The Strange Tales of Peter James Martin

Malarkey's Imaginomnibus Ominous Orbs

Tuesday, 12 November 2024

#97 Way Too Much + Short Diversions: Orphan's War Chapter 1

Happy Blog Day Everyone!

So, normally, this week would be a brand new short story as part of my Short Diversions series. However with all systems go on getting the first draft ready on Daemon Soul: Avalon, I haven't had time to write a brand new short! So, instead, we're going to try something a bit different...

For the next couple of weeks, I'll post the first few chapters of my Vector Unit Regen: Orphan's War story (most commonly just referred to as Orphan's War). If you have any feedback to give me on these, unedited, chapters, I'd love to hear it.

Also this week, I want to share some quick thoughts on blurb writing, as it's something I'm forever toying with.

But, before we do any of that, let's see what your favourite man and talking rat duo are up to!

The Comic Tales of Brennan and Riz

My attempts at trying to brighten up the Comic seem to have gone askew this month! Sorry about that folks!

Not much to say about this one, though I love Riz’s puzzled expression there. Really need to sit down and work out the schedule for the next few issues, can I squeeze a mini Arc in before issue 100? Or is that just a mad man's dream?

Time will tell!

About Blurbs- A Writer's Torment

Blurb writting. Is there another two words that can send such fear down my spine? Well actually, yes, there is but this isn't the time for that!

Writing a blurb is one of the tasks I despise doing, trying to distill a story down to it's base elements, dressed up in a desireable way, is a skill all writers have to wrestle with in one form or another. After all, we have to pitch the work to someone, and I consider an elevator pitch to be a blurb in its purest sense.

I struggle with trying to break down an entire story in such a small space. Take, for example, the following blurb I wrote for Daemon Soul: Awakening as part of a submission process:

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“You are the next Daemon Soul, Terry.”

With Serena’s words, seventeen year old Terry Baker’s world is shattered, and in its place is a world where demons lurk in the shadows.

Now, with everything he knew in free fall. Terry must decide what he wants to do, and what’s worth fighting for. Dealing with events from the past that still scar him, new enemies rise around him, including the Arc Demon known as Death.

With Serena by his side, he must navigate this new world. One that will see the end of what he knows, and the beginning of something new.

-----

Does that make you want to read it? For me, I know it's had important parts of the story condensed to what seems like mere after thoughts and at worst misrepresent other parts of the story!

(Though if you did like it and want to read it, disregard everything in the paragraph above!)

I've tried many times over the years to make a blurb I was happy with, and most of the early ones were very samey (I have none to hand currently) and I always feel I've lost the readers attention a few lines in. At which point that stops being a blurb problem and become an actual story problem isn't completely clear.

What set me down this path of thought was my attempts to do the same for the next Daemon Soul story, so I could easily explain the geist a lot better than I have been doing.

Check it out:

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"Your world just got a lot more complicated, didn't it kid?"

Cypher may havd handled one threat, but his life certainly hasn't gotten easier.

An encounter with an old friend kick-starts the next fight for his life but Cypher will have to learn that he and Serena aren't the only demon hunters in town.

Avalon has been keeping the country safe from demonic threat by royal decree, and they won't let the Daemon Souls get the way.

Now faced with a difficult choice and his father ramping up his plans, Cypher has to make a decision, that is, if he survives long enough to choose...

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That sound good? Still missing out a lot for my tastes, to say nothing of what I got planned for the ending! Though I guess that part should be kept secret I suppose!

Though with that being said, it also seems that some blurbs come easier than others, like this one for today's feature presentation, Orphan's War:

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The future is desolate.

Those with the means are protected by the Dome.

Those without, those known as 'Silvers' are forced to eke out a living in the wastes.

Drake Vern will do anything to get his sister the help she needs but as a 'Silver', there's little he can do.

Melody Moon appears to lives the life people can only dream of, except no one knows the truth she suffers through.

Their futures lay entwined as they're both thrust into a unending war...

-----

Only thing missing from that is the fact that there's giant robots in it! Though maybe it's only me that finds that aspect important?

Short Diversions: Orphan's War Chapter 1

Any one who has been around this blog long enough may remember this story from a couple of years ago. Back then I was attempting to upload chapters weekly but that fell through. It has been changed slightly from that release but not massively.

Please enjoy.

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Chapter 1: Two Tales

The trudge over the wind blasted dunes had seemed long, but it had only been a few hours since Drake and his sister had set out from their makeshift camp. They had been travelling for a few days now, stopping and replenishing their supplies along the way where ever possible. Ahead of them, was their target, the most westerly of the Domes that was the domain of the Atlantis Empire. Inside there was a new life waiting for those who were allowed in. Drake had told his sister the stories that had been passed to him from his parents, who got them from their parents. Inside any of the Domes was a paradise that hadn’t been seen on the Earth in countless ages. Controlled weather systems, heating and conditioned running water, stable and clean energy and most important of all, the best medicine.

Ava, Drakes sister, was asleep on her brothers back, the disease that was ravaging her body on the inside taking more of her waking time from her with each passing day. Her health pushed Drake to his limit, one of those good Samaritan doctors who visited the folk who were forced to eke out an existence outside the Domes had offered to tell him what her life expectancy was, to help him get used to the eventuality of her fate, or as he put it ‘Give you the time you need to make her last days the best they can be’. Saying it to Drake's face was not the best move, and the doctor needed to see a doctor. That had been a few weeks ago now, with Drake and Ava leaving the next morning after that incident. Determined to save his sisters life instead of giving up, Drake knew he had to get her to where the medicine was. He couldn’t just watch her fade away like so many had before. Aside from the travel, the biggest obstacle was their status as a ‘Silver’, owning to the eye colour all those born outside the Domes had. While the Domes did accept some ‘Silvers’ it was a highly restrictive process, only those certain to be useful likely to be admitted. It didn’t stop people trying though from wanting the best life possible for their families.

The sound of a spluttering engine rose from behind. A rust bucket on wheels was coming up as fast as it could when dealing with the shifting sand. It was a jumble of parts, trying to mimic what people had seen in old historic images as a motorbike, the best approximation you can get for these parts. The rider looked older then Drake, his face hidden by a dented helmet and a scarf that was failing to keep the mouth clear. The bike slowed down as it pulled alongside the brother and sister.

“You’re not going to sell her are you?” The rider said, his voice a mix of surprise and judgment, clearly this wasn’t the first time he’d seen something like this.

“Why the hell would I sell my sister!” Drake snapped back. “What sick people do you deal with?”

“Hey calm down!” The rider reached inside his dirt caked jacket and pulled out a metal badge, still shining in places. “It’s my job to ask questions like that.” The rider belonged to a group known as the Sheriffs, they tried to keep some level of order in the outside, but they were a rag tag organisation who took their name from history. Drake felt uneasy, no two Sheriffs were the same, each having their own moral compass and their own views on how to keep the peace.

“So I’m guessing if you’re not selling her then, you’re trying to take her to Entry Point?”

“Entry Point? I’m taking her into the Dome,” Drake replied, walking forward again.

“Wait! You have to go through Entry Point to get to the Dome! You can’t just waltz in there!” The rider got level again, while fighting to stop his bike sinking. “Look there’s the town of Entry Point in ‘front’ of the Dome.” He pointed to the ramshackle buildings, over a dozen of them, like a blemish on a scenic view.

“Okay, so I go through that place to get to the Dome, got it.”

This time, instead of letting Drake go again, the rider reached out and grabbed his arm.

“You idiot! You have to go through the proper channels, there’s an office in town that has the power to grant you access to the Dome, they are the ones you have to speak to. I warn you though, there’s a wait, lots of young people like you have the exact same idea.”

“I’ll take my chances thanks,” Drake pulled his arm free. “I’m getting in there, no matter what.”

“Parents dead I take it,” The rider bluntly observed. “Just because you got tragic circumstances isn’t going to make it any easier for you, there’s a lot of orphans out here.”

