Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Confrontation

Returning home, Ethan can’t help but wonder exactly what had occurred the previous night. Taking a seat at his computer he creates a flow chart of the events which have transpired.

“Let’s see, first the Siren was destroyed by stones dropping from the sky” Ethan says to himself, “…then the Winthrop Plant was torn apart, followed by the destruction of the children’s park and the Library at the community college…”

Completing his flow chart, Ethan stares at it attempting to make sense of the strange events listed before him.

“Well” Ethan thinks “when in doubt, start at the beginning.”

Searching through various public data bases, he discovers the owner of The Siren is one Derek Powers.

“Derek Powers” Ethan thinks aloud now connecting the dots “the Winthrop Plant, also owned by the Powers Industries; which also bankrolled the construction of the library, AND the children’s park is named after Derek’s father Walter Powers!”

Excited about his discovery, Ethan gets up from his computer and begins pacing across his office as he thinks aloud to himself.

“So, Derek Powers appears to be the target of these attacks. But who is behind these attacks and why?”

Ethan stops and looks at nothing in particular outside his office window.

“When in doubt,” he reminds himself again “begin at the beginning….Wait! The destruction of the Siren wasn’t the first thing that occurred, before that there was the prison break!”

Ethan takes a seat at his computer again.

“Now let’s see…” he mumbles to himself “…who at the prison would have a grudge against Derek Powers?

Suddenly it become very clear.

Ethan searches the archives of the Shadow Falls Courier for information pertaining to Ricky Mason.

Mason Gets 25 Years to Life for Murder of Matthew Powers

A local man has been sentenced to 25 years to life for the murder of Matthew Powers, son of prominent business man Derek Powers CEO of Powers Industries, one of the state’s biggest employers.

Ricky Mason, 20, of Shadow Falls, South Carolina was told he would serve a minimum of 25 years for the murder.

According to prosecutors, Mason shot and killed Powers when Matthew Powers interrupted Mason during a break-in of his father’s private safe. Mason had been employed as a handyman and driver at the Power’s Estate for just over 18 months at the time of the shooting.

At his trial earlier this year, Mason made no attempt to assist in his own defense and despite several requests gave no interviews to the media.

Grabbing his cell phone, Ethan calls Chaplain Wynne at the ‘Palms’

“Hello, Chaplain Wynne’s office.”

“Hi Chaplain, this is Ethan Knox.”

“Hi Ethan, look I’m sorry about having to cancel the Wiccan Study Group for the time being, but rest assured your group isn’t being singled out, all classes and observations have been canceled. We simply can’t guarantee security.”

“Oh I understand, Chaplain. I was just wondering, has Ricky Mason been re-captured?”

“Ricky ah no, I don’t think so. We’re not even sure if he’s still alive. A lot can happen out there in the swamps, you know, there may be nothing to find.”

“Hmmm”

“He’s hasn’t contacted you, has he?”


“What? Oh no, I haven’t been contacted by anyone.”

“Why all this interest in Ricky Mason, Ethan?”

“Oh just concerned…about my students. Maybe I’ll light a candle for them?

“Of course, of course, they’ll be in my prayers as well.”

“Well, thanks for the information Chaplain. Goodbye”

“God Bless.”

Flipping his phone shut, Ethan continues to think aloud “So Ricky is still unaccounted for….but how could he EVER do anything like this? Still its the only answer, it has to be him.”

“It won’t take the police long to come to the same conclusion I have.” Ethan exclaims to himself as he runs up to the second floor of his home taking the stairs two at a time “And if he really is behind all this they aren’t prepared to deal with this kind of threat. I have to find him before anyone gets hurt!”

In his temple, Ethan repeats the spell he used to locate Tina Jones when she went missing earlier the previous week, and pinpoints Ricky’s location.

Driving out to the Stardust, located on a lonely back road on the eastern side of Shadow Falls, Ethan recalls that the theater had been a major attraction in the town in the 1950’s but the owners died in the 70’s leaving no heirs. The land later reverted back to the city, whose plans to develop it never came to fruition. The Stardust now barely stands as a monument to a different time. Covered in kudzu, Ethan notices how the theater resembles a giant monster from an old Godzilla movie.

Swallowing his fear, Ethan steps inside the darkened theater and immediately regrets having left his flashlight at home.

Inside Ricky Mason is asleep on a makeshift cot he’s made for himself, however, his past two years in prison have made him a light sleeper. He awakens from his spot behind the movie screen, and sitting up listens for what first alerted his senses.

Ethan explores the concession area and decides to go into the theater itself. Inside the theater some light filters through a hole in the roof, but most of it is obscured by the kudzu. As Ethan’s eyes adjust to the darkness, he opens all his senses in hopes of finding Ricky.

“Ricky” Ethan calls out sensing another presence.

“Mr. Knox?” Ricky answers coming out from his hiding place. “How did you find me here?”

