The Age | SHORT STORY

words: 3811

We're not sure how it all began. Most of us just remember
waking up to the end of the world. My name is Valerie
Harper. It was days ago when I had just lain my head down to
sleep in my bed. My parents were still awake and setting the
alarm after checking the doors to make sure they were locked.
It was a dreamless night.

The next morning I arose to find myself alone. I stepped
outside my room and called for everyone, but no one replied.
I checked all the rooms, but found nobody home. My parents
vehicles were still in the garage, but the door was open. I
stepped outside in my panties and long t-shirt.

It was a macabre scene. Blood along the driveway and down
the street. Cars were either parked or crashed into
something. Garbage was thrown about. What happened?

I went back in and made sure the door was locked and the
alarm set. I quickly dressed myself in slightly baggy cargo
pants and a tank top. I wasn't sure what I was dealing with
or what I was going to do. I remembered my dad was an avid
hunter. So, I decided to gather some things. I laid out my
tablet PC in it's bump case on my bed with all its power
cords and accessories. I stored it into my backpack and then
moved to my parent's room.

Once there, I set out the things I thought I could carry. I
got his large knife, binoculars, and a handgun. I hated
guns, but what was a girl to do in a moment like this?

From there, I made my way to the kitchen and searched for
simple items of food that would come in handy and were easy
to carry. PowerBars and Paydays were easy enough, and made
of peanut butter. Those were always good for energy and
protein. My pack was now full, but I needed drinks. Water
would be best, but I did not know if it was contaminated. I
gathered a small vinyl cooler and stored as many Gatorade
drinks as I could. I had a sturdy blue clip I kept my keys
on. I removed those keys and attached the small cooler to my
pack. It was heavy, but I could handle it. I used to hike
in the mountains during my summer break from college.

I took a deep breath and moved out of the house and made my
way down the street. It was an eerie feeling to do so. I
noticed all the vehicles were dead. The gasoline had been
ran out of them. No one was in sight. No animals either. I
feared to be the only human left alive.

We lived several miles from town and it was a hell of a walk
for me with all this weight. I took breaks every few miles
and always checked for wi-fi signals. Nothing.

I found my way through some of the streets and always saw the
same thing. There weren't any dead bodies, just blood and
lots of it. Of course, there was still trash thrown about,
as if something had rummaged through it.

I located the one place I believed people would retreat to in
a crisis situation, and I hoped, I prayed someone would be
there. It was getting dark and I didn't want to be alone.

I reached the Civic Center as the sun began to sink and the
sky grew dark. That's when I heard it. It was the most
horrific noise ever. It was a cross between a growl and a
screeching sound. It sounded like nothing of this world.
Was it aliens? Did aliens do this?

I beat and bashed on the door to the Civic Center and prayed
someone would respond. The noise was getting closer. They
wanted ME!

I turned to see what was sneaking up behind me, but it was
too dark. Suddenly, my back was against the door. As the
creature got closer, I fell backwards and then heard the door
slam. I looked around and I was safe.

This had been our home for the past three days. No one knows
for certain what happened. Everyone's story is different.
Some say it's aliens. Others speak of absurd government
projects about plagues and zombies.

Johanna Mahler, a young girl half my age, became my closest
friend. She took to me and looked to me for help. Everyone
had stockpiled the food from the Center laid it all on top of
a table with several drinks. Sure, people had their secret
stashes and stayed away from those, but this was the first
uniform thing we've done. Everyone was so freaked out about
the problem at hand, I had to offer up a plan to keep
everyone alive. The food idea wasn't much. In fact, it was
common sense.

That night we heard an awful noise of crying and screaming
and that horrid alien growl. We all assumed people were
being attacked. Then came the bashing. That was the night
that SHE came.

They allowed her in. Her name was Amelia Carlisle, a
pathologist at the University. I knew who she was. She
wasn't one of my professor's, but I had heard stories about
her. She was working on something for the government. I
couldn't remember what exactly, but it was a virus. Then
again, it might've been a cure to an ailment. She had so
many projects that I had been told about. Of course, those
could have been rumors.

Against everything that I had heard, she was a nice woman.
She was polite, well kept, and well educated. She became
friends with me.

Everyone else wanted to know what had occurred, but she wasn't
sure. She had been traveling with her family to get here
from the University and had done so quite well, but upon
getting here, they were attacked. She was the lone survivor.
She had no clue what it was though. She had not clearly
seen the creatures.

