major assistance when the kids decided that they were going to build a rocket. They understood that all they needed was enough of a propulsion agent and a distribution system to get their rocket airborne. The rocket itself was simple enough. They used old sheet metal, some nuts bolts and a piece of plexiglass to create the rocket. Then they sealed every seam with some rubber silicon. They used an old wicker basket and one of their old floral sheet parachutes and created a cockpit for their yet to be decided enger. Happy that they had the rocket built, they decided to create a combustible element safe enough for them to handle, yet powerful enough to launch the rocket high into the air. They tried everything available to them and after destroying several toy cars, they

discovered that propane, rubbing alcohol and hairspray created the perfect rocket fuel. It took them quite some time (about a week to be exact but too a seven year old a week feels like forever) to fill several half empty hairspray cans with the right mixture of propane, and alcohol. Once that task was completed they set about deg the ignition system. Which was a simple task of using two flashlight batteries and some old wire. Then when they were ready. Using an old red wagon, they walked their little creation into the old field behind Elton’s house. It was there in the field where they also found their enger. A playful kitten that belonged to Elton’s neighbor was actually frolicing about when it saw them walk into the field. The kitten, not sensing any danger, immediately bounced over to the two children. Norma picked it up and said, “Oh my it’s perfect!” before opening the cockpit and placing the kitten carefully inside. “Do you think it’ll be okay?” Elton asked. Norma looked at him and said, “of course it will be silly, you doubled checked my math” She looked up at the sky and said, “our rocket will fly up into the sky about a zillion feet where the top will pop off sending our little basket up into the sky, where the parachute will open and the kitty will be the very first space pilot of the Norma and Elton space program!” “You mean Elton and Norma!” Elton corrected. Norma shook her head and said, “Not now, let's argue about that later. Let's get this rocket into the sky!” With that both children ran away to a safe distance spooling wire behind them. While each one carried one of the batteries. The carefully counted out their steps and when they knew they were a safe distance away they set the batteries down and placed one wire on one battery, before connecting the wire to the other battery that would set off their little propulsion system that would ignite their questionable chemical concoction, that they stuffed into hairspray cans. Then they did a countdown starting at ten and ultimately ending with one. As soon as they shouted one Norma touched the wire to the battery and almost instantly there was a loud whoosh as the chemicals in the can ignited. But the cans did not explode as they had feared. Instead they reacted just how they thought they would.

Slowly the little home made rocket lifted a few feet of the ground and then as the mixture began to expose to more air the cans fully ignited and the rocket launched higher and higher into the sky. Both kids cheered loudly and ran to the little smoking patch of scorched earth where their rocket had launched. When they were confident that there was no chance that a fire would spread they looked upward and watched as their rocket flew higher and higher. It was almost too far away for them to see, when something happened that they had not really planned on. Strong wind. Suddenly their rocket began to drift further and further away, not straight up as they had planned or thought. They gave chase, but to avail. Because it wasn’t long before the rocket completely vanished from sight. “Oh no, the kitty!” Elton cried out loud. “I know I know,” Norma whined, “don’t remind me” They stopped running after their now unseen rocket and immediately ran back to collect the batteries and wire. Elton was crying because of the guilt he felt over the kitten. Norma put her arm around him and said, “Shh it’s ok it was an accident” Elton nodded his head and said “I know, but no more rockets, ok”. Norma nodded in agreement, “No more rockets” She repeated. They then went home and told no one what had happened. They did go on to do great things in their lifetime, but they never again built another rocket. The next day after the children's ill fated launch, in a town about thirty miles away, a young girl named Jenny was playing in her front yard when she heard the sound of something that sounded like a kitten mewing coming from her backyard. She casually walked around her house and what she saw in her back yard made her jaw drop. Hanging a couple of feet from the ground from the tree in her backyard, by what

looked to be an old floral bedsheet, was a wicker basket. Jenny walked over and what she saw made her giggle. Inside was a little kitten and it was terrified, but when Jenny reached into the basket to pick up the poor shivering creature the kitten immediately snuggled into her arms. Excited Jenny ran into her house to show her mother what she had just found. THE END

My Boys

I ALL OF IT as if it was yesterday. The deaths of the three best friends a boy could have. While they did not all die on the same day, I still can exactly what I was doing when they died. I can everything , and it’s something that I will never forget. Something I can never forget. Brian, Phil, Joey, and myself grew up in the same trailer park in the small town of New Market, Alabama. From the moment we met we were fast friends. Then we became best friends and we were inseparable. Our parents and neighbors called us the fab four, a reference we didn't quite get until we were a little older, but one we used just the same. It was a moniker we embraced. It was also just one of the names of our little group. We were christened the four horsemen of mischief by the owner of a strip mall that sprouted up seemingly overnight, down the street from the trailer park. And if I can be honest, we more than earned that name. We were little deviants and we were actually bad at it. Because we were always getting caught. We spray painted horribly misspelled naughty words on the side of the building and we got caught. Joey and Phil would steal candy bars from the sweet shop. And they got caught. Every now and then we got away with one of our little acts of childish shenanigans. But more often than not we would get caught. To be honest that was one of our charms. Growing up together we created a fierce bond of brotherhood with one another. Sure we had our fights, but we quickly got over it and were back to being the fab four in less than a day. Looking back I can’t help but to laugh at the insane number of stupid things we use to do. There was the band we wanted to form, with none of us wanting to learn how to play a musical instrument. There was our little bike gang, where we pretended our bmx dirt bikes were Harley’s and that we were the toughest kids on the block, when in all honesty, we were not. The time we all tried smoking

and our eleven year lungs screamed at us in protest. My life with those three boys was literally the best moments of my life. We were all the same age as well, two of us had birthdays in the same month, (Me and Joey) we were born in July in case you’re wondering. Brian was a February baby so he was technically the oldest, and poor Phil was the baby of the group with his birthday falling in October. But that did not stop us from being in the same grade. When we became freshmen in high school, we still had the same bond, and tried our best to wind up in the same classes. We succeeded somewhat, but there were moments when we got separated. But we always rode the same bus and always wound up at someone's house together, This was pretty much how our lives went. It wasn’t until Joey’s parents decided to split up that things went a little left of center for us. Fortunately Joey's mother stayed in the trailer park. But Joey’s father moved two towns over to the town of Hazel green. Joey’s mother of course got full custody, but Joey had to go to his father’s house every other weekend and when he was gone our little group felt empty. Sure we got up to our normal shenanigans. But it was never the same when Joey was gone. Four was so much better than three. It just meant that when he was home we made up for it, which led to us stealing a truck from a construction site and driving it onto the front porch of some random guy's house. Everyone got away but me. I somehow got thrown into the windshield and was rendered unconscious while they took off for the hills. In their defense they thought I was right there beside them. When they noticed that I was not there they went looking for me and when they made it back to the truck it was surrounded by first responders and they hightailed it out of there. I got a six months probationary sentence and had to do a hundred hours of community service. My parents knew that my friends had to be involved. But I never ratted them out. That still did not stop me from being grounded to my room for six weeks, a sentence I did happily because my friends were at my bedroom window everyday to keep me company. But the truck was the end of our mischief days. We decided it was time to grow up and well we did. But we grew together, we matured, then during our sophomore year of high school something happened that changed our group forever. We begin to notice girls. If you think about it, teenage girls were practically every group of young male friends kryptonite. While most groups of teenage boys could not survive the

