The One-Time-Only Pen Gazette

[Sweetcherrie]

If I managed to do this correctly you should be able to click on the headlines that I’ve done so far and be transferred to the story or poem that goes with it.

 

Thanks to all the pennites who have provided me with the headlines

 

You can find the original start-up thread here.

 

Headlines:

 

1. Saved for the second time

2. Then there was rain

3. Cuban Commerce Collapses!

4. Police puts lid on pot

5. Armadillo Speaks

6. Dogs gone and done it again

7. Pigeons drop project; collect crap

8. Parasites under our skin, locals complain

9. Prized ducks set off alarms day and night.

10. The cemetary everyone is dying to get into.

11. Beaver attacks man's log.

12. Sharpein commerce flourishes, cuban cigars in style.

13. Sleep can save rare rhino.

14. Time slowed down for maintenance.

15. Morning Glory.

Edited December 5, 2005 by Sweetcherrie

[Sweetcherrie]

Saved for the second time.

 

He had never meant for this to happen. How could it have gone so wrong…again? The boy wriggled himself out of the drainage pipe he had ended up in, and checked his clothes. The mud was already drying up, and the various excrements had left the sort of stains his mom would surely not be happy with. Marvin tried to block out the stench, and looked around, this was definitely not this world.

 

In his mind he went over what could possible have gone wrong this time. Like last time he had been chased by Brett and his gang (Marvin hated the gang, and Brett even more, and he kept wishing that he was 2 years older, 2 feet taller, and that his mom would finally allow him those karate lessons he’d been wanting for two years now) and like last time he had opened a random door in the alley. Like last time the door had seemed to open into an empty hallway, but like last time he had suddenly found himself in the sewers, and had ended up at the entrance of the sewers at the outskirts of a city.

 

This time, however, the world he had ended up in seemed a lot less friendly. The world he had ended up in two months ago had been sunny and there had been flowers everywhere, but here it was dark and dreary, and as far as he could see there were only grey buildings and more grey buildings. He wondered if he would be lucky enough again to find someone that would be able to show him the way home. In the happy world he had found a nice woman all dressed in green in the park that had taken him home, but he somehow doubted there would even be a park in this world.

 

When he had tried to explain his previous adventure to his mother, she had only looked at him as if he was losing his mind, and he had not tried to explain it to others. People no longer believed in different world, but Marvin knew they existed, and he was standing in the middle of the proof of their existence. He decided to start walking, and would see where he would end up.

 

As he walked the drizzling rain kept falling, and although it didn’t seem to get him very wet at first, after half an hour his clothes were soaked till the very last thread, and still he hadn’t seen anything else but the grey buildings. The strangest thing was that there were no doors to enter the buildings. They all seemed to be made out of one big block of cements, and if he looked up he could see windows, but no doors.

 

The longer he walked the stranger it felt, especially since he also hadn’t seen a soul since he had entered this world. Come to think of it, it was totally silent. Marvin had been thinking so hard about how he could possibly have managed to end up here, and how he would get back, that he hadn’t realized that all sound he’d heard so far had been his own thoughts. Just when he started to feel desperate, he saw something shining in the distance. It was so different from anything else in this world that it had to be something special.

 

As he came nearer he almost broke into a run. The light had a strange, almost magnetic effect on him, and the closer he got the warmer he felt. When he was close enough Marvin could see that it was a bar. Soft light was streaming out of the window, and the outside walls and windowsills were all painted red. Music was floating on the air, and by hearing this music Marvin felt his inside all warmed up.

 

“This must be a good place”, he thought to himself and walked towards the door, “and if it isn’t it’s still the only door I’ve seen since I got here, so I don’t have much choice”

 

When he pulled the door open the smell of freshly baked gingerbread started drifting towards him, and seduced him to step inside. Inside he could that all the walls were all covered with red velvet, and the candles that were burning gave the place a warm glow. It looked like a bar. There was a tap on his right hand, and tables with chairs around it on his left. The music he had heard earlier was coming from a jukebox that was standing in the corner. At first it seemed that he was alone in the bar, but when he took another two steps forward he heard someone mumbling.

 

It came from behind the bar, and Marvin decided to have a closer look. When he had reached the bar, a head appeared above it. The woman behind the bar had been looking for something under the bar, and now emerged with a bottle in her hand. She put it on the bar, and then she saw Marvin.

 

“Can I help you?”

 

Her voice was soft and warm, and Marvin thought how much he wanted that his mom had a voice like that. It felt as if the voice was enveloping him entirely in a warm fuzzy blanket, and he could have stood there forever just listening to it, if she hadn’t been looking at him. Her eyes were cold, and when he stared into them he felt the comfortable feeling her voice had given him disappear as a departing train, slowly at first but quicker the longer he looked at them.

 

Suddenly he heard a loud click, and whit a shock he turned around. At the door a second women had appeared and the click had been her turning the key in the lock. He was now shut in, and when he looked back the first woman was licking with her tongue over her lips. Unwillingly he took a step backwards.

 

“Oh now,” she pouted, “The little boy is scared.”

 

Marvin took another step backwards away from her, but felt an arm stroke his back. The second woman had approached him from behind, and was now feeling his arm as if he was some piece of meat that had to be checked. He stumbled backwards, and the women started to laugh. The voices had changed, and their heads were graduately changing as well. Where it had been beautiful before, it was now slowly starting to wrinkle, and her soft red curls were slowly turning grey and resembled more and more the dreadlocks he had once seen on an abused dog.

 

He looked around, desperate to find an escape route, and when his eyes fell on a corner, it slowly shifted into stairs. The first woman had stepped forward from behind the bar, and was walking towards him, in her hands she had a long sharp knife and she was making it even sharper. With every step she took she slid the blade past one of those filing sticks he had seen the local butcher use to sharpen his knives. Marvin held one eye on the stairs in the corner, and the other on the two witches that were approaching him. He measured the distance in his head, and just as one of the women stretched out her hand he ran as fast as he could towards the corner, and ran up the stairs.

 

The two women were too surprised to react, and Marvin was already halfway up the stairs before they started moving. The stairs spiralled round and round and round. Marvin could hear the women panting and cackling behind him and he ran even faster. He started to feel tired, but far above him he saw a light, and felt that if only he could reach the light he would be safe.

 

The light came closer and it turned out to be a small exit sign, one that you find above emergency exits. Marvin grabbed the door handle and pulled the door open. He rushed through it and slammed the door shut. As he stepped back the door started disappearing and he could now hear the witches slam their fists against the inside in fruitless attempts to open it again.

 

Still panting Marvin turned around to see where he had ended up. It had to be the top of the building where he now was, but it looked more as if he had ended up in a forest. When he turned back the entrance had been overgrown with plants, and all he could do was enter the forest. Under the trees it was shady, but not cold, and after the first angsty steps into the forest he felt the calm of the trees flowing down on him. Some of the branches lowered and let their leaves softly caress his face. Marvin really felt wonderful now, and started to forget about the witches when he suddenly saw a clearing in the woods.

 

In the middle of the clearing stood a parkbench, and on the bench sat a woman clad in a green robes. Marvin immediately knew who she was, and stormed forward.

 

“You have to help me again!”

 

He threw the words out as a plea. She looked at him, almost as if she had just awoken from a trance.

 

“I know you….”

 

“Yes, yes, you helped me home last time.”

 

“Aaah, oooh,”

 

Her face had lit up with the ‘aaah’, but had darkened again with the ‘oooh’. Apaltra, for it was her that had been peacefully sitting in between the trees, shook her head.

 

“I’m really sorry, but last time it was more luck than knowledge that I could help you.”

 

Marvin felt his heart sink, he had been sure that she would be able to help him. As she saw the boy’s face sadden, Apaltra felt sorry for him, and really wished she could help him. The previous time she had somehow stumbled across a portal, and had sensed the magic radiating from it, but now they were far from the nearest portal known to her, and she really had no idea how to help him.

 

The trees above them rustled their leaves, and Marvin now let his head droop. He would never ever come home again, and felt very sad about it (and who could blame him, his mother had promised him that morning to have fresh baked cookies ready when he would get home).

