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Fiction Factory: Cilla Ambrose (Part 6)

“What is it?”
“It’s a door Cilla.”
“Well, I know that! How did it get here? Am I supposed to go in? No way am I going in!”
“I think you made it…”
Remy ran down to the wooded floor and inched his way close to the door jamb. His nose twitched, sniffing for any sign of the door’s origin. He looked back at Cilla then back at the door. Nothing made sense.
“It smells like you Cilla. Hints of your scent are all over it.”
“How did I make it?”
Remy ran back to his perch on Cilla’s shoulder.
“I don’t understand it, but I think we have a way out.”
Remy was right, there was something about the door, something familiar. When she drew closer it felt as if she were walking into a warm kitchen during happier times at home.
There wasn’t much time before Ray picked up trail.
“Come on Cilla, make up your mind. We can’t hang out here for long. You feel it. I know you do. What are you waiting for? Let’s get out of here…it can’t be worse than back there.”
Cilla stared into the mouth of the doorway, behind she saw slivers of colour, tiny pixels of life. What can the harm be? It felt right.
Move yourself Cilla!, she chided herself, What are you waiting for?
Cilla closed her eyes and took one step forward. Then another.
“Let’s do it. Let’s do it. Come on! GO!”
“Okay, stop nagging me!”
She threw herself forward and she was out.

***

You’ve missed the chance Ray, again!
“What are you talking about now?”
The Girl…she’s slipping away from you.
Ray wasn’t enjoying this new aspect of the crystals, didn’t like this abuse. The pain in his chest, it ran up his arms and legs…it was alive. Cilla could fall off the face of the world for all Ray cared at that point. He just wanted to lie down and get himself so drunk the fire in his limbs would be drowned to submission.
“I don’t care, “ he said. He got up from the ground and began to pull himself back up t the house. His body creaked along, slow and labored. Ray felt aged thirty years.
You have to go after her.
“No. I. Don’t. You’re starting to piss me off. I just wanna go home and relax with a drink or four.”
So, you’re going to let her win? That brat is going to make you look foolish. She will be laughing at you all the way.
“I don’t care, I truly don’t. So leave me alone for awhile, huh?”
Ray was really getting the gears. Why was she so important?
What?
“Christ! I can’t even have a thought on my own anymore?”
Ray stopped short in his tracks. His legs wouldn’t move.
He pushed and struggled but Ray wasn’t able to move any further from that spot. His body was gripped by an invisible hand, crushing him slowly between its fingers. His chest grew heavy and breathing slowed.
Ray? I need you to listen to me. Listen closely ok?
Ray choked and sputtered.
I will take that as a “yes”. Ray, you will go after Cilla now, you will find her and you will bring back what she’s stolen. Those crystals are important. We made a deal Ray, and you promised to help us get home. Don’t forget you promised us …
The grip tightened and Ray blacked out. For a second it was dark then his sight came back with light flitting across his eyes. He gagged and sucked in great mouthfuls as air as the grip released him. He awoke on the forest floor, not where he last stood but further into the trees, a good deal further. He could hear Cilla off to the right…he was brought right to her.
Through the trees he saw her standing in front of a red door, half opened with light streaming out from it. A door in the middle of the forest?
Yes Ray a door, we’ve established that all ready.
Cilla was talking…that rat of hers in front of the door…it looked like it was talking back. This is nuts. The rat ran back up Cilla’s arm and they talked a bit more.
She certainly talks a lot, when is she going to make a move?
Ray slowly crept his way around the clearing, trying hard not to make a sound. He had to get closer to her, to stop her and get those crystals from her. She looked like she was going to go through the door, but there was nowhere to go. From his position the doorway facing Cilla was lighted brightly, he couldn’t see anything beyond the glowing. As he crept slightly behind the door, he could see through at Cilla standing behind it. He could hear the Rat, hear the rat, chiding Cilla to enter the door.
“…Let’s get out of here…it can’t be worse than back there.”
He drew closer, circling around her. He was close, she was close to making her break…she was inching closer to the doorway.
You have to stop her Ray!
I know!
“Let’s do it,” the rat prodded. ”Let’s do it. Come on! GO!”
“Okay, stop nagging me!”
Ray watched Cilla take a deep breath and take a long step forward just across the threshold. He ran from the trees and grabbed her before she could escape. He grabbed her by the arm as she jumped through.
“Not. So. Fast!”
Cilla hitched back on her heel and fell backward out of the doorway.
“We have a lot to talk about kiddo. Come on let’s sit down before you go off in a huff.”
“She doesn’t want to talk to you.”
Remy ran from his safe spot on her neck.
“Leave her alone!”
“Remy, don’t! Don’t get near him!”
Cilla spun around on the ground and faced Ray. She stood up and stared into his eyes. She saw fear in them. She saw a twinkle of doubt behind his pupils, he wasn’t as sure as he appeared.
“Please let me go.”
He smiled at her with yellow, dirty teeth.
“where you gonna go Cilla? Through that door? Where does it go? Looks pretty sketchy to me. It looks like it leads somewhere, but from behind it’s nothing but an empty hole. You really want to take a chance?”
“It’s better than what I have here. What is there to stay for?”
“Well, you wouldn’t be staying here…we have issues to deal with here. When I’m done, you won’t have t worry about being anywhere.”
Ray punched her across the face, then wrapped his callused had around her throat.
“I will choke those crystals out of you child.”
Cilla was passing out, she saw in Ray a change. She saw the fear disappear and be replaced by cold rage. That wasn’t him. It wasn’t Ray any longer. She watched his forearms as they started to glow, felt the heat pulsing off his skin. She was losing feeling in her legs and her eyesight was going dim. This was it.
“Let her GO!”
Remy sank his front teeth in the meaty flesh of Ray’s thumb. He screamed and dropped Cilla…a momentary distraction but enough for her to stagger to the doorway. Ray recovered and lashed out, trying to grab her from behind. He caught the material of her clothes, pulling back. Cilla squirmed and fought him, edging closer and closer though the passage. He pushed forward to get a better grip on the child but in that second she slipped out of his grip and disappeared into the light.
“NO!”
Get in there Ray! Get her back!
Ray felt a tingle in his legs a burst of new strength, he surged forward and reached into the brightness. He fished around blindly, but grabbed hold of a solid form within. He pulled and tugged. He had her, but she fought back, fought hard. His arms glowed brighter and he channeled the power into his arms and yanked her home. Ray stood dumbly. The person he pulled through looked like CIlla but this girl had to be 5 years older.
“Cilla?”
The girl jumped to her feet and hurled a burst of light from her arms, Ray was hit square in his chest and thrown 50 yards into the woods. He slammed into a tree and crumpled into a heap on the rough ground.
Cilla stood and turned to the doorway, before heading back into the light she walked to where Ray had landed. She knelt down and got close to his ear.
“Time for you to learn I’m not  little girl anymore.”
Cilla stood up and ran through the doorway and out of this world.