evil charms of teenage girls, we managed. Because well we all fell in love with different girls around the same time. We would never infringe or interfere with each other's girlfriends or love interests and we kept our word. We even found time for us to get together and be our typical rambunctious selves. We even found a secret meeting place where we would meet up and talk about our lives at the moment. It’s important to mention that in the city of New Market there is a park known as the Sharon Johnson park and if I can be brutally honest it’s the only thing worth visiting in that small town. As we got older and we were allowed to venture from home a little farther one of the places we visited was this park. It was during one of these visits that we discovered the “Marking” rock. Set back aways, just a little bit off from one of the many hiking trails was a large boulder I guess, for lack of a better description. It was just a big damn rock. This rock was tagged and carved by various youths throughout the years. Some names had faded to obscurity while others were vibrant and new. But not too many people were walking the hiking trails so me and the boys made this place our secret hangout, and we made a pact that every Saturday no matter what we would meet up there, and we did. Sure we saw each other in school and in our little trailer park. But the rock just made our meetings extra special. We would talk about our girlfriends, sports. One time Phil managed to sneak a six pack of beer, and it was at that rock where I had my first beer. It was warm, and tasted like piss, but it was great. We always met at ten in the morning. Joey even had it set up with his dad to pick him up at the park around noon on the weekends he had to go to his dad's house. And it was at that rock where we had our last conversation with Joey. Most people who were there might have just heard a bunch of boys talking smack. But I the conversation clearly. Joey was the first of us to have a real serious girlfriend. Her name was Rhonda and she lived in Hazel Green. Joey said he spent more time at her house than he did his dads. This led to Joey visiting his father during the week, even though we all knew what he was doing. And we ed him. If you are a true friend you celebrate their happiness not try to quell it. Which we did. Of course there was some gentle ribbing and basic ball busting over it but we loved Joey and we wanted him to succeed in everything including love. That day though Joey dropped a bombshell none of us was ready for.

“I’m going to ask Rhonda to marry me” He had informed us. Our reactions were quite comical. I gasped, Phil choked on the sip of soda he had just taken and Brian just laughed. “Come on guys,” Joey pleaded, “don’t be asses.” And that was the one thing you didn’t say to a group of rowdy boys. This led us to do exactly the opposite and for a good five minutes we busted his balls, and busted them good. When Phil noticed that Joey was starting to get upset though he called out “Ok, Ok guys lets calm down, let's be happy for our boy here.” That was when the ribbing stopped and we all took turns showing Joey our . We patted him on the back, we gave him a hug, we showed him no matter what we had his back. Now while I can not speak for Brian and Phil, I felt that asking someone to marry them in high school was a big mistake. Something that happened to me. But we dare not say it out loud. We ed his decision and we would be there to pick up the pieces if it all went south. But as we watched Joey run off to climb in his dad’s car, excited at the prospect of what he was going to do, it was the last time we saw our dear friend alive again. We don’t know if Joey ever asked Rhonda to marry him or not. She suffered a severe brain injury as a result of what happened that night. So she only re walking with Joey hand in hand as they walked towards the little ice cream parlor that used to be in Hazel Green. It was six o’clock in the evening, and some idiotic redneck decided that it was ok to drink and drive that day. We knew that the redneck did not intend to kill our friend. But his stupidity and selfish desire to get more beer in the early evening destroyed our little group. As Joey and Rhonda walked hand in hand, a man by the name of Keith was driving his heavy duty pickup truck while intoxicated. He lost control and ran upon the curb going almost fifty miles an hour. Neither Joey or Rhonda had time to react. The truck rolled over Joey and crushed him, killing him instantly, while knocking Rhonda into the air. She crashed against a tree and lost consciousness. The driver of the truck kept going for about a few hundred feet not knowing what he had done. He wound up striking another tree bringing his drunken moment of stupidity to a violent stop. As it is with most drunk drivers Keith did not suffer a scratch. Not a single wound. But Joey was dead and Rhonda spent six weeks in the hospital fighting

for her life. When we received the news about Joey’s death, we all broke down and cried. Because Joey’s ing made us feel as if a part of us had died with him. To be honest something had. But we kept our word and the following Saturday we all met up at the Marking Rock. That was a sad day. Because we all knew that the next day we would be saying goodbye to our beloved friend. So that day we talked about our memories of Joey. We laughed, we then carved his name in that rock with an old railroad spike we had found. The next day at Joey’s funeral, which was a closed casket, we cried like newborn babies. We mourned our friend. But our bond was not broken. We were still a tight group of friends. It was just our number that had gone down by one. Rhonda now lives a normal life. She is married and lives in Arkansas. As for Keith he couldn’t take the guilt of what he had done, so he killed himself. None of us cared. For the next couple of months we started to heal. We were no longer the fab four, but we were the three amigos and we caused just as much trouble. That was until the summer before we started our last year of high school. That was until Phil got suddenly sick. We were out in the woods behind the trailer park having ourselves a three man pine cone war. It’s a stupid little thing boys do when you live in the country. You hurl pine cones at each other. While not really deadly the sting of the pine cone when it struck your skin was something you enjoyed inflicting on your friends. But it was something we just had fun doing. Stupid I know but we did it never the less. It was during one of these battles that Phil just collapsed and started having a seizure. We thought he was just fooling, but me being the closest I knew something was wrong. So I ran over to help my friend, while yelling at Brian to go get help. Brian did not need any further encouragement, he dropped the pine cone he was holding and ran towards the trailer park. Phil had stopped seizing and he had opened his eyes and I could tell he was confused. Because when he noticed me he said with a silly grin “Chris, what are you doing in my room?” At that moment I knew something was really wrong. Brian never returned, but Phil’s mother, followed by the sounds of sirens, was there five minutes after Brian ran back to the trailer park. I barely anything Phil’s mother said, I just zoning out worrying about my friend. I stayed right there with him and refused to leave his side, until the

firefighters showed up and started asking me questions. That night I laid in my bedroom unable to sleep, my mom and dad did their best to try to make me feel better,but to no avail, I don’t know what time I fell asleep, but I do waking up with my mother sitting on the edge of the bed with tears in her eyes. She began to tell me that the doctors were not quite sure what was wrong with Phil, and that he would not be home for a while. That news broke my heart and I just crashed into my mom’s arms and cried like a baby, when I had my bawling under control I got dressed and walked over to see Brian. Who apparently had the same idea because he was red eyed as if he had been crying as well and was walking towards my trailer. We ran towards each other and just burst into tears. We gave each other manly bear hugs and for the first time ever we prayed. We prayed for our friend. We prayed that he would get better. Unfortunately, we were ignored. The doctors called what Phil had DIPG, diffuse intrinsic pontine gliomas, basically it was small tumors that grow on the brain stem. A form of brain cancer. Very common in children, rare in teenagers and adults. Phil’s case was so rare that they literally said he was one in a million. We always knew that Phil was one in a million but this was ridiculous. The really horrible news was that there was no real treatment for them and they were always fatal. When I found out the news I was shocked, but surely Phil could pull through. I was hoping for the best. Brian thought the worst. I even bet Brian twenty bucks that Phil was going to make it. A bet that Brian took with a tear in his eye. When Phil came home nearly a full month later I was the first one to go over to see him, and when I saw him my heart dropped. He had lost so much weight and he had dark circles under his eyes. His face had sunk in and I knew then that Brian was going to win the bet. Phil was no longer the same young man that Brian and I were having a pine cone war with just four short weeks ago. But no matter how he looked or how much his body changed he was still my friend, and I was still going to do my best to spend as much time as I could with my friend. Brian on the other hand began to drift away from us. But every now then we did manage to gather together and play board games or video games in Phil’s home. Just not as often as I would have liked. The next three months flew by, and the last week of Phil’s life I could tell something was wrong. He was getting weaker and needed more and more sleep until one day he did not wake up. Now let me tell you, knowing that your friend