“A nineteen year old carrying a thirteen year old on his back and you wonder if my parents are still around. Yeah they’re dead, and I’m not letting the same time happen to her, no matter who I have to go through.”

“Carry on like that and you’ll wind up in trouble,” The rider said quietly. In the distance, three specks were getting increasingly larger, exceptionally fast. Drake spotted them and felt the tension rise in his body, then the rider saw them.

“Here come the big boys,” He said with a pause, as three massive humanoid machines blasted through the sand, whipping it up and blowing it out of the way. They were coated black aside from specks of colour on the shoulders, and each carrying oversized versions of normal weapons. These were Vector Units, the weapon of choice for the powers that be. The original ones were found and dissected, giving rise to newer models, and caused a push to reap what few resources the planet had left to give up. Drake had only seen them from afar before, staying out of their way as much as possible. Everyone knew what they meant when they showed up, death was close.

The Vector Units flew overheard, not even pausing to consider the people underneath. The noise however caused Ava to stir.

“What was that?” She asked.

“Just some flying tin cans...You feeling better?” Drake asked as he helped Ava down. The Rider took a good long look at her, and he tutted under his breath. “No one asked your opinion” Drake glared.

“Good luck...You’re going to need it. See you around,” The rider then sped off towards the town, leaving Ava confused.

“Who was that?”

“No one, just a Sheriff. If you can walk, then we should get going again.”

Truth be told, Drake’s body was close to rebelling against him, but it didn’t matter. He had to get his sister the help she needed, and he couldn’t do that face down on the floor.

“Right!” Ava started moving, though not quickly at first, her legs weren’t moving as she wanted. Drake shown more patience with her though and purposely walked slower so they were still side by side. The two of them walked slower then if it had just been Drake, with Ava having a limp and the occasional moment of weakness. She pushed away any attempt at aid, wanting to keep going.

Through out all of this, the town ahead got larger and larger. The buildings were all constructed of scavenged materials and no look matched individually, but if you pulled back and looked at the town as a whole, everything came together. They were close enough now to see streamers hanging between the buildings and a happy atmosphere was carried on the breeze. Some celebration must have been going on.

Now within a whisker of the town, the ambient noise gave way to music, at first just the tune could be made, a pleasurable, and reliable, set of beats pounding away. Ava heard the female voice at the heart of the song and her face lit up.

“They’re playing Melody Moon!” She gasped, and picked up her pace, entering within range of the shadows of the buildings in the setting sun as lights began to illuminate the skeletal and bare designs of the town. Drake had used the music of Melody Moon as a way to take his sisters mind of things, figuring it was better to give her something to focus on other then the passing of their parents and her own mortality. He found the musicians output to be too cheesy, the lyrics all flowery and dripping with unbridled optimism.

As long as it made her happy though. Drake thought to himself as he followed Ava into the heart of the town, an ornate fountain that stuck out like a sore thumb against the forced ascetic of its surroundings. The motif that decorated the structure though told of its origins, a gift from the seemingly benevolent Empire. The Dome loomed large over the tops of the buildings, but it’s opaque glass hid the contents and the citizens away from the prying eyes of those who had to live outside. People came to trade with those outside but the relationship was always one sided. Something else caught Drake’s eye, and with it another shudder, two Vector Units stood at the end of the long street, no doubt guarding the entrance to the Dome, but also acting like beacons, showing the might of the Empire and enticing those who would gladly lay their life down of it.

“Come on Drake!” Ava tugged at her brothers arm, dragging him towards another street that crossed at the fountain, the jovial festivities of the town had infected her, aiding her in down playing her illness for now, she didn’t know what the celebrations were or what they stood for but it didn’t matter. It meant she could dance and listen to music, so she was happy, this moment blocking out all the more recent ones. This was all Drake could ask for, even more so if he could just watch from the side lines. This wasn’t his scene but it was perfect for her. While she was having the time of her life, he went and made enquiries about his goal, getting him and Ava inside the Dome.

“Sorry son, the office is closed today, on account of the holiday,” The bar keeper said as he served more customers. Drake had found him next to a public space in a temporary bar, selling drinks from a tent.

“What holiday? Too early for harvest ones, or any that have been rediscovered,” Drake said, wondering what the purpose of all this was.

“It marks the date many years ago that the Empire came into being, as a response to the threat from the other nations.”

“You would celebrate that even though you’re out here?” It seemed like it would be one that would be inside only, given it meant little to those outside.

“The Empire is good to us here, they’re going to start helping us revamp this town, get rid of all these remnants and build proper towns, like what they have in the Domes. At least that’s what they say. You’d do well to note down the date, especially if you want to get in there. The office is open for a little while in the morning, but you’d be better off camping outside the doors, a lot of people want to get in.”

“You’re not the first to tell me that today...Where is the office though.”

“Go back to the fountain and head down the street to the right. Go all the way down to the end of the street and it’s the last turn left. Good luck kid.”

Drake left the tent and caught up with Ava, who was trying now to hide signs of fatigue, collapsing in her brother's arms.

“I guess I should have watched my step better!” She joked, weakly.

“You’re overdoing it.”

“No, plus I haven’t heard this song! I got to dance to it, it’s some kind of law...I think.”

Her smile was often enough to melt hearts in all the towns they had passed through previously, though it still didn’t bring much help.

“Come on, I think you need to rest again, I want to set up camp near the office we need.”

“Will they let us in? They won’t be interested in me,” Ava said, her usually optimistic voice disappearing under the wave of pessimism.

“They’re going to let us in, it won’t be worth it for them otherwise. Plus we’ve got a secret weapon, your smile, no one can resist that!” Drake said, just as it was uncharacteristic for Ava to mope or despair, so was it him to smile or joke. Ava bought out this side in him. The pair, having reassured each other for now, set off and pitched a tent right near the office building, which was much better maintained then the others in the town, having a uniform design.

To their surprise, there were already dozens of tents pitched out along the edges and nearby. It took them ten minutes to find a place of their own.

“There’s a lot of people here,” Ava said, looking surprised.

“It doesn’t matter, we’re the ones getting in,” Drake said, he was beginning to feel a little doubt, his bluster failing with his tiredness. Sleep was what they both needed now.

While they settled down for the night, just on the other side of the reinforced Dome wall, another party was in full swing, this one a lot grander, with guests wearing the finest clothes, enjoying the best drinks. All except one was having a good time, and she was sitting overlooking the edge of the balcony, onto the lush gardens below. The night sky was visible through the glass ceilings, and with it, the monolithic structure, the Orbital Ring. The vast relic of a bygone space age encompassing the Earth, it’s purpose lost, any means to visit it long vanished. To the woman sitting there, the ring was as cold and distant as she herself felt. She was dressed in brilliant pinks, an outfit made to order, expensive but designed to last only a single wear. She had been living this life since she was plucked from the outside as a child, her parents more than willing to sign her over to a handler. She often thought about fleeing the gilded cage they had placed her in but knew from what happened to one of the other children how bad it worked out. Nonetheless, she was the only survivor from that intake, being shown their broken bodies as a warning to avoid their mistakes. The last of her friends, her sisters, had only died last year, having been demoted to a general’s plaything after an escape attempt. Melody felt herself wanting to cry but her conditioning made it hard, then someone spoke up.

“Melody, please come back and join the party, its about time for us to hear your lovely voice...”

The man who wanted her to return was her newest handler, who took over from her predecessor when she came of age, a night she tried so hard to forget. His voice though aroused those memories, dragging them up. His name was Darren Deacon, and presented himself to others as the very model of efficiency and skill. Scratch that surface and he was no better then all the others who wanted her. Melody wanted to run away but couldn’t, having no choice but to follow Darren. As they entered the room, all the male eyes fell on her with that gaze of lust, while the women looked on in a mix of envy and condescension, they knew that what she had wouldn’t last long, and was replaceable, while they would keep their power.

