Posts filed under ‘UNPUBLISHED WORKS’
HAVEN OF HORROR: A LOVECRAFTIAN STORY
For those who are fans of H.P. Lovecraft you will find a flavor in this story to his horror.
HAVEN OF HORROR
Jeff and Karen were recently married. Shortly after their marriage Jeff was offered a better job than he had at the time with better pay and he accepted. Now they needed to move. With great anticipation they now were on a road trip to explore the area which would be their new home. Jeff loved wandering down roads he had never traveled, and for him this trip was a treat. A new area to be visited ripe for exploration.
As they drove along, not really sure where they were, Karen said, “I’m tired and hungry. Let’s stop at the next town for some rest and food.” They had been on the road for several days driving from California to Pennsylvania. Today, they had been driving for ten hours and they both needed rest and food.
Jeff spied what looked like a seldom used road, “Let’s go down that road. It must lead to somewhere.”
Karen looked at him as if to say, ‘Give me a break’ for it looked like it would lead to nowhere. The newness of marriage had not yet dissolved, but it was getting there.
Karen glanced at the maps they had brought along, “Jeff, this road is not on the map!”
Jeff’s response was, “Great.” Karen just shook her head. And off they went down an unmapped road hoping to find food and perhaps lodging for the night as the sky was steadily darkening the landscape. He looked at Karen and wondered if the stop would lead to ‘cuddling’ – and perhaps more. He wondered how long those episodes would last. He had heard stories.
With Karen constantly complaining about how tired and hungry she was, they approached a small town. Jeff was hungry too, and ready for some nighttime activity. As they entered the town it was as if they were visiting a page out of history. There was not a modern structure. It was like something to a lot for filming an old movie. In the middle of town stood a gas station with only one pump. A hint of days long gone. An old guy in a chair was leaning against the building.
The old man waved and said, “Hi. Don’t see many strangers here.”
The town was Schuylkill Haven.
* * *
Schuylkill Haven, a small town not appearing on any maps, was of little value to visitors who happened upon it. In fact, the town shunned visitors until they were needed. When this occurred, the residents made the heavily rutted road to the town visible and waited for guests. Just as the town was not on maps, so was the road. The entrance to the road was usually heavily concealed for the residents liked, needed their privacy. But the road to the town was now uncovered and the people of the haven waited.
The town of Schuylkill Haven came into existence most unnaturally centuries ago. From a small hill far from any inhabitants, late in the 1600’s the town was born.
One day there was movement of the earth on the side of the hill. The bottom of the hill began to push outward forming a cavity which grew into a cave. The first residents of the town began to arrive from within.
Men, women, and children, all naked, streamed out of the newly formed fissure and studied the surroundings. At first the light nearly blinded them, but eventually they adjusted to the harsh glow of daylight.
The new arrivals were helpless in this new world. With no food or lodging they were certainly doomed. Coming to their rescue was a wandering tribe of Native Americans. With compassion for these new arrivals, they shared food with them, helped them to plant crops, hunt, construct shelters and make clothing. Eventually explores happened upon the town and were amazed to find white men in such a remote location. With the explorers came more modern methods of agriculture and more substantial lodging. Slowly a town took shape, and the residents thrived. But there was a disturbing knowledge revealed to the residents. The elders began to have a greenish tint to their skin and took on strange physical characteristics. Their heads became misshaped and enlarged with mouths wide and menacing. The residents knew they had a secret meant to be kept and concealed. Old age brought unnatural changes to the senior residents.
They wondered for an explanation on the source of this ghastly conversion. No one could mine an answer. There were legends of drawings found in the cave near the town, of beings beyond imagination. Monsters with no place in nature. From this knowledge they speculated that beyond this horrible transformation there existed a third journey to, yet another transformation. But no one could be certain of the changes awaiting the morphed. Before they managed to isolate those transformed some of the residents journeyed deeper into the cave and thought they heard distant waves crashing on some unknown shore. What did the presence of this unknown ocean mean to those transformed? Could these transformed humans be destined for another phase dependent on the ocean? And what had that to do with turning their friends and relatives into strange creatures? Were there cities on the ocean floor awaiting new residents? As if all this wasn’t enough to challenge reality, a horrible event took place. The transformed began attacking the still normal residents. Devouring some of them. The number of mutants was not great and when their threat was realized, it was no problem to repel them to the entrance of the cave. And while a force of guards stood by, a small structure was built covering the entrance with no windows and a solitary door. The residents of the town were now aware of the horror that awaited them in the future.
