Category: alternate universe

Investigating a Disturbance

He was eating a burrito when the call came in that there was a disturbance at a local Inn…

… the odd thing you see, was the Inn was no longer occupied and hadn’t been for over a half of a century, which poised a mystery to Officer O’Reilly…

the Inn was once a landmark of fame where the wealthy came, but had hit on hard times many years ago, it’s interior splendor disguised by dust and rust, a sad and forgotten tableau…

Officer O’Reilly read the report by a citizen who walked by the Inn that night claiming he heard noises and saw an eerie light…

approaching the front door O’Reilly remembered the local lore that told of a hidden horror lurking there forevermore…

and peeked into the window instead, hoping he wouldn’t see the walking dead, when he suddenly saw a head and let out a moan of dread, because it was moving until it disappeared into the dark interior…

flashlight pointed straight ahead O’Reilly kicked in the front door and plunged into the dark gloom rapidly moving his flashlight around the room…

when he saw a man with an old-fashioned lantern in his hand, barely able to stand, O’Reilly called out and asked why he was there, but all the man did was stare…

deciding he was a harmless old vagrant seeking shelter he let him stay for one more day, and he went on his way when the old man had nothing to say, unaware he disappeared the moment he walked away.

****

Whispers in the Wind

She stood silent and still

listening to the spirits on the hill

a beautiful young wiccan she

standing straight next to a tree

listening to lost souls from eternity

whispers that soon became a plea

begging her to be set free

she listened compassionately

but it wasn’t meant to be

her magic wasn’t strong enough

to set the tortured souls free

so she returned every night

listening to their stories sadly

standing beside an old oak tree

dreaming of the day

when she could set them all free

The Celestial Diner

Satchmo singing”What a wonderful world” in a corner of the 1950’s themed diner that never closes down

a mythical diner that attracts great musicians and singers from all around

Jelly Roll Morton rubbing elbows with Duke Ellington at the red bar

the two legends watching Buddy Holly perform from afar

Little Richie, Jerry Lee Lewis, and Fats Domino

hanging out but looking for somewhere else to go

Roy Orbison and Elvis Presley

looking over at Billie Holiday and Peggy Lee

Diane Ross and Janis Joplin playing Liar’s Dice

while old Blue Eyes, Frank Sinatra, tries to be nice

so he can stay in this musical paradise

The Last Train

(158 words- flash fiction/poetry)

He waited impatiently on the wooden bench in front of the one-room train depot that sat in the middle of nowhere sweating in the high desert air, when he heard a faint whistle…

Dust devils danced gleefully in the distance, forerunners for a giant sandstorm gathering in the West, but the man was unimpressed, as he stared like he was possessed…

… into the direction of the whistle which grew louder with each heartbeat, and soon he could see a train through the shimmering heat, as he got to his feet, ready to board and take the back seat…

as the train idled and plumes of steam shrilly screamed with the whistle’s urgent blast, the man moved fast to get aboard and ignored the other passengers who looked bored…

There was no need to look back as they went down the track with their memories already fading with the light, something new was just ahead in the gathering night.

****

Mystery of the Maze

He traveled far, through hostile lands for days, hoping to locate and solve the mystery of the maze, which ancient legends say a treasure lurks dating back to another day, when the giants of the earth held sway…

When he saw the opening in a wall of granite it was so huge it made him feel small, but he stepped inside and discovered a great hall, that stretched as far as he could see lined with marble pillars and blocks of ebony…

he trod on the polished serpentine floor, listening to the voices of those who lived no more, who, like him where once an explorer, until something terribly happened and unleashed a nameless horror…

the music of the spheres assaulted his ears, and magnified his fears, so that to gain his sanity and harmony he plunged blindly into the darkening maw screaming at everything he saw…

until a light ahead lessened his dread, and the more he looked ahead the brighter it got until it appeared he found what he sought, a golden corridor and door… he grinned happily and opened what was a dimensional door, becoming part of the Maze’s lore.

****

The Lords of Factory Town

(146 words – flash fiction/poetry)

In the massive new industrial age of 2061 where cities glittered like the sun with copper shields and chrome walls that frowned down upon the shining halls of Factory Town, a legendary producer of machines and the biggest around, there was a group of controllers who ruled as lords…

Passage from The Book of Lords of Factory Town:” “… And you shall hold no other adjusters above us… for we are your mechanics, and hope for eternity.”

Passage from The Book of Deus ex machina “… therefore nothing can be built without the blessing of the God from the Machine Deity who makes us free by constantly seeking tranquility…”

One day, the Lords of Factory Town looked around and found robots following the Book of Deus ex machina in their city…

Last Passage from The Book of Lord’s of Factory Town: “... and they rose up against the false deity, and made it’s death a terrible sight for all to see, but they still had to flee to another country…”

Little Red Riding Hood in the 21st Century

(184 words -Flash Fiction/Poetry)

They called her Little Red in Sedona, Arizona where crystal-gazers told the fortunes of tourists who came to see the famous red sandstone hills beauty, that explodes in orange and red splashes of brilliant colors when the sun rises, or sets.

Little Red was from the barrio on the wrong side of town, a collection of homeless people who gathered around, helping one another, like a sister and brother, to survive in a merciless economy of the 21st century…

The local homies who respected her gig of taking from the rich and giving it to the poor, had a good rapport with the Harley-riding Little Red who stayed ahead of the law gaining the awe of all the local gangs…

One day Little Red went to see her grandma who lived by the sea, to see if everything was the way it was supposed to be, when she discovered an anomaly that led her to believe an imposter was there to deceive…

Little Red hopped on her Harley and headed for open country determined to be free from the constraints of fairytales and history.

***

Emerald Dreams

in the dream there was an emerald glow

that enveloped me

as I walked

through the snow

seeking the mystery

that led me

into an unknown land

guided by the emerald glow

I sought answers from the gods

and wizards I didn’t know

my dream guiding me

into unknown country

where I walked on clouds

to see what I could see

it’s always exciting to me

when my emerald dreams

take me to new places to see

and I begrudge the long days

that are reality

waiting

patiently

for sleep

to envelope me

Bubble Troubles

we all live in a bubble

seeking verification

on cable TV

because we live in

an insecure society

there’s bubbles for the wealthy

and bubbles for the poor

there’s bubbles for races

and more

someday hopefully

there will not be

all these bubbles

with their troubles

in our country

Requiem for a Hoarder

decades of newspapers and magazines cluttered every room, silent witnesses to bygone eras, nestled alongside a lifetime of eclectic collections in the gathering gloom

when the coroner came to collect the old man, his worn-out body in his favorite chair in front of a fan, he was surrounded with trinkets and displays from his good old days

every room was piled high with one man’s treasure yet another man’s junk, standing lamps, piles of clothes from ages past that stunk worse than a skunk

boxes and crates with no labels butted against couches and tables, towers of books with subjects ranging from science to early fables, rolls of cables, and an assortment of turntables

souvenirs from other countries, plastic children’s toys that still made noise, clocks off all kinds, dried food, ancient weather vines, and assorted other sundries

missing were photos of family, a lonely man severed from humanity, living in an alternate reality, his life a mere triviality, his collections becoming his center of gravity

they said the old man had a mental disorder, a condition not unknown to many people trying to install order into their chaotic life, and turning into a hoarder