“Now ladies and gentlemen, Miss Melody Moon will now perform privately for your entertainment, and afterwards, there may be time for personal performances...”Darren announced with the skill of a ringmaster. Melody’s skin crawled with each word, as her hopelessness rose and numbed her. With tears in her eyes she started singing as the small crowd moved in...

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Well, that's chapter 1 done! If you have any feedback, don't hesitate to let me know.

That's all for this week,

Till next time...

Keep on writing!

Peter James Martin

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Malarkey's Imaginomnibus Ominous Orbs

Tuesday, 5 November 2024

#96 No Words + Some Ominous Orbs!

Happy Blog Day Everyone!

Today is a double threat! Not only do I have to talk about my writing for October (exciting I know) but we have a brand new anthology to celebrate!

Oh, and as always, a new Comic Tales of Brennan and Riz to kick things off!

The Comic Tales of Brennan and Riz

This one, may have become a new favourite. I wish I could say the no words thing happened by design, that I wished to push the boundaries of the visual medium that comics are, buuuut...I would be lying my bum off. Truth is that this comic kind of came out by complete accident. I had a different strip in mind at first but gave up on it when it became clear that it wasn't working. So about ten minutes before I was supposed to start drawing, I had to brainstorm a new idea and the image of Riz being stuck is pretty funny.

Originally, Riz was supposed to be reflecting on the state of his life, ultimately building up to the reveal of his precarious position. Brennan was also supposed to appear, being amused and unhelpful. However before the pencils were done, before I had worked out the lettering, I looked at what I'd already done and realised that it worked far better without any text. So that's the way it stayed. Quite effective don't you think!

Only 3 to go now till the big 100!

October Review

So, this should be quick as I only worked on two stories in October, both of them for this blog!

Short Diversions: The Woods (part 1 and part 2)

Short Diversions: Little Girls and Dead Things (part 1 and part 2)

Both were a lot longer than anything I've written for this blog so far, and they could have been far longer. It might have been better if I just picked one and focused that in 4 parts over the month, instead of leaving that rushed feeling. Not much else to say about them that I didn't already say in their corresponding blogs!

What I'm currently writing however is Daemon Soul Avalon, and I'm doing pretty okay at the moment, should be finished chapter 7 soon, and then only about 23 to go...probably not the best way to think about it!

May have to share a preview at some point as the next few chapters are going to be interesting! Several familiar faces to readers of this blog have already appeared...in fact most of them!

Let's see how much I get done by months end shall we?

...on saying that though a new story idea has sadly forced its way into my head and is threatening to derail my writing plans, so, there is that.

Some Ominous Orbs!

That's right folks, another brand new Malarkey's Imaginomnibus has dropped, featuring a brand new Brennan and Riz short nestled in its pages. There's better writers and stories in there than that argumentative pair, of course, but nice all the same!

The theme is pretty much in the anthologies title, Ominous Orbs. Once I settled in on doing a Brennan and Riz story (why wouldn't I? The rights had landed back in my lap afterall) the subject was more or less obvious: Will'O the Wisp. These, if you're not familiar, are known as strange orbs of colourful and enticing light. They're known to lurk in woodlands or marshlands wanting to lure the unsuspecting traveller to their doom. Their depictions in folklore all around the world are as varied as their names and most cultures seem to have something like them.

Now, the question came to how to approach the story, what part would the Wisps play, and how many times would Brennan and Riz argue? Turns out quite a lot!

For the story, I decided to cast the wisps as "good guys", so to speak. Treating them very similarly to how I did Brownies in the third Brennan and Riz short story. There the creature was something of value, wanted by the rich. The plot crystallised around this and I started writing, going with a in-action start to proceedings.

It wasn't long though before my feelings changed and I knew I needed more. In a marked change from how I normally handle things, I didn't just delete everything. Instead I only ditched the opening, starting with Brennan and Riz’s first encounter with the Wisp, except this time, I gave the Wisp a voice. Ro was a contradiction. He was both fun and hard to write for, and even now, I question my approach with him. His motivations though, came from the song that I decided to integrate more...that being Jerry Lewis's Great Balls of Fire. Leaning into the song more allowed me to give a reason to why Ro sought out these two and to set up the conflicts resolution.

Speaking of that, the bad guy, Reginald, was a hoot, he may be one note villain (to say nothing about his henchmen!) but he was so fun to write and honestly, sometimes that's all a story like this needs, and it allowed Brennan to get a couple of funny lines in.

I was torn on what to do with them, as I didn't want to kill them (not sure Brennan would have allowed that) but at the same time, any other punishment would have felt hollow. So I let the Wisps deal with them! Not sure which punishment would be worse mind!

All in all, a fun little story and the first published Brennan and Riz story since last year. A return to form for the pair? I'll let you be the judge of that!

That's all for this week, till next time...

Keep on writing!

Peter James Martin

Quick Links

Malarkey's Imaginomnibus Ominous Orbs

Wednesday, 30 October 2024

#95 Better Next Time? + Short Diversions: Little Girls and Dead Things part 2

Happy Blog Day Everyone!

Got the final part of the Short Diversions: Little Girls and Dead Things story for you all to enjoy today, but also some relatively sad news for Brennan and Riz fans (though I'm hopefully sorting it soon).

Before the doom and gloom of that news, and the just doom of the final part of the story, let's have a bit of fun...

The Comic Tales of Brennan and Riz

The final issue of this spooky seasoned themed issues! Now that this is out of rhw way, we can start the countdown to issue #100!

About this issue though, I thought it was going too well when I started inking it as I made a bit of a mess in the last panel as the spirit of Halloween's arms should be on front of the spirits collar! C'est la vie I guess. Love the rest of it though, and probably the only time Riz might show some concern about anyone else! Feel bad for the spirit, you go out of your way to try and instill the fun in the frightening, and someone won't even give you the time of day! At least Riz is correct, there's always next year...

Brennan and Riz Update

I wish I had some positive news to put here (well I do, but let's get the bad out of the way first).

As of writing, no Brennan and Riz books are available to buy or read online, aside from one copy of A Boy and A Rat that is being sold by a 3rd party. It looks like the old publisher has delisted all the books under their name, without warning, thus wiping out the three books (and one Short story as the yeti one was never in print).

I'll hopefully have them relisted under my account soon, as several people have stepped forward to help (you know who you are and you are lifesavers). Though the question of the covers has crept up as the publishers logo is all over them, and while I was given permission to use re-use them back in April, I'm not sure if that still stands. They all might need new ones doing, which will take time to sort out.

Still, I promised you some good news, and that is the immediate release (well, on Thursday!) of the fourth Malarkey's Imaginomnibus! This one is themed around Ominous Orbs and features stories from all sorts of fantastic authors, as expected of this anthology series. There's even a Brennan and Riz story in this one, which I'll talk about next week. Keep an eye on Medias of the Social kind in a day or so on where to get your hands on this book!

Short Diversions: Little Girls and Dead Things Part 2

Last time, Robyn and Cade had just found their way blocked by the Shadow Malakai and a host of Black Ooze creatures, let's see how they're going to get out of that! Will they also save anyone? Can they even save themselves? Or will Viola get some new experiments?

Read on to find out, and please enjoy.

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Little Girls and Dead Things

The black ooze monstrosities were the first to reach the Knights, showing surprising speed and agility for creatures made of mismatched cadavers. The six beings came thundering down the hallway, and while Cade steeled himself, Robyn started firing away. One of the first arrows that found its mark caused the monster's head to collapse in on itself, a second head appeared to replace it, bursting out of its rib cage with a lipless smile of sharpened and pointed teeth. An arrow between the eyes of this head put the whole thing down, the black ooze covering them dissolving away, leaving a mess of human remains. Robyn had to remind herself that these people were already dead, their lives beyond saving. It still stung to see what was left from her own actions. The demons however, shared no such thoughts for their fallen comrade, as they still came forward, and as fast as Robyn was with a bow, she still wasn’t fast enough to bring them all down.

