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Spoiler:
THE TIKI MAN
SEPTEMBER 14TH, 1985
It was supposed to be another normal night at the Royal Ontario Museum for the Gregory McDonnell. The part-time custodial job was usually so calm and relaxing; it paid enough for Gregory to not worry about his meals and rent. Plus, all of his classes were in the afternoon, so this job didn't interfere with his sleep too much.
Nothing seemed off when his shift started, but he soon started noticing some strange happenings in the museum. At first it was just the sense of being followed. But that eerie feeling grew gradually until he eventually discovered the corpse of Jim, one of the security guards, in the Polynesian exhibit area.
Though he began to panic, Gregory mustered up his nerves to turn on the lights. The body of the elderly guard was drenched in his own blood, which was still flowing from the gaping hole in his stomach. Gregory could not finish processing what he was seeing before he noticed something else. Rather, someone else. Clad in wooden armor and wielding a sanguine-tipped spear, it was him – the tiki man.
Gregory had lived in Toronto for the early parts of his life. However, his family ended up moving when he was six to a small town in Alberta after his father's passing. While growing up, Gregory still yearned to return to Toronto to become an engineer, but his grandma's words would always slightly deter him. "You mustn't return to Toronto! That place reeks of the curse of the tiki man!" He always attributed her strange words to her senility, but at this very moment he truly wished that he had heeded her warnings.
"You cannot escape, Greg McDonnell."
For some reason, those words froze Gregory on the very spot he stood. Perhaps it was the fact that, while he didn't seem to speak English well, this tiki man announced his name with such familiarity. Perhaps it was that this man's face was brimming with hatred. The more probable reason was that Gregory feared for his life; he was so scared of dying that his body did not know how to react.
"You will suffer."
Suddenly, as if it were choreographed, the two men dashed away at the same time. The first was running for his life and the second was out to take it. The fear of one soon dissipated and was replaced with an unwavering will to survive, while the bloodthirsty and vengeful thoughts of the other began to fuel his movements. The second man began to close the distance between him and the first man.
Gregory wondered how the tiki man was gaining on him to begin with. After all, they seemed fairly even in athletic ability and the one who more familiar with the layout of the museum should be himself. How come the tiki man was moving like he was the one who had homecourt advantage? Gregory had to hatch a plan quick or else his life was going to be over very quickly.
Arriving at the unlit Egyptian exhibit, Gregory started to maneuver differently. Instead of running straight, he was hopping left and right between the aisles of archeological artifacts. Tenacious as ever, the tiki man was still on Gregory's tail, though he was not keen of Gregory's plan but rather tunnel visioned on traversing this room of exhibits after him. All of a sudden, the tiki man slipped and was shoved. Though the exhibit room was dark, he was now trapped in a place that was even darker.
Gregory had pulled the mummy's cloth onto the ground, causing the tiki man to lose his footing. He then pushed the tiki man into a sarcophagus and shut him inside.
It was a lucky coincidence that one of the staff at the museum had told Gregory about the sarcophagus before. When Gregory first started working a week ago, he was told that someone had actually been trapped in that exhibit for about two weeks and was let out before Gregory started. No one even knew how he got in there to begin with. Apparently, the man trapped inside was wearing some type of costume – a bit early for Halloween, Gregory thought.
That incident gave Gregory the idea of trapping the tiki man in the sarcophagus, at least to hold him for a bit. He was going to tell the staff and police about what happened and hopefully get this tiki man arrested. After he had some time to cool down and clean up, he called the police and his manager and let them know about the events that took place that night.
It was a bit past midnight when the police and other museum staff showed up. There was yellow tape put around Jim's body and some of the exhibits were being examined for possible damages. At last, everyone gathered around the sarcophagus to prepare and apprehend the tiki man.
There was no one inside.
JANUARY 20TH, 2016
Finally, Gregory could take a breath of freedom. The world had changed so much after he spent the last thirty years at the Toronto Penitentiary. Being imprisoned for almost two-thirds of his life also eroded his mind, and he was now a husk of the man he used to be.