is going to die does not make it easier. I had just as much a hard time dealing with Phil’s death, as I did with Joeys. Only this time the one friend I had left was no longer around. Brian was growing more distant, the entire time Phil was fighting his losing war against cancer. Even the way he dressed had changed. Gone were his whimsical T-shirts, and shorts. They were replaced by dark sweatshirts and dingy black jeans. I should have reached out, when he did not attend Phil’s funeral. I should have realized that he was mourning the loss of a really close friend just like I was, only it affected him differently. Well not one but two. I am pretty sure Joey’s death was weighing heavily on him as well. But instead I was angry. My teenage mind could not understand why Brian did not come to Phil’s funeral. If only I had reached out, maybe I could have saved one friend. If only. But I didn’t. And five days after Phil’s funeral, Brian went into his fathers closet and took out one of his fathers old .38 caliber handguns, and took his own life. Suddenly, I was all alone. Immediately after Brian’s death, everyone rushed to my side. Some were actually concerned for my well being, and others worried I would follow Brian’s footsteps. But I was not the type, I loved life and had no intention whatsoever of leaving before my time, but it took me months to convince several therapists, teachers, parents, hell even the mailman that I was not going to take my own life. During this time I grew really angry with Brian, but soon that anger became sadness, and finally I understood that grief affects everyone differently and soon I felt sorry for Brian, and I was still happy to call him my friend. My first day off back in school without my friends was a hard one. But people treated me with respect. Some gave me their condolences, while others offered me their friendships and ears if I ever needed them. I was appreciative and never took advantage of anyone’s kind gestures. But before I could fully move on there was one thing I needed to do first. I made the long lonely walk to Sharon Johnson park. I took our familiar hiking trail, and made my way to the Marking Rock. I circled around and found the spot where we carved Joey’s name, I searched the ground and quickly found the old railroad spike and with tears welling up in my eyes I carved both Phil and Brian’s names into the rock. After that was done I used the tip of the spike to dig a small hole in the dirt under where their names were carved and I buried an old twenty dollar bill that I snagged from my shoebox of savings that I kept in the back of the closet. The twenty was for Brian and even though it was a morbid

bet, a bet was still a bet and I had lost. The money was his, and this was just as good a place as any. As soon as I completed my task and stood up a familiar voice spoke up from directly behind me. “Sweet dude is that mine?” I spun around and was instantly face to face with Brian. My mind began to spin and at that moment I thought I was losing it, but then more people began to appear almost out of thin air. It was like smoke in the wind as they suddenly shimmered and then took shape and from literally out of nowhere Phil and Joey both appeared beside Brian. I closed my eyes and shook my head and repeated, “No no you're dead” over and over. Only when I opened my eyes all three of them were standing there. “Yeah we're dead” Joey said, acknowledging me. “But you don’t think we would leave you alone now do you?” Phil asked. Brian then walked over to me and put his hand on my shoulder, and I felt the weight of his hand and knew this was real. “Look I’m sorry I left you alone, you were clearly the stronger one man, but hey, we’re here now.” “Yeah lets make it quick guys, my dad will be here at twelve” Joey called out and when he did he made air quotes with his fingers when he said, “My Dad”. While I tried to think of what to do and wrap my head around what was happening, a pine cone came flying out of nowhere and struck me in the arm. It stung and I looked down and saw that a welt was forming where it just struck me. That was when it was truly real. I looked up and towards the direction of where the pine cone came and saw Phil standing by a tree casually tossing another pine cone in the air with a devious smile one his face. “I have an idea” he called out, and with that the pine cone war we never finished was back on. We must have thrown every single pine cone on the floor of those woods and I just couldn't stop laughing, none of us could, we did not stop until close to twelve o’clock when Joey stood up and said, “ok guys it's time to go” I began to cry and I said “No come on guys not yet.” Phil walked over to me and said, “hey man we don’t make the rules, but we will be here every saturday as soon as the sun is over the horizon, at twelve we have to leave, and we’ll keep coming until you no longer need us”

With that he smiled and turned and walked into the woods with Joey and Brian, and I watched one by one as my friends slowly vanished. I walked all the way home with a smile on my face and I told no one. I did tell my parents that I was going to the park on Saturdays to sit at the rock, they of course did not protest, because to them they thought it was part of me mourning. Next Saturday I was at the park bright and early and they were already waiting for me and well we decided to whittle, soon I began to bring decks of cards and board games. That was pretty much my Saturday morning through the remainder of high school. I met Daria the summer after I graduated and while I devoted all my time pretty much to her, I made sure to visit the boys every Saturday morning and I was so ecstatic that she was ok with that. But like all good things I knew this was going to come to an end when I decided to go to a college out of state with Daria. My three ghost friends took the news with excitement and offered me encouragement. And the last Saturday before I left for college was the last time I ever saw them. Daria and I got married two years after we both graduated from college. Each one earning a degree, and becoming successful. I work for a sports column in Illinois, and Daria has a very successful Chiropractic practice. We have had two children. One boy and one girl. Brian Philip and Josephine Michelle. Both of whom I named after my dearest friends, each with Daria’s blessing. As for my visits to the Marking Rock, I go at least once a year, sometimes twice. I have taken my kids to sit on the rock and to tell them stories about my friends whose names are still clear as day on the side of the rock. Hell I even found the old railroad spike all covered in rust and moss sitting in the place I left it. I assume the twenty is still there as well, but it’s not mine to dig up so I never look for it. As I said before I have never seen my friends again, but I think my kids have. Because one day while we were visiting the rock Brian who was eight and Lil Josey who was six asked in unison “Dad who are those three boys over there?” I turned my head around to see and looked in the direction my kids were pointing and was disappointed when I didn’t see anything.

“There is no one there,” I said. “Yeah they disappeared,” Brian said. “Poof,” Josey said, throwing her hands in the air. I smiled down at my kids and then I heard the sound of all three of my friends laughing and knew that my kids, if just for a moment, got to see the three young men who I will always call my best friends. I began to cry, as I bent down and hugged my children. I still go down once a year. And even though I never see them I talk to them and let them know I am doing just fine. I know deep down inside that they hear me, and that they are smiling. THE END.

Finally Free

EVERY MORNING WHEN she woke up,Cassie found herself wishing for a way out of her abusive marriage. Whether it was physical or mental, Ronnie always made sure that Connie was completely under his control. She knew that her marriage was not a healthy one, but at this point she felt that she was nothing more than damaged goods and to be honest she wasn’t quite sure if she could ever amount to anything except an abused housewife. She hated Ronnie but at this point in her life, she had nothing to fall back on. Ronnie had a great job and anything she ever needed was always provided. But that was the catch. She always had what she needed, but never what she really wanted. When she showed a brief interest in anything, no matter how mundane it was, Ronnie made it a point to shut whatever grasped her attention completely down. To him she was only supposed to be interested in his needs, his desires, and his wants. It was to the point that ever sexual encounter with her husband felt like rape. Every meal she made had to be perfect or else she would get a brand new bruise or scar. The house had to be completely pristine, or else she would be beaten. Her life was one of subservience and at this point in time she just wanted to escape. But there was nowhere for her to escape, her family was long gone, and because Ronnie despised children, he made sure that she would never be able to have any. By forcing her to have her tubes tied. Her friends were not near as well, because Ronnie wanted to move out of the state of Illinois for the wide open spaces of Nebraska, so she left her entire life behind to keep the man she loved. A decision she soon came to regret. Years living in abuse had caused her to become fearful of the rest of the world. When she went shopping she always wore long concealing clothing and dark sunglasses, just in case she had a bruise she did not feel or know she had, that she needed to hide. That was how abusive Ronnie was. She was so used to it that she would just block it out, accept her beating and count the bruises later. Ronnie did allow her one hobby, it was one that was not that time consuming