“It looks like as long as one head remains on them, they can still operate,” Cade cooly theorised . He stepped forward to meet the first black ooze monster that came close, the one with two other bodies attached to its lower half, each complete with arms and heads of their own. The monster rose up, to attack with it’s lower arms, but Cade didn’t give it a chance to connect with the would be strike, his blade leaving a glittering arc as it cleaved through them all like a warm knife through butter. Even the bones in the arms gave no resistance. As the creature fell, Cade performed another sweep, severing the two lower most heads, before swinging the sword around one last time to take the main head. Like the one before it, the creature clattering into a smoosh of flesh and bones, with no trace of the demonic substance that once gave it life. There were still four demons coming at them, a menagerie of twisted bodies, making a mockery of the human form.

Robyn took another down, her arrows finding a home within their already rotting skulls, the enhanced saviour arrow heads crushing them utterly. The next one proved more difficult as it’s main head was hidden within the bloated body that had been clearly made by stitching multiple torsos together. The extra arms that had been grafted onto it caused it to scuttle around like a spider. She had to sink almost five arrows into it before it went down for good, the last shot luckily hitting the head.

Cade had similar luck, his blade dancing through flesh and ooze. Knowing that the pitiful creatures were already dead made him seem a bit callous as he chopped up the corpses, but he summarised that it was the most efficient way of dealing with the problem than using the full extent of his abilities to take the creatures out. At the same time that Robyn had killed the last of the black ooze monsters coming after her, Cade’s last opponent fell into a disgusting heap, its remaining head rolling on the floor in two pieces.

“How many died to make these…things?” Robyn asked sadly, salvaging what arrows she could. The fact that Malakai wasn’t advancing on them gave her time to take what she needed, while Cade quickly inspected the blade of his sword. The neon blue edge still glowed brightly, with no visible cracks of scruffs along its length.

“I’d guess about fifthteen, it’s too hard to verify though as not every piece of them was used to make them. It is the clear work of a mad man.”

“Or an insane little girl.”

“That too, now Knight Master Gouzen, we have to get through him,” Cade pointed towards Malakai who still stood waiting.

“So you still wish to approach me? I suppose you still have your mission that you seek to achieve. However, it is my mission, given by my master himself, to stop you from getting to Viola.”

“And who is your master….This person who leads the ‘Shadows’?” Cade asked, seeing an opportunity to learn more.

“A man of many talents, and of many faces. That is as much as I will say,” Malakai replied quickly, making it clear that the conversation was over before it started.

While Cade mused on what he’d just been told, Robyn stood next to him, bow in hand.

“What’s the plan then? If I offer long range support for you to get close, we may be able to charge past him, or at least, you can. If he chases after me, I can lead him back to these corridors and hope to slip past. I’m guessing they can’t sense too much of a wider area otherwise they would have been attacking us as soon as we stepped foot in that security room,” she said, offering up a suggestion.

“We don’t know what he’s capable of. Every encounter with these ‘Shadows’ in the past has proven that each is unique in what they can do while sharing some similarities, such as their regenerative capabilities. That girl, Viola, her danger level comes from what she can create rather than fighting skills, for example. The fact that he’s stood there, waiting, tells me he is confident in his own ability and that he can handle whatever we have.”

“Do you have a better plan then?”

“I’ll engage him in hand to hand combat, you will get past and continue on. You need to make it to the control room to activate the immolation procedure, and to rescue the survivors before Viola makes another monster. With any luck, we can reunite on the way back to the exit point,” Cade started walking forward, sword by his side.

“You can’t take him on alone!” Robyn shouted. “Like you said, we don’t know what he’s capable of! You’re going to need my help!”

“I may do, but we also have a mission to accomplish. That takes precedence. Get ready to run when you see an opening. It looks like he wants a fair fight, so that is what I’ll give him.”

“...You idiot,” Robyn muttered under her breath, but all the same, she acknowledged what he was trying to do, and for his part, Malakai wasn’t acting like the other ‘Shadows’ that they had met till this point.

“I am Master Inquisitor Cade Anderson, a Knight of Avalon. You gave me your name, and now I have given you mine. I’ll be your challenger,” Cade announced as he advanced on Malakai. Though he wasn’t in his combat stance yet, he was already looking for any signs that an attack was imminent.

“I applaud your bravery, and your honesty. It is rare that I encounter someone who seeks a honourable fight. I must point out though, that I can not let your ally past all the same,” Malakai replied sternly, his tone almost matching Cade’s.

Robyn was so intently focused on what was about to happen that she didn’t see one of the human remains stirring, or see the human head that forced its way out. The head seemed to ride a wave of black ooze that seeped out of it’s eye sockets. Quietly, bits of the black ooze darted off like sinew and connected to other remains, using them to knit itself a horrifying mass of flesh to call a body. With a form somewhat restored, it saw that its foe had her back turned. Not seeing a more perfect opportunity to strike, it coiled itself, but before it could do anything, Malakai saw it.

Interrupting his moment with Cade, Malakai unleashed a wave of energy shaped like a crescent moon from his halberd, the attacking soaring past both Cade and Robyn, bisecting the revived Black Ooze monster, destroying it utterly.

Cade and Robyn couldn’t help but feel a bit of shock as they both looked over their shoulders.

“Now, we may truly begin,” the Shadow said, resuming his stance. The tension in the air as both sides waited to see who would react first. All sound seemed to cease, and time crawled to a stop. Robyn, already on edge after the little display of Malakai’s power, was now also weary about the black ooze; her nerves were taut, but she kept it together. One didn’t get to her position in Avalon without learning how to deal with stressful situations. That being said though, it was little comfort.

The break in the tension came when there was a far off noise, a clang of metal, the sound of something falling over. Malakai made the first move, he swung his halberd round, taking care not to catch it on the sides of the corridor, his weapon leaving him almost no room to manoeuvre. The speed of his swing was inhuman, but Cade reacted well within time, performing a defensive move, making sure the blade of Malakai’s weapon only met the sacred metal of the True Saviour Blade. Cade tried to push it aside, wanting an opening to take advantage of, but the Shadow stepped back, before attacking again, coming at an opposite angle. Cade rolled to the side and launched himself from a kneeling position, wanting to get within Malakai’s attack range, pitting his sword against the restricted reach of Malakai’s. The same dance repeated itself several times, with neither side being able to land so much as a glancing blow.

Everytime that Malakai got within perfect striking distance, Cade either deflected it or moved back, and it was the same from the Shadow’s point of view. Sparks flew whenever the weapons met together for their brief clashes.

Robyn was dumbstruck by the intensity of the fight, noting to herself that the only reason a normal human like Cade was able to keep up with the Shadow was all the Saviour gear he’d ended up with. He’d been given his True Saviour Blade years ago, on account of his excellent service. It was a relic of the times the so-called Saviours walked the earth, was his biggest asset, as without that, he could never have hoped to harm the more deadlier demons. Then there was his armour, a patented creation of her sister’s, taken from ancient documents that were uncovered. This armour was hidden under Cade’s more formal clothes, but allowed him to go toe to toe with the worst of threats, offering enhanced speed, strength and some durability. She imagined that a fight like this though would push him to the limit, as it certainly didn’t look like Malakai was breaking a sweat, as even though Cade was countering his moves, he just launched into another barrage.

She still felt bad for not helping him, thinking that the pair of them working together might have been enough to see him off, even if flat out defeating him was a fairytale. It led her to wonder what Isabelle would do if she was there. Would she have stepped in, forcing Malakai to take on the two of them? Or would she place her full trust in Cade like she always did, and head on to accomplish the rest of the mission. Knowing that was exactly what Isabelle would have done, Robyn chose to do the latter. She didn’t think that Cade would forgive her otherwise, and she certainly didn’t want that hanging over her head. Sighing, she watched their fight, needing only a single opportunity to sneak by.