“That’s not important right now Ricky. But if I can find you, the police won’t be far behind. Look, you need to come with me, back to the police station. Things will go better for you if you turn yourself in….”

“No way man!” Ricky answers as he begins to walk past Ethan “I’m not going back, not now…not EVER! Besides I have a score to settle. Which reminds me I have a date with destiny, I better be leaving now. ”

“You mean with Derek Powers, don’t you?” says Ethan blocking Ricky’s way.

“Look Mr. Knox, I like you and all, but don’t get in my way.”

“Listen Ricky, I’ll come with you….”

“I said, don’t get in my way” Ricky exclaims interrupting Ethan.

Ricky eyes take on a reddish glow and Ethan is thrown through a wall on the other side of the room.

“I’m sorry Mr. Knox” Ricky mumbles “but I said I’m not going back.”

Ricky exits the Stardust and believing that Ethan is dead or unconscious makes his way to Ethan’s car.

“I’m afraid its not going to be that easy Ricky” Ethan calls from behind Ricky.

As Ricky turns around he sees that Ethan has his hands up to his temples as if he’s concentrating very hard. Suddenly a nearby chain link fence breaks apart and coils itself around Ricky.

“So” Ricky observes “You’ve been holding out on us Mr. Knox. I’m not the only one with powers…”

“I’m sorry, I had to do that Ricky” Ethan explains “but I can’t let you hurt anyone.”

“Oh it’s not over yet” Ricky mumbles as his eyes take on the familiar red glow as the fencing coiled around him glows red and explodes outward away from him.

Ethan closes his eyes concentrating hard as he strains to envelope himself in a cocoon of telekinetic energy. When he opens his eyes, he find that the Stardust is on fire and Ricky is no where to be found.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Eve of Destruction

Being a creature of habit, Ethan awakes the following morning and follows his usual routine. First a hot shower and a shave, followed by dressing casually in a faded t-shirt and jeans. Walking downstairs to his kitchen, Ethan pours himself a glass of cold sewwt-tea from his refrigerator as he stares out the window over his sink.

When he has finished his drink, Ethan walks out his back door and moving to the center of his fenced in back yard turns to the East. Ethan takes a few deep breathes. Grounding his energies into the earth itself, and lifting his head to the skies, Ethan stretches out his arms, elbows slightly bent, palms up and says his devotion as he has done many times before:

“Hail and welcome bringer of light,

You of beauty grace and might;

As I go about my day;

Shower me with your golden rays,

Make me a vessel of your energy,

That cleansed and blessed I may be!”

Ethan enjoys these few moments of communion with the infinite and then walks back inside feeling more energetic and awake than he had before. Inside he takes another cup of sweet-tea to his office off the living room. Moving through the house Ethan remarks to himself he doesn’t seem to do a great deal of living in his living room. Inside his office, he switches on the television, mostly for background noise, and takes a seat at his computer. Ethan brings up the astrological programs that tell him where the planets are in relation to the zodiac and to each other for the next coming months.

Ethan begins to print off the information so that he can begin to write the horoscopes for each of the twelve signs of that zodiac. For some it may seem tedious work, but Ethan has always loved astrology and he felt that he had found a niche writing monthly horoscopes specifically for the lives of gay men. The publishers of The North Star, a gay men’s magazine, certainly felt that way as well. Ethan always counted himself lucky to be able to make a living by doing something that he loved.

Working at his computer, half listening to the re-run of Charmed which replays twice daily on TNT, Ethan barely notices when the program is interrupted by the Emergency Alert System. The banner on the bottom of the screen and the accompanying voice informed the viewer of the existence of an emergency situation and urged the viewer to turn to another channel for all relevant information. Turning to the specified channel, Ethan reads the words as they appear on the screen.

“All citizens in the city of Shadow Falls are urged to stay indoors as several incidences point to the possibility of a Tornado having touched down in several areas of the city. While no Tornado has been spotted, authorities say that this does not mean that the danger has passed. Again all citizens should remain indoors……”

Ethan clicks over to the local channel where a reporter is filing a story about the destruction of the historic Winthrop Plant, one of the many textile mills owned by Derek Powers.

“…..as you can see Jane, the plant seems to have been torn apart brick by brick. Now authorities are treating the incident as a natural disaster. The official cause has been attributed to a tornado. However I spoke with Larry Vaughn, Channel 5’s own weather man, and there has been no indication of a tornado in the area. Officials have declined to comment. Dan Brokaw, Channel 5 News."

“Thank you Dan. Larry will have his own report later as we bring you continuing coverage of the destruction of the Winthrop Plant in Shadow Falls, South Carolina."

Having seen his ex-boyfriend Brian in the background at the disaster Ethan throws on his shoes and drives to the scene. There, Ethan witnesses the devastation, and bewildered as much as the crowd around him he looks to the skies as if searching for the elusive tornado.

