Minor Characters Page 4
Greta, "Are you doing something with Camry?"
Lang, "How can we do anything? We're stuck in a book. How can we do something with anyone out there."
Greta, "Funny things are happening. It might be the people on the outside or us. It's hard to tell."
Lang, "It's probably us. After all we can only do the things Richard has told us to do."
Greta, "Yea. I don't think Richard is as good of a writer as he thinks he is.
Ellen and Francis seem to think this also. It's hard to know what Camry thinks about things.
Mr. Chambers seemed to be tired of all the writers. I guess he's been at it such a long time."
Lang, "I think. That I don't care what a bunch of writers think. Just get us out of this book. Like you said you would."
Greta, "What your thinking is right. We need Richard to do the things in the book. To do things ourselves we all need to get out of the book."
Sally, "That's right. He created us and just left us here. That's not right. All of us need to get out of here."
Lang, speaking to Greta, "And we tried the way you did it. It just didn't work for us. It's something to do with Richard too. It's ridiculous he created us and just left us. To fix this we need do something to take care of Richard. You're having a great time outside the book. You need to do something to deal with Richard."
Greta, "Lang. Your right. I know. I just don't know what to do. I spend years in this book. It's not only yourself you know."
Sally, "Both of you. We all need to stick together here. We all what the same thing. It's we don't understand what these people outside the book are doing. If we knew what they're doing we should get out of this book."
Lang, "How do we do that?"
Sally, "Use your brain. You have a brain you know."
Lang, "Right. But Richard gave it to me. I don't want to use anything from that guy. He's the reason we're stuck in a book to start with."
Sally, "We have to see what the other writers do. They're the only ones here. We can't do anything else. During the night, Mr. Chambers slipped and fell over the cliff. Now because Mr. Chambers fell of the cliff, Camry got frightened and is leaving. Richard is getting something from the other writers. After all that's why he invited them, for the weekend. The other writers being here keeps us away from Richard."
Lang, "So we cause people to leave by frightening them. This should be easy. They don't even know we're here. Then Richard is left. Then we'll deal with Richard."
Greta, "Richard knows how to scare people. He's always writing about it. In one of Richard books a storm in the dark of night causes fright. So we'll have a storm. We can have it this afternoon. It will get dark a little early. That will help. I'll use Richard's computer to write it."
Sally, "And we can start the scary things after the storm is here and it's dark."
Greta, "Sometimes I think Richard was writing his autobiography and didn't know it. He wrote about a guy that gained insight from the wisdom of wandering in the great lakes of the United States and Canada. While traveling to Florida during the cold months. Then receiving his "messages of impending world collapse". And then he "warned all he could" by selling overpriced emergency supplies. Well the world collapsed ok when "the angry mob burnt the house while the leader and his three remaining loyal followers huddle in the emergency-shelter room." And we're all in Upper Michigan. I think the angry mob burnt the house to keep warm. He should of put us in Florida."
Greta, "Richard needs to get the message, he's not wanted here. Better get to the computer and write the storm. I'll see you both tonight sometime."
Greta thought herself out of the book. She sat at the computer and wrote the storm.
In Ellen's room Francis and Ellen were talking. Ellen, "It seems like Camry had something to do with Mr. Chambers falling. But that doesn't make sense. It could be she is in an environment with a bunch of writers and she doesn't know what to think or do. But there's something going on. Just don't know what it is."
Francis, "There's something going on. We have nothing to do with it. We'll have to make the best of the weekend. Should have stayed home to beginning with."
Ellen, "I really don't think Camry has anything to do with what is happening she just somehow caught up with it.
Francis, "I know. It's Richard. He's not the writer he thinks he is. Everybody is seeing that. As they see more and more of it, stranger and stranger things are happening."
After she finished the storm, Greta entered the parlor. Richard was there. So were Ellen, Francis, and Camry.
