Oddities, Profundities, Profanities and Dad Stuff

Tag: gas can (Page 2 of 3)

Fiction Saturday 3! The Man in the Hazy Suit Part 8

**Hey folks this is a reprint of part 8 of The Man With the Hazy Suit that originally ran on July 24, 2010.  I have been few and far between regular posts this summer, and that is the same thing that has killed some of my favorite TV shows, like Alias.  So I am going to rerun the whole story and finish it strong!  Thanks for reading for the first time or rereading if you have been here before.  The Choose your own adventure aspect is not available anymore.**

Hey folks Here is the next chapter in the story!  I hope you are still entertained and interested!

Previously in the Man in the Hazy Suit:

Police detective Thompson was wrapping up a crime scene when he found a scrap of paper in the dead man’s posessions. The paper led him to the bus station and a locker that was filled with legal pads, all written by the deceased man.  Sergeant Thompson is currently reading the legal pads which are spelling out a strange narrative and a chronicle of a serial killers murders, that somehow the man writing the story knows before they happen, if only by moments.  So far our writer has witnessed several deaths with apparently more to come.  Strange coincidences surround the narrator having to do with the Man in the Hazy Suit, leading to paranoia and a wonder as to the outcome of his sanity.

When we left our story last time:

I sat up shaking yet again.  I tried to assimilate what I had just seen.  I got up and went to the radio on the floor in the hall.  It had been placed back on the shelf and on top of it were a set of lockpicks.  I screamed and ran for the front door.  I almost made it, but a miscalculation caused me to slip and hit my head rather solidly on the counter, leaving a nasty gash for my trouble.

I woke up in a small pool of blood on the kitchen floor sometime later.  The angle of the sun said late afternoon.  I scooted to a corner in the kitchen and huddled in on myself, scared to look further into this strange Man in an even stranger Hazy Suit.

And today we join our story already in progress:

Finally I fell asleep huddling in the corner of the kitchen.  Passed out is more like it.  I began to have another confounded dream.  I hoped that this one would be the simple, flying in a field of clover or falling off of a cliff, or well, anything that didn’t have to do with a man in a Hazy Suit.

It began in the library at the college again.  Night had fallen.  Finals were only a few weeks away so the library was open all night.  I was wandering through the study tables by myself thankfully.  Faces of people that I knew flashed in and out of the small circles of light given off by the reading lamps.

I wandered aimlessly for a while, overhearing snippets of conversations that I couldn’t remember 5 seconds later, until one caught my attention.  There was a party going on up on the 5th floor.  I decided to check it out.  Only seconds later I was walking out of the elevator and into a party of loud music and flashing lights.  There was no studying going on here.

I smiled and began to wander the floor.  I moved through people dancing very inappropriately and those trying not to vomit on themselves.  I flowed from one spot to the next with a grace that I had never possessed in real life.  I looked down at myself and blinked at my stylish clothes.  I didn’t even own a pair of khaki pants or a blue striped shirt.

I could hear and see everyone but no one acknowledged me.  I knew it was a dream but I was still excited to be part of the party.  I made my way to the center of the room and around the temporary walls that they had erected.

There was basically a tent in the middle of the library.  All lined with dark silk and flashing neon lights.  People moved in a stupor inside the tent, all in various states of undress.  An orgy in the library, and, as I circled the large bed, I saw a gas can on the floor beside it.

The man was here somewhere.  I wasn’t going to let him burn anything down today.  I grabbed the gas can and ran to the other end of the floor trying to get away.  I nearly made it too, but as I rounded the corner to the elevator, The Man in the Hazy Suit stood there.

Join us again next week for more of The Man in the Hazy Suit!

-Justin

Fiction Saturday 3! The Man With the Hazy Suit Part 3!

**Hey folks this is a reprint of part 3 of The Man With the Hazy Suit that origonally ran on May22, 2010.  I have been few and far between regular posts this summer, and that is the same thing that has killed some of my favorite TV shows, like Alias.  So I am going to rerun the whole story and finish it strong!  Thanks for reading for the first time or rereading if you have been here before.  The Choose your own adventure aspect is not available anymore.**

Hello!  Welcome to another exciting edition of Fiction Saturday.  I hope you had a good week and are ready for more mystery and intrigue.

