Post by Kalidah on Oct 1, 2023 23:11:01 GMT
It’s nighttime in Hotel California. A well-dressed man walks down the hallway, his face hidden by the darkness. Behind him crawls two human-like beings. (They’re the Herkman, okay, maybe they are just a pair of really odd humans but suspend your sense of disbelief and let’s enjoy the madness for a while.) Hands reach out from the darkness and try to grab at the two goblins, who hiss back at them and they quickly disappear. None of the hands reach out for the man, they wouldn’t dare.
The Master is in the house, and where he goes the Beast isn’t far behind.
As they move through the hotel, a woman in a ghostly white mask comes dancing out of a side room and hooks her arm around the man’s. In her free hand she holds a candle which gives off a light glow, barely piercing the darkness around them. She takes a look at the two following him; they both whine at the sight of her and slink back a little. The woman nods, approvably, and turns her attention back to the man, lying her head on his shoulder as they continue to walk along. The man turns his head slightly and kisses her on top of the head. The light from her candle manages only to illuminate his red bearded chin.
“And how are you doing this fine night, Lotte? You look absolutely ravishing, as always.”
The woman laughs. It makes the Herkmen shiver and they cower in fear. She takes no notice of them though. Tonight she only has eyes for him.
“And you look as if you could carry me off and ravish me at a moment’s notice. Don’t stop to ask for permission if you do. I am well, my lovely tiger. In fact…”
Lotte lifts her head from his shoulder and whispers something in his ear. The man laughs in response and nods.
“Maybe later, my dear. Maybe later. Come, it’s been too long since we checked on our two special guests.”
Without saying another word, the pair turned and headed down another hall. The Herkman crawled behind them, keeping out of the light of the candle and quietly grunting back and forth in some unknown tongue. The four of them make their way down a set of stairs and into the basement of the hotel. Things scurry away as they enter. The Herkmen take notice and slink off after them. Lotte turns to call them back, but the man beside her shakes his head.
“Let them go have fun for a while. After their recent losses the two of them could use a little bit of sport to invigorate their killer spirits once more.”
“As you say, my lovely tiger.”
The two of them walk off. Behind them they hear something squeal in fear and the snapping of bones. From the darkness they hear the Herkmen begin to cackle with glee. The man chuckles to himself.
“I’ll give them this, they love what they do. If you’re going to be a homicidal little monster you might as well enjoy every minute of it.”
Lotte giggles, but says nothing for the moment. Releasing her hold on his arm, she takes his hand instead. Lifting the candle in front of them, she leads him around stacks of boxes and through room after room. When he begins humming “Hotel California” and utters “And she showed me the way,” she turns and offers him a wink, before turning to guide him further and further through the basement’s catacombs.
Eventually the two of them came to a room at the far end of the basement. Inside stood two coffins lying in the middle of the floor. The man took the candle from Lotte’s willing hand and walked over to the coffins. He held the candle over them, illuminating matching signs on top which read, “Do Not Open Until Halloween.”
The man nodded his head and smiled. Kneeling down between them and began to sing.
My child arrived just the other day
He came to the world in the usual way
But there were planes to catch, and bills to pay
He learned to walk while I was away
And he was talking 'fore I knew it, and as he grew
He'd say "I'm gonna be like you, dad"
"You know I'm gonna be like you"
As one, both coffins began to shake and voices could be heard from within, screaming. The man stood and took a step back. Never taking his eyes off the coffins, hee handed the candle back to Lotte and brushed off his hands.
“It’ll be good to have the family back together for the holidays, my dear.”
Lotte rested a hand on his shoulder and laughed.
“Indeed, my lovely tiger. Indeed!”
The scene stops, and the man cocks his head to the side. Once more the light from the candle illuminates the lower half of his face and he begins to smile wickedly.
“Meza, I know you think this is a fever dream, and perhaps you’re correct. I just want you to know that you don’t realize it yet, but I live absolutely rent free in your mind. The whys and the hows aren’t important quite yet. I’m not one to kiss and tell, after all.”
He pauses to look over at the frozen form of Lotte standing beside him and chuckles .
“Well, not for you anyway. Not yet.
“The point is that you find yourself in a six man tag team match with your friend, Orville Newton, and your mentor, Lynx. I know Newton fairly well, and I don’t just mean because I once saw my sister kick him in the junk a few years ago. That was funny though, I probably think about it once a week, but I digress. As for Lynx, he and I have never met in person, but I am quite familiar with his career. The three of you make for a formable team, reasonably anyway. Too bad they really don’t matter. On some level, those two rat-munching goblins don’t matter. This match really doesn’t matter. Why? Because this isn’t about wins and losses, this is about you and me. And who am I?”
The man laughs. The candle flickers and for a moment the man disappears, replaced by someone much larger than him. Someone wearing a feral looking red mask.
Kalidah.
The candle flickers again, and the man is once more standing in the darkness in his suit. He brushes the back of his hands on his sleeves and chuckles softly to himself.
“I’ve got my eye on you, MEZA. I’ll see you soon. No, HE will see you soon.”
Time seems to unfreeze, and Lotte lets out a loud audible sigh. She reaches up and caresses his chin.
“You know I dislike when you do that, my lovely tiger.”
The man’s smile shows in the candle light, his enlarged canines in full view.
“So sorry, my dear. I promise not to do it again, for at least another month. Cub Scouts honour.”
He takes her by the arm and leads her out of the room, even as the coffins behind them continue to shake and scream.
As the pair disappear through the door, the man starts to sing again.
And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man in the moon
"When you coming home, dad?" "I don't know when"
But we'll get together then
You know we'll have a good time then…
The Master is in the house, and where he goes the Beast isn’t far behind.
As they move through the hotel, a woman in a ghostly white mask comes dancing out of a side room and hooks her arm around the man’s. In her free hand she holds a candle which gives off a light glow, barely piercing the darkness around them. She takes a look at the two following him; they both whine at the sight of her and slink back a little. The woman nods, approvably, and turns her attention back to the man, lying her head on his shoulder as they continue to walk along. The man turns his head slightly and kisses her on top of the head. The light from her candle manages only to illuminate his red bearded chin.
“And how are you doing this fine night, Lotte? You look absolutely ravishing, as always.”
The woman laughs. It makes the Herkmen shiver and they cower in fear. She takes no notice of them though. Tonight she only has eyes for him.
“And you look as if you could carry me off and ravish me at a moment’s notice. Don’t stop to ask for permission if you do. I am well, my lovely tiger. In fact…”
Lotte lifts her head from his shoulder and whispers something in his ear. The man laughs in response and nods.
“Maybe later, my dear. Maybe later. Come, it’s been too long since we checked on our two special guests.”
Without saying another word, the pair turned and headed down another hall. The Herkman crawled behind them, keeping out of the light of the candle and quietly grunting back and forth in some unknown tongue. The four of them make their way down a set of stairs and into the basement of the hotel. Things scurry away as they enter. The Herkmen take notice and slink off after them. Lotte turns to call them back, but the man beside her shakes his head.
“Let them go have fun for a while. After their recent losses the two of them could use a little bit of sport to invigorate their killer spirits once more.”
“As you say, my lovely tiger.”
The two of them walk off. Behind them they hear something squeal in fear and the snapping of bones. From the darkness they hear the Herkmen begin to cackle with glee. The man chuckles to himself.
“I’ll give them this, they love what they do. If you’re going to be a homicidal little monster you might as well enjoy every minute of it.”
Lotte giggles, but says nothing for the moment. Releasing her hold on his arm, she takes his hand instead. Lifting the candle in front of them, she leads him around stacks of boxes and through room after room. When he begins humming “Hotel California” and utters “And she showed me the way,” she turns and offers him a wink, before turning to guide him further and further through the basement’s catacombs.
Eventually the two of them came to a room at the far end of the basement. Inside stood two coffins lying in the middle of the floor. The man took the candle from Lotte’s willing hand and walked over to the coffins. He held the candle over them, illuminating matching signs on top which read, “Do Not Open Until Halloween.”
The man nodded his head and smiled. Kneeling down between them and began to sing.
My child arrived just the other day
He came to the world in the usual way
But there were planes to catch, and bills to pay
He learned to walk while I was away
And he was talking 'fore I knew it, and as he grew
He'd say "I'm gonna be like you, dad"
"You know I'm gonna be like you"
As one, both coffins began to shake and voices could be heard from within, screaming. The man stood and took a step back. Never taking his eyes off the coffins, hee handed the candle back to Lotte and brushed off his hands.
“It’ll be good to have the family back together for the holidays, my dear.”
Lotte rested a hand on his shoulder and laughed.
“Indeed, my lovely tiger. Indeed!”
The scene stops, and the man cocks his head to the side. Once more the light from the candle illuminates the lower half of his face and he begins to smile wickedly.
“Meza, I know you think this is a fever dream, and perhaps you’re correct. I just want you to know that you don’t realize it yet, but I live absolutely rent free in your mind. The whys and the hows aren’t important quite yet. I’m not one to kiss and tell, after all.”
He pauses to look over at the frozen form of Lotte standing beside him and chuckles .
“Well, not for you anyway. Not yet.
“The point is that you find yourself in a six man tag team match with your friend, Orville Newton, and your mentor, Lynx. I know Newton fairly well, and I don’t just mean because I once saw my sister kick him in the junk a few years ago. That was funny though, I probably think about it once a week, but I digress. As for Lynx, he and I have never met in person, but I am quite familiar with his career. The three of you make for a formable team, reasonably anyway. Too bad they really don’t matter. On some level, those two rat-munching goblins don’t matter. This match really doesn’t matter. Why? Because this isn’t about wins and losses, this is about you and me. And who am I?”
The man laughs. The candle flickers and for a moment the man disappears, replaced by someone much larger than him. Someone wearing a feral looking red mask.
Kalidah.
The candle flickers again, and the man is once more standing in the darkness in his suit. He brushes the back of his hands on his sleeves and chuckles softly to himself.
“I’ve got my eye on you, MEZA. I’ll see you soon. No, HE will see you soon.”
Time seems to unfreeze, and Lotte lets out a loud audible sigh. She reaches up and caresses his chin.
“You know I dislike when you do that, my lovely tiger.”
The man’s smile shows in the candle light, his enlarged canines in full view.
“So sorry, my dear. I promise not to do it again, for at least another month. Cub Scouts honour.”
He takes her by the arm and leads her out of the room, even as the coffins behind them continue to shake and scream.
As the pair disappear through the door, the man starts to sing again.
And the cat's in the cradle and the silver spoon
Little boy blue and the man in the moon
"When you coming home, dad?" "I don't know when"
But we'll get together then
You know we'll have a good time then…