Lucas and the other man watched as the children played.
They had seized the opportunity to conduct a little experiment while the minders were out of the room and had opened one of the large windows on the far wall. They had done this by piling up boxes of toys which they were now standing on.
They had tied tiny parachutes to several stuffed animals and we dropping out of the window. The lighter ones caused much delight as they slowly fell down toward the pavement. The children giggled madly. Aside from period bursts of this laughter, the children tried to keep silent.
The unmistakeable sound of one of the minders approaching ended their temporary enjoyment.
They gathered up the remaining toys and descended the boxes but did not dismantle the makeshift construction.
To their happiness, in was one of the more lenient minders that had arrived. They offered up little smiles to her kind face and she beamed back. They knew they would be allowed to continue playing for a while longer under her watch.
But as children do, they had already forgotten their last source of entertainment and began playing a simple game of catch.
They ran around in an ecstatic frenzy, seemingly forgetting the more hurtful aspects of their circumstance, if only for a while.
One child was tagged ‘it’ and he ran wildly after the others.
He set his sights on one boy in particular. There was no reason for this, he simply just did.
He chased him around the perimeter of the room, groping the air just behind his back as he failed again and again to snatch at his clothing.
The child he was chasing ran up to where the boxes were still piled up and climbed them. The chaser tried to reach up and tag his foot but the child kept lifting them as he did so, chuckling as he avoided each attempt.
The chaser began to slam his body into the boxes, they shook slightly but the child atop them still stood strong.
Another child joined him in the quest to get the boy down. They both began slamming into the boxes.
This time, the bottom box shifted slightly to the right and destabilised the pile.
The child atop them wobbled for a moment, trying to regain his balance.
Then he fell backwards through the open window down towards the pavement below.
The minder, who had looked up just in time to see the child disappear from sight. She began screaming uncontrollably.
A few miles away, another child lost consciousness.
Welcome to The Echo Room, the home of budding weird fiction
Thursday 16 December 2010
Friday 10 December 2010
LUCAS BROWN AND THE OTHER MAN PART 2
Then, Lucas and the other man were sat on the door step of a large house in the middle of the night. It was pouring with the rain, the fat droplets cascading down on to their heads but they did not feel a thing. They stayed unwaveringly dry and still.
An old, severely damaged car was creeping slowly up the road. It gently came to a stop directly in front of them. A man sat at the driving seat, a woman on the passenger side. They did not talk to each other. Their faces were wrinkled beyond their age and their pale complexions gave them a worrying look of ill health.
After a few minutes the woman turned to look at the man, he was lighting a cigarette.
“Are you doing it or am I?” she asked, the question clearly demonstrating her reluctance to be the one.
The man paused for a moment, exhaling. He didn’t face her and remained silent. He had made his decision and planned on keeping it. His silence told the woman he couldn’t do what was needed and therefore was asking her to. She was annoyed at his cowardice, it was as much if not more her burden than his.
She used this anger to force her out of the car.
As she opened the door and stepped out, the other man turned to Lucas.
“Do you recognise them?” he asked
Lucas thought long and hard and then shook his head.
“No, I have never seen them before.” He answered.
The woman lifted the hood of her jacket over her head and approached the boot of the vehicle. She opened it and dug something out: a bundle of blankets wrapped around
something small. She purposely did not look down at it.
She walked briskly through the heavy rain and up to the door of the building directly opposite Lucas and the other man. She paced the bundle down on the welcome mat and rang the bell. She didn’t wait for a reply. She turned and jogged back to the car to which the man had already re-started the engine. She got in and slammed the door. The
car sped away.
Then Lucas and the other man were inside the large building.
It was now morning, a pale light was shining in through the long row of windows on the far wall. They were standing in a large square room. On one side were shelves lined with toys and children’s books.
There was a door behind them, through it came the sound of many footsteps getting closer and closer.
Suddenly, the other man began to weep hysterically. He got down on his knees, pulling at his hair and crying out sounds that didn’t correspond to any language.
“What is it?” asked Lucas
The other man looked up at him, his face seemingly more wrinkled that it had been a moment ago, as if he had just suffered some severe trauma.
“Something really bad is about to happen here” he said.
An old, severely damaged car was creeping slowly up the road. It gently came to a stop directly in front of them. A man sat at the driving seat, a woman on the passenger side. They did not talk to each other. Their faces were wrinkled beyond their age and their pale complexions gave them a worrying look of ill health.
