Discord Celebrates First Accurate GOP Prediction of 21st Century

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!

\

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!

You can explore more of the Eternal Aftermath here!

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.

Learn more here!

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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

Between a Dark and a Darker Place

Lanna rolled onto her back. Her lean body glistened with a layer of perspiration. “I think that was our eighth bout since we checked into this place,” she purred.

Jack’s back was toward her as he slipped on his jeans. “Sounds about right and it works for me.” He smiled over his shoulder, “Eight is Yig’s lucky number.” 

“I hope you’re all happy. You showing up at The Joint pretty much insures that I’ll never work in Boston again. Hell, never go back to Boston again.”

 

Jack stood and watched the waves crash against the shore below them. Rain hammered the coast and showed no signs of slowing. “How long do you think it would have been before they dragged you out of that place whether or not we were around?”

“I’m not sure,” she purred. “I can usually find some what to convince most people that I can be a very useful girl.”

Lanna

He smiled, despite himself. “I’m sure you can. Still allowing some Caradon’s mutated hands to touch you… I’m not sure much is worth such a price.”

“Don’t underestimate mutates, hun. Sometimes they have things that—hey where you going?”

“I need to find Bruin and see where he stands.”

“Wait, you don’t even know where I stand.”

He flashed her another smile. “Nah, I think I do.”

*         *         *

Jack found Bruin and Phillip drinking in the hotel’s small dark bar. Shadows played over both men’s faces and Jack wondered if they had asked the bartender to dim the lights. As he drew in closer, Jack felt pleased that the Stalwart of the dark one had at least removed his hockey mask.

 

“What can I get you?” Phillip asked while hurrying behind the bar.

Jack had learned better than to ask where the bartender might have been and just requested an ale before joining Bruin at the center table. 

The man’s black locks covered his face almost as well as the hockey mask had. The rest of his wardrobe would have made a Darcarre jealous. Black jeans, met a black shirt and high boots. Even his drink looked like ink.

Bruin

“So what have you two been discussing?” He asked.

“Mostly how amazing it is that you all still draw breath,” Bruin said.

Jack leaned in. “So you’re saying we shouldn’t be trying to keep the Xemmoni from claiming the whole city and perhaps initiating a ritual what could damage the war on multiple worlds?”

“I’m not saying that at all,” Bruin whispered. “I’m just saying that I’m surprised your luck hadn’t run out and it probably would have if Lanna and I hadn’t come to your rescue.”

“We’ve been through worse.”

“Again, I’m not surprised. Your blundering methods must lead you into all sorts of trouble.”

“Hey,” Phillip said, before Jack could reply. “We were luring them back into the woods. That worked well for a while.”

“Yes,” the Tezcatlipoca follower said, “but when we’re dealing with a mixture of Magick backed up by technology, secrets don’t keep long.”

Trying to keep his voice even, Jack asked, “So what big innovate plan would you suggest?”

Bruin steepled his fingers. “There are many things I might suggest, but first we have to determine if Felix and Blaze are ready, willing, or able to join in this battle.”

Jack tiffed and took a sip of ale. “That’s your big idea? We would have been doing that anyway.”

Stalwart

“Perhaps, but I have another idea. I know where a Darcarre nest is located. I’d like to hit them where it hurts.”

“You want us all to attack it?”

“Noooooooo, just me and maybe Lanna for back up. I’m immune to their darkness Bestows. I go in, assassinate as many as possible. If any try to flee, Lanna can be waiting for them outside.”

“What if there are too many?” Phillip asked.

“That’s where your team comes in. You will go for Felix. This will perhaps empty out more of the nest when the Darcarre call for back up. Then, hopefully before they reach your battle, the Darcarre will be summoned back their own nest to keep me from slaying them all.” He favored them with a dark grin. “This way, we have a chance to free Felix, keep a huge group of Darcarre out of both our battles, and wipe out a nest all at once.”

Phillip looked over at Jack. “The plan has some merits.”

“True, if it looks like we’re heading toward Felix, they might allow us to continue into the city so we can spring the trap they have undoubtedly set for us there. The downside… they have set a trap for us there.”

“But your predictability will work in our favor instead of against us.”

“Easy for you to say,” Jack grumbled. “You’re not in the trap springing group.”

“Yes, I’m in the wipe out a whole nest from the inside by myself group.”

Phillip shrugged. “I’m not sure what else we can try, Jack. We keep thinning their ranks, but more pour into my city every day. At least this way, maybe Bruin can take down a few leaders.”

“Perhaps,” Jack leaned back in his chair. “It’s time for Felix to either join us or leave town. At least with this plan, he’ll have that chance. I do agree with Bruin on one thing. We’ve been mostly spinning our wheels killing the rabble while their leaders probably grow closer to their real agenda.”

