“We won’t go hungry, no not tonight,”

“Flesh is so tender you don’t need a knife.”

“Eating yer buddies.”

Eating Your Buddies

The group sung as one, except for Pitch, who led them quickly through the night. Talon had dropped back as far as Mucci would let him. He had given Pitch the basic instructions and the man knew the way.

The night came alive around him as the cannibals continued their eerie chant. Shadows clung to the refuse that lined the road, looking like fields of dead bodies. The taste of the meat bubbled up into his throat, staining his lips, bringing back what he had done. He could feel it. It clung against the side of his stomach like a solid lump putrefying his insides. He knew he was tainted, but he couldn’t worry about that now, he had to see this through.

They were nearing the bridge. In the distance, the lights of the other side of the city shined like the stars the smog denied.

“Keep an eye on him,” Pitch hissed back to Mucci, and then began to jog under the bridge. A light could now be seen on the far side. ”Rick, is that you?” He called out.

Talon knew he had to act fast. “Hey look out,” he said to Mucci, grabbing his arm.”

“What the hell?”

“The guy I pushed over the ledge, I saw him. The fall didn’t take him out.” Without waiting for a reply, Talon took off back the way they had come. Mucci, uncertain at first, followed. As soon as they had reached thicker shadows, Talon spun around and punched Mucci in the nose. The young man wasn’t expecting such a sudden turn, and the fist broke Mucci’s nose in an explosion of blood.

Talon Fights Back

While Mucci stumbled back, Talon’s left hand grabbed the bat and his right hand punched him again. Grunting, Mucci released the bat. The blow caused him to trip over a rock and he went crashing down onto his back. Talon choked up the bat, like he was going to head in to finish the job, but that was when a helicopter floodlight began to illuminate under the bridge. A garbled voice started shouting orders and then moments later gunfire rang out.

“Good luck dumb ass,” he yelled back at the battered punk and began to sprint out of there. “And thank you, Brian Whitney; sorry about the hassle they’ll be putting you through after all this.” That guy must have been loaded, Talon thought to himself. If the reported kidnapping brought out Helicopter support, Talon must have picked the right guy to call in a false report with. The cops wouldn’t find Brian there, but they had found enough to make sure the trip wasn’t a waste and even if any of Pitch’s crew survived the encounter, he doubted he would be seeing them for a while.

He had almost made it back to one of the main roads, when a large figure blocked his path.

At first Talon thought it was some random dreg or maybe a cop who had moved around to cut them off, but then he saw the glint of the helicopter lights shining off glasses. It was Rick-the-dick. The man could barely stand without swaying and blood dripped from the middle finger of his disfigured left arm, slowly creating a muddy black pool where it mixed with the sand below.

Rik The Dik

“You narcing bastard. Can you comprehend what you have done?”

“Rid the world of a bunch of freaks is what I’m thinking.”

With a roar, Rick rushed forward swinging his nun-chucks. Talon still had the bat and used it to block the attack. Moving faster, his back swing took Rick in the temple with a loud crack.

Talon brought the bat behind his shoulder, like he was waiting for a pitch. Rick came in and he swung the bat. It connected with the chucks and sent them flying into the dead bushes.

Rick called out, “I’ll kill you for ruining everything,” and leapt forward. His long lanky arms got past the bat and he began to clutch and pull at him. Before Talon knew what was happening, long teeth had buried themselves into the flesh of his shoulder. His cried out in pain as the jagged teeth quickly tore through his tie shirt.

Dropping the bat, his hand began to fumble into his back pocket. Pulling out the steak knife, he stabbed it between two of Rick’s ribs. The man gasped out and stumbled away, taking the knife with him. “Try to eat me will you,” Talon spat at him while clutching his bleeding shoulder. “You are the one who is going to get carved like a steak.”

After yanking out the knife, Rick came at him again, but Talon snatched up the bat and swung into him before Rick could use the small blade. There was a resounding crack as the tip of the bat broke Rick jaw. He tumbled off of the path with a wet grown.

Talon was going to make sure he finished what he started this time. Leaving a vengeful Rick-the-dick alive wouldn’t be wise. Then a sound stopped him.

