Plan G: Chapter 3

Kai barges in to his apartment startling his wife Charity.

“Oh honey good you’re home!” she says as he briskly walks past her.

She looks at him and quickly sees that something is wrong.

“What! What is it?” She asks pensively.

“Get packed.” Replies Kai in a determined voice. “We’re leaving.”

An air Canada 747 lands at an airport.

A taxi passes the entrance to an airport passing a sign that reads “Welcome to Houston Intercontinental Airport” like a short track racer it dances though the airport traffic makes a high speed stop. The driver quickly gets out, opens the trunk ready to greet his next passengers. There is a moment of silence, then a loud burst as a jet passes overhead. Then out of the doors burst a large family of 6 towing a ton of bags – It’s the True heart family newly arrived from Toronto.

“Man it’s hot!” Yells Charity.

“Daddy,” A young girl calls to Kai. “I want to go back to Canada!”

“I know I know.” Replies an exhausted Kai.

The driver takes the bags Kai, Charity and their four children, Shani age 6, Khari age 3 and the twins, Mari and Kesi age 1 all hop in.

Riding in the back of a cab. Kai looks out the window, worried and despondent.

“What are we going to do?” he murmurs to Charity.

Charity grabs his hand.

“Hey, no matter what,” she says reassuringly. “I’m with you babe!”

She kisses him and Kai smiles at her.

It’s the next morning. Kai is getting in a small car in his driveway. He is dressed in a suit. He has his laptop and briefcase on his shoulder. Charity runs after him in a bathrobe.

“Hey!” screams charity. “You don’t want to forget this do ya?”

She hands him a white envelope.

“Yeah,” says Kai. “Thanks.”

“Are you sure this is what you want to do?

Kai pauses to think about it.

“Yeah, I’m sure.”

He pulls out of the driveway as Charity looking worried waves after him.

After taking the usually 45 minute commute though grueling traffic Kai eventually arrives at his place of employment and pulls his car in line behind a large procession of really nice cars pulling into the valet of a beautiful large tall gold office tower. BMWs, Mercedes, Lexus’s etc. The valets are letting out businessmen and women in really nice suits. The valets are dressed like 1950’s style gas attendants in impeccable uniforms. When it’s Kai’s turn, the valet opens the door but Kai doesn’t move, instead him eyes a white envelope on his dashboard. He looks at it a long time.

“Sir?”, the valet asks.

Kai takes a deep breath, purposely grabs the envelope and gets out of the car. He takes his bag and laptop and follows a long procession of people into a foyer heading towards the entrance. He passes a large window and through it watches a bunch of landscapers diligently cutting the grass outside. He stops at a wall and bangs his head against it in frustration.

“I can’t do this man.” He says to himself doubtfully. “I just can’t do it.”

Suddenly Kai catches what appears to be a flash of light in the corner of his eye. He looks up in horror to discover the mysterious being he was beginning to think was just a dream. The man, totally relaxed is leaning against a wall eating, what appears to be, some kind of snack.

“Woa!” shriks Kai in total shock. “You again! Oh no! Not again! Not here! Not now!”

Kai looks around to see if anyone else has noticed.

“Cold feet hugh?” Asks the man.

“Look,” says Kai in a scared voice. “I have bills to pay, responsibilities! do you know how many people would kill for a job like this!”

In his anger Kai grabs the man by the shirt and yells in his face. The man just stands there.

“Look!” Kai screams. “I can’t do it man I just can’t do it!” “look at all these successful people!” Kai says as he looks at the passers by. “I can’t give this up!”

“Successful?” replies the man calmly.

Suddenly the man snaps his fingers and everything transformed in to a hellish world of roman style slavers whipping the line of once glamorous business executives who are now slaves dressed from the roman era, their suits now rags.

The line of successful cars in the valet line has transformed into a line of gutted wreaks. Each car is a rusting hulk that looks like it’s been burned all the way though. You can still recognize the hood ornaments though. Instead of driving the car each diver, dressed in rags, is now pushing the cars. They are having a horrible time. There is fire and smoke and screams. It’s a scene straight out of Dante’s inferno. It’s hard to push the cars because there are no tires, just rusted bent rims. The drivers moan as they attempt to push the cars. Next to them are slave drivers with big emblems written on the back of their tunics that say BANK, CREDIT CARDS, MORTGAGE COMPANY, TAXES they are whipping the people mercilessly. The slaves yell horrible screams as they are hit.

