8/30/10

The Instance Is Relevant (The Transmogrification Continuous) Part V


The car makes a sudden left, and then another quick left into an ally that ends half-way through the block in an alcove surrounded by the backsides of three to four story old brick buildings. The smoky fog is very thick here, but the lights from street lamps, doors and windows, and the glow in the sky (from what can only be various fires burning within the town), light up the area fairly well. There is a gathering of older men, drinking from bottles, at the back of a particularly dark, drab building. They are dressed in thick long sleeve shirts, heavy duty work pants, and work boots. Most are gathered around a steel barrel containing a low burning fire, while a couple recline on some stairs and a small loading dock behind that. On the black tar roof of said loading dock sits an erudite old man of seventy or so, legs crossed. His eyes are deeply set under a pronounced brow, with white hair and a beard that flows long about his shoulders, chest and back. He is observing in a state of deep repose, sipping from a smoky green bottle.

In the distant can be heard the steady rumble of shouting and yelling with an occasional scream piercing the night air. Loud crashes and the low roar of explosions shake the ground every few moments. Officer Alan exits the vehicle, as his door opens Tanner’s sense of smell is assaulted with the odor of burning wood and chemicals; it seems to him to have gotten stronger. Alan does not seem to notice any of these peculiar irregularities, and slowly walks to stand amongst the gathered group of men and peers up at the white bearded man upon the roof.

“Officer Alan,” he speaks with a smooth raspy voice that is easily heard above all the commotion, even to Tanner and Lendal sitting in the police cruiser. He is not shouting, but his voice carries easily in the air. “What brings you before me tonight?”

“I request an audience with the Two Ladies. There has been a disturbance that cannot be explained, with possible dire consequences. I must bring it to their direct attention and receive their most high advice.”

The man with the long white beard sets down his dusty green bottle, rests his forearms upon his knees, and coolly gazes into the eyes of Officer Alan. “What of the strangers you have brought amongst us?”

“They are witnesses to the occurrence, and one is in illegal possession of two powerful firearms. The Two Ladies will want to interrogate them.”

Interrogate?” Lendal said out loud so only Tanner could hear. Tanner returns his friend’s look of encroaching horror at the predicament they have suddenly found themselves in.

“Very well.” The old man forms the fingers of each hand into two very different signs and rolls his eyes up into his head. A sudden and harsh wind rises up, seemingly from the ground, blowing the fire out and violently rustling the clothes of the men standing about, all ostensibly frozen in place. The old man’s long locks of hair rise about him, ghost-like and whispery, and bright sharp white light flashes within the clouds behind him. For a few moments the intensity of this moment continues, and then dissolves away. The old man’s hair returns to his side and his eyes roll down into place, his wrists go limp and his fingers relax.

“It is done. The Two Ladies will see you. They have already arrived and are awaiting your appearance.”

“Thank you Master Herald, I am indebted.” With that the officer put his hands together and bowed, then turned and headed back to the patrol car. As they drove from chaos infused block to chaos infused block, Lendal gathered the courage to ask some questions.

“What the hell is going on?”

Both officers ignore him.

“How can you two stand by and let your town riot? How can you arrest me if you are not going to arrest these obvious law breakers!?!”

Still nothing but silence from the two men. Disgusted, Lendal huffs and sits back violently in the seat. “Damn it!”

Shortly thereafter they pull into the parking lot of a large early nineteenth century (but recently renovated) tavern, complete with a slanted thatched and tiled roof, and large multi-paned windows. There is also a large yard surrounding the tavern and extending out to the ends of the block, it appears to be of the original woodland of the area, unmolested. The Officers exit the vehicle and each open a backseat door and beckon a young man to exit to him. The boys are not handcuffed, but each has a strong hand placed upon their shoulder and are strongly maneuvered toward the tavern’s front door. Lendal notices that the night’s ruckus is occurring a block or so away in all directions, but seems to keep its distance from the block of the tavern.

The large front door of the tavern was constructed of some thick, strong aged wood, smoothed and polished. A small window containing ornamental iron bars had been placed high up, just above the men’s heads, and a large iron ring knocker is bolted into the middle. Officer Alan grasps the ring with both hands and sends a resounding boom throughout the establishment. Shortly, the squeak and scrape of iron hinges turning in the distance can be heard, and then light shines through the door window.

“Officer Alan?” a resonant, scuffing voice questions rigidly.

“Yes, Ottymer, it is I.”

