GrueberFest '06: R4 - "The Twilight Country" (749 hits)
Category: NoneLabels: Contests
Rating: 1.75 on 16 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by kaos-king (antius777) (View user info) at 2006-10-22 18:06:27 EDT
Life can change in a second.
This experience that we all call existence is made up of so many events strung together, moments that we both have control of and some that we don't. Sometimes these events are all intertwined, but often they are just random little occurrences that make up our mundane travel through this finite time we have here. The blue jeans you put on this morning, that was not fate. We are fallible, feeble creatures floating on a rock near a small star, but that does not stop us from dreaming majestic. However, such delusions of grandeur can have consequences and we can occasionally find something slightly higher stepping in. Call it destiny, if you will... regardless, is the change.
We are in a barren stretch of desert in Nevada, about thirty miles out of Reno. There is nothing here but dirt and an occasional piece of dried vegetation. Perhaps there is an animal or two, but let's not pay too much attention to them. At a quarter after seven in the evening, the sun is starting to set, but the light still perfectly illuminates the scene before us.
We have two cars that have wrecked into each other. One is a black Monte Carlo with a single inhabitant and the other, a tan Range Rover with four inside. Now, were we to cast blame, we would have to divide it equally between the two drivers. The father in his SUV was distracted by the mischief of his two boys behind him. And Mr. Monte Carlo? Well, he really should have stopped for more coffee.
The two vehicles were traveling directly at each other, both weaving just enough into the other lane to clip. The impact was immediate and hard, both cars sent spinning around on the highway. Miraculously, neither flipped or exploded or any other such dramatics.
And now, let us watch as Jeffery Palmer awakens in his Monte Carlo to discover a few bruised ribs and a broken wrist. Moaning, he lifts his hand to his neck, only to yelp out in pain. His arm went out to brace himself at the last instance before the crash and the joints below his left palm are paying for it. Sensible for once in his twenty-seven years, he had his seat belt on. Unlatching it as he opens his door, he falls from the car to the pavement.
Jeff lays on the ground for a minute trying to hold in the sobs of hollow pain. Finally, he climbs to his feet and glances at the front right of his car, only to see that it is smashed beyond comprehension. He can't fathom that he isn't more injured. He peers across the highway to see the tan Range Rover sitting on the road embankment. There is no movement from the other vehicle.
Jeffery Palmer has quite a situation on his hands. For multiple reasons.
Unsure what to do, he turns around to go back to his car to retrieve a cigarette to help him think. Needless to say, the sight of teen age girl now sitting on the hood of his Monte Carlo, her legs dangling off the undamaged left side, has taken him a bit by surprise. At just about any other time, this young lady would be a welcomed vision; red hair pulled up in two stubby pigtails, blue eyes and just the trace of freckles across her nose, a white "wife-beater" tank top, a plethora of bracelets, pleated royal blue and black skirt, knee high white socks, and trendy high heeled combat boots.
She blows a large, round pink bubble of gum and winks at Jeff.
"Um..." starts Jeff.
"Seems you've had an accident," states the girl, chomping on her gum.
"Yeah, where did you..."
"What a predicament. I like that word. 'Predicament.' Rolls off the tongue real well," she says, punctuating her proclamation with another bubble.
"Were you in that SUV?" Jeff asks. "Are you all right? Is there anyone else in there?"
"You're not really concerned about that," she says. "You're concerned about the situation with what's stuffed in your trunk."
This is when Jeff's eyes get very, very wide.
"What ARE you gonna do about that butchered body in you trunk, Jeff?" The girls asks in a voice much the manner one would ask another to pass the salt.
"Oh god," Jeff heaves, "You've been following me! The Buchiccio's sent you!"
The girls says nothing and just cracks her gum.
"Listen, I'll take care of this! Just bring your car around and we'll move the body into it and I'll..."
"What car, Jeff? I don't see a car."
Jeffery Palmer looks around, and indeed, realizes that there is no other vehicle in sight.
"Okay, then we'll... wait. How did you, how did you get out here?" our friend Jeff mumbles.
"You're driving out of Reno with a severely dismembered body in the trunk of your car, Jeff. That must be some gambling debt you've racked up. How much do you owe them now? Almost a hundred grand, isn't it? You're lucky you're not distributed among eighteen small garbage bags," our strange girl replies.
Jeff has nothing to say to this, as he is most flabbergasted.
"Life is a funny thing," she says. "It can change so fast. Sometimes for the better, sometimes for the worse. And sometimes Jeff, it just changes."
"Who... who are you?" Jeff tries. "Am I dead? What the fuck is..."
"You can call me 'Adrian' for now," says the girl, a brief desert wind blowing her skirt around to show even more pale leg. "Dead? Well, it's a complicated situation. You should really talk to Sagbata about any future endeavors."
