The Book Of Daniel (1999)
[black screen]
[Voiceover]
First I’d like to say this…for once and for all to dispel the myth.
There is NO AFTERLIFE.
None at all. There is no heaven and no hell. There is nothing, nothing at all. For, you see, living is the price you pay for death. The life you lead will become your heaven, and in many cases your hell. This is not static; ladies and germs…please do not adjust your minds. There will be not even this blank screen you see here in front you…instead you will be treated to a life…in it’s complete original form…unedited for content, and uncut for time.
[end black screen]
Daniel is 17 years old, brown eyes, brown hair, and of tanned skin. Sometimes his beauty is augmented with a bruise on the cheek, a scratch on his brow, or even a cast. He longs to get out of his abusive home, but fears for his 14-year-old sister. One night he tries to stand up for her and fails. He lacks courage and confidence, and his father throws him into the street. His sister slips out at night to give him all the money she could gather and some food. All he can do is give her a hug and remind her to tie her shoes. Now he must find a home, food and something of himself.
Daniel uses a large portion of his money for the greyhound bus. On the way to Los Angeles, Daniel meets Robbie. Robbie, looks like he’s 16 but is actually only 13. “Dude your shoe is untied”, Daniel says as he stoops to tie it for him. This reminds him so of his sister he almost stops, but Daniel can’t help but like Robbie he’s a cool little sneak of kid, handy with cops too. As they get off the bus Robbie tells Daniel of a cool place they can crash. Having nowhere else, Daniel follows. As they travel deeper into the darkness of LA, they stumble upon a duffle bag.

Not much inside just some clothes, some food, and 30 dollars in silver dollars which they take. Noticing an somewhat open entry to an abandoned building near a beach, they settle in for the night. A chuckle disrupts them from sleep. “Well, well, what do we have here?” a voice drawls from the darkness. “What do you want?” Daniel asks in the direction of the voice. “Same as you, kid. Peace, Freedom, a good lay.” Suddenly Daniel and Robbie are surrounded. “Speaking of such”, says the man as he steps out of the shadows. He walks over to Robbie and slowly traces a solitary finger up and down his cheek.
“I can take you!” Daniel yells. “You think, you think…” Daniel stammers. “I can get you”, Daniel screams but people surround him pushing him back. “Oh yes, get me”, the man giggles. “Let me introduce myself first!” says the man. “My name appropriately enough is, Mr. Man. You see there’s always been a Mr. Man, it could’ve been you!” Mr. Man laughs with glee as he says this.
“The thing with Mr. Man, he’s the MAN, and that’s all there is to it”, he shakes his head and with a flick of his wrist throws a knife at Daniel’s chest. Daniel falls unconscious to the ground. The kids crowd around Daniel, cheering. Mr. Man shouts, “No one squats in a THIS CITY without me knowing about it! No One!”. Mr. Man dances a bit more and then looks to the catch of the day, Robbie. Still held back by bigger boys, Robbie struggles violently as Mr. Man approaches him pulling down his trousers and taking off his hat. Mr. Man tries to force Robbie down to his knees but Robbie bites him. Mr. Man sharply remarks, “Oh, I’m sorry to see you feel this way about me.” “String him up”, barks Mr. Man to his boys. Daniel lies unconscious still as Mr. Man lights a match to the newspapers under where Robbie now hangs. Mr. Man cocks his head as he hears sirens close-by. He nods his head at Daniel, then decisively turns to his charges. “Boys, the word for the day is Auspicious, meaning, to have very important luck”, Mr. Man says as he leads all away from the now raging fire.
[black screen]
[overwhelming blue, turns to pale light blue]
“Daniel”, a soft voice calls to him. “Daniel, what are you doing in all of this?” “Mother!”, Daniel shouts. Her back is turned to him, she is kneeling. “God, please protect my babies”, she recites over and over. “Always with God, always!” Daniel shouts at her back. “Didn’t ever help us, DID IT?” “Didn’t ever help you!”, he screams. She turns to him and he can see the flesh blue and green, her eyes unseeing. “Daniel, you…daniel,” she whispers. “Believe”, she says. “In what, in who…how?”, Daniel whimpers.
[end pale light blue]
Daniel wakes up in a LA hospital. He refuses to tell his story to the police, and they have no more room for juveniles so they release him to a catholic school/shelter. There he meets Father Sachs, a tough looking priest without a collar. Daniel doesn’t trust him, he can’t even find away say thank you when Sachs buys him an ice cream. “I buy every kid who comes here an ice cream, every kid should have one once in awhile.”, Sachs tells him anyways. As they arrive at the church Sachs seems to try and give Daniel a hug. Daniel balls up his fists and struggles, but he is relieved to find out that Sachs is just patting him down. Sachs finds the knife that Daniel snatched off the Watch Commander’s desk at the police station when no one was looking. He looks at it. “Wouldn’t think you’d want this!”, replies Sachs in shock. “Sentimental value, it’s not every day I get knifed you know”, retorts Daniel. “Well, you are safe inside this House”, says Sachs. As Daniel looks around the inside of the small, rough looking church he has to resist the urge to run, he knows he won’t get far. Sachs has tied a rope to his leg and another to a pole inside the church. “Just for the new kids, it’s a long rope.”
Over the next couple of months, Sachs tries to get Daniel to open up. He fails, and while Daniel continues to go to school, do his chores, he never talks about himself or his family. One day a new smaller kid comes to the shelter and Daniel watches him get beat up and doesn’t do a thing. After the assault is stopped, Sachs asks Daniel why he didn’t help the kid. Daniel tells this story:
“There once was a boy. This boy, let’s call him Vincent, lived in medieval times, and his work was humble. He did what he could, and more. He came home each day after lesson to his chores. He was a responsible young boy who loved his mother and sister dearly. His father was in and out of the home, like most fathers of the period. The boy never understood his father, the father never wanted to understand the boy. The boy would try to understand why his father hit him when he stood in front of his sister’s door, but it was never clear until the dragon came.
The boy knew exactly what to do about the dragon! Dragons, he knew prey on the weak and care only for riches. In every village even the smallest, stupidest, boy knew that. Dragons carried off the maidens; they slaughtered joy and crushed contentment with a bellow. The boy rushed with his finest armor, a piece of metal taken from the back of the stove and his trusty sword, a dagger from the scrap heap of the town, with all the other boys and men. They ran with the winds of their courage, only to halt at the edge of the green land that made up the end of their world. The screams were terrifying. The dragon had already trapped a maiden! Beauty: her hair golden as dark amber, her face pale as the first moon; a fine catch by any standards. What was there to do? The dragon turned from his catch and eyed the boys, as that’s all they really were. “Fools! You dare interrupt me and mine?”, his terrifying voice asked. One did dare, for Vincent knew the dragon had claimed a prize that belonged to no one, not even a king. Vincent battled with the dragon and to alls amazement including the dragon, he won. With a slash his sword rang true, the scrap miraculously slid in-between the dragon’s scales and struck heart. The dragon fell with thunder to the ground, flattened with pain and amazement. The dragon struggled to ask one question, “Why? Son? Why?”
The priest congratulates Daniel on his fine storytelling abilities. “You know you might be a writer when you grow up.” Daniel scoffs. Sachs asks Daniel, “Are all men dragons? Do they have to be?” Daniel looked up at Sachs tears shining in his eyes. “They make their choices and you will make yours.”, said Sachs gently.
Over the next few weeks Daniel starts to change. He is still fragile and untrusting, but he starts to help the other smaller kids with their homework. One day a little boy runs up to Daniel as he stares out past the fence towards the smoggy grayness of Los Angeles.
“Mr., Mr. can you help me tie my shoes?” Daniel just looks at the kid, but after a few more tugs on his pants he leans down to tie. “What’s your name kid?”, he roughly asks. “Ben. Thanks, M-“, the boy tries. “Stop it, I’m not a Mr.” Daniel shouts. Ben runs off.
Sachs overhears the boys talking about the marketplace, a weekly gathering of thieves, thugs, rapists, and murderers. He tries to dissuade them, but is sure some will still go. Opening his desk he finds Daniel’s knife and slips it into Daniel’s jacket.