Ethan makes his way to the front of the crowd behind the police barricade looking for Brian. Seeing Brian, Ethan moves forward to speak with him and a uniformed officer warns him to stay behind the yellow caution tape.

“Brian!” Ethan calls out over the officer’s shoulder.

“Its okay.” Brian explains to the officer showing him his badge “I know this man, he’s one of the department’s advisors on certain matters.”

“Ok, detective.” the officer remarks letting Ethan pass.

Brian and Ethan then walk away from both the crowd and other officials where they can talk openly.

“Ethan, what are you doing here?"

“I saw the report on TV and I was worried about you….”

“You know something about all this?”

“All this?” Ethan questions “You mean there’s more going on?”

“Are you kidding me? Well, last night there was a major prison break at the Palms when manhole sized openings appeared in the walls, ceilings, and floors; and then there’s this…” Brian says as he points to the destroyed Winthrop Plant “...and finally a hail of stones appeared in the skies over the Yacht Club sinking only one ship, The Siren, even though there were several anchored on the docks.”

Brian takes a moment to pause, hoping that Ethan will provide him with some answers. When Ethan is not forthcoming Brian continues “If that’s not enough, there’s major property damage at the children’s park, destruction at the construction sight of the library bring built at Shadow Falls Community College….”

“I’m sorry” Ethan explains “I don’t know anything about any of these events. Like I said, I was just worried about you."

“That’s nice Ethan.” Brian remarks sympathetically “but I’m really busy here so if you can’t offer me any help, I really need you to go home where its safe and let us handle this ok?”

“Ok” Ethan replies pausing to open his senses “…but I can tell you that this isn’t a natural disaster.”

“What do you mean?”

“Just that I sense the lingering emanations of something…or someone… very angry…..”

“Detective Lewis” someone calls out to Brian “over here please.”

“That’s my boss,” Brian explains “I have to go.”

“Ok” Ethan replies “I’ll see you later. Oh and thanks for that bottle of wine….”

“Ethan, just go home where you’ll be safe and stay put. For me?”

“I will. Bye.”

“Love you…”

“What?” Ethan asks surprised.

“I’m sorry Ethan…” Brian replies, “…force of habit. I gotta go…”

Before driving home, Ethan cruises past the children’s park where he spots the familiar yellow CAUTION tape as well as several officers going about their business. Slowing down, Ethan notices that it appears as if the swing sets, slides and other assorted attractions scattered about the children’s park had been pulled up out of the ground and warped into grotesque shapes. Making a U-Turn and driving past the park again, Ethan notices the sign at its entrance:

Walter Powers Memorial Park

Established 1990



Sunday, August 16, 2009

Horror Show

The authorities scramble throughout the night to capture the scattered escapees, and in the confusion Ricky makes his way through the swamps. Coming across the unconscious body of one of his fellow inmates who had been shot while trying to escape, Ricky relieves him of his clothing.

“This will have to do for now.” Ricky thinks to himself “I can’t be seen anywhere wearing this orange jumpsuit. It’s just not my color.”

At that Ricky hears the barking of the bloodhounds that had been sent to retrieve the escapees.

“Well now” Ricky sighs “we can’t have them catching up. Not when I’ve just started to have my fun.”

Thinking of how to keep the dogs off his trail, Ricky thinks back to all the myths and lore he’s read about the swamps and the spirits that inhabit them.

“The wil-o’-wisps!” Ricky exclaims as he recalls the ancient legends of the eerie lights that capture a weary traveler’s attention fascinating him and which leads him deeper and deeper into the swamps to his death. “That’ll lead the men and dogs away from me!”

Ricky grounds himself and attempts to formulate a spell to invoke the wil-o’-wisps.

“I call upon the ancient light,

who leads men astray in the night;

come do your worst yet let me be,

& lead my pursuers away from me!”

At first nothing happens, but then several small lights begin to form around Ricky. The lights swirl around him for a few moments and then float away towards the sound of the barking dogs. Ricky waits for a few moments listening to the sounds around him.

“Hey, over here!” one voice calls out “The dogs have picked up a scent!”

“This way guys” another voice commands, “..follow the dogs. Come on keep up now!”

Fear moves through Ricky and he scrambles for what to do next. As he stands still thinking of how to get out of this situation, Ricky suddenly realizes that the sounds of the hunting party are growing fainter and fainter.

“It worked” Ricky exclaims, “they’re moving away from me. Now to make sure they can’t find their way back to me.”

Ricky then raises his hands high in the air over his head and aligning himself with the energy around him commands the elements

“Spirits of water & of air

spirits of earth and flame

aid me in this task I dare,

raise a storm in the devil’s name!

