The Strange Tales of Peter James Martin

Wednesday, 18 December 2024

#102 Riz-mas Songs + Short Diversions Galore

Happy Blog Day Everyone!

So you might have noticed that title, what that means is not only have I decided to give you the rest of Orphan's War (I'll apologise here for the state of it, an unfiltered look into my mind), but also the first part of A Riz Christmas Carol.

No time for Haiku's and poetry this week I'm afraid but I think we've got more than enough on our plates already!

So let's dive in share we!

The Comic Tales of Brennan and Riz

This was a fun idea, and in case you're wondering, yes, I have thought about what some of these sound like, and others that aren't listed here, like the 12 days of Riz-mas:

'On da first day of Riz-mas, ma true fans gave ta me!

A golden statue of me!

On da second day of Riz-mas, ma true fans gave ta me!

Two Dimond Gloves

And a Golden Statue of me!'

You get the idea with that that, oh and the fifth day was 5,000,000 pound. It had a nice ring to it.

Last Riz-mas would go something like this:

'Last Riz-mas, ya gave me yer card, but da very next day, you took it away!

Next year, ta save me from tears, I'll clone der details instead!'

Riveting, I'm sure you'll agree.

Who could forget the next hit:

'It’s Riz-mas time, dere's no need ta be afraid.

Ar Riz-mas time, just give me wat I crave!

In ya world of plenty,

Ya can spread it all ta me

Throw ya arms in da air,

It's Riz-mas time!'

Inspirational. Yes, you can see I'm having way too much fun with these. Maybe next year I'll remembering to give more thought to that rat-blessed time of year...then again, there is a comic needed for next week..

Short Diversions Galore

So kicking off this mini festival of writing is the concluding part of Orphan's War...which is a lie as it concludes nothing! I think it is at the halfway point of the novella I was aiming for...I think. My enthusiasm waned and I believe a certain boy and a rat took my attention with rewrites aplenty (I could go back and check as it was mentioned a few times on the blog in the early days).

Links to the other chapters:

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Chapter 6: First Flight

It had been a month since Drakes induction, and what followed was a blitz of lessons and drills, of long days that started at five in the morning and ended abruptly at ten on the night. He was placed in a small group of others, which he assumed was more like himself. Five other people, a mix of late teenagers and early adults, two boys and three girls a perfect mix of gender. Unlike before, all of them shared his eye colour. It took a week for chatter amongst the group to become normalised. He’d learned that there names were Gene, Tanis, Lora, Sheena and Fern. As before, no last names were given, and this time he didn’t give his own out. He and his fellow trainees had even been given a team name by one of the instructors, though Drake didn’t think it was meant to be a compliment. The Silver Six, it brought up imagery of a covert unit or some kind of specialist squad but the truth was that they were expendable, and the events that followed proved it.

Tanis was the first to die, during a basic training exercise that was anything but. Drake remembered the look on his exhausted face, and the desperate look he made when he was ordered to climb the fifty meter high wall, with no harness. To disobey meant death anyway, and like Drake, Tanis had people depending on him doing as he was told. Though who was never brought up, and their fate Drake would never be told. In this case, climbing was the only course of action.

He made it half way up before his hand slipped, he recovered it quickly but it was the last time as another ten meters saw him lose his grip on both hands. His fall was in slow motion his head smacking off the pointed rocks below even more so. The instructor in charge didn’t bother sending for a medic, instead getting a couple of morticians to take the body away, to dispose of with no ceremony. The rest of the trainee squad got little time to mourn, getting only the hour it took to get rid of the body. This was only a fortnight in. A week later, Fern died. She was unceremoniously killed as she tried to escape, the training, the drugs and callous treatment, breaking her down. It was the middle of the night that she ran, the alarms blaring loud enough to wake the dead. Drake and all the others in the block went outside just in time to see Fern halfway across the testing range. It was a fool hardy attempt and maybe she knew it but just didn’t care anymore.

No one was chasing her, which led Drake to believe that they knew what was about to happen, as the distant sound of an engine roared. Drake called out wanting to call her back but it was too late. The night was filled with one sound, that of a blast from a Vector Unit’s rifle weapon. Fern’s body was blown into the air like a rag doll, coming apart like one as well. If they had been inhumane in the wake of Tanis’s death, they were downright sub-human in the wake of Fern’s, the language painting her as a traitor and a coward. Why he didn’t run away from this haunted Drake, just as much as he knew the others were thinking about it. He then wondered if Gwen, Cen, Sara and Ash had been through any of this, well more so Gwen, he assumed that having different eyes would have spared them. He couldn’t leave, Ava was in their care, and he’d hate to think what the Empire would do to her if something happened to him, but at the same time, all this was taking a toll on him, even though it had only been a few weeks in.

The last week in comparison had gone a lot smoother but no one dared act out of turn, and took what was thrown at them. This was perhaps the idea all along. Throughout all this, he had barely spoken a word to his sister, having being amazed at the video to video communication system, having seen nothing like it before. They were monitored and the early stages of the treatment had reduced Ava to a shell of herself, which was worrying in the extreme, and again, it felt like someone was pulling the strings to prove a point, one which Drake got loud and clear. Do as we say as your sister’s life is in our hands. What was better for him was that he had been promised time to visit it her, but only once the first month had been passed. This is what kept him going.

The end of the month came, but with it, an important milestone for the trainees. With some trepidation, the four Silvers were led to a hangar, one they had been to before multiple times, learning about the equipment. Today though, would mark the first time they would piloting the Vector Units, having only previous spent some time in the simulators.

Standing in before the giant metal incarnations of men, Drake saw fear. He hadn’t forgotten that it was one of these machines that had cruelly blown Fern a week or so earlier. Then there was the terror that they induced naturally, that they were instruments of death and destruction, mimicking humanities appetite for it. Each trainee had been put in front of the machine they were to be expected to use. What made things worse was the instructor they had been given, Cody. Each of them had heard stories of this man, who by all rights should have been killed a hundred times over if they were true. He was supposedly more machine then man one tale went, while another tells of him destroying three air ships in a barely functioning Vector Unit, by plowing through them. The only story that seemed the absolute truth was the one that he liked to make his students wait.

“I heard the probation guards talking outside my room today” Lora said softly, welcomingly breaking the silence. “They were putting bets on who was going to die next.”

“Bastards, the lot of them. Bet they won’t say half of this to our faces once we’ve moved up to their ranks” Sheena said clenching her fists. She had become the little groups defacto leader, having emerged from her quiet shell in the wake of the deaths. On most occasions she would emit an aura of calm but somethings, you just had to get riled up about..

“All that talk of special treatment we were supposed to get...Remind me why we all wanted to be in this place again?” Gene asked, he was the oldest at twenty five, having come here to try and ensure a better life for his pregnant girlfriend and their unborn child. Apparently, she was holed up in the same hospital as Ava. Each of them had someone they were willing to throw their lives away for, after all the Empire was using them as leverage holding their wellbeing to ransom.

“What choice did we have?” Sheena said shaking her head. Drake was going to chip in but the voice of their instructor called out, bringing their attention back to their imminent task.

“What choice did you have?” Cody said quizzically “That’s the thinking that’s holding you back and setting you firmly in the place of second hand citizen. Instead of that, you need to see this as an advantage. You’ve all been given a chance to prove that you’re more then just your eye colour.” The instructor came into the light from behind, a normal, yet imposing looking man. One of his eyes had been replaced with an eye patch with a camera lens built into it, and it looked like his arm was artificial from the elbow down. He spotted the trainee’s gazes and then welcomed them. “Take a good look at what my time fighting brought me.” He pulled his sleeve up, showing the metal hand that was like the gauntleted fist of a knight.

“The stories were true?” Gene said with some shock.

“Not all of them, I’m still more human then machine, more flesh then steel...But what I got means I can still fight all those pricks against us.” Cody strode forward, marching in front of the little group so he could better address them all.

“Today you’ll undertake your first steps in these Vector Units, these personal machines of yours are now under your protection, and as such, all care of them falls on your shoulders. Fail to keep up their repairs and you’ll pay for it in battle. Now unlike some other instructors who would spend a few days just getting you inside, we’re going to fast track things.” What this had meant was they were only given a short time in the cock pit, they weren’t even told at first how to get into the cockpit. Sheena was the first to figure it out, a hidden button in the foot that called down a rope with a foot rest in it. She grabbed hold tightly and was quickly taken up, up to the chest of the Vector Unit which waited till she put a keycard in to open the hatch. Once she had done it, the rest followed suite, and Drake climbed into the dark chamber. The hatch shut behind him with a heavy clang and lights started to flicker on.