“Yes,” Bruin said through clenched teeth. “If we don’t get our act together your end game will be fighting pudwacks and then wondering what’s happening while you and Phillip fade into nothingness.”

Jack stood up. “Alright, we’ll review this with the ladies, but Bruin, I want you to do me a favor.”

“Which is?”

“If you do run into some high ranking Darcarre. Try to take one of them alive.”

To be continued next Monday

Find out how Jack’s Adventures Started Here!

Darkness and Speed

“Apparently we aren’t the only people that can set traps,” Phillip yelled over at him as he sprayed a group of advancing Caradon with jets of what might have been Merlot. 

Boston

“Yeah, how many damn Xemmoni are here?” Cleo barked. “I feel like if this keeps up we’ll be killing them all tonight.”

Xemmoni

But despite their bravo, Jack knew they were in serious trouble. They had attempted to find Lanna, the Stalwart of Inanna, and figured if Xemmoni guarded her they would have the villains chase their group out into the forest again. However, this time the Xemmoni had prepared themselves and dozens of the dark hearted fiends waited for them. The ebony Darcarre mixed with the wispy rag covered Glooms. The foul twisted bodies of the Caradon had shown up in droves and Jack thought he spied some brown robed Nexus in their midst.

Horde Attack

The first thing the Xemmoni had done was destroy the van the Stalwarts had been using. The second was to surround them outside of the strip joint and do everything in their power to cut the team to pieces. Like usual, the only thing that had kept them breathing was the protection from damage that luckily both Yig and Dionysus afforded their followers.

Lancing Magickal attacks mixed with hurled weapons, for none of the horde wanted to be the first to meet Jack’s axe or Phillip’s enchanted saber. Again the only thing 

keeping their bodies from dissipating into the wind or becoming a chemical soup was the fact that most of the Xemmoni’s Bestows proved too weak to pierce the Stalwart’s protection. Still even the small wounds began to take their toll and as the Xemmoni sensed weakness, they started to close in.

Jack Attack

The group retreated until their backs were against the rear wall of the strip club. “Okay, just because they still outnumber us ten to one, doesn’t mean this is over,” Jack began. “Let’s show these scumbags who really owns Boston.”

The Xemmoni answered with a roar that left their ears ringing. They were about to rush the Stalwarts when those in the rear of their horde began to cry out. 

Jack assumed, correctly, that Lanna might had come to their aid, and this proved true for he could just detect a whirlwind of powder blue tearing into the rear of their enemy, but something else was there a s well. A dark shadow. It moved with a speed the like of which he had rarely witnessed. 

Lanna

The Xemmoni forces wavered and not to be undone, Jack shouted, “Charge!” and he had his Dionysus allies stormed into the front of the Xemmoni ranks. 

Confused and uncertain, their leadership tried to rally their minions until Jack took the Gloom captain’s head off. The rest scattered and Jack and his allies quickly found themselves panting for breath in an alley emptied of all the Xemmoni save for their death and whimpering wounded.

Lanna walked toward them wearing a grin and little else. She appeared to have not bothered to put on as much as a long sleeve shirt before joining in the fray. Yet, despite her exposed female perfection, it proved to be the other figure that drew his attention.

This second figure garbed himself completely in black save a goalie mask that Jason wouldn’t have minded barrowing. For a weapon he held a long hockey stick, which had both side of its end covered in a thick assortment of gleaming blades. He looked a bit like a Grim Reaper that had taken up the sport of hockey.

Bruin

To his side he felt Cleo tense and Phillip leaned in close enough to say, “You’ve met us all now.” Then louder, “allow me to introduce the last surviving Stalwart of Boston that you have yet to speak to. The man of Tezcatlipoca, Bruin.”

“This should prove interesting.”

To be continued next Monday

Find out how Jack’s Adventures Started Here!

Zombie Apocalypse Day One

Rollie remained uncertain as the woman who’d been dragged onto the sidewalk burst into a high pitched scream, which competed with the giant bouncer who already missed bitefuls of his arm.

“What the hell’s going on?” Will yelled, as he tried to pull the man in the blood splattered suit away from Diamond.

At the door

The other bouncer, Jack, took a more direct path and smashed the man straight in the face with the heel of his boot. This knocked the psycho away from the bleeding black bouncer, but the man in the suit still wouldn’t stay down.

But Rollie became distracted by Sammy’s yells for help. While the three men stayed busy with the freak in the suit, this new madman had already all but killed the woman on the sidewalk. Her friend hit the prone man with a wooden chair, but it didn’t keep him from drawing another mouthful of flesh away from the screaming woman’s face. Rollie winced, but ran toward the conflict.

As he passed Sammy, he yelled, “What about the cops?”

“I can’t get through. The lines are busy!” She yelled.

