Tales From the Low Roads (WARNING: grisly content).

[Low_Roads]

Mightily obliged, Hawk! Blackie and his crew would likely indeed be stymied by such a menace, unless they had the foresight to fix themselves up with snow tires. But then, thinking ahead is very much Blackie's thing...

I'll have at least one more temperature-themed horror to relate. A goodly distance from now (Low Roads story #96) and concerned with the opposite dilemma, too much heat. Damned weather, either a shiverer or a scorcher! Oh, how I'd kill for a perfect day (and probably will, too!)

 

[Low_Roads]

Low Roads Story #35

The Rolling Burl​

Some time back I told you about a guy with a boarding stable in Gordon Valley. His daughter was swept away in floodwaters in 1976. This got him so depressed that the business suffered. He lost most of his clients and finally had to sell the stable to another man.

This new guy thought he had it made. The stable was in a great location and lots of people needed the service. Only the old owner's downbeat attitude had made him lose clients. The new fellow had big plans. He was an idea man. He put advertisements in all the papers and then started on repairs and a new paint job so the place would look really spiffy for his new customers.

The stable was located on some high ground right in front of a steep, woody hill. Beyond the stable was a rolling field where the horses could run around and take their exercise. This plain was the one that had flooded so badly the year before. It was still kind of sludgy and bare because of the recent floodwater, but that wouldn't last long. New grass would grow.

The hill above the stable really was thick with trees. They were so dense you could barely see one from the next. This hid something really unusual from the new owner. Even the previous proprietor didn't know about it, since he never had any occasion to go up there.

One of the trees had developed a big burl. You may have seen these if you've spent any time out in the woods. A burl is a growth on the tree trunk. It starts out kind of like a scab on a human being. It's there to cover up a wound in the wood. But some burls just don't know when to quit. They just keep growing and growing until they're a danger to the tree. They can grow so heavy that they break off limbs.

These burls are pretty interesting to wood-workers. There's a whole history of using them to carve into big serving bowls and tables and such. The name "burl" is pronounced almost the same as "bowl", but I don't think that's where it comes from. Some of these serving bowls are special antiques. They're desirable just for being carved from burl wood.

Anyhow, this hidden tree was really something out of the ordinary. The burl on it was huge. It had been there so long it had taken over the entire tree trunk. The tree looked like a big ball with branches growing out of it. It had been there for years, but with all the rain from last season the root system had really grown loose.

The stable owner had just finished improving his new property. The place looked one hundred percent better. The new paint scheme was in greens and earth tones, and blended in well with its hilly surroundings. A big, brand new sign had just been put up on the roadside to attract new customers. The man stood back to proudly survey his accomplishments.

At that very moment the old, burl-ridden tree broke loose from its roots and began to roll right down the hill. It immediately snapped off any remaining limbs and rolled that much better. The improved stable was right in its path. The man watched in dismay as the big wooden boulder plowed down the hill and right through the middle of the stable building.

The huge burl hit the property fence and came to rest right square in the middle of the man's driveway. The guy just stared at his ruined building for the longest time. Then he turned and considered the burl. It really was impressive, eight feet tall and perfectly round. I doubt anybody ever saw a burl larger than this. Even though he was facing financial disaster, he was an idea man and came up with a scheme. If he could cut the burl in half and carve two giant bowls from it, he might have something even more valuable than the stable property.

The man grabbed a chainsaw out of the debris of the tool shed and fired it up. He considered the best way to make the cut and went to work. In half an hour's time he had all but cut through the mammoth burl. He gave it a kick, and it fell right in two.

Later that day, friends of his came by to see how the stable improvements were coming. They were appalled at the damage to the building, then stared in wonder as they saw the huge severed burl. Then, they found the man.

He was stone dead and his body was in an awful state. He was completely swollen up like a fat sausage and had a nasty purplish-blue color. His body was so swollen that the eyes wouldn't even close and just bugged out from his head.

