Part 1: Chapter 7

Chapter 7

What a day. S.Z is a confusing man...I just don't get it. Anyway, MassDeath Day is tomorrow, and I honestly don't know what side I'm on. Last year S.Z and I hid in this underground hideout we discovered for MassDeath Day. But I don't think I want to do that this year. This year, I think I'll try something new. Something bloodier. Something more exciting than staying hidden. Something like joining in on the fun. But I don't know just yet which side the blood will be spilled on my behalf. We'll see. -Journal Entry 4, October 10, 2101

The blood-stained walls of Christ Fellowship Church were crumbled to the ground. Well, it would probably be referred to more as a junkyard than a church; a church for the earthworms maybe. S.Z kneeled on both knees in front of it, and Lora stood behind him. He was crying.

He wiped his eyes and turned to Lora. “Lora. Please listen. I, uh, I want you to know that I still trust you, and you’re still very deep in my heart. You’re still a friend to me. I know, uh, I know you don’t believe what I believe or hope in the same way I hope, but that’s okay. Because I believe your heart will be turned in the right direction soon enough.”

Lora shook her head and turned her gaze from his. “No, S.Z! Don’t preach to me like I’m the devil!” Her eyes widened and she shook her head faster. She was enraged. “You know what, S.Z?! I hate you! And you know what else?! I’m done! I’ll see you on MassDeath Day, S...Z...WRITE!”

S.Z looked torn. His breaths became stiffened and hoarse. “Don’t do this, Lora. No, please! I know you still have some goodness in your heart! No, please Lora! Don’t become one of the...one of the People.This world will burn to the ground in ashes unless something is done! We can do it, Lora! This world may be corrupt and lost but we can change that! I believe that, Lora! No, please, please!”

Lora was gone.

Her eyes watered as she walked away from the man who used to be her best friend. She didn’t know why, for she had meant each word she spoke to him.

She kicked up dust as she walked, suppressing a menacing glare on her face. She was going to the Pike. She needed a place to let loose and murder some of that nasty little stress within her. And the Pike would certainly give her that. Or at least Gruffy would.

Lora hadn’t gone to the Pike in a long time. It was more like a sinner's clubhouse, and Gruffy was the life of the party. But he was also one of the People. But of course, so was everyone else that went there. Lora had last visited the Pike when she felt the most lost.

She looked down the street and saw many normal-looking doors, and right in the middle there was a nasty, black door with blood splattered on it. It wouldn’t take a Person to figure out which one was the Pike. She reached the door, and excitedly burst open the door. She was instantly ambushed by earsplitting music and the sound of wood clashing with wood. Three legged tables covered the room, and dirty faces could be seen throughout. Dirty in every which way. In appearance and in character. Lora could practically see their dirty minds: black and shriveled, with fire blazing about within their heads.

A smile covered her face. “Oh, S.Z. You don’t know what you’re missing.” She cracked her neck as she thought. “S.Z Write...get out of your stupid, fantasy world. This is the way the world truly is, and you’ll be happier if you face the truth. This is the truth, not the crap you believe to be such. Oh, S.Z.” She shook her head and looked back at the door. No turning back now. It was time to have some fun.

It is a big raucous of mostly drunken men, but some women, with their eyes bugging out as big as a watermelon. Lora saw a tall glass of beer on the black, wooden counter, and she snatched it, spilling a quarter of it on the ground. Then she heard Gruffy’s voice loud over all the others.

“Ei! How’re all you skulks doin’ today, uh!? Ready fer MassDeath aren’t ya? Look at the Person sittin’ beside ya. All o’ ya. Find that Person on Death Day and make it yer main priority to get to dem first, uh? Since I ain’t got nobody here beside me...ah, hello there pretty lady.” He was looking directly at Lora. His eyes were misty and looked as if filled with steam. “How ‘bout you and I get to each other, uh? You just walked in here, uh, surely lookin’ for someone to welcome ya to the club. Well, welcome, lass.” He smiled big, showing off his black teeth. “You get to kill me. Try to, I reckon. I mean, look at me? I got a big belly; it’ll be no different than splitting open a watermelon, if ya could get yer hands on one of them.”

Lora remembered the taste of watermelon. Drool began to drip slowly down her lip. “Why would I want to do that?” she said.

“Cause look at me. Ain’t this a face you could kill fer!” He bellowed out in laughter, and the crowd joined him.

“Very funny.” she said.

“Hey, lass, ya wanna play a game we like to take part in around here? It’s lots o’ fun, miss. You’ll find that these skulks surrounding you know what they’re doin’. I ain’t seen yo pretty face in here before...need me to give ya a little refresher?”

“Ok.” she nodded. “I’ll play your game. As long as there’s death in it. I’m pretty stressed out right now; I could use a good kill. A, uh, a past friend of mine took all the fun out of my life. Made it a nightmare. I couldn’t kill for years. But I know I always had a tinge of real life left in me, but I never really used it.”

Gruffy laughed. “Sad story.”  he said. “Alright, miss, here’s how it goes. You or whoever comes on up here, right where I am now. You get to perform for us all. Then you make us laugh. Do whatever the hell you want. Most of us People stick to that; makin’ the rest of us laugh. Because in this game, if the crowd don’ like ya, they’ll shoot ya in the face. I supply the guns. And lass...make it funny, or someone’s gonna pull the trigger on ya. Blood’ll be spilled tonight, but do you want it to be your blood, uh? You look like ya got some fine blood rushing through ya. Wouldn’t wanna contaminate that precious stuff with the dusty floor, would ya?” Gruffy smiled big, glowering his eyes the entire time. Then he pulled out a gun and shot a toothless man with stringy, white hair. “He was annoyin’ me. Who’s next?” He laughed, and the crowd laughed right along with him.  