First it was the console lights and then a main light came on. The controls looked a lot more basic then he was expecting for such a machine. The chair was laid back and floating monitors attached to a metal arm floated just over ahead. The console was just at the side of the chair with different switches on it. To control the Vector Unit, all Drake could see were two foot pedals, and two levers where the hands would be. One of the monitors flickered on as Cody’s face filled the small screen.

“Get used to this place, as you’ll be spending a lot of time in these. I think everything should be self explanatory, the monitors will be your eyes, the levers your hands, and the pedals your feet. You should find a head set resting on the monitors, put them on and sign in. You’ll get proper callsigns later so just call in using your names for now. Once that’s done, we can get these moving.” That was a daunting prospect for the trainees, but they followed the orders, with Drake finding his to be a snug fit.

“This is Drake.” He said tapping the microphone, the headset wasn’t connected to anything, but he had seen portable radios before, that being the only form of long distance communication they used on the outside. One by one, his team mates called out, till Gene was the last one. As soon as he spoke, Cody piped up with the next command.

“Alright, I want you to lay back in those chairs and strap yourselves in. Then position the monitors so they are in front of your face, don’t worry about them looking so complicated for now.” This seemed a suspiciously easy step, and it was. Now Drake had five or six screens hovering in front of him, he couldn’t be sure of how many they were, as they all blurred into one. Aside from Cody’s face, the rest showed the view from the main Vector Unit camera, which was the head of the machine.

“So how do we move these things then?” Sheena asked, giving a voice to the other’s scepticism about the endeavour.

“Place both your feet on the pedals, and your hands around the two levers....” Cody instructed. When Drake did, he felt a shock and the feeling that something was moving in his body, his grip tightened without his control and he felt strange and detached, though most of all, he felt cold suddenly. Like he had left a warm room and jumped into a river in the middle of winter, his arms and legs lost all feeling.

“I can now tell you what some of those injections you’ve been getting, are. You’ve been injected with special nanobots that those clever gits in the Research and Development lab, Black Flare, have come up with. The moment you completed a circuit by grabbing those levers and putting your feet down, you activated those bots which turned you into a man-machine interface. Congrats you now know what it’s like to be me.” Cody said with some glee. “With them activated, you can move around, sort of like you can in your own body. The connection might be sluggish though and it will take getting used to the finer movements but, I don’t give a shit about them today.” Drake flexed his arm and saw through the camera that the Vector Unit moved, mimicking his movement. The others were doing this as well, experimenting on their own, taking the odd step here and there.

“If you’ll follow me, there’s still more to learn today, and the dangerous stuff starts in a moment.” Cody had already boarded his private use machine, one that looked similar in structure to the others, but diverged in actual design.

With grace and efficiency, he walked out of the hangar doors, leading the team onto the next phase of their training.

Moving in the Vector Unit was a strange experience, the dissonance between what he felt and what he knew was going on, was causing Drake to have a headache. He fought through it though and made the behemoth walk with thunderous footsteps out of the hangar.

“This feels...wrong” Lora admitted, her balance was off slightly so her attempt to walk was more of a swagger.

“Lora, you need to adjust your balance. Use a mental command to free one of your hands and then access the controls next to the seat. One of them is a weight diagnostic. It will relay where the problem is and how to sort it.” Cody said. So far, his reputation didn’t seem earned, he was actually being helpful, but that didn’t mean much, there was still time to be a bastard. Gene and Sheena didn’t have any of the trouble and stood in the wind, that whipped helplessly at the machines. Cody was ahead of them and waited for Lora to sort out her issues before moving on to what he thought was the important thing to learn.

“One of the many things humanity has longed to do, when first waking in this hellhole, is to take what so many other creatures take for granted. We see those endless skies and long to fly through them. While nature provided for the birds and all the rest, we’ll make do with our own wings, namely these Vector Units. These models are equipped with Asx Aerial Engines, and while they aren’t the best we have, they’ll do for our purpose.” There was a level of tension rising within the group. Walking was one thing, it was easy to do and if they fell, it wouldn’t be a big deal. Flying was going to be trickier, and the speeds involved could be fatal if they lost control.

“Sir, shouldn’t we wait till we’re more accustomed to these controls? I mean, I don’t even know how we would operate a jetpack in this configuration.” Sheena complained.

“Well, the people who created these were going to expect you to start flapping your arms. There’s a series of buttons on the lever your left hand should be holding. The top most button is the one that preps the jet engines. On the right lever, there’s a slider which controls how much thrust will be generated. To control your direction, you lean that way. The boosters on this model of Vector Unit are stuck at a forty five degree angle, so bare that in mind. Being trainees, we were going to give you the best toys yet.” As Cody was talking, Drake was absently following the commands, and felt the rumble as his engines kicked in. With little thought he put the slider to max and felt the g-forces push him further into the seat, threatening to knock him out.

Back on the ground Cody smiled, he knew there was always one who played with the controls, it didn’t matter if they were just clumsy or a daredevil. He set his engines to max as well and headed into the sky, adjusting his trajectory so he was flying parallel to Drake, then he continued his lesson for all to hear.

“Thank you, Drake? Thank you for volunteering. No doubt you’ve felt the g-forces, and maybe that’s why you’re flying like a cock eyed bird who can’t quite tell which way is the ground or the sky. Good news for you is that they aren’t as bad as they should be. There’s a special substance built into the cockpit that absorbs the g-forces through some process I don’t care to understand.” Drake managed to pull himself together and tried to steady himself, pulling the slider back a bit so he wasn’t going full out. “Also, some of those injections you’ve been having. At least one of them is a concoction that the guys in the white suits will hope to lessen g-forces further. Don’t know who’s been given what with that one mind.” Cody flew around Drake’s machine, showing off his expert control and started to lead him back down to the ground, closer to the other trainees who daren’t move.

“Good grief Drake! You’re making that look easy!” Gene cried out as he pushed the engines to max, flying straight into the sky. Sheena took off as well, leaving Lora behind, who was still apprehensive. Fighting her fear, she pulled the slider down and joined the others in the sky, she found that she could handle it a lot better in the air then on the ground.

None of them could handle it as well as Cody but slight rocking aside, they could go forward and that was all they needed to do. Just as their instructor had wanted, they all felt something, vindicative about this process, flying through the air, being as close to it as possible. Drake looked around and through the powerful cameras in the heads of the Vector Unit, he spotted a few soldiers on patrol around the base, and recognised them ones who had been giving him a hard time for being a Silver. With mischievous intent, he angled himself so that he aimed at them and powered to full speed, making them dive for cover before pulling up at the last instant. Seeing them cower made him smile, a kind that he hadn’t done in a very long time.

“Excellent manoeuvre Drake, you’re a natural in there.” Cody wasn’t bothered about him scaring the soldiers, it might have been different if he had crashed but as long as he showed some intuition when piloting, the pride of a few upstart airmen was a good price.

“A natural? I’m not doing anything that the others are.” Drake replied, levelling back with Cody’s Vector Unit.

“Most pilots wouldn’t dare play chicken with the ground like that.”

“Well I’m not most pilots, and those guys deserved it.”

“Hah, just keep crap like that to a minimum you’re expected to still work with them and they are your superiors.” Drake wanted to reply to that with a comment along the lines of ‘for now’ but decided against it. As for now he was at the bottom most rung of the ladder, and would be as long as they kept their end of the deal and treated Ava. Around him the other trainees were getting used to flying.

“Sir, where is the information on how much fuel we have remaining?” Sheena asked, having noticed that the monitors contained no stats whatsoever, meaning they had to go on visual information alone.

“You don’t need that stuff when you’re in my sessions. You’ll learn to pilot with your gut. That’s the difference between me and the other instructors. If you can fly these basic machines with ease then once you get into the pride of the Atlantis Empire, flying them will like breathing.”

Sheena was about to reply when Lora cried out.

“Something is wrong!”

“What’s wrong?” Drake spun the machine round and saw the problem as her Vector Unit’s propulsion system started firing out in uneven bursts, till one of the thrusters simply exploded, shaking the robot and causing Lora to scream as the cockpit was ruptured.

