(Untitled)

Jul 17, 2009 12:34

I had found the book months ago, but I'd yet to crack open the yellow-tinged pages of it in order to read the information inside. It had been like a Christmas gift from a morbid donor, some hint at what my future days might hold in terms of ambition and drive. And no, this is not my war memoir, but rather my true passion before me. I've started the ( Read more... )

joe liebgott, briony tallis, mathias, donald malarkey, john martin, david kenyon webster, jim cooper

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peeweemartin July 17 2009, 17:36:03 UTC
Johnny came across Webster sitting in a quiet corner, absolutely lost in the movie he was watching. After he'd stood next to the writer for several minutes, but still hadn't really figured out what the movie was about, he sat down in the empty chair next to Webster.

"What's it about, Web?" He asked.

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thewordofweb July 17 2009, 18:54:04 UTC
I glance up after a long moment of attention paid to the movie, clutching the book tightly (protectively) against my abdomen. "The movie? Sharks," I say with a child's delight lurking in my words. I sit up straighter, just to check that he's alone. "Joe didn't follow you, right?"

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peeweemartin July 17 2009, 19:00:52 UTC
Johnny turned around as if to check if somebody was behind him before turning to Webster, his eyes gone wide. "Shit, he was there jus' a second ago!"

Upon seeing the look of horror on Webster's face, he sniggered. "Jus' kiddin' with ya, Web. Why would Liebgott be followin' me 'round?" He shook his head, trying to follow the arch of the movie a little more.

"What sorta shark movie? Don't look like a documentation t'ah me."

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thewordofweb July 17 2009, 20:30:43 UTC
"I don't ask about the intricate workings of Joe Liebgott's mind," I assure Martin because even if he and I are together, I don't think I'm ever going to receive a how-to manual when it comes to him. "It's a uh, well...a horror movie, I guess. About the perils of swimming in Amityville and sharks. It's a little stupid."

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peeweemartin July 17 2009, 20:52:44 UTC
Johnny nodded, only hearing half of what Webster was saying-- the main part of his brain was lost in the movie.

"Any special reason ya watchin' this?" He asked, the question more of a mumble.

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thewordofweb July 17 2009, 23:29:07 UTC
"I love sharks." It's a boyish admission and I grin at saying it, lips quirking up fully as I let out a quiet laugh. I love the thing that's probably going to kill me one day. No, that kills me in some other reality. How can it be so strange and simple at once? "Trisha...a girl Joe and I have taken in, a little, she advised I watch this movie. Said it might scare me off swimming with sharks like I do."

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peeweemartin July 18 2009, 14:02:45 UTC
His eyes widening in horror as some person on the screen was being torn up by some huge shark, the water around them turning to red before turning to Webster with the same look of horror clearly written all over his face.

"Ya swim with sharks? Webster, I knew ya were a little not all there, but swimmin' with fuckin' sharks? Ya been drinkin' a little much the past few weeks?"

During the last few years, he'd seen crazy stuff happening-- people shooting themselves in the foot to get taken off the lines, taking their shoes off to get trench-foot on purpose, shooting other people because they'd thought they were the enemy, but this?

This was even crazier than all of that stuff combined.

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thewordofweb July 18 2009, 22:42:02 UTC
I just shrug idly because I know that sharks aren't actually like this movie has been presenting them and it doesn't matter. Well, it matters that I haven't done it lately because Joe would throttle me, but...I haven't done it lately. "It's safe, you know. When you know what you're doing, it's really easy."

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peeweemartin July 19 2009, 10:02:01 UTC
"How d'ya know whatcha doin's right? How d'ya know the sharks ain't jus' waitin' for the right time to feed off ya?" Johnny asked, one eyebrow raised.

Just why would anybody wanna go swim with creatures that could bite ya in half?

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thewordofweb July 20 2009, 21:25:34 UTC
"Because I've studied them for nearly sixteen years and I think I know how to bait a shark into attacking and how to fend them off," I say with a knowing look. "I mean, if nothing else, I've done it dozens of times now."

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peeweemartin July 20 2009, 21:44:27 UTC
This was ridiculous. No matter how much Johnny had been annoyed by them all at some point, he didn't want to see any of the men of his company being eaten by sharks-- not even Webster.

"What if one day, all goes wrong? What they eat ya?" He asked, his eyebrow still raised. "An' whaddya mean ya been studyin' them for sixteen years? Ya didn't even have time t'ah do that the last two years!

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thewordofweb July 21 2009, 22:37:32 UTC
"What, you mean like they do when I'm thirty-nine and I get killed?" I ask bluntly, hardly holding back my sarcasm. It's the truth and I've learned to accept it, even if I don't like it. "I take the risk because it's better than going through life without living. We jumped out of airplanes. How is swimming with sharks more dangerous?"

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peeweemartin July 22 2009, 08:24:09 UTC
Staring blankly at Webster, Johnny cocked his head to the side. "How'd ya know that happens? Ya able t'ah look in the future now or what?"

Thinking back on the first jump he'd made, and the last one, into Holland, he sighed. "An' here I'd been thinkin' all o' us had enough o' doin' dangerous, stupid stuff."

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thewordofweb July 22 2009, 18:50:18 UTC
"The bookshelf," I say quietly, because it can give us books and reels and that's all I need in order to make an exact estimate of what happens to me in the future. "I found my obituary. It...uh, it lays everything out fairly clearly."

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peeweemartin July 22 2009, 20:15:05 UTC
Somehow, he'd expected something similiar like this, but not that the bookshelf told Webster about his whole future, including the end of it.

After a long pause, he asked, "Did the bookshelf tell ya anythin' 'bout the future of us guys?"

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thewordofweb July 23 2009, 21:56:31 UTC
I shake my head and don't say anything on that subject. "After I found out about myself, I stopped looking," I say softly, voice hoarse with something like grief. I didn't want to find out anything about Joe or what might have happened to him -- of who he would have loved, of when he would have died, of a life that he isn't living because he's living one with me.

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