Gemini Cricket
07-11-2006, 10:42 AM
I run the risk of everyone on this board thinking I have gone mad, but here's a little story I created. It has a couple of parts. Enjoy.
-------------------
MouseTrapped
by: GC
The familiar chimes of the turnstiles could be heard from several yards away. The monorail roared overhead as Nathan headed towards the park that Walt built with his daughter Sarah. Sarah’s eyes told the story of an excited 12 year old who slept too little in anticipation for her big day. Daddy was taking her to Disneyland. She couldn’t wait. She barely ate anything at breakfast. She saw her father struggling to smile as he gently tugged at her arm to get to the gate. He hadn’t slept much either. Maybe he was excited too?
Sarah knew everything about Disneyland. She knew all about the park from the day it was built to yesterday. And this would be her first trip inside. For a couple of years, Sarah had checked out books from the library and studied. She knew that a well informed guest was a happy guest when it came to the park. The librarian was always happy to see her, presenting her with guidebook after guidebook on Disneyland. She had even thumbed through a couple of biographies about Walt. One day, the librarian handed her a copy of “Alice in Wonderland” and told her she could have it. The librarian told her to study it with a wink. It thrilled her. But didn’t care much for the dark pictures within, the non-Disney telling of the story was much more eerie than she preferred. Sarah hugged the librarian and told her that some day she wanted to grow up looking as pretty as her. The woman smiled at her and said, ‘Thank you. Thank you, very much.’
As she stood in line, she took a look at the other to-be guests around her. A little boy next to her had dirt in his ears and looked at her like a prince looking down at a peasant. He snorted at her flaring his nostrils.
A girl in a frilly pink dress next to her creased her eyebrows and said to her in a whisper, “I’m going to ride the teacups before you.”
Sarah rolled her eyes. You meet the strangest people sometimes, she thought. She looked down at her shoes as they waited their turn to enter the park.
While the line snaked its way slowly, Sarah couldn’t help notice yet another strange guest. This one was inside the park. He pressed his face through a set of bars that separated the park from the Esplanade. This wide-eyed man seemed to be trying to push himself through the bars! How weird, Sarah thought.
The man locked his gaze on Sarah. He spoke barely above a whisper. “Run!” He said.
Sarah checked her internal files for any such character in the Disney archives or any upcoming films. He matched no one she could think of. In fact, he looked like an odd combination of a Mary Poppins chimney sweep, Jafar and a carpenter. He wore dirty overalls and clutched a paintbrush in his fist. Maybe he’s a new character, she thought. What new wonders awaited her?
The Cast Member stretched out his hand and took her father’s ticket and scanned it. She heard the happy chime. Her father was now in the park. It was her turn. She had instructed her father that she should carry her own ticket. She was, in fact, a grown lady now. Practically a teenager! The Cast Member took her ticket and paused. He looked at her sadly. Odd, Sarah thought. If I worked here, I’d never stop smiling.
He scanned her card. “Have a nice time.” He told her. Although the greeting seemed pleasant enough, his demeanor was sullen.
“Thank you.” She said.
She entered the park noticing her father engaged in a heated conversation with the man at the bars. Sarah bravely went to her father’s side grabbing his hand firmly.
“You fool. I tried to warn you, I told your daughter to run.” He said. He grabbed Sarah by the shoulders and shook her. He sang in her ear softly, “A world of laughter, a world of tears! A world of tears!”
Nathan pulled his daughter free and shoved him away. The man slammed against the bars.
“I’ll have you sent home, you freak.” Nathan warned noting the man’s nametag. “Art” it read.
“If only.” The man said laughing. “If only!”
A security cast member appeared seconds later. “This way. Come with me.”
He grabbed the frantic man by the arm and escorted him through a nearby arch. Art offered no resistance and treated the whole affair as if it were routine.
“Bit of a bad start, I’m afraid.” Nathan said hugging his daughter. “Are you hurt?”
“No.” Sarah said.
“Scared?”
“Never.” Sarah reassured him.
“He has issues, Sarah.” Nathan said. “He deserves our pity. Don’t be scared of him, don’t be mad.”
“I’m not. It’s funny, he seemed to be wanting our pity.” Sarah said. “Don’t you think?”
“Yes.” He said. He cleared his throat grandly and said, “Now, onto adventure.”
Nathan led Sarah through one of the arches entering the park. The plaque above the arch said, “Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy.”
She smiled. But upon further investigation, she noticed that the words “Forever” were etched into the plaque by something sharp, a nail perhaps.
“Little behind on the upkeep, I’d say.” Nathan chuckled taking note of the plaque.
“Hmm.” Sarah frowned.
