THE SUMMIT

by O'Keefe The infamous mob boss Jerry Macaroni had sent one of his associates, whose name we only know as Slick, to canoodle the mayor into letting the boss’ second hand, Jimmy Glutenfry, walk out of the city slammer. The Times criticized Jimmy, pal of the boss, rather heavily, going so far as to call him a ‘man-eater’; a colloquial term used on the street for Macaroni’s mobsters, due to their rather violent attitude. “Leave it to the press to slangify English,” Jerry Macaroni conveyed to his left foot man Slick, who dutifully went about his business. It started out as a rather cordial event. The mayor was reading the Times while going to the bathroom in a public setting when he heard from the other stall, “Hey, mayor. That you?” The mayor, thinking he was talking to some other mayor, at first ignored him. But he asked again. “Hey, you with the light-up sneakers!” And an ominous foot came out from under the neighboring stall and hit the mayor’s shoes, causing them to fl...

by Peter O'Keefe CHAPTER SIX: The Conjuror of Lupa At long last, the troop reached the village of Lupa. It was not a large town, but neither was it small. The day had begun to turn dark early, and Cole suspected that it would rain that night sometime.         “Since we're in town and rain in possible,” he said, “I think we should get a room at the nearest inn for the night.”        Obi and Nancy were excited to hear this. They had never been to sleep at any inns, and Obi had never even been in one. Cole lead them diligently through the maze of the town. It was a rather run down place altogether, with dark, looming houses that told of long ago splendor and glory. Now, it was mostly home to street bums, smugglers and rats. This was not the ideal place to spend the night, but at least Cole knew a thing or two about dealing with evil people. Obi and Nancy were confident in his abilities.        “Remind me tomorrow,” s...

by O'Keefe There one was a self-diagnosed genius Who went by the name of Barney Jehoshaphat. His smug assertions often upset the populace, Least of which because it was crap. Barney was the type to lecture the electrician While he was installing his sockets. And he was also the one to petition NASA let him build their rockets. He was the best at everything he could think of, From basketball to pool to quantum mechanics. A superiority complex he was on the brink of,  And, because I need a rhyme, Hispanics. Even the snootier among us were offended, For information Barn was not even seekin’. And his whole superiority shtick was upended When he whined like a hairsplitting vegan. But he was to be put to the test, Concerning his greatness one day, When at a certain stranger's behest He was challenged his brains to display. He one day found himself strolling in the park, Pondering of things dumb and weird, And at the colorful flowers he did remark, Whe...

by Peter O'Keefe CHAPTER FOUR: The Feast of the Fiery Heavens  Even with the horrible circumstances, Obi, Aaron and Nancy were determined to enjoy the best event of the day: the lance.         As usual, by the time they arrived there, the line was wrapped around the entire festival, and it was no fun waiting in line.        “Obi,” said Aaron after a while, “I have decided that I am going with you.”        “No, Aaron, you can't,” said Obi patiently. “The wizard said you can't.”        “I'm not afraid of him,” said Aaron angrily. “I won't abandon you, Obi. No matter what he says, you're still my brother.”        Obi was touched. He really wished he didn't have to leave. To be perfectly honest, he was just waiting for the moment to come when he would wake up. He kept pinching himself, but it wasn't working yet. If only it was all lies! And yet… he had always wanted to ha...