and something she could easily do while sitting outside or at the kitchen table. Bird watching. Being the only thing she really had, Cassie quickly fell in love with it. Everyday she would sit outside while drinking her morning coffee after Ronnie had left for work and watch the various birds visit the four feeders she had sitting in her backyard. The four feeders were not much because Ronnie found them in the clearance section of his favorite hardware store. He practically beamed with pride when he gave them to her and Cassie for once was actually genuinely grateful for the gift. He slightly increased her allowance to allow for the purchase of bird seed as well. She had no idea why he allowed her this one hobby but she was not one to look the proverbial gift horse in the mouth. But this one act of kindness was just it, one lone act, because after that he was back to his usual abusive self. But no matter how much he hurt her, he never once threatened her birds. Of course that is what they were to Cassie, her birds. She became familiar with each species of bird that visited her small little backyard area of feeders. She marveled at the various finches, wrens, and thrushes that visited her tiny feeders. She gushed when cardinals, jays, and robins would visit her medium sized feeder. She would squeal with delight each time she caught sight of the Nebraska state bird, the western meadowlark when it would visit her backyard. And she even enjoyed the rather large family of crows that visited her larger feeder as well. Even though the rather large birds would gather on her shadow boxed style fence, they would look rather frightful and intimidating. But they never did anything threatening to her. Instead they would sit on her fence and watch her with their curious eyes. Cassie’s closest neighbor was five miles in either direction, so she never had anyone complain about the birds she was attracting, and the birds never left a mess in her yard or around her home. They would simply show up and visit. Eat and then fly into the open fields and small wooded areas that surrounded her home. They always came back the next day. Except for the crows. They hung around almost every hour of the day. Not even Ronnie could frighten the crows away for long. Usually when Ronnie came home he would begin with the shouting which would send any of the birds in her yard scurrying, but not the crows. When she would try to escape into the backyard, with him following close behind her, the birds would scatter, except for the crows. As a matter of fact the presence of the crows did not go unnoticed to Ronnie. Several times he

would try to shoo the birds away, but they wouldn't move. Instead they stared at him with their cold black eyes. He would hoop and holler and the birds would not move. This led to Ronnie not following her into the backyard anymore. Because in his words “the crows freaked him the hell out”. And for the first time in her five year marriage, she had a safe haven. Of course Ronnie would lay in wait for her when she went back inside, but sometimes he was calmed down to the point that he would simply sit in front of the television in his favorite chair and just call her whatever creative hateful names he could blurt out around sips of beer and mouthfuls of food. But the beatings she would endure if she was unable to make it to the backyard were more severe. They weren’t happening as frequently, they were just worse. And it was during one of those beatings where Ronnie had broken her arm, that she decided she was leaving him. She made the decision while sitting in the hospital. The nurse quietly put her arm in a cast as Ronnie stood in the corner watching like a violent sentinel. The nurse and doctor that treated her both knew what had really happened, but they could not get Cassie alone, and for some reason Ronnie had her power of attorney and therefore their hands were quite tied. Instead the nurse quietly wrote down a phone number on the palm of her hand while the doctor was talking to Ronnie. Cassie was careful and when she got home she wrote down the phone number on a piece of paper and put it in a spot in the kitchen that Ronnie would never look at, under the sink by the various household cleaners. Several times she would look under the sink and pull that small piece of paper out. But everyday she would step outside and just watch her birds and smile at the now growing murder of crows that had begun to gather on her fence. When she found out that a gathering of crows was called a murder she found that rather amusing, and she began to happily call the group of crows, “her private murder” she even found herself talking to the crows and was not surprised that they did not answer her. No matter what question she asked none of the birds would answer. That was until one day with tears in her eyes and the folded piece of paper with the fading number on it, she blurted out, “Should I leave him?” Cassie was shocked when all the birds in her yard suddenly began to chirp and whistle loudly in unison, followed by the loud cawing and crowing by the growing murder of crows on her fence. It was at that moment Cassie made up her mind that she was indeed going to escape this prison that Ronnie was keeping her in. But what happened the next day was something she would never

forget. It all started early in the morning, when Cassie made her way downstairs to make Ronnie’s breakfast, he was still asleep and she had gotten into the habit of walking downstairs to visit her birds and marvel at their beauty with the sun rising in the background. It was one of the moments that kept her going. Her normal visitors were there, the crows were all in a row on the back of the fence, but there were three new visitors perched on the roof of Ronnie’s shed. For some reason three large birds that she instantly recognized to be turkey vultures were now watching her from the top of the shed. She was shocked at first but something deep inside her calmed her nerves. She immediately knew that those birds were not there to harm her. The real question was why they were even there? She had nothing in the backyard that could even remotely attract a turkey vulture, much less three. But it was a question she would have to answer later because the morning was starting to get away from her and Ronnie would be an absolute beast if she did not have his breakfast ready. So she hurried inside and was greeted with a fierce slap to her face that nearly knocked her unconscious. Cassie fell backwards and immediately put her hands up in an effort to protect herself. She looked past her hands and saw Ronnie was standing over her and in the hand that he had not slapped her with was the crumpled piece of paper with the number the nurse had given her. Fresh tears streamed down her face as he glared down at her. “You think you can fucking leave me?” He said pratically growling, fresh spittle flying from his lips, “Where the fuck would you go you stupid whore?” He swung again only this time his hand was not open it was closed. Cassie braced herself and turned her head to absorb the punch that was now coming straight at her head. Only it didn’t come, just as he threw the punch the window above the sink exploded inward as a large crow flew into it. Ronnie stopped his punch and immediately spun around to look at what had just happened, and Cassie took advantage of the situation and scrambled for the backdoor. She had her hand on the door knob and was pushing the door open when the entire murder of crows that always sat on her fence flew through the

now ruined window above the sink. They flew towards Ronnie and as he stood there with one hand clutching the piece of paper, and the other still slightly raised as if he was ready to throw a punch, the birds swarmed him. Cassie, who was not quite to her feet yet, fell onto the ground as she scrambled out of the house. Once she was outside that was when she heard Ronnie screaming. The sound of the man who had tortured her for the last five years, screaming, brought her instantly to her feet and when she was finally standing, she turned, and was almost plowed over by Ronnie as he ran out of the house. Everything seemed to be moving in slow motion for Cassie and she managed to perform a sidestep as Ronnie ran past her swatting at the crows that were now swarming his entire body. She watched as the beaks of the crows punctured the exposed parts of his flesh, she watched wounds suddenly appear, fresh blood rolling down his skin, and at one point she was pretty sure she saw one crow pluck an eyeball free before swallowing it whole. Ronnie was running at full speed towards the back of the yard. Cassie braced herself for what she knew was going to happen, because not only was Ronnie running at high speed, he was running blind and the fence that surrounded their yard was quite sturdy, and just like she knew he would, Ronnie slammed into the fence with such force that two of the boards cracked, but it held firm. Ronnie fell backwards,with his head striking the ground with a loud sickening crunch, and he suddenly fell still. Cassie watched as the crows continued to peck a bit more before they flew off of Ronnie and took their place on her fence. Just as soon as the crows landed back on the fence, the three turkey vultures flew down and landed next to Ronnie, they circled him for a bit then one of the vultures turned and stared at Cassie and she knew what that look meant. So she gave the vulture staring at her a nod showing she understood, turned around and walked inside her house. She slowly closed the door and although she did not see what was happening she distinctly heard the sound of flesh being ripped from bone. Cassie walked upstairs and decided that she needed to take a shower, and just as soon as the water began to splash over her, she collapsed to her knees, and began to cry. But the tears flowing down her cheeks were not the kind of tears she had shed a million times before these were tears of relief. When she was done with her shower, she walked downstairs and decided to make herself a cup of coffee. Once she had her coffee in hand she walked

towards her back door and opened it. The vultures were gone, and in the spot where Ronnie was, was a flock of various birds and she watched as they took flight, each bird going in a different direction. She squinted her eyes and saw that clutched in the talons of the birds was something that looked to be bone. It slowly dawned on her that the vultures had finished their meal and now these birds were carrying off pieces of Ronnie’s skeletal remains in various directions.Still watching the birds,she took a long sip of her coffee before turning around and walking back into her house. When she came out around late afternoon, there was nothing left of Ronnie except for a red stain on the grass where his body had lain. It was at that moment Cassie knew she was indeed free of him. Not surprising, no one noticed Ronnie was gone. Except for his boss. When his boss came over inquiring about him, Cassie played the confused abandoned housewife card, and that was that. She didn’t expect it to be that easy, but Ronnie had alienated and angered so many people that no one cared that he was missing. Ronnie’s skull was found one week later in a ditch by a jogger, three counties away. Identified by dental records, she was given the bad news two weeks after the discovery. No one suspected her of anything. The life insurance policy he had on them was paid to her right away and the deed to the house was transferred into her name. Now years later Cassie has made new friends in town and even has a part time job at the pet store downtown oddly enough taking care of the birds. She has made the house that was once her prison a home, and every morning when she wakes up she still goes outside and feeds her birds. As for the crows, they come and go as they please but she is always greeted each morning by three or four sitting on her fence in a row. Almost as if they were sentinels sent to watch over her. THE END

