Coke Machine

By: Red Velvet & a2112
    It was a normal rainy school day in Chicago. All of the students were all scrambling into their second period. Three teenage boys snuck away into the lunch room. “We made it” One of the boys cheered as they entered the area where the vending machines were placed. They tip-toed to the machine filled with all kinds of Coke products. The machine was an old-fashioned machine and was easy to steal a few bottles without paying any money.
    The tallest of the boys bent down in front of the machine and reached his hand inside. The other boys could see this hand behind the glass reaching for the nearest bottle.
“More to the left” One of the boys directed. The boy’s hand obeyed this command and reach and grabbed a Coke. Suddenly, The machine closed on the boys arm. The machine began pulling the boy into it making vicious and monstrous sounds. The boy’s friend’s panicked and ran away leaving there friend alone, getting swallowed by the deadly machine.

    After the third time in a single month, the school was forced to sell the machine to an unknown man, who had no idea of the history of the seller and the product. A week after it was purchased, It showed up on the man’s doorstep awaiting a new owner. The man pushed the empty machine into his nicely decorated home and into the messy kitchen. It stood in the back, hidden from direct view. He observed the machine to check it’s quality. It appeared to be made in the 1950’s when the first machine’s were made. The previous owner most likely painted over the damage and the worn off paint to make it look as though it was newer than it really was.
    He filled the machine with different products, not all Coke. The machine begins to make a growling noise. He ignores it, assuming it was just the machine running. He finished filling the machine, grabbed a Gatorade and went to the living room. He watches and re-runs of his favorite television show and begins to fall asleep.
    While he slept, the machine came to life. It waddled around the house stealing the non-Coke products. He crushed them in his hand leaving a puddle of juice on the floor and threw away the left over bottle in the outside garbage can secretly. No one saw a thing. When the light of the morning broke from the mountains, the Coke machine skipped perfectly back into it’s original place so his new owner wouldn’t think anything of it.
    When the man woke up, he noticed that the house was empty of all products except for Coke. He observed his home. The faucet ran coke instead of water, the Coke machine was no longer filled with Gatorade and water bottles, and the Pepsi he had in his bedroom was all over the floor. “I was robbed!” He exclaimed. He went to the store and got some more of what he was missing. He tried to ignore what this possibly could be; a robber, a ghost, himself sleep walking.They all seemed like good explanations, but he wanted to be sure of what the reason was, so he waited before he told anyone.
    All day he had been pondering what could have happened, and before long it was night time. He decided to go to bed and forget about the day’s events. That’s when it happened. He awoke to some strange shuffling sound coming from downstairs. When he went to check it out he didn’t notice anything, and decided to go back to bed. Then it happened again. Only this time there was a big, fat, horrific sight! It was the Coke machine hovering over him while the lights glowed bright red. He couldn’t believe it was true! Coke machines don’t come to... he couldn’t even think it. “They do NOT come to life!” The man reassured himself.

He was just about to unplug the machine and then BAM, everything went black. He awoke to machine once again hovering, but this time there was even something more sinister about it. It seemed even more unthinkable than earlier. It cannot be described, but something just seemed even more off. The machine started growling. Then he started laughing a horrible and frightening sound. Then there was the sound of nails screeching across a chalkboard, worse than the sound of anything. He was scared him to death. “What is...g-g-going o-on?” He asked, stuttering. “You are an inanimate object. You’re not supposed to growl.” Everything he had seen today was just unbelievable. Who ever heard of a Coke machine coming to life and tormenting people? It just didn’t happen...at least not that he had ever heard of.

