Anomalies

By John Pirillo

FIVE SHORT TALES THAT CROSS SPACE AND TIME IN WAYS YOU WOULD NEVER EXPECT.

 

AFTER SHOCK, HOLLYWOOD

 

A broken-hearted actress is about to call of her relationship when her world is turned upside down by an aftershock.

 

ELEKTRON

 

A young genius is determined to prove there is life on an atom.

 

DIAL T FOR TIME AND DESTINY

 

A time traveler and his robot companion have an adventure unlike any other.

 

THE LADY OF THE MIST

 

All his life he has sought to know what the truth of existence is and he just might find out.

 

SEIZE THE SKIES

 

Merlin the Magician and a young Arthur search a swamp for a spot that Queen Morgana will build a castle.

 

Quirky, strange at times, but explorations of fantasy and science fiction one rarely sees.

• Language: English
• Publisher: John Pirillo
• Release date: Aug 28, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223814542

John Pirillo

The author was born in Washington, Pennsylvannia. He loves animals and birds. Has two pet cockatiels that keep him company while he writes. He has a lovely daughter and a rascally grandson. He is rich in friends that matter and well adjusted to a life of challenges. He writes and draws every day. He loves anything science fiction, fantasy or extremely well written. Same goes for movies and TV. Not married currently, but has an eye and ear open to possibilities. :)

Book preview

AFTER SHOCK, HOLLYWOOD

The Interstate Five

Shooting along the Five from Los Angeles and up the hill to Studio City and beyond was fast only during certain times of the day. Morning was not one of those times! Morning was gladiator versus gladiator, road runner getting wasted by the Wiley Coyote and no Superman to yank you out of a ten pile crash up.

Most mornings freeway driving was a challenge to even the hardiest of souls and the most patient. It was a tough go and evenings...well, imagine a line of cars twenty miles long, moving about five miles an hour up the long hills and mountain route of the Five, and you get a glimpse of what hell must be like to all the souls hoping to climb out of the pit to find redemption.

He didn’t believe in hell, but he did believe in man’s inhumanity to himself. 

Bumper to bumper traffic.

Stalled cars.

Accidents.

Rude drivers cutting you off from your lane, or barging ahead, daring you to hit them so they can sue your ass off.

Yeah! That’s the Five all right.

Randy was cool with it. He lived on adrenaline. Fast moves and cool grooves were his middle name. He flipped his attention to the cell laying on his divider. It was open so he could check for messages.

That moment it buzzed.

But when he looked again at the cell, the image was all garbled.

Then he felt it and heard it. Like a huge freight train rumbling along the tracks. Impossible of course, because there were no railroad tracks on the Five, though they did parallel the Five for a time. But he had never heard anything like that from his car before. This sound was like twenty locomotives all roaring along at full speed, but with their brakes on.

It was horrible!

But it being an Angel Valley resident for most of his twenty plus years, he had gotten used to the vagaries of freeway driving, especially on the Five. And while the sound was incredibly annoying; it was just one more in the usual assortment of annoying distractions you ran into as an L.A. driver.

He picked at the remains of his breakfast between his two front teeth. Most women found the gap between them cute. Reminded them of a cartoon character they loved they would tell him. He didn’t have the heart to tell them it was a TV show. But what the hell, hey? He smiled. What a day! He growled. I got a date I can’t reach now and I’m late. Sucks!

Then suddenly ahead of him cars began slamming on their brakes. He did the same. But too late. He was driving too fast. But as it turned out, it didn’t matter whether he stopped or not. He was totally screwed!

Ahead of him he saw cars lifting into the air and flipping over.

What the hell! He exclaimed, even as the car directly ahead of him shot upwards, and then his was struck by the breaking pavement of the road ahead as the front vehicles had been. The impact of the pavement against his car, shattered his budding road rage, even as it had so many others that morning.

It flipped him head over heels and upside down over and over as his car and car after car ahead of him joined the destruction of what would become the worst earthquake ever to hit the Los Angeles area.

And the world!

Shattered

I Love you.

A long silence.

She turned her face away slightly so he couldn’t see her expression. Delight. Fear. Anxiety. They warred for control. But in the end, she mastered them all.

I’m sorry, she replied, still not looking at him.

Another much longer pause between the two.

His face was full in the light of the fireplace. He had spent days scouring the woods for the best branches he could find. Pine needles and fir. The air was fragrant with the incense of its smoking embers. The fire didn’t pause. It popped and crackled, burning happily, popping, and crackling in a fierce, but insistent course that nature had planned for it.

She felt the tension growing in the room.

It seemed to come from everywhere.

She knew something had to give soon or it all would have been for nothing. And she didn’t want that to be the case. He had to understand how important this was to her.

Had he been able to see her lips; he would have noticed she was subvocalizing the answer she expected now. The only answer he could give. Even in real life, he was just an actor. A blank page that words were inscribed upon to give him life.

So, am I, he finally uttered, his voice thick with emotion.

Her heart burned at that moment as it had never done before.

He meant it.

Truly, truly meant it.

Cut! Take Five! Jennifer, the Director, told everyone. We’ll shoot this again afterwards.

One of the crew began mumbling. "That’s the tenth time now. What’s up with those two anyway?

The movie crew began prepping for the next shot on the sound stage at Paramount Studios.

The man she had been acting with jumped up like a pop-up from a children’s book when opened.  Hey Carolyn! Doing anything tonight?

She felt the tumble of her heart again. Why did he have to be so blatant about his coldness? He acted as if he hadn’t heard what she had. But he was right next to her. He had to have. Didn’t it bother him even a tiny bit?

She turned. His attention was now fully focused on the wardrobe girl. And she was loving it. Bashing her eyebrows like a young girl...which she wasn’t...touching the top of her breasts as if to emphasize her best attributes. Disgusting!

She sighed unhappily. The fruit never falls far from the tree, does it?

She walked away.

She needed a break.

She hoped there wouldn’t be a twelfth take of this last scene of the movie. She didn’t think she could bear him touching her yet again. This last time had been the worst yet. She was barely keeping it together.

She tightened her lips in thought. "No! I can do this. I’m a star. I’ve got feelings, sure. But I’m a player. I won’t let Jennifer down. She’s been too good a friend and Director to do that.

She sighed.

But....

The Last Take

He sighed unhappily and let go of her hands. I’m sorry!

Again, those same words. Why did they cut like a knife into her heart this moment? If she could have cried and burst into tears that moment, she would have. But she couldn’t. It would not serve either one of them for her to show her emotions now.

She nodded, as he slowly rose to stand with his back to her at the fireplace.

The rosy glow of the fire limned an outline about his rugged body. Even in the shadows she could see well defined muscles that rippled beneath his light shirt, bulging outwards, threatening to tear the flimsy fabric holding the back.

Jim! She finally said.

I understand, he said more quickly now.

It was all happening too fast in her mind, but she managed to keep it together. She couldn’t let it out now. It would be wrong. Cost too much. And he just wouldn’t understand; he would make a fatal mistake and believe she meant it.

CUT!

The firelight flicked off. The flames made by the device in the fake wood died. The room, with its three walls became brightly lit.

A man with a towel rushed to Jim and handed it to him. He wiped his face. He had been sweating a lot. He turned about and fixed an excited grin on her. That was perfect, Mary!

He looked ready to rush over and hug her, but on her look held back.

A woman with a towel came to Mary and she shook her head.

Jim laughed. Cool. Even in the worst of situations.

She didn’t know how to respond. Was he kidding? Making fun of her. What?

Jennifer Hawkins, the Director, stepped between the two of them. She was beaming from ear to ear. "That was great!