JUWC#3
A dark turn...
from 
JoeUser Forums
JoeUser Forums
The plane landed on the dusty strip, skidded sideways slightly before the pilot pulled it back into line. It circled the far end of the strip and coasted back to the only structure, besides the big hangar, she could see. It was a small, tin-roofed building, with a couple of dirty utilities parked next to it.
The plane pulled up in front of the building. The pilot, a grizzled, white bearded man of indeterminate age, turned around in his seat, smiled at her and simply said, "There you go." She looked out of the plane and back at the pilot.
"Is this where I’m supposed to be?"
"Yep,” was the taciturn response.
She let out a small groan and turned again to look at the building. She couldn’t see anyone waiting. The pilot hadn't moved so she turned in her seat and pulled on the door handle. As she pushed it open, the heat hit her. It sucked all the moisture out of her face and her mouth was almost instantly dry. She struggled off the plane, turned, grabbed her suitcase and closed the door. Before she could even get halfway out from under the wing, the pilot started up the engine again and taxied the plane towards the hangar. Red dust, kicked up by the spinning propellers, covered her completely. She coughed, gagged, coughed again and held her hands up to protect her eyes. In doing so, she dropped her suitcase, which sprung open, sending her clothes flying off down the runway. She squealed and attempted to gather them up but the dust made it virtually impossible to see. She groped around in the swirling dust for her clothes then tripped and fell face down in the dirt. She let out another squeal of dismay. As she did, the pilot cut the engine again and the strip went quite and still, except for a throaty laugh. She looked up from where she was still lying to see a man standing in the shade of the building.
He was tall, broad shouldered and tanned. He was wearing faded jeans, flip flops and a khaki sleeveless shirt. On his head was a hat that looked like it had been to hell and back. But it suited him. He stepped out into the light and stopped laughing long enough to say "You wouldn't be Sally, would you?"
"Oh, no, don't tell you're Maso?" The woman shook her head and put it into her arms. "Oh, dammit, I've really made a pratt of myself, haven't I?" The question didn't really need answering but Maso felt obliged.
"Well, yes, you did. But I find it kinda nice to know you're as clumsy as you say you are. People are prone to exaggerating their talents or understating their inadequacies online. It’s why I never tell anyone too much about myself. Here, let me help you." He walked over to her and held out his hand. She reached up and took it. His grip was strong but he didn't crush her hand. He pulled her easily to her feet and took a good look at her. She was quite short but well-proportioned. She had shoulder length hair, which was hazel-brown with lighter streaks running through. Her eyes were large and brown and she had a typical English winter complexion. She slapped her clothes, trying to get rid of the dust. As it rose off her clothes, she coughed again, and then sneezed hard. He laughed again.
"Wonderful bloody welcome this is, Maso," she said sarcastically. She looked around and could see her clothes, particularly her underwear, scattered around. Maso had moved down and was starting to pick some of her things up. He held up a small, sheer nightie and looked back at her, raising his eyebrows. She blushed and said, "I'll get my clothes, if you don't mind. A girl has to have some secrets, you know."
“So do some of us boys,” he responded, rather cryptically. He walked back towards her and offered up the clothing. The nightie was red with dust. She sighed, "I'll have to wash everything now. Oh, hell, what am I going to wear tonight?"
"Don't worry, Sally, I'm sure Toni will have something for you if your clothes aren't dry in time. I'm sorry about the 'welcome' but it was pretty funny." He chortled again.
"Ah, Maso, it is so good to finally be here, I can't be anything but relieved."
"Relieved, why relieved?"
"To be honest with you, I didn't think I'd make it. I got to Sydney and wondered what the heck I was doing on the other side of the world meeting people I'd only ever spoken to online. I mean, I feel like I know you all but at the same time, I don't. Know what I mean?"
Maso laughed again. "Yep, I think I do. Joe and I were talking about this very thing before I came to pick you up."
Sally did a quick double take. "Joe's here?" Maso nodded. Sally looked a little conspiratorial. "So what's he really like? Hey, is San Chonino here too?" A hundred other questions were poised to erupt from her but Maso wasn't about to let that happen.
