RKYV ONLINE # 11

TABLE OF CONTENTS RKYV # 11 {April 2008} RKYV ONLINE LOGO - David Marshall { current } - Roy G James { original } - Randy Pare { original online adaptation} Virtual Cover # 11 - art by Ignacio Rojas Poetry - Larissa Gula, Leyla Sabah, Mandie - layouts by David Marshall Fortin review of Ogden Nash.

Editorial Column “Pass The Stuffing” - Randy Pare Short Fiction - “Just One Drop” - by Patrick J. Nestor, Jr. Health Column - Christina Marchetti Non-Fiction - “Futurism in the Funnies” World View “A Canadian Living in the USA” - by Roy G. James - by Tom Rossini Family Life - “Cook Book for Working Featured Artist Review - by Tariq Rafiq Families” & “My Journal” - by Amanda Fortin Interior Artists Josh Bowe, Ignacio Rojas, Stan Nelson, Pop Culture Mohammed Abdullah, Bob Labute, Matt Hatt, “Raised on Saturday Morning Cartoons” Wade Ferris, Dragan Petrovic, Mike Grattan - by Pauline Pare

Untitled - by Dragan Petrovic

Nicole Scherzinger - by Matthew Hatt

Pass the Stuffing As many of you may already know... RKYV ONLINE strives to bring you the outstanding contributions of our extraordinarily talented members. We try our best to get this mag out on a monthly basis and give or take a few days either way... have been pretty darn good at doing just that!

This issue ran into some difficulties, but when you see what we have in store for you... you'll realize it was well worth waiting a few days.

Tariq Rafiq continues to explore, in greater depth, the featured artist of the month... this time around it is the extremely talented Ignacio Rojas. I hope everyone enjoys the spotlight placed on the artist this month and is as interested as I was to get to know the man a little bit better through Tariq’s interview.

Christina Marchetti { she'll always be "Murdoch" to me } begins her tenure as RKYV Health Columnist. I hope her insight, knowledge and advice prove to be as valuable to all of you as they have been to me. Thanks for coming on board Chris, yer the best...:) This month also features another Short Story by Patrick J. Nestor, Jr. who continues to entertain us with his brand of dark and spooky tales. The finale to the Fan Fiction piece - The Shadow of Shazam has been bumped to next month's Year One Anniversary Issue!! I hope everyone is looking forward to that. It should be a great celebration of where we are at and where RKYV ONLINE is going!

Until next time, I remain R.J. Pare'

John’s Eyes - by Mike Grattan

Health Murdoch’s Medical Missives - by Christina Marchetti You know, mental illness is one of those things that people are afraid to talk about. We see all kinds of ads on T.V. for things like impotence, anemia, heartburn, diabetes..., but how often do you see a commercial for treatment of paranoia, schizophrenia or multiple personality disorder?

I don't know about you, but I haven't seen any( than again, I don't watch much T.V.) The things I have seen on T.V. portray the person with mental illness as the bad guy or the butts of bad jokes.

Not a very becoming picture is it? Especially when you consider that a very large part of our society suffers from some sort of mental illness, and that although there is no cure for mental illness, it is treatable.

This month's blurb is on bipolar disease, also known as bipolar disorder or manic-depression.

BIPOLAR DISORDER Although we all suffer from mood swings, the person with this process does so to the extreme.

They may go from experiencing many " highs" over a period of time to a low period. These highs and lows affect every part of that person, the way they think, feel, perceive things, their physical well being and the way they act. There is now set pattern for these mood swings and they may take place over a period of weeks, months and even years. The severity of these swings can change many times for the same person.

Slumped Figure - by Josh Bowe

SIGNS OF MANIA OR DEPRESSION Remember, we've all suffered from these at sometime. But for the person with bipolar disorder, it is the continuing feeling of the emotion and the loss of control of it that is the problem.

Some signs of mania are as follows: Excessive happiness, poor concentration with rapid speech, high sex drive with indulging in risky behaviour to satisfy a need, poor judgement, compulsiveness, hyperactivity- never tired and not sleeping. Some people become psychotic, hearing and seeing things not there. There perceptions can't be changed. Others may think they are superhuman, or event god like in nature.

Depression phases can be severe and on the far end of the scale. They may feel like they have no energy even though they are sleeping a lot. They may be in bed a lot, just laying around, exhausted but can's sleep. They may lack concentration, be unable to make decisions. The person may even be suicidal.

These of course are not all the signs and symptoms of manic depression, but just a few of the more common ones.

WHO GETS IT? Untitled - by Josh Bowe Usually young adults under the age of 35. Children and teens have also been diagnosed. With this age group, it is usually very severe and diagnosed along with ADHD. Men and women are equally affected. And women have a tendency to have more depression phases than men, believe to be caused by hormone fluctuations.

WHAT CAUSES BIPOLAR DISEASE? Nobody really knows, how ever it is believed that changes in the brain and environmental factors ( stress, major changes in life) play a factor. Genetics may even play a roll.

TREATMENT Lithium is one of the most commonly used medications in the treatment of bipolar disease, along with antidepressants and sometimes anti-seizure medications which have been found to be useful in controlling symptoms. Lithium levels must be measured regularly (blood work) as it can become very high in a very short period of time. Remember to ask your doctor and pharmacist for signs and symptoms of lithium toxicity.

THINGS TO REMEMBER 1) Don't stop taking your medication unless the doctor tells you to do so. Just because you are feeling better does not mean you are cured. Remember that your medication is helping you to control the disease process.

2) See your doctor regularly. Check ups are a essential must to help make sure blood levels are where they should be for good control and the prevention of side effects.

3)If going to clinic or emergency room, don't forget to mention these medications. Drug interactions are not needed!!!!

4)Educate, educate, educate. As one of my favourite characters used to say, "Knowing is half the battle"!! Ask questions and look for answers. The Canadian Mental Health Association is a great place to ask questions and get answers, and a good place to get some support if you need it.

And to the young lady who asked for this info, I hope this gave you a brief overview on what you needed to know.

Yours in Service Chris about.com-bipolar http://www.webmd.com

World view A Canadian Living in the USA - by Tom Rossini O Canada !!! To be Topless is to be Free !!!

Did you know that the Great White North maybe more “free” then what the national anthem implies?

That is, if you take into consideration newly published list of the world's best clothing-optional beaches. The USA Today recently published a report, made by the American Association for Nude Recreation, which stated that Canada is one of the top 10 greatest places for “skinny dipping”.

In fact, many naturalists hail Wreck Beach as “a beacon” in the night of naturism.

•

Canada’s first legal nude beach is Vancouver's Wreck Beach. This popular British Columbia beach, gave Canada a spot on the list alongside France's Cap d'Agde, a.k.a. the naked city; and St. Maarten’s Orient Bay; Florida's Haulover Beach and Little Beach, where the Hawaiian grass skirt is left behind for the birthday suit.

DID YOU KNOW???

The American Association for Nude Recreation, says Canada is simply a great place to be naked and that its nude beaches actually promote a stress-free environment.

“For when you shed your clothes, you shed your stress.”

Featured Artist Review

By Tariq Rafiq Background: Ingnacio Rojas: I was born in Chile in 1978. From a very early age I knew that I wanted to be an artist when I grew up. I went to a Jesuit school in Chile and through my friends and teachers I first experienced the importance of been socially aware that later on I would desperately search in my paintings. I did my first two years of a bachelor of Visual Arts at the University of Chile. In 2001 I migrated to Australia where I completed my bachelor of Visual Arts (Honours) at the Adelaide Central School of Arts in South Australia. In 2005 I moved to Melbourne where I did a Masters of Visual Art at the Victorian College of the Arts. As my interest in Australian society grew I realized that my art (and other career opportunities) would benefit if I did some extra studies so in mid 2006 I decided to undertake a Graduate Diploma of Arts (Sociology) and this year I’m doing a Post Graduate Diploma of Arts (Sociology) and my thesis topic looks at the experience of skilled migrants in Australia.

Ignacio Rojas Ultimately I see myself combining my sociology studies with my painting to comment about the world through different theories and as I see it and maybe working in a research centre part time.