* * *
While filling the gas tank Jeff asked the attendant if there was any lodging in the town and he replied,
“No hotels in town. But there is a house that will rent out rooms and proceeded
to give them directions.
Tired and hungry, they found the house and were greeted by a kindly woman, who guaranteed a room and dinner. Jeff asked why this town was not on the map.
The woman answered, “Because we are happy the way we are. Don’t want strangers
interfering with our lives. Yet, when strangers do come it’s an event. When
they chose to stay it’s a celebration.” Her remarks seemed strange to Jeff, but he decided not to pursue any more questions, now.
The woman studied the couple and said, “We have a local winery. Would you care for a sample – free?”
Jeff and Karen nodded, and she poured them each a glass.
Sipping, Karen said, “This is excellent wine.” But she soon noticed her vision begin to blur and she slumped to the floor. After a short time, Jeff joined her.
When they first arrived, they noticed a strange structure in the town park. It had uprights maybe seven feet tall and a crossbar of perhaps ten feet. Karen asked Jeff, “What do you think that is for?”
“I have no idea”, he said. “Can’t be for kids. Can’t be for anyone.”
Now they had the answer. They were hung suspended from the structure by the wrists, naked.
Jeff screamed, “What the hell is going on. Where are the police?”
An old man approached them and said, “I’m the police. What seems to be the problem?”
Jeff saw that something about the man wasn’t quite right. It was his face. It appeared a little ‘wrong’.
Jeff yelled, “Are you fucking blind?”
The sheriff, in a garbled voice replied, “Our cloistered friends are about to have a party and you, you could say, will be the guests of honor.”
Jeff, not understanding the sheriff’s response began to scream every curse he knew. While all Karen could do was softly weep.
As the sheriff slowly walked away a siren sounded. All the residents who were outside hurried to their houses. Upon entering the town, Jeff observed a small building, windowless with a single door. The door slowly opened, and Jeff could not believe the spectacle approaching them. Some walked on two, some on four limbs. They were hideous, of human size, but that was where all resemblance to a human ended. They were green with white underbellies. The head resembled that of a frog but with a stark difference, a mouth containing sharp rows of teeth. Above the grotesque mouth was a pair of blunted nostrils. Above the nostrils was a pair of eyes, knowing eyes. Intelligent eyes. Their legs ended in webbed feet. On what appeared to be arms were distorted hands with sharp claws.
The ungodly mass began to make their way to Jeff and Karen, looking predatory and surrounded the naked couple. A hideous scream exited those misshapen mouths. Then they attacked. Horrible screams came from the couple, then suddenly ceased. The beasts were a mad blur of feeding frenzy. Once done with their meal they departed to the enclosure from which they came leaving behind two hanging skeletons.
***
Mark and Candice, along with their three teenage children were on a summer vacation hiking and camping. Mark had been observing the fuel gauge. When he saw a small road off the main, he told the family, “We’re a little low on fuel, and if the road leads to a town it must have a gas station.” He carefully maneuvered his SUV down the rutted, potholed road. After not too long he said, “I told you. there’s a town.” He was proud of himself for his decisions were usually wrong about directions. And when he did decide which way to go, one of the family would chime in, “Remember when you …”
Mark surveyed the town and was right. There was a gas station. But to his surprise it had only one pump, unusual for this day and age. On closer observation, the town looked like something out of a time warp. When he drove into the station, he saw an old man in a rickety chair leaning against the building. Mark waved to the old man, who got out of his chair and slowly drifted over to the SUV.
“How you doin’? the old man asked. “Need some gas?”
Mark answered, “Yes,” and didn’t bother to say what type for obviously there was only one type available.
The man began to pump, and Mark wondered about the quality of the product, but he was low and had no choice.
His family had also been complaining about hunger for some time, so Mark asked the attendant, “Any place to eat around here?”
