I was working on the report that had been dogging me for the past four months. It was a simple job, really. There was no need for it to be so taxing, yet I couldn’t seem to focus. I was a consultant for a company that advised various fast food chains. I would calculate the savings incurred by slicing tomatoes to x thickness instead of y thickness. I also reported the results of studies conducted by my company’s chemists. The chemists would figure out how many additives, emulsifiers or fillers could be added to a product before it lost palatability. The results were turned into equations which could be used to create cost efficient recipes. I’ve always been good with numbers, so the job of efficiency expert was both easy and satisfying for me. I liked the process of reducing everything to its most necessary parts, but an unfocussed inertia had come over me in the past few months. (more…)

(This is an excerpt of a one-act play)

CHARACTERS
GLADYS, co-host and mother
ALICE, host
CHLOE, Gladys’ daughter, eight years old

Act One, Scene One

A bed sits stage right in a dimly lit room. CHLOE lies with the covers pulled tight under her chin. Her face is illuminated. A loud, deep rumbling sound, like a giant footstep is heard.

CHLOE Hello?

The sound becomes a loud slavering noise, like snorting and chewing, followed by another rumbling step.

CHLOE Hello? Who’s there? Mom?… Mom?

A horrible roar resounds. Lights out. (more…)