tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50888739450024270562024-03-12T16:09:01.995-07:00Gods of MiskatonicZach Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08188373296321506021noreply@blogger.comBlogger31125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088873945002427056.post-78262235640273561662012-12-26T12:31:00.000-08:002012-12-26T12:31:12.516-08:00Chapter 30<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen
heard the gunshots through the searing pain and looked up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She recognized David instantly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth and Sayako were behind him and he was
charging up the platform towards her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Impossible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How did he find her?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This had to be a cruel vision forced on her
by dark magic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
David
leveled his AK-47 at Hannah and her father.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Don’t
move.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Magic can’t stop a bullet,” David
said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He looked down at her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Release her.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You
won’t make it out of here alive,” Hannah said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You
can’t finish your ceremony if you’re dead.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
put the muzzle of the gun right up to Hannah’s face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hannah didn’t flinch and only continued to
glare at him with her black eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hannah
always had a lack of fear that came from her own arrogance.</div>
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“Do
it,” father said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“But,
father, if we let her go the ceremony’s…”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Just
do it.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Hannah
let out a snarl and took a gold key out of her robe. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She unlocked the manacles around Gretchen’s
wrists and ankles. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NWpImwJamBk/UNtbkP_E3UI/AAAAAAAAB2c/86o2dBmICHg/s1600/gold+key.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-NWpImwJamBk/UNtbkP_E3UI/AAAAAAAAB2c/86o2dBmICHg/s1600/gold+key.jpg" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
As
soon as she was free Gretchen jumped and wrapped her arms around him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She made sure to embrace him from the side so
she didn’t interfere with his ability to shoot. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
had come for her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Against all hope David
came for her. He did love her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
didn’t know why anyone would love a freak like her, but he did. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All her worries disappeared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She wasn’t scared because she knew he’d
protect her. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“We’re
leaving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t follow us,” David
said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Sayako
ran up onto the platform carrying one of those guns with the enormous
drums.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“We
good?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sayako asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yeah,
we’re good,” David said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Then
we go now.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
have to agree,” Beth said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth
came up onto the platform still pointing her pistol at the crowd below.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Follow
me,” David said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
As
a group they began moving back toward the entrance to the house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
There
was so much she wanted to say to him but now wasn’t the time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When they reached safety then she’d tell
him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
led her by the hand through the tunnel and up into the house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The house that was never her home but now was
terrifying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Despised and ignored was
normal, but for them to try to kill her still seemed impossible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All this time they left her alone and let her
go to school because they knew they’d kill her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
As
they go to the front door of the house she stopped and held him back. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have to go,” he said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“No,
wait.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have to get something.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Follow me.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
ran up stairs to her father’s room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
was never allowed here but she had snuck in a few times. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
In
father’s closet was a chest, one of many.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She went to the closet and threw the chest’s lid open.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Inside was filled with the greenish gold, the
gold given to them by Dagon in exchange for their servitude.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qUfvSZKiods/UNtcREbIiPI/AAAAAAAAB2k/RxgSe_mYBuI/s1600/chest.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qUfvSZKiods/UNtcREbIiPI/AAAAAAAAB2k/RxgSe_mYBuI/s320/chest.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“That
explains why you never ask for prices,” he said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
didn’t have time to wonder what he meant.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Grab
that side.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Together
they lifted the trunk, barely managing to pick it up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They left the house and David pointed to one
of the trucks nearby.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The keys were
still in it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After all, who would dare
steal from the Marshes? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
threw the trunk in the bed and Sayako and Beth climbed in the back. David
jumped in the front seat and she took the passenger side that Beth always
called “shotgun” for some reason.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Then
the sound of mad, piping music came from the house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
David
heard it to because he turned his head as he started the truck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What
was that?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Just
drive.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
If
it was what she thought it was then they had to flee as fast as the could.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“David,
please hurry.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
must have seen something of her fear. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What’s
wrong?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Get
us out of here now.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
shifted into drive and the truck lurched forward.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She kept looking but no armed guard came out
to stop them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That added to her
worry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
As
they reached the end of the driveway where the gravel turned onto the main road
they heard a crashing sound of wood being splintered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
turned to see the font of the house exploding in a shower of broken wood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Something giant, oily and black pored out of
the house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rG6VqZFnkNQ/UNtdG5IJY0I/AAAAAAAAB2w/FYw9j67uPwo/s1600/shoggoth+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="318" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rG6VqZFnkNQ/UNtdG5IJY0I/AAAAAAAAB2w/FYw9j67uPwo/s320/shoggoth+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Drive
faster, David.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Drive as fast as you
can,” she said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What
is it?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“A
shoggoth.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
had seen a shoggoth once before and knew it was unstoppable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
giant mass of living tissue raced down the hill toward them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a shapless mass of darkness with
almost recognizable parts appearing and disappearing constantly along its
surface.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For a moment she could make out
a mouth filled with teeth or an eye with red pupils.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes tentacles or claws would appear to
pull itself along and be absorbed back into it a few seconds later.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
It
was fast. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Go!”
Beth shouted from the rear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
David
accelerated, pushing her back into her seat with a jolt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The tires squealed and kicked up gravel
before hitting the cracked pavement of the road.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
shoggoth burst onto the road behind them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Thick tentacles and protuberances came out of its body to help it change
direction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It knew its prey and wasn’t
going to give up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The thing took off
after them, moving faster than anything that size had a right to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was the size of a semi truck and was
barreling down the road toward them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What
the hell is that thing?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David asked as
he pushed the old truck to its maximum speed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
began going through her list of spells but she knew she didn’t have anything
that could stop a Shoggoth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The things
were meant to be unstoppable. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Old
Ones had designed them to be as near perfect as possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whatever job they needed to do they’d give
themselves the tools to do it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Right now
the Shoggoth needed speed and lethality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Dozens
of whip-like tentacles shot out to grip the road and pull itself while its own
body undulated almost like a snake to push it along.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was grotesque, frightening and beautiful
at the same time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
It
was also powerful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It knocked trees over
without pausing and smashed into a broken down car that had been there for
years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It tore the car to shreds as if
it were made of cardboard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
But
it was also gaining on them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sayako
fired her big gun at the thing to no effect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She’d need a much bigger gun to even get the shoggoth’s attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Then
she remembered that there was a bridge up ahead on this road.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It wasn’t far but if they could take out the
bridge they could slow the shoggoth down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen
opened up the back window and climbed out into the bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David said something about staying in the cab
but she didn’t have time to pay attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If they were going to get away from this thing she had to do something fast.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
didn’t have any spell that could blow the bridge apart, but she did have one
that could age and decay things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was
slow and weak, but if she could amplify the power then they had a chance. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Do
you have a knife?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She asked Beth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
took out a small pocket knife and handed it to her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She didn’t ask but the questions were in
Beth’s eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen
sat on the trunk and began reciting the spell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As she said the spell, the world grew silent around her until all she
could hear was the sound of her own chanting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Even time seemed to slow as the trees crept by instead of flying and the
shoggoth’s tentacles reached out in lazy archs instead of like snapping
whips.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
As
she chanted she took the knife and sliced open her palm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her mind was so filled with the magic that
she didn’t feel a thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She then took
her bloody hand and began writing dark runes and glyphs on the bed of the
truck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Then
they were on the bridge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She reached out
her bloody hand towards the bridge and pronounced the last words.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AeFRR2s4ksc/UNteOaWRh6I/AAAAAAAAB3Y/2fiCZR1oD2A/s1600/bridge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AeFRR2s4ksc/UNteOaWRh6I/AAAAAAAAB3Y/2fiCZR1oD2A/s320/bridge.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Reality
snapped back into place and suddenly everything was filled with noise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The noise of the rattling engine, the
rhythmic thumping of the tires on the uneven bridge surface and the shattering
trees and pavement of the pursuing shoggoth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The mad piping sounds coming from the gaining shoggoth had grown
deafening, its own tuneless music torturing the air around the beast. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
It
was right behind them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of its
tentacles lashed out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It hit the rear
gate of the truck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In an instant the
rear gate was gone, leaving nothing but torn metal behind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
blood runes began to glow and the bridge began to groan and creak beneath
them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As she looked she saw the red
metal of the suspension bridge turn to rust.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It spread like ripples in a pond over the entire surface of the bridge.
The concrete started to crack and crumble.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
They
were only halfway across the bridge when the shoggoth reached it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It didn’t hesitate and pored onto the surface
of the bridge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But the bridge held.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Fiddlesticks.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
grabbed the knife and cut her other arm in a diagonal slash.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Blood gushed out and she ignored the pain
while she chanted a spell to blast the bridge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In the back of her mind she was aware that Beth was yelling something to
her about what she was doing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-k7S5QtgJL3I/UNtecsG56yI/AAAAAAAAB38/HjMtuU5Bpsc/s1600/knife.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-k7S5QtgJL3I/UNtecsG56yI/AAAAAAAAB38/HjMtuU5Bpsc/s320/knife.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
With
the last syllable she threw the blast at the center of the bridge. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A blue ball of energy shot out and exploded on
the surface of the bridge creating a violent cloud of dust and debris. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With the added power of her own blood the
rusted, crumbling bridge exploded and large sections began to break away and
fall into the river below.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Then
the bridge fell apart under the shoggoth’s weight and as the bridge shattered
it fell into the river, carrying the black shoggoth down with it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like dominoes the bridge collapsed from the
center and spread to the shores.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
cement was cracking beneath their tires when they reached the other side.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Then
everything became blurry and Beth’s voice seemed muffled and far away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
*</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen
woke up in David’s bed with a terrible headache.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She looked around but no one was there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Hello?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She called out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Her
voice sounded weak and dry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Right
here chicky girl,” Sayako’s voice said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Sayako
faded into reality on the foot of her bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Where
is everyone?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Go
get food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I on guard.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Her
hand and arm hurt and when she looked down saw that they were bandaged.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
A
few minutes later David and Beth came back with bags of fast food and
drinks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
David
came over and sat down next to her. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“How
you feeling?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
have a headache.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You’re
lucky that’s all you have.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You lost a
lot of blood.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“It
was all I could think of.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You
did good, Gretch.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
reached out and caressed his cheek.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He kissed
her hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“That
was pretty cool.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You took down a whole
bridge,” Beth said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Like
a boss,” David said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You
came for me.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Of
course we did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>About what I said
earlier…”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“My
sister witched you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
knew he loved her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She didn’t know why,
but she knew he did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She reached out and
pulled him in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her lips connected with
his and no matter what else she knew he loved her by the way he kissed
her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth
cleared her throat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What
now?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“We
eat and celebrate that we’re still alive,” he said. “No offense, Sayako.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Sayako
shrugged. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“And
after that?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is Grethen’s family going to
return for another reunion?” Beth asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“It’s
possible. The time for the ceremony is over and their chance is missed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But revenge has always been a Marsh family
specialty,” Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“And
if they come back?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Then
we deal with them,” David said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
They
ate and listened as Gretchen told them about shoggoths and Old Ones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After that Beth and Sayako left, leaving her
alone with David.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m
sorry for being so much trouble,” Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You
are kind of high maintenance.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m
dragging you into danger.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You
tried to keep me out of it.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“But
I failed and I’m sorry.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
reached over and took her hand.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You’re
worth it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More than worth it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’d fight Old Ones, Elder Things and whatever
else to keep you.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
‘You
might have to.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“And
I can do it if you’re beside me.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m
not going anywhere.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
stood up and helped her out of her seat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Then they kissed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They held each
other for a long time, kissing and being thankful to still be alive. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
knew he’d keep her safe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her family
wouldn’t let this go and she’d see them again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There were other horrors out there as well and now that their eyes were
open to them, they couldn’t be ignored or passed by.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Hard
times were ahead but as long as she had David and her friends, she knew she
could do it. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That night, she got to fourth base.</div>
Zach Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08188373296321506021noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088873945002427056.post-33756742786282558082012-12-08T09:41:00.002-08:002012-12-08T09:41:57.654-08:00Chapter 29<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Dinner
was as disgusting as every other meal here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Poorly cooked fish and boiled potatoes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Already she missed pizza and hamburgers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
As
the plates were taken away by the servants father turned to her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Are
you ready for the ceremony?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“No.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t even know what the ceremony requires
of me.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
knew one thing required of her: death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She couldn’t go with them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All
day long she had looked for a way to escape but wherever she looked she saw
father’s guards watching her. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You
have to do very little.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The appropriate
attire is laid out on your bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Go change
and meet me and your sister down here.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Of
course, father.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
excused herself and went up to her bedroom and closed the door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
time had already come.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Either she
escaped now or they’d drag her to the old caves and kill her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She didn’t know what this was all about and
she didn’t want to know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She just wanted
away from there. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Black
robes with gold designs of Deep Ones and Elder Gods lay on her bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A white porcelain mask that resembled a
serene face lay with the robes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mhrbZNX57gs/UMN5JwYIDlI/AAAAAAAAB1I/Cn3sg0cxNBY/s1600/white-mask.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-mhrbZNX57gs/UMN5JwYIDlI/AAAAAAAAB1I/Cn3sg0cxNBY/s320/white-mask.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
kept hoping David would burst through the door at any moment, but she knew that
was impossible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He wouldn’t know that
she had been taken and even if he did he wouldn’t know where to find her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
was on her own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
knife she had snuck out of dinner was hardly enough, but it was all she
had.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen
went to the window and looked out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
was night time with a half moon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Down
below was the garden full of dried, half dead plants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There weren’t any guards visible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Now
was her chance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If she didn’t go now she
might never have another.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
quickly unlocked the window and climbed out onto the sloping tiled roof.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of the shingles broke under her weight
but none slid down and off to the ground to give away her presence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
There
was a lattice covered with dead vines and she made her way on all fours like a
crab over to it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The problem was that
there was an overhang. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Slowly she eased
a foot down until her foot caught the lattice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Step by step she lowered herself down until she was on the lattice like
a ladder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Now
the question was whether or not the lattice would support her weight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She suddenly was glad she was small.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Somehow
she made it down to the ground and hid behind some bushes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The garden was on a cliff overlooking the
sea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Too far to jump and too rocky.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’d have to make it past the front of the
house and through the town if she was to escape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
beam of a flashlight came into view and she froze in place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A guard with a long bolt action rifle walked
by, gazing around at nothing in particular.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He was alert, but only barely so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6dF5ce_HSMs/UMN6bQUVVqI/AAAAAAAAB1Q/I1WQ97wHaHI/s1600/flashlight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6dF5ce_HSMs/UMN6bQUVVqI/AAAAAAAAB1Q/I1WQ97wHaHI/s320/flashlight.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Once
he passed she stood up and began making her way to the front of the house,
clinging to the walls as she did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
At
the corner she peered around and saw that there were several guards and a
pickup truck full of armed men.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She used
the term “men” loosely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Father was on
the front porch issuing orders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Entirely
too many to sneak past and she couldn’t stay where she was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The next patrol would spot her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Something
was definitely going on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Other
ceremonies didn’t require this degree of security.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did they consider her that great of a risk?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
As
she thought about it she saw another roving guard coming through the small
gathering and heading her way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had a
shotgun and a flashlight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
hurried back to the bushes and hid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
tried to remain unseen but wondered how her pounding heart didn’t alert the
entire town to her position. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
As
he came closer an idea occurred to her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She could dress like him, take his shotgun and perhaps walk out
unnoticed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But her “stun” spell only
worked by touch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’d have to sneak
behind him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
As
he passed by she crept out and approached him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
must not have been as “ninja” as David would say because the guard whipped
around with his light.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Stealth
ruined, she sprang at him to get her hands on him. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
managed to grab his arm but not before he called out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Fiddlesticks!”
She cursed and paralyzed the man with a few dark words.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
snatched up his shotgun and checked if it was loaded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was and she turned around in time to see
three guards running around the corner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
raised the shotgun and they all dove to the ground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W0NBk4w4WzY/UMN6vZI7riI/AAAAAAAAB1Y/haoYLZqQ2I4/s1600/shotty.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-W0NBk4w4WzY/UMN6vZI7riI/AAAAAAAAB1Y/haoYLZqQ2I4/s320/shotty.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
They
wouldn’t kill her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Father had probably
ordered them to keep her alive for whatever they needed her for.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Then
Hannah came around the corner, clutching her favorite doll in her arms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was smiling and showing off her pointed
shark teeth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Where
you going, sister?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hannah asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m
leaving.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“No,
you’re not.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What
is this ceremony?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You’re
about to play the part for which you were raised.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You were born for this moment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t ruin it for us.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
pointed the shotgun at Hannah.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Don’t
make me hurt you,” Gretchen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Hannah
shook her head as if disappointed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
told father you were an idiot.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Hannah
raised her hand and suddenly pain, like lighting coursing through her body,
struck her and she fell to the ground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
pain still tore through her as Hannah walked up and looked down at her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“So
pathetic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like the ancient Bulgar Khan,
I will use your skull for a drinking cup.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Maybe I’ll keep the rest of your corpse around and use it for spare
parts.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
What
few thoughts got through the wall of pain were all about failure and the
impossible hope that David would still rescue her.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Hannah
bent down and with her free hand touched her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Instantly the pain ended but she no longer had control of her body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She couldn’t move and she fell limp.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Guards
came and dragged her upstairs. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hannah
used a wicked looking knife to cut the clothes off her body and then dressed
her in the robe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finally Hannah tied the
mask on her face and once that was done she whistled sweetly to the
guards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Bring
her,” Hannah said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
They
carried her down to the basement where the tunnel to the Reef Temple
was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
Reef Temple was a cave, whether natural or
man made no one knew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Water filled it to
their ankles except where a raised platform stood in the middle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>An altar of the strange Deep Ones’ gold sat
on top of the coral platform.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
It
was to the altar where they dragged her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They chained her down and father and Hannah stood over her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You
were raised for this one and only purpose, daughter.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You
were never meant to be High Priestess.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That is my destiny,” Hannah said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Hannah
waved her hand, breaking her paralysis spell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What
is this?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen asked weakly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
was terrified.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had seen what
horrible things they were capable of.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She had seen people tortured to insanity for days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had seen skin flayed off of living people
and she had seen people given over to Deep Ones for unnatural concourse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Perhaps
you won’t understand, but this is a great honor, daughter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You will be the key to releasing the Great
Cthulhu.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your sacrifice will bring the
stars closer to alignment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The gateways
are out of harmony and you are the tuning fork,” he said in the slow,
methodical manner he used when reciting a ceremony. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Now,
dear sister, I must consume your power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>You will not find this pleasant.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Hannah
took out her curved blade and began pulling up Gretchen’s robe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
must carve some runs on your flesh to allow your power to escape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then I’ll drink your power in which will be
more uncomfortable than it sounds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then,
as a final token, we’ll give you to the avatar of Cthulhu who lies waiting on
the other side of the veil.” Hannah paused long enough to cover her mouth to
giggle. Then she leaned in close enough to feel her breath on her face. “Shame
you didn’t lose your virginity to that idiot outsider.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You would have enjoyed him more than this.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
David</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
David
lay on his stomach watching the movement of the house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There had been shouting a few minutes ago but
he hadn’t see what it was about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
crept forward a little more to get a better look.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Armed
guards were walking around the old, rickety mansion that looked like something
out of the Adams Family. It had square towers with steep roves, round windows
with iron workings and peeling gray paint.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It had a large porch that wrapped around the far side and a widow’s walk
up near the top.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
moon was halfway hidden behind clouds and he could hear the roar of the sea and
smell the salt in the air.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He could also
smell the stench of the marshes that surrounded the place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-V3Lk8kW2F1w/UMN7IwHrPnI/AAAAAAAAB1g/iwkigd2-OnY/s1600/terror-house.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-V3Lk8kW2F1w/UMN7IwHrPnI/AAAAAAAAB1g/iwkigd2-OnY/s320/terror-house.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
A
truck of armed men sped off down the hill towards the town but four men still
walked around the perimeter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Plan?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
wish I had some silencers.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“She’s
pretty quiet,” Beth said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She nodded
towards Sayako who sat there, staring off into nothing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
A
few minutes later he watched as Sayako faded into nothing and went towards the
house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was no sign she was there
until one of the guards walking along the side began to choke as if he were
being strangled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Which he was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His body then tumbled from the cliff and down
into the ocean below.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
One
down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
One
by one Sayako killed the guards out of sight of the others and they moved up to
the house.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He took point with the other
two behind him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
front door was open and he pressed up against the wall as he peered in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was like an add for an antiques auction
only instead of priceless treasures everything was worn down junk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe at time this place had been nice, but
now these things wouldn’t fetch a dollar at a garage sale.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
With
his AK up to his shoulder and at low ready, he slipped into the house and began
clearing the place room by room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
With
the downstairs cleared he went to the stairs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There were no lights or sounds coming from upstairs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
don’t think she’s up there,” Beth said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
didn’t think so either.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Down,”
Sayako said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
They
must have missed something so they checked again and this time he found a
doorway in a closet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Behind the door
were some wooden stairs that led downward.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There were no lights so he cracked one of his glowsticks and led the
way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His footsteps echoed in the narrow
tunnel and a distant chanting grew louder as they walked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The slapping of Sayako’s bare feet stood out
from the muffled sounds of their shoes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_SQsSXi2tqw/UMN7cV0fDgI/AAAAAAAAB1o/U8D0l9ei5Jo/s1600/glowstick-sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_SQsSXi2tqw/UMN7cV0fDgI/AAAAAAAAB1o/U8D0l9ei5Jo/s1600/glowstick-sm.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
tunnel seemed to stretch forever in a gradual descent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He looked behind periodically to check on the
other two.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth had wide, frightened
eyes but her mouth was closed in a look of determination.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He wouldn’t have to worry about her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Sayako
was unreadable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had a blank look
with eyes that were slightly too wide open.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She held her Thompson with the barrel down like he showed her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
An
artsy emmo girl and a Japanese ghost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Not his first picks for a dangerous mission, but Sayako was proving to
be pretty useful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He hoped Beth would
prove as useful and keep her head when bullets started flying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
His
mindset was the same it was before every battle, but with one exception. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His mind was clear and focused on what needed
to be done and looking out for threats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Battle plans and his gear
filled his brain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But constantly
underlying every thought was the image of Gretchen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She could be hurt or perhaps she hated him
now.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
But
this time was different.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This time
Gretchen was in danger and if he messed up Uncle Sam wouldn’t miss a chance to
catch an insurgent leader or fail to destroy a weapons cache.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No, this time if he failed a beautiful girl
who deserved to live would die.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was
certain of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This mission allowed for
no mistakes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Then
he saw light ahead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He hid the glowstick
under his jacket and put a finr to his lips to tell everyone to stay
quiet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
They
crept forward and saw a man at the exit of the cave.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His back was turned to them and beyond was an
opening; possibly a larger cave.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
chanting was much louder now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
It
was the same damn chant he had heard in Iraq. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
looked at Sayako and then nodded toward the man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sayako didn’t react at first and he was about
to spell it out for her when she faded into nothing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He felt her cold presence move past him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A few moments the man was yanked backwards
and was silently strangled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Good
job, Sayako.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll buy you whatever game
you want when we get back,” he whispered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
In
invisible, cold hand caressed his cheek.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Was that her idea of flirting?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
ignored Sayako and crept to the opening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As he guessed, it was a wider cave.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There were about forty or fifty people surrounding a raised platform in
the middle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The people were standing in
calf deep water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were unarmed so he
ignored them for now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the raised platform
were three people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A hunched over man
with a hat, a young girl with long black hair and on a gold table was
Gretchen. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had one black robes with a
white mask, but her mass of silver hair was unmistakable. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
girl was talking to Gretchen but he couldn’t hear what they were saying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The old man had his back to them but the girl
resembled Gretchen enough to assume that this was Gretchen’s sister. The people
in the crowd were “off” somehow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When he
looked closer he saw that they all had a similar look about them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was something not quite human about
these people. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
There
were only two guards on the far side of the cave.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One carried an old “grease gun” and the other
carried a shotgun. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They stood at the
opening of another long tunnel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His eyes
were fixated at the stone alter where Gretchen was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8IY4tMb6xkk/UMN73U9lqVI/AAAAAAAAB1w/H2K2nBUjlVo/s1600/m3-grease-gun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="134" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-8IY4tMb6xkk/UMN73U9lqVI/AAAAAAAAB1w/H2K2nBUjlVo/s320/m3-grease-gun.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Then
the girl began pulling up the robe Gretchen was wearing and exposed her nude
waist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The girl then took out a curved
knife, raised her hands to the air and began chanting something.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
had to act now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
David
turned to his companions and whispered their instructions. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’ll
take out the guard with the shotty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Beth, take out the other guard and then we run for the altar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If anyone tries to stop us, shoot them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sayako, don’t aim that thing near
Gretchen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If the crowd attacks, hold
that thing tight and hold down the trigger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Shoot just like I showed you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Got
it.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Got
it,” Sayako said.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
was about to issue more instructions when he heard a scream. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
girl was carving something onto Gretchen’s thigh with her damned knife.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Move
now!”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
stood up, took aim at the guard and fired.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>His first shot struck the man in the shoulder and he went down, dropping
the shotgun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth
fired next to him but the guard ducked down and her shots went wide. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
David
cursed and ran up the stone steps to the altar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He leveled his AK at the girl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Drop
the knife,” he said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
girl, the same one he met earlier, glared at him with her black eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She dropped the knife and took a step
back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth
was still firing at the man with the grease gun and Sayako had her Tommy Gun
pointed at the crowd of inhuman degenerates.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
looked at the girl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her black eyes were
burning with anger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The old man moved
over to stand next to her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His eyes were
solid black spheres and his mouth was wide and full of jagged shark teeth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David could hear his forced breathing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Then
he looked down at Gretchen who was chained to the altar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He could see her silver eyes looking at him,
but the mask hid her expression.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
could only hope that she could forgive him. Whether she hated him or not, he
would get her out of this hellish place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She would live even if it cost him his own life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
Zach Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08188373296321506021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088873945002427056.post-39911661603062614932012-12-03T13:33:00.002-08:002012-12-03T13:33:53.456-08:00Chapter 28<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
David</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
David
slammed the door to his apartment and tossed his book bag on the bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sayako looked up from her video games and
narrowed her eyes at him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He snapped. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You
smell.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Screw
you.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“No,
you smell of magic.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Of
course he did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’d been around a lying
witch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
laid down and tried to sleep despite the sound of Sayako’s Skyrim adventure
going on in the background.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Life sucked
and there was no point in staying up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sgGpdj6PvYw/UL0UuEAxi7I/AAAAAAAABzo/ae4Q0z7guhU/s1600/Orc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sgGpdj6PvYw/UL0UuEAxi7I/AAAAAAAABzo/ae4Q0z7guhU/s320/Orc.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Everything
had gone wrong somehow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And beside the
fact that the girl he loved was a murderous witch, his head hurt like someone
was playing a drum inside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
woke up around noon and went out for Taco Bell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The whole time he kept running everything through his mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nothing made sense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen wouldn’t kill anyone without good
reason.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It wasn’t as if he was a sinless
judge in that department.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Everything
he knew about Gretchen told him that she was telling the truth, but then he
couldn’t get over the overwhelming feeling that she was lying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
didn’t know exactly what to tell Beth so he didn’t say anything yet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All day as he played at his computer he kept
looking to Facebook.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He wanted to send
Gretchen a message or even run over and tell her he was sorry and that he loved
her. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
But
something kept holding him back. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
For
dinner he went and got some pizza.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For
some reason Sayako had a piece but he was too pissed off and confused to bother
asking about the eating habits of Japanese ghosts. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Around
eight at night David grabbed his laptop and sat down next to Sayako and checked
his E-mail.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then he got on Facebook and
messaged Beth the whole story exactly how he remembered it. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He didn’t know what to tell her so he told her
the complete truth. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A few minutes later
his phone rang.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What
the hell’s going on?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth asked as soon
as he picked up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“She’s
been draining people of life.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What
did she say?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“That
it was in self defense.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“It
was then.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You think Gretch would go
around killing people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are you nuts?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m
not the crazy one.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yeah,
you are.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Then
there was a knock at his door and Beth came in without waiting for him to open
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You’re
an idiot, David,” she said, still talking into the phone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
hung up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“She’s
killed two people,” he said. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Why
didn’t she see?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was obvious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen was a murderer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“He
under spell,” Sayako said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You
want to add to that maybe?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Sayako
paused the game which must have taken an enormous effort on her part and turned
to them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“He
has spell on him,” Sayako said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What
kind of spell?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Dark
kind.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Care
to be more specific?” David asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Sayako
then crawled over to him, completely invading his personal space.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She began sniffing him like a dog and then
staring at him with wide, bloodshot eyes. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her hands were cold and dry and no breath from
her touched his face. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Not
spell from Gretchen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like Gretchen but
not,” Sayako said and then put her hands on either side of his head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Spell in here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Spell playing with you mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Make confused; think different things.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth
came over and sat next to them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
looked into his eyes as well, though not with the wide-eyed insane look that
Sayako had. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Did
you meet anyone strange recently?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth
asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“No,
just a girl.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What
girl?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Saw
her before I met Gretchen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was all
bundled up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Didn’t see her face,” he
said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Then
as he thought about it he did remember her eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“She
had black eyes,” he said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LEbvHsXW-2Y/UL0VkCwFo_I/AAAAAAAABzw/hOvF8j2FCNo/s1600/black+eyes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="211" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-LEbvHsXW-2Y/UL0VkCwFo_I/AAAAAAAABzw/hOvF8j2FCNo/s320/black+eyes.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Black
eyes, covered face, saw her right before accusing Gretch of murder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With all the crazy shit going on around her,
I’m willing to bet that this wasn’t coincidence.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
can end spell,” Sayako said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You’re
not a witch.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Sayako
shrugged. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You
want me to end spell?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yes,”
Beth said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Sayako
then pushed David down onto the bed and crawled over onto him like an
aggressive lover.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She put her face
uncomfortably close to his like she was about to kiss him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her mouth opened and her eyes went insane-o
again and then she began to inhale.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Only
her intake didn’t stop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was like a
vacuum.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Then
thin, barely perceptible wisps of smoke began to come out of his mouth and
nose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What
the hell?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth said and scooted
away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Sayako
sucked in the smoke and then sat up, straddling him. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yes,”
Sayako said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Strong, dark magic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I see magic like this in dream world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sorcerers of Kadath use magic like this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
What
an idiot!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen would never murder
anybody.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How could he even think
that?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’d trusted her with his life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
had betrayed her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All his promises to
her were empty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
David
lay there for a while, thinking of how he had ruined everything and hurt the
one person he wanted to hurt the least.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth
sat beside him and rested her head on his shoulder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sayako went back to playing “Persona 4
Arena.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0H6FB4P8LB4/UL0XI7Z2eeI/AAAAAAAABz4/wjDl9DfI7pk/s1600/persona-4-arena-gameplay-.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0H6FB4P8LB4/UL0XI7Z2eeI/AAAAAAAABz4/wjDl9DfI7pk/s320/persona-4-arena-gameplay-.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
They
stayed like that for a long time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How
much had been this spell and how much had been his own idiocy?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“She’s
not answering on Facebook,” Beth said after a long while. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“We
should have gotten her a phone.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yeah.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Suddenly
Sayako jerked her head to the door.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
smell dark magic now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Coming close,”
Sayako said in a whisper. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
David
pulled out his Beretta Px4 and opened a crack in the Venetian blinds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Coming up the stairs were four men in thick
winter clothes that concealed their faces and they were carrying guns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two had shotguns one had a revolver and one
had an old Tommy Gun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Beth,
you remember how to use this?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked
and tossed her the Beretta.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yeah,”
she said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
then reached down and grabbed the AK-47 from under his bed and flipped on the
red dot sight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
racked the charging handle just as the door exploded from a shotgun blast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wood splinters flew into the room and were
immediately followed by a hulking form in a tattered gray coat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had a scarf over his face and a wool cap
on his head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
man also had a Colt 1911 in his hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
David
saw and took all of this in, in less than a second.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His adrenaline was going and his mind was
able to notice small details like that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>His mind was also able to draw on years of training.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
His
AK was already up and the red dot of his sight appeared on the man’s
chest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The muzzle flash illuminated the
entire room like the strobing of a rave.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The bullets smacked into the man’s chest and sent him falling backwards.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
man behind him had the shotgun and he swung it towards David.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GKuA6mhyeVY/UL0ZHDLXFoI/AAAAAAAAB0I/Y_evH8Udi9k/s1600/870+before.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="201" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-GKuA6mhyeVY/UL0ZHDLXFoI/AAAAAAAAB0I/Y_evH8Udi9k/s320/870+before.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Oh
shit,” was the only thing that flashed through his mind as he jumped out of the
way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The shotgun blast tore through the
air where he had been standing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
landed on the ground and quickly flipped around to bring his gun to bear.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth
held her pistol like he had taught her and fired.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Beretta cracked three times and the man
jerked back, dropping one arm from the shotgun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The man then swung the shotgun towards Beth as the third man burst into
the room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had the revolver and began
aiming it at him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
David
fired and hit the revolver man in the neck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Blood, black in the darkness of the room, spurted out in great burst and
he fell down, black eyes wide open.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
continued firing and his shots adjusted over and hit the shotgun man in the
head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The right half of the man’s face
exploded in a wet mess.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Before
the shotgun man fell down, more bullets tore through him, but these were coming
from behind him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
man with the Tommy Gun was letting loose with his fifty round drum.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bullets exploded everywhere, smashing into
the wall behind him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth threw herself
to the ground and covered her head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XB6bTNYJbxc/UL0ZdXn8OzI/AAAAAAAAB0Q/4IlS4gLb13s/s1600/tommy+gun.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-XB6bTNYJbxc/UL0ZdXn8OzI/AAAAAAAAB0Q/4IlS4gLb13s/s320/tommy+gun.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
David
fired through the dead man who still hadn’t fallen, hoping to get a lucky
hit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Then
the man fell and the view to the doorway was clear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was empty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The wood frame was torn up and splintered and smoke from the gun shots
hovered in the air like a fine mist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
looked over to check on Beth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She gave
him a thumbs up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sayako was nowhere to
be seen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Then
the Tommy Gun appeared again and the muzzle flash lit the room up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fortunately he didn’t know where they were
because he was firing at waist level.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
As
David brought his AK up, the man ducked back behind the door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But he continued to fire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He fired through the apartment walls, chewing
the wood up and sending wood splinters and dust flying towards him. He covered
his face as debris showered him like hail.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Too
many memories of Iraq
flew through his mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He remembered
bullets punching through mud brick walls and all he could do was duck and wait
for them to reload.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Then
the man stopped firing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David dared a
look and saw that the man was grasping at his neck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Something like a black rope was tightening
around his neck, chocking the life out of him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>His black, fishy eyes bulged out and as he dropped to his knees he saw
Sayako standing behind him grinning with her yellow teeth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her hair was strangling the man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
thought that was just something she could do in the dream world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seeing as that was the case, she could play
his X-box whenever she wanted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
David
stood up and helped Beth to her feet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Tears were coming down her cheeks but she remained composed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She wasn’t really crying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stress did different things to different
people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth
went over to one of the bodies and kicked it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Who
are these guys?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Sayako
walked in, her long hair trailing behind her like a dark bridal veil.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He didn’t remember it being that long.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
think they’re Gretchen’s people,” he said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“From
In Mouth or wherever?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Innsmouth.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Then
Beth gasped.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Gretchen,”
Beth said in a whisper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Instantly
he knew what had happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They had
taken Gretchen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Grab
our guns,” he said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Sayako
and Beth did as he ordered and they put all hi guns and ammo into a large
dufflebag.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GvdM5_PqPlQ/UL0Z65lyBEI/AAAAAAAAB0Y/B3LxU4IQoK4/s1600/duffle-bag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GvdM5_PqPlQ/UL0Z65lyBEI/AAAAAAAAB0Y/B3LxU4IQoK4/s1600/duffle-bag.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“The
cops’ll be here,” Beth said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Already
he could hear sirens in the distance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“We
don’t have time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have to save
Gretch,” he said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth
pointed to the direction of the sirens and made about to say something, but she
closed her mouth and nodded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Once
everything was packed they headed to the door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He was about to leave but stopped.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The man dead Tommy gunner had a bag with two more drums. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
A
Thompson was a terrible thing to waste.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He grabbed the old Tommy and the drums and hurried out the door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
They
jumped into his car and he sped out without looking back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
drove to the interstate and just went east.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He had no clue where Innsmouth was or how to get there, he just knew it
was by the ocean and the ocean was east.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
His
hands began shaking as the adrenaline wore off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Beth,
there’s a map in my glove box,” he said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
got the map out and began looking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
don’t see it,” she said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What
high school did she go to?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Cornwallis
High.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Look
it up on your phone.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
A
few minutes later she said, “Cornwallistown.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Take exit 17.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Then
they fell silent and no one talked as the lights of the interstate flashed by.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The entire time all he could think about was
that Gretchen was in danger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If they had
just wanted her out of school they wouldn’t have bothered to try to kill him
and Beth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No, that was to cover
something up and he only hoped that it wasn’t too late.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He knew she was in danger and he had to help
her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
His
worrying was agony.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Police?”
Sayako asked after a long while.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yeah,
there’ll be some explaining to do,” he said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Call
your parents, tell them an alibi,” Beth said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Good
idea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Mom
was a lot harder to convince than dad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Just
go to the police and tell them everything,” mom said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
was about to explain for the third time that Gretchen was in trouble and needed
help right now, not after a lengthy police investigation, when he saw that he
had an incoming call.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Hello?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“David
Taliaferro?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The heavy male voice
asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
knew the sound of a voice that was used to having authority. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yes?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Where
are you?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“My
home in Richmond.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“There’s
been an incident at your apartment in Arkham.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We need to ask you a few questions.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Incident?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What kind of incident?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
continued through the act of pretending to be shocked and horrified.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He barraged the detective with questions but
the cop refused to answer. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“We
need you to come in for questioning.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Of
course.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can be there tomorrow,
hopefully around noon.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“See
that you do.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
shut off his phone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
At
a gas station in Cornwallistown, they got a more detailed local map and found
the small speck of “Innsmouth.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When
they asked for directions the people just gave him odd looks and refused to
answer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
They
went through a Wendy’s drive through and continued on searching for the right
turn off to Innsmouth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7kn_GW3-4bI/UL0aoIPKtmI/AAAAAAAAB0g/T-Lf1lNZGrc/s1600/drive+through.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="272" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7kn_GW3-4bI/UL0aoIPKtmI/AAAAAAAAB0g/T-Lf1lNZGrc/s320/drive+through.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
road eventually turned out to be a crumbling two lane road with more cracks and
pot holes than any other in service road he had ever seen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The dead, cold marshes spread out in every
direction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It wasn’t a vacation spot and
he knew that in the daylight it wouldn’t have looked improved. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Finally
they came to a faded, rotten sign that said “Innsmouth” on the top of a small
round hill.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He parked and got out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Down below were the few dim lights of the
decrepit little town. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“This
is it,” he said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“She’s down there
somewhere.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Let’s
go ask if she can come out and play.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m
not going to ask nicely.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
threw open the back of his car and opened the dufflebag.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He put on his tac-vest for his AK and loaded
up with magazines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He gave Beth the
PS-90 with her own vest and the thigh holster for the Beretta.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“And
me?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sayako asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You
know how to use a gun?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“No.”
