Hypo - The Complete Story
Page 20
A car pulls up in front of the HD shop. RODNEY is driving. He stops the car and gets out. The shop has a giant closed sign covering the front.
The STORE OWNER from a neighboring shop is outside sweeping and walks over to where RODNEY is standing.
Store Owner
How’s he doing? You heard anything?
RODNEY
Still in a Coma. Still the same.
STORE OWNER
His wife say anything about the future of this store?
RODNEY
She hasn't said much to anyone. The other locations are still business as usual, this is the only one that he ran exclusively
STORE OWNER
Well he was a successful man, I figure with all the money he made over the years, and still making with the other locations. Things would be just fine waiting for him.
RODNEY walks back to his car and gets in. The store owner watches RODNEY drive off then goes back to sweeping the floor in front of his store.
INT. TRE's Office
TRE sits at his desk reading a file on his computer stating that the Hypo program is being halted indefinitely.
He reads over the file then turns the computer off.
He then stands and puts on his lab coat.
He walks towards the office floor when he hears his phone ring.
TRE
Tracy Jones Speaking, may I help you?
Kidnapper #1 (V.O.)
TRE... we need to talk
TRE
Are you crazy? Calling me at work?
KIDNAPPER #1 (V.O.)
Fuck all that, we need to talk. Meet me outside. Now.
TRE slams the phone on the desk and walks out to the office floor to the elevator and gets on.
EXT. Front of the office building
The Kidnapper is standing off to the side, hiding his view from the building but standing between 2 Trees. TRE walks out of the building and looks around. He sees the Kidnapper and walks over.
TRE
OK, what is this about?
KIDNAPPER #1
Walk with me, I have to show you something.
They both walk around to the side of the building where there is an overpass that heads into the back ramp of the parking garage.
They walk up a few flights of stairs and exits the stairwell where there's a van. The van that was used to rob the HD shop
TRE
A van... so what.
KIDNAPPER #1
Look inside
The Kidnapper opens the back doors of the van and steps to the side.
TRE can see that there are some boxes and tarps in the van. Almost like something is being hidden. He walks over and leans in to get a look at what is in the boxes.
After getting a closer look, he notices that the boxes are all empty.
TRE
What the hell's going on here?
TRE turns around to scold the kidnapper but find that he is looking down the barrel of what looks like a very large caliber pistol...
Before he can think
BLAM!
A single shot echoes through the parking garage.
TRE falls backwards and lands in the back of the van.
The kidnapper walks over to a pregnant woman, Holding the smoking gun that just shot TRE.
KIDNAPPER #1
I'll take care of that
The Kidnapper grabs the gun out of REBECCA's hand and carefully wipes off the fingerprints
He then covers TRE's body with the tarps that were in the van and close the van door.
The kidnapper gets in the van and drive the van out of the parking garage.
A car on the other side of the parking garage starts and drives to where REBECCA is standing. The Personal Trainer gets out of the car and Helps REBECCA to the seat in the passenger side of the car.
PERSONAL TRAINER
Everything good?
REBECCA nods. The PERSONAL TRAINER drives them both out of the parking garage.
FADE OUT.
About the Author
DL Jones was born in Brooklyn NY, grew up in Newport News VA and has spent the last 8 years in Charlotte NC. He has served time in the US Army and works as an IT Professional. His first love has always been tech, well computers and the web specifically, which has led to a lot of writing. He has had several websites/blogs and podcast over the years.
He started writing his first novel in 1998. There was no such thing as self-publishing as it is today. He had no end game, it was a hobby. He wrote on it for several years until a mishap caused him to lose the whole thing. It was a whole glass of soda and laptop issue, with no backups. Currently he has 4 novels in the works and the 3 HYPO shorts. 2 of his novels are fiction with HYPO being sci-fi, and his upcoming novel, Billette Hall, being a Horror/Thriller based in American slavery times. A third novel in the works, I Used to be FAT, is non-fiction, based on his life before and after 150lb weight loss. The last novel in the works is also non-fiction.
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Website: dljonesbooks.com
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Sample Chapters
Sample Chapters from Billette Hall
The next 2 (Un-edited sample) Chapters are from an upcoming book named Billette Hall. This is a Horror/Thriller based novel that takes place in slavery times.
1858, A Slave auction goes wrong leaving a group of slaves displaced and traveling alone to Billette Hall. Led by a 15-year-old slave girl, they have to survive a 4-day trek in the woods, while unknowingly hunted by an axe wielding murderer.
Hope you enjoy. Visit dljonesbooks.com for more info
Chapter 27
SAMPLE CHAPTER 1
Sounds of a squeaky wooden cart fills the morning air. A rather large cart, loaded with firewood is being pushed along a dirt road by 4 black men, slaves. Following close behind is an enclosed carriage being pulled by 2 horses. Another slave is driving the carriage.
