Orderly Chaos

Chapter 13 — Popcorn

Hope

I pulled into the driveway of the decrepit old house. The lawn was overgrown, and leaves coated the driveway the same way the first snow of the season lightly covers the city. They crunched loudly as my wheels glided over them. I walked up the front porch and rang the doorbell. My finger became coated in dirt, as the moisturizer on my hand mixed with the nastiness that covered the entire home. “Why doesn’t he ever clean…? I know he’s old but this is ridiculous. You would think someone of his importance would keep his home in better condition. He has the power to… ” *BAM* The front door flew open and an old man’s face appeared before me, smiling. “Hope!” he exclaimed. “My dearest Hope, how are you?! I have the most wonderful tidbit of knowledge for you!” He gestured to follow him and disappeared into the house. Maybe he had some good news. I could definitely use some after the week I had been having.

We went into the living room and I sat down on a musty old couch. It smelled like mothballs and old books, and not in a good way. There was also the smell of something delicious in the air, but I couldn’t quite put my finger on it… “Or-,“ I began “ORVILLE!” he shouted. “Orville?” I replied, confused. “Do you know about Orville? It’s the most wonderful treat. You pull a paper pouch out of a box, put it into the warming box, press a button and in just a minute, you receive your Orvilles!” “Um…” “I love the process so much, I have decided to call myself the very same name. It’s quite magical, I must say.” He walked over and shoved a bag of popcorn in my face. “Behold the saltiness!”

I did not think, when I woke up with a butcher’s knife in the back of my neck this morning, that a short time later, I would be sitting here with “Orville”, who is currently completely enthralled by microwave popcorn. The fate of the world is in our hands, and here he was, completely absorbed by something as mundane as popcorn. He was always a bit kooky but this was another level of ‘easily amused’. If I wasn’t worried about the fact that we could all possibly be dead soon, it would have been pretty funny.

“Do you hear the pops?” he cupped a hand around his ear and looked at me excitedly. I guess he had discovered what a grocery store was, because behind him was a table covered in bags filled with microwave popcorn. In the kitchen, the faint sounds of popping could be heard. I grabbed a handful of popcorn from the bag and thanked him with a meek smile.

“Before we begin our conversation, I must inform you of a great deception, akin to Brutus’ betrayal of Caesar!” he exclaimed. He pulled out a giant blue box with three cartoon characters on it. “Although this product claims to ‘pop’, it is an absolute disgrace.” He shook a box of Rice Krispies in front of my face with an angered expression on his face. “Do not waste your time with this sham. It tastes of lies and the ground. I do not understand the processes of ‘snap’ and ‘crackle’ but it clearly removes quality from the final product.” He had a sullen expression on his face as he placed the box down on the table. Apparently he felt betrayed by a box of cereal.

“I’m sorry to hear that, but I have some awful news and I need your help,” I replied. I explained the situation to him as thoroughly as possible and awaited his response. “This is quite the situation we have on our hands. I assume that by now, one of them has been awakened, and it’s only a matter of time before they find the others and proceed forward. Meanwhile, they will surely begin to wreak havoc on humankind, for their own enjoyment, as they do. Do you have any idea which one the subject could possibly be?”

“Based upon my interactions with her, there’s really no telling which one it could be. Wrath is already off of the list, which leaves 6 more. Lust is out of the question. Gluttony and Sloth don’t seem like they fit, either. I think she was either Greed, Pride or Envy. Each one would pose its own unique challenges for us.”

“Well then, my dearest Hope. It’s time that we begin awakening some of our own, don’t you think?”

“The problem is, I have no idea where to find any of them! Didn’t you say that you could no longer locate anyone because of Chaos’ curse?”

“Yes, the curse that was placed on me has essentially placed my powers in a dormant state… but that does not mean that we have lost the war. On the contrary, it means we have an advantage because they cannot readily locate us. I do have some information that came to me recently.” He slid a piece of paper toward me. I read it and my eyes widened. “Are you serious?”

“Quite serious, and don’t look so serious! I’m excited! I’ve never done this before, and humans seem to think that they’re all the rage!”

I groaned “This mission sounds worse than the last one. I can pretend to be a waitress, but this?”

“I’m afraid we must do what we are instructed to do.”

Wonderful. This was totally out of my character. Not to mention that I didn’t exactly feel comfortable around the type of people that these places attract. Never in a million years thought that my position as The Hope of The World would force me to put on a skimpy outfit and learn how to dance.

— — — — —

This story came to me one day while I took a nap. The dream barely made sense to me while it was happening, but everything I saw and felt is described above. I began writing it out in 2020, on Facebook, as status updates. Then I realized that I should probably do the story some justice and put it out there for whoever might possibly see it to see, and not confine it to my Facebook friends list. It’s a series, and I can vividly imagine the characters and the setting in my head. I’ve decided to start publishing the parts of the story I have so far on here. I don’t know if anyone will read it, but at least I can say I put it out there. Hope never dies.

Here is Chapter 12

©2021, Omar Imam. All rights reserved.