by Keith Trimm
“You should have seen me a month ago, this is nothing. I can take care of myself just fine,” Matt replied.
“A month ago? What happened?” Dennis asked.
Matt paused not wanting to spend all days telling tales of his life to these two people he had just met, but he realized it would make them feel more comfortable. “I was walking along the rim of a large crater searching for clams when I lost my balance and fell in. I tumbled down the rocky hill for over seventy feet and landed on my face at the bottom. I was injured so badly that I was forced to eat insects that happened by just to survive. At one point I killed a vulture that came to feed on me, I fed on it instead.”
“That sucks, then what?” Dennis asked.
“You’re empathy is overwhelming,” Matt replied and continued. “It took me six weeks to heal from my wounds before I could attempt to climb back out of the crater.”
“Wait a second, did you say you were searching for clams? On the rim of a crater?” Cassidy asked. “I have relatives that live in Louisiana and they do all their clamming in the mud by the river. Clams don’t live that high up.”
“They are crater clams, they do live that high up,” Matt replied.
“What kind of crater is this? This isn’t the moon, we don’t have a lot of craters let alone any crater clams. Are you a fucking psycho?”
“Anyway, back to my story, after several attempts to climb out of the crater, I decided that I would lie down and die. That was until I was visited by an angel.” Matt shifted again on his cane and tried to get comfortable. “The angel told me that I would get out of the crater if I would only try. I told him that I had been trying and I failed every time. He then asked me why I didn’t just use the road out instead of trying to climb the steep side. I told him that I thought the road was just for emergency vehicles only. He said I was a dumbshit and pushed me towards the road. I survived.”
“How are you going to help us? You sound like a fucking retard with a cane,” Dennis snapped back. “Are you sure you aren’t a bandit? Holding us here till your crew can come and kill us for our loot?” Dennis asked. “If you are, you’re in for a treat, I have special powers and I’m not afraid to use them on your ass.”
“What I have to offer you need, trust me,” Matt replied. “I gained much knowledge from my experience and am much wiser now.”
“You’re here to give us advice? I need a four wheeler and a gun,” Dennis said. “And maybe some directions back to South Dakota.”
“South Dakota?” Matt asked with an ominous tone in his voice.
“Yeah, South Dakota, why the tone?”
Matt turned away and looked to the ground for a moment. He rubbed his nose and scratched his chin as he tried to think of a way to say what he was about to say. “South Dakota is gone,” he said and waited for a reaction.
Stunned, both Dennis and Cassidy stood in silence realizing their home was gone forever along with their families and loved ones. Cassidy got a tear in her eye.
“How? When?” Cassidy asked.
“About three years ago, in a nuclear attack,” Matt replied.
“What the fuck?” Cassidy asked like a pissed off bitch. “I’ve only been gone from South Dakota for a week. It was there when I left it. What kind of bullshit are you selling?”
“There is something you don’t realize, it has been over ten years since you left, time travels at a different speed here than it does back where you came from. You’re South Dakota is nothing but a wasteland.”
“It wasn’t more than that when I lived there,” she replied. “Who did it? Was it the Russians?”
“No, it was North Dakota, they declared war on South Dakota, it quickly escalated from a ground war to a nuclear war in a matter of months. Both states were destroyed. Almost ninety percent of the United States buffalo population was destroyed.”
“How do you know this?” Cassidy asked.
“My job was in a missile silo. I was one of the two men that turned the key, set the code and fired missiles.”
“Is that why you look so fucked up? Was it radiation fallout from the war?” Cassidy asked.
“No, I was born this way, my mother sniffed glue while she was pregnant, and she
also fucked a lot of aliens.”
“Were you fighting for the North or for the South?” Dennis asked bored.
“The North, I was a Yankee.” Matt replied.
“You son of a bitch!” Cassidy yelled. “You killed my family!”
“I may have, I apologize for that, I was only following orders.”
“Following orders my ass, you shot off your missiles while my family burned, I should kill you right now where you stand.”
“I understand your frustrations, but I was just a pawn in a huge machine. It would have made no difference if I would have refuse to fire the payload, someone else would have.”
“Nice excuse asshole, tell that to my grandma. She’s ashes now.”
“Like I said before, I apologize.”
“How did you survive?” Dennis asked.
“I lived in the silo for years waiting for the fallout to become safe and stable. I lived on rations stored in the facility, and ate the flesh of my fellow soldiers as the passed away from starvation.”
“You’re a cannibal?” Cassidy asked.
“I’m not proud of it, but yes, I am a cannibal,” Matt replied.
“Ok, enough back story, how are you going to help us?” Dennis asked.
“I can take you to a place where you will be safe,” Matt replied.
“Maybe you’re taking us to a chili cook off and need some fresh meat?” Dennis asked.
“That was not fair,” Matt replied. “I did what I did to survive.”
“And maybe now you decided you like it. I bet we look like two cows to you.”
“I know you have trust issues, but I assure you I can take you to a safe place.”
“What’s this place called?” Dennis asked.
“Rusty’s custom meat palace,” Matt replied.