The large cart rolls slowly to the end of the dirt road where it is blocked by a wire gate. Behind the wire gate is a gravel road that leads through a large well-manicured lawn. Bright green grass and the smell of a freshly cut lawn consumes the nostrils of the 4 slaves. They look on to see a large house at the end of the gravel road. The Mason Creek Plantation is the destination of the large cart of firewood. A very fancy looking house with over 20 rooms. Behind the house you can see a small glimpse of a garden. Most of that garden is hidden from view.
The slaves pushing the cart stopped pushing and leaned alongside to catch a moment's rest. The slave driving the 2 horse pulled carriage hops down from his seat. He grabs an arm full of wooden chocks from behind his seat and rushes around chocking the wheels of the carriage and the large cart.
The carriage door opens, and a man steps out. Known only as Mickey, or Master Mickey, this rather short, balding man looks over his slaves. Mickey reaches into the carriage and grabs a bucket of water. He sets the bucket of water on the ground and the slaves come over to take a drink. As the slaves meet to have a drink of water from the bucket, a man comes walking from the large plantation house and works to open the wire gate. Robert Mason, head slave master of the Masons Creek Plantation is a tall, slender white man. Greying hair and clean shaven, Master Mason looks to be in excellent shape for a 58-year-old man.
Mickey watches Master Mason wrestling with the wire gate. He yells “You should get your niggers to do that for you Robert…”
“Now Mickey, you know you are on my property. None of that nigger talk here. Work gets done a lot better when my young men and women are happy” Robert responded.
Robert opens the gate and looks on while the carriage is now un-chocked and being pulled towards the gate. The horses are now being guided by 2 slaves. They stop the carriage alongside the large cart. Several of Robert’s slaves are now running across the gravel roa
d from the plantation house.
“See, there’s my people now. I didn’t even have to holler for them.” Robert said
“So” Mickey replied unimpressed “you got good slaves” He continued.
Mickey laughs as he pulls an apple out of his pouch and takes a bite. One of Robert’s slaves, Roger, walks over and pet the horse while it’s being guided towards the now open gate. Roger is a good looking 30-year-old man, rather bashful, but is one of Robert Mason’s most liked slaves.
Milk, the other slave guiding the horse is a little more outgoing. Milk is 33 and is called that because his skin complexation. He’s Very light but too hard looking in the face to work in the kitchen. Milk ties off the horse and both Milk and Roger starts moving firewood from one cart to the other that was waiting just beyond the wire gate.
“Wish I had generations of money like you.” Mickey said. “I’d have the best slave’s money can buy too. But that’s all right. This right here…” Mickey reaches to his waist and grabs his belt buckle. “This right here will make any ole slave a good slave if I swing it hard enough”
“What I tell you Mickey” Robert said with disgust. “None of that kind of talk round here.”
Milk gives Mickey a disapproving look. Mickey notices it and walks over to Milk.
“You don’t like what I said boy?” Mickey said
“Mickey, come tend to your slaves and leave mine alone” Robert interrupted.
Milk, standing 6’0, has about 5 inches in height and 30 pounds over Mickey, who looks childlike in this face-off. Mickey puts his hand on his belt buckle.
“Master Mason said none of that talk here on his property sir. I think you should tend to your slaves like Master Mason said”
Mickey unbuckled his belt and pulled it from his waist in one smooth motion. With hate in his eyes, he winds up to give Milk a lash he’d never forget. Mickey’s belt was black and worn but thick as a house building board and stiff. Roger silently takes a few steps towards the situation. His emotionless face has turned more serious and his bright white eyes started beaming in Mickey’s direction. Just as Mickey is about to swing, Robert grabs his swinging hand by the wrist then lifts Mickey off the ground by his waist with his other arm. Roger relaxes a little and Milk looks at Roger.
“PUT ME DOWN!!! You gone let your nigger talk to me like that!?!” Mickey yells.
Robert walks Mickey to his carriage, still carrying him while he is kicking his feet in the air. Mickey’s slaves start snickering. Robert puts Mickey down and Mickey goes crazy swinging his belt in all directions. Trying to hit his slaves as they cover and duck. He then storms to a very serious face-off with Robert.
“MR MASON! Don’t you ever put your hands on me like that again!” Mickey says spewing spit with every word.
“Well Mickey, you were about to hit one of mine, you know I couldn’t allow that. This is my property. They are my property. You know how it goes” said Robert.
“We’ll see how it goes come Harbor Fest when you’re Pa sells all your slaves” Mickey snarled “And put you out on your damn ass!”
Robert now has a disappointed look on his face, he cuts his eyes at Roger and Milk for a second and looks down. He then turns around and walks back to the now loaded cart.
“Roger, Milk… Go head and get that wood around back and stacked. Then get cleaned up for dinner” Robert said as he walks away from Mickey.
The slave quarters is a large open barn style building, there’s no windows that you can see from the outside except a few closed shutters. Those shutters can be opened but Master Mason likes for the slaves to keep them closed, unless it’s unreasonably hot outside. The slaves are free to come and go as they please, meaning they can leave the quarters and wander the property at will. Inside the large barn like structure there are smaller individual rooms. Some rooms are divided by thin wood planks, others divided by thick heavy canvas cloths. Much nicer than other slave quarters as most slaves slept on the floor and had no privacy. Here the slaves at least had their own space and beds, or cots. There was even a room with a few tubs for the slaves to bathe.
