My Dad died in October last year. I had just deployed to Iraq in September. When I got the Red Cross message I was on a plane to Kuwait that night. The message said he was in the hospital in critical condition back home but, before I could even get out of Kuwait I found out he had died that next day.
You can read more about it here.
http://dragoncam.blogspot.com/2009/10/last-salute.html
Also...my dog died. Needless to say, that cast a gloomy pall over my whole year.
There were things I never got a chance to say. Our last conversation on the phone right before I deployed was detached and abrupt. There were things I wanted to say but never got that chance.
After I returned to Iraq, night after night I had dreams about my Dad and in every dream I didn't realize he was dead. We would talk not necessarily about anything meaningful but would just talk. It wasn't the father that I knew but the father I wanted to know.
I would wake up shaking and crying, sad and afraid realizing he was gone.
It wasn't something I felt comfortable to talking to anyone about really. I also stopped posting on my dream blog because I didn't feel comfortable posting about it either.
The dreams happened frequently while I was in Iraq. When we returned to the US the dreams about my Dad stopped happening so frequently but I still have them.
Lately, I haven't been dreaming well.
I have some awesome flying dreams every now and then but lately almost every night I have dreams about being chased and hunted by the undead.
Last night, an assassin had been hired to kill me and a few others. This assassin was using dark magic to re-animate corpses of the dead to do his bidding.
All I had was an ineffective bludgeon.
I don't even watch Zombie movies. Sure, I've seen a few before but normally I avoid movies like that. I don't play games like that either much.
Lately, I've been playing this game called Entropia Universe off and on. Mostly all you do in that game is shoot alien dinosaurs and robots. You know, if I was being hunted down by robots at least it wouldn't be so emotionally wearing.
But these undead, re-animated corpses are really sick and disturbing.
When I wake up in the morning after having one of those dreams, I'm literally worn out.
I also have really vivid dreams, always have. When I'm even partially lucid in a dream, it's on like Donkey Kong. I can float, fly, manipulate the elements, create energy shields and so forth.
But...when I don't have that lucidity to protect me, I'm pretty much screwed.
I've learned a little bit about myself though mostly about what I would do in a situation like that.
If I'm by myself, my usual response is flight, i.e run away or find a safe place to hunker down in. The "hole up" option isn't always the best in dreams though since usually in your dreams the monsters always seem to know where you are.
If I get cornered, I go for a desperate fight/push through the enemy ala "Last Stand".
If I'm in a group, I pool ideas and resources. 70 percent of the time I'll take lead of the group.
Sometimes in my dreams though, there's a "big brother" type of person and somehow I feel younger, not quite my age and I'll take on a "little brother" role where I find myself taken under the wing of another person.
Sometimes, I find myself in a situation where there's something special about me and the group's role is to protect me or get me somewhere safe.
"What would you do if a plague of Zombies broke out?" might not be a practical question to pose to one's self but at least I have sort of an idea of how that would play out.
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Saturday, March 14, 2009
Waiting for Orders
11 March 2009
I had just reported into the squad bay. I was getting my stuff set up on my bunk when the Colonel looked up from his afternoon nap. The Colonel was in charge in us. He was a tall solid man with bright orange hair and a determined look. He was with the British Special Forces. Among the others, we were a veritable motley crew assembled from various military services from around the world. We were all waiting for something but I didn't know what.
It seemed strange but I didn't really think about it at the time. As I was getting my rack put together a man flanked by two women walked in. They were all wearing long gray coats and black caps. The Colonel snapped to attention and greeted them. They were doing an inspection apparently.
As they entered I noticed something strange. There was a blank picture on the wall but as I looked at it, a painting appeared of our three inspectors. But as I peered at it their visages were sinister and evil.
Quite uncharacteristically, I let out a bloodcurdling scream.
The others looked up in surprise. I looked around and suddenly felt very out of place. I turned back around and looked at the portrait again. This time the faces were rotting corpses and the older women was holding a knife behind the other two. I realized our inspectors weren't among the living. The older woman had murdered the other two then taken her own life.
They were ghosts...
and this time I really started screaming uncontrollably.
I yelled out and pointed but no one else seemed to be able to see the painting. They thought I was losing it. It took three men to restrain me and take me back to my bunk and settle me down.
