Vivid Unleashed: Featuring: 2 Film Script Adaptations

By Graham Gillam

A little monkey mesmerized by the twinkling, sits atop a tree across the street from a jewelry store. After he intently watches a man propose and give his fianc a beautiful ring, the mastermind monkey goes on a spree, stealing sparkling jewelry from unsuspecting victims. With a cunning policeman in pursuit, the monkey accomplishes one final act that no one sees coming.

Graham Gillam shares creepy tales that highlight an eclectic group of characters that include a band of circus animals on a rampage, a train passenger seemingly trapped in an unthinkable nightmare, two detectives investigating a rash of missing children, and a boy who purchases a rope one day without any idea of its power. Included in this diverse collection is an excerpt from Gillams Edgar Allan Poe inspired memoir and two screenplays that will instigate chills and thrills as a young couple enters a graveyard and experiences what soon becomes their worst nightmare and an artist contemplates the disappearance of his dark shadow.

VIVID Unleashed is a unique collection of horror tales, a true story, and two screenplays that lead the curious through terrifying scenarios that prompt the question: What if?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Balboa Press AU
• Release date: Sep 9, 2015
• ISBN: 9781452530499

Graham Gillam

Graham Gillam served his country in The Australian Defence Force and is also the inventor of the Cable Koala. He currently lives with his partner, Jane, in Blackheath in the Blue Mountains just west of Sydney, Australia.

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Copyright © 2015 Graham Gillam.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Balboa Press

A Division of Hay House

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Bloomington, IN 47403

www.balboapress.com.au

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Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Thinkstock are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Thinkstock.

ISBN: 978-1-4525-3048-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4525-3049-9 (e)

Balboa Press rev. date: 04/07/2016

Contents

Acknowledgements

About The Author

Bright Shiny Things

Concrete Jungle

Excerpt From ‘My Living Hell’ (A Memoir)

Hell’s Passage

Mrs Fladbadder’s Afghans

Rodney

The Devil’s Postman

The Night Performer

They Will Eat You…

Wakemare

Off With The Fairies

The Rope

Yes Mister Grimshaw

X – Factor

The Scripts Of Horror

Dark Nemesis

Acknowledgements

My many thanks go to my Editor Margaret Edwards without whom my vivid imagination would not have been expressed in such a timely fashion.

Who knew? I have a fairy Godmother.

About the Author

Graham Gillam served his country for six years in The Australian Defence Force, studied at Sydney Film School and is also the inventor of the Cable Koala. He currently lives with his partner, Jane, in Blackheath in the Blue Mountains just west of Sydney, NSW, Australia.

BRIGHT SHINY THINGS

The little monkey liked the twinkling. He was almost mesmerised by it from where he sat watching in a treetop across the street from the jewellery store.

There were other monkeys around scurrying up and down the street running amok. They were into bananas and swinging off people’s clotheslines. Just ordinary, everyday run of the mill, jungle variety monkeys that liked to come into town for a bit of fun. Monkeys, like people after all, were curious creatures.

None was more curious than the little scamp that sat perched for hours in the tree by the jewellery store.

From when the morning sun graced the store front, till just after midday when the sunshine shifted to the other side of the street, the inquisitive little monkey sat transfixed. The twinkles and sparkles of diamond and gold rings glistened as the sunrays danced off their prismatic surfaces.

He began his observation ritual only days ago. What were these bright shiny things that tantalised him so?

The very next day, same time, same tree, the monkey returned as awe-inspired as ever.

Today though he saw a man enter the store. After a few minutes, the monkey noticed someone’s arm reach into the window display case and retrieve the brightest of the shiny objects.

Quite human-like, the monkey couldn’t help but stare with his mouth agape and was startled from his stupor by the man’s leaving the store with a small brown package tied with a bow.

Intrigued, the monkey followed the man with intent to find out once and for all what the bright shiny things were for. He followed the man around the corner.

