On Nov 2, 8:33 pm, V aol.com> wrote:

The Barrel Of Fun Constant

11:15am- The Cool Jerk
Running With The Devil 1

The sun beat down heavily on the school grounds.
Syd Marduke shut his eyes against the light, and sighed. He'd been
attending the Irmo School for two years, but had yet to strike a
popular figure. His own fault, he supposed. He was far too much of a
loner. He spread him self over the metal bench, and glared into the
deep blue sky. He frowned, glanced at his watch.
A bear sat down next to him.
He glances over, smiled at Kim Edwards, who smiled back. She was
stocky and bulky in her small black fur coat. Then, he looked at his
watches, smiled again at her, patted her furry shoulder, then arose,
and walked off.
He loved the school and its people. Even the bullies. It's just the
classes that got him down. They droned on and on, led by teachers with
little enthusiasm or imagination. It mostly bored him senseless.

11:35- Highway Star
Running With The Devil 2

Syd stood on the school's driveway. A large black car approached. He
got in, throwing his pack on the seat, nodded to the driver.
"Where to, Chief?" Asked the driver.
"Time Central," He replied. The driver shrugged, and soon enough he
was outside the Old Bull Street Mental Health complex that housed the
Time Central.
Inside, Syd found Terrence Ham going over some print-outs and frowning
deeply.
"How goes things, Ter?" He asked, as Terrence looked up.
"I told you," He said peevishly, "Not to call me that."
Syd took the printouts, looked over them, frowning deeply.
"While you were out fucking about," Terrence commented, "We were
entering Absolute Crisis Phrase."
"Any clues?"
Terrence shrugged, said, "Only circumstantial. No help in actually
pinpointing the interference."
Syd lit a cigarette, stood and stared at the monitor.

5:45pm- Gypsy
Running With The Devil 3

Syd was dropped off at his parents' house in the wilds of suburbia,
New Frairsgate. His parents and his siblings were away, off exploring
new options. The house hold next door was supposed to be watching him,
but that was none to close.
He poured a large glass of soda, went, and turned on the Evening News.
The Early Evening News Report began, bragging on about the Presidents'
new program, his latest stunt, wars and rum ours of war.
He frowned. If the interference wasn't stopped soon, it wouldn't
matter.

6:55pm- Flying High Again
Running With The Devil 4

At the Bush River Mall, Syd ran into Kim Edwards again.
She met him as he was leaving the record store, and waved him over. He
came over, admiring her in her mother's fur coat, which reached her
knees. It was silver fox, with a large collar. Her brown hair was
covered by a large red scarf. She grabbed his hand, and they went over
to fast food stand. They ordered soft drinks and burgers. She was
bubbling over.
"Syd," She said, "The teacher missed you during class after lunch."
"I had something to check out," he said with a shrug.
"Anything interesting?"
"Time and how to keep us out of the eighties," He said, smiling.
"But, we are in the eighties..." She began, but was cut off by a weird
burst of laughter. She looked confused and slightly scared. He reached
out, and patted her furry shoulder.
"Be seeing you," He said, flashing her a dazzling smile. She looked
quit relieved. Syd walked out the side exit, saw lights flashing. He
lit a cigarette, watched the black car approach. It stopped, and he
got in, nodding to the driver.
"Nothing," Asked the driver.
"Nope. But, it's not a total loss, anyway."
The car slid off into the night.

5:45am- The Highway Man
Running With The Devil 5

Syd walked down Broad River road, stopped at a bridge. The road was
one that led into the city of Columbia. It was a frequently travel
one, though it had sparse buildings, a gas station further on, a strip
of shops, and some other square buildings.
His contact was late.
In the pre-dawn glow of the streetlights, Syd read his watches. At
that moment, another figure appeared. He came to the rail, leaned over
it beside Syd.
"I've always loved this bridge," The newcomer said, "It's so peaceful
this time of night."
Syd shifted, looked at the man.
"Your late," He said. The man shrugged.
"What's the story," Syd continued. Again, he shrugged. He said,
"People find what they will, and the will is teaming." Syd scowled.
"Not that asshole," He said.
His friend nodded.
"Fuck," Syd said. His friend shot him a look, flipped his cloth cap,
and glared at him sternly.
He said, "How you handle this is you concern. But, this destructive
vendetta between you two..." He then spun on his heel, and walked off.
Syd watched the dawn.

