Movie Star

Date: 08/07/2002
From: SL4ever

Prelude

“I think she’s coming around.”

I groaned and opened my eyes. Two fuzzy figures were swimming in and out of focus before me.

“Wade? Can you hear me?” Professor Arturo asked in a concerned voice.

For some reason, I would think later that it was a residual memory of what had knocked me out, I thought of John Carpenter’s “The Thing.” Most people thought the original was better but I had always liked the remake because it was truer to the short story that inspired the original movie. The real star of “The Thing” had been the title creature. I was 10 years old when I first saw that movie on HBO and it scared me witless. Just the idea that the people around you could be infected and not even know it, that someone you had known virtually all your life could be replaced with an alien. “Invasion of the Body Snatchers” explored the same idea but who can respect any Leonard Nimoy movie not starting with an “S”?

“She looks out of it.” Remmy’s voice said.

My eyes were slowly focusing. The three of us were alone in a barn. Outside I could hear a formidable wind howling. It was so loud it almost drowned out the sound of the rain crashing into the barn roof. Those two sounds drowned out leaking water droplets hitting the concrete floor around me. I could see them but not hear them.

“I’m in it.” I croaked. “What happened? My head is killing me.”

The movie star Thing hid within human bodies, shivering in fear of being exposed. Its reluctance to admit what it was had been its ultimate downfall. Had The Thing used 2 on 1 tactics after it had gotten its first two victims it would have been unstoppable. Instead each individual Thing worked alone.

Then again, who wants an unstoppable movie star Thing? That would make for pretty boring theater.

“Quinn went crazy. He attacked you. We drove him off. He’s out there somewhere.” Professor Arturo told me in a tight voice.

“There was no one on this world, right Professor?” I asked, starting to remember arriving on this world a couple days ago. We had walked through two towns, finding them completely devoid of life. Judging from the state of everything, whatever had happened had been years ago. And no one had been through since. It had been altogether too eerie.

“That’s right.” He told me.

I noticed that both of them were holding 2 by 4s and glancing warily around every couple seconds. “Um, guys, how exactly did Quinn ‘attack’ me?”

Before they could answer me, something tugged at the big double doors. My two friends straightened and faced that direction. The doors were barred with a foot thick beam held up by iron supports in each door. Apparently the owner of this farm had seen fit to occasionally lock his barn from the inside in a way that not even the Incredible Hulk could get in.

The doors were tugged again, twice as hard as the first time. There was a gut wrenching cracking sound from the beam. That was impossible, though. In human terms, that beam was unbreakable. Which did nothing to stop fear climbing up my throat.

My two friends, my would be protectors, were now flanking me as I got shakily to my feet.

Maybe this was a different kind of movie star monster. The kind that took over people’s minds but left their bodies intact. I was too scared to think of an example of this kind of movie star monster but my mind was filled with a thousand images of friends and family killing friends and family.

The doors were tugged a third time, so hard that the metal supports at either end of the door were ripped out of the door. Before we could move, there was another mighty tug. The rest of the supports went and the unbeaten wood beam crashed to the floor as the double doors swung open.

A figure stood in pouring rain. It wore Quinn’s blue jeans and sport shirt. It wore Quinn’s hiking boots. Its Quinn hair lay plastered all over its Quinn face and neck as it stepped over the wood beam and moved into the shelter of the barn. It was holding a very long pump shotgun.

That reminded me of another movie star monster. Amityville Horror 2. All other haunted house movies paled in comparison to this one for me. The older brother walking through the house with the long shotgun, slaughtering every member of his family. As it was later revealed, that massacre was about the only thing in the movie series that had anything to do with reality. I remembered how the brother had backed his younger sister down until she was lying on the stairs. What would it feel like to be murdered by someone you loved?

“Stay back!” Arturo demanded as he and Remmy brandished their 2 by 4s. For what good they would do against the shotgun. Where had he gotten it?

Quinn’s body stopped ten feet away, hands unnaturally hanging at his sides, the shotgun barrel pointed to the floor. The face was in shadow, leaving me desperate to see the eyes. If I could only see the eyes I would know for sure. The eyes never lie. The mere fact that he was holding a gun should be enough for most rational people, but I wasn’t prepared to be rational about this.

“I mean you no harm.” Quinn’s voice declared.