The creatures, that what we called them. They only attacked
at night, so we thought they were allergic to the light,
which could have been caused by some mutation. That lead us
to believe this was a vampire-like disease.

That also lead us to today. We sat at the breakfast table
discussing our next move.

"Oh, come on!" I complained loudly. "We know their attacks
are only at night. They're resting during the day. Everyone
who has ever arrived here claims to have only seen these
creatures at night.

"Maybe we should try to locate them," Mr. Johnson spoke.
"Maybe they can see reason."

"We don't even know what these things are," Amelia added.
"They could be extra-terrestrial for all we know."

"Exactly," I stated. "Now, Mr. Johnson, we desperately need
to get supplies. The mall is less than five blocks away."

Mr. Johnson rubbed the bald part in the center of his head.
Then he looked up at me and nodded. "Fine, but it is too
dangerous for you to go alone."

"Listen, I'll go with Amelia and Johanna. The less of us
there are, the less likely we'll be attacked or get
separated."

"I believe Amelia and Johanna should go with two men. We may
need your help here, Val." Mrs. Johnson chimed in just once.
She looked at Mr. Johnson as he adjusted his glasses.

"Fine," I replied as I stood and gave my pack to Amelia.
"I'll be fine." I could tell the blonde pathologist was
apprehensive about leaving me alone.

I couldn't remember much of the next several minutes, since
it all went by in a flash. Amelia and Johanna had gone with
some other women and two men, Jack Bright and Martin Finn.
After that, I found myself in my corner of the Center, but I
wasn't alone.

Mr. Johnson brought his son, Robert, over to talk. I
remember wondering why it took Mr. Johnson and another man,
David Ross, to bring the boy. The second they came too close
for comfort, I froze up.

I was forced onto the ground by the two older men while Bobby
tried to procreate with me. I gritted my teeth and squirmed
and kicked and wished to hell I could reach the knife in my
boot. I wanted to castrate that mother fucker trying to
grope me.

She must've forgotten something or came back on a whim. My
pants were barely unbuttoned when Amelia returned. I sat up
to see Mr. Johnson holding his nose. I also noticed the
blood spot on the wall. David limped away like a pup, and he
held his hand. Amelia shocked me with her show of force.

Though, I did get my wish. She had my pack, so she must have
gotten my dad's hunting knife out. She held against Bobby's
groin.

"Back the fuck off!" She yelled at him. "I'll cut your
balls off faster than you can blink."

He was speechless and slowly backed away from the mad woman.
I don't know if it was some motherly instinct, but I
appreciated her help. I very much like being a virgin and
planned to stay that way until I married.

"I knew something didn't feel quite right," Amelia stated.
"Now, if anyone wants a go at us, you'll be the one picking
your dick up off the ground."

She was amazing!

I rose completely to my feet and walked with Johanna. The
two of us with Amelia walked to the door.

"We're going to the mall to gather supplies," Amelia barked
at them. "We'll be back before dark, if we can. If not,
we'll return by breakfast." Then she stepped out. I
followed my savior and dragged Johanna along.

It was the tensest moment I had ever experienced in my life.
I looked down at the scared red headed Johanna. "It's okay,"
I told her, trying to not only calm her, but myself too. All
three of us were silent for the entire five block walk to the
mall. My mind stopped thinking about what might have been
and worked on what might come. I worried they would not
welcome us back.

The streets were desolate except for vacant cars and trash, whether newspapers or garbage. The parking lot of the mall was the same as the town. With no one to clean it up, everything was in shambles.

Upon entering the mall, I felt safer and relaxed. Being outside where those things were, freaked me out. It made me more fearful. My mind never crossed the thought that these creatures could be inside.

Amelia continued onward to the food court. I hoped for a cooked meal, or a few cooked meals. Most of our past few meals were cold. It was horrible.

We all set down anything we had in our arms or on our backs. Then we searched for anything that would be great to carry back. We had been there for hours stocking up some bags we found in a department store with frozen foods. We even found several small camping stoves.

"Would you girls like anything to eat before we have to head back?" Amelia asked. "You name it, I'll cook it."

"I'm dying for a spicy chicken sandwich," I told her as I stared at the menu. Even though I told her what I wanted, I continued to stare. The food looked so lovely compared to the potted meat, cheese, and crackers.

"I want a cheeseburger," the ten year old Johanna stated excitedly.

"Coming right up," Amelia smiled and began to work.

The three of us would have a time hauling all this back to the civic Center. My mind shifted to that as we waited for Amelia to finish cooking. Johanna was too young to carry much. With that in mind, I walked off to find something that could be dragged. A rolling suitcase would work perfectly.