"Ah, now, you'll just have to wait until you meet them all. C'mon, let’s get going. We've got a bit of a drive ahead." Maso picked up the refilled suitcase and led the way back to one of the utes. He threw the suitcase in the back of it, got in, started the car and waited for Sally to get in. She was still standing where he'd left her. He leant on the horn and yelled out the window. "C'mon Sally, it won't hurt a bit, I promise." Sally walked to the car.
About an hour and a half later, having driven along dusty dirt roads and through brittle-rocked mini-canyons, Maso pulled the car up just before the crest of a hill. Sally, who had first begged and pleaded with him for hints, then said something about jet lag, had slipped into a doze. She woke with a start and he could see she was trying to orientate herself. He leant in the window and said, "There’s something I want to show you."
She opened the door and climbed out of the car. The air was hot but not as dry as at the airport. She walked up the crest to where Maso was standing. As she came to the top of the rise, the landscape spread out before her. They were high up on top of a table overlooking the land below and out to the sea. It was a beautiful view, made even more so by the lack of any signs of civilisation. Thick rivulets of greenery weaved back and forth across the browner grassy plains. "You live down there?" asked Sally, completely mesmerised.
"Yep, but you can't really see the house from here. We designed it that way. C'mon, we don't have too much further to go." Maso turned and walked back to the car.
Sally stayed awake for the final leg. Maso deftly handled the ute down the steep, slippery-looking grades, even scaring Sally a little with his cavalier manner. But she could see he knew what he was doing. As they came onto the flatland, the vegetation became more lush and verdant. The trees were alive with brightly-coloured parrots and at one point; a small kangaroo tracked the vehicle before bounding off into the bush. A little further down, Maso turned the car off the main track and up a slender driveway. It rose quite sharply before dipping back down into a gully. It was then Sally saw Maso's house.
It was a bridge house built at the base of a gully and across a creek, with the floor of the bridge about 25 or 30 feet high. Turrets, like those from castles back in England, rose up to support each end of the bridge. Underneath the bridge was a huge screened-in deck, it too up about 15 feet. Below the deck, Sally could see a small stream running down the hill. A group of people sitting around a table at one end of the deck all stood as Maso pulled the car up and beeped the horn.
Sally looked at Maso, shook her head in disbelief and climbed out of the car. The roof of the house didn't quite reach the top of the gully. She could see the roof was shaped like a low, wide ‘V’, into the middle of the roof. It kind of reminded her of a set of wings. The front of the bridge was made up of large glass windows in heavy wooden frames. Across the front of them ran a balcony. A few more people, obviously hearing the car horn, stepped out onto the balcony and waved down.
"Maso, is this really your place? I mean, I knew you'd done well with the band and all, but this is just unbelievable." Sally was standing, looking up at the house, gob smacked. Maso had taken her suitcase out the back of the car.
"Sally, this is your house too, now. I told you guys if you came out here, you'd never want to leave." Maso looked at her and gave her a weird little smile, almost like he was having a private joke. He laughed at her expression. "C'mon Sally, come and say hello to everyone." Sally followed Maso up the wooden stairs to the veranda. Maso threw a switch to one side of the door and it rolled back automatically. He waved her in. She stepped into the shade and relative cool of the decking. The door slid shut behind her. She turned around to see Maso standing on the other side, with a big grin on his face. The grin reminded her of the wolf in Little Red Riding Hood.
Maso threw the switch again. "Sally, I have to tell you. There is now about 50,000 volts running through the screen all around. You touch it, you'll set off an alarm and I'll have to come down here. Now, go meet the others and we'll talk later."
She stood there looking at him, trying to comprehend what he said. “I… I don’t understand. What’s going on, Maso?” He looked at her, still smiling that same smile.
A pretty black woman broke away from the group and came towards her. “Hi, Sally, I’m Serenity.” She pointed at the others and introduced them all. Doc, Kelly, San Chonino, Tex, Dharma, Tova, Toblerone, Cacto, Nicky, InBloom, Udigitthemost, Whip, Mason and a whole lot more. Shovel wasn’t among them. She turned back to the door. Maso was still standing there grinning.
“Why are you doing this? I don’t understand why you are doing this? Where is Shovel?” Her voice was becoming shrill as her panic levels rose.
