Enigmatic Fantasies - Quite The Fantastic Party [#115]

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           “I don’t know if you’d enjoy it, my family’s parties are pretty out there,” she warned.

           “Come on, I promised the club I’d get them in,” her eager friend prodded her shoulder. “Is it really so exclusive you can’t invite a few ‘friends’ once and a while?”

           “No, it’s just, I don’t think the parties are what you think they are,” she explained.

           “What are they all adult and high-brow?” the friend mocked.

           “Well, no it’s-” she began.

           “Then it should be fine, we’re all adults here,” the friend assured.

           “Barely,” she mumbled, “fine, I’ll get you in, but promise to be on your best behavior.”

           “Or what? Your mommy won’t let us play anymore?” her friend laughed.

           “No,” she sighed, “for your own safety and mine, promise me okay?”

           “Sure whatever,” her friend brushed her off.

           “Promise me,” she almost yelled.

           “Fine, I promise I’ll be on my best behavior,” the friend relented, “now I’ll go tell the others, see you Saturday!” With that, her friend ran off with a skip in her step.

           “What have I done?” She buried her face in her hands.

~--~

           Late that Saturday night, the friend and six others in various stages of fancy dress, headed to the party early. The friend knew the address but hadn’t actually visited the home before, so it took them longer than expected. They eventually arrived at a large black gate, with the address posted on it and an intercom to the side.

           “Is this the place?” A large man among the six asked.

           “Think so,” the friend shrugged and reached for the intercom, “hello is this the-”

           “Yes, we’ve been expecting you,” the intercom flared to life and interrupted the friend. The gate opened immediately after and revealed a winding road up to a large mansion. Surprised, but unconcerned, the group of seven trudged up the path to the estate and knocked on the door. A familiar face opened it to greet them.

           “Oh, you guys are early,” she greeted her friend while dressed in an old fashion blouse, a belt with a heavy metal buckle and a pair of sturdy leather boots. Almost like she stepped off the set of a pirate movie or similar period piece. “Come on in,” she welcomed them. The seven stepped into the mansion, only to be greeted by a perplexing sight. The inside was elaborately decorated to appear like a medieval tavern. Complete with tables, animal trophies, and wooden chandeliers. There was even a full functioning bar lined with barrels of alcohol.

           “You didn’t tell me it was a costume party,” the friend commented.

           “Well it’s not,” she stated sheepishly, “I mean they’re going for a bit of a retro, rustic vibe tonight, but...” She trailed off.

           “How much more retro can you get?” A blonde girl from the group pointed out.

           “You’d be surprised,” she replied, “just remember this is not a costume party, this is how we dress. Also, don’t wander off alone with any strangers tonight.”

           “Whatever mom, we’ll be fine,” the large man rolled his eyes.

           “Go over to the food table and eat something for now,” she pointed them towards the far side of the room, “the other guests will be here soon.” The group of seven shrugged and went over to the food while she headed off in another direction.

           “What’s her problem?” A brunette girl from the group asked while she picked up a plate.

           “No clue, maybe she’s worried we’ll embarrass her,” the friend guessed. “Or, she’s worried her family will embarrass her, who knows?”

           “What was that about not wandering off with strangers?” A short guy recalled, “does she have a creepy uncle coming to this or something.”

         “Sure hope not,” the blonde girl commented as she took a piece of chicken from the table, “eww what’s this.” She pointed towards a bowl on the table, filled with a viscous red liquid.

           “That’s definitely a little ripe,” the large man plugged his nose, “what are those balls floating in it? Wait are those, eyeballs?” The other members of the group snapped their view on the bowl as he pointed that out, and several of them gagged.

           “Talk about dedication to the theme,” the friend exclaimed, “yet this isn’t supposed to be a costume party? What sort of people does her mother hang out with?”

           “I think we’re about to find out,” a lanky man from the group pointed to the front door, where guests had begun to pour in. At first, they seemed reasonable enough. More people dressed like they were at a Renaissance fair or a LARP; however, that quickly changed. A few tall figures with pale skin and red eyes entered, wrapped in inky black capes. Then a few large, green gentlemen arrived, with tusk-like teeth and claw-like fingers, but then it got strange. Floating balls of energy, squid-like tentacles monsters, and beings of pure shadows began to stream into the room. Winged beings with a glowing presence, horned figures with cleft hooves, giant lizards that walked on two feet and so many more also entered. To say it was a diverse party would be a gross understatement.