Mutt Hounds

A low growling could be heard coming from the dry bushes. Another quickly followed it, then a third. Thin shadows created finger wide tiger strips on the circling pack. Rez-dogs, loose packs that preyed on the unlucky and alone. They scented blood and were more than willing to prey on the wounded.

“He’s all yours boys.” Talon muttered, as he slowly retreated holding the bat in front of him.

Rick reached out a pleading hand and moaned.

“Sorry, I guess it is your turn to fed the hungry mouths. Only I think this meal won’t be over as quickly.” The sounds on Rick’s hopeless cries would haunt him for months. Nearly as long as it would take for him to get the taste of human flesh from returning to him when it was least needed. A thousand beers couldn’t drown it. Over time it faded, but his friends always wondered why a big guy like him would suddenly become a vegetarian and they would never know.

Talon

Learn more about the chaos in New Cluster here!

New Cluster

Rolling Apocalypse

The glass continued to crack as the mad men pounded on the glass separating the patio from the interior of Scallywags. For an elongated moment, the cluster of patrons and employees eyed each other with fear filled faces until the woman who had just lost her friend outside yelled, “We have to do something.”

Breaking their way in

“Yeah, but what?” the bartender said.

“Maybe we should just make a break for our cars through the front,” Will suggested.

“As long as you’ll cool with some of us not making it,” Jack said. “Who knows what’s out there? The cops could be moving in to help us. I would hate to have people die when this whole thing could be wrapped up in a few hours. We’re safer as a group where we can defend ourselves!”

Rollie spoke up. “But if they break through the glass this place won’t be too defendable.”

As if his words brought forth a curse, the first window shattered in a rain of jagged shards. Most of the women let out screams, but Jack was quick to act. Snatching up a table, he threw it at the pair of blood soaked freaks already lumbering into the bar. This toppled them over. Then, instead of fleeing, Jack attacked them with his chair leg.

Jack

He kept smashing one in the head until it final stopped moving, but the other had gained its feet, while behind it, a full dozen followed the first two into Scallywags.  

“Come on!” Will yelled. “He needs help.” Rollie’s boyfriend grabbed up a chair and rushed forward smashing the one approaching Jack’s back.

Watch your back

Rollie still possessed the chair leg Jack had given him and joined his lover near the carnage, but almost as soon as he had, he wished he hadn’t. Blood covered people of every age and size tumbled in at them. A woman, wearing a shirt full of pictures of fat tomatoes, growled as she came stumbling toward him.

Hitting a sick person went against everything he believed in. Will screamed something at him, be the words didn’t register. She drew in closer and he could smell the blood on her.

Then she clawed at him. He might have cried out and went to push her away, but, she had a hold of his shirt. It was the sight of two larger freaks moving in behind her that snapped him into action.

With another yell, he smashed forward with his makeshift club.

She acted like she hadn’t felt a thing.

The others were almost upon him.

With a louder shout, he put everything he had into the next blow. No one would have been more surprised than he, when she toppled to the ground with a dull moan.

Will grabbed him from behind. “Come on!”

Jack yelled to the bartender. “Take everyone backstage!”

An ear piercing scream tore at his ears and Rollie saw a madman had made it past them and grabbed one of the women. This helped convince the others to retreat up onto the stage.

The dying woman sadly aided them, for Rollie, Will, Jack, and Steve made it to the stage safely. For a moment the men took in the grizzly feast and only their loud gasping for air competed with the grizzly tearing of flesh below.

Feasting

Jack addressed them. “There are still a lot of supplies we could gather in case we need to lock ourselves into there for the long haul. I only see about ten on those fuckers and they’re all screwed up. I say we take them out and then grab some food and water. Who’s with me?’

Check in every Saturday for a new chapter in the Eternal Aftermath!

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Saving Money (Part III)

“Hey Talon, what are you doing here?” Marty was one of the cooler guys he worked with. He didn’t talk down to Talon, just because he was a lowly dishwasher and Marty was a chief. “I thought you had tonight off?”

“Oh, I think I left my Personal here,” he lied. Talon didn’t even have enough money to own a personal, which these days meant his dating pool was pretty narrow.

