I barely made it out of my house before tears poured down my cheeks; a chill wind decided to find its way to my eyes.

I shivered.

There was a letter on the ground, it was from ITT. I picked it up, planning to return it to the box it belonged to, only to realize I wasn’t sure which box that was supposed to be – I never did pay attention to which boxes were which. I just know the one that belongs to me.

Knowing the address, however, I walked to the door, and was struck by how silent my boots were on the pavement, then concrete. The wind wasn’t so loud that it was drowning it out, the footfalls just weren’t there.

A distinctive, if soft, chink as I slid the letter into the screen door, and I was walking away.

Fear had accompanied me that whole time; worried that I might perhaps be caught, and accused of something. The lights were ablaze inside the house, the Christmas Tree was twinkling through the window. A place for fear, this was not.

So I considered where to let my feet lead me, and discovered a chill that was as cold as an iced wind cutting through me. Standing by my car, I felt like a giant. The world seemed smaller than normal until I started moving back toward my door, and everything seemed to grow; to become normal again.

I knew there was no change in size, but the closer I got to my door, the more sounds I heard. I heard my boot fall on the concrete as I walked under my porch light. I turned, staring into the darkness, listening to the sounds beyond my hard.

The sound of feet met my ears, like a number of… things… skirting the edge of vision, just beyond what I could see as flickering shadows. I looked into the stars, and muttered under my breath, “You win this round.”

I felt the heat from my house on my cheeks first. Then I couldn’t see.

I closed the door, and felt reassured, and worried at the same time, as the deadbolt slid into place. I walked down the hallway in mostly-darkness, my glasses still fogged from the heat, and stopped outside my door.

The faint outline of light seemed to tell me to unbutton my coat. As I stood there, flipping the buttons, I wondered why I was pulling it off before I got into my room. Once the buttons were done, I pushed the door open.

Light filtered into the hall, I’ll never know what was waiting for me in my room, had I left my coat on. Perhaps the coat was my armor, my flagbearer, saying that I was ready for a fight.

Perhaps it was the chink in my armor, broadcasting the place to attack.

Perhaps things would have been the same either way.

The chance to discover the other path is gone.

Putting on my shoes feels like the last thing I might ever do.

I slipped on a pair of jeans, tightening the belt so they’re snug against my body. My coat is lying on my bed, waiting for me to grab it on my way out of the door.

Sometimes, after reading something that sounds deliciously occult, I have this desire to reach out into the spiritual world and grab a hold of it. A man, grabbing a live power line, I guess. This is a desire that I’ve had for a very long time, and sometimes it gets the best of me.

So as I pull my socks on, I take the time to enjoy the feeling of the soft fabric tugging at my dry, hardened skin, wondering if I will ever feel it again, knowing that the night is going to end without me discovering any kind of supernatural activity.

Sometimes I’m thankful for that.

Other times, it leaves me feeling empty.

I was intending to do National Novel Writing Month this year.

I had a pretty good idea, I thought, about a story. A guy is pretty awful, and he decides to tell the story of his lives. First, he’s a rapist, who dies mid-rape somehow. He gets punished by being turned into a tree, or something, and being burned alive in a forest fire.

After that, he becomes a dog, but he starts attacking people, so he gets re-incarnated as a sex slave, malnourished, unable to get away.

During the course of these little events, he learns a little something different every time, and over time, he begins to understand just how he was fucking his life up.

The story was going to end by him being born again as a regular guy, with a full life to live.

But I didn’t write it. Oh well.

I talked to someone I hadn’t talked to in quite some time. (About 6 months, actually.)

That is to say, I hadn’t actually talked with them. We’ve remained in touch, via e-mail, instant messengers, etc.

We were talking after work last night, (well, on IM) and she said to call; we talked for about 20 minutes.

Turns out some things never change. Some things, do, though. I’ve been wanting to talk to her for quite some time, but really didn’t have a good reason to. I’d missed our three-hour-long phone calls late at night, and was feeling… I don’t know, really. But I felt like I’d enjoy it more than I did.