The old man scratched his chin and said, “No restaurants, but there is a family who do offer meals.” Mark got directions which led to a rustic-looking house which wasn’t a surprise for the entire town appeared rustic.
Mark rang the doorbell and was greeted by a very pleasant woman. Yet there was something about her putting Mark off. But his family was hungry.
Mark said, “The gas station attendant said that you might be able to provide us a meal. We are more than willing to pay and pay we should.”
The woman said, “Of course I can feed you,” and her mind added, And of course you will pay. But before you eat, we have a local wine we offer to tourists with the hope they like it and tell their friends. Let me give you each a sample. I guess your boy and two girls are not old enough to drink, but a taste won’t hurt them.”
The woman poured five glasses of wine, and, as they drank, the look on the faces of the family showed a new weariness.
The End
H. P. LOVECRAFT AND THE CTHULHU MYTHOS
H. P. LOVECRAFT AND THE CTHULHU MYTHOS
My next post will contain a short story, Haven of Horror, which I wrote with the intent of writing something with the feeling of a story by H.P. Lovecraft. If you have never heard that name before and enjoy horror I suggest that you read some of his stories. What follows is an introduction to Lovecraft.
Born in Providence, Rhode Island in 1890 and most of his story took place in New England. He was an unusual man in both appearance with his prominent lantern-jaw chin and his approach to writing. Initially writing poetry he switched to horror. One of his primary influences for some of his stories was Edgar Allan Poe.
Through his writing, Lovecraft created a new genre of horror. A writer writing stories in the same vein as Lovecraft coined to name of the genre the Cthulhu Mythos.
Lovecraft’s popularity grew and waned during his career. Not until after his death, in poverty, at the age of 47 did his style of writing gain popularity. And that style was adopted by a host of other writers. One of his stories was made into the movie, The Dunwich Horror.
If you are a fan of horror and have not yet read any of his works I suggest you try to locate some of his stories. Barnes & Noble published a volume of the complete works of his fiction in 2008. Most of his work is in the form of short stories and with a little effort I’m sure you can find them in used books stores selling horror.
SPORES FROM SPACE: A SHORT STORY
Here is a story with a possible explanation of the source of the giant mushroom described in the last post.
SPORES FROM SPACE
Will asked Joanie, “What is that big white thing at the far edge of the lawn? Looks like some kind of ball.”
As Joanie approached the object she could see that it was well over twelve inches in diameter. She replied, “It’s not a ball. It looks like some kind of mushroom. Never seen anything like it before.” She took out her cell phone, took a picture, then using the internet began a search for information about the mushroom. The internet could not identify it. Joanie thought this odd for in the past she had often used the internet to identify plant life and it had never failed to come back with an answer. The internet could identify everything. She picked the mushroom up and threw it into the nearby trees.
That was a fatal mistake.
Days later Will tried to contact Joanie with no luck. Her neighbor said he hadn’t seen her for a few days. But the strangest thing. Near the apartment complex was this huge white mushroom. No one could figure out what type of mushroom it was and where it could have come from. No one had seen anything like it before.
* * *
Light years away a planet’s population had grown to such an extent that all could not be fed. And those that did have food available did not have as much as they had in the past. They had to find a food source and find it quickly or starvation on the planet would begin. In back of some of the inhabitant’s minds the fear of cannibalism began to grow. Something needed to be done and fast.
The planet’s scientists had developed a form of space travel using wormholes giving them the ability to travel huge distances in minutes. They had also discovered a great many inhabited planets. The decision was made to use the inhabitants of these planets as a source of food. This decision was voted down by a small fraction of the population, but the prospect of starvation overruled. The only food consumed on the planet was a certain type of fungus. The decision was made to send out huge armies traveling on gigantic spaceships which were now under construction. Along with the soldiers were hundreds upon hundreds of satellites which were going to be used to seed the target planets with spores which would grow into the needed fungus. The spores would transform any animal life they touched into mushrooms.
The attacking planet had also developed two procedures which made this invasion possible to alter the population of the planet and yet remain completely undetected.