 

The wind whispered through the leaves, and offered some comfort to the little boy. To Apaltra however the breeze contained something else. A whiff of magic made the little hairs on her arms stand up, and she shivered as Goosebumps appeared on her arms. The magic was now so thick in the air that she could almost smell it, and she knew that it must be something really powerful that the energy was this tangible.

 

Marvin, who hadn’t felt a thing, had started to sob softly, but Apaltra put a hand on his shoulder.

 

“Maybe..”

 

Immediately his watery eyes lit up as he looked at her doubting face.

 

“There is something big around her, something or someone magic, we could see what exactly it is..”

 

Marvin felt his heart jump up again at her words, surely she would find a way hadn’t she managed to get him home the first time as well? He took her hand, and full confidence he waited for her to guide him. Apaltra didn’t feel all to sure if she would even be able to move a stone back to the boy’s world, but nevertheless started walking in the direction of where she had sensed the magic. As they walked onwards the forest became thicker, and the moss under their feet subdued the sound of their footsteps. Not even a bird was heard here, but she felt that they were nearing the source.

 

A soft glow came from a dense group of trees in front of them, and Apaltra knew that it must be there where the magic came from, and she steered them towards it. Marvin had seen the glow as well, and let go of her hand to run towards the group of trees. Suddenly he felt his feet hit a rock and he was launched into the air. The speed at which he had been running had sent him flying, and he flew straight towards the group of trees.

 

With a loud POP, the boy was gone. A distant thank you could be heard and then the glow faded and disappeared entirely. Apaltra blinked, she had no idea what she had done to be thanked for, but felt glad that she had somehow managed to locate another portal. She then shrugged, and walked back to the park bench to listen to the birds some more.

 

Marvin felt himself flying through the air, and with a dull thud he landed on his feet. When he looked up he found himself standing in front of his own house. He sent the lady in green another thank you in his head, and ran towards the front door. The smell of freshly baked cookies welcomed him in, and he was glad that he had been saved for the second time…until his mom saw the stains in his clothes that is

[Sweetcherrie]

Then there was rain

 

It was a good thing that the carpet was of a decent quality, because otherwise Marissa would surely have walked holes in it by now. She had been pacing back and forth for almost an hour, and since she had arrived at the theatre she hadn’t sat still for even two seconds. Tonight would make the difference in her life. She knew it, and this knowledge did nothing to make her feel more at ease.

 

Just as she was about to turn back towards the big dressing mirror again, the door opened. In the opening stood the stage master. He was a massive, round man, with an enormous moustache. The first time she had seen him, Marissa had found it hard not to laugh when he started speaking. With his posture you’d expect a full bass voice, but his shrieks had given her an almost incontrollable urge to giggle. Then she had managed to keep it in, but tonight she wasn’t so sure.

 

“You’ll be up in 10 minutes,” He peeped.

 

She bit her tongue, and nodded. When he closed the door behind him, she started giggling. The nerves were racing through her body, and turned the giggles into some sort of crazy laughter. Marissa had to cross her legs so she wouldn’t pee in her pants, and when she had finally managed to catch her breathe it was time.

 

The laughing had loosened the knots in her stomach slightly, and with a tiny bit of confidence she stepped up onto the stage. The audience was all looking at her, their faces serious. Her eyes darted towards the back right corner, knowing that there was where the big people would be sitting. Marissa swallowed hard, and stepped up to the microphone. She wrapped the cable once in her right hand, and held the rest in her other. The brand of the microphone flashed with golden letters “Almost Dragonic”. She’d never heard of the brand, but then again, she’d never heard of this bar before either, she could only hope that everything would go fine. Marissa nodded to the musicians, and they set in a soft tune.

 

With quivering voice she started to sing, but as the song developed her voice grew stronger and more self-assured. Losing herself in the music the words were carried into the audience on her magically sweet voice.

 

Your voice was like the sun

Warm and safe, left me undone

 

Your eyes were like the sky

Fresh and sweet, left me feeling shy

 

Green as grass and white as snow

Just a lass, I didn’t know

Didn’t know what to say

Didn’t know what to do

When I met you

 

My heart was like a child

Pure and blank, left you with a smile

 

My feelings were like sunrise

Hot and burning, left you in surprise

 

Red as the roses, bright as snow

Just a girl, I didn’t know

Didn’t know what to say

Didn’t know what to do

The day I met you

 

Our love was like the sea

No room for others, only you and me

 

Our dreams were like jewels

Full and shining, we were fools

 

Dark as sin, black as the crow

Not a woman, I didn’t know

Didn’t know what to say

Didn’t know what to do

The day I lost you

 

Blue as your eyes, cool as ice

Became a woman overnight

You taught me about love

You taught me about pain

First there was sun

And then came the rain

 

The last bittersweet note drifted over the audience when suddenly the microphone started singing on its own. Marissa squinted her eyes, and cringed as the effect was bashed by a very loud, and very annoying scream. Everybody in the audience stuck their fingers in their ears, and most even got up to leave.

 

Desperately Marissa tried to find the words to talk them back to their seats, but apparently it wasn’t the first time it happened that evening. In the corner where normally the big record bozos were sitting, now only sat what looked like an overgrown lizard.

 

Swallowing hard she got up from her seat, and turned around to leave the stage. Never was she ever lucky enough to be at the right place on the right time. Just last week she had been in the audience and had seen how two people were plucked right of the stage and offered a record deal there and then.

 

Just when she put the stool back in place she heard a loud cough. Looking back Marissa saw that it was almost empty now. In front of the stage stood the overgrown lizard.

 

“I…errr…we could make big bucks with that voice of yours, you know.”

 

Marissa turned towards him, and looked at him. Never before had she seen something or someone like him. Come to think of it the whole audience had been sort of strange-looking tonight, she even though that she had seen a sort of catwoman in a corner.

 

“What would you say about becoming the very first Almost Dragonic Nightingale?”

 

Marissa blinked. Was he talking about her?

 

“You’d only have to sign here, here and…aah yes, here,”

 

His claw extended towards her and in his hand he held a fumbled piece of paper; his eyes gleamed with what seemed excitement, and also something else. Marissa hesitated shortly, but then took the paper from him and started reading.

 

“No need to read it, it’s all boring stuff anyways…”

 

Marissa smiled but read nevertheless.

 

“Excuse me, but it says here that I would get 000000.1% of the profit and that the rest would go various different companies.”

 

“Ah yes, err, no need to worry about that.”

 

“But each company is called ‘something something & Wyvern’....”

 

The almost dragon rubbed his hands together, and she was now sure that the shine in his eyes was one of greed. She squinted here eyes to read the small print, and gasped when she read the following lines.

 

When singer does not manage to attract at least 1.000.000.000.000 people in the audience, her or she will pay Singers & Wyvern three zillion geld, or in case singer does not have this she can pay by spending one night with Wyvern (the great, almighty, may he live forever, and get filthy rich).

 

She looked from the paper at the grinning lizard and back to the paper, the next moment Wyvern felt a ball of paper hit his head, and Marissa was walking away.

 

Better not be famous than be an Almost Dragonic Nightingale!

Edited August 27, 2005 by Sweetcherrie

[Sweetcherrie]

Cuban Commerce Collapses!

 

Bob once met a young guy from Cuba

Who smoked a cigar like a tuba

He said “Brother, Yo!

“I think you should flow.”

And Bob said, “I don’t think I dig ya”

 

The Cuban guy gave him the cigar

And Bob’s eyes slowly went ajar

They huffed and they puffed

Bob sneezed and Bob coughed

And then his face slowly went bizarre

 

Bob’s eyes then slowly rolled backwards

His body slightly leaned towards

The wall and the floor

The desk and the door

He took a dive that earned him awards

 

The young guy looked at Bob going

And said, “man, I think that you’re flowing

He blinked with his eyes

And looked at the skies

“Maybe we should do no more blowing”

 

The end of the story is easy

And maybe a little bit cheesy

They did smoke no more

The cigars ignored

And this is why…..errr

 

The Cuban Commerce Collapsed.

 

OOC: Still not exactly what I would like it to be, but was one of the first ideas that came to mind and have been working on this since I've started this whole thing. And to be honest.....I really don't want to think limmerick anymore for about the next...oh, 100 years or so

[Sweetcherrie]

Police puts lid on pot.