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Can’t
you just use your hair then?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
want Tommy Gun,” she said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
was about to refuse then thought about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>All she had to do was “spray and pray.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It could keep the enemies’ heads down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
showed her how to use it and gave her the shoulder bag with the extra
drum.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
And
finally he put on his shoulder holster with the broom handled Mauser.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Hold
on Gretch, we’re coming for you,” he said.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
Zach Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08188373296321506021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088873945002427056.post-44221261706312074242012-11-23T11:36:00.000-08:002012-11-25T19:27:18.398-08:00Chapter 27<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
Chapter 27</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
As
Gretchen sobbed on the grass in front of her apartment she heard footsteps
approaching.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She looked up and through
tear clouded eyes she saw a girl approach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She was bundled up head to toe but Gretchen recognized those black orbs
for eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
It
was her little sister, Hannah.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What
are you doing here?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen
asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
wiped her nose and tried to regain control of herself. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m
going about my father’s business.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You
shouldn’t be here.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
was ordered to come.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Its time you came
home,” Hannah said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen
stood up and brushed her knees off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
can’t go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have too much work to do.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Well,
it isn’t your boyfriend keeping you here anymore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I made sure of that.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen
paused and looked at Hannah.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even though
she wore a scarf covering her face, she could tell Hannah was smiling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was that cheerless predatory smile of a
shark. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What
did you do, Hannah?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Nothing
much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just put a simple enchantment on
that gentleman to make him attack you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
also put a little spell on lover boy so he’d believe me when I told him you
were killing people.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Blue
energy surrounded Gretchen’s hands as her rage built up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nyrulth’s Lighting came to her bidding without
being asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The spell fed off of
anger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7LMlI0y3LU8/UK_MMPjRIRI/AAAAAAAAByg/P23yeRXAPLY/s1600/bluelightning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="103" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7LMlI0y3LU8/UK_MMPjRIRI/AAAAAAAAByg/P23yeRXAPLY/s320/bluelightning.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Oh!
Hit a sore spot, did I?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hannah
said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
should kill you right here.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Go
ahead and try.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’ll just humiliate
yourself and you’ll still end up coming home with me.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m
never going home.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Father
said you might say that.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen
stretched out her hands and sent the blue lightening striking out at
Hannah.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Hannah
casually raised one hand and the lightening burst on an invisible shield.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“That
all you got?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hannah asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m
older.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know more than you.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“But
I studied more, at least the things that mattered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Father taught me things he’d never teach
you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’re soft and weak.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Always have been.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen
let loose a bolt of Dark Fire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The ball
of black fire streaked toward Hannah but she batted it away like it was a
tennis ball.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Then
Hanna reached out with one hand and Gretchen was suddenly gripped in the most
searing pain she had ever felt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
collapsed to the ground and pain wracked her body like someone was sticking
hot, rusty barbs inside her guts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Now,
will you come like a good little girl or shall I continue showing you father’s
lessons?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Actually, I’m enjoying
this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll keep you like that for a
while.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Hannah
now stood over her with her hand raised in an unfamiliar gesture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her black eyes gleamed with the cruel joy of
the sadistic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“David,
is it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He must be a good kisser if he
had you crying in the grass like that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Perhaps I can go see for myself after I’m done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could enjoy his pleasures more than you
could.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’d watch his skin be peeled from
his body as I had my way with him.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Screw
you,” Gretchen managed to say between clinched teeth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The pain made thinking and speech almost
impossible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“That
wasn’t very nice.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
An
old, rusty van from the 70’s pulled up and the back doors opened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two men she recognized as some of father’s
men jumped out and picked her up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
pain spell still paralyzed her with agony and there wasn’t a thing she could do
to resist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JYkHwnUou0E/UK_Mrn38RhI/AAAAAAAAByo/NwHk__f_EMI/s1600/rusty+van.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-JYkHwnUou0E/UK_Mrn38RhI/AAAAAAAAByo/NwHk__f_EMI/s320/rusty+van.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
They
tossed her in the back of the van and before she knew it the doors were closed
and the van was driving off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
pain ended but her body still shook from the memory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Hannah
peered back at her from the front passenger seat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She removed her scarf and tossed it on the
dashboard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
thought you’d be more difficult, sis,” Hannah said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Her
gun was in her purse back on the grass.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She should have gotten a concealable holster like David had.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hannah wouldn’t be smiling with a bullet
between her eyes. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“David
thinks you’re a psycho killer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s
no reason to go back,” Hannah said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen
curled her knees up to her chin and sat there as the van bounced its way down
the road to the highway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
had to get out of this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She didn’t want
to go home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
But
why was this even happening?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were
no important rituals scheduled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Why
bring me back?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Hannah’s
black eyes widened as her shark mouth grew into a genuine smile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Ah!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, you don’t know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll call it a surprise party.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Tell
me.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Make
me.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
They
were silent for a long time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fishy
henchmen sat there, dumb and unblinking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You
know, I don’t really see what you saw in that place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How could you stomach all those ignorant
outsiders?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hannah asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“They
don’t stink of fish.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“But
you do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe you forgot that, but you
do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just as much as I do.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
had to eat their weird food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was
better than public school cafeteria food, but it still tasted of vomit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bad food, bad company and useless learning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did any of your professors have an idea what
the real world is?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did any of them
suspect the fate that will befall the world when the Old Ones return?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Hannah
threw her hands up sighed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“We’re
the freaks, not them.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yes,
we are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You including.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s time you remembered where you
belong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t see why father allowed
you to leave. I would have locked you in the attic before I let you
leave.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Why
are you so sadistic?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is something broken
in your mind?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
see the world for what it really is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
strong rule over the weak. Those people are all mindless fish, ready to be
drawn into a net of our making.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Of
your making.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll have no part in it.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“If
you say so.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Hannah
turned back around to face the front.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Neither
of them said anything more for the rest of the trip. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Around
midnight the van pulled up in front of the Marsh mansion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The back opened up and father stood there
with two more of his men.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O9uUIcOZ5xI/UK_NUTxXFbI/AAAAAAAAByw/wNmE4dxqQ_w/s1600/phantommanor.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-O9uUIcOZ5xI/UK_NUTxXFbI/AAAAAAAAByw/wNmE4dxqQ_w/s320/phantommanor.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
was hunched over with a cane and his back and arms were more massive than she
remembered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His changes were coming
faster.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That meant his time to return to
the sea was growing near. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
wore a dark suit that was obviously sewn together just for him and his changing
shape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His hands were webbed and clawed
and he had no hair on his head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His jaw
was square and powerful and by all accounts he had been a handsome man in his
youth. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
His
distorted face with its downturned mouth and black, unblinking eyes faced her.
Only hints of his former good looks were left. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Daughter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You are needed here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have much work to do.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
waved off the guards that were about to drag her out of the van and waved for
her to follow him. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
crawled out of the noisy van and followed father and Hannah into the mansion
and took seats in the parlor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
mansion seemed even uglier than she remembered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The carpet was nearly black with stains and holes showed the rotten wood
beneath.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Any civilized place would have
had this mansion condemned years ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
But
Innsmouth wasn’t a civilized place. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
need to ask you questions, Gretchen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
need you to answer them truthfully,” father said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen
merely nodded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“During
your time there, did you have sexual relations with anyone?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Her
thoughts instantly turned to David.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
had touched her but they had not done anything that could produce a child.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“No.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Hannah
laughed. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Really?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I watched you for days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought for sure you were screwing,” Hannah
said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“We
weren’t,” Gretchen snapped.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Father
held up his hand to silence Hannah.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Did
you divulge the secret of Dagon and Mother Hydra?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“No.”
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Actually
she had told David all about the cult of Innsmouth and how dangerous it was.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Have
you come into contact with any being that would be in conflict with Dagon and
Mother Hydra?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Hastur
and Nylarthotep.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Truly?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why ask.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Then
you must be cleansed before we can begin.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Begin
what?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Father
stood up and began walking out of the room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Hannah sighed of boredom and followed him out. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Gretchen,
go up to your room and don’t try to leave.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There are worse dangers out there than my loyal men,” father said before
leaving her view completely. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
With
that, she was left to ponder her fate.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
There
was nothing to do but go up to her room and try to think of a way out of
this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had to escape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After seeing the goodness of David and Beth
she knew how vile her people really were.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
David.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She wished he was here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Damn
Hannah.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had spelled him to fall for
her lies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But those spells were
effective and he would believe them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
his eyes she was a horrible murderer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Could that ever be fixed or was her chance at happiness forever
ruined?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Her
old room was just as she had left it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Spartan, decaying and lifeless.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The bed had dust on it and a leak of the roof had formed a puddle on the
floor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
walked over to the window to look out over the ocean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was no moon so all that greeted her was
a vast nothingness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1nHDXcTM5Pw/UK_PBFVW4xI/AAAAAAAABy4/2LB8A6bkBZo/s1600/ocean+at+night.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1nHDXcTM5Pw/UK_PBFVW4xI/AAAAAAAABy4/2LB8A6bkBZo/s320/ocean+at+night.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Down
on the lawn she saw one of father’s men walking around with a rifle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thanks to David she recognized it as an
AK-47.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rn98_iEaRj8/UK_Py0Cs2hI/AAAAAAAABzA/58kVzHq9p-k/s1600/AK-47_type_II_Part_DM-ST-89-01131.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="115" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rn98_iEaRj8/UK_Py0Cs2hI/AAAAAAAABzA/58kVzHq9p-k/s320/AK-47_type_II_Part_DM-ST-89-01131.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
They
were keeping her here. If she tried to escape she’d either have to face those
armed men or her little sister.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
How
had she become so powerful in such a short time?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was also possible that she had been more
powerful for a long time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had always
suspected that they were keeping things from her and it had never bothered her
before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She hadn’t wanted to know what
they were doing in secret.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But her lack
of knowledge was a severe problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
stripped down and crawled under the thick sheets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The bed felt like stone compared to her bed
back in the dorm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A smelly, dusty stone.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen
wondered what David was doing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Would he
worry about where she went or would he be glad to be rid of a murderous
witch?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe he cursed the day he met
her and realized what a folly it had been to make her a friend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
awoke to a cold, gray morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The house
didn’t have heating so she searched her closet for one of her old coats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She put that on and put the hood up. Then she
went downstairs and found one of the servants, a large woman with eyes that
were too far apart and too small, stoking the fire in the parlor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Is
my father about?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yes,
man,” the woman croaked and went back to tending the fire. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Where
is he?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
woman pointed with a webbed hand at towards the dinning room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen took a deep breath to steel her
courage and walked into the dinning room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Father, her step mother and Hannah were all sitting down to breakfast, a
mushy porridge she despised.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Have
a seat,” her step mother said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
was tall, but with a neck that was too long and a face that was too narrow and
long.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had on her Thursday wig.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She didn’t have any natural hair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her eyebrows were poorly painted on but she
always thought she looked perfect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
looked grotesque.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Are
you missing David dearest?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hannah
asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
ignored her sister’s taunting and took a seat on the far end of the table from
the others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Another
servant, a fishy looking woman with somewhat blueish skin came in with a bowl
of gruel for her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
ignored the bowl of slop in front of her. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What
do you want with me?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen
asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Please
eat, you must be famished,” Father said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
don’t recall any important ceremonies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Why was I pulled away?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“There’s
a special situation we need your help with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It requires both you and your sister,” Father said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
was looking at a newspaper while eating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He hated the outside world so she always wondered why he bothered
reading their papers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What
kind of situation?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“A
one in a century opportunity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need
you both and by the end, one of you will be High Priestess.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Where
will you be?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’ll
return to the sea.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Hannah
would make a better High Priestess.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let
her do it and leave me be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wish to
return to school.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You
can’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After the ceremony then you may
return.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But for now, I need you
here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is too important.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Why
won’t you tell me what it is?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Her
father continued reading the paper in silence while her step mother looked her
usual bored self and Hanna covered her mouth to restrain a giggle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
didn’t like the way things were going.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They always hid things from her, but they usually made an effort to hide
the fact they were hiding things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now
they were shoving it in her face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Something
had changed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
After
the uneaten breakfast she went to the library for something to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If father was telling the truth then all she
had to do was this one ceremony and then she’d be able to go back home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
But
she didn’t believe it was as simple as that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
got an old grimoire from the early colonization of North
America to take it up to her room to begin studying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
As
she headed to her room she passed by father’s study.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She heard him talking to Hannah, but the
hushed whispers in their voices made her pause and reconsider. She leaned flat
against the wall near the door and listened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“She’s
a dolt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She doesn’t know anything,”
Hannah said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’ve
warned you about that,” father said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“About
what?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Assuming
everyone around you is an idiot.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“In
this case it’s true.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She doesn’t even
realize the significance of the date.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She has no clue.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Then
don’t say anything to lead her to suspect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She believes she’ll be going back to that filthy university when we’re
done with her.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Can
I keep her skull?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Of
course you can.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I never could say ‘no’
to you even if I wanted.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen’s
chest constricted and she suddenly fount it hard to breathe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She slunk away from the door and hurried back
up to her room and locked the door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
They
were planning on killing her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She paced
around the room, tried sitting and paced some more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What was she supposed to do?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David would know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
David,
where are you?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
Zach Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08188373296321506021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088873945002427056.post-61288951790747326712012-11-13T16:48:00.002-08:002012-11-13T16:48:50.540-08:00Chapter 26<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
David </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
David
pulled up to the parking lot in front of the theater.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Show time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The play was tonight and he’d finally get it over with and done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No more play practice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He would get his evenings back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More Skyrim, Alice, Asassins Creed and Fallout. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OvrDANy1hz4/UKLociB_bdI/AAAAAAAABxM/JFaUC3J3oCk/s1600/tumblr_m9wzv28F1N1qzep2vo1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OvrDANy1hz4/UKLociB_bdI/AAAAAAAABxM/JFaUC3J3oCk/s320/tumblr_m9wzv28F1N1qzep2vo1_500.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
All
he had to do was get through this one night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
As
he closed the car door he looked up and saw a girl standing on the other side
of the car.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was short and was
bundled up for winter with a puffy, blue coat and an orange knit cap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had a white scarf around her face and all
he saw were her black eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her clothes
looked like things she had found at the Salvation Army ten years ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Hey,
you’re David, aren’t you?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The girl
asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Her
eyes stayed locked on him and didn’t blink. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
David
moved his hand to be near his gun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Who
are you?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“A
friend.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
know my friends and I don’t know you.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m
a friend, nonetheless.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
pushed the button on his key to lock the door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What
do you want?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Just
to give you a kindly warning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your
friend, Gretchen Marsh isn’t what she says she is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’s dangerous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She sucks the life out of people to fuel her
own life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’ll drain you one day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mark my word.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
was talking crap and he didn’t believe a word of it. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“And
how would you know this?” He asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You’ll
see what I mean soon enough.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Then
the girl turned and walked away in a stiff, formal way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
What
the hell just happened?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some weirdo
shows up and tells him his girlfriend is a vampire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ridiculous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
went into the theater but kept scanning the area for more unwanted
visitors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth
and Gretchen were already there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They
were back stage and in their costumes already.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Gretchen just wore one of her old fashioned, bland outfits and Beth wore
a dress and a white buttoned up shirt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He had his suit and tie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sOnW0WT_nII/UKLovl49x8I/AAAAAAAABxU/oOuc468gAz8/s1600/back_stage_at_palace.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-sOnW0WT_nII/UKLovl49x8I/AAAAAAAABxU/oOuc468gAz8/s320/back_stage_at_palace.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“While
it’s just us three, let me cast a spell of remembrance so we won’t forget our
lines,” Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Sounds
good,” Beth said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
wanted to tell Gretchen about his strange visitor but figured this wasn’t the
time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After the show.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen
chanted a few words in a language that didn’t sound wholesome and waved her
hand about them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“There.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There should be no mistakes,” Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
other actors gradually filtered in and soon Beth was going over last minute
instructions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She liked to stand on
chairs to compensate for her height.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
David
looked out between the curtains and saw that some professors were already there
and a few students; probably other drama majors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was part of their grade after all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Maybe
he should have been a drama major.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Credit just for showing up to a play and writing a report about it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If film class was like that then he could
talk about movies all day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Are
we ready?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth asked everyone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
It
wasn’t as if they had a choice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They had
to be ready.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Once
the play started he waited behind stage with the others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyone back there stood silent, waiting for
their cue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was to come in during a
ball scene, walk in looking aloof and arrogant and say very little.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He could do that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Whatever
spell Gretchen used worked because he didn’t once stumble over a line like he
usually did or miss a mark.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If his
acting was up to standard, that was a different matter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Most
of his scenes were with Beth and at the end he had to kiss her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen was on stage when that happened and
he knew she wasn’t happy about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Once
the final curtain closed and the audience clapped, he felt a weight lift off
his shoulders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth
went around patting everyone on the back and congratulating everyone on a job
well done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You
were great, Mr. Darcy,” she said to him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Thank
you, Lizzy.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Its
over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was stressful,” Gretchen
said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“At
least you liked it,” Beth said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Let’s
celebrate,” David said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“We’re
all going out for pizza.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The whole
cast,” Beth said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
They
all met at the pizzeria and he sat next to Gretchen in a booth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Did
you enjoy yourself?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“No.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wasn’t made to be an actor, apparently,”
Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Oh,
come on!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You weren’t half bad.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“The
whole thing was silly.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth
leaned across the table at them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“The
show went great!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“They
laughed at the right spots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s a
good sign,” David said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yes,
they weren’t laughing at us,” Beth said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“It
was all silly,” Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
After
the celebration he drove Gretchen home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If she didn’t have a test in the morning he would have suggested some
more ‘personal time.’ She did kiss him with a slight bite to his lower lip. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
left her dorm and walked back to his car.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Sayako
was in his apartment playing X-box. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
thought you were staying at Gretchen’s,” he said, closing the door behind him. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“No
games,” Sayako said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Well…turn
the sound down, okay.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
pushed her to the floor and laid down in bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Ghosts were far more annoying than they were terrifying.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
In
the morning he drove to Gretchen’s dorm to walk her to class.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He parked and began walking across the
commons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was early and the sun was
just now rising.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
saw someone lying down under a tree.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Looked like a man, a football player judging by the jacket. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QL0fr138Ais/UKLpTeOEFdI/AAAAAAAABxc/Q9U6-9Sd4ZQ/s1600/Park+at+night.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-QL0fr138Ais/UKLpTeOEFdI/AAAAAAAABxc/Q9U6-9Sd4ZQ/s320/Park+at+night.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Dude,
a little early in the morning to be drunk,” he called out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
figure didn’t stir.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
walked over and tapped him with his foot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yo!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wake up.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
rolled the body over with his foot and saw a pale face with eyes wide
open.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Shit!”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
stumbled back and looked around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No one
was in sight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
David
bent down and examined the body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No
wounds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
After
calling 911 he sent Gretchen a message on Facebook (the only modern way to get
a hold of her.) and then called Beth to let her know what was going on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
had seen bodies before, many in worse condition than this one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The guy got drunk and froze to death or
something similar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
police arrived and asked him questions with the promise of more to come.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Don’t
leave town,” the cop said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Due
to it all he was late to class.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He took
his seat next to Gretchen. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What
kept you?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She whispered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
found a body?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Anyone
you knew?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“No.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Then
don’t worry about it.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Her
coldness surprised him and despite himself he thought of the message from the
creepy stranger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He wasn’t in a habit of
taking creepy strangers seriously, but her words came back to him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
David
had to find out how the guy died.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
After
school he went to the police station and asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They insisted that they couldn’t tell but he did get out of them that
they didn’t really know and they were going to do an autopsy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
They
couldn’t tell how the man died.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
waited for David outside the pool.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
had beaten everyone’s times by a wide margin and received dates for the first
competition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The coach said she was set
to win. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Where
is he?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David’s never late.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Finally
his car pulled up and she walked over to the door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When she opened the door Sublime was playing
almost too loud.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once seated she turned
the volume down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DjqgxrfVg3U/UKLpmxFv0MI/AAAAAAAABxk/-6RuQm0AHrw/s1600/sublime.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-DjqgxrfVg3U/UKLpmxFv0MI/AAAAAAAABxk/-6RuQm0AHrw/s320/sublime.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Sorry
I’m late,” he said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“But went to the
police station to find out what happened to the football player.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They didn’t know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretch, do you have a spell that sucks out
someone’s life?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
felt her throat constrict and it became hard to breathe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How could he possibly know that?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
do,” she managed to say.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
nodded his head and thought for a moment. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Have
you used that spell on anyone at school?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Why
are you asking, David?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Someone
told me that you’ve been using that spell.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Who?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
don’t know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But you don’t deny it?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’ve
used it once and it was to defend myself.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Just
once?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
paused to examine him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She didn’t like
the way he was looking at her, like she was under interrogation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Just
once,” she said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Promise?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m
starting to wonder if you trust me.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
trust you, but I have to be sure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Finding that body was no coincidence.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You
don’t trust me.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
do!”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
folded her arms and looked out the window.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She didn’t know what was going on, but someone was interfering with her
life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
They
didn’t speak as they drove to Taco Bell for lunch and neither of them said a
word until they sat down in the corner seat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oeflk934iRg/UKLp6WA_7jI/AAAAAAAABxs/XiQXyP36vEU/s1600/tacobell_01.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oeflk934iRg/UKLp6WA_7jI/AAAAAAAABxs/XiQXyP36vEU/s320/tacobell_01.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m
sorry,” he said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
began to eat her grilled stuffed burrito without replying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Hey,
this is all strange to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This weird
girl shows up and says you’re killing people with some evil spell and then I
find a body outside your dorm.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“So
you assume it was me?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“No,
but I want to know what’s going on.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
It
was a quiet lunch after that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Afternoon
classes went by slower than usual.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
entire time she kept thinking of what he had said to her and what she wanted to
say to him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As many different
conversations ran through her mind she couldn’t come up with what to tell
David.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If there was one person’s good
esteem she didn’t want to lose it was David’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
After
her last class she walked back to her dorm room. Sayako wasn’t there; probably
over at David’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They would all meet
there later on as usual.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But tonight she
didn’t want to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She just wanted to be
alone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
But
then she’d have to make an excuse and she was no good with lying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
After
eating microwaved burritos she began walking towards David’s apartment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was only five thirty but it was dark
already.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
buttoned her coat as she walked and tightened the scarf around her neck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her black beanie hat was pulled down over her
ears.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her breath puffed around her as
she walked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
All
she could do was think about David.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did
he really disbelieve her or was he just confused?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She trusted him with everything but she
wanted those feelings to be returned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Why were things going wrong now?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
If
someone was doing this to her on purpose, she’d find them and put a pain curse
on them so they’d live the rest of their lives in unbearable agony that would
drive them mad. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Hey
there,” a male voice said behind her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
turned to see a man standing there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
looked too wild to be a student.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had
one of those puffy coats that rap gangsters liked to wear and a hat pulled to
the side.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He didn’t look healthy and
stared at her with a vacant, hollow stare.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Don’t
come near me,” Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
stepped forward. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Or
what?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Little girl?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You going to hurt me?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yes
I will.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Then
you’ll have to hurt me.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
lunged forward and grabbed the sleeve of her Navy coat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She pulled away but he held her tight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He still had the vacant stare but his arms
were fast and strong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
tried to hit his face but he blocked her pathetic blows.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Next
she tried to get the gun in her purse but he grabbed her purse and yanked it
away, tossing it into the grass by his feet. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m
going to have a good time with you,” he said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
pushed her down to the ground and his large mass almost crushed her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had her pinned and neither her arms nor
her legs could do much of anything. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What
you going to do now?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
knew the spell to use.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She muttered the words
for the stun spell and when she pronounced the final syllable there was a flash
of blue light.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SvwNW0-RFCw/UKLqVNxifvI/AAAAAAAABx0/0T0F63XLlHw/s1600/blue_light_by_raya2222-d366jug.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-SvwNW0-RFCw/UKLqVNxifvI/AAAAAAAABx0/0T0F63XLlHw/s320/blue_light_by_raya2222-d366jug.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
But
the man was still holding her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It hadn’t
worked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
tried it again and still nothing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Either
she wasn’t doing it right or he was immune to her stun spell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
bent down and began licking her neck and cheek.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The man began to describe what he was going to do to her and they were
things that rivaled the Esoteric Order of Dagon’s dark rituals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
This
was a horrible man that wouldn’t stop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
There
was only one thing left to do; she had to kill him or he’d make it wish she
were dead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
began to say the words of the Leech Life spell and when he let go of one of her
hands to undo his belt buckle, she reached up and grabbed his throat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She finished the spell and she began draining
his life away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
grew weak and collapsed to the ground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
crawled out from under him and straddled him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Are
you enjoying this, human scum?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is this
what you wanted?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’re getting what you
deserve!”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
This
was justice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like the football player
before him, he was a wicked man that saw her as easy pray.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now that they were dead they’d never bother
anyone again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was ridding the world
of villains and she was glad to do it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why
should she refrain from using the power to do good?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Gretchen!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Came David’s voice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
let go of the man and turned to see David standing there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
It
was the look in his eyes that horrified her the most.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was staring at her with disbelief and
disgust.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Wait,
David.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not my fault!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He attacked me.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Just
like the other guy?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
What
was he doing here, anyway?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“No,
he attacked me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had to defend myself,”
she said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“How
many people have you had to defend yourself from?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Just
these two.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
didn’t believe her and he saw it in his eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Why had he come at the exact wrong moment?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Why
are you here?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Got
a text message.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“From
who?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
don’t know, but they were right.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What
did they say?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Doesn’t
matter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’ve been lying to me.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
haven’t! He did attack me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David, please
believe me.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
don’t know what to believe.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Then
he turned and began walking away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
picked up her purse and ran after him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Twice
in one semester?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked without
looking at her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
can’t explain it.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You’d
better try.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
couldn’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She realized that from his
point of view the whole thing was suspicious looking.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
know how it looks,” she said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“But it
was self defense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Look at me,
David.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Haven’t you trusted your life
with me before?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You know me.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
thought I did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have to think about
this,” he said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
left her there standing in the cold grass.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She watched him go and couldn’t think of anything to say.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everything good about the outside world was
crumbling around her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
fell to her knees and wept.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
Zach Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08188373296321506021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088873945002427056.post-1779764781535512682012-11-08T15:12:00.001-08:002012-11-08T15:12:43.970-08:00Chapter 25<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen
enjoyed the dinner very much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
stuffing here was much better than the cafeteria’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It had been enjoyable except that David’s
brothers were just like the normal people from high school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They had the same “anything different must be
bad” mindset.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was their condensation
that she detested the most.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They spoke
with her as if they assumed they were superior and that she accepted that as
fact.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The idea that she could possibly
think them to be idiots never crossed their minds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
His
father hadn’t been much better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Still,
she’d take idiots over evil cultists for family any day. And the food was
infinitely better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It wasn’t just fish
and boiled potatoes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
After
the Thanksgiving feast (she hadn’t asked what they were giving thanks for)
David’s family went to the living room to watch football.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David and she stayed in the rear of the room
for a while and eventually snuck out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
took her outside to their backyard which was filled with trees and piles of
dead leaves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It wasn’t a large backyard
and was surrounded by a tall fence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her
house back in Innsmouth had no fence, but then again, no one would dare
trespass on Marsh property.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her yard
also didn’t have any trees, just cold swamp. </div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
After
seeing the yard David played in as a child he took her up to the study.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was a glass case where his father kept
some guns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of them were old hunting
rifles but there was also one David called an “FAL.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
They
eventually settled in the library and remained there for most of the day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They talked about the books they found there
and a lot about history, mostly Virginian history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
David
was very proud of his state.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Back in
Innsmouth she had only been barely aware that Innsmouth was a part of the state
of Massachusetts.
Anything outside simply hadn’t mattered.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“The
humans and their petty kingdoms they think are so important will one day be
swept into the sea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A day not too
distant,” her father used to say all the time. </div>
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She
had only heard about the Iraq
war because the morning news in high school. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
spent that last night curled in David’s arms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
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The
next morning they began their ten hour drive back to Arkham and Miskatonic University.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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She
borrowed David’s phone and texted Beth. </div>
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“I
hope you had a good Thanksgiving,” she wrote.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
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A
few minutes later she got a reply. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“That
U G? U only 1 to use proper English in txt,” Beth wrote.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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“See
you back at school,” Gretchen replied.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What
did you think of Richmond?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
liked it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Parts of it were run down and
broken, like my hometown, but other parts were very nice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I liked Williamsburg
and the actors dress as historical people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Especially Thomas Jefferson.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Good
old TJ.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
had bought a tricorn hat to remember Williamsburg.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She also thought they looked nice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She reached in the backseat, grabbed the
tricorn hat and put it on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why not?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No one was watching and David probably thought
it was cool as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
They
talked and talked until they got back to Miskatonic University
and David pulled up to her dorms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was
around dinner time and she didn’t want to part company.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Would
you like to come up to my room, order pizza and make out?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“That’s
really hard to say no to.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“So
don’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Besides, maybe we can get to
fourth base.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“There
is no fourth base.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Oh.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Home
run.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The only thing left is the home
run.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Is
that what I believe it to be?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Probably.”
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Oh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Okay, no home run then.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
definitely wasn’t ready for that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
knew how it was done, she’d seen it plenty of times during the Order’s rituals,
but there was more to it that she had learned from Health class.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She didn’t want and STD or a pregnancy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The chances of ruining her life were too
great.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
They
watched “Geisha Assassin” on Netflix while they ate pizza.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-X1XUuoY8zHg/UJw6qR9eHEI/AAAAAAAABvo/Dqka7MKzNFg/s1600/Geisha_Assassin_GAssassin2-300x199.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-X1XUuoY8zHg/UJw6qR9eHEI/AAAAAAAABvo/Dqka7MKzNFg/s1600/Geisha_Assassin_GAssassin2-300x199.jpg" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Then
she heard a noise and she quickly paused the movie on her laptop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What’s
up?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Did
you hear something?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
They
both stayed silent for a while.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was
thinking about resuming the movie when she heard it again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It sounded like a scraping sound, like
fingernails on the door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She looked over
to David and he nodded that he had heard it as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She pulled out her Beretta Px4 and he pulled
out his broomhandled Mauser from his shoulder rig.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had claimed that it was far from the most
practical gun and holster in the world, but it was “too sylish” to not do
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
They
got off the bed and followed the sound of the scratching.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was coming from her bathroom door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The door was closed and the light was
on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She always kept the lights off when
not in a room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
didn’t want David to know that she was worried so she prepared a spell in
silence.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
David
went to the side of the door and put his hand on the knob.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He counted to three and then quickly opened
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
expected to find nothing there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Instead
she saw a girl there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All she saw was
long, black hair and a white dress covered in blood. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Mother
Hubbard!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen blurted out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
figure struggled to get up and slowly rose to its feet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her and David backed away with their guns
trained on the strange creature.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
bloody figure looked up and for a second Gretchen was confused because the
thing looked familiar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Sayako?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
pale face with the dark rings around the eyes nodded.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
found you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It took long time,” Sayako
said in a voice that sounded as if each breath was the death rattle, the final
exhale as the lungs gave out.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Sayako
walked with a jerky, halting motion into Gretchen’s living room and looked
around on a neck that moved as if broken.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
was glad to see Sayako again but was still annoyed because her timing had been
horrible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Still, it was good to see a
friend again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Nice
place,” Sayako said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I no interrupt
love making, yes?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“None
of your business,” David said as he holstered his gun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You
no look like fish,” Sayako said to Gretchen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
noticed.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What
are you doing here?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Where
else I go?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sayako said with wild, angry
eyes.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
type of ghost Sayako was, was a vengeful spirit and prone to anger and
violence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She did not want an avenging
ghost hanging around her apartment killing anyone that annoys it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DLt45sY4ns0/UJw7dhbYH6I/AAAAAAAABvw/PFsyaSDJp-M/s1600/Sayako.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DLt45sY4ns0/UJw7dhbYH6I/AAAAAAAABvw/PFsyaSDJp-M/s320/Sayako.jpg" width="184" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You’re
welcome to stay as long as you’d like,” Gretchen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
hoped Sayako wouldn’t want to stay long.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She wanted to be alone with David.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She didn’t think she could ‘make out’ while having an audience. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen
remembered reading something about Japanese ghosts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They tended to be a bit more solid than their
western counterparts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sayako did look
solid.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Wanna
go over to Beth’s place?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’s not there
but you can watch all the movies you missed in the past three decades,” David
said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yes!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’ll love those movies,” Gretchen quickly
said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Movies….yes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Movies,” Sayako said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
They
ushered Sayako into David’s car.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
felt solid but cold.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David had Beth’s
spare key, something she didn’t quite agree with but had no concrete reasons to
object to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He opened the door and sat
Sayako on the couch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“This
long way from Japan,”
Sayako said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Take long time to get
here.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“How
you even find us?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Have
connection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Share dream so I follow you
dream.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She’d
never heard of something following a dreamer back into the real world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She dreamed of many things that she didn’t
want to see in the real world. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But then
Sayako existed in the real world so perhaps that made it possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’d have to do some research.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
After
David showed her how to work the Blue-ray player, and put in “Princess
Mononoke” for her, they backed out of Beth’s apartment and hurried back to her
room. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mZps2lBBeOw/UJw768vvu5I/AAAAAAAABv4/tNKDOKh1uJQ/s1600/mononoke.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-mZps2lBBeOw/UJw768vvu5I/AAAAAAAABv4/tNKDOKh1uJQ/s320/mononoke.gif" width="237" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
As
soon as the door was closed he picked her up and carried her to the bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She liked it when he carried her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He threw her on the bed and jumped on
top.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was nothing sweet and gentle
in their making out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was more like
two wild animals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
next morning they went to Beth’s room and found Sayako still watching
movies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
borrowed David’s phone again and texted Beth. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Beth,
Sayako has appeared and is your apartment watching movies.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“WTF??!!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth responded. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
*</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
David</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
had survived Thanksgiving with his family; only slightly less difficult than
facing Elder gods.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now he just had to deal with a cockblocking
ghost.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was glad to see Sayako
though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had kept her word and helped
them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps she had just been eager to
see her own kind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sort of.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were all a little weird, but at least
they were living.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchan,
Sayako and he sat in his room playing X-box.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The video game seemed mesmerizing for Sayako and she stayed glued to the
TV.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What
do we do with her?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He whispered to
Gretchen. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
shrugged. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Nothing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She won’t harm us unless we make her angry.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Oh,
that’s all?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What makes her angry?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“If
she thinks we’re trying to hurt or betray her.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
So,
they had a potentially psychotic ghost staying with them for who knows how
long.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth
came back later that day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She walked
into David’s apartment without knocking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“So
it is Sayako,” Beth said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Konichiwa,”
Sayako said without taking her eyes from the video game.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
assume she’s staying with you,” Beth said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
don’t think that would be appropriate,” He said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
hated that word, “appropriate.” It sounded dishonest and weak.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
But
right now he had to use every weapon in his arsenal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was no way this ghost was staying with
him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He doubted Gretchen would approve:
even if Sayako was dead. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“She
can stay with me,” Gretchen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You
sure, Gretch?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m
more accustomed to such things,” Gretchen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“But
you no have video game,” Sayako said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
have a laptop,” Gretchen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Sayako
sighed and continued playing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
David
was glad when classes started back up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was nice to get some normalcy again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He had had a very strange semester so far and hoped things would calm
down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
play practice was getting more stressful than fun the closer the deadline
came.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just one more week of rehearsals
to go and it was show time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A one time
showing in front of the professor, the class and any student who wanted to
come.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were keeping with
contemporary clothing so at least he wouldn’t have to dress in silly hats and
pantaloons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SUDKVko0LgA/UJw8Y1dADGI/AAAAAAAABwA/MxYOIF8I2D8/s1600/costumes.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SUDKVko0LgA/UJw8Y1dADGI/AAAAAAAABwA/MxYOIF8I2D8/s320/costumes.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
next morning David walked across the commons to class when he heard someone
calling his name. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He turned to see Dan
Tillman jogging up to him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Hey,
Dan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How’s it going?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Not
bad, not bad.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Any
luck on your project?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“More
than I thought possible.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“That
sounds promising.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’ve
been able to detect certain energies I didn’t know about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s…wonderful.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Wonderful?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What is it?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
can’t tell you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At least not yet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As soon as I get more evidence I’ll show
you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More experiments first.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’ll
be waiting.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Okay,
bye!”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Dan
hurried off, holding an armful of books.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>David had no idea what he was talking about.</div>
Zach Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08188373296321506021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088873945002427056.post-20353928642632872302012-11-07T16:19:00.002-08:002012-11-07T16:19:44.799-08:00Chapter 24<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
After
the delicious dinner and the strange conversation about David’s future, she was
shown to her room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of David’s
younger brothers, a hulking football player, carried her suitcase up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
room was on the third floor and had its own bathroom.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was bright, clean and new.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her old bedroom back in Innsmouth was large,
but it was hollow, decrepit and old. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Thank
you,” she said to Mrs. Taliafero and David’s brother who hadn’t introduced
himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
didn’t go in though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She followed them
to see where David’s room was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
wanted to see what kind of things he kept there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
When
she glanced in she saw rock and movie posters as well as models of realistic
military vehicles and brightly colored robots from those Japanese cartoons
David liked to watch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_WkEIiEI9yc/UJr0IpJn-0I/AAAAAAAABtw/jeWW1R9qDfI/s1600/Zaku.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_WkEIiEI9yc/UJr0IpJn-0I/AAAAAAAABtw/jeWW1R9qDfI/s1600/Zaku.jpg" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“It’s
definitely your room,” she said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yeah.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is it.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You
two get some sleep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You had a long drive
and need to rest,” David’s mother said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“When you’re older you’ll realize how important rest is.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Right,
well, good night,” David said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Good
night,” Gretchen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
went back to her room and sat down on the bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was softer and fluffier than any bed she had ever felt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’d get lost in it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen
stripped down and climbed under the dozens of thick quilts and blankets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It all felt so soft and she could rest in
that bed for days and never want to get out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
But
she couldn’t sleep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They had been
driving all day and was tired, but she didn’t want to sleep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She wanted to stay up talking to David and
exploring this house where he grew up surrounded by love and normalcy.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
wondered how she would have turned out if she had had a normal childhood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If she’d grown up in a house like this she
might have been someone good and happy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen
got up and looked out the window.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All
she saw were dark trees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not much of a
view.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her house at Innsmouth was a
horrible place, but her room offered a view of the sea that she never took for
granted. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_NvpODRFFuY/UJr0zOIWk6I/AAAAAAAABt4/Od26y_7Xsic/s1600/gray+sea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-_NvpODRFFuY/UJr0zOIWk6I/AAAAAAAABt4/Od26y_7Xsic/s1600/gray+sea.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
What
was David doing?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Was he sleeping? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She wanted to see him. She wanted to kiss him
and wanted him to kiss her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She wanted
to feel his hands on her skin. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
put on her bathrobe and crept down the unlit hall to David’s door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She lightly knocked so no one else could
hear. A few seconds later the door opened just a crack.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David peered out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What
are you doing up?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
wanted to see you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can I come in?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
thought for a moment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yes,”
he said and opened the door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
walked into the dark and he closed the door behind her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All she could make out was his outline.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Do
you have something on your mind that you want to talk about?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Talk?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She hadn’t really come here to talk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
walked over and sat down on the bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then
she lay down and crawled under the covers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>David walked over and got into bed next to her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“This
is bold,” he said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
feel comfortable around you.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
then moved over her and began kissing her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It wasn’t long before her robe was open and they were at second
base.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She knew what came next.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
It
dawned on her what third base was and they spent the rest of the night at third
base.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She bit his shoulder to keep from
moaning out and disturbing others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
hated showing herself in a swimsuit but to David she felt no such
hesitation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She would give him anything
and everything he wanted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
didn’t go back to her room until the sky started turning purple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was exhausted and felt tingly all over
but as soon as her head hit the pillow she went right to sleep. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
When
she woke up four hours later she took a long shower and thought of David.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
walked down stairs to the kitchen and found David there with his mother.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She seemed the nicest of his relations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She also felt her cheeks redden as she met
David’s eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
things they did last night were…shocking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She didn’t know where it had come from.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She was still a virgin, but only just.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Her father had warned her on pain of death to remain a virgin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was starting to not care what he had told
her to do. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Good
morning, Gretchen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sleep well?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David’s mother asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
believe I’m…still tired from the long trip,” Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m
going to take Gretchen on a tour of Richmond
today,” David said.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“But
first you need breakfast,” his mother said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
fixed them a full breakfast of eggs, toast and something called “grits.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had no idea what the substance was made
of, but it was good in a simple fashion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Then
they got back into David’s car and drove to Carry Street and parked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They spent the afternoon walking around and
going through the different stores.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
tried on numerous vintage clothing, some styles she had seen in what used to be
her grandmother’s wardrobe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She settled
on a pair of circular blue tinted sunglasses that David said she looked good
in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nrrHb_dq7zg/UJr4DKt2HfI/AAAAAAAABuc/-0_zL2efzY0/s1600/Byrd+theater.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="217" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-nrrHb_dq7zg/UJr4DKt2HfI/AAAAAAAABuc/-0_zL2efzY0/s320/Byrd+theater.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
They
had lunch at an Indian place and then continued to walk around and
explore.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Then
she saw an art gallery and walked over to the window to look in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The sign said “Byzantine Gallery” in gold and
black mosaic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
paintings in the front window were dark and beautiful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of them were portraits of people that
showed their complete life story in a single expression.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But then a photo in a black frame caught her
eye.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a photo of what looked like
a dead little girl playing the violin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
This
was no makeup job or trick photography.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She had seen enough real bodies to know if it were fake or not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And this photo was not fake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Can
we go in?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Of
course.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
opened the door for her like a proper gentleman and she entered the white room
filled with art.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was a door at the
rear and a staircase going up to a second floor with a sign that said “private
residence upstairs.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Then
a head poked out from the open doorway at the back; thin man with scruffy black
hair and a goatee.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He smiled when he saw
them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Welcome!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The man said and pushed himself out of the
office chair he was sitting in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was
wearing black slacks and a black buttoned up shirt. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You
have a lovely collection,” Gretchen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
looked around and smiled. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yeah,
we work hard at it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Name’s Alex.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Pleased
to meet you Alex,” David said and they shook hands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
noticed the photo in the front window,” Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Ah,
yes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s done by my daughter,
Elizabeth,” Alex said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“It’s
quite intriguing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What process did she
use to create such a dramatic image?” Gretchen asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Well,
she likes to keep her techniques secret,” Alex said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Is
there any way I could meet this young artist?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Gretchen asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Before
he could answer the door to the gallery opened up and a small woman with short
dark hair entered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was wearing a
black jean jacket, loose dress that came down to the knees, stripped leggings
and large boots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was smiling but it
was the kind of smile that covered her entire face and was as natural to her as
breathing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
was carrying a Taco Bell bag.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Oh!