           “This isn’t a costume party?” The blonde girl blurted out in shock.

           “I don’t think that’s a costume,” a ginger girl in the group pointed towards one of the tentacle monsters. “That definitely isn’t a costume,” she gestured at one of the balls of energy.

           “This answers some questions, I think,” the friend exclaimed. Out in the crowd, the group could barely see a familiar face mingle among the masses, laughing with a group of the big, green men.

           “This party is going to rock,” the large man stated, earning a few choice looks from the rest of the group. “No seriously look,” he pointed towards the door, where an immense being of pure rock entered into the room.

           “Come on, let’s mingle,” the short guy walked into the crowd, the rest of the group began to follow one by one. The friend was last, and as she left the food table, she noticed the tall, pale individuals taking drinks from the bowl full of eyeballs.

           ‘What have I gotten myself into?’ The friend thought to herself as she disappeared into the crowd. 

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When someone asks you "are you sure," or similar warnings, listen to them.

I've actually had this idea in my head for a couple years now, but I didn't know what to do with it. Honestly I could easily expand this into a much longer story, maybe even a novel (note to self: do this one day). I don't know if it would be a comedy, horror, or a mixture of the two, but I can see potential.

Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy

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Eclectic Narratives #10 - Insurance Without Assurance [#114]

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            “Why have my insurance rates increased so drastically in the past month,” he yelled into the phone’s receiver.

            “Give a moment to check your records sir,” the voice on the other end of the phone replied. “According to our records you’ve been in too many high-risk situations in the three months.”

            “Such as?” He growled into the phone.

            “If you recall the alien invasion at the beginning of the year,” they began. “You were right in the center of that, according to this document, sir. Lost a good chunk of your house and a car as well.”

            “I was a victim, so what?” The man’s temper flared.

            “Well if you’re in one alien invasion you’re at risk for another,” the voice explained.

            “That’s ridiculous,” he roared, “but there’s more, isn’t there?”

            “Correct sir,” they confirmed. “After the alien invasion, you lost a rental car during the monster attack two weeks later.”

            “What, was I supposed to outdrive a monster the size of a skyscraper?” The man grew more irritated, “that thing moved three blocks with each step.”

            “In addition sir,” the voice continued, “you’ve been a hostage in three separate supervillain incidents. You were possessed in the last demon incursion, and suffered a sprained ankle in last month’s earthquake.”

            “You’ve got to be kidding me,” the man groaned. “Just because of my horrendous luck and circumstances completely out of my control, you’re raising my rates.”

            “It’s policy sir, I’ve no control over it,” the voice on the other end of the line apologized.

            “I want to speak with your supervisor,” the man growled.

            “Okay sir, but they’ll just repeat what I’ve told you,” the voice warned.

            “I can’t believe this,” the man mumbled as the “please hold” music started.

~--~

            Meanwhile, in a dark, shadowy room in an undisclosed location.

            “Is he on to us?” The “supervisor” asked.

            “No commander, he still believes he is simply unlucky,” the “voice” replied.

            “Excellent,” the “supervisor” smiled, “keep him on hold, for now, let’s test the breaking point of his frustration.” The two shadowy figures laughed.

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Sometimes the world is out to get you, although it probably won't take the form of shadowy figures taking control of your insurance company just to torment you.

Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy

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Enigmatic Fantasies #41 - Not Exactly A Snipe Hunt [#113]

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            “I thought I told you to stop following me,” she told him as she marched into the woods. She didn’t even turn around to address him.

            “I’m just curious, okay,” he admitted. “Plus, these woods are pretty close to my grandparent’s house, so I wanted to make sure the ghosts don’t get them.”

            “First off, I’m not hunting ghosts today,” she corrected him, but still refused to look at him. “Second, I told you to stop following me.”

            “I promise you won’t even know I’m here,” he tried to assure her, “I’ll even-” He was cut off by her hand suddenly coming over his mouth.

            “Shush, it’s here,” she warned, “if you want to make yourself useful, hold this open for me.” She handed him a small cage while she pulled out a metal grabber. With the tool in hand, she carefully stepped forward towards a nearby bush. As she neared the bush rustled slightly, at that moment, she decided to pounce. She disappeared into the shrubbery, which shook violently until she shouted, “got you, you little bastard!”

            “What’s going on?” He looked on in confusion as she pulled herself out of the bush with a death grip on the grabber. However, whatever she had caught was still lodged in the shrubbery, held in place only by the grabber.