That night in the Kentucky Ballroom

THE OLD KENTUCKY BALLROOM in downtown Louisville had been closed for close to three years now, due largely because no one was really interested in throwing balls anymore. But even though the ballroom shuttered its doors, that did not mean that it went unused. Six months after the last well dressed, high class couple danced the last dance across the expansive and well maintained dance floor, a local D.J. by the name of DJ Spaxtik decided that the old ballroom would be the perfect place to hold a rave. As it turned out, it actually was. So after the success of the first rave DJ Spaxtik decided to hold a rave at least three times a year. Completely without anyone's permission. The police had caught wind that the raves were happening and never really did anything about it. Mainly because no one really caused any problems while the raves were going on, and the owner of the ballroom didn’t really mind. They figured as long as someone was getting something out of the old ballroom then that was just fine with them. In the three years since the raves started, Andy had not been to a single one. He was more of a metalhead and found electronic dance music both pretentious and annoying. Also his drug of choice was weed and only weed, and if he was to believe his best friend Steve, who had been to almost every single rave,the drugs (mostly in the form of pills and tiny strips of paper) used by those in the crowd caused hallucinations and enhanced the entire experience. Which did not sound appealing to Andy at all. Steve though kept begging Andy to come to one rave, just one,and each time Andy turned him down. But just to shut him up Andy promised that he would indeed go to the next one. A promise that he intended to keep, even though he had begun to regret it as the time came and he found himself standing in line for an hour waiting for the doors to open. “Man I can’t believe you talked me into this shit,” Andy said. Steve chuckled, “Calm down dude, look the doors will open any minute and then

you'll see what I’ve been talking about.” “Yeah, yeah you’re just lucky I’m a man of my word,” Andy said with a sigh. “Let's just get this over with.” “Patience my dude,” Steve responded, “Patience” Andy rolled his eyes and turned to look towards the door. He was getting antsy, he didn’t want to be here, and everyone around him was dressed in ridiculous costumes. Even Steve was wearing some weird purple colored disco outfit. Andy though dressed like he always did. In black jeans and a band t-shirt. To be honest while in most normal situations these people would be out of place, at this point in time Andy was the sore thumb. And he was uncomfortable. Suddenly there was a loud creaking noise as the doors leading into the Ballroom swung inward and then there was a sudden buzz in the air as people suddenly perked up and before he knew it Andy was moving forward with the brightly colored and outlandishly dressed crowd. Steve was right behind him and he was overly excited, because as he gently pushed Andy forward he kept saying “Oh boy, here we go.” over and over. Andy just sighed and went with the crowd. A promise was a promise and he intended to keep his. Besides it was just one rave.What’s the worst that could happen. When he finally got inside the only word Andy could think of to describe what he saw was tacky. He had never been in the ballroom before, but whatever it once was, there was no hope for it to go back to its former glory. The walls were graffitied with pretty impressive artwork. Even though the paintings were done with paint that glows under black lights, which added to the overall tackiness of the situation. Speaking of black lights there was not an area in the room that did not have one hanging near it. There were Christmas lights hung up all over the place, and not in any order that made sense. There were blinking multicolored lights on one side, while on the other side there were strands of white lights. It was just chaos and just off putting. On the stage there sat a massive dual turntable, that Andy knew any minute DJ Spaxtik would come out and began his assault with that terrible electronic dance music, that the idiots here were obviously in love with. Still thinking Steve was behind he turned to say something he knew would be cynical in regards to his current predicament. But when he turned Steve was nowhere to be found. Somehow while they walked in Steve must have wandered off leaving him a stranger in a brightly colored, noisy,

strange land. “Goddamnit Steve” Andy said rather loudly, “Where the fuck are you?” Then the thing Andy was dreading the most began to happen. The DJ took to the stage and began to call out to the crowd. “Are you ready to get live!!!” DJ Spaxtic yelled into his microphone. “Fuck no,” Andy yelled out. As he turned around and began to search the crowd for Steve. Suddenly the music started, if you could call it music. It was just loud humping bass. Followed by what seemed to be millions of strobe lights that Andy didn’t notice around the stage. Andy grimaced at the music, and the near blinding light show. So he decided that he would spend about five minutes looking for Steve and if he didn't find him he was just going to leave. Steve probably wouldn’t notice him leaving either, because as he walked through the crowd he saw people pop various pills into their mouths. “Makes sense.” He said to no one in particular, as he watched two pretty attractive girls pills to one another using their tongues. “You have to be pretty fucked up to enjoy this shit.” He slowly shook his head as the bass music annoyed him further. Steve now had four minutes to make himself seen before Andy was out of there. Andy had hoped he wouldn’t see Steve, just so he could have a reason to bail on this horrible place but unfortunately he spotted Steve near a few kegs and coolers, someone had thrown them together in a lame attempt to create a bar area. Steve was chatting to two young women who were barely dressed and looked like they had no right being there. Andy shook his head and walked up to Steve who had his back turned and gave him a little rough shove. “Hey asshole.” Andy said, “Don’t you fucking leave me alone in this place again.” Steve turned around and Andy could tell that he had an angry look on his face, until he realized who just shoved him, then the angry look melted away to one of jubilation. “Andy my man. Where did you go?” Steve asked, “I just found these two lovely young ladies, Trina and Trixie right?” Steve turned to the girls double checking to see if he got their names right. “I was just about to come looking for you, because Trina will give me a dance as long as I found someone to dance with her friend.” Steve then winked at Andy, which caused Andy to roll his eyes.

Andy leaned in real close to Steve's ear and asked, “Are you fucking stupid man, does the word statutory mean anything to you?” Steve pulled back, put his arms up in the air and said, “Don’t worry about it man because in here everything is legal, besides these ladies are eighteen. Right girls?” The girls looked at each other and blushed before the one called Trixie shook her head. Andy reached up and rubbed the bridge of his nose with two fingers on his right hand, almost as if he was trying to fight off a headache, before saying, “That’s literally not how the Law works you dipshit.” He then turned to the two girls and said, “You two get the fuck out of here and fine some idiots your own age ok.” Steve tried to protest as the two girls took their leave, But then shrugged them of he then turned to Andy and said, “Man that was low, but whatever man, there’s plenty of fish in this sea” Andy wanted to slug Steve, but he took a deep breath through his nose. When he did he caught the smell of something he did enjoy. It was weed, pot, marijuana, mary jane, the devil’s lettuce, whatever you wanted to call it and Andy could smell it and it smelled good. Steve noticed the change in his eyes and said “Ah you smell it, I knew you’d find something here you'd like. Well just so you know, the weed smokers are over there.” He then pointed to the far right corner, “and let me tell you they smoke the good shit around here.” Andy nodded before patting Steve on the shoulder. He then started to walk towards the corner Steve had pointed to and that’s when he heard the strange popping sound. At first Andy thought it was fireworks, because the bass was so loud, so he didn’t really turn around to see what the noise actually was. He was so focused on finding out where the glorious weed smoke was coming from he really didn’t care. It wasn’t until he heard the music suddenly stop followed by more popping noises, which were louder this time did he stop in his tracks. He was in the process of turning around and what he saw let him know that something had indeed started to go wrong.