When I mustered up the courage to look back at the painting on the wall the next realization hit me...
We all were...
I had just reported into the squad bay. I was getting my stuff set up on my bunk when the Colonel looked up from his afternoon nap. The Colonel was in charge in us. He was a tall solid man with bright orange hair and a determined look. He was with the British Special Forces. Among the others, we were a veritable motley crew assembled from various military services from around the world. We were all waiting for something but I didn't know what.
It seemed strange but I didn't really think about it at the time. As I was getting my rack put together a man flanked by two women walked in. They were all wearing long gray coats and black caps. The Colonel snapped to attention and greeted them. They were doing an inspection apparently.
As they entered I noticed something strange. There was a blank picture on the wall but as I looked at it, a painting appeared of our three inspectors. But as I peered at it their visages were sinister and evil.
Quite uncharacteristically, I let out a bloodcurdling scream.
The others looked up in surprise. I looked around and suddenly felt very out of place. I turned back around and looked at the portrait again. This time the faces were rotting corpses and the older women was holding a knife behind the other two. I realized our inspectors weren't among the living. The older woman had murdered the other two then taken her own life.
They were ghosts...
and this time I really started screaming uncontrollably.
I yelled out and pointed but no one else seemed to be able to see the painting. They thought I was losing it. It took three men to restrain me and take me back to my bunk and settle me down.
When I mustered up the courage to look back at the painting on the wall the next realization hit me...
We all were...
Thursday, February 26, 2009
REMories: Time to Run
I was about 13 when I had this dream. I had a few dreams
later that continued along the same storyline.
Despite the name the Enforcers weren't the protectors of justice the name would seem to illicit.
They were simply powerful people who wanted more power. It wouldn't be easy to shake this one but I could buy some time by taking a detour into my past. I threw my hand out in front of me. The bracelet on my right wrist glowed. A spherical translucent shield sprang forth from the bracelet encapsulating my body.
The ground shook, then everything started spinning and I felt my body tearing apart. I winced and opened my eyes again. The sphere receded back into the bracelet. As I stood up I immediately hit my head. I was standing inside an old wooden treehouse. I quickly got my bearing and jumped out of the treehouse. The place looked oddly familiar but at the same time strange.
I took a quick glance around. I was standing in someone's backyard. Just then another disruption shook the ground. It was the Enforcer...
I dashed towards the fenceline. Even as the energy field was still dispersing around the Enforcer he was running towards me with a blaster in hand and his finger on the trigger. I spun around raising my shield hand. This time a smaller shield sprang forth from the bracelet covering my chest and head. The disruptor blast ricocheted off my shield sending the blast back towards the Enforcer. It hit the ground in front of him and sent him flying off his feet.
It gave me enough time to turn back around, hop the fence and make my way to the street. As I stood on the street I felt a twist in my stomach. The street seemed to stretch on forever, as far as I could see. As I ran down the street it seemed to stretch on even further. The presence of both of us was causing some type of temporal distortion.
The Enforcer was about to catch up to me. I knelt down again and activated the capsule shield. The bracelet and its powers were controlled by my mind and to some extent it had it's own artificial intelligence to protect it's wearer from harm. The shield capsule was a paradox preventer. It's purpose was to ensure that only the minimum amount of material was taken in the time jump.
Again, I felt a surge shredding through my body. I came to inside a school, in a hallway lined with lockers. Students were milling back and forth through the hallway. As the energy vibrated around me, they shrank back in terror or shock against their lockers. The janitor dropped his mop and bucket. I didn't have time to make introductions. I darted down the hallway and towards the exit. I knew my way through these halls.
As I ran out the door he was right on my heels again, the Enforcer. I ran out onto the grassy field outside the school. Well, this was it. This was where I'd have to make a decision. I just needed enough time to catch him off guard.
I reached to my side for my blaster. It wasn't like the Enforcer's which was meant to kill. It was something different. It was an experimental SoulGun, a transference device. Whoever, was hit by a soul blast would change bodies with whoever fired the gun last. The conundrum of course, was that the device would end up in the hands of your potential enemy.
I had to risk it. He burst out the side door of the school, I fired and he rolled out of the way and sent a shot my way at the same time. I rolled to the side as it sliced through a thick tree branch sending it to the ground with a thud. My second shot was dead on...and so was his...
