Touched

He stood there on the edge of the docks, looking over the water. The sun was setting and casting long dark shadows. The clouds had a reddish-hue to them; by old wives' standards it meant that it was going to be a beautiful day tomorrow. He closed his eyes and stretched his arms out as a cool breeze blew in over the water, comforting him like a long lost old friend.

"Max." A voice interrupted his meditation. He turned to see who it was.

"Hey Gabe," he replied. Gabriel 7 stood three meters from the water.

"What were you doing?" Gabe asked.

"Reflecting," Max replied. He reached for his pack of cigarettes and realized that he had left them on the pub table. "Shit," he said in a whisper.

Gabriel 7 waited til Max approached him before he stepped forward and handed Max his cellphone and smokes. Max cracked a smile and gave Gabe a shot in the arm.

"Now this is the start of a beautiful friendship," Max said.

Faux Blog

A journal excerpt from BloggityBlogBlogs
Subject: Strangers On The Line
Date: This Morning
Tags: subway, strange

I was standing on the subway platform this morning, waiting for the Red Line to pull in and take me to campus. This fellow and this young chick were standing there as well, and I couldn't help overhearing their conversation. The fellow was dressed in a black shirt with writing saying "You Think Your Day Is Shitty?". I noticed the torn jeans and the combat boots. I presumed he had seen combat duty, maybe in Iraq, since he had a few scars about his body and a bit of that stare in his eyes. The young girl was a tween, she was dressed in what looked to be a school uniform and holding a sling-bag.
Their conversation went like this:

Vet: Damn train. Why'd it drop us here? There isn't anything wrong or happening at the moment?
Schoolgirl: Maybe it sensed you needed a break.
Vet: Maybe.
Schoolgirl: You're looking edgy, is there something wrong?
Vet: I really don't know. I just need to find her.
Schoolgirl: Who?
Vet: Maggie.
Schoolgirl: She's the girl you dream about, right?
Vet: Yes. I really need to find her.
Schoolgirl: There's a phone over there. Why don't you use it?
Vet: I don't know if she has a connection.
Schoolgirl: The subway car dropped us here for a reason, didn't it?

And then they sauntered over to the phones. I had half a mind to step within earshot, but then my train was coming in. My first impulse was to step back and catch the next one, but I could see the fellow glancing at me with his soulless eyes, and that sent a shiver down my spine. I stepped onto my train.

Faux Blog

a journal excerpt from BloggityBlogBlogs: 

Subject: In The Subway
Date: September 26th 2008
Tags: Actors

if i were to assign actors to ppl i randomly notice, then this dude standing in the subway would be kinda like:

He was standing next to a girl (probably played by the girl from the live action KiKi's Delivery Service:

She sat on the seat beside the first dude, engaged in conversation with two other guys sitting next to her and a young cowboy chick (maybe she will be:

One of the guys would probably be the king from that movie 13th warrior:

and the other a man played by the guy who was the cool principal from Buffy:

anyways the reason i am writing is i caught a snippet of their strange conversation. you know i heard of geeks like these playing stupid ass roleplaying games well i gather this is just a group of them who do this for real you know... dress up in costumes and playact. 

each time i ride the subway i hook up with these geeks and freaks. can't they really get a life? well anyways the conversation went like this:

13th warrior: well what are we going to do next. sit on this train for a little while to figure out when it's time to get off?

24 guy: something along those lines.

13th warrior: and this is good because?

kiki: we are serving the greater good. we are aligned and comply to the cosmos. where the car stops and opens it's doors is where it wants us to be. i think that this is really exciting.

24: she's correct you know.

principal: oh crap. oh crap. I can see myself on this car for the rest of my life.

dakota: come on and snap out of it or I will bounce you head off the window.

principal: alright. but if i get killed i am coming for you.

dakota: bring it on. (laughs)

kiki: (beaming) isn't this just exciting though?

24: well i think this next stop is ours. 