One of these methods was the ability to make objects invisible. Invisibility was made possible by shifting light so that light would not bounce off an object rendering it invisible. This method would be used to conceal the invading army and the satellites being dispersed around the planet being attacked. The gigantic spacecraft farther out in space would also be rendered invisible. Of course, invisibility would not hide solid objects from radar. To remedy this problem the had a method of stealthing making them totally undetectable by radar.
The mission to attack planets was set into motion.
* * *
It was a sunny Saturday afternoon and Will decided to mow the lawn. He began his work with the front yard, but before he could get too far he ran across more of those white mushrooms of various sizes on the lawn. He picked them up and threw them into the trees. “Damn things are a pain in the ass,” he muttered.
Will went back to his mower. Glancing across the street he spied his neighbor standing behind his mower. He waved but got no response. He was sure Jeff saw him. He was looking right at Will. But Jeff just stood there like some kind of statue.
Will returned to the mower and started it. He began to feel not quite right. When he felt this way when asked how he felt he said ‘strange’. If his wife noticed he seemed a little off she would ask, “How are you feeling?”
Will would answer, “A little strange.” This never failed to piss her off. What the hell was strange?
But right now, Will felt really strange. Stranger than he has ever felt before. And the strangeness increased and not too slowly. He became confused. Could not remember what he had been doing. It wasn’t long before he could not remember anything. The usual term used for his present state of mind was a vegetative state. But this would not be the term for what Will was experiencing. The proper term would be a fungal state. For what was about to happen next this was beneficial to him. Spared him the distress of being aware of his predicament. Slowly all his limbs began to turn white. Then his torso and finally his head.
Will did not know it but the mushrooms he picked up earlier and threw into the woods had undergone the same change. One mushroom was a squirl mushroom, a small one a mouse mushroom and the largest a ground hog mushroom. Now on the lawn stood a huge Will mushroom.
* * *
The alien invasion to provide a source of food from the planet called by the resident, Earth, appeared to be succeeding. Soon it would be time for the soldiers to begin the harvest. Now to prevent discovery these aliens will be invisible. Good thing for if they were seen by intelligent life on this planet, to use a term the aliens had heard on the planet’s broadcasts, “The sight of the aliens would scare the shit out of them.”
Although the aliens were invisible they were still solid and would occasionally make contact with an intelligent being on Earth, but it would be of little consequence. When the spores began to rain down on Earth they were accompanied by a substance that would erase all memory of what was happening from the time the spores were first introduced until a time after the harvest was completed.
The harvest was extremely successful. Went better than expected. With the spaceships filled to the brim with mushrooms the aliens look forward to, in a few thousand years, returning to Earth. And another harvest would be possible because in ten percent of the spores the activity had been neutralized. With careful calculation of the animal population on the planet only ninety percent of the population would be converted into mushrooms. The remainder would be available to repopulate the planet. And because of memory manipulation, would have no recollection of the harvest. But the fact that something of a peculiar nature did occur eventually became evident.
* * *
Scientists doing population studies of animal life, including humans, were mystified by some of their results. It appears that an event was discovered to have occurred, but could not be explained, thousands of years ago. They began calling the event a near extinction event. Life on the Earth suddenly decreased at an alarming rate. Apparently almost instantaneously. What could possibly explain that decrease?
THE WALKING STATUES: A SHORT STORY
THE WALKING STATUES
The waves of the Pacific gently washed the western shore of the island. An island so remote from any other land mass that it’s a wonder that it was found. How many attempts were made by voyagers in canoes will never be known. People set out on an ocean having no idea of what lay ahead. They were fleeing from their home because war or famine made life unbearable. How many never found land only to die in their attempt for a new life.
Conga stood on that island’s western shore pondering that question. How many people tried before and after his people stumbled upon this tiny land mass just two generations ago. His people’s past was full of both legends and facts. But no one had enough knowledge of their past to distinguish one from the other. But one belief was held as true. That the gods must have played a part in the discovery of this land. Gods they brought with them and gave praise to and worshiped. Conga stood on this remote spot on the island, a part of the island where villagers rarely wandered. He treasured this spot where his only company was his thoughts.
But he now knew he would not be alone for long. Footsteps signaled someone’s approach and he knew instantly who that someone would be. Only one other knew of his love for this spot, and she would soon embrace him. It would be Ula, the love of his life who often came to share the serenity offered here.