DJ Spaxtik was on stage, but he was grasping his chest. His microphone was still on and Andy heard the DJ say clear as day. “Oh Fuck, I’ve been shot!” There was another loud pop and in the strobe lights Andy saw the right side of DJ Spaxtik’s face explode in a red mist. Then the DJ fell forward into the crowd. Two burly, muscular men ran onto stage, only for the sound of more popping and when two holes appeared in the chest of one of the men Andy knew exactly what was going on. Someone had decided to shoot DJ Spaxtik, and was now just shooting whoever appeared on stage. Suddenly more gunshots rang out and the crowd on the dance floor suddenly began to move. Andy was one the far side of the building, away from the rushing crowd and he watched as the people who were dancing in a drug induced stupor, turned into a terrified mob running for their life began to trample each other, he was glad he was suddenly sober. He spun around and saw an exit sign just a few feet from him and knew that there was an emergency exit not far from where he stood, but he was not about to leave Steve behind. He looked and saw that Steve was crouching down next to the kegs and coolers, so Andy ran over to him as quickly as he could. Meanwhile the gunman who had opened fire on the Dj and a couple of unfortunate stage hands had decided he was going to open fire on the fleeing crowd. People who had the unfortunate luck to be at the back of the crowd fell forward as bullets ripped through their flesh. Andy caught sight of the gunman, and what he saw chilled him to his very soul. The gunman was laughing. And he never once stopped pulling the trigger. The man was wearing a long jacket and when he was done firing one handgun he would drop it on the ground, then reach into his jacket and pull out another one and continue firing. When Andy got to Steve, he grabbed him by the front of the shirt and said, “Dude this way.” And jerked Steve by the front of his shirt. Steve did not resist and followed close behind Andy. The gunman must not have noticed or cared about anybody on their side of the ballroom, because he never turned and fired in their direction. When Andy and Steve got to the exit door, two young men were holding it open and were yelling into the building for people to head for them. Andy and Steve slipped out of the door and into safety and when they felt the night air on their skin, they took off running towards the front of the building.

When they rounded the front of the building they were confused as to why the people were not spilling out into the street. That was when it dawned on Andy that things were indeed dire. “Where the hell is everyone?” Steve asked. Andy yelled out, “The fucking doors swiing inward dude, the people are smashed against them.” Andy could hear sirens off in the distance when he decided to run to the front of the ballroom. The doors were bulging outward but they were not opening. He could hear people screaming, on the other side as the crowd was pushing as one big unit. Crushing the people in the front up against the doors. He saw a face pressed up against one of the glass windows in the door and recognized the face. It was the young girl Trixie. Blood was pouring from her mouth and her eyes looked vacant. Andy looked away and backed off from the doors. He knew there was nothing he could do but that did not stop him from feeling guilty. Maybe if he had indulged Steve just a little that girl would still be alive. The sirens were getting louder, but the gunshots had stopped. Andy looked around and saw Steve helping some people from the side of the building. He jogged over to him and watched as more people began to run out of the exit door. That was when he saw the gunman come running out of the side door and onto the street. No one really noticed him but Andy knew who he was immediately. After all he was the only one sober and he had gotten a good look at the guy. The gunmen walked onto the sidewalk, took off his long black jacket and dropped it on the ground. Then at a very brisk pace, the gunman tried to nonchalantly walk away. But Andy was not about to let that happen. Andy stood up and began to run after the guy. Steve saw Andy take off and decided to follow him, “Hey Asshole!” Andy yelled, “You think you can shoot up a bunch of kids and run away, not today motherfucker!” Two other men who were also helping people heard what Andy yelled and followed closely behind as well. The gunmen suddenly saw that he was spotted, and tried to run. Only he tripped on his own feet and fell face first onto the sidewalk. The gunmen let out a scream as his face bounced off of the concrete and for some reason this just angered Andy even more. Now completely fueled

by rage, Andy was running at top speed, the gunman tried to scramble back to his feet but he was too slow because Andy was practically on top of him. When Andy made it to the gunmen he drew back his right foot and kicked the gunman in the ribs as hard as he could. There was a satisfying snap as Andy heard what he knew were one of the gunman’s ribs breaking. The gunman flipped over onto his back, threw up his hands and began to plead, “I’m sorry man,” over and over. Which did nothing but further infuriate Andy. Andy ignored the man's pleas and lifted up his right foot and brought it down right into the gunman’s face. He brought down his foot with such force that he heard another crunch as something in the man’s face broke. Soon Steve and the other two men ed him and Andy said, “this is the guy, this is the fucking guy!” “Are you sure?” One of the two men asked. “Of course he is.” Steve answered. Before lifting up his own foot and driving it down into the center of the gunman’s chest. That was all the evidence the other two men needed, because they two began to kick and stomp the gunman as well. Andy heard the gunman’s bones snap. He watched as the gunman started to cry and that caused him to kick harder. Steve managed to bring down his foot on the gunman’s face so hard that the gunman’s head bounced off of the concrete with a sickening crunch and snapping sound. It was at that point the man stopped moving, and a large puddle of blood began to pool around the gunman's head, as it poured from his mouth and ears. Even then the four men did not stop. They kept stomping and kicking. The gunman began to make strange gurgling and wheezing sounds, and again they kept stomping and kicking. It wasn’t until Steve saw lights from the oncoming cop cars did he push Andy and the other two men away. All four men saw the first arriving police car and took off to the crowd of people that had started to gather. Somehow no one saw them just beat the gunman to death, Or if anyone did they did not care. Everyone was more concerned about the safety of those trying to escape the horror inside the ballroom. Andy and Steve did not see where the other two men went nor did they get their names. Instead Andy and Steve faded into the crowd and watched as police and first responders attended to the wounded.

The gunman was found two hours later when police cleared the building. They didn’t know he was the gunman and that determination wasn't made until after all the evidence was collected. The police figured that the gunman was at first a trample victim who managed to escape the building before dying on the sidewalk from his injuries. When they found out who he was though they tried to investigate who killed him. But gave up when no tangible evidence was discovered. They marked it up as a bizarre case of vigilante justice and left it at that. After discovering who the gunman was they raided his home and found several diaries. Apparently the gunman’s name was Luis and Luis’s ex wife cheated on him with DJ Spaxtik. Fifty three people died that day. Some trampled, many shot to death all because one man couldn't properly process a heartbreak. When all the evidence came to light Andy was disgusted. Steve was disturbed. But both men never went to another rave again. Four months after the “massacre at the old ballroom”, as the media called it, the ballroom was bulldozed to the ground. The wood from the dance floor was then gathered up and used in a bonfire celebration of life that was supposed to honor the victims. Instead several people just showed up and got either drunk and stoned, and it turned into an out of control party that the cops had to break up. A month after that a memorial was built to honor the lives of those lost. Andy and Steve did not attend the bonfire, but they did attend the ceremony, unveiling the memorial. It was there that they recognized and saw the other two men, who had helped stomp the gunman to death. All four men locked eyes and just nodded to each other. There was no reason to talk to each other. They knew what they had done. What they done was technically murder. But it was something they would take to their graves. Andy and Steve are still friends. Andy still smokes pot, and Steve still likes to party. But they do it either from the comfort of their own homes. Or at the homes of friends. As a matter of fact neither man ever again attended an event that had more than ten people gathered. Crowds just made them uncomfortable, and to be honest it was something they found they could live without. THE END