Hello!” The happy woman said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“This
is my wife, Adriana,” Alex said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“A
pleasure to meet you,” Gretchen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Adriana
shook her hand with genuine glee.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
got the grilled stuffed burrito you like,” Adrianna said to Alex.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Awesome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hey, these people here are interested in Elizabeth’s work.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Oh?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“It’s
a very curious image.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>May I speak with
the artist?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
don’t see why not,” Adriana said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Adriana
then went to the stairs and called up for Elizabeth and Edna to come down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Lunch
is ready!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Adriana added at the end.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Two
teenage girls came running down the stairs but stopped when they saw their
guests.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen saw that the girl in
the photo was this Edna. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--S_aij1Wqu0/UJr5vi7HNaI/AAAAAAAABuk/7toz5gCqciA/s1600/gallery5.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="215" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--S_aij1Wqu0/UJr5vi7HNaI/AAAAAAAABuk/7toz5gCqciA/s320/gallery5.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Something
was different about this girl, she could feel it in the corners of her
mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She opened her mind and let the
magic flow in a passive way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Edna
girl was practically radiating magic. Edna's dark eyes locked onto Gretchen and didn't let go. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Mind
if we eat and talk?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Alex asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Not
a problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We already ate,” David
said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
They
pulled up chairs and the two girls sat on the stairs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You
took that photo?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
did,” Elizabeth
said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“May
I ask about your techniques?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How did you
accomplish such a real appearance of death?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
photo was real and Gretchen wanted to know how Edna looked dead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If there were other users of magic then she wanted
to know more about them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She wanted to
know if their magic was inherently evil or if magic could indeed be used for
good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had never met a sorcerer or
witch that wasn’t wicked, but they had all worshiped the dark gods.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Were there other sources of power out there?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Elizabeth looked to Alex
and then to Edna.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Photoshop,”
Elizabeth
said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
think you and I both know that isn’t true,” Gretchan said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Alex
then leaned in. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Who
are you?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Alex asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Someone
that knows death when I see it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This
girl,” she pointed at Edna, “is dripping with supernatural energy.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
gallery people fell silent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
David
cleared his throat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Gretchen’s
somewhat of an expert on the unusual,” David said with a forced laugh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“How
do you know all this?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Alex asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
was raised around magic all my life,” Gretchen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m
dead,” Edna said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Or at least, I was.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What
brought you back?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“An
ancient relic and a certain ceremony,” Edna said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What
kind of ceremony?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Not
a good kind,” Edna said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m
sorry,” Gretchen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Maybe
there was no such thing as good magic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Maybe magic was inherently evil and corrupting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> She didn't like this thought. She had used magic many times, often to save lives. Could it be that it was really evil or was it the intent?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
bought the photo and thanked them, getting their full names so she could friend
them on Facebook.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> They promised to keep in touch.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
They
left the gallery with promises to return.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What’s
wrong?” David asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Nothing,”
she said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
They
didn’t return to the house until well after dark.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They had had dinner and a movie at the old
fashioned Byrd Theater.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It had been an
actual date. They got home, went to bed and then she snuck over to his room to
get back on third base.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He liked kissing
her belly and she liked him to do it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Not as much as other things though. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
next week passed in a similar dream world of happiness and forgetting about all
the bad things that lay just under the surface of this world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He took her to see Williamsburg,
Jamestown, Yorktown, Washington
D.C. and the Blue Ridge
Mountains. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6tCYOVSVNy8/UJr584y_QwI/AAAAAAAABus/jff6i6f6w3Y/s1600/williamsburg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="204" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6tCYOVSVNy8/UJr584y_QwI/AAAAAAAABus/jff6i6f6w3Y/s320/williamsburg.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Virginia was beautiful
and filled with history that she had never learned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>American history hadn’t been important where
she was from.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Esoteric Order of
Dagon wasn’t a very patriotic religion. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
*</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
David</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen
was smiling more than usual.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
generally seemed to be happy with him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She was always ready to go see something new, even things most people
would consider normal or boring.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
wanted to see it all and he wanted to be with her when she did.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Then
Thursday rolled around: Thanksgiving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So
far he had seen very little of his family and he preferred it that way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They’d just embarrass him or would offend
Gretchen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He wasn’t looking forward to
the big Thanksgiving meal at noon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some
people had dinner: the Taliaferos had lunch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That way they could lounge around the rest of the day and snack on
leftovers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
It
wasn’t a bad system. It also meant that he could ignore his brothers after the
meal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Breakfast
wasn’t allowed on Thanksgiving to save room for the feast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He and Gretch woke up late and barely had
time to shower and get ready.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
waited outside her room while she prepared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When she came out she was wearing a white buttoned up shirt, simple
black skirt and Vans shoes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She looked
normal and nice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She could have worn her
pajamas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Taliaferos weren’t ones to
stand on formality when comfort could be achieved instead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her hair was neatly combed and straighter
than he’d ever seen it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was trying
to impress and succeeding magnificently.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
took her hand and led her down stairs to the dinning room where everyone was
gathering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Both
Nate and Steve were wearing football jerseys of the teams that were playing that
day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Steve had flown in last night and
he hadn’t seen him yet. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Hey,
bro,” Steve said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Glad
you could make it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The weather was
looking rough over in Chicago.”
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Steve
shrugged.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“This
your girlfriend?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Steve asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This is Gretchen,” he said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Why’s
your hair white?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Steve asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
saw a scowl fly briefly across Gretchen’s face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Don’t
be rude,” David said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was just asking a question,” Steve said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
They
took their places and he squeezed Gretchen’s knee to remind her that he was
right there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Mother
came in with platters of food.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His
brothers didn’t volunteer to help so he jumped up and helped mom bring the
feast to the table.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mom didn’t cook any
of it, though she liked to pretend she did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She did hire the cook that did prepare it though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He doubted if Mom knew how to cook anything
that didn’t involve a microwave.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_oPssv6gWaA/UJr6kkJaipI/AAAAAAAABu0/u5VW-N8nock/s1600/thanksgiving-dinner.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_oPssv6gWaA/UJr6kkJaipI/AAAAAAAABu0/u5VW-N8nock/s320/thanksgiving-dinner.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Once
the table was set they began to dig in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Platters and bowls were passed around he David got a triple serving of stuffing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stuffing with gravy was one of the things
that made life worth living. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“So,
Gretchen, what are you studying in college?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Dad asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Comparative
religion, history and art.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You
can’t earn a living off of any of that,” Dad said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“College
is a waste of time,” Nate said. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You
don’t learn anything useful, just a bunch of science and history crap that
doesn’t do any good,” Steve said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“When
are you two getting married?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dad asked.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
David
rolled his eyes and threw his hands in the air.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Dad,
really?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You two obviously like each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This isn’t going to be a shotgun wedding, is
it?” Dad asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Henry!”
Mother said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Just
make sure you’re using protection,” Dad said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
This
was going from terrible to catastrophic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Protection?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Like guns?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Gretchen asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Nate
and Steve just started laughing and Dad looked confused.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“How
does your family normally celebrate Thanksgiving, Gretchen?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mom asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“We…uh…we
eat a lot of pizza,” Gretchen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Pizza?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Non traditional, huh?” Dad said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yes,
non traditional,” Gretchen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
At
least the conversation had steered away from sex advice from his dad. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You
don’t have a big family, do you?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dad
asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“No,
sir,” Gretchen said.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
can tell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You don’t have good hips on
you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Too narrow.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Enough,
Dad,” David said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“All
I’m saying is that if you marry her, don’t expect to have twenty kids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She won’t be an Octomom.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Thank
you, Mr. Taliafero,” Gretchen said, though the look in her eyes said that she
had no idea what he was talking about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“She
does have a pretty neck though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can
judge a woman by her neck, you know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If
she has a good neck now, she’ll have an alright neck when she’s older,” Dad
said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“And
such pretty eyes,” Mom said, obviously trying to steer the conversation back on
track.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“So,
why you going out with my brother?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You
like war heroes?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nate asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
This
was the last time he was bringing anyone home again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m
going out with him because he is kind, considerate and desired to accomplish
more in life than making money,” Gretchen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Her silver eyes bored into Nate and he looked back down at his
plate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Why
pizza?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your family Italian?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Father asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“No,”
Gretchen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yeah,
I remember learning about the Indians sharing pizza with the pilgrims,” Steve
said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yes,
that’s why we have pizza,” Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Steve
couldn’t tell if she were being sarcastic or serious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
Zach Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08188373296321506021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088873945002427056.post-4154368547919334792012-11-01T17:04:00.000-07:002012-11-01T17:04:21.755-07:00Chapter 23<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
David</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
David
found the midterms to be too easy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of
course, he was taking classes that he loved.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Now if he was taking math right now it would be a different story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
It
was Wednesday before Thanksgiving break and he only had one more test before
Friday.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Too easy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
hard part was coming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had just found
out from Gretchen that she was staying on campus during the break.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course she was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She wouldn’t go back to Innsmouth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was such an idiot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He should have realized it sooner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Now
he had the pleasure/torture of inviting Gretchen to his family’s house for
Thanksgiving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Would she think this was
some kind of signal that all women understood and men didn’t that he was “ready
for the next step?” Whatever that was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
didn’t want her to think that this was a proposal, but some girls get weirded
out when asked to meet the parents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
had never been far enough in a relationship to ask that so he had no experience
with it, but his friends have had odd experiences.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of his buddies from the army had a girl
dump him because he asked her to come over for dinner to meet his parents.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
But
then he had to look at who he was dealing with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He couldn’t imagine Gretchen getting weirded out by anything. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
found Gretchen and Beth in the cafeteria and went over to sit with them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had had to pay to get in and got a plate
of nachos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
sat down and picked at his nachos.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
needed to speak with Gretchen alone. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Give
me and G a few minutes,” he texted to Beth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gAUh0sGQ258/UJML6z91njI/AAAAAAAABsk/WNqWzqtx3GQ/s1600/text+phone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gAUh0sGQ258/UJML6z91njI/AAAAAAAABsk/WNqWzqtx3GQ/s320/text+phone.jpg" width="226" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
just gave him a nod and a smile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Hey,
guys, I’ll catch up later.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I gotta go
turn something in,” Beth said and winked at him as she left.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
looked across the table at Gretchen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
now had a girlfriend that had bought him a gun, wanted to kiss more often than
a hormonal teenager and was perhaps one of the most intelligent people he had
ever met.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Her
family was horrible and she had seen some pretty awful things in her life,
including people being killed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had
seen that as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No one comes back
from a war unchanged.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What
are you going to do during Thanksgiving break?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
shrugged her shoulders, something she’d been doing more of lately. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
don’t know, perhaps watch movies on my laptop and read some books.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
adjusted his chair and cleared his throat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yes,
well, I was wondering if you’d like to come with me down to my family in Virginia and spend
Thanksgiving with us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You, know, I’d
hate for you to be all alone here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At
least this way you’ll get a good dinner out of it.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
cocked her head to the side. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You
want me to meet your parents?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Great.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Here it comes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Time for the “we’re not at that stage in the
relationship” speech that every woman seemed to have memorized.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yeah.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’ll be fun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I promise they won’t force you to play Monopoly,” he said. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yeyZ4JQrxsE/UJMMYFb3C7I/AAAAAAAABss/WmiX7zqBm7c/s1600/monopoly-man.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="294" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-yeyZ4JQrxsE/UJMMYFb3C7I/AAAAAAAABss/WmiX7zqBm7c/s320/monopoly-man.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Really?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I won’t embarrass you?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Embarrass
me?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No, not at all.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
smiled, another thing she did more of lately.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’d
love to spend Thanksgiving with you and your family,” she said with a look on
her face that told him she probably would have curtsied if the opportunity had
been there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Awesome,”
he said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“When’s your last mid-term?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Friday
morning at eight.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Okay,
then after your exam we’ll pack my car and drive down to Virginia.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’ve
never been out of the state before.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“If
you don’t count the dream world.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“That
might count.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Great.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll call my folks and let them know you’re
coming.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
rest of the week went by quickly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Except
for his last exam he spent most of his time playing Space Marine and
Skyrim.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen took her studies
seriously and he saw very little of her or Beth that week. </div>
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At
nine in the morning on Friday he drove to Gretchen’s dorm and found her packing
an old fashioned suitcase. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m
almost ready,” she said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
was dressed in her gray old fashioned clothes as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps she thought this was all more formal
than it really was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen
wasn’t smiling and looked more like her old sullen self.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her mouth was closed like it always was and
her large, silver eyes seemed to take everything in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She stood there a minute with a finger to her
lips in her “I’m thinking” pose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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“I
do hope I’m not forgetting something,” she said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“If
you are, we’ll just buy whatever you need.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
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“Does
your hometown have plenty of stores?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
live in Richmond.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a big city.” </div>
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“Bigger
than Arkham?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Much
bigger.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
nodded and closed her suitcase. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
They
walked down to where his car waited and he helped her with her two-ton suitcase.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did women always bring their cinder
block collection with them?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Seriously,
how could they pack so much stuff?</div>
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“You
ready?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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“I
can’t wait to meet your family,” she said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A smile started to form on the ends of her lips.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You’ll
like them, though they may be boring by your standards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No demons, dark gods or dream worlds.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“That
sounds particularly nice.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
His
younger brothers would probably spend most of the time in front of the TV
watching endless football games.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No
wonder they all passed out after the meal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Was anything more boring than watching sports on TV?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
They
were silent as he drove through Arkham and got on the freeway heading
south.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then he turned on his iPod and
handed it to her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You’re
the DJ this trip.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Your call what we listen
to,” he said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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She
switched it to a “Birthday Massacre” song and put set it down on “Random.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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“Did
you hear that Dr. Nelson is listed as missing?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yeah,
saw it on the school’s website.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
have to assume that Nylarthotep dealt with him and Hecate.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Safe
assumption.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Indeed.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
hope he isn’t following me,” he said after a few moments.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“He
knows who you are, the question is: does he care enough to do anything about
it?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t believe so.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
don’t like those odds.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
put a hand on his shoulder and gave him a brief smile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“David?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Huh?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What’s
third base?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
shouldn’t be surprised at the question.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Then he started to imagine what she might say at dinner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen’s idea of polite conversation could
prove embarrassing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>‘What animals do you
sacrifice for Thanksgiving,’ could be a little awkward. </div>
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“Third
base is…we’ll cross that bridge when we get there.”</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“When
does that bridge get crossed?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Will I
know it?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
This
was getting weird. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Well,
Gretchen, you’re now participating in the great American tradition of a road
trip.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To make it complete we’ll have to
stop for greasy food, snacks and listen to good music.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What
else does this road trip entail?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“That’s
about it.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Nothing
else?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“We
get to see America.”
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“My
family wasn’t the most patriotic of people.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
They
drove south along 95 and watched the scenery pass by.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They stopped by for some fast food bacon
cheeseburgers and chocolate shakes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen
sat formally in her seat with both hands on her shake and stared out the
window.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When he firs met her that day in
class, he’d never imagine that she’d be his girlfriend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had kissed those pale lips and touched
that slender neck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was beautiful and
could look at her all day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What’s
been your favorite movie you’ve watched this semester?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
thought about it a moment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“The
Ring, I think.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Good
choice.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“And
you?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“30
Days of Night or Pandorum.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
enjoyed both of those.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Before I came to
the University the only movies I’d seen were the ones they showed in school.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Not
the best choices I take it.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“They
were all too happy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The world doesn’t
have happy endings.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You
might have one.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
looked down at her shake.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
doubt it,” she said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
They
stopped for gas and he got them some beef jerky and Mountain Dew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen looked through the assortment of
chips. The way she moved about and looked over everything, reading their
labels, she looked like she was seeing everything for the first time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
bought some Oreos and they got back on the road.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The billboards and unknown cities passed by
and song after song played over the stereo.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
They
talked about his childhood and she told him of hers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It sounded like one long nightmare after
another.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It also sounded like she didn’t
get along with her half sister.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’d
witness strangers being run out of town, kidnapped and worse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hell of a childhood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
told her all about the war from mobilization to his final coming home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That took a while.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She told him of the mythology surrounding
Nylarthotep, Cthulhu and other, unsavory deities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
It
was a wonder how she managed to be at least partially sane after living with
all this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He grew up with teachings of a
loving, kind Jesus that died for mankind’s sins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead she grew up with a god that would one
day wake up and destroy the world with the care and love of an SS officer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Cthulhu
wants you for a sunbeam?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That probably
wasn’t a popular song in Innsmouth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
After
seven hours even Gretchen was starting to lose her proper posture and she
leaned the seat back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You
can put your feet up on the dash,” he said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
took her large black boots off and put her small, white feet up on the
dash.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her toenails were painted
black.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He pointed to them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Beth
did it,” Gretchen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
They
drove into Richmond around eight o’clock and he
pulled off of 95 at the Cary St.
exit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’ll
have to show you Cary Street.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’ll like it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Lots of interesting stores, music, movies,
antique clothes.”</div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
pointed out the window.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“A
Thai resteraunt?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve never had Thai
food,” she said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Then
we’ll take care of that as well.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
His
parents’ house was a few blocks from Cary
St. in what some people might call a mansion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His father was a corporate big wig and mom
was a doctor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Plastic surgery.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They had money.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, they hadn’t been the closest of
families.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
pulled up to the large white house with a circular driveway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The lights were on and his brothers’ cars
were there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
strapped her boots back on and sat there, not moving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You
okay?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
believe I’m nervous.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What
do you have to be nervous about?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What
if they see that I’m a freak?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
reached over and caressed her cheek.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You’re
not a freak.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’re beautiful, you’re
smart, you’re unique.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
gave him a smile and got out of the car.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
His
mom answered the door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She looked as
young as she had since he’d been eight years old.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The woman didn’t age and never used plastic
surgery on herself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She hugged him and
then looked over at Gretchen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He saw her
face freeze in an unreadable expression he hadn’t seen on her before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then the moment was gone and mom’s perpetual
smile was back on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You
must be Gretchen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Welcome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Come on in!”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Mom
ushered them in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The entry way had a
giant staircase curving up to the second floor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>A crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling and antique oil paintings
with frames costing more than most people’s cars hung on the walls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mom liked the antique look. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Are
you two hungry?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mom asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Starving,”
he said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Just
leave your things there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ll eat first
then show you to your room,” mom said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
They
walked to the dinning room and mom sat them down and hurried off to the
kitchen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Dad
came in holding his newspaper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He looked
at both of them with a disapproving expression. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Thought
I heard something,” Dad said. “Gretchen?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yes,
this is Gretchen Marsh.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“She
your girlfriend?” Dad asked.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Great,
and the embarrassment starts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretch was
worried about him being embarrassed by her, but he was more worried about his
family be embarrassing. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yes,
she’s my girlfriend.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen
coughed and she glanced at him with surprised eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He just gave her a wink. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Dad
sat down and opened his newspaper again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“How’s
school coming?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dad asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Finished my midterms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I got a handle on it.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’ve wasted enough time in the army.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>About time you started working for your
future.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yes,
serving my country was a waste of time,” he said as sarcastically as he could. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You’re
capable of better things. Let the GED dropouts fight the wars,” Dad said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen
sat there with her hands folded in her lap looking somewhat uncomfortable with
the topic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
should have played football and got a scholarship, right?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You
would have been graduated by now.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
know this is crazy, but some things are more important than money.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Your
future is important.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Mom
came back in with steaming enchiladas on expensive plates.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She always brought out the good stuff for
guests.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Mom’s
famous recipe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’ll find them a little
better than the cafeteria’s enchiladas,” David said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Thank
you Mrs. Taliafero,” Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“A
girl with manners,” Mom said with a warm smile directed at him. “Not bad for
the first girl you’ve brought home.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
This
wasn’t going to be an easy week. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
Zach Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08188373296321506021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088873945002427056.post-14508115525942404452012-10-30T13:05:00.000-07:002012-10-30T13:05:02.070-07:00Chapter 22<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen
lay down next to David and got as close as she dared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She wanted to touch him and wrap her arms
around him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth
was snoring quietly and Sayako was lying down with her eyes closed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She didn’t know if Sayako was sleeping, dead
or both.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The difference between the two
was smaller than most people realized. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
saw his helmet lying on the ground and picked it up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was heavier than it looked and she
wondered how he wore it every day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After
turning it over and around she put it on her head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bMpW5hpgbhI/UJAvRx_gPcI/AAAAAAAABrc/fTsNZIiOdJU/s1600/helmet.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bMpW5hpgbhI/UJAvRx_gPcI/AAAAAAAABrc/fTsNZIiOdJU/s320/helmet.jpg" width="254" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
In
the faint glow of the magic flashlight she saw David look up at her and
smile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“It
looks good on you,” he said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
felt herself smile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Maybe
I can join the army.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could be an
officer and charge in on my warhorse with my saber pointing the way.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Wrong
century, Gretch.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
know, but sometimes the old ways are more interesting.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
lay back down next to him, using the padded helmet as a pillow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was surprisingly comfortable that
way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
used to sleep like that,” he said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I
had many days like this, nothing by my pack, helmet, gun and a hard floor as a
home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
turned over on her side to get a good look at him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was on his side looking back at her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m
sorry you were dragged into this,” she said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“No,
I’m sorry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think Nylarthotep’s gunning
for me and you guys got caught up in the cross fire.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
think my magic attracts unwanted attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I don’t know why you two tolerate my presence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know I’m a freak.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
didn’t say anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He only looked at
her with those kind eyes of his.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
couldn’t take his gaze any longer and looked away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She didn’t know what he saw when he looked at
her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did he see a pariah that would
never fit into society?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did he pity
her?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
David
was everything about the world that she wanted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He was normal, smart, funny and warm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She didn’t deserve him as a friend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Then
she felt his hand on her shoulder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
turned back and saw that he was leaning up on his elbow looking down at
her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Still
he didn’t say a word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yes?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She managed to get out with a shaky
voice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just his near proximity was
making her feel strange all over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Then
he cleared his throat and backed off a little. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Gretchen,
you’re an amazing person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve never met
anyone as strange, unique and interesting as you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m honored to have you as a friend.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
felt herself smiling again and she gathered the courage to look him in the
eye.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You
mean that?” She asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
nodded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“May
I hold your hand?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She asked before she
could stop herself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
smiled and his warm, calloused hand slipped over hers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She hadn’t expected him to want to hold her
monstrous hand, but he hadn’t hesitated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
wanted to reach up and stroke his cheek and run her fingers through his
hair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Then
David leaned in and kissed her lightly on the lips.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a small, light peck but it stopped her
breathing and every muscle in her body tensed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It wasn’t tense out of defense or fear, but of anticipation and
nervousness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
opened his eyes and looked into hers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>All power of speech left her and she didn’t know what to say or do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Fortunately,
he did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
kissed her again and this time he didn’t break away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hesitantly she brought her hand up and put in
to his cheek.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had never dared touch
him like this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It felt perfect. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
had never experienced anything as wonderful as this kiss.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was warm, soft and tingled every nerve
ending she had.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had no idea that her
lips could feel so much sensation at once.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen
ventured to kiss back and soon she found herself in a kind of natural and
rolling rhythm with the kissing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was
almost like a game but the goal was to let the other player in instead of
keeping them away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
was now on top of her and his weight felt reassuring and pleasant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of his hands went down and rested on her
hip and the other held the back of her head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>His touch felt like electricity.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
ran her hand through his hair and he responded by kissing her harder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That felt even better and she returned his
kiss even more, but this time she found herself lightly biting his lower
lip.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xpgNoNGwL3c/UJAyjFCh5JI/AAAAAAAABsA/XMzuiFzh8og/s1600/kiss.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xpgNoNGwL3c/UJAyjFCh5JI/AAAAAAAABsA/XMzuiFzh8og/s1600/kiss.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
When
he began kissing her neck she took the opportunity to speak.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
don’t know how you can even stand looking at me like this,” she whispered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“That’s
not the real you.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Are
you sure?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know the real Gretchen and she doesn’t look
like this.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“So…you
don’t mind?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“It’s
an illusion; nothing more.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Then
you think my real form is pretty?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
haven’t been able to take my eyes off you since that first day I saw you in
class.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
had had no idea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She assumed that he had
thought little of her at first like everyone else did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Outsiders seemed almost repulsed by her at
high school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now she questioned it and
wondered why.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“One
of us should stay up and guard in case those mummies show up again,” he said
between kisses on her neck and ear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
particularly liked the ear kisses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As much as she liked it, she wanted the full
thing again and she grabbed his chin and moved him back to her mouth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
This
time his whole body moved with the rhythm and she found her body following in
the same way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Her
arms wrapped around his neck and her legs wrapped around his waist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was strange and she didn’t understand it,
but she found her body wanting to do certain things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had seen others do similar things during
the orgies back home at the reef and never thought she’d want to do them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Hey!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Keep it down you two!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I try to sleep here,” Sayako said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen
quickly broke off and scampered to her own space and David did likewise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Sorry,”
David said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Shut
up,” Sayako said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
sat there, going over everything that had just happened and trying to figure it
all out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She looked over at David and
saw the giant grin on his face and couldn’t contain her own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“That
was amazing,” she whispered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Likewise.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
was breathing heavily like she had just swam a couple of laps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
One
thing was certain: she wanted to do it again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
had never been kissed before and found that she liked doing it more than
anything else, even more than swimming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Despite
having never done it before, she had found it natural and self
explanatory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
could still feel his lips on her as she went to sleep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
In
the morning they shared grinning looks and continued on down the impossibly
long hall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
As
they got closer she could feel the vibrations in the air grow stronger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were almost there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
An
hour later they came to a pair of doors with carvings of strange gods all over
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of them resembled the
alchemical illustrations from Dr. Nelson’s presentation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the middle was Yog Soggoth, the Gibbering
Mad God.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the bottom left was one that
had bat wings, claws and an octopus head: Cthulhu.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
David
tested the door but it was locked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Simple solution.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She easily did
her “open” spell and the door swung open.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
What
greeted them was an enormous room as big as an Olympic stadium with four giant
statues in each corner that looked as though the were holding the ceiling
up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the middle of the room was a
pyramid as big as the outside pyramid only this one had a staircase going up
the front.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
At
the top of the pyramid was a throne with a tall back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was too far away to get a clear view, but
someone was sitting on the throne.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Someone with black hair and pale skin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
David
pulled out his binoculars and looked at the sitting figure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
think it’s her,” he said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Of
course its her,” a voice said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
sounded like Dr. Nelson but she couldn’t tell where it was coming from.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Dr.
Nelson?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yes
and no.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was once known by that name,”
the voice said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Have you come to harm
my goddess, the Queen of the crossroads, the Dark Goddess of the Moon?” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
didn’t like where this was going so she began to prepare the “messenger” spell
to inform Nylarthotep of Hecate’s location.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
will not let you harm my goddess!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dr.
Nelson roared in a voice that didn’t sound quite human.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Then
something stepped out from behind one of the four colossi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If it had ever been a man it wasn’t obvious
and its appearance distracted her for a moment from her spell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
thing that was once Dr. Nelson was massive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was easily twenty feet tall with four long, spindly legs ending in
three clawed toes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tentacles sprouted
out from all over its bulbous body and they whipped around as if furious of
their own existence. A long neck rose out from the center and at the end was an
elongated head, almost like a skinned horse, but with twisted, asymmetrical
horns and crooked, dagger teeth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What
the…” Beth said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Guys,
I no like this,” Sayako said, slowly backing away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
can smell your fear,” Dr. Nelson said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What
did she do to you?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“She
gave me power to serve her.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
David
snapped his machine to his shoulder and let loose a burst.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The muzzle flash illuminated the space around
him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The bullets hit Dr. Nelson to no
visible effect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Not
good,” David said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen
drew three connecting circles on the ground with her finger and said the final
words of the spell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She felt the energy
leave her body and shoot away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was
done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had done what Nylarthotep had
wanted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Of course, that guaranteed
nothing. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
Dr. Nelson creature roared and began charging at them in an awkward, lopsided
gait.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David fired another long burst
then shouted for them to go back into the hall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The thing was too big to go into the hall but somehow that wasn’t
terribly comforting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Suddenly
the monster stopped short.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She looked
back to see what caused it to stop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Standing
in front of it was a tall figure dressed all in red.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Its arms were folded and it appeared as
though it were looking down at the ground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Nylarthotep had come. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
figure on the throne stood up and began walking down the stairs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She could see Hecate’s pale legs through the
slits in the sides of her dress and she descended.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Be
gone from this place,” Hecate said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
came to find out why you left my hospitality,” Nylarthotep said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“This
is my place of power, not yours.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Nylarthotep
laughed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“A
place of power like a child hiding in his crib.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You
know nothing,” Hecate said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
know more than you’ll ever be able to and it’s so far above you that you don’t
see then end so you call it nothing.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Hecate
came to the floor and Gretchen got a good look at her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was beautiful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her eyes were the blackest things she had
ever seen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her hair trailed on the floor
behind her and her transparent black dress seemed to move under an unseen wind.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She could feel the magic pouring off of
this goddess.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Then
the red god turned back toward them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You
have done all that I have asked and you shall have my reward,” Nylarthotep said
and began walking toward them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As he
approached she felt more than saw a faceless man in jeans and well worn cowboy
boots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She saw a pharaoh with coal black
skin and fiery eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She saw thousands
of forms all stacked on top of each other like a grotesque funhouse
mirror.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
It
had only been an instant but time moved differently here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes if was stronger than at other
times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The moon had something to do with
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’ll
return you back home, buckle in my little boyscouts,” the cowboy boots wearing
Nylarthotep said in a thick southern accent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Then
the undead lich Nylarthotep in black robes and a staff topped with the skull of
a saint raised his hand and there was a painful flash of light. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
*</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Suddenly
Gretchen found herself back in her bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She struggled with the sheets that had become tangled up in her limbs
and looked at the clock:<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Three in the
morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Her
mind instantly went to David and Beth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Had they awakened as she had or had Nylarthotep deceived her?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
didn’t have a phone like they did so she flipped her laptop open and got on
Facebook.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She quickly sent off a message
to David and Beth and within moments she got back replies from both of
them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
They
were safe and had just woken up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They
asked if it was over and she assured them that they were back to their proper
reality and that she didn’t sense anything out of the ordinary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen
walked to the bathroom and looked at herself in the mirror.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was back to normal, well, at least human
looking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her familiar gray eyes looked
back at her and her hands no longer were webbed and clawed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Since
she was already nude she stepped into the tub and took a very long shower.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She could still feel the sand from the desert
all over her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
After
the shower she wrapped a towel around her head and grabbed a can of soda from
her mini fridge: another “necessity” that Beth had informed her she
needed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth had been correct.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
lay down on top of her covers and stared up at the ceiling, imagining the
unfamiliar stars and the giant yellow moon of the dream world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Had
all that really happened or was the definition of “reality” subjective?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She knew there were other planes or existence
and that sometimes the different planes could be bridged.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After all, the Old Ones existed in a place
that was neither here nor there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Could a
space exist free of time or were they inseparable? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
So
many questions filled her mind that she couldn’t sleep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
But
then one thought emerged and rose up over all others and her hand went to touch
her lips.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Even
now she could still feel the sensation of David’s lips.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
wanted more of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
But
how much could she expect from David and how much should she even ask for?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She knew none of the rules and feared she’d
get in trouble if she didn’t go about this in a normal way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
So
she messaged Beth, “need advice.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“About
what?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth messaged back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What
are the rules for normal relationships and physical intimacy?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Who
calls it that?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
do.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Just
call it what it is. Making out, the horizontal mambo, knocking boots.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m
serious.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Why
you asking?” Beth asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
didn’t know what to tell Beth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Was a
kiss something that was supposed to be a secret or was it free for everyone to
know?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She knew so little of the rules
that she decided she had to know something.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Me
and David kissed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t know what to
do now.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
It
was a full minute before Beth responded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Did
you want him to kiss you?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yes.”