As she embraced him from behind she said, “Still trying to imagine where our people came from so many years ago? Instead of looking into the past, look into the future, our future. That is where your happiness lies. Our future together.”
Conga and Ula have pledged to spend their lives together. They had known each other since childhood as friends. But as their feelings for each other intensified spending their future together became a clear destiny. Conga responded to Ula’s thoughts, “I do think about our future, but while I’m here I think of the gods who guided us to this island. I have seen them.
Conga had seen the gods after a Tribal ceremony where a man was denied sleep for days and fasted for a week, and sometimes longer. The gods he had seen were giants and he clearly remembered their features. Their heads were unusually long with a distinctive nose and deep-set eyes. Some had red hair, red hair being a symbol of power deserving respect and honor. Conga was not alone in experiencing these visions. Other young men had endured the same ceremony and had seen the gods. But Conga’s memory of their appearance was the clearest. The gods also told Conga how they must be honored but he could not clearly recall their instructions. In order to revisit the gods with the hope of retaining their instructions he experienced the ceremony once again. With the new ceremony he now recalled the god’s plans for him.
His people were to construct giant statues, a multitude of statues to be spread throughout the island so that the people would never be too far from the memory of the gods. So that they would never forget that their existence on this island was a gift from the gods. Conga spread this knowledge of the mission to other young men who saw the gods and the mission was begun.
* * *
Ten years later.
The mission of construction of these statues spread with enthusiasm throughout the entire population and would eventually produce over 900 statues with the distinctive feature of Conga’s vision. Most were approximately 13 feet tall, but one giant surpassed 33 feet. The people called these statues of their gods moai. And the legend persists to this day that the statues walked to where they were to be located.
During the construction of the statues Conga and Ula were true to the pledge for the future, became one and a son was born. They constructed a hut where the family dwelled among a sparse stand of trees and a view of the western shore.
One day, as night approached, Conga asked Ula, “What more do you need me to do?”
Ula answered, “Your work is done.” She knew why he asked her this. He wanted to partake of his favorite pastime. Conga told Ula he would be gone for awhile and Ula knew where he was going.
For relaxation Conga would climb to the summit of a nearby hill and as night approached he would look down on their hut and see the dim light filtering from within. It brought him pleasure while he thought about his family and how his family would grow in the future.
This vantage point also provided a view of some of the statues his people had provided to honor the gods. Over the course of additional ceremonies, he conversed with the gods about his mission, a mission which would consume his entire life. The gods told him they were pleased with the great number of statues the people have constructed and scattered over the entire island. This brought Conga peace knowing he had served his purpose.
* * *
Nearly a thousand years after the island was populated it was visited by people from a distant land. A land the people of the island could not imagine existed.
Early one morning a craft was sighted the likes of which could not be foretold. It was massive; perhaps it was not a boat but a floating island. The fact that massive trees appeared to be growing from its center gave credence to this assumption. The strange thing was that the trees were adorned with massive pieces of material. The island was about to be visited, and it change its future forever.
The ship approaching was being sailed by Dutch crewmen. The year was 1722, but of course the islanders have no concept of numbered lengths of time or for that matter how long a year was. On this eventful day the sailors onboard the ship were celebrating a special mass for the day was Easter Sunday.
The residents of the island called their home Rapa Nui, but with the arrival of this ship the world would know the island by a different name.
Author’s note: For those who find the legend of the walking giant statues an interesting legend of the island should know it is not completely a legend. My next post will reveal the truth of the ‘walking’ statues.
THE BEAST AWAITS: A NOVEL, SYNOPSIS PART III, THE FINAL PART
Here is the end of the synopsis promised.
THE BEAST AWAITS
By Walt Trizna
Synopsis
The Beast Awaits is a novel composed of three parts: A New Species, Migration and Redemption.
The initial setting for the story is StemDiscovery, a newly started company located in a sprawling complex south of Miami. The horror created there spreads throughout the country and then to the rest of the world
PART III OF SYNOPSIS FOR THE BEAST AWAITS
REDEMPTION
In Canada, the Martins become friends with the Farbers, another family from the U.S. Global warming continues to build and soon the weather in Canada begins to warm. The beasts occupy all warm regions of the world. They have killed tens of millions of people, and their population increases by billions. There seems to be no stopping them.