Artist: Ignacio Rojas Name: Anthology of lost thoughts Size: (105cm x 155cm) Media: Oil Date: 2005 This piece is very well done. The small details like the sun light catching the subjects face and arm is magnificent. This painting really draws you in and makes the viewer feel like they are actually standing there watching the subject enjoy his cigarette while in deep thought‌

Ignacio Rojas Interview questions 1.How long have you been an artist? How did you get started?

The very first art prize that I won was in year 1

when I was 5 or 6 years old but I was 13 or 14 when I decided that I was going to become an artist. My parents tried to change my mind for years but painting was the only thing on my mind. I got started with my bedroom walls, I asked my parents permission to draw behind the door but soon I found myself even drawing in the ceiling. My house was full of art books and so my walls were filled with reproductions of Dali, Michelangelo, Da Vinci and others.

Artist: Ignacio Rojas Name: Dolor Size: (102cm x 154cm) Media: Oil Date: 2004

Wow…What can I say about this one that hasn’t been said already… The body, the shadows and sunlight are all done perfectly. The body is done so perfect that this masterpiece could pass off as a picture. Someone remarked that “Dolor” means pain.. I feel like this is an artist facing a major creative block…

He is so frustrated but he really wants to get the creative juices flowing again.. He is looking up to god and asking the almighty god to guide him and help him finish his painting. This painting is a universal painting that any artist can relate to…We have all felt the subjects pain many times during our careers…

2.Did you go to school and get formal training or are you self taught?

Yes I went all the way. I started in my native Chile and I finished here in Oz with a Masters degree.

3.Who in your life has been the biggest influence on your art?

I’ve had several but the one that started my personal search for beauty was my high school music teacher.

He is the one responsible for opening my mind to all this madness that it is to be creative. My wife and her constant support, she really fills up my half empty cup with her smile and optimism. All the classics (Picasso, Dali, Da Vinci, Velazquez etc) because they make me want to do it

Artist: Ignacio Rojas Name: Forgotten Colors Size: (84cm 130cm) Media: Oil Date: 2005 Once again…another incredible piece…Ignacio really knows how to draw the human from.. So realistic…The shading and the choice of colours are very well done.

4.What is your favourite media to work with?

Defiantly oils, the smell and the texture are irreplaceable to me. I love charcoal too 5.Do you use any special tools and techniques to create your art?

I don’t know many people that have the time these days to do hundreds of studies before doing a painting, I use Photoshop for my studies and then I just paint. I’ve tried many different techniques but I always go back to the brushes.

6.What inspires you to paint and generate new ideas to create a piece?

Everything! At the moment and because I’m studying sociology I’m very interested in Globalization, migration, social exclusion and all the hot topics in society. I don’t know how I’ll grab these ideas yet but all I know is that I will after I finish my thesis at the end of this year.

7.What style do you consider yourself to be?

Again I’ve tried different styles but I keep going back to figurative painting and realistic.

But I’m interested in becoming ‘social realistic’.

Artist: Ignacio Rojas Name: Madonna of the Unknown Size: (92cm x 122cm) Media: Oil Date: 2005

I think this one is my favourite pieces.. Once again the shading, colors are right on…The light to dark shading works very well The painting has a sense of mystery. I really like the fact that you can’t see the face and its left to your imagination. This work reminds me of the work of the masters who are long gone…

8. Would you like to tell us anything else about your paintings?

You mean my secrets? No way! Hahaha, when I was younger all I wanted to do was paint, it didn’t matter what as long as I had a brush in my hand.

Now my ideas are equally important and I’m no longer painting to please someone else, and since I don’t have much time in my studio when I get to paint I do it for myself.

9.Which famous artists have influenced you? Why? Too many, those with who I grew up looking at the bookshelf at home because I could see how important art was to the human spirit. I ‘m a big fan of Lucian Freud, his work is just unreal. Velazquez, he was probably the first modern painter and the best too.

Juan Davila, because you need guts to be an artist. The poet Neruda because life is magical. And many other artists, especially those close to me because I enjoy listening to their ideas and they push me to be original and creative 10. Do you think today‘s weak economy is effecting artists?

Money is a powerful knight and unfortunately too much talent is wasted because Art does not pay the bills. But every experience in life brings something new to the palette and sometimes doing it tough can be a good thing too. I think it is important to have a plan B, hopefully one that you will enjoy, for me it was sociology for other people it is teaching. Who knows?

11. In today competitive world how to you set yourself apart from other artists?

I don’t, I just do my own thing. If people like it great if not I won’t loose any sleep over it

12.How do you market yourself?

I guess some people are very business oriented and they try with lots of galleries and competitions and whatever goes but right now I don’t have the time to do that. The internet has been great because is like having a show 24/7 every day of the year.

13. When you get a creative block while working on a painting, how do you get yourself back into the mood to paint and how do you keep yourself motivated?

I don’t have any problems motivating myself because god knows I’ve done a lot of crap jobs while I’ve been a student and the fact that I have the opportunity to paint means that I’m doing what I was meant to do and that is a privilege that should never be taken for granted. If I do have a mental block I just go for a coffee with who ever is around 14. Do you create your art full time or part time?

Full time, I’m always writing new ideas even though I won’t have much time to paint in the next nine months.

15.What other interests do you have besides painting?

Sociology. I love rock climbing and meditation. Dogs are very close to me heart too, I worked two years with them and you learn a lot from them.

16.What would you tell a young artist starting out today?

Believe in yourself because if you don’t nobody else is going to believe in your art and what my music teacher used to say, poetry permits everything!

17.Do you have any big plans or shows coming up in 2008? Finish my thesis 18.Where do you see yourself 10 years from now?

Back in South America, hopefully working with indigenous communities and painting my heart off.

Artist: Ignacio Rojas Name: Hijo de la rebeldia { Son of rebellion } Size: (100cm x 150cm) Media: Oil Date: 2006 We all want to know. Is this a self portrait of the artist??

Once again very well done…

[ED Note] This wonderful self portrait was the basis

for this month’s cover.

Bob Marley - 40x30 inch acrylic on canvas - by Mike Grattan

Poetry Antennae Lips - by Larissa Gula Kneel before me on our picnic spread so that your eyes of midnight meet mine.

And sit with me as the local insects almost noiselessly flutter by this old, withering apple tree.

When ears strain, I can hear frustrated wing beats as they are playfully tossed by summer’s winds.

They long to suckle on a drop of golden nectar hidden in the scattered gardens, but never quite exert enough strength to reach their Eden just like us, two fluttering youngsters, always hoping to feel petal-soft lips brush ours, as two butterflies in greeting might lightly glance a pair of velvet antennae over the other’s.

Untitled - by Josh Bowe

Untitled - by Bob Labute

IF A SPIRIT CANNOT DEVELOP ITSELF, HOW CAN IT DEVELOP ANOTHER SPIRIT! - by Leyla Sabah Once I wished to be a painter.

Now I want to be a picture.

Once I wished to be a poet Now I want to be a poem.

Well, you cannot say to an apple tree “Be an apple”, Can you?

Untitled - by Mohammed Abdullah

Lady in White - by Wade Ferris

Meaningless Jibber Jabber - by Mandie Fortin I have become quite interested in Mr. Nash's poetry for it's filled with such detail and creativity of words. I like how he's placed them together to tell a story. What I find enjoyable about reading his poetry is the fact that when you read it the second time, you'll catch a meaning that was missed the first time and when read the 3rd time, once again there is more to adventure upon. I particularly enjoy the fact that something that makes very little sense, makes more sense than everyday conversations. I look forward to reading more of his poetry.

ALLOW ME, MADAM, BUT IT WON'T HELP - from 'Good Intentions' by Ogden Nash, 1942 Adorable is an adjective and womankind is a noun, And I often wonder why, although adorable womankind elects to talk standing up, it elects to put on its coat sitting down.

What is the outstanding characteristic of matinees, tea Machete Betty - by Stan Nelson rooms and table d'hotes?

Women, sitting firmly and uncomfortably on their coats; Women at whose talents a contortionist would hesitate to scoff, Because they also sat down on their coats to take them off.

