Writing Prompt

Atlas was not the type to do drugs let alone take Acid. And through the eyeball at that. A single drop of acid to the eyeball was enough to give this man that has always carried himself in a sober “Pikey” Brad Pitt in “Snatch” by Guy Richie its a throwback gotta see it. Atlas was very much like Brad Pitts character. Mickey. This kid was always down for a fight, and had yet to lose one at least not in my presence or that I had heard. He wasnt cocky about his ability to handle himself and anyone that would try him. Which appealed to all of the girls even though we were not attracted to him like that not because he wasnt beautful but because he was truly just quiet he hardly ever spoke, and he really didnt pay the females any mind. Not in a homosexual type way you can tell just by his demeanor that he was not gay, and if you were able to make it through his “downness” and “respectability, “checklist” you would know he was not gay. When someone new has come into the group who is seemingly going to be permanent over time he silently registers their worthiness to be able to get to know Atlas for Atlas; the Atlas that uses words, his esoteric circle of friends. It wasnt until that night (that was the most we had heard him talk in full sentences around complete strangers.

Atlas’ focus was school, sports and work, he had to help take care of his family. His mom and hsi sister. He was what we call here in Texas a “Homegrown” boy, he was 16 looking like a 30 year old Matthew McConahay. Accent and all. And he didnt like to start shit he just definitely finished it. He was single and a virgin! I couldve ruined that boys life so many times, but it wasnt worth the hassle back then we were kids, and I was in love with an idiot. He was sweet I could not destroy him like that, but he would undoubtedly make some girl happy one day; that is if he made it through this trip. It was going to be a long night.

A drug addicted mama and daddys boy is who I ended up with I should not have chose the latter.

Gideon also came from a upper class family his father was someone who worked for the government stuff he was not really ever able to talk about and I would know i ended up living with them when I was 15 i actually just turned 15 and I was pregnant and moved in with his family, life for me at that time had been fucked starting around 13 I had my first aborion. Key word FIRST. I dont know how i never became a drug addict well in my sense of the word a drug addict, I amoke pot like people smoke cigarettes, but trust when I say I am high functoining, like for instance I m wfiting this memoir right now as I type, I can stop but I dont cuz its so boring, and. i need something to jazz up the monotony of this life. I know you know it we all know it no one is yet willing to do anything about it or people dont think about anyone but themselves and not the future of the world, and how it truly is hanging by a thread.

Phoenix was I guess you can say like a couch surfer, his family was well off too its just that they were strict with Phoenix wanting him to follow in his father footsteos and go into th emilitary. He would risk a week or two on the streets to for a good night of binging any night he would sneak out mostly but if he got caught we knew he would pay the consequences.

Pyxi looked exactly as you probably imagined, “yes like Tinker Bell with shoulder length brown sun streaked bouncy curly hair, with a slight tan blessed with the attitude of a PR at a hot, crowded PR day parade right along with the with the body of one too. Her ass and her face are half the reason she gets away with half the shit she does to men, she is the definition of work with what you got. But hey an ASSet is an ASSet, eiher way you see it at the end of the day when the world goes to shit I would want he ruseful ASS on my team to ASSist me, help me and mines out we help you you help us type ish!

A cottage, in the unknown, huddles under the cold win marching through the countryside. Under bountiful trees shedding their mass, the cottage is made from stones stacked on top of each other and covered in ivy. It’s warm, lantern-lit windows are welcoming, but they are deceiving.

“Bring them to me child,” a flickering voice orders, “And I will fill their heads with wool.” The lady chuckles from her plan. She continues to scheme, “I will loosen you wings thus making you a girl again.” Making a sharp slice, scissor is played with between her fingers. “Go on.”

A blue bird flies out the window in search of souls lost in the unknown.

