A Twitterer's Tale

I have died everyday waiting for you.

Darling don't be afraid I have loved you.

For a Thousand Years

I'll love you for a thousand more.....

Susan's voice rang through the car as she sang along to the Christina Perri song playing on the radio.  Her eyes focusing on the mile markers as she drove.  One little green sign flashes by after the next.  Mile marker 3.  Mile marker 3.1.  Mile marker 3.2.  Susan turns down the radio and replays the voice message left on the cell phone provided by the television studio.  This was the first time Susan had ever been on a game show and she was doing her best to win, or at least make it into the finals.

"Congratulations contestants for making it into the next round of 'Follow The Signs'"  Susan felt the tingle of excitement all over again as she heard the instructions for what had to be the fifteenth time.  "On this level we're taking you on a little adventure.  To get there you'll have to do what contestants?"  Susan's arm shoots up into the air as she yells to the voice coming from the phone.  "FOLLOW THE SIGNS!!!!!!"  She quickly lowers her arm when she sees the perplexed face of the neighboring car.  Embarrassed, she slows down allowing her onlooker to pass in front of her as she continues to hear clues for her next challenge.

"In the trunk of your automobile, you will find a portable electronic bulletin board.  When you reach your assigned mile marker, you must pull over and immediately set up your billboard in front of your car."  Susan shrugs at the simplicity of her challenge as the voice continues.  "Sounds easy right?  Well don't get too confident yet.  You need to do this very quickly or you may miss the sign our roving field agents will be sending your way.  When you see the sign, you need to type it into the Bulletin boards remote keypad so that our eyes in the sky can see.  If you correctly identify the sign in the allotted time, you're onto the next level." 

The next part of the recording is where Susan really lucked out.  The mile marker assignments.  "Susan Godfrey, you are at mile marker 5.8.  Roderick Jacobs...you are mile marker 7.5.  John Delango...mile marker 9.9......"  And it went out farther from there.  Susan's was the closest.  It really was her lucky day.

"Mile marker 5.8" she gasped as she saw the marker and pulled over.  Flinging her car door open, she jumps out and retrieves the billboard from the trunk and sets it up in front of her car.  Nervously she looks down at the cell phone before taking a quick scan of her surroundings.  Nothing in particular stood out as cars whizzed by her on the busy roadway.  The flow of traffic was divided with a concrete divider separating the east and west bound commuters.  As Susan stood on the shoulder of the eastbound side, she looked all around her for the elusive sign.  Nothing but water was behind her and across the divider nothing jumped out screaming "Look at me!!! I'm the sign!!!"  Looking down at the time again as a feeling of dread starts to creep into the pit of her stomach.  "I couldn't have missed it" She bites down on her lower lip as she scans the area once again. "I got here so fast.  There's no way I missed it."  Giving a quick glance of prayer to the sky as the dread begins to grow even more. 

As she looks down, a brief shimmer of light catches her eye in the distance on the westbound side of traffic.  "What's that?" she feels her breath stop as she stands up on the tip of her toes trying to see it again.  Between the concrete divider, passing cars and her less than average height, she couldn't quite make out the shape of the approaching shimmer.  "DAMMIT" she mutters as she acts quickly and jumps up onto the hood of her car.   With the increased height, she begins to make out the shape as it nears her on the opposite side of the road.  "A worm?" she squints her eyes trying to make out the image more clearly.  She shook her head as her eyes confirmed her first conclusion.  A large Mylar balloon, that appeared to be running on some kind of remote control, floated by her on the other side of the road.  "Ok?" she jumps down from the hood and pulls the controller from her pocket for the bulletin board.  She types in the letters W-O-R-M and hits send making the electronic billboard light up with the clue she had seen.  "What the hell does a worm have to do with any of this?" she shrugs as she leans back against her car and waits for a response on the cell phone they gave her.

After a few minutes, she starts to wonder if the worm balloon had actually been the clue she was meant to look for.  Keeping her eyes on her surroundings, she watches the cars as they pass by in front of her.  Suddenly she jumps up as one particular car catches her by surprise.  A small object flies out of the car's window and lands in the grass of the shoulder about 100 yards behind her car.  When she looks up at the car the object comes from, she sees a man in the front seat aiming some kind of rifle or machine gun into the rear seat.  Susan didn't know a thing about guns but she was sure about what the man had been holding.  On instinct, she moved around to the other side of her car and ducked slightly behind it until the car had passed out of sight.  "Jesus Christ" she presses her hand to her head and runs her fingers through her hair as she looks down at the cell phone in the other hand.  "Will you hurry up please!" she yells at the phone willing the show to release her from her current position. 