What is savoir-faire?

It is the ability to pick up eighty-five cents in nickels and a lipstick with the right hand while the left hand is groping wildly over the back of a chair.

Yes, and if you desire savoir-faire that you could balance a cup on, Consider the calmness of a woman trying to get her arm into the sleeve of a coat that she has sat down on too far up on.

Women are indeed the salt of the earth, But I fail to see why they daily submit themselves voluntarily to an operation that a man only undergoes when he is trying to put on his trousers in an upper berth.

Amy in pink - by Mike Grattan.

Non - Fiction Futurism in the Funnies - by Roy G. James Figures 7, 8 – Control of Elements and Atoms

Figure 7 Metamorpho # 4, National Periodical Publications, Inc. 1966

Control of Elements and Atoms The human chemistry set, Metamorpho the Element Man, is very aptly named because of his ability to change his form by “shuffling his atoms” according to the situation to become another substance – even an added power to the limited “Metal Men” and a greater metamorphosis than the Monarch butterfly. Is this out of the question for man when he learns the secret of the “chrysalis”?

Figure 8 - World’s Finest Comics # 228, National Periodical Publications, Inc. 1975; “The Junk Yard of Doom”

Figure 9 - Adventure Comics # 445, National Periodical Publications, Inc. 1976; “Deadly Medicine”

Figure 9 – Molecular Transmuter

!

The Creeper’s increased strength and stamina was gained from a healing serum. But his ability to rearrange molecular structure to become weightless and invisible is due to a device implanted in his wrist. As always these devices are entrusted to a person (?) having the qualities to use these devices wisely. Who is to decide who shall deserve such devices? Drugs or serums also have implications for Olympic competition.

Short Fiction JUST ONE DROP - By Patrick J. Nestor, Jr. That the woman looked lost, was the first thing that Kurt thought, although the way she was dressed gave the impression that she was more than lost.

Actually, the way she wasn't dressed was more like it.

If it had been the middle of the summer, a barefoot woman walking through the parking lot of a 7-11 dressed only in a loose gray sweatshirt and a pair of boxer shorts wouldn't have seemed strange. In fact, it would have been normal. In the third week of October however, it was bizarre. Kurt watched the woman start to walk towards an idling white car, then veer away towards the 7-11, only to abruptly turn again and walk towards the pay phone in the back corner of the lot. She walked right through a huge puddle, a leftover from the torrential downpour of the previous evening, without seeming to notice. She picked up the phone, put it back on its receiver, glanced at the road, and then lifted the phone again.

“What the hell are you looking at?” Tony asked, breaking through Kurt's fascination. Kurt realized he had been staring at the woman, and shook his head. He motioned in her direction and Tony turned to take a look.

“Jeez, she's gotta be freezing.” Tony said, Untitled - by Josh Bowe opening the driver's side door to the pale blue Ford. “Did she walk right through that big puddle to get to the phone?”

“Yeah.” Kurt replied. "She looks…" he didn't finish the sentence. He wasn't sure what she looked like.

They got in the car and Tony started the engine. He shifted into reverse and slowly back out, swinging the car so that they faced the general direction of the woman, now talking very animatedly into the phone. As he shifted into drive, she slammed down the phone and started to half walk, half jog through the puddle towards the white car.

“You think she's in trouble?” Tony asked. “Should we…”

“Yeah, pull over to her.” Kurt answered.

Tony inched the Ford slowly towards the white car. Kurt hit the button for the power windows and stuck his head out. The woman was standing next to what seemed to be her car, looking unsure if she should get in or not. The entire bottom of her sweatshirt was soaking wet, as if she had been waist deep in a vat of water. Her legs looked pale and thin lines of moisture ran down them.

“Are you ok?” Kurt asked. She turned her head to look at them, then back at the phone, then back to them again. The headlights of her car illuminated the side wall of the 7-11, and dropped thin shadows in her direction. For a second, Kurt didn't think she was going to answer him…wasn't even sure she had heard the question.

“No.” she replied, her voice thick with something that sounded like fear. There was a slight tremor to her manner of speech, and a mixture of both dullness and concern in her eyes. “No I'm not.”

“What's wrong?” Both Kurt and Tony asked at the same time. Tony was leaning towards the passenger side window, trying to get a better look at the woman's face. A lot of it was hidden by her long blonde hair, and she lifted a slightly trembling hand to brush it away from her eyes.

“My fucking bo…” she began, then stopped. She looked back towards the phone again then down at her bare feet. Kurt was about to ask again when she looked up, a slightly more determined look on her face.

"My boyfriend. He came home and there wasn't anything ready for him to eat… so he… he pulled me out of bed… by my hair." She lifted a few golden locks from the top of her head as if to show them.

“I was asleep, I didn't even know what was going on at first.” She continued. “Just because there was nothing waiting for him. The fuh... fuh …fucking asshole!” She said the last part in defiance and then actually seemed to flinch once she said it. Again, her eyes flickered back towards the phone.

“What else happened?” Tony asked.

“He threw me out. Just like this!” she exclaimed, waving her hands upwards to show that her manner of dress was, needless to say, inappropriate… in case that fact had escaped our notice. “Threw my stuff outside too. Broke my…”

She stopped. Again, she looked at the phone. Kurt started to wonder if she gave someone that phone's number and was waiting for a call back. Her eyes darted back down and seemed to study her feet. Fifteen seconds of silence was broken only by the sounds of passing cars on the turnpike behind them.

“C… can I ask you guys something?” she suddenly said, looking up. Her eyes had a sudden life to them and she began to chew on her bottom lip. She was mildly attractive and Kurt thought that with make-up and attention to detail that she could be very pretty. Her eyes were green and he could actually see them brighten as she asked her question. “Can I call the cops or something? Tell them to do something to him for hurting me?”

Kurt got the idea that this notion had never even crossed her mind before and now that it did, the

thought was almost foreign to her.

“If he put his hands on you then you can call the Police.” Tony told her.

“He has no right to hurt you.” Kurt agreed. “You can call the police, but you have to be willing to press charges or at least fill out an incident report. They would even probably make him get out of the house.”

“It's his mother's house.” She told them, already sounding beaten. “She lives upstairs.”

“Ah…um…shit.” Tony replied. “That means odds are… well... I don't know what that means… do you Kurt?”

“No.” Kurt admitted. “I don't know how that would affect things.”

“B… but he's not allowed to do that to me... right?” Her voice wasn't pleading, but it was close to it. “He can't grab me like that and drag me by my hair, can he? Is he allowed to do that?”

“No he damn well isn't!” Kurt said, more forcibly than he meant to. He took a breath and looked right at her. “Your best bet is to call the Police and tell your story and to stay away from him.”

“It's not that easy.” She said simply. As she said it, the dull, concerned look came back into her eyes.

“Thanks you guys… I… thanks.” She turned and walked back towards her car. Halfway there she stopped and turned around, as if to say something else. She never got the chance.

A red truck pulled into the parking lot from the side driveway. Her head snapped in the direction of it.

Her face didn't seem to change, but Kurt thought her eyes, still close enough for him to see them clearly, did. A man, aged about Thirty-five or so, jumped out. He had a concerned look on his face and jogged over to the woman. As he approached, she took one small step back, and Kurt saw her body flinch, ever so slightly… but a tiny smile formed on her lips.

“Hey… I… well… damn you look terrible!” the newcomer told her. Kurt and Tony looked at each other.

“Nick called me too about what happened, don't worry…he's sorry…” he broke off, as if suddenly realizing there was someone else there.

The guy turned to look at them, then back at the woman.

“Can I help you guys?” he asked, his eyes still on her face.

“They…” she began.

“We were just asking directions.” Tony interrupted. “But she didn't know… how do you get the Grand Central West from here?”

The question obviously eased the man's mind. He smiled brightly and pointed to the turnpike. “Take that road about two miles…” he said, happy to be giving us a path away from them. “Jump on the Meadowbrook North… take that till the end and jump on the Northern State going west… that turns into the GCW.”

“Great, thanks.” Tony said and straightened up. “Take care.”

The guy had already dismissed them and was talking to the woman. Kurt waved a goodbye to her as Tony pulled the car forward.