The poor guy could hardly have known his danger when he started to work with the chainsaw. That burl had been there so long that it had gone rotten on the inside. It was mostly hollow and a colony of western diamondback rattlesnakes had taken up residence in it. They had just woken up from their winter sleep and were hungry and surly to begin with. Then the roll down the hill had gotten them really upset. The man might have heard their angry rattling, but the noise of the chainsaw masked it. When the burl split open, a rain of squirming, biting snakes covered the unfortunate man.

His heirs inherited his property but it did them no good. Not only was the stable ruined, but the acreage now swarmed with pissed-off rattlers and no one would take the chance to even enter it. I understand that the original owner bought back the land himself. He got it pretty cheap. He waited two years until all the snakes had left and then salvaged the big burl halves. I hear he did have them carved like the other guy intended to, and sold them at a huge profit. One of them at least is supposed to have ended up in that traveling carnival that passes through Fairview each year. That may be. Alot of weird stuff from Tabor County has ended up in curiosity tents over the years.

 

[Cbarton]

Man, there's a wild plot twist! Diamondbacks in the burl...sounds like a title for a novel or something...

I was expecting maybe some sort or gas or something. Show's your skill as a writer when you catch the reader by surprise.. Good job!

 

[Low_Roads]

Very kind of you, Hawk! I hope I can successfully throw a few more curves as the series continues. Alas, the infamous rattler will likely loose his talent to startle, though. Many more slithery appearances are slated... that warning buzz will become as familiar as the front doorbell!

"Diamondbacks in the Burl"... spiffy title material indeed! If not for a romance novel... a folk song, possibly? I may already have it on an old Kingston Trio album, in fact...

 

[Cbarton]

...or the latest Zane Grey/Louis L'Amour novel

 

[His Divine Shadow]

The only burl I am familiar with is the Ives variety. 😛 I can't say I was expecting snakes. A demon or other foul fiend, perhaps, or maybe a dead body like that evil tree in the riverbank from some stories back, but not mere snakes. Have we seen those burl bowls in the carnival of LBH? I don't recall for sure. Interesting that someone (the original owner) actually came out not only on top but significantly so. Strange indeed in this county.

 

[Low_Roads]

I'm not all that familiar with carved burl either, HDS. I've seen plenty of the condition in situ, though... a big elm on our property has a prominent burl knot, as a matter of fact. The burl in the story was inspired by an actual tree in the local hills, one of whose limbs was badly swollen up by an enormous outgrowth. I've heard burl described as "tree cancer"; the grain goes nuts and swirls chaotically, which makes the wood both difficult to shape and attractive as nicknack material. I've mostly heard about burl wood being used for decorative bowls (see examples below), though I guess it's carved into all sorts of furniture too.

The rumored carnival bowl hasn't been touched on before, nor will it reappear. The traveling carnival certainly will though, which is why it got a mention. The snake angle is indeed rather prosaic, if nasty enough (I have a pronounced fear of snakes... being covered by them is a nightmare situation for me). Also, the original stable owner had already been through plenty (this was the same character who appeared in the earlier Low Roads story, "The White Thing"); he'd earned a little success!

 

[Low_Roads]

Low Roads Story #36

The Fossilized Man​

Most people today drink safe water. It's usually carried from lakes to treatment plants where they screen out the junk, then add chemicals to kill any bugs and germs. The water is filtered again and again until it is completely pure. Then they add fluoride for the teeth and pipe it out to happy customers everywhere.

Even on farms, where the water has to come from private wells, you can be sure of a pretty safe supply. It still has to be filtered, but not because of germs. Well water is pretty clean that way. The filters are there to remove extra minerals. Underground water has alot of mineral content. You can tell that just by tasting it. Well water always tastes odd to folks who have never tried it before. It takes about two weeks to get used to the flavor, if you ever do. Although, I must say that many who grow accustomed to it really prefer it. It is far tastier than sterilized water.