Concentrating hard on his desire, Ricky’s eyes and hands give off an eerie red glow as the wind blows hard and cold across his body and clouds now begin to gather around the waning moon over head threatening to swallow it whole. Thunderclaps are heard in the distance and the darkness of the night is momentarily filled with flashes of lightning.

“That should cause enough confusion” Ricky figures “to keep them out of my hair for a while.” as the rain begins to fall in sheets over the swamps.

Walking throughout the entire night, Ricky makes his way to the outskirts of the city of Shadow Falls. Just inside the city limits he finds the remains of the abandoned Stardust movie theater. Walking towards the chained up door Ricky stops to look at the marquee and deciphers from the missing letters that the last movie to play at the Stardust was something called Horror Show in theater one and The Wizard of Oz in theater two.

Ricky simply waves his hand before him and the chain breaks apart from the door falling to the ground. “There’s no place like home.” Ricky casually announces walking inside.

Inside, Ricky begins to explore the theater for anything that could be of use to him. What little food he finds at the concession stand has long expired, so Ricky makes his way back stage where he finds some boxes labeled Frank and Rocky.

Ricky opens the boxes to find an assortment of strange clothing including a pair of gold sequined jockey shorts, feather boas in different colors, fishnet stockings with garters, and a leather vest.

“What da fuck kinda shit is this?” Ricky wonders aloud.

He then opens a box marked Brad and Janet and find a simple men’s button up collared shirt and a pair of blue jeans.

“Ok this is a little more like it” Ricky says to himself as he gets out of his wet orange jump suit and tries on the clothing he has found.

“Hey they fit.”

Rummaging through the boxes he finds a pair of shoes but only one sock. He puts the sock on and places the shoes on the floor beside him. Continuing to look through the box for the missing sock, Ricky comes across an odd assortment of props including a lighter, some dried rice, a water gun, and a newspaper. In addition he finds a notebook about an inch or so thick.

Foraging through the theather, Ricky finds a metal pot in the concession area and set it outside to capture some rainwater. While waiting for the put to fill up, Ricky gathers up several bricks and forms a circle with them. He then forms a small square inside the circle with more bricks. Inside the square he gathers some wood from a broken chair and uses the newspaper to kindle a fire. When he has enough water, Ricky cooks the dried rice he has found by placing the metal pot over on top of the bricks over the fire.

As the rice cooks, Ricky takes out the notebook he had found earlier and begins to flip through it reading passages at random.

“Looks like some kind of script” he says to himself as he continues to read “The Rocky Horror Picture Show….”

Flippin through the pages the next words he reads are Don't Dream it, Be It! Lyrics and music by Richard O'brien.

"Good advice." Ricky comments "but what do I want to be? Hero or Villian?"

When his rice is done, Ricky eats it as best as he can. He then finds a blanket and a makes a comfortable place for him to rest on the floor behind stage. Lying in his makeshift bed, Ricky contemplates his next move as he drifts into a deep sleep that will last many hours.

By late afternoon it appears that his fellow escapees are not so lucky; several of them die in the swamps while others are recaptured. Within hours, only a handful of the escaped inmates are unaccounted for.

Waking up well past dark, Ricky sneaks out of the Stardust Theather and heads towards town.

"Don't dream it" he whispers to himself "Be it!"


Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Ricky's Descent

Wednesday morning, Ricky casually walked around the exercise yard among the other inmates, contemplating his life up to that point.

“Hmmm” Ricky thought to himself “life in the big house isn’t that much different from life on the outside….at least for me.”

Continuing to review his life Ricky recalled his earliest memories struggling to grab hold of a memory…any memory…of his mother. Brenda Mason had died when Ricky was only two years old. He never knew how she died or under what circumstances, so he was left in the care of his alcoholic father and a succession of women who moved into and out of his life. The women his father brought home always seemed to resent Ricky’s presence, with the exception of Lucille.

Lucille was a tall, fiery, red-head that shared Ricky’s interest in magick and the supernatural. She bought him his first deck of tarot cards and showed him how to cast candle spells and fix mojo bags. Even more she really seemed to care about both Ricky and his father and she kept Ricky’s father from hitting him. Lucille was the only positive influence in Ricky’s life.

Unfortunately, Lucille was killed by a hit-and-run driver one night while walking along the road from a convenience store back to her home. They never found her killer.

“People come into your life whether you like it or not,” Ricky thought “and leave just as suddenly as they came, and sometimes you never know how or even why…The people who are supposed to care about you don’t, and enemies often come disguised as friends.”

Ricky began to think about how he was often the target of his father’s drunken rage, which only got worse after Lucille’s death. Like many children who grew up in abusive households he was a below-average student with very few friends. Even though he had a general interest in magick, the few spells he had attempted only seemed to half-work. Ricky recalled a particular spell he had cast as an older teenager that worked too well. Having grown bitter towards his abusive father, Ricky decided to use magick in an attempt to hurt his father like his father had hurt him.

