Fiction Challenge - Sub-Genre Mash-ups

So I did skip a week on the fiction challenges.  I have no excuses, I just couldn't get a way to make the topic work for me.

Totally not an excuse.

Anyway, this week the topic was to take two sub-genres of fiction and crush them together into one story.  I bounced through a few different combinations; Superhero-fantasy, Dying Earth-Dieselpunk, Magical Realism-Techno Thriller, etc.

Then the first line of this story popped into my head, enjoy my insanity.

Deathiversary

            Cassie stuck her tongue out and giggled at how the pool of blood gave her reflection some color.

“Cassie stop that,” Robert waved to her.  “Come here.”

            Making one more face at herself Cassie glided over to the couch, leaving a trail of ectoplasm as she passed through the end table.  She sat down in the air, hovering just above the cushions.

            Robert put his arm across the back of the couch and Cassie leaned back just enough to let them overlap slightly, her incorporeal with his physical.  She sighed contentedly, cold fog gusting out as she spoke.

            “You always know just what to get me.”  She said.

            “Well you’re not hard to please,” he said with a gesture to the corpse still dripping blood on the floor.  “I figured you’d prefer the whole package instead of just a red mess.”

            “True enough,” she smiled.
            “Anything you’d like me to do with the body?” he asked.

            “Leave it for now,” She looked around at the dust and grime.  “I like how it adds to the décor.  We’ll let Fido have it on the next full moon.”

            “Where is that mutt anyways?”

            “He’s wandered off again, something about ‘escaping this accursed place.’  He’ll be back once he gets hungry.”

            “Why do we put up with him?”

            “Oh he’s just going through a phase, you know how werewolves are, always with the drama.”

            A wet scratching sound caught their attention.

            “Victor,” Robert shouted. “You get out of there!  Bad boy!”

            The vampire backed away from blood it had been sniffing at and started to back out of the room eying the puddle pleadingly.

            “Oh, I’ve had my fun,” Cassie said. “Let him have it.”

            Robert waved his hand at the mess and the vampire began lapping at the blood, purring happily as it did.  Drinking its fill it turned and skulked from the room, disappearing into the darkened hallway.

            Turning his attention back to Cassie he asked, “So do you remember what tonight is?”

            She frowned thoughtfully for a moment, “Halloween?”

            “Well yes, that.” Robert shook his head, “But I was thinking of our anniversary.”

            “Oh sweetie, you remembered!”

            “Of course I did, it’s hard to forget the night you killed your wife.”  He laughed, “And you know, I have a bit more of a present planned for you than just a bloody chuck of meat.”

            “Oh really now?”  Cassie asked.

            Robert held up his hand, “Just wait, it should be any minute now.”

            “Robbie, you know ghosts have no patience.” Cassie put her hands on her spectral hips.

            Unmoved he asked, “Really?  What else do you have to do with your time?”

            “I’ll have you know I’ve a very busy schedule, it takes a lot of skill to rattle chains in just the right way.”  Her smirk betrayed her amusement.

            Before he could reply the sound of tires crunching on the gravel driveway came through the broken windows.  Cassie flew off the couch and stuck her head outside, missing the window in her excitement and looking through the wall.

            “Teenagers!”  She shrieked, “You brought me mystery hunters?!  Oh you’re the best murderous psychopath a girl could ask for!”

            Robert looked out the window, keeping himself out of sight and watched the four teens climb out of the van.  Two boys; one muscular lad in a football jacket, the other all in black, including his makeup, got out of the front.  The girls; one a mini-skirted beauty queen and the other a sweater-wearing bespectacled bookworm, climbed out the back.

            “I may have spread the word about our little ‘abandoned house’ when I was a few towns over hunting down your present.” Robert said with a wave to the corpse.  “I saw those kids helping arrest a petty thief and couldn’t pass up the opportunity.”

            Cassie latched herself onto Robert in a hug, ending up halfway through his body. “Thank you so much!  Just promise me you’ll let me play with them first?”  She said, looking up at him through his collarbone, her hollow eyes pleading with his soulless heart.

            “Tell you what,” Robert grinned, “let’s make it a race.”

            “But there’s only four of them.”

            Robert’s expression turned thoughtful and he didn’t say anything until the barking of a large dog came from outside.

            The two smiled and said together, “Tie-breaker.”

Goodbye Dale

So if it wasn't obvious from my Friday Five posts (that reminds me, I need to do more of those) about the undead, I'm a fan of zombies.  As such, I'm a fan of The Walking Dead.  Both the comic and the AMC series.


From this point on there will be spoilers, you have been warned.

In yesterday's episode the group was discussing what to do with someone they had captured a few episodes ago.  They had saved him from zombies, fixed up his injuries, and then decided to kill him because of the potential threat he might at some point represent.

I was not happy with seeing characters I liked choosing to kill someone who was otherwise harmless, I'd like to think people are better than that.  But what I do like about the show is how the characters are being portrayed in their decisions.  I don't like the decision, but it's clear that the characters aren't happy about it either.

Most vocal about this was Dale.  Rick was upset about it but willing to kill a living, human, captive.  Rick was unhappy, but Dale was outspoken.  I've always liked Dale.  From the first episode he appeared in I liked how he was not just the moral center of the group but also a connection to the world they had lost.

A large part of this was his age.  Dale was, aside from Hershel, the oldest character on the cast.  So it was understandable that he would cling the strongest to the 'civilized way' of doing things.  Again, I think this helped him also be the moral compass.  One of my favorites moments of his was in the first season when he argued to allow a dying man the choice of how to die.  Not to kill him, but to give him the choice.

Even when the show first began airing, AMC put up a character test on their website.  And lo and behold, turns out the character I'm most like is Dale.  Like I said, I always liked Dale.

And now he's dead.

Rewinding my rambling a moment, in this past episode Dale spent the entire time arguing for the life of their prisoner.  First individually with other members of the group, even moving forward Shane's character development away from a complete psychopath.  Then later with every member of the cast.

What really caught my attention was that during the group conversation Dale was the only one standing in the light.  Rick was caught between the light and the shadows and everyone else was standing in shadows.  At first I thought it was a bit of a blatant use of lighting and staging to show Dale's standpoint compared to everyone else, but it worked for the scene and kept the attention where it needed to be.

Then Dale died and I started thinking.  Earlier in the episode there was also a brief conversation regarding Heaven and belief.  I'd like to think that Dale's death could actually be interpreted not only as a moment of redemption for the group (as the next episode promo seems to imply) but also as a way for him to get to where he deserves to be.

I'm not saying I personally believe in Heaven.  But I feel that Dale stepped into the light.