Saturday, August 1, 2009

EXTREME PREJUDICE: Meet Ethan Knox


EXTREME PREJUDICE


Synopsis: Ethan Knox is a modern renaissance man. Writer, Magus, and Teacher, Ethan barely has time to focus on himself much less to reconcile his feelings for his ex-lover Detective Brian Lewis, who may or may not still harbor feelings for him as well. When one of Ethan’s students, convicted murderer Ricky Mason, stumbles upon a power that threatens to destroy the city of Shadow Falls, Ethan is forced to confront him in a magickal battle that ultimately exposes the face of true evil.


CHAPTER ONE: Meet Ethan Knox

In the 21st century, the millennium has come and gone, the world has not yet ended, and the earth and its people are in tact. Where once was the home of a beautiful and proud people, the City of Shadow Falls now stands. Even the vast and gloomy swamp on the outskirts of town is now home to the decades old Palmetto Correctional Facility, otherwise known to its employees and inhabitants as the ‘Palms’

Ethan Knox makes his way down the 30 mile stretch of winding road known as the Devil’s Backbone and which leads to the prison in the middle of the swamps.

“Good afternoon.” Ethan says to the guard.

“Good afternoon” he replies.

“Ethan Knox, here for the Pagan Prison Ministry…”

“May I see your ID Mr. Knox?” the guard asks.

Ethan hands the guard his ID who logs him in and gives Ethan a visitor’s badge. The guard then directs Ethan to drive up to the Prison Chapel and wait for Chaplain Wynne to let him in.

“Chaplain” Ethan nods.

“Ethan, How are you today?” the Chaplain asks as he lets Ethan inside the gate. The two men chat as they walk inside.

“Oh fine, can’t complain. You?”

“Great, just great. How was your drive?”

“Boring. Forgot my ipod and you know you can’t a decent radio signal on the backbone.”

“I usually use my time on the backbone for quiet meditation. Ne’er had no time for the radio.”

The two men stop outside a small classroom.

“Well, here we are. The students will be in shortly and I’ll see you after class.” says the Chaplain.

“Thanks Chaplain.”

“Have a good class”

“Will do.”

Ethan enters the small classroom and takes a seat at the large rectangular table near the chalkboard. He takes out the homework that his students passed in at their previous meeting and begins looking over the many pages while he waits for the students to enter.

After a few minutes, the door opens and a rush of about 14 men of all ages, races and sizes enter the room in their beige v-neck prison attire.

“Ethan! So glad you could come today!” says one.

“Hey Ethan, check out my new tattoo” says another.

“Did you get a chance to read my letter?” says still another.

The men begin shouting over one another all vying for Ethan’s attention until no one could be heard.

“Ok Ok Ok settle down y’all” Ethan says as he raises his hands to calm them all down and bring order, “now remember we only have an hour for class and besides we don’t want to the guard outside to think we’re starting a riot in here…..”

The men take their seats around the table as Ethan prepares himself for the day’s lesson.

“Robert” Ethan addressed the young man on his right “can you sign the log in sheet and pass it around while I hand out your homework.”

“Sure” replies Robert.

As the men sign in to the class roster, Ethan goes around the room handing out the week’s previous homework which he had graded.

“Here you go Lamar,” Ethan says “your story about the Plate-Eye was very intriguing”

“Thanks Ethan, my grandma told me that story when I was little to scare me.”

“It certainly did the trick” Ethan replies.

“Roger, you did a great job on The Grey Man” Ethan addresses another student “but you forgot to site your sources.”

“A good writer always cites his sources” Ethan says to no one in particular.

When Ethan is done handing back homework, he returns to his seat and collect the class roster. Looking over the names, Ethan notices two new faces in the class. Ethan knew it wasn’t unusual to get a few new students from time to time. Some inmates come to the class to get out of their cell for an extra hour, some do it for the food that is occasionally served, and others do it out of genuine interest. Of the two new faces, one seems vaguely familiar but Ethan can’t quite place him.

“I see we have a couple of new faces” Ethan addresses the group “As you may or may not know, my name is Ethan Knox and I volunteer with DOC as a volunteer with the Pagan Prison Ministry Program. As a volunteer I travel all over the state of South Carolina teaching classes and holding ritual at various facilities.”

The students listen intently as Ethan continued

“I had the good fortune to have been raised by my Pagan mother, who taught me the craft. I have studied with elders in many different traditions and currently have been initiated in three traditions. Although I am a solitary in my personal practices, I sometimes work with a loose group of magical friends although I wouldn’t call us a coven.”

Ethan could tell the students were eager to get underway so he quickly cut his spiel short.

“Now, that’s enough about me. Why don’t you two tell us a little about yourselves?” Ethan asked.

Ethan nodded at the first man a tall African-American and asked him his name.

“Well, my name is Andre. Andre Evans. I don’t know why I came here today; I think I just wanted to see what this was all about.”

“Ok fair enough,” replied Ethan “you’re free to sit and listen in today, but keep in mind that participation in this class is mandatory.”

Andre nodded in agreement.

Ethan then turned to the second man a young Caucasian who looked unsure of himself.

“My name is Ricky Mason” he explains, “I’ve kinda always been interested in magic, astral projection, n’ stuff like that. I thought this would be a good opportunity to learn more……”

Before he could finish, Ricky is suddenly punched in the face by another student Billy Pyatt and falls to the floor disoriented.

“I know who you are” exclaims Billy “you kilt Matthew Powers!”

“Who?” many of the other students ask in unison as they now surround Billy and Ricky. A few hold Billy back from attacking Ricky further.