Her chance came quicker than she anticipated, as while Malakai started firing more of those crescent energy blasts out, the sound of metal breaking happened again, much louder this time, and much closer. Even Malakai paused for a brief second, listening in.

“That brat,” he muttered under his breath. Before Cade could even question it, the wall behind them buckled and burst apart, as a hulking form appeared, with more of the Black Ooze monsters dragging themselves behind it.

“I am taking care of this, ‘Sam’, go back to your sister!” Malakai ordered, but Sam didn’t say anything, he couldn’t, his mouth was stitched shut. The beast saw Cade and Robyn and threw its head back, making a sound that could only be described as nightmarish. The Black Ooze creatures rushed forward, wanting their prey.

“NO!” Malakai yelled, demanding obedience, and when the monsters didn’t respond, he swept his weapon around, and killed them all with a similar attack as the one he did before. Sam was unfazed by this and moved forward with relentless purpose.

Robyn didn’t know what was going on, but saw an opening all the same, but it meant getting in between the Shadow, and whatever Sam was. She ran full pelt.

“Robyn!” Cade shouted out, afraid of her chances. Malakai saw her, but instead, his gazes shifted to Sam, as he lifted his massive fists, intent on striking Robyn down as soon as she was in range. As the distance got smaller, and smaller, her stress level increased, as she needed the timing to be perfect. There was another chance she was taking here, one that Isabelle would have chastised her for if she knew. Now she was within a metre and Sam duly went to bring his fist down on her, the speed of the blow betraying the speed he’d been moving so far. Robyn jumped forward into a roll, passing just under the incoming fist as it drove into the ground. Malakai never acted once, instead watching as Sam became stuck briefly, trying with all his might to free himself. He slowly turned his head to watch as Robyn recovered herself, and kept on running, disappearing down the corridor.

“Hadn’t you better go after her then?” Malakai sneered, as Sam turned around, and this time, he fell on all fours, using his forearms to drag himself forward and then leaping along, crashing into the ceiling every time.

“You’re not going after her yourself?” Cade asked, eyebrow raised.

“I will take care of you, and Sam will take care of your friend, instead of interfering with our fight.”

“Given that I think you are the biggest threat here, by a large margin. That is something I’m glad of,” Cade pointed his word at his opponent as he spoke. Malakai didn’t reply with anything, but instead resumed their fight, coming at Cade with renewed vigour.

Robyn thought she heard their fight resume, but given her circumstances, she couldn’t confirm anything. What she could confirm was that ‘Sam’ was chasing her. The sound of his landings were thankfully not getting closer, so she was still ahead, but she wasn’t going to be able to rescue anyone like this, not with a threat following so closely behind her. She needed a plan, and she needed it now. She thought back to the layout of the research centre, thinking of what rooms were ahead and where she needed to be. This gave her an idea, and she eagerly led Sam onwards. From previous reports, Sam could take a lot of punishment, more than she could dish out on her own. It wouldn’t have been a problem if she had Isabelle’s demon sword, but she didn’t, and her arrows wouldn’t slow him down. She knew something that would slow him down, however, and so engineered a way to lead him to somewhere where there was a way to slow him down. She did her best to lead him on, she wanted him to know where she was going, but still be a couple of steps ahead, afterall, she needed to find what she was looking for without being attacked first.

A sign up ahead caught her attention, the laboratory she’d been waiting for, however, Sam had gotten a little bit faster, either through speed, or efficiency in crashing less. He was almost upon her, causing her to throw herself backwards through the open door, bow at the ready, with an arrow aimed at his head. All she needed was a slight distraction, and the manoeuvre gave her that . The arrow struck Sam point blank in his head, and the little motor in the arrow head started off, and the projectile started whirring as a little motor sprang into life. It started to spin, like a drill, going in as deep as it could, till the monster ripped it free of his brain, but it had given Robyn all the time she required. She darted into the lab, and quickly scanned the surroundings. She knew what she was looking for, and was glad that she found it. Three barrels were stacked in the corner, each bearing red warning labels, describing the contents. She stood In front of them and faced the door, working on the next stage of her plan. Taking what looked like a compact motor from her pocket, she hastily fitted it to her bow, and then took another arrow and tied rope to it.

With her prep work set up, she now waited for Sam to reappear, and that didn't take long as his hulking form forced its way through the door frame. A moment more, and he was already halfway across the room, taking no care about any of the equipment or furniture in the way. It fell to the last moment before Robyn acted. Getting as low to the ground as possible, she fired an arrow straight between the gap between Sam's legs as he went to smash a massive fist down on her. The arrow flew straight and stuck in a bit of the wall above the ruined door. Then, as Sam began the downward arc of his attack, Robyn hit the motor on the bow, which rapidly began to wind the rope in, dragging her under Sam and past him, well out of his attack range.

Unable to stop himself, Sam's fist collided with the first barrel and it exploded, covering him in a thick green sludge, which hardened fast. Robyn wasn't finished here though, back on her feet, she loaded an explosive arrow, and settled her aim on the remaining barrels, and let the arrow do the final part of her plans. The barrels exploded with the impact of the explosive arrow head, covering Sam in more gunk. Like before, it hardened fast, glueing him to the spot almost instantly, he tried to turn to face her, but couldn’t make it.

Robyn left him in there, knowing any further attacks might just disrupt the gunk, allowing him his freedom a lot sooner than she would like. She ran through the corridors once more, only hearing the distant sounds of Cade’s battle against Malakai. This brought her some relief as pure silence may have meant that the worst could have happened. There was a sound ahead of her, footsteps, and an agitated sighing. While Robyn would have loved it to have been the survivor coming to her, she knew it could only be one person, and she quickly hid behind some equipment, keeping her head down as low as she could. The figure came into view, as Viola angrily walked down the corridor, her pace unnaturally fast.

“You ask for one little job to be done, and no one does it! I really have to do everything around here!” she cussed. “Sam’s going to get punished for this!”

Robyn did think it was amusing at first that the child was talking to herself, but it quickly passed when she remembered what exactly Viola was now, and the power she wielded, and what she had done to all the employees of the research centre. If she was certain it would kill her, she would have attempted an attack, pushing back every ounce of distaste she had at doing such a deed. That’s how much a threat she knew the child was, if she could be called a child. Instead, no such action was undertaken, and Robyn watched as Viola strode out of sight, and that she would come across Sam’s trapped body, which gave some time. Not wanting to waste it, Robyn scrambled to the direction that the child had come from.

The room Viola had come from no longer resembled a laboratory, it was more an abattoir with dried blood stains everywhere and human remains slowly rotting away. There was an array of tools lying around, some of them were still smeared with gore. Robyn spared a thought for the lives lost in this room, but she pushed on. There was an open door, which must have been a storeroom when the lab was being used for it’s proper purpose, and it was here that Robyn found what she was hoping to see. Inside a makeshift cage, a young woman sat, wearing the tattered remains of her lab coat. She sat with her knees up, head against them tight.

“My name is Robyn Gouzen, and I’m here to get you to safety,” Robyn announced, the girl looked up but didn’t say anything, the pain was too much in her eyes. Robyn understood and left her alone for a moment, she had one other task to complete after all. She was able to coax the young woman out and led her back into the lab, where she accessed the computer and started typing.

“What’s your name?” Robyn asked the young woman, she didn’t think that there was that much of a gap between them. The woman didn’t answer, but after a moment, she started staring at the door, and pointed a shaking finger at it.

“Well, well, well. Look at what the cat dragged in! Looks like I didn’t need to send you in afterall!” Viola cackled, she was holding Sam’s severed head, the expressionless eyes simply looked on.

“I’ve got nothing to say to you,” Robyn replied. She tried to keep an eye on the child and on the computer screen.

