It's been over a year since I posted my first story, here on this blog. I start editing it again in order to correct some things based on your comments. Like that it had no paragraphs. In the process, however, the corrections became more substantial, a little more light fell on the club's darkness.
If you have already read "Get a fix on" it is an opportunity to remember it again. Today I am republishing it in its anniversary version, the Paper edition. Below you will find some trivia about the story and the characters.
I know that it is very difficult to give an opportunity to a novice writer. I understand that I have a long way to go and a lot to learn, in order to give you a clear picture of my made up universe. I am incredibly grateful for all of you who believed in me and supported me in my first steps. Without you I would have given up.
And at this point allow me to mention by name one of you, my good friend and former co worker, Irini Aggeli. If it is one time difficult to take a beginner seriously, it is ten times more difficult to do that for a stranger. Irene and I were not even properly introduced to each other when she asked to read my story. Even today I am incredibly moved by her interest. She was one of the first people who thoroughly view my characters and work. Even for the only remark she did (about my syntax like as others did) she gave it with such a caring way. This version of "Get a fix on" is especially dedicated to her.
I would like also thank Athena Dolianiti, Maria Moutsou and Popi Fotiadi for their help in editing the text, as well as my online friend “nine gardens” for his suggestions and advices.
Happy reading!
Content warning. Violence, gore, use of alcohol.
Loud music, high level degrees of alcohol and pushing that carries you away to somewhere. A typical night at the Fix Club. A girl is having fun, crammed in a spot with the rest of the "children".
"But he, the man sitting by the side of the bar, has no match. The others disappear before him and become pale imitations, weakened, submissive… He is actually what he appears to be. It’s not his clothes nor his accessories that make him stand out, but a burning soul"
Fix's neighborhood, Strefield, is the embassy of hell on earth, and Stan is one of its arch-demons. And when he decides to claim a girl, he will not hesitate to do so. But are things as simple as they seem?
"Get a fix on" is an initiation ritual in a forbidden place, which regardless of how it seems to be made for you, it stubbornly denies you.
Click here to read "Get a fix on", the Paper edition on wlack page/white font
Trivia
Where and when? Since the September of 2018 I have been working on a zombie story, "Shelter". The place where it happens is a fictional city I call Osmond. The "Fix" hangout is in a notorious neighborhood/ghetto downtown. The events of "Get a fix on" occur five years before the zombie apocalypse.
Who? Except the two talking characters, there are the silent ones, the customers of the club or the shady figures. And some more we don’t even see that are having a role in the story. One is of course, Ace, Nancy's best friend. And the others are the passengers of the car, which you haven't met, yet!
Fix. The name of the nightclub, I got it from a former brewery, located less that a mile from Acropolis, that is now a museum of modern art. Maybe because I imagined that the hangout is an industrial building that residential development has encircled it, forcing it to become something else. My "Fix" is a multifaceted art and creation center not just a hangout for punk rockers. It has the radio, it is a concert hall and educational seminars are being taught there.
Stan. Abbreviation of Stanley. When I started working this character, an acquaintance gave me the first glimpse of him, summed up in the phrase: "He's there to make you feel bad about yourself." So I wanted him to get his name from that person, but without photographing them, so it would start from the letter "S". I chose "Stan" because it reminds me another word, that if you can guess it, you will understand why this name is perfect for him.
Nancy. The girl says it by herself, from where she got her name. «Call me insane but I can hear my name in this song!» Linda Blair is the name of the actress who played Little Reagan in the movie "The Exorcist". I first heard this song on channel X, the punk radio station of the game Grand Theft Auto V. In it's lyrics it says "Now she doesn’t want to leave". This "Now she” sounded like Nancy to me! The lyrics could has been written for Nancy too, because she is also “possessed” and doesn’t want to leave.
The first title I came up for my story was the "Should I stay or should I go?" from the well-known song. Or "The devil in the shape of a man" from one of the many satanic coincidences that haunt this story. I end up with "Get a fix on" which means "get an idea" to lessen the evil doings that already are too much for some, unlike others who just can’t stop asking for them.
Sarcoma. Is the name for Nancy's persona. The last paragraphs in the story, after the blackout are from another chapter "Aces high", one of the most emotional pieces I have written. The figure that appears from the dark is the driver's vision, how he remembers the nightclub and Nancy, who as a Sarcoma hosted a radio show and also played music on the club.
Clup. I have not spelled the word wrong! This is how my father used to pronounce the word "club". Back in the 90's we owned a nightclub, club Nemesis. This is how I explain that "Get a fix on" with "Fix" but also "Shelter" with "Khalei", both start with booze, darkness and the hubbub of such a place. I have childhood memories.
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