As promised, Phantom Dawn returns today! Rose and Co discover what Eros did, and the ramifications it'll have for the town...Wait, was that the ground rumbling? The situation may be more dire than they think!
Before we catch up to that though, we have another multipart story to deal with, over to Riz the narrator for this one!
The Comic Tales of Brennan and Riz
Well, that was unexpected...Can Riz right this little story of his, or are the inmates running the Asylum? Given the characters involved, its likely it's the latter!
Artwork was a bit wonky here, and some definite colouration issues, but it adds to the charm. Was a bit brave in composition (like the behind Red Riding Bren's back shot in panel 2). It may not seem a lot, but moments like this do help me to learn.
Short Diversions: Phantom Dawn Memories of a Rose- Chapter 13
We're back to Phantom Dawn now, and its time for Eros meddling to take effect! People may have been celebrating before, but they won't be now...
If it feels like this chapter is shorter, that's because it actually is, as the original form of it would have made it the largest of the chapters so far, hence I split it for the blog. Now, there's a chance it might get edited back together in a hypothetical novella version but we'll just play that by here.
Phantom Dawn Chapter Index
Chapter 13
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Chapter 13: Monsters
It took only a few minutes for the alarm to be raised about the imminent failure of the Heaven’s Rods. Whatever the man did to the one Cecily saw, happened to all the others, like a virus spreading amongst a host.
Rose was still in the jail, thinking heavily about what threat Finch posed to the town, she’d tried to get more information out of Mason, gently asking him to speak more, but he politely refused, his mood waning.
Neal and Kurz had moved outside, debating what they’d heard, with the latter still sharing a lot of doubt. The frantic calls of help settled the matter definitively. Kurz’s face was a mix of fear, some self-hatred reserved for himself, and a large dose of anger to aim at Finch, and the culprit behind the sabotage, the man he knew as Eros. That mix of emotions took hold of him, and compelled him to re-enter the jail, rushing past Rose and reaching for Mason, dragging him face to face through the bars.
“What did he do!” Kurz yelled.
“Who did what?” Mason shouted back, trying to free himself.
“Eros! Bloody Eros! It was him wasn’t it! That’s who you said Finch would send to come and get rid of us! I want to know what he did to the Heaven’s Rods!”
“The Heaven’s Rods? Oh…OH NO!” Mason pulled himself free and tried looking out the little window at the back of the cell. “Well, there’s Finch’s masterplan! You made so much of a problem that Finch is wasting time!”
“Oi! I’m talking to you! What will happen now!” Kurz demanded, but Neal answered for him.
“The monsters will come and tear this place apart. That’s why he broke the Heaven’s Rods.”
“He’s right,” Mason admitted. “He told me he wants the land, but nothing on it afterall.”
“Then we have to defend the people!” Rose interrupted. She’d been listening to everything that had been said, and knew what the stakes were.
“Defend the people? We’re not going to be fighting against humans this time! This won’t be like the time you punched him out!” Kurz pointed at Mason who was nodding in agreement. “No, we’ll be facing down the monsters who lurk in the wastes, and the Phantom Dawn is going to make them frenzied. I don’t think you’re ready for that,” Kurz shook his head, as if agreeing with himself.
Mason rubbed his chin, remembering the force of the blow that Rose delivered to him. He didn’t want to see her hurt, but he had to disagree with Kurz, he thought that Rose could handle herself just fine, as soon as she got used to the idea of monsters that was.
“Maybe… Maybe she’ll be fine? I mean, she’s got a strong left hook? She’d fare better than you at any rate.”
“Yes, I do agree with that being the case,” Neal admitted. “Especially since I’ve already seen it happen once before.”
“What do you mean by that? You told me you encountered her while on your way back,” Kurz remembered asking his grandfather where Rose had come from, and there was no sign of any monster attack in that tale he’d been told.
Neal looked away for a moment, as if trying to come up with the most reasonable response.
“I didn’t tell you about it because in part, I wasn't sure what to make of it myself, and also, I didn't want you judging Rose for that one act.”
“And watching her single-handily beating Mason here earlier wouldn't have done the same thing? That's not information you should keep to yourself!”
“You really need to calm down, you know…” Mason quipped.
“I don't want to hear that from you!, it's your fault that this has happened!” Kurz spun around, pointing a finger at the prisoner even more forcibly then before.
“My fault? Oh right, because I personally went and broke the Heaven’s Rods…”
“This isn’t helpful, is it?” Rose said, raising her voice above both Kurz and Mason.
“You're right, Rose. This isn't helpful. What we need to do now is temporarily evacuate people to a safe place while we assess the damage to the Heaven’s Rods,” Neal suggested, taking charge of the situation.
“Fine…Don't think you're getting off the hook though, Mason! You're still tied to all of this!” Kurz yelled as he stomped away.
Cecily was reaching up at the Heaven’s Rod. She’d seen grown ups messing with it only a few minutes before, a panic written on their faces that they didn't explain to her. They all told her the same thing, to go back to her home. She didn't want to do that though. She wanted to help. She stretched up on her tippy toes, her hands flailing around where she'd seen the strange looking man working before. Without having much luck, she pushed herself further, and that was when she heard a rumble. This led her to believe that whatever she was doing was having an effect. With renewed vigour, she went at it again, biting her lip as tried all she could. Another rumble struck the area, this time knocking Cecily down. Rubbing her back, she looked out across the plains, and saw that she wasn't the cause of the rumble at all, as something was snaking it's way underground, heading for the town. Cecily didn't need to think twice, she got up and ran, tears streaming down her face as the first of the monsters broke out from the ground.
They were small and spider like, with limbs looking like they'd formed out of the rocks. There was drool hanging down from their oversized fangs and they made a hideous sound as they moved. Cecily leapt to her feet and jumped on the Heaven’s Rod, which even in it's inactive state, the monsters gave it a wide berth as they screeched past and into the town like a living carpet. Oddly, they didn't seem destructive in any shape or form, but the people panicked all the same.
Rose heard the cries and rushed out, quickly followed by Kurz and Neal, leaving a terrified Mason behind. Kurz had already noted her speed from before, but could have sworn that she was now even faster, the gap between her and him widening till it was the length of a street. They found the source of the panic though, as the spider-like monsters muddled around them. Rose spotted Cecily and went to her, but found the child staring into the wastes, where the cracks were getting bigger. Had anyone else been there, she might have asked what it was, but she didn't have to in the end, as a much larger creature burst through. It resembled the smaller ones but everything seemed magnified with it. The little ones took one look at their larger sibling, and pushed further into the town, desperate to get away from it.
The large monster let out a screech and started to advance, while Rose hugged Cecily tight, determined to protect what she could….
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That's all for this week!
Till next time,
Keep on writing.
Peter James Martin
Quick Links
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