“Why did you…” Kurt began to ask then stopped.

“Why did I just lie then leave?” Tony finished his question. “One, because that was who she had called.

It was obvious when he said ‘Nick called me too…’ and two, since Nick did call him that means they are friends and I'm more than sure he would have reported back to Nicky-boy that his girlfriend was half naked in a parking lot talking to two strange guys about God knows what.”

Kurt nodded his head. It made sense.

“Besides, it was none of our business, and to tell you the truth, we don't know what really went down.”

Kurt didn't even have to ask what he meant. “You mean there was no signs of abuse on her, so we don't know he hurt her.”

“Exactly. Not to say it didn't happen the way she said… but we don't know for sure.”

“So that makes it ok.”

Tony's eyes flickered at his best friend. “No it doesn't make it ok, but it does make it something that in the end we could do more harm than good getting involved.”

“I didn't mean that towards you.” Kurt said “I didn't think you did.” Tony replied. “It's still none of our business. If we saw something happening to her, we'd get involved. We didn't, we know nothing for sure. Case closed.”

“I know… I know…” Kurt told him. “Still, I want you to drive past there again.”

Tony sighed but nodded. “Ok, I'll take the side road behind it. Odds are if they're still there they won't even see us go by.”

Ten minutes later, Tony eased the car carefully down the street behind the 7-11. From a half block down, you could see the side part of the parking lot easily. The red truck was gone, but the white car was still there. Kurt could see two figures in the front.

“That's her.” Tony said, “But that is not the same guy we saw before.”

“You can tell from here?” Kurt asked before looking over and seeing Tony looking through a telephoto lens. Tony was a photographer and always had a camera and a zoom lens in his back seat ready to snap

news at a moment notice.

“The other guy was a blonde. This guy has black hair and… looks like a Van Dyke too.”

“Van Dyke? As in Dick Van Dyke?”

“Van Dyke as in what everyone calls a goatee is actually called a Van Dyke. A real goatee has no mustache connected to it.” Tony explained.

“You know way too much about the strangest things.” Kurt told him and opened the door.

“I know, but so… Hey… what the hell are you doing?” He demanded.

“I'm gonna take a closer look.”

“Are you out of your fucking mind?” Tony hissed. “Get the hell back…”

Kurt shut the door on Tony's remark and walked briskly towards the 7-11. He turned for a second and mouthed ‘Relax’ to Tony who looked mad enough to snap the camera he was holding in two. He kept his head down but his eyes up as he approached the car. He could see the male, black hair and goateed, or van dyked as Tony had said, talking to the woman. He had one hand on her shoulder. Kurt passed them and continued to the front door of the 7-11. He glanced sideways towards the car as he opened the door.

The woman was staring right at Kurt. The guy was looking at her, still talking. He had a very calm look on his face. Inside, Kurt grabbed something off the counter and showed it to the cashier. He was told the price and he dug out a five dollar bill and handed it over.

The cashier handed back the change. “Have a good night.”

Kurt muttered a reply and walked back out the door. Now he could look right at the couple in the front seat without looking like he was looking at them. The man was still talking, half turned in the seat and facing the woman. Hanging from the rearview mirror was a pair of little white baby sneakers that dangled between the two, like a moderator. He was totally intent on her, and didn't seem to notice Kurt at all. The woman however locked eyes with Kurt. She obviously recognized him and her eyes flashed with something… something Kurt couldn't put his finger on. Was it pleading? Was it annoyance that he was back there, so obviously checking back on her? Was it neither? He couldn't tell. Like Tony had said, it wasn't their business. He didn't really know just what was going on. He didn't know anything. He just continued to walk forward. As he passed the car, he glanced quickly to his left. The woman was still staring ahead. He was close enough that if it wasn't for the window between them, Kurt could have reached out and caressed her hair easily. As he passed, his eyes locked on something. Something small but, to Kurt, something telling. It was a single drop of dried blood on her temple just below her hairline and just above her left eyebrow.

Back in the car, Tony look ready to spit nails.

“You are in serious need of a sanity test.” He told Kurt, seething. “You are so lucky…”

“There was no luck.” Kurt cut him off. “The guy with the truck is gone, and who-ever is with her, and I bet it’s Nick 'Smack my Bitch Up' the Boyfriend, who wouldn't know me from Adam. Unless she said 'That's this guy I was talking to before!' he would have no way of knowing anything.”

Tony opened his mouth to say something but didn't. He just put the car into drive and moved forward.

The two of them were silent for a mile or so.

“Did you see what you wanted to see?” Tony asked, breaking the silence.

“Not what I wanted… no.” Kurt replied. He told him about the blood drop.

Tony shook his head sadly. "You think she was gonna go back to him?"

“Maybe…” Kurt said. “Probably. Yeah. She was looking at me but I couldn't tell if she wanted me to do something… I…” Kurt stopped.

“Dude, there is no way you would have known she wanted you to do something unless she asked you to, and even then you still don't know enough about the situation to get involved. There wasn't anything you could, or should for that matter, have done.”

“Yeah I know.” Kurt told him.

He looked down at the object in his hand, the thing he had bought at the 7-11. Up until that point he hadn't even know what it was. Now, as he looked, he hoped it wasn't an omen. He was holding a Halloween candy dispenser. It was shaped like a coffin.

Tony, who worked for a major newspaper, was the one who noticed the article a few days later. He debated with himself to even bring it up to Kurt, but figured it was better if he did. The article didn't really tell them anything, and Tony told Kurt so. Kurt didn't disagree… there was no proof that the article was about the woman they had seen that night, but Kurt knew in his heart that it was. There was no picture and no mention of a name, although even if there had been it wouldn't have mattered since she had never told them hers. The article was short and to the point, more of a blurb then an article.

[

Untitled - by Josh Bowe

WOMAN'S BODY FOUND ON BEACH OCEAN BEACH – The body of a Jane Doe was found early yesterday morning by a jogger on the south end of Tobay Beach. The jogger, Lisa Olsen, from Wantagh, discovered the body when she went after her German Shepard, who had worked his way under a small dock. The body looked severely beaten and was missing the tips of her fingers, perhaps in an attempt to keep the Police from getting her fingerprints.

The woman was aged 37 years old, was approximately 136 lbs, 5 feet, ten inches tall with blonde hair and green eyes. She was nude, but ripped pieces of a sweatshirt were found stuffed in her mouth. Anyone with any information is asked to contact the Police help line at 516-555-1212.

Kurt put the newspaper down and looked at Tony.

“You think?” Is all Tony asked.

“Yeah.” Kurt answered.

Two nights later found Kurt on Ocean Parkway. He had been on his way back from meeting a client and before he knew it, had turned onto the exit for the parkway heading for the beach instead of heading towards home. Rain splattered on the windshield and wind rocked the car. Despite the storm, Kurt drove quickly. As he came upon the drawbridge, he could barely see the flashing lights that signaled him to stop, and realized he was going to fast. He hit his breaks, a little too hard, skidded, and rear-ended the car in front of him. Not too hard, but enough for him to smack his head on his steering wheel. He had forgotten to put on his seatbelt. If he had been going faster…

Kurt got out and ran to the driver's side window of the car ahead of him. As he got to it, he froze. The car was white. Hanging on the rearview mirror was a small pair of white baby sneakers. There was no one in the car. Kurt looked around frantically. He felt his pulse quicken. There was no way… it was impossible that two cars with the same make and color and those things hanging from the rearview would come into his life so close together… wasn't it? His vision was limited due to the heavy downpour, but he was able to make out a figure standing at the edge of the bridge. Kurt hurried over, trying to calm himself down. The figure was leaning slightly over the low bridge wall, and Kurt had a sudden feeling that the figure was going to jump. He got to it and reached out for the figure's shoulder. That was when she turned around.

“He killed me.” She said, looking blankly at Kurt.

He was too shocked to scream, although the desire to was certainly there. It was her… as impossible as it was, Kurt had no doubt. She was dressed in the same sweatshirt and boxers as that night, and still bereft of shoes or anything on her feet. She looked exactly the same… no, not exactly… Kurt realized with horror that the single drop of dried blood wasn't dried now. It ran slowly down her head, past her left eye and down her cheek. She turned back and looked out at the water. Kurt could hear the drawbridge opening but he couldn't look away from her.

