today. Hope you guys are ready,” Jack said.
“I’m ready,” Melody said, privately winking at me. She had woken up pretty fast.
“Uh, I’m ready too,” I said and squinted both eyes by mistake.
When we got up to the Castle roof outside, I asked Jack if it would be cool if I stayed up there for a little while.
“Are you gonna jump off?” he asked.
“No!”
“Sure. Best view in town, right? I should have a restaurant up here! See ya at roll call.”
“Later, Donovan,” Melody said. I loved hearing her say my name. It wasn’t full of the normal tone of disgust I usually heard. She said it like there was something she liked about me. It made me like myself too.
I took in the view and thought about my new position. I was somebody. I never got a gold star in school, but now I had a pentagram to my name. I thought there was nothing cooler than getting the privilege of walking around the empty Castle and helping it work. Between looking at the town and the beach, the beach was my preferred hang side. Over there, the Castle felt like a docked battleship waiting to set sail for the clear horizon. I imagined the pier would fold up like a collapsible drawbridge and the Castle would tear itself off from the pier columns like a giant tank. A floating, impenetrable fortress where I was the captain without a wheel. Onward! To nowhere!
Gazing down at the shoreline, I saw Melody stripping down to her bra and panties on the sand. It was far away enough so I couldn’t really see details. But a panty-covered blur was better than nothing. She dove into the ocean and I had to be down there when she came out. I knew what happens to white when it gets wet. Immediately, I took off running through the Castle to get a closer look but I hit a flight of dark stairs, fell down them, and went lights out.
I don’t know how long I was down but I woke up with someone stepping on me. It was a few cast members headed toward their stations in that wing of darkness.
“Whoa!” one of the voices said. “There’s a body here!”
“Shut up,” another said.
“No, check it out. Here.”
I got stepped on again.
“Uggh, fuck,” I said.
“Oh shit, it’s a bum!” the second said.
“Dude, we don’t want any trouble, just take off and it’s all good.”
“Yeah, man. Don’t get weird.”
“I work here, I’m . . . Dono,” I finally said, getting up in the pitch black and trying to balance myself.
“Fuck, dude. You’re hardcore. Are you partying tonight?”
“I don’t know.”
“Let’s rage, dude. Meet at Brogi’s, see you there,” the other said.
“How will I know who you guys are?”
“Dude, we’ll be the badass drunk guys with all the babes around us. Lates, bro.”
“Lates, bro,” another said.
“Lates, bros,” I said, repeating the blind camaraderie. There’s no way I could get into Brogi’s but it was cool to pretend it was an option.
I rushed over to the makeup room to get into my custodial character.
“What happened to you?” Jack said, shaking a walkie-talkie.
“I fell and passed out.”
“That’ll happen.” Jack laughed.
I couldn’t tell if Jack believed me or not.
“Watch yourself. I don’t need any more dead people in here.”
Now, I really couldn’t tell what Jack meant by the word “dead.”
I wandered through the interior walls in mounting pain. My head was kinda alright but the sunburn seemed like it was getting more painful by the minute. And the itchy robe didn’t help, no matter how cool it looked. I checked my traps from the day before. A whole new batch of dead rats had shown up. It was depressing. The charm of Castle Dunes was that one constantly escaped death. Whereas my job was to trap it. A guy dressed as a reaper is so much cooler than being a real one.
It inspired me to think of a way to shirk parts of the job I didn’t like. Since the rats replaced themselves overnight in the traps, Jack wouldn’t be able to tell that I’m not doing the job for a
“I’m ready,” Melody said, privately winking at me. She had woken up pretty fast.
“Uh, I’m ready too,” I said and squinted both eyes by mistake.
When we got up to the Castle roof outside, I asked Jack if it would be cool if I stayed up there for a little while.
“Are you gonna jump off?” he asked.
“No!”
“Sure. Best view in town, right? I should have a restaurant up here! See ya at roll call.”
“Later, Donovan,” Melody said. I loved hearing her say my name. It wasn’t full of the normal tone of disgust I usually heard. She said it like there was something she liked about me. It made me like myself too.
I took in the view and thought about my new position. I was somebody. I never got a gold star in school, but now I had a pentagram to my name. I thought there was nothing cooler than getting the privilege of walking around the empty Castle and helping it work. Between looking at the town and the beach, the beach was my preferred hang side. Over there, the Castle felt like a docked battleship waiting to set sail for the clear horizon. I imagined the pier would fold up like a collapsible drawbridge and the Castle would tear itself off from the pier columns like a giant tank. A floating, impenetrable fortress where I was the captain without a wheel. Onward! To nowhere!
Gazing down at the shoreline, I saw Melody stripping down to her bra and panties on the sand. It was far away enough so I couldn’t really see details. But a panty-covered blur was better than nothing. She dove into the ocean and I had to be down there when she came out. I knew what happens to white when it gets wet. Immediately, I took off running through the Castle to get a closer look but I hit a flight of dark stairs, fell down them, and went lights out.
I don’t know how long I was down but I woke up with someone stepping on me. It was a few cast members headed toward their stations in that wing of darkness.
“Whoa!” one of the voices said. “There’s a body here!”
“Shut up,” another said.
“No, check it out. Here.”
I got stepped on again.
“Uggh, fuck,” I said.
“Oh shit, it’s a bum!” the second said.
“Dude, we don’t want any trouble, just take off and it’s all good.”
“Yeah, man. Don’t get weird.”
“I work here, I’m . . . Dono,” I finally said, getting up in the pitch black and trying to balance myself.
“Fuck, dude. You’re hardcore. Are you partying tonight?”
“I don’t know.”
“Let’s rage, dude. Meet at Brogi’s, see you there,” the other said.
“How will I know who you guys are?”
“Dude, we’ll be the badass drunk guys with all the babes around us. Lates, bro.”
“Lates, bro,” another said.
“Lates, bros,” I said, repeating the blind camaraderie. There’s no way I could get into Brogi’s but it was cool to pretend it was an option.
I rushed over to the makeup room to get into my custodial character.
“What happened to you?” Jack said, shaking a walkie-talkie.
“I fell and passed out.”
“That’ll happen.” Jack laughed.
I couldn’t tell if Jack believed me or not.
“Watch yourself. I don’t need any more dead people in here.”
Now, I really couldn’t tell what Jack meant by the word “dead.”
I wandered through the interior walls in mounting pain. My head was kinda alright but the sunburn seemed like it was getting more painful by the minute. And the itchy robe didn’t help, no matter how cool it looked. I checked my traps from the day before. A whole new batch of dead rats had shown up. It was depressing. The charm of Castle Dunes was that one constantly escaped death. Whereas my job was to trap it. A guy dressed as a reaper is so much cooler than being a real one.
It inspired me to think of a way to shirk parts of the job I didn’t like. Since the rats replaced themselves overnight in the traps, Jack wouldn’t be able to tell that I’m not doing the job for a
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