The mass destruction visited on the planet tilts global warming into a nuclear winter-like condition and the climate cools.
The Martins and Farbers, along with other displaced Americans, decide to return to their home country.
The beasts retreat from the cold and are slowly being concentrated at the equator. Their numbers dwindle but they are never totally eliminated, only contained.
Mankind is given a chance to take back the world. They must build wisely and not repeat mistakes that might again increase global warming because – The Beast Awaits.
This is the end of my synopsis for my novel, The Beast Awaits. Let me know if this sounds like a novel you might be interested in reading. I hope you found the description of my novel interesting.
THE BEAST AWAITS: A NOVEL, SYNOPSIS PART II
Here is Part II of the synopsis.
THE BEAST AWAITS
By Walt Trizna
Synopsis
The Beast Awaits is a novel composed of three parts: A New Species, Migration and Redemption.
The initial setting for the story is StemDiscovery, a newly started company located in a sprawling complex south of Miami. The horror created there spreads throughout the country and then to the rest of the world
PART II OF SYNOPSIS FOR THE BEAST AWAITS
MIGRATION
The beast spawned at StemDiscovery escapes to the Everglades where it begins laying eggs. The characteristics of its amphibian component, parthenogenesis, provided this ability. The eggs hatch and the beasts rapidly multiply.
A park ranger discovers the population and is killed. Tragedies continue. The government cordons off the park. As the government waits, the population of beasts continues to grow and depletes the Everglades of animal life. The beasts break out and threaten Natalie at her research site. John Martin and Dan Webb go to her rescue, and Dan Webb is killed by a beast.
Chief Daniels is alerted of the beast’s breakout. Swarms of the beasts decimate Florida City and move on to Miami. Because of the suddenness of the attacks and the activities in progress when the population flees, cities are left in flames. The beasts’ numbers continue to grow and spread west across the Gulf, then south into Central and South America and north. They reach England by using cruise ships as resting places and sources of food. As their territory increases, huge cities burn to the ground resulting in a massive increase in global warming which serves to increase the territory the cold-blooded monsters can inhabit.
John Martin takes his family to Maine, which is safe for a while, but then is also invaded. The family goes north into Canada.
This is Part II of my synopsis for my novel, The Beast Awaits. Let me know if this sounds like a novel you might be interested in reading.
THE BEAST AWAITS: A NOVEL, SYNOPSIS PART I
Here is the beginning of the synopsis promised in my last post.
THE BEAST AWAITS
By Walt Trizna
Synopsis
The Beast Awaits is a novel composed of three parts: A New Species, Migration and Redemption.
The initial setting for the story is StemDiscovery, a newly started company located in a sprawling complex south of Miami. The horror created there spreads throughout the country and then to the rest of the world
PART I OF SYNOPSIS FOR THE BEAST AWAITS
A NEW SPECIES
Part I, A New Species, follows the formation of a new species, a hybrid creature that is part human, part amphibian and part insect. At the root of this monster’s accidental creation is greed on the part of one of the investors in StemDiscovery. The company was formed by a group of venture capitalists for the purpose of exploiting the relatively new field of stem cell research.
Harding Fairfax, one of the driving forces involved in forming the company, has recently remarried. His stepson, Ralph, is a ne’er-do-well and drug addict. Fairfax goes to the head of research, Dan Webb, and insists that Ralph be put to work. He further insists that he be involved in working with a new stem cell line coming from Singapore. The origin of this cell line is a mystery, the truth known only to Fairfax and those in Singapore who created it using a human embryo. Unknown to science, this cell line contains a unique stem cell, a primordial stem cell, whose development depends on the nutrients provided.
Dan Webb informs John Martin, head of the lab that will handle the new cells, that he is gaining a new employee.