“Sir, do something!” Sheena shouted at Cody who just stopped in mid air and watched. Drake was now right next to the stricken Vector Unit, he had no idea of what to do but he couldn’t stand there and do nothing. He manoeuvred so he was guiding Lora’s machine but found controlling it hard as the remaining thruster was going into overdrive. All the time, he was talking to her.

“Hang in there! We’re going to get you down.”

“Please don’t let go! I can’t see anything...Smoke is...”

“Gene! Get over here and help me!” Drake shouted to Gene who was too dumbfounded to offer much help. Sheena flew by him and gave him a tap, focusing his attention on his friend. The three of them then tried to help stabilise Lora, attempting to bring her down as safely as they could. The engine on Lora’s Vector Unit blew out completely, and her radio link went dead. Being close to the blast, Gene lost most of the cameras on his machine’s head, so he had to disengage. This left Drake and Sheena to guide the stricken Vector Unit to the ground.

The three machines landed with a thud, kicking up earth, it was far from a graceful landing, but all Drake now cared about was getting Lora out of that steel coffin. He wasted no time and tore himself from his seat. He fumbled around the door to Lora’s cockpit, hoping to find some sort of emergency catch that would release it. Drake’s frustration grew with each passing second. He wanted to look over his shoulder and see Cody coming to their aid, but he didn’t have to check to know that it wasn’t happening. Sheena joined in, and the pair were able to pinpoint the switch they needed, and with a hiss, the cockpit door opened. Now with access, Drake could see how bad it was in there. Twisted metal torn like paper leaving a gaping hole where the engine had once been. Lora was a bloody mess, barely alive. There were metal fragments stuck in her skin, one even piercing her eye.

“Don’t you die on me!” Drake shouted as he tried to wake her. Sheena stood behind him and used the head set to plead for help from Cody.

“What are you doing! We need help here now! She’s going to die!”

“That’s life,” Cody sighed. “The first responders are already on their way. There is nothing you can do now.”

Cody kept his Vector Unit airborne, hovering over the trainees, with even Gene finding his way to the ground safely. The help that Cody had mentioned, was a couple of All Terrain Vehicles, that drove with force through the terrain, large tires making short work of stones in the way. The medics didn’t say a word as they got out, and efficiently transferred Lora from her broken mech, to the back of one of the ATVs. Sheena tried to get in the back with her, but she was denied with a cold hard stare, and the medics slammed the door, then drove away.

“Fun’s over, you’re all dismissed for now, get back to your barracks and await further orders,” Cody ordered, he remotely deactivated the trainee’s Vector Units, stopping any further use.

The way back to the barracks was a sombre affair. They didn’t even see Cody again, he was whisked away to give a report on the accident. Drake should have been happy as he was informed that he could speak to Ava, and he duly activated the connection. Even with her face on screen, he didn’t reply to her, just nodding. He let her speak for a full half an hour before he said anything.

“I’m sorry Ava, I really am. I’m going to have to go now, I’m just...tired. Bye...” It hurt him to just cut her off like that but he needed to rest, what happened with Lora...His lingering feelings about the deaths of Fern and Tanis. He threw himself on his bed and buried his head under his pillows, struggling to make sense of things. There was also something else, the way he felt in the Vector Unit, that sense of power he got, and that sweet revenge against those thugs. He was confused by it all. Sleep eventually came to him.

Melody Moon laid in her now empty bed and looked around her room, it was silent again, like it should be. She put her night clothes back on and went to the window. Down below, many storeys, she knew that Darren was getting back into his car and he was going to go back home and do whatever a monster does in his den. It hurt her resolve but she knew that she couldn’t do anything yet, but already she was making plans, learning things that would ultimately help her. She remembered that the last thing that prick had said to her, was reminding her of a special request she had to do, a meeting at a hospital with someone, a fan. She was told that the fan was a thirteen year old girl, and that the eyes of a governor was already on her. She shivered at the thought that new prey were already been picked out. Wanting to prevent any more girls like her being created and abused, Melody knew she would have to pick up the pace in her preparations.

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Where was this going to go? Well, I think the plan was to push Drake further into hell, while Ava started taking what steps she could to stand on her own and procure her own freedom. It would then be this freedom that brings her into conflict with Drake who isn't told that his target, is in fact his sister. Thus setting up the showdown. Though, I'll be honest and admit that this is a change from my original plan for Drakes back story which would have seen him kill his sister (instead of escaping, she was placed at the target by the empire that wanted rid of her...yes, it was a stupid idea and I'm glad I'm not doing that now).

Let me know if you'd ever like to see this story revisited. I know some edits I'd like to see already.

Now, let's move on to the brand new stuff!

Riz's Christmas Carol

I've been wanting to do something like this for a long while, and with it not looking like I'd ever get to do it, I decided to do it here. I'd use this version as the base if I got the chance to do a 'proper' novella on it. I've had to split it into two parts (at least I hope it's only two, can't let this one drag!) because it's been rough for me to find time this week to write.

Part 1 begins now!

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Riz's Christmas Carol

Chapter 1: A Perfect Job?

“Well?” I asked impatiently, as Riz pulled himself out of my pocket. He gave his head a little shake and quickly groomed himself with his paw.

“Well wat?” Riz asked in return, apparently not understanding my frustration at all, he sat up with his tail wrapped around his body, looking at me in confusion..

“Aren’t you going to apologise for all this?”

“And why do bloody hell wud I do dat fer den?”

I tried to clench my fists, but the rope binding them made it next to impossible, so I just clenched my teeth instead.

“For starting all this?” I said after a moment, my teeth had started hurting, so I mentally added that to the list as well.

“Starting wat? I don’t know wat ya on about,” Riz crossed his little arm with a disgruntled noise. He was giving me attitude despite me giving him a place to hide! I struggled to get my head up as far as I could.

“Listen to me you little twat! You’re going to start chewing through these ropes! Do that and I may rethink my decision to throw you out of the next window I see!” I yelled at him.

“Oh, yeh, dat’s really an incentive, isn't it. Maybe I shud jus hop off and leave ya fukin down ‘ere!” Riz argued back.

“And then what you going to do when those three spirits come back and find you? Remember, they only put me down here because I wanted to help you!”

“I didn’t need ya stinkin help! I only couldn’t before because they caught me off guard!”

“Well, they’re coming back this way now…” I said, fully knowing that they weren’t.

“Shit!”

“Better bite through these ropes quickly then!” I watched him as he quickly got to work, quietly seething.

Why was I seething you might ask? Well, let’s think back together shall we?

I had agreed to take Riz for a little dre. It was Christmas Eve and, since Riz was restless at this time of year, my choice was either to agree to this request, or have to deal with him completely drunk. I wasn’t washing rat vomit from my shoes again. Not after last time. No.

“So, we’re just going to drive around for a bit right?” I asked him.

“Actually, yeh…Dere’s a place we need ta go to,” he replied hesitantly.

“What place?”

“A client’s house ta do a very well paid job.”

“What kind of job? I also asked you earlier if we had any jobs booked so why didn’t you tell me then?”

“Cuz I knew ya wud say no if I told ya wat it was we were supposed ta be doin?”

“And what is that?” I could already feel my blood pressure starting to rise.

“Ta deal with three ghosts, dat want ta brainwash our client.”

“It’s christmas eve, and you want us to deal with three ghosts? Pray tell what kind of person is the client?”

“Da sort dat is payin well enuff fer us not ta ask questions, and make sure dat he doesn’t get bothered? Not dat difficult really.”

“Riz, I could quickly stop this car and cause you to be smashed into the windscreen. It might even break it. Not only would we be unable to do your beloved job, but you’d also be in a lot of pain. Now, tell me what kind of person he is.”

“I don’t feel like tellin ya.”

“By answering like that I think I can guess that he doesn’t regularly top the ‘giving to charity’ charts.”

“No, he is not.”

I started tapping the wheel, trying to keep my eyes on the road and glare at the rat at the same time.

“So why would I want to waste my Christmas, helping someone like that whose outlook probably could be improved on? I mean, really he’s running away from his own conscience. That’s nothing to do with us. I’m going to turn the car around.”

“Don’t! Do ya ‘ave any idea how much money I’m talkin about here?”

“I don’t care, I’ve got my morals!”

“And dat’s why I asked ya ta do dis favour fer me da way I did,” Riz said with a little sigh.

“What?”

“We shook on it, remember?”

As Riz said that, I started to get a really bad feeling. I looked down at my hand, the one I used to shake his paw. I was only wanting to humour him.

“Don’t tell me…”

“It was an Oathbreaker Rune.”

“I told you not to tell me.”