SWING!

Let Us Love Winter

Turn Me On

New Movies: Friday, December 14, 2012

I realize there are more movies opening this weekend, but really, who's going to notice over the juggernaut that is:

The Hobbit

The adventure follows the journey of title character Bilbo Baggins, who is swept into an epic quest to reclaim the lost Dwarf Kingdom of Erebor from the fearsome dragon Smaug. Approached out of the blue by the wizard Gandalf the Grey, Bilbo finds himself joining a company of thirteen dwarves led by the legendary warrior, Thorin Oakenshield. Their journey will take them into the Wild; through treacherous lands. Bilbo Baggins not only discovers depths of guile and courage that surprise even him, he also gains possession of Gollum's precious ring that holds unexpected and useful qualities... A simple, gold ring that is tied to the fate of all Middle-earth in ways Bilbo cannot begin to know.

Full of Doubts

I Am Your Parent

Star Trek: Into Darkness Teaser Trailer

In Summer 2013, pioneering director J.J. Abrams will deliver an explosive action thriller that takes ‘Star Trek Into Darkness.’ When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis.

With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.

What the Hell Are you Reading?

From Amazon
Author Erik Larson imbues the incredible events surrounding the 1893 Chicago World's Fair with such drama that readers may find themselves checking the book's categorization to be sure that The Devil in the White City is not, in fact, a highly imaginative novel. Larson tells the stories of two men: Daniel H. Burnham, the architect responsible for the fair's construction, and H.H. Holmes, a serial killer masquerading as a charming doctor. Burnham's challenge was immense. His efforts to complete the project, and the fair's incredible success. The activities of the sinister Dr. Holmes, who is believed to be responsible for scores of murders around the time of the fair, are equally remarkable. He devised and erected the World's Fair Hotel, complete with crematorium and gas chamber, near the fairgrounds and used the event as well as his own charismatic personality to lure victims. Combining the stories of an architect and a killer in one book, mostly in alternating chapters, seems like an odd choice but it works.
--John Moe

New Movies: Friday, December 7, 2012

We're in the weird period before the holiday movies come out, so I'm scraping the bottom for these picks:

Deadfall

Siblings Addison (Eric Bana) and Liza (Olivia Wilde) are on the run from a casino heist gone wrong. When a car accident leaves their wheel man and a state trooper dead, they split up and make a run for the Canadian border in the worst of circumstances – a near whiteout blizzard. While Addison heads cross-country, creating mayhem in his wake, Liza is picked up by ex-boxer Jay (Charlie Hunnam), en-route for a Thanksgiving homecoming with his parents, June (Sissy Spacek) and retired sheriff Chet (Kris Kristofferson). It’s there the siblings are reunited in a terse and thrilling showdown that pushes the bonds of family to the limit.