Ricky stole one of his father’s shirts and fashioned a small poppet in the likeness of him, stuffing it with bitter-weed. So that there would be no confusion he wrote Thomas Mason in big bold letters on a piece of paper tape which he stuck to the doll’s chest. He then impaled the doll’s heart with nine pins while wishing ill upon his father and reciting the names of nine demons. He then hid the doll under the covers of his father’s bed.

Thomas Mason came home drunk that night while Ricky was fast asleep. Thomas awkwardly made it to his bedroom, took off his clothes and threw back the covers to climb into bed. Upon seeing the doll, he promptly died of a heart attack. The following morning, Ricky found the body and destroyed the poppet before calling 911.

Luckily Ricky’s 18th birthday was only 6 months away, so he didn’t spend a great deal of time in foster care. However, through his foster family, he was able to obtain a job working on the Power’s Family Estate as a general maintenance man and driver, owing to his natural gift for fixing gadgets, cars, and small appliances.

Ricky considered it a lucky break. The job came with a small furnished one-bedroom apartment over the garage behind the Manor, he was able to use the pool pretty much whenever he wanted since only Mr. Powers lived there and his son, Matthew, only came home from college on holidays and summers. The cook was always giving him food and he had no other bills, so he was able to pursue his interest in magick and witchcraft.

However, within just a year’s time Ricky’s luck turned sour as it seemed to always do and he found himself serving a 25 to life sentence for the murder of Matthew Powers, his employer’s son.

Ricky was still lost in his thoughts when he vaguely saw a dark figure out of the corner of his eye coming toward him quickly.

“I told you I’d be back to get yo ass, mother fucker.” screamed Billy Pyatt, the inmate who had attacked him in Wicca 101 the previous week.

Knocking Ricky to the ground, the two men wrestled with each other.

“..and now you’re gonna get what you got coming to you.” said Billy wielding a shank. Billy had been patient in making the shank for a week and a half. Each day he saved the clear plastic wrap from his meals and wound it around a toothbrush. He then used a lighter to super-heat the plastic melting it all together. Finally, he found a rough patch on the concrete wall in his cell on which to sharpen the plastic to a fine razor’s edge.

“You’re crazy, man” yells Ethan breaking away from Billy, who also scrambles to his feet.

It wasn’t long before the two combatants found themselves surrounded by the other inmates, shouting at them and shoving them ever closer towards one another. Paying no attention to the screaming men around him Billy Pyatt continued to taunt Ricky with the shank.

“Oh man, I can’t believe how much I’m gonna enjoy slicing you up!” taunts Billy swiping at Ricky with the shank.

Dodging the swipes as best as he could, Ricky tries to reason with Billy.

“Listen man” explains Ricky “let’s talk this out…just you and me”

“Talk? You wanna talk?” Billy asks with the look of someone who is accustomed to being a bully. “Dude, you are so weak?”

“Where the hell are the guards?” Ricky thinks to himself.

Billy takes another swipe at Ricky and comes extremely close to slicing him up, but before he could deliver the fatal blow, Ricky feels a sharp pain at the back of his head and just before everything goes black he sees another officer come up behind Billy and strike the back of his head with the butt of his rifle.

An hour later, Ricky awakes in a dimly lit windowless call. He had heard about solitary confinement from the other inmates but this was Ricky’s first time in what was known as the hole. He looks around the room where he sees nothing but a filthy toilet against one wall and a dingy mattress on the floor in the corner…no sheets….no pillow…and no blanket.

The next thing he notices is that he is completely naked. He knew the reason his clothes were removed was to keep him from using them to hang himself, but Ricky couldn’t help but think the correctional officers were, at least subconsciously, sadists.

Ricky did the only thing he could do, he crawled on the dirty mattress curled up in a ball and cried himself to sleep. A few hours later, he awakens to a bang on the metal cell door.

“Wake up ass-wipe” the guard yells sternly as he slides a tray of food through a slot in the bottom of the door “…supper’s here.”

Ricky goes over to the slot and pulls the tray aside.

“Hey, officer” Ricky calls out “officer…why am I in here?”

“Fighting is not tolerated in the Palmetto State Penitentiary.” came the guard’s reply.

“But I wasn’t fighting” Ricky explains “I was attacked, I was just defending myself.”

Ricky waited for a reply but none came. He finally gave up and took his tray over to his mattress where he ate half his baloney sandwich and drank his orange juice as he thought about what he was going to do with all this time on his hands.

The first few days Ricky filled his time mostly by jerking off and sleeping, but his body quickly lost the ability to entertain him and he found him self jerking off less and less and sleeping more and more. As he sunk into depression, Ricky began to remember the last lesson in which he had sat in on in the Wiccan Studies Class. He recalled what Ethan said about magick being channeled through the individual from the Higher Self. Ricky recalls what he’d read about meditation when he was younger and resolved to begin practicing it in order to find his Higher Self.

