Chapter17 The caller is back
1100 Words
The man sat down next to his grandmother. She was humming now. She didn't recognize him anymore. He touched her hair and told her he loved her. She was a shell of herself.
When he was a small girl, she used to dress him as a boy.
She had wanted to protect him from his father.
His daddy loved the little girls. He never knew that he was a born a girl.
Grandma did it out of love. She never explained to him that he was missing the parts required to be a man.
When he was in grade school, the other boys would tease him for sitting on the toilet when he went to the bathroom. All of the other boys stood up, holding their fronts.
He tried so hard to go that way, he ended up with wet pants. They teased him for that as well.
He grew angry.
He hid from them at recess. One day he was hiding when he came upon a small mouse. He watched it as it moved around in the underbrush. He grabbed a stick, trying to catch it.
He smashed it.
He smiled. He liked to smash it. He hit it again and again until it was flat.
He grew into very hateful man. He liked to kill things. He liked to kill people. He stroked gramma's hair, he told his gramma that he loved her.
He gave her a bite of food.
"So lucky, such a nice grandson to feed his grandmother every night."said Cameron, the evening caretaker at the retirement home.
He smiled and nodded.
"Eat up gramma, there's more of this homemade stew left."
He had made it himself. He skinned the rats and chopped them up. He mixed it with a little bit of wild cat and some dog food. "Mm,mm,mm gramma!" She smiled at him and chewed her food.
Landen found a spot for Diane right next to his desk.
She sat sat down and swiveled the chair back and forth nervously.
" How do I answer the phone when it lights up, and what do I say?"
Landen showed her the phone system. He didn't care for the way she moved in his chair, swivling side to side. He put his hand out and stopped it.
She jerk, her head moving back and forth.
She smiled.
Landen was a big teddy bear.
She felt comfortable with him as soon as she met him.
Landen put on his headset. He counted himself in, "Three, Two, one. You're here with Lando, the midnight music mania guru. Tonight we have a special treat we are playing 5 play tonight. You get to choose the artist, I choose the songs. Coming up first, the Doors!"
He turned on the first 5 songs on auto play.
He had already chosen all of the artists.
Diane would screen the callers to record only the ones that asked him to play the artists on the preset playlist.
"Isn't that cheating Landen?"
He smiled. " Well, it makes the listener think that they are involved and more importantly, I can get you trained as my new assistant."
Diane snapped her fingers and pointed them both at him. That was one of his signature moves.
Diane fit right in.
The first caller rang in.
"Uh, hey there -what can Landen, uh Lando play for you tonight?"
She shrugged.
She tried.
He moved his finger rolling it to indicate that she should hurry the caller up a bit.
She said, "Okay we're running low on time here so ".... The caller said, "Yeah, tell Lando I need to hear Michael Jackson times 5."
Landen shook his head, no. Diane said, "Give me another one, just in case."
He said, "Uh, okay, how about Phil Collins."
Landen shook his head- no. He held up an album.
She said, "How do you feel about the Police?"
He laughed," Yeah Lando gets me, let's rock it!"
Diane hung up and took another call.
"You're listening to midnight music mania, what's your pleasure tonight?"
The woman said, "I need to hear Barry Manilow." Diane almost hung up seeing Landen grimace.
"Just kidding, it's me Sera. Blaze is right here with me too."
Diane laughed, "Landen almost had a coronary thinking it was a fanilow. That's what Manilow fans called themselves."
She whispered to Sera," I only know because I am one."
Sera agreed, "Me too."
Blaze asked Landen to play Aerosmith.
Landen gave two thumbs up. "It's on the list!"
Blaze rubbed his closed fist on his chest to indicate he was awesome.
Sera had to check in with the pair.
She asked Diane what Landen was wearing tonight.
"What's he wearing? Oh uh, blue jeans, a black t-shirt, addidas."
Sera asked," What else?" Diane didn't know what she was looking for.
"Oh and some type of thick vest, maybe a flack jacket." Sera nodded. She knew it was the Kevlar vest.
She wished Diane luck tonight on the rest of the show and said goodbye.
Blaze called out in the background,"Bruno Marz!"
Landen smiled, "Yes, my man!"
About an hour into the program the phone line lit up.
Diane answered it. "Your listening to midnight music mania, what can we play for you tonight?"
The caller sneered,"Lando's screening his calls now, chicken sh*t." He hung up on Diane. She frowned, but didn't say anything to Landen.
He called back. "Tell Lando this isn't how to play the game, this will hurt his chances of survival."
Diane said," Nope, not telling him any of that, goodbye psycho."
Landen raised his eyebrows to her, questioning the call. She shrugged not telling him anything.
He said he needed a bathroom break and went to get some coffee. Diane nodded.
Landen went down the hall to the men's room.
There was urine all over the floor. Like someone just peed standing right where they were. He pulled out several paper towels and laid them on the urine.
He walked out to the dining area. He filled his coffee cup. The lights flickered several times, then went out.
The emergency lights came on. Landen went back to Diane.
She was on the phone. Her face was white as snow.
" What is it?"
She shook her head and hung up.
He persisted,"what, tell me!"
"He said to tell you that girls can't do it standing up, it makes a mess all over the floor. The next time the lights go out, you will go out with them. Play the game Landen!"
Landen called the police and locked the office door. Diane was petrified.
- Writer
