Thermopoly

Prelude1

At first it was only a shimmer, like a pond being rippled from a stone. The shimmering gave way to a black outline, clearly human, or something that was shaped just like a human. That shadow faded, and a figure stood in the light of a spotlight. He was looking at his feet, kicking something back and forth, as if he was pondering what to say. A quiet hiss was emitted. The sound amplified, and a voice erupted. 2

“Are you afraid of the dark? I was. I used to be just as naïve as whoever might be hearing this. What do you know about creatures of the shadows? They’re more real then you think. Vampires, werewolves. To quote someone I once knew, “something you probably won’t see in a history book, there has been a war going on for centuries”. Probably all around you, though you haven’t seen it. They like to stay in the shadows. What a coincidence.” The figure emitted a quiet laugh. It was bone chilling. 3

“My name is, or perhaps was, Jaime Denton. I suppose you could call this my, “final report.” I’m a reporter for the great WNN, the bureaucrats that replaced the rest of the news functions. I guess you could say it started because I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Who knows. Those kinds of things can’t be explained, no matter how hard you try. I tried. Well what can I tell you. Every man leaves a legacy, so this is mine.” 4

A Twist of Fate: 00:00:005

    “Jaime! Jaime? It’s time to wake up! Remember you said you had to go in early today?” Natalie’s voice broke through the ice the kept Jaime Denton from the conscious world. He slowly opened his eyes and yawned. Sitting up, Jaime stretched and cracked his knuckles. He yawned again and sighed as he got up to take a shower. 6

    Ten minutes later, Jaime emerged from his room in his business suit. Natalie had already left, as usual. Jaime wasn’t sure why he was supposed to go to work early, but he had found it was better to do what they asked and question it later. He grabbed the bagel Natalie had made him and walked out to his small pickup truck. 7

    The reason he was supposed to be at work early was a total surprise to Jaime. It was a medical exam of some kind. The doctor seemed extremely jumpy and nervous, stuttering a lot. After a painfully boring half-hour, the doctor gave Jaime a shot and proclaimed him fit. 8

    “What’s the shot for?” Jaime asked the doctor. The doctor scratched his head nervously before answering. 9

    “Er, Mr. Lem- er, Mr. Leery will explain.” He stuttered before hastily slapping a bandied on Jaime’s arm and leaving the room. Jaime shook his head at the strange doctor, and put his suit back on. 10

    Jaime Denton was a thirty year old ex marine who kept his great physical condition. He regularly visited the gym and the local firing range. He still had nightmares and visions of his time as a marine. He was about six feet tall with short black hair which he carefully brushed to his left side with gel. The marine insignia was tattooed on his left shoulder, and evident whiskers poked from his chin. Jaime was also a history buff. He loved to go to museums that had armor and especially swords. He had taken private lesson in the use of the samurai sword, and he had a small collection of them shipped from Japan.  11

    Upon arriving in his boss’s office, Jaime immediately asked what the checkup was for. 12

    “Its standard procedure. We’re making you a field agent, so we’re just checking your health,” his boss told him without hesitation. 13

    “The doctor seemed really nervous. Why?” 14

    “How should I know?! I’m not a psychologist!” Anger brewed to the surface for no apparent reason to Jaime. “Congratulations on your promotion. Jane on communications level is the one to contact if you have any questions. Good luck.” With a wave of his hand, Jaime’s boss waved him from the room without waiting to hear anything he might have had to say. What’s going on around here? Jaime had no answer, and checked his watch. 15

    “Oh man!” He had forgotten his promise to meet Natalie at lunch to go over their wedding plan. He hurried in the direction of the cafeteria. 16

    Jaime arrived just in time to catch Natalie leaving the cafeteria, obviously upset. “Natalie!” He yelled. She turned to look but didn’t slow down. “Come on Natalie don’t be like that!” 17

    “ME? This is the third time you’ve missed a time we were planning to talk about he wedding! Do you even want to get married?” She said angrily as she stepped onto the elevator. Jaime quickly ducked in after her. 18

    “Of course I want to! I wouldn’t have asked you if I didn’t.  There was some sort of medical exam that held me up, and I was talking to Mr. Leery after that!” 19

    “Why did you have  a medical exam?” 20

    “I’m being promoted to a field agent. Hey, is that a bandied on your arm?” Jaime pulled Natalie’s sleeve up enough to confirm his statement. “What happened?” Just then the elevator door opened to the bottom floor, and Natalie continued toward the main entrance. 21

    “The same thing happened to me. But I still managed to get to our meeting on time. I’m going home now, I feel terrible. I’ll talk to you later Jaime,” Natalie gave Jaime a quick peck on the cheek and continued on to her car. Jaime shrugged his shoulders guiltily and headed back to his office. Half an hour later, he decided to take a day off as he too started to have terrible pain in his stomach. By the time he got home, his entire body ached terribly. He downed four aspirins before heading into his bedroom to try and get some sleep. He found Natalie there, already asleep.22