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Welcome to neon streets. Baptized by the lights, the night has no power here. There are flying cars sailing overhead, no longer anything special. As she wandered the streets, tickled by thin rain, Sophie counted the advertisements. They peeked through the constant smoke, smiling at her as she hovered by the guardrail. She peered down into endless darkness, where only small beads of electricity told her that there could be a bottom. She reached into her coat, taking out a bandage, which she applied to her face. The blood seeped into the material, dyeing it a lighter crimson. Before she could take another step, her hearing tuned into something mythical. It sounded like fairies or angels coming down to greet her. Her bleeding, porcelain skin became saturated by intense colors–hot pink and electric blue. A massive finger reached for her, inviting her to stare into the vacant, black-hole eyes of a digital giantess. Her smile was perfect; her body was somehow better.
She looked like her.
“You look lonely,” she started, her voice dripping out like honey, “I can fix that.”
Sophie didn’t blink, even though her eyes burned.
“You look like a good Joe–”
Sophie raised her hand to her ear and turned the knob.
The click of the remote brought her back to her house, sprawled out on her bed’s satin sheets. She looked over to her tiny goat, Puppy, and smiled. It was nighttime, she had noticed. Once again, it was another day gone, and now she was in her element. A quick shower got her ready to go exploring. Sophie put on long black boots and a raincoat over a dark blue cocktail dress.
Sophie didn’t know where she lived. All she did was look back at her house, a picturesque craftsman estate. It wasn’t one of her family homes that she inherited. She torched that one a long time ago. The scent of fire reminded her of that. It was her strategy for remembering things these days. Along the path to her motorcycle, a Kawasaki Z H2, she leaped across the slabs of stone set to make a path. She strapped her helmet on, zipped her protective jacket, and rode into the city.
She lives in Miami, she noticed as she zoomed past the city sign. Thankfully, she knew where the movie theater was. That was the most important thing. Nope (2022) was on the screen tonight, and she hadn’t experienced it yet. She did her due diligence in avoiding anything about the movie, even the trailers. Jordan Peele was a spectacular director, who had proven himself with Us (2019). People didn’t get the movie, which was fine. The common people weren't why the movie was made, really. It wasn’t even for the arthouse junkies, looking for their next bump of pretentious cocaine.
Jordan Peele made Us (2019) and Nope (2022) to the people who believed that the night was full of unexplainable things. It was why Sophie never went outside until the sun went down, at least by choice. She hated the fact that banks were closed after five. She arrived at the movie theater, got herself a bag of popcorn, and sat in the perfect seat. One shouldn’t be too close to the screen nor too far away. Too far away, in particular, makes you seem like a voyeuristic creep. About ¾ of the way up has the perfect ratio of distance and public agreeability.
Of course, the movie was good. It was better than good. It tantalized the neurons in Sophie’s brain that it needed to, and left her questioning her reality. A movie that sticks with you after the first viewing is special. One that invites you back for additional viewing, just to tease your sensibilities again is worth more than gold. As Sophie left, she bought tickets to see the movie again in a couple of days. She needed to wind down with something else.
She stopped by the bridge on her way back home. There, she looked out among the park below. She thought about her cars barreling over the venue, about how it disturbed people. At night, the bridge wasn’t used as much. She let out a gleeful sigh as she parked on the outskirts. It was chilly, but not enough to bundle up more. She found a bench and sat down. She wasn’t alone. There was a woman seated next to her, sipping on some coffee.
“Another purveyor of the night?” she asked Sophie, who looked at the stars. “I’m glad it’s you and not some creep.”
“It’s dangerous to be out here alone,” Sophie responded.
“Then why are you out here?” the woman asked.
“I’m bored.”
“Boredom leading you into the belly of a potential beast?” the woman had brunette hair. Just like her. When she smiled, it was awkward, just like her smile.
Sophie snickered. “I don’t think it’s that serious.”
“I agree. I’m out here because my place isn’t too far away. This place is pretty safe all across the board, so, I come out here when home’s too stuffy,” the mystery woman said.
Sophie decided she didn’t want to sit there in the unknown. “I’m Sophie.”
“I’m Julie,” she said, offering her hand.
“Do you like movies?” Sophie asked.
“Who doesn’t?” Julie asked, stifling a chuckle. “Are you going to go see one?”
“Yes, actually. I’ve been in the mood for one, and I can net you a ticket if you want to come with.”
Julie looked around. “You just met me.”
“And what better way to get to know someone than to go see a movie with them? I think it beats dinner.”
“Dinner? Is this a proposition?” Julie asked, mulling over Sophie’s invitation.
“No, not at all. I just think it’s better than to sit out here in the cold.”
“Mm, I see your point. As long as you’re not a murderer.”
Sophie looked over, seeing a man in the distance. He had been possibly stalking Julie since she got here. Sophie had noticed him early on. “No,” she began, “I’m not. At least not that I remember.”
Julie snickered before staring off in the distance that Sophie had. She repressed the jolt of fear that came to the surface. “Well, I think you’re the much safer option.”
“As long as you’re not worried about motorcycles,” Sophie said, giving the man a wave.
“I’ve always wanted one,” Julie said, getting to her feet. “Lead the way.”
Sophie gave her a smile. “No, you go ahead. Just follow my directions. And I'll keep you safe."
Julie smiled back. "My hero."
Little did Julie know. Little did she know.
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♫ Oh, I'm Popeye the Sailor Man,
I'm Popeye the Sailor Man.
