//------------------------------// // TCB: THE RAINBOW MENACE STRIKES! // Story: The Backlog. // by Anonsi //------------------------------// The Conversion Bureau: THE RAINBOW MENACE STRIKES! By: Anonsi (Pretty sure he’s some sort of spider) /-+-\ "Only when we have to fight to stay human do we realize how precious it is. How dear to us."         - Dr Miles Bennell, "Invasion of the Body Snatchers" (1956) \-+-/ The year is 1952, and Johnathan Doe sleeps next to his wife, Janet, completely unaware of the incredible terror that will befall them. As the sun creeps over the mountains and sheds its light over the small suburban community of Willowcreek, Vermont, the modern man lazily breaks free from whatever hold his dreams had on him, only to unwittingly awake into a terrible nightmare. We now join Mr. Doe, and watch as silent observers as he struggles against a race of beings, whose intelligence is far beyond our comprehension, whose will seems bent on the complete destruction of not only our bodies, but our very souls. ( 0 0 0)         Sunlight streamed onto his face through the window’s shades. Although the light was warm, he still silently condemned it for waking him. It was his first day off from his job as a lab assistant in weeks, and he had been looking forward to sleeping in.         Any thoughts of just rolling over and going back to bed faded, as the faint smell of fresh coffee grounds tantalized his nose. The smell alone was enough to rouse him from his half awake state. Moments later, his stomach woke and let loose a gurgling growl.         “I hear ya, I hear ya,” he grumbled back. Summoning the willpower to crawl out of his warm, soft, nice smelling bed was what felt like a colossal undertaking. He probably wouldn’t have been able to manage it if not for his stomach throwing in a few motivational words.         After climbing out of bed, Johnathan made his way towards his closet. Today he was thinking of wearing something nice and loose. As he opened up the closet, he was met by the mirror image of himself, flanked by various shirts and suit jackets. The reflection he cast in the full body mirror wasn’t a flattering one. The thirty three year old man had gained some weight since leaving the army after the second World War. Not enough to hinder him in any way, but the muscles he once sported on his chest had certainly rounded out. As he took moment to straighten out his short black hair to a degree, he inspected his chin, concluding that he would need to shave away the small dark hairs that dotted his face after breakfast. Finishing up with making himself presentable enough for the morning, he took out and put on his bathrobe before quickly making his way down the hall and into the kitchen. The kitchen was nothing too impressive, but John was no less proud of it. There was a table across from where he entered that was also next to the glass door that lead to the back yard, a refrigerator on the other side of that, and a counter and sink, where he spied what his morning had been missing. Janet Doe, his wife and love of his life, was standing over the sink washing out a pair of wine glasses, humming in tune with whatever song the radio was playing in a bright yellow dress. She had a head of coppery brown hair that ended in curls at her shoulders, eyes that were a bright blue, and a face of an angel. Without a doubt, she was beautiful. Before he could say anything, his wife casually spoke in her lovely voice, “Breakfast is ready for you on the table John, and I’ve already gone through the paper, so you don’t need to worry about me asking for it. Oh, and coffee will be ready in about three minutes.” “You’re a saint Janet, you know that?” said John with a short chuckle as he sat down at the space that had been so lovingly prepared for him. “Oh I know it,” she replied with a twinge of snark, finally finishing with the wine glasses and placing them down next to the sink, “it’s how I’m able to live with a man that doesn’t know how to find the hamper.” John shrugged off the at him as he continued to read the morning’s paper, and after chomping into a slice of toast casually remarked, “Hey, it might not be my fault. All those gizmos Doc Serbek uses up at his lab might be making me go cross-eyed.” Janet walked over and sat next to him, eying him with those lovely blue eyes of hers. “Speaking of Doctor Serbek, he called before you woke up this morning. Said that he really needs you in the lab today.” John looked right back at his wife, looking almost shocked. “But its my day off...” “He said something incredible happened John. Something...” she looked around the room, as if