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
guess you two can kiss how ever much you want now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That door’s open.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“So
it wouldn’t be bad to ask for another kiss?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Not
at all.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen
opened the chat window to David.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
can’t sleep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Would you like to come over
to my dorm and kiss me some more?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
enjoyed it very much.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
The
answer came back in less than a second.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She wondered how he typed so fast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Hell
yes!” Was his response.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
couldn’t help but smile. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You’re
coming over then?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
But
she got no answer and she wondered if he was already out the door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Then
she realized that she was nude except for a towel around her head so she
changed into one of her knee length skirts and Flyleaf T-shirt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Less
than a minute after she finished dressing there was a knock at the door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She opened it to find David there with his
hands in his navy jacket pockets and a slight grin on his face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“So,
you enjoyed it, huh?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
motioned for him to enter and she closed the door behind him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
did, very much,” she said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“But what
does it mean?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
didn’t kiss you just to have fun.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“But,
does that mean we’re boyfriend and girlfriend?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What
do you think?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
paused for a moment and folded her arms as she thought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
would like it to be so.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Then
let’s make it official.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please be my
girlfriend.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yes.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“See?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was easy.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
took off his coat and tossed it over a chair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He was wearing a shoulder holster for his broom handled Mauser she had
given him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He looked quiet dashing and a
little dangerous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Now
that their relationship was defined she found that she still had no clue what
to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What did boyfriend and girlfriend
do?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“What
happened now?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
thought you invited me over for something.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Oh,
well, I did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But how…?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
walked over to her and brushed her check with his hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then he cupped her face with both hands and
kissed her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They kissed for a long while
and somehow ended up on the bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
At
breakfast Beth informed her that she had gotten to “Second Base,” though the
definition eluded her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
Zach Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08188373296321506021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088873945002427056.post-86929655822308082032012-10-29T16:16:00.001-07:002012-10-29T16:16:36.341-07:00Chapter 21<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
David</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
David checked out
the temple with the binoculars that the dream world had been thoughtful enough
to pack for him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whatever god this
temple was dedicated to, he wanted nothing to do with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The road that led to the gate of the temple
was lined with statues of people, each one posed in a unique and horrible form
of torture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One had his limbs splayed
out with rope going off into nothing and another had a barbed cage around his
head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And those were the nice ones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The step-pyramid
temple was surrounded by a wall and a single, thin tower rose from the
top.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Judging by the sand covering the
road and crawling almost halfway up the wall in places he guessed that this
place wasn’t used very often.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FtsQuy9wLI8/UI8LEvmLeNI/AAAAAAAABqQ/RFTuaZJNSBo/s1600/step+pyramid.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-FtsQuy9wLI8/UI8LEvmLeNI/AAAAAAAABqQ/RFTuaZJNSBo/s320/step+pyramid.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
There was only one
way in or out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What do you guys
think?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked, looking back to the others
as they crawled up to the edge of the dune where he lay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He thought back to
his choices that led him to be surrounded by three monster women in a
dream-world desert hunting a dark goddess.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen squinted
at the temple and took another drink from her canteen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At first it had been a little disturbing to
see Gretchen looking like some kind of shark-woman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But he quickly realized that it was just an
illusion and the real Gretchen was in there.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
They hadn’t really
spoken much, but she always slept next to him now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He knew what he felt about it, but he had no
idea what a girl like her thought about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Some times she gave the impression of being from some isolated Amish town
and sometimes she gave the impression that there was no sin she hadn’t seen
first hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I was told that
they wouldn’t see us coming,” Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Told by
who?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen looked
down into the sand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Gretchen?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who told you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Who sent us here?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She turned her
head away from him as she answered. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Nylarthotep,” she
said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Several things
rushed through his mind at once but only one question surfaced.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Why didn’t you
tell me?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I was worried.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“About what?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“That you’d be
upset and do something irrational.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Okay, he was
upset.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He didn’t believe that this dark
god entering his life again was any kind of coincidence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Is this about
me?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I don’t know.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What exactly did
he tell you?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“He told us to
find Hecate.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“And?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Somehow we have
to report to him where she is.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“How?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“He didn’t say.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth crawled up to
them.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“So, we just find
them and tell this Nylar guy, right?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Beth said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I believe so,”
Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He looked back at
the temple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No guards so getting in
wouldn’t be a problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Still….</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“It can’t be this
easy,” he said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I can go in and
look around.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Then Sayako spoke
up. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Wait.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Temple
not safe,” Sayako said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Why isn’t the
temple safe?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Um…I no know word
in English.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Bad things.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“That’s specific,”
Beth said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What kind of bad
things?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Monsters, but
that not right word,” Sayako said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth sighed and
rolled over on her back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“For once I’d like
things to be simple,” Beth said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I sense something
else,” Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Don’t know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Strong magic of some sort.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can feel it like background noise,”
Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
On the horizon was
a smear of dark clouds that had been growing rapidly for the past fifteen
minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He didn’t like the looks of it.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Let’s go
then.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stay alert and keep your eyes
open.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Scan to the sides and don’t forget
to look up and down,” David said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He hefted his SAW
and began walking down the dune to the stone temple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The others followed behind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
They walked down
the nearly covered road to the front gate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The wooden doors had rotted off long ago and the place was wide
open.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Suddenly
Gretchen’s hand came up to his chest and stopped him in mid step. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Don’t move,”
Gretchen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“There’s a barrier.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen reached
in her pocket and pulled out a handkerchief.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She was the only one he knew that still carried a handkerchief.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She tossed the cloth ahead of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The cloth burst
into black fire and vanished.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“A destruction
ward.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve never seen one so powerful,”
Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What the hell was
that?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“A barrier that
destroys everything that comes into contact with it,” Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“There’s a shut
off button, right?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Not from our
side, but I can see if I can create an opening,” Gretchen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“This won’t be easy.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen closed
her eyes and raised her arms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For
several minutes she stood like that, not moving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Then he saw sand
begin to stir around her in a faint vortex, like a dust devil. He noted her
brow begin to crease from concentration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eD4bJWjUujw/UI8LWRuaYuI/AAAAAAAABqY/FXvYif5mNHk/s1600/dust+devil.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-eD4bJWjUujw/UI8LWRuaYuI/AAAAAAAABqY/FXvYif5mNHk/s320/dust+devil.jpg" width="246" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
David looked up
and saw the black clouds looked much closer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Too close if he was being honest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Sand storm is
coming,” Sayako said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“How long until it
gets here?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David asked.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“A few minutes,”
Sayako said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Is that
bad?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Sand storms can
blast skin off bones,” Sayako said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Wait, that storm
can kill us?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth asked, pointing at
the approaching wall of dark sand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yes,” Sayako
said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Even the ghost
girl was starting to look nervous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What happens if
we’re killed in the dream world?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth
asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Then you
die.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You no wake up,” Sayako said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“How long’s this
going to take, Gretchen?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David
asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Few minutes,”
Gretchen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The sand around
Gretchen was turning from a dust devil into a giant vortex around her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He could no longer look at her because sand
was flying all over and hitting him like a sand blaster.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He could also feel
the wind picking up from the approaching storm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The door to the temple was a good hundred yards away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Fish lady?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please hurry,” Sayako said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The storm now
filled up the entire sky behind the temple and it was growing higher by the
second.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The wind began pushing at him
and the sand was hurting his face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The wall of death
was almost to the temple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Got it!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen shouted out to be heard over the
wind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Without pause he
grabbed her hand and began running.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
They ran through
the gate and towards the doors of the temple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was becoming harder to run, let alone move forward.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CYdGjD-oGv0/UI8Lukhl1FI/AAAAAAAABqg/GX4gfU0HbhQ/s1600/sand+storm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CYdGjD-oGv0/UI8Lukhl1FI/AAAAAAAABqg/GX4gfU0HbhQ/s320/sand+storm.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Hurry!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth shouted out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth turned
incorporeal and suddenly the wind and sand didn’t bother her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She ran ahead of them, unhindered by the
storm and began opening one of the stone doors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
They burst through
the doors and into the cold, dark hall of the temple.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A few seconds later the sand storm roared
past the doors in a wall of flying, microscopic blades.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He was breathing
hard and he sat down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Carrying a machine
gun, body armor and backpack slowed a guy down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen sat down
next to him, also trying to catch her breath.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She looked over to him and wordlessly gave him a ‘thumbs up.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“We made it,”
Sayako said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Couldn’t you just
turn into a ghost?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I ghost in real
world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not here,” Sayako said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Once he could
breath again he took out a cloth and his gun oil.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He opened up the action of the machinegun,
wiped the sand out and re-oiled it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
wasn’t going to be caught with a weapon that couldn’t fire because it was
jammed with dirt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No, sir.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ral8JCFeVP4/UI8NHhgOAOI/AAAAAAAABqo/8qeqbBRVeHU/s1600/M249_SAW_Reloading_CoD4.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="166" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Ral8JCFeVP4/UI8NHhgOAOI/AAAAAAAABqo/8qeqbBRVeHU/s320/M249_SAW_Reloading_CoD4.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He slammed the top
of the SAW back down over the ammo belt and stood up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He took out his flashlight and turned it on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“We ready?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The three girls
nodded and they continued walking down the long, doorless hallway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No one spoke.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They moved slowly and quietly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Then he heard
something.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It sounded like a moan or a
cry of some kind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Everyone stopped
in place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They all listened for a good minute.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He looked around and saw that everyone was
wide eyed. Gretch had her mouth open showing her sharp teeth and Sayako looked
more like she was grimacing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
After a while he
waved them forward and they continued on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>On the outside the temple looked no bigger than a large house, but it
was at least two miles before they came to an intersection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a four-way with each hall going off
into the dark.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The illumination from his
flashlight only penetrated so far.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Which way?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Does it matter
which way?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Either way is a guess,” Beth
said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I say we continue
on forward,” Gretchen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He was about to
respond when they heard the groan again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This time it sounded much closer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They all fell silent and he moved the butt of the machinegun up to his
shoulder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Then there was
another moan followed by a different sounding moan, an angrier moan; from the
left.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was answered by more moans
from the other directions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He could hear
shuffling feet now, coming from all directions except behind them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth pulled out
her Beretta and Gretchen’s hands began to glow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Sayako moved to the wall and climbed up it like she was a spider.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She hung there on the side and watched.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T2XupZRJQo0/UI8NPre1K0I/AAAAAAAABqw/u5Jblw3Q_w0/s1600/Beretta-Px4-Storm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-T2XupZRJQo0/UI8NPre1K0I/AAAAAAAABqw/u5Jblw3Q_w0/s320/Beretta-Px4-Storm.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Normally he’d be
surprised and maybe disturbed by this, but with everything happening lately he
just shrugged and went back to watching the halls. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
A shape emerged
from the darkness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was man shaped and
walked with a limp and stooped over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
looked thin and weak.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s shuffling gait
grew louder with each step and the smell of dust and mildew grew stronger as
well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Despite its weak
movement, a feeling of dread and foreboding filled his mind that the thing
brought with it like smoke from a fire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Then it came fully
into the light.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
A mummy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was wrapped in filthy gray wrappings and
was covered in gold that was so thick and wide that he didn’t know if it was
heavy jewelry or light armor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On its
head it wore a small crown with wavy spiked that went straight up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
More
of the mummy things came into view; each one covered in unique gold
apparel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their black, vacant eye sockets
stared at them and their lipless mouths hung open.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Fire!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David shouted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
raised his SAW and opened up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The recoil
of the full auto weapon kicking up helped him hold the heavy machin gun on
target.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
His
bullets ripped into the first mummy shredding dry skin and linen
wrappings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The thing took a dozen hits
all over its torso, arms and head and fell back in a smoking heap. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth
took careful aimed shots at the shuffling mummies’ heads.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He saw her blow one mummy’s skull open and
another shot blew the bottom jaw off another mummy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen
launched a ball of blue fire at another mummy and engulfed it completely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The mummy thrashed around until crumpling on
the ground in a smoking ruin. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
There
were dozens of them coming from the three directions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of them got close to Beth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She turned ghosty before it could grab
her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was safe but couldn’t fight
back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
What
he thought at first to be black rope shot out and grabbed a mummy by the neck
and arms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He looked over and saw that it
was Sayako’s hair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was shooting out and
grabbing three other mummies like a spider.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They struggled but the Japanese ghost girl was stronger than she
looked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Then
one of the mummies in the rear raised a staff and said something in a foul
sounding language.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A light flashed out
that blinded him for a few seconds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As
he cleared his vision he saw the mummy he had blasted push itself off the
ground and begin to get back up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Other
destroyed mummies also began getting up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“We
need a plan, B,” David said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“We
must keep going or they will overwhelm us,” Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Forward?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
nodded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Everyone
cover your ears!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He yelled out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
From
one of his pouches he pulled out a frag grenade.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He thumbed off the safety, pulled the pin and
let it fly towards the hall in front of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The grenade hit the ground and rolled under the feet of the mummy with
the staff.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had just enough time to
cover his ears and look away before it went off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Even
with his ears covered the powerful concussion in the narrow halls felt like a
hammer to the head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He felt the blast
pound his internal organs and smash against his bones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
When
he looked up he saw that the middle path was clear of mummies but filled with
smoke. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Run!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He shouted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
helped Gretchen back to her feet and pulled her along.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was still reeling from the blast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth must have been ghosty because she didn’t
seem affected in the slightest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sayako
jumped down to the floor and ran after them, letting the mummies go from her
hair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
They
ran as fast as they could and continued to run until he had to stop and take a
break.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He took off his helmet and held
it down to his side as he wiped his forehead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“If
Hecate didn’t know we were here, I’d imagine she does now,” Beth said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Doesn’t
matter,” Gretchen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Care
to share?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“As
soon as we see her, I’ll call out to Nylarthotep using a spell.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“And
pray that it works?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“And
pray that it works.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If it doesn’t she
may flay us alive,” Gretchen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Coulda
done without that image,” Beth said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Se
we see her, send up a flair and hope the boat sees us before the tidal wave
gets us,” David said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
didn’t know how long this temple was, they walked for hours until they finally
stopped and made camp.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“My
flashlight’s dying,” he said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
can fix that,” Gretchen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
took his flashlight, held it with both hands and concentrated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When she gave it back, the whole thing was
glowing in a strong, pale blue light.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Neat
trick,” he said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
gave everyone ponchos, spare clothes and blankets to use as pillows on the hard
floor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
From
his backpack he pulled out his last three MRE’s (Meals Ready to Eat) and began
splitting them up among the four of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He got the beef stew course and crackers with Jalapeño cheese.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen like the peaches and skittles and
Beth liked the Cheese Tortellini. Sayako had the ‘stir fry’ MRE which she ate
with gusto despite it being disgusting. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“We’ll
get there tomorrow,” Gretchen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yeah?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
can feel her power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re much closer.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
As
the ate he noticed that they all looked kinda downcast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They needed a boost in their moral.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Hey,
Beth, want to make a bet?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
One
of her black spots for eyes grew bigger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“A
bet?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“I
bet you can’t eat four of these crackers without taking a drink of water,” he
said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
eyed her packet of crackers.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kxECAPgmc_4/UI8OTffWaqI/AAAAAAAABq4/ivwpzlkLPx4/s1600/Crackers+Fr+edit.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kxECAPgmc_4/UI8OTffWaqI/AAAAAAAABq4/ivwpzlkLPx4/s1600/Crackers+Fr+edit.JPG" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“No
problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What we betting?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“The
winner gets to pick the movies for a week.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Your
on.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
He
handed her his crackers, which he was positive he’d see again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’d only seen three people pass the cracker
challenge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“You
have five minutes,” he said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Ready.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Go!”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
began eating the first cracker.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She ate
quickly but not even halfway through she began slowing down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the time she finished the first cracker
she was chewing slowly and swallowing even slower.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Hesitantly
she took the second cracker and began biting into it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Halfway
through that cracker her cheeks were full like a squirrel’s and she was barely
making any progress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It looked as if she
were eating sawdust.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen
began snickering and Sayako covered her mouth to avoid laughing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth
finally finished the second cracker with only a minute to go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“One
minute left,” he said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
Her
shoulders slumped and she tossed the other two crackers back at him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
“Screw
you,” she said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
She
pretended to be angry, but by the tone of her voice, he could tell she was
laughing on the inside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; tab-stops: 423.0pt; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
Zach Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08188373296321506021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088873945002427056.post-56260057815728417072012-10-25T16:50:00.001-07:002012-10-25T16:50:18.918-07:00Chapter 20<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The ship pulled
into a small port in a dusty town with crumbling buildings and leaning
towers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A few tattered stalls lined the harbor
and with disheveled looking merchants.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The palm trees looked withered and devoid of color, much like the people
she saw walking around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All the
buildings were the same, grayish-tan color, devoid of life and cheer.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YkLeV5Tj_EI/UInMX4BfYuI/AAAAAAAABow/tmXjnqEyZ_o/s1600/beach+4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YkLeV5Tj_EI/UInMX4BfYuI/AAAAAAAABow/tmXjnqEyZ_o/s1600/beach+4.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
This city had
either seen better days a very long time ago or had never had good days.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
It reminded her of
her home in Innsmouth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It had the same
decrepit, run down, dark feel to it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Despite the dry air, the atmosphere felt oily. The ship was just pulling
up to the docks and already she wanted to leave this city.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“This isn’t a good
place,” she said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What gave you the
idea?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David asked as he pointed to the
docks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The ship next to
them was unloading a cargo of naked people with chains around their necks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“If those pirates
had captured us, we’d be in chains,” Gretchen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Only the pirates would take us to…they’d
take us to their god for sacrifice.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She almost said
“Nylarthotep.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’d have to tell David
about him before they arrived, but she wanted to make sure that they would
arrive first.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Once the ship
docked they walked out onto the wooden pier that barely looked as if it could
hold their weight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“They don’t spend
a lot for upkeep,” Beth said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Where to
now?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I thought you
were our guide,” Beth said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I don’t know this
place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t know where to begin.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She didn’t know
this place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She didn’t even know the
name of the city.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I think I do,”
David said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You do?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He pointed to a
three story building that was crawling with drunken sailors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was within sight of the docks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It had square windows with crumbling wooden
shutters and the roof had a small wooden shack looking structure.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JwG6uv4j6Ds/UInM26keNKI/AAAAAAAABo4/-UHy2a5T1tY/s1600/arab+tavern.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="218" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-JwG6uv4j6Ds/UInM26keNKI/AAAAAAAABo4/-UHy2a5T1tY/s320/arab+tavern.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“We go there and
ask if anyone seen Dr. Nelson and Hecate,” David said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Oh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That does make sense,” Gretchen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Make sure that
thing’s off safe,” David said to Beth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
After the fight
with the pirates he had given her his holster with the Beretta.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen didn’t need a gun: she had her magic
which was much stronger here than in the real world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Even with that,
she didn’t like the idea of going into that filthy place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There would be brigands and cutthroats in
there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She wanted nothing to do with
their kind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
But David led the
way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They walked up to the building as a
very fat man with a woman in each arm stumbled out of the doorway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He stunk of body odor and worse things that
she didn’t recognize and didn’t want to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
David went in
first followed by Beth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen gladly
brought up the rear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Inside was dark
and crowded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The thick, square tables
were too close for comfort so they had to push and squeeze their way to an
empty one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It seemed everyone was
looking at them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Broken clay cups lay
scattered about the floor and rows of animal skulls hung from rope along the
edges of the ceiling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Posters with laws
hung on the wall near the door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had
the impression that the laws were largely ignored.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The most
noticeable aspect of this unsavory tavern was a large pit taking up the far end
of the room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It had wooden sides and was
too deep to see how far it went down.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
A waitress that
was past her prime but dressed as if she wasn’t came up to them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was showing a bare midriff and had almost
every part of her face pierced.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What do you
want?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Order, eat, then get out,” she
said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
This place
definitely reminded her of Innsmouth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“We’ll have
whatever they’re having,” David said, pointing to a table where a plate full of
unrecognizable meat was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Also, we’re
looking for friends of ours.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One’s a
middle age, pale man with a beard and the other is a tall woman with black hair
and eyes blacker than night.” </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YaYglDCR4wU/UInOVrwP8CI/AAAAAAAABpA/nOyH7kR-Auk/s1600/meat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YaYglDCR4wU/UInOVrwP8CI/AAAAAAAABpA/nOyH7kR-Auk/s320/meat.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Haven’t seen
them,” the woman said with a sneer and walked off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“That didn’t work
out,” Beth said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her black, shadowy eyes
looked around the tavern and then she slumped her shoulders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“We just have to
find someone that can answer us,” David said. “We need to take our time and find
the right person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Look around for
someone we could beat up but looks greedy enough to take a bribe.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
A few minutes
later everyone in the tavern began to wander over to the pit in the rear of the
room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The people crowded around the pit
and began cheering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What’s going on
there?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Dog
fighting?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
They got up and
walked over to see down into the pit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They had to climb on a table like others were doing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Inside the pit
were four creatures that resembled human corpses with skinned canine heads and
a fifth one that looked like a human corpse with impossibly long black
hair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was wearing a ragged dress that
may have been white at one time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What the hell are
those?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> B</span>eth asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Ghouls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, four of them are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t know what the fifth one is,” Gretchen
said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The creatures
looked to be fighting over a pig leg.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The ghouls were tearing away at each other with their claws and the dead
creature with long black hair was pulling others away with her hands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“They’re watching
the ghouls to see which ones they should place bets on,” David said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">Gretchen didn't want to know how he knew such a horrid thing. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
One by one the
crowd drifted away until they were the only ones still at the pit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had never seen a ghoul before and found
them more revolting in person than in a book’s description.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They smelled horrible, like meatloaf and fish
left outside in the sun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Then the undead
creature with long hair looked up at them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It had a human face and was female.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Her skin was white with gray and green patches of what could be mold or
some other kind of corruption.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
female’s eyes were gray and lifeless and her teeth were yellow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She looked Japanese.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The undead female
pointed up at them with a stretched out hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-K4-mJx3N6dw/UInPaZCMYvI/AAAAAAAABpI/eX6b-OFCTSA/s1600/kaidan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-K4-mJx3N6dw/UInPaZCMYvI/AAAAAAAABpI/eX6b-OFCTSA/s1600/kaidan.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You travelers,
yes?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The woman said with a thick
Japanese accent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“We are,” David
said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You can see
me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You see I no ghoul.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yeah, we see
you’re not a ghoul,” David said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“They see you as a
ghoul?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“They do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They no see that I traveler like you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not like you, but like you.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You’re a
dreamer?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I am.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen leaned in
and put her hand to David’s ear. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“We have to help
her,” Gretchen whispered. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He nodded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
David leaned over
the pit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“We’re looking for
other travelers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One is a pale man with
a beard,” David said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“And the other is
woman with long black hair, like mine,” the undead woman said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
One of the ghouls
looked up from its pig leg feast and snarled at them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Leave us alone to
eat in peace,” the ghoul said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Eloquent for a
monster,” Beth mumbled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Fight is tonight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cage is behind tavern.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Help me and I help you find woman,” the
undead woman said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You have a deal,”
David said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
They walked back
to their table and ate the meat, which after tasting, she still couldn’t
identify and wasn’t sure anymore if she wanted to know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
After they ate
they waited for the ghouls to be prodded back through the doors in the
pit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Presumably there were tunnels that
led to their cages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
They walked
outside and walked two blocks and turned a corner out of sight of the smelly
tavern.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David then turned around to face
her and Beth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Beth, can you go
around back and tell us what you see?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>David asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Sure, no prob.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth then turned
nearly invisible, more like a faint shadow, even the gun on her thigh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’ll be back in a
jiffy,” Beth said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Be careful,”
Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth nodded and
ran off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They peeked around the corner
to watch her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was hard to track and
only appeared as a faint blur and soon they couldn’t see her at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“She’s useful to
have around,” David said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
They waited only
for a few minutes before Beth came running back up to them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She turned visible again once she reached
them and rested her hands on her knees as she caught her breath.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“The pens are
behind the tavern in a courtyard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No rear
doors,” Beth said.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“How high is the
wall?” David asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Maybe nine feet.”
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“We can’t wait
until dark.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The match is after dark,”
Gretchen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Any guards?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
There was a man in
a little shack.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had a bunch of keys,”
Beth said.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
David turned to
Gretchen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Gretch, can you
put him to sleep quietly?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yes, but I have
to see him.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’ll make noise
on one side of the wall and you climb over the other side and do your thing,”
David said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
They walked down
the narrow, dusty road to the wall behind the tavern.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were no doors or footholds to help
climb up so David had to hoist her up and have Beth go and make the
distraction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth went to the
far side and phased through the wall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Then Gretchen heard what sounded like wood being banged together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was her cue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David lifted her foot up and she climbed up
onto the wall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her claws dug into the
soft brick and she scanned the area for the jailer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ovcJ8YSajIk/UInP0-feP4I/AAAAAAAABpQ/kuTwgkwy2Jg/s1600/Mud_brick_wall,_Afghanistan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ovcJ8YSajIk/UInP0-feP4I/AAAAAAAABpQ/kuTwgkwy2Jg/s320/Mud_brick_wall,_Afghanistan.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She saw a filthy
man with a hairy back and leather apron walking toward the sound the
semi-invisible Beth was making. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen reached
out with her hand and said the words of the spell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The man instantly crumpled
to the ground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had never seen the spell
work that fast before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She looked like a
fish monster, but her magic was amazing. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“He’s asleep,”
Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She reached down
and helped him up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was surprisingly
easier than she would have thought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps
she was stronger here as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Stay up here and
I’ll go get the zombie chick.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She watched from
the wall as David ran over to the cage that housed the Japanese Travler
girl.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The cage was metal and had a
simple lock.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David grabbed the keys from
the sleeping man and opened the cage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The other ghouls
began growling and snapping their canine teeth.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Arigato,” the
girl said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
David grabbed the
girl’s gray arm and pulled her to the wall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’ll help you up,”
David said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“No need.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The girl leapt up
and grabbed the wall like a spider and climbed up without any problem. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Am I the only one
without super powers?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Your super power
is a machinegun,” Beth said as she walked up behind him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen helped
David up and Beth just walked through the wall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Once on the other
side they began running.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They ran all
the way to the edge of town.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A small
alleyway provided a hiding spot and they ducked into it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Now what?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Where’s the black
haired woman?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“She went west,
into desert.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Go find temple of
Anar-Tanar,” the undead girl said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Where is this
temple?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I been there,
many years ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can take you there.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
David looked over
to her and Beth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen nodded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Can you take us
there?” David asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Okay!” The girl
said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What’s your name?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Sayako.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She gave a small,
polite bow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Up close there was
no way to confuse this girl as something that was alive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Only there was something different about her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen couldn’t tell what it was, but
something felt different.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She used a truth
spell that showed things how they really were.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When she waved her hand over Sayako, the girl didn’t change at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You’re dead,”
Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Sayako made a
slight smile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yes, I died in
1978,” Sayako said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I thought you
said you were a Traveler like us,” David said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I am traveler,
but I said I not traveler like you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Back
in real world, I dead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At night I wake
up and go do things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During day I sleep
and I come here.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“We’re asleep in
the real world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I guess it’s daytime in Japan,” Beth
said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You’re a ghost,”
Beth said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Sayako nodded and
smiled, showing her yellow teeth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“How far is this
temple?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Two days, unless
dream change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then maybe more or less.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“We better start
before they come looking for us,” David said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
They agreed and
headed out into the desert.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They trudged
through the sand and continued on in silence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Soon the city was out of sight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Already Gretchen
didn’t like the sun beating down on her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was entirely too hot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
They marched all
day until the sun began to go down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
kept drinking from her canteen and wished they cold find a pool or a
stream.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-viVv3zWzC0E/UInQNJkcSWI/AAAAAAAABpY/8D87ijISpTU/s1600/desert.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-viVv3zWzC0E/UInQNJkcSWI/AAAAAAAABpY/8D87ijISpTU/s320/desert.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Before it got too
dark they laid out their blankets and sat in a circle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Think they’re
following us?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Maybe,” Sayako
said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Reassuring,” Beth
said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What’s it like
being a ghost?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Right now it is
like being you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When night, I walk
around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I watch people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I sometimes get people attention.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“How’d you die?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Beth!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mind your manners,” Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“It okay,” Sayako
said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I was kill.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Killed?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How horrible,” Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Father murdered
me.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Was he punished?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“He kill himself
after he kill me.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m sorry,” David
said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I have many years
to be okay with it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But now I have new
friends!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sayako said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
At night Gretchen
had trouble sleeping.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She stayed away
watching for slavers and also watching their new guide.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The strange undead girl’s chest didn’t move
when she slept.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She lay there like a
corpse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Trafficking with ghosts could
not be a good thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
Zach Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08188373296321506021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088873945002427056.post-63827367032163562922012-10-22T14:52:00.000-07:002012-10-22T14:52:16.201-07:00Chapter 19<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Priestess Atalia
returned to the cool courtyard with a tray of fruits and cheeses and a clay
pitcher of some kind of juice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
placed it on the ground and motioned for them to be seated around it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
They obeyed and
sat down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Please eat and
refresh yourselves,” Atalia said with an elegant wave of her hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She didn’t
recognize the brightly colored green and purple fruit but she took a piece
anyways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was delicious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One bite and the juice filled her mouth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You have traveled
far from strange lands and you’ve come here seeking aid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What may I do for you?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Atalia asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
David cleared his
throat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“We need
information,” he said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“We’re looking
for a man and a woman.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“A human man with
a woman that is a goddess.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She might be
in disguise,” Gretchen added. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Can you describe
them?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Priestess asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“The man is middle
age, has a beard. Maybe glasses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
woman, we’ve never seen but she is a goddess named, Hecate.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Ah!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, I remember Hecate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People used to dream of her a great
deal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her and a man came through a few
days ago.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They stopped by and asked a
few questions and left,” Atalia said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What did they ask
about?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“They asked about
the road to Dar-Ishtani.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
This dreamworld
was vast, vast as all human dreams combined.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Dar-Ishtani, probably a city, could be hundreds or thousands of miles
away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It could be on a different world
entirely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Where is
Dar-Ishtani?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“It’s across the
ocean to the west, across a vast plain and in the dagger mountains,” Atalia
said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Wait…um…how far
is that?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Many days,”
Atalia said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“That’s very
specific,” Beth said.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“So, we have to
find a ship to cross the ocean?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David
asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Looks like it,”
Gretchen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What did this
Hecate look like?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“She is tall,
raven hair and eyes as dark as deep space.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Wait, guys,” Beth
said, holding up her hands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I’m still
wondering about the ship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have no
money.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I can give you
passage,” Atalia said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her eyes darted
to each one of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Why would you do
that?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“That’s why you
came here, yes?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For aid?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s the reason this temple exists, to aid
the travelers.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Lovely!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
They spent the
night there sleeping on reclining couches and listening to the trickling of the
fountain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CkbyYGL2CuI/UIW7nzWGttI/AAAAAAAABnA/SBC1VC28ql4/s1600/roman+couch.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="229" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CkbyYGL2CuI/UIW7nzWGttI/AAAAAAAABnA/SBC1VC28ql4/s320/roman+couch.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
David and Beth
kept asking for more information about this world but she didn’t know anything
more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This hadn’t been an area of
specialization in her research.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She wished she
remembered how this worked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did time
stop while they were dreaming or just flow very slow? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps father had been right about something;
she should have studied more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen lay awake
staring up into the strange night sky.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Things weren’t
supposed to be like this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She wasn’t
supposed to have ended up here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was
outside the scope of the Esoteric Order of Dagon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The dreamworld, which was very real, simply
hadn’t mattered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She cast a quick
spell and created a tiny ball of light.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>At least her magic still worked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>David had a gun and she still had her magic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But what exactly did Beth have?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was some kind of manifestation of her
shadow demons: what she feared the most.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>David was back in the wary where he first saw Nylarthotep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And then she was a fish monster, what she
feared the most.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her people turned into
Deep Ones and went back into the ocean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She did not want that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
But now she was
stuck here, in this dreamworld and just as lost as David and Beth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
A fish out of
water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Isn’t that what she really was?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
In the morning
they walked down to the harbor with a purse full of gold coins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had a backpack full of dried bread and
meat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Provisions for a long
journey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
If the streets
were busy then the harbor was “Crazy” as David would put it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were long ships with stripped sails and
short fat ones with triangle sails.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Everywhere people were loading and unloading boxes and barrels.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’ll go ask
around and see if I can find a ship that’s heading across the ocean,” Beth
said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Wait, are you
sure?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David asked.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Sure about what?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He waved his hand
up and down her body.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You don’t exactly
look like a local,” David said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“No one seems to
notice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Besides.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What did Descartes say?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I am what I am?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“That was Popeye,”
David said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lqtyOFHQfsc/UIW-NR1ktJI/AAAAAAAABnI/jqiyJYW3tOs/s1600/Popeye1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="234" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lqtyOFHQfsc/UIW-NR1ktJI/AAAAAAAABnI/jqiyJYW3tOs/s320/Popeye1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Both of you
go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll wait here,” Gretchen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She watched them
walk off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She didn’t want to talk to a
bunch of strangers at the moment. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
didn’t really want to speak to anyone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen wanted
out of this dream world and back to her real body.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
An hour later they
came back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David had found passage on a
trader ship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What’s the price?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Free,” David
said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“So, what’s the
real price?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“We have to defend
against pirates.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Pirates?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So, we can sail for free, but we must fight
pirates if they come for us.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What are
the odds that will happen?” Gretchen asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Have no idea.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Right.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The ship they took
her to was a large, fat thing with two triangular sails.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The paint on the hull was peeling and the
wood was stained dark from age and possibly mold.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She hoped it wasn’t the latter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The men loading
cargo onto the ship were muscular with dark tans and bright scarves and bandanas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many of them carried curved swords.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She wondered if they had to use them
often.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
They walked up the
boarding plank onto the deck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The ship
smelled of something rotten that she couldn’t identify.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
One of the sailors
showed them to their cabin, a cramped room with one small circular window and a
bunk bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Two beds,” Beth
said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“We’ll make the
best of it,” David said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I don’t see how
we really have a choice,” Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
They settled in
with Beth crawling up on the top bunk and David sitting down on the bottom
one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She crawled in and sat down next to
him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I never really
imagined I’d find myself in this kind of situation,” David said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m accustomed to
strange dealings, but this was beyond my level of expectation,” Gretchen
said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The small, smelly
cabin fell silent and eventually she heard quiet snoring coming from the top
bunk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Not much to do
but take a nap,” David said. “Sleeping in a dream.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“This isn’t a
dream.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s as real as the world we left
behind.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“When we get back
we’re watching the Matrix and Inception.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Are those movies?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes they are.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Then David began
to shift position on the tiny bunk and he began to stretch out to sleep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She started to crawl off the bed but he
stopped her with a hand on her shoulder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Hold on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You can sleep here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There’s enough room.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Oh, but…”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Don’t worry about
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We do what we got to do.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Normally there’d
be no way she’d share a bed with a man, but these were different
circumstances.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And she liked him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She actually wanted to be near him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
So, instead of
protesting, she laid down beside him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
bunk had them crammed together which, to her surprise, she didn’t mind at
all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In fact, she rather enjoyed
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
David</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
David went to
sleep with Gretchen beside him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a
little awkward to have her looking like a human shark with those large black
eyes, sharp teeth and webbed claws.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
he knew it was an illusion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He knew the
girl underneath.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
For a week they
sailed over empty ocean with terrible hard bread to eat and sweaty sailors
cursing and working around them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They mostly
stayed in their cabin with the windows open.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
They talked about
their lives and places they’ve been.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Gretchen mostly listened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
didn’t like to talk about her family but seemed content to listen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Somehow it became an uspoken rule that
Gretchen slept next to him and Beth got the top bunk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was surprised that she had agreed and
equally surprised how comfortable she seemed to be with him; almost like it was
natural.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Then one day just
after noon the captain opened their door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He was a clean shaven man with cold eyes with large bags under
them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“We need you three
on deck,” the captain said in his scratchy, deep voice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Pirates?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“A ship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t know yet,” the captain said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
David grabbed his
Saw and his backpack of spare drums and followed the tall captain out onto the
deck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The pirates were running around
grabbing swords and musket pistols. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
A man stood at the
rail with a brass telescope.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What you see,
Narak?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The captain asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Don’t know yet,
captain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a ship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Dark sails.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Maybe pirates, don’t know.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“They heading for
us, yes?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“They are.”</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FJu5G5ewHaQ/UIW_FKntrJI/AAAAAAAABnQ/9k0SFsDbn3k/s1600/Blue_Ocean.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FJu5G5ewHaQ/UIW_FKntrJI/AAAAAAAABnQ/9k0SFsDbn3k/s320/Blue_Ocean.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Then we get ready
to repel a boarding.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“We’re going to
fight?” Beth asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Looks like it,”
David said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen scowled
and her claws began to fidget.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He watched as the
sleek, dark ship grew closer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just from
looking at it he could feel the animosity from it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It wasn’t there to be friendly and he loaded
up the ammo chain and charged the bolt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What am I
supposed to do?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What can you do?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I can go like a
ghost; walk through things,” Beth said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“We’ll think of
something you can do,” David said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
As the dark ship
approached he tried to think of a strategy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The problem was that he knew nothing of what to expect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He only saw one or
two people on the approaching ship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
smelled of them hiding for an attack.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So
he rested the SAW on the railings and got ready.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zYQeJvdS9-E/UIW_s-khPDI/AAAAAAAABnY/60aZ8PuybS4/s1600/M249saw.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="134" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zYQeJvdS9-E/UIW_s-khPDI/AAAAAAAABnY/60aZ8PuybS4/s320/M249saw.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Gretchen, find
cover and prepare a spell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth, go
ghosty so you don’t get hurt and go aboard their ship and set fire to
something,” David said, making it all up as he went along.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Set fire to
something?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I like that.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Thought you
would.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’ll be in the
doorway,” Gretchen said and then trotted over to the door that led to the interior
cabins. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She crouched down and began
mumbling something he hoped was some awesome death spell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The captain began
yelling orders to his men and they all began loading their muskets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He hated this
feeling before a battle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The fear that
built up calculating every bad thing that could happen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Then the dark ship
came up, sailing parallel to them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
wind was blowing the sails and the water was spraying on his face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The crew of the ship jumped out from their
hiding places.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
These pirates didn’t
look like what he was expecting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They
had shaved heads with scars running all over their bodies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tattoos of dark, unholy runes decorated their
skin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some had recent wounds that were
still oozing blood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They all wore red
and black and their weapons had cruel, serrated edges.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Their captain was the only one fully clothed
and he looked more like a twisted priest than a pirate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had thick black robes covered in red
runes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In on hand he held a book and in
the other he was gesturing while chanting something that was probably
horrible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
David didn’t want
to find out what it was so he opened fire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The SAW bucked and he fought to keep it under control as he began
etching a ling of led across the deck of the pirate vessel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
As hot brass was
flying out and spilling across the deck he realized that this was an insane
situation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was shooting at pirates
with a machinegun while his best friend shot magic bolts at them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Maybe Gretchen
should have came with a warning label.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The pirates ducked
down as they saw a wall of death tearing other pirates and deck apart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
One of them popped
up and fired a pistol.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was a puff
of white smoke and David heard the ball whizz past his head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Then what looked
like black lightning shot out from somewhere behind him and blasted the railing
of the pirate ship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Splinters of burned
wood flew into the air and several pirates were knocked back with fire erupting
from where they’d been hit. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The magic
blast from Gretchen had only lasted a second but it had set a part of the ship
on fire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He turned around
to see Gretchen on all fours, breathing heavily.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He looked around but didn’t see Beth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Something struck
him in the belly, on the plate of his armor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It pushed him back but he corrected and kept upright.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had just been shot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But a SAPI plate was designed to stop a whole
lot more than a musket ball.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
David took aim and
fired another burst, spraying the enemy deck like he was putting out a
fire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The constant kicking of the SAW
was familiar to him as was the smell of the gunpowder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
A burst of black
light exploded in the middle of a group of pirates and sent them flying: one of
Gretchen’s spells.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
A couple of
muskets went off and the balls tore into a group of sailors beside him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They went down and other sailors began
yelling and cursing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If he hadn’t been
there with the SAW, these sailors would have been outnumbered and outgunned. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Then he saw flames
erupt from one of the windows below deck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That was probably Beth at work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As smoke and flames began filling the windows the pirates took notice. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They began running around and rushing below
decks. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth appeared
beside him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was hard to tell but it
looked like she was grinning.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The captain
ordered for their ship to pull away from the smoking pirate ship.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By the time they were out of musket range,
flames were licking up on the deck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Think we earned
our keep?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I think so,”
Gretchen said, out of breath.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“It was fun,” Beth
said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
Zach Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08188373296321506021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088873945002427056.post-2284501250968536052012-10-11T16:06:00.001-07:002012-10-11T16:06:53.987-07:00Chapter 18<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Surviving child?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen stood in
the Forbidden Section of the library back in her own time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Perhaps Dr. Nelson
was trying to deceive and confuse her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was possible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Neither father
nor mother ever mentioned another child.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She couldn’t help
but wonder how Dr. Nelson knew so much about her family. She tried to get it to
the back of her mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were larger
problems that needed to be dealt with first.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2DA4ayCHn3o/UHdKG0Pxr_I/AAAAAAAABkw/IYf50yzj0DA/s1600/18th_century_family_photo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2DA4ayCHn3o/UHdKG0Pxr_I/AAAAAAAABkw/IYf50yzj0DA/s320/18th_century_family_photo.jpg" width="200" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen walked
back to her room and got on line.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
looked up everything she could about Innsmouth and the Marsh family.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There wasn’t much at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was a mention of Innsmouth during the
Revolutionary war, the raid in the 20’s that saw half the town carried off by
the FBI.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some returned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Others were never heard from again: including
her great grandfather.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Wiki article
listed it as a prohibition raid on moonshine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
There was nothing
of the detail that Dr. Nelson knew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
had gotten his information from a different source.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She watched a
documentary about the Iraq War on Netflix for another hour before finally going
to sleep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
As she slept she
dreamed of the sunken city again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
was used to it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
But then something
changed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The city faded away and she was
standing in a throne room made of shinning obsidian.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Red banners hung from the ceiling and
fluttered from the faint breeze that came in through the enormous balcony
behind her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
In front of her
was a red carpet that led up to a raised platform where a throne made of human
skulls sat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Thankfully it was empty
because Gretchen was sure that she didn’t want to meet the one that sat in
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She saw no doors in
the room so she walked out onto the balcony.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
A cold, dead plain
spread out before her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The wind smelled
faintly of ash and decaying meat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Distant
mountains rose up like tortured daggers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There was no sun but a red glow hovered over the horizon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The yellow moon took up a good third of the
sky.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tzVNl3IcV3s/UHdNC50mChI/AAAAAAAABlQ/tJQY_HbtD5Q/s1600/kadath+landscape.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tzVNl3IcV3s/UHdNC50mChI/AAAAAAAABlQ/tJQY_HbtD5Q/s320/kadath+landscape.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Is the view not
beautiful?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Came a voice from behind
her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The voice sounded friendly but with
a tinge of crawling maggots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She turned to see
an impossibly tall figure in a blood read cloak. Its hood was up but in the shadows
she saw the hint of yellow, lipless teeth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Surrounding the
figure was a dark haze she felt more than saw.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was pure fear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He emanated it
like a flame gives off light.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen wanted to
recoil and run away but there was no where to run too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Besides, her father had taught her about
this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She hadn’t wanted it, but she was
a daughter of the Marsh family and was prepared somewhat for this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The figure was
Nylarthotep, the Crawling Chaos, the Lord of Fears.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Is this Unknown
Kadath?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her voice sounded more confident than she
felt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had been taught about
Nylarthotep and she knew enough to fear him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She also knew this was the demon that had changed David’s life forever.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EiacRsXQ6LE/UHdNXHrWqeI/AAAAAAAABlY/DKX0rDouEjQ/s1600/Crimson_King_Dark+Tower.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EiacRsXQ6LE/UHdNXHrWqeI/AAAAAAAABlY/DKX0rDouEjQ/s320/Crimson_King_Dark+Tower.jpg" width="207" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Nylarthotep had a
thousand avatars, each one more dangerous than the other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This avatar may be willing to discuss with
reason or it may flay her alive on a whim.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She had never come face to face with a being this powerful.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The King in Yellow was a second rate demon in
comparison. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I am not
surprised that a Marsh would recognize my sanctuary without having ever
visited.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though you do favor your
mother.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Why was I brought
here?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She asked with a wave of her hand
which she noticed was shaking. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You know Dr.
Nelson and you know that he as been tampering with things that he shouldn’t be
tampering with.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“We have met.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You know he’s
been casting spells that disturb your dreams.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen nodded
and he continued.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“He has hidden
something in his dreams, or rather, the world where humans dream.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What is he hiding?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Something he
stole from me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I would retrieve it
myself but I am currently occupied.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I
would like you to retrieve it for me.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Nylarthotep was
not one to make deals with, but even more so, he was not one to refuse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Out of all the Elder gods, Nylarthotep was
the one that took the most interest in human affairs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps he needed their help or perhaps he
just wanted some amusement.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Very well,”
Gretchen said, not as if she had much of a choice. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Good, very
good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nelson has stolen a prize of
mine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has kidnapped the entity known
as Hecate.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was my prisoner and is no
more.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I wish her to be so again.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Dr. Nelson hid
Hecate in a dream world?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“This dream
world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They will see me coming but they
will not see you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Find them and report
back to me with their location.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I will.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The tall figure
turned away with glacially slow movements, but then stopped and turned its head
back to her. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Oh, and I’ve
taken the liberty of sending for your friends.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Then he waved a
black, skeletal hand and the throne room faded away into blackness. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She suddenly found
herself in a quiet street of an unfamiliar city.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a dirt street with tan buildings that
had wooden shutters open for the heat of the noon sun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
It was hot and
already she found herself sweating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
looked up with her hand as shield and saw the bloated orange sun above the
city.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jG2yG3iejnM/UHdOm-Q-mlI/AAAAAAAABlg/8Yy-nDZQH4o/s1600/ulthar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-jG2yG3iejnM/UHdOm-Q-mlI/AAAAAAAABlg/8Yy-nDZQH4o/s320/ulthar.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen then
noticed her hand and had to stifle a scream.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Her hand was webbed with pale, hooked claws.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She wanted to cover her mouth to stop herself
from crying out but she didn’t want those monsterous hands near her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She held her
webbed claws out in front of her as she fell to the ground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was “returning to the sea,” a curse of
the blood of Dagon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All her people of
Innsmouth slowly turned into aquatic monstrosities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now she was showing signs of the curse. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen wanted to
be human.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She wasn’t like the
others.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was like David and
Beth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She wasn’t a monster.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Her horrible hands
came up and felt her neck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were
the ridges of gills.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She felt her teeth
and found them to be too numerous, small and sharp.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“No,” she
whimpered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Gretchen, is that
you?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David’s voice asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She looked up
through her tears and saw David walking up to her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was wearing a military uniform and
carrying a big gun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He looked coated in
dust.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Gr7if_v4W4M/UHdPZIxf7rI/AAAAAAAABlo/GQhya1EbYsQ/s1600/soldier+SAW.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Gr7if_v4W4M/UHdPZIxf7rI/AAAAAAAABlo/GQhya1EbYsQ/s320/soldier+SAW.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“David?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Where are we?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He was looking
around at the strange, narrow street and then his eyes fell on her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Gretchan…what
happened to you.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Don’t look at me!”