(I love Over the Garden Wall hehe, and that’s a rock fact)

Tonight on Abracadabra Greed, we explore the sleazy underbelly of the illicit traffic of counterfeit cursed items. This is Kasey Steel and we are drawing back the occultist’s curtain with a one on one interview with outlaw turned agent Paulie “CandyMan” Snickers and his familiar, Alonysius. Our story starts in this bucolic farming community Slipknot, just outside of Topeka, Kansas. Amongst the dairy farms and sock hops, sat Happy Go Lucky a mom and pop toy store that had been in the McCrandall family for generations. Back in 1997, Joseph Appleton was just a shop clerk but he had big dreams. When a shipment of Conversing Connie dolls went demonic, Appleton convinced owner Gertrude McCrandall to sell her devil dolls on eBay. Soon the small toy store was the epicenter for cursed items for haunted house tours and paranormal museums. By 2001, annual sales were over ten million dollars and Appleton had a string of enchanted item storefronts coast to coast. To get up the demand for curses, Appleton can’t wait for the items to find him he needs psychic searchers. That’s where the Candyman steps in.

Candyman: I answered Paulie’s ad on Craigslist back in 2007. I wouldn’t call myself psychic I just a feel for things you. Sometimes things speak to me. Paul and I had my interview at Bellagio over crab legs. He was a great guy, legendary. I scouted for grimoires and witch brooms from Sacso, Maine to Bayonne. Good times.

But Appleton had a problem. The demand was higher than the natural supply. After the release of hit horror films like Vatican Taco and Honey I Woke the Devil, new competitors were capsizing the market.

Candyman: Ventriloquist dummies was going faster than Lamborghinis. So I explained to JoJo demons and evil witches trapped in haunted mirrors are hard to score. But a lot of things are haunted by lessor spirits. Like we came across a Hoover that was endowed with the old broad who used to work at the DMV. All I encouraged him to do was juice up the backstory a bit. Instead of some old battle-ax she’s a trapped seahag who used to trap souls. It’s not lying its storytelling.

Soon the Happy Go Lucky franchise was bigger than ever. At 24 billion dollars in sales annually by 2017 the company was the fifth biggest retailer in the U.S. And Appleton and the Candyman were on a sugar rush. Strip clubs, luxury cars, and cocaine, oh my.

Candyman: Good times, good times

Appleton partnered with retail decor salvage companies like GeeHaws Mart and US Nostalgia peppering North America with faked cursed items.

Candyman: We were partying hard all night and stripping Chili’s and Cracker Barrel store bare all day. Once we got in bed with Home Shopping Networking we were printing money.

But the music died when the IRS came a knocking. The McCrandall family wanted to know where the profits were going. And then tragedy struck.

Candyman: Everything is fine until some demon opens a hellmouth.

One of Happy Go Lucky faked artifacts was real. Not a replica of a 1923 Ouija Board but an authentic board holding the spirit of Anubus also known as the Serpent King, also known as the Destroyer of Worlds and the Father of Chaos.

Candyman: He told me his name was Gary and had been an IT guy for an insurance company in Pittsfield. It’s a shame what happened to Newark. A real shame.

Now financially bankrupt by lawsuits and criminal proceeding, Appleton is a fugitive from justice and Candyman is trying to repay his debt to humanity by collecting the cursed and newly demonized items as a member of PsyCorps.

Candyman: I like helping people and giving back. And I really like not going to jail for tax evasion. Having a familiar/parole officer also isn’t that bad. Isn’t that right, boy. Ow. Ow! Dude stop with the Jimmy Slap I’m sorry. Ouch. I’m bleeding here.

Thank you for joining us for this episode of Abracadabra Greed, this is Kasey Steek.

I thought life was weird enough, until he started showing up.

Stirring cream into my coffee, I heard and saw him for the first time.

He was sitting in my kitchen, on a stool, speaking into the air. “You are about to enter another dimension…” he started saying.

I took a long sip of my coffee and blinked a few times. How the hell did this guy get in here?

“…a dimension not only of sight and sound but of mind…”

He was wearing a suit and tie, had dark hair slicked back in a style I’d seen only in old TV shows. In one hand was a cigarette and a pile of ash on my (just cleaned) floor.

“Dude,” I said. “Why are you here?”

