crack - 18. the pencil

by nick nelson

part 18 of ?

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li and balthazar stared at william. it was not every day that a stranger appeared in the 236 club. william looked around. he seemed lost. can i help you, sir? shelly asked william. i - i feel a liitle dizzy. please, have a seat. would you like something to drink? can i just sit here? if you buy something. what have you got? iced coffee, iced tea, sandwiches. i will have an iced coffee. coming right up. william looked down at his hand. he was still holding the pencil sergeant friday had given him to give the sample of his handwritng by writing a story. why are you holding that pencil? shelly asked when he brought the iced coffee over. um- i am not sure. would you like a piece of paper to wrote on? yes, thank you. you are very helpful. i know this person from somewhere, ali told balthazar. you know everybody from everywhere. * suddenly an alarm off. it filled the room, and also seemed to be ringing in a corridor outside the room. the man who did not know who he was, or here he was, now did not know where he was supposed to go or what he was supposed to o. he looked for a door. he found one. it must be locked, he thought despairingly. but when he pushed it, it opened. no sooner had he stepped outside, than a tidal wave of running bodies swept down on him. he was borne along with them, whither he knew not where. they were all wearing the same gray uniform, with a blue letter “b” stenciled on it, that he now noticed he was wearing himself. ' to be continued

crack - 17 quite a way

by nick nelson

part 17 of ?

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to begin at the beginning, click here

next stop might be quite a way. what did that mean? william was afraid to ask. quite a way from where? he finally managed to say. quite a way from where we are going. this was a mistake. a big mistake. how could i have been so stupid? this guy is going to kill me. and steal the truck and everything in it. i know. i know what i will do. i will tell him i want to get out. then i will get out and he will just drive away with the trucjk and leave me. if there is a million dolllars in the box, so be it. at least i will still be alive. stop, i want to get out, why for? nature. all right. slim pulled the truck over to the side of the highway and william got out. sure enough, the plan worked like clockwork, and the truck drove off, spinning gravel. well, william thought, so much for that. there probably wasn’t no million dollars in that old box anyway. though i do wonder why it was locked so tight. with a sigh, he headed down the dark road, the lights of the truck were long gone. next

crack - 16. the 236 club

by nick nelson

part 16 of ?

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to begin at the beginning, click here

ali took the elevator one floor to the 236 club. the 236 club was a small establishment located on the second floor of a largely deserted building a few blocks off the main square. it served the small portion of the population that liked to converse and argue with their fellow citiezns dace to face rather than on their phones or other devices. balthazar was the only customer, seated at one of the four small tables. shelly, who ruled the club with an irron hand, was staring iinto space behind the counter. bathazar was ali’s best friend, and ali was balthazar’s best friend., even though they did not like each other much.. ali sat down across from balthazar, who did not look up from his phone. shelly awoke from his trance,and shouted across the tsix eet from the counter to the table -to ali- the usual? yes, the usual, ali replied. the 236 club had a limited menu - cold tea and cold tea, ham and cheese sandwiches, bacon and cheese sandwiches, peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and peanut butter and marshmallow sandwiches. the tea and coffee were the same except that the tea contained a little more water, and the sandwiches were all made from the same ingredients. i just had my review, ali announced to balthazar. i know. how do you know? i just came from there. i meant, you told me you were having the review. i am flattered you remembered. are you going to ask me how it went? how did it go? did you engage your enemy and totally destroy him? no, he was not in the mood. he seemed to have something else on his mind. something more intetersting than you.? i guess. that must have been humiliating. it was, a little bit. bit i am used to it. shelly grought ali’s usual to the table the door opened and william wilson walked in. william looked around. he was a stranger to the place. cm i help you? shelly asked him. next

late night special

by dog e relaford

last night i had the strangest dream drifting down the old mill stream apple banana cherry ice cream kept on coming till i wanted to scream dog elephant paris france shine my shoes and press my pants flower gorilla iron maid take it easy and sit in the shade casey jones in his little red wagon went downtown and slew the dragon st george cut down the cherry tree because he was no better than you or me someday everything will come true the clouds will be white and the skies will be blue all the zombies will be young and all the songs will forever be sung

the number

by nick nelson

barlow woke up. the number flashed into his head. he got up and wrote it down before he forgot it. it was 12 - 15 - 93 - 674 - 93. then he called the number department. this is the number department of control central. this call is being recorded. i have the number. what is your name? barrington barlow. what is your number - your number , not the number. do not give us the number over the phone. 90675-43806 - 432. what is your date of entry? 3-13 - 33. a vehicle will be at your residence in fifteen minutes. thank you. barlow dressed and was out in the street in eight and a half minutes. the night was cold. his heart was pounding. this is it, he thought. at last, this is my chance. the black sedan came around the corner. there were two people in the front seat, a heavy set man at the controls, and a stylish young woman beside him. they were both dressed in gray. mr barlow? the young woman asked. yes. get in the back. they drove off. you have the number recorded? the young woman asked. yes. i have it recorded, i have t written on a piece of paper, and i have it memorized. good. they drove in silence. they drove a long way, out beyond the outskirts of the city. it began to get light, revealing vast expanses of flat land with no buildings on them. barlow began to have second thoughts. what do they need me for? he wondered, after i give them the number? a low flat roofed building came into view. the car stopped. the building had windows, but they were dark. there was no sign of activity , outside it or inside it. the man and the woman both got out of the car. stay here, the woman told barlow. he waited. obviously, he had nowhere to go, and no way to get there, out in “the middle of nowhere”. they are going o kill me, he thought. i will give them the number, they will have no more use for me, and they will kill me...

henry morton stanley 2

by nick nelson

henry morton stanley was a sight to behold his eyes were made of ivory and his teeth were made of gold he had a hundred gorillas that he fed green grapes and a castle full of concubines of all sizes and shapes he had a thousand footmen to announce his every move and to set off fireworks when he got in his groove they came in carriages to acknowledge his high station but when they drove away he felt curiously little elation they drank his whiskey and they drank his wine but at marrying their daughters they drew the line

henry morton stanley

by nick nelson

henry morton stanley had a splendid black mustache he dined at delmonico’s and always paid cash the roast duck on tuesday was his favorite entree he ordered oysters on the half shell most other days he strolled down broadway with a gold headed cane the peasants cheered him lustily because he felt their pain he traveled to africa on a slow boat to spain and found doctor livingstone again and again