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He stepped closer
but she lashed out at him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He ignored
her and crouched down beside her. His hands gripped her shoulders and she
collapsed into him, sobbing. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Gretchen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What happened?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“We’re in the
dream world, in the city of Ulthar
I believe.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Dreamworld?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She wanted to tell
him about Nylarthotep, but she didn’t know how he’d react.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was already thrust into an unbelievable
situation. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen started
to remind herself that this was a dream and she wasn’t turning into a Deep
One.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But still, she couldn’t help but
wonder if this dream was a reflection of a truth she feared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Then someone
walked into the lonely street. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They
looked up to see a dark shadow, a blurry dark figure with burning flames for
hair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Two spots that were darker than
the rest marked its eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
David gripped her tightly
and moved in front of her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He brought
his huge machine gun to bear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Whoa!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hold on guys. It’s just me!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth’s voice said from the dark, fiery
figure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Beth?” David
said.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Look at yourself.”
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What the hell are
you…”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She looked down at
her hands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Oh. Well then,”
Beth said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen took a
deep breath and stood up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“We’re here
because of Dr. Nelson,” Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“He brought us
here?” David asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“No, he’s the
reason we’re here.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“So, who brought
us here?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth asked, still looking at
her hands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“We’re here to
find Dr. Nelson.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He has awakened an
ancient goddess named Hecate.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Find Dr.
Nelson?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In this place?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Where do we even start?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She wiped her eyes
and looked around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I haven’t the
foggiest idea,” Gretchen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Great,” Beth said
with a slight laugh. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
*</div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
David</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
David looked
around the empty street at the houses that looked like something from Arabian
Nights mixed with Ancient Rome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen was in
bad shape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She looked like a strangely
attractive version of the Creature From the Black Lagoon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was shaken by it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That much was obvious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had never seen her cry like that
before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
As odd as she
appeared there was something vaguely familiar with her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth looked truly bizarre
though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He didn’t know if it meant
anything, but he had to wonder why he was dressed the same way he had been in Iraq.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He even had the same SAW, complete with
identical scratches on the stock.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He had been
wearing this when he life was forever changed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This was the moment he had learned of a much larger and frightening
world. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
What significance
did Beth’s and Gretch’s forms hold?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Both of them were
afraid and shaken by this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had to
admit that he was as well, but someone had to do something. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Alright,” he
said. “Let’s find this Professor Nelson and get out of here. Let’s go.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He began walking
off in a random direction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was about
to turn back around when he heard them coming after him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, he heard Gretch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth’s shadowy form didn’t make any noise at
all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
They walked down a
narrow ally that opened up into a street with people wearing brightly colored
robes going about their business.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One
person was carrying what looked like a scaly goat and a woman was carrying a
crying baby in a cloth backpack deal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The women had habit looking things but with brightly colored stripes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Others carried baskets, crates, vegetables or
walking sticks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qm1zqnseJ3s/UHdP6iqPLxI/AAAAAAAABlw/VJWJLZ6YfiQ/s1600/ulthar+street.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="188" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-qm1zqnseJ3s/UHdP6iqPLxI/AAAAAAAABlw/VJWJLZ6YfiQ/s320/ulthar+street.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Stalls selling
meats, fish, and cloth lined the streets and everywhere was a dull roar of
thousands talking at once.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The merchants
shouted out their wares and prices and people talked and argued.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And there were cats everywhere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had never seen so many cats wandering
around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe they were like sacred
animals to these people.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The place smelled
of cooking beef, seafood and cow manure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Very real for a dream. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He understood them
though he knew they weren’t speaking English<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Gretch?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Any ideas?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Where would a crazy professor and a goddess go?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“This is all new
to me as well, David.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“But you have an
idea, right?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She looked at him
with her large, silver eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Maybe the temple of All Gods,” Beth said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He raised his
eyebrows at her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Maybe I know a
few things,” Gretch murmured.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He stopped a long
bearded man that was walking back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
was carrying a basket full of hissing snakes. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Excuse me sir, do
you know where the Temple
of All Gods is?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“A traveler, huh?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The man said with a friendly smile. Then he
pointed a direction. “That way, at the top of the hill.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Big building with the spires.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Thank you, sir.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Their strange
appearance didn’t attract any attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Maybe they were used to “travelers.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
They walked
through the crowded streets of Ulthar and passed shops, and houses where women
were hanging out laundry and children ran after each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes they’d pass a building with tall
columns in front, mosaic covered domes and tall, twisting spires that ended in
statues of dancing, naked people. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-__UrLEZgZNo/UHdQzdN5k-I/AAAAAAAABl4/VJW7R32CEAg/s1600/city.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-__UrLEZgZNo/UHdQzdN5k-I/AAAAAAAABl4/VJW7R32CEAg/s1600/city.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
A white bird with
a black tail landed on a barrel in front of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It had a long, sharp beak and reminded him of
a skinny pelican…with two heads.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
watched them pass with large, yellow eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Then they came to
a wide avenue with several fountains running down its length.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From there he saw a hill topped with a
massive domed building.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The spires
looked impossibly tall and twisted around like cinnamon twirls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I guess that’s
it,” Beth said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
It took a half
hour to reach the top of the hill where two massive doors greeted them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They looked like they had been cast out of
solid bronze.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It had carvings of human
and cat figures in some kind of story, but he couldn’t make out what the plot
was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He didn’t see a
guard, a knocker or a doorbell, so he pounded on the door with the butt of his
machinegun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Hey!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can we come in?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He shouted out. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
There was no
answer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They knocked for a long time but
got nothing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I need a rest,”
Gretch said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He agreed and they
sat down in the shade of the walls and looked out over the sprawling city.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On the far end he could see the glistening of
a green ocean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Domes and towers dotted the
city and in the middle was a several stories tall, golden statue of a woman
with a cat head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“They sure like
cats here,” he said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“They’re the
guardians of purity and light,” Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He didn’t ask how
she knew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Then they saw a
robed figure marching up the hill.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The person
stood out because they were all in black and white.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They stood and waited to greet this person. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
As it got closer
he saw that it was a woman and though her robes weren’t as brightly colored as
the other peoples’ they were more richly decorated with intricate designs and
images.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The woman’s face
had blue tattoo swirls running all over her face in beautiful patterns that
accentuated her features.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She seemed
confused at their presence. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Hello, travelers,”
the woman said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“We came to ask
some questions,” he said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I might not be
able to answer them.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“We have no where
else to go,” he said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“First time to our
city?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“It’s that easy to
tell?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She smiled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her teeth were blindingly white.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Come in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is my job to help lost spirits.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She pushed one of
the designs on the door and the enormous doors creaked open.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
They walked into a
courtyard lined with emerald columns and green palm trees.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A fountain sang in the middle and cushions with
cats lounging around were everywhere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kZfHrHxJsRk/UHdRBg-AhII/AAAAAAAABmA/N3dafbJ3pHk/s1600/courtyard.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kZfHrHxJsRk/UHdRBg-AhII/AAAAAAAABmA/N3dafbJ3pHk/s320/courtyard.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m Priestess
Atalia.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll get you something to
eat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Have a seat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’re going to have a lot of questions.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She left and the
three of them stood there in the quiet courtyard.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I guess we’re
going to be here for a while,” Beth said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I believe so,
though time isn’t the same here in the dreamworld as it is in our world,”
Gretchen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She was still
looking down at her hands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
At least he felt
somewhat safe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whatever happened he had
a SAW with 600 rounds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He tightened his
grip on the machinegun and sat down next to a dozen cats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Good thing he was
an animal lover. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
Zach Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08188373296321506021noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088873945002427056.post-42137929588844296442012-10-11T11:34:00.000-07:002012-10-11T11:34:02.956-07:00A Reading SuggestionIf, like me, you're a fan of H.P. Lovecraft or just like creepy stories, then I highly suggest this short story anthology, "The Book of Cthulhu 2." I read book 1 and loved it. It had some stories in there that blew my mind with awesomeness. But then I started reading book 2. Holy cow. Some of these stories have atmosphere so thick you'd need a lightsaber to cut. There's a wide variety of stories so there's bound to be a few stories that will make the most discerning critic recoil with eldritch horror. Trust me, check them out. <br />
In Book 1, you must read "A Colder War." Lovecraft meets Tom Clancy. <br />
In Book 2, it's "Once more from the top" about the raid on our beloved town of Innsmouth and Marines fighting Deep Ones...and a Shoggoth. <br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Book-Cthulhu-Ross-Lockhart/dp/1597804355/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1349978826&sr=8-1&keywords=book+of+cthulhu+2">http://www.amazon.com/The-Book-Cthulhu-Ross-Lockhart/dp/1597804355/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1349978826&sr=8-1&keywords=book+of+cthulhu+2</a><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xJGiBfzEG7o/UHcREN7H6bI/AAAAAAAABkQ/adSU2njAp6Q/s1600/book+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xJGiBfzEG7o/UHcREN7H6bI/AAAAAAAABkQ/adSU2njAp6Q/s320/book+2.jpg" width="213" /></a></div>
<br />Zach Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08188373296321506021noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088873945002427056.post-33131075906333083152012-10-09T15:39:00.001-07:002012-10-09T15:39:36.640-07:00Chapter 17<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen loved the
feel of the Saiga kicking against her shoulder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If she leaned into it, it wouldn’t push her backwards.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She loved the smell of the gunpowder and feel
of warm metal in her hands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
David didn’t act
like the men in the movies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those men
would have tried to seduce her upon finding themselves alone with her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She wished he
would have tried to seduce her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
would have surrendered without much of a fight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The thought of it all made her nervous though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had never done anything like that and it
all felt so…personal.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Eventually they
packed up and went to find Beth in the cafeteria.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They told her everything that had transpired
during the afternoon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After dinner was
play practice which she was not looking forward to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She didn’t like the play and she didn’t like
being in the play.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyone kept
insisting that it would be “fun,” but she had yet to see anything amusing about
standing in front of many people and pretending to be someone else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The whole thing
was ridiculous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Fortunately they
just did another read through but with a bit more acting this time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
After play
practice she went back to her room to do homework.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth promised to come check on her in the
morning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She took a quick
shower, brushed her teeth and began drawing protective wards around her bed
with chalk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If something was
deliberately coming after her then the wards would hold them off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Then she removed
all her clothes and climbed into bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She hated having anything on while sleeping.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It felt so much better this way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She curled up and
let the warm, soft feel of her bed envelope her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
That night she
dreamed of the sunken corpse city but it was the usual disturbance from
sleeping Cthulhu and not the overpowering dreams of the previous night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
But then sometime
in the middle of the night her wards glowed to life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The red light woke her up and she immediately
became aware of a pressure in her mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It wasn’t a physical kind, but something else entirely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Whatever it was
came in waves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was faint but it was
definitely there. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The east side of
the ward lit up first with each wave.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
came from the east then.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She ran to her
bathroom sink and filled it with water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Once filled she took out her knife and cut her hand a little and let a
few drops fall into the water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once that
was stirred in she chanted the spell and began scrying for the source of the
pulse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen
concentrated on it and let her mind follow the path.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It almost felt like she was floating above
the world like a spirit.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her view began
to descend and soon she saw that she was looking down on the Miskatonic
campus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Her spirit eye
floated down and over the library.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
swam to the window and passed through without pause.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The main room held nothing and no one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The lights were dark.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
But she knew where
to go already.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She knew there was only one
source of something this powerful: the Forbidden Collection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Suddenly she felt
someone’s awareness fall on her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It felt
like being caught in a floodlight and a press at the same time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The presence knew she was there and she could
feel its hatred.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A wall of unseen energy
struck her and sent her crashing back into her mortal body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen fell
backwards to the floor and sat there for a long time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whoever it was had to be human.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No dark god or creature she knew of would
have left her intact.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
There was only one
human she knew of that had interest in the library and dark knowledge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Dr. Nelson.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
And he was fooling
with something that had to do with dreams.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
In the morning
Beth stopped by to check on her and they went to the cafeteria for breakfast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The TV’s were showing CNN but it was useless
today, only sports and politics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
never could see how people considered those sorts of things important.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Squabbling over a ball or squabbling over a
law that in the long run will make no difference seemed equally pointless.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LdYKmwVDwHY/UHSkHuh_H3I/AAAAAAAABho/50sGAbfZt8c/s1600/debate.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-LdYKmwVDwHY/UHSkHuh_H3I/AAAAAAAABho/50sGAbfZt8c/s320/debate.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I thought about
becoming a politician when I was young,” Beth said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Why?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“It was silly.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Why silly?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I wanted to
become president so I could end the war and keep my dad’s home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I still want to do that, just not through politics.”
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You were afraid
you couldn’t become a politician?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“No, I grew afraid
I would become one.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth was too
honest for politics.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“No one in my town
voted,” Gretchen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“My father used
to say that worrying about the outside world was like worrying about a log
before it went into the fire.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Your town sounds
like such a wonderful place.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She kept her ears
tuned to the TV but nothing out of place was mentioned, just politicians
accusing each other of being out of touch with the common man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Didn’t they realize that they both were?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ridiculous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Beth, do you have
a boyfriend?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You know me this
well and don’t know that?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I don’t know what
someone does with a boyfriend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought
that perhaps you talked to him on the phone when we weren’t around or wrote him
letters.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth laughed. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Letters?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretch…no.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I don’t have any boyfriends.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I
did I wouldn’t be watching movies or playing X-Box with you guys on Friday
night.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I see.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is there someone you want to make your
boyfriend?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Why the twenty
questions?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No, I don’t have a boyfriend
and I’m not close to getting one at the moment.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I see.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was just curious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But you have kissed a boy before.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth sighed. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yeah I’ve done a
lot more than that,” she said after taking a bite of her omelet. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You mean a sixty
nine?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth almost
chocked on her food and couldn’t respond until her fits of chocking ended.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Where did you
hear that?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“The internet.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Oh my word,
Gretch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is that what you’re using your
computer for?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I use it for many
things.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Don’t watch that
garbage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’ll give you weird ideas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Next thing you know you’ll be watching
Japanese tentacle porn.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Real
tentacles?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do they know about the Deep
Ones as well?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Um…no.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretch, just promise me not to go looking at
that crap.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Very well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was only researching.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Researching
what?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“It’s not
important.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You’re holding
out on me, Gretch.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“It’s time to get
to class.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She stood up and
picked up her tray.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth just laughed as
she walked away. Though Gretchen didn’t understand it all, she knew she was
saying things Beth considered embarrassing and thus, humorous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Humor at her expense. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Swimming almost
always cleared her mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As she did her
practice laps she let herself forget about Dr. Nelson and the powerful dreams
she had.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The other girls in
the locker room were talking about a party they had attended the past
weekend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of what they talked about
was inane gossip about who liked who or who was having sex with who.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>None of it interested her until one girl
mentioned something that caught her ear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I swear I saw
it,” the redhead girl said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You were on Ex or
something.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“No, nothing like
that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The moon was purple and there was
a white tree on the commons.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Okay.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Someone slipped you a rufie and you were
seeing all kinds of shit while you were out of it.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I was wide awake,
Lisa.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was mist everywhere and…”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Jen here didn’t
know that little colored things weren’t tic-tacs!”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The other girls
laughed and Jen dropped the subject.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Why had this girl
glimpsed the Other World?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps she
was sensitive or had experienced something paranormal that left a wound.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
What was most
troubling was that if one had seen it, then perhaps others had seen it as
well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
After swim class
she had a free hour so she went to the library.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In their Restricted Section she gained access to an occult book about
dreams and dream quests.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The one name
that kept popping up over and over again was “Nylarthotep.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4RMW04C3lJU/UHSl7F5oQSI/AAAAAAAABhw/I8w4mh45iqQ/s1600/nylar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-4RMW04C3lJU/UHSl7F5oQSI/AAAAAAAABhw/I8w4mh45iqQ/s1600/nylar.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She couldn’t tell
David.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Any mention of the Crawling
Chaos’s involvement in any of this would have him diving in without a second
thought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She couldn’t allow that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Outsiders, normal
people, considered lying wrong, but wouldn’t allowing him to put himself in
danger be worse?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
No, she couldn’t
tell him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At least not yet.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Then Dr. Nelson
came into the library.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had a large
briefcase and a satchel, the kind David liked to call a “man purse.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Dr. Nelson’s eyes
fell on her and for a moment he stood there, staring at her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then he began to walk over to her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She closed the book so the cover was face
down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You were at my
lecture the other night,” Dr. Nelson said with a smile she knew to be
false.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was very interesting.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m sure you got
a little more out of it than most people.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What do you
mean?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Oh, come
now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The last name of Marsh is quite
well known in some circles.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She crossed her
arms and wondered how much he really knew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Some people knew and some people only thought they knew.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
When he saw that
she wasn’t responding he continued.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“If my genealogy
record is accurate, then you must be Gretchen Marsh, the oldest surviving
child.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Surviving?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Didn’t your
father tell you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then perhaps it isn’t
my business.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Please tell me
what you know.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Very polite for a
Marsh family member.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No, I
couldn’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not my place.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She knew he
brought it up on purpose and it could be a lie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He was playing games with her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen didn’t
like to play games.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Dr. Nelson, are
you tampering with dreams?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“But you retain
the Marsh’s bluntness and lack of subtlety.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“If you are then
you’re tampering in very dangerous territory.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m not a novice,
Ms. Marsh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know exactly what I’m
doing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll finish my business and be
out of here before any unwanted attention sets their gaze upon this place.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What is your
business?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Personal.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He then began
walking away but then stopped.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Oh, and one more
thing, Ms. Marsh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Please don’t try to
spy on me again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s very rude.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She watched him
walk away and use a key to let himself into the Forbidden Section.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen quickly
got on a computer and sent Facebook messages to David and Beth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She knew their super phones could get
Facebook somehow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She told them to meet
her in the library and that Dr. Nelson was planning something dangerous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ey3iw_Gqlls/UHSmeRiIskI/AAAAAAAABh4/zskVhqacCw0/s1600/Facebook-articleInline.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ey3iw_Gqlls/UHSmeRiIskI/AAAAAAAABh4/zskVhqacCw0/s320/Facebook-articleInline.jpg" width="167" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth was the first
to arrive followed by David ten minutes later.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She told them everything she knew (minus the possible connection to
Nylarthotep) and asked their advice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“We follow him,”
David said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“How? I can’t use
my magic and he seems to be able to find me,” Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“He doesn’t know
me,” David said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“The guy’s a
creeper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Probably has an unmarked van he
uses to cruise playgrounds,” Beth said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I don’t get it,
but that’s not important,” Gretchen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“If he continues to meddle with dreams I and other people may be in
danger.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Or he’s
harmless,” David said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He didn’t sound
very convinced of that himself. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Then we find
out,” Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
David sighed and
scratched his chin. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Alright.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ll follow him around and see what he’s up
to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth, stay with Gretch because you have
a phone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If I see something I’ll call
you and report.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Sounds good,”
Beth said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“No, I have a
better idea,” Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen waited
until midnight and then went to the library.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She made sure she wasn’t seen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Once
in the library she used her spell to open the Forbidden Section and went
inside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Nothing looked out of
place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Since she couldn’t
scry the professor she would have to step out of time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen sat down
on the floor, took out a piece of chalk and began drawing symbols around
her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The symbols would gather and focus
energy that she wouldn’t have been able to handle by herself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was time consuming and took energy out of
her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
At least she had
some life force to spare since consuming that drunk football player. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
If something came
to interrupt her she had a Beretta in her coat pocket. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
As the spell came
together the glyphs and runes she had drawn began to glow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She continued to chant until she felt the
grip of time loosen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-v-lLl69wTOY/UHSnRzjRX7I/AAAAAAAABiA/GomZnMmbEN4/s1600/rune+circle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-v-lLl69wTOY/UHSnRzjRX7I/AAAAAAAABiA/GomZnMmbEN4/s320/rune+circle.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She stood up and
stepped out of the circle she had drawn and was now outside of time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Time flowed around her like a river but she
could move in whichever direction she chose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She chose to go
back to the night of the horrible dream.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The past’s events rushed by her in a mad stream until she stopped at
that night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her astral form walked
around as if in her own body but could not affect anything she saw.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
But she also
couldn’t be seen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
For someone who wanted
to become normal and not use dark powers, she used them quite often.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
As she guessed,
she saw Dr. Nelson standing over a table with copies of the Necronomicon, Book
of Eibon and the Unaussprechlichen Kulten.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He had his laptop open and was writing things down at a furious
pace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’d often stop to take pictures
of an image from one of the pages and then continue on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Each one of those
books was something to be feared and avoided and he was playing with all
three.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did he not know that if he didn’t
concentrate he could be driven mad?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Perhaps he was already mad so did not care?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She walked over
behind his shoulder and looked to see what he was writing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everything on his screen was forming some
kind of spell, but it was a spell far more complicated than anything she had
ever tried before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
One name kept
appearing on his page that wasn’t in the trilogy of horrible books: the name “Hecate.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Hecate was the
name of the Greek goddess of dark magic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She had other, un-holier names.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gKYU7ncrFt0/UHSnnn7OMYI/AAAAAAAABiI/w-hZa1amWB0/s1600/Hecate_Chiaramonti_Inv1922.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-gKYU7ncrFt0/UHSnnn7OMYI/AAAAAAAABiI/w-hZa1amWB0/s320/Hecate_Chiaramonti_Inv1922.jpg" width="116" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Another phrase
kept appearing: resurrection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She knew the
story.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When Nylarthotep began to take
interest in this world, he cast all the weaker, earth gods into a dark
prison.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It appeared that this man wished
to release one of those ancient intelligences from its prison, probably for the
reward of power of some kind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Those ancient gods
of the earth were powerful by mortal standards but Mother Hydra was more so,
let alone Dread Cthulhu.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The man was
risking the attention of terrible enemies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Then Gretchen went
forward in time to that evening when Dr. Nelson went back into the Forbidden
Section.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
This time he only
stayed an hour or two.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He finished
writing his spell which had something to do with dreams and then put everything
back and left.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He didn’t leave any clues
as to his whereabouts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Then she came back
to her present time and allowed time to flow as normal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But Gretchen looked and saw that the river of
time flowed forward and created eddies and pools.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If she was careful she could look forward and
find out what the future might have in store.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
But the ancient
books were filled with tales of sorcerers trying to grasp the future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It seldom ended well and she wasn’t half the
witch she needed to be to attempt such a feat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She let the moment
pass and didn’t try to see the flow of the future.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead she went back to her own body and the
world came back to normal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Now all she had to
do was find out where Dr. Nelson was going to perform this most dangerous
spell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
Zach Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08188373296321506021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088873945002427056.post-53519788584813294372012-10-01T15:10:00.000-07:002012-10-09T12:05:47.916-07:00Chapter 16<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
David</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
David’s Argonian
character shot the orc in the back with triple damage from a sneak attack.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He loved it when a fight ended before it
started. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cCjlSqGegHc/UGoHf_DgbeI/AAAAAAAABdw/mCQqhAVzq8c/s1600/Skyrim+Argonian.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="278" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-cCjlSqGegHc/UGoHf_DgbeI/AAAAAAAABdw/mCQqhAVzq8c/s320/Skyrim+Argonian.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
His watch said he
had a half hour until class so he turned off his game of Skyrim and got his
backpack ready to go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since he played
too long – easy to do with Skyrim – he had to get something on the way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
David was still
eating his chorizo and egg burrito when he walked into class.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He sat down and took out his laptop to take
notes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His handwriting was too
horrible to read and he was faster with typing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
As students began
poring in he kept expecting Gretchen to come in at any moment. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But all too soon class started and Gretchen’s
usual seat was empty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She didn’t have a
phone so he couldn’t text her, so he waited till the end of class and went to
her apartment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He could skip the next
class and get the notes from someone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
It was a girl’s
dorm building but guys were allowed in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was still strange to walk through a hallway full of women.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With his male dominated family and then the
military he hadn’t had a lot of time to be around women.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And he had to admit that playing D&D
didn’t help him win any girlfriends in high school.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He knocked on
Gretchen’s door but there was no answer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Gretch?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You in there?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He called out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He tested the
door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It opened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She probably wasn’t used to locking her
doors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who would steal from the High Priest’s
house, right?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The lights were
off but he could see her sleeping form in the bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Still asleep?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Maybe she was sick.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He walked over
and shook her shoulder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Hey, wake up
sleepy head,” he said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
But she didn’t
wake up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The expression on her
face looked troubled and her knotted brows would twitch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was having a bad dream.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He shook her again
and yelled for her to wake up but she didn’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Finally he got some cold water from her bathroom and pored it on
her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She bolted
upright and coughed as she looked around the room with wide, frightened
eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her sheets were tangled up all
over her with only her head and feet visible. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Where am I?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She asked in a quivering voice. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Your dorm
room.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“So, it’s real?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She began patting
the bed and looking around the room as if she had never seen it before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You okay Gretch?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She looked up at
him with wet hair clinging to her face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Speak.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let me know you’re real and not another
phantom to torment me.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What the hell are
you talking about?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, I’m real.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You didn’t show up for class this morning so
I came over to find out what’s wrong.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He began texting Beth to come over ASAP.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kcrVPunjvig/UGoIoXOpM9I/AAAAAAAABd4/N7hSiEz7qz4/s1600/texting.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="222" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-kcrVPunjvig/UGoIoXOpM9I/AAAAAAAABd4/N7hSiEz7qz4/s320/texting.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I don’t know… I
think it was a dream,” Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“A rough one, by
the look of it.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She reached up with
a bare arm and wiped the hair off her face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That was when he noticed that she had nothing on underneath those
sheets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He saw her bare shoulder and
neck and that was enough for him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He stood up and
faced away from her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’ll…um…I’ll be
out in the hall until you're dressed.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Dressed?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh, dear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Yes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps it would be best to
give me a moment.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He hurried out
into the hall and checked his messages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>One Facebook message from mom and a text from Beth saying she’d be right
over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
A few minutes later
Beth showed up and threw her hands in the air with a “WTF” expression.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“She’s
changing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was having a bad dream she
couldn’t wake up from.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What kind of bad
dream?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Don’t know.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’ll go in.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yeah, just let me
know when she’s dressed.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He stood out in
the hall for a good ten minutes before Beth opened the door again and let him
in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
When he came back
in he found Gretchen wearing a black and red pleated skirt and a “Flyleaf”
hoodie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her hair was dried but hanging
down around her in a messy way.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DNG2Us_QSFQ/UGoJPJAYlEI/AAAAAAAABeA/Em8AgaUGDSo/s1600/flyleaf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-DNG2Us_QSFQ/UGoJPJAYlEI/AAAAAAAABeA/Em8AgaUGDSo/s320/flyleaf.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You feeling
better?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen
nodded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What
happened?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I was
trapped.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It wasn’t a normal dream,”
Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Trapped by
something on the outside?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I don’t know.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He had had weird
dreams all night but nothing out of the ordinary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Strange how the quickly “messed up” became
“ordinary.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I need to perform
a spell of protection in case that it was an outside force,” Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Well, it was
definitely something!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“You’ve been asleep for over fifteen
hours.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“That short a
time?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It felt much longer,” Gretchen
said.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
David went to her
window and looked out across campus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Everything looked normal but just a few days ago another reality had
tried to invade and merge into this one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>And none of those people out there even suspected something was
wrong.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
There was a great
deal wrong in this world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
And Gretchen just
took it all in stride like this sort of thing happened every day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What kind of twisted childhood did she
have?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> When she said that she had witnessed human sacrifices, he didn't know what to say. He knew she was trying to be a normal and good person, but was that even possible with a childhood that twisted?</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He only listened
as Gretchen said the words of the spell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was a language he didn’t recognize and didn’t sound like any he had
ever heard. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
When Gretchen
finished her incantation she stood up and began pacing around the room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What’s up?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I felt as if
there was indeed an outside force pulling on my dreams,” she said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“And what does
that mean?” Beth asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“It means that
something is affecting my dreams and it’s not natural,” Gretchen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What is it?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I don’t know.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Not even a
guess?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“In case you were
wondering, this sort of thing doesn’t happen to me on a daily basis,” Gretchen
said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Actually, I was
wondering that.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Just because my
eyes are open it doesn’t mean that I see everything.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xDS3oVopoOo/UGoLkjqrCyI/AAAAAAAABeI/t76ehlHxla8/s1600/Nightmare_by_kalessaradan.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xDS3oVopoOo/UGoLkjqrCyI/AAAAAAAABeI/t76ehlHxla8/s320/Nightmare_by_kalessaradan.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Fair enough but
if it happens again we need to put an end to it,” he said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He turned away
from the window and saw that Gretchen was sitting with her legs folded one over
the other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her skirt allowed a glimpse
of her thighs and he couldn’t help but wonder what view he had missed under her
sheets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She slept in the
nude?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He wouldn’t have guessed
that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
David suddenly
wanted to volunteer to stay the night with her and watch her…for
protection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen walked
over to her table and flipped her laptop open.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m going to
check last night’s date with any known planetary alignments, lunar activity or
days of power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Miskatonic University
is built on the nexus of several lay lines which contributes to the unusual
manifestations that abound here.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Where do you come
up with this stuff?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You should open
your eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’ll see more,” Gretch
said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m not sure I’d
like what I see,” he said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She glanced over
at him. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Not everything is
bad,” Gretch said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth stood up and
walked to the door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’ll leave you
two to figure it out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I got to get my
butt to class.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t forget play
practice tonight!” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
And Beth was
gone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He walked over and
sat down next to Gretchen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What did you see
in your dreams?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Horrible things.”
