We walked around and were having a great day at the Fair. Actually I was having an incredible day. I entered the Archery contest like I do every year, but this year I WON!
I played the axe throwing game, and I won!
Strong Man competition…yep, won!.
I was on a role it was crazy, it got to the point where a crowd was watching every time I went to play one of the games at the fair.
But when I looked around, I realized, it wasn’t other visitors at the fair that were watching me, it was the workers. A good portion of them men in their knights costumes had gathered together to watch. They all cheered and rooted me on, but while they were watching it seemed as though they were studying me, tracking my every move I could hear the chatter as if it were in my head or all around me, it was difficult to understand what they were saying. It blended together in a static noise where only a a word or two would come to the surface and be audible. All I could pick out was “finally” and “the day” and “the mark”. I thought nothing of it and just thought it was them playing their roles.
My family and I headed over to watch the jousting competition, another favorite of ours at the fair, and of course before we stopped to watch the show we had to get our goodies to eat. A giant turkey leg for me, pickles from the pickle lady for my two boys, a sweet tart for my wife, and some large soft pretzels for my three girls. As I stood in line waiting for the sweet tart an unusually large man walked up behind me “Excellent show today my friend, you faired well in the competitions.” He slapped his large mitt of a hand on my back with a thunderous slap and it burned.
Hot searing pain, focused at the base of my skull, like I was an ant under an immensly large magnifying glass. Scorching the flesh from me, feeling it peel away to reveal the muscle, cooking that to the point to the meat falling from the bone, heating, hotter and hotter until the spine itself began to dry to the point of becoming ash.
I dropped to my knees and clutched my chest, my wife screamed for help and my children ran to my side. “What did you do to him!” She screamed at the large man staring at me in wonder. “Dan…Danel! What’s Wrong!”
“Danel…” The large man whispered.