Ralph is put under the supervision of Janice, the lab supervisor working under John Martin. Unaccustomed to the sophisticated setting of a research laboratory, Ralph constantly makes mistakes in the care of the cells given to him. He repeatedly uses the wrong media to feed them. The contents of the various media used will have disastrous results. Soon he notices that the cells are changing. He destroys them and is given a fresh batch. His mistakes continue with the same results. He is given a walk-in incubator in which only he will keep cells so that he will not jeopardize anyone else’s work. One day, as he goes to retrieve the flasks, he stumbles and one of the flasks falls to the floor behind the shelves out of sight.
Janice notes an odd growth pattern in the flasks and consults John Martin about their strange appearance. Martin looks at them and orders them destroyed.
Ralph, given no further cells and only trusted with remedial chores, spends most of his time hiding in vacant labs, avoiding work and getting high.
The cells in the dropped flask continue to grow, rupture the flask and become a larva.
Janice invites her niece, Natalie, to visit the StemDiscovery complex. As they make their way down a corridor where Ralph spends most of his time, he hears them coming and ducks into the walk-in incubator. The larva stings him, subdues him, and then uses him as a food source. It then weaves a cocoon suspended from the ceiling of the incubator and morphs into the beast.
Sometime later, Janice walks past the incubator and notices movement through the window of the door. She opens the door and is killed by the beast, which then runs down the corridor, crashes through a plate-glass window and escapes.
Chief Daniels from nearby Florida City is called to investigate.
This is Part I of my synopsis for my novel, The Beast Awaits. Let me know if this sounds like a novel you might be interested in reading.
THE BEAST AWAITS: A NEW NOVEL OF HORROR
THE BEAST AWAITS: A NEW NOVEL OF HORROR
The synopsis for my unpublished novel, The Beast Awaits, is about to appear on my blog. The novel consists of three parts. The first is primarily science fiction and the next two are pure horror. I’m sharing the synopsis to see what interest to novel sparks and to receive comments. I am not looking for likes. I am seeking opinions.
Later this year I will begin publishing, on my blog, another new novel, Sweet Depression. That work will be yours for free.
ELMO’S INVENTION: CHAPTER 13, THE FUTURE OF THE TIME MACHINE
CHAPTER 13
THE FUTURE OF THE TIME MACHINE
Kingsley continued.
“Then there are political races. Knowledge of the winner, prior to an election, would be devastating. It would result in a self-fulfilling prophecy. Why vote if the winner is known?
“The insurance industry would collapse. Insurers of property and life could look to the future and see which policies would cost them money, and how soon. Of course, all life insurance policies would eventually result in a claim but how soon would determine if it was worth issuing a policy.
“These are just a few of the instances where your machine could determine the present by knowing the future.
“Then there is the bigger picture. In science fiction, whenever someone travels into the past they make sure not to change a single thing. Step on a beetle and you could come back to a different world. But you see, even when you are traveling into the future you are trespassing on someone’s past.
“A traveler into the future could return with viruses and bacteria unknown to the world and cause world-wide epidemics. Or coming from the past could reintroduce diseases long eradicated, for which there is now no defense.
“I’ve been thinking about H.G. Wells book The Time Machine. Of course it was fiction, but the future looked dismal for mankind. When the time traveler traveled into the distant future the planet was inhabited by giant crabs. I know this is only fiction, but do we really want to know what the distant future holds?
“Elmo, I’m afraid the society of the world, as we know it, would not survive the impact your machine would produce. The change in the fabric of society would also be devastating and disruptive in the lives of you and Mildred. Devastating to all the world.”
Kingsley’s opinions carried a great deal of weight with Elmo. He sat in silence and then said, “All that work for nothing. I’m a failure.”
“No, you’re not. It’s just that your efforts could produce knowledge the world would be unable to handle. I know it isn’t much, but I’m proud of what you accomplished. Perhaps there will be a time when your time machine will serve a useful purpose, under strict control, but I’m afraid that time is not now.
“The final choice is yours, Elmo. I can only give you my advice and opinion.”
Kingsley then stood up, put his hand on Elmo’s shoulder and gave it a squeeze, and walked upstairs. He saw Mildred in the kitchen. “I think Elmo needs to be alone for a while, but he also needs you.” Kingsley left and Mildred knew the discussion did not go well.