“Isn’t that supposed to be impossible?” he said, but then had more immediate problems. The woman with the chair hadn’t been able to accomplish much other than get the flesh craving murderer’s attention and the blood soaked man, lurched to his feet and stumbled toward her. The woman let out a scream and fled.

With a moan, the killer’s eyes moved, locked onto Sammy, and he headed her way.

He’s coming for you

“Sammy, run. Lock the doors, but let us in when we’re ready, please.” She nodded and took off.

The murderer’s clumsy body had been slowed by climbing over the small wall that separated the courtyard from the street and Rollie wondered if some sort of drug could have fried their brains or maybe it was a chemical spill. Soon, however, such speculation got dismissed, for the man’s milky eyes locked onto Rollie’s and it headed his way.

“Son of a… Now what the hell am I going to do?”

Looking around for a weapon didn’t help much, but a few potted plants decorated the area and a large circular serving tray lay on the waitress bar. He picked up a large potted plant. “I hate to do this—oh screw it. You just ate a lady’s face.” The plant went flying, but Rollie had never been much of an athlete and it only clipped the guy’s shoulder. The second one landed in the center of the bastard’s chest and sent him sprawling, but he didn’t remain down long. With a groan, it came after him. Rollie could also hear more screams echoing in the strip mall past the restaurant and wondered how many people might be going mad.

Zombie Mailman

The crazed man rushed at him and Rollie had just enough time to pick up the serving tray and hold it before him like some sort of third rate shield. The man’s face was coated in blood and it glared and snapped at him over the tray. It fought against him with an insane fury. Rollie started to whimper as he was pushed back against the outer wall of Scallywags.

Suddenly the man was pulled away from him and flung over a table. Will looked over at him, “Quit fooling around.”

“Fooling around…” he stuttered. “I was trying-”

“Just come on!” Jack shouted. “Whatever the hell they are, there seems to be more.” Jack helped his wounded co-worker, while his other hands fumbled for his keys.

Looking back over his shoulder, Rollie saw two things. The first was the man in the suit, who no longer moved. His blood froze and he hoped that Will hadn’t helped kill someone. But the second was what appeared to be another three figures stumbling and moaning like the man before him who had already regained his footing.

Wet Zombie

“Come on, buddy,” Will said, guiding him toward the door into Scallywags, “I know you have a big heart, but I think these people just want to eat it.”

Jack was still fumbling for his keys when Sammy opened the door. A moment later the four men had rushed inside.

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

You can explore more of the Eternal Aftermath here!

Insane

Saving Money (part I)

“So how do you like it?” Pitch asked, while cutting another huge piece off his steak. Swirling it in the bloody grease on his plate, he popped it into his mouth, before Talon had a chance to reply.

“Yeah, it’s great,” he answered. Talon hoped that this wasn’t a prelude to Pitch asking him up pony up some money for his share of the meal. Talon only had three dollars to his name and didn’t want to part with them.

Saving Money

“I’m glad you like it,” Pitch said. Some of the other guys laughed for some reason. “Would you like a beer?” Everything about Pitch lived up to his name. From his dyed hair to his wardrobe, everything stayed a deep dark black. He kept himself clean-shaven and was probably a few seasons shy of Talon’s twenty five years of age.

“Wow, you have beer too? What’d you do, roll somebody?”

Laughing between mouthfuls, “there might have been some rolling involved?”

Pitch

Rick, or Rick-the-dick, as most people called him, handed him a can of cheap beer. Rick was tall and creepy, in a general sort of sense, which even wearing outdated glasses couldn’t dispel. Local legend had it that Trash had kept the lanky freak from raping a girl behind Greasy Tony’s sub shop. Why Pitch let the guy hang around was beyond Talon. Still, a guy on his budget couldn’t turn down free food and beer, so here he was.

            The group of five guys and one gal circled the grimy table that was in the main room of the small shack known as the Mutant House. Torn and shaggy show flyers mixed with random posters in an attempt to conceal the dirty brown walls. Trash mingled with dumpster dived furniture and junk, until it was hard to distinguish one from the other.

Taking another bite of meat, he let it melt on his tongue. Who would have guessed these losers could cook this well? “So what do you think you might be eating?” Pitch asked? This elicited more laughter from his buddies and girlfriend Stain.

“Some kinda steak. I guess.”

“It is some kind of steak,” Mucci giggled beside him.

Talon was starting to feel uneasy. What was going on with these guys? He took another bite and washed it down with a big chug of beer. “Would you like to know?”

“Ah sure, why not.”

“Rick, go grab what is on the plate.”

Moving to the fridge, Rick strangely waited until he was nearly standing behind Talon, before he tossed the plate onto the table. Talon shot to his feet so fast that the chair toppled backwards with a clang. He gasped when he saw that Rick had tossed a folded human arm onto the table. Most of the meat had been sliced away, except for the flesh around the hand. This had turned a sickly light blue.