I'm strong to the finich
Cause I eats me spinach.
I'm Popeye the Sailor Man. ♫
The famous steamboat horn introduced the audience. The crowd was packed with several people clapping. Yet, they all had helmets made from old TVs, all with smiley faces playing on loop over the screen. The optic rounded out to the announcer, SOPHIE, seated at her comically large wooden table. She chugged a whole cup of coffee in one go, whipped off the excess dripping down her chin with a laugh.
“Welcome to THE SOPHIE CHANNEL! On today’s show, we’re going to be featuring my opponent in the Call Your Shot tournament, ENIGMA!” a pre-recorded round of applause went along with her presentation. On the large screen, a photoshopped picture of Enigma came up, where he’s dressed as Popeye the Sailor Man. In addition to that, she included LJ, his fiancee, as Olive Oyl. “Now let me tell you that! This man is a whole unit! I’ve been told that I’m strong, but I don’t think I can handle someone of his frame. He looks like he eats entire cows. Or the vegetarian equivalent to that. I don’t think he’s the kind of man to do anything unethical like that.”
“Though, I’m not here to judge or assume what he eats or does not eat. Instead, we’re here to try to dissect why exactly I will advance in this tournament.”
“Let’s go take it to SOPHIE with the sports!”
“Thanks, SOPHIE, what we need to take a look at here is the progression of ENIGMA in Pro Wrestling Excellence. We could take a look at his endeavors in 5BW, but we should take in account his exit from the company. It means that PWE is the only place where his focus is. SOPHIE needs to watch out for his Questions and Answers Chokeslam,” the sportscaster version of SOPHIE extended her guidestick to point out the finishing maneuver. “It has taken out many people in the company. Chelsea Skye and Jack Dunn fell to the move.”
“But,” Sportscaster SOPHIE began, transitioning the image on the screen to ENIGMA pinning Ellie Quinn, “it was this victory that has defined ENIGMA’s place in the company so far. Ellie Quinn’s a former Victory Champion, one of the few to be able to put down Lachlan Kane, an underrated pillar of PWE. This was the explanation point. The Monster Machine’s here to stay, and he’s not going to go gently into that good night. So, SOPHIE will have to do more than just ogle the man. She doesn’t have the strength to rival him, even with her strange penance for scooping up mammoths.”
“What we have on our hands is not a contest of strength, but a contest of the mind. Enigma isn’t going to walk into this match without some commonality towards SOPHIE. SOPHIE’s not going to run headfirst into a brick wall. If she can exhaust the big man out, take advantage of his age, then see if she can outlast him. Once she gets him to that point, then her hard-hitting offense will play the deciding factor in the match. Then again, that’s just my humble opinion. Back to you, SOPHIE.”
As the feed tried to transition, television static overwhelmed the normalcy of it. Soon, the SMPTE color bars took control before the feed went black.
“There are plenty of ways to slay a giant, they say,” SOPHIE’s voice said, seeping out as a calm whisper. When the feed stabilized, she was seated within an apartment room. Along her face, there’s specks of blood drawing lines down her cheek until they begin to fall to the ground. “People have been killing giants since the day they came forward. There are plenty of stories of giantslayers. I Kill Giants, Jack the Giant Killer, the biblical story of David, we’ve seen them play out in person. It’s not exactly uncommon to see someone of my stature wrestle down a beast like you.”
“Truth be told, you’re the white whale right now. You stumbled once since coming here. But since then? You’ve racked up some wonderful victories for yourself. So, transitioning in this tournament is an important step for you. You’re literally trying to call your shot,” Sophie giggled as she looked over at the plastic on the floor. It, too, was covered in blood. “It’s a shame that you had to run into me because I’m fascinated by creatures like you.”
“Did you know that in some places, people dissect giants? They pull them apart. In The Drowned Giant by J.G. Ballard, the townspeople come across a giant, dead humanoid that has washed up upon their shore. The metaphor of the story relates to how humanity’s fascination for the unusual devolves into how humanity bastardized all that is incredible about the world. In the case of the giant, as it decays, they tear it apart to make novelty ornaments from its parts. Throughout the town, you can see relics of the giant utilized as tourist attractions and promotional material.”
“Come see my giant leg bone,” Sophie said, using her announcer voice. She drew her finger against the blood on her cheek. She stood up, stepping gingerly over something unseen in the middle of the floor. “In this match, that’s what I want to do. I have to make you into my promotional material. The PWE audience doesn’t know me.”
She reached a corner of the living room where she had a large studio system set up. She began to scour through different records. “So I have to dissect you, Enigma. I have to make a show out of dismantling you so that people will know who I am and what my little channel is bringing to this company.”
Sophie snatched one from the bundle but more shockingly, she reached and grabbed an ax. It was stained with blood. She rested it on her shoulder, where beads of blood drip on the plasticware she wore over her cocktail dress. “I will take this axe here and cut your rotting flesh into pieces. That’s right after I get done beating you down. After I take the pieces of you that I want to eat. I want to absorb parts of you into me, so that I can be a better entertainer for those around me.”
“I know you will bring all you have against me, and I know that it will be more than I have dealt with in recent times. But you don’t know me. I don’t know you. We will get to know each other rather well before the night is over.”
“So my last question to you is this, Mr. Enigma.”
Sophie fished out the record and placed it on the player. She then turned over the record cover, revealing it to belong to a certain band. With it in hand, Sophie gave the camera a lasting smile.
“Do you like Huey Lewis and the News?”