“I… I…” Kurt tried to say something, but he couldn't. Nothing would come out.

His mind actually felt like it was pulsating. He thought if something didn't happen he'd just go crazy, there on the draw bridge and they would find him there the next day, on the side of the bridge, gibbering like a madman. Behind them a loud crash made Kurt start. He turned with a quick jerk. A tree had fallen behind his car, effectively blocking the road. The only way to go was forward. Kurt looked back at the woman, still not sure if he could speak.

She was gone.

Her disappearance didn't make him feel any better… in fact it was almost worse. He took a few steps back and stumbled. He fell hard to the concrete and sat there for a few seconds, trying to calm himself down. After a minute, he got up and walked to the fallen tree. There was no way he'd be able to go back.

He looked at the bridge. It was open slightly, not a lot, but enough so that driving a car over it was impossible. Kurt looked back and forth a few times, barely believing his eyes… unsure what to do next.

He went back to where she had been and looked over the edge. All he could see was water and rain. As his eyes drifted to his left however, he could see the top of a staircase. He walked over to it and looked down. It was a spiral staircase. At the bottom was some sort of structure. Kurt hoped it was the control room for the drawbridge. Although he felt he would almost rather walk in the rain the five or so miles back to the nearest town, he slowly and carefully descended the staircase, towards the structure.

At the bottom, he saw that he had been right. The shack was a control room. He could see a control panel through the window even with the fogging. He reached out for the door handle, expecting it to be locked, but to his relief, it turned easily. He swung the door open and stepped inside. The control panel was right ahead of him and he could see the lever for the rising and lowering of the bridge was about a quarter of the way above the word ‘DOWN’. He moved towards the panel, but something made him look to his right. There, on a captain's chair, sat a little girl. She was wearing a long nightshirt with Winnie The Pooh on it. Her long blonde hair looked dirty and unkempt. She sat with each hand on an armrest, and her bare feet barely hung over the edge of the chair.

“You didn't stop him.” She told Kurt, who didn't even have time to wonder what the hell a little girl was doing her by herself so late at night. “You didn't stop him and now it's too late for us.”

“W… Who are…” Kurt was stammering. Who was this? Her eyes were dark and without color. They flashed with something that Kurt thought could be anger.

“He'll do it again.” She said, then she screamed.

Kurt screamed along with her… he was a hairline away from hysteria. As it was, the scream almost made him bolt from the control room. He stumbled backwards and went head over heels, falling over a small garbage can. After a moment, he opened his eyes, expecting the girl to be gone. He was right. As he picked himself up, he saw the level for the bridge had been moved to the ‘down’ position. Without another glance, Kurt ran from the room and up the spiral staircase. Above him he could hear the bridge snapping shut with a low bang. Twice he slipped and almost went tumbling down, back to the bottom, but he kept his balance and made it to the top. The bridge was closed. Kurt looked for a few seconds to make sure he was seeing it for sure, then he ran towards the two cars. He would have enough room to back up a little and go around the white car. A few steps away from it he slid to a stop.

The woman was back, sitting behind the wheel of her car. Kurt was on a slight angle on the driver's side. If he had been directly in the front of the car the headlights would have blinded him and he wouldn't have been able to see her. She was looking straight ahead, but slowly turned to look right at him. Kurt could see the window was open about a quarter of the way. The woman suddenly began to crawl out of the window. The impossibility of her fitting through such a small opening would have occurred to Kurt had any of the past ten minutes had been even halfway normal. Kurt was frozen to the spot. He had heard about people, being faced with something so terrifying that they couldn't move, but he had never understood it. Now he did. Despite the brain screaming for him to RUN, he couldn't. He watched with horror as the woman squeezed though the tiny opening and crawled on the wet concrete towards him in a jerking, spider-like crawl. He couldn't even step back. It took only about twenty-five seconds for her to reach him, but to Kurt it was like hours.

She crawled right up to him and placed one hand on his left shoe. Kurt looked down at the back of her head, his body refusing to obey his mind's demand that he get out of there, even if he had to jump off the bridge, anything, even death had to be better than this… Kurt suddenly realized that the tops of her fingers were now gone. Blood ran freely over his shoe and onto the concrete. The woman looked up at him. She was now missing her right eye. In its place was a long black rock.

“He forgot something.” She told him. “He forgot.”

“I… I…”Kurt tried to talk, but his mouth wasn't doing a much better job listening to his brain than his legs were.

“Make him come back.” She told Kurt, her one remaining eye dead and rolling up into her head. “If you tell him, he'll come back. He'll know he forgot.”

“F… for… forgot w… what?” Kurt managed to ask.

“Make him come back. For what he did to us.” The bruises started forming on her face, the back of her legs. The Sweatshirt was gone now, as were the boxer shorts… Kurt could see deep, red scratches and marks on her back. They were teeth marks. He was a biter. The blood began to flow from her, some of it shooting in long thin spurts into the air and onto the road and Kurt himself.

“He… made… us… suffer…” she told him, torn bloody chunks of her sweatshirt falling out of her mouth as her voice rose to a high pitch. “HE… MUST… SUFFER… JUST… AS… WE… DO!” Kurt didn't hear anything else, as his brain finally had decided he'd had enough. As he passed out, the last thing he thought of was that single drop of blood he had seen on her head the other night.

When Kurt came to, everything was normal. The Bridge was down, the white car and the dead woman were nowhere in sight, and the tree, which had blocked the entire road, now was barely large enough to reach halfway across. The other difference was now it was in front of his car, instead of behind it.

Anyone looking on the scene would have though he had driven into the tree as it fell. He stood up, legs shaky, and looked around. His car was still running, and rested against the fallen tree as if it was that he had hit instead of the dead woman's white car. He walked slowly towards the bridge wall, but changed his mind. He didn't want to know if there was a control room or a spiral staircase down there after all. He looked at the road. The puddles of blood from the woman's missing fingertips were gone. He closed his eyes and looked again. Nothing. He went to his car and got inside. As he closed the door he looked down at his shoes. They were clean. Looked at his clothes. Nothing. Kurt turned on the dome light and looked into the rear view mirror. On his temple, just under his hairline was a single dried drop of blood. After a moment he put the car into reverse, went around the tree and headed on the road for home.

Tony, needless to say, was concerned and bothered by the story.

“First off, you should have gone to an emergency room or something. That bump on your head isn't something to sneeze at.” He said, ticking off points on his fingers. “Second, that's where the blood came from, not from a bleeding ghost. Third, I talked to my contact at the Police department and there was no black stone found in her eye. Fourth, when you hit the tree, and then your head, you hallucinated the entire thing because you harbor some sort of guilt that you didn't do something the night we saw her.

Fifth, There's evidence…”

“What?” Kurt cut him off. “What did you say?”

“I said that your harbor some sense of guilt…”

“Not that…” Kurt interrupted again. “About the stone?”

“There wasn't one.”

“Are you sure?”

“No, I'm not sure, but my contact is. As it was he wanted to know how I knew about the eye since they hadn't revealed that part to the papers.”

“And you don't wonder how I know about it?”

“Well, there's ways you could ha… well maybe you…” Tony struggled. “It… ah, shit.”

“Yeah, ah shit.” Kurt said getting up. “I understand what you've been saying Tony, I do. And in most cases I would agree that I had some sort of nightmare brought on by a collision, but I'm telling you I DIDN'T hallucinate it.”

“I find that very hard to accept.” Tony said softly.

“Like I don't?!” Kurt demanded. “I was fucking there and I find it hard to accept!”

“I…” Tony stopped. He had no idea what to say. The two of them were silent for a minute.

“That's what he forgot you know.” Kurt said.

“Huh?”

“The Stone. That's what he forgot.”

“How…” “How would I know? I don't know how I know, I just do.”

“Well, considering there IS no stone, I doubt he forgot it.”

“Yes… he did.” Kurt insisted. “He didn't forget it in her eye, he forgot it at the crime scene.”

“Under the dock?” Tony asked.

“No, that's where he left her, but not were he killed her.”

“Where…”

“The bridge.”

“This is too fucking bizarre.” Tony told him. “I just have a hard time with this.”

Again they were both silent.

“Wait…” Tony suddenly looked up. “Fuck me, how could I forget?”

“Forget what?”

“The pictures.”

Kurt looked confused for a second, then it dawned on him.

“Holy shit…” he said, understanding. “You took some pictures of them that night… didn't you?”

“Yeah… when you started walking over there…” Tony explained. “In case he got out of the car and started in with you I wanted evidence to use against him.”

“Where are they?” Kurt asked.

“In here.” Tony said, opening a drawer on the desk he was sitting at. He pulled out an envelope with snapshots in them. He handed them to Kurt.

Kurt flipped through them. Most were of a Football game Tony had covered that afternoon. The last five were of the couple in the car. The last one showed Kurt past the car and on his way back to Tony's Ford. The guy in the front seat of the woman's car and turned around and was reaching into the back seat.

“Hey…” Kurt said. “Can you blow this one up?” He handed the shot to Tony.

“Yeah…” he said, getting up. “Give me a few.”

Tony went into his bathroom, which doubled as a darkroom. After a few minutes, Kurt leaned against the wall next to the bathroom door.

“What about the evidence?” He asked Tony through the door.

“What?” Tony's reply was muffled.

“Before... you were saying 'Fifth, there's evidence'…”

“Oh yeah…” Tony remembered. “After you called me this morning and told me the story, I stopped by the bridge and talked to the guy who runs the bridge during the day. He said there was evidence that someone had been in the control room that night, which surprised him cause it was locked and there was no signs of the door being forced or the lock tampered with. He also said there was a muddy dried-up hand-print of a hand on the control panel. It was an adult-size hand-print. You said you never touched it… right?”

“Right.” Kurt admitted.

“Well, it looks like you did, which supports the theory that you worked your way down there and flipped the lever yourself, and don't remember it that way because you hit your head.”

“But the eye…”

“AND the eye, while not easily explained, is not enough evidence that what you remember actually happened, since the rest of the story is so far fetched. Plus, what the hell about the little girl? What was that from?”

“I have no idea.” Kurt told him. “Hey, you told you police about these pictures? They could be used as evidence.”

“I told you I forgot all about them.” Tony called out through the door. “I'll bring them ov… holy fucking shit.”

“What?” Kurt demanded. Tony didn't respond. “Tony… What is it!?”

The door opened and Tony came out. He handed a large sheet of photo paper over. Kurt looked at it.

The shot was blown up to almost poster size. The ‘boyfriend’ was in the center of the shot, Tony having cropped out the rest of the picture. Tony reached over and circled something with a red grease pencil.

Inside the circle was the guy's neck. Hanging from a necklace was a long black stone.

Kurt looked up at his friend. Tony sighed.

“Ok, let's go tell the Police.” He said.

“No… not yet.” Kurt stopped him.

“What?”

“Not yet. I have to do something first.”

“Do what?” Tony demanded. “This is fucking serious now man. I would have already turned these over if I hadn't forgotten about them.”

“Just trust me… give me 24 hours.” Kurt told him. He was suddenly very relaxed.

A long drawn out argument ensured. In the end, Kurt won out, but barely.

“We have to find out who this guy is.” Kurt said. “We know three things. One, what he looks like. Two, his first name; Nick, and three he lives close to the 7-11 in East Meadow.”

“How do you figure that?” Tony asked, still unhappy about Kurt's plan.

“We were gone about what… eight or nine minutes? He couldn't have been too far. The guy we saw first comes by, takes to the girl… gets the idea she'll talk to Nick. He calls Nick, and Nick comes. Happened in less than seven minutes. Hell, he might have even walked there... we didn't see a car next to hers.”

“Or, maybe he followed his friend there and sat around the corner.” Tony said.

“Yeah, possible, but… I doubt it.” Kurt replied. “Anyway it's all we have to go on.”

“No it's not.” Tony said.

“What do you mean?” Kurt asked.

Tony walked to the desk and held up one of the pictures. He held it up.

“License plate.” He said. The picture he held was of the back of the white car. The plates were easy to read.

Two hours later, Kurt sat at the end of Hunter Street, East Meadow. From his car he could see the driveway to 134 Hunter Street was empty. He had figured it would be. Nick Miller, son of Dorothy Miller the woman who owned the house, would be at work at this time. Getting the information was ridiculously easy. Kurt called his cousin Danny, a captain on the NYPD, and asked him for some help.

Danny asked what it was for and Kurt didn't answer. After a moment, Danny said to give him the license plate and he'd see what he could do. An hour later, he called back with the info. By using the license plate, Danny was able to find the woman's name. She was Allison Ross. Age 37. Five foot ten. License number: 237 075 888. Mailing address: 134 Hunter Street. She had signed her license 'Allie'. He then cross-referenced the address and got another license… that of Nick Miller. More research reveled the owner of the house. From what Danny could tell, however, there was no evidence that a little girl lived there.

Kurt fingered the envelope in his hands. Inside was the photograph of Nick in the car blown up to 11 X 17. On it were the words 'Allie says you forgot something' and the black rock necklace circled. Kurt took a deep breath and got out of the car. He ran to the house, shoved the envelope, a huge manila one with the name NICK written in bold letters, in the mailbox and then ran back to his car. Two minutes later he was headed back towards Tony's.

That night the rain came again, hard and heavy. Tony sat almost in the exact same place Kurt had been parked in that afternoon. He watched Nick Miller come home and grab the envelope from the mailbox. A few minutes later Nick came bursting out of the house. He jumped into his car, a dark Jeep Cherokee, and backed out of his driveway at a reckless speed. He clipped a parked car behind him but

didn't even slow down. He sped off down the other end of the block, and towards the highway that would take him to the Beach, and the drawbridge. He picked up his cell phone and hit a preset number. Kurt answered on the first ring.

“He's on his way.” Tony said. “I can't believe we're doing this…”

“Ok.” Kurt said.

“Are you sure about this?” Tony asked for what seemed like the hundredth time. “Let's just tell the Police.”

“We will. Tonight.” Kurt said. “After.”

“After what?” Tony asked.

“I don't know.” Kurt admitted.

Kurt sat back in his car. He was about Ninety feet on the other side of the bridge and had hidden the car as best he could. After a few minutes he got out and walked closer to the bridge. The rain would help hide him. As it was he had no idea what to do. At his side he carried a baseball bat. In case he wound up having to defend himself, he wanted something with a reach. He wasn't sure how much time had passed.

Finally he saw a set of headlights coming towards the bridge. He hunched down inside a thick set of bushes and watched. A darkly colored Jeep Cherokee pulled to the edge of the bridge and then to the side of the road. A figure got out with a powerful flashlight. From the distance he was at, Kurt could barely make out the figure. Mostly all he could see was the flashlight dancing around. It looked as if the figure was searching for something. Kurt shifted his weight. His legs where falling asleep in the position he was in. He didn't want to stand up, so he leaned over and stretched his legs backwards. It was then that a pair of hands grabbed him from behind.

“Fucking cocksucker!” A rough voice screamed at him.

He was thrown forward into the stone wall of the bridge. Kurt hit it and bounced off. Before he could get up, he was kicked hard. He fell and tried to move. A heavy boot kicked him again. Kurt rolled over and looked up. Nick Miller was towering above him.

“How the hell…” Kurt started to say when Nick's boot came crashing down onto his head. Kurt's brain reeled. He fought to stay conscious. From the side another figure came running up carrying a flashlight. “… get him?” The figure was calling out. Kurt rolled over and took a look at him. It was the guy with the red truck. “Holy shit!”

Nick looked at him.

“What Mike?” he demanded. “You know this guy?”

“Don't say my name man!”

“Shut the fuck up! What's he gonna do? Now tell me DO YOU KNOW THIS GUY?”

Mike seemed to cringe from Nick's anger.

“Ye… no. I don't know him but…” Mike stammered. “He was at the 7-11 when I saw Allie.”

“What!?” Nick roared.

“Him and some other guy, said they were asking for directions. I gave them the directions and they left.”

“And this didn't fucking occur to you to tell me?”

“No, they wanted directions!” Mike protested. “I didn't think anything of it!”

Nick shook his head and looked disgusted.

“Asshole. You are so lucky we found him, but now we gotta find out about his buddy.” Nick looked back down at Kurt. “Where is he cocksucker? And how the hell did you know about the necklace? Did you know that dumb cunt?”

Kurt boosted himself up on one elbow.

“What did you do to her?” He demanded.

“Fucking bitch scratched me, so I used the closet thing I had to teach her a lesson.” He turned to Mike.

“Did you find it?”

“No.” Mike told him.

“Shit, we have to find the fucking thing. I can't believe I did forget about it. Dumb move.”

“What about the cops?” Mike asked him.

“What about them? This dumb fuck didn't tell them.”

“How do you know?”

“Because I would've been picked up instead of finding a cute photograph in my mailbox you asshole.”

Nick spat at him. “This idiot was looking to black mail me or something…” He paused. “But it's not blackmail, is it? I can see it in your eyes.”

Kurt didn't say anything.

“Ok cocksucker, where's your friend?” Nick demanded.

“On his way to the Police. He was watching from the other side of the bridge, and ran off the second he saw you grab me.”

“Bullshit.” Nick said. “Where is he?”

“At your house, fucking your mother.” Kurt told him calmly. Nick let out a roar and kicked him in the head again. Kurt fell back to the concrete.

“Go find that fucking necklace!” Nick screamed at Mike.

“Who was the little girl Nick?” Kurt managed to ask, still clinging to consciousness.

“Huh?” Nick looked back at Kurt, obviously startled.

“What little girl?” Mike asked Nick. “What's he talking about?”

“The little blonde girl with the Winnie The Pooh nightshirt.” Kurt spat out. “What's that all about Nick?”

“How th…” Nick cut himself off. “Shut the fuck up!”

“Nick, what the hell is he talking about? What…” Mike's eyes sudden grew wide. “Oh my God Nick, not Sandra! You said you didn't know anything about that!”

“I don't! I didn't so shut up!” Nick screamed at Mike. He kicked Kurt again, this time in the ribs. “SHUT UP YOU FUCKING MAGGOT!” Kurt coughed up blood. He thought he felt something snap as the kick hit him. He spit the blood out and watched it dissipate in the rain.

“We thought she ran away!” Mike wailed. “You even helped us look for her!”

“Did a better job hiding that one huh Nicky?” Kurt somehow sang out. Nick stomped on Kurt's head three times. Everything began to go black. He managed to see Mike swing the huge flashlight at Nick, then nothing.

Kurt opened his eyes. He felt the rain splattering on his face. He tried to sit up but the pain was too great. After a moment he managed to roll over. Next to him was the staring face of Mike. A huge red split ran down his forehead to the bridge of his nose. Blood leaked out onto the pavement.

“Too little too late huh Mike?” Kurt whispered. He managed to work himself up on one arm and looked for Nick. He was at the end of the bridge, looking over the ground with the flashlight. He turned and looked in Kurt's direction. Kurt let himself fall back, but knew Nick has seen the movement.

“Gonna kill you cocksucker!” Nick yelled at him. He began to run, then stopped. “Wh… What the fuck?”

Kurt didn't know what was happening. It felt like an earthquake. The ground seemed to be rising.

Suddenly he realized what it was. The drawbridge was opening. Kurt rolled over to his left. The bridge opening separated him from Nick. Kurt felt himself sliding down the opening bridge to the street. He couldn't see anything. He tried to get up but again failed because of the pain. Suddenly he realized although he couldn't see, he could hear Nick on the other side.

“What the fuck are you?” Nick was screaming. “What the fuck! No! Get away! GET AWAY! YOU CAN'T BE! YOU CAN'T BE!” Kurt tried to get up a third time and managed to get up on both elbows. He rolled a bit to his right and got a knee under him. On the other side of the drawbridge, Nick was screaming at the top of his lungs.

“PLEASE NO! I'M SORRY! I COULDN'T HELP IT!” He screamed.

Kurt forced himself up. He realized the baseball bat, dropped when Nick had first grabbed him was now beside him. He used it as a brace to stand himself up. He slipped, just caught himself and got to his feet. He was very unsteady.

“YOU CAN'T BE!” Nick was screaming so loud his throat must have been turning raw. “YOU CAN'T BE! YOU'RE GONE! GO AWAY! GOOOOO AWAAAAAAYY!”

Untitled - by Dragan Petrovic

Then Kurt heard a bloodcurdling scream that he would never forgot. One thing he was certain of, that it didn't come from Nick. Suddenly the bridge began to close. Kurt stumbled up the rapidly closing side and looked ahead. Blood was running from his forehead into his eyes making it difficult to see. For a second he thought he saw two figures but he became blinded by the headlights of a white car. Just then, the strength went out from his legs.

As he fell he realized the white car had flashing red and blue lights on them.

Kurt opened his eyes, and what he saw was white. He shook his head gently and realized why. He was in a hospital room.

“About time.” A voice said to him. He looked to his left. His cousin Danny and Tony both sat in chairs.

“Oh man, I feel like shit.” Kurt told them.

“I'm not surprised.” Danny said. “You took one hell of a beating. You should get another one, pulling a stunt like that.”

“What happened?” Kurt asked.

“I tried to follow Nick, but I lost him right away.” Tony explained. “That made me nervous and I said the hell with it and called the cops. The problem was, they wanted to see the picture before they'd believe me. Once they did, they hightailed it up to the Bridge, but by that time the damage had been done.”

Kurt shifted in the bed and tried to sit up. He failed the first time, but succeeded the second.

“They got him?” He asked. “They got Nick?”

“No.” Tony told him. “He was… dead when we got there. He jumped or fell over the bridge.”

“Or was pushed.” Danny said.

Kurt shook his head. “When I asked if they got him... I didn't mean the cops.” He said simply.

Danny frowned and leaned forward. “You realize how badly this could have ended for you right?” he asked Kurt. “Not that you escaped unscathed, but you could have… maybe would have been killed if something didn't cause that psycho to take a long walk of the short pier.”

Kurt nodded.

“I know it was dumb… but I... they…” Kurt couldn't explain.

Tony and Danny looked at each other.

“What did you see?” Tony asked.

“Nothing.” Kurt explained. “The bridge opened. He was on the other side. I couldn't see anything.”

“Bizarre.” Danny said, sitting back.

“So he's dead.” Kurt said.

“Yep, one way or the other, they got their revenge.”

“You said they.” Kurt replied, looking intently at his cousin. “You know about the little girl?”

“Yep, Sandra Whitman, Mike Whitman's little sister.” Danny explained. “She disappeared about a month ago. The cops dug up the area close to where Allison was found. They found her body too. She had been raped. Also, the remains of a nightshirt was stuffed into her mouth.”

“Jesus.” Kurt said. “Did they find the black stone?”

“Yeah.” Tony said. “Jammed in his left eye.”

“What?”

“When they got the body from the ground below, he had a black rock shoved into his left eye. And there were torn pieces of a gray sweatshirt stuffed in his mouth.” Tony told him. “That's why the police think he was pushed. If it wasn't for the fact you were obviously in no shape to stand on your own, much less over power that freak, you'd be their main suspect.”

“Maybe he was pushed, but not in the way you think.” Kurt said softly.

“Yeah, Tony told me the story.” Danny told him. “Let's keep that to ourselves ok?”

“No problem.” Kurt said. He laid back and closed his eyes. “In fact, the quicker I can pretend it never happened. The better.”

Kurt never quite understood what had happened. Tony tried to convince him that the head trauma was what had caused his hallucination and he reminded him he never saw what happened to Nick. Kurt didn't argue the point. Tony couldn't explain how Kurt knew about the stone or the eye or how the sweatshirt pieces wound up in Nicks mouth. The stone ending up in Nick's eye was simple, according to Danny, Nick must have found the stone and was holding it when he went over the side. In his flailing as he fell, he shoved it into his own eye.

Kurt thought about visiting Allison's grave, but decided against it. He wasn't sure he had actually seen her on that bridge, but he decided that he wasn't willing to risk another visit. Just that one had been enough.

Darkness Falls - by Stan Nelson

Family Life ~Cook Book For Working Families~ - by Mandie Fortin I'm sorry I haven't been submitting any cookbook topics lately, I've been extremely busy. I will be entering college soon and I can only hope to keep sending in my ideas. Lets see if I can come up with some more new quick dinner ideas being a busy mom of College now.

For now, I do have some suggestions.

Moms - Make dinner fun. I would suggest being creative with your potatoes, I wouldn't suggest it all the time but once in a while it is awesome to totally surprise your kids. When you cook up mashed potatoes, make a masterpiece, make them thick so you can build a small castle, car or some other creative masterpiece for your children to fill their plates with. Make an entire meal creative and for a little extra surprise, don't tell your spouse, surprise them too.

Example: Thick mashed potato castle (mash in shredded cheese to thicken your potatoes and make it stick together good), add peas around the structure (grass), I wish it was possible to create a gravy moat but I think that will be a bit time consuming but if the family usually smothers their peas in gravy, it might work. *laughing* Even though this is a task already very time consuming, on a day off, it's something that makes dinner a lot of fun. If anyone tries it, please, take a picture please send it to me.

Grocery shopping can be affordable if you know what to do. I can't give you a lot of ideas right now but please people, stop buying the already seasoned meats and veggies and stuff, you may think it saves you time but it costs more. Save your money, have some fun, why not just buy shake and bake? You put your meat in a bag with the seasoning, you shake it and bake it. That's it, that's all. You can even get the kids to do it. If you want the kids to take part in the fun, simply fill the bags with the seasoning, drop in your choice of meat and tie it in a tight knot. Make sure there's enough air in the bag to give the kids a chance to have some shake and bake fun. Hand them the bags and tell them to shake it gently, meanwhile you are preparing the vegetables and voila.......fun with the family, you taught the kids something and got help at the same time. :)

Untitled - by Bob Labute

Think of ways to have fun and save money. Family is everything!

Directions:

Proud to announce my newest creation! :) Ingredients: ~ Ground Beef ~ Fresh or frozen broccoli ~ Ketchup ~ Salt ~ Pepper ~ Onion Salt ~ Honey Mustard ~ Can of vegetable soup ~ Block or already shredded cheese

* Start by browning your ground beef in a frying pan (Feel free to cook as much as you like, left overs can be used for lunch at work the next day) * Boil your fresh or frozen broccoli * Drain juices from can of vegetable soup * Combine your can of vegetable soup and ground beef together in large pot * Add ketchup to your taste * Add salt and pepper to taste * Add onion salt to taste * Add shredded cheese * Add honey mustard (not too much), mix it all together, make sure everything is coated * Place your meat and vegetable combo to a plate (bowl for kids) * Add shredded cheese to broccoli in pot, cover, cook on low till cheese is melted * Scoop your broccoli and cheese onto the top of your meat * Serve with bread and butter

Time to make: Approx. 15 - 20 minutes and you're ready to eat ENJOY!

Untitled - by Bob Labute Untitled - by Stan Nelson

My Journal - by Mandie Fortin After waiting ever so impatiently for spring to finally show up, the rain comes down with promise of greener days to come. Now the wait for the sun to shoot warm rays down upon us, helping melt away the filthy patchs of snow littering the sides of our roads. Once you see the street cleaners out in full power, sweeping and washing away the reminence of winter, you know that CAMPING is just around the corner. I am an avid camper and I'm not talking about campers, trailers, RV's or cottages. I'm talking pitching a tent amoungst the trees, mosquitos and black flies. Skunks raiding our dining tent and squirrels taking off with our chicken bones.... it's happened!

Talkin’ Turkey Calendar - by Mike Grattan

I love roasting marshmallows and hot dogs over an open crackling fire and watching fire flies in the trees. Swiming at the beaches and camping under the blue sky. I'm so relieved that this beautiful weather is finally amoungst us. I dispise winter and am not sad to see it go. So everyone, welcome spring with a smile and watch for the robins. Speaking of robins, let me know if you see one. I'm always happy to hear a robin spotting.

Happy Spring Everyone.

[ a few weeks later - edit note ] The last few weeks have been so trying for me.

Causing me great stress and I thought that my luck was completely non existance when suddenly it took a turn and hit the heavens above. Upon attending an interview at Laurentian University, I was accepted in as a student. I am going to be taking Bachelor of Arts: Psychology as my major. I'm so very excited. But more great things have happened recently. We had the building inspector in and he's fixing our place up for us, well, he's helping us get the landlords to do what the law tells them to do and fix our place up. Oh, we thought we were going after them for minor things but it turns out to be so much more wonderful than that.

The inspector found more things that needed to be done and that was just a bonus on our case. hee hee hee I'm sure you're laughing if you're reading this Shane.

Talkin’ Turkey Calendar by Mike You know what we're doing. ha ha ha Grattan

Well, today was a special day. I got to reunite in person with a very dear friend that I haven't seen for 20 years. We attended Adjala Public School way back for Grade's 4 - 6. I have been in touch with her over facebook but this was so totally awesome. I thought highly of Yvonne when we were just friends in school and I'm now being given the opportunity to continue that friendship with her and I plan to take that chance. She looked great, she was as awesome as I remember her from school and it's good to see that some people don't change. :) She's one of the lucky ones.

Yvonne, thank you for coming to visit. I'm really glad to have been able to reunite with you. I cried. *laughing* The kids LOVED her. lol Onto another topic that happened....I was given the tip to give my birds egg (hard boiled) to help encourage egg laying. lol I tried it. I boiled an egg, cooled it and gave it to my birds.......Well, I'm sure it wouldn't make an affect on them so soon but I'm not too sure of that anymore. My male is strutting around his cage like he's hot shit, I put my hand in the cage and while he was sitting on my hand he decided to attempt to chew my finger off. I had to shake the shit head off. *Laughing my fucking ass off* <--that was worth typing. ha ha I would have thought feeding birds unborn bird fetis' to be a bit.....canobalistic. Don't you think?

LOL Look what happens when you feed cow to cows......they go crazy - hense Mad Cow Disease. OMG Did I just give my birds Mad Budgie Disease? ha ha ha Can you imagine?

Change of topic. That one was getting a bit out of hand and the last thing I need to do is start a debate on Mad Budgie and Mad Cow Disease......maybe that is what is causing people to go crazy....to much eatting....NEVER MIND - Get your minds out of the gutter. lol Anyway, I'm going to be attending University as of Monday and so I'm not sure how much time I'm going to have for the computer. I'm a mother, a wife and now a student......I forgot a long time ago what ME time is. I'll adapt to this big add on. :) Wish me luck all.

Book Illustration - by Mike Grattan

Pop Culture Raised on Saturday Morning Cartoons - by Pauline Harren Pare Once upon a time... the big networks were the only source of quality produced scripted series.

This also meant that the television we watched was subject to the whims of public opinion and money hungry execs. There were the occasional independent program but the quality was in question. These programs were able to garner loyal audiences, however, because of two important reasons...not all people are the same and people sometimes want something different.

Now, with the advent of the specialty networks, there are channels that thrive on the fact that every person is different and therefore each has their preferences. There is a channel for mystery lovers, sport lovers, cuisine enthusiasts, nature lovers and so on and so on... It was only a matter of time before they started to produce their own scripted series and I am so ecstatic about some of the results.... I have already ranted about Showtime's "Dexter" and Sci-Fi's "Battlestar Galactica" but these networks have also brought us "Sopranos" (HBO), "Dead Like Me" (Showtime) , Rescue Me ( FX Network ) airing with many others.

Kyle XY (ABC Family) comes to mind... although it was created for an adolescent audience, it contains mature material and has great adult characters to bring in a wide audience.

Kyle XY is a Sci-Fi about a brilliant teenager with extraordinary abilities and all the mysteries that surround him.

So explore the dial and try to discover new treasures in the ever expanding world of television.

Kyle XY