A Long Way From Home

IT WAS A MONDAY. JUST another average day, like any other day. But when Kevin received the phone call from his sister telling him that his mother had died, it quickly became a sad, sad Monday. Kevin had just spoken to his mother the previous Friday and while she claimed that she was feeling a little under the weather, there was no indication that things were going to take a turn for the worse. This made an incoming, unexpected phone call from his sister Brenda, even more heartbreaking. Answering on the third ring, Kevin said, “Hello?” “Hey Bubba,” came Brenda’s heavy southern accent from the other end of the line. Kevin was surprised that his sister was calling him at 7 a.m. on a Monday. Suddenly, an uneasy feeling washed over him. He was getting ready for work, but his entire day changed with what his sister said next. “Bubba...Mommy ed away last night,” Brenda said, solemnly. Kevin fell back against his kitchen counter, clutching the phone’s cord in his hand, “What?! But, how? She sounded fine on Friday.” “I don’t know,” Brenda said, “she was in good spirits yesterday. I was planning on packing up the kids, picking up a pizza and paying her a visit this afternoon.” Tears welled up in Kevin’s eyes. He knew his mother had been ill. Her diabetes had been getting the best of her, so Brenda had placed her in a nursing home that specializes in caring for elderly diabetic patients. It was the best place for her after her last hospitalization just two weeks ago. She had been on the mend, or so she claimed. How could this have happened? “Bubba? You okay?” Branda asked, shaking Kevin out of his stupor.

“Yeah, yeah... I’m here.” He stuttered for a moment before saying, “Uhm, I’m gonna call work and let them know I won’t be in, then I’ll be on my way to you. It’ll take me about nine hours or so to get there. I'll see you tonight.” “Okay Bubba,” Brenda said, “Drive safe, I love you.” “Love you too, Sissy,” Kevin replied, before ending the call. As soon as he got off the phone with his sister, Kevin called his boss, Tina. “Hey T, it’s me. I have to leave for a few days, my mom just died. I won’t be in for the rest of the week. I’ve got to go to Alabama.” There was a brief silence on the other end of the call, then Tina replied, “Kevin, that sucks, but I need you here. I know bad things happen, but I still have a business to run.” Kevin was flabbergasted. That was the most insensitive thing anyone had ever said to him. He collected his thoughts for a moment before replying, “I’m sorry, I have to be there for my family. If I need to, I will H.R.” Tina let out a little grunt before mumbling, “Whatever,” and hanging up on him. Kevin looked at his phone like it was a snake. He couldn’t understand how anyone, especially someone he considered a friend, could be so callous. Kevin pushed work and Tina’s issues to the back of his mind, that wasn’t important right now. He needed to be with his family, and he had a long drive ahead of him to get there. As a young man, Kevin had grown tired of small town Alabama life and decided to move north in search of fame and fortune. He had always wanted to be an author and heard that there was a bevy of publishers in Chicago looking for the next big thing. Kevin thought he was the next big thing, but alas not a single publisher was looking for new authors at that time. So Kevin found himself stuck in Illinois with dwindling finances and lots of dead ends. He found a job at a retail store that seemed more like a prison than a career opportunity, but he made enough money to survive. During this time, he continued writing and just last year his first story was accepted and he could finally call himself a published author. Unfortunately, it didn’t pay much, but at least he was published. He still needed his retail job for now, but he knew at any moment his time would come. Kevin’s decision to head north for a chance at a better life came with a price. He

had moved far away from his family, and that was something he sorely regretted as he ran around his apartment, shoving random items of clothing in a backpack that he would live out of while he was staying with his sister for the next week. That regret quickly faded to guilt, as he managed to get the backpack filled before making his way out to his old Chevy Nova. Kevin fumbled with his keys and after a brief moment of frustration, managed to get the driver’s side door open. He tossed his backpack over to the enger seat as he climbed into his trusty old Chevy. He placed the key in the ignition and before he could start the engine, Kevin felt the first warm tear of many slide down his cheek. He closed his eyes and wiped the tear away. After taking a couple of deep breaths, he looked at his reflection in the rear view mirror and when he was confident that he could keep the tears at bay, he started his car, and slowly backed out of his parking spot. He made his way out of his apartment complex toward the nearest southbound highway. An hour into his journey, Kevin’s thoughts started racing through a lifetime of memories. Every wonderful memory he had of his mother was on full display in his mind, and when he felt that the waterworks were going to start back up again, he reached over and turned on the radio. Which turned out to be a huge mistake. There was brief silence before his mother’s favorite song began to play. Kevin couldn’t believe it. He looked down at the radio and tears welled up in his eyes. The road in front of him had started to blur as the tears obscured his vision. Kevin pulled over into the emergency lane and while his mother’s favorite song blared loudly in the background, he began sobbing. As the song played, all the good memories he had of his mother flooded his mind, which made him cry even harder. If he hadn't been so selfish, maybe he could have been there for her, maybe he would have seen something his sister did not. Instead of being there for her, he had chased his own failing dream, robbing him of precious time he could have spent with his mother. As soon as the song stopped Kevin said aloud, “I’m sorry momma, I’m so sorry.” Just then, the local disc jockey, Manic Lou, came over the radio, “Okay folks, there’s more great classic rock on the way, but first...Kevin, you need to quit apologizing to your mother, you're starting to piss her off!”

The tears abruptly stopped and Kevin snapped his head up. He looked over at the radio, then around the car, finally checking the backseat. When he realized he was alone he leaned in really close to the radio and said, “Uh...hello?” “WOOOW! Hello yourself,” Manic Lou shouted back through Kevin’s car speakers. Kevin jumped back into his seat and began to fumble for his door handle. “Now, now,” Manic Lou shouted, “settle down there buddy. I got something I need to say to ya, just don’t open that car door, you might spill out into traffic and then your sister will have to plan two funerals.” Kevin looked out the driver’s side window and saw that traffic was ing by at a steady pace. The cars were far enough away from him that he could have opened the door if he needed to. But Kevin realized that if he stumbled out of his car in a panic, he could easily get run over. Instead Kevin put both hands on the steering wheel, closed his eyes and said, “No no, no no no...this is just my imagination. No way is that radio DJ actually talking to me.” “Okay buddy, whatever you say,” Manic Lou said, “but it doesn’t change the fact that I got something you need to hear!” Kevin stared down at his radio and very hesitantly asked, “W-w-what?” “Look bud,” Manic Lou spoke in his familiar radio voice growl, “who do you think wanted you to succeed more than you did?” Confused, Kevin looked down at his radio and said, “Who?” But before Manic Lou could answer him, Kevin gasped, “Oh my God, my mom!” “Winner, winner, chicken dinner!” Manic Lou called out, “And you didn’t even have to call in! Yes, it’s your mom, dumbass. It’s okay to feel bad that she’s gone, but don’t apologize for chasing your own dreams, man.” “But I wasn’t there!” Kevin wailed, “Instead, I was a million miles away, and I only released one book!” Fresh tears streamed down his cheeks, “I just wasn’t there, man.”