Even with the filters, it's impossible to remove alot of the minerals. Look at the faucets around any farm and you'll see where they've built up. They form a rusty looking crust that collects around the spigots. These minerals are really hard on pipes and rubber fittings. That's why they call it "hard water". This is exactly what goes on in caves. Dripping water deposits minerals that form stalactites and stalagmites. Some of these get to be huge over the years, so you see how high the mineral content is. For this reason it's important to keep the filters in good repair.

An old guy who lived in Ross Valley got to be sloppy about this. That was understandable. He was a tired old man who lived alone without anyone to help him. He wasn't really a farmer. He lived on a government pension, but had a house out in farm country just the same. He could just afford that and preferred not to be bothered by alot of other people.

When no one had heard from him for some time, the deputies forced the door to his place. They found him in his living room. It was a weird scene. He was standing bolt upright but he seemed to be dead. Even though it had evidently been that way for several days, his body showed no signs of rotting. It did prove to be stiff and heavy, though. It was so stiff that the deputies were able to carry it between them even without a stretcher.

This body was so odd that the coroner just had to take a look. But it wasn't easy. The skin was unusually hard to cut. His insides were really brittle, and bits would flake and snap off. Nothing about the corpse was putrid or smelled bad. It was a real puzzle.

Later they found the reason for this. The pump filters for his well had worn out about a year before. All the time since he had been drinking completely unfiltered ground water. The hard water had carried minerals to every part of his body, and his tissue slowly turned half into rock. The stiffness and aches this brought on hadn't seemed all that strange. He just thought it was old age. Finally there was so much mineral content in his body that his blood stopped flowing and he died standing up.

This body became a really well known curiosity in the medical world. The coroner would have liked it for himself, but I think it ended up at the teaching hospital at the University of Davis. If you're important enough I guess they'll show you the basement where it's locked away. The nice thing about this specimen is that it doesn't need to be kept in formaldehyde. It just stands by itself in a corner.

 

[Cbarton]

Wow...that's the most extreme case of hypercalcemia I've ever seen...LOL. No amount of Zometa(tm) would reverse that!

Very interesting tale, LBH. Chilling, yet almost medically possible...esp. if the guy had a high Vitamin D diet.

 

[Low_Roads]

I keenly anticipate your observations Hawk, especially when these stories stray into the health arena where your special expertise can provide so much clarity and insight! Hypercalcemia! Had to look that up, and lord does it sound awful! Makes me want to double my salt consumption as a preventative (just joking! I know that's a dumb idea!) I'm fascinated to learn that the described condition isn't medically infeasible. My approach to such speculation tends to hinge on sympathetic association rather than any genuine understanding of the subject... if minerals can silt up cave openings, why can't they also close off arteries!

This story was prompted by reports concerning people who've died and been discovered in standing positions, a circumstance which I imagine is extremely rare and which I find rather creepy (in a mundane way; the concept itself is less creepy than the idea of coming across an upright corpse). Here again, it's a phenomenon you're likely far more conversant with than the rest of us... education can sometimes be a disquieting thing!

 

[Low_Roads]

Low Roads Story #37

Monstrosities​

I imagine everyone knows what monstrosities are. That's what happens when animals of two different species create an offspring. If enough of these combination animals are produced and they start making babies of their own kind, then they become a separate species. That's what happened with the platypus. No one calls them monstrosities after that. But that sort of thing doesn't happen very often. Mostly, these creatures live a short, lonely life and die without any other of their kind for company.

It's easy to see why monstrosities are rare. Just think about it. Most animals don't get along outside of their own type. When you put a bird and a snake in the same cage you sure won't get many babies. One of them is going to eat the other. They're just too different. Even animals with the same habits won't usually mate if they're not the same species. Take cats and dogs. They're used to eating the same kind of food, so you'd think they'd get on better. But just the opposite is true. That's because they compete for what prey there is. In lean times, I'd sure hate someone who was trying to eat all my meals.

