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rainbowfic2016-03-19 10:32 pm
kay_brooke) wrote in rainbowfic2016-03-19 10:32 pm
Antique Brass #25, Bone #3, Plant Party #8
Name: kay_brooke
Story: Unusual Florida
Colors: Antique Brass #25 (Do you have any enemies? / I'm rich, I'm successful, I'm thin, that usually pisses someone off.), Bone #3 (rigor mortis), Plant Party #8 (Pitcher Plant)
Styles/Supplies: Canvas, Seed Beads
Word Count: 1,135
Rating/Warnings: PG-13; no standard warnings apply
Summary: Karen goes to one of Robert's meetings.
Note: Constructive criticism is welcome, either through comments or PM.
The building he led her to was the kind Karen thought didn't even exist in Peach Tree: run-down, windows boarded up, corrugated metal walls weeping streams of rust. A heavy metal door was the only visible entrance. She got as far as leaving the car, but she balked at the sight before her.
"Come on," said Robert, a little impatiently. He'd been bugging her for weeks to come to one of his "meetings," and only after a lot of very long chats, where Karen started to think there may actually be something to his claims, she'd agreed to accompany him. But she didn't like the looks of this at all.
"I thought you said you owned the building," she replied. She couldn't imagine Robert, even if he bought a crumbling wreck like this, would let it remain so for very long. He'd built an entire, beautiful resort from the ground up, what was he doing laying claim to this out of place eyesore?
"I do," he said, puzzlement clearing away as he caught a glimpse of her horrified face. "Ah. No, it's not very nice on the outside. But that's deliberate." He indicated the building. "If I remodel it, the town will start wondering what's going on in there. They'll want to know if it's a new store or restaurant, and they'll start asking questions. If I leave it like this, no one even sees it."
"I don't like it," said Karen, still hovering by the car. It was Robert's nice black town car, and nothing about it looked non-suspicious in this place.
Robert gave her that smile she always found so reassuring, the one that made the dimple in his left cheek crinkle. "Don't worry. It's much nicer inside. Think of this as camouflage." He held out his hand.
She took a few hesitant steps forward and grabbed it. "But why don't you want people asking questions?" she said. "If you're right, shouldn't the world know?"
Robert gave her a stern look, as if she had given the wrong answer to a question. "Perhaps someday," he said slowly. "But I think you'll agree something like this should be kept from the masses? Just think what the dregs of humanity might do if they were in possession of this knowledge."
Karen wasn't sure what they would do, nor who he was defining as the dregs of humanity, but she didn't want to argue, not out here in front of this terrifying building, so she merely nodded and slotted the conversation out of her conscious mind entirely.
Robert's smile widened again as she fell silent. "Come on," he said, more kindly that time. He pushed open the door, much to Karen's surprise. With the way Robert was acting, she half expected there to be a secret knock or password. She thought it would at least have been locked. But the door swung open easily, and he ushered her inside.
She wasn't sure what she was expecting, but Robert had been right about one thing: the inside was much nicer than the outside. Just inside the door was a narrow hallway stretching off in either direction, as dark and dank as she would have expected the inside of such a building to look like. But an inner room had been built in the middle of the space, a cube painted a cheerful white, and through the doorless opening she could see plush carpet, inviting furniture, and lamps casting a warm glow over it all. As she stepped through the opening, Robert's hand resting lightly on her back, she saw two other people were already there. One was a short young man, baseball cap drawn down over his eyes, who leapt to his feet and yanked off the cap as Robert entered, revealing a mess of dark brown curls. The other was a middle-aged woman, who remained sitting on the edge of a leather sofa, regarding Karen through narrowed eyes.
"Hello, ma'am," said the young man.
"Hello," said Karen, a little hesitantly. She had imagined a much larger group than this. Perhaps the rest hadn't arrived yet.
"Good evening, Carl," said Robert. "Thank you for removing your hat."
"Who's this?" From the middle-aged woman, a frown slightly gracing her features. "You didn't say there was gonna be someone else."
"Carl, Anne, this is Karen Breaker," said Robert, pushing her forward slightly. She felt a bit like she was being shown off, and that feeling only grew as Carl's eyes widened.