She waited and then walked down the cellar stairs. Elmo was wheeling his time machine to a corner of the cellar and covering it with a tarp. It now stood next to his transport chambers. Whenever he looked at those chambers a slight smile would wrinkle his face wondering at the location of the wandering teacup. Mildred walked up to her husband and gave him a hug and a lingering kiss.
He said, “Well, Mil, we won’t make our fortune off my time machine after all.”
Mildred responded, “I don’t need a fortune. All I need is you. It’s getting late. Let’s go to bed.”
They walked up the stairs and put out the cellar lights. In the darkened corner stood the time machine which someday might serve a purpose, but not now.
Elmo vowed to Mildred that he was done creating or even thinking about another invention. Never again would he waste his time on another useless project. But ‘never’ ended in 1995 with speculation of the existence of wormholes. The now retired Elmo could not get wormholes out of his mind. Think about how they could be used for space travel. He thought wormholes, dreamed wormholes. With pad and pencil in hand he began jotting down ideas and drawing sketches of an invention he, of course, would never produce. What would be the harm in dreaming?
THE END
This concludes my postings of Elmo’s Invention. I hope you enjoyed the novella and getting to know Elmo.
Soon I will begin sharing another novella featuring Elmo, Elmo’s Sojourn. In Elmo’s Invention you learned of Elmo’s interest in time travel. In Elmo’s Sojourn you will learn of Elmo’s interest in space travel.
Elmo’s Sojourn has quite a publishing history. Soon I will tell you about that history and give you some information about Elmo’s Sojourn.
ELMO’S INVENTION: CHAPTER 12, REALITY OF TIME TRAVEL
CHAPTER 12
REALITY OF TIME TRAVEL
Kingsley walked home with today’s paper from tomorrow. He was deep in thought and anxious to organize them. As soon as he got home he retrieved a pad and pencil, opened the paper, and while reading took copious notes. His expression grew grave as he worked and highlighted the articles and sections he thought were important. Once this was accomplished he prepared for bed knowing he would get little sleep. The next morning, he awoke from the restless night he had spent with anticipation of his meeting with Elmo. After a meager breakfast he placed a call to his friend.
Elmo answered the phone, and Kingsley could hear the anticipation in his voice. This did not do much for Kingsley’s spirit. “Elmo, this is Kingsley. I thought we might get together and have a discussion about your machine. Would six tonight be okay?”
“Sure,” Elmo responded. “I can’t wait to talk to you about it. It’s all I can think about.”
Mildred was listening and instantly knew the subject of the conversation. She tried to hide her growing apprehension thinking about the last time her husband’s invention was made public with its possibility.
Kingsley arrived at precisely 6:00PM to Mildred waiting with a steaming mug of tea. She said, “Elmo is so excited to talk to you.” She looked at Kingsley’s expression and could detect his uneasiness. She said no more, and Kingsley walked down the stairs to the cellar.
“Kingsley, my friend, I’m so glad you came. I can’t wait to talk to you about the prospects of patenting my machine.”
Kingsley was known for his directness, and Elmo expected that now, but to say he was less than enthusiastic about what he heard would be a stretch.
Holding the paper obtained during his time travel, Kingsley referred to his pad of notes although he knew exactly what he needed to say. “Elmo, I’ve highlighted some sections and articles in this paper. Areas where your time machine would have an impact. First of all, let’s consider the future of your time machine. Once its existence was known, companies would clammer for the rights to mass produce the device. And if you did not agree to release the patent, we know how the world works. Details of the patent would be leaked. With details of your machine and slight changes, companies would begin production. Countries which are known not to observe patents, namely China and Russia, would also begin to mass produce time machines with little or no thought to the consequences.
“Elmo, use of your time machine would destroy society as we know it.”
It was then Elmo noticed that the entire sports section was marked. It seemed the entire newspaper was highlighted with copious notes in the margins. He looked up at his friend.
“First of all, your machine could spell the end of sports betting both legal and illegal. Actually, it would spell doom for all sports. If just one person knew the future and the outcome of any sporting event and sold that information, well you can see what would happen.”
As Elmo continued to study the paper Kingsley went on. “Keep in mind that one person selling information scenario. What would happen if the future of the stock market was known? Think of the effect that would have on the economy of the entire world. What would happen if the future value of all the monies of the world was known?”