Still, monstrosities do get produced from time to time. There's just too much evidence for anyone to say that's not true. It must have happened more often in ancient times than it does now. Just look at the pictures they drew. Horses and lions with wings or snake tails. It's hard to imagine how any of these animals got together. I must say that alot of them seem to have human parts, men with bird bodies or half-man, half-horse. I have an easier time believing this. Some guys will go after anything.

But there are more modern examples too. The best known one is probably the jackelope. Experts will tell you that this is a fake. Maybe some examples are. I've seen photos that are pretty cheesy. Others look pretty good, though. I think there was probably only one real jackelope, so he was a genuine monstrosity. You can decide for yourself which pictures are true and which are not.

Scientists will tell you that such creatures cannot happen in the wild. They will say that 99 percent of these babies are born dead. Of course, that still leaves a few that survive. Personally, I don't think that much of the experts. The best they can do when they try is to breed horses and donkeys to make mules. This doesn't seem like much of an accomplishment. Horses and donkeys are already pretty similar.

The best place to see real monstrosities is probably at the carnival. The freak tents always have plenty, although you have to be careful. There can be phonies, like when they sew monkeys and stingrays together to make mermaids. But I've seen plenty of the real thing.

The most disturbing monstrosity I ever saw was in that carnival that passes through Fairview each year. It was a very sad case. This example came from one of the dairy states. I'm afraid you see this kind of thing in the farmland, where the access to animals is easy. You might live miles from your nearest neighbor and feel you can get away with anything. Anyway, a dairy farmer and one of his cows produced a calf with a human head. Like I said, I've seen this thing and it's pretty ugly. I don't know how the farmer could stand to look at it. I'm sure he'd have liked to shoot it, but since it was part human that probably would have been murder. Besides, I guess the thing was his son.

Since the creature had a human head it also had a human brain, but I guess it was still pretty stupid. It learned to talk, but never said anything very intelligent. It just never learned to use words very well. It would mostly wander around babbling nonsense and calling for its dad. That must have driven the farmer crazy.

This monstrosity didn't live more than a couple of years. That was because, since it was a cow, it had to eat grass. But the human head just wasn't up to it. The teeth didn't grind up the plants the right way. Once the thing was dead, the farmer got rid of it quick. I guess he was ashamed. When I saw it, it had been stuffed and mounted. I'm glad I never saw the thing when it was alive.

There is an example of a wild monstrosity right in Tabor County. It's up in the Rockville Hills, in a good-sized lake. I'm not talking about the lake in the Rockville Park. This one's on private property. You can still see it if you don't mind trespassing and hopping a few fences.

Somehow a beaver got crossed with a coyote. I don't even want to know how that happened. The beaver part of it has to live in the lake, but the coyote part needs fresh meat. As a result, it haunts the bank like an alligator, ready to ambush ducks or small animals that come down to drink.

This thing is pretty good sized. If you go up that way, keep your distance. The first few people who saw it got their legs bitten clean through. The animal still has its big beaver teeth, the ones that saw through trees. A man was standing near the water when the thing emerged. It sawed through his legs like they were two tree trunks. The rest of the guy fell backwards on the ground and had to crawl away. The monster picked up one of the legs in its mouth and went swimming happily away like a dog with a stick. I've seen this thing myself, but only at a distance. From where I was it looked like it was mostly beaver, but I sure don't plan to get close enough to see the differences.

In the future, probably most animals will be produced as monstrosities. It'll get easier and easier with genetics and cloning and all that. I can hardly imagine what a weird world that will be, with folks producing any kind of animal they can think of. I probably won't be around to see it. That's probably just as well.

 

[Cbarton]

Now, that's a beaver that would be hard to trap. It could bite through the leg-hold trap I bet.