Johanna was eating by the time I returned with a suitcase.

"How dare you start without me," I joked.

Johanna just giggled and continued to stuff her face. She was like the sister I never had.

Amelia brought around my food and set down her plate before sitting herself. She had something from the Chinese booth. She took to us and became our surrogate mother. She was amazing and so protective. "All right, you two," she said once she finished. "We better get a move on before the night catches us."

"Well, I believe everything is ready to go," I told her as I gathered all that I could. She did the same, as did Johanna, and we all marched out.

We thought we could make the five blocks before the sun faded completely, but we were wrong. We made it half way before the howls came. Chills rushed down our spines and we ran as fast as we could. They were right on our heels for a few blocks, until we dropped some of our weight.

Johanna dropped her suitcase and was able to speed up. She was so scared, but I didn't blame her.

We reached the civic Center and beat on the entrance door.

"Let us in!" Amelia cried out as she continued to bang on the door. "We're being followed."

"You lead them here!" Mr. Johnson stated. "We're not compromising our compound."

"We have supplies," Amelia pleaded. "Let us in! Let Johanna and Valerie in."

"No," Mr. Johnson replied.

"You son of a bitch!" Amelia yelled out and turned to see the beasts getting closer. She looked around quickly for a place to escape to for the night. She pulled out my father's handgun and fired at the shadows. "GO! THERE!" She pointed to the closest building.

I grabbed Johanna by the hand, dropping all our supplies and rushed to the building, which had large glass windows on the ground level. I pushed the door open and forced Johanna inside before turning to look at Amelia.

She was running toward us, but fell. She continued to fire at the approaching attackers to keep them off her. They closed in faster and were ready to pounce on her.

I could see the teeth of the creatures and the drool drip from their teeth. The rest was too dark to spot. I grabbed Amelia by the backpack and dragged her in just in time. Johanna closed the door, but was knocked down as one of the creatures jumped at it, trying to get her.

Amelia and I rushed the door and put our bodies' weights against it. That's when I saw the attackers completely. They were rabid looking canines. "What the hell?"

Johanna put her back against the wall as she stared out at the fierce dogs. They appeared wild and hideous. Their fur was mangy and their mouth foamed. The thing that shocked us the most was their size. These creatures were three times their normal sizes.

Amelia latched the door to keep the dogs out. We all prayed they didn't wise up and break through the glass. With that eerie thought pervading our nightmares, we searched the building for a more suitable place of safety.

On the top floor, there was an executive board room with lots of space and couches to sleep on. Next door to that room was a small break room with simple snack foods. It would work for one night. Another precaution we took was to lock all the doors we came through.

Johanna had no problem sleeping since we were safe for now. I, on the other hand, could not sleep a wink. My mind was still on the creatures outside. How could they have gotten so large? Why are they so vicious?

There came a sudden loud bang followed by a crash. Amelia jumped up to look outside and spotted the Civic Center under attack by the creatures. They had broken in, somehow. They discovered a weak spot.

"I guess old dogs can learn new tricks," Amelia stated coldly as screams came echoing from the Civic Center.

I swallowed hard and wondered if we were next. I was so glad Johanna was sleeping like a rock. It was the best sleep any of us had had since all this began. I blocked everything from my mind after that and lay down to sleep. Amelia did the same.

The next morning, we woke up to a brighter day. We felt wonderfully rejuvenated from the slumber we obtained that night. Breakfast consisted of dough nuts from the break room and tea that Amelia had made.

"I'm so glad things settled down," I told her. "I don't think I could take staying with those people any longer."

"Well, you might need to put up with it once more," Amelia told me.

I furrowed my brow and gave her a confused look. "What do you mean?"

"We need to get whatever supplies they have left and bring them here," she told me.

I felt my heart drop drastically. That sounded like an adventure into a morgue. I nodded hesitantly.

"Let's go," she said. "Johanna, wait here, okay?"

She nodded.

"Lock the door behind us and only open it for us," Amelia continued.

Johanna nodded again.

I followed the older woman out of the room and down the stairs. The coast was clear, so we continued on to the Civic Center. It was just as I thought it would be. It was gruesome. Body parts and blood everywhere. It was different than before. Some of these bodies were just mangled beyond recognition while others were gone, which meant those were meals. The dogs never left any behind before. What did that mean? I figured that meant this was out of anger.