Anyhow, it seemed like a strange intersection of personalities. I watched them file out into the platform station. that's when i noted that each of them drew out a weapon.

The Warrior Prepping

Her fingers danced over the computer keyboard like a pair of olympic skaters. Grace in motion. She had called up a web page and found what she was looking for. Her hand touched the monitor and a city map showed up.

A message bubble popped up and she didn't answer it. She wasn't in the mood to do any ambient talking. She pushed herself away from the computer and kissed her hand and placed it on top of the machine.

"If all goes well I may not see you again," she told the computer.

Mags walked through the dark apartment; she didn't need a light on because she knew the place like the back of her hand. She stopped by a jar and flicked it a few times; the insect in there just turned its back towards her and grumbled.

"Come on Mardi, buck up," she told the insect. "Any day now you will be free to do what you please. I just need you were I can see you for now."

Mardi grumbled. He had been imprisoned now for weeks and he didn't much care for it.

"Just squash me and get it over with?" the insect said.

"What? And ruin a beautiful friendship?" Mags said.

Mardi moved to the opposite side of the glass and lay down. Mags took an egg timer and set it for an hour and twenty-two minutes from now. She placed it right beside the glass jar.

"Oh crap, it's going to happen, isn't it?" Mardi said to Mags as she walked away.

She picked up the remote control and aimed it at the home stereo system. A tune came blasting out. Theme music.

She stopped at the poker table; instead of cards there was a massive array of weapons spread out. She picked up the two pistols and began to strap them on.

With the guns holstered she grabbed a knife and attached it to her left leg, then a sleeve of throwing stars onto a belt. Finally, it was the katana. It was in the middle of the table. Mags poured herself a warm liquid from a teapot, held it up towards the blade and took a quick swig from it.

"Time to kick ass," she muttered.

After the Shift, Nothing...

INT. MOTEL SIXTY SIX - NIGHT

There is no light on in the room, except the sheen of street lights shining through the window. The curtain is open two inches.

A man is sitting at the table near the window. He is playing solitaire. Flipping the cards in a weird pattern on the table. 

We see his chronometer sitting on the table beside him. Numbers are counting down.

10...9...8

Snow is falling.

7...6...5...

The man sits with a cup of coffee before him. The steam rising up.

4...3...2...

In the dim light, we see the face of MAX CUBE. It looks like he has been crying. 

1

There is a KNOCK on his motel door.

MAX walks to the door. He wipes his face before opening the door. Backlit by the streetlight is a WOMAN. She is standing there in a short fur coat. We can see that she is wearing revealing clothing.

ESCORT (WOMAN)
Hi. I'm your date for this evening.

MAX
Indeed.

MAX steps aside and lets her in. Her HIGH HEELS TAP against the floor as she enters. He tries hard not to directly stare at her.

ESCORT
I gather you like it dark...

MAX
Darkness and I are old friends.

ESCORT
I guess that's one thing we have in common.

He smiles.

MAX
Night is such an illusory beast.

ESCORT
How poetic. 

MAX
Thanks. It's something a dear friend of mine once told me.

She removes her coat and drops it.

ESCORT
Well, I will be your friend this evening.

She moves closer to him, the sexual confidence of her body radiating like heat. MAX takes a step back.

MAX
Umm. Sorry.

ESCORT
Well, how would you like to do this?

MAX is obviously uncomfortable.

MAX
Care for something to drink?

ESCORT
Of course.

She stands at the window, watching the snow fall from the heavens. MAX hands her a cup of coffee.

MAX
Triple sugar and cream.

ESCORT (surprised)

Thank you. That's how I like my coffee.

MAX
I guessed.

He hands her the coffee. Her smile is bright and perfect.

ESCORT

Here's to the holidays.

They clink their coffee cups. After a sip she puts down the coffee and steps close to MAX.

ESCORT
Well, sugar...

She touches his face, the caress and her expression of tenderness seemingly genuine.

