Little Thoughts About Books and Stuff

Tell this story "It turned out there was nothing behind her sunglasses."             Jacob and Marissa stood side by side in the long corridor.             “We need to talk.” She didn’t respond. “Look at me.” She turned to face him. “I need to see your eyes when I say this.”  No response. Jacob took her glasses off and stumbled back. It turned out there was nothing behind her sunglasses.

Dialogue "What I lack for in common sense, I make up for in sarcasm."             Marissa knew they were all waiting for her. They had listed all of her failures and she had sat quietly by while they showed how useless she was to their organization. “What I lack for in common sense, I make up for in sarcasm. So I’m not a failure at everything.” “Marissa!” Jacob’s voice hissed.

Dialogue "This is the 5th door he's knocked on." “What is he doing?” “No idea.” Marissa took a step away from Jacob. “This is the 5 th door he’s knocked on. No one answers then he moves down the hall to the next door. I don’t know what or who he’s looking for, he just keeps knocking.” The old man knocked on door number six.

Tell this story You wake up in a hole with a one mile crater around you and you are the only person for miles.  “What is it like?” “Close your eyes and imagine what it’s like to be totally alone.” “Okay.” “Now picture you wake up in a hole with a one mile crater around you and you are the only person for miles.” “Okay.” “How do you feel?” “Isolated, unsure, confused…” His voice trailed off with his realization.

Dialogue "See, this is why I told you to never leave the ship. I didn't want you to see that."              Marissa knew she was dreaming. There were flashes of her life, but not the life she remembered, but another life she lived with Jacob. "See, this is why I told you to never leave the ship. I didn't want you to see that." Marissa stared at the body at Jacob’s feet and ran from him. 

Tell this story His mind was filled with thoughts of french fries and revenge.  Jacob was furious when he came out of the dream. Marissa was supposed to be safe, yet something went wrong and now she was in danger. Someone was going to pay for this mistake. His mind was filled with thoughts of french fries and revenge. Food and then track down who thought to hurt her. 

Dialogue "Here, hold my dignity. I've got some sketchy stuff to do."  Marissa sat in the dark cave watching Jacob sleep. “Have you no dignity.” She remembered asking him once. He laughed and held up his hand with his signet ring. "Here, hold my dignity. I've got some sketchy stuff to do." She had worn that ring for years around a chain on her neck. Hadn’t she?

Tell this story "If you're reading this, you've been in a coma for almost 20 years now. We're trying a new technique. We don't know where this message will end up in your dream, but we hope we're getting through. Please wake up. We miss you."  Digging through her bag Marissa found a note she didn’t remember packing. "If you're reading this, you've been in a coma for almost 20 years now. We're trying a new technique. We don't know where this message will end up in your dream, but we hope we're getting through. Please wake up. We miss you."  *Note, I feel really weird about leaving this one like this since I only wrote 12 words. So when I do my re-write of this project in September I'll be rewriting the whole of this letter.

Dialogue "Throwing up when you're scared isn't really a super power." Marissa sat curled in a ball, what little she had in her stomach was no longer there. “Guess this is my super power.”             “Throwing up when you’re scared isn’t really a super power.”             “It’s an inside joke between me and an old friend.”             He looked down at her, “Maybe you’ll tell me about it sometime.”

Dialogue "My fish!" "Forget the fish, we have to leave.  Now ." "But... my fish!"             Jacob just finished cooking when they heard the sounds coming towards them.  Before she could move he was gathering their bags, dousing the fire, and pulling her into the woods.             “My fish!” Marissa pulled free to grab the meal.             “Forget the fish, we have to leave. Now. ”             “But…my fish!” She was tired of eating beef. 

Tell this story "Come with me," he said, knowing the answer would be no. After a moment, however, she said, "Come with me instead." Marissa had opened the door to the tunnels when she heard something. Turning she saw her guard walking quickly towards her.             “Come with me,” he said, knowing the answer would be no.             After a moment, however, she said, “Come with me instead.” She held out her hand. He hesitated briefly, took it and they ran. 

Dialogue "You're one of them now," she whispered softly. The door opened the the old man was dragged inside. The guards dropped him on the floor and left without looking at Marissa.  She leaned over him and could already tell there was in a change in him.  The mischievous light in his eyes was gone. “You’re one of them now,” she whispered softly, sadly.

Dialogue "I think not." Marissa watched as the brothers ran home. “Time to lock this door.” The old man pulled an old brass key from a pocket, closed the door and locked it. The door disappeared. “So you’re what, a guardian of the tunnels?” “Time to unlock your door now.” He mumbled. “I think not.” An ethereal voice answered.

Tell this story We'd been bred for working, not dreaming. We were supposed to be simple creatures. But we weren't. “My people were made to be workers, not dreamers. We were supposed to be simple creatures, content to work our days away producing for our masters. But we weren’t. Some of us were dreamers and we created the tunnels. There are few dreamers left, the tunnels are no longer safe.” “And yet you travel them?”

Dialogue "Turns out separate planets wasn't far enough."  Marissa woke to warm sun on her face, the smell of coffee, and hushed voices. She smiled thinking about the journey that brought her to this place. The smile vanished when she heard the faint moos from outside. “Turns out separate planets wasn’t far enough.” She groaned and covered her face with the pillow.

Dialogue "That's it for this week! Thank you to our studio audience, and to everyone else, join us next time on Superpowers You Really Don't Want!" “That’s it for this week! Thank you to our studio audience, and to everyone else, join us next time on Superpowers You Really Don’t Want!” “What in the world was that?” “It’s my favorite show.” “They don’t like it.” Marissa looked over at the sleeping brothers. “Children don’t know what good shows are any more.”

Dialogue "My cooking is so awesome, even the smoke alarm cheers me on."  The old man was moving around the kitchen with great flourish. “I haven’t cooked for people in so long. Don’t worry you’re going to love it.  My cooking is so awesome, even the smoke alarm cheers me on.” He laughed greatly as he stirred a big pot. Marissa and the brothers exchanged a worried glance. 

Dialogue "Time's up, honey." Marissa woke to find yet another dark figure leaning over her.  This one was old and he was pointing a knife to her. “How did you get down here?” She stared at him blankly. “Answer me!” he growled. “I, uh, um...” “Time’s up, honey.” Before he could harm her with the knife they heard voices.

Tell this story An abandoned shack turns out to be a door to another universe as a band of local hooligans is about to find out. The boys approached the shack. They had been planning for weeks how they were going to come out here and see if the stories were true.  The stories said the shack wasn’t just any abandoned place, there was something going on here.  Opening the door they were surprised to see a hallway, not a room.

Tell this story It was a tight-knit community so everyone knew one another. Except for the man in the lighthouse, who kept to himself... It was a tight-knit community so everyone knew one another. Except for the man in the lighthouse, who kept to himself and never left the building as far as they were concerned. In truth, he used the underground tunnels frequently to move around town. While they were curious about him, he knew everything about them.