8:10pm- Pac Man Fever
Running With The Devil 6

Syd decided to play a hunch.
He went into the main entrance of the Dutch Square mall, and looked
around. People in heavy coats floated about, going from shop to shop.
He was glad the record shop was decent. He sighed, and walked to the
shop. It was the last shop on the side. He flipped thru stacks of
vinyl and cassette. He finally selected a cassette copy of The Go-Go's
Vacation.
He then walked briskly into a bookstore next door. He ran a finger
along several shelves, felt only a spark. He frowned, but cheered
himself up by the appearance of the various ladies in fur coats. He
spied a lady in a red fox, managed to touch her coat briefly. He then
left the store, and walked down the far end of the mall. He paused
briefly, and bought a chocolate covered ice cream. He finally found
what he was looking for.
The Arcade was called The Barrel of Fun. It had all the latest video
games. He'd not been there for awhile. He breathed in the heavy
atmosphere of the place. He pulled out a five dollar bill, fed it into
the machine, and received twenty tokens. He moved among the machines.
He paused at a racing game.
It was already in use.
Syd waited nearly an hour before the player had lost all his tokens.
He exited the machine, roughly pushing Syd aside. He smirked, entered
the machine, and deposited two tokens. He held both thumbs over the
return buttons. As he expected, a motor hummed, there was a thud, and
he seemed to sink into the machine.

8:25pm- Der Kamiser
Running With The Devil

Syd dropped thru inky, clammy darkness. It made him nervous. Finally,
the darkness broke, and he blinked into the sudden light. He saw a
large space, filled with rudimentary machines.
His transport stopped, and he stepped out. He recognized several
pieces as his cast-off proto-types.
Syd found him standing in front of a huge monitor. It was scrolling
various symbols and equations at high speed. Even at that speed, he
still recognized several. He stood besides his arch-enemy, and said,
"Couldn't get the A-Team, eh?"
"So. You found me, eh?" Keller said in a cold voice, "Don't think it
changes anything."
"Why not, baby," Syd asked sweetly, as Keller pushed his glasses back
up, and scuttled off.
"Because, unlike you, we're trying to create a better world."
"Better for whom?"
"Moral people! Decent people!" Keller yelled, "Not degenerates like
you!"
"Who's morality?" Syd shot back, puffing on a cigarette.
"What would you know about it?|" Keller yelled, hysterical.
"What would you?"
Keller lowered his voice, but he was by no means calm.
"This conversation is over," He said, indicating the exit. Syd didn't
move.
"Leave," Keller growled, "Now."
Syd took another drag on his cigarette, blew the smoke into Keller's
face. He coughed, pulling a white handkerchief over his face. He
feebly pointed to the exit. Syd smiled, tossed his cigarette into a
hanging container. It just happened to hold a human brain.
Keller growled, pointed. Syd spun on his heel, and strode out.

9:15pm-Let my love open the Door
Running With The Devil 8

Syd sat at the kitchen table, taking apart and cleaning his weapons.
The needler was an antique, given to him by an old family friend. It
was a bitch to keep operating.
Keller's' words were still with him.
He exploded into laughter.
Morality. Someone's always trying to highjack that word. Mostly
religious zealots with little idea of its meaning. But, if Keller did
get his fixed variables in...
Well, the balance would be upset. Too much of either Law or Chaos, and
stagnation set in. That had to be avoided. Keller was correct, in that
his sense of morals was at times shaky. He'd been a Southern Baptist,
but left after one to many arguments over its future. But what do
morals have to do with a metaphysical assassin, anyway. That was
always Ms Laurie's specialty. He never had the time for them, even as
he lusted after her.
He rang up a girl.
She soon appeared at the door, still bundled up in her mother's fur
coat, a long red scarf over her head, pulled low to conceal her
features. He let her in, carefully keeping the light low. They entered
the kitchen, and then the den and she pulled the scarf off with a
decisive gesture.
"Thanks for coming, Kim," He said, squeezing her arm.
"Well, you did say it's an emergency. I just hope my dad doesn't find
out," She sighed, and Syd hugged her. Her coat already seemed natural
on her. He drank it all in. She put her head on his shoulder, sighing
contently. He stroked her hair.
Eventually, after small talk and petty gestures, he drew her into his
parents' bedroom. She lay on the bed, her coat opened. He reached up
her dress, heard her gasp, and pulled her underwear down gently. She
moaned weakly.
"Please," She pleaded weakly, "Be gentle."
He nodded. He kissed her gently on the lips, and then made his way
down her. Her clothes somewhat hampered him, but he managed. He
tickled her feet. She cried out with laughter. He rubbed her calves,
her thighs. Her moans were deeper.
He pulled himself up, found the area he needed, and forced his
throbbing member into her with a decisive thrust. She gasped, unable
to make a sound. He stroked her cheek, kissed her again. She looked up
at him with misty eyes.
The second time, she moaned more loudly, and subsequently, she got far
more vocal. Each thrust and parry brought another exclamation of joy.
He stroked her coat as he trusted, making her thrash more. She was
soon reaching multiples, as he continued with no sign yet of fatigue.
She soon orgasmed violently at the same time that he did, and laid
back on the back, prostate. Syd kissed her still form. The fur coat
tickled his cheek. He leaned back, and the fur coat and her garments
were the only things still lying there.
He sighed, rolled over, and lit a cigarette. He watched the smoke curl
toward the ceiling. He yawned.
He wondered if Burger King was still opened.