After going into another store, the man came out again with a large paper item folded under his arm. The monkey was familiar with this item for he had unwrapped a newspaper before to get at some food.

The man paused at the curb and waited as several cars went by before crossing. He was a well-dressed man and now entered an eating place. As he sat down another man approached and after their short conversation, the second man left and returned with a drink. The well-dressed man opened up his paper with the pictures on it.

The monkey watched the man intently from across the street. He had seen the man place the small parcel into his coat pocket as he entered the building.

People came and went from the eating place and after some time a woman entered as the man put his paper down and greeted her with a kiss. She sat at a table and also had a drink brought to her. They ate food together and then the monkey saw the man rise from his chair and withdraw the parcel from his pocket.

Oddly the man got down on one knee and presented the gift to the woman. She opened it revealing, with a beautiful twinkling of light, the bright shiny object.

It was obvious that the woman was pleased for she threw her arms around the man and covered him with kisses.

This was strongly exciting the monkey; as he observed further the man slipped the bright shiny ringed object onto the woman’s finger. She held out her hand for the man to see, tilting it to the left and right, making it glisten with light.

Enthralled the monkey continued to follow the couple for the rest of the day.

With an instinct that God gave to all creatures, the monkey recognised a mating ritual when he saw one. The man, showing his love for the woman with a token of his affection, the bright shiny thing.

The next day when the sun shone through the window of the jewellery store it went unnoticed by the monkey. The tree across the street was vacant today.

In fact, two streets away a woman began to scream as the little monkey tore away her bright shiny necklace.

Stop! Police! Somebody stop that monkey!

Quick to scamper down a side alley, the monkey was gone in seconds.

Later, the little monkey sat perched on a rusted fire escape opposite an apartment block, spying on a woman removing bright shiny things from her neck and fingers and placing them on the mirrored table.

Naked, the woman went into the next room and began to wet herself beneath the steaming shower of water.

Silently the monkey bounded into the room. As he picked up the items, he was suddenly startled by his own reflection in the mirror. He could smell the faint fragrance of sweet flowers. He left just as silently as he had entered.

In the space of a couple of days, the local police had been receiving several reports of jewellery theft.

That’s right officer, somebody stole my rings while I was asleep for God’s sake!

Another report…

A monkey came up to me in the park and ripped my earring right out of my ear. This is outrageous. I’m bleeding everywhere…

After a time, the policeman assigned to the case pieced together the information and concluded it was a monkey responsible for most of, if not all of the recent jewel thefts. Although this was a serious matter the policeman, Officer Jack Byrne, smiled as the image of a wanted poster with a monkey’s mug shot on it entered his thoughts.

The telephones had been running hot. This was a busy little monkey.

Officer Byrne was no fool. He knew people, who knew people, who might know something about someone who may mastermind a jewellery heist by teaching a monkey to go on a spree. Quite ingenious actually.

A tattooist named Snake Jones had a sleazy parlour downtown and was buzzing away at a tattoo of a large spider that almost covered his customer’s entire back.

Whoa the cops! he threw sarcastically at Byrne as he entered the parlour.

What brings you in here man? Did you buy a Harley and now need a tattoo to go with it?

Very funny Jonesy. You’re a riot. I just want to ask a question or two.

As it turned out, Jonesy provided little assistance to his inquiries.

There’s no monkey business going on that I’m aware of copper.

An elderly blind man, Black Sammy; a war vet, frequented a corner along the main drag where the flow of pedestrians thronged right into his donation cup; Just as much as you can, please, Mister.

Nope, I didn’t see a thang he laughed.

Come on Sammy. Who’s doing what? You may be blind and bleeding the poor citizens of their hard earned cash, but you see what you want to see. Officer Byrne persisted.

Oh, I hear a lot of stuff man, who got dis and who’s doin’ dat, but a circus critter pullin’ down jobs on the street, well I ain’t heard nothin’ ‘bout dat.

Meanwhile…

The little monkey crawled silently up alongside the counter of the jewellery store. As quietly as he could he crouched watching the jeweller and the moment he turned his back the monkey leapt onto it, grabbing at the man’s hair.

The jeweller freaked and fought the monkey off running out of the store screaming for the police.

The monkey was in his glory and with greed getting the better of him, he scooped up as many bright shiny things as his little hands could hold and made for the door.

Byrne had no joy with the blind man either. Then just as he was coming around the corner, the jeweller came screaming from his store.

Police! Police!

Byrne’s timing couldn’t have been more impeccable for just as he ran to the jeweller’s aid the shifty little monkey bolted from the door. In fact, the monkey almost ploughed straight into them.

The chase was on. The monkey headed for the clearing at the end of the street.

The jeweller was still screaming…

There he goes. Catch him.

Byrne followed the hairy bandit across the clearing and into the trees and bushes. He kept up with the monkey for a short way. But when he realised that, if he backed off a bit, let the monkey think he was no longer being pursued, the monkey would lead him to the rest of the missing jewels. After all, the direction was now clearly indicated.

As the monkey continued on his merry way, the cunning policeman followed discretely from a distance of about two hundred metres. A kilometre or so on, at the beginning of a rather large hill, Byrne confirmed that his tracking skills were still adequate. He bent down and picked up a ruby bracelet, which he estimated to be worth thousands.

I’m still coming, you shonky monkey, he thought as he made his way up the hill.

He crouched in the concealment of the tree line as the monkey bounded up a final rise and disappeared into a rocky crevice.

Ahh! A cave for a hideout you clever critter.

Slowly Byrne edged his way forward, toward the opening. He stopped, propped and listened. He could hear the monkey’s echoing chatter from inside.

The sun would be going down soon. He had better make his move. He crept stealthily into the cave.

Cracks and small openings littered the cavern roof allowing ample light and warmth to make this an ideal place for the monkey to hide out for a while.

As Byrne penetrated further, the monkey caught a whiff of human scent and screeched out a warning, to back off.

Take it easy little fella. The policeman soothed.

No one’s going to hurt you.

Byrne couldn’t believe his eyes.

What the… You have been busy you little… romantic, you. So, this is the little woman heh! She’s very beautiful.

Sitting in the farthest reach of the cave on grass and leaves was an adorable female monkey. She sparkled, with diamond rings on every finger; she had on ruby and emerald necklaces, brooches and shiny silver bracelets. She even had a golden earring clamped to her earlobe.

I see what you’ve been up to Romeo. You’ve been showering your lady with very extravagant gifts, haven’t you?

The monkey simply watched with an expression that Byrne thought had a hint of guilt.

He took his hat off and placed it on the cave floor.

Now come on Romeo, you have to give the jewellery back. It belongs to people.

He motioned toward the hat using sign language as best he could.

The monkey stood firm, not knowing whether or not this man intended them any harm.

Just then, the female monkey moved over to her friend and chattered something in his ear. She then kissed him. It was so human-like it was uncanny.

She began by unclasping the earring and removing necklaces. Slowly she moved forward and placed them in the policeman’s hat.

At this, the lovesick monkey began helping her. Together, as carefully as you please, they filled the hat with thousands of dollars’ worth of jewellery.

They backed away from the policeman.

Who said romance is dead?

Byrne picked up the hat and from the bright shiny pile he took an elegant diamond ring and motioned for the monkey to take it.

The monkey looked up with grateful eyes and accepted the ring.

Before the policeman left the cave, he witnessed the most incredible thing he had ever seen…

The little monkey got down on one knee and presented the ring to his girl.

Moved, almost to tears, Byrne clumsily spoke.

I guess… I guess I now pronounce you husband and wife.

The female monkey kissed her Romeo. As the policeman went to retreat from the cave, with an amazing tale to tell for the rest of his life, he briefly and instinctively felt for his firearm.

It was at that exact moment he swallowed, realising the monkey’s sleight-of-hand had fooled him; withdrawing his pistol as the monkeys handed over the loot.

Just time enough to raise a hand.

‘’NO-OO!!"

The monkey pulled the trigger…

BANG! BANG! BANG!

Both monkeys jumped up and down, screeching, reacting as the ear-splitting volume amplified as it echoed through the cave.

THE END

CONCRETE JUNGLE

Twenty-two circus animals escaped, including: three lions, five elephants, twelve monkeys and a tiger…

Later, a man sat in his car lighting a cigarette. He looked up just in time to see three huge elephants come barging around the corner, bellowing as they stampeded toward his car. With his mouth agape and his cigarette hanging freely from his bottom lip, in disbelief, he froze in terror. The largest elephant pounded its way forward straight over the top of his car, reducing it to a flattened hulk of metal. The man was killed instantly.

On the next block, three hungry lions had mauled a local butcher. Two of the mighty beasts feasted on rump steaks, T-bones, legs of lamb and even sausages while the third lion continued to gnaw at the throat of the butcher. They roared at a tremendous volume as they gorged themselves into a feeding frenzy.

Out on the street, children screamed as their mothers frantically tried to get them to safety. One little girl was trapped underneath a seat at a bus stop by two screeching monkeys that tormented her by jumping up and down on the seat, poking and prodding at her through the bench rails.

Tyres wailed and brakes locked up as a car swerved to avoid collision with a courier van. Another wild primate, startled by the sounds of the city, had darted into the busy intersection. The car managed to narrowly miss the van but cleaned up a motorcycle on its right-hand side. The bike flipped out of control sending its rider and pillion passenger sailing into a newspaper stand. The driver of the car landed his vehicle on its side, skidding with sparks rising from the concrete sidewalk as it careered into a fashion boutique. Mannequins littered the shop front like dead pedestrians - and perhaps a few of them were.

A man in a blood-soaked shirt ran screaming from a Roxy cinema carrying his severed right arm in his left. His arm had been ripped clean off by the huge tiger that now rampaged through the theatre where fifty or more movie goers scurried in every direction, fighting with each other as they scrambled for the exits. The tiger overpowered a teenager in the back row and while it temporarily focused on this prey, the other patrons fled. Finding their escape routes, they poured out onto the street… spewing from the cinema as though the movie they had been watching was a real screamer.

Panic stricken, one patron ran into the path of a bus approaching from the left. No one stopped to help her. The fear of being torn apart by the tiger had them fleeing for their lives.

Cars littered the streets from one end of the city to the other. A red sedan lay on its roof, wheels still spinning, with twisted coffee tables and chairs beneath it. There wasn’t anyone in the car.

Below the sidewalk mayhem ruled. In the subway, nearly a dozen monkeys tormented commuters. They found their way down there and, in all the excitement and screaming, were too confused to find their way out. It was totally wild and out of control. Apocalyptic madness. People clawed savagely at the monkeys as the savage monkeys clawed at people’s faces.

A group of petrified school girls huddled together in a corner at the far end of the platform as three of the cheekier monkeys taunted them by bounding on top of them and somersaulting off again.

Finally, leaving the subway in absolute terror, the gang of wayward jungle terrorists discovered the dark train tunnel and scampered off one after the other until the last monkey was out of sight.

Moments later, a whistle shrieked as the waiting passengers that still had enough wits about them to look up witnessed a city express train speed through the tunnel. Its windscreen was smeared with the blood and guts of a dozen monkeys as it roared through the station like an enema.

One monkey, a baby chimpanzee, oddly wandered the streets above, seemingly without a care in the world.

Bananas. Outside a fruit shop, the little stranger helped himself to a tasty, familiar banana until an irate Fruiter brandishing a large straw broom came charging from the rear of the store. He batted at the chimp and they weren’t little-shooing love taps. If he had his way, he would have beaten the filthy vagabond into a bloody pulp.

The chimp bolted around the corner.

It was reduced to a bloody pulp after all as another raging elephant, with stark terror in its eyes, came bounding down the adjacent street.