For the next few days, Ricky began to practice meditating by simply sitting in a comfortable position and focusing on his breathing. Inhaling deeply, Ricky held his breathe for a count of three seconds, slowly exhaled and then waited three seconds before inhaling again. Repeating this pattern of breathing Ricky began relaxing his entire body beginning with his feet and ending with his head. Ricky allowed all extraneous thoughts to fade away as he focused on nothing but his breathing and the gradual relaxation of his entire body. Eventually, he came to a point where both his mind and body were completely relaxed.

After a few days, Ricky was able to come to this place of complete relaxation more and more quickly. One day as he was meditating, Ethan opened his eyes and found himself standing up inside his cell.

“What’s going on here?” Ricky asks himself. “I don’t remember getting up...and why is it so bright in here?”

Confused, Ricky walks over to his cell door. He raises his fist to bang on it and call a guard for help.

“Hey!” Ricky yells “hey guard.” Ricky begins to bang on the door but his hand goes through the door.

Ricky is shocked, but curious about what’s going on he slowly tests the door moving his arm through it and bringing it back several times.

“Holy shit!”

As he slowly begins to understand what has happened, Ricky turns around to see himself still sitting on the floor in meditation.

“Astral Projection!” Ricky exclaims “I never could do it before.”

Ricky takes the opportunity to walk around his physical self taking in his own form from all sides as he continues to think about what is happening to him.

“It must be the combination of sensory deprivation, exhaustion, and the meditation.” Ricky thought to himself.

He finds that in this place his senses are heightened, colors are more vibrant, and sounds are clearer. Comfortable with the idea of being outside his own body, Ricky decides to do some exploring.

Moving through the various cells he spies his enemy Billy Pyatt masturbating.

“Hey asshole..” Ricky asks Billy “Remember me?”

However, Billy is unable to see or hear Ricky. Ricky goes over to Billy as he continues enjoying himself. Ricky raises his fist and punched Billy only to have his hand go through Billy.

“Some other time then” Ricky whispers as he walks through the wall. Ricky continues walking though the walls of the prison until he finds himself outside the prison and beyond its walls.

Enjoying his freedom, Ricky moves deeper and deeper into the swamps. As he walks along he hears the croaking of frogs, the chirping of birds, and the various sounds of nature. At one point he walks up on an alligator. At first his human instincts to flee kick in but then he remembers that his body is safe inside the prison.

“This astral projection is great and all…” Ricky thinks to himself “but I wanted to find my Higher Self.

He continues his walk.

“Hello” Ricky half-jokingly calls out “Higher Self, are you out there?”

At that, Ricky is drawn to a particular spot in the swamp where he sees a vague outline of large human/animal hybrid with glowing red eyes. Believing that he has found his Higher Self, or True Nature, Ricky approaches the entity.

“Are….are you my Higher Self?” Ricky asks the being, which simply stares back at him.

“I was told that if I could find my Higher Self I could make things happen, change my life…can you help me with that?”

“Hmmmm” Ricky thought “I remember reading that spirits are all around us and want to help us but they can’t because of our free will. It seems like I remember that you have to give the spirit permission to act in your life in order for it to help you.”

“I Ricky Mason” he says “invite you into my life. I grant you permission to act in my life to bring about my wants, needs, and desires.”

With that, the shape moves towards him and for the first time since leaving his body Ricky wishes that he was back in his safe cell. He tries to back away from the shape but finds that he is transfixed by the glowing red eyes before him. The shape moves into him and Ricky is overcome by a rush of powerful energy. His astral body which before had appeared to him as a transparent duplicate of his physical body now glows with an eerie red aura. Looking into a nearby puddle, Ricky sees that his eyes are now glowing red as well.

“I’ve done it!” Ricky exclaims to himself triumphantly “I’ve attained the Holy Guardian Angel.”

Ricky decides to return to his body in order to test his theory. Just as the thought enters his mind, he finds himself instantly back in his body.

“Whoa, whatta rush” Ricky mumbles excitedly.

Standing up and stretching his muscles, Ricky thinks back to how Billy Pyatt had tried to kill him days earlier, and testing his theory Ricky focuses his thoughts on Billy directing all his hate at him.

In his cell Billy “Bad-Ass” Pyatt is just about to achieve orgasm, and it is the last one he will ever have. The sound of Billy’s screams fills the entire ward.

Ricky moves over to his cell door and listens as the CO’s run down the hall and throw open Billy’s cell.

“What the FUCK happened here?” one guard screams.

“What is it? Ricky yells “What’s going on?

Ricky can hear now that the other members of his cell block have grown curious as well and are yelling to the guards for information.

Ricky hears a guard who voice he doesn’t recognize call for assistance on his radio…

“This is CO Belk.” the officer speaks into his radio “We have a situation down here. Billy Pyatt is dead, his cell is covered in blood.

“What?” the voice on radio replied

“It looks like he’s been torn apart by some animal……”

Ricky stops listening to the remainder of the conversation. Billy’s death had confirmed for him that he now has the power to be reckoned with. He decides to strike while the iron is hot and to use the confusion going on around him to seize the opportunity to escape his prison.

Closing his eyes, he visualizes the prison as a large chunk of Swiss cheese. As he concentrates the walls around him begin to vibrate, only a little at first, and gradually they shake violently forming large holes in the walls and floors throughout the prison. Alarms sound as prisoner after prisoner begins to escape out of the holes created by Red-Eye under the direction of Ricky Mason.

Standing at a large whole in the wall outside the prison Ricky pauses then turns around to take one last look at the prison.

“Behold, I am become Shiva, destroyer of worlds.” Ricky whispers as he turns back to the hole and escapes into the night.


Sunday, August 9, 2009

Magick Hour

Driving into the ‘Palms’ for his weekly Saturday lesson with his students, Ethan puts the events of the previous week behind him. Ethan follows the usual routine of signing in at the gate, giving his driver’s license to the guard in return for a visitor’s badge and meeting the Chaplain at the prison Chapel. The Chaplain lets Ethan inside the gate where they make their way to the classroom.

As the students file into the classroom and take their seats at the table around him, Ethan notices that Ricky has decided to join the group again, however the others seem to be keeping their distance from him.

“I wonder what that’s all about?” Ethan asks himself as he passes the sign-in sheet to the student to his right.

“Ok guys, sign in quickly and pay attention. Today we are going to be talking about a really exciting topic. One that everyone seems to be eager to discuss….”

“Well, what is it?” Roger interrupts before Ethan can finish his sentence.

“Well, Roger” Ethan replies “Its How Magic Works.”

“Oh cool!” exclaims Lamar excited about the topic at hand “Now y’all be quiet, I gotta take some notes on this one…”

“Before I begin” Ethan explains “I would like to point out that Wicca is a religion which recognizes magick as one tool available to all seekers along their spiritual path, but the practice of magick is only one part of the greater whole of Wiccan belief and practices. With that said, I’d like to ask some of you to define magick”

Ethan pausing looking around the room.

“Lamar, define magick for us, will you?”

“That’s easy man” replies Lamar “that’s like pulling rabbits out of a hat.”

“No, that’s magic with a C,” Ethan explains “..or stage magic. I’m asking you about magick with a K.

“What the difference?

“Magick with a K is used to distinguish the type of magick that witches, sorcerers, rootworkers, and the like practice from the magic of stage magicians like Criss Angel.”

Chad, can you define magick with a K for us?”

“Me?” replies Chad unsure of his answer “Well um….magic is like making shit happen, right?”

“Dude you are so wrong” comes a reply “shit happens on its own, you don’t have to make it happen.”

The response elicits a bout of nervous laughter throughout the room.

“Ok Roger, how about you?” Ethan interjects “How do you define magick?”

“Well” Rogers explains “Crowley defined magick as the Science and Art of causing Change to occur in conformity with Will.”

“Right” says Ethan “that’s how Crowley defined magick but how do you define magick?”

“I guess it’s kinda like Lamar says” replies Roger, “magick is the power to make…things…happen. Draw thing to you and move them away….”

“What kind of things?” asks Ethan

“Wants” says Roger

“Needs” offers Lamar

“Desires” replies Chad

“Cold Hard Cash” says Nick

“Pussy” shouts Brad

“Those are good answers everyone” Ethan interject before the answers get too out-of-hand “and you’re all 100 percent right”

“Now Roger already explained Crowley’s definition of magic for us,” Ethan continues “and we all know Crowley is famous for his writings on magick. But for balance, let’s look at a scientific view of the subject of magick. “

“How many of you have ever heard of Arthur C. Clarke?” Ethan asks the group “Show of hands.”

“Nobody” asks Ethan somewhat surprised

“Well, how many of you have ever heard of a little movie called 2001: A Space Odyssey?”

A few students raise their hands, but many seem to be unsure of the turn in the conversation.

“Arthur C. Clarke first wrote 2001 as a novel and later co-wrote the movie with director Stanly Kubrick.” Ethan explains “but that’s not what I want to talk to you about. In addition to being a science-fiction author, Clarke was also a scientist and inventor. He wrote extensively about themes of science, the future, and the paranormal.”

“But what’s this got to do with magic” asks Lamar

“I’m getting to that” Ethan replies “now Clarke is also famous for three laws. The first two don’t really concern us. However his third law, states that “any sufficiently advanced technology will be indistinguishable from magic.”

Ethan pauses to allow what he has just said to sink into the group consciousness.

“I heard that in Superman Returnssays Chad, “I thought Lex Luthor made that up?”