trying to find the right word, “...something that would change everything.” “I don’t care if he found men from Mars!” John exclaimed as he threw the paper down onto the table, “He can get one of other assistants to help him! Goodness knows they’re a lot better at looking through telescopes than I am.” Leaning forward for emphasis, he added, “And I don’t know why he’d want me of all people around when he finds something so amazing. I mean, I’d be like a bull in a china shop!” Janet put a hand on his shoulder and nodded, “I know hon, but from the way the Doc made it sound, he needs every pair of hands he can get up at that observatory of his.” John considered his options. He could stay home with his wife, who might be a bit miffed at his lack of responsibility, or he could go in and be bored to tears as Doctor Serbek described this and that sciencey gizmo. Looking into Janet’s eyes, the answer was obvious. She was worried about the crazy old coot, so he really had no choice. “Alright, but I’m going to at least have one cup of coffee first.” (0 0 0)         It didn’t take John long to finish his meal and dress in his working suit. That Hawaiian shirt would have to wait until tomorrow apparently. Within thirty minutes, he was outside the town proper and driving up the Old Mountain Road to Doctor Serbeck’s observatory. Willowcreek was a pretty small place all things considered, and from the road, it looked all the smaller. Not much more than a grocery store, police station, fire department, a local clinic, a church, six streets of houses, and a road that runs right through the town. Still, home was home. Which is why John hated making this drive.         The road, if one could call it that, was narrow and full of potholes. If someone wasn’t careful, they could go for ride down the mountainside, followed up by a trip to the morgue. The only redeeming quality about it was the view, but Johnathan was often preoccupied with staying alive to look. Thankfully, he had been driving this road for little over a year now, and knew just about all of its dips and divots.         Within the hour, the man drove his car into the empty parking area of the secluded observatory of Doctor Serbeck. As he stepped out of his car, John noticed something amiss with his surroundings. His was the only car here. Fearing something terrible might have happened, John approached the two metal doors that marked the entrance of the facility.         “Hello?” No response. “Doctor Serbek? Are you in there? It’s me! John!” Still nothing. Now he was getting truly worried. Rushing against the doors he found that they were unlocked, which only made the fear that some terrible event had taken place even stronger. “Doctor Serbek, I’m coming in!” It was unsettlingly dark inside the observatory. From what John could make out in the gloom, many of the scientific instruments and pieces of computing equipment were still active. He reached over to the nearby lightswitch and flicked into the on position, illuminating the space within. He surveyed the area quickly, and seeing no sign of life or movement, flatly stated, “Lights are on, but nobody’s home.” His instincts told him to run and get more people to back him up before investigating further, but he was compelled by a mix of concern and curiosity to go deeper into the apparently empty structure. He slowly walked towards the center of the round, dome shaped building, towards the massive telescope that the missing doctor had spent hours looking into, always mumbling that he was close. “Close to what?” John thought aloud, “Was he looking for something? Someone?” As he passed by a desk, his foot landed in a puddle. The man quickly looked down to see a strange, glimmering purple puddle of...something. John just as quickly removed his foot from the gel like substance and knelt down to inspect it further. “Or maybe what the Doc was looking for found him.” “Not quite, my dear boy,” came a voice from the entrance. John stood and spun, nearly slipping in the purple goop. There was no one there. “Who’s there?!” he shouted towards the door. “Show yourself!” “As you wish,” said the voice, amused by something. Stepping in from beyond the entrance was what appeared to be a horse, or pony, except it was all wrong. It was dark green, with a blue mane, and a horn on its forehead. John could only stare in disbelief at the strange creature that now stood before him. “What’s the matter John?” it said, smiling at him with a big friendly grin, “don’t you recognize me?” TO BE CONTINUED LATER Because Anonsi ran out of time! And I need to work on Yellowstone! HA HA! Yeah right. Man I’m bad at this.