Levin Hussain
The man, Isaac, was correct in the assumption he had made back in that dreamlike place. Plenty of vehicles had parked alongside the dirt road leading to his house. News vans, luxury and general use cars, I even passed by a parked limousine. Rain smashed against the hood of my coat, the overhead trees not providing much cover from the weeping clouds above. Crowds of people were waiting under large gazebos, obviously provided by a news station as their logo was copied and pasted every few meters along the plastic. People sounded confused, most likely unsure of why they were there, some others sounded eager, whilst a small minority seemed to sow dissent by making a fuss. I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket and as I checked the caller ID which flashed to life on my watch, I scowled. Ignoring the vibrations against my leg and wrist, I sauntered forwards, before I was stopped by a couple of bodyguards, I assumed by their professionalism and outfit that they belonged to the news station. Even got yourself some bodyguards, not bad, I thought to myself as one of them stuck out his hand.
"Where do you think you are going ?" the mass of muscle asked, but it was said in a tone of voice of someone already knowing the answer.
"I was invited," I replied, giving them a snarky grin.
"Sure thing kid, but run on home, don't make me call your daddy on you." he snickered and the other joined in. They must have seen my expression change as they made a hand gesture to shoo me away.
"I was invited," I stated again, this time speaking louder.
"Look kid, you better run along before-"
"I was invited," I repeated, crossing my arms. "I know the hosts," I smiled at both of them.
"Look kid," his tone was venomous as he stepped forward, "run along before I have to get violent, and I would really not like to do that." His expression said otherwise. Eyes were on us now, those inside were looking at us and whispering to each other.
"I was invited." I simply repeated, finding a bit of joy in the situation, I had already experienced worse.
"Look Greg, should we at least contact the boss," the other guard muttered, uneasiness in his face as he could also feel the gazes of the people inside.
"What's the point of contacting them over a kid like this."
"But, what if-"
"What if what? He's just some brat attempting to enter somewhere that he can't." he pointed to some of the guests, "look in there kid, politicians, other news networks, I don't think you classify as either."
"What is going on?" the guards turned to see a ginger haired figure. He wore a black suit and shoes, his curly hair seemed to deter thoughts of smartness however. But I recognised that voice.
"Mr Allcott, we are just doing our Job." The guard who had stopped me stated, as if he was in the right.
"Hello Henry, almost didn't recognise you without your mask," I said and Henry smirked.
"I think it hides my true sex appeal, don't you think?" I smiled up at the two guards.
"See, I told you I know the hosts." I would be lying to myself if I said that I didn't take pleasure in seeing their faces turn white with horror.
"Come in, come in. Or will you two stop one of my friends from attending this event? Hmmm, I wonder what your bosses would think if I spoke to one of the other news stations and let them be the main broadcaster."
"I'm sorry sir," the guard stated, "please enter sir." he gestured inside and I held my head up high as I walked past them. As soon as the two were out of earshot, I chuckled to myself as Henry led me past the guests, in which some looked at us with avid curiosity.
"Here we are," Henry stated, leading me into the barn, which from the inside, didn't look like one. The wood had been freshly painted, the smell of the paint still sifted through the air in a pleasant smell that was not too strong. Chairs had been placed in rows with a space at each end of the barn and in the center, in a way that reminded me of school. Posters of the broadcasting network hung either side of the podium which had been raised off the ground and cables ran to twin speakers just off of the podium to the left and right. I turned to see a multitude of cameras being operated by members of the station, giving them one last look before the event was to begin. I whistled quietly to myself at the setup, in which I saw Henry smirk in response. "This was Isaac's idea," he stated.
"Really? But what's the point of all this?" I asked.
"It's to inform the public of the situation, we wouldn't be able to get as many eyes on this if we were to do this by ourselves," Isaac's voice rang out before he stepped into view wearing a similar attire to Henry, though it suited him much more. "What do you think?"
"I don't know, but, what about what you said in the-"
"Not here, come, let us get you a drink."
Sebastian Vassinari
I read through the notes once again, sighing as I did so. My hands shook with nervousness, making the text difficult to read.
"Ahem, hello everyone. Welcome to my home, I am Sebastian and I am here to answer your questions." No, it just doesn't feel natural. "Hello everyone, I am Sebastian Vassinari and I welcome you to my home." Better, I think, I don't know, where's Isaac when you need him.
"How are you feeling?" I turned to see Jacob leaning against the door frame to my room. He always seemed to look good in a suit, but the size of the suit jacket seemed to jump from looking slightly too small to slightly too large depending on how he stood. "Reckon you will be ready to be broadcast across the world."
"Not helping," I answered, sitting on my bed and throwing the notes to my side. "You know how I get with crowds." I thought back to our school's year six group play and my stuttering of the words "my king", the simple words led to incessant teasing. Jacob seemed to read my mind as he stepped into the bedroom. Rain hit the windowsill and any that entered was caught by a damp green towel.
"You are thinking of that time during the year group play aren't you?" I replied with a weak smile. "God's Sebastian that was ages ago, you will be fine out there, but if you are not up for it, I can tell Isaac to-"
"No," the word came out much louder than I intended. "No, I,I will be fine. Just nerves."
"Do you want me to go through it with you, as a trial run?"
"Thank you, but I will be fine, when are we starting?"
"In five minutes."
"Oh fuck, I hadn't even gotten past the first page of the notes."
"I can give you a hand if you want?" Jacob asked, picking up the notes and handing them to me.
"No, I, I will be fine, I just need some time to myself, then I will come down." I skimmed through the text in front of me, my mind racing with thoughts that were in no way related to what was going to happen.
"I will leave you to it then, I need to find Henry anyway, break a leg." Jacob smiled and turned, leaving the room and leaving me alone. The darkness of the room grew thick and I stiffened involuntarily, my body started to move without my command as my legs walked me over to the printer, arms that were out of my control grabbing a new sheet of paper. Fear gripped me hard as I remembered that voice, I tried to speak but couldn't. I looked down at my hands as they wrote on the paper. A few moments later, the presence vanished, leaving me with a new script that I couldn't put down.