MAX
Your touch is smooth as silk.

ESCORT (sighs)

You shall see. 

Her hand slides down his chest, but before it goes any further MAX turns away.

MAX
I know what you expect, but that's not the reason why I called for you.

ESCORT
That's okay, hon, in my line of work I've learned to expect all sorts of things.

MAX
I called because I just want... (long pause) I need to talk to you.

She sits on the edge of the bed. We can see her body language has changed from seductress to psychiatrist.

MAX
I've been thinking about my life, about things I have done, places I've been and people that I have met along the way. I've been thinking about life in general. Ever since I arrived here three months ago, I have been searching for someone so dear to me. Only to find out that she never showed up here at all.

ESCORT
How sad. Why is that?

MAX
I really don't know. Just that maybe fate and destiny is playing tricks with us. Or maybe I'm just deluded in thinking that what I have experienced was even real. I really don't know. But it was no dream, and I know that she is out there somewhere, and maybe one of the reasons why she didn't come here is that she wasn't really needed here in the first place.

He pulls a chair around to sit down.

MAX
Before I say anymore I'd like to introduce myself to you. I'm Max.

ESCORT
Well Max, I'm Margaret. But you can call me Maggie.

The Visitor

Angus Pembleton just plopped his 75 year old arse down in his favourite chair. He was going to watch Wheel of Fortune while eating his favourite tv dinner; Salisbury steak, mashed potato and corn. He knew it wasn't good for him at his age, but to hell with the doctors. He had lived his life his way for three quarters of a century.

"Emma," he called. "It's starting."

Emma, his wife of 55 years and just as spry as her husband, yelled back from the kitchen, "Be right there."

That's when the angel fell through their roof.

She came crashing through the ceiling with such force that she hit the floor by the tv and took that out too, right into the basement. Angus sat there stunned and didn't utter a word, until the tv set which sat at the edge of the hole toppled over into the basement.

"Well, now," he muttered under his breath as he stood up. Emma came rushing in from the kitchen to check on her husband.

"What happened?" she inquired.

"One of those space gizmos must of fallen from orbit," he said as he cautiously approached the edge of the gaping hole in his dining room. His wife warned him to be careful and he shrugged her off. He looked down and saw the angel lying in a crater in his basement and his eyes widened in pure amazement. She was one of the most beautiful creatures he had ever seen.

The angels eyes opened, and she gazed up at him. She struggled at first to get up and when she did, her wings folded back and seemed to meld with her back.

"Where am I?" she asked him.

"Freeport, Kansas," he replied. "Home of Hogbacks," he added.

Ticket to Shift

There was a knock at the door.

Max's eyes opened and on reflex he went for his pistols. Taking a second to assess that there was no immediate threat. Max relaxed. 

The knock at the door again.

Max got up and glanced around the apartment. He strolled over to the heater and cranked it up a notch; his body felt the tendrils of cold. Autumn was definitely here. He went to the door and peered into the spyhole, shook his head. He saw a familiar face staring back at him. He unlocked and opened the door, started heading for the kitchen.

"Morning Max," Angst said. She knew it was too early in the morning but Max was usually up anyways doing some meditation thing. She hoped that she hadn't disturbed him. She followed him into the kitchen where he flicked on the coffee maker; the black nectar begin to flow.

"Angst," Max acknowledged. "What brings you sauntering into my neck of the woods?"

He brought down three cups from the cupboard and placed them on the counter.

"The Mainline," she replied. She removed her jacket and hung it on the chair, took a seat and brought up her sling-bag. Set it before her, started rummaging around the pom-poms stuffed inside. "I just want your opinion on what I should do with this."

She took out a scratch ticket and put it on the table. Max picked it up and he nodded his head. He gave her back the ticket.

"By guns, lots of 'em," he told her whimsically. 

She laughed a sweet laugh, much like a warm breeze on an autumn day.