“Well, the lost and found is near the register.” That was what he was hoping Marty would say.

New Cluster

Hurrying through the busy kitchen, he dodged plates and conversations. He saw a stray steak knife and tucked it into his back pocket. It wasn’t too big, but it could come in handy.

Making it to the front, he dropped behind the counter. Sassy was working, which he couldn’t decide was lucky or not. He had a hard enough time talking to her normally, but tonight, he was already feeling like his pulse rate had doubled.

The thought that he had eaten a steak of human flesh splattered across his mind. Did it somehow make him different? Could it scar you? He tried to push such feelings away. There would be plenty of time to ruminate on that horror later. Right now, he just had to make sure he had a later.

Attempting to push his tangled thoughts aside, he moved in behind her, waiting. There were worse places to be. Wearing the skintight Chinese dress did what it was supposed to do and graced her thin figure exquisitely. The scarlet dress matched her heels as well as her lips. She had a short blonde gloss cut, which belled out just over her hairline. Luminescent light blue eyes finished the look.

Sassy selected from the cream of the available undercrusties, and sometimes men who weren’t so available. She was way out of his league, even though they were of an age. This didn’t keep her from being decent to him and they joked around as much as he could manage.

Turning to face him, she smiled, “hi there Talon, just can’t stay away from the fun?”

“You got me pegged, I can’t hang here next to you while I’m not the clock, so I have to come in off shift for the privilege.“

He might have almost brought some color to her cheeks, and she eyed him slyly, but then quickly said, “Why are you really here?”

“I think I might have left my Personal here?”

“Really, I didn’t know you had one.” throwing her hip out slightly, she eyed him strongly.

“Why do you want my number?”

Sassy

“Maybe,” she pointed a scarlet fingernail towards a haggard yellow box that sat under the counter. “There is the lost and found. If you see a pair of amber earrings let me know.”

Talon was trying to kill time. He had to stay behind the counter as long as possible. Minutes dragged until he had spent enough of them to search the box three times.

“You know that if you lost it here, some scratch would swipe it anyway,” she said from behind him.

Holding up some thick red winter gloves, “here, how about these? They match your dress?”

“Hilarious. If I didn’t now better, I’d say you were lingering down there to check out my legs.”

“Man, I should have thought of that.” He was trying to joke, but things were wearing thin. Just then, what he had been waiting for happened. One of the waitresses came up with a man’s Digi-cred on a plate. Sassy quickly scanned the number. The number was only on the blue screen for a few seconds, but Talon jotted down the info on the back of his hand with a pen. Thank you Brian Whitney, he thought to himself with a secret smile. The digits disappeared before he could double check that he had gotten the right number. He had better hope that he had, the entire plan rested on this data.

After a brief attempt to part nicely with Sassy, he was on this way. Dashing out into the stagnant night, heading back to the last place in the world where he wanted to go.

*      *      *

“Yeah, he sent me back to get everyone. There are three people that we got.” Gesturing with his hands. “We need help, getting them all back.”

Pitch glared at him through squinted eyes. “Why three? Rick knows that we are only supposed to do one at a time.”

“No see that’s the thing. This is way more than what you guys got before. These three were smugglers. They had all sorts of stolen electronics. Valuable stuff. We can bury the bodies if we have to. Who cares?”

Pitch had drawn a black bladed dagger and was now playing with it while they talked. Talon tried not to stare at it. “How did you PRs take out three guys from the majors?”

“Mostly because Rick is a freak,” he answered. “The guy went sickness. The whole thing happened under a bridge over the canal. He got two of em’ and I waxed the third by pushing him over the railing.”

“You waxed a guy?” Pitch didn’t struggle to hide his disbelief.

Pitch

“Unless he can survive a thirty-foot drop.”

“Come on Pitch,” Stain was saying, while tugging at his arm. “I’ve always wanted a Ipod. It would be cool to have a Television here too and make some real money. RTD is…sick like Talon says. I could see him wasting these guys.”

“I’m still not sure.” Pointing his dagger straight at Talon’s face, there was now only a foot of space separating the tip from his eye. “It seems a bit on the, to good to be true side, for my tastes.” A pause, “why didn’t Rick come back?”