I stood up and brushed myself off then looked down at my hands. I walked over to the limp body and knealt down. I sighed. I had just started getting used to that face, too. I reached down and pulled the bracelet off his wrist and slid it on mine.
Time was something I had both too much and too little of. The Omega Project was still out there and it was a ticking time bomb...almost literally. Before I left, I stopped by my old locker, dialed the combination and left a little present for myself. Now, I finally knew who left it for me...
The Omega Project is a massive doomsday weapon, which was a subject of some of my later dreams.
later that continued along the same storyline.
Despite the name the Enforcers weren't the protectors of justice the name would seem to illicit.
They were simply powerful people who wanted more power. It wouldn't be easy to shake this one but I could buy some time by taking a detour into my past. I threw my hand out in front of me. The bracelet on my right wrist glowed. A spherical translucent shield sprang forth from the bracelet encapsulating my body.
The ground shook, then everything started spinning and I felt my body tearing apart. I winced and opened my eyes again. The sphere receded back into the bracelet. As I stood up I immediately hit my head. I was standing inside an old wooden treehouse. I quickly got my bearing and jumped out of the treehouse. The place looked oddly familiar but at the same time strange.
I took a quick glance around. I was standing in someone's backyard. Just then another disruption shook the ground. It was the Enforcer...
I dashed towards the fenceline. Even as the energy field was still dispersing around the Enforcer he was running towards me with a blaster in hand and his finger on the trigger. I spun around raising my shield hand. This time a smaller shield sprang forth from the bracelet covering my chest and head. The disruptor blast ricocheted off my shield sending the blast back towards the Enforcer. It hit the ground in front of him and sent him flying off his feet.
It gave me enough time to turn back around, hop the fence and make my way to the street. As I stood on the street I felt a twist in my stomach. The street seemed to stretch on forever, as far as I could see. As I ran down the street it seemed to stretch on even further. The presence of both of us was causing some type of temporal distortion.
The Enforcer was about to catch up to me. I knelt down again and activated the capsule shield. The bracelet and its powers were controlled by my mind and to some extent it had it's own artificial intelligence to protect it's wearer from harm. The shield capsule was a paradox preventer. It's purpose was to ensure that only the minimum amount of material was taken in the time jump.
Again, I felt a surge shredding through my body. I came to inside a school, in a hallway lined with lockers. Students were milling back and forth through the hallway. As the energy vibrated around me, they shrank back in terror or shock against their lockers. The janitor dropped his mop and bucket. I didn't have time to make introductions. I darted down the hallway and towards the exit. I knew my way through these halls.
As I ran out the door he was right on my heels again, the Enforcer. I ran out onto the grassy field outside the school. Well, this was it. This was where I'd have to make a decision. I just needed enough time to catch him off guard.
I reached to my side for my blaster. It wasn't like the Enforcer's which was meant to kill. It was something different. It was an experimental SoulGun, a transference device. Whoever, was hit by a soul blast would change bodies with whoever fired the gun last. The conundrum of course, was that the device would end up in the hands of your potential enemy.
I had to risk it. He burst out the side door of the school, I fired and he rolled out of the way and sent a shot my way at the same time. I rolled to the side as it sliced through a thick tree branch sending it to the ground with a thud. My second shot was dead on...and so was his...
I stood up and brushed myself off then looked down at my hands. I walked over to the limp body and knealt down. I sighed. I had just started getting used to that face, too. I reached down and pulled the bracelet off his wrist and slid it on mine.
Time was something I had both too much and too little of. The Omega Project was still out there and it was a ticking time bomb...almost literally. Before I left, I stopped by my old locker, dialed the combination and left a little present for myself. Now, I finally knew who left it for me...
The Omega Project is a massive doomsday weapon, which was a subject of some of my later dreams.
REMories: I hate Zombies
REMories: Memories of dreams past...or are they dreams of memories past?
Note: I do in fact hate Zombies. I'm not a person who generally worries about such things though. I don't watch Zombie movies really, I'm not really much into horror. I don't know where these dreams come from but, I know the Zombie dreams all started with this one. I had this dream in 2005. I was deployed to Iraq at the time for "OIF 3" (Operation Iraqi Freedom). When I woke up, I turned to my roommate and simply said seemingly out of the blue to him, "Man, I fucking hate Zombies."