“Yeh. Well, dis favour I want ya do, is da frickin job. Now, I’m gunna tell you da address and ya gunna take us dere. Wit no complainin rite?”

“I can’t believe you used an Oathbreaker on me…Again!” I shouted. I was furious with the little git. If I’d been able, I would have tossed him out of the car.

“Sounds like complainin ta me. Look, I’m sorry it ‘ad ta come ta dis, but I needed da money okay?”

“We’re going to have serious words when this is all over.”

“Ya shud blame yourself. Dis was exactly how I got you last time as well.”

He was right, but it didn’t make me feel any better about it.

With very little choice, I duly took him to the destination he wanted, and had to listen to the client moaning about his predicament. He was exactly like I thought, a massive twat who only thought about himself and his money. I’m surprised his ego could fit into his mansion. Speaking of his mansion though, he had insisted on talking to us outside that massive building, despite Riz begging for a tour. Apart from that however, the conversation went like I had expected. This included things like how he was owed everything, with no apparent guilt about his life. I thought I detected an odd tone at times as he was speaking, but before I could focus on it, the conversation had moved on. Riz was happily chatting away to him, sucking up to him, probably in the hopes of a good tip. Hearing them talk, it was clear why they were friends.

After ten minutes of this, suffering under the oppressive yoke of boredom, I was ready to let the Oathbreaker do its worst to me. Luckily, whichever god had taken an interest in me and was tormenting me, decided to give me a reprieve, as the client revealed he was tired, and wanted to retire to his bed. Riz waited for him to fully disappear before turning to me. He was on the floor now, looking up at me, tapping his little foot.

“Well, dat was jus rude wasn’t it?” he said to me, and from his tone, he was being heavily sarcastic.

“Rude? How. Oh, you mean because I didn’t say anything?”

“Ya supposed ta be doin your job! Do I really ave ta do everything!” He shouted, though being a rat, every shout was also a squeak.

“Can we just get this done…Wait, what are we actually supposed to be doing?”

“Duh, stoppin da spirits from messin wit ‘im.”

“And how are we going to do that? The ghosts will go for him when he’s asleep, and we’re outside! I noticed we weren’t invited in. Is he too rich for us poor folk to even step in there?” I cast my eyes back over to the mansion again, noticing that there was only a couple of lights on. This led me to believe he was that cheap that he tried to avoid paying out as much money on bills as possible. I saw the client’s shadow move against the curtains, along with three others. Riz hadn’t noticed this bit yet.

“All we gotta do den, is patrol around da house nd make sure dat everythin is okay. First sign dat we see ‘im floatin out da window, we blast them. It’ll serve those twats right for forcin dere will down our throats!” Riz spat on the ground.

“Yes, they are absolute monsters for wanting to make sure that people behave themselves and treat others kindly,” I rolled my eyes but I didn’t see Riz picking up on my sarcasm.

“Ya rite, dey are absolute monsters!”

“Only if you're a rich jackass.”

“Look, wen ya got da money ya shudnt ave ta worry about a troop of stuck up, poncy arsed ghosts! We should be blastin dem on sight!”

“You sound like you've had experience with them before.”

“I've been runnin from dese twats since da day dey started hauntin. Dey pretty much formed ta take me down!”

“How did Charles Dickens fit into this then?”

“It was bloody well his fault!” Riz shouted at me as he clambered up my body, grabbing at my collar. “Dey sprang from his supa fertile imagination! He thought dem up for his frickin story and dat waz dat!”

“Wait, if they've been after you that long, how come they've never caught you?” I asked as Riz seemed to calm down.

“Because I'm smarter den dey are. I'm never in on Christmas Eve. Plus, dey didn't exactly ave a short list of people ta go for. But now…we've got a prime opportunity!” Riz slapped his paws together in glee. “We can blast da smeggers unaware as dey come for him. I can get dem off my back and make a hefty tip on top of the charge! It's so perfect I cud cry.”

“Hold up, aren't you getting ahead of yourself?” I glanced back at the window, now only seeing one shadow, standing oddly still. Intrigued, I went in for a closer look.

“Wat you think ya bloody doin? Dats…” I think Riz was going to complete that sentence with saying ‘cilent’ but the word that fell out instead was…

“A dummy?” Riz was at the perfect angle to see through the gap in the curtains.

While he seemed to lose his speech for a blessed few minutes, I bent down to take a peek. There was indeed a mannequin stood right next to the window, striking a fancy pose.

“Dis don't make any sense!” Riz said, taking another look. “Where's all da riches! Da fancy furniture, da expensive paintings on the wall!”

I tried looking at the surroundings, but everything seemed normal to me, which may have been the point as I decorated our office the best I could with what little money I had. He was right and the room certainly didn't look like a multimillionaire lived there. The thought about those other shadows drifted into my mind.

“Riz?” I started to say, I was fully intending to share what I noticed, but what happened a moment later meant I didn’ have to bother myself.

“Not now! I’m tryin ta figure out wat all dis means! Unless…It’s a decoy fer da ghosts! Yeh, dat must be it. He must be tryin ta trick da ghosts so we can get da jump on dem.”

“I think that’s a reach. It’s more that he was trying to trick us. Now, can I tell you something?” I asked, trying to get him to focus on me.

“Tryin ta trick us? Wateva for? Unless it’s fer wen we’ve dun da job and wants ta hide. I suppose dat’s possible. It’s wat I wud do,” Riz mused, rubbing his mouth with his paw.

“I really think you should hear what I have to say.”

Don’t matter unless ya ‘ave summit important ta add ta dis dilemma.”

I was starting to get frustrated with this. I did have something important to say, and I was sure that he would feel the same once I had managed to say it.

“You’re still causing headaches I see,” a jolly sounding voice called out. My first instinct was that the voice was coming from behind us, but when we turned to look, there was no one there.

“Oh, I’ve been looking forward to this,” a less than jolly sounding voice added. This one sounded a lot more aggressive and quite feminine.

“Patience, Past. He will receive our judgment all the same.” A third voice joined the little group. Now, I was able to put two and two together, figuring out who they were without much trouble, and to his benefit, Riz did too.

“Not you three!” He said with a whimper as he looked around. He curled up more, almost cowering. All that bravado from mere moments ago.

“It’s us three alright! The female voice reacted, sounding almost elated to be dealing with the rat.

“Bloody…Show yourselves you phantasmal bastards!” This sounded like a brave thing to demand, but Riz by now was almost trying to stick himself down my jumper.

“Fine, if that’s what you really, really want, rat,” the female voice said, as a small spirit, childlike in appearance, slowly materialised. She looked almost like a porcelain doll, but was wearing the meanest smile I’d seen in some time. She hovered there, staring daggers at Riz.

“Past, you’re being too frightening! Remember, we are only here for the rat, after all,” The jolly sounding spirit was next to appear, wearing a coat of green with a wreath circling his head.

“Shut up, Present!” the girl snapped.

“Pay heed! Riz, the hour of your judgment is here!” The final spirit appeared, frail looking and draped in a dark grey cloak, a long beard sticking out from his hood that obscured the rest of his face.

“The Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present, and the Ghost of Christmases Yet to Come?” I said, addressing each in turn.

“Indeed we are, but I am simply known as Future. It is easier to say after all,” Future said with an ache in his voice.

“Bren! Get me out of ‘ere!” Riz pleaded with me.

“No, rat. You have evaded us long enough, it is time…” Future announced as the others looked on.

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That's all for this week!

Join me next time for part 2 of Riz’s Christmas Carol and maybe a peek at Riz-mas. It'll probably go up on Christmas Eve, just to make life easier but tradition is a powerful thing!

Till next time....

Keep on writing!

Peter James Martin

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Tuesday, 10 December 2024

#101 Christmas Shopping Part III + Short Diversions: Orphan's War Chapter 5

Happy Blog Day Everyone!

Start of a new era this week as the Comic Tales of Brennan and Riz tick over to issue 101...which coincidentally means that the two year anniversary is just a few weeks away! Now, will it be the return of last year's (fictional) mail bag? Who knows! But if you do have a question you'd like to ask the troublesome duo, ask away in the comments below!

Feedback is always welcome.

The next available chapter of Orphan's War is also here and next week is a brand new Short Diversions featuring Brennan and Riz which is slowly coming together behind the scenes.

Let's crack on shall we?

The Comic Tales of Brennan and Riz

Here we go, the concluding part to the Christmas Shopping trilogy! Sorry its not much to look at, but I'm trying to juggle a lot of different projects at the moment.