“He was quoting Clarke’s Third Law.” Ethan explains.

“Witches recognize magick as a science which we are as yet unable to fully explain.” Ethan continues “that’s why witches are said to practice magick, because nobody’s really perfected it yet. However the prevailing theory conjectures that there is a divine spark, or Higher Self, within all human beings which is that part of them that is god.

“Crowely called that the Holy Guardian Angeladds Chad. “It represent one’s true nature.”

“Correct” Ethan continue “This Higher Self has the power to achieve anything that the individual can imagine. However, the desire has to be communicated to the Higher Self through images rather than words, which is why an understanding of symbols is so important to witches.”

“Why images and not words?” asks Lamar

“Well, many people believe that symbols are the secret language of magicEthan explains “Look at tarot cards. Remember the old saying a picture is worth a thousand words?”

“Yeah” says Lamar

“Some people believe that communication with words is limited, but commincation with pictures is so much more complex yet easy to understand. Since you are speaking the language native to the Holy Guardian Angel, or HGA, your exact desire comes across more clearly and the HGA is able to bring it about more quickly."

“Then why do we often chant incantations during our spells if all we need is to visualize what we want?” asks Nick.

“Well visualization is just a small part of the process, there are many tools available to the witch.” Ethan explains “We shouldn’t disount the power of words. Can any of you think of an example showing the power of words?”

Silence

“Ricky” you’ve been quiet today “Can you give us an example of the improtance of words in the practice of magick?”

There is a pause where Ricky looks directly at Ethan and Ethan is usnsure if Ricky will answer.

“Jews” Ricky beings “believe that God spoke the universe into creation

“That’s an excellent example! replies Ethan "In the beginning was the word, and the word was made flesh."

Ricky now leans forward more engaged in the conversation going on.

“As human beings, our natural language uses words rather than pictures.” Ethan explains “so for us to define our wants, needs, and desire it is often necessary for us to do so using our natural language. When we chant incantations its bores our rational mind and activates that part of our brain that accesses the higher self so we can communicate our goal to the higher self through our visualizations. “

“Wait” says Lamar “there is a part of our brain that commincates with the higher self?”

“Yes”

“So there is a biological factor?”

“Yes, and what’s more is that ancient man understood this.” Ethan explains “Don’t believe me, look at the Lovers Card in the tarot.”

Ethan removes a deck of Tarot Cards from briefcase. He takes out the Lovers Card and passes it to the student on is right direcitng him to pass it around the room.

“Now” Ethan continues “Notice in the picture how the man is looking at the woman, and the woman is looking at the cupid hovering over them both.

“Yeah”

“So if we look at this in the language of symbols” Ethan explains “the man represents the rational mind, while the woman represents the subconscious. The cupid, or angel, represents the Super Conciousness or Holy Guardian Angel.”

“Your Higher Self” asks Lamar

“Right” says Ethan “ The process of communing with the Higher Self can be done in various ways, thus leading to different types and techniques of magick. However, while there are certain principles which we believe are essential for the successful practice of magick, the application of these principles is highly personal and subjective to the individual.”

“What do you mean” asks Ricky growing more confident.

“Magick doesn’t come from any tool” Ethan continues, “it is channeled through the tool from the individual himself. All one needs in order to perform successful magick is a connection to the Higher Self, a firm belief that you can have that which you desire, reaffirm this with positive thoughts, words, and deeds, and the knowledge that what you send out will come back to you.

Ethan’s students are enthralled as he explains the theory of magic. Some listen intently, others hurriedly jot down notes, while a few raise their hands with quizzical looks on their faces. Ethan pauses to answer questions, sometimes allowing his students to chime in with their own theories or to explain what he has already said in their own words.


“Can you tell us more about the role of visualization in magick?” asks Ricky

“Visualization” Ethan begins, “can be thought of as form of sympathetic magick. Sympathetic Magick is the belief that invisible bonds connect all things. A classic example of this type of magick with which most people are familiar is the melting of a waxen image of an enemy resulting in that enemy’s death. With visualization, rather than creating a physical image of your goal, you create a mental one.

“How do you make the connection to the Higher Self?” asks Lamar

“The connection to the Higher Self is made in various ways; however it is most commonly done through ritual observance and meditation. Through ritual observance, such as at Esbats and Sabbats, a person opens their selves to the divine and therefore to the universal connectedness of all things. However, through meditation, the Lower Self becomes connected to the Higher Self by way of the sub-consciousness. Remember what I said about the Lovers Card?”

“Yeah.”

As Ethan began to continue his lecture there was a familiar knock at the door.

“Ok guys” the Chaplain says entering the room “Magic Hour is over, time to go back to your cells”

Everyone laughs at the Chaplain’s unintended joke as they gather their things and make their way out of the room and the class comes to an end all too soon.