Dragons

"Dragons stalk the street, puffing out smoke and clattering their mechanical wings."
-Hilary Mantel


Dragons stalk the street, puffing out smoke and clattering their mechanical wings.  I dodge sideways just in time, narrowingly avoiding a giant steel-toed claw as it stomps down on the cracked asphalt.  Nothing has been the same since last May when the apathy of the voters allowed a surprise win for Joey Streptocaucus.  It had been politics as usual in the weeks leading up to Americaville's mayoral election.  Neither candidate from the main political parties had seemed any better or worse than the other.  This had been true for every election in recent memory so the people had just stopped caring.  The fraction of the population that felt it was important to vote, no matter what, always showed up.  And at the end of the day, the town would have a mayor.  Life would continue on as it always had.  As it always had until last May 3rd, that is.

Joey Streptocaucus had been on the ballot with John Jones and Robert Smith, having collected enough petition signatures to place himself there.  He did not actively campaign, however, and no one seemed to take any notice of him.  On election day there had been a bigger turn out of young voters than usual, but on-scene reporters chalked it up to some sort of school assignment at the local community college.  Get out there and vote, kids, and I'll give you 50 points extra credit.  If only it had been that simple and innocent.

We all found out later, to our shock and eventual horror, that it was instead an underground campaign by engineering genius, Joey Streptocaucus.  His biggest (and most dangerous) idea was to have giant mechanical dragons patrolling the streets.  A small investment in his Robo-Dragons, Incorporated and the city could save thousands of dollars otherwise spent on police salaries.  These monsters had since destroyed the infrastructure of the town, tearing up the roads, and terrorizing any who dared to venture out.  An errand as simple as running to the store to pick up a gallon of milk or loaf of bread could turn deadly.  One casual stomp of a dragon and it's light's out for you.  Eventually people became too scared to leave their houses.  Now, just 5 short months later, Joey and his gang of nerdy groupies have turned Americaville into their own personal playground.

If I make it out alive, I promise to vote next election day...

***
Today's post is courtesy of the writing prompt quote above.  I decided I wanted to write more and post more often on my blog.  My regular life is pretty boring today so I decided to venture out a bit.  Not sure if this is good or not.  Just stream of thought mostly, no editing.

Lost Cookies? Nope, just my mind!

Oh my goodness! How much time did I just waste? How many more grey hairs did I just add? How high is my blood pressure? 22 missing boxes of Girl Scout cookies! How could this happen? Accountability - that's kind of my thing - I was the Disbo, after all. How could this happen?!? Oh, that's right. I drove Ron's car that day and no one has driven it since. Cookies were in the trunk. In the car. In the garage. The whole time. Relief and frustration. Deep breaths. Must calm back down. Good grief!