Playing for Keeps

Gerard Butler, Jessica Biel, Uma Thurman, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Dennis Quaid star in “Playing For Keeps,” a romantic comedy about a charming, down-on-his luck former soccer star (Butler) who returns home to put his life back together. Looking for a way to rebuild his relationship with his son, he gets roped into coaching the boy’s soccer team. But his attempts to finally become an “adult” are met with hilarious challenges from the attractive “soccer moms” who pursue him at every turn. Playing For Keeps is directed by Gabriele Muccino, the director of The Pursuit of Happiness.

Hyde Park on the Hudson

Academy Award nominees Bill Murray and Laura Linney star in a historical tale that uniquely explores the all-too-human side of one of history’s iconic leaders. Blending literate wit and drama, “Hyde Park on Hudson” is directed by Roger Michell from a screenplay by Richard Nelson. In June 1939, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt (played by Mr. Murray) readies to host the King and Queen of England (Samuel West and Olivia Colman) for a weekend at the Roosevelt home at Hyde Park on Hudson, in upstate New York – marking the first-ever visit of a reigning British monarch to America.

Bad Kids Go To Hell

On a stormy Saturday afternoon, six students from Crestview Academy begin to meet horrible fates as they serve out their detentions. Is a fellow student to blame, or perhaps Crestview's alleged ghosts are behind the terrible acts?

New Movies: Friday, November 30, 2012

Killing Them Softly

Three dumb guys who think they’re smart rob a Mob protected card game, causing the local criminal economy to collapse. Brad Pitt plays the enforcer hired to track them down and restore order. 

The Collection

A man who escapes from the vicious grips of the serial killer known as "The Collector" is blackmailed to rescue an innocent girl from the killer's booby-trapped warehouse.

Note: It appears this is a sequel to a 2009 movie called, The Collector. Who knew? The trailer for that one is also embeddd below.

Beware of Mr. Baker

Ginger Baker is the original rock ‘n roll madman junkie drummer superstar who everyone thought was dead but somehow survived 50+ years of heroin abuse, disastrous experiments and 5 marriages on 4 continents.

Addicted to Fame

A documentary that goes behind the scenes of the movie Illegal Aliens, and a filmmaker's journey from obscurity to moral blindness in the seductive glare of the media spotlight.

 

Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning

Surviving Unisols Luc Deveraux and Andrew Scott battle anarchy to build a new order ruled by Unisols without government oversight. To accomplish this, they weed out the weak and constantly test their strongest warriors in brutal, life-and-death combat.

Talaash

A cop, a housewife and a prostitute get entangled in a mystery that links their lives in unexpected ways.

Cool Stuff: Doctor Who's Sonic Screwdriver Remote Control

Thanks to Think Geek, there's now a full size replica of the 11th Doctor's Sonic Screwdriver – that will control your frikken television! How amazing is that? There's a a lot of waving and poking that's involved in the control, but even the thought of just owning this baby is making me drool. The $99 (US) price tag makes for a very indulgent holiday gift!




Here's some extra images from the site:

New Movies: Friday, November 23, 2012

Red Dawn

In Red Dawn, a city in Washington state awakens to the surreal sight of foreign paratroopers dropping from the sky – shockingly, the U.S. has been invaded and their hometown is the initial target. Quickly and without warning, the citizens find themselves prisoners and their town under enemy occupation. Determined to fight back, a group of young patriots seek refuge in the surrounding woods, training and reorganizing themselves into a guerilla group of fighters. Taking inspiration from their high school mascot, they call themselves the Wolverines, banding together to protect one another, liberate their town from its captors, and take back their freedom. It stars Patrick Swayze, C. Thomas Howell and Charlie Sheen…oh wait…never mind. "Avenge me, boys! AVENGE ME!!"



