Dreamland

Fire and Seduction

I'm an exterminator, I kill insects with fire. I have a job to do at a used bookstore downtown. I'm driving an old Chevy van, kinda like the one I owned 20 years ago. I park on a side street and grab some rags and a can of lighter fluid out of the back.

I start walking up the hill towards the bookstore and notice a woman in a short skirt walking ahead of me. I hurry to catch up with her, it's Cheryl. she's not someone I know in real life, but I know her here in Dreamland. I tell her what I'm up to, and she walks with me to the book store.

The owner of the store shows me a pile of old books. "They're full of bugs, can you get rid of them?"

"Sure, " I reply, "Stand back."

I pour lighter fluid on the books and set them on fire. The flames kill the bugs as they crawl from the books, I watch as the flames burn them into little crisps.

"It takes skill to know when to die out the fire. you have to let it burn long enough to kill the insects, but not too long or it'll burn the books," I explain. I throw an old towel over the books at the right moment, putting out the fire.

The bookstore owner pays me for my service, and Cheryl and I walk out the door. "Do you want to go have a drink?" she asks. "I'm meeting Lisa, a friend of mine, at a bar down the street."

"Sure," I reply. I've never gone out with Cheryl before, but she's someone I'm comfortable being with. This should be fun.

"I have to warn you, Lisa is an old friend of mine but she looks kinda ugly. She had this skin disease when we were teenagers, and it left these nasty scars. Just be nice to her, OK? The last guy I went out with was a real asshole. As soon as I introduced him to her, he left. He said he didn't want to be seen hanging around with a freak."

"That's really rude, I'd never do anything like that," I say.

We walk into the bar. It's a smoky old fashioned pub, with a trio of musicians playing Irish folk songs. I sit down next to Cheryl on a bench in front of a long wooden table near the fireplace. It's kinda hot near the fire, we're both starting to sweat as we sip our drinks.

Lisa walks in, and Cheryl introduces me. She invites Lisa to sit between us on the bench. She looks like she could have been a real beauty once, but she has these thick purple scars on her face and arms. I try not to notice, but she can tell I'm looking at them.

Lisa bursts into tears, obviously upset. "Go ahead, say something about my scars! I saw you staring at them! They're not contagious! No man wants to touch me!"

"I'm sorry," I say, as I put my arms around her to comfort her. She sobs uncontrollably on my shoulder, but eventually starts to calm down.

From behind Lisa's back, Cherly takes one of my hands and slides it slowly across her sweaty thigh. I look over Lisa's shoulder at her. Cheryl smiles at me seductively as she strokes the back of my hand. It looks like I'm gonna get lucky tonight in Dreamland...