The heavy door opens slowly with a sustained squeal from the hinges, and standing at its length, peering gravely down upon them, is the most enormous man Lendal and Tanner have ever seen. He is somewhere above seven feet tall, and must be four feet wide from shoulder to shoulder, large tight muscles surely speckled every part of his body underneath his turtleneck sweater and slacks. Ottymer motions them through an engraved archway, into the barroom. Candled chandeliers hang about its ceiling, lighting it with soft white light. Men and women sit at various tables and curtained wall booths, sipping from mugs and glasses, conversing in hushed tones. They pause to observe as the Officers escort the college boys past their tables on the way to the back room. The bar runs along the entire side of the large room, carved and built from the same ancient wood that the front door had been constructed. Leather padding cushions its edges and reaching vines, blooming flowers, demon and fairy faces peer out from the engraved wood. Upon the wall behind the bar is a humongous mirror that stretches from end to end, ceiling to floor. When Lendal and Tanner look into it they see faint reflections within a cloudy vastness with colored mist in the distance, frightened they quickly look away.

At the end of the room is another, larger, engraved archway confined from the barroom with heavy red curtains. Here they pause, and Officer Alan exits through the curtains and is absent for a short while. The boys can feel the eyes of every patron upon them and faintly hear parts of their conversations, which have momentarily grown exaggerated. Alan reappears and motions for them through the curtain. Officer Tom stays behind.

The next room is dark, faintly lit by a sole chandelier with just a few of its candles burning. It is positioned over a large table set in a lush upholstered half-circle booth, at the back of which sits two identical looking feminine figures, both with long straight black hair, and pale, thin features. They are wearing black custom tailored jackets, with white poet collared and French cuffed shirts underneath. Each has a silver necklace about their neck with a clear white jewel set in a silver bezel, it appears to both reflect and consume the light around it.


...TO BE CONTINUED.

8/24/10

The Instance Is Relevant (The Transmogrification Continuous) Part IV


Tanner and Lendal sit on the couch in tense, uneasy silence. Lendal runs the images that the creature showed him through his mind, marveling that things like that can even exist. He convinces himself that he needs to tell the whole truth to the authorities, to warn them of what could be impending doom for the planet Earth. The world must be warned. There is a loud knock on the door, and they jump from their seats nervously. Lendal quickly opens the door and is greeted by Officer Alan shining a pen light into his eyes. He shuts them and tries to shield them with his hand.

“Open your eyes and remove your hand please,” orders Alan.

Lendal obeys, “What’s this about?”

“Just following procedure.” After a few moments of scrutiny, “Please step away. Tanner.”

“Yes.”

“Please come here.” Tanner stands before the officer, and the process is repeated.

“You don’t believe me,” says Lendal.

“It doesn’t matter whether I believe you or not. I have to investigate all possibilities when such a claim is made.”

“I’m telling you the truth. I think we are all in danger.”

“That may or may not be. Can we come in and look around?”

“What for?” asks Tanner, backing away from the officer.

“Procedure.”

“Sure, what the hell. We have nothing to hide,” quips Lendal, immediately regretting his upstart nature.

“Thank you. Tom, you stay down here with Lendal. Tanner, would you escort me upstairs?”

“Yes sir,” a nervous Tanner slowly leads the officer up the stairs. Once they are upon the second floor, Alan begins questioning the young student. “You witnessed these dog-like beasts your roommate spoke of?”

“Ah, I heard them digging. It’s what woke me up.”

“Digging?”

“Well, sort of. Earth being moved, rumbling.”

“Can you validate any of the visual claims that your roommate stated?”

“I cannot, but I know something large and strong slammed into the front door. And I know Lendal was terrified by something other then a couple guys.”

“What makes you sure of that?”

“He had me get…I could just tell.’

“What did he have you get?”

“A baseball bat.”

“That sounds like something you would get to protect you from a ‘couple guys’. Have you two been drinking tonight? Smoking anything?”

“No, no, I have a huge test later today. There’s no way I would party before a big test.”

“Why were you up here when we first arrived?”

“I was putting the bat away.”

“Whose room is this?”

“Lendal’s”

“Can you open the door?”

“Sure.”

“Is the bat in here?”

“Ah…I think so…”

“Don’t you know where you put it?”

“I’ve just been so startled by all this, I’m kinda nervous.”

“OK. Well, I’m going to look around this room a bit. OK?”

“Alright,” says Tanner sheepishly.