“No, you Avalon idiots never do. All my test subjects here tried not to say anything, but you know, screaming does count.”

Robyn didn’t give her a response, knowing that was what she was wanting. However, there was one response she wanted to give her.

“When I say run, we’re running. Stay close to me, okay?” Robyn whispered into the other woman’s ear.

“Whispering sweet nothings in her ear eh? Want to tell everyone?” Viola taunted.

“Oh, I don’t have anything to say, the computer on the other hand? That’s got something to say!”

“What?” Viola asked, suddenly feeling a little nervous.

“Immolation Protocol has been activated,” a voice rang out across every room and every corridor.

“Imm-immolation? Oh…OH! Shit!” Viola cursed. “Goddammit it! I had a good thing going on here!” Viola turned and ran, only pausing to give Robyn an angry glare. “This isn’t over!” the child ran off, the sound of her footsteps quickly disappearing.

“Now, it’s our turn to move!” Robyn grabbed the young woman’s hand and led her out of the room, and down the corridor, finding Cade waiting for her. He was battered, and bruised but seemed no worse for wear than when they separated.

“You were able to complete the mission I see,” he stated.

“And you were able to defeat that Malakai guy?” Robyn asked in return.

“No, the fight was called off due to the impending destruction of the building, but it doesn’t matter now. We must hurry to our entry point. Otherwise we’ll get caught up in the blast.” He led the way, all the way back to the security office that had greeted them on their arrival.

“Knight Master Gouzen, you head up first, then our guest can go in the middle, and I can bring up the rear, in case of any trouble,” Cade said pointing to the shaft they had climbed down.

“What trouble are you expecting?” Robyn questioned. “We’re the only living things here aren’t we?”

With a squelch, and a sickening scream, Robyn instantly regretted asking that question as the last Black Ooze monster crawled down the shaft, cutting off their escape route, and leaving very little time for survival. Cade and Robyn both put themselves in the way of the monster’s attack, but every second they took to defeat and kill the creature would be a second wasted. What happened next, seemed to have neem a hazy dream, as Robyn remembered going to fire an arrow at the monster, with Cade getting ready to charge in, till movement by the door to the corridor, catching them by surprise. There, Malakai stood, his arm outstretched and with a flick of his wrist, Robyn, Cade and the surviving young woman were consumed by darkness.They felt like they’d fallen for what seemed like a long time, till all the three found themselves staring up at the stars, while just ahead, the Dark Oak Hall, burned away.

“How...How did we end up out here?” Robyn asked, but Cade didn’t have an answer for her. He looked around, but found no trace of the Shadow that had just saved their lives.

“I think…” Cade started to say, but found the rest of the sentence too incredible to believe. “I think Malakai saved us.”

“But…Why? We’re his enemies are we? Why would he want us alive?”

“I don’t know,” Cade admitted. “There is no reason why he should have spared us.” The young woman next to them found herself staring at the stars, crying as she did. The fact that she was alive felt like a miracle. None of them could explain what had happened, let along the why….

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Hope everyone enjoyed the story, back to a more enjoyable schedule next month, will allow me to dive back into Daemon Soul: Avalon, as I've got a lot of writing to do there!

That's is for this week.

Till next time...

...Keep writing!

Peter James Martin

Quick Links

The Strange Tales of Brennan and Riz Volume 1

Wednesday, 23 October 2024

#94 A Hundred For Me, One For You + Short Diversions: Dead Things and Little Girls

Happy Blog Day Everyone!

Continuing my October madness here, today is the start of the last short story of the month, though like the one before it, it may be short but it's definitely a lot longer than most others on this blog!

Before we get to that, a slight apology as last week I mistakenly thought my original calculations were wrong and that I would in fact miss the last Wednesday of the spooky season, as that would be the first of November. Looking at a calendar will tell you that it isn't the case, so as to why I believed the contrary is a mystery. Rest assured that next Wednesday will see the concluding part of the new short story and it'll happen before Halloween!

With that out of the way, let's see what's happening in the Comic Tales of Brennan and Riz!

The Comic Tales of Brennan and Riz

I wonder if Riz has enough sweets there? We're getting close to the end of spooky season festivities here with this pair, next week's conclusion should be a lively ender! I think Brennan will be happy to see the back of this season...just in time for the season Riz hates!

Short Diversions: Dead Things and Little Girls

Below you'll find the first part of the 2nd expanded short story of the month. Unlike last week's which dealt with mostly new characters, the main character here has already graced two short stories (here and here). Her partner, he's been mentioned but this is the first short story he's in. Though to be fair, I've wrote a little bit of him in both Avalon Tales, and Daemon Soul: Avalon (naturally!). As to who they're up against...well, we'll talk more about that after you've read part 1!

Please enjoy.

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Dead Things and Little Girls

“Smile for me, asshole!” Robyn said as she pulled back an arrow, before letting it fly straight through the head of the demon that was running for her.

“Hey, leave some for the rest of us!” Rick yelled out, as he lined up another demon in his sight.

“You better get quicker then, Avalon has no place for slow poke’s who struggle to hit a demon at a hundred paces!” Robyn pulled another arrow from her quiver, taking less than a second to set the shot, aiming the glowing neon blue arrow head at her next target, killing it within a heartbeat. There was five of them in that patrol, and while their speciality was long range combat, Robyn thought the situation called for a closer approach. Whilst her comrades had stuck to their firearms, switching to their modified handguns for point blank shooting, Robyn kept on using her composite bow, living up to her namesake and proving she was the best marksman that Avalon had.

As the last demon fell, its body already dissolving into nothingness, Robyn started to pick up the arrowheads that could be reused, the Saviour Technology that powered them was too valuable to leave embedded in the walls.

“Great job team,” Robyn said, examining the arrow for any flaws.

“Is it punching out time yet?” One of them said, eliciting a laugh from the others. They had to laugh, with Avalon and its mission to defend the British Isle against all threats demonic and supernatural, any battle could be their last. Robyn knew this keenly after attending many funerals for her teammates. Still, she had a job to do, and it was her pride to follow it through.

“Knight Master Gouzen, Do you copy? Over,” a voice called out from her radio. Robyn took it from her belt and replied calmly.

“This is Knight Master Gouzen. Situation is contained. You can send in the clean up team, now Jesse. Over.”

“Cleaning team has been dispatched but the Lord Knight Commander has requested that you handle a different task. Over.”

“Oh does she now? Any reason she couldn’t have told me herself? Over.” Robyn asked in a teasing voice. Jesse made a short breath as if she was going to respond when there was a sound of the radio changing hands.

“The reason I didn’t say so myself was because I’m extremely busy at the moment, and you know this…Over,” this voice sounded colder, but Robyn knew better.

“Izzy, I know, I know, I’m just joking. What do you need me to do, must be something big if you’re sending me in alone. Since it’s just us, can we drop the whole ‘over’ thing? Especially since Cade isn’t here to correct me.”

“Funny you should mention him, he’s waiting for you with the car. The pair of you are going in for the mission.”

“Fantastic…” Robyn sighed, rolling her eyes. “What is the mission exactly?”

“The Raven Institute at Dark Oak Hall. They were investigating a black liquid we obtained from a raid last month, but as of two days ago, we lost all contact.”

“No offence, but if a research facility went down, shouldn’t we be sending in more Knights?”

“Going in guns blazing might not be the best approach here. Before they stopped all transmissions, the last communication spoke of seeing a little girl wandering the grounds. At three in the morning. Get in, discover what happened, and get out. If we need to take the place by force, then we can sort that out together.”

“I’ll do my best, afterall, I get to return to you anyway.”

“Maybe I’ll even cook for you as a reward.”

“Just don’t burn it this time, okay? Where am I meeting Cade?”

“Donington Street. He has an equipment restock for you as well. Good luck, I love you.”