Ah yes, the famous jackelope. If memory serves me correct, it's born when lightning strikes a certain kind of tree stump on a specific day of the year. If I remember correct, Berke Breathed of the "Bloom County" comic strip took it one step further and had one marry a basset hound and they had basso-jackelopes. That was a fun sequence.

Well done...

 

[Low_Roads]

Birth-by-thunderstorm! Now that was something I didn't know! It's right in keeping with the tall-tale life style of the jackalope, though (below: one in its natural habitat, the picture postcard; one wall-mounted variety). One doesn't encounter much reference to him in the SF bay area... he hails from farther east, more of a desert phenomenon. I recall a trip the family took to Colorado back when I was a kid... each little corner store in Nevada and Utah seemed to have one perched next to the cash register. I pined for such iconic crypto-zoology closer to home... longing that led, possibly, to my own Low Roads menagerie.

 

[Cbarton]

Here's an interesting site about them. Evidently a museum has some rabbit bodies with 'horn-like' warts caused by a pappilovirus. The pics make them look like spike bucks. Maybe one like them are the source of the legend...

http:// ww2. lafayette .edu /~hollidac/ jackalope.html (remove the extra spaces...)

 

[Low_Roads]

Thanks a bunch, Hawk! I'll be seeing these in my nightmares now XD (no, genuinely, thank you! I find this sort of bizarre obscura fascinating)! Poor bunnies! It's a marvel that many of them survived long enough for the affliction to become so far advanced! A far cry from the tidy, neatly pronged jackalope, though it's easy to see how these twisting tumors inspired the fabled animal. Linked pictures of the guy with related Lewandowsky-Lutz dysplasia are extremely disturbing, and one can be most thankful that the condition appears to be rare. Nothing inspires gratitude about one's petty complaints like the sight of such an unfortunate condition, though radical medical treatment seems to have helped him somewhat.

 

[Cbarton]

Trust me, you wouldn't want to see some of our cutaneous T-cell lymphoma patients then...

 

[Low_Roads]

Ought never to say that! It's the surest way to get me to look something up. You're right... the photos and descriptions are gruelingly unpleasant. Nowhere near as nasty as dealing with it first hand, of course... immediacy, plus a personal connection with the sufferer must make contact pretty unendurable. Lewandowsky-Lutz dysplasia may be unsightly and disabling in the extreme, but at least it isn't reported to be deadly. Happily, both conditions appear to be rare... no comfort at all, if you happen to have either one.

 

[His Divine Shadow]

Only two behind! Not bad, considering my prior record. 😛

Slower than Medusa's visage but just as effective, that calcifying elixer! As one who grew up on well water in coastal/inland NC I can feel for the petrified one. A distinct taste indeed, although for me some of it was from the Culligan filter itself (smelled peculiar, that thing did). Not to mention the adjacent (very adjacent) Pasquotank River had its own flavorings from the sweet gum seeds that gave it its solid black/brown color.

'Course, the problem with chimeras is that mixing genes doesn't tend to create discrete mixtures. Usually you get a blend. Fruit salad versus pureed smoothie. 😛 I will say, though, that "Some guys will go after anything." is about as much truth as one can divine in this world.

 

[Low_Roads]

Only two behind! Not bad, considering my prior record. 😛

The HDS does himself injustice! He labors mightily and selflessly for us all... a period of peace from time to time is never too much to expect!

Slower than Medusa's visage but just as effective, that calcifying elixer! As one who grew up on well water in coastal/inland NC I can feel for the petrified one. A distinct taste indeed, although for me some of it was from the Culligan filter itself (smelled peculiar, that thing did). Not to mention the adjacent (very adjacent) Pasquotank River had its own flavorings from the sweet gum seeds that gave it its solid black/brown color.