“Someone had to guard the gear. He’ll be able to scare any dregs off.” The others were getting excited and soon Pitch didn’t have much choice.

“Alright you pudwacks, we’ll check this out and we are all going.” Pointing the dagger at him still, “and you, we will be keeping a close eye on you.”

“As long as I get my share.”

“Oh, we believe in sharing everything.” As he spoke these last words the glowing eyes of the rest of them all focused on Talon. Trying not to shiver, he could only met their gaze for a moment, before he turned and led them out the door. Many of them paused to gather up weapons. Not to be outdone, Talon went to grab a baseball bat. Pitch was faster. He snatched it up and tossed it to Mucci. The dark skinned youth caught it easily. “No weapons for you yet. Mucci keep an eye on this PR. If anything goes less then perfect, keep hitting him until he stops moaning.”

Mucci pushed him forward and the group faded into the streets of New Cluster.

Learn more about New Cluster here!

Streets f New Cluster

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He would never be sure who grabbed who. Phillip had moved quickly, but then turned as if he wanted to attack Vile Darken. With a hundred Xemmoni at their backs, Jack didn’t favor their chances going up against the most powerful villain of the age.

Together they toppled back into the room covered with Felix’s viscera as a similar shower of body parts rained down as Cleo’s body continued to explode in the hallway behind them. 

Eyes of Vile

Over all this Vile’s voice boomed. “What? You think to escape? This world has never seen a gathering of Xemmoni such as I have summoned! Capture them alive. Their blood will aid with the spell. Ha, we might be able to wrap this up tonight and with the Multi-Verse heroes gone, the worlds will all quickly fall to me.”

Bedroom of Blood

“He’s always been a gabby one,” Jack said, as the pair scrambled through the gore onto their feet.

Phillip’s eyes were wide open and he yelled straight into Jack’s face. “Become a small serpent. Do it now!”

Trusting Phillip had a plan, Jack began to transform into a Mojave Rattlesnake while Phillip tossed a heavy chair through the bedroom window. At once, the growls and threats of more Xemmoni reached his ears from below, but soon those ears disappeared as his reptilian form took hold.

Vile might had shouted something, but his words would be forever lost. Phillip snatched him up and leapt onto the graded roof outside of the bedroom. But at once, Jack noticed that his friend’s body was transforming into… His pointed tongue snapped out long enough to realize that Phillip’s body was disappearing and becoming wine. 

Wave of Wine

Caught up in the small tidal wave Phillip’s body had become, Jack’s serpentine form twisted and fought to keep his head about the rolling violet wine. He might have gasped, if his body possessed such an ability, when he went spiraling over the edge of the roof. 

He hit the ground hard as wine rained down on him. The Xemmoni appeared stunned, but a big Caradon went to grab him. Jack rewarded the attack with a mouthful of venom and the Xemmoni withdrew his hand with a scream.

Then the waves of wine moved him again and he tumbled over the lawn. He could just determine they headed for the street when he felt himself falling again. It looked like it was into the sewer this time. Looking back, he saw they had passed through a storm grate. 

Phillip’s body carried him a sways further but then disappeared. Jack took this as a cue to become human again and found his drenched body standing in two feet of stagnant water. 

Phillip appeared out of the water a minute later. It relieved him to see that, like him, Phillip transformed with all his clothes and weapons still present.

“Neat trick.”

 

“I’ve learned a few things along the way, but yeah, it’s a newer one.” But then the reality of what had just occurred set in and his head dropped.

Placing a hand on his friend’s shoulder, Jack said, “I’m sorry man.”

“She… she deserved better.” But then his eyes raised and met Jack’s. “But what are we going to do? Besides Vile being here, did you see how many Xemmoni are out there? There must have been hundreds. And we just lost two of the last of our own.”

Jack adjusted the grip on his sledge hammer. “Not like you and I can run away. We don’t have a choice. If Vile eliminated the effects of that damn scroll had on the heroes present when it was casted, we both just might cease existing even if we’re a thousand miles from here.”

“So we just attempt the impossible because we are doomed anyway?”