The others were laughing at his reaction, but Rick placed a controlling hand on his shoulder as he whispered, “stay cool.” The words were drawn out and eerie, sounding like some fiend out of an old horror movie.

“What the hell are you guys doing?” He managed to spit out.

Talon

“Saving money,” Pitch said, standing up.

“By eating people?” A deep terror began to well up inside him. It was an explosive feeling of horror, which he could barely control, but he knew that if he lost it, trouble would quickly follow.

“Hell, is it our fault?” Pitch began, as he started to pace through the crowded room. Papers were crushed under his feet and he knocked over an overflowing ashtray. This created a gray cloud that clutched at his combat boots.

“We have hit way worse than a recession here. New Cluster is dying. We are living off its corpse anyway, why not take it one step further?”

“Where did you get the body?” He couldn’t help but ask, which caused Rick’s hand to clamp down on his shoulder painfully.

“Don’t worry. It was already dead, if that’s what you’re thinking,” Pitch said, with a dismissive flick of his hand. “Everyone is so hungry that people are dying all around us. Rick found this corpse in the street; no one cared. The government might have gotten the paramedics around to cleaning it up eventually. They don’t care about us or care that we are starving, they just want to clean up the streets so that the uppercrusties don’t have to be disturbed by our reality.”

“But who was this guy?” Talon tried to shrug Rick’s hand off his shoulder, but this only made him grip harder.

“Just a bum.” Ceasing his pacing, Pitch met his eye, staring him down. “Why should we live in poverty, until we end up like those guys, wasting away in the streets? Why should we spend every cent we get just to try to survive and miss out on everything? Hell, you liked that beer, didn’t you? Do you think we would be able to afford something even as simple as these cheap ass beers, if we were shelling out money for grub? Hell no. We would be sitting here eating some oat supplement, staring at each other. Some Saturday night that would be.”

“I hope we can trust you not to narc us out,” Rick whispered into his ear. “Cause if you do…” His words trailed off, but Talon felt the implications. The silent threat that perhaps he would be becoming their next meal.

“So I ask you this Talon, are you with us, or are you just going to continue to grovel for the Posh, washing their dishes at that place you work, watching more food flow down the drain each day than you get to eat in an month?”

The grip on his shoulder intensified. “Yeah, I’m cool. I would never narc you guys.”

“We want more than that Talon, we want you to be one of us. We have already shared one meal; why not make it a lifestyle. No matter what, we’ll never starve and we’ll certainly have more cash for rolling.”

“I don’t know.” This was wrong, so wrong, and he just wanted to get out of there and never return, but he had a feeling he wouldn’t make it out of there at all if he didn’t tell them what they wanted to hear. Quickly building a plan and fighting down his building sickness, he figured he would play along with them for now.

“I guess you have a few points. I hate eating synthetic mush and not even having enough money to wash it down with something more than our nasty tap water.”

“Now you’re talking.”

“Wait,” Rick said from behind him. “Before we welcome him into the fold, I want to seem him clean his plate. Can he do it now that he knows what he is eating?”

Pitch must have seen him grimace, for he smiled and said, “Come on Talon. Talk minus action equals zero.”

His hands fell like fish caught in the mud while his throat constricted painfully. Dread welled up inside him, building into fear. Looking around the constricted room and feeling Rick-the-dick’s grip on his shoulder, left little doubt to the true nature of this test. Fail, and it could be his arm they would be eating.

Red Talon

His mouth turned to ash. Could he do this? Eating this meat was the only way to get out of here, but would it pass his throat? Could he make it happen?

Slowly, trying not to let his arm tremble, Talon picked up his fork and stabbed it into his remaining triangle of dripping black meat. It was a big piece, but he believed that it would be better to do it all at once, for he wouldn’t wish to have to do it again and again.

Staring at it, he could see the crimson muscle. It looked like human flesh now. Hesitating too long could give him away. Frowning uncontrollably, he shoved the whole piece in-between his teeth in one bite. It filled his mouth and he gagged. His throat tensed, closing like a vise. Flesh splintered and tore, splitting into wet fragments that became caught between his teeth.

He began to dry heave. Not bothering to hide the menace in his voice, Pitch said, “don’t do it.” A steak knife filled his hand and he brought it up like a weapon. “Don’t do it.”

Panicking, he snatched up his half full beer and downed the thing. He was barely able to keep from vomiting, but the beer washed away some of the foul taste and with a supreme effort, he was able to swallow the rest.

For a moment all he could do was stand there panting. He hadn’t even noticed at first that Rick-the-dick had let go of him. “Can I have another beer please?”

“Sure,” Pitch said and tossed him a beer. “Good job by the way. Now you only have to pass one more test”

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Talon’s Nightmare