Maybe I had some stuff to say to her that I didn’t have a chance to say, but I still would have thought that I’d enjoy just hearing her voice.

She sounded better than I remember; I told her as much.

But it wasn’t the same as it used to be, and… I guess I shouldn’t have talked with her. But I did enjoy it; it just wasn’t how I remember it.

Things change, though. It’s a good thing.

I went up to Luebbering Missouri for my Great Grandfather’s Funeral.

I wasn’t close to him, so it wasn’t too bad. I was there mainly for my Grandfather and Uncle, and to pay my respects.

Just got mail in from Canada. Totally rockin’.

I am watching an old Batman Cartoon Movie from 1993 and figured I would write about it.

So far, Batman caught some people making counterfeit bills. The Ring Leader ran away, was accosted by a man in a dark, shadowy metal mask that breaks guns when hit, and tricked the guy into driving his car out of the high-rise garage into a building across the street.

Batman, of course, got blamed by an attorney or something for the city. Gordon, being the great commissioner he is, stood up fro Batman.

We find out about a woman from Bruce’s Past, (back when he was in college, apparently) named Andrea Beaumont. She’s a snarky kind of girl; talks to her dead mother, and is a redhead. (Bruce apparently has a thing for Redheads!)

There was a scene in a cemetery where it started to Rain. Bruce got a look on his face as he looked at the clouds like he was going to make it stop. Like somehow, his force of will was powerful enough to stop the rain.

The look was pretty much believable.

Now we’re in his past, before he wore the Batman outfit.

Bruce is as fast as a speeding truck and able to run through crates, apparently.

That doesn’t stop him from needing a hammer to bash through a glass windshield, even though he didn’t manage to get through the windshield.

Andrea found her way to Wayne Manor and proceeded to work her way under him, physically. Alfred looked a little discomfited.

This whole scene was remembered as Bruce stood before a picture of his mother and father.

Looks like a mobster is about to get his clock cleaned by “His Angel Of Death” – Same creepy dude as before.

It fits, they are in a cemetery again.

He ran into an open grave. Anyone surprised?

Grave marker tips in, kills “Boss Bronski” (probably spelled it wrong but w/e.)

Batman once again gets blamed.

Some old guy on O2 now reading about Batman.

Commissioner Gordon refusing to turn the Batman over.

Batman heads over to Bruce Wayne’s Parents’ grave.

Sees Andrea, runs away like a scared little bitch.

Because he walked up to her near the Wayne Grave Marker, she now knows he’s Bruce Wayne. Batman begins spying on her. Slick attorney city official guy hits on her, causing Batman to reminisce about a world fair.

“World of the Future”.

He sees a car that’s kind of like the Batmobile. She springs a parental meeting on him, and calls him from the phone in the car. And they meet her father. Slick City Official Attorney-Guy worked for Andrea’s Father.

Cliche “Nothing’s more important than family.” statement.

Looks like a mobster showed up.

Bike gang going after a random guy with a cashbox. Bruce intervenes. Andrea tries to stop him. Bruce goes anyway. Guy with chain on bike driving at Bruce… Bruce does a typical Batman run-on-the-car and then land on the other side…  Gets worried about Andrea and has a baseball bat hit him in the ribs hard enough to break the bat…

Bruce gets frustrated with her after they drive off. Obviously he holds her responsible.

Next scene is him complaining about not being able to choose, and then he goes back to his parent’s grave. He is asking to be released from the promise he made to his parents to keep the city safe.

Andrea shows up and says, “Oh, they sent me to release you from your trials.”

Then back to present day, Batman slipped away as the cops showed up.

Mobster getting the Slick City Official Attorney. Simple scene about Batman whacking people.

Alfred: Will you go see her?
Bruce: You think you know everything about me, don’t you!?
Alfred: I diapered your bottom, I bloody well ought to!