I do have to say, I am a little disappointed in the results of the choose the story poll from last week.  As a result of that poll, I am going to do what the readers have voted on and continue the story from Aaron’s notebooks.

I am still working on the next fork but it may be the last one.  I will see how it goes.  Fiction Saturday will endure though!

So after that long introduction, here is Fiction Saturday 3, The Man With the Hazy Suit Part 3!

*****

Catch up here!

Part 1

Part 2

*****

When we left our story last time:
“Ok.” Said the older one again. “We just have to ask, you understand. We know he was pretty rough on you. Do you know anyone else who may have wanted him dead?” “Take your pick” I said. “He beat everyone I knew in that house.” They thanked me and started off. Each of them produced a business card at the door. “If you think of anything else that may help, please call.” The younger man said with a smile. I took the cards. “Thank you.” I said lamely as I held the door for them and they exited.

“Damn” I thought. How many times did I wish that son of a bitch dead. I didn’t have the nerve for it of course. I went back to the kitchen and looked at the cards. Sergeant Stebbins and Patrolman Tompson. Hmm. I threw the cards on the counter and went back to the radio.

And now we join our story already in progress:

I sat the legal pad down and reached for my cooling coffee.  I could remember that day.  How ironic was it that I was the junior detective that day and now I am trying to make heads or tails of what is going on.  Was there anything that I could have done differently that may have made a difference in this guy’s life?  Maybe not.  I picked the pad back up and read some more.

All of the next day I thought about Mr. Chan. I really was not upset that he was dead.   I didn’t have anything to do with it so why were the cops there?  I knew it was just their job and I was a lead.  Glad it didn’t lead to anything more.

I had to get to work.  I showered and dressed quickly not wanting to be late again.  I made it just in time, but I wasn’t a very good employee that day.   That entire shift I had flashes of Mr. Chan screaming.  And burning.  Oh the burning.  I couldn’t figure it out, so I just went back to work.

Later that night I made it home around 12:45 and fell into my bed fully clothed.  I was exhausted.  I had eaten at the Taco Barn and was now fighting indigestion as well as exhaustion.  I gave up altogether and slept.   I fell asleep before I even remembered to turn off the light in the entryway.

That night I had a nightmare.  I dreamed that, well, things were not quite right with the world.  I was following a man down the street.  I never saw his face but he reminded me of, me.  One of the most interesting things about him was his suit.  It looked like a dark business suit but it had a…hazy look to it, like there was a nimbus around the man.

The man in the hazy suit walked down the street with the red plastic gas can in his hand.  For some reason he slowed and then stopped next to a small blue sedan.  There was something wrong with this car.  He stood there for a long minute.

In that moment he was perfectly still.  He just waited like a statue in the park.  The day faded to twilight and still the man stood.  Eventually he was approached by 2 women he did not seem to recognize.  They must have been students at the University by the books in their hands, even if their hair color spoke of costume parties.

The man in the hazy suit didn’t pay any attention to the students.   He continued to stare at the air above the car, trying to catch…something that was there but not quite available.

The students were asking if he was ok when the man spun in a flash catching the first student in the head with a hammer.  The student went down in a heap.  The second turned to run but the man in the hazy suit was faster.  He hit her as well and she went down.  I screamed and screamed but it did as much good as yelling at the television.

The man then sat down his gas can and dragged the girls underneath the car.  He didn’t struggle with them.  He didn’t change expressions.  He just did his work.  I could almost feel joy and excitement coming from him.  He picked up his gas can and opened the spout.  I could feel exhilaration as he poured gas over the car and under it.  He placed the empty can on top of the car, stepped back and pulled matches from his pocket.  I could feel an almost sexual joy as he tossed the match onto the car.

The car burst into flames.  The man in the hazy suit stood and watched for a few moments before turning and walking calmly towards the University.