Roger and Milk storms in through the front door, upset about the news they just heard.
“You heard that Rog? Master Mickey said we are all getting sold!” Milk yells
“He was just talking shit cause Master Robert rag-dolled him.” Roger replied
As Milk and Roger walks in, arguing about what they just saw, Shelly stands up from the table where she was peeling potatoes. Shelly was part of the kitchen slave crew, she was preparing potatoes for the night’s dinner. The 25-year-old walks over to get into the conversation. Milk see’s Shelly and quickly speaks with excitement. He seems to calm down as Shelly walks over.
“Master Mason rag-dolled somebody? Why for? And Who??” Shelly asked.
“He Rag-dolled Master Mickey when we were unloading firewood, you should’ve seen it!” Milked exclaimed.
“Yea, Milk was about to catch a few lashes from Mickey and Master wasn’t having it. He rag-dolled Master Mickey and carried him away like a baby… Kicking and screaming!” Roger added
The three of them laugh and spend more time talking about it. Other slaves join into the conversation. BJ, an older slave around the age of 50 pretended he was Master Robert, carrying his younger brother, Feet, like a suitcase. Feet was called that because he had unusually large feet. When he was a toddler, he was a well sought-after slave because all the Masters thought he would grow to be a really large healthy workhorse of a slave. He ended up only being about 5’5.
Shelly went back to the table with the rest of the kitchen crew and continued peeling potatoes. There were several slaves in the kitchen staff. There’s Mona, who serve as the head of the kitchen. Master Robert pretty much let her run the kitchen as she pleases. Mona decided what everyone ate for breakfast, what food was brought in to cook and how it was cooked. Mona was the best cook in the house and everyone tried to learn from her.
You then had Jack. Jack was a younger man, only 22 years old. But Jack kept the Mason’s house super clean. He also maintained the lawn and had a team that he oversaw when the master wasn’t there.
Master Mason had ideals of how he like to run his plantation. His ideals were different from other slave masters in the area. Masons Creek plantation was founded by his great grandfather, Richard Mason. Richard Mason was a hard man and ran the plantation with an iron fist. Every year at the annual Harbor Fest, Richard Mason had to buy more slaves than anyone because he was so rough on his slaves. He lost slaves at an alarming rate. He was eventually killed when one of his slaves slit his throat with a razor during his daily shave. Brian Washington Mason, Roberts’s father and Richards’s son, took over the plantation at 17. Brian Washington was born with a rare disease and doctors never thought he would live past 25. Brian is now 78 and still kicking, barely. He hasn’t run the plantation himself for about 30 years. Robert took over when Brian started to get too frail to walk the fields to check on the slaves.
Robert Mason was a different type of man, he really didn’t care for slavery or mistreating people. He always believed that if you treat the slaves like any other human being, they would always produce the best products and get the best production. Because of this belief, Brian Washington spilt slave master duties between several other masters. Each had a set of slaves that they oversaw. Even though Robert was the head slave master, he had limited involvement with the slave quarters that wasn’t assigned to him. Each slave quarters and the slaves within were managed differently by each slave master. Robert has known most of the slaves on the plantation their whole lives, he looked at them as family members and they also feel the same about him. He doesn’t believe in whipping his slaves, he doesn’t even carry a gun or a strap. His father still owns the plantation but has nothing to do with the day to day these days.
The secret Robert Mason has, had been wearing on him. He hadn’t had a chance to tell the slaves this secret yet. The Secret- Brian Washington had decided months
ago that he was going to sell the slaves and the plantation and retire. Live out the rest of his life on some lakefront property he owns in Georgia. Brian Washington didn’t want to leave the plantation to Robert. He felt Robert was too soft and would run the plantation out of business. Ruin the Mason name. Robert spent the last several months trying to prove that he can keep the plantation running, profitable and do it the way he felt was the best way.
“You know, slave labor isn’t going to last forever” Robert said, “Every day we’re getting closer to this all ending”
Brian Washington wouldn’t admit it to Robert, but he felt the same way. He often thought that if slave labor goes away, he didn’t know how he would keep the plantation afloat. All the more reason to sell while he can and retire.
Back in the slave quarters, Milk sits after a bath watching Shelly as she finishes up. Shelly and Milk has been married for about 3 years but they knew each other almost their whole lives. When they got married, Master Robert allowed them to have the wedding on the front lawn and a very nice wedding reception in the dining hall of the plantation. Robert has done that with every slave marriage so far since he’s been in charge of Mason Creek plantation.
Shelly puts her knives away, walks over and gives Milk a kiss on the cheek. She then goes to the bath and lights a fire to heat the water. Milk walks over to a basket, grabs an apple and cuts it in half. He gave one half to Shelly, and he sat beside the tub and took a bite of the other half. Shelly sits in the tub and takes a bite of her half.