Soul Candy

By B.S. Adkison

Good people, nice people, for once they tried to be bold. They pushed the boundaries, followed their dreams, found a hunger in their souls and feasted, becoming unsung heroes, saving thousands in the process. It is time that their story is told. The past and the present collide and no one saw it coming, least of all themselves. So many seemingly unrelated elements come together in a tale so strange and unusual that it couldn't have been made up. There is no limit to the things that happen without your knowledge, without official permission, without rhyme or reason. Download Soul Candy and be touched by just one, small incident in a world of bizarre scenarios just outside of common knowledge, just around the corner or down the street from your safe, secure world. So close but lucky for you, a world away, unless you trip and fall in your own batch of soul candy where anything could happen. Maybe you will see it coming, but don't count on it.

• Language: English
• Publisher: B.S. Adkison
• Release date: Mar 9, 2019
• ISBN: 9780463070239

B.S. Adkison

Air Force veteran. Fleet manager for a contracting company.I Have built and/or restored several vintage racing and collector cars over the years. I Won a racing championship in 2010. I am an avid reader of mostly history, science and science fiction. I tend to find the topics of magic and time travel intellectually vacant, vacuous and tedious but don't let that discourage you if that sort of thing is your interest, it's my problem, not yours! I'm a hopeless romantic but I tend to shy away from that theme as well. (Too personal.) What little I do write regarding sexuality is usally from an unapologetic hetero-sexual viewpoint because of my comfort of that concept and I admit that I can sound somewhat near the verge of misogynistic, and I do apologize for that, but I certainly won't condemn, criticize or denounce anyone's differing views. Live and let live in freedom and peace is my viewpoint and I will fight like hell for other's rights in that regard if i have to, but, I insist on being able to exercise my own thoughts and opinions so please don't take it personally. Go ahead and hate me if you must but not the free-speech forum or the intellectual freedom that I exercise and love. I really just want to have a fun and pleasant life on this earth and I hope others also want that and I try to treat everyone well with that in mind.

Book preview

SOUL CANDY

By: B.S. Adkison

Copywrite 2019

Another deposition (just the facts) story designed to tell what happened and not waste your time with unnecessary prose and fluff. Some things are dramatic enough and can stand alone on their own merit. Many readers and most writers may disagree with this approach but there is a reason that only 5% of people read regularly and that may be, in part, because of lack of time.

SOUL CANDY

It is a ridiculous expression- soul candy, it just came to me one day as I tried to understand why I do this. It is a definition of what I seek as I stand around with these others, these treasure seekers, these ‘business people’ many of whom are probably just like me- bored. There is something about the thrill of the unknown, the satisfaction of a curiosity that must be common among these people. Sure, they all tell themselves it's about scoring a deal and that is a large a part of it, but it is more- at least for me. It has become a hobby of sorts, a goofy way to kill time as I have become older. Something to do that fires my imagination, a harmless form of curiosity that fills the voids that were once occupied by getting loaded, chasing girls and other pass-times that are increasingly reserved for younger men. Oh, don't get me wrong, those thoughts still fill my mind more than I should admit, in fact I still think much like I always have- like I did when I was about fifteen-years-old and I believe that is the case with most people, but it is a fact that it is time to act my age. I know others who refuse to see this, they dress too young, they act and speak too young and that may impress some people, but for most, it seems to be a waste of time. Who are they fooling? They are fooling themselves, that’s who. Just think back to when you were young. What did you think of oldsters holding on to their youth? Oh, sometimes I'm sure it was refreshing, maybe even cute, but mostly (especially when their unwanted attentions and affections were directed towards you) it all could be summed up in a single word- gross! So, this pass-time, this treasure seeking, this apparently appropriate use of my time with many of the others involved also being my age, is a safe, respectable way to satisfy my curiosity- or so I thought.

‘Curiosity killed the cat’ is an expression that comes to mind and as this story will prove, this ‘harmless hobby’ can be far from completely safe.