11:05pm- Running thru the back brain
Running With The Devil 9

Back at Time Central, Syd found Terrence Ham studying more read-outs
and shaking his head. He looked up as Syd entered.
"You may be weird," He said, "But at the moment, I doubt care."
"What news," Syd asked.
Terrence passed him several hardcopies.
"We can't hold out much," He said, indicating a line in a report.
"We'll do what we can," Syd said, finishing off the last of his
hamburger.

11:35pm- You can't always get what
you want.
Running With The Devil 10

Syd turned on the TV, watched a few minutes of a network production.
All sanitized sex and violence. That summed up the whole American
experience. He sighed, flipped the TV off.
He went into the bedroom, took out Kim Edwards fur coat. He held it
against him, wrapped it around him. He lay on the bed, remembering the
last hours.
He had regretted having to take her like that, but his energy was so
low, he needed an emergency infusion. She had been perfect, because
she lived near enough, and her parents were out at the time. It'd be a
hassle tomorrow, but for now, it had all worked out. Now, if he could
only fix the Keller situation...

came to him, and he put the coat back into the closet. He then started
collecting as many classic rock albums as he could find.

1:15am- Noise Annoys
Running With The Devil 11

Terrence Ham was nearly apoplectic.
He gawked at the records in Syd Marduke's hands. Spit was falling from
his lips.
"That," He yelled, "Is your great plan?"
Syd glared at him. This was bad for moral.
"Look," He said, "If he's using Punk and Collage Rock for fuel, then
this is a suitable counter agent."
Terrence yelled, "A lot of ifs, Mr.Marduke. And if you're wrong?"
"Then I'm wrong," He said with a shrug.
Terrence looked aghast. He clenched his fist.
"Quit a risk you're taking with our lives," He said.
Syd coldly said, "So suggest something else."
Terrence seemed about to yell something else, but instead spun on his
heel, and thundered for the exit. Syd glared, handed the box to a
female tech, and reached into his jacket for his infra-red heater. He
proceeded to torch Terrence Ham. The charred corpse fell to the ground
with a sweetly sickly stench, and proceeded to collapse into itself.
To the wide-eyed tech, Syd said, "Get those into the Computing Room,
will you?"
She looked at him blankly, the remembered what she carried, and
scuttled away. He replaced the gun with a sigh. At this junction, no
more interference could be allowed into the mix. Variables that Ham
was fond of could further destabilize the situation, and that could
not be allowed.
He walked into the Computing Room, found the tech standing next to the
processors, still holding the records. He pulled out several, put them
on the stand-by on the turntable. He then opened a hidden panel, and
pulled a toggle switch. White noise boomed from the machine. He
smiled.
To the hot tech, he asked, "Go check on the situation, would you?"
She returned shortly, said, "its hit critical, sir. He have at most an
hour, half-hour, of time remaining."
Syd nodded, told her to continue monitoring. She exited with relief.
He carefully set the controls, got things ready, and took a deep
breath.
Syd Marduke switched on.

1:30am
1:00am- Mr. Crowley
Running With The Devil 13

Syd seemed to fall back thru time. The walls took on an almost glass-
like appearance. His own limbs weighed little at all. He was face to
face with a strange green creature. A man in a djellabah with no face.
He heard Bauhaus, countered with Bowie.
A figure reached for him. A pale-skinned blond girl with features very
close to his own. Her face became a grinning death head.
He screamed.
Then, he heard Jimmy Hendrix click into Purple Haze, and time started
again. Syd exhaled heavily, opened his eyes. Soon, he'd know if his
gamble had paid off.

I Love it when a plan
comes together.
-Hannibal Smith, the A Team
1:00am-
Running with The Devil 14

The head tech turned sharply as Syd exited the Computing Room. He
looked exhausted. His brow dripped with sweat.
"How is it," He asked.
The tech shrugged, said, "Looks like we succeeded, sir. The temporal
flow has gone back to its recent path, and the interference has
vanished."
He nodded. He was wiped out.
"Set the Chronometer, will you," He said, "There's still much to do."
She nodded, turned to her console.
"But, at least the worst' over, right, sir?" She asked. She looked
back at him, but he didn't answer. He was leaning against the wall,
with his eyes closed. The tech shrugged, brushed her long red hair
back.

11:15am- Melt With You
Running With The Devil 15

"Did you hear," Tami Timons said to her flock of friends the next day
at school, "There was an explosion at Dutch Square last night. Near
the arcade. Took out some of the stores around it, too."
"Wow," Kay Parker said, "It's amazing no one got hurt."
"It happened after the mall closed. Around one."
"That's morning, stupid," Said another, Sharon Bates.
"Whatever. It did a lot of damage, whatever the time was."
"Wow," Parker said, "What do you think caused it?"
Syd smiled. He stretched himself over bench. The sky was dark and
cloudy, the clouds obscuring the sun. Soon, the teachers would herd
the students into the cafeteria to eat lunch. He wasn't looking
forward to it, but people are people.
A bear sat down next to him.
He looked over, smiled at Ami Gommit, bundled up in a white fur coat.
He looked into the sky, and smiled.

-End