Looking at everything around him, he could only feel bitter that he missed out on most of his life. Bitter that no one believed him when he plead not guilty to the murder of Jim the security guard. Bitter that the media and everyone around him treated him like he was insane. Bitter that his mother passed due to grief while he was in prison. Bitter at the tiki man who took away his life and his future. The only emotion he felt these days was this cruel and hateful bitterness.
With no money and no family, he could only start trying to enroll in government rehabilitation programs and sleep at homeless shelters. None of that made any sense to him; these options would not allow him to enact his bitterness upon the world. As Gregory was walking down the streets of downtown Toronto pondering these things, he saw him again. It was the tiki man.
Fueled by vengeance and bloodthirstiness, Gregory immediately ran after the tiki man. Bitterness and rage took over him and he went into a blind fury.
"Hey! Hey! Do you remember me? It's Greg McDonnell! You ruined my life!"
He did not care that the man was not wearing his tiki armor.
He did not care that the man did not retaliate while getting pummeled while swearing that he didn't know him.
He did not care that there was a young child with the man yelling for him to stop.
He did not care that he was about to kill the man.
He did not care that he realized that the man was not the tiki man.
He did not care that he killed the man.
With this crime taking place in the evening, no one came to the man's aid until he had died. His assailant was eventually arrested again, but just went back to a supposedly cozy prison life. However, his eight-year-old son, Manu, would have to live through hell.
Having recently come from a remote country in the Polynesian Islands, Manu was not familiar with his surroundings at all. He could barely speak the language and was illiterate on top of that. If that was not enough for him, no one in this foreign place seemed to remember him or his dad. Even if they were here just a few days, he thought that at least their landlord would remember them.
But now his father was gone, senselessly beaten to death by this "Greg McDonnell" character. Though he was just a child, he knew that he had to slay his father's killer in order to preserve his father's honour. He dedicated his whole life to revenge from that point on. Manu needed to hunt down Greg McDonnell.
JANUARY 20TH, 1986
Manu had made a conclusion a long time ago; he determined that the people in Canada were extremely strange. Some people didn't seem to recognize him after he met them, while others could spot him out before he knew who they were. Things almost always seemed to get bizarre in the middle of dusk and dawn.
What's more, people in Canada seemed to age backwards. At least, it was backwards compared to how him and his tribesmen aged back home. Never being able to communicate with anyone on the same wavelength, Manu gave up on communicating with others entirely. Even so, he managed to survive in this foreign land, fueled only by the desire to destroy Greg McDonnell.
Today was the first day in thirty years that Manu saw that man again. In the Toronto Courthouse, he managed to catch a glimpse of Greg McDonnell as the man was handcuffed and eventually sent to jail. While disappointed that he missed his opportunity, Manu had a feeling that his time for revenge was near.
SEPTEMBER 14TH, 1985
It was nighttime already. Manu had been hiding in the Royal Ontario Museum for almost two days now to set up an ambush for Greg McDonnell, whom he had seen yesterday in the museum for a brief moment. He felt drawn to this location, so he had visited it many times before.
Manu donned some of the tiki armor he found in one of the backrooms and took one of the spears as well. The armor reminded him of the way things were back home, over thirty years ago. His father had taught him the way of the spear; it seemed fitting that he would slay his father's killer with the spear.
After silencing someone who had found him with their shiny lights, the person known as Greg McDonnell finally arrived but turned on the lights before Manu was in position to kill him.
"You cannot escape, Greg McDonnell."
AUGUST 31ST, 1985
At last, Manu was let out of that wretched cage. Neither hunger nor thirst were his priorities, but revenge. How could he slip up at the last possible moment? If he just threw the spear or if he moved differently, his father's soul could finally rest in peace.
Nevertheless, he decided to wander this city until he met Greg McDonnell again. It was the sole purpose of his ruined life.
JUNE 6TH, 1973
It was him. How ironic that they would meet at the Royal Ontario Museum again. It was also almost poetic that Manu was going to slay Greg McDonnell with his family member beside him. His mother, it seemed.
Manu wasn't going to wait for an ambush this time. He could not afford wait any longer for revenge. He needed to go now.
Still donning his tiki armor, he stopped hiding and made his way onto the streets of downtown Toronto to confront the man.
"Greg McDonnell, you will die by my hands!"
He did not care that the man seemed a bit too old.
He did not care that the man did not seem like the same man from years ago.
He did not care that the woman beside him was screaming in agony.
He did not care that he had slew the man.
Vengeance was his.
Soon afterward, Manu was shot dead by the police after refusing to put down his weapon. With his final moments, he regained the clarity and realized the truth, though it did not make any sense; he had just committed the same sin onto Greg McDonnell as was committed onto him.
Neither of these men understood why they were destined for tragedy, but the truth was miraculously made clear to both in their last moments: the past of one was the future of the other.
SEPTEMBER 14TH, 1985
It was supposed to be another normal night at the Royal Ontario Museum for the Gregory McDonnell. The part-time custodial job was usually so calm and relaxing; it paid enough for Gregory to not worry about his meals and rent. Plus, all of his classes were in the afternoon, so this job didn't interfere with his sleep too much.
Nothing seemed off when his shift started, but he soon started noticing some strange happenings in the museum. At first it was just the sense of being followed. But that eerie feeling grew gradually until he eventually discovered the corpse of Jim, one of the security guards, in the Polynesian exhibit area.
Though he began to panic, Gregory mustered up his nerves to turn on the lights. The body of the elderly guard was drenched in his own blood, which was still flowing from the gaping hole in his stomach. Gregory could not finish processing what he was seeing before he noticed something else. Rather, someone else. Clad in wooden armor and wielding a sanguine-tipped spear, it was him – the tiki man.
Gregory had lived in Toronto for the early parts of his life. However, his family ended up moving when he was six to a small town in Alberta after his father's passing. While growing up, Gregory still yearned to return to Toronto to become an engineer, but his grandma's words would always slightly deter him. "You mustn't return to Toronto! That place reeks of the curse of the tiki man!" He always attributed her strange words to her senility, but at this very moment he truly wished that he had heeded her warnings.
"You cannot escape, Greg McDonnell."
For some reason, those words froze Gregory on the very spot he stood. Perhaps it was the fact that, while he didn't seem to speak English well, this tiki man announced his name with such familiarity. Perhaps it was that this man's face was brimming with hatred. The more probable reason was that Gregory feared for his life; he was so scared of dying that his body did not know how to react.
"You will suffer."
Suddenly, as if it were choreographed, the two men dashed away at the same time. The first was running for his life and the second was out to take it. The fear of one soon dissipated and was replaced with an unwavering will to survive, while the bloodthirsty and vengeful thoughts of the other began to fuel his movements. The second man began to close the distance between him and the first man.
Gregory wondered how the tiki man was gaining on him to begin with. After all, they seemed fairly even in athletic ability and the one who more familiar with the layout of the museum should be himself. How come the tiki man was moving like he was the one who had homecourt advantage? Gregory had to hatch a plan quick or else his life was going to be over very quickly.
Arriving at the unlit Egyptian exhibit, Gregory started to maneuver differently. Instead of running straight, he was hopping left and right between the aisles of archeological artifacts. Tenacious as ever, the tiki man was still on Gregory's tail, though he was not keen of Gregory's plan but rather tunnel visioned on traversing this room of exhibits after him. All of a sudden, the tiki man slipped and was shoved. Though the exhibit room was dark, he was now trapped in a place that was even darker.
Gregory had pulled the mummy's cloth onto the ground, causing the tiki man to lose his footing. He then pushed the tiki man into a sarcophagus and shut him inside.