Dusk Fight

The autumn sun was dying, bleeding daylight away until the sky was dark and full of holes. Max sat in the car, the dial turned to an oldies station. The music drowning out the thumping that was coming from the trunk of the car.

Maggie emerged from the woods, moving with the grace of a leaf fluttering with the wind. She made no sound, but she was moving quite fast. She appeared at the driver-side window.

"The information is correct," she reported. "The men are inside the cabin, waiting for the transfer point, and they still have her locked up."

Max turned the radio off, and slid out of the car. He went back to the trunk and opened it. Inside a skinny runt of a lad looked up, fearful at first, as if he was going to get capped. 

"Get lost," Max told the fellow.

The lad crawled out of the trunk and looked at Max and then Maggie, who was dressed in a blood red body suit. She had a katana strapped to her back.

"You're not going to kill me?" the man asked.

"Well, if you are not out of my sight in 33 seconds then I might," Max told him.

And on that note the lad fled down the road, careful not to look behind.

Faux Blog

journal from Ghostbloggers: Who You Gonna Blog?

5:40pm
Wednesday
Was I Exorsized?
by captain_entenille

Man I have had this terrible incident that had happened. And I really don't know what the heck happened to me in the first place... but let me tell you soon as I came home I had to shower.

Okay so like this girl comes up to me this afternoon and tells me that she is here to help me. And I am like you can have anything you want babe. She proceeds to tell me that there is something inside me that needs to be free. And I am like sure babe, whatever, lets get a room somewhere or we can do it in the alleyway if she wants.

Well, the she says she needs my chi for something freaky, I told her that I ain't into that kind of shit and was about to walk away and suddenly she lies her hands on my shoulder and I feel all week inside.
She calls over to her friend, Max, he steps out of the shadows and has a gun aimed for my head and man I know my day was gone to shit.
Max asks her if I'm okay. And she tells him that there is something dark at work. Whatever that means... but I guess that meant that I was going to get it one way or the other.
I tell them that I am just on my way home from doing some errands. And the girl looks into my eyes and I feel all paralyzed inside. She tells me to close my eyes and open my mouth, and there's nothing much I could do but comply.
That's when I felt like a breath of air was escaping from my lungs. She says to Max, there he is, and than whammo Max fires off his cannon. When I opened my eyes, I could see them standing there looking at me and at some brown ichor along the wall, other than the stain in my pants.
Max turns to me and says something for me to beat it. and I do.

Man there are some weird people out in the world. It's a good thing they didn't want to mug me since I had just cashed my check and was about to pay some bills.

MORGANFOKKER SAYS THAT ALL OF YOUR EFFORTS TO HELP ARE IN FACT ONLY EFFORTS TO CONTROL

Rave On, Rage On

Max, Maggie, Angst & Pretty stood outside the warehouse; they could hear the pulsating bass of the music radiating from inside. Max didn't know where he was at the moment, nor did her care; all he knew is that whatever was inside had to be dealt with once and for all. He felt Maggie's hand on his shoulder.

"You sure you want to do this now?" she asked with tenderness.

"Yeah," he replied, his tone as cool as the evening air. "It has to be done. Now is the time."

A huge limo pulled up to the front of the building; two suits got out with half a dozen bodyguards and headed towards the doors. They scanned the perimeter and noticed nothing unusual. Max's eyes narrowed; there was hate burning behind his pupils. It took all his will to stop himself from pulling out Pain & Joy and going John Woo right then and there.

"The information is correct," Max said. "There he is."

"Let's do this," Maggie replied. She turned to face Pretty and glanced over to Angst.

Angst was moving with the music. Her body swaying with the beat, she was a part of the rave generation and it showed. Angst nodded but kept moving with the music, though you could see the expression on her face change. She was transforming with the ritual of dance.

After a few more moments Max turned to Pretty and nodded.

Pretty dropped the duffel bag on the ground between them and unzipped it.