She jumps as the phone buzzes in her hand indicating the incoming text message. "OH god!!" she shakes her head as her fingers nervously press at the keys to retrieve her next instructions. 

CONGRATULATIONS MS. GODFREY!!  You found the clue and we saw your sign!  You made it to the final round!!  Proceed to The Cantina Mexican Bar in the center of town on the corner of Main & Central Avenues.  Go to the bar and order a shot of Tequila with the worm.  You'll receive your next instructions at that time.

"Thank god" she lets out the breath she had been holding a moment earlier.  As she starts to slide the phone back into her pocket, she hears the sound of another car's tires as it pulls up behind her.  A man in a black hoodie gets out of the driver seat and begins to pace back and forth through the shoulder's grass as he mutters and curses to himself.  "Where is it?"  he moves closer to Susan who is now gathering the electronic billboard hurriedly  "WHERE THE FUCK IS IT?"  he yells over at her as she attempts to put the billboard into her back seat.  "I don't know what you're talking about" She replies as she circles around to the driver's side of her car.  "You don't?"  he heads straight for her as she pulls open her door and he quickly kicks it back shut with his foot.  "Look" Susan jumps back  "I don't know what you're looking for and I have to go"  Her heart begins to race in her chest as the man's mostly hidden face makes no change in expression.  His cold wild eyes stare at her silently for a moment.  "You need to go?" he repeats back to her finally as he puts his hands into his pockets.  Nodding her head quickly as she fights back the tears of fear forming in her eyes.  "Yes" she whispers as she again reaches for her car door.  "You're lying" the man's hand comes back out of his pocket and a knife presses against her stomach.  "WHERE IS IT?"  Shaking her head as the tears fall free from her eyes  "Please" she begs "I don't know what you're looking for"  Her eyes go out to the road hoping that the show was still watching somehow or maybe a passerby would come to her aid.  "I don't know why you're here"  She looks back at him trying to plead with the man holding her life in his hands.  "Please don't kill me.  I don't know anything.  You don't have to hurt me"  The man's expression finally changes as a smile curls upon his lips.  "Oh yes I do"  She gasps as he presses the blade and pierces her skin.  His eyes glow at the sight of her terror.  "You're a woman all alone.  What else would I do?"  The pain rips through her middle as the knife is thrust into her stomach and she is blinded with a bright white flash of light. 

A scream pierces her eardrums as she is jolted upright in her bed.  Immediately her hands run across her stomach as she feels for the knife wound.  Her heart still racing as she slowly begins to realize that everything that had just happened had been nothing more than a dream.  "Thank god" she breathes out as she feels herself start to sob.  "It was so real.  All of it"  Sitting up, she wraps her arms around her legs as she tries to calm down from the nightmare.  After several long minutes of near rocking in place, she feels her heart rate returning to normal.  "I guess I need to go get ready for work" she admits as she wipes her eyes removing any traces of her emotional breakdown.  "I can't believe a dream affected me like that"  she shakes her head as she walks out of the bedroom and picks up her phone to check messages and her Twitter account. 

Two messages from her mother prying into the single life of her aging daughter... "God mom"  She lets out a sigh as she presses the Twitter icon and notices the blue glow under the CONNECT @ icon.  "A couple Mentions and a follow" she comments out loud,  "Not bad.  There could have been nothing"  Her eyebrows arch as she nods at the truth to the thought.  Curiosity and a need to clear her head from her previous dream, has her clicking the link to her new follower.  "Johnnie D" her finger scrolls through his page.  "Only 2 followers.  Following 17 and has tweeted a whopping 5 times"  She lays her phone down on the table "I wonder how he came across my page?"  As she moves to get up from the sofa and get ready for work, her phone rings.  "Hello" she answers.  "Hi.  Is Ms. Susan Godfrey available?"  A pleasant sounding woman's voice inquires.  "This is her speaking.  How can I help you?"  The woman's voice automatically picks up on the excitement level.  "Ms Godfrey!!  I'm Madeline Hines from KG57 TV.  CONGRATULATIONS!!!  You've been selected to be a contestant on FOLLOW THE SIGNS!!!"  Susan' s face paled as she gripped tightly onto the phone.  "I've what?" she manages to whisper as she falls back down onto the sofa.