“Ah, I told you the truth about him. Shovel is here, Sally. You’ll be seeing him later. He’ll be down to feed you all shortly. After all, he is the warden. As to why you’re here; have you ever seen a movie called ‘Wolf Creek’, Sally?” She slowly nodded her head. “Well, you saw the creek below the house. Can you guess what it might be called?” He laughed again and walked down the steps. Sally turned back to the other people and started sobbing uncontrollably. "
The plane pulled up in front of the building. The pilot, a grizzled, white bearded man of indeterminate age, turned around in his seat, smiled at her and simply said, "There you go." She looked out of the plane and back at the pilot.
"Is this where I’m supposed to be?"
"Yep,” was the taciturn response.
She let out a small groan and turned again to look at the building. She couldn’t see anyone waiting. The pilot hadn't moved so she turned in her seat and pulled on the door handle. As she pushed it open, the heat hit her. It sucked all the moisture out of her face and her mouth was almost instantly dry. She struggled off the plane, turned, grabbed her suitcase and closed the door. Before she could even get halfway out from under the wing, the pilot started up the engine again and taxied the plane towards the hangar. Red dust, kicked up by the spinning propellers, covered her completely. She coughed, gagged, coughed again and held her hands up to protect her eyes. In doing so, she dropped her suitcase, which sprung open, sending her clothes flying off down the runway. She squealed and attempted to gather them up but the dust made it virtually impossible to see. She groped around in the swirling dust for her clothes then tripped and fell face down in the dirt. She let out another squeal of dismay. As she did, the pilot cut the engine again and the strip went quite and still, except for a throaty laugh. She looked up from where she was still lying to see a man standing in the shade of the building.
He was tall, broad shouldered and tanned. He was wearing faded jeans, flip flops and a khaki sleeveless shirt. On his head was a hat that looked like it had been to hell and back. But it suited him. He stepped out into the light and stopped laughing long enough to say "You wouldn't be Sally, would you?"
"Oh, no, don't tell you're Maso?" The woman shook her head and put it into her arms. "Oh, dammit, I've really made a pratt of myself, haven't I?" The question didn't really need answering but Maso felt obliged.
"Well, yes, you did. But I find it kinda nice to know you're as clumsy as you say you are. People are prone to exaggerating their talents or understating their inadequacies online. It’s why I never tell anyone too much about myself. Here, let me help you." He walked over to her and held out his hand. She reached up and took it. His grip was strong but he didn't crush her hand. He pulled her easily to her feet and took a good look at her. She was quite short but well-proportioned. She had shoulder length hair, which was hazel-brown with lighter streaks running through. Her eyes were large and brown and she had a typical English winter complexion. She slapped her clothes, trying to get rid of the dust. As it rose off her clothes, she coughed again, and then sneezed hard. He laughed again.
"Wonderful bloody welcome this is, Maso," she said sarcastically. She looked around and could see her clothes, particularly her underwear, scattered around. Maso had moved down and was starting to pick some of her things up. He held up a small, sheer nightie and looked back at her, raising his eyebrows. She blushed and said, "I'll get my clothes, if you don't mind. A girl has to have some secrets, you know."
“So do some of us boys,” he responded, rather cryptically. He walked back towards her and offered up the clothing. The nightie was red with dust. She sighed, "I'll have to wash everything now. Oh, hell, what am I going to wear tonight?"
"Don't worry, Sally, I'm sure Toni will have something for you if your clothes aren't dry in time. I'm sorry about the 'welcome' but it was pretty funny." He chortled again.
"Ah, Maso, it is so good to finally be here, I can't be anything but relieved."
"Relieved, why relieved?"
"To be honest with you, I didn't think I'd make it. I got to Sydney and wondered what the heck I was doing on the other side of the world meeting people I'd only ever spoken to online. I mean, I feel like I know you all but at the same time, I don't. Know what I mean?"
Maso laughed again. "Yep, I think I do. Joe and I were talking about this very thing before I came to pick you up."
Sally did a quick double take. "Joe's here?" Maso nodded. Sally looked a little conspiratorial. "So what's he really like? Hey, is San Chonino here too?" A hundred other questions were poised to erupt from her but Maso wasn't about to let that happen.
"Ah, now, you'll just have to wait until you meet them all. C'mon, let’s get going. We've got a bit of a drive ahead." Maso picked up the refilled suitcase and led the way back to one of the utes. He threw the suitcase in the back of it, got in, started the car and waited for Sally to get in. She was still standing where he'd left her. He leant on the horn and yelled out the window. "C'mon Sally, it won't hurt a bit, I promise." Sally walked to the car.