"Bobby," I said with a slight smile as I saw the bloodied and gory crotch of the boy eaten out. Of course, his hands and head were gone, but I knew it was him.

"Here," Amelia stated as she gather the few supplies into a single bag. "It's not much, but it will do for a time. I noticed some of our food is still outside too with a couple of camp stoves."

"We can get them on the way out," I told her as I looked away from Bobby's body.

"Well, I'm ready," Amelia told me as she shook the bag showing me the spoils of the search. It wasn't much at all.

On the way out, I grabbed all I could carry. I was shocked the beasts didn't bother it, but I think they have more of a palate for fresh meat.

As we climbed the stairs of our new domain once more, I spotted a wireless router. My tablet could pick it up. The power worked fine from what I had seen so far in the places we had visited or stayed in.

Luckily, I had left the tablet PC in sleep mode, which preserved the batteries considerably without turning the computer off. Of course, the tablet had two batteries that were connected simultaneously.

Once we were settled again, I pulled out my tablet and woke it up from sleep mode. As soon as it was completely booted, I noticed it was picking up the wi-fi signal.

"What are you doing?" Amelia asked me.

I looked up at her with sleepy eyes. I always got that way when in front of my computer. "I just thought I'd check to see if there is any news on what happened or if anyone else is alive."

"Well, I can tell you easily what happened," Amelia said as she sat down next to me. "It's all my fault."

I gasped and couldn't catch my breath after that initial moment of surprise. "Wha-what?!"

"It was an accident," she explained. "It started out with a single dog. We had it quarantined in the lab, where we were running tests on it. It had an unknown disease similar to rabies, but it was much more vicious and advanced much faster. We needed a time table, so we brought in another dog. The thing was that it wasn't passed on through biting, but through mating. Even the offspring showed signs of infection. Before we knew it, the 'creatures' were advanced mentally, too."

"They got smarter?" I asked, still in shock.

"Yes," Amelia replied. "Like any dog that learns to sit, shake hands, lay down, play dead. Though, these animals began to show more advanced thinking skills. They could figure out how to open doors. I don't mean just building doors, but car doors, too. Eventually, they got loose one night and started to turn other dogs. They saw humans as threats and started to kill them."

"How did it spread so fast?" I questioned Amelia.

"That I don't know," she responded. "I didn't hear of any other cases of this disease. It's possible there could have been, but this one dog in the lab seemed to be the only one in town infected. I don't understand it. I didn't have enough time to study it."

"How do we stop it?"

"You can't," Amelia stated. "There is no cure. At least, not one that I could find."

"Do you think anyone else is alive out there?" I glanced over at her. I couldn't hate her for something she couldn't control. Besides, she saved me from rape.

The door behind us slowly opened. I assumed it was Johanna returning from the break room. I felt chills rush over me and my heart pause when I heard the growl of the rabid canine. I looked up and noticed the gleam in its eye. I could not decipher if it was hunger or anger or just pure joy of killing. I wanted to move more than anything, but I was frozen stiff from fear. "Nice doggy," I said out of sheer stupidity. Even Amelia wasn't moving, or if she was, I couldn't hear her. Then the snarling beast lunged at us!

I woke up in my bed at home. I couldn't believe it. It was just a dream. A horrid, gruesome, macabre story all mushed up in my imagination. I wiped the sweat from my brow as I sat up in my bed. The crack in my door widened, but I didn't see anyone enter. My mind jumped to the idea that maybe the vicious dogs in my dream were real. My heart began to pound violently in my chest. I tried to look around for any furry killing machine, but saw and heard nothing.

A brown hairy shape jumped up at me forcing me jump back. I relaxed when I saw it was the short and stocky dachshund. "Carson," I spoke, pulling him onto my bed and cuddling with him. "You scared me." He burrowed underneath the covers and got comfortable, before falling asleep again.

The Tin Pale | SHORT STORY

"The Pale"

There it was. Jennifer Carter had never seen it before in all her life, but
there it was. Of course, she asked her mom about the cute
statue, but she denied ever seeing it before. She also told
Jenni she would check with the neighbors to see if they had
misplaced theirs. Then again the dog could have brought it
home. She stared at it for the longest time. It was a white
concrete statue of a young girl on the beach. Jennifer could tell
it was a beach, since around her feet were sea shells. One
hand was holding her straw hat in place while the other held
her tin pale. She wore cover-alls over shirt and had the
legs of them rolled up.

"Well, it doesn't belong to the Joneses or the Peacocks," Helen
told her daughter as she entered the medium-sized kitchen.

