A Bad Case of Forgetfulness - Part 9

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Jenkins saw the flashing light in the bedroom from way down the hall. Mostly it was bright yellow to dull but there were also some flashes of white light too. On top of that there were voices, or at least 'a' voice. It was Ransack screaming: “On/Off! On/Off! On/Off! On/Off!” while furiously flicking the lightswitch up and down. “Enough light now, Mackintosh, or d'you still insist on using that fucking flash of yours? Maybe destroying fragile evidence with it's harshness? Oh go on, get me again, I'll say 'cheese' this time! But I know your kind. The camera's just something to obscure your face while you perv in on death and rape and sexual violence. It's your own sneaky way to get a close up of a cunt.... get your nose right in there and then curse the job while your cocks standing at full mast! I'm fucking onto you Mackintosh!”

Jenkins entered the room and  froze, slack-jawed. Not at the bloody mess laying in the corner, but at the bloody mess standing opposite it: his chief, Ransack, rattling the lightswitch.

“The man's crazy!” screamed Mackintosh. “Absolutely fucking crazy! You need to stop him and get him out of here! He's bleeding all over the fucking crime scene!”

 At that moment Ransack flicked the light on and stopped. Although the room was now evenly lit for some weird reason Ransack seemed especially illuminated. It was as if the forces that be were shinning a light on him. He looked like some insane character you'd find staring back at you from a shop window display at Christmas time. Ransack composed himself. He adjusted his shirt, pulled his jacket to a straight fit, and drew his tie up. It was more out of habit than any serious idea that he could make himself look respectable. For that he'd need a bed bath, a whole new change of clothes, a case of make-up, at least one good doctor and a psychiatrist. All his meager attempt at composing himself managed to do was make him look even more crazier than before. In the weird light that lit him up Ransack grinned and clasped his hands before him. Blood ran from his temple and left nostril.

“Boys, boys, boys,” he said, in a kind of humorous way, “let's not try to rise above our ranks. I'm the senior officer here and you'd do well not to forget it.. The only real problem I see is the incessant flashing of that fucking camera. It's having an awful strange effect on me, making me feel unwell... dizzy. I can't support it, hence the light! So put your mutiny back in your pants and let's get on. Everything's to be noted down... that I insist on!
OK, Jenkins, quit gawping at me like that and pull your face back together – gravity's not that strong. Get your notes out and write this down: Victim: female. Height: 5'4 – 5'8. Age: early thirties. Hair: brown (medium length). Eyes: hazel. Married: unlikely. Children: none. Occupation: whore – and a cheap one at that. Mackintosh, listen up and listen carefully. This is an order and not an insult: take your camera and FUCK OFF! We won't be needing you anymore. Get back with your own sorry lot in the kitchen or garden, sugar dusting dog turds for prints. Go on, Fuck off outta my sight! And watch your step as you go... there's evidence everywhere.”

 When Ransack had finished he stepped out of the spotlight and casually headed over towards the bed and body. Jenkins and Mackintosh stood staring at each other as if a ghost had just passed between them. It was Jenkins who moved first. As independent minded as he was he was still a policeman and rank and position were as much branded into him as the uniform he no longer had to wear. He had no choice but to obey the orders of a superior officer and so he followed Ransack over towards the massacre. Mackintosh, however,  quite outside of Ransack's control, ignored his order and remained in the room. For a moment he just stood there looking like he was thinking (or taking a shit). Once done with that he turned around, raised his camera to his eye and observed Ransack through it – his finger on the button ready to catch anything that wasn't words...

13 comments:

  1. It's funny how a camera becomes a sort of excuse, a distancer. Especially with the Paparazzi. But I suppose the dehumanizing also happens to crime scene photographers. And now youths with mobile phone cameras.

    Flashing lights:the David Lynch influence...

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  2. Hi Joe, it looks like it's just you and me left here... I think the rest are fed up with my erratic posting(not that it's that erratic). Anyway, I'll persevere as I've some great little stories for this place, and as I said once before it will always badly suffer from the moment and will be better to read for those who stumble across it in six months and they're not waiting for updates. It'll also have a different feel reading it then as it'll be clear that there's a mix of different stuff - from the farcical to the deadly serious. It was also hard making that disconnection from WFJ, as I know some people may have been hanging on for a repeat of that and I kinda felt a little inclined to do that even though I didn't want to. But I think that's over with now and the new stuff will be a complete turn away from that tone for a while.

    I know that's got nothing to do with your comment but I wanted to write it anyhow.

    I think watching the world from behind things does change us drastically, often bringing out the worst in us. Just look at the internet! Go into any forum, and people there who are hidden behind screens and untouchable are suddenly threatening you, being abusive, sexually harras people, bully others, etc. The moderators are no better. They've all become nazi's and cut accounts because you've the wrong stance on things, or you've pissed off one of the 'locals'. So we do change and use things to hide behind for our own means. Even behind sunglasses, with our eyes hidden, we act differently. Maybe following people and staring at them (sexually not violently) when we wouldn't if we were totally visible. Or pêople with telescopes, even if they have a serious interest in the stars, still at times point that telescope towards bedroom windows and watch from a distance knowing they can't be seen them selves. Camera's are the same, only they give us a valid reason to focus in on the grotesque and we can hide behind the idea that maybe we've other motives for taking such a picture. I've also learnt in life that we do try to worm our way into jobs that interest us or get us close to certain fetishes we have, etc. I think people would be surprised just how many men set up youth football teams (or netball teams) just to be around young boys or girls. We normally do things for a reason... especially those things in life we choose to do, and the reason isn't always what it seems.

    The flashing lights wasn't a Lynch reference, but I see why you thought it was. I really just described it that way just to make Jenkin's return to the room a little more interesting, and to show that Ransack had really lost it (maybe...). X

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  3. Another example is that people sitting in their cars will do all sorts of things they wouldn't do if they were two feet away from the car. It's not even that they can't be seen. And of course all that road rage you get, people shouting and screaming in a way they wouldn't do face to face.

    I didn't really think the flashing lights was a Lynch homage (though maybe subconsciously) more that it reminded me of him. Always seems to be some disturbing electrical storms in his films.

    It's not unusual that there are less committed followers for a mix'n'match blog rather than one serial story. It will probably balance out with some entries getting more comments than others. Though comments aren't all. There must be readers who don't say anything. And of course, like everything on the internet (and unlike physical books) it's here forever!

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  4. I'm really not sure there is anyone else apart from US! Unlike WFJ and Memoires I never did any publicizing for this site (save the advertisement on Memoires) and I know from experience without that, and a huge chain of links from other sites, the site is really lost in the wilderness of the net. I've set blogs up which I never used and in a year something like 3 pêople stumbled across the page. So it's possible it is just us. Though one of the reasons I never publicized is because I knew there wouldn't be too much to find for a while. Once there's a back catalogue of work I'll start looking for readers properly.

    The comments, no it doesn't really mean much... certainly not a gauge on reader activity. But I enjoy that space as it gives a chance to explain the little stories behind the story, and I see the comment space as something that can be publishable in its own right (in the event that the initial writing made some kind of a mark). I've also always loved reading diaries and journals (or even notes) concerning an authors work (with film/DVDs the director's commentary). I find all that stuff fascinating, and so the comment section is my own little chance to kinda do that.

    I mentioned 'Yes (Prime) Minister' on DC's a while back. Was you ever a fan of the series? I was too young to enjoy it during the time it aired, but rediscovered it years later. Anyway, I'm just on my way through them all again and the writing is so fantastic (I think hugely influenced by Wilde) and just gets better with age. It actually makes politics seem interesting. Now that's an accomplishment! X

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  5. Ps: people in cars, yeah. That's kind of a protective thing isn't it? And it gets worse the bigger and more powerful the vehicle is. The absolute worse are truck drivers. They sit ten foot above everyone else and actually use the threat of ramming others off the road (to death) ss their right of way. It just shows what were capable of doing when we feel even slightly protected and untouchable. X

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  6. And of course uniforms! Give someone a uniform and they turn into Nazis. And the public become Jews fed into gas chambers. Someone recently did an experiment:they put on one of those traffic workers yellow jackets and ordered people off the pavement onto dangerous streets with no explanation. And everybody just followed orders because they wore a uniform.

    Yes once you've got one or two completed serials and a few other genres you could really push it on your other blogs, readers blogs and DC's etc.

    I've never seen Yes Minister or Prime Minister. I was too busy living to watch TV then! We got loads of the DVDs in the library recently so I could look at it. I just saw Thatcher doing a skit version on it with the actors and thought maybe the actors/writers were Tories so that put me off.

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  7. I know it's commonly quoted that Yes Minister was Thatcher's favourite programme, and of course your alter-ego Mary Whitehouse was also a huge fan, but don't let that put you off. They surely enjoyed it just because it was so great and hard not to. The weird thing is with it is that it's very apolitical. It doesn't really have a political stance, and is so satirical that I think the writers are way past left or right and just see the entire political spectrum as a huge ball of corruption where self-interest is the main concern of most within it. I think if anything it shows the 'business' of politics, and the conflict between ministers and the Public Service. Finally it shows everyone as worms... even those who have good intentions to begin with.

    The government in the series is central,and only by the accents could we kinda know it's more centre right. I think that probably comes from the fact that one of the writers was at Cambridge (I think) with many of the Conservative ministers at the time. But they're never shown in a good light... very rarely in a half decent one! You should really give it try.

    The two main actors: Hawthorne was an 'outed' gay, but is so pompously camp that I don't think it could have surprised many (except Mary Whitehouse who'd then have learnt that most conservative minister's are closeted Queens). Eddington (played the PM) was married with kids but rumours were also rife about him. He certainly was on the left himself and was one of the many actors who got together at the time to protest against Section 28.

    The writers I don't know too much about, but I know one of them went on to write Nuns on the Run!

    X

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  8. i read all your posts, but by nature i'm more of an observer, so i don't always comment. sometimes i'm too lazy and or pressed for time. i do very much enjoy all you write though.

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  9. Hey id, I don't enjoy all I write but think there are always nice pieces within it. I've kinda gotten bogged down with this story and don't even have the will to finish it. I will, but don't want to. Not that it's badly written or anything, there's some really nice posts, just I think I wrote it in a certain tone that I am bored with and feel it's stopping me from writing some more serious stuff which I've sketched out. Still, as I said to Joe this place will always suffer from the moment and will be better to read back rather than reading live. I will drastically change the look as well. I enjoy how it looks but it encourages a certain type of writing and I cannot keep that up without being frustrated. So I will darken the place a little and the next few posts will be much more socially realistic and much less farcical (maybe!).

    At the moment I'm redrafting a HUGE Memoires post and it's taking forever. But I'm very pleased with it and excited to post after a sedated absence.

    X

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  10. I am SO SORRY that I have not written anything for ages. I also have read every word but I have been in the bush quite often lately, and getting a link has been horrendous ... the speed to send even an email was dire, let alone uploading a comment!

    Anyway - I like the whole observation thing going on around the photographer and the use of cameras ... I can't see what you are going to do to get this story to progress, though. Ransack has clearly lost it - and Jenkins, idiotic as he is, would not really have much option other than to call in to get his boss taken away (and sectioned, in all probability!).

    WFJ was an epic piece ... and I imagine some people might have been hanging on for Ransack to get his cock out, and roger the corpse, or some other lurid detail like that. I am glad that you are not attempting to reprise WFJ!

    Writers write - so don't stop, please. It IS nice to get feedback from our readers / lovers / employers / whatever. I will try and be a more active audience!

    Namaste. G =]

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  11. Hiya Gurney, Oh you don't have to apologize... I enjoy the behind the scene stuff but I never judge the work by it or anything.

    Ransack completely lost it??? I'm not sure about that. It could be almost the opposite and his playing a very smart game. Who knows???

    Next post will wrap it up... and I will write it I have just been busy with other things. Once it's over the tone will change a little and we'll have a few more serious tales. I'm looking forward to writing them.

    Ransack getting his cock out... I've not even thought about it (much!) Though there will be plenty of cock action in other stories... I am even playing with the idea of doing some 'porn' genre pieces. I love those absolutely absurd stories in porn mags... they're an art form all of their own. In fact, yes... I will definitely do some. It'd be fun.

    Ok, you keep well Gurney and I'll try my hardest to put up the final pôst by friday.

    Love and Thoughts, Shane. X

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  12. I'm still here too buddy. Even though school and work have totally been bogging me down (so much that I only get to work on Reset Kingdom once every two weeks or so) I still stop by here to read whatever I can when I have a moment of leisure.
    I really wish I could find the time to start something like this so that I would have a presence while I continue to build my 'great work.' I've come up with a few ideas but it seems so daunting to start another project when I can't keep up with the one(s) I have already.
    If I finally do it, it will have to be collaborative and hopefully you'll contribute (of course you would if I would just get something started.)
    I can't wait to see what you have in store for us.

    The Kingdom Comes (I promise)
    D R .

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  13. The whole Bubblegum thing is like a big literary buffet. You get a bit of everything here.
    When dishes in all categories will be on display it'll take a more colourful shape.
    I love buffet anyhow, I have no favourite dish. So I am sitting here with fork and knife a bit peckish for the next plate.....;-)

    Why shouldn't you finish this one? You mentioned somewhere else that you have already written a short version, so you know where the story is heading to...so don't be cruel with your readers. ;-)
    After all we are all hanging about here with our sun glasses on, with cheap wigs, lots of make-up, silly hats on..in the endless depths of the world wide web, hidden behind screens and cables...your audience..and y o u r words will change us or our perspective on the world. :-)
    And now the anti-cold and cough tea and a toast to you Shane!
    Cheerio Miss Maud M. :-)

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If you're here to write something malicious I thank you in advance for wasting your precious time on me. X