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“The underwater
city?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Not this
time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I saw Cthulhu rising from the
ocean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I saw the world end.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“This wasn’t a
vision, right?”</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-x5eZFWKVzPw/UGoL6rsjD7I/AAAAAAAABeQ/rzMTZlJtQvE/s1600/dark+stormy+sea.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-x5eZFWKVzPw/UGoL6rsjD7I/AAAAAAAABeQ/rzMTZlJtQvE/s320/dark+stormy+sea.jpg" width="269" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I think something
must have been strengthening my dream world.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She didn’t answer
his question and just kept looking stuff up on her computer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“There was a full
moon last night,” she said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“That makes a
difference?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Of course.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Ley lines, full
moon and dreams.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What does that point us
to?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Any number of
things, I’m afraid.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Great.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She looked over to
him and cocked her head to the side.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Why did you come
to my room?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You weren’t in
class.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“So you were
concerned?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Well, I thought
it was unusual.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She quickly looked
away and back to the computer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m glad you
came,” she said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Me too.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
After a long,
awkward silence he spoke up again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I don’t think
either of us are in shape to go to class.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Want to go chill at my place until play practice?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I would like that
very much,” she said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He walked her
across campus to his apartment and let her in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She sat down on her usual spot on his bed and kicked her feet out in
front of her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What should we do
today?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You’re the
patient.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What do you want to do?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
And then he
realized that maybe he should have chosen a more public place because looking
at her like that on his bed and all he wanted to do was make out with her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“We can watch a
movie and then we can go shopping for a gun,” she said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You sure you can
afford it?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She gave him a
confused look.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I thought you
said a firearm was only a few hundred dollars.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Well, yeah.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She shrugged.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Money’s not a
problem.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He chose a movie
that had no romance in it whatsoever.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tropic
Thunder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After the first few comments on
how she didn’t find the character’s reactions at all believable he had to
explain that it was a comedy and after that she seemed to get it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7EJtNWvxzrY/UGoTXEKSC-I/AAAAAAAABes/dPSs64WhLjY/s1600/tropic-thunder-header.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="160" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-7EJtNWvxzrY/UGoTXEKSC-I/AAAAAAAABes/dPSs64WhLjY/s320/tropic-thunder-header.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
When it got to a
part where the movie talked about porno flicks steering the industry to DVD’s
Gretchen sat up. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Oh, I watched
some of those the other night,” Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You watched
what?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Movies with people
having sex.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I found them on the
internet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was all a jumbled mess of
confusion.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Why were
you…never mind.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I didn’t
understand much of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was one
part where – “</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Hey!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let’s go gun shopping.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Really?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Very well.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He had to get out
of there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Immediately.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He practically
shoved her out of the door and hurried to his car.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They got in and he drove into town to the gun
store he had visited before. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Inside was a small
but varied mix of military surplus bolt actions, hunting rifles, shotguns,
black rifles of all kinds (not just AR15’s) and a pretty good selection of
handguns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IlXklSYNKZw/UGoUAfviXfI/AAAAAAAABe0/Sk0mtPG5q40/s1600/gunstore.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IlXklSYNKZw/UGoUAfviXfI/AAAAAAAABe0/Sk0mtPG5q40/s320/gunstore.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen bent over
in a particularly girly way with her hands between her knees as she looked at
the case that contained the hand guns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I like this one,”
she said, pointing through the glass.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She pointed to a
Norinco reproduction of a broomhandled Mauser.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was a handgun the Germans used in the First World War.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not exactly the most up to date technology.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You’ll have a
hard time concealing that one,” he said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“But it’s
pretty.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“It does have
style.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Undeniably.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But let’s try something made in the past
hundred years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hell, if I had the money
I’d get it in a heartbeat, but you need something more practical.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She frowned but
continued to scan the case.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
It was a
shame.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With anyone else that had the
money, he’d tell them to buy it in a second.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Those things couldn’t be imported and were rarer than Bigfoot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His grandfather had brought one back from
WWII but had to sell it to pay for hospital bills after being diagnosed with
cancer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David had grown up hearing
stories about that Mauser.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Shame.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a nice firearm and a great piece of
history. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
It came down to
the CZ or PX4 in 9mm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the end the
Beretta won over the CZ because the slide was too small for Gretchen to grip
properly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gJqsA35rQfc/UGoUO8olZOI/AAAAAAAABe8/GH9KAxUB7g0/s1600/Beretta-Px4-Storm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="226" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-gJqsA35rQfc/UGoUO8olZOI/AAAAAAAABe8/GH9KAxUB7g0/s320/Beretta-Px4-Storm.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I will get that
one but first I want to look at the rifles.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Never hurts to
window shop.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“No, I want to buy
a rifle as well.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The shopkeeper’s
eyebrows raised but he maintained his professional manner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David walked her over to the racks of rifles
behind the counter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What rifle you
get will depend on what you want to do with it,” he said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I want to shoot
people and bad things that come after me.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He looked around
to make sure nobody heard that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What’s the
biggest gun they have?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What exactly are
you expecting to shoot?” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I liked your AK,
David, but I’m afraid it’s too small for some of the nastier things out
there.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Gretch, you’re
not the biggest person out there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You
need a gun you can handle.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You said I could
handle most anything with the right training.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yeah, but
strength comes into it too.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She ended up
buying the Beretta 9mm, a Saiga 12 gauge which was just an AK shotgun, and the
Broomhandled Mauser for some reason.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KopJ276MywI/UGoUeINGX0I/AAAAAAAABfE/gEvBkEju4Iw/s1600/Saiga.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="72" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-KopJ276MywI/UGoUeINGX0I/AAAAAAAABfE/gEvBkEju4Iw/s320/Saiga.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The money she was
laying down without blinking an eye was insane.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What kind of small, armpit town had that much money?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Once they were
outside he loaded the case the Saiga and Beretta came in into the back of his
Magnum along with the bag of ammo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
Mauser didn’t have a case and she carried that in her hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The faded yellow tag still hung from the
handle.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She had a small
but firm smile that was mostly in the eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Now we just need
to get you trained up on these,” he said as he started the car and pulled
out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“On two of them at
least,” she said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then she held the
Mauser out with both hands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I got this
one for you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I saw how you kept looking
at it.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He almost swerved
off the road.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Are you
sure?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s very expensive.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You buy me dinner
all the time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Besides, it’s not every
day I have a friend I can give gifts too.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Thank you,” was
all he could thing of to say.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had
always wanted one to replace his grandfather’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He took it and
felt the familiar weight in his hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Just the feel held memories of grandfather’s stories.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-daP2NClq2pc/UGoUuUqvSlI/AAAAAAAABfM/GHKuLoYzeAI/s1600/mauser.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="193" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-daP2NClq2pc/UGoUuUqvSlI/AAAAAAAABfM/GHKuLoYzeAI/s320/mauser.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Thank you very
much,” he said.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You’re very
welcome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh, they only had four boxes of
ammo for it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He said that the guy who
sold it to them sold them the ammo too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s hard to find apparently.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He turned the car around
and headed to the shooting range.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There
was no way he could do homework or watch movies when he had this to shoot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
They spent the
rest of the afternoon getting Gretchen familiar with her new weapons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He really hoped she’d never have to use them for
the purposes she imagined.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David also
took time to shoot one box of ammo.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
had to savor it until he ordered more of the rare ammo on-line somewhere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Yeah, it was a
Chinese reproduction, but he didn’t care.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was real enough.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Also, it meant not
being alone with Gretchen in his room all day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
Zach Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08188373296321506021noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088873945002427056.post-48569962858569070012012-09-26T11:15:00.002-07:002012-09-27T15:43:56.610-07:00Chapter 15<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen sketched
the image of the solar system from the projector screen as fast as she
could.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She recognized most gods.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The sun was Yog Soggoth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That was interesting. The gibbering, mad god
was the center.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
There was also a
clear depiction of Hastur and she looked over to see if David recognized
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Dyk_9k5Kz-8/UGNCJeUjrXI/AAAAAAAABcU/j4CtMC8c0_Q/s1600/king+in+yellow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Dyk_9k5Kz-8/UGNCJeUjrXI/AAAAAAAABcU/j4CtMC8c0_Q/s320/king+in+yellow.jpg" width="220" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He was staring at
it and gripping the arms of his chair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Apparently he did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She couldn’t
imagine that this professor was ignorant about the nature of the deities
depicted in the scroll.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had to know
something of the darker reality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And if
that was the case, then it wasn’t a coincidence that he was at Miskatonic University,
home of the largest occult book collection in the Western
Hemisphere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
This man was a
child playing with a blast furnace.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Either he was ignorant, arrogant or didn’t care about the dangers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Dr. Nelson went on
to discuss more mundane cults and never ventured into the darker side of things
again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
When the lecture
was over she was eager to leave.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
followed David out of the conference room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He was much larger than her and made for a fairly effective plow through
the crowd of people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She hated being
surrounded by so many strangers and he made her feel safe.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Dr. Nelson was
doing a book signing but she had no desire to attend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She wanted nothing to do with him because she
doubted his intentions were purely academic.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She needed to learn more about this man. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Hungry?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She was and she
had been hoping he’d take her somewhere to eat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Pizza sounds
lovely.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Pizza it
is.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He took her to
their usual pizza place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was smiling
but she could tell that it was forced.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Something’s
bothering you,” she said after ordering a large combination.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She now knew her pizza well enough to order
what she wanted.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-afPpAXHlXWg/UGNCde-NcEI/AAAAAAAABcc/hL8nJB8ReFw/s1600/pizza+combi.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-afPpAXHlXWg/UGNCde-NcEI/AAAAAAAABcc/hL8nJB8ReFw/s320/pizza+combi.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You saw what I
saw.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But why does it bother you?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Those things have
been around since ancient times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They’re
real.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I told you all of
this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They’re older than the earth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps as old as the universe itself.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Universe?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yes?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He definitely had
something on his mind.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“It reminds me of
something.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I hope you’ll
share.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“This kid I bumped
into today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was talking about the big
bang and how impossible things could have existed at the beginning.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’ve heard the
theory before.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She had never
heard of the theory before.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Gretchen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How do you keep sane knowing all this?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“It’s all real,
David.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The sooner you accept that the
sooner you’ll understand.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I know it’s
real.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hell, I saw things no one would
believe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But…”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You’re having
trouble accepting it.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yeah.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She had been told
that most outsiders would simply reject knowledge of the true nature of the
universe regardless of evidence.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David
was doing fairly well for an outsider.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Give it time,”
she said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He leaned back and
took a sip of soda.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What do you think
of this Dr. Nelson?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She didn’t want to
worry him any more than he already was.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“His lecture was
very well researched.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“That’s not what I
meant.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I think he’s
dangerous.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Like the snob
squad and their book?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“More so.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Awesome.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The waitress came
with their pizza and set it on a little stand in the middle of the table.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She then set down plates for them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David always ignored the plates.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The smell made her mouth water.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was much better than boiled beef and
boiled potatoes back in Innsmouth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hiKfvgKtZ-0/UGNC2sWfwAI/AAAAAAAABck/hWPYWN5h9b0/s1600/bland+food.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hiKfvgKtZ-0/UGNC2sWfwAI/AAAAAAAABck/hWPYWN5h9b0/s320/bland+food.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
And it was
especially better than fish.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Is this really
what they eat every day in Italy?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I don’t think
everyday.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“But it’s Italian,
right?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They must eat it all the
time.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I don’t
know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I think I might
have to go to Italy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If food is like this, then I need to
go.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“They do a study
abroad during the summer.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Study in Italy?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sounds wonderful.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I think I’d like
to see a foreign country where I don’t get shot at on a daily basis.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It does sound nice.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Study abroad in Italy?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>During the summer, right?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yeah.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
That would be
perfect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’d be able to continue her
education and wouldn’t have to return to Innsmouth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She never wanted to go back there again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Ever.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen sat back
in her seat holding a large slice of pizza.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This was what life should be like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She was eating great food with a great friend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
David was indeed a
great friend and she enjoyed this time to be alone with him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No other students were around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No Beth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Just her and David.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m glad you
decided to attend the lecture with me,” she said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m glad I
came.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It helped me put things into
perspective.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
What did normal
people say in situations like this?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There must be some form to the way outsiders court each other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Was that what she
was doing?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Courting?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had never wanted to intimate with another
person before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She couldn’t stand the
residents of Innsmouth and the outsiders at highschool treated her with such
naked hostility that any thoughts of friendship with them were ridiculous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
This was different
though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sitting across the table from
her was a kind man who actually liked her for who she was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was a man she didn’t want to part company
with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You seem pleased
about something,” he said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Do I?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yeah.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I like being
here,” she said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“At the
pizzareia?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“The university,
the campus, all of it.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What did you do
for fun back in Innsmouth?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“That wasn’t a
word that was used very often.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I had my
father’s old record player and I had his library.”</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rSQ6oH7Bgb0/UGNDNeq1IGI/AAAAAAAABcs/GdqdZRFtLG0/s1600/old+record+player.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="271" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-rSQ6oH7Bgb0/UGNDNeq1IGI/AAAAAAAABcs/GdqdZRFtLG0/s320/old+record+player.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“No friends?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I wasn’t allowed
to mingle with the common folks.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Common folks?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She debated
telling him, but in the end she realized that she wanted to tell him everything
about herself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m the daughter
of the High Priest and I’m next in line to become High Priestess.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You’re going to
be a priestess of a cult?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“No.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I won’t do it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m never going back there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They can use my sister.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I didn’t know you
had a sister.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Me and her don’t
get along.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Why?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“She’s a true
believer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When I was nine I was taken to
my first human sacrifice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I threw
up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My sister, Hannah, clapped and
laughed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What about you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Have any siblings?”<br />
"Oh...um...wow. I'd say you have some family issues."<br />
"Fortunately, she's my only sibling. Do you have any siblings?" She asked, eager to change the subject. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I got three stepbrothers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All younger.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Do you get along
with them?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Not really.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m way older.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She nodded like
she understood but she didn’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What
would age have to do with brotherly affection?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He talked about
his family and how his brothers were all “jocks” and he was a nerd that
happened to be in the military.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They’d
never see eye to eye.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“This place closes
in fifteen,” he said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She looked up at
the clock.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Almost ten.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She grabbed the last piece of pizza which
drew a smile from David for some reason.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Was there some sort of rule about the last piece of pizza?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
After they
finished they got in his car and drove back to the dorms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ljcRiihIsmQ/UGND8qEZ7VI/AAAAAAAABc0/baV8gkfZzuY/s1600/driving+night.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="247" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ljcRiihIsmQ/UGND8qEZ7VI/AAAAAAAABc0/baV8gkfZzuY/s320/driving+night.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
After saying
goodbye she was left alone in her room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She couldn’t help but smile.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not
wanting to sleep in order to enjoy this feeling, she got on line and began
“goofing off” with the internet. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She wondered what
it would be like to have David hold her in his arms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had seen outsiders kiss and though she
didn’t know what pleasure that brought, they seemed to enjoy it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She began wondering what it would be like to
kiss David.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen began
researching ‘how to kiss.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of what
she found was completely useless, but there were some interesting videos on
youtube.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They did make it look like
fun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She’d have to ask
David next time they were alone if he would like to kiss.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She looked up more
kissing videos but soon she was looking at videos about copulation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Normally she had no interest in sexual
intimacy but now her curiosity was perked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2pTFbt527PA/UGNE92tQfLI/AAAAAAAABc8/h31xepS7_Z0/s1600/kiss.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2pTFbt527PA/UGNE92tQfLI/AAAAAAAABc8/h31xepS7_Z0/s1600/kiss.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
It all looked so
strange and half the time she didn’t know what exactly was going on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Frustrated with
how weird and confusing it all was she went to Netflix (which Beth had signed
her up for) and started watching documentaries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She ended up watching Ken Burns’ “Civil War.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had never paid much attention to it
before but watching the documentary she found it fascinating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She was still
watching it when her alarm went off telling her to wake up for school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She said aloud and checked her watch to make
sure the time was right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She must have been
overcome with lunacy and lost her wits to ignore time so completely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She took a quick
shower, changed into her Rob Zombie shirt, black skirt and boots and hurried
off to class.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
At swim practice
she started feeling the lack of sleep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She still came in first but not by as large a margin as usual.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
By lunch she was
ready to pass out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had her head on
the table when Beth came up with her lunch tray.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You okay,
Gretch?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Tired.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Didn’t sleep?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“No.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“More dreams?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“No sleep.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Insomnia?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Netflix.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth laughed. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’ve done that
before. I was watching Jericho
one day and couldn’t stop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So I kept
watching and missed a job interview.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CljM5g20Ftk/UGNFUqD212I/AAAAAAAABdE/kycW1hg7hTk/s1600/Jericho.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-CljM5g20Ftk/UGNFUqD212I/AAAAAAAABdE/kycW1hg7hTk/s320/Jericho.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yes.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Gretch, why don’t
you go home and take a nap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m sure
super genius can miss a class or two without a drop in grade.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Missing a class
intentionally showed disrespect to the professor and could lead to a downward
spiral of laziness.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
But right now she
was too tired to care.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
After lunch she
dragged herself back to her room and collapsed on her bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
And she
dreamed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She was on the
reef off the shore
of Innsmouth, the reef
where the people commune with Dagon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Old
ones with their fishy eyes were in the water looking at her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They didn’t move or make any sounds.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They just floated there and stared at
her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Above her was the
clearest night sky she had ever seen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The stars were innumerable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
certain stars stood out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Those are planets,”
Hannah said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She hadn’t noticed
her little sister before she spoke. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Which planets?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Some are of this
solar system and some are of other, far off places.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
As she watched the
planets lined up with the precision of the gears of a clock and as soon as they
were in a perfect alignment they began to glow with a red, angry energy almost
like fire.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen didn’t know what it
was but felt the wrongness of it all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Planets
shouldn’t burn like torches.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What is
this?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“We’re witnessing
the planets in the proper alignment for the power of the Elder Beings to return
and awaken Dread Cthulhu.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen stood
there, frozen in place at the horrible site of the fiery planets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was witnessing the end time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oOXUtH48yCU/UGNGOwxGopI/AAAAAAAABdU/BqbH8nYcW-4/s1600/planet+on+fire.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="179" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oOXUtH48yCU/UGNGOwxGopI/AAAAAAAABdU/BqbH8nYcW-4/s320/planet+on+fire.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
A dark comet of
black energy shot through each of the planets in turn, almost like they were
portals instead of physical objects.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
black comet struck Earth and began spreading darkness over the entire
globe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Hannah looked up
at her with a wicked grin and her degenerate, compassionless eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Isn’t it
glorious?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hannah asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“It’s horrible.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All the weak shall perish and only the
faithful and strong will survive.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“But Cthulhu and
his kin will destroy everything, believer and nonbeliever alike.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Dagon will intervene
for us.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“But he won’t,”
she whispered but Hannah was no longer there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Instead she was facing out to the ocean with what looked like an island
out in the distance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But as she looked
she saw that the island was getting closer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Then two peaks emerged on either side of the moving thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The air around the
terrible thing was bending and twisting as reality itself protested the
monstrous thing’s existence. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The thing began to
slowly rise up out of the ocean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A giant
head with two, deep set, hate filled eyes appeared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The peaks revealed themselves to be
wings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Though it was still far off she
could see all the details on it, like a mountain on a clear day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The edges of the great beast were blurry,
like a slightly out of focus camera.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Then Dread Cthulhu
rose out of the water as he came closer to land. Water streamed off him in
rivers. The wind was picking up and whipping her long hair about her face and
the waves were jagged claws of white.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Above him a black tempest grew and swirled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e83_nqhx3uQ/UGNF2ZDdCgI/AAAAAAAABdM/KX3hq6oVIGA/s1600/Cthulhu-by-Eike-Braselmann.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="228" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-e83_nqhx3uQ/UGNF2ZDdCgI/AAAAAAAABdM/KX3hq6oVIGA/s320/Cthulhu-by-Eike-Braselmann.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Winged creatures
flew in wide circles around Cthulhu’s head like seagulls around a whale.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At that distance they were too small to make
out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She didn’t want to know what they
were. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He was the
destruction of the world. His massive, thick shoulders swayed with each step
and she could feel the rumble as the earth shook with each footfall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She looked behind
her and saw a city.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She didn’t know
which but she could tell it was one of the great cities of the world with tall
towers and countless people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Cthulhu raised his
clawed hands and giant waves crashed into the city, knocking down towers and
washing away people and cars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He raised
one of his claws to the sky and boulders burning with black fire began to rain
down on the city, smashing and blowing up whatever the tsunamis weren’t
destroying.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen stood
there in the dream, watching the world end and couldn’t wake up.</div>
Zach Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08188373296321506021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088873945002427056.post-9964910282019759252012-09-24T16:50:00.001-07:002012-09-24T16:50:17.743-07:00chapter 14<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
David</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
David walked to
his last class of the day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’d go home,
get something to eat and then head to play practice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After seeing the King in Yellow, he was a
little less enthusiastic about being in a play.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He’d hate for a demonic Jane Austin to show up and start sucking out
people’s souls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xEsF2q2XqoE/UGDpXgZWabI/AAAAAAAABaE/TkpwVWCygFU/s1600/pride-prejudice-zombies-001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="192" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-xEsF2q2XqoE/UGDpXgZWabI/AAAAAAAABaE/TkpwVWCygFU/s320/pride-prejudice-zombies-001.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He heard laughter
coming down from one of the side halls.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Like always he was early and the halls were mostly clear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He came to the corner and peeked around.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Three guys and one
girl were standing around a skinny guy with glasses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was holding his empty backpack.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His books lay scattered around his feet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The idiots were
laughing at the glasses guy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They’d
probably caused the “accident.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He hated people
like that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The world was screwed up
enough without intentionally making it worse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Those idiots had no idea what it was really like out there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They lived sheltered, meaningless lives and
never knew what it was like to face death.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Their biggest problem was that they weren’t getting 4G’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Hey, leave him
alone,” David said as he walked into the hallway. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
They turned to
look at him and saw the sneers on their faces. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What you going to
do about it?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One of the guys
asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He wore a pink pollo shirt and
had immaculate hair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In short, he looked
like a total douche.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VE94i5LLNbw/UGDp39AKPoI/AAAAAAAABaw/bqhGan8q78c/s1600/pink+polo+shirt.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VE94i5LLNbw/UGDp39AKPoI/AAAAAAAABaw/bqhGan8q78c/s320/pink+polo+shirt.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’ll kick your
ass in front of your cheerleader girlfriend.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The man started to
laugh but David could tell that it was forced.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“It takes a big
man for him and three of his buddies to pick on one guy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Mighty brave of you.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You’re talking
big, tough guy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I aint seen you in the
gym,” pink pollo shirt said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
David snapped his
arm out and grabbed him by the neck where the nerve center was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pollo shirt winced and almost doubled
over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Go away before I make
you cry,” David said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The others quickly
left and once they were out of his sight he let pollo shirt go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Pollo cast him a glare that was supposed to
be threatening before he disappeared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He then turned to
the kid with the glasses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You okay,
man?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m fine.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Sorry about
that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Those kind of people piss me
off.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He looked down at
the books and saw a Player’s Handbook for Dungeons and Dragons 3.5.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GSVldzkOhdY/UGDqMv4fs9I/AAAAAAAABa4/4ArMVF47-Mc/s1600/players-handbook-core-rulebook-array.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GSVldzkOhdY/UGDqMv4fs9I/AAAAAAAABa4/4ArMVF47-Mc/s320/players-handbook-core-rulebook-array.jpg" width="247" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You play
D&D?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yeah.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Awesome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I used to play all the time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Me and some of the other guys had a campaign
going while we were over in Iraq.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’d be surprised at how many nerds are in
the army.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I usually GM,”
the guy said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Awesome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I usually played a cleric.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Name’s David.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Dan Tillman.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Heading to
class?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m a teacher’s
assistant.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Going to grade papers.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What class?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Particle
physics.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Sounds way over
my head.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“It’s over most
people’s heads," he said growing excited.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> "</span>The stuff we’re doing
there is revolutionary.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If we had access
to CERN’s particle collider, there’d be no end to what we can do.” </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-e8Q8n10Evh4/UGDrr60ro-I/AAAAAAAABbA/p1dGw-YNzGw/s1600/particle+collider.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="304" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-e8Q8n10Evh4/UGDrr60ro-I/AAAAAAAABbA/p1dGw-YNzGw/s320/particle+collider.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Big Bang stuff.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“But on a small
scale. The stuff we’re seeing lasts so short a time and is so small, I mean,
its bending the laws of physics as we know them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Breaking them in some cases.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I tell you, whatever it was like in the first
few nanoseconds of existence wasn’t like anything we recognize today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Anything could have snapped into existence.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Sounds like some
weird stuff, man.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Very weird,” he
said with a strange smile. “You wouldn’t believe what we’ve seen.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I bet I would.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I have to
go.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have to grade a paper on finding
dead pulsars in deep space.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Sounds
awesome.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Hey, if you ever want to start
a campaign, let me know.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
They exchanged
numbers and watched as Dan went on his way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Interesting guy. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
When he got to
play practice he saw Beth and Gretch were already there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He went over and took the one empty seat
beside Gretchen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You’re usually
early,” Gretch said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Lost track of
time.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She looked at him
through the corners of her eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I don’t want to
be here,” she said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You’ll love it.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You think so?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Not at
first.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe once you get your lines
down and we start rehearsing, then perform and finish it for good, then you’ll
have fun.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She didn’t respond
for a few moments. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I was hoping
you’d lie to me.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m teasing,
Gretch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’ll have fun.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I doubt that very
much,” she said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He saw her hands
fidgeting with the script.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Could it be
that their all-knowing sorceress was nervous about a play?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So he leaned over and whispered in her ear. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You don’t need to
be nervous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’ll do fine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re just reading our parts today. Nothing
else.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She kept her mouth
closed and her eyes still looked frightened, but she nodded and took a deep
breath.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Then she leaned
over to him. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Tomorrow night is
a lecture about ancient Roman cults and the use of advanced astronomy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I plan to attend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are you attending as well?”</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lXaK_nd5p7Y/UGDs2hZrttI/AAAAAAAABbI/tSVGUcdLU1w/s1600/roman+mosaic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lXaK_nd5p7Y/UGDs2hZrttI/AAAAAAAABbI/tSVGUcdLU1w/s320/roman+mosaic.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He wasn’t sure,
but it sounded like Gretchen’s version of asking him out on a date.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was hard to tell.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
It did sound
interesting: not something he’d normally attend but with all the recent crazy
shit going on, maybe he should learn a little more about ancient cults.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Also, he wouldn’t
mind spending some time with Gretchen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She was pretty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was pretty in
a unique, odd, unknowable way, but still very pretty.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Sure. Sounds
fun,” he said.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You’ll go?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yeah.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“It starts at
seven in lecture room 1 in main hall.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’ll pick you up
at six thirty.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Oh. Yes, that
works as well.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She then began
looking at her script with renewed interest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The practice was
as he said it would be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They just read
through their lines and got a basic grasp of what they were getting into.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen read her
lines in her usual monotone voice but Beth said that it was perfect for the
part.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
His part would
take a little more work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Remember, David,
Darcy is arrogant and sure of himself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Show more disdain towards everyone around him,” Beth said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“But that’s not
true.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He doesn’t disdain everyone.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Not in his own
mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Look, it’s complicated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But he has to appear to be a smug SOB, so act
like one.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“We’ll see,” he
said, not conceding the point.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
After the play
practice they went to Beth’s place and did homework.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His history class had a quiz the next morning
so he studied with Gretch a part of the time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She either had a photographic memory or knew all of this already.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Hey, Beth, we’re
going to the lecture about Roman cults tomorrow night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you wish to go?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What? By that
creepy old guy?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Professor Nelson,
yes.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“That guy looks
like he owns an unmarked van and hands out free candy to kids in parks.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“That doesn’t make
any sense,” Gretch said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g0Ns5L_5TzQ/UGDthllm8ZI/AAAAAAAABbQ/o79ISQ24UXE/s1600/van.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-g0Ns5L_5TzQ/UGDthllm8ZI/AAAAAAAABbQ/o79ISQ24UXE/s320/van.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“She means he
looks like a creepy child molester,” David said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Oh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t see why you’d think such a thing,”
Gretch said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Because he does,”
Beth said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Do you wish to
come?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“No, if I never
have to see that sex offender again I’ll be happy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You two have fun learning about weirdo
cults.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
*</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
That night he
dreamed of the underwater city again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
dreamed that there was an earthquake that made the city rise a little higher
and disturbed the sleep of some of the things that lay in their monolithic
crypts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
When he woke he
felt more tired than he had before going to bed. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
As usual he was
the first one in class and Gretchen was the second.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She came in with dark rings under her eyes
and half opened eyelids.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Bad dreams
too?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She nodded and
laid her forehead on her pile of books.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Under water
city?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She nodded
again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“It’s called
R’lyeh,” she said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“R’lyeh?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve heard that word before.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Back in the
cemetery in Iraq
the cultists had been chanting something that had that word in it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Normally he wouldn’t be able to remember a meaningless
word, but that chant had burned itself into his mind and he knew every word.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RSMeJ3Zu9FI/UGDuEIyb6gI/AAAAAAAABbY/PKVEzJ0uv38/s1600/Soldiers+in+iraq.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RSMeJ3Zu9FI/UGDuEIyb6gI/AAAAAAAABbY/PKVEzJ0uv38/s320/Soldiers+in+iraq.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“<i>Ph'nglui
mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn</i><span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">,” he said.<i> </i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">Her head shot up from her desk and she
looked at him with wide eyes. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">“How do you know those words?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She asked. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">“I heard them once.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">“Where?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">“The cult in Iraq.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">“Don’t ever repeat those words aloud.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Never!”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">“Okay, I won’t.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">“Promise.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">“I promise.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But why?”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">“It’s a prayer to Cthulhu.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Our nightmares come from his dreams and you
do not want his full attention.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">It felt as if he had just held a bomb with a
short timer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not saying those words
again wouldn’t be a problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If they
were some kind of summons like the kids did with the King in Yellow then
there’d be no temptation to repeat them. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">This hidden world of the occult was far more
dangerous than he realized.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It wasn’t
some socially awkward Wiccans burning candles in a circle, this was a little
kid playing with hand grenades level of danger. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">More like landmines, really, because
sometimes someone could stumble upon something horrible by accident. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">He got through the quiz with no
problems.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen finished first like
she always did and waited for him out in the hall.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">“I was hoping for something more
challenging,” she said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">“This is a basic, beginner level class.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’ll have to wait till next year for harder
classes.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">“Frustrating.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-bidi-font-style: italic;">He went about his day like he usually did,
but a bit more tired than usual.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After
his last class he took a nap before dinner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Dinner was a blue cheese, bacon cheeseburger from one of the local
places nearby.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Local places always
trumped fast food chains.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
At the appointed
time he went to Gretchen’s door and knocked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Some of the girls were having a pajama party of some kind and blasting
really lame music as loud as they could.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen answered
the door with a notebook in hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Ready?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I hope this man
proves to be as educational as I hope he will be.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m sure he’ll be
enlightening.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He walked with her
across the commons and passed the place where the demon tree with the red eyes
had been.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The place still felt wrong
somehow, like there was an unseen stain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He caught Gretchen
looking at the same spot and wondered if she felt it too.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Knowing her she probably did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Heck, she probably saw the darkness he only
felt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
They arrived at
the lecture hall and took their seats somewhere in the middle. The place was
already filling up, but not with students.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Most of them were middle age and above.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They were probably the youngest in the room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
These kinds of
places always seemed like the AC was broken or on overdrive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Right now it was arctic conditions in the
room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen had her gray, buttoned up
coat on but he just had a buttoned up, black shirt on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’d have to invest in a sport coat of some
kind when attending more formal situations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Then one of the
history anthropology professors came out and introduced Professor Nelson from
NY University.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The audience applauded
and a middle aged man with a beard and bald head came out on stage wearing a
tweed jacket with leather elbows.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Really?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wasn’t that too
stereotypical?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He probably listened to
NPR in his office as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The man introduced
himself and began listing his credentials and holding up copies of books that
he’d written.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then he began talking
about where his lecture fit into the current study of obscure religions and
quoting boring passages from books other people had read.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
It had been only
five minutes and already he wanted to go to sleep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Now I get to the
Roman emperor, Elagabalus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many consider
him to be one of the most decadent and corrupt emperors ever to take the Roman
throne.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And he had some competition,”
Dr. Nelson said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The crowd politely
laughed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wvVqXfCBakU/UGDwzvSJ-NI/AAAAAAAABbw/qe9yU19sSpI/s1600/elagabalus1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wvVqXfCBakU/UGDwzvSJ-NI/AAAAAAAABbw/qe9yU19sSpI/s320/elagabalus1.jpg" width="244" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Now maybe it would
get interesting.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Elagabalus spent
his short years as emperor sleeping with everything he could in every
conceivable manner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was so repulsive
in his acts that the Romans eventually had him assassinated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s saying something.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Again, more polite laughter.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“But what most scholars and historians refute
or don’t know is that Elagabalus also set himself up as the head of a mystery
cult which were quite popular at the time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>After his death his cult lived on and actually grew.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Apparently there was some attraction to
having blasphemous orgies.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Even he had to
laugh at that one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen was
expressionless but was writing down almost everything he said sans jokes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“The cult of
Elagabalus evolved over time and when Christianity became the dominant religion
in the empire the cult went underground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We don’t hear of it for several centuries but one monk in Milan recorded in his
“Histories of Charles the Great,” a relatively unknown and sometimes inaccurate
history that “and a man of the court who was known to follow the ceremonies of
Elagabulus came to see the great king and was denied visitation.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That is all that is written but it offers a
precious clue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The cult was still alive
during the time of Charlemagne.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“During the Renaissance the cult makes another appearance and we see evidence of it in Italy, the court of France,
England
and even Catholic Spain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Besides amoral
orgies, what did this cult offer?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To
stand the test of time it had to offer something, correct?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Going back to the Romans, the cult flourished
in Alexandria,
the center of learning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of the
greatest philosophers and astronomers of the time were associated with the
cult.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And this is where it gets very
interesting.”</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Nelson turned on a
screen behind him and a giant picture of a mosaic depicting constellations
appeared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Here’s a typical
map of the stars that could have been done in any age.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But what’s different is that this map doesn’t
conform to any known constellations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
Latin inscription at the bottom claims that these are the stars as seen from
Yith.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He heard Gretchen gasp
at the mention of “Yith.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What is it?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He whispered to her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Nothing,” she
said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He didn’t believe
it was nothing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’d have to wait until
after the lecture to get it out of her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“And that is not
all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The cult also has complete maps of
the solar system, including Uranus and Neptune.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They don’t have Pluto but apparently we don’t anymore either.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The picture went
to an ancient, tattered scroll with pictures of different gods.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Each planet is
represented by an illustration of a god that isn’t found in any other Roman or
Persian text.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
David’s eyes
focused on Venus and he clenched the arms of his chair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Instead of a
beautiful woman representing Venus, it was a cloaked figure in yellow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The symbol on his cloak was the symbol of
Hastur, the King in Yellow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
recognized that symbol anywhere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
But then his eyes
went to Neptune and in place of a merman god
with a trident, it showed a pharaoh with skin as black as coal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Nylarthotep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
Zach Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08188373296321506021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088873945002427056.post-32590728634215519372012-09-20T16:11:00.003-07:002012-09-20T16:11:55.951-07:00Chapter 13<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen sat back
on the bed and leaned against the wall as the movie played.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her friends were taking everything that had
happened much better than expected, but she wished they hadn’t had to
experience it in the first place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She wondered if
her being near them put them in danger as well or if her presence saved them
from a destruction they were heading towards on their own.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
David was watching
the old moving and smiling.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was
clearly enjoying it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was not at all
like the outsiders from high school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
was how she had always wanted people to be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He accepted her, didn’t mock her and even liked her different ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was certainly far more handsome than the
men from Innsmouth.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
If they could even
be called men.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The “Innsmouth look”
wasn’t just a simple genetic trait from a small gene pool.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even her father was transforming and preparing
to return to the sea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d9U8dIKVl6U/UFud2gI4VUI/AAAAAAAABYg/7uXHT1urKis/s1600/innsmouth+portrait+fishy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-d9U8dIKVl6U/UFud2gI4VUI/AAAAAAAABYg/7uXHT1urKis/s320/innsmouth+portrait+fishy.jpg" width="181" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She would never do
that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She would remain human until the
day she died.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
There was
something more than just David’s kindness and attractiveness and it wasn’t
something she could understand exactly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Whatever it was, she liked being around him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His presence made her happy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
But would he be
safer if he wasn’t around her?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth had fallen
asleep with an empty bottle of Mountain Dew in her hand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Did you like
shooting today?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David asked in a
whisper. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yes, very much
so.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m glad. If
there are more…horrible creatures out there, maybe you should carry something
and learn to use it.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I do want
something.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She knew her
powers were weak compared to many of the threats that existed in this and other
universes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Maybe this week
I’ll take you to a gun store and help you pick something out.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’d like
that.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
When the movie
ended they went their separate ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
walked off to his apartment across the way and she began walking to her
dorm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Even at night the
campus felt alive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the distance she’d
see a room with a light on and loud music playing from it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A car would pass by with shouting
students.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen liked to
walk over the green.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At night dew would
collect on the thick grass and sparkle from the nearby streetlamps.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hHjiodAnJJ4/UFueTWAjgjI/AAAAAAAABYo/LtQhPT7VXiI/s1600/park_at_night1_sm.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hHjiodAnJJ4/UFueTWAjgjI/AAAAAAAABYo/LtQhPT7VXiI/s320/park_at_night1_sm.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Then she noticed a
man was following her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was walking a
good distance behind her but he was walking fast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When she looked behind her she saw that he
was looking right at her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He wore a
football jacket and looked to be about twice her weight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She sped up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was something wrong about this
situation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whatever the man wanted, she
wanted nothing to do with it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She didn’t
want trouble. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Images of him
strangling her entered her mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
hoped it was her own imagination and not something else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Others in her family had had precognitive
dreams and visions.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She never had before
but she didn’t want this to be her first.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She had never
touched a man before and felt that this was exactly what this football player
wanted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had seen copulation during
the ceremonies and it held no mystery for her, but it also didn’t hold any
charm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Still, she knew what horrors
could be caused by such activities. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Hey, I’m
lost!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can you tell me where Laynard Street
is?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The man called out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“No, sorry,” she
called back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Come on, I just
want to talk.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
His voice sounded
closer and when she looked back she saw that he was now jogging to catch
up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Leave me alone,”
she said and began jogging as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You running from
me, bitch?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Then she heard the
pounding footsteps of running and without looking back she began to run as
well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She was a great
swimmer and her legs were in shape, but somehow that had never translated to
running and she was usually one of the slowest in gym class.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> She always felt sluggish on land.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Her blood was surging
and her lungs were struggling to keep the oxygen going.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How did this happen?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why would this man want to hurt her?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Thoughts of dying
flashed through her mind as she ran.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
couldn’t die here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’d use every power
she had.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But she also didn’t want to
hurt the man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She knew ‘normal’ people
didn’t want to hurt others and she wanted to be like that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Also, if she did
something unnatural to him that could lead to questions and attention, neither
was something she wanted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
For his own sake,
she hoped she could outrun him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Suddenly the
footsteps sounded right behind her and she felt powerful hands grab her
shoulder.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instantly she felt herself
slam into the wet grass and the air knocked out of her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Stop
running!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The man said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He was now on top
of her, straddling her stomach and holding her arms down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Then she realized
she had a problem.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her hands couldn’t
touch him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had no contact with her
skin at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She suddenly wished she
didn’t have her jacket on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
paralyzing spell required her to touch him and she didn’t know how to cast it
at a distance yet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She was a lousy
future High Priestess of Dagon. (Not that she’d ever become that if she had a
choice.)<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Her mind began
frantically searching for a spell that could stop him without killing him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Why’d you
run?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Huh?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Afraid of what a real man can do?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I bet you aint never had it before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m going to show you a good time,” he said
with breath that reeked of liquor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He bent down and
licked her check.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her stomach heaved as
everything he implied rushed through her mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There was something else as well, something vaguely familiar about all
this, like she had been here before, only it was dark and wet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Something much worse than this drunken
man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UV8q-EVNLKo/UFuggrhQQ4I/AAAAAAAABYw/VEujaOAO_Ds/s1600/Dark_cave.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UV8q-EVNLKo/UFuggrhQQ4I/AAAAAAAABYw/VEujaOAO_Ds/s320/Dark_cave.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
What?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Where did all that come from?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She momentarily forgot the man on top of her
as she tried in vain to recall what had just entered her mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He began kissing
her neck and talking about things she didn’t understand but knew were bad.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Her legs tried to
get into position to kick him off but he was too high up on her stomach,
squeezing the breath out of her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her two
arms were no match for his one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had
her pinned and she wasn’t going anywhere.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She just had to wait for an opening to touch him and use her paralyses
spell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
It was a spell
normally used to keep sacrificial victims in place: not one she had ever
thought she’d need.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So she wasn’t
proficient with it enough to cast it at a distance or say it silently.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Then his hand came
up her shirt and began feeling her stomach.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Nausea almost overcame her as his intentions became clearer.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Get off of
me!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She yelled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
His hand came up
and began chocking her. It was so sudden and so powerful that she could barely
think.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her free arm useless hit him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Stars began to dance in her vision.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He would choke her
to death or worse, leave her alive.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She couldn’t stop
him without harming him and if she didn’t do something immediately she wouldn’t
be able to do anything at all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The only thing her
weakening mind could think of was a spell her father had personally trained her
to do: Leech Life, the Tchu’unku life draining curse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Her free hand
grabbed his head and in her mind she said the words that were older than the
earth itself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The man went rigid
and his eyes went wide.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A gasp escaped
his mouth as she felt his life force poring into her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was warm, almost burning but she held
on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some used it to prolong their life
well beyond what was natural. She had never planned to use it. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
As he let go of
her neck she gasped for breath and her mind cleared.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If she let him live, he’d know what she could
do and she couldn’t allow that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now that
she had started it, she was committed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So,
she hung on until the end.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
As the last of the
man’s life force drained into her, she let go and crawled out from under
him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She was panting
and her heart was racing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
That vile
fiend.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What sort of man would try to do
that to a woman?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Scoundrel! </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She kicked him in
the head and then kicked him again.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
As she ran back to
her dorm she felt tears running down her cheeks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was shaking by the time she got the keys
into the lock.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
It wasn’t just
what the man had tried.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was something
else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For the first time she felt
memories that she didn’t know existed hidden away in the deep areas of her
mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
What’s wrong with
me? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She didn’t sleep
at all that night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the morning she
was sitting in her bed with her knees tucked under her chin.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had tried to dig up the memories and see
what was hidden there, but the harder she dug the further the memories seemed. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
There was a knock
at the door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It startled her from her
thoughts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Gretch?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You in there?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth’s voice said through the door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She wanted to call
out but she didn’t think she’d be able to maintain her composure.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She felt her checks.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were still wet.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Something was very wrong with her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If Beth saw her like this she’d worry and ask
all manner of questions that she didn’t know the answers to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
So she sat there
until Beth eventually gave up and left.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She felt bad for that but didn’t have a choice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She got up after a
while and took a shower.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A good shower
or bath always seemed to calm her down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She changed into some of her new clothes and looked at herself in the
mirror.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qZjD4zuWXNw/UFuhbtUmYmI/AAAAAAAABY4/3czqxx9WVfM/s1600/Simple-bathroom-photos.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-qZjD4zuWXNw/UFuhbtUmYmI/AAAAAAAABY4/3czqxx9WVfM/s320/Simple-bathroom-photos.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She seldom spent
such time on vanity, but right now she needed something happy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Her “Black
Sabbath” T-shirt looked good as did her knee length skirt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her parents would be very upset if they saw
her wearing such a short skirt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But her
new boots came up to her knees anyway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She was dressed
like an outsid…a normal person but she didn’t look like a normal person.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was far paler than anyone else she’d seen
and no one else had such white hair and silver eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No matter how she dressed it up, she’d always
be a “freak.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
But for the first
time in her life, she didn’t think that that was such a bad thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Mentally prepared
and dressed up, she left her apartment and walked to Beth’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth answered the
door with her hair looking like a mess. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“There you are,
Gretch!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Come in, I need your help.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth dragged her
into the bathroom where a thick, chemical smell almost made her gag.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m trying to dye
my hair pink and its not working like I planned.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen was glad
to do something normal for a change.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
took most of the morning to get Beth’s hair how she wanted it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the end they were both looking in the
mirror.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Not bad,” Beth
said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I like it.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What about you?
You want a new color?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen ran her
hand through her long hair and thought about it for a moment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“No, I like my
hair as it is.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Good for
you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I do too.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
They put on their
coats and began walking to the cafeteria for lunch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On Sunday, few people got up early enough for
breakfast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You ever go to
church?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Church?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Well, were your
parents strict?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Were they Bible
thumpers?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Oh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re not Christian.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“That’s
right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You were some kind of... never
mind.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Some what?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I don’t
know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My mouth is faster than my
mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I just remembered that they were
some kind of fanatics, right?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“They are
fanatics, yes.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Sorry.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I hope you never
have to meet them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are not pleasant
people.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
I thought my
family had problems.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“My whole town is
of the same religion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t ever go to
Innsmouth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Promise me.” </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EERH7CA4I38/UFuh50UD6vI/AAAAAAAABZA/4RueJ0YGSvE/s1600/Innsmouth_Reef_Version_1__by_Gato_Chico.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EERH7CA4I38/UFuh50UD6vI/AAAAAAAABZA/4RueJ0YGSvE/s320/Innsmouth_Reef_Version_1__by_Gato_Chico.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Okay, I
promise.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That would do for now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
At the cafeteria
Gretchen avoided the fish sandwich and made herself a ham sandwich
instead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just the smell of the fish made
her think back to Innsmouth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
remembered the cave off by the reef where her father made her watch them
sacrifice an outsider. Her first time had been when she was only seven years
old.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Every year would be another
sacrifice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The murmuring of
the people in the cafeteria recalled in her mind the low chanting of the
priests of Dagon</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You seem
different today,” Beth said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Oh?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yeah, more
pensive, like something’s bothering you.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Nothing’s
bothering me.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Gretch, you’re
the worst liar I’ve ever met.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“It’s nothing I
know how to explain at the moment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Don’t
worry about me.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Everything was
bothering her. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Then one of Beth’s
friends, the skinny one with glasses, came up to their table. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Hey, did you hear
the news?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The girl asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What news?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“They found Todd
Nealson’s body out on the commons last night.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen looked
down at her plate and didn’t look up. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What
happened?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth asked. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Don’t know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Heart attack they think.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Possible drug overdose.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“More drug
overdoses?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s going around
lately.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I know, right?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
"Maybe we need McGruff to come to campus." </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
When the girl with
glasses finally left she could feel Beth’s eyes boring into her downturned
head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Gretch?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen looked
up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Instead of accusing and judgmental
eyes, she saw concern and kindness.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“He was following
me,” Gretchen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It came out as a
whisper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth leaned
forward.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What happened?” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“He followed me
and threw me to the ground.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was on
top of me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t know what else to
do.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You zapped him?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Zap?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t know, but I used the only spell I
could think of.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I didn’t want to kill
him but he was going to…”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“He deserved it,
Gretch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You did the right thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s better to defend yourself than be a
victim.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My father taught me how to defend myself and<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I always keep a can of pepper
spray in my purse.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth moved over to
sit beside her and put an arm around her shoulders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Its okay,
Gretch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’re safe.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
No, she
wasn’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was far from safe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>None of them were safe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If it wasn’t a drunk student or cultists now,
it would be something horrible later on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They were all eventually doomed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Cthulhu will rise out of his watery grave.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yog Soggoth will take notice of Earth and
mindlessly devour all souls on it or any number of powerful gods will wipeout
mankind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whatever happened, mankind was
doomed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0uaDJWLr8zI/UFuirGA7-RI/AAAAAAAABZI/Q662WKBbXZM/s1600/CTHULHU_by_reau.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-0uaDJWLr8zI/UFuirGA7-RI/AAAAAAAABZI/Q662WKBbXZM/s320/CTHULHU_by_reau.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
They were a tiny
speck on the timeline of the universe and nothing they did could change
that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Come on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let’s go get some snacks, watch Pride and
Prejudice and chill for the entire day.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Very well.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth did most of
the talking as they walked to her place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Yet something
still nagged at the back of her mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Something wasn’t right. In fact, something was terribly wrong and she
couldn’t figure out what it was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The air
on campus felt different, colder, less energy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Something was
brewing and was at a loss for what it could possibly be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
Zach Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08188373296321506021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088873945002427056.post-81911682576591454522012-09-19T16:23:00.002-07:002012-09-19T16:23:43.304-07:00Chapter 12<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth woke up on
Saturday morning and walked out into her living room to find Gretchen asleep on
her couch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It took her a moment to
remember why.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Oh, that’s right,
just the most freaking craziest, horrible night she had ever had.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even now her mind kept telling her that it
had all just been some messed up dream.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There was just no way any of that was real.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Some people said
the same thing about shadow demons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Who was
Gretchen?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She knew way too much about
all this crap and at the end she had launched some kind of Chun Li energy ball
at Bruce.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_MUy2QCI0gA/UFpQ7BRKjxI/AAAAAAAABXQ/ItrtvxS6FYY/s1600/Chun+li.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-_MUy2QCI0gA/UFpQ7BRKjxI/AAAAAAAABXQ/ItrtvxS6FYY/s320/Chun+li.jpg" width="210" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Apparently her new
best friend was a witch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had wanted
a unique friend and she got what she asked for.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Now if only the uniqueness wasn’t so dangerous it would be perfect. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Hey, wake
up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m bored,” Beth said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She shook Gretchen
awake with both hands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen scowled
and wrinkled her nose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She looked paler
than usual but maybe it was just the harsh lighting in her apartment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What time is
it?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen mumbled.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Time to get
up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s Saturday…around noonish.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen sat up,
still without opening her eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“It’s too early,”
Gretch said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth opened up her
laptop on the kitchen table and went to the school’s news web site.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Three students
found dead in Old Theater.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Suspected
overdose,” the headline said at the top of the page.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Gretch!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Take a look at this!”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She waved her over
and Gretchen reluctantly stumbled over to the table.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She squinted at the screen for a bit and then
shrugged.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I didn’t imagine
that they’d live through such close contact with a being of Hastur’s
power.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And if they had survived, their
minds would not have been intact.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They
would have been driven mad.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“That’s a pleasant
thought.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Would you rather
I lie to you?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m not sure
anymore.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth didn’t like
where this train of thought was going so she went into the bathroom to take a
shower.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Hey, Gretch!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What time we going shooting today? Kinda
late, right?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Coulda used that skill last
night.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“At three, I
believe.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Perfect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That gives us time to take you clothes
shopping.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You seriously need an update.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You dress like a goth Mennonite.”</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SoyHVj_-_68/UFpRRw_VAYI/AAAAAAAABXY/zZyA_Kajdso/s1600/american+gothic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SoyHVj_-_68/UFpRRw_VAYI/AAAAAAAABXY/zZyA_Kajdso/s1600/american+gothic.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What’s a
Mennonite?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Never mind.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She let Gretchen
take a shower after her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was
standing in the bathroom wearing nothing but a towel and thought that perhaps
this was her chance at seduction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But Gretchen
didn’t even seem to notice her near nudity. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Shame. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
But when she tried
to think of anything seductive, it just wouldn’t work.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She looked at Gretchen and there was no
spark.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Apparently she was
totally straight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Who knew?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That would make for a less adventurous
college experience.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Oh well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe she’d try again when she was really,
really drunk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Or maybe seeing
the craziest shit she’d ever seen in her life kinda made her lose her appetite
for a while. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Once they were
both ready to go, they walked across campus and into town.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Fortunately most of the good stuff was along Main Street which
was just a block away from the school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was an old New England town with
lots of brick buildings and wooden signs hanging from iron posts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were college stores filled with
sweatshirts with MU’s logo but she led them past all of that normal, boring
crap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bugLsp8le1Q/UFpRjG6w9yI/AAAAAAAABXg/72YtfaQNB-0/s1600/miskatonic_university_tshirt-p235052065483782223adw40_325.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-bugLsp8le1Q/UFpRjG6w9yI/AAAAAAAABXg/72YtfaQNB-0/s320/miskatonic_university_tshirt-p235052065483782223adw40_325.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Then she found the
store she had heard about.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Here we are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I think you’ll like this place.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
It was a small,
hole in the wall, heavy metal, goth fashion and music store.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had found it on line before actually
coming to MU.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
When they went
through the wood and glass door it set off a little brass bell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The girl behind the counter with the green
Mohawk and ‘Ramones’ shirt looked up and then back down to the book she was
reading.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The cover said “As
I Lay Dying.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
There was a wall
of clothing including black skirts of all lengths, pants with more buckles than
was necessary, awesome combat boots and band shirts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Tool!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She pointed to the
wall where the band shirts were hanging.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You like Tool?”
Beth asked.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I love them.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
They walked over
and began shopping.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen was quick
to decide which band shirts she wanted.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Tool, Rob Zombie, Birthday Massacre, Flyleaf and 10 Years.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-py4eJbyq_-Q/UFpR_MIqbKI/AAAAAAAABXo/QeMnLQJHwYw/s1600/10_years_division.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="289" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-py4eJbyq_-Q/UFpR_MIqbKI/AAAAAAAABXo/QeMnLQJHwYw/s320/10_years_division.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
This chick was
loaded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her family, despite being obviously
weird, was rolling in Benjamins.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Now you have to
try the skirts on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Believe me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What looks like a skirt that will fit will
turn out to be several sizes too small or too large,” Beth said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The first skirt
Gretch tried on was a black, pleated, knee length one with detachable
suspenders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She came out of the changing
room and Beth saw Gretchen’s white legs between the top of her boots and the
bottom of the skirt.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had shapely
legs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You look badass,”
Beth said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“That’s good,
right?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yeah, that’s
awesome.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretch didn’t
smile but she nodded instead.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
After picking out
several more outfits, they loaded it all in bags and Gretchen paid with
cash.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She didn’t even bother looking at
how much and just handed the clerk two, hundred dollar bills. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
They left the
store with Gretchen wearing some of her new purchases.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She definitely looked better and less like a
religious zealot. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You got nice
legs, Gretch.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Thank you.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You get them from
swimming?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I believe so.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Maybe I should
take up swimming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can’t stand sports
though.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But I guess I could do
swimming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, maybe not in
competition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t want hundreds of
people looking at me in a swimsuit.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“It is
uncomfortable.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Then she almost
bumped into a man in front of her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Oh! Excuse me,”
she said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The man had a bald
head with a beard and thin glasses.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
wore a brown, tweed suit and carried a bunch of books under his arm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His elbows actually had those leather pads on
them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She thought that was just a made
up cliché, but this guy actually had them.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UhHG2TFtUrs/UFpSeq4R6-I/AAAAAAAABXw/fbj14iWePAM/s1600/tweed+jacket.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UhHG2TFtUrs/UFpSeq4R6-I/AAAAAAAABXw/fbj14iWePAM/s1600/tweed+jacket.JPG" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“In the future you
should watch wear you’re going,” the man said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Sorry about that.
I’m kinda absent minded.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Then I’m glad
that you’re not one of my students.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Rude.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Are you a
professor at the University?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen
asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“New York University.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Visiting?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The man scowled
and adjusted his glasses. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m giving a
lecture Monday evening.” Then he leaned in forward and looked at them in
turn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I have a feeling that the two of
you would be interested in my topic.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Finding directions
in Miskotonic?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“The usage of
advanced astronomy amongst the secret cults of the Roman
Empire.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He looked right at
Gretch as he spoke.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretch held his
gaze but said nothing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The man smiled
and walked off without another word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Who was that
guy?” Beth asked.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I don’t know, but
I believe he knows something about the events of last night.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth watched the
professor walk off until he was out of sight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She didn’t have crazy witch powers like Gretch, but she felt that
something was wrong about the man.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
At three David
picked them up with his cool black car and she called shotgun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You all ready for
an educational experience?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I know I am,”
Beth said.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Gretch, you
look…very nice,” he said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Doesn’t she?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I took her shopping and I think I did
alright.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You did more than
alright,” David said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth suddenly
wished that she had done less than stellar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Next time she’d buy her a purple moo moo or something. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cMqq0K_Acxw/UFpTABlg_uI/AAAAAAAABX4/7NCARl1HNVw/s1600/moo+moo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cMqq0K_Acxw/UFpTABlg_uI/AAAAAAAABX4/7NCARl1HNVw/s1600/moo+moo.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
They drove through
the quiet town to a little place just outside where they had an outdoor range
that was free.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I am ready,”
Gretchen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“This is going to
be cool.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve shot my dad’s AR-15 a few
times when I was a kid, but it’s been a while,” Beth said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Gretch, do you
even need a gun?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I mean, you can shoot
the anime fire ball, right?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“That is not
something I can repeat.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen looked
away and out the window.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Oh, well, at
least this will be fun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What are we
shooting today?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I have a 1911,
Glock 23, AK-47, and a PS90.”</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-byI6nMaaeYA/UFpTP5Tq9yI/AAAAAAAABYA/rrBRaSOnVg8/s1600/PS90.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="106" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-byI6nMaaeYA/UFpTP5Tq9yI/AAAAAAAABYA/rrBRaSOnVg8/s320/PS90.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Cool.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I really don’t know what those are except the
AK, but sounds cool.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
And after last
night she really wanted to learn to shoot.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If they were going to find any more demon worshiping weirdoes then she
wanted to know how to protect herself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The can of mace in her purse just wasn’t going to cut it. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The place was
nestled in the notch between two hills and had a tin roof over all the shooting
benches and the rules posted on a splintering wooden sign.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No one else was there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She didn’t want an audience when she was about to show her ignorance. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
David handed them
each a pair of safety goggles and earmuffs. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“We’ll start off
with safety.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t want any of you
blowing your own foot off or more importantly, my foot.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He went over the
basics of firearm safety and she tried to remember it all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had to look good doing this. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
They started off
with the handguns which it turned out, she couldn’t hit the broadside of a
barn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had to walk her through it
several times before she started hitting somewhere near the center of the paper
target.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Now your turn
Gretchen,” David said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen walked up
to the bench and looked down at the 1911 a moment before picking it up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her cold, unreadable eyes showed no emotion
and Beth tried to ignore the creepy vibe Gretch gave off sometimes. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The pistol looked
gigantic in Gretchen’s skinny hands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
then she aimed it like she had been taught and fired.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She seemed startled by the noise and recoil
and if she hadn’t been in the proper stance that he’d shown them she probably
would have fallen over.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Too much
recoil?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He stepped closer
but Gretchen waved him off.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“It’s
alright.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I can handle it,” she said.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen readied
herself again and took aim.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This time
when she fired she blasted off several shots in a row.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her shot group was easily half the size of
Beth’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Nice shooting,”
David said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I enjoyed that,”
Gretchen said with that faint smile of hers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But her smile was like an iceburg.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>If a smile showed it was because there was a lot of happiness beneath
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen’s happiness
was almost enough to compensate for showing her up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Almost. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen did the
same with the PS90 and the AK.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was a
natural.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>More than a natural.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>While Beth struggled to tighten her shot
groups, Gretchen made it look like she’d been shooting all her life.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
After an afternoon
of shooting David claimed that it was tradition to get something to eat and if
he was paying she wouldn’t argue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What was your
favorite?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David asked over a hamburger.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“The PS90,” Beth
said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“Without hesitation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No recoil and it holds a lot of bullets so I
have a lot of room to mess up.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“A great
anti-zombie weapon as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretch?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“The AK.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I like its power and simplicity.” </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-20xeGel1-HE/UFpT7zdopJI/AAAAAAAABYI/8HIoWANeltQ/s1600/AK.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-20xeGel1-HE/UFpT7zdopJI/AAAAAAAABYI/8HIoWANeltQ/s320/AK.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Oh!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Very good answer.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I believe I might
have to purchase one for myself.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Even David seemed
surprised at this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The chick had doe to
spare but just casually buying an AK was still a little out of the ordinary for
her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“And a 1911.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I enjoyed that one as well,” Gretchen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You’re looking at
eight, nine hundred dollars, you know,” David said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Okay,” Gretch
said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She took a bite of
her burger as if nothing was unusual.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
After dinner they
went to her place and began a movie marathon starting with “Equilibrium” with
Christian Bale and Sean Bean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She was going to
marry Sean Bean one day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
After the movie
she took out the 2 liter of Mountain Dew and opened up her DVD case to look for
another movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She looked over at
David and Gretchen as they quietly talked about professors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
This was all very
surreal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just last night they were
fighting through a nightmare.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Gretchen?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is that King in Yellow going to come
back?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen looked up
at her with those round, silver eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Only if someone
brings him here.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“How likely is
that?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Not likely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The book disappeared along with the
body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t think the University has
another copy.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“But there are
other things out there, right?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yes and they’re
more dangerous than the King in Yellow.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Like who?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen looked
around at the floor before answering. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“We shouldn’t speak
their names too often.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But Cthulhu might
rise again one day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If that happens it
is the end.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“And how likely is
that?” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Inevitable.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You can lie to me
once in a while, you know?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
An undeniable
feeling of hopelessness crept up her spin and chilled her to the core.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was seeing a world she never knew existed
and it was horrible.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen didn’t
say anything more and her silence was unnerving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
Zach Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08188373296321506021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088873945002427056.post-59617335352913752422012-09-18T16:49:00.000-07:002012-09-18T16:49:13.323-07:00Chapter 11<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen <br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen ran to
the door of the theater turned the handle. Locked. She waved her
hand, said the incantation and the door opened. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Quickly!” She
said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
David was the
first through and he pulled out a large pistol. They were in the
theater’s lobby with its cracked marble tile floor and old fashioned ticket
booth. There were stairs on each side of the three main doors that led up
to the balconies. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Already she could
feel the energy in the air twisting reality and distorting her
equilibrium. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
A strange chanting
was coming from the theater and she didn’t recognize the language. It
wasn’t the corrupted Atlantean of Dagon and Cthulhu worshipers. It was
something else, something alien and unnatural. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LzZeHKKaepg/UFkD4FGL64I/AAAAAAAABWI/ch9zhElNzzY/s1600/Dagon.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-LzZeHKKaepg/UFkD4FGL64I/AAAAAAAABWI/ch9zhElNzzY/s1600/Dagon.jpeg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
David reached the
double doors first and yanked it open. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
At the far side of
the theater were the students dressed in yellow robes. They were kneeling
and standing in the middle of them was what looked like an unnaturally tall
scarecrow dressed in yellow rags. Or rather, it was yellow rags.
There was no possibly way a human being was inside it. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen wasn’t
afraid of much, but she was afraid now. That thing on the stage was far more
powerful than anything she had ever witnessed before and she suddenly felt
weak.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
It was the avatar
of the King in Yellow. Hastur himself had come. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6E6Cpo3RrS4/UFkEBfALQpI/AAAAAAAABWQ/tpJ2F3XBZuM/s1600/KingInYellow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-6E6Cpo3RrS4/UFkEBfALQpI/AAAAAAAABWQ/tpJ2F3XBZuM/s320/KingInYellow.jpg" width="296" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
They charged in
and the students turned to look at them. All but one of them had vacant,
mindless expressions. The one that maintained his lucidity had a
grotesque smile of pleasure on his face, like ha had just done the most
wonderful thing in the world. He was tall and handsome in a way the outsiders
considered handsome, like someone from one of their television programs.
In his hands was the book “the King in Yellow.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The idiot probably
had no idea what he was dealing with. Such ignorance mixed with arrogance
was disgusting and dangerous. She hated it.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The hooded, yellow
figure in the middle raised its head. The hood was low and deep and she
couldn’t get a look at what was underneath. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Then she noticed
that the yellow figure was floating a foot above the stage. Mad piping
music began to play so loudly that they all had to cover their ears. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen began
chanting a spell of protection but her words were drowned out by the insane
pipe music and the chanting which was coming from an unseen and inhuman choir. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Worthless
priestess of Dagon, you have no power here,” a scratchy, whispered voice spoke
in her mind. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The voice felt
sick and unhealthy in her brain. She didn’t want to ever hear that voice
again. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
David raised his
pistol and fired. The student leader jerked back as the bullet struck his
shoulder and he fell over and dropped the book he had been holding. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Oz9MEplR7ug/UFkEk4B6GLI/AAAAAAAABWY/7T3yM3Gcps8/s1600/1911.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Oz9MEplR7ug/UFkEk4B6GLI/AAAAAAAABWY/7T3yM3Gcps8/s1600/1911.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Suddenly the
chanting stopped and the inhumanly tall King in Yellow floated backwards and
disappeared. The mad piping music continued but the students all fell to
the ground as if unconscious. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Get the
book!” Gretchen shouted over the music. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Both Beth and
David charged forward while she tried to shout her spell loud enough to be
heard. She shouted as loud as she could in order to protect her friends. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The student who
she guessed had tricked the others, stood up clutching his shoulder and the book.
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“It’s too
late. The spell has started and our world is becoming his world.
Soon the King in Yellow will have dominion over this land.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
As soon as he
finished speaking he bolted behind the curtains of the stage. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“There’s a back
door!” Beth shouted out. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She couldn’t
respond because she was trying to get her spell to work but she nodded and
hurried out the front door while the others chased after the leader. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She hated seeing
David go off without her.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
When she emerged
outside she saw that something was dreadfully wrong. The sky was darker
and instead of the sun there was a misshapen purple moon with impossibly tall,
twisting spires that could be seen from Earth. It was the phantom city of Yhtill: the dread,
deathly mirror world of the real one. The clouds were thin and wispy and
there was a faint fog covering the ground. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IujIVe0uYkI/UFkF4qAhNlI/AAAAAAAABWg/0aFCdSrcFP8/s1600/fantasy-moon_00349290.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="210" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IujIVe0uYkI/UFkF4qAhNlI/AAAAAAAABWg/0aFCdSrcFP8/s320/fantasy-moon_00349290.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She stood there,
shocked. She knew what this was. She had read about it in her
unholy books. The realm of Hastur was merging with the material
universe. Right now they were in an in-between place that was not
entirely either. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
All her life she
had read about such things and now, against every wish, she was witnessing them
with her natural eyes.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
David and Beth ran
up behind her. Beth was out of breath. It felt good just to see
them. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What the hell’s
going on?” Beth asked. Her eyes were glued to the misshapen moon
above. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“We have to get
that book and stop this,” Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Did you see where
he went?” David asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I did not.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
David threw his
hands up. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Wonderful!
Now we’re screwed!” He said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“We need to find
him. He no longer has his cult so he needs a place of power,” Gretchen
said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What the hell is
that supposed to mean?” Beth asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Did these
outsiders know absolutely nothing of the world around them?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“A place of
power. A ley line convergence or maybe a place where there had been many
deaths or an ancient source of running water, a desecrated holy shrine.
Is there anything like that around campus?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I heard there was
a murder a few years ago in one of the dorm rooms…or was it a suicide?”
Beth said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Not
sufficient. One death won’t do it. It had to be many,” Gretchen
said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“There were witch
trials here in the early 1700,s,” David said. “I was thinking of doing a
history paper on it.” </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CBx_d3pazq8/UFkGQd2M5zI/AAAAAAAABWo/y0V0AwOd8v4/s1600/witch+trials.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-CBx_d3pazq8/UFkGQd2M5zI/AAAAAAAABWo/y0V0AwOd8v4/s320/witch+trials.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Perfect. Where
were the executions?” Gretchen asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Hold on…let me
remember.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She wanted to tell
him to hurry but she resisted. Telling him wouldn’t make him go faster
and could in fact cause the opposite effect. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I think the
executions were in front of the main building,” David said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“On the
commons?” Beth asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yeah, I think
there’s a plaque marking the spot.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Then we run,”
Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
They all took off
running with David in the lead. He ran faster and she soon found herself
falling behind him. Beth was even slower and was coming in last. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
As they ran the
piping music grew fainter and she began chanting her spell again, though she
didn’t know what good it would do if the handsome man completed his ritual and
brought in the King in Yellow. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She was surprised
that she didn’t see any students anywhere. They must not have been pulled
into this nightmare world. She was glad that they were spared this
horror.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Then she heard a
sound that froze her blood. In the distance floated the trumpeting sound
of Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She almost stopped
running. She knew that sound. When she was a little girl, before
her sister had been born, her father had taken her to the ancient reef where
the people of Innsmouth consorted with the Deep Ones. He said he had made
some kind of pact and that his masters had sent a Shoggoth to protect him. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Shoggoths had been
almost unstoppable servants of the Old Ones but had turned against their
masters. The amophorous mass of bioactivity could alter its form to do
whatever task it was assigned. She knew of no way to stop or even slow
down a Shoggoth. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1IHxQ_DI-mg/UFkGqHazxNI/AAAAAAAABWw/X_K-VRAfxkQ/s1600/Shoggoth+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-1IHxQ_DI-mg/UFkGqHazxNI/AAAAAAAABWw/X_K-VRAfxkQ/s1600/Shoggoth+2.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The ‘tekeli-li,
tekeli-li’ hooting was growing closer. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Run!” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
They must have
heard the fear in her voice because they both began to run a little
faster. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
They came around
the corner of the gym and came onto the commons. The mist covered grassy
field spread out before them but in the middle of the field was a very tall and
twisted white tree with no leaves. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
That tree had
never been there before. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
As they approached
it several round and red eyes with hourglass shaped irises opened up along the
trunk. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Don’t look at
it!” Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She didn’t know
what it was be she knew that unprepared minds couldn’t cope with the insanity
inducing demons of the other worlds. Whatever is was she wasn’t going to
risk losing her friends to it. She cared about them too much to lose them
now. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
On the far side of
the field was the cult leader. He was slumped over a historical marker
and was reading aloud from the book. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The sky above them
began to grow darker as the clouds and the blue sky began to fade away.
Stars with unrecognizable constellations began appearing and it seemed as if
the purple moon was growing larger. The air around the cultist was
distorted in a sphere. He was protecting himself somehow.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“He’s too far away
for a shot!” David said as he continued to run. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen had to
distract the cultist to give David time to make his shot and get rid of
whatever protection he had. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She decided on
Cacophonic Burst, a spell that her father had never really taught her properly
but she had learned on her own. He said it was too dangerous for an
amateur and he was right. If she made one slight mistake the spell would
turn on her and tear her molecules apart. If she did it right…she
wasn’t quite sure but she knew it was destructive. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She stopped
running and began chanting the spell. As the power of her words began to
fold around her like a heavy smoke she could feel its power begin to crush
her. The deeper into the spell she went the more she felt the
danger. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She was losing and
the spell would destroy her long before she finished it, yet if she stopped it
would destroy her all the same. Once started it could only be
completed. In a way it was similar to the spell the cultist was
performing, though on a smaller scale. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She wasn’t strong
enough for this spell and she knew it. She felt her death approaching and
for the first time realized that she did not welcome it. She no longer
felt at ease with the thought of dying. She was starting to enjoy this
world and didn’t want to leave it. She didn’t want to leave her friends. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Maintaining her
concentration she took out her knife, the golden curved knife her father had
given her, and began cutting ritual marks in her forearm. The spells
inscribed in blood would give her the power she needed. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Already she could
feel the dark magic surge through her and before she knew it, the spell was
ready. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen pointed
at the cultist and said the final word. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The air around the
cultist exploded in unnatural lights and colors and the cultist cried out in
pain as his left arm disintegrated as if made of ash. He fell down but he
continued to read aloud from the book. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0V-RFRcNMfg/UFkIVNLerxI/AAAAAAAABW4/pILia1ioOrs/s1600/Light_Burst___Black_by_bakadeshoo.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0V-RFRcNMfg/UFkIVNLerxI/AAAAAAAABW4/pILia1ioOrs/s320/Light_Burst___Black_by_bakadeshoo.png" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
But David was
there now. He raised his black pistol and took aim. She could see
his aura burning red and blue as he concentrated. Beth had a blue and
green aura that was growing stronger by the second. In fact, everything
around them began to give off aura lights, light that was being pulled toward the
purple moon and its deathly city.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Then David fired
and for a split second that was stretched out to a near infinite time span by
the warped physics of the in-between world, she watched the brass casing
spiraling into the sky like metallic bird. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The bullet struck
the cultist in the side of the head and the entire side of his cranium exploded
out in a burst of blood and skull fragments. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The air around
them began to shake as the power of the play burst open. Reality came
rushing in and suddenly they found themselves in the empty commons with blue
sky, chatting students and no sign of the cultist or anything abnormal. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The body was
gone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The demon tree was gone and the
purple moon was gone.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen stood
there with her arm bleeding and breathing hard. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
David quickly and
stealthily put his gun back in his holster and walked over to where she and
Beth stood. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You two
alright?” He asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth had wild,
almost frantic eyes. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What was all
that?” Beth asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I can explain
everything, but first I desire something to eat,” Gretchen said.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He walked them to
where he had parked and they passed the old theater.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Campus security was already there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were on their cell phones calling the
police and the dean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A small crowd was
gathering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
None of them said
a word and continued on to his car.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
David drove them
to the cheap, greasy, pizzeria and they sat down. Gretchen didn’t start
her explanation, as incomplete as it was, until they started eating. It
took three hours and several refills of Mountain Dew before she finished
explaining. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
It was hard to
explain some things without delving too deep into things they didn’t know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She gave them an incomplete picture at best
but they seemed satisfied with her answers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Satisfied wasn’t
the right word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As Beth would say, their
minds were blown. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She sat there with
a full stomach and the realization that she had just lived through something
that could have been more terrible than anything she could imagine. She
was capable of imagining quite terrible things. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Her friends were
alive and tomorrow as Saturday. Good. She needed to rest and
Saturdays were good for that. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You saved us,
Gretch,” Beth said and hugged her tightly. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Hey, I shot the
dude,” David said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yes, you did.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth leaned over
and gave David a quick kiss on the cheek. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen didn’t
like Beth kissing David at all. <br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Not one bit.
<br />
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
After leaving the
pizzeria she walked Beth back to her apartment. She was very tired and
her arm hurt from the shallow cuts she had given herself. Her head also
hurt from the dark powers she had used. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
It had been
foolish to even attempt such a spell but she had been left with no other
choice. Now that she had a clear, rational mind to look back on it, she
wondered if she had gone insane. No rational witch would have done such a
thing.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Would you spend
the night? I really don’t want to be left alone right now,” Beth said</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She opened her
apartment door and waited for her answer. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Very well.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
In truth, Gretchen
didn’t want to be alone either. There was comfort in company and she
needed comfort. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She slept on the
couch and hoped that today’s activity hadn’t drawn the attention of any other
dark and ancient power. <br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
<br style="mso-special-character: line-break;" />
</div>
Zach Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08188373296321506021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088873945002427056.post-80252326717684422432012-09-13T17:14:00.000-07:002012-09-13T17:14:01.467-07:00Chapter 10<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
David </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
David sat there
and listened to Gretchen explain what she saw.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Coming from
anyone else I’d have to say that they were crazy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Coming from you and it sounds perfectly
rational,” David said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Wait…they’re not
doing a play, but some kind of ritual?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>What kind of ritual?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I don’t
know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’ve heard of the play, ‘the King
in Yellow,’ but I don’t know much about it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I know enough to know that it’s dangerous.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“How do you know
this?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I didn’t have
what you’d call a traditional upbringing.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Who did?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Mine was even
less traditional.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I promise you that.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
David couldn’t
argue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had had a messed up
childhood. Being a daughter of a cultist was a little worse than mommy and
daddy having a divorce.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“So, let’s go find
out what we can,” he said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“If we’re
going to fight this, we have to know what we’re up against.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
So, they started
with the first way point for all research, the place everyone goes to for
answers: they went to David’s place and Googled “King in Yellow.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What they found was sparse and often
contradictory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1SMHGSTvw1E/UFJw2HQGEhI/AAAAAAAABUU/EpbsJ-qOAhc/s1600/google-Search.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="231" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1SMHGSTvw1E/UFJw2HQGEhI/AAAAAAAABUU/EpbsJ-qOAhc/s320/google-Search.gif" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“This isn’t
helping,” Gretchen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“They say you
can find anything on the internet, but that simply isn’t true.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I guess its back
to the library,” Beth said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“The internet lied
to us,” David said. “But maybe an ancient, hidden occult ceremony is asking a
little too much.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Plan B. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
David drove them
to the large, gray, stone library and they went to the front desk. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I need to see a
copy of a book called “The King in Yellow,” Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The clerk - not the
cute gothy one - looked it up on her computer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“It’s currently
checked out…wait…it’s not supposed to be checked out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s from the forbidden collection,” the
clerk said with a concerned look on her round face.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Who checked it
out?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“It doesn’t
say.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This isn’t supposed to happen.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The librarian
looked very upset and started rushing around and looking through file
cabinets.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He turned back to Beth and
Gretchen. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Well, I guess we
have a problem here,” he said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He could tell that
Gretchen was thinking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What do you have
for us Gretchen?” He asked.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“If we can’t get
the actual book, then we have to get a book that at least discusses it.”
Gretchen walked up to the counter. “Excuse me, miss.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Might you have a copy of Ceremonis Occultis?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The flustered
librarian looked it up on her computer. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yes we do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s in our special collection so you can’t
check it out but I’ll bring it to you.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Thank you very
much,” Gretchen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
They took a seat
at one of the longer tables and waited.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Okay, you got to
tell me how you know all this crazy stuff! It’s not like you can find this crap
out on the History Channel.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t know
of many teenagers that would spend their free time looking up weird occult
stuff,” Beth said, throwing her arms up in the air. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FgD9UEvcuSk/UFJxc9opYBI/AAAAAAAABUc/raUGl7ntixc/s1600/history+channel.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-FgD9UEvcuSk/UFJxc9opYBI/AAAAAAAABUc/raUGl7ntixc/s320/history+channel.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen looked
uncomfortable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“My father was the
high priest in a…pagan religion,” Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Oh,” Beth
said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“I guess that explains a few
things.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen used one
of her ivory hands to move a strand of loose, silver hair back behind her ear.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She usually did that when she was
uncomfortable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the silence grew
awkward the librarian came with an old and dusty leather bound book.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“There you go,”
the librarian said as she gave Gretchen a pair of white gloves to handle the
book with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Thank you,”
Gretchen said as she slipped the gloves on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She opened the
book and began looking through it. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I remember from
my father’s copy that there is a section that discusses the King in Yellow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I did not read it carefully and it was a very
long time ago.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
It took a half
hour before Gretchen found it. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth sat
there texting while they waited and David had pulled out his homework.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Might as well do something productive. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Here it is,”
Gretchen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She sat up and leaned in
close.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“It says here that the King in
Yellow is a two act play that isn’t supposed to exist.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It says its author is unknown and that the
copies that do exist cannot be traced to their printer. Let’s see…the first act
is banal and mundane: a typical Gothic horror of nobles at a party.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They are visited by the phantom of truth who
is a servant of the King in Yellow.”</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PfB_w8dfvUk/UFJyDhjc5GI/AAAAAAAABUk/lQF5WsSQwKc/s1600/masque_of_the_red_de.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PfB_w8dfvUk/UFJyDhjc5GI/AAAAAAAABUk/lQF5WsSQwKc/s320/masque_of_the_red_de.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Then Gretchen fell
silent as she continued to read.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“This isn’t good,”
Gretchen muttered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What is it?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“The first act is
mundane and seemingly normal, but it’s all a set up for the second act.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The second act is said to cause insanity,
visions, it may open portals to other realms and invite other realms to invade
our world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At the end of the play, the
King in Yellow himself comes and visits death upon the characters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Simply reading the play causes terrible
things, but when read aloud it will summon the avatar of Hastur, the King in
Yellow.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“That doesn’t
sound good,” Beth said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Because it isn’t
good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Is Hastur like this Nylarthotep?”
David asked. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yes, similar and
just as dangerous.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I overheard the snobs
speaking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They will practice the second
act tomorrow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can’t let that happen,”
Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
There was more
than one demon out there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>First the
glimpse of an overpowering evil being known as Nylarthotep and now this Hastur
or King in Yellow might show up and kill everyone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How many bad things were out there in the
world?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How weak was humanity?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It felt like there was an entire unseen world
out there and humanity was just blissfully ignorant about the dangers that
surrounded them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What do you
suggest?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I don’t know, but
we can’t let it be read aloud.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“We can steal it
from them,” Beth said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I don’t know
where they live,” David said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“They only have
one copy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We must assume that it is with
their leader,” Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Then we stop them
here, at the theater,” David said. “It’s the only place we know they’ll
be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ll have to keep watch.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“We must be quick.
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We cannot let them finish reading the
play,” Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Is this King in
Yellow guy like one of my shadow demons?” Beth asked. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--XsB57AbW_c/UFJ0Pw4q5qI/AAAAAAAABUs/Mue-cmfZ-d8/s1600/ghost+pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/--XsB57AbW_c/UFJ0Pw4q5qI/AAAAAAAABUs/Mue-cmfZ-d8/s320/ghost+pic.jpg" width="195" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“No, far worse,”
Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“How worse?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Let us hope that
we don’t find out.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You can tell me,
Gretch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m in this with you.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“He can alter
reality and if he doesn’t kill everyone around him outright, he will cast them
off into another dimension where alien creatures will gnaw at their souls for
eternity.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Right. That is
worse than my shadow men.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The girls went off
to the cafeteria for dinner and he went to the local Taco Bell. He sat there
eating his burrito and thinking about all the craziness that was going
on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He knew there was strange stuff in
the world: he had seen it first hand in Iraq.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But Gretchen had a way of making the “insane”
into “normal.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He thought as he
chewed.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Would he have
found any of this out if he hadn’t fought the cultists in Iraq or would he have lived his
entire life ignorant about what really happened behind the scenes? </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He knew the answer
to that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most people were oblivious to
this strange reality and he would have been one of them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’d be glad to be one of them. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
But was ignorance
really better? <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
After he ate he
went back to his apartment and sat down to watch a movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Cleaning his guns always helped him
think.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It had a way of clearing his
mind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
His AK-47 he
preferred to keep dirty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a rough,
ugly gun and liked to be dirty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His
Crusader Broadsword, an AR-10 in .308, he kept clean and lubed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was his favorite gun and he actually liked
cleaning it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Back in the Corp he’d watch
a movie on his laptop as he cleaned and he kept up that tradition.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-buqRH2hC4Hs/UFJ0wUAdWKI/AAAAAAAABU0/hHpk0RvGkdg/s1600/Crusader+3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-buqRH2hC4Hs/UFJ0wUAdWKI/AAAAAAAABU0/hHpk0RvGkdg/s320/Crusader+3.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He watched “Lost
Skeleton of Cadavra” as he cleaned and thought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He knew that he
had seen something ancient and horrible in Iraq and Gretchen had told him what
it was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now some idiot students were
trying to summon something as bad as the entity he once saw. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
It was against
campus policy to have fire arms, but he was going to have to say “hell with it”
and bring one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If it took a bullet or
three to stop this King in Yellow from being summoned, he would do it. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now that he had this knowledge he had a duty
to protect innocent people from the dangers. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He went to bed and
his sleep was disturbed by strange dreams all night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He dreamed of a giant, underwater city.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The buildings, if they could be called that,
were made of titanic slabs of a strange, grayish/green stone and the whole city
seemed to be almost blurred, as if it weren’t entirely in this reality.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The angles of the architecture were all
wrong, like strange optical illusions that couldn’t really exist in the real
world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
A sound was coming
from deep within the city that he couldn’t make out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was low and rumbling and very
inhuman.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He woke up before
he found out what the sound was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He was
thankful for that because he had the strong impression that it wasn’t anything
good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He also had a strong impression
that it had been more than just a dream. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
In the morning he
packed his 1911 in his shoulder bag and went to class.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was history with Gretchen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He liked that class and it wasn’t just
because he loved history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen made
it fun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She would ask the strangest
questions that would put the professor in a state of confusion.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He couldn’t tell if she was completely ignorant
on normal history or if she was a conniving genius.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe both. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m worried,”
Gretchen said, as he entered the class.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“About the play?” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He sat down and
stretched his legs out. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We can’t allow them to perform that
play.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The second act is most dangerous.”
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“We’ll stop them,”
he said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“We must.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Did you read
today’s chapter?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked, changing the
subject. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was nervous and he didn’t
want her dwelling on it when it wouldn’t do any good. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Did you?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Nah.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was a little distracted.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Shame.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was rather interesting.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Today’s Friday,
right?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“It is.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Well, if we live,
tomorrow I’ll take you shooting.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I wish I knew how
to right now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I believe we may need
it.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“We might.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I know little of
firearms.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My father has an antique
shotgun but he’s never let me touch it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Some of his body guards carry pistols though.” </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WJjiMVuhKDk/UFJ1S2ED8pI/AAAAAAAABU8/1B-ICYivAn0/s1600/old+musket.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-WJjiMVuhKDk/UFJ1S2ED8pI/AAAAAAAABU8/1B-ICYivAn0/s320/old+musket.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You’ll love it.
I’ll start you on the Beretta 9mm or maybe a Glock.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then an AR 15, a good beginner gun, I think.”
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I don’t know any
of those, but I will take your word for it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I fear we may need a firearm before this is through.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’ll take care of
that end.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I have no doubt.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
After class he
hurried over to the theater.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A sign said
“Play practice, 4:00.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do not disturb.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
At least he knew
what time to be here.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He texted Beth and
told her to find Gretchen and tell her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They needed to get Gretchen a cell phone or something. Some old
fashioned ways were simply lame.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Communication was pretty handy. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He paid little
attention through his classes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>All he
could think about were those idiots that were about to summon an ancient, evil
god.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He didn’t know if they were doing
it on purpose or out of ignorance, but either way it had to be stopped. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
David caught up
with Beth and Gretchen in the cafeteria.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He usually avoided the overcrowded and over priced cafeteria, but he had
to talk to them. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“They meet at
four.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What’s our plan?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David said as he sat down at their table in
the corner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He noticed how the
two girls really didn’t fit in with anyone else there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The other students were dressed in school
hoodies or workout jackets or dressed like…normal people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even if these two weren’t dressed
differently, they’d still stand out somehow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ivfXwiIm6cg/UFJ2qJ86ojI/AAAAAAAABVE/jxIIcd6hYjY/s1600/College_Campus_Walk_H.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ivfXwiIm6cg/UFJ2qJ86ojI/AAAAAAAABVE/jxIIcd6hYjY/s320/College_Campus_Walk_H.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He considered that
a good thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Plan?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought that was your territory,” Beth
said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I don’t know what
we’re up against,” he said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“They’re
students.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Unless they read the play,
there’s nothing to worry about,” Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Meet me at the
theater at 3:45,” he said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“We’ll stop them
before they go inside,” Beth said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“If they do this
out of ignorance, they can perhaps be reasoned with, but…”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen started to say. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“But, what?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>David asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“But one of them
must have read the second act by now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>One of them surely knows what awaits them if they try to perform it.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“So, one of them
won’t be able to be reasoned with.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The
question is: do the others realize the danger?” David said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I don’t
know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I hope they do this out of
ignorance,” Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“But if not, we
have to be prepared to stop them,” Beth said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m prepared,”
David said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“So am I,” Beth
said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I am as well,”
Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
David arrived at
the theater at 3:45 on the dot and found Beth and Gretchen waiting for
him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You all ready for
this?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“We must be,”
Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Alright, I thought
of a plan…”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He stopped because
he felt something.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He felt something
very strange and yet familiar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen looked up
and toward the theater.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whatever it was,
she felt it as well. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What is that?” He
asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
There was
something in the air, like it was vibrating, like too much static electricity
was nearby.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I feel it too,
like I want to be sick,” Beth said.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The sky seemed to
darken though the sun shone as brightly as it had before. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I do not seem to
recall that door being there before,” Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She pointed to a
stone arch with a wooden door on the wall of the theater.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It definitely hadn’t been there before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The out of place
stone archway with the dark, oak doors had strange, ancient looking writing
along the edges of the arch. The words didn’t seem like any natural language he
had seen before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was as if he could
attach some kind of malevolence to the writing, almost like the harsh letters
wanted to writhe and tear themselves free of the door frame.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth took a step
towards it. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I wonder what’s
in there,” Beth said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Don’t open that
door!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen said with a quivering
voice. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What’s through
there?” David asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I don’t know but
I know we should not wish to find out,” Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What’s going on?”
