Quantum Dissolve: Chapter Twenty Three. (The man behind the mask behind the man)

2011

Summertime.
Joseph "Lash", Tamron was working on a new mask.
A mass production one for sale at stores.
Sculpting, molding, vacuum forming, the whole deal.

He was at the sculpting stage.
Slow going.
A lot of setbacks, and outright squashed flops.

But, finally, he had nailed it.
He stood back, and looked at his handiwork.

It couldn't seem to decide if it was a ghost, an alien, or a skull.
The finished version would be painted green, and have a black shroud on the back for covering up the wearer's hair.

He'd based it on the local Lentilville legend of The Green Monster.

He pointed at it, and said "you're gonna sell like hotcakes!".


2011

October 20th.
Dusty Irwin wandered through the grocery store, and then stopped dead in his tracks.

There was a display of Halloween masks, and one of them hypnotically grabbed his attention.


2011

October 21st
Irma Donovan wandered through the same grocery store, in the outskirts of Lentilville, technically in the next town over, and then stopped dead in her tracks.

There was a display of Halloween masks, and one of them hypnotically grabbed her attention.

Irma grinned wickedly, grabbed that sucker, and put it in her shopping basket.
A deep inner intuition told her it might be important.


2011

October 27th.

Dusty went back to the store.
The mask was gone.

Outwardly, he laughed it off.
Inwardly...he was crushed.


2014

The mask sat in a cardboard box of Irma's stuff, waiting to be found.
It would.
Soon enough.