    The lights flickered on suddenly. He observed the room with a fearful eye. Nothing. The room looked just like the way he left it before he went to bed. He got out of bed and scrambled into the kitchen. The machine was sitting in the corner, just like it was before. “Maybe it was a dream, but it was so real. I was sure that it was real. What is going on?” He questioned himself out loud. Right then the same horrible laugh filled the room.
    “I am hungry, just not for Coke, but for another living human being!” It cackled. In a moment of confusion and fear, he reached and reached into a near cupboard. In the cupboard he found a gun. “You’ll never destroy me. I will eat you!!” It yelled. The machine began to walk toward the man as the man stuffed bullets into the gun.
    “WAYNE!! Stop it! I need to eat you now!” The machine growled. “How... How do you know my name?” The man yelped. “I know all about you, so I'll know what I'm eating. I’m sure you do the same thing.” Right then, The gun was filled and Wayne stood up. “not exactly” He said with a smile. With confidence, Wayne shot at the machine.
    Something was terribly wrong. The bullets bounced off of the machine and aimed straight for Wayne! Wayne ducked and dodged the bullets safely. He threw the gun across the room and headed for another cupboard filled with knifes. He searched and searched and finally found a knife. He ran up to the machine and stabbed a deep hole straight thought the machine
    The machine stopped. The movement, the noises, everything stopped. Wayne looked up. “It’s over” He sighed a breath of relief. With the machine under his arms he toke the machine outside, and threw it in the garbage. He walked back inside, sat on the couch and turned on the TV. He was watching calmly when he heard the noise again. “I can’t die” The machine screamed.
    The man jumped out and ran outside. He ran and ran until he got to the newpaper station. “I’d like to put an ad in the paper to sell my coke machine” He huffed at a woman behind a desk. “Okay” They worked through the paper work and prices. He left to wander back to his house, hoping someone with buy it.

“COKE MACHINE 2,500 dollars. Call Wayne”

The Meadow In The Dark

I once found that meadow in the dark
where you dream and die
the evergreens glow
the sycamore's are low
the flowers escape the scene
we travel through the city to find
the land where memories float

they hide in shadows
re-living the horror
of the day it ended

They dance below the sun
remembering the magic
of the day it begun

Others sit in-between
Forgetting and contemplating
the memories they once
belonged too.

The meadow in the dark
Where I found myself
Where I found the truth
The place where it
Begins or ends
Choose which side you belong to

-

I once went back to the
meadow in the dark
Where you laugh and cry
the grass runs for miles
the sun smiles
the color is chosen by you
I traveled though the town to find
the area where dreams reside

They lay under the moon
discovering the fright
of the action that killed

They sing under the stars
imagining the love
of the words that lived

Other stand in-between
deciding and lying
to the people they once where
apart of.

The meadow in the dark
Where you found yourself
Where you found the truth
the place were it lives or dies
Choose which side you belong to.

Your decision will complete the rest

Joy

Joy loves spending her evenings skipping through the park with a fat grin on her face, waving a sweet welcome to everyone who crosses her path. After she finishes she arrives at her home in her bright simple car. Her home is neat, clean, and unusually beautiful at every glance; You don’t notice the beauty unless you are still and fearless.  There is a small yellow sign on the wall saying “Flaws are encouraged”. She makes a quick batch of chocolate-chip cookies and calls over her best friend. They sit on the couch, wrapped in blankets by the fire watching a movie. Simple pleasures like these are the ones that make Joy herself. Joy is simple but noticeable. Joy loves you, despite your past and what you’ve been though, she always can find time to spend a moment with you in a time of need. She cares for every single soul on the planet, and wishes she could be with everyone at the same time, but sadly, that’s impossible. However, Joy doesn’t believe in the word impossible. It sounds so Irritating and Depressing. Joy also has a sign on the wall saying: “Nothing is Impossible, You just need Hope” Her warmth is like a ghost, even if she is far away, you can still feel and hear her in the distance. The comfort she provides is unlike anything else that has ever existed.

Nothing can bring Joy down. Hate tries to burn whatever Joy builds, but Joy gets back up, remembering it’s worth and builds an even stronger building than before. Joy is twins with Comfort. They are best friends and have no purpose without the other. Once, after a rainy day, Joy found Peace; they fell in love. They are happily married and inseparable. Jealously and Despair try and destroy this beautiful magic, but with each other, nothing can penetrate though their walls.You can only find Joy in the right moments. When everything feels so calm and perfect in the world, you’ll notice that Joy is sitting next to you alongside Peace and Happiness. Joy escapes whenever something damaging or evil is taking place, she can’t come if you are hurting someone else.  Joy is the simplest, yet extraordinary, thing that’s ever lived.