“No, we do everything we can, when we can do it. One thing, with all those Xemmoni here, I doubt Bruin and Lanna had to fight much. Let’s at least reach them and make sure they are safe.”

“Fine,” Phillip said, while drawing his cutlass. “If I have to go down, it might as well be with a sword in my hands and I don’t care who he is, I’m going to kill that bastard Vile.”

Jack led the way through the sewers, but called over his shoulder, “No worries, I’m sure one of your incarnations has already killed the bastard here or there.”

“Well there is this one world, where I helped an Apollo man named Narrows. I think I killed Vile there for sure. And on this other plane, I dreamt that I was a reporter…

To be continued next Monday

Find out how Jack’s Adventures Started Here!

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Tezcatlipoca Jaguar

Hunting in the Night

Every animal’s Fright

Jaguar mixes silence and Speed

And now that is what I Need

Tezcatlipocazz

 

Learn More About the heroes of Tezcatlipoca here!

Bouncers, Babes, and Breaking Glass

As soon as the four men had made it through the doorway, Sammy slammed the patio door shut. An audible click sounded over their panting and for a long moment they all eyed each other while they tried to catch their breath.

A wet slap jarred them back to reality when the man Rollie had fought pressed his bloody body against the door’s window.

“What the hell is going on?” Will demanded.

Jack looked up from where he sought to bind Diamond’s arm with a table napkin. “We’re in serious trouble. That’s what’s going on!”

Rollie only noted the woman he had helped rescue when she started talking. “My friend. He ate my friend. He ate HER!”

“I don’t have time for this,” Jack began, but when the other waitress rounded the corner, he said, “Raquel, take care of this woman.”

“Shouldn’t we make sure the front door is locked,” Will asked.

Strings of Raquel’s raven hair had already tumbled from her pony tail. “I already did when Sammy told me to.” She tried to comfort the woman, but she had broken into a high pitch keening.

“What about delivery doors?” Will asked.

Jack eyed Will who looked pretty determined despite his pink shirt and silly mohawk. A second later, he tossed Will a set of keys. “The bartender’s name it Andy, Get him to help you. Lock them up and then bring anyone in Scallywags back here.”

“Shouldn’t we just go home or something?” Sammy said.

Jack moved away from his moaning partner. “How many people do you have to back you up there? How secure is it? How much food do you have?”

“I…”

“At least we have food here.”

Rollie spoke up. “What are you talking about? Sammy’s right. If there was some sort of chemical spill nearby, we should get away from here before we end up like him.” Rollie pointed back at the man banging on the window, but took a step further into the restaurant when he saw that two more hulking forms had joined the madman out there.

“Do you know of any chemical plants around here?” Jack asked while wiping blood onto his jeans. “For all you know you could be heading into more of a mess than you’re leaving.”

“So what we’re going to get all post-apocalypse in here?” Rollie asked as the much bigger man stared him down.

Jack answer was to put his foot through the seat of a wooden chair.

Rollie jerked back and then flinched when Jack tossed him a club sized chair leg.

The bouncer said, “I heard what Sammy said about not being able to reach to police.”

“Yeah, I’ve been trying too,” Raquel said, “and it’s not working.” The women with her had started to calm down and listen to what the others said.

“That means it’s not just happening here,” Jack said. “I’m not telling anyone what to do, but,” he jerked a thumb toward the door, “I wouldn’t be in a big hurry to go back out there until we learn a lot more about what is going on.”

 

Will returned to the dining area with the bartender and five other people. Only one was female, a skinny mouse haired girl who clung to her big boyfriend’s arm. Her boyfriend spoke first. “I’m Steve and this is Zoe. We heard screaming. Now the front door is locked. What the hell is going on?”

“We’re trying to figure that out,” Jack said.

Then Rollie heard a cracking. His head jerked back toward the patio. “Look out! They are breaking through the glass!”

Check in every Saturday for a new chapter in the Eternal Aftermath!