 

The sun burned down on the vegetable garden, it had been hot all summer, and the vegetables all looked rather meek. The lettuce was cringing away from the bright light, and the strawberries desperately tried to hide under their leaves. It was the hottest summer of this century they’d said on the news, and Minka believed them in an instant. She’d been trying to pep the carrots a bit by giving them water, but their leaves still sadly hung towards the black soil. If this would keep up she would have to harvest sooner than she had planned, and she was sure the vegetables wouldn’t like that. She sighed, and watered the radishes for the third time that day.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Mommy I’m so thirsty.”

 

“Stop whining, sweetie, the human will soon come with water again.”

 

And indeed, soon enough drops of water start entering through the roof. The carrots washed the drops of sweat from their orange faces, and the radishes polished their red cheeks till they shined. The potatoes put their feet down, and the cucumbers relaxed and stretched out.

 

Only a short while after however, the sun had turned the water into damp and it felt like a sauna under the ground. The different vegetables got the irky feeling they were being steamed, and the little carrot complained loudly to his mom that he didn’t like it anymore.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Wiping her forehead free from transpiration with her arm, Minka rolled up the garden hose again. The sun was finally setting and it was starting to cool down a bit. She kept hoping for rain, but the skies had been cloudless all day, and it didn’t look like it would change one bit. With a last look at her vegetable garden she turned around and walked into the house.

 

She walked to the kitchen and started diner; her husband would be home soon, and she wanted to have diner ready when he arrived. Taking out an enormous pan from one of the cupboards, she laid out the vegetables she would need. The recipe of her grandmother had always been one of her husband’s favourite meals, and the paper it was written on was crinkled and stained. Her grandmother had always cooked for a big family so Minka made sure she divided all the ingredients in half before she got her knifes out. She filled the pan with water, and placed a carrot on the chopping board.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“I say, I smell water…I hear it too!!”

 

The leak lifted its head slightly and looked around, its leaves bristling softly. The sound of running water was rushing over their words and they could hardly hear each other, but now they could also smell it. It was as if they were taken from hell to heaven, and the vegetables rejoiced. They had been in the hot ground so long that the whole idea of water, and in this quantity was overwhelming them.

 

In fact, one of the tomatoes fainted with excitement. The cucumber was shaking with anticipation and felt he would explode any time soon if he wouldn’t get into that divine wetness.

 

They all screamed so loud that the vegetables in the garden stirred, and erected their leaves into the air so as to hear better. They could hardly understand what their friends and relatives inside were saying, but they all heard one word; water!

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

She decided she would do the tomatoes first, and reached out her hand towards them. In her other hand she steadily held the great kitchen knife, and she placed a tomato on the chopping board. For a moment the knife hovered high above it in the air, and then she brought it down to chop the head off.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

A scream pierced the air, and the little hairs on the strawberries that were taken in for dessert all stood up straight. Only moments later the air was silent again, and the tomato blood was seeping over the kitchen counter towards the carrots, who desperately tried to get away. The next moment one of them felt a hand close around him, and two moments later the carrot was no more.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Mommy I also want to go swimming! Can I please?”

 

The mother looked wearily at the little one. He had somehow managed to sneak into the grown-ups meeting, and had heard them discussing about whether they should or should not go on an expedition for this source of water they had heard the screams about earlier that evening. The fresher vegetables were all in favour, but the ones that were wrinkled had their objections.

 

“But, what if we won’t make it? In a few hours the sun will be up again.”

 

“Exactly! In a few hours the sun will be up again! Don’t you see that that’s the reason we need to go now?”

 

The stud that had spoken last was of the new year, and arrogantly looked at the cabbage. He’d been having all the youngsters behind him all evening, and slowly his enthusiasm and reasoning was convincing the others of the necessity to look for water as well.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Marnix slipped on his trousers and strapped his belt on. He checked if his gun was still on the safety switch and said a small prayer that he never had to use it. Ever since he had joined the police force he’d been praying that he would never have to use the weapon. He really was a peace loving man, and had only signed up because he felt he could be of use this way. He sleepily walked downstairs and felt slightly better at the thought of that delicious vegetable soup Minka had made for him yesterday; he would take some to work for lunch.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“I told you this was a bad idea!”

 

After a long meeting, the vegetables had decided to send a small group out to explore, and then if they would come back with good news they would all join them. From their midst they had chosen the stud, some parsley and a carrot. The three of them were now standing on the side of the big pot, and peered inside.

 

The carrot had turned almost green again when he had seen his relatives floating around in the water; all chopped up and boiled to death.

 

Suddenly they heard a sound behind them, and they all dropped down and pretended to be dead.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

When Marnix walked into the kitchen he saw the vegetables lying on the counter.

 

“Aww, I’ll have to remember to thank Minka, she even left me some fresh vegetables to add.”

 

He turned on the heat under the pot and waited till the soup was boiling; there was nothing he liked better as the combination of warmed up soup and some fresh and crunchy vegetables. He quickly chopped the carrot and the parsley, but decided to put the spud away. Come to think of it, it was weird that his wife had left out a potato; it would take far too long to warm up.

 

Humming to himself the cop put the lid on the pot, and went about making himself some tea.

Edited September 9, 2005 by Sweetcherrie

[Sweetcherrie]

Armadillo Speaks.

 

Waggling along the road Hermy was thinking about how he would explain to his wife that he was home late again. He knew that she was starting to suspect him from cheating on her, and that while all he had been doing was hang out with his colleagues after work was done, and that not even for long since they’d been having really long days at the lily pond. He sighed, and picked up speed again.

 

His feet were flapping on the hardened road, it had been dry for weeks on now, and the gravel roads spew up dust every time he put down his webbed feet. His head was still full of what they had been talking about, and round and round went Bob’s speech. Armadillo had spoken to them about the union and how they deserved better wages. Everybody had cheered him on, and even Hermy had joined in, but now he didn’t feel too sure anymore. He had a wife and kids to look after, and if it would come to a strike as Bob had said he would be missing out on his hard-needed salary.

 

He picked up speed, and his feet flapped faster over the road. He longed to be home, and only hoped that his wife wouldn’t be too angry.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“Where have you been all this time? Heh? I’ve been slaving over a good diner, and now it’s all gone cold!”

 

Hermy cringed with every one of his wife’s quacks. Of course she was absolutely right, if only he wouldn’t have listened to Bob. Tomorrow he would tell Armadillo that he would not go along with the plan.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“We have to stay strong! They will try to give us promises, but they’ve never kept it!”

 

Bob’s voice bellowed over the pond, and the audience cheered at his words. Today it had become common knowledge that Bob Armadillo was running for union-president, and the atmosphere couldn’t have been happier around the pond. Several ducks were holding banners, and some squirrels were throwing nut shelves around as confetti. The smallest among the smallest insects were all gathered high above the water, and some were sitting on lily leaves, their tiny screams inaudible in the crowd, but cheer they did.

 

From the side the managers and directors of the factory were watching closely. All of them had sour looks on their faces, and some had already left. They knew no work would get done today; the strike was total now.

 

Hermy was standing on the side, his wife would be so angry with him for not having work. Not that he could do anything about it, he was just one duck, how could he stand up to all these animals that wanted this to happen. No, it would be better to just wait and stay clear of his wife as much as possible until this was all over. If only he could speak to some of the bosses…..wait! wasn’t that? Yes, it was….

 

All the way at the back he saw the big boss himself, Coyote Wolf was standing with his arms crossed, and watched the gathered crowd. He wished he could do something to stop this strike; the truth was that he wouldn’t mind paying them more, but the factory was on the verge of bankruptcy and he really couldn’t afford to pay them anything more than he did. He sighed, he knew full well that most of his workers hated him, but unfortunately pollution and the bad economics made his job very bad. His glance fell on that idiot Hermy, and their eyes met.

 

Hermy met the eyes of the top man of the company, and as the big boss nodded, he looked around. After he’d made sure that nobody had seen him, he slipped around the back and went inside. The boss was waiting for him in the deserted corridor.

 

“I think we can help each other…”

 

The boss sounded calm and relaxed. He had it all though out in his head, and with his many years of experience he knew exactly how to play on people. Hermy tilted his head. If he were to get some work, and money out of this his wife never needed to know that there was a strike. He slowly nodded.

 

“Maybe…what would you have in mind?”

 

The boss leaned closer and the rest of the conversation was whispered in soft tones. Every now and then there was a loud cheer coming from the crowd outside, when Bob had obviously said something that they loved hearing. But the two men…err…ducks didn’t listen they were caught up in their own little thing.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

With a deep sigh Bob sat down, he knew that he had taken on a dangerous job, but he also knew what he was fighting for. His wife brought him a cup of warm chocolate milk, and he smiled at her. He had no idea what he would ever do if something happened to her; she was really his best friend and love of his life.

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

Outside it was dark, and the moon was hidden behind the many clouds that hung low at the sky that night. Hermy’d had problems sneaking out of the house without his wife noticing, but had managed to do so without waking her up.

 

He tiptoed through the streets, and finally reached the house of his destination. With the glasscutter that the boss had given him he drew a small hole in the window, and stuck his wing through to open the door from the inside. Soundlessly he entered the kitchen and looked around, he was supposed to only take the wife, but wondered how on earth he would do that. Hermy walked into the living room, and what he saw there made him grin broadly.

 

Armadillo had fallen asleep with a book in his hands, the reading light still on. This made the entire thing a lot easier, he’d only have to sneak up, and snatch her away. Bob would wake up tomorrow find the note, and resign for the election, easy as that. He went up the stairs, and opened the door to the master bedroom….and blinked.

 

The bed was empty!

 

“Slowly turn around, and keep your hands where I can see them.”

 

The voice sounded not even angry, but more disappointed. Hermy did as he was told, and stared straight in Bob Armadillo’s face.

 

“I…I…”

 

“You were going to take my wife….well ever since this whole business started my wife and I sleep in the hidden basement. What you saw in the living room was only a doll. Now stay where you are and I’m sure the police will be here shortly, I’ve already called them.”

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

“I will keep protecting you! Last night one of you has tried to sabotage the election, but it hasn’t happened, I say vote for me, and I will make sure these things will all be put to an end!”

 

The crowd cheered, and Bob felt glad. Not only because all had turned out ok; Hermy had talked and the police had taken in the boss, but also because his popularity had risen, and a new top man was now leading the factory. He looked upon the future with a smile now.

Edited September 9, 2005 by Sweetcherrie

[Sweetcherrie]

Dogs gone and done it again.

 

“Howler! you idiot!”

 

The sirens of the police cars were coming closer, but ‘Howler’ was still climbing out of the window. He’d never been one of the fastest and the ‘Dogs’ had only accepted him because they thought that with his impressive size he would easily scare some of the other gang members away just by looking at them. Howler wasn’t really called Howler, when he was born his parents had called him Pepe, or well, his dad had called him ‘idiot’ from the beginning, and still did, but when he had joined they’d nicknamed him Howler.

 

Never before had they taken him with them on a job. You see, Howler was a bit slow, and every time he would hurt himself he would start howling loudly, which was also the reason that he had been given that nickname. Of course going on a job with someone that would wake up the whole neighbourhood when he would hurt a toe by knocking it against something (and he did that about 10 times a day on average) wasn’t the most sensitive thing to do.

 

But tonight Bull, the boss, had decided that he could come. Unfortunately for him, and for the others this had turned out a big mistake. The house they had broken into had been properly checked out…they thought. But instead of the owners being away on holiday as their source had told them, they had walked into the bedroom and had found the couple sleeping in bed. Out of fright Howler had knocked his shins against the bed, and had not only woken up the couple, but had also managed to howl the neighbours awake while his mates finished off the couple.

 

They had grabbed what they could grab, and made a run for it. Only Howler had been hopping around clutching his leg and howling as if he wanted to call a pack of wolves together. Finally his friend had managed to drag him along, and they had run to the window.

 

Unfortunately, Howler’s size might be an advantage in some situations; here it was a major disadvantage. He had managed to get halfway through the window, and then got stuck. His friend was pulling and pushing to get him loose, but he didn’t budge even an inch.

 

“Forget it Sniffer, just let me here, and get your own ass in safety.”

 

“No way, all in, all out! Now pull in that stomach of yours.”

 

Howler tried with all his might, and finally they managed to push him back in, not that this was much help, but at least he wasn’t stuck anymore. The police cars had arrived and at the front of the house they heard the car doors slam shut. Quickly they ran into the shower, and Howler knocked into the door, and if his friend had threatened to hurt him even more, he would have started howling all over again.

 

They stepped into the bathtub, and hid behind the curtain. Breathing silently they prayed that the police would not look in here, and that they would get a possibility to escape. From behind the curtain they could hear the policemen walking around and then the two men started speaking.

 

“I wonder what happened here?”

 

“Hmm…it certainly looks queer.”

 

“Oh my, look at that poor man.”

 

“Yeah, I’d better take out my pen.”

 

“uhuh, you’d better write some things down indeed.”

 

“Maybe you should better write seeing that I can’t read.”

 

At this the two friends behind the curtain looked at each other. What policeman would not be able to read? And why were they talking in rhyme?

 

“Ah look at that!”

 

“Jeez, that woman is fat!”

 

“I meant the footprints in blood!”

 

“Ah yes, I see it now, bud.”

 

They heard the policemen walking around in the bedroom, and Howler though he was going to pee in his pants if it would take much longer, either from fright of being discovered or from laughing; these two sounded even more stupid then he normally felt.

 

“I think we need to call in back-up.”

 

“Yup.”

 

At this Howler could no longer control himself, and burst out laughing. Surely the two of them would be able to handle those two rhyming morons. His friend looked at the heavens and together they rushed to the other room. What they saw there was so horrific, monstrous and horrible that both their mouths dropped open. Howler finally peed in his pants, and his friend’s face had gone as white as freshly washed sheets.

 

A disgusting sting had now filled the room, and something had started screeching. It sounded as if ten women were pulling their nails over the school board at the same time. Howler backed away, but in his clumsiness he stumbled over the rug, and feel backwards……and kept falling……and falling……and…..

 

“You idiot! You overslept! You will be late for that interview!”

 

Pepe woke up and looked around, the horrible noise was still there, but turned out to have been his alarm clock. Suddenly he remembered that it was indeed today that he had that interview with the security company “Dogs & Co”....He suddenly didn't feel to sure that he wanted the job any longer....

Edited September 9, 2005 by Sweetcherrie

[Sweetcherrie]

Pigeons drop drop project; collect crap.

 

“Incoming!!”

 

With a loud bang the load hit the floor, and bounced for a few meters before coming to a halt. From all around the inhabitants of the village came running over, and started pulling at the nets that held the package together. Soon after the loot was divided amongst the men and women, and those with children were given most, but of course most was saved for their queen. Slowly the crowd scattered and what had once been a neat package were now a net, and some wood from the box that had been around the provisions. All things edible had been cleanly removed, and they left the crap behind.

 

High above the beating of the enormous wings could still be heard, slowly getting weaker now more and more distance was put between the messenger and the drop off.

 

In between the bushes a child and his mother were walking hand in hand back to the nest. Their neighbours were all carrying their share high above their heads, at times like this it was nice to have 6 flexible limbs, usable as arms or legs. Mayr had trouble guiding her son home, and keeping her load steady above her head at the same time. Little Jant was sulking behind her, he had wanted to carry something as well, but she had told him that ants that had just hatched were not supposed to carry such heavy stuff.

 

They reaches the tunnel entrance, and went left, left, right, right, walked for about hundred meters straight, another left, and another right, and then they arrived at their own cosy little hole. Mayr dropped her stuff on the kitchen counter and started selecting what would have to go into the fridge and what not.

 

“Mommy?”

 

With her back standing to him and still putting away the stuff they had managed to grab from the delivery, Mayr only hummed a yes.

 

“Mommy, can I have one of those candy bars?”

 

“You know sweetie, that they are for dinner.”

 

“But I would like one now.”

 

Mayr was suddenly sick of her sons whining, and it wasn’t even her own son. The queen had bred him and told her to take care of him. Mayr didn’t like the male ants; Jant would probably grow up to be a soldiers, just as so many of her adopted sons had become soldiers, and she had lost most all of them in battle.

 

The war had started when Arachnus had exclaimed himself king of the hill (and I mean literally hill, seeing that they lived on a green hill in the forest). Arachnus claimed the throne, but the people wanted to keep their queen, so she sent out her soldiers, and they went. Until today this was the bloodiest war Mayr had ever seen in the 28 days she now lived, and she had seen many a war.

 

Luckily the “Pigeon Brigade” had offered them help, but if it hadn’t been from the emergency drops that the pigeons had done, they would have starved long ago. Arachnus children were constantly on the move, and they would not shy away from eating their enemies, even worse they bragged loudly about it when they sat in their webs.

 

Every time there was a secret dropping all the workers had to run out and get it all in as fast as possible. The queen could only spare a few of her soldiers to protect the workers, and Mayr always felt unsafe on these occasions. Once she had seen how one of her adopted sons was attacked and devoured by a child of Arachnus, and she wished to never see it again.

 

But today all had gone well, and their cupboards were filled again. She was finally finished packing and told her son that they would go out and see if they could find some extra’s to support the movement, after all Mayr might be scared, but she was a worker, and work she would.

 

With little Jant sulking behind her, she walked back through the tunnels, and found a safe passage out of the nest. Immediately her senses told her where to go, and she followed her anglers out of the nest into the direction that she had noticed the faint scent of sugar. Shortly after she discovered the source and was amazed to see that it was massive and sweet.

 

In the distance a neato necro gnomie girl’s voice could be heard screaming about her pixystix, and that she wanted it back, but Mayr didn’t understand what the girl was screaming, and didn’t care either. She attacked the sugary thing and with the acid that dripped from her jaws she managed to work off a piece that she could just about carry. It was a waste to let Jant walk back empty handed, but little ants were not supposed to carry anything.

 

Dragging the loot along she started her way back, and was just on the point where she’d only have to round the corner to see the entrance of the nest, when suddenly a big hairy leg stepped in front of her.

 

With fright she dropped her load, and Jant tried to practise being a brave soldier and jumped in front of her. His little antlers shivered nervously, and he had fisted his legs and waved them in front of the massive spider.

 

From above a thundering laugh came from the spider, and he lifted the little Jant up between his pinchers and looked at him with all his eyes.

 

“So you think you can do something against me.”

 

He thundered with his laugh again, and Mayr screamed and if she wouldn’t have been so worried for her son she was sure she would have fainted. The spider moved the tiny ant toward his jaws, and Jant was wriggling to get free and punch him on the nose at the same time.

 

Of course the spider would probably lose the barely hatched ant in his hollow tooth and wouldn’t taste him at all, but Mayr was still not planning on letting him try. She jumped out and bit the spider in his leg, producing as much acid as possible in the meantime. The spider first didn’t notice anything, and little Jant was slowly transported towards the massive jaws, but then the acid started working.

 

At that moment several things happened at the same time. The spider opened its pinchers and Jant started tumbling towards the ground. The wind picked up very locally, and when Mayr looked up she saw that it came from two pigeon wings beating the air towards them. With difficulty she managed to grab hold of a grass stalk, and as the wind was still blowing fiercely more and more pigeons showed up.

 

Then they started dropping things. At first Mayr couldn’t see what it was, but then it became clear that the pigeons were bombing the enormous spider with their own excrements. Pidgeon poo flew all around the place, and Mayr tried to hide under the grass stalk she was clinging on to.

 

Jant had been blown into a bush, and luckily the branches were holding him back from flying all over the place. More and more spiders showed up now, to try and help the first one, but nothing could be done against the flashes of crap now falling from the sky.

 

Suddenly one of the pigeons came flying down en *whack* one of the spiders was swallowed away. Now all the pigeons came flying down one by one and every pigeon snapped up a spider, and not before long Arachnus army had been swallowed whole by the swooshing pigeons.

 

The great king himself stood on top of the hill and tried to direct his children to attack the flying monsters, but nothing was to be done. Half an hour later the battle was over, and the last pigeon came down and crushed Arachnus himself between its mighty beak. Together they flew away, and all that was left was a landscape that looked more like a gigantic compost heap.

 

Mayr ran over to Jant, and found that he was a bit shaky, but this cleared up quickly when he saw that all the spiders were gone. All the way back he told Mayr how he would be a great soldier, and that he would also fly like them when he would grow up….and sure enough two little stumps on his back already showed the beginning of wings.

 

Soon after the crap from the pigeons was collected, and only a little bit after that a new war had started. The soldiers went on fighting as usual, and the workers went on working as usual.

Edited September 9, 2005 by Sweetcherrie

[Sweetcherrie]

Parasites under our skin, locals complain.

 

“Hold still, this will be over in a minute.”

 

The nurse injected the needle slowly, and when she pulled back the little chemical worm was firmly in place. The child hadn’t even cried much, and she gave it a lollypop.

 

Ever since They had landed, she hadn’t had one moment of rest. They insisted that all should be vaccinated as soon as possible, which in her humble opinion was a ridiculous job, but what They wanted, They would get. It had been clear since the beginning that the world’s leading governments were all behind this project, and if the governments decided something like this collectively…

 

She sighed, tired as she was she really didn’t feel like injecting the next worm, and for a short moment she thought about calling in sick, but They would know, They always knew. Sometimes she wondered how and why they had come here, but one wasn’t supposed to ask. No, one was supposed to follow orders.

 

Back in her days it had been different, back then people still had a voice, people were allowed to disagree, and people were allowed to think freely. Now They were here and all freedom of thought or speech was taken away. It was already dangerous to even think about the old days, if They would find out They would surely come and punish her.

 

The next person in line came standing in front of her. Mindlessly she performed her job, and let her thoughts run freely. Having been a nurse for quite a few years now had taught her hands how to perform injections without her brains having to perform them as well. As the hollow needle pierced the skin she went back in time.

 

“Ssh, I know, we’ll be ok.”

 

He put his arms around her, and held her tight. Today they had gotten the last tests back; it would be impossible to have children ever…at least if they planned to stay together. She had run out of tears to cry, but held on to him and let him shush her to sleep. In his arms she felt safe, and even despite the fact that she’d really wanted children, she would never want them with someone else than him. He was her life, the light in her eyes, and she couldn’t imagine a life without him.

 

The definition of love must be what they had; it simply couldn’t be anything else. The feelings they had for each other were purer than fresh snow, and warmer than the sun. She felt whole with him at her side…if only they would’ve been able to have children together. She closed her eyes, and gave in to the sleep that was taking her back into some childless nightmares.

 

She carefully pulled back the needle, and left the worm behind. It moved slowly under the skin, strengthening its position from within. She knew it was feeding on tissue, but it would be all right. They made sure it was. Unknown to any of their medical standards the worms did a lot of good; it had certainly given her something she’d never expected to have anymore.

 

“By God, you can’t really believe this?”

 

His voice was filled with anger, and disbelief. She had brought the subject up a couple of days ago, and he was firmly against it. Putting something under your skin that was alive and feed off you was not his idea of a good idea, but it would be a possibility for her dreams to come true.

 

The long-term effects of the worm on humans was still unknown, and They could tell him anything they wanted, but he wouldn’t allow them to endanger his beloved without proper reasons.

 

The woman that had just received a worm thanked her with tears in her eyes, and she smiled, knowing full well that it wasn’t all as rosy had people believed it was. The first cases of rot had already set in. Cases where the worms had gone haywire and had eaten them from within. She shuddered at the thought, and glanced over her own arm. Under her skin she could feel the worm do its job.

 

“I beg you, don’t do it. You will forget how to love me, you’ll turn into some freak.”

 

She had looked at him with pure love, and understanding, and had assured him that she could never stop loving him even if she tried. He had shaken his head, and she had entered the little building. Ten minutes later she had come out, and a month later she had gotten the tests back; she was pregnant.

 

“Just make sure you don’t bump into anything the first couple of days. The implant still needs to settle.”