He didn’t answer but kept talking nonsensically about some kind of crazy parallel universe.

“Let’s meet Jessica,” he continued.

That was me.

“A single, attractive woman—“

Well that’s true, I thought.

“—who’s recently broken up with her boyfriend, now lonely and wondering if her life is over —“

“Hey!” I yelled. “No need to be so personal!”

I walked over to him and touched him, but my hand went right through him. He was some kind of projected image or hologram!

“What the funk??”

He showed up later at the office.

“Jessica Blake: just another female worker drowning in a professional doldrums, dreaming of something better…”

Like a warren of prairie dogs, heads popped up over cubicles.

I buried my head in my hands.

“Jessica, who is this guy and why is he talking about you? Aren’t you happy here?”

“Will someone tell me what’s going on??” I cried.

My boss arrived, along with the company CEO.

“Jess, who is this guy?”

“I swear I don’t know!”

A circle formed around the ghostly image as it smoked and talked about me in thinly veiled insults.

“I know what this is,” Benny, the tech guy, said. “I know a guy who can help.”

“So the good news, Jessica, is that you are not going crazy.”

“Ok. Who did you say you were?”

They had agreed to meet at the company cafeteria. Me: coffee with oat milk and turbinado sugar; Dr. Frank Bellamy (astrophysicist): coffee, black.

“A regular office cafeteria, just like any other…” the ghostly figure, smoking, spoke into the air. “…about to become a restaurant of the bizarre…”

“Dr. Frank Bellamy, astrophysicist and in charge of the hyperspace recycling network. I’m here to … explain that.” He waved toward the still-speaking figure.

“You see, we’ve discovered a way to warp space to allow time travel. But there have been some — ahem — glitches.”

“Glitches.”

“Or just this one at least.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

The ghostly figure appeared at the table. Everyone was staring. This was getting really awkward.

“Jessica Blake’s day started like any other, before tumbling down into — The Twilight Zone.”

Frank smiled awkwardly and took a long sip of his coffee. “We have some work to do. Heh.”

Who is that? Shack asked that’s Maleficent! Oh my goodness I love her already I’m going to talk with her hello there beautiful! He said she was stunned who said that? I did she smiled you’re nice! I love you seriously your cape is so fantastic! He said she blushed ha ha it’s nothing really

FADE IN TO BLACK

A chyron of the title fades in as a narrator establishes the show’s dual premise.

NARRATOR (V.O.) In the food services system, the customer is served by two separate but equally important groups: The chefs who cook the food and the wait staff that serve it. These are their stories.

The double-tap DING DING of a diner’s “order up!” bell creates an audio tag that signifies a change of venue.

CUT TO:

INT - PENE LUPO - EVENING A fine dining restaurant in the epicenter of Manhattan's courthouse district. It favors simple, modern design, dim lighting, and a clientele doing their best to look Saks in the TJ Maxx their ADA paychecks allow.

NEAR THE BACK DOOR Two BUSBOYS put on their jackets for a smoke break.

BUSBOY 1 How was I supposed to know that she was your cousin?

BUSBOY 2 You shoulda asked me. I ain't trying to be--

BUSBOY 1 Yo! Wait a sec. Hold up. You see what I see?

Busboy 2 is confused momentarily, then

BUSBOY 2 Uh oh. We better let JOHNNY know.

CUT TO: AUDIO TAG: DING DING

INT - PENE LUPO - KITCHEN Chyron: PENE LUPO, KITCHEN, 7:20 PM

Johnny (32, slovenly handsome), a very busy chef navigating a very busy kitchen, questions the two busboys as he works. He wears the toque blanche customary to his position, but the rest of his ensemble is splattered and marred by the day's work.

JOHNNY Well are you sure or not sure? I don't have time for guesses.

BUSBOY 1 I'm pretty sure, Chef.

Johnny ladles a reduction over broasted duck before passing the plate to an underling.

JOHNNY So you have no idea.

BUSBOY 1 I'm like... 90%.

Johnny looks at the other idiot, who shrugs a

BUSBOY 2 85-ish%. It’s been almost ten years since she worked here, Chef.

Johnny takes off his hat and coat and slips on his favorite micro-brew hoodie before walking toward the entry way to the main dining area.

JOHNNY You two are about as useful as Kim Kardashian's library card.

BUSBOY 2 Aww, thanks, Chef!

Busboy 1 slaps his partner with a dish towel.

CUT TO: AUDIO TAG: DING DING

INT - PENE LUPO - DINING AREA Chyron: PENE LUPO, DINING ROOM, 7:23 PM

TRAHN (32, button-down beautiful) sits alone at a table near the door. Her phone screen blips to life. When she looks at the alert it is clear it’s one of many unanswered texts.

It’s from her mother and it reads: HOW ARE YOU? PLEASE CALL ME ASAP!

Trahn puts the phone on the table, face down.

A WAITER approaches with a menu.

TRAHN I don't need it. I know what I want.

WAITER Okay, awesome. What can I--

TRAHN Hanger steak. Medium rare. Poached pears.

WAITER Great. Can I get you--

TRAHN Lagavulin. 16. Neat.

WAITER Will there be--

TRAHN No.

JOHNNY (O.S.) This'll be on the house, Mark.

WAITER Very well.

Trahn is unsurprised.

JOHNNY May I?

She motions consent and Johnny sits across from her.

JOHNNY Lagavulin? Rough day, or you just like the taste of liquid campfire?

TRAHN Little of both.

JOHNNY Yeah. I heard. That was quite a case.

Trahn picks up a small loaf of bread on a hipster-wood cutting board and mindlessly starts tearing it into pieces, not eating any of it.

TRAHN And now that asshole gets to walk. The system is broken, Johnny.

She looks at him for the first time.

TRAHN And you were the only one of us smart enough to see it. To get out early.

Johnny picks up one of the discarded bread bits and pops it in his mouth.

JOHNNY Not sure how smart I am.

TRAHN Smart enough.

The waiter brings the drink. Trahn immediately downs it.

JOHNNY Bring the bottle. (to Trahn) So, what's next?

She fights off tears, looking away again.

TRAHN I don't know. I think I'm done. I don't think I want to practice law anymore.

JOHNNY That's a pretty big change. You sure about that?

She looks at him again.

TRAHN I don't think I have a choice. That life destroys you from the inside out. I want to get away from it while I still have something of me left. Besides. They’ll probably fire me anyway.

The waiter sets the bottle on the table, along with a glass for Johnny. Johnny pours two fingers in each. He picks his up

JOHNNY Cheers.

She wordlessly does likewise, the smallest clink of glass on glass.

JOHNNY Maybe ease into this one.

They both take sips. Trahn is placid, unmoved. Johnny's face sours at the smoke-filled taste of the Scottish whiskey.

JOHNNY You could always work here.

Trahn eyes him, uneasy.

TRAHN Johnny…

He pops another piece of bread into his mouth.

JOHNNY What? It won’t be weird. That was a long time ago. We’ve both moved on.

CUT TO COMMERCIAL

In high school, there were these six people who despised each other. No particular reason, except that they all made sure each other’s lives were a living hell. Why? This all started back in elementary school, when they were all playing together and one boy pushed a girl playfully. This was misinterpreted by another girl and she pushed that boy. It all escalated into one big fight after that. Now this is adulthood, everyone has their own separate jobs and live their own separate lives. They haven’t crossed paths since high school, 5 years ago. Then they all when to the same park with their kids at the same time. They were forced to be near each other when their kids met and wanted to play with each other. They started off talking while the parents annoyedly chewed their gum as they stood each other’s presence. “Momma! Can I hang out with Laialasa?” “Sure,” Mandela replied as she smugly looked at Denvonoso, who was one of the people out of the group she despised the most.

~Time skip: 3 months~

Mandela and Devonoso had managed to patch this relationship between them, now just being a mutual indifference toward each other. They wondered how the other four were holding up, Jolietta, Mora, Coro, Leranzo. Their kids also wanted to play with each other. Denvonoso had set up a time for them all to meet.

