From Newsgroup: rec.arts.comics.creative

On 5/4/25 5:38 PM, Arthur Spitzer wrote:
<snip>

Is it time for someone to change buses at Harrisburg, PA?!

Better than Wilkes-Barre, I suppose!

And is it finally time for a bunch of trenchcoaters to
meet up in a bar in Chicago?!!!!

FINALLY.

-a -a -aI once met a wise man in a bus terminal.

oooooh, liminality

-a -a -aHe told me of many things, between the hacking coughs and sneezes; rumors and jokes and tales gathered over a lifetime of travel.-a The last, before he climbed onto a bus for Phoenix, was this:
-a -a -a"When you die, my child, when you die, it doesn't matter if you're going to heaven or hell, you have to change buses in Harrisburg, PA."

Daaaaaaamn.

-a -a -aI was on my way to Chicago and as near as I could tell, I wasn't dead.
But I was in Harrisburg.-a I'd made it this far before the Blizzard of '93 shut down the PA turnpike.

Coooooool. :D

-a -a -aNormally, the blizzard wouldn't have been a problem, not for your average alt.cynosurian shuttle.-a Unfortunately, these was some kind of temporal zoning ordinance; the shuttles had to conform to local forms of transportation.-a Buses.

Makes sense!

-a -a -aAs I sat and read, and occasionally laughed, the crowd around me went
through the time-worn rituals of the delayed traveller.-a Displaced persons wore looks of incalculable boredom, with hints of disgust and despair
peeking out from behind their eyes.-a A wave of airport syndrome swept through the station, as total strangers began telling each other about
their child's wedding plans.-a They muttered that this was supposed to be spring break, in hopes of arousing sympathy.-a They tried to outdo each
other with horror stories of lost luggage and missed connections.-a But
then, one by one, the conversations ran down to simple nods of agreement
and mumbled affirmations, and a dejected silence fell over the crowd.
Someone glanced at their watch for the twenty-third time, and sighed.

Hahaha _very_ familiar. @-@

-a -a -aThey very politely made their way through the crowds, offering people
the chance to get away from here, to wherever it was they were going, provided that they put down a small deposit of four hundred or so dollars.
Of course, anyone having four hundred or so dollars to spare would not be taking the bus, but that was quite alright, the men would say, because, and this was rather fortunate, really, they could offer a short term loan to cover the deposit (as well as the rental) costs.-a As a matter of fact, they had the papers all filled out; all that was required was a signature, right there at the bottom, and everything would be just fine.

Oh. I see. >:/ >:/ >:/

I should have known something
was wrong the minute the well-dressed little man walked up to me smelling
of sulfur.-a My first mistake.-a No one is well-dressed in a bus station. "Pardon me, friend," he said.
-a -a -aBurak Racey's briefcase shivered and quivered at my feet.-a I didn't look up from the gum, my seat, or my coat. -a"Go away."

Mmmmmm >:/ >:/ >:/

But I'm sure that you
don't have the four hundred dollars deposit on you, do you?"
-a -a -a"No," I said slowly. -a"I don't think so." -aI reached into my pocket,
and pulled out sixty dollars from my wallet. -a"No, I don't."
-a -a -a"Oh, that's too bad." -aHe shook his head sympathetically.-a Twinkle.
Flash to the side.-a Flash, flash.
-a -a -a"Maybe I have some more money in my nice briefcase." -aI bent down to
open the latches.
-a -a -aHis hand shot out and clamped onto my arm. -a"No!-a No, that's alright.

Hmhmhm, I see~

-a -a -aMore flashes strobed rapidly around the terminal.-a There weren't very
many passengers left, but there were a lot of nice, clean-cut men in pinstripe suits.-a Several of them were watching me.-a They pulled out pen and paper, and smiled reassuringly.
-a -a -aI looked back at the man before me.-a He was smiling as well.-a Flash,
flash.
-a -a -a"Loans officers," I whispered.
-a -a -a"That's right, Mr. Sloth.-a I'm afraid that you are going to find it rather difficult to reach Chicago now."

:/ >:/ >:/ >:/ >:/

-a -a -aThe loans officers were on me in an instant, waving papers in my face,
shoving pens in my hand, shouting sales pitches in my ears.-a Paper cuts raced up and down my body in thin slices of pain.-a When I shut my eyes,
they pried them open with paperclips.-a When I opened my mouth to scream, they shoved financial aid forms down my throat.

