Chapter 3 – Chaos in the streets
As the show Ensemble, Henry Miles’s creation in school unwinds, the audience is drawn into a chaotic scene where rioting and fighting are all around. A black-robed puppet hovers around enticing the people with his unknown dark power. Ethan and Alice weave through the destruction. Ethan confronts one of the ravagers.
“Why are you doing this, I am your brother, you don’t t have to do this, Fight it. Fight the evil that controls you.” Ethan pleads. While he does the black-robed shark-teethed puppet closes in on his victim moving his hand and speaking. As he does the rioting man speaks,” This is how it is for those who mean to destroy…there is no more talk, only…War.”
“Then war you shall have.” Ethan warns.
The rioting male expeditiously charges at Ethan, He protects Alice pushing back against the controlled rioter, mimicking the Robed Sharks’ melded movements.
Ethan like a critically endangered Asiatic cheetah, Acinonyx jubatus venaticus once ran over the grasslands of India, Pakistan, Russia, Iran, and the Middle East cashes in on the rioting man. Each blow is devastating as it is all or nothing. He is athletic, dodges and fights his way around the lost mind-controlled rioter. A flurry of kicks and punches dispatches his opponent. The Black Shark entity releases his controlled gambit and continues to find another victim.
Without hesitation, Ethan leaps up and catches the Robed villain in the air and with one spirited sweeping motion brings him to the ground, grabs a nearby metal piece of a broken car, and repeatedly beats down the mind meddler. He becomes body less as the soul is released into the murky air above.
He looks at the lifeless body, wipes his forehead of dirt, he offers his hand to Alice as she sits in the road, “Are you ok?”
She grabs his hand as he reaches for her, “I am ok.”
“Let’s get out of here.”
They run to a stage right and out of sight as the curtains are drawn and the final music plays over the integrated sound systems.
The audience begins to cheer, they cheer to a standing ovation.
The cast comes out from behind the curtains and forms a semi-oval line from center stage. Ethan and Alice take a cue and come from behind the lineup opening up to let the stars of the show come forward, raise their right hands high in the air, and finally take each other’s hands in a bow. Then they follow single file off stage. Henry is behind the curtain, and he holds out his hand up to give a high five to the cast as they walk past.
Henry waits until the last cast member is off stage to follow them to the dressing rooms, a man dressed in a grey five-piece suit comes up from behind, taps his shoulder, and begins to speak,” That was some show.”
Henry responds,” Thanks, and you are?”
The man looks at Ethan and begins again,” My name is Gish, I am here on request by the state department, you are Henry Miles correct?”
“Yes that’s me.”
“Good, we are investigating some disappearances in the area, have you noticed anything, odd Here?”
Henry searches his memories, he hasn’t seen Mark since this morning, also Edward wasn’t around for the show, odd indeed.
“Nothing I can recall, why what’s happening?”
The state department-suited man looks behind Henry, “No one has been acting strange here?”
“Everything is in order here, what did you say your name was?”
“It’s Giche, Henry. Take my card if anything should change. Great show by the way.”
“Th-thanks, Mr. Giche.” He takes the card offered by Giche nods and watches him leave.
The students leave for the night to be ready for another show the following day. The puppets are placed in their resting homes waiting for another show. The four-stringed puppets are placed on a workbench in another room, neatly resting.
The night creeps in, the theatre is completely quiet, empty like a cargo container at the west end dockyard, not a movement in sight, a weary dim light from the waning sun dimly shines through the stained windows.
The chest near the back loading door, now covered from the day’s costumes and clothing begins to open, a shadowy figure dashes out and rushes down the hall and into the room where the puppets now rest. Another song is triggered as it enters the room:
sounded coming from the mouth as this happens the stringed puppets come to life…
To be continued
Written by Colin R. Mah
Proofed by CJ Wolf.
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