“Love you too Izzy,” as Robyn responded, the radio went off, and she sighed. The job sounded serious, especially the reports of the little girl. There had been several as of late, and there was cryptic hints that she belonged to a group known as the 'Shadows'. This group was one of the highest threat levels ever identified by Avalon. It perfectly explained why Isabelle was reluctant to send any more personnel in, operations against these so called 'Shadows' never fared well, and Robyn had been stood by her lover’s side when she wrote every letter, apologising for a death in service caused by the demonic threat. Cade and herself were the most capable of getting in and out, but fighting was still not recommended.

“Hey, Knight Master! You coming back with us?” One of her team asked, but Robyn shook her head.

“Sorry, I just got another job through the radio. You all get back and enjoy some peace, you’ve earned it after killing all of them.”

The other knights of Avalon saluted, and she returned it, before heading off to the rendezvous point.

It was a brisk twenty minute walk before she saw Cade waiting by a car that was running, her colleague eager to get the mission underway.

“Knight Master Gouzen, were you taking a leisurely stroll here? Despite your promotion I see you’re still lax with rules,” Cade said, ending it with a sigh.

“And you’ve still got that stick up your ass, Master Inquisitor Anderson,” Robyn replied mockingly. Despite all it sounded, she did respect Cade, he was a capable officer and warrior, his True Saviour Blade sending many demons to their deaths. Isabelle trusted him completely, and Robyn never saw any reason not to.

“If you’re ready, we may leave and begin the mission. I’ve prepared a dossier on the location we’re heading to, including staffing rotas, a list of active experiments, and any and all communications that have been made within the last month.”

“You really leave no stone unturned do you?”

“If a job is worth doing it, it’s worth doing well.”

Robyn picked up the hefty dossier, and sat in the passenger seat.

“Let’s go then, I know Izzy will be wanting to know what’s gone on there.”

“We should be there within an hour.”

“Great, another late night for me then.”

The drive was nothing special. Robyn passed the time looking through the dossier, while Cade focused on driving as efficiently as he could, hardly a word was said between them.

“A lot of top secret stuff here, surprised my sister wasn’t involved with any of it,” Robyn stated.

“Because of her talents, your sister always got to choose where she did any of her projects, and she always tended to do them at the North East branch or main headquarters, especially when Isabelle became the Lord Knight Commander.”

“I don’t know why you felt the need to explain that to me, I am her sister after all. Whatever, if I was a betting woman, I’d say that our current issue is caused by that black liquid we recovered and handed over. The notes all point out that it looks and smells like concentrated evil. We should probably have a new rule where we just dispose of anything like that the instant we find it.”

“We can never pass up an opportunity to use the tools of the enemy against themselves. There should have been safeguards in place to stop contamination.”

“I don’t think contamination was the issue.”

“The little girl? Sadly, you’re probably right. I pointed out to the Lord Commander-”

“You can just call her Isabelle you know, there’s no need to be formal when there’s just us two in the car.” Robyn watched as Cade’s eyes rolled back, a sign of frustration. He lived and would probably die for his code of conduct, and that was professionalism at all costs.

“Fine, Isabelle,” Cade stressed her name, making it clear that he didn’t like what he was saying. “I told her that I knew instantly who that little girl was.”

“Says here there should be thirty staff on site at this point.”

“If suspicions are proved correct, I informed-” Cade looked at Robyn before he continued, noting the way she was staring at him, challenging him to finish the sentence. Which he did with a sigh: “...I informed Isabelle, that the likelihood of survivors would be sadly minimal.”

“But she told you to save who you could? Right? I know Izzy, even if there’s a chance to bring at least one of them home, then that would be enough.”

“Correct. If worst comes to worst, we’re to enact inferno protocols. We may lose the building to its ravages, but everything contained within should perish.”

“Purging things with fire, a classic.”

“We should be there soon. Now is the time to go over your equipment. I will not allow any time to do so once we’re on site, as every second will matter at the beginning. It will be likely that the lockdown procedures will be in place, so we’ll have to secure entry through unorthodox means. Your sister has provided a…” Cade trailed off as he tried to think of a suitable word. “...a ‘key’ that we can use to get access.”

“I don’t like the way you said ‘key’ there.”

“This is your sister we’re talking about here, you should be. It is a far messier approach then I would have preferred. If there’s any enemies lingering, it’ll ruin any chance of surprise we might have gained.”

“Sounds like Rei all right.”

“There is the Dark Oak Hall up ahead. Make yourself ready,” Cade announced bluntly.

Dark Oak Hall got its name from the forest of oak trees that surrounded it. Robyn vaguely remembered coming here as part of a school trip as a child, and the forest certainly got dark with how dense the trees were, making the name very appropriate. The truth behind the property wasn’t as grand as other places Avalon laid claim to. The building was actually less than half a century old, being built in the late 1950s/ early 1960s. The designer and original owner wanted something that looked like it could have been there as early as the 18th century, so styled it appropriately, even sourcing original materials where possible. Sadly for him, he died before it was ever finished. This led to Avalon stepping in at the last minute, finishing the building off and putting a hi-tech, for the time, research centre underneath. The construction of the main building hiding the construction of the new addition quite well. The research centre was one of the finest in the post-war period of Avalon, having lost many resources in the fierce non publicly known supernatural encounters of the second world war.

As Robyn and Cade exited the car, they both noted the stillness of the area, with even the bats giving it a wide berth as they flew through the sky.

“That’s never a good sign is it,” Robyn said with a sigh.

“Only serves to reinforce what we suspect. Our entry point will be over there,” Cade pointed to a small group of smaller trees near the house, beautifully positioned if you were after a reading nook of sorts, but hid it’s real, if mundane, secret underneath. The pair carefully approached it, while keeping an eye open in case there were unwanted surprises before they even gained access to the research centre. The stillness persisted. At first glance at this little group of trees, no one would be any the wiser, even Robyn was hard pushed to see anything out of place, and she knew what she was looking for. Cade however, went straight to the base of the tree, and pushed had on the bark, operating a decades old mechanism now, that sounded like it was in need of a good service. The bit of bark retreated, giving access to a ventilation shaft.

“There’s the easy part out of the way,” Robyn mused to herself as she watched Cade lower himself, and all his gear into the shaft.

“Follow me,” Cade said with no irony as to the fact that the shaft only continued in one direction, down. Robyn duly followed, noting the cramped confines of the vent. The gentle upflow of air was nice though.

“We’re at the first gate now. Wait there while I use one of your sister’s keys.” Cade announced, shuffling down the ladder a bit further.

“If that key is what I think it is, are you sure this is safe?”

“No, but we do what we must.”

Robyn braced herself for what she knew was going to come next. She felt the ladder move as Cade clambered back up as far as he could. A few moments later, she heard a beeping that quicked with each passing second, till the ‘key’ exploded, the ventilation shaft shuddering. The next sound was of gears moving as the doors that comprised the gate slid open, their locking mechanism obliterated.

“How many more of these gates are there?” Robyn asked, thinking of how they were probably going to end up surrounded by whatever demons were lurking in the centre.

“Two more, in quick succession. This shaft opens up directly next to the Security Room,” Cade replied.

“Great…Great…” Robyn trailed off. “Well, they know we’re coming now don’t they.”

“If you knew of a better and faster way in, the perfect time to share it would have been half an hour ago.”

Cade had Robyn on that one.

“Fair point, let’s just get this done.”

The pair carried on, repeating the process two more times as Cade had said. Robyn was a little relieved when she heard her partner put his feet on the ground, Then she heard the jingle of a set of keys as he unlocked the service door that gave them full access to the Security Room.

“I see you at least brought a normal key then,” Robyn noted.

“It’s the skeleton key that’s standard issue for Knight Inquisitors and above. We can’t carry out proper inspections if there’s locked doors in the way.”

“I did not know that, wait, any locked door?”

“Yes, I know when to, and when not to use it.”

“That’s a relief then…” Robyn stepped off the ladder, and was pleasantly surprised to see there weren't any demons waiting in the room for them. There was a lot of blood though, and one of the security guards was slumped in the chair by the cameras, his face completely missing, and, possibly smeared on some of the screens. Robyn had seen too much death to be fazed by it, but at the same time, she went and grabbed the security badge that lay limpy around his neck.

“Robert Jonas, you won’t be forgotten, Izzy won’t let it,” she let go of it, but pulled out a small notebook from one of the many pockets on her armoured jacket, and quickly jotted down the name. It was standard practice for her, as Isabelle had hoped it would be for any of the Knights of Avalon. These were all men and women who put themselves in harm's way to protect the country. Any time one of them fell, their loss should always be remembered. Isabelle had to hold the contradictory views that they were all expendable, but at the same time, they really weren’t, each person was an individual with their own hopes and dreams. Dreams that could be as easily taken along with their lives, which had happened to Robert here.

While Robyn was taking his name, and musing on his life, Cade was busy checking the security equipment. Of about twenty screens, only a handful were still working, and even they were creaking under the conditions as screens would sporadically burst into static. Then, he motioned for Robyn to come over to where he was, pointing at the screen.

“Found something?”

“Sadly yes.”

On the screen where he was pointing, a black shape lumbered around aimlessly. It was humanoid, but with a human sticking out of it in a decayed state. Following it was another, and another. One of the bodies looked like a pair of people had been crudely fused together, staring at their heads, a pair of disjointed drooling mouths, caught in an expression of agony for all time.

“So that’s what we’re dealing with then, black goo zombies,” Robyn said sadly. “Any chance of survivors?”

“Unknown currently. I’d say slim to none. I’m sorry,” Cade replied, trying to console her, but it was the one part of the job that he wasn’t very good at.

“It is what it is…At least we have a list of who was on staff at the time. But, we need to deal with these threats.”

“Agreed, I can cycle through the remaining security cameras to find them. I suspect those ‘black goo zombies’ are acting as guards. They probably have their little route to patrol as I can’t see them being intelligent enough for anything else.” Cade started typing away at the keyboard, and the feeds of the working cameras started changing. The first few screens showed just desolate hallways, some of which were smeared in blood. The next screen however, showed a room, where a medical table and an array of tools were scattered around. Just to the right of the bed, stood a girl in a dirty lab coat, gleefully ticking things off a list on a clipboard. She was chatting away to someone off screen.

“Can we get audio?” Robyn asked. Cade nodded, already in the process of enabling it.

“...Swell. Can you believe how easy this is going? We’ve been here two days and I’ve still got a lot of experimentation ideas!” the little girl said excitedly.

“I’ve only allowed this to continue as long as it has because our master told me that you have to test the fluid. I feel like you’ve already achieved this. Especially since we know that Avalon's retrieval team is here.”

“You are such a kill joy. Do you want to try the next experiment? It might bring a smile to your dull face.”

“Viola, I have no desire to kill the way you, and the others do.”

“Suit yourself. SAM!” Viola yelled. From the other side of the screen, a hulking figure emerged, with the head of a little boy. There were scars and stitches all over his body, making more of a monster than a child.

“Be a dear and go and drag me one of our specimens please?” Viola asked. ‘Sam’ just stood there, unmoving.

“What do you mean there’s only one left! I can’t have killed everyone else!”

Again, there was no reply from ‘Sam’ just a pained silence.

“Fine! I’ll do it myself! Then, I guess we’ve got no choice but to leave this place empty handed!” Viola moaned, till she looked straight at the camera, it’s little movements capturing her attention. “Well, well, well! Looks like they finally found us! Sam, new orders, bring whoever our guests are to me! Take the other experiments with you! Also, you! Don’t just stand there, trying to look cool! You’re supposed to be my bodyguard! Find them and do the bodyguard thing!” Viola yelled at the other off camera person, as ‘Sam’ reached for the camera, a crunch later, and the camera went dead.

“Looks like we have a survivor after all!” Robyn said, her hopes raised.

“Yes, but getting to them won’t be easy. We also don’t know the identity of the other individual along with Viola and her flesh golem, ‘Sam’. That could be troublesome for us. It would be safe to say that the facility and all its secrets have been compromised by Viola. We’ll have to commence Immolation Protocols once we have secured the survivor.” Cade said, straightening his glasses.

“Now, you’re talking my language,” Robyn pulled her bow off her back, setting it up with an arrow. Cade stood and opened his coat, revealing the majestic form of his True Saviour Blade standing proudly within it’s magnetic sheath. He withdrew it, and held the lightly glowing blue blade to his face, saying a prayer to himself.

“Are you ready? Knight Master Gouzen?”

“Back to ranks already?”

“We are in a combat situation, rules must be followed.”

“Of course…” Robyn rolled her eyes again, but with a smile this time. Cade gave a little hint of a smile, showing he wasn’t beyond the act. He opened the door to the hallway and the pair exited the safety of the room.

Through the corridors they walked calmly, their weapons at the ready. Cade was always just in front of Robyn, his sword drawn, while she had eyes scanning every far away corridor, her hand on an arrow, the string of the bow taut. Aside from their own careful footsteps, they heard movement far off, a stampede of feet. It was getting closer, whatever crude senses these monsters had, they’d found them, and were closing in. All the better for the pair, especially as it saved them a job of tracking them down. The complex it self wasn’t that twisting With a few central corridors that connected everything together, it was in one of these wide spaces that they would see the monsters in the flesh, like shambling zombies, covered in black ooze that seemed slightly corrosive to the touch. Ahead of Robyn and Cade was at least six, if not seven of these things, and the way the bodies were contorted, and grasping for any sort of life, they may have been twelve people originally. One of them, instead of having a normal arm, had the torso of another person, almost skeletal now, as though something had been eating away at them from the middle outward. Another crawled around on four sets of arms, as it headed towards the Knights of Avalon.

Cade was keen to give these foul creatures the mercy that only death could bring, while Robyn, ostensibly doing the same, felt some sympathy for their plight. They had been humans once after all, and still should have been humans if not for someone’s sick games. There was someone else with these zombies though, and a lone figure at the far end of the corridor that was unmoving from the spot as the other creatures surged past him. He cut a lean figure and stood in stoic silence, a stark contrast compared to the others. Short spiky black hair, one eye staring forward with cold resolve, the other covered machinery looking like a series of lenses. The uniform was dark looking, a cross between decorated armour and an officers uniform. In his hands was a large halberd with a wicked looking blade at one end that twisted into a curved edge. He had it resting at his side. The difference between him and the pitiful zombies were clear. Seeing the Knights of Avalon coming towards him, he spoke a few words.

“Hear me, I am sworn to do my duty, and that duty is to protect my charge. You will enter this area behind me. Stay where you are, we will not have to exchange blows. My name is Malakai, and I have no desire to shed unnecessary blood. I wish I could say the same as my erstwhile allies.” his words made his distaste for the situation clear.

“Do we know anything on this one?” Robyn asked, turning to Cade, who was as much in the dark with it as her.

“No, but regardless, he is in our way. We have but one choice. We have to kill these demons in front of us, and go through him…” Cade replied, gripping the handle of his sword.

“This isn’t going to be easy, is it?” Robyn said, taking aim.

“It never is.”

With that, the pair braced for combat…

----------

So those villains, neither are new here! Viola was the subject of her own Malarkey's Imaginomnibus story in Hubble Bubble (check quick links below for how to read that one, and I talk about writing the story here) and Malakai, he got his own short story on this here blog, dealing with Void, the star of the last story! (Check that here, you'd almost think I planned this!)

We'll wrap up this little tale next week.

Till then,

Keep on writing!

Peter James Martin

Quick Links

The Strange Tales of Brennan and Riz Book 1: A Boy and A Rat

The Strange Tales of Brennan and Riz Volume 2