KELLER:
You want me to stop? Okay, I’ll stop. But see, the problem with that is, then we gotta get to the ugly stuff.
DAVE:
(whimpering) No, please. Put the gun away. You don’t need to do that!
KELLER:
Don’t worry, I’m not gonna shoot you. I’m just gonna do this!
SOUND:
Keller grunts on the last word as he brings the butt of the gun down on Dave’s head. Dave screams and wails as Keller continues to grunt with each strike. We hear a lot of kicking and yelling and grunting as Keller beats Dave to within an inch of his life. All this is under the following narration.
NARRATOR:
Keller strikes Dave repeatedly with the butt of his gun. Curled up in a fetus-like position, Dave does what he can to protect himself, but Keller gets in several well-placed blows to the head. Finally, weary with the effort, Keller stops.
SOUND:
The beating stops. Dave half-whimpers/half-cries under the following.
KELLER:
(breathing heavily) You have one day. You hear me? (no response) YOU HEAR ME?!
DAVE:
(sobbing) Yes.
KELLER:
I don’t care how you get it. . .you can sell your own grandmother for all I care. Just have the money tomorrow or it’ll be worse for you. Understand?
DAVE:
Yes.
SOUND:
Keller’s footsteps walk purposefully to the door. We hear him unlock it, open it, and the jingling of the bell.
KELLER:
You know what disappoints me about you, Chersky? It’s not that you didn’t have the money. It’s that you didn’t fight back. I mean, you just kind of laid there. (a beat) You really should clean this place up. I don’t know how you expect to run a business when you keep it so messy.
SOUND:
The door slams shut. Dave sobs.
NARRATOR:
Dave lays on the floor sobbing—partly out of humiliation, partly out of anger, and even partly out of relief that Keller is gone. But as he reflects on the events that led to this confrontation, Dave has an epiphany: Keller is right. He has always let himself be bullied. As he picks himself up off the floor, Dave’s tears are mingled with a resolve that he will never be treated like that again. And in that revelatory moment, Dave begins to formulate a plan that will forever change his life.
ANNOUNCER:
We’ll return to Fangoria’s Dreadtime Stories – after these few words.
ANNOUNCER:
Now back to Fangoria’s Dreadtime Stories and “The Dark Enforcer.”
NARRATOR:
The next morning, Dave arrives at the shop a little early to clean up. He then has a normal day dealing with customers. . .a day in which he tries to act like someone who wasn’t beaten within an inch of his life the night
NARRATOR (cont’d):
before. . .a day in which he plans to do something about the Leon Kellers of the world.
SOUND:
The typical sounds of the comic book store on a busy day, under.
DAN:
Hi Dave.
DAVE:
How are you, Dan?
DAN:
Pretty good. Thought I’d pick up some Swamp Thing back issues. Phil and I went to see that movie last night. I decided to bone up on some of the back story. Too bad you couldn’t come.
SOUND:
Dave ringing up the comics on the cash register, under.
DAVE:
Believe me, I would rather have been there than here.
DAN:
I can see that. . .where’d you get that black eye?
DAVE:
What?. . .oh, uh, some comics fell on me in the back room. . .from the upper shelf.
DAN:
No kidding. Who’d have thought owning a comic book shop could be so hazardous?
DAVE:
(chuckling nervously) Yeah.
DAN:
Well, you missed a good time. Rarely has there been a more charming and voluptuous scream queen than Adrienne Barbeau.
DAVE:
I can’t argue with that.
DAN:
Plus, there’s just something appealing about the thought of having an enormous guardian like The Swamp Thing. It would make you feel so. . .powerful, you know?
DAVE:
Yes. . .I do know. (a beat) That’s six dollars even for the comics.
DAN:
Okay. . .uh, I’m a dollar short.
DAVE:
Don’t worry. . .just make up for it next time.
DAN:
You sure?
DAVE:
Yeah.
DAN:
Thanks. I’m still looking for full-time work. Been freelancing a lot.
DAVE:
Times are tough. Believe me, I know.
DAN:
I guess. I just hate to keep mooching off my dad. He’s letting me stay with him rent-free.
DAVE:
How’s his new job going?
DAN:
Good. Working for the city of Chicago’s a lot different than the little burg in Michigan we came from, but he seems to have adapted.
DAVE:
That’s good.
DAN:
(a beat) So. . .doing a little reading?
DAVE:
What?
DAN:
That issue of The Dark Enforcer you’ve got open there—revisiting the classics?
DAVE:
Oh, uh, yeah.
DAN:
If my eyes don’t deceive me, that’s issue number 17—“Terror in the Night.” That’s the issue with the full invocation to summon The Dark Enforcer from the depths of Hades. A true classic! I’ve got it memorized cover to cover.
DAVE:
(chuckles nervously) Well, you know how it is. . .when you own a comic book shop, you’ve got to stay exposed to great literature.
DAN:
(laughs) Right. Well, I’ll let you close up shop here. (his voice fading
DAN (cont’d):
off-mike as he moves toward the exit)
Good talking to you, man.
DAVE:
Same here. Take care.
SOUND:
The door opening, jingling, and closing.
NARRATOR:
Dave spends the next several minutes closing up shop. He then intently studies The Dark Enforcer comic book Dan pointed out—concentrating on its pages like a student cramming for an exam. Shortly after closing time, the moment Dave has been anticipating arrives.
SOUND:
The door opening, jingling, and closing. Footsteps approach, then stop.
KELLER:
(his usual greeting) Chersky.
SOUND:
A match lighting up.
DAVE:
I told you last night there’s no smoking in here.
KELLER:
So you did. (takes a drag on the cigarette and exhales) That’s quite a shiner you got there. What happened? Disagree with a customer about the color of Wonder Woman’s cape?
KELLER (cont’d):
(chuckles, then, when Dave doesn’t respond. . .) Nothing, eh? I’m not surprised. You were quite the blubbery little puss last night. Frankly, I’m amazed to see you’ve got enough backbone to even stand up today. (a beat) But enough of this convivial banter. . .you got the money?
DAVE:
No.
KELLER:
Maybe I kicked you a little too hard in the head last night, because I don’t think you’re grasping the seriousness of this situation.
DAVE:
(nervously, but with conviction) There’s no way I could get my hands on that much money in 24 hours, so I don’t have it. . .and, what’s more,