Of course, this was always the inevitable ending for this, Brennan can't help but be a charitable soul, unless he thinks you deserve it, but that thought might be more linked to what I'm writing at the moment!

I'm in a tricky situation where I know what I'm drawing for the Christmas Comic (which I may put up on Christmas Eve, a day early to make life easier) but that leaves next week...hmm. What to do?

Poetry

As is apparently becoming a regular feature on this blog, I'll share more of the haiku and poems I've written on Blue-Sky. I'll leave the hashtag on the words this time, so you can see what the prompts were. These were all done in accordance of the #vss365 tag. It's a writing prompt on both Twitter and Blue-Sky (probably also on a few others)

Haiku

Oh #planaria

Living such simple clean lives

The future is yours

Your heart shines a torch

Light #descending into black

Uncover my lost hope

We become the change

#latent hope springs eternal

Tomorrow starts now

Poems

We defined our relationship like an experiment.

We were the variables,

We set the #parameters

Our passion the heat.

We became one like a chemical bond.

Our hypothesis:

Love

My dark half stalks me like a #creeper.

My shadow ever present.

It seeks to remind me of the darkness that lurks in my heart.

Threats overwhelm me, bringing the desire to hear it's siren call.

I stay in the light precariously,

Watching my shadow ever present.

I gave you everything,

But it was never enough was it.

I was #devoted to you,

But you always wanted more.

You gave me attention when it suited you and never more.

I tried telling you this but you only said one thing with a purr.

"Meow"

(Included was a picture of my cat sticking it's tongue out at me)

I try not to heed the call,

Of the #descending madness of modern life.

Yet I fall again.

Assaults on every sense,

Lies broadcast as the "real truth".

My hope wanes with the fading light,

of the candle of my soul.

I stand again,

And keep on moving forward.

What else can I do?

Other Things

I had to shift my writing this week from Daemon Soul Avalon (almost 30k left to the end of the first draft) to the new Brennan and Riz short that'll be debuting next week. This is the problem I normally have when trying to get longer works done and more regular shorter pieces. Next year I may have to re-look at how I pace these releases so I have more time to work on the novels and the like. Otherwise my output will slow down massively.

The other thing that's been bothering me is that no sooner had I put aside Daemon Soul Avalon (for now) then I started getting ideas about my Avalon Tales story, and one that would require yet another rewrite to work.

What's a writer to do?

Short Diversions: Orphan's War Chapter 5

Here is the last fully complete chapter of Orphan's War. There is a chapter 6 that is mostly done in the document, detailing Drake's first proper training session inside a Vector Unit (my name for the giant mechs in the story...it's not great) however it abruptly ends in a conversation between Ava and Melody (of all people!) I may still share it but I may not as well. We'll see what I do, but let's get to Chapter 5!

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Chapter 5: Induction

Drake sat gazing out of the passenger side window in the now very quiet transport. They were heading back the way they had just been, retracing their steps to the first Dome. It seems that farming wasn’t all that was there.

“I take it your not going to tell me much about my new life then?” Drake said without looking, he guessed that he’d be saying goodbye to Duke soon enough, after all, he had already revealed himself to be just a politician.

“You’ll experience it soon enough, induction is... Well, an experience all in itself! I’m sure your peers would agree with me, without saying any details of course” Duke looked at the guards who nodded respectfully.

“Is there anything you can tell me then? You’re very good at hinting crap but not following it up with actual details” Drake still wanted to punch him, badly.

“I can tell you that your commanding officer is called Trent, and you do not want to try any of this attitude with him. The Vanguard unit has a special way of handling discipline, even more so with people of...your background.” Drake saw that Gwen winched a little as Duke spoke, as if she was remembering past abuse.

“So I’m going to be a punching bag just because of my eyes...and I was told my life would be better”

“It’s only if you speak out of line, behave yourself and follow orders and you’ll be fine. Just ask your comrades here.” Duke waved his hand towards Cen, Sara and Ash, ignoring Gwen, an obvious omission. None of them looked like they wanted to talk. With the uncomfortable silence falling once more, Drake tried to settle himself for the uncompromising world he had signed up for. For Ava’s sake, he had to survive, given the clues he’d picked up, anything happened to him, and she would be liable to be taken as a slave. If he was going to get beaten, then so be it, if he was going to be the test subject for some experiment, so be it. As long as he lived and was there to see Ava at the end of it, then he would do whatever it took.

The first sign that he was getting close to the base was when Drake heard a low rumbling noise, the same he remembered hearing a day or so ago. His instincts were proved right when he saw the humanoid forms of Vector Units flying in parallel to the transport. There was three of them, two slightly behind the leader. They were so close to the ground that they were leading a dust trail as they flew over the dirt. Drake stared at them before they sped off, then over heard the others talking, having seen the mechs as well.

“Looks like Cody is doing the drills already, I should be out there in one of them.” Cen moaned.

“You say that but you’re in the same group as me, and we haven’t been outfitted for flight yet.” Sara corrected him.

“You two have heard the rumours about him haven’t you? He’s the instructor with the highest death rate with recruits...” Gwen added. Ash kept silent, though still looking at the others as they spoke.

“Yeah, those were the ones who weren’t up to much. Command always gives him the weaker pilots to wean out the useless ones, leaving only the strong.” Cen then noticed Drake’s attentive stare.

“Guess we’ll see where you fit in once we get you up there.” He smiled, before turning to Sara “My bet is he won’t.”

“You always have a crap view of Silvers... I thought I had shown you what we were capable of.” Gwen said, interrupting the reply that Sara had opened her mouth to say.

“Please Gwen, you proved yourself and no one else. For what it’s worth, I think he’ll survive to that point anyway...Only because he’s got something to fight for.” Sara said smirking. While without context her words could be seen as supportive, that last part, Drake knew that was being used against him. He felt his blood boiling as they all laughed, apart from Ash who just rolled his eyes.

“You all had something to fight for originally” He said sighing, like an adult with arguing children. This shut everyone up, giving a lingering atmosphere. Drake looked out of the window and silently pleaded with the universe to hurry up sending him to the next destination. He got his wish as in the distance, buildings appeared nestled in an artificial mountain range, casting pointed shadows over the various sized structures. Getting closer he spotted rows and rows of Vector Units standing like gatekeepers, more then he had ever seen up to that point. While the hospital had seemed off with it’s white and sterile nature, this, in contrast, was nothing short of oppressive. Again, part of him screamed for attention, wanting to highlight the force he had allied with, but it was put down, Drake wasn’t going to start going back on deals, especially not important ones like this. The base was a sprawling complex, with roads even going under the ground, pointing to more under the surface.

“Don’t get too impressed, a lot of this is empty” Gwen whispered “The Atlantis Empire been in control of this place for so long but haven’t figured out the full purpose of this place from the sods who built it.”

“What’s the point then?” Drake asked as the transport went down a winding path which seemed to be heading towards what could be described as the central point of the base.

“To make it look like they’ve got strength, a big base like this, one of many, full to the brim of tech and troops...It’s a show of strength, like whenever they do their stupid parades. It’s all fake though. Hence why they allow people like us in, to fill up the numbers and...” Gwen cast a careful eye to see if Duke was watching, but his focus was else where. “a fresh stock for experimentation. There’s a reason this unit is called the Vanguard, as in first in line” The transport then came to a slow halt, outside a strange shaped building that had a series of slopped roofs. Outside were four flag poles, each bearing the crest of the Atlantis Empire on one side, and on the other, an emblem which he took to be fore the Vanguard. The first thing that Drake noticed as soon as he stepped out was the smell, the air stank of oil and the chemicals used in fuel cells.

“Great, the wind generator is blowing all the shit from the engineering block this way...” Cen said with little fanfare as he got out next.

“I think they do it on purpose, the Dome controllers always need to have a laugh somehow.” Sara replied. Gwen didn’t say anything as she stood next to Drake, knowing she had already said more then she should have, and would have been castigated if Duke had been paying attention. Speaking of, Duke was the last one to leave the vehicle and he looked around in frustration.

“He’s late, Commander Tryon was supposed to be waiting for us.” It wasn’t noisy here, not like Drake expected a military base to be, all he could hear was the distant sounds of Vector Unit engines. He figured that they must be the ones they saw on their way in. After ten minutes of waiting a man walked confidently from the main doors, dressed in black formal military ware. There was no sign of regret on his face, which bore scars from his past. Ash lead his fellows in saluting the commander as he walked past.