Our water also comes out brown occasionally, but that's from built-up gunk in the pipes! Completely harmless, I'm told, though I don't put it to the test. What a lyrical idea, your gum-seed steeped beverage! Almost as though you were piping in sweet tea, though I'm sure you'd have preferred do-it-yourself. After a lifetime on well water, the domesticated town product tastes most peculiar to me. It seems to lack something... vitality, possibly. Then, I swallowed a fair measure of creek water (in the course of aquatic play) as a frolicking youngster, liquor absolutely swimming with vitality. This I recommend to no one!

'Course, the problem with chimeras is that mixing genes doesn't tend to create discrete mixtures. Usually you get a blend. Fruit salad versus pureed smoothie. 😛 I will say, though, that "Some guys will go after anything." is about as much truth as one can divine in this world.

"Monstrosities" books on the narrator's native wit and lack of formal same, more so than most of the preceding stories. The editorializing is there primarily for laughs... what this guy knows about biology could be syphoned into a thimble, and he's a wee bit too concerned about the sex lives of griffins and satyrs... though the introspective tone did offer an attractive alternative to the Low Roads' usual thuddingly linear approach during creation. A handful of similar "treatise" episodes have been sprinkled throughout the series (we've seen at least one other already, "Danger on the Farm"), interludes meant to add color to Tabor County rather than prompt the developing narrative. Hey, I had (and have) time and chapters to burn!

 

[Low_Roads]

Low Roads Story #38

The Glass Eye​

Fairview High School is located in the northern part of Fairview. It's just a few streets down from the mall. In fact, I think that may be why they decided to build the mall where they did. That was a pretty canny decision. Teenagers tend to go to the mall for lunch and to hang out after classes.

Kids may do most of their shopping at the mall stores, but there are some items you just can't buy in town. No proper business will sell booze or cigarettes to minors. But farm kids in the valley have always known how to get this kind of thing. The bums in the Low Roads always have dangerous, illicit stuff for sale. The Low Roads are the dried up creek beds in Ross and Gordon Valleys. During the summer, vagrants and Mexicans will sleep down there. Kids from Fairview will venture into the farmlands just to shop in the Low Roads.

If you try this, it's better to go in groups. Not every hobo or field hand is that trustworthy. Some kids go just for adventure. It can be a thrill to journey from campfire to campfire in the dark. Most of these old guys like to talk, even if you have no money to spend. They'll tell you weird stories you can't hear anywhere else. But no matter how friendly they are, you can't trust everyone. Each year a couple of kids will disappear down there. I've heard some of them are kidnapped to Mexico to serve in prostitution houses. That can happen even if you're a boy.

If you travel in a good-sized group and don't stay too long, you should be pretty safe though. Alot of kids do it that way. Like I said, the bums will sell you things you could never dream of buying in town. Not just liquor or drugs, either. Some of the hobos have some pretty bizarre merchandise in their packs.

I remember a high school boy who was always on the lookout for this kind of thing. He wasn't a bad guy, but he had no father and didn't know how a man should behave. As a result, he would constantly pick up items he thought made him seem tough.

One night he visited the Low Roads. An old, wild-eyed vagrant from Arizona got him intrigued about a weird silver bracelet. This may seem like a pretty odd item to interest a boy, but it was a wide, macho-looking piece, the kind of thing Conan the Barbarian might wear. It was actually pretty nice sculpting, pretty intricate and well designed. But that wasn't the real attraction. Instead of some precious stone in the middle, there was a mounted glass eye. It was an ugly, discolored thing and made the bracelet look really evil. The boy liked it right away.

The bracelet was tarnished, but seemed to be real silver. This couldn't be though, because the bum only wanted fifty dollars for it. The boy didn't have that much and offered only twenty. Surprisingly, the bum was happy with that price.

The boy wore the bulky bracelet under his right shirtsleeve so he could hide it easily. That next day he brought it to classes. He couldn't wait to show it off to his schoolmates. When they saw it they were really impressed, although the ugly yellow eye was sort of off-putting. He told them all that the eye had belonged to a crazy badman from the cowboy era. That wasn't really a lie, because that's what the bum had told him.