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Book Review of The Mask of Fu-Manchu, by Sax Rohmer

The Mask of Fu-Manchu, by Sax Rohmer
Published By: Titan Books
Published: 2013
Reviewed by: Michael D. Griffiths
Stars: 4 out of 5

The Mask of Fu-Manchu, by Sax Rohmer

The Mask of Fu-Manchu, by Sax Rohmer, is a reprinting of a book that was originally written in England in 1931. In case you have not heard of Fu-Manchu, he is one of the very first arch-villains to appear as a running adversary against a group of heroes. Like many arch-villains, Fu-Manchu is looking for nothing less than world domination. If he cannot get the whole world yet, then he will settle of a culture or two, or perhaps a few countries or in some cases almost an entire continent.
But although charismatic, Fu-Manchu is a figure of the shadows, the type of man that controls politicians and kings, but is not one himself. As would some nemesis to follow, Fu-Manchu also has a strong set of ethics. He would divert a dying village’s water supply to help his workers mine for diamonds, but his word is also his bond and despite his evil manner, he can be trusted to live up to his bargains like a gentleman.

In this story, our stalwart band of English heroes have once again been set on by the subtle strings and manipulations of Fu-Manchu when they unearth ancient artifacts that could rekindle a fanatic uprising among the Muslim people. Fu-Manchu wishes to use these items to set himself up as a new messiah in the Middle East, while the Englishmen seek to keep Fu-Manchu’s hands off them.
After several attempts to steal the artifacts and the murder of their friend, the heroes flee from the city near the dig to Egypt. But the sinister Chinaman has a new tool, a strange mimosa smelling chemical that not only knocks a person unconscious, but can be used to put them in a trance where they can be forced to obey his will. With the use of this drug, Greville helps Fu-Manchu kidnap his bride to be. Using the poor girl as a hostage, they set for a meeting to trade the woman for the artifacts within the largest pyramid.

I do not want to reveal more of the plot for it is a book worth reading. If one has never explored Fu-Manchu, it might be time you started. Many of the classic villain archetypes can find their origins within these pages. Sax Rohmer is a classic English author comparable with Doyle, Wells, and Verne, but remains far less known. The book is fast paced and action packed and leaves you wanting more.
Drawbacks of the book could include a racist aspect that is hard to deny. The threat of “the Yellow Peril,” is quite evident. Other races appear to have little will of their own and are used for tools and must be controlled. This brings up the issue of judging a man by our standards or his. Is Thomas Jefferson evil because he owned slaves? Should we disregard everything he wrote because of this? Or was he, for his time, a progressive thinker that did have valuable ideas to share? In some respects learning the origins of our past in an honest manner could have value and instead of ignoring that realty and pretending it did not happen. Perhaps instead of condemning whole centuries of humanity as evil, because they do not act like us, we can try to understand our own histories.

The Mask of Fu-Manchu was a real pleasure to read. Some of the writing was of a dated style, but this did not misplace to thrill of following these men through their adventure. Whether it is for personal enjoyment, learning more about the history of villains, or for an author to improve his own villains, The Mask of Fu-Manchu is a worthy read.

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Dionysus Caffeine

Sometimes we just need to kick Ass

When this is the case Caffeine we should not Pass

In this world where there is so much to Do

The Pressure can slam onto You

Sometimes a little help can go a long Way

Why not use more tools to control the Chaotic Sway

So let Soda and such flow into Me

And I will race to accomplish all the Goals that I See

For doing one thing is never Enough

Sometimes in life you have to get Rough

During the Night we have Beer and Wine

But in the early hours Caffeine is Divine

So as I set Out

Hear my shout Out

Dionysus send your energy down on Me

So of these tasks I can be Free

Why do I want to be Free

So later I can Party

Dionysus Cola

Learn More about the Heroes of Dionysus Here!

Saving Money (Part II)

Moving through the stygian night, he followed the lanky form of Rick-the-dick. They were passing through the slums of southern New Cluster, which were some of the worse parts of the city and of course where they all lived.

Streetlights, that hadn’t worked for a decade, stabbed the earth like black daggers. Overhead, the smog obfuscated any hint of the stars he knew lurked above. Leaving the major streets, Rick weaved through the alleys. These grimy streets had gone from being thoroughfares to hard-bitten squats for all manner of dregs.

