Journal 1 - "Signs"

(I don’t have a scene right now to put this journal entry into application, so I am making a different story)

A black car drove through suburban neighborhoods in the middle of the night. There were no headlights on the car and it made its way from streetlight to streetlight. Inside, Paul was armed with bumper stickers and signs. Occasionally he would stop out of reach from the streetlight’s gaze and would run out of the car with one of his weapons and would sometimes return with enemies’ weapons.

He drove by a car in the driveway and circled around so he was parked in darkness but near to the enemy’s car. He looked at the house and saw no lights on, then ran to the car. There was some light from the streetlight that could break his cover, but he felt safe enough to risk it. After placing the bumper sticker exactly over the other one so that no signs of the original sticker could be seen. On his way back to his own car, he saw a sign in the lawn. He went back to his car and came back with another sign. He was just pulling down the enemy sign when a light in the house turned on. He stood as still as he could, thinking of his options. He decided the homeowner might just be up getting a drink of water or going to the bathroom, so he stayed where he was and waited for the light to turn off.

“Who’s there?”

Busted. “Oh, um, hi!”

“I said, ‘Who’s there?’”

“Oh, I couldn’t sleep so I thought I’d take a little walk.”

Paul could see the man better as he moved closer. He was wearing blue boxer shorts and an undershirt and was barefoot. He had a flashlight in his hand that he was pointing directly into Paul’s eyes so that Paul reached a hand up to block the light.

“What is that Brown sign doing on the ground next to my Spencer sign?”

“Oh, my, well look at that! I wonder if someone was giving you a suggestion.”

The homeowner was still groggy from slumber and it took him a little while to comprehend the situation, but eventually he did. “Say, you wouldn’t be stealing my sign and replacing it with a Brown one, would you?”

Paul hesitated and looked back at his own car as if to judge the difference. The homeowner glanced in the direction Paul did and saw a car with a Brown bumper sticker. He also saw what appeared to be signs in the back of the car. “Get off my property,” he growled. Dressed as he was and with his white hair disheveled from sleep, the homeowner still managed to look menacing.

“Please, sir, I can explain!”

“I said off my land!” The homeowner turned around and started walking back into the house with a purposeful stride. Paul interpreted this to mean he was not sure of his political convictions and could be swayed to the Brown side.

“Brown’s economic plans are so much better than Spencer’s! When he is elected as president you won’t have to worry about money anymore! I see you have a lovely house, but it needs a few repairs like a new paint job. With Brown in you can have it.”

The homeowner did not break his stride, turn around, or even acknowledge Paul’s petitions. Paul stopped a few feet away from the front door unsure what to do. It didn’t seem right to follow the man into the house.

His mind was soon made up when he saw the homeowner come back to the front door with a significantly more dangerous weapon than a flashlight.

“I told you to get of my land,” he said evenly as he put bullets into the shotgun and cocked it. When he looked up, Paul was already halfway to his own car and the homeowner shot a few times a few feet away from Paul, purposely avoiding him. When Paul got into the car and the tires squealed into action, a bullet hit one of the wheels and destroyed it. He accepted the wheel’s sacrifice for the greater good and drove as best and fast as he could into the night.