Then, a bigger kid pushed his way through the crowd. This was one of the school thugs. If he liked the bracelet, it was sure that he'd take it. The thug looked things over, then got nose to nose with the boy. When he did this, everyone knew that there would be trouble. But suddenly, the boy slugged his tormentor in the gut. He used his right arm, the one with the bracelet, and the thug doubled over and writhed on the ground. This big kid was so strong that no one ever bothered to fight him before. Everyone was glad to see him in agony, but what had just happened didn't seem right at all. This was the start of the boy's bad reputation.

As the school year progressed, he wore the bracelet constantly. A little Tarn-X probably would have cleaned it nicely, but he never bothered with that. The metal always had an ugly, corroded look, and it seemed to leave a stain on the skin. He became careless about hiding the bracelet. He'd often go to class with it displayed for all to see, but no teacher ever took it away. They'd have one look at the yellow glass eye and just back down. He could do pretty much what he liked in the classroom. Nobody ever corrected him. They seemed scared somehow. All this didn't make the boy popular. His former friends started to shun him, but he didn't seem to care.

Things were just as strained at home. The boy's mother was divorced and her husband had moved off and never contacted them anymore. The boy found it easy to rule her. He came and went when he wanted to, and would talk down to her even though he had always been civil before.

The boy never even took the bracelet off when he slept. One night he woke up feeling sore and very uneasy. He glanced down at the bracelet and was shocked to see that the glass eye was missing from its setting. This made him frantic. He threw on the lights and made an exhaustive search of his bedroom. It was just nowhere to be found. Then, he caught his reflection in the mirror. He stared in disbelief and horror. The yellow glass eye stared back at him from his right eye socket.

He wore shades to school after that, although he learned so little no one knew why he bothered to go. He was always real edgy, and no one dared cross him. People accused him of all sorts of crimes and wrongdoing, but never when he was anywhere around. The bracelet was gone now, but his right arm was still stained and his right hand had become unkempt and twitchy. He started carrying a wicked looking blade, and would play with it and twirl it like an expert. The teaching staff really should have stopped him at that point, but he pretty much ruled the school now.

Then, local merchants began to get robbed and knifed. About four of them were killed. Everyone was sure the boy was to blame, but no one found the courage to inform the police.

Finally one day he failed to show up at the high school. His mother called the authorities and had them come to the house. She should have been upset but just seemed sad and worn out. The boy was in his room. He was dead, with the knife in his left hand. The only wound on him was his right eye, which was gone. On the floor beside his bed was the glass eye. It was crudely split right down the middle.

This young lad had not been very wise and probably did some terrible things, but in the end it looks like he conquered the demons that had ruled him. I like to hope I'd do that well.

 

[His Divine Shadow]

I guess the bum got rid of it before it could consume him. Have we seen Fairview before? I don't recall but can't remember anything with a population approaching that of mall-supporting. Then again, so many of these stories take place in days long past. I wonder what the eye came from, though. Some sort of glass demon? Or just infused with the evil essence of one? I guess we'll know not.

 

[Low_Roads]

.Have we seen Fairview before? I don't recall but can't remember anything with a population approaching that of mall-supporting.

"Rat Race" takes place in Fairview, but doesn't exploit the setting very thoroughly... we don't learn any landmarks, as we have in farm country. After review, "The Glass Eye" is indeed the first story to really explore the urban aspects of Tabor County... another will come along as soon as Story #40 ("Maulings") and more will be sprinkled throughout the series, though the countryside will always come in for the lion's share of focus. I didn't intend this bias, but it is a natural one; if I'd lived anywhere besides farmland, the balance would likely be more fair. Don't worry... townies will come if for a solid measure of abuse yet! Stories such as "The Smother People" and "King Skeleton" are among the most vivid in the collection!

I guess the bum got rid of it before it could consume him. .... I wonder what the eye came from, though. Some sort of glass demon? Or just infused with the evil essence of one? I guess we'll know not.