After a few minutes the woman turned to look at the man, he was lighting a cigarette.
“Are you doing it or am I?” she asked, the question clearly demonstrating her reluctance to be the one.
The man paused for a moment, exhaling. He didn’t face her and remained silent. He had made his decision and planned on keeping it. His silence told the woman he couldn’t do what was needed and therefore was asking her to. She was annoyed at his cowardice, it was as much if not more her burden than his.
She used this anger to force her out of the car.
As she opened the door and stepped out, the other man turned to Lucas.
“Do you recognise them?” he asked
Lucas thought long and hard and then shook his head.
“No, I have never seen them before.” He answered.
The woman lifted the hood of her jacket over her head and approached the boot of the vehicle. She opened it and dug something out: a bundle of blankets wrapped around
something small. She purposely did not look down at it.
She walked briskly through the heavy rain and up to the door of the building directly opposite Lucas and the other man. She paced the bundle down on the welcome mat and rang the bell. She didn’t wait for a reply. She turned and jogged back to the car to which the man had already re-started the engine. She got in and slammed the door. The
car sped away.
Then Lucas and the other man were inside the large building.
It was now morning, a pale light was shining in through the long row of windows on the far wall. They were standing in a large square room. On one side were shelves lined with toys and children’s books.
There was a door behind them, through it came the sound of many footsteps getting closer and closer.
Suddenly, the other man began to weep hysterically. He got down on his knees, pulling at his hair and crying out sounds that didn’t correspond to any language.
“What is it?” asked Lucas
The other man looked up at him, his face seemingly more wrinkled that it had been a moment ago, as if he had just suffered some severe trauma.
“Something really bad is about to happen here” he said.
Monday 6 December 2010
LUCAS BROWN AND THE OTHER MAN
Lucas and the other man sat on the side of a swimming pool, their legs dipping into the cool water. Neither of them had yet looked down, but what was reflected on its surface was not two but one person. That person resembled Lucas more than it did the other man, but it was definitely not devoid of either of their presences.
They sat quietly, staring straight ahead, not thinking of anything. The moment was not yet right to break the much needed silence.
When it was eventually ruptured, it was done so by the sound of tiny toes tapping on ceramic tile. These sounds were being made by a large group of children who were running along the other side of the pools perimeter. A woman was following them, shouting for them to stop moving so quickly for fear they might hurt themselves.
She was their teacher; they were a class of 8 year old students.
The group marched on, barely able to contain themselves from sprinting towards the inviting water. Within minutes they were all in the shallow end.
But one boy stayed behind. He was standing alone still wearing his light blue t shirt. The teacher called for him to take it off and join them but he refused. The little boy ran off, quietly sobbing as the others chanted a mocking song in unison.
“I didn’t want to take off my t-shirt” Lucas said to the other man
He was feeling calmer, so was the other man. They didn’t know why, but for the time being they were happy to sit and watch.
Nothing of significance happened after that. The children carried on, the young boy did not return to join his classmates.
“My mother had to pick me up, she told me it was nothing to be ashamed of.” Lucas said to the other man
The other man suddenly felt uncomfortable again, his vision blurring, the events before him losing focus.
“We’re here to remember, aren’t we?” He asked Lucas
“Yes” replied Lucas
They sat quietly, staring straight ahead, not thinking of anything. The moment was not yet right to break the much needed silence.
When it was eventually ruptured, it was done so by the sound of tiny toes tapping on ceramic tile. These sounds were being made by a large group of children who were running along the other side of the pools perimeter. A woman was following them, shouting for them to stop moving so quickly for fear they might hurt themselves.
She was their teacher; they were a class of 8 year old students.
The group marched on, barely able to contain themselves from sprinting towards the inviting water. Within minutes they were all in the shallow end.
But one boy stayed behind. He was standing alone still wearing his light blue t shirt. The teacher called for him to take it off and join them but he refused. The little boy ran off, quietly sobbing as the others chanted a mocking song in unison.
“I didn’t want to take off my t-shirt” Lucas said to the other man
He was feeling calmer, so was the other man. They didn’t know why, but for the time being they were happy to sit and watch.
Nothing of significance happened after that. The children carried on, the young boy did not return to join his classmates.
“My mother had to pick me up, she told me it was nothing to be ashamed of.” Lucas said to the other man
The other man suddenly felt uncomfortable again, his vision blurring, the events before him losing focus.
“We’re here to remember, aren’t we?” He asked Lucas
“Yes” replied Lucas
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