If there is one thing I can't stand...it's Zombies. And the only thing in my book worse than a Zombie was a whole lot of Zombies. The once bustling streets of this perky suburban neighborhood were eerily silent now but, through the dead of the night you could hear them...moaning and shuffling along, awkwardly knocking over anything in their way, trying to sniff out a meal of fresh, juicy brains. They had no qualms about eating the rest of you of course but, they would have nothing to do with decayed and rotting flesh. But, God help us that meant they wouldn't eat each other. No easy breaks for the living.
Strewn about the streets were remnants of the military's failed attempts to quell the Zombie revolution. Their stand didn't last very long. Many of the Zombies in this area wore tattered National Gaurd uniforms, undead and grim testaments of the Zombie horrors. I had been hoping to find survivors but, this town was as dead as the last one and there was little left to scavenge that was worth risking my life for.
In the cold black of the night, a dank smell permeated the air. I was a swift and silent mover but, their senses were highly trained and attuned to even the tiniest sound of human movement. They knew fresh fish was on the menu but, I wasn't keen on being reeled in. I could outrun a few zombies no problem but, I soon realized there were more than a few zombies around here. The stench was nearly overpowering, they were everywhere, practically surrounding me and I couldn't even see a single one.
Hiding would do me little good. In a situation like this, you never want to work yourself into a corner. I made a run for it, got off the dangerous streets, and made a nimble hop over a backyard fence. I chuckled for half a moment at the irony of an old, worn sign hanging from the chain-links that proclaimed 'Beware of Dog'.
There was a warehouse just up the road running into the heart of the town. I beat a brisk jog to it, in hopes that I might find something useful inside. I was pretty sure Scavengers had already beaten me here but, when life gives you lemons...well, you know...you're better off looking for a shotgun.
It seemed like I had ran myself into a corner. Too many damn zombies. They had surrounded me. There was only one exit, and it was an entrance into the huge abandoned warehouse. Not much better than my current situation but, it could buy me some time at least. I ran in, closing and locking the doors behind me. They would be inside in no time.
The warehouse was amaze of shelves and industrial goods, haphazardly littered about the place as if it had been ransacked. I ran down the aisles. I was looking for an axe. I picked up a 2 by 4, it wouldn't help much but, it was something. Then I got lucky and found a shotgun and a box of shells. Only 10, though. There were a lot more than 10 zombies out there and that 2 by 4 probably woulnd't put much of a dent in them.
A man in a white lab coat with a girl clutched behind him, stepped out it front of me suddenly from around one of the aisles. I stepped back and pointed the shotgun straight at his head.
He screamed immediately, “Oh, God! Don't shoot me, I'm not a zombie!”
“We need to get the hell out of here.”, I said.
“Stay behind me.”
Then, I heard the groaning and moaning again. They were inside the warehouse. Shit. I felt like a lab mouse in a maze. Except, my cheese was a way out, and the dead-ends were zombies.
“Come on! Hurry Up!” I yelled to the two as I began running for the back of the warehouse. There had to be a door back here somewhere. We ran down the aisles until we got close to the back of the warehouse. There was the door. And obviously the Zombies had already found it because they were now pouring through. Shit. I took a quick look behind me. Yep, they were closing in on us now.
I took aim with my shotgun and blew the heads off the ones closest to us, reloading as I went. 3 Zombies dead now. Well, dead-er at any rate. There was a small storage room to my right.
“You two, get in there, don't move, don't make a sound.”
They slipped away while I kept the Zombie's attention. I blew a few more away. And another few. Down to my last shell, then that was it. I threw the shotgun down and grabbed my 2 by 4. I began smacking them upside their heads with it. It was doing damage but, they were getting closing in on me, fast. Finally, they were all around me, grabbing me, pulling me. One of them bit me on the shoulder. I swung around and bashed his head in. I stumbled then picked myself up, and charged through a small group of them.
I was bitten but, I was still me. I jumped on top of a stack of boxes and managed to climb my way up to the ceiling rafters. There was a window I could probably jump through at the other end. And...shit...there was another zombie. A nimble one I guess. Well, we'll just see.