The Arizona drifter, I expect, never wore the bracelet himself (a vector only). He doubtless earned his own unpleasant demise, but it isn't outlined in this series. The eye itself may indeed have sprung from the eye-socket of an insane western badman and been haunted by his spirit. Just because the Low Roads narrator doesn't believe that doesn't mean it isn't true! Or, it may be... I prefer a certain amount of uncertainty in these stories.

Interesting you should make mention of a "glass demon"... once again, the famous HDS prescience manifests itself! A proper example of such will be forthcoming within a mere handful of chapters!

 

[Cbarton]

hmmm...a demon trapped in glass perhaps? A long, slow demonic possession that was stopped by the knife...but the broken eye leaves open the possibility of that demon running wild over Tabor County. Who knows what evil he could create while lurking about (cues theme music for "The Shadow")...

 

[melanie2]

i don't remember this chapter..however it was a while ago probably..since i'm the lucky one to receive this via email..yippee for me lol...but just as fascinating to read over and over again..you know that poor kid..he actually killed himself to keep the evil from spreading..am i right? and that bracelet sounds super sexy...i can picture vin diesel sporting one..hmm..

wouldn't this series have been ultra cool with artwork as well? this one would make such a colorful drawing..the arm getting all crusty..the eye eww lol but you do such an awesome job on the Low Road series that it takes much out of you..ok izzy is rambling..grrr

anyway..your talent never fails to amaze and awe me..

 

[Low_Roads]

hmmm...a demon trapped in glass perhaps? A long, slow demonic possession that was stopped by the knife...but the broken eye leaves open the possibility of that demon running wild over Tabor County. Who knows what evil he could create while lurking about (cues theme music for "The Shadow")...

Glass is a lucky and unlucky medium in which to suspend evil: lucky, because it's relatively easy to shatter; unlucky, because the shattering leaves sharp residue. Every Shadow may know that Crime Does Not Pay, but plenty are ready to do it for free (the last thing Tabor County needs is another unemployed demon!)

Gradual possession makes for simple procedural writing. There'll be a few more instances of it (like this and "The Weeping Wound")... as a pathologist, you even more so than the rest of us may appreciate the intrigue of tracking a "disease", whether it's an actual or moral complaint. Such didactic medical concern compliments good plot construction... a trait we should we shouldn't at all find surprising in the TTC's first Story Contest victor!

i don't remember this chapter..however it was a while ago probably..since i'm the lucky one to receive this via email..yippee for me lol

True, "The Glass Eye" was likely months ago for you. You're so far ahead of the TTC narrative, everything here must seem like ancient history (the cost of being a pioneer... no story developments will hold any surprises!) Take care about perusing "Vintage Scripts" and "Pokemon Poetry"... I had intended to offer those once the Low Roads are used up.

...but just as fascinating to read over and over again..you know that poor kid..he actually killed himself to keep the evil from spreading..am i right? and that bracelet sounds super sexy...i can picture vin diesel sporting one..hmm..

Yeah... Vin Diesel or The Ah-nold (our grand governor, who set the trend!) You're quite right about the possessed boy... his self-sacrifice freed both he and his community from they eye's pernicious evil. A steep price... fleeting fashion always enforces a steep price...

wouldn't this series have been ultra cool with artwork as well? this one would make such a colorful drawing..the arm getting all crusty..the eye eww lol but you do such an awesome job on the Low Road series that it takes much out of you..ok izzy is rambling..grrr

Not rambling at all! Illustrations are an addition I'd considered from the beginning (back when these tales were formative midnight musings). And I abandoned the idea for the very reason you suggest... other projects ("Spectacles of Doom" then; The "Low Roads" comic now) took precedence. That doesn't mean that I may not yet do it someday. In the midst of so many other projects, unfortunately, it likely won't be soon.

anyway..your talent never fails to amaze and awe me..

As ever, Izzy, my grateful thanks! :ggrin: