Ivory Iron

Chapter 1

Frank answered the knock on his apartment door.  It was Sandra, the building
manager, looking for the rent.  She was quite pretty, but she wasn’t his type. 
She was short and slender, and he preferred larger women.

As he gave her the money, he noticed that she had her dog, a Chihuahua, with
her.  It was her constant companion.

She smiled at him as she said, “Thanks.  You always have your rent money on time
for me.  I appreciate that.”  With that, she walked away.

Frank closed the door and sat down at his computer.  Now he had a story idea. 
He liked to use real-life events, but to embellish them to add interest.
***********************************************************
Hell Hound of the City
By Joel

She was a big woman, Tom noted as he looked up into her face.  Of course, that
wasn’t unusual for him; at 5’6’’, he looked up at a lot of women.  But Sheila
wasn’t just tall, she was BIG.  Shoulders like a linebacker’s, massive arms
bulging from the sleeves of the t-shirt she wore, legs like tree trunks
extending from her shorts, she was big all over.  Except her chest; it was all
muscle with no sign of any breasts.

“I’m here for the rent.  It was due yesterday!” she screamed.

“Sorry, I don’t have it today.  I should get it tomorrow, that’s when I get
paid,” Tom pleaded.

Sheila flexed an enormous bicep as she glowered at him.  “I had better get it
then, or you’re out of here!”

Tom cowered in fear as she left.  He was determined to get the money.  If his
paycheck was late, he would hold up a convenience store!

Luckily for him, his paycheck was on time.  Clutching the money in his hand, he
went down to the basement of the building, to Sheila’s apartment.  The area
always made him fearful, it was so dark and dank.  Hers was the only apartment
on that level.  As he made his way down, he began sweating.  The area always
seemed so hot, even in winter!  As he neared her door, the temperature continued
to rise.  He could swear the end of the hallway was glowing, but that didn’t
make sense.  It must have been the outmoded lighting, he reasoned.

He knocked on her door.  It opened to reveal Sheila standing there with a dog on
a leash.  But just as Sheila was no normal woman, this was no normal dog!  Solid
black, with large teeth, constantly slobbering, this was an obviously powerful
animal.  It was no normal leash either:  the collar was not leather, but cast
iron; the leash was not rope, but a chain that could have been used to hoist an
anchor!  Yet Sheila was holding the massive chain in her hand as if it were just
a normal leash!  “How strong is she?” Tom pondered.

“Do you have my money, or do I feed you to Basel?”  Sheila bellowed as the dog
snarled and snapped at him.

“It…It’s right here,” Tom stammered as he held out his hand.

Sheila grabbed the money from him and counted it.  “Next time, have it to me on
time, or you’ll be Basel’s lunch!” Sheila growled.

Tom cowered in fear.  Then he regained his composure.  What she was saying was
ridiculous, he reasoned.  Sheila couldn’t feed tenants to the dog!  She was
bluffing!

“Yeah right,” Tom smirked.

Sheila glowered at him.  “Let me show you something,” she said as she walked
into the hallway.  Tom followed behind as she led the way down the hall, toward
the glowing end.  The temperature was definitely rising fast now.  Sheila
stopped and pointed to an archway.  “Can you feel the flames?  Can you see them? 
This is the entrance to Hell!  This is where I found Basel.”

Tom looked at the awesome sight.  This was no furnace, no boiler, this was
indeed Hell!  He was speechless!

“If I threw you in here, I wouldn’t have to worry about late rent,” Sheila
mused.  She looked at Tom, relishing the fear in his eyes.
******************************************************
Frank threw down the manuscript in disgust.  He loved writing trashy literature
under the pen name of Joel, but this was too much.  “This is utter garbage!” he
screamed.  “I’ve got a severe case of writer’s block!  I need to get out of this
city!”

He poured himself a drink, straight Scotch whiskey, and savored the flavor as he
drank the glass.  It tasted like another, which he quickly downed.  After the
fourth glass, he had calmed down enough to consider his situation.  He had a
friend who owned a cabin in the US southwest desert; that would be a nice
getaway.  He quickly phoned him and made the arrangements.