It was a lucky coincidence that one of the staff at the museum had told Gregory about the sarcophagus before. When Gregory first started working a week ago, he was told that someone had actually been trapped in that exhibit for about two weeks and was let out before Gregory started. No one even knew how he got in there to begin with. Apparently, the man trapped inside was wearing some type of costume – a bit early for Halloween, Gregory thought.
That incident gave Gregory the idea of trapping the tiki man in the sarcophagus, at least to hold him for a bit. He was going to tell the staff and police about what happened and hopefully get this tiki man arrested. After he had some time to cool down and clean up, he called the police and his manager and let them know about the events that took place that night.
It was a bit past midnight when the police and other museum staff showed up. There was yellow tape put around Jim's body and some of the exhibits were being examined for possible damages. At last, everyone gathered around the sarcophagus to prepare and apprehend the tiki man.
There was no one inside.
JANUARY 20TH, 2016
Finally, Gregory could take a breath of freedom. The world had changed so much after he spent the last thirty years at the Toronto Penitentiary. Being imprisoned for almost two-thirds of his life also eroded his mind, and he was now a husk of the man he used to be.
Looking at everything around him, he could only feel bitter that he missed out on most of his life. Bitter that no one believed him when he plead not guilty to the murder of Jim the security guard. Bitter that the media and everyone around him treated him like he was insane. Bitter that his mother passed due to grief while he was in prison. Bitter at the tiki man who took away his life and his future. The only emotion he felt these days was this cruel and hateful bitterness.
With no money and no family, he could only start trying to enroll in government rehabilitation programs and sleep at homeless shelters. None of that made any sense to him; these options would not allow him to enact his bitterness upon the world. As Gregory was walking down the streets of downtown Toronto pondering these things, he saw him again. It was the tiki man.
Fueled by vengeance and bloodthirstiness, Gregory immediately ran after the tiki man. Bitterness and rage took over him and he went into a blind fury.
"Hey! Hey! Do you remember me? It's Greg McDonnell! You ruined my life!"
He did not care that the man was not wearing his tiki armor.
He did not care that the man did not retaliate while getting pummeled while swearing that he didn't know him.
He did not care that there was a young child with the man yelling for him to stop.
He did not care that he was about to kill the man.
He did not care that he realized that the man was not the tiki man.
He did not care that he killed the man.
With this crime taking place in the evening, no one came to the man's aid until he had died. His assailant was eventually arrested again, but just went back to a supposedly cozy prison life. However, his eight-year-old son, Manu, would have to live through hell.
Having recently come from a remote country in the Polynesian Islands, Manu was not familiar with his surroundings at all. He could barely speak the language and was illiterate on top of that. If that was not enough for him, no one in this foreign place seemed to remember him or his dad. Even if they were here just a few days, he thought that at least their landlord would remember them.
But now his father was gone, senselessly beaten to death by this "Greg McDonnell" character. Though he was just a child, he knew that he had to slay his father's killer in order to preserve his father's honour. He dedicated his whole life to revenge from that point on. Manu needed to hunt down Greg McDonnell.
JANUARY 20TH, 1986
Manu had made a conclusion a long time ago; he determined that the people in Canada were extremely strange. Some people didn't seem to recognize him after he met them, while others could spot him out before he knew who they were. Things almost always seemed to get bizarre in the middle of dusk and dawn.
What's more, people in Canada seemed to age backwards. At least, it was backwards compared to how him and his tribesmen aged back home. Never being able to communicate with anyone on the same wavelength, Manu gave up on communicating with others entirely. Even so, he managed to survive in this foreign land, fueled only by the desire to destroy Greg McDonnell.
Today was the first day in thirty years that Manu saw that man again. In the Toronto Courthouse, he managed to catch a glimpse of Greg McDonnell as the man was handcuffed and eventually sent to jail. While disappointed that he missed his opportunity, Manu had a feeling that his time for revenge was near.
SEPTEMBER 14TH, 1985
It was nighttime already. Manu had been hiding in the Royal Ontario Museum for almost two days now to set up an ambush for Greg McDonnell, whom he had seen yesterday in the museum for a brief moment. He felt drawn to this location, so he had visited it many times before.