I sighed bitterly. So much for retreating into irrationality. I could no longer harbor any doubt about what had happened. I dropped my face, focusing on the concrete floor as my eyes began swimming with tears. The finality of it was crushing. My close, dear friend Quinn Mallory. The man I had hoped to someday be more than friends with. Someone I had shared all my hopes and dreams with. Someone I had spent so many months and even years now longing for.

Quinn Mallory, all of those things and more, had died. This couldn’t be a double because we had not seen a single world inhabitant in our two days on this hell rock.

No, Quinn was gone.

In his place was a movie star.


To Be Continued...

"BURN IT!"

Date: 08/07/2002
From: MissingSliderRyan

BT likes the fire.... mmmm... burning

Black oil? ;-)

Intriguing SL4. Waiting for some more. Besides, I miss Slasher Quinn. :-D



MissingStumpyTangoingRyan

TURN IT...

Date: 08/07/2002
From: ThomasMalthus

...into a BT slasher film! As in BT gets slashed!

...into a full-length story because this looks awesome! We have a really really powerful Quinn, a group of really really desperate sliders and a really really good narrator in Wade! The movie references are also appreciated, and I like that they're not necessarily of movies everybody's seen.

In short, cool story. To speak in length, really really cool story.

ReallyReallyThomasMalthus

<Then again, who wants an unstoppable movie star Thing? That would make for pretty boring theater.>

No chance of that here.

GURN IT...

Date: 08/07/2002
From: Blinker

7:-P 7:-O 7;-X 7I-# 7:-^

Hey, I'm always ready to jump on board a reply-titling bandwagon. 7:-)

<shivers> Ahhhh, it's been too long since the last horror ficcy.

- Blinker 7:-J
http://slidersweb.net/blinker

"It wore Quinn's blue jeans and sport shirt. It wore Quinn's hiking boots. Its Quinn hair lay plastered all over its Quinn face and neck..."

CHURN IT

Date: 08/07/2002
From: Recall317

The Amishville Horror!

Yeah, I like the 1st person perspective. Because Sliders is a TV show, most of us tend to write it like one, but I think the 1st person account is a winner.

I had to smile when I saw this:

I was 10 years old when I first saw that movie on HBO and it scared me witless

[draws a line through an extremely similar line from a story he's working on]

Eh, maybe I'll leave it in there and pay homage to you. :)

And it wouldn't be a post without the

ALTERNATIVE WORLD ANALYSIS

What do we have? So far, we have a barn. To fill in the blank, I am now picturing the barn from "Electric Twister Acid Test."

We also know the world is seemingly abandoned, and it's in a state of some sort that shows it was years ago. We don't know enough to hazard a guess (outbreak, aliens from outer space, etc.) Two towns have been visited, so either San Fran doesn't exist, or this story is post "Double Cross."

But we do know the world is not exactly abandoned, as Quinn has "Just Say Yes" like strength. Has he been replaced and is in stasis somewhere? Is he bonding with a "Breeder"-like symbiont? Or is he truly gone (which I won't believe for a minute)?

Ah, the suspense! Bravo.

R317

learn it...

Date: 08/08/2002
From: Tigs

What? I was trying to be clever...

What do you mean it's not clever?

I don't know what you are talking about.

I laughed....

I cried....

Ok, I didn't really cry...

But I really laughed...

Good bye now

Blern it!

Date: 08/08/2002
From: Callie21V

Blerninning Text must be destroyed!

"Hey, I'm starting to get the hang of this game. The blerns are loaded, the count's three blerns and two anti-blerns, and the infield blern rule is in effect. Right?"

"Other than the word blern, that was complete gibberish."

>>> C/21

(TM, are you implying that everyone HASN'T seen "The Amityville Horror II"?!?)

Phluphern it!!

Date: 08/08/2002
From: JermachesMolaudian

Phluphern BT as well!!

Callie: Let me inform you that your post discriminates against those who have not seen the episode of "Futurama" where Leela becomes the first woman blernsball player, and I include myself in that group for reasons of dimensional security. Some of us do have a war effort to conduct, you know.

As to "The Alternateville Horror II", I believe TM has not seen that particular one. I have heard that the Howling Mallory character is rather loathesome.

JermachesMolaudian

Original URL http://bboard.scifi.com/bboard/browse.cgi/1/5/545/1502051
Nominated by Blinker