Jenni sat at the table, where the statue was standing for the
moment. The kitchen had cabinets in the center as well as
around the wall. The sink and dishwasher were parallel to
the center cabinet with the refrigerator on the adjacent
wall. Oh, how Helen loved stainless steel appliances and
wood-stained cabinets. Of course, the counter tops had to be
marble.

"So what are you going to do?" Jenni asked as she looked toward
her. She could feel this throbbing in her head. Migrains were
always such a pain.

"I guess we'll just keep it," she spoke as she gave Jennifer a
funny look. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, just a mild headache," Jenni replied as she stood and
staggered.

"No, I think you should lie down," she said. "GO!"

"I'm not nine, you know?" Jen complained. She wasn't in the
mood to argue, though. Even if she was sixteen. She made it to
her room and sat down for a moment. Clutching her head as a
sharp pain shot through it. She had to turn off all the lights
and close the blinds. She didn't need the light or noise. She
even closed my door. Breathing deeply, she laid on top of
her blue bed sheets. They were so cool. They were quite
comforting. With her eyes green eyes closed, she rested her red
hair-filled head on the pillow. Comfy.

Her mom had been in the kitchen preparing dinner for the two of them. She had
such a hard time not setting out a third plate. Her father had been
gone for six months already. It was hard, Jenni was sure. It was
like having your arm or leg severed and still feel it
itching.

Jennifer had dosed off at some point and was dead to the world.
Well, She was, until she heard mom yell. It startled her enough
to shake the poor girl out of bed. Her heart raced. She thought it would
burst out of her chest and beat her to the kitchen. When she entered, she found her mom holding her arm. "What happened?"

"I burned myself," she said. "I'm fine."

"Let me see," Jenni responded, hoping to see the extent of the
damage. "How did this happen?"

"I just wasn't paying attention."

"I'll finish it, okay?" Jennifer told her as she moved away from the
table where she sat. "Spaghetti?"

"Yeah, your dad's favorite," she replied.

"Okay, I can do it," Jennifer stated as she began to work with what
her mom already had. It had been so long since Jen had cooked. She
spent the first few weeks after her father died cooking for her
mother. Helen wasn't well.

"Thanks, honey," she said breathing deeply.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Jennifer asked as she grew more worried
about her. The statue now faced her mother. Jennifer put the
thought out of her head that it had moved on its own. Of
course, she recalled it in another position.

"I'll be fine," she spoke softly.

Jenni continued to make the spaghetti to her mother's liking. She had
shown Jen many years ago when she was smaller. Jennifer still
remembered the basics. Something wasn't right, and the girl could feel it. Her mom started to feel weird and dizzy. The next thing Jen remember was hearing a loud thunderous crash. Helen was on the floor. Jennifer rushed to her mom to check her breathing, but couldn't feel her pulse. She jumped to the phone on the counter and dialed the emergency number as fast as she could.

This was her first real health issue ever. Jennifer had never even heard stories of her mom being ill even during her childhood, which was rare. Why all of a sudden? Jen allowed her mom to be carried off to the hospital, but she had to put things away before visiting her. She put away dinner into plastic storage containers and stashed them into the fridge. She was so busy that she hadn't noticed one odd thing about the room now.

It was gone. The statue was gone.

"Lacy?" Jennifer called out for our dog, but no luck there. She thought Lacy had taken the small statue out to the garden. So, she went to check. It wasn't there. She sighed heavily as she went back into the house to finished her cleaning.

Withing an hour, she was all done and on her way to see her mom, but her gut was churning. Jen had an uneasy feeling about that statue. It was stupid, she knew it, too, but all this bad luck all of a sudden was making her point fingers. She wasn't the kind of girl to believe in voodoo or witchcraft. So, why was she feeling this way? The statue was around when she got her bad headache, when Helen got burned, and when she had her fainting spell. Coincidence?

Jennifer was stopped at the front desk by the receptionist. "I'm looking for my mother, Helen Carter."

"You must be Jennifer Carter," she said to Jen. "Please, go on up. She's in room 312."

"Thank you." Jenni replied as she headed to the elevator. It was taking its sweet time and the feeling in her gut wasn't subsiding. It was getting worse. Her foot began to tap impatiently on the floor. It was only three floors up. She could make it up faster than the elevator. After all, she used to run track, so it would be easy.

Okay, so maybe she was mistaken. She hadn't run track in two years since her hurt my knee. Jen was out of breath, but she reached her destination. She made her way down the hall to find room 312. Medical personnel were racing past her and yelling something. "Code blue." Her heart stopped.

They were all going into room 312, where her mother was. Jenni pushed her way through to see them doing CPR on her mother.

"I'm calling it," one of the doctors said. "I don't know what happened. She just started crashing."

"Mom?"

The doctors all turned around to Jen to calm her and get her out. They even tried to sympathize with her. As she was being pushed out, she saw it! That damn statue and her pale. Jennifer stayed out in the hall as everyone in the room cleared out. She wanted to see her mom and get that statue. How did it get here?

"Jenni?" A doctor called out to me.

"Yes?"

"You can go in now."


"Thanks," Jenni said as she stood and wiped away her tears. She entered and was shocked to see it still there. "Oh, mom. . ." She didn't know what else to say. Jen was heart broken, having lost her father six months before. Why did this have to be? She took one last look at that statue before knocking it off the table. It shattered into a hundred pieces, except the tin pale. Jennifer felt relief rush over her. It was over. No more voodoo and bad luck. The price paid already was great.

***

15 years later. . .

Jennifer Carter wiped sweat from her brow as she worked her garden. It was hard to believe it had been fifteen years since the accident. At least that's what the coroner called it. They believed the shock from the burn caused her asthma to act up. Jen knew better. It was behind her, usually. On days like today, she always remember her mom. Jenni took up her mom's habit to be closer to the woman who raised her. The garden was so beautiful now. She would've been proud. Jen set her hoe down in the grass behind her so she could maneuver down the row. She was pulling out a few weeds when she noticed something in the dirt. She dug it out and saw it! The tin pale!

She jumped back, forgetting about the hoe and stepped on it. Jenni lost my balance and slipped. As she fell, the bird bath broke her fall, smashing the back of her skull. The blood began to flow over the pieces.

Jack Canyon and The Curse of The Spider Queen | PROLOGUE

Words: 1677

4 1/2 years ago. . .

Lightning struck the ground near Jack Canyon, barely missing
the archaeologist, as he leaped over a stone wall to avoid
the booby traps of the ancient Greek temple. He fell down
covering his head as lightning hit the wall. He peeked for a
moment over the top of the wall looking for the device that
was emitting the electricity.

"Jack," a feminine voice called as a young brunette neared
him from behind. She, too, was seeking cover. "There's
never a dull moment, huh?"

A sudden outcry of gunfire rang through the chamber hitting
the wall. Jack pulled the girl to safety between two
pillars.

Emily smiled as she was held close to Jack. She faced him
and could smell his slightly sweaty scent, but it didn't
bother her. She kept her nose close to his chest. Her hands
held onto the tail of his light gray t-shirt. "Saving me,"
she said. "Usually its the other way around. You know, I
never quite figured out why you don't carry a gun with you."

"It's a lot more fun this way, don't you think?" He asked as
he looked at the incoming goons.

"Oh, yeah, loads," she replied sarcastically. "So what's the
plan?"

"I'll tell you as soon as I come up with one, Emily," Jack
told Ms. Baxter, his assistant. He pushed himself off a
pillar and darted across the room. He dodged a lightning bolt
that was thrown at him by the orb in the center of the room.
He was drawing the bolts of electricity toward the men with
guns. He was in luck, too.

"It'll be a miracle you don't get yourself killed, Jack,"
Emily told herself as she watched his daring spectacle. She
was in awe that he managed to take down one of the men. She
shook her head and continued to watch.

Jack watched as the other two neared the slope up to the
chamber. He leaped over a short stone wall and tackled one
of the three men, barely avoiding another strike by the
lightning device. With a precise punch to the stomach, he
knocked the wind from the man. Before Jack could turn
around, he was hit in the jaw by a big fist. At least, it
felt big.

Emily grimaced as she watched the fight.

Jack shook off the pain and fought back with a few hits of
his own. He ducked as lightning shot across the room and hit
the wall, sending shards everywhere, even on top of the man
Jack was battling with. Luck was on his side; and he wasn't
about to stop now.

one of the men was creeping along the short wall and nearing
Emily. Her nerves were beginning to tremble as the man drew
near. She was a fighter, but he had a gun. Without thinking
much about it, she waited for him to near. She attacked him
by tackling him, forcing him into the wall. She heard his
back make a crackling noise.

Jack's attention was on Emily as she stayed strong. Then a
scream echoed through the chamber. He wasn't sure if it was
his or Emily's. She had been hit by the device's
electricity. He jumped over the walls and ducked to avoid
the same fate as Emily. Finally, reaching her, he held her
in his arms.