---

They approached the door to the warehouse, Max forward, Maggie to the left and Angst to the right. The walked towards the bouncer, who looked up at them and their clothes. The bouncer was about to say something but a kick to the groin by Angst stopped him. 

Pretty watched from his binoculars. Normally after a deal he would disappear into the night because, once a transaction was finished, he wasn't needed anymore. Tonight he stuck around, not only out of curiosity, but out of friendship to Max. He knew this time was as different as day was to night. He watched Maggie throw open the steel door and saw them go inside.

From his vantage point, he could hear the music and see flashes from elevated windows and hear the sounds of combat.

"It's your dance, my friend," Pretty whispered.

Faux News

Mysterious Lights Spark Intrigue
by Wesley Washington
Chronicle Staffer

Over two dozen people from the Nestorville area called the Police Station early this morning about a mysterious light seen flying in the sky, according to a Local 6 News report.

Calls flooded the newsroom of Local 6 News after they saw the object over the coast, along with a whole group of people doing battle with an "alien".

"At 12:01 last night we started receiving calls here in the newsroom," said news editor Larry Minton,. He adds with a chuckle, "We even got a few calls about a small band of people shooting at an alien being."

Minton adds that an elderly couple called and said that they were walking their dog when they spotted the mysterious ball of light and afterwards a group of people they described as: a school girl, a woman with long red-hair with a sword, a young lad with two guns in a neon orange t-shirt, a cheerleader, and some guy in a silver mask and a hooded cloak.

"The group was battling a beast that was emerging from the water," said Minton.

A call to the Coast Guard said that a boater might have been in trouble. "A lot of people might mistake the flares as balls of light in the sky," says a spokesman.

Faux Blog

blog from Ghostbloggers: Who Ya Gonna Blog? 

3:33am
Thursday
Forgetting Angst
by Anon

I think I have a friend. I really don't know for sure. I must jot this down here, because if I awake in the morning I might not remember her at all.

It all started when I met a guy. (Thank you, Falcon Personals! I know it's a gamble to choose internet dates but after all I am a grown girl) His name is Chris and we've seen each other three times now. And it's thanks to my friend Angst, who persuaded me to go for it.

Chris is quite the gentleman and really handsome as well, and does NOT look eight years older than me. When he emailed me for a meeting I told Angst and we agree to meet him that night, at Spanky's, and she tagged along for support. 

That evening went along pretty good and we had planned to hook up the night after and we did. The last time we went out,met  we out at Happy Cup's coffee house. Earlier this evening, I once again had invited Angst along as well, since she was bored and had nothing else to do. 

We sat there, listened to some folk songs, and chatted about the latest movies and tv shows. Angst suggested we go clubbing. Chris said he wasn't into that scene anymore, and would prefer the quiet time. But after a little persuading he caved in and we were on our way. I think it was a bad decision.

As we were walking down the street, there was this sign of a commotion going on down an alleyway. And as we looked I could see this red-haired woman fighting three men in dark suits, and what looked like to be a gorilla with a helmet on. Chris grabs his cellphone and dials 911. Angst peers down the alleyway and turns to us, the curiosity getting the best of her, and against our warning, she goes down to take a further look.

Chris and I waited at the entrance, and Angst is not returning at all. Chris decides to go down and see what is happening, when the police show up. Two officers question us and then head on down the alleyway, to return and give us a warning about making prank calls.

I asked them about Angst? They go back down there and investigate and they haven't seen her at all. They tell us that she probably went home, and that we were to go and see if she is there and if not then make a police report.

The funny thing is that when we get back to the dorm, I knock on Angst's door. Only to find her roommate stating that there is no Angst here? Chris looks at me and I describe her to the roommate. And her roommate said that she never had a roommate.

I go back to my room, dig through a couple of photos of Angst and I, and all I get are blank spaces were I know Angst should be... am I nuts? Right now I am tired and afraid to sleep since I might forget about her.