About an hour and a half later, having driven along dusty dirt roads and through brittle-rocked mini-canyons, Maso pulled the car up just before the crest of a hill. Sally, who had first begged and pleaded with him for hints, then said something about jet lag, had slipped into a doze. She woke with a start and he could see she was trying to orientate herself. He leant in the window and said, "There’s something I want to show you."
She opened the door and climbed out of the car. The air was hot but not as dry as at the airport. She walked up the crest to where Maso was standing. As she came to the top of the rise, the landscape spread out before her. They were high up on top of a table overlooking the land below and out to the sea. It was a beautiful view, made even more so by the lack of any signs of civilisation. Thick rivulets of greenery weaved back and forth across the browner grassy plains. "You live down there?" asked Sally, completely mesmerised.
"Yep, but you can't really see the house from here. We designed it that way. C'mon, we don't have too much further to go." Maso turned and walked back to the car.
Sally stayed awake for the final leg. Maso deftly handled the ute down the steep, slippery-looking grades, even scaring Sally a little with his cavalier manner. But she could see he knew what he was doing. As they came onto the flatland, the vegetation became more lush and verdant. The trees were alive with brightly-coloured parrots and at one point; a small kangaroo tracked the vehicle before bounding off into the bush. A little further down, Maso turned the car off the main track and up a slender driveway. It rose quite sharply before dipping back down into a gully. It was then Sally saw Maso's house.
It was a bridge house built at the base of a gully and across a creek, with the floor of the bridge about 25 or 30 feet high. Turrets, like those from castles back in England, rose up to support each end of the bridge. Underneath the bridge was a huge screened-in deck, it too up about 15 feet. Below the deck, Sally could see a small stream running down the hill. A group of people sitting around a table at one end of the deck all stood as Maso pulled the car up and beeped the horn.
Sally looked at Maso, shook her head in disbelief and climbed out of the car. The roof of the house didn't quite reach the top of the gully. She could see the roof was shaped like a low, wide ‘V’, into the middle of the roof. It kind of reminded her of a set of wings. The front of the bridge was made up of large glass windows in heavy wooden frames. Across the front of them ran a balcony. A few more people, obviously hearing the car horn, stepped out onto the balcony and waved down.
"Maso, is this really your place? I mean, I knew you'd done well with the band and all, but this is just unbelievable." Sally was standing, looking up at the house, gob smacked. Maso had taken her suitcase out the back of the car.
"Sally, this is your house too, now. I told you guys if you came out here, you'd never want to leave." Maso looked at her and gave her a weird little smile, almost like he was having a private joke. He laughed at her expression. "C'mon Sally, come and say hello to everyone." Sally followed Maso up the wooden stairs to the veranda. Maso threw a switch to one side of the door and it rolled back automatically. He waved her in. She stepped into the shade and relative cool of the decking. The door slid shut behind her. She turned around to see Maso standing on the other side, with a big grin on his face. The grin reminded her of the wolf in Little Red Riding Hood.
Maso threw the switch again. "Sally, I have to tell you. There is now about 50,000 volts running through the screen all around. You touch it, you'll set off an alarm and I'll have to come down here. Now, go meet the others and we'll talk later."
She stood there looking at him, trying to comprehend what he said. “I… I don’t understand. What’s going on, Maso?” He looked at her, still smiling that same smile.
A pretty black woman broke away from the group and came towards her. “Hi, Sally, I’m Serenity.” She pointed at the others and introduced them all. Doc, Kelly, San Chonino, Tex, Dharma, Tova, Toblerone, Cacto, Nicky, InBloom, Udigitthemost, Whip, Mason and a whole lot more. Shovel wasn’t among them. She turned back to the door. Maso was still standing there grinning.
“Why are you doing this? I don’t understand why you are doing this? Where is Shovel?” Her voice was becoming shrill as her panic levels rose.
“Ah, I told you the truth about him. Shovel is here, Sally. You’ll be seeing him later. He’ll be down to feed you all shortly. After all, he is the warden. As to why you’re here; have you ever seen a movie called ‘Wolf Creek’, Sally?” She slowly nodded her head. “Well, you saw the creek below the house. Can you guess what it might be called?” He laughed again and walked down the steps. Sally turned back to the other people and started sobbing uncontrollably. "
Me like.
)