"Jack," she spoke softly.

"I'm going to get you out of here," Jack told her.

"Take care of my dad, will you?"

"Don't talk like that," Jack said with a lop-sided smile.
"You're a strong woman. You can fight this."

"I love you, Jack," Emily admitted as her eyes fluttered.

"Stay with me, kid," Jack urged her as his hand found hers.

"Tell me-- Jack-- Tell me that you love me," Emily demanded.

"I love you, Em," he replied just before she let go of life.
Jack almost began to cry. He squeezed her hand hard and
tightened his jaw. He shot up from where he was and ran to
the other man, who was still searching for him in the large
chamber. He leaped onto a fallen pillar, dodging a bolt of
lightning, and pouncing on top of the last man standing. He
began punching and punching, but he could only see red. He
partially blacked out, unable to remember much except for
anger. He just lost the most important person in his life.

Then everything stopped.

Jack fell back into a seated position on the ground with his
back on the fallen pillar. He looked at his blood-drenched
fist and the immobile body on the ground. He breathed deeply
and tried to calm down. He was on a mission. He still had a
job to do. For Emily.

The white orb in the center of the room hummed loudly as it
sat idle upon a three foot stone stand.

Jack needed to shut it off before getting the artifact. He
could do this. He was smarter than these booby traps.
Wasn't he? He stood and dusted off his dark brown Carhartt
canvas pants. With one last look at Emily, he jumped over
the pillar and rolled once he hit the ground. He jerked up
the shield of a fallen Greek warrior and barely blocked the
lightning.

The shield reflected the electricity and thrust it back at
the orb rendering the white ball inoperable.

Jack stood and dropped the mirror-finished shield, before
moving forward. The altar was just ahead with his prize on
it. He stepped cautiously up the steps. He smiled as he
reached the top and reached out for the mythological relic.
"The mask of Medusa," he sighed happily and gave a cocky
grin.

***

Back from Thermapylae, Greece, Jack Canyon returned happy,
but deeply saddened. The good news was that he had the mask
of Medusa safe from anyone who would use it unwisely. The
bad news was hard for him to accept. It would be even harder
for him to explain. He knocked lightly on a large wooden
door and awaited for someone to open it.

An elderly man named John Baxter answered the door in shock to see Jack standing there with Emily in his arms. "Oh, god, Jack!" He cried out when he saw the burn in her chest. "Come in!" John closed the door behind Jack as he moved inside and lay Emily down on a couch.

Jack sat down on the floral designed couch as Mr. Baxter knelt on the floor in front of his lifeless daughter.

"How did it happen?" The man asked through his sobs.

"I was occupied with some grave robber who was trying to kill
us," Jack stated. "One sneaked upon her, and she fought with
him. I don't know if she forgot about the trap or not, but
it hit her."

"Did she die instantly? Was she in pain?"

"She looked peaceful," Jack answered as tears streamed down
his face. "I got to her before she died, though."

"What did she say?" John weeped.

Jack cried hard, but tried to restrain himself. "She told me
to take care of you, like you told me to take care of her
four years ago."

"What else did she say?" John asked.

"That she loved me," Jack stated as he wiped away his tears,
but more came.

John moved toward Jack and placed his hand onto his wrist.
"You would've been a fine son-in-law, a fine husband."

"Thank you," Jack told him as he stood up. "I'll arrange
everything for her funeral. Right now, I should get over to
the museum and get the mask to the curator."

"Take care, Jack," John told him.

"I'll see you around, John," Jack stated as he walked out the
door.

***

Jack's next stop was the museum on the other side of town.
He marched up the front steps and into the building. From
there, he found his way to the curator's office. The elderly
man behind the desk looked up as Jack knocked on his opened
door.

"Ah, Jack," he stated with a smile as he stood. "I guess you
have it?"

"Yes, Mr. Stone, I have it right here." Jack pulled the mask
from his pack and set it onto the desk.

"Perfect," the curator spoke as he looked over the artifact.
He looked up for a moment when he realized something was
missing. "Where's Emily?"

Jack's eyes dropped to the floor as the question arose. "She
died. The booby trap in the temple got her."

"It wasn't Sheppard?" Mr. Stone asked.

"I took care of him and his men," Jack replied.

"I'm sorry to hear about your loss," Stone told him.
"Listen, I'll pay for everything for her funeral. I'll send
your payment tomorrow." He looked back at the mask. "You've
done the world a great service."

Jack was headed out of the office, but stopped and turned his
attention back to Mr. Stone. "But at what cost?"

"I'm sorry she died, Jack, but I mean it. This mask is a
dangerous artifact that must be preserved by the right
people." He pressed the call button on his phone.
"Margaret, send her in."

A slim lady in jeans and a tank top walked in with her hips
and sandy blonde hair swaying. She smiled at Jack as she
moved to the desk.

"I need you to catalog this, Sophia," Mr. Stone told her as
he handed the mask to her.

"I'll get right on it, dad," she spoke softly as she turned
with the mask in hand. She gave Jack another smile, since
she thought he was cute.

Jack watched her exit with swaying hair and hips. "Your
daughter? I didn't know you had a daughter."

"It's better that way," Stone said with a smug smile.

Jack laughed slightly and turned to leave. "You know where
to find me." He continued onward with a hot bath and long
night's sleep on his mind. If he could sleep, after this horrible day.

Threesome Kingdom | Short Story

Threesome Kingdom
Written by: Chris Williams

Words: 325
Genre: Comedy/Fantasy/Fairy Tale
A/N: Thanks to Ashvini wanting another story. . . enjoy the comedy. I did.

A long, long time ago in a land right in front of your face. . .

And this land was known as Spontanea Combusti which had only three kingdoms. The middle kingdom had a prince, Prince Marshmallow. To his left was a kingdom with a princess who was called Princess Coconut who often consulted her aide, Uncle Evil. To his right was another kingdom with a princess named Princess Banana. Both were to unite with the Marshmallow and create single kingdom.

So, Prince Marshmallow took the each princess on a date, but found that both were equally entertaining. And both princesses found the prince to be sweet and cuddly, yet addicting, like crack. (which is also white, coincidentally) In order to find out who was better he held contests. The first contest was a literary contest. Each had to produce a single story, but both excelled equally, yet again. So the next step was for poetry. Yet again, the same outcome.

The Prince realized the only thing that could set them apart. He held a wet t-shirt contest at his castle, but discovered both were again equal. In an uproar of brilliance, he arranged to have a small pit built and filled with water and dirt, turning it to mud. He ordered them to display their strenghts in a mud wrestling competition.

The Prince was baffled why two could be so equal. Then it hit him like a truckload of bricks. He must marry BOTH women and unite all the land under the rule of the threesome. The marriage ceremony was held in his castle's grand hall which was half-Hindu for the Coconut Princess and half-Christian for the Banana and Marshmallow.

In the years to come the Marshmallow and Coconut would make Chrindus and Coconut Creme Pies, while the Marshmallow and the Banana made Banana Creme Pies. However, the Banana Princess and the Coconut Princess never got along and continuously fought for Marshmallow's attention.

Rise of the Insane Empire | Short Story

Rise of the Insane Empire
Written by: Chris Williams

Words: 323
Genre: Comedy/Fantasy/Fairy Tale
A/N: This story was written out of pure comedy, or insanity. Depends on how one looks at it. This story is written as told to Ashvini Rajah, when we were talking over MSN. (not istant messaging, voice chat!) I told her a story so she'd fall asleep. Which she did.

Once upon a time, there was an empress who had an evil uncle who often made fun of her to the point of calling her a pumpkinhead. This empress had kinky hair and cute glasses. The empress was in love with the Emperor Insanity, who unfortunately loved an older woman who lived in a shell. The emperor wasn't about to let go of the woman, so the empress devised a plan. The empress waited one night for the older maiden to be all alone and she sent her guards to kidnap and imprison her.

The young maiden had no idea what was going on and feared for h
er life. The empress set up a time and day for her execution. Her crime: interfering with the Empress's love life. So Empress Coconut told the emperor that the woman ran away. Which broke his heart.

The empress did her best to woo the emperor and took him out to dinner, A BIG DINNER, but the way to a man's heart isn't through his stomach. It's a little further south. So, the empress did her best, her very best to get to his heart. It worked and the emperor was smitten by such a love that he whisked her away to his empire, which he called the Insane Empire and where they lived happily ever after with little Caucindians running around and a dog, an itty bitty dog.

The emperor and empress got married, and the empress got a ring in her nose to prove her love for him. She loved messing up his hair and his crazy sexual jokes.

OH! The older woman (by a few years, mind you) did escape and saw the two insanely happy. She saw Empress Coconut getting her way into Emperor Insanity's heart, and not through his stomach. So, she ran away from the empire to hide in her shell near the sea, but a typhoon hit and she drowned.