A short man with a purple shirt rushed to the front. Why would he want to go? Why would anybody want to go? The man didn’t look like he would be alike to the others from the outside, but clearly his insides told a different story. He grinned and began. His voice was loud for his small body.

“So today a customer threatened to smash my face in because I wouldn’t give him a veteran’s discount on his chili. It seemed he’d snuck a few extra helpings of white bread in his day; had quite the belly.” No bullets fired yet. “Anyway, regardless of his age and weight, he swung faster than you would think just by lookin’ at him. That’s how I got this here black eye. But then I poisoned his chili.” he finished.

Cheers and laughs erupted in the crowd. People congratulated him nonstop. They welcomed him off the stage. “Who’s next!” Gruffy shouted.

A scruffy little man waddled to the front. He began to speak. “So let’s say the government came back--” He didn’t get any further. Several People shot at once. He had ten holes in his chest as he fell dead to the ground.

The next two men were killed as well, for their stories were boring and lame. It seemed all the People thought to be funny was when someone undeserving was killed. Similar to the game they were playing.

“Hey, where’s that lass? Let’s let her give it a go!” someone shouted, and all heads turned creepily to Lora.

She gulped as she walked slowly to the stage. What was she doing? Why? “Hello. Uh, my name is Lora.” Lora heard someone c**k their gun. She took a deep breath. “Ok, so you know the past friend I was talking about earlier? Well, he said the most, er, idiotic thing the other day. He told me there is a God, out there--” She motioned to the sky. “--and he believes that this God created the Earth. And that God is unhappy with the way we’re living.” Nothing yet. No shots fired.

Someone from the crowd screamed out, “What’d you do? Didja slice his neck off?”

“I’ll get to that later...um, so anyway, he said this God rules over you and I, and that he created us in his image. It’s crap, I know.” She scanned the crowd. They stared at her blankly, with appalled looks on their faces. Lora felt that was a good sign. “So then I told him he’s talking crap, and I left him and his outlandish dreams behind me.”

The same voice shouted out. “What’s his name? We’ll kill him for you, lassy!”

That wasn’t what Lora wanted. “Um, no, that won’t be necessary. Uh, he’s already living in hell if that’s how his brain works, right? His, uh, his name’s S.Z Write.”

Some of the crowd looked like they agreed with her, but several had a different look on their faces. “What! S.Z Write! I know that bloke! I’ll kill him!” Lora looked at the man who spoke closely. He looked familiar. “Just say the word, Lora!”

Then it hit her. The man was the one in the purple truck. There was no doubt about it; the dark brown hair, the muckiness of his appearance. Why had this man almost killed her the other day in his truck?

She stepped down from the stage, and she was happy to be alive. As the next Person went up, she crept over to the man.

“Hey, what’s your name, man?” she said.

He grinned at her, then answered. “I’m Rick. Rick Zacks.”

Reviews

[Coyote Poetry]

A amazing chapter. Led the reader to dangerous places. I like the ending. Left the reader with visions of fear and happiness to be alive. You set-up the chapter with skill. Thank you for sharing the excellent chapter.
Coyote

[Stars and Whales]

Thanks a lot man! I appreciate you saying that. Means a lot to me :)

[Coyote Poetry]

I will keep on reading later. A very good story. Good plot and strong characters.

[Stars and Whales]

Thanks my friend! I'm going to read some of your work today. If you wouldn't mind, I'd be interested to hear what you have to say about my recent project, "5 Lives." You can find it on my profile. I just finished Chapter 3. Thanks man.

[Coyote Poetry]

Okay tonight. I will read.

[David]

So I think I won't review this anymore. I see flashes of excellent writing but the subject matter isn't my taste.

[Stars and Whales]

that's perfectly alright :) Thank you for your previous reviews and good luck, keep writing!

[Tomoe Tellez]

Well, that took an unexpected turn, which is great! But Alerrann is right, it did seem a little hurried up. I really liked what you did there with Rick, when he appeared and said he'd kill S.Z. I thought "Oh no! His truck crash close to where the shack was.". The scene where they are suppose to say something funny, I like that too and the two examples of what you should do or not, great show, bloody, but great.

[Stars and Whales]

:) Awesome! I know; I have a lot of work in my hands!

[Calibaster]

The argument at the beginning is really forced, and the explanation before is another sign to the reader, "Information—read here" like I've said before, that's bad, weave it in. Weave it all in. Don't just paint it up on a sign. The bar scene was also forced and rushed. Slow it down.

What's up with the word Lass anyway? I thought they were in America? And randomly throwing the man with the purple van back in just added to the confusion. Take it slow.

It was good, but writing can always use work. :) keep it up.

[Bear]

This is to let you know I have read this chapter and will review with/when chapter 9 is posted :~)

[Celie Rose]

S.Z is a very insightful man. It's too bad that they live in a world of death and bloodshed and this is all Lora knows. I understand why she thinks S.Z is crazy. Am hoping that S.Z will be able to reach her heart one day. Rick Zachs, the man in the purple truck. Am curious about Rick Zachs and S.Z. You are doing a great job. Keep writing

[wordman]

dam, a lot of blood shed in this chapter.i could see a great novel,or even a short series on t v
the deeper you go with this write the better it gets..

[Stars and Whales]

:) Thanks!! Means a lot for me to hear that from you!

[wordman]

just a guy from jersey ! my pleasure