Did I mention...I hate Zombies?
Note: I do in fact hate Zombies. I'm not a person who generally worries about such things though. I don't watch Zombie movies really, I'm not really much into horror. I don't know where these dreams come from but, I know the Zombie dreams all started with this one. I had this dream in 2005. I was deployed to Iraq at the time for "OIF 3" (Operation Iraqi Freedom). When I woke up, I turned to my roommate and simply said seemingly out of the blue to him, "Man, I fucking hate Zombies."
If there is one thing I can't stand...it's Zombies. And the only thing in my book worse than a Zombie was a whole lot of Zombies. The once bustling streets of this perky suburban neighborhood were eerily silent now but, through the dead of the night you could hear them...moaning and shuffling along, awkwardly knocking over anything in their way, trying to sniff out a meal of fresh, juicy brains. They had no qualms about eating the rest of you of course but, they would have nothing to do with decayed and rotting flesh. But, God help us that meant they wouldn't eat each other. No easy breaks for the living.
Strewn about the streets were remnants of the military's failed attempts to quell the Zombie revolution. Their stand didn't last very long. Many of the Zombies in this area wore tattered National Gaurd uniforms, undead and grim testaments of the Zombie horrors. I had been hoping to find survivors but, this town was as dead as the last one and there was little left to scavenge that was worth risking my life for.
In the cold black of the night, a dank smell permeated the air. I was a swift and silent mover but, their senses were highly trained and attuned to even the tiniest sound of human movement. They knew fresh fish was on the menu but, I wasn't keen on being reeled in. I could outrun a few zombies no problem but, I soon realized there were more than a few zombies around here. The stench was nearly overpowering, they were everywhere, practically surrounding me and I couldn't even see a single one.
Hiding would do me little good. In a situation like this, you never want to work yourself into a corner. I made a run for it, got off the dangerous streets, and made a nimble hop over a backyard fence. I chuckled for half a moment at the irony of an old, worn sign hanging from the chain-links that proclaimed 'Beware of Dog'.
There was a warehouse just up the road running into the heart of the town. I beat a brisk jog to it, in hopes that I might find something useful inside. I was pretty sure Scavengers had already beaten me here but, when life gives you lemons...well, you know...you're better off looking for a shotgun.
It seemed like I had ran myself into a corner. Too many damn zombies. They had surrounded me. There was only one exit, and it was an entrance into the huge abandoned warehouse. Not much better than my current situation but, it could buy me some time at least. I ran in, closing and locking the doors behind me. They would be inside in no time.
The warehouse was amaze of shelves and industrial goods, haphazardly littered about the place as if it had been ransacked. I ran down the aisles. I was looking for an axe. I picked up a 2 by 4, it wouldn't help much but, it was something. Then I got lucky and found a shotgun and a box of shells. Only 10, though. There were a lot more than 10 zombies out there and that 2 by 4 probably woulnd't put much of a dent in them.
A man in a white lab coat with a girl clutched behind him, stepped out it front of me suddenly from around one of the aisles. I stepped back and pointed the shotgun straight at his head.
He screamed immediately, “Oh, God! Don't shoot me, I'm not a zombie!”
“We need to get the hell out of here.”, I said.
“Stay behind me.”
Then, I heard the groaning and moaning again. They were inside the warehouse. Shit. I felt like a lab mouse in a maze. Except, my cheese was a way out, and the dead-ends were zombies.
“Come on! Hurry Up!” I yelled to the two as I began running for the back of the warehouse. There had to be a door back here somewhere. We ran down the aisles until we got close to the back of the warehouse. There was the door. And obviously the Zombies had already found it because they were now pouring through. Shit. I took a quick look behind me. Yep, they were closing in on us now.
I took aim with my shotgun and blew the heads off the ones closest to us, reloading as I went. 3 Zombies dead now. Well, dead-er at any rate. There was a small storage room to my right.
“You two, get in there, don't move, don't make a sound.”
They slipped away while I kept the Zombie's attention. I blew a few more away. And another few. Down to my last shell, then that was it. I threw the shotgun down and grabbed my 2 by 4. I began smacking them upside their heads with it. It was doing damage but, they were getting closing in on me, fast. Finally, they were all around me, grabbing me, pulling me. One of them bit me on the shoulder. I swung around and bashed his head in. I stumbled then picked myself up, and charged through a small group of them.