“At ease, Airmen Haskins, Airmen Harris, return to your scheduled posts for now. You’ll receive a new training rota soon.” Gwen and Cen saluted again and made to leave, with Gwen leaning in close to Drake.

“Good luck, you’re going to need all of it here.” She then left, heading a different direction then Cen.

“Excuse me Commander! We have been left waiting and instead of apologising, the first thing you do is bark orders at your dogs!” Duke said, incensed that he wasn’t being treat the way he thought he should. Tryon just laughed in his face.

“You should consider yourself blessed that I didn’t make you wait longer! I do not take kindly to being called out just to meet every recruit you throw my way. As part of the military oversight committee, you should know just how much work I have to do and the conditions I’m expected to do it in. I told you before about expecting things to go how they do at the capital. You’re on my turf.” Tryon showed no respect for the governor, yet Drake had a feeling that didn’t mean he was going to be his ally. Far from it, when Tryon looked him over, he sighed. “To make matters worse, you still don’t even consider our needs, you quite happily bring me these mongrels but what I want is the best from the other units...”

“You’ll have to make do with what we can afford to give you. Until you have viable results then you’ll have to settle for what scraps we can afford to give you.” Duke replied. “Now I’ll be taking my leave, I’ve done my part of this, now you do your part.” With that, he turned on his heels and re-boarded the transport which then drove off again after a change in drivers. Tryon didn’t offer him a salute as he left.

“Now then...Airmen Drake, congratulations...You just signed your death warrant...” There wasn’t any trace of irony in his voice, no sign that he was joking. His eyes fixed on Drakes. “Time to get you suited up. You’re training begins now.” Tryon beckoned Drake to follow him as Ash and Sara moved either side of him and pulled him into the building.

Inside he was decked out in a uniform like the others, given some equipment for his general use, and a tablet containing all the manuals that he was expected to obey. So far, so good he thought, he knew the actual training would be different but he didn’t know when that was going to take place. He flicked through the manuals as he was told to wait outside a room, with no one else around. It was at this point that Tryon had left him to attend to other things, taking Ash with him. Sara seemed to know something was coming , as he kept asking what he felt so far, or how he was enjoying it.

However here, outside this room, she had left him. He had heard the door lock when she did. More waiting ensured but soon a man in a white coat, with a white surgical mask on invited him into a room that wouldn’t have looked out of place in his sisters hospital. Drake felt very uneasy here, and it didn’t help when from behind the door where he entered, another two men came forward and grabbed him, forcing him onto a table, pinning him down. If they had laughed about it, that would have made sense, but they didn’t show any emotion, quite the contrary, they were just going through the motions as if this wasn’t anything extraordinary. They held him down with plenty of force, keeping his face pointing up. What followed was painful, as the doctor took blood, and then proceeded to inject other substances into him, some into Drake’s brain, going through his eyes. Drake screamed, but that was cut short as he was muffled, allowing the doctor to carry on with the rest of the procedure.

When Drake woke up, it was night time, and he was in a small room, that contained a bed, a desk and a small cupboard. He became aware of footsteps moving periodically around outside. He groggily stood up and looked at his clothes that had been tattered, torn to allow access to his body. He fumbled for a light switch and turned it on, gasping at what he saw, for among the dried blood, he found a new symbol on his arm, a tattoo that branded him as property of the Vanguards. With no choice, he put on the uniform and laid back down, knowing that he was not going to sleep that night, not with his new life ahead of him.

“Oh Melody, what did you say...” Darren sighed as he paced the doctors room, Melody couldn’t reply, her jaw had been broken, and the man she had been booked to have a private appointment with had tried to stop her from ever talking again. She wore the bruises of his rage. At the moment, she was being forced awake to stop any risk of her lapsing into a coma. “How long will the injuries take to heal?”

“A week for the most severe, superficial ones will be healed by tomorrow night.” The Doctor then found himself against the wall as Darren furiously grabbed hold of him.

“Don’t bullshit me. You will do whatever it takes, no matter how much it hurts her, to get her looking like the perfect specimen she used to. You’ll will do this as fast as possible. I can not afford her to be not working for a week. The doctor nodded fearfully, then scurried off when Darren let go. He turned back to Melody, and placed his hand around her mouth and tightened his grip.

“I don’t want another repeat of this, otherwise I’ll just have sell you and move onto another girl, is that what you want?” He let go and wiped his brow, just as the doctor came back with more equipment. “I let you get back to work now...” He deliberately walked past the doctor who flinched, leaving Darren’s ego to swell. The words from the Rebel Broadcast echoed in her head, reverberating from each and every broken memory. Long had she wanted to be free from this but thought she could do nothing. The thought of someone else, a lost girl like she was, becoming just another plaything by sick individuals, it broke her. Before though, she’d sink deeper into despair, now, she knew she couldn’t let it happen, and she would fight to stop it happening to her. It wasn’t going to be easy, Darren had stamped out all of her self worth and confidence, but she had to try something. How many former friends had she lost to this system? How many murdered or committed suicide rather then be touched again. She was told to ignore them, forget them as weaklings, ultimate nobodies. No longer would she do that, she would remember what they went through, their pain and suffering. Melody clenched her fist best she could, from now on, she would fight to be free, she had to stand. It was going to take time, she knew as much, her life was going to get worse, it always did. What would be different though is she would look for ways out, ways to help until she could really bring the house down on the people who brought this misery. Enough was enough.

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Right!

That's enough for this week!

Till next time...

Keep on writing!

Peter James Martin

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Tuesday, 3 December 2024

#100 Happy 100! Right? + Short Diversions: Orphan's War Chapter 4

Happy Blog Day Everyone!

Today is a day for celebration! As the Comic Tales of Brennan and Riz has reached a milestone issue, 100 to be exact! I'm also sharing the 4th chapter of Orphan's War after some reflection on the matter. Might as well right? There's also my usual early month review of my previous months writing to round things out, but let the party begin!

The Comic Tales of Brennan and Riz

Well, here it is, issue 100. This is a milestone and a half isn't it? All the way back when I started it, I knew it was a risky bet that I would still be doing the strip now. There's been a few times where I've been tempted to throw it all in (generally time related, sometimes lack of ideas). Luckily I powered through this.

For the strip itself, it's another meta one, just like the one year anniversary strip from back in January of this year. Some fun visuals here, like the party hat. There's also that last panel...Obviously all rights to Jon belong to Jim Davies but I did find the idea fairly amusing that Riz would end up in the Garfield strip (well Jon, a talking alcoholic rat or Garfield...bet the cat is looking like a good preposition right about now!) Plus it gave me the chance to try and draw Jon to Jim's style. Don't think it came out too bad.

What came out bad was the filters I tried to use to brighten the strip up. For those who don't know my super low-tech approach, u take a photo of the finished strip and then adjust it through filters. Today this process bit me in the behind. Had I the money and room for my old PC + scanner set up (or a way to draw it digitally) I'd jump on it in a heart beat.

Still, 100 down...will I make it to 150? Let's see this time next year!

Short Diversions: Orphan's War Chapter 4

So I decided to drop Chapter 4 afterall, figured I'd come so far, might as well show all I've got from this story.

As always there's been no editing, so what we have here is the raw text...which is why you'll have oddities like information being presented twice without much of a gap.

Chapter 1 is here

Chapter 2 is here

Chapter 3 is here

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Chapter 4: The Siblings Part

The transport containing Drake, Ava and their escort trundled along through another tunnel, Duke telling them that it was another connecting path. The little sight seeing trip was more or less over, and the Dome they were entering now contained the hospital where Ava would receive the treatment promised. There had been scant chatter amongst the group, which gave Duke anple opportunity to fill the void of silence with his thoughts.

In between the barrage of nonsense, Drake had seen Duke's eyes land on his sister, like someone eyeing up a product to use. Drake dreaded to think of the others in his situation powerless.

Shaking all this from his mind, Drake looked out on the scenery of the new Dome. This one could be classed as a veritable paradise with a green and thriving forest mingling with the odd building that seemed to blend in. There was no one around, lending the place a sense of solitude. Drake liked it, though the foreboding atmosphere also hinted that isolation wasn't always safe.

"We're on the driveway to Sacred Vessel hospital," Duke proudly announced.

"Why is it called that?" Ava pondered out loud. "In fact, why is it the Atlantis Empire?"

"In both cases, that's because that's the names people wanted!" Duke laughed, thinking he was hilarious.