I woke up in a cold sweat.   That had seemed way too real.  I had only a few minutes before the alarm was to go off anyway so I got up and washed my face.  I stared at myself in the mirror.  “What a dream” I thought.  I headed into my bedroom and went to take off my Taco Barn uniform.  I wasn’t wearing it anymore.  I also realized that the hallway light was off.  When had I done that?

It didn’t matter.   I got ready for work at the Bagel Hut.  I flipped on the radio as I dressed.  After some chatter and worn out banter by the DJ’s they began to read news.  I had just picked up my Taco Barn uniform and I stopped at what I heard.  “…girls under the car and then the car set on fire.  No details have come out yet but it looks like murder.  I’m surprised no one saw this happen”  I did.  It may have been a dream but I saw it happen.  What could I do about it though?

Nothing I decided, just a strange coincidence.  Maybe I was psychic like on some of those TV shows.  Maybe I could be that detective who saw things before they happened and could fix them.  Maybe I was just losing my mind.  I held a strong possibility for the latter because I had convinced myself that I could smell gas on my Taco Barn uniform as I dropped it into the hamper.  Foolishness.

I went to work still pondering the dream.

That’s all today!

Join us next week for more from The man With the Hazy Suit!

Fiction Saturday 3: The Man in the Hazy Suit Part 9

**Hey folks this is a reprint of part 9 of The Man With the Hazy Suit that originally ran on August 14, 2010.  I have been few and far between regular posts this summer, and that is the same thing that has killed some of my favorite TV shows, like Alias.  So I am going to rerun the whole story and finish it strong!  Thanks for reading for the first time or rereading if you have been here before.  The Choose your own adventure aspect is not available anymore.**

*******Next week is new!!!!**********

** sorry about the earlier confusion, the story got jumbled and tied up in word.  fixed now!**

Hey folks Here is the next chapter in the story!  I hope you are still entertained and interested!

Previously in the Man in the Hazy Suit:

Police detective Thompson was wrapping up a crime scene when he found a scrap of paper in the dead man’s posessions. The paper led him to the bus station and a locker that was filled with legal pads, all written by the deceased man.  Sergeant Thompson is currently reading the legal pads which are spelling out a strange narrative and a chronicle of a serial killers murders, that somehow the man writing the story knows before they happen, if only by moments.  So far our writer has witnessed several deaths with apparently more to come.  Strange coincidences surround the narrator having to do with the Man in the Hazy Suit, leading to paranoia and a wonder as to the outcome of his sanity.  Currently, he thinks he may have the drop on the Man in the Hazy Suit.

When we left our story last time:

There was basically a tent in the middle of the library.  All lined with dark silk and flashing neon lights.  People moved in a stupor inside the tent, all in various states of undress.  An orgy in the library, and, as I circled the large bed, I saw a gas can on the floor beside it.

The man was here somewhere.  I wasn’t going to let him burn anything down today.  I grabbed the gas can and ran to the other end of the floor trying to get away.  I nearly made it too, but as I rounded the corner to the elevator, The Man in the Hazy Suit stood there.

And today we join our story With Sergeant Tomson, already in progress:

My cell phone rang, frightening me to the point of dropping the notepad that I was reading from.  “Sergeant Tomson.” I answered recovering.  “Tomson!” It was the Chief.  “What in the Hell do you think you are doing not getting that gas can guy in the crematorium as soon as possible?” He was mad and I guess he had a right to be.

I was supposed to have made the arrangements for his cremation before I left yesterday.  Instead I had found this essay.  I had been reading for hours.  “Chief, “ I said.  “I have a new lead on that case.”  “Why do we need a new lead on that?  We solved it, we are finished!” He yelled at me.

“Just listen Chief.” I said and proceeded to tell him about the clue in the killers pocket, the trip to the bus station, the notebooks, the disturbing revelations within.  By the time I had described all of the murders and arsons committed, the Chief was impressed.  “Hmmm.” He started, “ok then, see how many of these things you can get solved.  Call me back.”  “Sure thing Chief.” I said.  “It seems to be winding down now.”  I hung up the phone and picked up the notepad that I had dropped.

There was only one notepad left after the one I was on.  I was eager to get back to the revelations but basic hygiene was needed.  I had been sitting in that chair for 2 days now, reading, eating and sleeping.  And I smelled like it.

Later, after I was presentable again, I started back with the notepad and its dark tales.

The man was here somewhere.  I wasn’t going to let him burn anything down today.  I grabbed the gas can and ran to the other end of the floor trying to get away.  I nearly made it too, but as I rounded the corner to the elevator, The Man in the Hazy Suit stood there.

He was looking downward, leaning one hand against the wall as I approached.  He turned his head slightly up and looked askance at me.  He smiled a small, knowing smile as he looked at me; his eyes boring holes into my soul.

He straightened, never losing his smile.  As he stood there, I was drawn to him, pulled by some unseen force, unbidden by me, yet unstoppable.  I was floating towards the Man in the Hazy Suit, and as I got closer, he became…clearer.

The haziness lessened and cleared as I got nearer.  As I realized this, my head began to spin and suddenly I could not see the man any more.  Yet I felt…different.  I looked down my body at the Hazy Suit that was now on me.

I looked at the gas can in my hand and twitched as I began to pour the pungent fluid on the floor.  Memories flooded in.  Realization hit me like a .45 slug in the forehead.  I was the man in the Hazy Suit.  I was the one responsible for all of that unpleasantness.

That was why I could not stop the man.  That is why he would not listen to me.  He is me.  I could feel him then, inside my head with me, crowding me into one of the dark recesses there.   He took great pleasure lighting a match that he produced from his suit and tossing it to the pool of gasoline on the floor of the library.

He turned us calmly and pushed the elevator button.  The car came and the door opened.  We stepped inside and began the descent to the ground floor as the 5th floor burned and those who had been in throes of ecstasy only moments before now screamed in horror and pain.

I tried to gain some sort of control over my body.  I tried to scream at the other entity in my head but this body was committed only to him.   Things made sense, but now, instead of the dream state, I was trapped.  Trapped and no one could do anything about it.

Join us again next week for more of The Man in the Hazy Suit!

-Justin

Fiction Saturday 3! The Man in the Hazy Suit part 7

**Hey folks this is a reprint of part 7 of The Man With the Hazy Suit that originally ran on July 17, 2010.  I have been few and far between regular posts this summer, and that is the same thing that has killed some of my favorite TV shows, like Alias.  So I am going to rerun the whole story and finish it strong!  Thanks for reading for the first time or rereading if you have been here before.  The Choose your own adventure aspect is not available anymore.**

hey Folks here is the promised Hazy Suit for this week!  It is rather long because I have been lazy and busy and missed a couple.  Please let me know what you think of the story and how it is going, the comments are open and waiting for your sage wisdom!

Without further adeiu:

Previously in the Man in the Hazy Suit:

Police detective Thompson was wrapping up a crime scene when he found a scrap of paper in the dead man’s posessions. The paper led him to the bus station and a locker that was filled with legal pads, all written by the deceased man.  Sergeant Thompson is currently reading the legal pads which are spelling out a strange narrative and a chronicle of a serial killers murders, that somehow the man writing the story knows before they happen, if only by moments.  So far our writer has witnessed 3 deaths with apparently more to come.  With another murder looming, The dead mans narrative comes back around to Detective Thompson. Nothing had happened on the call. Later, the man writing the story described a house going up in flames, and with it another murder.

When we left our story last time:

He walked casually off of the front porch and down towards the sidewalk, adjusting his fedora.  Then there was a, well, a fwump sound and Mr. Stevens house started on fire.  I tried to scream but it wouldn’t come out.  A few minutes later I woke up in my apartment screaming.

I sat up an flicked on the light.  I could smell gas again.  And there was a black fedora on the chair across the room.  I didn’t own a fedora.  I began to scream again knowing the Man in the Hazy Suit had to have been here.

Now we join our story already in progress:

The next few days were as hazy as the suit that the man was wearing.  I didn’t have vivid or specific dreams of the man, but there were dreams.  I felt like I was flying along with him while he preformed his despicable deeds.  I was being dragged in his wake and I couldn’t get out of it.

Every day I would call the police , every day they would laugh at me and hang up.  Every day someone would die the same way.  Beaten and then burned.  I couldn’t sleep well.  I didn’t eat well.  I lost my job at the Bagel Hut and then at the Taco Barn.  My landlord was freaking out about the rent.  My whole life was going to hell in the proverbial handbasket.

I still had school though, at least for the rest of the semester.  I went to my classes in a daze and somehow found just enough brainpower to not flunk out.  I even managed to talk to Faith Harper a couple of times.  That brought its own weirdness.

She told me that the phone I had given her started to make funny sounds, like someone was listening in on her conversations.  She had taken the phone to the repair shop and they had found a strange piece of equipment inside, something that looked like a bug from the CIA.  I told her how strange that was and blew it off as we parted.

After she left, I couldn’t help but remember the radio in the hallway at my apartment and the way it was not quite right.  I went home and pulled it off of the shelf and onto the floor.  As I did, the back fell off and there was a small silver box pushed inside the case.  I knew then what hadn’t been right about the radio.  There was light coming from not only the front where it should have, but the back as well.  Just a small halo where the cover was not quite secured.

I reached in for the silver box and pulled it out.  It was attached to the inside board of the radio by 2 alligator clips.  The box itself was not remarkable.  About the size of a 3 by 5 index card and as thick as a deck of cards with one black on/off switch on the side.  I had never seen this box before but it tickled another memory in my head.

I turned the radio on and got the same static I did the other morning.  I then took a deep breath and flipped the switch on the silver box.  A conversation immediately came in over the radio.  I turned the tuner a few times and heard several conversations.  One of those sounded like a repair shop.  Had I found the shop that Faith had taken her phone to?

I didn’t know but decided to keep it to myself.  This was possibly a piece of evidence against the Man in the Hazy Suit, but my fingerprints were all over it now.  I didn’t want to be attached to him any more than I already was.  The cops were somewhat suspicious with my knowledge even if they did laugh at me most of the time.

I left the radio on the floor and fell into my bed, exhausted.   I dreamed again of the Man.  He was wandering around a neighborhood that I knew well.  It was Faith’s.  He walked confident as ever, his suit as Hazy as ever, but he was missing his gas can.  Maybe tonight no one would die.  I could only hope that was the case.

I tried to scream at the Man or stop him from walking up to Faith’s house.  I tried to tackle him or kick at him but I never seemed to be able to get close enough.  The lights were off in the house as he approached.  The street was quiet, no cars had passed since we arrived.  Very few lights were on up and down the street.

The Man in the Hazy Suit stood on Faith Harper’s doorstep with a set of lockpicks in his hand.  He made quick work of the door and was inside listening in the dark.  No alarm, no dog, no sound but the ticking of the grandfather clock and my pounding heart.

The Man slowly made his way up the stairs and to the right, where I knew that Faith’s bedroom was located.  I screamed and ranted to get him to stop, to leave Faith alone.  He finally turned and put his index finger to his lips telling me to be quiet.  I kept railing against him, trying to do…something.

He reached a door that I knew held a sleeping Faith Harper behind it.  Callous and arrogantly he opened the door.  I could see the sleeping Faith on her bed by the window, but it wasn’t to her that the Man went.  He stopped at the small table just inside the door and picked up the phone I had given her.

He produced a small screwdriver and proceeded to take the bottom off of the phone.  He then took a small plastic bag from his pocket and removed the contents.  It held a small electronic chip which he placed in the phone and screwed the bottom back on.  He had rebugged Faith’s phone.  He then left the house as sneakily as he had entered.

I sat up shaking yet again.  I tried to assimilate what I had just seen.  I got up and went to the radio on the floor in the hall.  It had been placed back on the shelf and on top of it were a set of lockpicks.  I screamed and ran for the front door.  I almost made it, but a miscalculation caused me to slip and hit my head rather solidly on the counter, leaving a nasty gash for my trouble.

I woke up in a small pool of blood on the kitchen floor sometime later.  The angle of the sun said late afternoon.  I scooted to a corner in the kitchen and huddled in on myself, scared to look further into this strange Man in an even stranger Hazy Suit.

Join us again next week for more of The Man in the Hazy Suit!

-Justin

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