I was bitten but, I was still me. I jumped on top of a stack of boxes and managed to climb my way up to the ceiling rafters. There was a window I could probably jump through at the other end. And...shit...there was another zombie. A nimble one I guess. Well, we'll just see.
Did I mention...I hate Zombies?
REMories: Red Dragon and the Curtained Stage
REMories are memories of my past dreams...Dreams that have stayed with me as vivid as any real memory and in some cases moreso.
When I 'woke up' I found myself in a vast expanse of darkness, a great void. In the middle of the void I found a red curtained stage. As I stepped upon the stage and parted the curtains another landscape opened up before me. The void opened up and I stepped off the stage and onto soil, dirt, and gravel. The sky was still dark but not the same black sky of the void.
As I looked upward I saw terrible red dragon far off in the distance and words came to me,
"I saw a red dragon in the sky,
and sadly wept as it flew by
for before glory
many must die."
Before me was a school house from my childhood. Inside a cellar there was a huddled mass of children cowering and frightened. I said, "Don't worry. It's going to be okay."
Then as I looked upon their faces I recognized them. They were faces I hadn't seen since I was a young child myself about 6 years old. Not many faces that one normally remembers. But I saw their faces clearly.
Further up the road was a small cottage. I ran along the road until I reached the house. Before my knuckles could rap upon the door, it opened. A beautiful long haired blond woman stood in the open doorway, her hands out and a sword, a katana in her hands outstretched towards me.
"Prepare yourself", she said. "The dragon is coming."
There were three others. A spearman, a swordsman, a bowman, and she carried daggers.
In the sky above echoed an evil roar. The dragon was approaching. As it came closer I saw it more clearly, a visage of death. It was covered in scaly, crimson armor. It's eyes glowed with
an unholy fire. Upon its head were rows of horns. It's breath filled the air. It flew toward us with
its great claws like sharpened daggers.
As it landed the earth shook beneath our feet. We flew upon it with out weapons. Steel sparked against red scales. The dragon roared and swung it's fearsome claws and whipped about its head blasting red hot flames.
I swung my sword haphazardly at its thick neck but my blows glanced off to no avail. As the dragon turned its gaze on me to snap me up in its giant maw the spearman leaped from behind and brought his shining spear impaling through the dragon's skull. Bright red blood spurted forth from the dragon's head, the fire in it's eye's died. As it writhed in it's death throes it swung around slamming its tail into the spearman sending him flying through the air.
The dragon fell to the ground...dead. We rushed to the side of the fallen hero. He had slain the dragon and he was dying, crushed by the dragon's blow. They wept for him. I blamed myself for my weapon had been worthless against the great beast. Then once again...the void closed in on me...shrouding my eyes with darkness once more...
When I 'woke up' I found myself in a vast expanse of darkness, a great void. In the middle of the void I found a red curtained stage. As I stepped upon the stage and parted the curtains another landscape opened up before me. The void opened up and I stepped off the stage and onto soil, dirt, and gravel. The sky was still dark but not the same black sky of the void.
As I looked upward I saw terrible red dragon far off in the distance and words came to me,
"I saw a red dragon in the sky,
and sadly wept as it flew by
for before glory
many must die."
Before me was a school house from my childhood. Inside a cellar there was a huddled mass of children cowering and frightened. I said, "Don't worry. It's going to be okay."
Then as I looked upon their faces I recognized them. They were faces I hadn't seen since I was a young child myself about 6 years old. Not many faces that one normally remembers. But I saw their faces clearly.
Further up the road was a small cottage. I ran along the road until I reached the house. Before my knuckles could rap upon the door, it opened. A beautiful long haired blond woman stood in the open doorway, her hands out and a sword, a katana in her hands outstretched towards me.
"Prepare yourself", she said. "The dragon is coming."
There were three others. A spearman, a swordsman, a bowman, and she carried daggers.
In the sky above echoed an evil roar. The dragon was approaching. As it came closer I saw it more clearly, a visage of death. It was covered in scaly, crimson armor. It's eyes glowed with
an unholy fire. Upon its head were rows of horns. It's breath filled the air. It flew toward us with
its great claws like sharpened daggers.