Now the procession of successful business people that was going into the building has been transformed in a similar way. The people are now dressed in suits ripped to slave rags. They still carry their brief cases but they are dragging them. The bosses are there now whipping them. The people are in chains and there are long chains pulling them into the buildings.

Then Kai, who can’t believe what he is seeing, takes a look outside though the window where the landscapers were. To his horror, the grass is now brown with dirt patches and weeds. There are patches of fire and smoke. The landscapers too are now slaves also in chains being forced to dig and plow the ground. One man is pulling the plow himself, but he is dragging a ton of consumer goods; Tvs, vcrs, dvd players, stereos etc. Another man is pulling a refrigerator on its side full of rotten food. They are wearing the rags of the new uniforms we saw earlier. Their bosses yell and scream at them and whip them. The bosses shirts say; PAY DAY LOANS, RENTAL CENTER, PAWN SHOP, THE LAND LORD, They groan in pain.

The man takes another handful of his snack and eats it.

“OK stop it ok!” Kai yells in shock and a panic. “I get it! You can stop now! Please just stop it!”

The man then snaps his fingers again and the world is transformed back in an instant to its original state.

“Oh my god!” says Kai, relieved. “Oh my god!”

The Man offers him some of the snack. Kai looks at him like he’s crazy.

“Ok I get it man.” Yells Kai. “Ok! I get it!”

Kai starts heading to the elevator in earnest.

“Do you really?” Says the man calmly.

“You don’t have to convince me!” Yells Kai as he walks away. “Ok! I said I get it! Just don’t do that again ok! Please.”

The man doesn’t hear him because he’s looking in his bag of snacks. He shakes the bag a couple times in search of another juicy morsel.

Kai runs into an elevator crowded with office workers. In the elevator, Kai looks wearily at the people now, he sees them in a way he has never seen them before, he is scared for them. The elevator opens and he hurriedly runs out past everyone. The people are annoyed at him for rushing out so rudely. Kai runs into a glass office door with the words. WORLD WIDE CONSULTING, LLC on the front.

He hurriedly runs to the reception desk.

“MARY where’s Joan.” Asks Kai out of breath. “I have to speak to her right away.”

But just as Mary is about to answer. Her boss walks up with an angry look on her face.

“Mary!” Yells Mary’s boss.

Kai takes a double take because in front of his eyes the boss has transformed into a Roman slave driver.

“Get to work slave!” Commands Mary’s boss.

The boss whips Mary who has also been transformed into a slave wearing rags etc. The room is darker, there is lightning and fire and thunder.

“Please have mercy on me!” Pleads Mary.

Just as quickly, the scene is back to normal. Kai stares at the two with wide eyes. Totally mesmerized at seeing the situation for what it really is.

“Mary!” yells the Boss still dressed as a slaver. “Didn’t I tell you to get me those reports! Where the hell are they!”

Kai looks on in disbelief.

“Who are you looking at!” says the boss while giving Kai the evil eye.

Suddenly, in an instant, her eyes turn red and evil with flames reflected in her pupils, they quickly return back to normal. Everything has somehow turned back to normal.

Mary is still terrified as if she was still a slave. She cowers.

“I’m sorry, I, I really am.” screams Mary, terrified. “Please, please, please don’t be mad, I really, really need this job ok.”

The boss turns to leave but glances at Kai as if he knows something.

“I don’t care if you need this job!” her boss screams back as she leaves. “Just get me my damn reports!”

Kai and Mary both look on incredulously as the boss leaves. Eventually they regain their composure.

“Hey Mary,” says Kai. “I’m really sorry about all that. I didn’t mean to get you in trouble. Look can you just give this to Joan for me please.”

Kai hands her the envelope.

“What!” No! Kai! You can’t!”

“Yeah I have to. This place is pure hell!”

Kai then heads for the door.

Mary calls after him.

“I wish I had your courage.”