"Be prepared for his attitude to change once she's not here," a voice whispered to Drake, one that he almost missed. He looked around and saw that Gwen, the only other Silver in the car, had shuffled over to him. She wasn't looking after him, but her words were directed at him.

"Don't stare like that, it'll only piss him off more."

"What do you mean?" Drake had a good idea about what she meant, but wanted to hear it out of her mouth.

"He's only playing nice in front of your sister, far better to get the young ones to believe in this place…" Gwen said, though it didn't go unnoticed.

"Private Myers, perhaps a person in your position should watch what you say," Duke threatened. Though he still did it with a smile.

"Sorry sir," Gwen bowed. "You've signed up for some serious trouble." She mouthed to Drake.

Ava, oblivious, to what was going on with her brother, was lost amidst the wildlife that seemed to be all around them, birds and small animals that darted from hiding place to hiding place.

“This is amazing!" She gasped, her heart racing as she took in each new sight. Her pupils contracted and the world dulled. She would have fallen off the transport if Drake hadn't grabbed her first.

"Ava! You're getting over excited," he said, sighing. He wanted to be angry but he should have seen this coming.

"I'll be fine!" Ava said between breaths, which contradicted her statement. "Okay, maybe I'm not…"

Drake looked round to see what the rest of the group thought, but found only Gwen looking concerned. Duke was watching as well, but he was more intrigued.

"What illness is it that she has again?" He asked.

"The only doctor who we saw called it a sleeping beauty disease…because of how tired it made her. She really needs to rest now," Drake admitted.

"Sleeping beauty disease! The idiots out there really have no idea do they!" Duke laughed. Despite what happened between him and the doctor at the time, Drake didn't think that harshly of him, after all, he was out there trying to help the people stuck outside the Domes.

As the transport turned a corner, Sacred Vessel hospital came into view, a grandiose looking building that seemed to mimic an old style. The windows were tinted black, hiding the inside from scrutiny. There were people wandering the grounds, from patients being accompanied by nurses, to the more unsettling, fully armed guards who watched the transport as it neared the main entrance.

"Guards at a hospital?" Drake asked.

"For the patient's safety of course. There's a lot of terrorists that wouldn't have any issues with destroying a hospital," Duke answered, as the transport came to a stop. Ava cuddled into Drake, as the realisation of where they were hit home.

"If you want to accompany your sister for her check in, please do. No doubt you'll want to see the place for yourself before we take you to your accommodation," Duke motioned Drake to leave with Ava.

"I take it you'll be waiting for me," Drake didn't waste any time in getting out, helping Ava down to the ground, who wobbled a bit with each step.

"Of course! I'll be here after you've said goodbyes, though, Ash! Gwen!" Duke reverted to Gwen's first name instead of her rank like earlier. "Accompany Drake here into the hospital if you would be so kind, we don't want him getting lost in there."

Drake recognised the gesture for what it really was, an entourage to make sure he returned. It was a bitter pill as Drake planned to keep his word, no matter how ill it made him feel.

"Thank you for bringing us here, and can you pass along our gratitude please to whoever let us in," Ava said with a beaming smile. Her natural charm was evident.

"Oh, it was an absolute pleasure! I'll pass the message on, don't you worry, and I'll keep my word, I'll get you a meeting with Miss Moon. Who knows, maybe you'll even join her on stage!" Duke supercharged his effort to charm Ava, but it added to Drakes unease. Ava did have the dream of performing with Melody, but it was always that, a dream. Not that Drake would stop her if she wanted it.

Ava was speechless at the thought, she tried to say something but every word fell out of her mouth unformed.

"Goodbye my dear," Duke waved. Not wanting to drag the uncomfortable feeling for any longer, Drake begrudgingly walked Ava into the hospital, accompanied by Ash and Gwen.

The main doors slide open, granting access to the Hospital. The lobby was large, white with odd bits of colour here and there. The receptionist looked like her friendly face had been painted on, and the warmth in her voice could melt it if she wasn’t careful.

“Hello, I’ve been told we are expecting an Ava Vern?” She said, looking at the only person it could have possibly been. Drake looked at his sister, who'd lost her nerve, and so spoke for her.

"Yes, this is my sister, Ava," though Drakes nerves showed through.

"Brillant, someone will be along in a moment to show you to your room," the receptionist said, before she quickly went back to her work.

Ava made sure that no one was watching her before she dared speak up again.

"I'm…I'm sorry, Drake," she whispered. Standing there, in the hospital, the full reality of the situation bore down on her whitling away her strength that she sorely needed in that moment. From the day her parents died, Ava had relied on her brother, this had only been enforced by the onset of her disease. Now, she would have to say goodbye. What hurt her the most was that she didn't know if this was to be the last goodbye. She wasn't stupid, she knew that whatever her brother was going to do, it wasn't anything pleasant. She couldn’t look him in the eyes, not without seeing her guilt reflected back. There was what she wanted to say, and what she knew she could only say.

"I'm so, so sorry!" She started crying, her head bowed and hands clenched as tight as she could.

Drake put his arms around her, trying to comfort her like he had done countless times before, but even he knew that this was different.

"Ava…" Drake said, eyes closed. When he opened them again, he saw that Gwen was looking away completely, her face obscured, while Ash just stood still like a statue, unmoved by the display. Unexpectedly, Ava broke free of her brothers hug, stepping away from him.

"I'm the cause of this," her words were devoid of the life she usually invoked with her speech.

"Thinking like that won't change anything, now you have a chance to live again, don't you want that?" Drake asked her. Ava turned to face him, but her weakness struck, and she collapsed to her knees, the tension draining all her energy. The receptionist almost looked ready to vault her desk but settled back into her seat when she saw Drake tended to his sister.

"Not…Not if it involves you being the cost," she said in between breaths.

"I…" Drake started before he realised that the words had left him.

"I'm not worth it, Drake."

Hearing his sister talk like that, Drake felt a piece of himself suffer. She blamed herself, but right now, Drake wanted to erase himself from his sister's memories, an action he presumed would allow her to heal guilt free.

"You are worth it, protecting you and making sure you're okay are my main jobs, no matter what you say."

"Your life would be better off…I'm just a dead weight stuck half-way between life and death…"

"If you knew what your brother was doing for you, then you would know how much he cares." Gwen interrupted.

"But he wouldn't have to do that if it wasn't for me!" Ava didn't even waste any momentum as she turned to face Gwen.

"Stop being selfish! You're wasting his sacrifice."

Drake felt sidelined as the two started to debate. He felt a passion coming from Gwen, and he wondered if this was the first time she'd come out with these observations before.

"What?" Ava said, stunned. "How am I being selfish!"

"Because you're not thinking of anyone but yourself! I thought that would be obvious!" Gwen got closer to Ava, so they could argue face to face.

"Haven't you been listening!" Ava strained her words.

"I have, but if getting rid of you would make your brothers life better, why hasn't he done that! I've met many who would."

"I don't understand?"

"Your brother does what he can to protect you, that's obvious, right?"

"Yeah?"

"So if getting rid of you would make his life better, why do you think he hasn't done that?"

Despite its first appearances, the fight between the pair was simmering, with Gwen slowly changing her tone.

"I…" Ava looked at her brother, if only for a brief moment. "Because he doesn't want to see me hurt?"

"Now, how do you think he feels when you say things like everyone would be better off without you? He clearly wants you to be the best you can, so cut down the dramatism, you've still got growing to do," Gwen took a step back from Ava, and in the lull of the unexpected argument, Drake realised that an attendant was stood next to him, too nervous to speak up.

"Urm ..hi? I'm here to take Miss Vern to her room," the young woman said, she didn't appear to be any older then Gwen.

"Just give them a moment," Drake said. Apparently he was the only one to actually hear her.

Ava was about to say something when she noticed the attendant there. Her cheeks flushed red.

"I'm s-sorry!" She put her hands to her face, trying to hide her shame.

"As I said, you're still young," Gwen sighed, seeing that was the end of that. Drake made a mental note to himself to speak to her, if he could, later.

"I'm ready to go, miss?" Ava steadied herself.

"My name is Bella, miss Vern," The attendant awkwardly answered. Despite the drama that was on display only moments ago, Ava smiled with the warmth that Drake always associated with her:

"Please, just call me Ava! Where is my room then? It's been a while since I've stayed in one!"

"It's almost like we didn't even have that fight," Gwen muttered in Drake's ear.