“That sounds like a butcher shop.”
“It is, they make the best sausage ever,” Matt replied.
“Out of what?” Dennis asked.
“It’s custom, they make it out of whatever you want.”
“Like dog? Or bat?” Dennis asked.
“Yes, but you have to bring it in fresh.”
“Which begs the question, why do you want us to go there? We’re fresh.”
“I told you, which was a long time ago, I was starving.”
“Did you make them into sausage before you ate them?” Dennis asked.
“No, I made jerky.”
Dennis looked at Cassidy and gave her a look that said they needed to speak in private. She gave the same look back. “We need to discuss this in private, do you mind?” Dennis asked Matt.
“No problem,” Matt said, “But you might want to hurry, the grasslands turn deadly at night and you might want to get to a safer place.”
“Is that some sort of intimidation? That shit don’t fly with me, I can handle myself.”
“Do you know what lives in this tall grass?” Matt asked.
“No, tell me,” Dennis asked annoyed.
“I’m not going to tell you if you cop an attitude with me.”
“What do you expect? You want to lead me to a butcher shop for God’s sake. You admit to being a cannibal at one time. I can put two and two together. You want to make us into sausage.”
“No I don’t.”
“Yes you do.”
“No I don’t.”
“Yes you do.”
“Maybe I do.”
“Gotcha!” Dennis yelled. “I knew I could get you to admit it!”
“I was tired of playing your childish word games. I admit nothing. Either accept my help or die out here in the tall grass by morning. It’s up to you.”
Chapter 26
Subway
“So how can you help us?” Dennis asked tired of the stupid
banter.
“I can take you back to where you sort of came from,” Matt replied.
“Sort of?” Dennis asked.
“Obviously North and South Dakota are gone, I’d have to send you to a place that still exists.”
“How about my family?” Cassidy asked, “My children and my husband?”
“I have no idea if there were killed, I don’t know who they are, they may be safe somewhere.”
“I want to get back and find them.”
“I can get you back, but the rest is up to you.”
“How?” she asked.
“I must take you to my cave, I have a wormhole there,” Matt replied.
“What’s a wormhole?” Cassidy asked. “Is it what assholes call my pussy?”
“No, it’s a portal between time and space.”
“Where does it lead?”
“Back to your time and place.”
How do you know? Maybe it goes somewhere real fucked up. Like back when I was a kid. My childhood sucked.”
“I can tune it based on your brainwaves and dna. Don’t worry, its and easy process.”
Cassidy looked to Dennis with concern on her face. She was looking for a reaction and got a blank stare. “What do you think?” Cassidy asked.
Dennis was tired of the shit and wanted to go home, but he didn’t trust anyone at this point. “I think we should forget it and move on, I don’t think this guy has our best interests in mind.”
“But he said South Dakota was destroyed!” Cassidy yelled.
“How does he know that?” Dennis asked staring at Matt. “It’s his word with nothing to back it up.”
Cassidy stepped towards Matt. “You wouldn’t do something so cruel would you? You have nothing to gain.”
Matt leaned his head back and closed his eyes. He was tired from his long walk and wanted to go home. “If you try to fend for yourself, you have less than a ten percent chance of survival.
“I want to go, “Cassidy said. It had been a long journey and she was ready to go home. the plan was for her to find her family and put porn on the back burner for a while.
Seeing that she was visibly shaken, Dennis spoke up, “Yeah, let’s get back as close as we can. Maybe we have family scattered around. How far away is your cave?”
“Its six miles East across the tall grass,” Matt replied.
“Six miles? Holy crap,” Dennis said aloud. “My feet are killing me as is.”
“Stop complaining and come on, I’m going home,” Cassidy barked, and the three headed off into the tall grass walking towards Matt”s cave.’’
An hour and a half later the trio ended up at Matt’s cave. It was huge.
“You could park a plane in here,” Dennis said looking up at the ceiling of the cave. It was lined with craggy rock and smelled of old campfire.
“It’s around seventy feet high, one hundred feet wide,” Matt replied. “And stretches back for nine miles underground.”
“How long have you lived here?” Dennis asked.
Matt thought long and hard and didn’t speak until he had a complete thought. “A year and a half,” he replied stepping deeper and deeper into the cave.”
“That’s not very long, where did you live before this?” Cassidy asked.
“I used to spend a lot of time on the run, now I live here,” Matt replied.
“Was anyone here when you moved in?” Cassidy asked. “This place looks lived in.”
“There were about two dozen people living her when I moved in. They moved out pretty quick once I got here.”
“Why?” Cassidy asked.
“You ask a lot of questions lady,” Matt replied. “The wormhole is a mile deep, embedded on the South wall. We need to get moving.”
“Why so defensive?” Cassidy asked. “Do you have something you’re avoiding telling us?”
“I do, but it’s not a big deal, we need to get moving before it gets dark.” Matt replied.
“What happens after dark?” Dennis asked.