Now, here's the original Red Dawn trailer from 1984:

Rise of the Guardians

When an evil spirit called Pitch becomes bent upon taking over the world by inspiring fear in the hearts of kids everywhere, a group of our greatest heroes -- Santa, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, the Sandman and Jack Frost -- band together for the first time, determined to stand in Pitch's way. More than a collection of storybook subjects, The Guardians are also a band of superheroes, who possess their own special powers. Now joined in opposition of a common foe, the Guardians heed the call and combine their powers to defeat Pitch and protect the world from his campaign of fear.

Silver Linings Playbook

Adapted from the best-selling novel by Matthew Quick, The Silver Linings Playbook is a touching, one-of-a-kind comedy about love and second chances.

Pat Peoples (Bradley Cooper) is a man always trying to look on the bright side of life – the title of the story takes it’s name from the expression that “every cloud has a silver lining.” Released from the hospital after losing his wife to another man, Pat believes this age-old adage is just the ticket to trying to win her back and get his life on track. Trying to remain resolutely undiscouraged, Pat moves back in with his parents and devotes himself entirely to becoming the man his wife always wanted him to be. But it’s an uphill battle. Until Pat meets Tiffany (Jennifer Lawrence), a beautiful young woman whose life also has not turned out the way she wanted. Together, the couple will try and navigate through their lives and stay true to who they are, always just one adventure away from a unique friendship, and possibly even love.

Life of Pi

The film is based on Yann Martel's coming-of-age survival tale.

The novel revolves around a youth who is the lone survivor of a sunken freighter and winds up sharing a lifeboat with a hyena, an injured zebra, an orangutan and a hungry Bengal tiger.

Anna Karenina

The third collaboration of Academy Award nominee Keira Knightley with acclaimed director Joe Wright, following the award-winning boxoffice successes “Pride & Prejudice” and “Atonement,” is a bold, theatrical new vision of the epic story of love, adapted from Leo Tolstoy’s timeless novel by Academy Award winner Tom Stoppard (“Shakespeare in Love”). The story powerfully explores the capacity for love that surges through the human heart. As Anna (Ms. Knightley) questions her happiness and marriage, change comes to all around her.

Hitchcock

Hitchcock is a love story about one of the most influential filmmakers of the last century, Alfred Hitchcock and his wife and partner Alma Reville. The film takes place during the making of Hitchcock’s seminal movie Psycho.

The Central Park Five

In 1989, five black and Latino teenagers from Harlem were arrested and later convicted of brutally beating and raping a white woman in New York City's Central Park. New York Mayor Ed Koch called it the "crime of the century" and it remains to date one of the biggest media stories of our time. The five each spent between 6 and 13 years in prison before a shocking confession from a serial rapist and DNA evidence proved their innocence. Set against a backdrop of a decaying city beset by violence and racial tension, The Central Park Five tells the story of how five lives were upended by the rush to judgment by police, a sensationalist media and a devastating miscarriage of justice.

Fiction Factory: Cilla Ambrose (Part 5)

PART TWO: The Doorway 

The woods were dark, and Cilla couldn’t see two feet in front of her. Lucky she didn’t trip and fall over a root in her panic. She got out from her hiding spot and started to slowly work her way deeper into the trees. Ray’s screams had subsided, she was alone in the quiet. She listened for footsteps, broken twigs or scuffling leaves. Ray had given her up, she hoped but now what was she going to do? First up, find a way through the woods and she could figure something out after that.

“You ok?” Remy asked.

“Yep”

The trees were tall with age gouged deeply into their bark. The way was slow, Cilla didn’t need to fall and break any bones to add to her problems. There seemed to be a natural path between the trees. It was a good way to go, slowly a step at a time. The moon cast enough light once her eyes grew accustomed to the dark. Cilla saw her way, a weaving path covered in pine needles and cones.

Remy ran from one shoulder to the other, crossing behind her neck.

“Can you stop that?” she asked.

“Sorry, I can’t help it. This whole situation is making me nervous. Do you understand what happened tonight? You’ve made an enemy of him.”

“I was already his enemy. He made it clear he wanted nothing to do with me. It was only a matter of time before I had to go.”

“But he was mad …”

“Yeah…”

They walked on in silence a while longer. There were fain scurries in the leaves to Cilla’s left and right. Night hunters.

“Does it hurt?” Remy asked.

“What?”

“The lights…did it hurt when you …”

“When I …?

“you lit up like a candle–BOOM–Ray was in the wall. Did it hurt when you did it?”

“No. Hot though.”

Cilla ran her hands up and down her arms, and across her chest. She couldn’t feel them, the crystals were in there but she couldn’t find a trace. She looked at her palms, the place where the light had shot out, there was nothing; not a burn, not a blister. What did happen?

As she walked Cilla tried to make it happen again, to will the light to return. Nothing.

She focused, she thought of Ray and his rage. Still nothing.

It was a long walk, the woods were deeper than Cilla imagined. She found a log and sat down for a moment to rest her legs. She was lost, she was alone and deeply frightened. She wanted her mother. That wouldn’t happen, not anymore. Cilla was on her own now, she had to fend for herself and be the boss. Remy scrabbled down her arm and sniffed at the log.

“I don’t know where we are,” She admitted.

“What?”

“We’re lost Remy. This is farther than I’ve ever gone into the woods. Have you been this far out?”

“Love, I don’t get past the cage or even your bedroom. I’ve slipped out and curled up on the pillow beside you when I’m lonely but I can’t get far with these feet.”

“Right. Well, I didn’t know the woods were this deep. I thought we would have come to the other side by now. I haven’t got a clue …”

The temperature was chilly. Cilla’s breath plumed from her mouth. There was a faint mist around the trees, swirling its way along the path. She was tired, her feet hurt. She looked up at the moon and wondered what time it was. It was close to 10 pm when she escaped from the house. Who knows how long they’ve been hiking.

Crack!

A noise to the right of the path, into the thicker grouping of trees.

Crack, crack!

Again!

Remy scuttered back Cillas arm to his safe perch on her shoulder.

“What was that?” the rat asked.

“I don’t know.”

CRASH!

“Ok, this is not good!”

“I know, I know.”

Cilla stood and began to search the darkness for the source. Nothing in any direction.

“It’s Ray, he’s found us!” Remy was starting to panic.

“Calm down Rem, he hasn’t found us. He would make noise, he’d be on us hard, don’t you think?”

“ I’m scared”

Cilla began to feel warmth in her chest. Her breath was catching in her throat, she panted.

“Remy it’s happening again!”

The heat spread through her, down her arms and legs. Across her chest and through her skull. Her body felt light, she felt woozy and her vision began to darken. She couldn’t feel her feet, the ground beneath her. Cilla looked down and saw she was floating two feet above the forest floor.

“Remy! Help me!”

Remy couldn’t help for he was only a rat. Inside he felt the need to do something, but what could he do? He dug into the back of her neck with his claws and hoped he wouldn't fall off.

Cilla raised her arms and her chest began to glow brightly. She could feel a ball in her guts, like a hiccup on the verge of escaping. She looked around her, fear taking over. The pressure and tingling rose out of her stomach and up through her hands. There was an intense, shattering light and a feeling of release and Cilla was on the ground panting and crying.

She rolled forward and vomited onto the ground in front of her. The light and heat disappeared.

Cilla looked to the forest trees, a wide path had been torn through, wood was splintered and pulverized. She had blown a path through the trees with the pulse from her hands. What are the crystals about? What is happening to me?

A glow began to form at the end of the rough path Cilla had ripped through the trees.

“Remy? You okay?”

“Yes, I wanna go home.”

“Me too.”

Cilla slowly rose to her feet and began walking through the broken trees.

“This isn’t right Cilla. Please let’s just go.”

The glow grew brighter. Cilla was walking on instinct. Something was drawing her forward.

“Let’s just take a small peek, Rem. Ok?”

“Like I have any choice?”

The path was 200 yards deep, as she drew closer to the source of the light she thought it reminded her of an archway. There seemed to be a door in front of her, but that couldn't …

“No way!” Cilla stopped in her tracks.

Remy peeked out from his hiding place behind her head.

“Oh…”

Cilla and Remy stood speechless in front of a red door sprouting from the forest floor.

* * *

Ray felt his rage draining. He stood in the backyard staring into the forest.

“She went in there,” he told himself.

Yes, she did. So what are you planning on doing?

“She went in there!”

So, what are you waiting for?

Ray was in pain, his back and legs in agony from the header he he took into the wall. She did it to him. Little bitch has to pay. She has his crystals. He can feel the pull to find her, to find the crystals growing stronger.

If she went in there, why are we waiting here?

“Let me think for a few minutes!”

That’s what you’ve been doing for five minutes already. Are you planning on doing anything soon?

“Just give me a break, I’m going to find her my way!”

Sure, okay…your way.

PHOOM!

The sky was filled with a bright light. Ray was thrown down again. He jumped back up and he could see across the tree line the origin of the pulse. Someone was using her stolen power. I can see you! It gave him just enough of a hint to start his search.

“I’m going to find you, Kiddo!”