“Matthew Powers” Billy explains “his daddy was Derek Powers. He owns the cotton mill where my brother worked. When my brother was ran over by a hit-and-run driver and we couldn’t pay the hospital bills Derek Powers took care of the whole bill and never asked for anything in return. And you kilt his son, you son of a bitch” Billy grew louder and angrier.

Alerted by the noise, two correctional officers enter the classroom and both Billy and Ricky are taken away for being disruptive. After everyone calms down and returns to their seats, Ethan tries to clarify the purpose of the class….

“Now listen,” Ethan begins “there is a lesson in what happened in here today. Each and every person in this room, including me, is guilty of something.”

“What did you ever do?” a chubby student asks

“That’s not important Danny,” Ethan replies “but what is important is that even though we’ve all done things that we’re were paying for now, things that we probably wish that we hadn’t done---that’s no excuse for not trying to better ourselves. Each and every one of us has that right as a human being and nobody can deny you the right to better yourself but you. So long as you have breath in your body you have the opportunity to make the most of your life and be the best you that you can be!”

The student nod in agreement.

“Well now, since most of our time has passed why don’t we open up the floor to discussion.

“Since we all shared our stories about local legends, why don’t you tell us one of yours?” asks Danny.

“Ok” Ethan replies “who’d like to hear about the legend of Red-Eye?”

“Yeah, that’s a good one” says Roger.

“Hells yeah, man” says Johnny “tell that one!”

Ethan begins the Legend of Red-Eye

“The story opens in the mid 18th century, tensions between the natives and the colonist are building, and every one is on edge. The Shaman of the LaPye Nation foresees that in a war between the Red Man and the White Man that the Red Man would lose. The Shaman undergoes a traditional vision-quest to seek the guidance of the Ancestors. He journeys into the wild swampy region on the edge of his people’s tribal lands, taking only the clothes on his back and some drinking water. The Shaman finds an isolated spot and with his staff draws a large 6 foot circle around himself. He then takes out his medicine bag and removes the roots of the Ghost Plant, an herb sacred to his people which is said to bring visions when the spirits are inclined and the man is ready. The Shaman begins to chew this root, while concentrating on his desire for a vision. Minutes pass into hours, and hours into days. The Shaman remains in the circle praying for a vision while chewing the root, only stopping for brief naps.

After many days, the shaman is rewarded as his astral body moves across the psychic plane, however, instead of the Ancestors he encounters a fierce, primal spirit, invisible except for its glowing red eyes. The Shaman comes to believe that Red-Eye has been sent to him by the Ancestors as a means to protect his people. Coming out of his vision quest, the Shaman makes the journey back to the village and in his weary state he is almost killed by an alligator lying in wait. In a moment of terror, the memory of Red-Eye crosses his mind and almost immediately the alligator is torn apart by an invisible force. For the Shaman, this experience confirms his belief that Red-Eye is a gift from the Ancestors.

Seeing no other way to save his people, the Shaman unleashes Red-Eye on the colonist during the Blood Moon (the full moon in October.) Red-Eye tears through the village, destroying everything and almost everyone in sight. Many run blindly into the forest, while others believing that Judgment Day has come at last simply kneels before what they believe to be the Angel of Death and accept their fate. Those who managed to escape will never forget this catastrophic night, and many will suffer horrific nightmares for many years to come. Red-Eye having now tasted blood, attacks the unsuspecting inhabitants of the LaPye village, and the Shaman discovers Red-Eye has grown beyond his ability to control him. He is able to banish Red-Eye in the name of the Ancestors, to the virtually uninhabitable swamps; however, it is at a price he could not have foreseen. The consequence of invoking the Ancestors is that he must then join them in the afterlife. The legend of Red-Eye, the invisible monster with glowing red eyes, is born. The survivors are able to recover their losses and the natives are eventually driven off their own lands and onto the reservations. The rest is history. “

“Dayum” says Bill “Is that a true story?”

“It sure is” Ethan replies “and some people even believe that Red-Eye still lurks among the briars and brambles of the marshy swamps around this prison.”

At that there is a knock on the door which startles the students.

“Hi guys.” The Chaplain says as enters the classroom. “I heard we had a bit of excitement in here today.”

“Yeah,” Ethan replies “but I think the guys learned an important lesson about self-improvement.”

“As long as some good can come out of it…” replies the Chaplain wearily.

“Come on guys…” the Chaplain says directing the students to follow the guard back to the cells. “Ethan, you’re with me.”

Ethan follows the Chaplain back out the way they originally came in.

“I hope that this little incident today won’t keep you away, Ethan?” The Chaplain says apologetically.

“Oh no,” Ethan replies “I’ve been in worse situations. Besides I can’t just abandon my students like that, they need me.”

“Well, I’ve certainly seen an improvement in their behavior since you started coming here.” the Chaplain explains “You know, I wasn’t sure about this whole Pagan Prison Ministry thing, but you really do seem to have had a positive influence on them.”

“Thanks” Ethan replies “but I can’t take all the credit. They’ve done a lot of hard work to get to where they are.”

“Well, let’s hope they stick to it.”

“See you next week” Ethan says walking pass the gate outside the Chapel.

“See you then” the Chaplain replies locking the gate and returning inside.

Ethan turns in his visitor’s badge at the front gate and retrieves his driver’s license from the guard. As he pulls out of the prison and makes his way back home, he curses himself again for having forgotten his ipod.

“Quiet meditation” Ethan thinks to himself……

2 comments:

  1. Very interesting, Ethan,I await your next post.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks anonymous. I hope you enjoy the series.

    Ethan.

    ReplyDelete