Manu donned some of the tiki armor he found in one of the backrooms and took one of the spears as well. The armor reminded him of the way things were back home, over thirty years ago. His father had taught him the way of the spear; it seemed fitting that he would slay his father's killer with the spear.
After silencing someone who had found him with their shiny lights, the person known as Greg McDonnell finally arrived but turned on the lights before Manu was in position to kill him.
"You cannot escape, Greg McDonnell."
AUGUST 31ST, 1985
At last, Manu was let out of that wretched cage. Neither hunger nor thirst were his priorities, but revenge. How could he slip up at the last possible moment? If he just threw the spear or if he moved differently, his father's soul could finally rest in peace.
Nevertheless, he decided to wander this city until he met Greg McDonnell again. It was the sole purpose of his ruined life.
JUNE 6TH, 1973
It was him. How ironic that they would meet at the Royal Ontario Museum again. It was also almost poetic that Manu was going to slay Greg McDonnell with his family member beside him. His mother, it seemed.
Manu wasn't going to wait for an ambush this time. He could not afford wait any longer for revenge. He needed to go now.
Still donning his tiki armor, he stopped hiding and made his way onto the streets of downtown Toronto to confront the man.
"Greg McDonnell, you will die by my hands!"
He did not care that the man seemed a bit too old.
He did not care that the man did not seem like the same man from years ago.
He did not care that the woman beside him was screaming in agony.
He did not care that he had slew the man.
Vengeance was his.
Soon afterward, Manu was shot dead by the police after refusing to put down his weapon. With his final moments, he regained the clarity and realized the truth, though it did not make any sense; he had just committed the same sin onto Greg McDonnell as was committed onto him.
Neither of these men understood why they were destined for tragedy, but the truth was miraculously made clear to both in their last moments: the past of one was the future of the other.
Judge's scores:
Spoiler:
Gimmepie - "Comprehending how time works in this story hurts my head but I don't care because the
actual concept is so damn cool and such a unique way to tackle the prompt that we gave
you - whithout losing any relevance too. Your characters could perhaps have used a little
more personality, but I really liked the duality in how similar they are given the reflection of
time they experience. There was a couple of minor writing blips and one paragraph with
wonky formatting, but the good work you did vastly overshadowed those minor things."
Bay - "Ohhh I quite like the premise and structure you have there where when Manu tries to get revenge against Greg and the timeline goes backwards instead of forward. I like the twist that Manu was actually the Tiki Man, but oof poor Manu's father. Greg saw way back, Unfortuntely shortly after Manu got his revenge he soon died and seems this cycle will keeping going."
bobandbill - "That was an interesting interpretation, and a cruel one for both characters, I must say! You captured their respective descents to their crimes nicely, and I also really liked how the story had opened too. They maybe felt a bit too similar to each other - a bit more distinctiveness to how they thought would have added to the tale. There were some typos, but none of those hindered the tale."
actual concept is so damn cool and such a unique way to tackle the prompt that we gave
you - whithout losing any relevance too. Your characters could perhaps have used a little
more personality, but I really liked the duality in how similar they are given the reflection of
time they experience. There was a couple of minor writing blips and one paragraph with
wonky formatting, but the good work you did vastly overshadowed those minor things."
Bay - "Ohhh I quite like the premise and structure you have there where when Manu tries to get revenge against Greg and the timeline goes backwards instead of forward. I like the twist that Manu was actually the Tiki Man, but oof poor Manu's father. Greg saw way back, Unfortuntely shortly after Manu got his revenge he soon died and seems this cycle will keeping going."
bobandbill - "That was an interesting interpretation, and a cruel one for both characters, I must say! You captured their respective descents to their crimes nicely, and I also really liked how the story had opened too. They maybe felt a bit too similar to each other - a bit more distinctiveness to how they thought would have added to the tale. There were some typos, but none of those hindered the tale."
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