Normally, Talon would be put off entering these suspect areas, but the tall imposing figure of Rick-the-dick kept the others at bay. Gazing left and right, he saw gangs of dregs. Many eyed them as potential prey, but they had chosen to keep their distance so far.

“These places are too crowded,” Rick hissed back at him. Talon also thought that these folk probably did something with their dead, other than let PRs drag them away, but he kept his opinions to himself.

The pair moved away from the throbbing seas of dregs and headed for the canals. These canals were dryer than a bucket of sand left in the desert and were now just crumbling monuments to a time when rivers still moved across this part of the city, unless you counted the garbage-choked flashfloods that ripped through New Custer in the spring. These were long gone now, and the canal loomed before them like a dark scar cut into the Earth.

People still malingered here and there, for it was rare to find any sort of isolation within the city limits. They moved closer to the canal. A walkway ran along it, which had once been part of a recreation program, but due to the smog, long gone were the days when one could exercise outside. Such things now belonged only to those rich enough to afford the indoor gyms, or people like him that worked off any nutrition he received through drudgery.

A bridge formed a black arch, which blocked half of the northern city’s lights and created a wide shadow across the trail. Rick headed for it. Talon hesitated at the lip of darkness. “Come on you wuss,” Rick ordered. Normally Talon wouldn’t have gone anywhere near places like this, but supposed that they were the predators now.

To his right, only a thin railing kept path traffic from tumbling into the canal bed far below. To his left, the darkness thickened where the bridge continued into a narrow space between the road and the dirt below. Rick had some sort of light and was shining it into these recesses. Talon hurried closer to the light. Looking back at him, the grim form of Rick nodded, the light reflecting off his archaic glasses. He motioned with his head and Talon saw a tangled sleeping form. The man was so filthy, he nearly camouflaged himself into the dirt below.

“Is he dead?” Talon whispered.

Rick’s response was to kick the man in the shin while he removed a pair of nun-chucks. The man groaned, but made no move to retaliate or even awaken.

“He’s still alive, Rick.”

“That’s a situation which can be easily rectified.” Then with a snarl, Rick tore the old man from his bedding and violently dragged him to the edge of the dirt.

Screaming began and ended quickly, when Rick laid the nun-chucks into the old dreg. Talon couldn’t move as the sick crunches filled the air. Rick beat on him again and again, until there was no doubt that the old man was dead. Then crouching over his victim, Rick began to search the man in the faint hope that he might possess something valuable.

They were right next to the rail that separated them from the long drop into the rocky canal. Without really planning to, Talon rushed forward and gave Rick-the-dick a mighty shove. Rick’s eyes grew wide, more with anger than fear, and he clutched at Talon as his body balanced precariously on the railing. Fingers tore strips of hair from Talon’s mohawk, but with a grunt, Talon grabbed the base of Rick’s boots and upended him backwards over the railing. Rick didn’t even bother to scream when his body plummeted into the debris-choked canal.

Another person might have just fled back to is home and hoped for the best, but Talon knew what sort of end that choice would led him to eventually. He had different ideas.

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Worst Case Scenario

Despite his reluctance, Jack decided to go with Bruin’s plan of letting Jack and the Dionysus worshippers try to rescue the healer Felix, while Bruin and Lanna attempted to destroy a Darcarre nest. They made it deep into Boston unopposed, but this also made sense for the Xemmoni no doubt wanted them as far into the city as possible before they set their trap. For the team would be kidding themselves if they didn’t admit there was a trap being set for them. The only questions would be if Felix still lived or if they would be able to live through it themselves. 

Urban Issues

The tension, in the new van Jack had purchased, lay thick and no one had spoken for so long that Phillip’s voice caused him to jerk the wheel. “It’ll be great to have a healer with us, if nothing else. All we need to do is be able to fight our way toward him and he’ll get us ready to fight our way out.”

“I just hope he still lives,” Cleo said, with less optimism in her voice. 

Jack glanced at her in the rear view for a moment before saying, “Phillip’s right though. We have just one goal. Grab Felix and go.”

“What if he still refuses to leave with us?” Phillip asked.