Beth asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“It’s the
play!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They’re reading it!” Gretchen
said. “The world is being altered!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’re
too late!”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%;">
<br /></div>
Zach Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08188373296321506021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088873945002427056.post-69580285072921010372012-09-12T12:38:00.001-07:002012-09-12T12:38:47.377-07:00Chapter 9<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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Gretchen </div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
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Gretchen did not
want to go back to the library.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There
were too many books that called to her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Despite her desire to stay away from such darkness, she had to admit
that she was drawn to it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was a
thirst for knowledge within her that she could not deny.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Also, some books
were far more dangerous than most people realized.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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It was three in
the morning: the witching hour. The full moon always strengthened her magic. </div>
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She used her power
to silence the alarms and unlock the heavy wooden door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She turned the brass handle and slipped
inside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was dark and there wasn’t
enough light coming in from the tall, narrow windows to really see much of
anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1K9pgpsAvAk/UFDdcmtEVZI/AAAAAAAABSw/f9GXi2YJUMs/s1600/doors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1K9pgpsAvAk/UFDdcmtEVZI/AAAAAAAABSw/f9GXi2YJUMs/s320/doors.jpg" width="240" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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Then she heard
something move.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a quick,
shuffling sound, like someone moving away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
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She quickly cast a
spell to let her see in the dark and the library became visible in shades of
gray.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen looked around but didn’t
see anyone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She stayed still and
listened for a good while before she was sure no one was there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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When she began
walking again she saw that one of the glass cases had been removed and placed
on the floor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The book on the pedestal
was there and wide open.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She carefully
went over to see what the other intruder had been looking at.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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She recoiled away
as she saw that the book in question was the dreaded Necronomicon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Written by the “Mad Arab” Abdul Alhazred and
bound in human skin, it was one of the most dangerous books known to man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bBH7E-D8pHU/UFDd9dKqp7I/AAAAAAAABS8/rCHqxs9-5PI/s1600/Necronomicon_prop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-bBH7E-D8pHU/UFDd9dKqp7I/AAAAAAAABS8/rCHqxs9-5PI/s1600/Necronomicon_prop.jpg" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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As she looked she
saw the strange writing on the page, written in a corrupted form of
“Atlantean,” writhe and move along the page as if alive. It was as if the words
were an after image burned onto her retinas.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They didn’t seem to actually touch the page at all.</div>
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In edges of her hearing
or the recesses of her mind she hear a low, undecipherable noise, like a choir
of insane monks gibbering in a language that wasn’t of this earth. As she tried
to ignore it, it only grew stronger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">She had heard such other worldly chanting before and knew she couldn't listen to it for too long before going mad. </span></div>
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Hurriedly she
closed the book and withdrew from it as fast as she could.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The insane chanting had stopped but she could
feel the power of the book in the air.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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She was breathing
hard and she hadn’t even realized it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Once she had
calmed down she looked for and quickly found the book she had come for.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a common enough book (for rare,
esoteric books) about ghosts, spirits and demons from the seventeenth century and
contained a reliable spell for ridding a place of unwanted spiritual activity. </div>
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She took the book
to the copier machine and photo copied the pages she needed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When she was finished she put the book back
and was extra careful to not go near the Necronomicon. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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When she finished
she hurried out of the library as quickly as she could.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When she got back to her room she found Beth
asleep on her bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Good. She didn’t need
to witness what was about to be done. </div>
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Gretchen took a
few things, a knife, a candle and a symbol of Dagon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her father had packed that for her but it
would come in handy now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--6Iy2UtjdWY/UFDfRanb9MI/AAAAAAAABTE/UdHguauO7gQ/s1600/order-of-dagon.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/--6Iy2UtjdWY/UFDfRanb9MI/AAAAAAAABTE/UdHguauO7gQ/s320/order-of-dagon.png" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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She took the pages
and her things over to Beth’s apartment.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was already five and soon people would be waking up for the early
classes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was tired and hated missing
sleep but most of her dreams had been strange lately so perhaps that was
fortuitous. </div>
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When she opened
the door to Beth’s apartment she could feel the dark presence of several
beings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They stayed in the shadowed
corners and merely watched her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
ignored them as she lit the candle and set it on the kitchen table.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She sprinkled some special incense on the
flame and began reading the spell from the paper.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was written in French which she spoke
quite well. </div>
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As she begin
reading off the spell, the demons began to grow agitated.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She could feel the shadows start to crawl
around the periphery of her vision.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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A book threw
itself across the room and a door down the hall slammed open.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Normally a spell like this would clear a
building of any spirit, but demons were different.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Demons were much more powerful and much
harder to get rid of.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The spell needed
something to enhance it and for that she unsheathed her curved knife.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Her knife’s handle
was the same peculiar gold that Innsmouth received from the sea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As part of the town’s covenant with Dagon,
they received the gold that had lain on the floor since before recorded
history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Much of it, like the knife in
her hand, was covered in strange, inhuman markings rich in meaning.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The pictographs weren’t random and
meaningless, that was a modern human way. Some of the markings had deep and
even prophetic meanings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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With her right
hand she sliced open her palm and let the blood drip onto the candle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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She heard a growl
from one of the room’s corners but she ignored it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The demons were getting desperate and wanted
to scare her away but demons only had the power you gave them and she wasn’t about
to give them any power by being afraid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NMreHKc_Ntw/UFDhuYz18BI/AAAAAAAABTM/H8x7fzSestw/s1600/Dark_Room_Background_by_ChaosStocks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="248" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-NMreHKc_Ntw/UFDhuYz18BI/AAAAAAAABTM/H8x7fzSestw/s320/Dark_Room_Background_by_ChaosStocks.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
An empty Coke
bottle flew across the room and hit her in the arm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She concentrated and didn’t break from the
spell.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Something
scratched down her back, like three claws made of fire. It hurt a great deal but
she had to continue.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Finally she took
out the symbol of Dagon and held it up in the air and commanded the demons to
leave or invoke the wrath of Dagon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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Suddenly the room
was still.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The shadows were merely
shadows and the only noise was the humming of the refrigerator.</div>
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Gretchen took a
deep breath and gathered her things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>When she got back to her own room she found Beth still asleep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She let the strange, outsider girl sleep and
she went to take a shower.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When she
looked in the mirror she found three, red scratch marks down her back.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Good thing the school’s swim suits had
backs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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She took a long,
hot shower and towel dried her hair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
dressed for the day and opened the fridge to look for something to drink.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The one Mountain Dew bottle was empty.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth must have drank it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
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She sighed and
closed the fridge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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She tapped Beth on
the shoulder to wake her up and she awoke with a sudden jerk.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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“Wake up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s time to get ready for the day and then
we’ll go get some breakfast,” Gretchen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
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Beth looked around
confused.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You slept here
all night,” Gretchen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>“While you
slept I cleared your apartment of demons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They won’t bother you anymore.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You what?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>How’d you do that?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Please don’t
ask.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just accept it and be happy.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Oh…we…thank you,
Gretch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Are you sure they’re gone?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Very.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“They’re really
gone?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yes, they are
really gone.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Why did outsiders
have such difficulty in believing things?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They lacked faith in every sense of the word.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth cleaned up a
bit and together they went to the cafeteria.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Beth had bags under her eyes but a smile on her face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She finally accepted that the demons were
gone and tried to ask her a few times how, but Gretchen did not care to
explain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She knew outsiders feared
witches and wasn’t about to expose herself to such fear. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“We have our first
read-through today,” Beth said, finally dropping the topic of demons, though
Gretchen was sure she’d bring it up several more times.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Read-through?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yeah, we take our
scripts and go through the play, reading it out loud and discuss it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We try to figure out exactly what we want to
do with it. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What part do you
play?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I play Elizabeth
Bennet, the heroine of the story.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Then you play
opposite of David’s Mr. Darcy.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“That’s
right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You read the script?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Twice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I find their concerns and worries to be petty
and asinine.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Well, it was a
different time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s about love and
manners and securing a future in the world.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It’s about judging others when your own pride blinds you.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I still found it
rather silly.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Maybe it is, but
it’ll be fun.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’ll love being an
actress!” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen wasn’t
convinced.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But she did understand the
happiness that pretending to be someone else can create.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>After all, wasn’t that what she was doing
here: pretending to be someone else?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Was
she just an actor on a stage?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She didn’t want
the curtains to close. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
After all their
classes she walked over to the theater.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was one of the older buildings on campus.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There was a newer, larger theater the school
used for its official productions but the classes and smaller performances were
held in “the old theater.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She walked in
through the outer double doors and found the inner doors, the ones led to the
main chamber, were locked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She heard
muffled voices from inside.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
A sign said “Play
practice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No admittance or disturbance.”
It was the “snobs” Beth talked of.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen put her
ears to the door and listened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
sounded like a play was being rehearsed but she couldn’t make out the
words.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Old theaters like
this usually had balconies so she walked up the side steps and found the
balcony door to be locked as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
mumbled the spell and the door unlocked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Quietly she
crawled over to the edge of the balcony and listened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was curious as to what could cause such
secrecy from these “snobs.” </div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Surely, you
understand the reason I must not let you pass through that door,” one of the
actors said on stage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She could not see
them from where she hid, but she could hear them clearly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I do, but I wish
to pass through regardless,” a female voice said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You must
not.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You are not ready.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You have much to learn and much to do.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I hold the snake
and the branch. I am ready.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“But you do not
hold the chalice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tell me: where might
you find the chalice?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The performance was
stiff and formal.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>To Gretchen it sounded
more like a ceremony than a play and as she continued to listen that impression
became much stronger.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She closed her
eyes and she could feel the power vibrating through the room. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
This was no
play!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These fools had found a dark
ceremony in the guise of a play.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She ran
through her memories of all the occultist plays she could think of but then the
actors answered her question for her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You are not ready
to meet the King in Yellow.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
King in
Yellow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>With those words she knew
something horrible was happening.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Either
these fools had accidentally stumbled upon an old and powerful ordinance of a
dark god, or they were being led to their doom by someone who knew exactly what
they were doing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Hastur, the King
in Yellow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Master of the Yellow
Sign.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Then she heard a
part of the play that reverberated through her spirit like the shaking of an
earthquake. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You, sir, should
unmask,” one of the actors said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Indeed?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Indeed, it's
time. We have all laid aside disguise but you.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I wear no mask.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“No mask? No
mask!”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen could
feel her stomach turning sick and the unearthly power vibrated the air.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Then suddenly
everything stopped.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Okay, we’ll end
there for today.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tomorrow we’ll begin
with the second act,” a confident, male voice said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Finally! Maybe
you’ll actually let us read the second act,” a female voice said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She didn’t dare
risk a look.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She couldn’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If they spotted her she had no doubt that
they’d try to silence her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
As the “snobs”
left she stayed there, quiet and unmoving.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She had overheard what she was not meant to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These students were not practicing a play,
they were practicing a ritual, a dark ceremony.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
What the ceremony
was about she had no idea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She did not
know much about the King in Yellow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Hastur served the Elder Gods and maybe the Old Ones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>His cult was spread throughout human history
and different forms of his “Yellow Sign” could be seen from cave drawings, Babylonian
ruins, to Aztec temples and courts of Europe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ltjGSSGnNyY/UFDkeFa9lJI/AAAAAAAABT0/gfSqCiq-hG0/s1600/Yellsign.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ltjGSSGnNyY/UFDkeFa9lJI/AAAAAAAABT0/gfSqCiq-hG0/s1600/Yellsign.gif" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She checked her
watch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had a half hour before her
friends arrived and she spent the time trying to collect herself.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
A dark ceremony
being performed right here on campus, under the noses of outsiders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
This was horrible
and she had to do something.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She had collected
herself by the time the others arrived.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Beth and David came in together.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She was explaining something to him about the script but Gretchen wasn’t
paying attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Everyone’s on
time? That’s weird.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I thought actors
were always supposed to be late,” a tall, blonde girl said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The others
chuckled and they all took seats.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They
sat in folding chairs on the stage.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen looked
for signs of the previous group but they hadn’t left anything.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
They went, person
by person, discussing their character.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“And you,
Gretchen?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What are you thinking of doing
with Mary?” Beth asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I find Mary to be
pretentious and ridiculous,” Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The others
laughed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Good!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Make sure to use that.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Is she supposed
to be this way?” Gretchen asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Absolutely.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She’s full of herself and not nearly as smart
as she thinks she is.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The tall girl
spoke up again. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Also, I want
everyone to learn someone else’s part in case someone’s sick and can’t make a
practice.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Good idea,” Beth
said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m going to have
trouble learning just one part,” David said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You’ll do fine,”
Beth said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen was
assigned to learn the part of some arrogant woman that also wanted Mr. Darcy,
David’s character.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
After the play
they went out to eat at a local hamburger place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On David’s suggestion she got a cheeseburger
with bacon on it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was inhumanly
delicious.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The food here was more than
enough reason to leave Innsmouth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lPE46yzQeDI/UFDkwNp14lI/AAAAAAAABT8/cYgsR9kDC0s/s1600/bacon-cheeseburger.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-lPE46yzQeDI/UFDkwNp14lI/AAAAAAAABT8/cYgsR9kDC0s/s320/bacon-cheeseburger.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Beth told me you
got rid of the spirits in her apartment,” David said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I did but do not
ask me how.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Besides, I have more
important things to discuss.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The snobs,
as you call them, are performing an occult play that is little more than a
disguised ceremony, a ritual of some kind.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They are playing with a fire far more dangerous than they realize.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
This drew silent,
shocked looks from both David and Beth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
Zach Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08188373296321506021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088873945002427056.post-65776773627867381322012-09-10T15:17:00.002-07:002012-09-10T15:17:44.322-07:00Chapter 8<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
David </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
David had an hour
before his next class.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Since Gretchen
didn’t have a phone, let alone text messaging, he had no idea where she would
be.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Maybe he’d buy her a phone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But then, she didn’t seem to have a problem
with money. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had never once asked
about the price of something at a restaurant, let alone what the actual price
of the laptop was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Whatever strange
cultist family she came from must have been loaded. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-36OhGni7sQM/UE5gDuRXIcI/AAAAAAAABQc/zthWPJVFOaM/s1600/scrooge-mcduck.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-36OhGni7sQM/UE5gDuRXIcI/AAAAAAAABQc/zthWPJVFOaM/s320/scrooge-mcduck.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He wandered by the
indoor pool and saw that the women’s swim team was practicing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They had the ice blue swimsuits of the
school’s colors.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Not one to pass by a
glance at pretty girls in swimsuits he decided to go inside and act like he was
heading to the men’s locker.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The smell of
chlorine greeted him as soon as he opened the door along with that strange,
humid feel in the air that was particular to pools.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was an older building and the bleachers
were made of dark, polished wood.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some
of the tiles on the floor were cracked and the place just felt antique.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
As he made his way
to the locker room he saw something.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Getting out of the pool was Gretchen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She had on a cap that covered her hair but no one looked like her and he
recognized her elfin features, her paler than pale skin and her silver eyes
from across the pool.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was skinny but
she had surprisingly nice legs. </div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KarFym-eTww/UE5hjWigASI/AAAAAAAABQk/W92yFg_OtZA/s1600/pool+olympic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-KarFym-eTww/UE5hjWigASI/AAAAAAAABQk/W92yFg_OtZA/s320/pool+olympic.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
How did all her
ridiculously long hair fit in that cap?</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen was toweling
off in a shy, sort of way when she looked up and saw him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her cold, inhuman eyes locked onto him and
for a moment he wondered if she saw him like a shark would see him: mechanical and
calculating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Then she flashed a
brief, embarrassed smile and gave a quick wave.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He waited for her
outside the pool and when she finally came out he came up and walked beside
her. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I didn’t know you
were on the swim team,” he said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yes, a Miskatonic
talent scout found me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I have a
scholarship.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Not that you need
it, right?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Not really.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Have they
recruited you for their play yet?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Not yet.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Don’t tell me
they still haven’t decided on a play yet.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“They haven’t
decided on a play yet.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He groaned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I said not to
tell me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What are they waiting for?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That snob group’s already rehearsing
theirs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She said they even locked the
doors to the theater while rehearsing.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Is their play
still a secret?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Last I heard it
was.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“David, May I ask
you a question about the war?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Sure, go for it.”
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Why did you go?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I read about why the president went and what
they claimed, but why did you go?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He considered not answering. It was a lot to get into and he wasn't sure he wanted to get into it. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“All my life, even
as a kid, I loved history.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’d read
about heroes and battles and I always wondered what it would be like to
experience what those people went through.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I never really wanted to be in the army or go fight a war.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Just from reading about it I knew it would be
a horrible thing.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">"</span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ar3EcAxDd_U/UE5jF7O849I/AAAAAAAABQs/0u1Md2v8dTo/s1600/Iraq+violence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="268" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ar3EcAxDd_U/UE5jF7O849I/AAAAAAAABQs/0u1Md2v8dTo/s320/Iraq+violence.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">He looked over to make sure she was still with him. She was walking along and watching him with her unreadable eyes. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">"</span>But I wanted to be a
historian and I didn’t think I could do it justice unless I knew what it was
like to be a part of history as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Now when I read about the long marches and the pitched battles or Roman
legions or Napoleon’s armies, I know a little of what it was like.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I felt a connection to them.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You went to war
to prove something to yourself.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Sounds right.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Did you succeed?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I think so.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> I learned Sherman was right. War sucks."</span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span> </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I see.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You don’t like violence.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Not really.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yet, when I was
visiting your apartment last, I noticed a gun in your closet.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I'm not naive enough to think that just because I don't like violence doesn't mean other people shy away from it."<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I don’t
understand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You don’t like it, so why
not be a pacifist?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps that might
change others minds?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“No, running away from
problems never fixes them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Which would
be more morally correct: stop someone from being murdered or let it happen?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Stop it, of
course.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What if the only
way to stop it was with violence?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Yes, I
may not choose to defend myself but I will always defend others.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I see.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You don’t do it for yourself.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Correct.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And I just love guns.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They’re tons of fun.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’ve never shot
one.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Would you like
to? I can teach you how?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Her silver eyes
narrowed to slits as she thought.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
wondered what thought processes went through her brain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What was she thinking?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Was she thinking about how much fun it would
be?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Was she scared of guns?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Were her parents liberals that taught her to
fear them?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He had no idea.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was as if her brain spoke a different
language than his.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Yes, I think I
would like that.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Excellent!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ll go this Saturday if you’d like.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“That sounds
lovely.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Then he had to
rush off to class.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
After classes they
went to a Chinese place for dinner.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
paid for Beth because she looked worried at the menu prices.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You gotta try the
steamed dumplings,” Beth said as she placed a few on Gretchen’s plate. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Very well,”
Gretchen said, not sounding convinced.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
David loaded up on
General Tso’s chicken and noodles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
could eat General Tso’s chicken for the rest of his life and be happy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NcySatmBnPc/UE5jYbVsZnI/AAAAAAAABQ0/OSC3c7pIYdg/s1600/general+tso.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-NcySatmBnPc/UE5jYbVsZnI/AAAAAAAABQ0/OSC3c7pIYdg/s320/general+tso.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Is that your
third plate?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Why, I do believe
it is.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“How do you eat so
much?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“It says it’s all
you can eat, so I’m eating all I can.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I like this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s very good,” Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Hey, Gretch, I
think my group’s decided on a play,” Beth said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Oh? Which play?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Jane Austen’s
Pride and Prejudice.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Is it new?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“New?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Well, kinda.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The adaptation is new but the story isn’t.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s what you meant, right?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Everyone’s heard of Pride and Prejudice.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I haven’t,”
Gretchen said and shrugged.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Well, we got the
perfect part for you. <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You will play Mary
Bennet.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What sort of part
would I play?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You’re a bookish
nerd and younger sister to the main character.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Here, check this out.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth
pulled from her backpack a copy of the play.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>“Your parts are highlighted in yellow.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen took the
script and began flipping through it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Her eyebrows raised in interest.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I see I don’t
have very many lines.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Good.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I will do it,” Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You will?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Excellent!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Beth clapped her hands.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then she
turned toward David. “Now for you, tough guy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We have a part for you.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Me?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When did I get stuck in this?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Since now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need you to play Mr. Darcy.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Is that a small
part?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“No, stupid.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He’s the main love interest!”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Wait, I’m not
doing a main character.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Don’t worry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You actually don’t talk that much.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’re kinda the strong, silent, grouchy
type.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She handed him the
script and he began flipping through it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There was far more yellow than he would have liked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Why me? Wouldn’t
a theater person want this part?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“We only have one
guy in our group and…let’s just say that there’s no way he’d pull off a Mr.
Darcy.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I don’t know…”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Please!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We need someone!”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She put her hands into a begging position.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I want to ask
what I’d get out of it, but I’ll do it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I’ll kick myself for agreeing to it, but the answer’s yes.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Wonderful!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We just have a few parts left to cast.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Most of us will be pulling double duty.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
After dinner he
drove them to a movie theater where they caught a late movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen seemed to enjoy the popcorn as much
as the movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He wondered if she’d ever
had popcorn before.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The movie was a
mindless, blow stuff up, action movie.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was that or a romantic comedy and both he and Beth hated romantic
comedies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen didn’t know what she
liked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
After the movie
they drove back to the dorm and let Gretchen out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Thank you for the
lovely evening,” Gretchen said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“No problem,” he
said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Start reading the
script.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You need to know the
story!”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Beth said as the door
closed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He watched
Gretchen to make sure she got inside alright.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“She’s a strange
girl,” Beth said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“So are you.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That’s why I like her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What about you?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You don’t seem like the type to hang around
us weirdoes.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What type am I
supposed to be?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“You look like the
gun-ho, jock type.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The type that would
normally pick on us.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Jock?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You got to be kidding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I read comic books and play Dungeons and
Dragons. I read history books on Friday nights.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Well, you sure
don’t look like a nerd.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I am, trust
me.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He drove them to
their apartment building and they said their goodnights.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He watched her go inside and wondered if she
would ever invite him in to spend the night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He wondered what he would say.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
wouldn’t be unwelcome, but he didn’t know if that was what he would really
want.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A part of him sure, but maybe not
the parts that mattered.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He spent the rest
of the night watching Gundam and then went to bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Yeah, a jock would
stay up till 2AM watching Japanese cartoons about giant robots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tUXPG9uXWd8/UE5lAyS6zAI/AAAAAAAABRE/gwiga7nD6h4/s1600/Gundam.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-tUXPG9uXWd8/UE5lAyS6zAI/AAAAAAAABRE/gwiga7nD6h4/s320/Gundam.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
*</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
David was awakened
by the sound of someone screaming.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He
grabbed his 9mm Beretta and ran outside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>The muffled screaming was coming from Beth’s room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He ran over and
pounded on the door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was locked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Beth!<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Can you hear me?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth kept
screaming so he went to the window and tried it out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It slid open and he pulled himself
inside.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was dark but the outside
lights let him see the dark shapes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth was sitting
on her bed holding her head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He ran in
and turned on the lights.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She stopped
screaming and looked up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tears were
running down her face.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He ran over and
put his arm around her. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What the hell
happened?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What’s wrong?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Nothing,” she
said weekly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Bull crap.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Tell me.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Ghosts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"></span>They’re always in my room.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
A year or so ago
he would have instantly thought about getting counseling for her, but now he
knew better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now he knew that there were
things out there that didn’t fit into the safe little established world people
liked to believe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What kind of
ghosts?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Bad ones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen’s seen them.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He wasn’t
surprised about that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I don’t want to
stay here,” she said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Come over to my
place. It’s safe there.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He wrapped a
blanket around her and led her across the way to his room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This wasn’t some lame attempt at
seduction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was terrified out of her
mind and she needed help.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He sat her down on
his bed and he sat down on the other end.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>He tucked the Beretta under the mattress.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-508jvZF2MQs/UE5m_Ay6aII/AAAAAAAABRM/Yx0bG7Hw4os/s1600/beretta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="235" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-508jvZF2MQs/UE5m_Ay6aII/AAAAAAAABRM/Yx0bG7Hw4os/s320/beretta.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Want something to
drink?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I got some Dew in the fridge,” he
said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“That sounds
nice.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He got them both a
can and sat back down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Now, tell me all
about what’s going on.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She explained to
him all about the hauntings and how the demons followed her wherever she
went.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Tonight there were
five of them, all standing around my bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>They began grabbing me like they wanted to take me somewhere.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“That’s serious,
Beth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We have to do something.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretch says she’s working on it.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He looked at his
watch.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>5:23AM.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen would be getting up in another two
hours or so. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Lay down and try
to get some sleep, alright?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She nodded and lay
down but she didn’t sleep.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
In the morning he
escorted her back to her room and cleared it with his pistol.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He didn’t know what good a 9mm would do
against a ghost but it made him feel better.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Thank you,” she
said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Get dressed and
I’ll take you to Gretchen’s.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Let’s go
see if she can fix this problem.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Once she was
dressed he drove to Gretchen’s dorm room and knocked on her door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen answered it wearing a black bath
robe and her hair was a tangled mess.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Her eyes looked like they were still asleep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What’s the
matter?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen asked. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“It’s getting
worse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The demons tried to grab me and
take me somewhere.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen sighed
and waved them in.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Her room was
sparse with no decoration.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Her clothes
were meticulously hung in her closet and the only sign of anything going on was
her laptop at the foot of her bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Gretch, I can’t
keep living like this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Something has to
be done,” Beth said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’ll go into the
forbidden section.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I know how,” Gretchen
said.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Please.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t know what to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If this keeps up I’m going to go crazy.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’ll take care of
it tonight.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For now, sleep in my
room.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They won’t find you here.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Thanks, Gretch.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Don’t thank me
until I fix this.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sometimes the cures
are worse than the illness.” <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
Zach Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08188373296321506021noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5088873945002427056.post-24511741272647100952012-08-29T16:26:00.001-07:002012-08-29T16:26:13.561-07:00Chapter 7<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div align="center" class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-align: center; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen knew
there were spells for getting rid of haunting demons but she didn’t know
them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had avoided such areas of
study.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had learned some spells
on her own and others her father forced her to learn.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But demonology hadn’t been high on their list of
priorities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She was walking
back from Beth’s apartment late at night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was fun to “hang out” which involved conversation and watching
movies.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had heard the term before in
high school and always thought it was a code for something more complex or
clandestine.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
But Beth needed
those spirits gone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They were powerful
and they were hungry.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If they stayed
they’d eventually cause Beth harm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Unfortunately there was only one place where she knew where to possibly
find the spell to cleanse her of these haunting demons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-p0TJmQXRNk4/UD6Ze_aNVtI/AAAAAAAABOw/Hfwo0YnSZTc/s1600/shadow+people.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="243" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-p0TJmQXRNk4/UD6Ze_aNVtI/AAAAAAAABOw/Hfwo0YnSZTc/s320/shadow+people.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The forbidden
collection at the library.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She was not going
there.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She knew a few little beginner
spells that could keep the demons at bay for a short while.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That would do for now.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Better a few shadow demons than open the
wrong book and attract unwanted attention.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
As she walked back
to her dorm she saw a girl walking across the green toward her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the girl came closer she saw that it was
someone from her swim team: an annoying girl named Debby who looked at her like
everyone did back in high school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I thought it was
you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I could see that tangled mop of
white hair from across the campus,” Debby said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She ignored her
like she learned to do with bullies in high school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It wasn’t like the films they watched in
health class where the bullies were merely crying for attention and love or
would retreat if stood up to.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>No
indeed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They would simply come back and
bring their friends and make a bad situation worse.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They always had like minded friends and they
were always capable of making the situation worse. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Got nothing to
say, weirdo?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen kept
walking away but then Debby started following her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I earned a scholarship
to come here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I was the best swimmer in
the state. Who the hell do you think you are?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>I heard rumors about you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I heard
you’re from some creepy little cult town. You sit at home all day reading
nothing but the Bible and think TV is the devil’s invention and music makes you
into sinners?” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen
walked on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I’m going to tell
everyone about you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Soon, they won’t
care how good a swimmer you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>You’ll
never be team captain because no one will want a creepy cultist for the
captain.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m going to make sure everyone
knows!”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Finally the girl
gave up and began walking the other way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
This girl wasn’t blustering.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was out to ensure
that Gretchen would never succeed and that was the one thing she absolutely had
to do.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen turned
and began following Debby.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She stayed far
back, but still close enough to see where she was going.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Debby never looked around her, supremely
confident in her place in the universe.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Her arrogance proved her ignorance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen herself
was an insignificant speck, but she had her place as well and Debby was
determined to ruin that place.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen
was going to stop her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She watched as
Debby came to an apartment building and unlocked a door on the bottom
floor.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had a room to herself or her
roommate was out.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EyB6nQakoUM/UD6b_orN3kI/AAAAAAAABO4/6nSCQSlBBlA/s1600/NightTimeView.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EyB6nQakoUM/UD6b_orN3kI/AAAAAAAABO4/6nSCQSlBBlA/s320/NightTimeView.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen was
already forming her plan in her head.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She knew how to stop her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She stayed outside
the apartment until the lights went out and then she waited a little
longer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>When she was reasonably sure
Debby was asleep, she went to the door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was locked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Quietly chanting
the spell of ‘opening’ she waved her hand and heard the lock ‘click.’<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Then the door opened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She hated
resorting to dark magic but she had been raised with it and father made sure
she knew enough of it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A vile tool, but
right now it was a useful one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen walked in
and closed the door behind her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For a
while she stood there, silent and still.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She let her eyes adjust and listened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She heard nothing except the gentle humming of the fridge.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Then she walked into
the first bedroom and found someone sleeping there, but it wasn’t Debby.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She looked around the cluttered room and its
pink decorations.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One wall was covered
in paper stars sloppily taped to the wall in a rainbow shape.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Useless tripe.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She then crept into
the next room and there she found Debby sleeping.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She closed the door behind her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r22P1o9EuMg/UD6gjg2apiI/AAAAAAAABPM/KmY_Gw_UWcM/s1600/dark+hallway.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-r22P1o9EuMg/UD6gjg2apiI/AAAAAAAABPM/KmY_Gw_UWcM/s320/dark+hallway.jpg" width="239" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Her plan had two
parts. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
First she began
chanting a ‘sickness’ spell called “Sanguine Occulas.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It would make Debby run a very high fever,
loose all strength and appetite until she was a wraith of herself and
eventually bleed from the eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
wasn’t lethal but Debby would soon wish it were. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
As she quietly
chanted she felt the air in the room grow colder and thicker.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She took out her curved, golden knife and cut
her palm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She let the blood drip down
onto Debby’s forehead.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen said the
final lines, a petition to Yog Sothoth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She felt her skin crawl just mentioning that terrible deity’s name.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Once the spell was
finished she knew it had worked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
could feel the dark energy sinking into Debby’s body.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>By morning she wouldn’t be able to get out of
bed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
The second part of
her plan was the unnecessary part.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
it was the part that would give her the most satisfaction.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was no mindless automaton without
feelings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For years she had to put up
with people like Debby and now that she had finally found a place she belonged,
she wasn’t going to put up with it any longer.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“May your dreams
turn to nightmares,” she said in the ancient, corrupted language of what men
would later call “Atlantis.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
pronounced the spell and made sure that all Debby would dream about this night
were horrible, eldritch creatures lurking in the shadows and tentacled horrors
seeping into the world from the seams between dimensions.</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rCHOgZJXhHM/UD6iFUFttwI/AAAAAAAABPc/3Obg1sMx_6w/s1600/Shoggoth_by_ltdbassplayer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="256" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-rCHOgZJXhHM/UD6iFUFttwI/AAAAAAAABPc/3Obg1sMx_6w/s320/Shoggoth_by_ltdbassplayer.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Her work finished,
Gretchen slowly walked out of the apartment and continued on her way home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>One thing that father taught her that she
actually agreed with was that she should never let anyone or anything stop her from
accomplishing her goals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Debby got in
the way so she had been removed from her path.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Once home she took
a shower and lay down to sleep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
However, her
dreams were filled with nightmares as well.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Only it wasn’t due to some vengeful spell, it was something else.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Something was clawing away at the back of her
mind like a siren in the distance.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She had dreams of
a storm tossed ocean with white capped waves crashing violently over each
other.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As the storm grows worse dark
shapes begin to rise from the ocean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She knew at once
what the dream was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She could hear the
inhuman chanting and mad piping as the corpse city rose from the waters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Within that city she knew the Dreadful
Cthulhu lay, waiting to rise again when the stars were right.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She had dreamed
this dream before but never so vividly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>This time she could feel the waves and see the after glow of the
lighting that tore the sky apart.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IV-WqQLIYU4/UD6iQzZzsiI/AAAAAAAABPk/nmNBSrMKprk/s1600/Cthulhu_rising_by_somniturne1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IV-WqQLIYU4/UD6iQzZzsiI/AAAAAAAABPk/nmNBSrMKprk/s320/Cthulhu_rising_by_somniturne1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Something was
different this time.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen woke in
the morning not feeling well rested.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She
felt drained.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps it was from using
magic she was not used to or the terrible dreams that made her toss and turn
all night.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She dressed and
laced up her black boots.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She met Beth
in the cafeteria for breakfast and found that Beth also looked ill rested.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Did you not sleep
well?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen asked.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth looked up
with bags under her eyes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“No, not at
all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I kept having these weird
nightmares all night.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Nightmares?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What manner of nightmares?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I don’t remember
a lot of it, but I remember a huge storm and a sunken city.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What else did you
see?”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen asked, afraid of the
answer. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“The city was
ancient and I mean ancient as in older than cavemen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t know how I know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s a dream and all.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I heard this crazy chanting and saw a huge
doorway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In my dream I walked toward the
doorway which was like the size of a baseball field, but it was all this weird
stone.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I knew something horrible was
behind the door and I was afraid to open it but I kept walking towards it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I don’t remember anything after that.”</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5Gr742pNElk/UD6jMzl6AQI/AAAAAAAABPs/wzgNv-a400w/s1600/ryleh.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-5Gr742pNElk/UD6jMzl6AQI/AAAAAAAABPs/wzgNv-a400w/s320/ryleh.jpg" width="226" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She had had this
dream and her father had had it, but she had never known anyone else to have it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>What did it mean if Beth dreamed it as
well?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was surely no relative to the
people of Innsmouth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I had the same
dream last night,” Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Beth was about to
laugh but stopped herself. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“If anyone else
would have said that, I would have thought they were pulling my leg.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But you’re odd enough that I believe you.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Please don’t call
me odd.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“So, what does
this mean?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We got a psychic bond with
each other?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“A psychic bond,
perhaps, but not with each other.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She opened up her
laptop and connected to the school’s wi-fi.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She was going to look up if there had been any strange occurrences in
the news. It took her much less time than she would have guessed.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As she opened up her homepage, Yahoo mail,
she saw a big news article about an earthquake and huge storm in the
pacific.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She knew that it
had to be connected.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A similar thing had
happened in the 20,s and everyone in Innsmouth had celebrated thinking the day
of Cthulhu’s awakening had arrived.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But
then R’leyh slipped back into the waters.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Had it risen
again?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If it has, has it risen to
stay?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The worry began to knot in her
gut.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>If Cthulhu awakes then there wasn’t
a force in the world that could stop him.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
After classes she
met David in the library.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Gretchen was
looking through old books about demonic hauntings.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>So far they had all been utterly useless and
the knowledge that it contained was often wrong or woefully incomplete.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Any
book in her father’s library would contain ten times the amount of useful
information than these books.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Also, none of
these really said how to get rid of a demonic enemy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“What are you
looking up?” David asked as he sat down next to her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Beth is having
trouble with demonic entities.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I’m researching
how to rid her apartment of them but the search has proved fruitless.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Wait…she’d being
haunted by demons?<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>That crap is real?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Of course it
is.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Why would you say otherwise?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Now she was
confused.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She thought outsiders at least
knew about ghosts and demons.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had
heard talk of reality shows that chased ghosts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I didn’t know
they were real.”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Of course they
are.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Do you not watch the television
shows where they hunt for ghosts?”</div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cjrUnrZhxVA/UD6j2MUjGkI/AAAAAAAABP0/Siq_MccSd84/s1600/green_phantom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-cjrUnrZhxVA/UD6j2MUjGkI/AAAAAAAABP0/Siq_MccSd84/s1600/green_phantom.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I have, but that
doesn’t mean it’s real.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“They’re ignorant
and amateurish, but they do stumble across the real thing on occasion. I’ll
never understand what you outsiders know and don’t know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Even when presented with the truth you ignore
it or don’t see it at all.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Outsiders?”</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“It’s what the
people of my town call everyone else.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Oh.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She closed her
book in frustration and leaned back in her chair.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“This library is
dreadfully inadequate,” Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I bet they have
the right books in there,” David said pointing to the forbidden section.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“No.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We won’t go in there.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Just a
suggestion.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Then don’t
suggest it.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
They met at
David’s apartment where they watched a strange cartoon called “Samurai
Champloo.”<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a cartoon about feudal
Japan,
yet it was rife with cultural and historical inconsistencies, but it seemed to
do it on purpose.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She tried to
understand all the humor but sometimes she simply didn’t “get it” as Beth
called it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1rqpm66h4bk/UD6kFn0Gx3I/AAAAAAAABP8/JQ1y5lnfAW4/s1600/samurai-champloo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1rqpm66h4bk/UD6kFn0Gx3I/AAAAAAAABP8/JQ1y5lnfAW4/s320/samurai-champloo.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
David pored her a
the green drink called “Mountain Dew” that she loved from the cafeteria.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“I love this beverage,”
Gretchen said. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
“Of course you do.
You have good taste,” David said.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
They drank copious
amounts of Mountain Dew and watched “anime” all night.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
When she finally
returned to her dorm she found a letter from home had been slid under her
door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was from father.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>He must have had someone take the letter to
the neighboring town where the post office was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She opened the
letter and read: </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<i>To my daughter,
Gretchen Marsh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>As I hope you well
remember, I sent you to Miskatonic
University with certain guidelines,
rules and orders.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I trust you are not
associating with outsiders nor revealing what you may know.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Now, however is the time to carry out an
order.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>I need you to go to the Forbidden
Collection in the library and retrieve or copy a page from the book of
Eibon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It is in an incomplete state, but
it has the page that I require.</i></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She quit reading
and tossed the letter on her table.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
He clearly didn’t
know what he was asking.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She did not
have access to the forbidden section.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>But she couldn’t refuse an order.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Refusal would mean he would withdraw her from school and that was
something she could not allow to happen.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She needed to stay in school.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It
was her only way out of Innsmouth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
There was no
choice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had to obey.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She picked the letter back up and read the
description of the page.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>From the symbol
drawn on it she saw that it was some manner of spell and an ancient one at
that.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Very well, she
would retrieve this page.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She waited till
three in the morning and went to the library.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>She knew it had electric alarms if she so much as touched the door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Father had taught her a spell for such
cases.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She chanted the spell and a
sphere of stasis enveloped the door.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That would keep any alarm from sounding.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Next she opened the lock with a spell and entered the dark library.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She couldn’t risk a flashlight so she
stumbled through the dark with her hands out until she came to the door that
led to the forbidden section.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
This was the last
place she wanted to be and she hated her father all the more for making her
come here.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This was a part of her life
she wanted to get away from.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>But like
the situation with Debby, she would have to use the dark tools she had been
given.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There wasn’t a choice.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She would do this
and go back to being a normal student and pretend it never happened.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Gretchen used a
spell to open the locked door and she walked into the room where the forbidden
collection was.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It wasn’t just books,
though there were plenty of those.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There
were also artifacts.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In one glass case was
the fossilized impression of an Old One.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In a glass case on the far side was the English language version of the
Necronomicon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>And next to that was the
rarer and more accurate Latin translation.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>To have two such books would make any Believer a force of terrible
evil.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MvmkKS_5cL8/UD6lAImJJAI/AAAAAAAABQE/Od0wIgh01lE/s1600/Necronomicon_prop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-MvmkKS_5cL8/UD6lAImJJAI/AAAAAAAABQE/Od0wIgh01lE/s1600/Necronomicon_prop.jpg" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
Then she found the
book of Eibon.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She had seen drawings of
it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was a tattered codex of Late
Roman times and it was missing about half of its pages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
She cast another
spell to freeze time inside a bubble and she removed the glass.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She put on her white gloves and carefully
looked through the pages until she came to the right one.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
It was a long
process of casting spells to avoid setting off the alarms but she eventually
made it to the copier machine and made a copy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Then she carefully put the page back, returned the glass lid and left
the forbidden collection.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
When she stepped
outside and didn’t see policemen she knew she had succeeded.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She hurried back to her room and sealed the
hideous page in an envelope.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: 200%; text-indent: .5in;">
With that done she
breathed a sigh of relief and went to sleep.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>At least she would be swimming tomorrow.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>That would take her mind off of things.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
Zach Hillhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08188373296321506021noreply@blogger.com0