Hey-bout'a-bout'a-hundred? Can'a-can'a-get'a-hundred? How'a-bout'a-hundred? Can'a-can'a-get'a-hundred? The racing voice of the auctioneer is like a blur, a hard to follow monotone cadence that must date back a thousand years or more, a practiced skill reserved for only a few, and is of a questionable viability that perhaps should have outlived its usefulness long ago, but it lives on and on. A behavior that defies logic, but it is the way it is done and probably the way it will always be done, for some reason.

The voice finally pauses as the faces of the bidders of this particular lot might as well be made of stone, which judging from what we can see should be no surprise. The public is only allowed to view the contents of each, payment defaulted, mini-storage unit from the open, roll-up door and unless items of value are plainly evident, bids fall far below what it will cost to dispose of the items at the local landfill, especially when one factors in the time and effort it will take to load it all into a truck. Sometimes a unit will receive no bid at all which leaves the facility owner with the burden of disposal.

Come on people, there has got to be something good in there! pleads the fast-talking wares hawker.

But all we can see are old clothes, stacks of books and out-of-style furniture, all of which lofts a strong, musty, molded odor which almost guarantees that all that is in there is a trip straight to the dump.

How-ba-how-ba-bout'a-sixty? Fifty? Forty?

I raise my hand.

Forty goin' once-twice..., SOLD!

What the hell. I can see that some of the books are quite old and if some are not too moldy, I might find something interesting.

I did notice something way in the back, or at least the edge of something that the others might have missed, an old steamer trunk, or as I would like to imagine, a treasure chest. But what I have really bought is something to occupy my time for the next few days, and as a bonus, (except for the steamer trunk) everything is small enough that I can load it all on my truck myself. I get some passers-bye to help throw the trunk in the bed of my pick-up truck and it is quite heavy- a good sign, it means it is more than just more old clothing, (usually worthless) but it is probably more books. (Also, usually worthless, but something, as I said before, that I might find interesting.)

I spend the rest of the afternoon unloading everything in the ‘staging area.’ (My garage.) I use a pair of old tires to break the fall of the steamer chest as I slide it out of the truck bed. Sometimes I recruit my neighbor to help me with some of the bigger items, but he tends to drink up all my beer and overstay his welcome. The fact is, I like this alone time when I first have the opportunity to see what I have bought. It is a kind of giddy excitement where my mind wanders selfishly and this way, I am under no obligation to share the spoils. In fact, I enjoy this so much that if I happen to have company, I often make an excuse to go through the stuff later when I can be alone. It might be a strange quirk, but I would rather present any treasure that I may want to share with my friends and family at my leisure, I just find it more fun that way, also, if there is nothing of note, (which is often) I make a dump-run and I can forget about the whole affair.

Enjoyable hobby or not, I work fast and systemically. (After I crack open a beer.) First, I drag the furniture off to the side after a once over. An antique chair and settee make the cut as they are both of high quality, although both will require new upholstery. I'll bring them, and the results of my clothing sorting, to my friend Jim and his wife, who run an upholstery shop and do tailoring on the side. I barter these kinds of things (unless it is something of real value) and these kinds of arrangements have got the seat of my truck recovered, as well as other things done. These items may put me close to getting the sagging headliner of my Buick Regal redone. (A collector/muscle car that I own.)

Old clothing can be so disgusting from mold and mildew that I wear a respirator mask and latex exam gloves as I handle those items. I put any military uniforms and old dress clothes that contain fancy buttons, and anything with usable silk, (Jim's wife uses silks, velvets and shimmery fabrics for quilting) in one pile and the rest go straight into trash bags. After a couple of hours, I have a bundle for Jim and his wife and three trash bags full for the dump.

Next, I sort the household items. I don't mess around with pots and pans, (except for an occasional cast iron frying pan or maybe large stewing pots, which might be useful in my kitchen) so those items usually go straight into my scrap metal bins. Knickknacks, such as porcelain and crystal can be interesting and I keep some of those things for my house, if they are in my style, or I give them away as gifts to my friends and their wives, but most of it goes straight to the Goodwill or if rare or high quality, they might earn me a few bucks at the Pawnshop. This lot yields virtually nothing in this respect, except for a gold tinted ashtray with some Japanese script on it, which is all I save and that goes straight to the work bench beside me and I put it to use immediately with a lit cigarette as I work.