~The next day~

They were meeting at the same park and it seemed that everyone has accepted the others’ presences and no one really seems to care about each other. Still chewing their minty fresh or pink bubble gum that tastes like Pepto Bismol, they looked at each other, and Mandela could’ve sworn, she saw Jolietta smile at her for the first time in over two decades.

So no one told you life was going to be this way? Your job's a joke, you're broke, and you're love life's DOA. It's like you're always stuck in second gear, when it hasn't been your day, your week, your month, or even your year. I'll be there for you, when the rain starts to pour. I'll be there for you, like I've been there before. I'll be there for you, cause you're there for me too.

Skye grinned, gaping at the white inside of the old police box doors. Dark, yellow light shimmered through the small rectangular windows. Twin beams of light stretched in from the outside, pooling over the floor like paint smudges.

Skye's grin widened, and she bounced on the balls of her feet.

New light, she thought. Light from a new world—a new planet—just waiting for her right outside those doors.

“So,” she chirped, rapping her fingers on the metal rail. “Where are we?”

A series of beeps and clicks came from behind, and Skye turned as a monitor spun around on a gimbal from the opposite side of the console.

Circular illustrations flashed on the screen in a sequence of short beats, lines twirling in a language she couldn't read. Skye squinted at the graphics, trying to decipher them, but all she got was the throb of a headache.

“That's no help,” Skye said.

“The Sea of Sannara.” A voice said, echoing around the large room. “Located on the planet Anone in the Halo Nebula. About three billion light years away from earth.”

Skye lept forward and lent against the round console. Buttons, levers and a whole manner of switches spanned the console face. In its centre, a transparent tube extended toward the vast ceiling, a string of electric blue lights glowing from inside. The tube whirred, vibrating as the lights moved up and down.

“A new planet!” Skye breathed. She spun the monitor back around, and it clicked to a halt as another hand caught it.

Footsteps echoed on the metal grates as a figure stepped around the console. Blue flushed over his body like a wave, and he returned his glasses to the front pocket of his brown blazer. “A new planet,” he repeated. The corners of his lips quirked. “What to take a look?”

Skye’s heart skipped. She spun and ran to the door... But stopped before her hands touched the silver handle.

She was strung by the sudden stench of copper, tasted the metallic tang on the tip of her tongue. She dropped her hand. “Is it safe?”

“Safe?”

She felt him come up behind her, the stranger she had met barely a week ago. A lifetime had passed in those few days. Days spent in Victorian England. Nights spent in a time a hundred years in the future. She’d peeked at history and glimpsed the years yet to come... but another world, in a Galaxy not yet discovered by mankind with a man she was yet to fully understand and so far from home...

Was she mad?

Desperate?

Was all of this just a distraction, a way to forget the failure of her life behind?

Something brushed her shoulder, jolting her from her daze.

“I wouldn't take you anywhere that isn't safe— Well,” he said suddenly, “not intentionally! Well, not...” He trailed off. “This isn't helping, is it?”

Skye shook her head.

“I promise you, Skye,” he continued, smoothing his tone, “I would never let anything bad happen to you!” He offered her his hand. Steadied his eyes.

He had seen so much, Skye thought, lived through so much. He had done it all, and she couldn't even drive a car.

She was putty in his hands.

Skye drew her eyes from the floor, glancing over his shoulder to the impossible room behind her. Bigger on the inside.

Impossible.

Incredible.

“Do you trust me?” He asked.

Did she? Skye thought about her life back home, all that she had—all that she didn't have. Perhaps that was why he chose her; no one to miss her when she was gone.

What did she have to lose?

Grinning, Skye took the Doctor's hand. “Definitely.”

And with a snap of his fingers, the doors groaned, opening Skye to a new world.

I sit upon a roof High above the world below In hopes one day My problems will go I here a man approach He seems spiteful He kicked a chair almost to seeming to wallow He notices my presence And apologizes quickly The moment we locked eyes I new this guy was hefty