Concert Shock

Germaine entered the dusty town as a sidewinder slithered diagonally across her quickly disappearing footprints. Oblivious to the slithering snake and trying to prevent the dust from blinding her, she licked her hand and wiped her face, leaving ginger streaks.

There it is, right where they said it would be: home – what a dump - won't stay here long.

A sudden voice made Germaine spin to her right, confronting the one-eyed Elle Driver of Kill Bill fame.

Concealing her surprise, she said, "You can call me Germ." They shook hands, gauging each other's grip strength.

Germaine nodded toward the rundown, train-like row of rusted, pointed structures. "How about a tour?" A jail cell stood beside the street, its bars open to the elements. Her sandals rested in the soft, caramel dust as Germ stared at the prisoner.

"The hillbilly author –Jethro to us, like in The Beverly Hillbillies."

As a preteen attacked Elle with a baseball bat, she ducked, seized the bat, and struck it hard under his chin, knocking him out with a sharp jab to the solar plexus. A ten-foot drone scooped the kid into the air, and they watched as it buzzed away from the town. "Justice is swift," Elle remarked.

Approaching a duplicate cellhouse, Germ inhaled sharply, recognizing the former president's son, who was addicted to cocaine. He lay in a fetal position on a thin pad, staring blankly.

"Quite the amusement park atmosphere, right?" Elle grinned, straightening her black eye patch.

Cell Number One Trillion sat before the lined-up sleep units. Germ gasped. "Is that...?" Elle guffawed. "Yep, the former richest man on Earth! His company went belly up after protests, so he’s here."

Elle pointed out another cell housing a portly old man. He had long white hair and a chest-length beard, and his fingernails were the most unsettling. Kid Rock was incarcerated next to him, and bald Stephen faced Bannon’s cell.

"You can take any of the sleep-units but the one facing EM. That one is Bill's."

"Bill isn't dead?"

"Kill Bill? He's head guard. Tarantino appointed Dwayne Johnson as Top Exec."

"Forty-Seven?"

"One night, he ate too many Cheetos, drank gallons of Coke, and blew his gut out."

A clanking noise caught their attention as the superfeeder dispensed the latest dose of ketamine for inmate One Trillion, who smeared his nose over the powder, snorted deeply, and then leered maniacally at them.

**

Germ opened the door to a rusted sleep unit and peered inside. "I guess these crapper Cyber-Ts are good enough to sleep in."

"The back seats are toilets. Sludge gets vented to the cells to return some of their shitty favors. The Joint Benefactor Building with Melinda French Gates, MacKenzie Scott, and Laurene Powell Jobs is over there," Elle said, pointing. It's time for the daily Torture concert!"

A stage floated above the cells. Gaga, Beyoncé, Swift, and Cher pranced and sang. Bald Miller cursed, and Kid Rock shook his cell bars. Elon jumped wildly while Donnie couldn't stop sobbing.

Copyright © 4/4/25 by Andrea O. Corwin

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