"I guess you could call it a survival mechanism," Drake replied. "She thinks she needs to save face.. "

"That's a good skill to have if Duke gets his way with her," Gwen said, sarcastically, though the words haunted Drake.

"What do you mean by that!" He said as he spun to face her properly.

"Nothing I can say with him around," she motioned towards Ash, who was now watching them both, his eyes looking through them. Drake tutted in frustration, but knew his new comrade was right. Though, it wasn't just Ash looking at him, as Bella was also trying to get his attention.

"Excuse me? If you would like to follow me?"

Ava was already behind the attendant, ready to go.

"Lead the way then, please," Drake nodded.

The little group followed the attendant through the corridor, taking left, then a hard right before ascending what looked to be a massive staircase. Drake had tried to keep track of the internal layout but found it an almost impossible task, as no sooner had they reached one landing, the attendant started taking them through left and right turns again.

"Excuse me, Bella?" Ava spoke up as they continued through the maze-like passages. "Do you know anything about how they'll treat me?"

“Not a great deal I'm afraid, it's a bit above my pay grade. What I do know is they're prepping at least one needle, to start things off," Bella said, sounding unsure of herself.

"How big a needle?" Ava followed up.

"Uhh…" Bella scrambled for an answer, before stretching her thumb from her finger to show the length. Drake and Gwen flinched.

"Oh…" was all that Ava could muster.

"Yeah…I'm sorry," Bella let out an awkward sigh, before looking away, embarrassed. "Look!" She pointed to one of the signs on the wall. "We're almost there, in that section you'll find your private room."

"Will there be other patients around?" Drake asked.

"No, in fact she'll be the only one in this block. This section was recently renovated so your sister is the first one to stay here in a while," Bellacl quickly looked away again.

Drake wanted to know how long his sister would be here for but stopped himself from verbalising it. He knew that this Bella girl wouldn't know.

Seeming to sense Drake’s doubt, Bella stopped the group.

"What I can tell you is that your sister is set to receive our highest rate of care, I'll try my best to keep that," she said proudly.

"Is that my room?" Ava interrupted what the attendant was saying, rushing to the door of room 0705, where an electronic display blinked her name.

"Yes, this is it, Bella said, sliding a key card through the lock. The door opened and she stepped inside, beckoning Ava and Drake in after her. Drake let out a gasp as he saw what his sister's room was like. It was spacious with floor to ceiling windows overlooking the gardens, with the forest at the boundary. Furniture was sparse, but all the essentials were counted for. The bed was the only thing that gave the room away as being part of a hospital, having all the trappings of a gurney. Gwen didn't follow Drake in, and when he looked back, he saw that she'd also stopped Ash from following as well, not that he seemed too bothered.

“This place is amazing…" Ava let out an excited giggle, and she rushed to the windows, pushing against the glass. Drake didn't say anything, he was too busy comparing it to the world outside the Domes. It was like night and day, where the siblings had come from, and where they were now, it reinforced a sense thar they didn't belong, that they should have never been there.

Drake walked around slowly, his footsteps echoing around which brought with it a new thought, the lack of noise.

“Why is it so quiet?” He asked, louder then what he originally wanted.

“Your sister will be the only person on this floor, in fact this room is the only one with a bed in it on this floor. There’s a private treatment room, several supply cupboards, and a media room where she can see how the people in the Domes keep entertained...In fact we have several Melody Moon concerts for her to watch endlessly if she wishes.” The receptionist knew what buttons to press, just as Duke had done before. Ava turned at the mention of the name, but did it too quickly, losing her balance. It was becoming clear that she needed some rest, as her illness started to rear it’s head. Helping his sister into the bed, Drake knew that the time was coming where he would have to say goodbye, even though it wasn’t the final time, he felt the pain in his chest. Ava noticed and held his hand.

“It’s okay Drake...” She smiled best she could, her body getting ready for the rest she craved. “You can come and see me when you get a break...”

“I...” Drake stuttered. He had words he wanted to say but couldn’t get them out. He calmed himself and tried again but managed only a strange sound. Ava laughed at her brother’s attempt to be sentimental.

“You don’t need to say anything Drake...You wouldn’t have done all of this if you didn’t care about me. You’ve been fighting for me ever since I can remember...You made this deal just to get me here. I know how you feel and it’s the same as I do....” Her grip lessened, and Drake knew that she would soon be asleep. Knowing that his sister had said his words better then he could ever do, he sighed.

“You’re right, like you always are. Rest up okay? First chance I get, I’ll come back and see you. If you meet Melody Moon before then, you’ll have to tell me all about her.” Drake was a little playful there, even if he did hate buying into the promise that Duke made her.

“Of course! I’m going to talk your ears off! Get going, and be okay...I’ll be here waiting for you” Ava let go of Drakes hand and shuffled herself, getting ready for sleep. Drake leaned over and kissed her on the forehead.

“Good bye Ava, I’ll be back...” Drake said, as the receptionist led him to door and out.

“The doctor will be round once she wakes up to talk her through what happens next. Till then I suggest we let her rest.” The receptionist then took her leave, knowing that Drake would end following the guards who had orders to fulfil.

“Your sister will be fine...” Gwen said, though it wasn’t clear if she was saying it to be comforting or sarcastic. Ash continued his silence, though this time, the look on his face spoke that this was beneath him.

“Let’s just go, I know you don’t want to be here.” Drake said, setting off down the corridor, though his feet didn’t want to follow his orders, each footstep behind very heavy.

“Very true...” Ash said, breaking his quiet role.

“Oh you can speak then.” Drake replied, though Ash ignored him.

“You’re not going to get him to say anything else, he uses his words how and when he chooses.” Gwen explained, not that Drake actually cared, he was already making his mind up about these people, and how far he could trust them.

Duke was waiting for them as they left the hospital, seemingly glad that Ava was no more among their number.

“Now that you’re sister is where she belongs, it’s time to take you to where you belong silver boy....” He said with a deeply unpleasing grin. “Let’s go, we don’t want you to be late for your own induction now...” With no other choice, Drake got back into the truck, ready to find out what exactly they had in store for him.

Melody Moon had found some time to herself, though it wasn’t going to be very brief. Her handler was indisposed for a moment, as he was trying out some new talent, an act she wished she had the power to stop. The guards that stood at her door though, would never let her get that far. To provide a useless act of resistance though, she listened to some more Rebel Broadcasts, imagining the ways she would help bring this order down.

“To all those who listen and think they are powerless...Stop it, stop it right now. You’re only powerless because that’s what they’ve beaten into you. They don’t want you to realise you’re strong and that if you united yourselves, you can make a difference. You don’t have to fight in order to help bring about change. Leave the fighting to those who are ready for the sacrifices. Standing together, we can end this cruel regime, we can start making this a world for us all to live in.” The broadcast cut out again there, no doubt the wavelength being blocked again, as was the usual game of cat and mouse between the broadcasters, and the government. Melody looked out the window, while waiting for it to resume. What they had said was beautiful and poignant, but it was just words. She couldn’t find the strength they spoke about, and she knew no one who she could stand with, she was alone.

----------

I'm thinking of dropping the last two chapters next week to make way for a very special Short Diversions the week after featuring Brennan and Riz. Your one and only clue about that story will be that the Muppets havd done it...That was probably too good a clue.

November Review

So, what writing have I done this past month? Well it's an easy answer as I've spent all of it on the first draft of Daemon Soul: Avalon, cracking 50k. Leaving aside the fact that the majority of those words will be tossed in the bin once it becomes time to refine the draft, there's still another 40k to do and while I know what I'm doing for the finale (and I've got a doozy planned for that!) It's the bit leading up to that which I'm struggling with! Hopefully I'll be able to overcome it.

I've set myself a goal of getting the draft done before the end of February and then editing by May.

Other than that, it's been the usual #vss365 and poetry like this haiku:

Stardust in our hearts

The same blood flowing through us

Citizens of Earth

Or this one:

Lonely Tardigrade

Thinking of the world above

Be content with you

As for poetry:

I understand completely,

The words that you say.

I also understand the words you don't.

The spaces in-between, the lines unfilled.

What you mean is:

"Obey Citizen

Lest you be othered, our new enemy."

But you can not take what was never there.

My respect.

Again, they're all done in conjunction with the vss365 word which in this case was citizen.

As always hit me up on Blue-Sky if you want more poetry (along with my Brennan and Riz vss)

That's it for this week!

Till next time...

Keep on writing!

Peter James Martin

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