Somber Night

Like so many others, the news of today's tragic events in Newtown, CT has left me heartbroken and in shock.  My first selfish thoughts are of my own child who, until that moment, was thought to be safe at school.  She of course is safe, but the reality that in today's world, any town could be Newtown, is horrifying.  Today was not that day, but what about tomorrow...or next week.  These events are becoming entirely too regular and that scares me to death.  Not just for my daughter, but for us all.  Today's victims were so young.  So untouched by the lives that they hadn't even begun to live.

As a parent, I am devastated.  I am even more struck by this event than others before. This one hit closer to home. I lived in Newtown when I was a young girl. Not for long, only for a year and a half. During that time, I attended Sandy Hook Elementary School. I remember beautiful scenery on Mt. Pleasant drive.  The view at the peak of the mountaintops was a sight to behold.  I remember that the French marched through the town during the Revolutionary war.  The town held a reenactment to commemorate the march.  What I don't remember was violence or being afraid.  I'm sure the residents there still felt the same way...until today. 

I moved away after 6th grade and I don't know any of the victims or their families but my heart goes out to them.  No amount of condolences or heartfelt words will ever make the parents of these small angels feel any better.

Contrary to what I've already written, I can think of no other way to express myself than in the poem below.

Somber Night

A day that started like any other

A girl kissed her Daddy. A boy hugged his Mother.

They stepped onto the bus or out of the car.

They walked into to the school and waved from afar.

They greeted their friends and walked happily to class.

They smiled and laughed, as each moment passed.

Their heads filled with visions of the holidays ahead.

But the moments that followed were horrific instead.

A man so unstable, came upon them with a gun.

There was no more laughter.  No time to run.

This man ended their future.  He took aim and he fired.

Again and again, til each one expired.

Each little angel, innocent and pure.

Taken away so violently, when a man walked through their door.

A tragedy so senseless.  So much life has been lost.

Changes need to be made, No matter the cost.

For the price already paid, was more than any of us can afford.

The loss of young innocence.  The loss of those we adored.

If you are blessed to have your loved ones, hold them close and hold them tight.

Remember the families less fortunate and how they are surviving this Somber Night.

Glen Mazzara fan Fictionara Part 4 - A Mid-Seasons Nights Dream

As the door fully opens, Glen sees Kirkman seated at his desk with his back turned away from the door.  "Right" he responds to the phone held to his ear.  "All is going according to plan.  Mazzara is here now and we should be able to start filming the finale tonight."  Robert turns and motions to the chair in front of his desk.  When Glen refuses to enter the office, he is lifted under each arm by Reedus and Lincoln and carried through the open door.  Once inside, Glen sees that Kirkman was not alone.  He moves his eyes nervously around the room from one set of glowing eyes to the next.  Lauren Cohan, Steven Yeun, Gale Anne Hurd...all of them.  Almost the entire cast of The Walking Dead along with some of the crew stood silently against the walls of Kirkmans office.

Lincoln and Reedus lower Glen into the office chair and step back against the wall with the others.  "I don't know what's going on here" Glen confides as he looks back at Kirkman "But I'm not sure if I want to either"  Robert folds his hands on the desk and smiles over at him "There's nothing going on Glen." He motions to the others "We're all just here to hear about the finale"  Glen glances back at the others realizing their eyes have all returned to normal.  He looks back at Kirkman suspiciously as he leans back against his chair "Right.  The finale."  His arm grips tightly around his laptop as he remembers Nicotero's panicked phone calls earlier. 

You can't finsh the finale.

 

Don't let them assimilate you.  

The words echoing in Glen's ears still made no more sense than they had earlier but now they were setting off alarms in his mind.  "It's not ready yet" Glen blurted out the lie as he tried to appear as calm as possible. 

He felt them move closer without even having to look back.  "What do you mean it isn't ready?"  Kirkman's voice no longer carried the familiar friendly tone from before.  "We NEED it today"  Glen looks back over his shoulder to confirm what he suspected a moment before.  The others stood directly behind him looking down again with eyes glowing red. 