“We just have to assume, by this point, he’s knows better. Even if he’s too scared to hit our enemies with us, we can still hide him in some hotel and use him as a healer after our conflicts.” They rode in silence for a while, but then Jack added, “And one more thing. I could care less about coordinating some attack with Bruin. If the Darcarre come at us and lighten his burden, so be it. But I’m not risking our safety to do anything other than rescue Felix.”

Soon they arrived at Felix’s home. It was lit up like the man expected company, and Phillip mumbled, “I hope all those lights are a good sign.”

“Or maybe he’s just trying to keep the Darcarre at bay,” Cleo said.

“Brace yourselves,” Jack said, through clenched teeth, seconds before he hopped the van over the curb, drove across the lawn, and pulled up next to the front steps.

Phillip jumped out of the van first. “So far so good. No sign of anything.”

As one, the trio raced up the steps. Cleo gazed in every direction. “Is it possible that there isn’t a trap set for us here?”

Before he answered, Jack reached for the doorknob. It proved to be unlocked. Looking back over his shoulder, “This is getting strange.”

Phillip’s voice dropped to a whisper as they shut the front door behind them. “His room is upstairs. He’s either there or in the library on this level.”

They checked the library, but found no signs on him. Phillip and Jack lead the way up the stairs while Cleo watched their backs. Approaching Felix’s bedroom, the Stalwarts drew weapons. Again the door was unlocked, Jack opened it, and the men rushed inside.

The sight before them caused even those veteran Stalwarts to draw back and gasp in horror. Felix floated in mid air like he had been crucified on an invisible cross. He moaned slightly, but gave no indication that he was aware of their presence. His naked body showed signs of horrible abuse. Bruises and angry red lacerations covered more parts of his body than not. Only the whites of his eyes were visible, but they only had just enough time to take this in before the healer exploded.

Death of Felix

His very body became weapons and Phillip and Jack cried out as sharpened bones impaled them and viscera blinded their eyes. The men stumbled back into the hallway and struggled to wipe what was once Felix from their faces. Before this could happen, an insane laughter filled Jack’s veins with ice.

He’d heard that laugh before.

“VILE!”

Vile Darken

Jack looked on in horror as Vile Darken himself, both the Earth’s and Jack’s ultimate enemy, stood before him opposite of the stairs. His nemesis’ black sorcerer’s hat did little to contain Darken’s wild mane of unkempt hair. His goatee had become a raged beard since the last time Jack had confronted him, but insanity still burned behind his evil eyes. Tall ebony jack boots met a midnight blue uniform that made the foul villain look like some sort of space pirate. One hand clamped onto a smoking, black cutlass, while the other had Cleo’s body suspended by the neck so that her feet dangled a full foot of the floor.

“Ho, Jack Primus we meet once more, but then again, I’ve meet you so many times over across the Everywhere War, that such encounters tend to lose their uniqueness.”

He has your love in his hands

“Let her go, you horrid freak,” Jack hissed. “Your battle is with me. Let’s finish this!”

“Jack,” Phillip said in a low voice. “Behind us.”

Jack took a second to discover that dozens of Xemmoni rushed into the house behind them. In seconds they would be heading up the stairs at their backs.

Vile’s voice drew Jack back to the dark villain. “I’m been enjoying causing people to explode latterly. You could say it’s my newest trick or perhaps hobby.”

Evil thy name is Vile

Then, before Jack could do anything, Cleo exploded into a thousand gruesome pieces.

To be continued next Monday

Find out how Jack’s Adventures Started Here!

Vile Darken

YIG Entropy Guide

The Path of Life has Eight Hundred Directions at Once

Each day we are Faced with more Choices then we Realize

Servants of Yig

Are one with the Chaos

Like a Snake they can move in any direction at any Time

But move Forward once the Direction is Chosen

I seek to be like the Snake

Let the Chaos Embrace Me

I Wish to be like the Leaf in the Wind

Which Lands on the Pot of Gold

Let the Chaos Infuse Me

Entropy shall be my Guide

Take me down the right Road

The path of Greatness Awaits

The Journey continues Forever

I am the traveler, who Seeks, Finds, and becomes Complete

Yig

 

Find out more about Followers of Yig Here!!!