 

Patting the little wound with a piece of cotton wool she motioned the next person to step forward. Almost eight, almost time to quit. They kept them busy, 60-hour shifts were becoming more and more normal, and the people without worms had given up trying to get a job. He had given up on life even.

 

“Why are you so stubborn?”

 

“I refuse to let my life be led by Them, it’s my life and I do with it what I want to do with it.”

 

Their son was growing fast, and she was ecstatically happy, hadn’t it been for the fact that he hardly wanted to look at their son. He felt it was spawn from the devil, and he said it wasn’t normal. He was now sixty years, old and in the passed forty years he had aged normally while she, under influence of the worm, had aged about five. Their marriage was on the verge of breaking down, and she couldn’t care less. Already she’d had intercourse with other wormcarriers.

 

“Moohoom, when are you finished? I want to have my diner now, it’s been two weeks, and I’m sorta hungry now.”

 

“In a moment sweetie, almost done here.”

 

She couldn’t cry when he died, she was long over him. He’d led a lonely life, and his refusal to accept the worm had been his refusal to accept her, and their son. She had never forgiven him for it.

 

“Thank you miss.”

 

“You’re very welcome, could you please close the door on your way out?”

 

The farmer she had just injected had immediately looked a few years younger. She didn’t agree with the worm any longer it had destroyed her love, but at the same time…..it was so wonderful to be young, and stay young.

 

She slithered back to the kitchen, and nudged her son with one of her antlers. He turned around and his featureless face looked at him. From out the black hole that was his mouth came some sounds, and with her trained ears she managed to understand.

 

“I love you mom.”

 

She smiled.

[Sweetcherrie]

Prized ducks set off alarms day and night.

 

“Where did that bird go this time?”

 

Sweetcherrie looked around her room, and checked the fireplace. The phoenix definitely liked sleeping in there, but this time he was nowhere to be seen. She sighed, and hoped for the best. It was true, Troy had been behaving rather strange lately, running off in the middle of the night, only to come back very early in the morning.

 

Luckily the bird had finally learned to control his fiery flames, and he was starting to discover how to use his healing powers. He was growing more beautiful by the day, and was also becoming more responsible. Where at first he’d constantly been sending images of candy to Sweetcherrie, he would now wish her an enjoyable diner, before he would even start his own food, and where at first he’d only wanted to play, he was now calmer and on the whole he was growing up fast.

 

Sweetcherrie had never thought about kids, but Troy almost felt as one sometimes, and she could now imagine how hard it must be for parents to let their children go into the grown-up world. With Troy running off every night she almost felt as if she had a teenager on the verge of leaving the nest, and it filled her with sadness. She walked out the door to enjoy the last sunshine of that day, and headed into the direction of the lake.

 

Sitting at the side of the lake, with only the soothing sound of birds and the water, Sweetcherrie felt her worries disappear a bit. Being lost in thought wasn’t the only reason she didn’t hear Troy until he was right next to her; the phoenix was flying!

 

Gracious and silent he lighted next to her and laid his head on her shoulder to be cuddled. Impressed with what she’d just seen she stroked the bird’s head, and he hummed softly under her touch. So that must have been what he’d been doing all those nights out! Inside she smiled and sent images of love and affection to Troy, and got the same feelings in return….and something else…

 

Ducks? Why was Troy sending her images of ducks?

 

She asked him to explain himself, and all she got was more confused images about ducks and some sort of bird show. She shook her head, and decided that he’d probably met some birds somewhere and was so enthusiastic about it that he wanted to share it with her. She cuddled some more, and then the bird flew off again.

 

Feeling relaxed Sweetcherrie decided to have an early night and walked back to her room. Within ten minutes after she had lied down she was fast asleep.

 

The next morning she woke up feeling all warm and sweating, and the reason was clear immediately; Troy had come back and had curled up against her. The fire the bird was spreading didn’t hurt her, but it did make sure that she was awfully hot. She slid out of bed without waking the bird up, and walked to get a shower when someone knocked on her door. Quickly slipping on a bathrobe she opened the door.

 

“Hello?”

 

A very angry looking man stood in front of her. The man was wearing clothes you would only see at the countryside, including the muddy boots on his feet. Sweetcherrie decided that she’d better not ask him in, and just looked at him inquisitively.

 

“Do you own a firebird lady?”

 

“No sir, I don’t drive a car.”

 

“I mean a proper fiery bird lady, one that flies.”

 

In her head Sweetcherrie was starting to panic, and sighed.

 

“What has he done this time?”

 

“He’s managed to start a revolution under my ducks, miss.”

 

“A what?”

 

“A revolution miss, he managed to convince some of my best ducks that they have the right to fly free, and now all they do is honk day and night to be let out of their cages.”

 

Sweetcherrie swallowed, and looked back in the room….Troy was nowhere to be seen. Of course, she should’ve known he hadn’t only been gone to learn how to fly. By now she started to get a bit angry with the phoenix, and decided that he would get some lessons in obedience when he got back. She turned back to the farmer.

 

“I’m sorry mister it won’t happen again.”

 

“What? But I want it to happen again, my ducks have never scored higher on the shows. Because of your bird they suddenly feel proud of who they are, and this shows when I show them.”

 

At hearing this all Sweetcherrie could do was blink, but the farmer continued.

 

“I would like to buy that bird of you miss.”

 

The only possible reaction to this could be laughter, so that’s what she did; she laughed until she had tears in her eyes, and had to squeeze her legs together so she wouldn’t pee in her pants.

 

“You mean to say you want Troy? He…he’s not mine” She tried to breath in the middle, but found it quite difficult, “besides you wouldn’t like him setting your house on fire mister, here there’s some magical protection at least, but there…”

 

She giggled some more, until she saw how the man’s head had drooped. Sweetcherrie felt a bit sorry for him, and thought about what she could do to cheer him up again.

 

“I tell you what, I’ll speak to him, and ask him friendly not to go back, knowing Troy this will then be exactly what he will do, deal?”

 

He gave her a suspicious look, but apparently realized that this would be the best he would get. He shook her hand, and left. Sweetcherrie laughed some more, and walked over to the shower, mumbling that this was one of the strangest ways to start the day.

Edited September 9, 2005 by Sweetcherrie

[Sweetcherrie]

The cemetery everyone is dying to get into.

 

With her head in her neck she looked at the trees. The leaves waved at her and the sun speckled through them, and left her face freckled with sunspots. The trees were of the kind that was so high you could hardly imagine them ending when you looked up, and their green leaves rustled softly in the summer breeze. All together there were twelve of them, and they were encircling the marble tomb like the numbers on the clock encircled the centre.

 

Rumours said that the statue on top of the tomb wasn’t really a statue, but a witch that had been turned into stone long ago, when the fairies till dances on flowers, and there still lived gnomes in the old estates. Rumours also said that the witch had been turned into stone when she tried to steal away the king’s son by placing an enchantment on him that would make him love her. It was such a romantic story that she just had to come and see it with her own eyes, and here she was.

 

It wasn’t the only thing around worth seeing; all around there were long forgotten artefacts of even longer forgotten times. She had already seen a couple of small temples that were decorated with names of the rich families that had found their last place of resting, and some of the mausoleums were so big that her house could easily have fitted in them.

 

The journey to this place had been long, but it had been worth it. She never again wanted to live through that again, and although this was highly unlikely, she had taken all the precautions possible. She had her own sort of enchantments. When she had arrived the pain was screaming through her body, and for the first couple of hours all she could do was sit still and try to breathe shallowly. It had felt as if every bone on her body was broken, including her ribs, but now she felt tip-top ok.

 

The sun was crawling downwards across the sky, and she knew that she would have to find a place to sleep soon….but first she just wanted to enjoy just sitting here. She had waited a lifetime to get here, and now she wanted to stay here as long as possible.

 

In the distance she heard children’s voices, laughing and gay. What a joy to be a child; careless and innocent, and still able to enjoy the little pleasures that life had to offer. In a way every experience that man gained, only numbed his feelings, and with every new discovery he’d feel a bit less of the wonder he’d felt with the first discovery. She remembered well the first time she had ever left her hometown to travel all the way into the big city. The city had been only two hours from her village, but for her, back then, it had seemed an eternity away.