            “You idiot open the cage,” she ordered, to which he quickly relented as she hoisted her catch, dropped it into the cage, and snapped the lid shut. With the mysterious target captured, she smiled as she held up the cage to her face.

            “Wait is that?” He finally got a good luck at the creature, it resembled a rabbit, but it had a pair of deer-like antlers, “that’s a Jackalope.”

            “Another insightful observation as always,” she mocked him as the jackalope fidgeted inside the cage.

            “But, I thought those were just made up as a joke,” he stated.

            “Nonsense,” she countered, “horned rabbits have been observed for centuries. While only on a technicality, they still count as a mythical creature and are under my jurisdiction. Can’t let some random hunter find this. Don’t want to give those cryptozoologists anything legitimate to work with now.”

            “Seriously, this was your important mission?” He questioned her, “it’s just a little rabbit with horns. Why were you so adamant on keeping me away.”

            “Well first off, if you haven’t noticed, I find you very annoying,” she admitted, “and second.” She held up the cage, which the jackalope was bouncing around at high speeds. “Try to imagine a football star chucking the ball at full force towards you, now imagine the balls has horns.”

            “Oh, I get it, sorry,” he apologized sheepishly, “so what are you going to do with it?”

           “Well it’s about 20% venison and 80% rabbit meat so,” she explained.

           “Seriously?” He freaked out.

           “I’m kidding, they’re endangered,” she laughed, “I know a place that’ll take it off my hands, let’s leave it at that.”

           “You are involved in some strange things,” he exclaimed.

           “I know,” she agreed.

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Sometimes truth and fiction are identical and sometimes your snipe hunt is successful.

Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy

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Strange Sci-fi Tales #25 - All The World At My Fingertips [#112]

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            ‘All the world is at my fingertips,’ I mused as I leaned back into my creaky office chair in the middle of the cluttered server room. The monitor in front of me confirmed that everything ran smoothly. Temperatures were stable, nothing had failed, and response times were acceptable. Here I was, with my hand on the major artery of the entire company, and by extension, a good chunk of the world. On a whim, I could plunge a good 20% of the world back into the dark ages, but I wouldn’t do that there’s nothing for me to gain.

            “Johnson, get off your lazy ass I have a job for you,” my boss burst into the room. The golden, all-access badge loosely attached to his shirt flapped wildly.

            “Its James, Sir,” I corrected him.

            “Whatever Jimmy,” he brushed me off. “The network is down in sector 8, get it back up now, and when you’re done with that, I want this morning’s status report on my desk.”

            “Sector 8 isn’t down,” I pointed at my monitor, the icon for sector 8 was lit up green with an assurance that it still functioned. “Also, the morning’s status reports are already on your desk, it was the first thing I did. I even emailed you a copy.”

            “Don’t give me your damn excuses, Johnny,” my boss flared up, “I was just in sector 8, and my tablet couldn’t connect to the network.”

            “Maybe because you haven’t updated it in over a year,” I mumbled.

            “What was that?” My boss growled.

            “Nothing boss,” I assured, “would you like me to send a third copy of the status report?”

            “Forget it, just do your job,” my boss blustered as he stomped out of the room. He even tried to slam the automatic sliding door and failed miserably.

           ‘There’s a reason to plunge the world into a dark age,’ I recalled my previous thought. ‘Oh who am I kidding, a guy like him would probably enjoy it.’ I glanced back at the door to make sure he’d left, and I noticed a shiny gold badge on the floor. Temptations ran through my mind, with that badge I could get anywhere in this building I wanted. ‘I could shut down the entire server with his badge, and he’d be blamed for it. He’d never admit to losing it. No, I have a better idea.’

            I waited for about ten minutes, just enough time for the boss to get back to his office and begin to settle into his chair. Then I picked up the phone and dialed his office number.

            “Hey boss, I noticed an all-access card on the server room floor, that wouldn’t be yours would it,” I asked with a suppressed grin.

            “Of course not I would never-” He started, I heard him rustle around his person before he continued. “I mean, I’ll come down and check, it could belong to any of the managers. Don’t you dare touch it.”

            “Sure thing boss,” I hung up and leaned back into my chair. Maybe one day I’ll act upon my impulses until then I’ll enjoy watching him squirm.

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Treat your subordinates well, they can make your life a living hell.

(Okay so this barely qualifies as sci-fi, but it's supposed to be a tech-support/annoying boss story, but set in the future so I'm counting it.)

Until next time, Read, Comment and Enjoy

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