Glen jumps up from his chair but is pushed back down by several hands.  "You will finish the finale Glen" Kirkman orders "You'll finish it NOW"  Glen glares over at Kirkman "Or what?" he says the words slowly "You'll assimilate me?"   Kirkmans eyes move around to the other faces in the room before returning to Glen's.  "So Nicotero told you"  Shaking his head as he looks to Reedus  "Bring him in"  Reedus immediately leaves the room as Kirkman continues to talk,  "I was hoping it wouldn't come to this Glen."  He runs a hand through his hair as his eyes begin to glow like the others.  "What the hell?" Glen looks around the room trying to find a way out as he fishes for an explanation.  "What are you going to do?" 

Robert motions for someone to restrain Glen as a struggling Nicotero is dragged into the room.  "LET ME GO!!"  Greg yells as he tries to pull free of Reedus's grip.  "You can't do this.  I don't want to be one of you"  Andrew Lincoln moves over to help Norman get his charge under control.  Glen frantically watches as they force his friend into the chair next to him.  "Quiet" Reedus yells as they tie and gag him.  Kirkman stands and pulls some kind of video goggles out of his desk drawer.  "You want to know what we're doing?" he looks at Glen as he walks around the desk to Nicotero and places the goggles over his eyes.  "Let me show you"  With a push of a button, Nicotero's whole body freezes as he stops struggling.  "What are you doing to him?" Glen watches between Nicotero and Kirkman.  "I believe he called it assimilating" Kirkman's eyes glow even brighter  " It's what we will be doing to everyone during the finale"  Glen's eyes widen.  "During the finale?"  Kirkman nods as he lifts the goggles off of Nicotero's face.  "What did you do to him?"  He watches as Nicotero sits motionless with his eyes closed. 

"He's one of us now" Glen feels his heart stop at the sound of his wifes voice in the doorway behind him.  Slowly he looks back at her and her glowing red eyes.  "One of who?" he mutters barely above a whisper.  Nicotero's hand lightly touches Glen's shoulder,  "One of the chosen" .  Glen looks back anxiously at his friend but is greeted but yet another pair of glowing eyes.  "Glen, you have to finish the finale.  The fans....they deserve this."  He stands up and moves behind Glen as he speaks "They will love this."  Desparate to get out of there and away from everything, Glen clears his throat as he attempts to stand "Alright.  Let me go back to my office and I'll finish the finale"  Kirkman laughs as he pulls the laptop out from under Glen's arm.  "Sit back down Glen."  He places the laptop on the desk and shakes his head.  "From the way you've been gripping on to that, I'd be willing to bet you're finished already."  Pushed back down into the chair again, Glen shakes his head "No.  It still needs work.  It's not ready"  He looks around at everyone and decides to use their tactic against them.  "We don't want to disappoint the fans right?"  Kirkman moves next to Glen "No and we won't"  He looks to Andrew Lincoln who immediately grabs hold of Glen to keep him in his chair.  "We will film the finale the way it is.  When we send out the nuero-transmissions into the broadcast feed, the fans will become part of us. All of them."  Kirkman's lips curve into a malicious smile as he begins to place the goggles over Glen's face.  "No!!!" Glen fights to keep the goggles away.  "You can't!!!" 

Several pairs of hands clamp down on Glen and he hears his wife's voice.  "Glen" she whispers into his ear "It's ok.  Don't fight it.  The fans...think of the fans....Glen"  He tries harder to break free as the goggles block out all the light in the room.  "No!!! Let me go!!!"  His one hand breaks free and pushes away another set of hands that had gripped upon his shoulder.  "Glen!!"  his wife's voice becomes more urgent "Glen!!!  Stop it.....Wake up"    With a jolt, Glen open's his eyes and after a moment of disorientation, he realizes that everyone is gone except for his wife.  "Glen...honey.  Wake up"  She shakes his shoulder again.  "You're having a nightmare"  Glen blinks up at her from his recliner as it sinks in that he is no longer sitting in Kirkman's office.  "I'm awake" he shakes his head trying to clear it as he rubs his eyes. "I'm awake now"  He stares up at his wife leaning over him and studies her eyes for any sign of the red glow.   "I told you not to stay up so late" she stands up and folds her arms across her chest.  "You always have the worst dreams when you're overtired"  He takes a long deep breath in as the last traces of dream state fades from his mind.  "You're right" he nods and stands up.  "I'm coming to bed now.  I'll just save what I have finished so far and then bed."  As he shuts down his laptop, Glen's wife stands in the doorway.  "You really need to start getting more sleep Glen."  She smiles at him as he turns toward her and takes her hand.  "Yes mother" he smiles back and pulls her toward their bedroom.  "Wait glen...you forgot the light"  She turns back with her free hand and flips off the light switch leaving the room in near perfect darkness.  The only light is the slight reddish glow shining from her eyes.