 

When even the last traces of red and gold had fled from the sky, and the clouds were slowly making their way down she got up, stretched her back, and walked towards where she hoped she could find a bed for the night. The cemetery was quiet now, and instead of walking towards the great entrance gates she walked towards where she knew would be the smaller side entrance.

 

Even in the evening the air in here was drenched with lost voices and everlasting peace. She could almost hear them whispering to her, and some of the voices were all too familiar. She reached the small wooden door, but when she placed her hand on the handle to open it she noticed how it was locked. The guard had probably already done his round and had closed the gate for the night.

 

With a small sigh she started walking back towards the grand entrance, taking a different route now, she knew she would pass the place that was reserved for her; right next to her husband. It had been a while since she had visited the grave; it always gave her the shivers to see the empty spot next to his name reserved for her own, and if possible she avoided looking at it. And though she loved the cemetery, she had hired someone to place fresh flowers on her husband’s grave; the thought simply hurt her too much still.

 

When he had died, part of her had died with him, and she had never felt the same again. He had died too young; not even forty and the truck driver that had hit his car had brought a small fortune of flowers to the funeral. Many times she had thought about…but no, she shouldn’t think about this.

 

There was the grave. The familiar shiver ran over her spine, and she stopped to look at the grave. She ran her hand over the carved out letters of his name, and glanced sideways to where her own name would be….but…

 

Her own name was there! She felt her legs shake, and the next moment she knew that her legs would no longer carry her. Sinking down to the ground, she heard her name.

 

“May, why?”

 

She looked up, felt a bone shift in her battered body, and saw him. Her husband looked at her sadly.

 

“Why May? Why did you do this to that poor train driver?”

Edited August 27, 2005 by Sweetcherrie

[Sweetcherrie]

Beaver attacks man's log.

 

I'm sorry for all of you that can't read this story, but my inspiration led me to write something with this headline that ended up in the Scarlett Pen.

 

For those that can access that forum this is the link.

Edited September 11, 2005 by Sweetcherrie

[Sweetcherrie]

12. Sharpein Commerce Flourishes, Cuban Cigars in Style.

 

 

"By a mistake on a shipping manifest, a shipment of Cuban cigars arrived at Black Star Airbase, Sharpein sources confirmed. The 'exporter'; a man by the name of Voodoo Jimmy, is responsible for the mistake. Despite the mix up, the Sharpein government headed by Presidente Pilocanci accepted the cigars. Several of the cigars have been released to interested members of the Pen. "Since we have no real use for them, we have decided to share them with those in the Pen that may want them," Presidente Pilocanci said in an earlier statement. "Who knows? They may start a trend."

 

(Thanks to YanYanGanaffi who provided me with this )

The walls were closing in on him. The horrid smell of the other inmates entered his nose, and made him feel sick, but he didn’t want to add his own sting to the already acid air. So, he breathed shallowly, and tried to put his mind into getting out of here, instead of going round in circles on how he managed to get in here……he’d never thought a Cuban cigar would manage to land him in jail.

 

On his way to the black market the shadows in this part of the city provided him with enough places to hide, and he made sure that no one would see him. Nowadays it wasn’t good to be seen in this area, people would start thinking funny stuff, and he was only here to get a good deal out of this whole business.

 

It had been going great for the Sharpein commerce lately, and he thought that he deserved a piece of the pie, a big piece as well. Who had decided that that Voodoo Jimmy would have to get al the honors anyways? Ever since he had made that mistake he’d been getting all the dough, and the ladies. But he didn’t mind too much, he was snacking along. In fact, he’d gotten the goods for today from Jimmy himself.

 

It was especially this last thing that he was after, and not just any lady, it was a special lady. Her eyes were like tropical seas, her mouth like a rose petal, and her…no he shouldn’t think of her now. It would only make him lose his concentration, and make mistakes.

 

He slid around the corner, and found the door he’d been looking for. He knocked twice short, then waited and knocked another time. The door opened and a hooded figure asked him his name, after giving it he could slip inside. The hooded figure cast a glance over the streets and when he saw it was safe he closed the door once more.

 

Blue lines were circling up from various corners of the room and the air was heavy with smoke, cigar smoke. He looked around; his eyes searching for that special person who he knew would have the stash. Finally he found him. Sitting on an enormous red, velvet pillow was the boss of bosses, the godfather of Sharpein, the heavenly divine Kingpen. His rolls were falling over each other, and next to him were two poodles with big fans made of peacock feathers that were waving him fresh air.

 

He looked around the room as a king would look around his court. When their eyes met, a short nod followed. Kingpen retreated and he followed into the backroom.

 

“You have them?”

 

“Yes sir.”

 

“Good.”

 

Money exchanged hands, and he left as stealthily as he had come.

 

In the dense space of the cell he let his mind wonder over the love of his life. She had loved him; if it hadn’t been love he had no idea what was. The memories of her scent and body were so vivid that for a short moment he could feel her softness. He pulled himself back to the now with force.

 

He simply had to get out of here.

 

With the money he’d gotten from the king stashed deep inside his pockets he made his way onwards to the next stop. Kingpen had been happy with his special Cuban cigars, they were rare nowadays, at least ever since some weird guy named Bob had managed to crash the cigar market. He didn’t mind though, it had offered him an excellent opportunity to earn some extra money, and get his darling something extra nice for her birthday.

 

He entered the perfume shop, and looked around at the different exotic names; “Catnip”, “Postman”, “Tree”, even “Roll in the Grass” was still available, but he wanted something special. He nodded to the sales lady, and she guided him to a back door, here he was told to wait. Moments later, the owner himself came walking over.

 

“Can I help you sir?”

 

“Yes, I would like the special please.”

 

The owner grinned a pointy-teethed grin, bowed, and disappeared again, only to appear again only seconds later. He carried a golden bottle in his hands, and gently handed it over.

 

“Will this do sir?”

 

“This will be perfectly fine, please rap it up.”

 

The delicate bottle was wrapped up in velvet, and when the gift was ready it looked worth at least a thousand dollars, and this was also about the amount he had to pay. He left the shop with the precious gift in his pocket, feeling happy anticipation to see her face when he gave it to her.

 

He turned the corner, and was hit to the ground. Two policemen were standing over him with their guns at hand.

 

“Hold it right there!”

 

His head was banging, and the bottle had broken in his pocket; the precious liquid inside was wetting his legs.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

He tried to get back up, but was worked back to the ground, and one of the policemen cuffed him.

 

“You’re being charged with murder.”

 

He had no idea what they were talking about, but hoped that once they were at the station it would all be explained, and he resisted no further. At the station however, they didn’t even take the time to listen to anything he said, and he was thrown in a cell without further questions. He had asked for them to listen, and asked them for an explanation, but none had been given.

 

His sweetheart would be so angry with him for being late at her birthday; he couldn’t disappoint her. He stood up and once more started banging the bars of the door.

 

“Let me out!”

 

Finally someone decided to react. A big, fat dog came walking over and rattled the bars of his cell.

 

“Shut your mouth, murderer.”

 

He hadn’t stolen. Why did they keep calling him a murderer?

 

“Excuse me, but what am I being charged with? And what exactly happened?”

 

“Don’t play innocent mister, you know very well that those cigars you gave to Kingpen were poisoned, he died after having inhaled twice.”

 

He felt the blood pull away from his face. He…killed…someone?

 

“You’ll go to your hearing tomorrow, but we don’t treat murderers lightly.”

 

He sank back to the bed, and over thought what had happened. He’d simply bought and sold goods, and those goods weren’t even illegal to sell, but if Kingpen died, something must have been wrong with those cigars. He sighed and leaned back against the wall, he’d find out tomorrow.

 

He knew that somehow he must have fallen asleep, because he woke up with a shock the next morning. He wasn’t given the chance to shave or wash himself, but was dragged into court straight from out of the dirty cell.

 

He was put on the witness stand, and all did their stories. Basically he was charged with murder, and all the evidence was so over clear that he saw no possibility to get out of this. Finally, the judged looked at him.

 

“Do you have anything to say in your defense?”