That night as Daniel tosses and turns in his bed, he hears a few kids get up from theirs. They quietly sneak out of the shelter. “C’mon Ben” is the last thing Daniel hears as the window shuts behind them. Daniel makes his choice. He quickly slips on shoes and follows them into the night. They end up at a squatter’s nest. The younger kids are flush with excitement, the older kids are aware of the danger of such a place. People wander all floors of the building looking to sell, looking to buy. Daniel is freaked to run into the dealer, Mr. Man once again. “Hey!” Get HIM! I remember you, don’t we remember him boys? Well, your little man didn’t get away from me, did he boys?”, Mr. man asks his group. They surround Daniel. “Went up in smoke, poof”, Mr. Man says as he taunts Daniel with a boy that the thugs push to the front of the circle. Ben is trying to look hard, but the tears are really messing it up for him. “So what are you going to do?”, Mr. Man asks. Daniel shakes his head, and says, “Just You and Me, just you and me”. “Oh, my”, says Mr. Man laughing. “You want to fight!” Mr. Man grabs Dan and throws him to the ground easily.
“Of course we were taught early on to be Me. My dad, like his father before him. I would consider it a personal honor…”, Mr. Man says as he kicks Daniel hard in the chest. Mr. Man then curtseys and tips his hat to his cheering fans (i.e. no one). Mr. Man begins to dance and sing, “Now, now you ready for your lesson? I will be your teacher, not that worn out preacher”. Mr. Man swings himself ‘round the nearest No Parking sign. “Yes, I am that type of creature, the one they always forget to feature.” Mr. Man sees Daniel beginning to stir and Wham! A knife pins Daniel back to the ground with a thud, his shirt caught and he trapped. Mr. Man sings, “I can open your mind, split it in half, let you take your pants off as you slowly do the math”, as he launches another knife over Daniel’s head, taps a slow tap and does a soft-shoe. Daniel, feels the hard butt of handle in his pants. And wouldn’t you know it, he can reach his own knife with his one free hand. This would help him more if he wasn’t terrified to move. Summoning courage, he remarks dryly, “I always did like the musical.” Mr. Man stops abruptly, he really doesn’t appreciate others talking. “You’re right, this isn’t motherfucking Moulin Rouge motherfucker!”. This is a joke he’s made more than a few times and none of the Man’s boys smile or laugh. Sensing the need for a spectacular finish Mr. Man somersaults over to where Daniel lies pinned. He lands near perfect, right on top of the blade Daniel sneaked right next to him. Mr. Man’s Achilles heel and lower foot spill forth with more blood than expected. Mr. Man stands tall at first, “Surreptitious, boys Surreptitious. Meaning, he got fucking lucky”, Mr. Man says as he falls to the ground. Daniel stands over him with his knife. He squats over Mr. Man. “Oh, who’s the Mr. now?” Daniel’s need for revenge is upon him, it COULD take over. He wants to see him hurt so bad, he wants to feel the bones break beneath his feet, to hear the pain escape from a voice hoarse from screaming. Mr. Man gives Daniel a weak smile,
“Go ahead, come on you pussy!”, Mr. Man says. But Daniel hears It in Mr. Man’s voice. Mr. Man is afraid, Mr. Man doesn’t want to die. Daniel realizes he doesn’t want to kill him either. He gets up off of the man. “Stay away from us, stay away from everyone!”, Daniel shouts. The circle lets him leave and the crowd disperses leaving a man lying in the street.
Daniel realizes he is ready to face is father, but he knows he cannot do it alone. He walks into Father Sachs office and says, “I need to tell you something”. He and Father Sachs spend the day and much of the night listening to the words that seem to spill from Daniel’s own lips. In the morning they travel to the police station. “So you need to report abuse in the home?”, the detective asks him. Daniel replies, “Yes.” The next day he travels that final distance with a detective and another officer, a nice man who tells Daniel he’s seen “too much of this shit”. As they approach the house Daniel’s hands start to shake, but Father Sachs is with him and he regains his composure. “Mr. Walters, you’re being charged with battery, assault, and rape. You have the right to remain silent…”
[black screen]
[Voiceover]
How do you make it a heaven?
[End black screen]
Daniel meets with Social Services, “Now that you’re 18, you can apply for custody of your sister. You’d be monitored for signs of neglect, signs that you can’t handle it”, the caseworker says. “We can do it,” Daniel’s sister Ruth replies. She’s looking better, that black eye he found her with has gone down. She seems to slowly start glowing as they leave the building. As they approach the car she stops abruptly. “Hold on Dan, I need to tie my shoe real quick”.
[END]
My baby sister is 14 now that I am 26,
15 she'll be quite soon. She lives in my hometown of San Luis Obispo, California and goes to the same high school as I once did. She says to me that people still remember me, and all the things they tell her! Her youth group leader was a kid who messed around with me quite a lot, and he says I picked on him back in those days. Perhaps I did pick on him, maybe he was a kid who came close to my own crossfire and I lashed out in hopes of deflecting my own incessant bullying. Or maybe I thought he was making fun of me and used my unusual intuitiveness to sling a harmful barb his way; in hopes that I might find my way out the maze. I dunno, my high school teachers seem to be somewhat certain they tell my smallest sister that it was me always picking on the boys, never the girls. I tell her I only picked on the bullies — the ones who picked on me and others. I finally made friends in high school because of my regard for other human beings seemingly suffering on their own; developing a rapid fire wit, dirty mouth and crazy gait helped as well. Or maybe i just barely survived high school.
I know I barely survived Jr. High, entering as I did an "at risk youth". A letter was sent to my mother informing her of my status, just to let her know I wouldn't be eligible for honors courses and my grades would be watched very carefully. A pamphlet on a student retention program, AVID was included. I was non plussed as I really didn't want to be in honors courses, seeing as they had no affect on college acceptance. I aspired to do big things and latched onto the idea of attending prep school, having watched Dead Poet's Society. I undertook the tests and had interviews, was accepted a few prestigious institutions but went to live in Littlerock, CA instead, with my father.
I met Joe Lunnon, my “real” dad for the first time when I was 12. I'm sure I met him before then when my mother was still in contact with him, but she stopped speaking to him when I was 2. She and Doug moved to Grover Beach, CA one of the small coastal town close to San Luis Obispo. I grew up a lot in the years before my brother was born. I spent a lot of time with my mother until I was about 4, making friends with neighbors kids but for the most part spending most of my time alone or on the road to someplace with a parent. I remember a few of my birthdays from then, once when I was 3 and I got a Cabbage Patch sticker set and another when was 5 and received a strawberry shortcake birthday party. I briefly remember glimpses of my 2nd birthday party, I was on roller skates and we lived on the grade. The Grade was the scariest place any one person could live if you ask my infantile mind. I was 2 then and walking, not far of course. But we lived on a literal Grade of a mountain where big trucks would go, and dangerous curbs would kill. Twice I remember my mother bringing in injured passengers or helping people who'd had accidents. Only once did I see the bloody head of a guy, my mother praying over him as he sobbed. My mother prays over a lot of heads. Holding her hands right over the person, just where an aura would be she focuses the power of the Lord with her mind to bring healing powers. I do the same but as a pagan.
My best friend as a 2 year old, according to my mother, was Elan Tari, elf. Elan and her family also lived on the Grade, I remember thinking them strange hippies but my mom tells me they were what we now call Otherkin. Otherkin are folks who believe they are elves, fairies, dwarfs, or other fantastical creatures. Some believe it to be magical, some feel like defective fantasy creatures who got stuck in human bodies. So these Otherkin had a daughter a few years older than me, and she was my friend. Elan had big giant glasses and wore hearing aids. It's odd to think of it, cause I never understood what she was saying; was it 'cause I was 2 and had not formed or understood language or 'cause she couldn't verbalize either? Who can say but we were friends and once she showed me a waterfall that was down the hill and behind both our houses.
My brother was born in 1986, a head of curly hair and the most beautiful face to match. Whenever I look at him, I almost cry I love him that much. He also annoys the hell out of me sometimes. There are many things I could tell you about how me and my siblings grew up, what their experiences were as well as mine. However I have made a conscious choice not to broadcast too loudly their stories. I have my story and they have their own, so buy their book s when they come out.
I will say this: