Robert Schell

In the next chapter of 'Cosmic Play':  
          
          “You know, I was lying before when I said that I had never met any of my fans,” continued Waldo.  “One time in the Autumn of 1996 I fell to chatting with a young lady at a pub.  She told me that she had read everything I had ever written, and we had the most lovely conversation.  Just as they were threatening to toss us out in the rain in the wee hours, she invited me to her flat.  I was between relationships at the time, more than a little inebriated, and frankly well infatuated by that point, so I said yes.  It was shocking: random debris strewn everywhere, literal piles of clothes, rubbish, and I-don’t-know-what all over, just short of those horror stories you encounter of people living in sedimentary layers of catshit and fossilized food refuse.  I was frankly astonished that it was possible for a woman to live in such filth.  Her counters and table-tops were strewn with radical anti-Papist literature and flyers for gigs of National Front-associated bands.  I don’t think that she was a terrible person, just incredibly naïve, susceptible to any diarrheal propaganda that got crapped into her empty head.  And I thought: Is this what I do?  Do I fill the minds of credulous people with my own Frankenstein programming?”

“He was Woody Biggs, a small-time musician who made a deal with Satan to become a world-famous rock star.  He had multi-platinum album sales, toured the world in his own 747, and had legions of groupies attend his every whim.  Then his album sales started slipping.  His MTV reality show got cancelled. Spin and Rolling Stone panned his performance in the made-for-television movie May 1, 2045:  The Day the Russian Union Unfriended America.”
          “That movie was totally misunderstood,” Headbanger interjected.
          “Headbanger’s unscrupulous manager Marty Hook decided that Woody needed a career boost, and the best career boost was death.  So during his comeback tour, he sabotaged Woody’s 747.  It went down in flames, killing Woody’s one true love, Gabby Felicia, and leaving Woody mortally wounded.  In a state between life and death, Woody sued Satan for breach of contract and rescission in Infernal Court.  They eventually worked out a settlement in which Gabby Felicia was returned to the world of the living, Woody remained in an undead state as Headbanger, the dark avenger of evil and protector of innocents, and all copies of Woody’s poorly received rock opera based on the life of Kaspar Hauser were destroyed.  As told in Grimly Macabre’s Strange Tales, issues 23 through 27,” concluded Tanya.

"One time last December I saw Connie Ferguson taking money from the coffee can on Mrs. Santiago’s desk.   The money was for littleboys and girls who had cancer, so they could buy wigs or go see the Giants or Knicks or go to Disneyworld.  Connie is a boy at school.  His real name is Connor, but they call him Connie.  He is always saying that he is going to beat me up.   Connie knew I saw him.  He said to me “If you tell on me I’ll hit you so hard in the nuts that your kids will have a black eye when they come out.”  I didn’t know what he meant by that but I didn’t want to get hit in the nuts. 
          
                      I went to see Miss Carmichael, the school counselor.  I said that I saw something bad happen.  She started asking me if everything was fine at home, but I said that everything was fine there.   Miss Carmichael said, “Dexter, when you see something bad happen and you don’t know if you should tell anyone, there is one question that you have to ask yourself:   Will anyone get hurt if I don’t say anything?”  I thought about the little boys and girls with cancer who wouldn’t get to go to Disneyworld or see Eli Manning. I said “What if I get hurt, though?”  Miss Carmichael answered “sometimes you have to do the right thing even if it hurts.”  So I told Mrs. Santiago what happened.  And Connie hit me in the nuts.  When I got out of the hospital, Miss Carmichael said that I did the right thing." 
          
          Please read and comment on my short story "Dexter Peterson, Vampire Hunter."

In the next installment of 'Cosmic Play'
          
          
          “Think, think,” said Waldo to himself.  “An incantation!  That’s the game. The riddle.”
          The Bird crouched down again and then leapt ten feet, completely vaulting over Ash to where the rest of the group stood.  
          “Shit!” yelled Alexa.  She took a swipe at the Bird with her axe.  
          “Klaatu Barada Nikto!” Waldo yelled.  
          The Bird lunged forward again, and Alexa was just able to deflect its beak with the axe head.
          “Uh, Haikeeba!” Waldo shouted in desperation.  “Biggie Smalls, Biggie Smalls, Biggie Smalls!  Hail, Hail, Fire and Snow!” 
          Kenny fired another blast that struck the Bird full on its breast.  Other than the smell of singed feathers, nothing indicated that it was fazed in any way.  
          “Ash! Look out!” yelled Alexa as the Bird abruptly turned back to where she knelt over Vegetable Man.
          “Death Curse,” Tanya urged.
          “Okay,” said Waldo, gathering himself.  “EAT DEATH, SCUM!” he screamed at the top of his lungs. 
          
          Posting tomorrow.

Thanks for the follow!

Had a good escape getting into your 'Cosmic Play' story! Thanks for posting!
          
          If you get a chance, I'd love to know what you think of my short story Persephone? I've not had anyone with your range of interests read it so I'd be really intrigued to see what you think. Thanks!
          
          http://www.wattpad.com/story/19677048-persephone

"Path through the Forest," the latest chapter of 'Cosmic Play' is up.  Which would you rather be, prize-winning comic book writer, world champion at Yo-Yo, or the French Elvis?  And what is your favorite color?  "Path through the Forest," named after the psychedelic classic by The Factory is one of several song and/or album title references in 'Cosmic Play.'

Hey, thanks for the follow!

Dear followers:  If you only read one chapter of 'The Foster Children of Time,' please read Chapter Eighteen ("Paz") which is now up. TFCoT was my self-conscious attempt to do a fairly standard YA adventure while eschewing all the typical cliches:  good-looking teens with "powers," love triangles, black-and-white good and evil characters, while also avoiding all the standard time travel cliches (i.e., changing history, blithely running into famous historical figures, etc.)  Chapters 17 through 19 are the heart and soul of the story.  Truths about my main characters are revealed.  The morality, desirability  and free-will implications of time travel are examined.  And believe me, the character of Paz will be much more than a standard "guru" character spouting vague philosophies before this series has ended.