She stopped to inspect the plaque a little more while her father walked a couple of paces in front of her. Sarah had suddenly realized that she no longer heard the happy chimes from the turnstiles behind her. When she turned around, she was stunned to see a thick iron fence that extended across all of the turnstiles. It appeared to be one long continuous gate with no opening in sight.
Something’s wrong, Sarah thought. She turned to warn her father but when she caught up to him, she found him frozen in his tracks staring out into what should have been Main Street USA in front of them. What she saw instead was a turn of the century ghost town. Overgrown weeds poked through the bricks, a couple of trees had fallen to the sidewalks and numerous store windows had been smashed in. A vending cart protruded from a plate glass store window and a statue of a Native American swung from a flag pole with a thick rope around its waist. An eerie melody she recognized as ‘My Coney Island Baby’ played around them, but the song was several speeds too slow. The tune was haunting and melancholy.
“What is going on?” Nathan asked. “This is a disaster. And there isn’t a soul in sight.”
Her father was right. No one was around. Sarah looked for other children, families and saw no one.
“We’re leaving, Sarah.” Nathan grasped her hand and pulled his daughter back through the arch. He stopped as he saw the gate which did not allow them to leave.
“Disneyland forever!” A voice whispered from nearby. Sarah and her father turned and saw no one. Then Sarah tilted her head up and saw a small boy sitting in a tree. He was soiled and his hair was messed up. “You can’t leave. You have to stay forever.”
A loud whistle sliced the air and from above at the top of a hill came a railroad train. Its colors were black and grey and the awnings that once graced it in pride were tattered rags flapping in the wind. It came to a hissing and shrieking stop as brakes that had not been replaced in ages grinded the wheels to stop.
“All aboard!” A creaky voice called from the hill.
The boy gasped and leapt from the tree. He grabbed Sarah by the shoulders as Art had done earlier. “Don’t ride the train.” He warned.
The child disappeared through the archway and down Main Street.
Nathan pulled his daughter to him tight. “Good God.” He said.
A voice from behind them laughed. They turned and saw a tall man before them. He wore thick red robes and his head was donned with an arched hat. His hands were gnarled and uncut fingernails protruded from them like thorns from a withered vine. He held a staff made from curled black metal tightly in his grip. Sarah had seen bishops dressed in the same manner, but this man was like no man of the cloth she had ever seen.
“God was good, God is done, but working for the other guy is much more fun.” He hissed at them. “Welcome to my park, Sarah. It’s your new home.”
Nathan grabbed his daughter tightly and they both watched the bishop’s staff erupt into flames that left his hand unscathed.
to be continued...
-------------------
MouseTrapped
by: GC
The familiar chimes of the turnstiles could be heard from several yards away. The monorail roared overhead as Nathan headed towards the park that Walt built with his daughter Sarah. Sarah’s eyes told the story of an excited 12 year old who slept too little in anticipation for her big day. Daddy was taking her to Disneyland. She couldn’t wait. She barely ate anything at breakfast. She saw her father struggling to smile as he gently tugged at her arm to get to the gate. He hadn’t slept much either. Maybe he was excited too?
Sarah knew everything about Disneyland. She knew all about the park from the day it was built to yesterday. And this would be her first trip inside. For a couple of years, Sarah had checked out books from the library and studied. She knew that a well informed guest was a happy guest when it came to the park. The librarian was always happy to see her, presenting her with guidebook after guidebook on Disneyland. She had even thumbed through a couple of biographies about Walt. One day, the librarian handed her a copy of “Alice in Wonderland” and told her she could have it. The librarian told her to study it with a wink. It thrilled her. But didn’t care much for the dark pictures within, the non-Disney telling of the story was much more eerie than she preferred. Sarah hugged the librarian and told her that some day she wanted to grow up looking as pretty as her. The woman smiled at her and said, ‘Thank you. Thank you, very much.’
As she stood in line, she took a look at the other to-be guests around her. A little boy next to her had dirt in his ears and looked at her like a prince looking down at a peasant. He snorted at her flaring his nostrils.
A girl in a frilly pink dress next to her creased her eyebrows and said to her in a whisper, “I’m going to ride the teacups before you.”
Sarah rolled her eyes. You meet the strangest people sometimes, she thought. She looked down at her shoes as they waited their turn to enter the park.
While the line snaked its way slowly, Sarah couldn’t help notice yet another strange guest. This one was inside the park. He pressed his face through a set of bars that separated the park from the Esplanade. This wide-eyed man seemed to be trying to push himself through the bars! How weird, Sarah thought.
The man locked his gaze on Sarah. He spoke barely above a whisper. “Run!” He said.
Sarah checked her internal files for any such character in the Disney archives or any upcoming films. He matched no one she could think of. In fact, he looked like an odd combination of a Mary Poppins chimney sweep, Jafar and a carpenter. He wore dirty overalls and clutched a paintbrush in his fist. Maybe he’s a new character, she thought. What new wonders awaited her?
The Cast Member stretched out his hand and took her father’s ticket and scanned it. She heard the happy chime. Her father was now in the park. It was her turn. She had instructed her father that she should carry her own ticket. She was, in fact, a grown lady now. Practically a teenager! The Cast Member took her ticket and paused. He looked at her sadly. Odd, Sarah thought. If I worked here, I’d never stop smiling.
He scanned her card. “Have a nice time.” He told her. Although the greeting seemed pleasant enough, his demeanor was sullen.
“Thank you.” She said.
She entered the park noticing her father engaged in a heated conversation with the man at the bars. Sarah bravely went to her father’s side grabbing his hand firmly.
“You fool. I tried to warn you, I told your daughter to run.” He said. He grabbed Sarah by the shoulders and shook her. He sang in her ear softly, “A world of laughter, a world of tears! A world of tears!”
Nathan pulled his daughter free and shoved him away. The man slammed against the bars.
“I’ll have you sent home, you freak.” Nathan warned noting the man’s nametag. “Art” it read.
“If only.” The man said laughing. “If only!”
A security cast member appeared seconds later. “This way. Come with me.”
He grabbed the frantic man by the arm and escorted him through a nearby arch. Art offered no resistance and treated the whole affair as if it were routine.
“Bit of a bad start, I’m afraid.” Nathan said hugging his daughter. “Are you hurt?”
“No.” Sarah said.
“Scared?”
“Never.” Sarah reassured him.
“He has issues, Sarah.” Nathan said. “He deserves our pity. Don’t be scared of him, don’t be mad.”
“I’m not. It’s funny, he seemed to be wanting our pity.” Sarah said. “Don’t you think?”
“Yes.” He said. He cleared his throat grandly and said, “Now, onto adventure.”
Nathan led Sarah through one of the arches entering the park. The plaque above the arch said, “Here you leave today and enter the world of yesterday, tomorrow and fantasy.”
She smiled. But upon further investigation, she noticed that the words “Forever” were etched into the plaque by something sharp, a nail perhaps.
“Little behind on the upkeep, I’d say.” Nathan chuckled taking note of the plaque.
“Hmm.” Sarah frowned.
She stopped to inspect the plaque a little more while her father walked a couple of paces in front of her. Sarah had suddenly realized that she no longer heard the happy chimes from the turnstiles behind her. When she turned around, she was stunned to see a thick iron fence that extended across all of the turnstiles. It appeared to be one long continuous gate with no opening in sight.
Something’s wrong, Sarah thought. She turned to warn her father but when she caught up to him, she found him frozen in his tracks staring out into what should have been Main Street USA in front of them. What she saw instead was a turn of the century ghost town. Overgrown weeds poked through the bricks, a couple of trees had fallen to the sidewalks and numerous store windows had been smashed in. A vending cart protruded from a plate glass store window and a statue of a Native American swung from a flag pole with a thick rope around its waist. An eerie melody she recognized as ‘My Coney Island Baby’ played around them, but the song was several speeds too slow. The tune was haunting and melancholy.
“What is going on?” Nathan asked. “This is a disaster. And there isn’t a soul in sight.”
Her father was right. No one was around. Sarah looked for other children, families and saw no one.
“We’re leaving, Sarah.” Nathan grasped her hand and pulled his daughter back through the arch. He stopped as he saw the gate which did not allow them to leave.
“Disneyland forever!” A voice whispered from nearby. Sarah and her father turned and saw no one. Then Sarah tilted her head up and saw a small boy sitting in a tree. He was soiled and his hair was messed up. “You can’t leave. You have to stay forever.”
A loud whistle sliced the air and from above at the top of a hill came a railroad train. Its colors were black and grey and the awnings that once graced it in pride were tattered rags flapping in the wind. It came to a hissing and shrieking stop as brakes that had not been replaced in ages grinded the wheels to stop.
“All aboard!” A creaky voice called from the hill.
The boy gasped and leapt from the tree. He grabbed Sarah by the shoulders as Art had done earlier. “Don’t ride the train.” He warned.
The child disappeared through the archway and down Main Street.
Nathan pulled his daughter to him tight. “Good God.” He said.
A voice from behind them laughed. They turned and saw a tall man before them. He wore thick red robes and his head was donned with an arched hat. His hands were gnarled and uncut fingernails protruded from them like thorns from a withered vine. He held a staff made from curled black metal tightly in his grip. Sarah had seen bishops dressed in the same manner, but this man was like no man of the cloth she had ever seen.
“God was good, God is done, but working for the other guy is much more fun.” He hissed at them. “Welcome to my park, Sarah. It’s your new home.”
Nathan grabbed his daughter tightly and they both watched the bishop’s staff erupt into flames that left his hand unscathed.
to be continued...