Robin, chapter 5
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Robin kept herself busy through her unemployment doing chores and practising martial arts, but mostly she spent time playing in the woods. The bears avoided her, and she kept out of the thieves' way, as much as she could. This was no easy task, for Sherman's Forest had its share of scoundrels.
Chief of these was Lance Bucskin, infamous for scamming old ladies and still more renowned for his hatred of puppies, which he would kick whenever the chance arose. Even his own men found his proclivities distasteful, but he had a way with weapons and highway robbery which held his fellows in awe.
LANCE-- [clad in all green with a pointed cap; has a devil may care attitude; close cropped blond hair with a well waxed van dyke beard; 28 and in peak condition, he loves exhibiting his physical prowess as much as he enjoys booting little dogs; he is holding up a family as his rapt minions stand by] They're really not all that hard to impress. [taking the adults' money and the kids' toys] But I like my job, and that's what counts.
For a week, Robin spied on the thieves during the day, and plotted against them at night, forgetting all else. By the eighth day, she had a firm plan. After calling in some favours from friends at the market, she had to make one last request.
ROBIN-- [approaching Grandma, who is tending their garden] Grandma, I need to borrow some money for a new business.
GRANDMA-- This isn't about those thieves, is it?
ROBIN-- C'mon, why would I start a business with them?
GRANDMA-- I know you. You want to clobber them for being jerks. Am I right?
ROBIN-- Yes, ma'am.
GRANDMA-- And you've been thinking of some way to do it, instead of seeing to your chores, haven't you?
ROBIN-- Yes, ma'am.
GRANDMA-- Well, have you figured something out?
ROBIN-- I think so.
GRANDMA-- Good. How much will it cost?
Next Chapter
Previous Chapter
Robin kept herself busy through her unemployment doing chores and practising martial arts, but mostly she spent time playing in the woods. The bears avoided her, and she kept out of the thieves' way, as much as she could. This was no easy task, for Sherman's Forest had its share of scoundrels.
Chief of these was Lance Bucskin, infamous for scamming old ladies and still more renowned for his hatred of puppies, which he would kick whenever the chance arose. Even his own men found his proclivities distasteful, but he had a way with weapons and highway robbery which held his fellows in awe.
LANCE-- [clad in all green with a pointed cap; has a devil may care attitude; close cropped blond hair with a well waxed van dyke beard; 28 and in peak condition, he loves exhibiting his physical prowess as much as he enjoys booting little dogs; he is holding up a family as his rapt minions stand by] They're really not all that hard to impress. [taking the adults' money and the kids' toys] But I like my job, and that's what counts.
For a week, Robin spied on the thieves during the day, and plotted against them at night, forgetting all else. By the eighth day, she had a firm plan. After calling in some favours from friends at the market, she had to make one last request.
ROBIN-- [approaching Grandma, who is tending their garden] Grandma, I need to borrow some money for a new business.
GRANDMA-- This isn't about those thieves, is it?
ROBIN-- C'mon, why would I start a business with them?
GRANDMA-- I know you. You want to clobber them for being jerks. Am I right?
ROBIN-- Yes, ma'am.
GRANDMA-- And you've been thinking of some way to do it, instead of seeing to your chores, haven't you?
ROBIN-- Yes, ma'am.
GRANDMA-- Well, have you figured something out?
ROBIN-- I think so.
GRANDMA-- Good. How much will it cost?
Next Chapter
I like the title for this part..
ReplyDeleteI'm reading this as a combination of a story and a play.
It's pretty lighthearted...I don't mean that as criticism..I guess I was just expecting things to take a different turn than they seem to be
So I was expecting...1) this would be shorter...but your character list is still expanding... 2) that this was going to feel more like an allegory for modern times, which it kind of did, until this part (barring reference to unemployment) 3) somewhat related to 1)...that Robin was going to go after the sheriff's paymasters.
ReplyDeleteWell anyways, I'm curious to see where it's all going and how far you end up taking it.
I kept imagining you as Sheriff Wulf...
If I can maintain my inspiration, I will try to make this an effort worthy of Howard Pyle. There shall be satire, as the mood fits, but likely only in moderation. In the main, this is to be an adventure.
ReplyDeleteHad I the stomach for it, I would parody the many "old guy can't take the violent street punks' shenanigans no more" movies of basic cable fame. If that's to your taste, Defendor and Hobo with a Shotgun await your pleasure on Netflix. For a more modern fable flavour, you might sink your teeth into Punisher: War Zone. Sadly, none of these are available in prose.
Also, I'd be tickled to play the chubby sheriff.
ReplyDeleteI watched that Clint Eastwood movie a couple years or so ago...Gran Torino... he played a US army veteran who lived in a run down neighborhood full of Vietnamese(?) immigrants, and he beat the crap out of one of the gangs of young toughs who were picking on his neighbor's boy.
ReplyDeleteI really liked that movie. The Asian folk were Hmong, an ethnic minority from southeast Asia, who largely backed us during the Vietnam War and thus found it rather inconvenient to stay after we lost that conflict.
ReplyDeleteProbably the best of the "Get off my block" genre.