Renshaw - Odd Thoughts: An Anthology of Speculative Fiction

by

CALGARY ALBERTA

JAVARI PRESS

Publishers

Smashwords Edition

ISBN: 978-1-895487-03-9 (EPUB)

Copyright 2014 G. W. Renshaw

Cover Art: j4p4n and johnny_automatic onopenclipart.org

Smashwords EditionLicense Notes

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Dedication

To SusanForest , great friend, superbly talented author, andexemplar nonpareil.

The TwelveSteps

Some people believethat serial killers are just unfortunate souls who experienced poorparenting. If only we had a recovery program for these poor,misunderstood creatures.

Why, Jeffery Dahmermight be walking among us today.

It seemed strange toRob that the placard had a floral border, reminding him of thetitle cards used in early silent films. The placard was sitting onan easel, and situated to ambush everyone who came down the stairs.Its message was familiar to him.

We admit thatwe have no power over our urges, and our lives have becomeunmanageable.

In general heagreed, although at the moment his own life was more frustratingthan unmanageable. He'd been ill for some time, a result offoolishly failing to take advantage of the free flu vaccinationshis company provided to its employees.

The meetingroom was remarkably light and cheerful, considering that it was ina grocery store basement. The two walls that weren't covered by awell-executed mountain lake mural were painted a cheerful sunyellow. To his sensitive eyes, it cast a slight jaundice on themeeting.

Rob hadn'tdecided to go until the last minute, and he entered just as themoderator was about to start the meeting. His first impression wasthat there were an astonishingly large number of people present. Hefound a seat at the back.

The man behindthe podium at the front cleared his throat. That small sound wasall that it took to silence the residual chatter. Physically, hewas quite small, but the aura he exuded was psychologicallyimposing. From what Rob had been told, Brandon was not just thegroup's leader. He was its founder. Brandon, it was said, claimedto have found inner peace.

Rob wassceptical, and was shocked to find himself wondering if a scalpelcould reveal the truth of the matter. The thought appalled him forseveral reasons. For one, he was prejudiced against knives. He alsoheld a strong conviction that it was wrong evil to impose hisown choices on another. Rob thought of himself as creative andintuitive, but being so capricious was foreign to him.

Welcome,Brandon said. Who would like to start?

A thin, baldingman with glasses tentatively raised his hand. As he moved to thepodium he reminded Rob of the actor John Fiedler from an old StarTrek episode. The room quieted again as everyone prepared tolisten.

Hi, my name isPhil.

Hello, Phil,everyone else said, more or less in unison.

I am a serialkiller, but I haven't killed for over three weeks.

There was ascattering of polite applause. Phil seemed to gather his strengthto go on.

My obsessionwith blonde exotic dancers had gotten to the point where mycooling-off period was only a few days. I knew that the police wereclosing in. It was probably only a matter of a few weeks at mostbefore I would be caught. He shrugged helplessly. I was like anaddict. couldn't stop. I was getting sloppy.

He paused, andlooked at his audience.

Some of youmay understand what bothered me the most. Not that I would lose myliberty. Not that I would be dragged through the muck of thepopular press. What bothered me was that my work would remainincomplete.

Several of theseated people murmured their agreement, including one who calledout amen, brother!

Rob though thatPhil was smiling at him. It took a moment for him to realized thatPhil was instead looking at a man seated nearby.

Then I metSteve. He knew at once what I was, and what I needed. A peer group,people who would understand my problems, and who would help me toachieve liberation.

All I did waspoint the way, Steve called out. You had the courage to walk thepath yourself.

With yourhelp, Phil said to the group, I have reached step nine in myjourney.

There was muchmore sincere applause this time. Rob had done some research, andknew that for many of them nine was the big one.

This week I'llbe confronting my ex-girlfriend directly. It's time that she paidfor what she did to me, and it's time that I make amends to myselffor wasting all that time and effort with surrogates.

The applausethis time was thunderous. Phil smiled broadly, and raised his fistsover his head. Rob thought he looked a bit ridiculous, like theproverbial 98-pound weakling pretending to be an Olympic champion.Phil went back to his seat, several people patting his back as hepassed.

A few morepeople spoke, and Rob sat silently thorough the whole thing. At theend, as juice and cookies were served, Brandon came over to speakwith him.

How did youlike your first meeting?

It wasamazing. I never knew that there were so many of us in oneplace.

Brandon pouredhimself a paper cup of apple juice from a box on the table. Robnoted that the box was the house brand of the store upstairs. Hewondered if their landlord knew what kind of community servicegroup they were hosting.

It wassurprising to me as well when I started the group. We have allkinds here. Some haven't acted on their impulses yet. We hope thatour support will help them to avoid any difficulties with theauthorities while finding greater satisfaction from fewer projects.We also have some occupational training groups, such as forensiccountermeasures, that are very popular. The most popular group byfar is on self-understanding.

Brandon lookedat Rob, and took a sip of his apple juice, then he nibbled on acookie. It was chocolate chip, also the house brand.

A lot of ushave known for years that we are different, but we don't knowexactly how or why. The SU group helps people to gain insight thatproves invaluable when it comes to progressing through our twelvesteps. Who is your sponsor?

Geri, Robsaid as he pointed to a middle-aged redhead dressed like a hooker.She was talking to another woman who looked like a suburbanhousewife. I was chatting her up in a bar, thinking that she mightrequire my services, but she saw right through me. It was aterrifying moment, but I'm glad I listened to her.

Rob smiled atthe memory. Perhaps Geri would let him help her in turnsomeday.

If you don'tmind me asking, what is your type?

Type?

Thrill-seeker,mission-oriented, power-assertive...?

Oh, I don'tknow. Mission-oriented, I guess. I just want to help people.

Ah, Brandonsaid, an Angel of Mercy.

Rob had neverthought of himself in any particular terms, but he felt a thrill asthe words resonated through him.

Yes! Thatfeels right. I can't tell you how wonderful it is to find peoplewho understand.

That's our mission. I think you might beinterested in our methadone program.

Rob was bothstartled and offended at the suggestion. I've never taken anyrecreational drug in my life. I would never cloud my mind thatway.