A familiar female voice spoke to him now, “But you were there, baby.” Kevin knew that voice all too well, he looked up at the rearview mirror and was shocked to see his mother’s face staring back at him. She appeared to be sitting in the backseat! He quickly turned around and looked in the backseat and was both saddened and relieved to see that she wasn’t actually back there. When he turned around to face the mirror, he once again saw her smiling face reflecting back at him. He turned around one more time, just to be sure, but she wasn’t really there with him, only her reflection was present in the mirror. “Okay, what the hell?” Kevin exclaimed. His mother responded, “Language dear.” Kevin addressed his mother’s reflection now, “Sorry mom, but how are you there?” he said, pointing at the rearview mirror, “And not actually here?” then jerked his thumb over his shoulder, thoroughly emphasizing his inquiry. “Because dear, you’ll get nowhere looking backwards. It’s better to just stay facing forward,” his mother said, with a warm and bright smile. “WOOOW...that actually makes sense,” Manic Lou announced loudly through the radio. Kevin turned the radio off and said, “Can it, jerk,” before looking back at the rearview mirror. “Mom, is that really you?” he asked. “It’s me, baby,” she answered, “but I’m only here for a bit. Okay?” Once again Kevin burst into tears, “I’m so sorry mom!” He cried out to her, ‘I should have been there with you.” “Now you shush that nonsense,” his mother said, “what you’re doing now is exactly what I wanted you to do. I wanted you to live out your dream. And look at you now...you’re published! No matter how far apart we were, I never stopped loving you or wanting the best for you. No mother wants her child to give up on their dreams. That’s just common sense.” “But I wasn’t THERE for you!” Kevin stated again. Raising her voice slightly, Kevin's mother said, “But you were!” Calmly she

continued, “You were always in my heart and in my thoughts. Every phone call you gave me was a gift and a blessing. And the moment you became published and your dreams came true, I was happier than I have ever been. That moment was the best moment of my life, baby.” Kevin wiped the tears from his eyes as he began to understand what his mother was saying, “I’m going to miss you so much mom,” he said. “Don’t worry, baby. I’ll never be too far away. I’ll always be watching you.” She said with a wink. Kevin watched as his mother’s reflection began to fade from the mirror. Smiling at her he said, “Goodbye mom, I love you.” Before she completely vanished Kevin’s mother replied, “I love you too. Now go to Alabama and give your sister a big ol’ hug for me. And Kevin...I’m so proud of you.” Kevin stared at the mirror until long after his mother’s reflection disappeared. After what seemed like an hour, he gripped the steering wheel tightly and began to cry once more. He sat there on the side of the highway, sobbing for a few minutes before finally getting his emotions under control. He was going to miss his mother, but she was right. She was always right. Kevin turned the radio back on and Manic Lou’s voice shouted, “Alright let's get this show on the road! You got a long way to go there, buddy.” Manic Lou finally stopped talking to Kevin and announced that he was about to play thirty minutes of non-stop classic rock. Kevin nodded his head and with a smile on his face, he carefully guided his car back onto the highway. All the way home he was singing along to his mother’s favorite seventies classics that now, thanks to Manic Lou, were playing on the radio. THE END

Now for the real Lowdown (Author’s Notes)

BEFORE WE GET STARTED with the big reveals there are a few people I would like to thank. The fine folks at Plaid Umbrella in Plano Illinois for helping me get hold of the eight tracks I needed for the cover. Thanks so much guys. Sunshine for her hard work turning those eight tracks into mini works of art. Thanks hun!!! And to my mom, Anita Lassiter, who introduced me to good old seventies music. I love you and miss you. Ok now that I have that out of the way let's get to the reveals!!!! Walking life-—This story was inspired by the song “Staying Alive” by the Bee Gees. This story was also my way of saying goodbye to my grandfather. The backyard I described actually exists and I still consider it one of the few safe havens I had as a child. Turning it into a Jynxverse story was just a happy accident. Long way up—-Inspired by Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway to heaven” this story was me dealing with a certain stigmata that I wound up carrying with me my entire life. I have a problem with holding back my temper when someone attacks me, therefore my comments can be quite savage. But there is also a side of me that several people see as well. A sweet side of me that will give you the shirt off of his back. So I carried two nicknames with me my entire life. Angel and Devil. This story along with its partner “Short way Down” was literally me coming to grips with that. Short way down-—Inspired by Ac/Dc’s classic “Highway to hell” and well read the inspiration again behind “Long way Up” if you need to know more. Backdoor to mars-—Inspired by David Bomie’s “Life on mars” this story was a

friendly little tale about my Uncle Ken’s home. That was another safe place of mine as a child. He allowed me to hide at his house when my dad was in one of his moods, I also stayed with them for a couple of days while my mom went into labor with my sister. And he did have a closet that we were not allowed in. I never found out what was in it but I always imagined. Right Direction—-Inspired by Fleetwood Mac’s “Go your own way” This story is based on a deep rooted belief of mine that people come into your life for a reason. Not all that complicated really. Romantic Death—-”Killing me softly with his song” By Roberta Flack inspired this one and the reason this creepshow of a story exists is because of my ability to fall in love way too hard. I love way too much. As I got older that has subsided some. But now not so much. I still love pretty hard and with every fiber of my being but I am also learning to let go. One child’s imagination-—Inspired by John Lennon’s “Imagine” I wrote this story for my son whose imagination outshines mine and I am a little jealous at times. Paul and his magical tour van-—Inspired by the Paul Macartney and Wings song “Band on the run” This story was inspired by three separate people who helped me find the courage to write, and one who encouraged me to keep going. I love them all and they know who they are. I have thanked them enough in my other books, so I don’t think I have to keep repeating their names. The Late Train—-Inspired by “Midnight train to Georgia” By Gladys Knight and the pips, this story was me saying goodbye to all my grandmothers. I never got to say goodbye to any of them when they ed. I almost made it to say goodbye to one this year but she ed one day before I arrived. I also want to say that I modelled the character after a elderly kind black woman, the grandmother of one of my middle school friends, who treated me like one of her grandchildren. It was her that showed me that we are all the same. I will never forget her either. Love you all. Kitty Kat Rocket—-Very loosely inspired by Elton John’s “Rocket Man” This story is a half ass true story based off of something me and my deceased cousin did one day. We tried to build a rocket, with a cat as a pilot. The rocket caught fire , the cat escaped unharmed and we never talked about it again. I miss her

and every now and then I think back to our stupid misadventures, The kitty kat rocket is one of those things I just can’t forget. My Boys-—You can just hear Thin Lizzy’s “Boys are back in town” when you read this can’t you? Well while that song inspired the story this story is also very, very dear to me. So dear that I refused to let anyone else edit it. And when I was done I never planned on reading it again. All the characters in this story are fictional. Except for Joseph. He was my best friend, and he died just the way he died in the story. I will never forget him, and I hope after you read this story you’ll never forget him either. Finally Free—Inspired by Lynyrd Skynyrd's “Free Bird” Which was obvious right? This story was a struggle. Being a domestic abuse survivor I just did not know how to approach this idea. But I had to try. I winced and wept while writing this. But after I was done I felt a little relief inside.It was, dare I say like a part of me was set free. That night in the Kentucky Ballroom-—this story inspired by “Ballroom Blitz” By Sweet is basically a true story. I went to rave as a teenager, and suddenly two crazy guys started shooting up the place. I managed to sneak out of a side exit, but ten people died that day. The ending is just a complete fabrication. I added that because I felt the story needed a grittier ending. To this day I still get uncomfortable in crowds. I also never blamed the guns. I blamed the gunmen. Which is why I had the ending go the way it did. And well that is that. A Long Way From Home-—Inspired by “Long,Long way From Home” By Foreigner. This story should not exist. But it does. I was done writing this collection of stories, I was sending stories off to be edited and then, I got the message that my mom ed away. This book was always going to be dedicated to her. But after her ing it took on another meaning. After I found out, I drove my son to school, and after handing him off to his teachers, I walked back to my car, climbed in and started to cry. It was there sitting in that car on a hot summer morning when this idea formed in my head. My mom’s favorite band is Foreigner, so as a loving tribute I wrote this little story for her. While my state of mind books are only supposed to have thirteen stories, I decided that the fourteenth story would make this book a little more special. Just like she was. And well that’s all I need to say about that. Well I want to thank you guys for sticking around and enjoying this side of me

that I really don’t expose that often. If you loved or hated this book doesn’t matter. For me I feel somewhat lighter. Until next time. Love you guys!!! Stay cool!

About the Author

Kevin started writing when he was fourteen years old. Encouraged by his mother Anita to keep writing Kevin finally acheived his dreams and started independently publishing his own anthology collections. If it wasn't for his mom and her encouragement at such a young age, who knows what he would be doing now. Love you mom... Read more at Kevin Densmore’s site.