"What the fuck are you talking about?" Jeff asks slowly.
Adrian points west towards the setting sun. The giant ball of flame that lights and warms planet Earth is dropping over the horizon creating a myriad of colors in the sky, the stars fighting their way to shine in the heavens. Out in that direction there is nothing but desert, miles and miles of barren land that stretch on .
"You, you want me to wander out THERE? Forget it, honey. I'm not going anywhere."
"Jeffery, you don't understand; you're already there. You just need to see Sagbata," states Adrian simply as she heads towards the back of the Monte Carlo.
"Wait, what are you doing?" exclaims Jeff.
"I'm expediting your journey in a very ironic fashion," smiles Adrian, kicking the car's back tire.
The black Monte Carlo begins to shake, the rumble emanating from its tail end. The car thrashes about so bad the tires are lifting up off the ground and the vehicle almost threatens to flip over at one point. Then, as if giving birth, the trunk splits at it's weakest seam near the bumper and white slugs come lurching out. But they are not slugs. They are the eighteen body parts of a deceased mob associate who had been killed, butchered, and each piece wrapped in a kitchen-style garbage bag.
The body parts squirm with life, perhaps each with a mind of its own or maybe working on some rudimentary system of connected thought. It doesn't matter. They bounce, crawl and claw their way about the dirt, dragging in their plastic restraints and only the bits of duct tape holding the horror within secure. Regardless, flashes of flesh begin to creep through as they scramble about the desert floor, thick congealed blood like a syrup leaving small drops.
Jeffery Palmer was already screaming when the eighteen body pieces came lunging after him.
Fingers dove into his shirt sleeves and toes curl up around his pants pockets. Teeth clamp down on his belt and rib bones pierce into the cuffs on his jeans. The body parts drag, push and prod him at an incredible pace out west into the desert, his screams disappearing as the sun does.
"Welcome to The Twilight Country," says Adrian as she climbs into the wrecked Monte Carlo.
Idly wondering what Sagbata has in store for him, she spits out her gum and restarts time.
* * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Jeffery Palmer is crying now, face first in the dirt. He does not remember when he awoke, only that he is in pain. It is the pain that allows him to remember and believe the events that transpired before he lost consciousness. At the thought of those... things... touching him, kidnapping him, he begins to cry harder.
"Do you plan on laying there weeping this entire time? I'm just curious."
Jeff rolls onto his side to see an elderly black man sitting cross-legged a few yards from him on a worn bathroom rug. The man is completely naked, with an enormous gray afro and he seems to be playing in the dirt. Directly behind him, a large scarecrow stands perched overlooking the whole absurd affair.
"If you are quite finished, we have things to discuss," says the older man.
"Are you... are you Sagbata?"
"Yes. 'Sagbata' was a name of an ancient African Earth god."
"So, so does that mean you're a..."
"No. It's just a name," says Sagbata. "I would have built a fire, but McKiernan wouldn't have approved."
"McKiernan?"
Sagbata juts a thumb over his shoulder at the scarecrow. "Our witness in these events."
"Your scarecrow is named 'McKiernan?"" asks Jeff incredulously.
"Oi, you lil' shite! I donna belong te' no man, less o' all teh Darkie here, innit?" swore the scarecrow McKiernan as it turns to look at Jeff.
Jeff rubs his face hard and says nothing.
"Don't mind him, he's a very unpleasant fellow," says Sagbata.
"What is going on," sighs Jeff.
"We are currently running perpendicular to Earth. We are in The Twilight Country," said Sagbata. "Mystics and philosophers have spoke of it since the dawn of thought. A legend, a myth, some times even a prayer. It is a question that holds the multitudes back, the unanswerable. It has had many names, many purposes."
Sagbata continued. "When we dream, we dream of more. We instinctually know that there is more to this. The Atheists call it the Power Cosmic. A universal equation that equals eternity. This more, this eternity, this infinite. We have so many names for it. The Sea of Quiddity, the Unbearable Meta-Cosim, the Numena. The untapped portions of Chaos, those building blocks of reality. Here is the home to wonders indescribable and terrors unpronounced. An omniverse of potentiality."
"Okay," says Jeff drawing out the word for a long second. "What does this have to do with..."
"Shut up," says Sagbata. "Then there are the doors. Portals to more, they have been called The Bleed, The Watch Points, The Scion Gates. We sometimes call them The Thin. Places where the Quiddity Seas have shores that reach into our world. Spots where the Meta-Cosim shifts against us. Locations of Numena that have touched our Phenomena, our physicality. Points where the Power Cosmic has more variables to the Great Equation."
"Here we have both worship and fear. Theology has based its afterlife on such a concept. From these doors, we receive our visions of Heaven and Hell. The Blessed and the Infernal. A residence to angels and demons and all that is in between. Perhaps even the resting place of Gods. Grand armies of higher thought wage war with denizens of emotions we can not categorize. Eighty-two senses, billions of colors, the sound of light and the scent of darkness. The arms of Divinity wrapping around you."
"Sagbata..." tries Jeff
The older man ignores him. "Humanity has long experienced this. It is here that we touch the More we so drastically need in our mundane lives. Such events that occur at these places in time, some have been documented. How our congregation of mankind have witnessed the other side of Chaos. The ordeals and trials. Wishes granted and nightmares come to life. This is the true way."
Sagbata rests back on his haunches and peers at Jeff as if waiting.
Jeff stares at him with wide eyes.
"Ah Jaysis, the fookin' lad be a 'tard," says McKiernan, shaking his head.
"Sagbata always does this," says Adrian as she appears from the encroaching eastern darkness. "No one knows how to take his speeches at first."
Finding a stray piece of garbage bag that had been discarded by the undead body parts, she unfolds it and lays it down on the desert ground. Jeff is repulsed for a moment that she would touch any thing that had come in contact with those nightmares. Then as she finds herself a seat, he catches a glimpse up her skirt and realizes she's not wearing any thing beneath. His teeth clamp together and he quickly looks away, but not before he sees her smirk at him.
"When ever you two have completed your little mating ritual," grunts Sagbata.
"It's simple," Adrian says, giving the old black man a dirty look. "The doors to The Twilight Country must be watched over to ensure there is a balance. The faith of humanity is what keeps the realm alive and if too much leaks out, humanity will come to know truth instead of having belief. Without belief, mankind would wither away."
"And... and you, you want my help?" asks Jeff.
Sagbata and Adrian look at each other. McKiernan just swore.
"It is not that simple," says Adrian.
"We have no choice in who The Twilight Country desires, nor do we have any control over its practices to ensure a certain... quality," Sagbata says cryptically.
"Well, do I have a choice in this?"
"Of course," says Sagbata, "the choice is this or death."
"Fuck! Then I choose working for The Twilight Country!" exclaims Jeff.
"Again, it is not that simple," says Sagbata as he shakes his head. "Your previous life has already been erased. Adrian took care of the situation at the crash, and all record of your previous existence has been wiped clean. You have nothing to return to, understand that."
"Okay, so... fuck! Why can't I just start doing whatever for you guys now?"
"Because, Jeffry Palmer, you must now win your new life," speaks Adrian in a quiet voice.
All those assembled sit there in silence for a moment, letting the gravity of Jeff's situation sink in to him.
"Think on this o' bit, lad... if 'n ye lose, then nae be anyone te 'member ye!" grins the scarecrow.
"You really are a bastard, McKiernan," sighs Adrian.
"Aye, I am wee one," chuckles McKiernan.
"You have spent the best part of your adult life as a gambler, Jeffry Palmer," says Sagbata. "Your greed has driven you to excess and you've done horrible things to continue your addiction. Are you willing to gamble for the ultimate prize, for the greatest of stakes? Or shall you merely admit defeat and slip silently into the abyss?"
Jeff closes his eyes and rubs his temples fiercely, wishing he had his cigarettes.
"What's the game?" he finally asks.
"I need a 'yes' or a..." begins Sagbata.
Jeff looks up directly into the older man's eyes. "What's the game?" he says more firmly.
Sagbata nods and turns to Adrian who tosses him a deck of playing cards. He glances through them and pulls out the two Joker cards. Shuffling the deck he watches to see any reaction from Jeff - there is none.
"Would you like to shuffle them or have anyone else do it?" asks Sagbata.
"I trust you, you're the dealer."
Sagbata shuffles the deck for a bit longer then cuts it. Laying the cards down on the ground, he removes the top card and places it face down before Jeff. It is a nine of hearts.
"Now, you must draw a card higher than this to be accepted among us," states Sagbata.
"You're fucking kidding me," says Jeff, his mouth agape, as McKiernan cackles in the background with laughter.
"An eight or below, you die as you die as you die. However, for each number successively nine and above..." Sagbata trails off.
"We are in The Twilight Country," whispers Adrian, "It is judging you and guiding you hand."
"So," says Jeff as he reaches for the deck, "less a game of chance, than a game of fate?"
Sagbata and Adrian glance at each other, surprised at Jeff's statement and demeanor.
Without looking, Jeff expertly shuffles the deck with one hand, flipping the cards around his fingers in an almost magician-calibar manner. He pauses only to balance four of the cards on his finger tips for a few seconds, then dropping them right back in place into the deck. They spin, they whirl, the cards dance in Jeffry Palmer's hand.
"These House rules are bullshit," Jeff says as he cuts the deck and taps the top card in such a way that it snaps over on itself.
The three other individuals present stare at the card in awe.
Here in The Twilight Country, you never know what to expect. Fate is a funny and fickle thing sometimes and that's only because humanity believes it so. Things that seem so random or mundane are secretly divine wishes. Perhaps not everyone is destined for greater things, or maybe... just maybe, those ordinary and average days are being perceived by something on high and are appreciated for their glory. You and I can never truly know, and that's the thing about belief; it keeps us guessing.
But there was a scarecrow out in the desert of Nevada early one evening, who watched a former gambler turn over a playing card as the young man started to glow with a white light.
And that scarecrow simply said, "Oh, bloody 'ell."
User Reviews
Submitted by Anansie (user info) at 2006-10-26 23:11:53 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Orgasmatron (user info) at 2006-10-26 22:33:56 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Kind of Gaiman-ey.
I love the worlds you come up with in your head.
Submitted by inion_de_trua (user info) at 2006-10-26 09:34:51 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
i was going to give this a 1.5 but then this line: "two stubby pigtails, blue eyes and just the trace of freckles across her nose, a white "wife-beater" tank top, a plethora of bracelets, pleated royal blue and black skirt, knee high white socks, and trendy high heeled combat boots. " made me give you a two. purely because i have had sex in that outfit except the skirt was blackwatch plaid because that's what my highschool made us wear.
you accidently had an unfair advantage over jack.
Submitted by Stagger_Lee (user info) at 2006-10-26 00:35:35 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
1.5. I prefer Jack's. Sorry mate. His was a little more Halloween, too.
Submitted by Stagger_Lee (user info) at 2006-10-26 00:24:23 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
+1 material until the end. I liked the end.
Submitted by Crystle (user info) at 2006-10-24 17:32:29 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Hmm....
nice imagery.
The white slugs made my skin crawl.
Submitted by GodChicken (user info) at 2006-10-23 17:46:20 EDT (#)
Ranking: 1
Seemed a little... twilight zone episode-like? Good, but not quite up to par with some of your other stuff.
I have a desert story too. I think you'd like it. http://www.ubersite.com/m/66395
Submitted by Sacrilicious (user info) at 2006-10-23 15:32:54 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Ace story. +2 Quiddity.
Submitted by CaptainThorns (user info) at 2006-10-23 09:17:20 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by ghola (user info) at 2006-10-23 00:51:22 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
i love ponies.
Submitted by Bigmike (user info) at 2006-10-22 23:20:51 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
You get a two kaos, because this story plot does indeed kick ass.
I enjoyed this very much.
However.....
You have a few tense issues in the first half of this story. I noticed them and they irritated me.
Also.....
I'm not sure how to read this sentence:
"Call it destiny, if you will... regardless, is the change."
Is it just me or is there a typo or omitted word in here somewhere?
I'm stressed out trying to figure out if maybe I'm going a little too OCD about this sentence.
Otherwise, great idea and plot. Easy to read for the most part, and some fun images.
Submitted by TheUniter (user info) at 2006-10-22 22:01:16 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Good.
Submitted by Bubba2341 (user info) at 2006-10-22 21:37:24 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Caul, why can't you keep your asshole comments out of the contests?
You are an asswipe.
Good job, Kaos...
Submitted by Caulaincourt (user info) at 2006-10-22 21:26:47 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by kaos-king (user info) at 2006-10-22 20:03:13 (#)
Ranking: 1
Jay, I'm on enough medication to kill a small pony, as I've said multiple times before on here.
One of the side effects of being on heavy anti-psychotics is a much decreased libido. Often, I'm intellectually aware of beauty and sexuality, but I find myself unable to care. The last time I had sex (in March) I found myself thinking, "Meh." In the last 5 months, I've had seven different women stay the night with me, but nothing overtly explicit has happened. Some of that is obviously due to the women, but mostly it was me.
Currently I'm in this complex relationship with one of my best friends. She's beautiful, brilliant and I'm in constant awe of her. We make out when we're bored and she's stayed the night multiple times. There's a part of me that feels the overwhelming need to get her naked, then there's the majority of me that's half asleep.
The point of all this???
===
I can answer that. Kill yourself! :-D
(seriously, u suck!)
Submitted by St_Jimmy (user info) at 2006-10-22 21:02:19 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
This was weird, but good. Some of the wording is a bit odd. For instance "severely dismembered", as opposed to moderately dismembered, or perhaps just a little bit dismembered?
Submitted by ghola (user info) at 2006-10-22 18:18:19 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment