Lawrence had parents who asked him how he felt. He had teachers who saw his potential, and friends who invited him to gatherings among peers.Â
Not one of them understood. His parents didn’t really listen. His teachers were morons. His friends were shallow.
In a world blaring with noise, he was drowned out unfairly. He knew truths about the universe that no one realized, and no one cared. Population and apathy ballooned, taking up space that used to be filled with principles and civility. Now it is a society of livestock, to be used and discarded by the farmers. This was the closest the earth got to hell. Not during disasters, diseases or genocide, but here.Â
Lawrence needed to fix it. Start from scratch. It was already most of the way there… it only needed a push…
Dale woke to a bird hitting the window. 4:38 was illuminating the corner of the room, intruding on his restful sleep, haunting him with responsibility. He tried to sleep for 22 minutes as was permitted by his alarm.Â
His day’s responsibilities lurking so near, pulled him from lull.
Preserving his wife’s peace, Dale turned his alarm off and creaked to his washroom to begin. Continuing to his kitchen, he heard something outside his house, just the other side of the wall. A rustling of leaves. Though he knew it was a rabbit; the dark of the house questioned whether it was not truly a figure… waiting… watching… The dark’s rhetoric proved effective. In staggered movements, posturing to the dark that he wasn’t afraid, he unlocked the door and looked for the sound. He saw a figure, hunched under his window making a wet crunching noise. Panic filled him as his eyes adjusted, and its shape was recognized properly. A dog. Eating something. The bird. The skinny creature remained, carefully chewing the carcass. It looked at Dale, and was unafraid. Must be a pet that was lost or abandoned. Doing its best to survive, though ill equipped. Dale leaves it to what it will. It wasn’t Dale’s business.
He drank his coffee with milk, ate half of a blue-berry muffin, and read until sunrise; it was time to wake his family and go to work.
John was a fat fuck. He hated himself excessively for this. The fat man lived with his grandmother, an excessively generous and patient woman who did not wish to hurt anyone. She wanted John to succeed, but hated that pressure might discourage him. She gave him all the tools he could want for anything he might be interested in. Making videos online, making movies or animations and even at times, entrepreneurial pursuits. Anything that tickled John’s fancy. And she gave him an excess of time, thinking eventually he would find his motivation to act.Â
Fabulous Mutations is a trilogy of films that concluded 10 years ago. Despite its runtime of 12 hours total, The film series was an enormous success, becoming the highest grossing films by every metric, and beloved by those who watched it.
Dale, Lawrence and John went to a special release of the trilogy of fabulous mutations which played the full 12 hours, back to back to back. Dale Went for an activity. Lawrence because of its name. And John as an excuse to consume an excess of film, an excess of food, and partake in too much sitting.
Lawrence sees Dale enter the theater. He might be a good target for the first push. He dresses nicely and holds himself with unfounded confidence. He is someone who just sits there and does something because people do things. And he will forget about the movies and it will mean nothing. It’s gross.Â
Lawrence detects John next, cutting it close to the movie starting. He seems to have taken his time getting here. Dale did nothing to appall Lawrence compared to John. Lawrence watches, disgusted yet fascinated by the excess lumbering to his seat, arms spilling with his freshly purchased excess.Â
A disgusting show of all the flaws of now: Consumption and isolation. He has been allowed his excess, without a soul to express their disgust.
He would be a worthy subject. The lovely punctuation of such a repulsive soul.
The films conclude 12 hours later. John leaves the theater, struck with inspiration to finally do something grand! To turn his life around and become who he always wanted to be! So when he gets home the first thing he does!... Is slosh into his seat at his computer. Granted he did spend a small break, smoking weed from his window and talking to his grandmother about how inspired he is. Of course afterwards returning to playing the game he screams at. The same game he has spent thousands and thousands of hours on. Thousands of hours more than he will ever spend expressing himself through the arts he is so very Passionate about.
Lawrence follows John out of the theater, with a vision given by the films. They spoke directly to him of meaning, destiny, bravery, and to take what he should rightfully have.
 He understands the mission clearly. Kill the excess.
He follows John home, tailing from a distance to avoid detection. Not that it mattered with John’s incredible ability to be entirely focused on himself constantly. The bloat helps.
Lawrence lingers near John’s house for some time, looking for his in. Lawrence is nearly detected when John has a conversation with his grandmother on the porch. Lawrence hears the impact the films had on John. He feels like a new man, seen, and that he has been inspired to create his own great film.Â
Lawrence sympathizes with such a vision. That is afterall what distinguishes the people who live and operate as men ought to, and ceaseless discharge.
But John returns to his cove, and minutes on the computer turn to hours. Not a word typed. The hours creep into morning. Still dark for now, but sunrise is soon. John finally goes to sleep. A spirited agent, too lazy to rise.
Lawrence opens John’s unlocked window and flutters inside.Â
Staring at John, Lawrence can’t help but believe that John has done this to himself. Lawrence eviscerates John, from one end of his ribs, to his belly button to the other end. John isn’t strong enough to resist. His grandmother is deep asleep.
Dale read about the murder the following day. It wasn’t Dale’s business.
The movies really touched Dale. He didn’t know how to be a good enough father. The film depicted a mother that felt the same, but did her best regardless. Some days, it was simply having a conversation. This was not particularly groundbreaking, but it resonated with Dale, which made him think.
Dale wakes his children up much earlier than they usually rise. He packs a soda for each of them, and they walk to the park. The kids, while tired, never reject an opportunity for adventure, as their father before them made a point of doing.Â
Filled with the scent of early morning, they watch the sun rise, drink their sodas and talk to their dad. The first in a long line of adventures and sodas together that his children will treasure, more than Dale could know. And it will cause a ripple effect so long as there are people to be affected by this fabulous mutation.