That was simmering.

Bruce asked Andrea to marry him. She said yes, then bats swarmed around them. He takes her home and there are mobsters there.

Bruce goes exploring the cave the bats came out of. As he comes out of it, he gets his ring back from Andrea and a note saying goodbye. We see him re-dedicate himself to the original plan, putting the cowl on for the first time. He scared Alfred.

The Joker showed up!

“Old Guano Man”.

5 Million Dollars to kill the Batman.

Andrea kissed Slimy City Guy.

Batman was in her apartment. They talked. She said he was controlled by his parents. He left. She sobbed.

Thought: Phantasm man is either her, or her Father. Build indicates her father. Phantasm guy is about to fight Joker.

Salvatore, (Mobster) was killed by Joker. That makes 3 of them dead. 2 by the Phantasm, 1 by Joker.

Batman flies to the scene in the Batjet, chasing down Phantasm who is kind of gaseous. They fight. Batman gets caught by the police. Use of deadly force is authorized. They blew up a construction site trying to get Batman.

He lost his cowl to get away… He’s very woozy. Andrea got him, and took him home.

Turns out her daddy was in bad with the Mob. She wants to know why.  No real reason is given. It is confirmed that Beaumont Senior is Phantasm. Bruce makes out with Andrea.

Alfred always asks the hard questions. Bruce finds out that The Joker has been in his life a long time.

Joker shows up with the slick city official’s office. Apparently Joker was an old mobster. I am not sure if I like the idea of Joker’s past revealed.

Looks like the Joker can make people laugh themselves to death. Some kind of Toxin. Batman showed up to talk with him.

Councilman sold out Beaumont. Joker tried to blow up Batman. Roughly ten minutes left.

Turns out Joker killed Beaumont, or so it seems. Guess Phantasm was actually his Daughter.

She fights with Joker. Joker reaches for a weapon. Gets a salami instead of the butcher’s knife beside it. Interesting.

Joker’s trying to suck her into a turbine. Batman shows up on a bike just in time, of course.

He races his bike at the machine, she’s flying beside it… and the bike breaks the engine of course.

They fall straight down to the ground.

Bruce tells her to leave now. She fades to mist. What a creep broad.

There is a WB logo on a random building. That’s interesting. Joker’s hiding in a skyscraper. Batman didn’t notice. What a poor detective.

Joker pummels Batman with a building. Batman knocks out one of his teeth. That’s unusual for early 90’s Batman, and you could tell in the smile. Interesting, Joker attacks with flying planes while riding the rails.

Joker plans to blow the building. Joker tries flying away on a Jet Pack. Batman runs up a statue and catches him. Tooth is still missing, I am surprised.

Joker: Let me go or we’ll both die!
Batman: Whatever it takes.
Joker: For once, I’m stuck without a punchline.

While they’re all standing there, Andrea too, the place explodes.

Joker’s tooth is still missing. Haha. Andrea steals Joker away in a cloud of swirling mists. Batman falls into a tunnel due to the explosion. Wonder if this will wash him into her hiding place? Probably not.

Batcave, again. Alfred being nice. Talking about how Andrea fell into a pit of darkness years ago. Batman finds the medallion she had in the Batcave. Wonder how she knew the Batcave was there?

Andrea out on a ship, a guy tries to chat her up and she seems so sad that he stops. The Batsignal lights the skies of Gotham, and Batman is there to answer its call, the final word of Gotham’s safety.

I should be writing a story for a friend of mine named Christina. I promised her that I would write a story about two rapscallions who spent all their time together having fun and being friends.

It seems that when I sit down to write about this dynamic duo of daresome deeds and perflected dreams, (Daresome and Perflected are words I made up, k) the words don’t flow. There’s no liquidity and grace in the characters, no dangling threads of story to be weaved into a tapestry so thick it could block out the sun.

I keep plugging away, though. Trying. Hooray!