Richard saw Greta, as she entered, and said, "There you are. I won't have to look for you. The charter boat company called and said the boat was cancelled. They said an unexpected storm was to arrive during the afternoon and they consider it unsafe to be on the lake."
After she listened to Richard, Greta thought how she really didn't like Richard anymore. So she looked forward to the storms arrival. It was time to get rid of Richard. Just as soon as the real writers were gone.
As the afternoon approached, the weather band short wave radio broadcasted gale warnings were out and the storm was approaching.
Near 2 pm, Camry received a message on her cell phone that the afternoon train had been cancelled. Camry was disappointed but realized storms can happen and it's best not to travel during the severe ones.
The storm arrival inspired the writers. They went to the slope-top and watched the storm from above the lake. Then the storm forced them into the house around 3 pm. As the storm got worse the writers excitement dwindled. Around 5 pm it was dark as night and the lights went out.
Richard had lived long enough along Lake Michigan to have the kerosene lanterns and heaters, candles, water, radios, and other emergency supplies. He assured his guest that there was sufficient supplies for all of them and they would be ok during the storm. There were warnings over the shortwave weather radio that the people in the storm area should remain inside until the main threat of the storm left the area. It was estimated to be out of area around 7:30 pm.
After this they all decided there was nothing for them to do except to wait until the storm was completely out of the area.
Together they went upstairs and placed candles, on end tables gotten from the parlor, in the hall way and rooms so there was light for the entire night. Each person had extra candles, matches ,and a lantern for inside their rooms during the night. The weather radio was on a small table in the hallway, so anyone could listen during the night for information about the storm.
Around 7 the storm seemed to let up some, but still a dark gloominess remained. All communications did not work. The writers received their information through the short wave weather radio.
As 8 approached the main threat of the storm had passed. Still radio said the storm would last into the early morning hours. Also electric service was interrupt throughout the entire region. Most of the power will be restored by Saturday evening. However, it could take until Wednesday to repair damage in some of the isolated locations.
They all went into their rooms for the night. After everyone was settled in, Francis went to Ellen's room as the night before.
Right after midnight Camry was in bed awake. She felt if she got up and walked around a little she would be able to sleep. She left the room and walked down the front stairs. Without knowing why she entered the study. She stood behind the chair where Richard sat while creating his stories. She looked at the blank computer screen. She expected to see something. The screen remained blank. The minor characters Lang and Sally watched her as she stood there.
Then Camry decided to walk around a little more so she returned up the stairs and walked down the hallway to the window at its end. Here she saw the storm had calmed and the darkest was giving way as the thick clouds diminished.
A frightening thud was heard on one window pane. Camry looked at the pane and saw nothing. The eeriness of the thug
sent her to Richard's door and she knocked. After a delay Richard opened the door.
Camry, "I don't want to bother you but I was at the window and something hit it from the outside."
Richard, "I better see what happen."
He walked towards the window with Camry behind. As Passing Miss Liz Brown's door she came out and asked, "What's going on?"
Richard, "Ms. Ander heard something hit the window. We're seeing what it was."
Richard continued to the window.
Liz, "What did it sound like?"
Camry, "I'm not sure it was one quick thug-like sound and nothing else."
They both went toward the window. Both stopped behind Richard who was at the window looking out.
Liz, "What was it?"
Richard, "I don't know. It's cleared up some, but still hard to see from inside. I'll go outside to see if I can find anything."
He went down the back stairs and out the back door, with Liz and Camry following. Ellen and Francis came out of Ellen's room. They went downstairs to backdoor.
Ellen, "What's going on?"
Liz, "Nobody knows. Camry heard something hit the window."
All the writers went into the backyard.
Richard was along the house below the window. He was moving his foot in the grass. His foot lifted up something from under the grass.
Richard, "It was a sparrow that flew into the window pane."
The writers looked at the sparrow in the grass.
Ellen saw the two shadows looking at the sparrow in the grass.
Ellen, "There's