D: D: D: Holy fuck

-a -a -aAnd a door opened in my mind.

-a -a -aAnd the screaming began.

@.@;;; Wow. I guess some of it really needs to touch the horror.

-a -a -a -a It was a long flight for Deft. Ramaj curled into the seat of
the 767 like a kitten and dozed noiselessly. He had the window and
wasn't using it.-a It just wasn't fair. There was a small window with
no commercials and Ramaj didn't have the good sense to watch it.-a If
Deft craned his neck he could see the snow on the Tetons, or the Rockies,
or the Andirondacks. At an oblique angle he could see a large lazy river
and knew that they weren't in California. His neck started hurting so
he stopped.

I feel for him >:/

He remembered flights like this and the important thoughts
that whizzed through the heads of these Privates First Class of industry.
Who to grease, who to steal, who to backstab.

Mmmmmmm >:/

Ol' Bart was slightly smaller than a Kaypro
II and just as heavy, a Ford truck in a Hyundai world. Built in the
days when Men were Men and Portable Electronics wasn't, the Bartster
had seen some wild times swinging through traffic.-a It made an excellent counterweight for those high speed supertight skateboard turns. He added
an motorcycle battery to the basic design that actually increased its
mass, and it's longevity. Deft took a moment to gloat over the industrial chic lines of his bosom companion, a moment too long...

...I have no idea what this is actually supposed to be. X> A radio?

Ramaj would be able to convince her that Ol' Bart
had special dispensation from the president of the airline, who was incidentally very proud of her efficiency and courtesy, and must be
played at maximum volume at all times to ward off the worst infestation
of Foo Fighters since WWII.

Sounds like a radio, okay. X>

-a -a -a -a It had been hours but Deft hadn't starved enough to fit properly into his seat.

Heeheehee

Getting Bart back into the Nike carryon hadn't been as easy as getting
him out. That should have been diverting for fifteen minutes. Deft managed
to stretch it out to twenty-five by adding the condition that he not wake Ramaj, and not bring the carryon above the level of the bottom seat cushion. He tried remaining bug-eyed for the duration, but eventually his eyes got tired and it was a pretty silly thing to do anyway.

He liked the part in the airport where the undead had attacked them in
the lavatory, but things had been dull dull dull since then.

X3

-a -a -a -a "It doesn't take much to wake me up anymore... saved my life more
than once.", Ramaj strangely felt like he was making a mistake in telling Deft this. He assigned it to his normal paranoia about giving out personal information,

Awwww, trust!

-a -a -a -a After the third trip to the tiny restroom in fifteen minutes the American Gladiator style stewardess was beginning to regard him coolly as
he returned to his seat. He had to find some other way to amuse himself.
-a -a -a -a "Ramaj", he said, as softly as he could manage.
-a -a -a -a Without moving Ramaj said, "What?"
-a -a -a -a "Umm... just practising".
-a -a -a -a Ramaj sighed. It was going to be a long flight.

heeheeheehee

-a -a -a -a "See, Grumslit and Elric of Monjebone are fighting over there. They don't even recognize us in the three-piece suits... I don't know why...-a Here! grab your trencher and all and we will rent a locker to
keep our stuff in. I think we are late for the meeting if they are
already here.-a Don't forget to take the little tv, too.", He froze,
"Deft, listen carefully. If you see the Question anywhere we will have
to make the graceful exit. Let me know if you see him."

ooooooh. Character interactions. :D

-a -a -a -a He waved vigourously.
-a -a -a -a He jumped up and down on his skateboard.
-a -a -a -a Hmm, there may be something to this invisibility thing, maybe
we died and can't be detected by mortal means.

X3

-a -a -a -a He got real close to the trenchcoat and waved his hands over the trenchcoat's eyes just as Ramaj caught up and pulled him aside.
-a -a -a -a "Uhh, Deft. That's E. K. Mouse. He is either blind or Oscar material".
-a -a -a -a "Oh, okay... Hey there's a bar! And they have TVs!".
-a -a -a -a "And no Question.. "

Odd place to end off, but hey, they're there! :>

Drew "the story can start moving to its next phase... eventually" Nilium
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