"The rich broad from the big house?" he said.
"We do not use that type of language in mixed company," Robert snapped at him.
Carl ducked his head. "Sorry," he said. "Sorry, ma'am."
Anne was still giving her the stink-eye. "So what are you doing down the hill?"
Robert sighed and turned to Karen. "I do apologize." To Anne he said, "Karen is a good friend of mine, and eager to be part of our group. Is that a good enough answer?"
I wouldn't say eager, Karen thought.
Anne shrugged and looked away.
"Where's Hillard?" Robert asked.
"Haven't heard from him," said Carl.
"He's out of town," said Anne. "Off to see his sister. He called me yesterday."
"He didn't call me," said Robert with a frown.
"Is this everyone?" Karen tentatively asked.
"Except Hillard, yeah," Carl said.
"What are you implying?" Anne demanded.
"I was just wondering." She was starting to think this was a mistake, and it occurred to her that maybe she was being shown off. The "rich broad from the hill," as Carl has so succinctly put it, was automatically a bit of a celebrity in a group made up of an awkward young man and a rude housewife. She wondered who Robert was trying to impress. Surely it couldn't be these two. Maybe the mysterious Hillard? Who wasn't even there.
She turned to Robert. "Okay, I've seen enough."
"What do you mean?" he asked, brow furrowed.
"I mean I don't think this is a good idea." She glanced back at the other two. "I'm not really sure why I agreed to come here. I don't even know what you're trying to accomplish, I mean--"
"Mr. Holden?" Carl said, interrupting her. "Is something wrong?"
"Of course not," said Robert. "Please don't eavesdrop." To Karen he said, "Just one meeting, please. There is nothing suspicious about this group. We just talk. That's all we do. Just like you and I have been doing for months. We're just adding more people."
Karen didn't think she wanted these people to hear the very personal things she had been telling Robert for the past few months. "I don't know," she said.
"Just one meeting," he repeated. "If you don't like it, I won't ever mention it again. I promise."
She never could resist his bashful smile. So she said, "Fine. One meeting."
kay_brookeStory: Unusual Florida
Colors: Antique Brass #25 (Do you have any enemies? / I'm rich, I'm successful, I'm thin, that usually pisses someone off.), Bone #3 (rigor mortis), Plant Party #8 (Pitcher Plant)
Styles/Supplies: Canvas, Seed Beads
Word Count: 1,135
Rating/Warnings: PG-13; no standard warnings apply
Summary: Karen goes to one of Robert's meetings.
Note: Constructive criticism is welcome, either through comments or PM.
The building he led her to was the kind Karen thought didn't even exist in Peach Tree: run-down, windows boarded up, corrugated metal walls weeping streams of rust. A heavy metal door was the only visible entrance. She got as far as leaving the car, but she balked at the sight before her.
"Come on," said Robert, a little impatiently. He'd been bugging her for weeks to come to one of his "meetings," and only after a lot of very long chats, where Karen started to think there may actually be something to his claims, she'd agreed to accompany him. But she didn't like the looks of this at all.
"I thought you said you owned the building," she replied. She couldn't imagine Robert, even if he bought a crumbling wreck like this, would let it remain so for very long. He'd built an entire, beautiful resort from the ground up, what was he doing laying claim to this out of place eyesore?
"I do," he said, puzzlement clearing away as he caught a glimpse of her horrified face. "Ah. No, it's not very nice on the outside. But that's deliberate." He indicated the building. "If I remodel it, the town will start wondering what's going on in there. They'll want to know if it's a new store or restaurant, and they'll start asking questions. If I leave it like this, no one even sees it."
"I don't like it," said Karen, still hovering by the car. It was Robert's nice black town car, and nothing about it looked non-suspicious in this place.
Robert gave her that smile she always found so reassuring, the one that made the dimple in his left cheek crinkle. "Don't worry. It's much nicer inside. Think of this as camouflage." He held out his hand.
She took a few hesitant steps forward and grabbed it. "But why don't you want people asking questions?" she said. "If you're right, shouldn't the world know?"
Robert gave her a stern look, as if she had given the wrong answer to a question. "Perhaps someday," he said slowly. "But I think you'll agree something like this should be kept from the masses? Just think what the dregs of humanity might do if they were in possession of this knowledge."
Karen wasn't sure what they would do, nor who he was defining as the dregs of humanity, but she didn't want to argue, not out here in front of this terrifying building, so she merely nodded and slotted the conversation out of her conscious mind entirely.
Robert's smile widened again as she fell silent. "Come on," he said, more kindly that time. He pushed open the door, much to Karen's surprise. With the way Robert was acting, she half expected there to be a secret knock or password. She thought it would at least have been locked. But the door swung open easily, and he ushered her inside.
She wasn't sure what she was expecting, but Robert had been right about one thing: the inside was much nicer than the outside. Just inside the door was a narrow hallway stretching off in either direction, as dark and dank as she would have expected the inside of such a building to look like. But an inner room had been built in the middle of the space, a cube painted a cheerful white, and through the doorless opening she could see plush carpet, inviting furniture, and lamps casting a warm glow over it all. As she stepped through the opening, Robert's hand resting lightly on her back, she saw two other people were already there. One was a short young man, baseball cap drawn down over his eyes, who leapt to his feet and yanked off the cap as Robert entered, revealing a mess of dark brown curls. The other was a middle-aged woman, who remained sitting on the edge of a leather sofa, regarding Karen through narrowed eyes.
"Hello, ma'am," said the young man.
"Hello," said Karen, a little hesitantly. She had imagined a much larger group than this. Perhaps the rest hadn't arrived yet.
"Good evening, Carl," said Robert. "Thank you for removing your hat."
"Who's this?" From the middle-aged woman, a frown slightly gracing her features. "You didn't say there was gonna be someone else."
"Carl, Anne, this is Karen Breaker," said Robert, pushing her forward slightly. She felt a bit like she was being shown off, and that feeling only grew as Carl's eyes widened.
"The rich broad from the big house?" he said.
"We do not use that type of language in mixed company," Robert snapped at him.
Carl ducked his head. "Sorry," he said. "Sorry, ma'am."
Anne was still giving her the stink-eye. "So what are you doing down the hill?"
Robert sighed and turned to Karen. "I do apologize." To Anne he said, "Karen is a good friend of mine, and eager to be part of our group. Is that a good enough answer?"
I wouldn't say eager, Karen thought.
Anne shrugged and looked away.
"Where's Hillard?" Robert asked.
"Haven't heard from him," said Carl.
"He's out of town," said Anne. "Off to see his sister. He called me yesterday."
"He didn't call me," said Robert with a frown.
"Is this everyone?" Karen tentatively asked.
"Except Hillard, yeah," Carl said.
"What are you implying?" Anne demanded.
"I was just wondering." She was starting to think this was a mistake, and it occurred to her that maybe she was being shown off. The "rich broad from the hill," as Carl has so succinctly put it, was automatically a bit of a celebrity in a group made up of an awkward young man and a rude housewife. She wondered who Robert was trying to impress. Surely it couldn't be these two. Maybe the mysterious Hillard? Who wasn't even there.
She turned to Robert. "Okay, I've seen enough."
"What do you mean?" he asked, brow furrowed.
"I mean I don't think this is a good idea." She glanced back at the other two. "I'm not really sure why I agreed to come here. I don't even know what you're trying to accomplish, I mean--"
"Mr. Holden?" Carl said, interrupting her. "Is something wrong?"
"Of course not," said Robert. "Please don't eavesdrop." To Karen he said, "Just one meeting, please. There is nothing suspicious about this group. We just talk. That's all we do. Just like you and I have been doing for months. We're just adding more people."
Karen didn't think she wanted these people to hear the very personal things she had been telling Robert for the past few months. "I don't know," she said.
"Just one meeting," he repeated. "If you don't like it, I won't ever mention it again. I promise."
She never could resist his bashful smile. So she said, "Fine. One meeting."
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(You have the wrong header, or at least the wrong summary, attached to this story!)
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Thanks for reading!
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I hate to see her suppressing her instincts like this, but you wrote it very well.
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I don't want Karen to seem stupid, but she does willfully ignore a lot of red flags Robert sends up.
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