 

At exactly that moment the door in the back of the court opened, and his heart jumped with relief. His love came walking in.

Seconds later his heart felt as if it would break; just behind her came Voodoo Jimmy. They walked to the front and he put an arm around her as she nestled close against him.

 

He blinked, and looked from the judge at the love of his life, and back.

 

“No your honor.”

 

The judge had followed his stare, but didn’t say anything about it, instead he bid people to get up and hear the verdict.

 

“This man has murdered The King by knowingly selling him poisoned cigars, he…”

 

The judge’s voice droned on, but he could only look at his love. She was kissing Jimmy now, and hadn’t even looked at him once. He was silently wishing he’d had one of those cigars now. He wanted to die, and didn’t care anymore what would happen to him, they had betrayed him.

 

“….of 15 years in prision.”

 

The hammer came down. It would mean life for him, but he was dead already.

Edited September 17, 2005 by Sweetcherrie

[Sweetcherrie]

Sleep can save rare rhino.

 

At this hour the zoo was still, the monkeys were still asleep in their caves, and even the normally so loud chattering of the exotic birds was subdued. Matt loved these hours of the day; no visitors yet, and all around him the calm breathing of sleeping animals. With a relaxed pace he walked passed the cages, and stopped to pat one of the ponies that had stuck its nose over the fencing.

 

From the outside Matt looked utterly calm, but inside a storm of excitement was raging. Today the latest acquisition would arrive; a rare, white rhino. The animal had been spotted in a circus and the director had sent out men to ensure the zoo of this rare creature, and today, finally, the rhino would arrive.

 

Ever since he’d been a kid, he’d wanted to become a rhinologist, and though all the advisors had said that he would not be able to make it through his studies, sheer determination had pulled him through. Hours and hours he’d been studying alone in his room, and he still read everything there was to read on rhinos…and now he would get to meet one of the rarest species of all. The nights before he’d had difficulties to even sleep, but he didn’t feel tired at all; adrenaline was pumping through his body, and kept him wide-awake.

 

The truck with the animal would arrive in about twenty minutes, and he had prepared everything with the same care as one would prepare the arrival of a newborn. Whistling happily he rounded the corner towards the gate where he would wait for the truck to arrive when his phone rang. A little annoyed about being called now he wanted to fully concentrate on what was coming he picked up.

 

“Hello?….yes…yes…no! What happened?….Yes, of course…I’ll be there in five minutes.“

 

Matt ran back to his car, and within the five minutes he was at the scene of the accident. The truck was lying on the side, and the backdoors had slammed open by the power of which it had crashed into the trees. Inside the cage with the rhino in it was open, and the poor animal was lying on its side. Blood was streaming out the side where it had been hit by some flying object.

 

Matt looked in its eyes, and it was almost as if it was begging him not let him die. It wanted to live, it wanted to breath and run, and walk free, and….Matt’s heart was beating fast, he felt so sorry for the poor thing, something had to be done.

 

From the trunk of his car he took the blowpipe and the sedative arrows. Quickly he shoved one in the pipe and walked back to the animal. Ten minutes later the rhino was fast asleep and they could start to get the animal out of the wreck. Matt left others to deal with the police and made sure that the rhino got all the best care that they could provide.

 

They transferred the sleeping animal to an open trailer, and with haste they brought it to the medical centre of the zoo; there, the medical specialists did all they could to save it. The right side of the animal was torn open entirely, and they had difficulties to sow the tough skin back together.

 

All this time Matt was pacing around in the waiting room, in his state they wouldn’t let him inside the operation room, and after he’d bitten off all his nails he’d started pacing. The carpet was showing the wear of thousands of feet that had done the same before him, but Matt didn’t notice anything about his surroundings. With his right hand he kept pushing his glasses up against the bridge of his nose, and a red line had appeared already.

 

He was just about to turn around again to pace back towards the door, when one of the surgeons came out of the operating room.

 

“and?”

 

His voice was tense, as tense as he felt, as if he was a jack in the box that could be let out any moment.

 

“He can survive…but we’ll have to keep him asleep for a while….at least a week. His heart would not be able to stand anymore stress at the moment.”

 

Matt gasped, never before had this been tried with a mammal this big. It was already risky enough to anaesthetize an animal this big, to keep it asleep for a week, or more, was downright ridiculous. The surgeon must have seen the expression of disbelief on Matt’s face.

 

“It will be risky, but it’s our only chance.”

 

It looked as if he wanted to say more, but he closed his mouth again and turned away to make his way back, but Matt stopped him.

 

“Can I…can I go and see him?”

 

The surgeon turned back and nodded.

 

“But be prepared, he won’t look pretty at the moment I’m afraid.”

 

Matt swallowed hard, and followed the man back inside. There were tubes sticking out the rhino to drain abundant fluids, and a pump was at the same time making sure that it kept breathing and asleep. A lump appeared in Matt’s throat, the mighty animal looked so helpless, and in those moments that they had looked into each other’s eyes a bond had been forged. He simply had to survive! he had to!

 

A week went by, and the rhino slowly recovered, but the surgeons said it would be better to keep him asleep for a few days longer. Matt visited every day, and if possible twice a day. A few times the rhino balanced on the edge of death, but every time the medical staff managed to pull him back to life’s side again.

 

When ten days had passed the medical team decided that they would try to wake the rhino up. They had baptized him Brady by now, and they would slowly bring Brady back to the waken world by graduately lowering the amount of anaesthetics used. They transported the animal to an environment where it would be safe for him to wake up, and started the procedure.

 

One kept checking its heartbeat, and another verified its breathing. They all held their breath when the chief surgeon said that this would be the point that he should start waking up. The only sound heard was that of the breathing pump, but nothing else happened.

 

The beep of the heart machine was still regular, but the rhino didn’t move, and then all happened at the same time. The heart machine flatlined, the breathing pump stopped pumping, and all the people from the medical staff started running around to do what they could to save the animal.

 

Matt, who had been watching, felt his insides pull together, as if someone had tied a rope around it and slowly pulled it tighter. After all they had done, this couldn’t happen, it simply wasn’t allowed to happen.

 

After half an hour of hard work, the head surgeon called the time; the rhino had passed away. At first they wanted to dispose of the body in the usual way, through the burner, but Matt objected heavily. He felt that Brady deserved a more dignified treatment; it wasn’t as if he was just an ordinary animal. He managed to convince the management, and they allowed him to bury the animal in a quiet place at the back of the zoo.

 

It wasn’t easy to dig a hole large enough to fit an animal this size, but in the end they got it done. The day that they buried Brady, Matt felt dead inside. The strong ties that had come into being during that short moment of connection when he had looked straight into the mirrors of the animal’s soul had been cruelly ripped. He cried shamelessly about the death of this majestic animal; king amongst his own kind, and wished they had never brought him over. They should have left him where he was happy.

 

His phone rang, and he cursed as he picked up.

 

“Yes?”

 

It came out rather harsher than he had meant to.

 

“What? Where?…..really?…wow, yes, of course I’ll be there in about an hour.”

 

He hung up, and sped off. The director had called that they had found a rare rhino somewhere in a distant zoo in Africa; a female white rhino, very rare, very rare indeed.

Edited September 9, 2005 by Sweetcherrie

[Sweetcherrie]

Time slowed down for maintenance.

 

She stood on that lonely station,

watched the trains pass her by,

slowly lifted up her hand, and

wiped the tears away she’d cried.

 

With the tears the years of learning

were gone, and time had come

to make a new start, right from

deep inside her heart hummed

 

a song long forgotten, long lost

into the realms of tomorrow.

Where time had stopped, and

slowed down for maintenance.

Edited September 10, 2005 by Sweetcherrie

[Sweetcherrie]

Morning Glory.

 

Lost and alone

Pearl between the pigs

Silver ray of sunlight

Clouds of dawn

 

Night retreats

Diamond for the dogs

Grey on the pillow

Insomnia sleeps

 

Gold left behind

Fluke for the flocks

Spirit fought down

Bleak refined

 

OOC: I've been tweaking this ever since Appy gave me the headline, I might still make small changes, but for the moment I'm not too unhappy with it

Edited September 2, 2005 by Sweetcherrie