“The tall grasslands will fill up with all sorts of freaks. Trust me, you don't want to be out here after sundown,” Matt said with a serious look on his face
Later, at the site of the wormhole, Cassidy looked upon a beautiful blue light that hovered mid waist high in the air over a flat patch of floor on the cave. “It’s pretty, but how does it work?” Cassidy asked.
“The blue light marks the entrance to the wormhole, once you cross into the light, you are instantly transported to wherever the other port is located.”
“Where is the other port located?” Dennis asked concerned.
“It’s moves around in the solar wind, but usually is located near Texas or New Mexico.”
“Usually? What if it’s slides into the Gulf of Mexico?”
“Then you drown and become shark food,” Matt replied.
“How often does that happen?”
“I don’t know, they don’t come back and tell me,” Matt replied with a smile.
“You said you could help, that’s not help, that’s a crap shoot.”
“You could follow the path backwards from where you came from, that would take you
back.” Matt said smugly. “Or you can take your chances and go through the wormhole.”
“Or stay here,” Dennis said.
“Or stay here, yes, if you like what you see.”
“I hate what I see, this place sucks, I’d rather go home, even if it’s half nuked.”
“What about you?” Matt asked Cassidy.
“Me too, I’ll take my chances going through your wormhole. I want out of here.”
“Then let’s get started,” Matt stated motioning them to follow him closer to the blue light. Both Dennis and Cassidy followed Matt over to the wall of the cave near the blue light. It was intense but not so bright it hurt your eyes. It looked like a ghost hanging in the air.
“Do we go one at a time or both at the same time?” Cassidy asked.
“Same time, or you will end up in different spots. Depending on the solar wind, it could be as much as a hundred miles or as little as ten feet.”
“If it’s moving won’t we be smeared all over the ground once we land on the other side?”
“No, once you are deposited, you will appear in place as if you never moved at all.”
“How do you know?” Dennis asked.
“How do you think I got here?” Matt replied.
Dennis and Cassidy looked each other in the eye. Then they looked to Matt. Cassidy asked, “Do we have to wait or can we go now?”
“You can go anytime,” Matt replied.
“Is there a catch? Will I reappear as a tree or something? Will I be fat?”
“No catch, think of it as a subway. You get on, you get off.”
“Ok,” Cassidy said looking back to Dennis. “Are you ready to do this?” she asked.
Dennis nodded yes and they both took a single step towards the blue light. “On three,” she said. “One, two, three,” and they both walked into the blue light and disappeared.
Chapter 27
Corporate headquarters
(Six months later)
Cassidy sat at the corporate meeting table at cassidyrayne.com’s headquarters in Littleton Texas. She had found her husband and kids safe after returning from her journey and started up her own porn industry business. Dennis was made a minor partner and given 4% of the business for his part of supervisor of photography and model recruitment. Both North and South Dakota were blown to bits.
In addition to Dennis, Cassidy took on a web developer named Henry and a silent money man named Edwardo. All four were sitting at the table when Cassidy spoke up,” How much money are we making today?”
“Six thousand since lunch,” Edwardo replied.
“Not bad,” she replied chewing on a pen. “How are the new recruits?”
“I’m having a hard time,” Dennis said. “You won’t give me any money to pay them with, you can’t expect them to fuck themselves for
fifty bucks.”
“I used to fuck for less than that and look where I am now!” Cassidy yelled slamming down her hand on the table.
“If it weren’t for Edwardo and his investment, you’d still be shooting in the back alley selling to whoever had a dime to spare.”
“I don’t like you,” Cassidy said.
“This business crap has really gone to your head you know?” We used to get along, hell, I once saved your ass and I didn’t have to.”
“I still don’t like you, photographers are a dime a dozen.”
“So are porn stars, give a girl a hundred dollar bill and she’ll drop her shorts and let you take her pussy picture, I know, it’s what I do for a living.” Dennis replied.
“Now calm down you two,” Henry said keeping the peace, you two squabble like you’re married.”
Frustrated Dennis pushed his papers forward on the desk and pounded his fist on the table. “You can’t get top dollar girls for bottom dollar pay. This isn’t a used car lot, these girls drive a hard bargain. I can get any fat girl for what you offer, the ones that know they’re worth more will balk.”
“We can use filler and still make money. I can buy photo sets from Asia for $8 a sheet and sell them online for $80.”
“I’ve seen those sets, they suck. The lighting sucks, the poses suck, the models suck. Nobody’s going to come back and renew their subscription with filler crap like that!”
“Every business has to control cost, we have to get the best value for our dollar!”
“And every savvy porn customer will know those are bottom of the barrel imports and take their business elsewhere. And the other thing is that you strangle me with recruiting. I was so close to getting test shots of a cute ex stripper but she backed out when I couldn’t guarantee her a lousy two hundred dollars. I’m sick of having to have to have every girl signed off for before we hire her. It makes them less willing to do any shots at all. I need the authority and ability to pay my models after I shoot them.”
“All the models you pick are fat,” Cassidy said. “I don’t want fat girls on my site.”
“Then you better be willing to cough up a grand then, no hot girl is going to spread her legs for the camera for less and I am not going to ask. It is insulting to her and to me both. “