Alan opens the door and turns the light on. He takes one quick scan around the room, and then kneels down to peer under the bed with his flashlight. After a contemplative moment, he gets back to his feet. “Tanner, would you please pull out everything that is under this bed for me?”

Tanner knows that his friend is busted, but he decides that there is nothing he can do but comply with the officer’s wishes. He gets down upon all fours and pulls out a couple boxes and then the shotgun and assault rifle which he had covered with a towel.

“Lift that towel for me, please.”
Tanner exposes the weapons.

“Are these Lendal’s?”

“Yes.”
“Follow me into the hall.”
Once out in the hall, Alan calls his partner upstairs, making sure Lendal stays in the living room.

“What’s up?” asks Tom upon his arrival.

“I have a couple weapons. Confiscate them while I escort Tanner downstairs.” Alan and Tanner head down the stairs where Lendal is waiting nervously on the couch.

“Do you know what I found Lendal?”

“Yes.”

“Obviously the assault rifle is illegal in this state, do you have a license for the shotgun?”

“No.”

“I am going to have to place you under arrest. You have the right to remain silent…”



Tanner had been downtown a couple times since he had been living here. That had been during the day while searching for tech items he needed for school. Mostly he traveled from home to school and to a shopping center close by Balentine for food and things. When you decided on Balentine University, you were choosing a serious science college, for serious study. The town was very low key, sleepy even. Tonight, however, there is something in the air, a strange energy that he first picked up as the squad car entered the outskirts.

There is a smoky, gaseous fog floating in the air, just at the town’s entrance, with flashing, glowing lights waving within the brick bearing masonry buildings. The car slows as they enter the town. There are the faint sounds of shouting in the distance and the air carries the smell of chemicals and burning wood. Tanner and Lendal exchange concerned looks. Besides slowing the vehicle, the officers do not seem to notice that anything is amiss. Their radio has been virtually silent, with occasional unrelated bulletins.

The blue and white squad car, with “Aniston County Police” graphically arranged within an enlarged five pointed badge upon its door, carefully maneuvers through the town streets. As they approach the town center, more and more people appear on the sidewalks, although there did not seem to be any cars in the streets. In fact Tanner has not seen one car driving anywhere. Granted it is very late, or early, but then why all the people about, walking, running, some are even dancing. There are those gathered in groups, conversing loudly and gesturing wildly, bordering on bedlam in some areas. Something is up, something is going on, yet the police do not seem to be concerned, or even to notice.

Then Tanner notices something else very odd. Some people are carrying open containers of beer, wine, and whiskey and drinking in plain sight of the police, without fear. Tanner leans over to Lendal and whispers, “What do you think? Spill out from a party or something?”

“I guess, but this is really weird. When have you ever seen cops not want to bust some illegal drinkers?”

“Never.”

They are approaching a flashing, glowing light that is getting brighter as they turn a corner. Then they behold the source, a small department store is on fire, with a mob of people spilled out onto the street in front of it. Men are in the process of throwing a garbage can through one of its large front windows. The squad car drives around the mob and continues on its way.

“Did you guys see that?!” Lendal hollers, not willing to go along with the increasing insanity of the moment.

“Shut up!” shouts Tom, turning to face them, a stone serious look upon his face.

“Alright, alright.” Lendal retreats, not wanting to tangle with the burly little man in the least.


...TO BE CONTINUED.

8/14/10

The Instance Is Relevant (The Transmogrification Continuous) Part III


Very faint, the long high pitched sound of a police siren. The creatures’ triangular shaped ears rise up a bit and start moving to and fro upon their heads. With sudden and exact quick movements, they turn and bound into the distant darkness of the night.

Lendal drops the curtain and backs up, picking up the shotgun, to stand at Tanner’s side. He holds the shotgun at the ready and is shaking and breathing hard.

“OK, they’re gone! Cops scared them off!” He spoke hastily, each word tripping over the other, adrenalin and fear coursing through his veins. “Got to hide these guns before they get here!”

“You don’t have licenses for either one!?!”

“No sir I do not!”

The siren comes to a stop and tires screech out in the street.

“Here Tanner, take the shotgun and hide these carefully under my bed. Put the safeties on first! K?”

“Yeah yeah, I got it, don’t worry.” He turns and walks quickly up the stairs just as heavy pounding comes upon the front door.

“Open up! Police! We got a call about a possible break-in!”

“OK! Coming!” Lendal tries to stall a bit, but then feels that he had better not and maneuvers, hurriedly, to open the door.

He immediately professes relief and gratitude in hopes of resolving the situation quickly. “Oh thank you for coming officers, your sirens scared them off. “

The officer that had knocked on the door was a tall, thin, middle aged man with brown hair, neatly trimmed. Behind him, a shorter, stockier officer stands at the edge of the porch surveying the house and surrounding yard. The taller officer reaches up to the CB microphone that is attached at his shoulder, and rests his thumb upon the push-to-talk button patiently. “Did you happen to see which way they went?”

“Yes, off in that direction.” Lendal points to where the beasts had vanished into the darkness. “They were off in a split second.”

The officer squeezes the push-to-talk button, “Suspects have fled premises on foot in south easterly direction. It looks like they are headed in the direction of Meldoone Manor.”

“Roger that number 9, we have units in pursuit,” responds the operator from the CB radio attached to his belt.

The officer continues his inquiry, “Did you get a good look at them?”

Lendal knows he has to answer quickly and since he has already said that he knew in which direction they had fled, he has to give them some kind of description. “Yeah, they were large black…,” he pauses. He couldn’t lie and cause some sort of racial profiling incident and he brakes down, “…dog-like alien beasts.”

The officer leans back toward his CB microphone in preparedness to relate the description to the operator and stops, drops his hand from the microphone and leans toward Lendal with some aggression.

“What!?!”

“Yes sir. I’m telling the truth. I saw them plain as day right there where you are standing now. My roommate saw them first; they were digging or something right out there in the front yard!” Lendal dispenses the information with some excitement.

The officer turns his head toward his partner. “Tom, see if there is any evidence of digging in the front yard.”

“OK.” The stout, somewhat muscular officer turns and walks down the porch stairs.

“What’s your name?”

“Lendal Mevoul.”

“Have you been living here long?”

“About two months.”

“Your roommate’s name?”

“Tanner Schmel.”

“He’s been here how long?”

“Same. We found this house together to rent for the school year.”

“Students at Balentine U?

“Yes sir.”

“Can I speak to Tanner?”

“Sure.” Lendal turns and shouts for Tanner, whom is still upstairs.

“Alan.” Tom has returned from his front yard investigation. His brow is tense and tight, his eyes wide. “You need to come take a look at this.”

Alan joins his partner and together they walk down the porch stairs into the large front yard.

“What’s up?” Tanner is behind Lendal. He turns from watching the police stride off, murmuring to each other, to face his roommate.

“Did you hide the guns?” he asks in a tense hushed voice.

“Yeah, don’t worry, they are stored away. How’s it going?”

“I had to tell them the truth about what I saw, at least the basics.”

“What!?!” Tanner is suddenly visibly worried. “They aren’t going to buy that, Lendal. They’re going to suspect some sort of mischief.”

“I know. I panicked a little bit.”

“A little bit?!”

“I didn’t have my story straight, I didn’t know what to say. I’m hoping that hole out there will give credence to the weirdness I witnessed.”



Tom is uneasy and is fiddling with is holstered pistol as they walk into the yard. “I know what that kid said is some crazy talk, but wait until you see this.” He pulls out his flashlight, Alan follows suit, and they shine the lights ahead. Within about ten feet or so, in the middle of this massive front yard is a large opening in the ground, at least fifteen feet or so in perfect circumference. There is no dirt, of any amount, outside of the hole. It is surrounded by the lush green grass of the lawn.

"There is no dug up dirt anywhere."

“What about in the hole?” Alan asks as he cautiously approaches the opening.

“Take a look.”

Alan shines his light inside the expertly round opening. The sides are smooth, almost glazed, and as he peers in he can see that the hole tunnels straight downwards well beyond the illumination of his flashlight.

“Either this hole has been here forever, or we are going to have to believe that something extraordinary occurred here recently,” said Tom, right hand still resting on the handle of his pistol.

Alan sighs, “Yes. It looks as though we will. The metamorphosis has begun, it must be related. The kid said the creatures headed toward Meldoone Manor, which is not good.”

“I hear you. What next?”

“First, I radio this in so command is aware, then we return to the house and clearly disbelieve them. We’ll check their eyes for dilation and redness and try and get them to allow a search, and then ask them to come down to the station.”

“Arrest them?”

“If we find something, yes, otherwise, no. We’ll tell them we need to get their story documented, witnessed, and their complaint registered. We need to take them in, regardless”


...TO BE CONTINUED.