The End..... I hope I didn't disappoint the fans.  :-)

Glen Mazzara Fan Fictionara Part 3 - The FINAL Draft

Satisfied that he had determined the root of everyones odd behavior, Glen glances down at his cell phone "Dammit!" he mutters placing the cell down next to his laptop as he begins to frantically type. "Only ten more minutes to the meeting with Kirkman."  Now that he was more relaxed, the ideas flowed from his fingertips as he made the final touches to the last scene of the finale. 

As he began to proofread through his revisions, he was distracted by a knock on his office door.  "Come in" he responds as he lowers the laptop lid down slightly.  Steven Yeun enters the office only poking his head in the barely open door.  "Hey Glen" Steven's eyes focus immediately on the laptop as he speaks.  "I got your message last night" he laughs mechanically "Good joke.  You had me going for a sec."   Glen chuckles but follows Stevens stare to his laptop.   "Yeah, sorry about that.  I needed a tension break."  Steven continues to stare at the laptop as neither of them speak.  Glen clears his throat and Stevens eyes jolt in his direction. "Is there something I can help you with Steven?  I'm late to meet Kirkman"  He glances at the time and begins to gather what he needs for the meeting.  "I was wondering how the finale was going.' Steven probes.  "Is it done?"  Glen looks up and nods "Actually, I just finished going over it and it's looking pretty good."  Glen's hand pats the lid of the laptop as he smiles at Steven  "Good" Steven's face beams "We were all worried that it wasn't going to be ready for the..."  Steven pauses as he catches himself mid sentence and blinks staring at Glen before continuing with slightly less enthusiasm. "We wouldn't want to disappoint the fans"  Glen stares back at Steven with a brief flash of disbelief thinking to himself 'Not you too Steven?  Is everyone in on this prank?'  He stands up and puts the laptop under his arm  "Oh I know Steven.  I know all about it" 

As he passes Steven still standing in the doorway, Steven grips Glen's arm  "You Know?"  Looking down at Stevens hand on his arm ,Glen shakes his head.  "Yes, I know all about it.   I gotta admit it's a good plan"  Glen looks up and immediately jumps back from Steven as he is greeted by a pair of red glowing eyes.  "What the...Steven?"  Steven releases Glen's arm and quickly looks away  "What exactly do you know Glen?" he whispers.  Glen swallows as he continues to move away.  "About the prank you guys have been playing"  Steven looks back as his eyes shift from red to normal. "Prank?  You think this is a..."  Steven's eyebrows raise as he flashes a quick smile  "You're right.  Dam, we can't fool you, can we?"    Backing away even further, Glen shakes his head.  "That was no prank. Your eyes...they...they...Just like my wifes...like Jeff....What's going on?"  As he takes another step back, Glen is pushed forward by Norman Reedus and Andrew Lincoln.  "There you are Glen" Andrew smiles to Glen as they manuever him down the hall.  "Kirkman sent us to find you"   Glen looks frantically between Lincoln and Reedus as they look back at him with the same glowing eyes he had seen so many times already.  "Where are you taking me?" he questions as he tries to pull free from their grip.  "To the finale meeting." Reedus replies as an eerie grin sweeps across his face  "You have to present the finale.  We don't want to disappoint the fans"  His red eyes glow even brighter as he looks over to Lincoln.  "No"  Lincoln agrees "Never want to disappoint them"

The three reach the office door of Robert Kirkman and Andrew lifts his hand to knock .  "Come in" a familiar voice bellows through the door.  Glen makes one last attempt to pull free as Norman opens the office door.


To be continued.... The Fans Can't EVER be Disappointed!!