As it landed the earth shook beneath our feet. We flew upon it with out weapons. Steel sparked against red scales. The dragon roared and swung it's fearsome claws and whipped about its head blasting red hot flames.
I swung my sword haphazardly at its thick neck but my blows glanced off to no avail. As the dragon turned its gaze on me to snap me up in its giant maw the spearman leaped from behind and brought his shining spear impaling through the dragon's skull. Bright red blood spurted forth from the dragon's head, the fire in it's eye's died. As it writhed in it's death throes it swung around slamming its tail into the spearman sending him flying through the air.
The dragon fell to the ground...dead. We rushed to the side of the fallen hero. He had slain the dragon and he was dying, crushed by the dragon's blow. They wept for him. I blamed myself for my weapon had been worthless against the great beast. Then once again...the void closed in on me...shrouding my eyes with darkness once more...
Sunday, November 2, 2008
Purgatory
We were the four guardians. Two women and two men charged with the duty of rehabilitating the eternally damned in a prison called Hell's Sanctuary which was home to some of the sickest and perverse minds to ever walk the Earth.
We were poorly equipped to keep thousands of psychotic prisoners in line. I had dual Desert Eagle pistols at my side. Rachel carried a crossbow and was a crack-shot. Sarah had two katanas slung across her back and was deadly with any blade. Michael's right hand was covered by a huge iron guantlet. Beyond these basic implements as guardians we were imbued with some supernatural powers, speed, strength, and other heightened abilities.
As long as we stood the walls of this prison stood.
This was our God-given duty or perhaps it was our punishment...
An armored car rolled up to the gates. We were there to meet it. Out stepped the driver, an old man with dark eyes dressed in a bland grey suit. A faded nametag on his shirt read Bob, along with the company logo a smiling delivery man with the words Delightful Delivery beneath it.
He hobbled to the back of the truck and unlocked the doors then handed me a clipboard and some forms to sign.
"Right here on the line" he said in an uninterested monotone.
I handed him the forms back and he rolled out our new ward encased in a heavy steel coffin.
I handed the forms to Rachel for filing and rolled him out to the yard. The other inmates were waiting in the yard for the fresh bait but as he lumbered out of the coffin they all drew back.
He stood over eight feet tall and weighed about 300 pounds of solidly packed muscle. His eyes were dark cavernous holes and he behind his dumb grin were what looked like a row of shark teeth. His entire body looked Frankenstein-ish and was covered in scars.
The other prisoners eyed the new arrival nervously and kept their distance. They were going to have to learn to play nice sooner or later.
Outside the gates some sort of commotion had started. I locked down the yard and turned back to join my fellow guardians. An incensed mob of protestors were rushing against the prison gates. They were demanding the release of our new prisoner. We were near the lawless outland and these were its dregs. They were ghouls and fiends, not human at all. They were rushing at us with scavenged weapons and bloody claws.
The walls of the prison were imbued with our life-force and the powers of Heaven itself. As long as we stood our ground no one got in or out without our say. But there was a limit to even our powers.
We were poorly equipped to keep thousands of psychotic prisoners in line. I had dual Desert Eagle pistols at my side. Rachel carried a crossbow and was a crack-shot. Sarah had two katanas slung across her back and was deadly with any blade. Michael's right hand was covered by a huge iron guantlet. Beyond these basic implements as guardians we were imbued with some supernatural powers, speed, strength, and other heightened abilities.
As long as we stood the walls of this prison stood.
This was our God-given duty or perhaps it was our punishment...
An armored car rolled up to the gates. We were there to meet it. Out stepped the driver, an old man with dark eyes dressed in a bland grey suit. A faded nametag on his shirt read Bob, along with the company logo a smiling delivery man with the words Delightful Delivery beneath it.
He hobbled to the back of the truck and unlocked the doors then handed me a clipboard and some forms to sign.
"Right here on the line" he said in an uninterested monotone.
I handed him the forms back and he rolled out our new ward encased in a heavy steel coffin.
I handed the forms to Rachel for filing and rolled him out to the yard. The other inmates were waiting in the yard for the fresh bait but as he lumbered out of the coffin they all drew back.
He stood over eight feet tall and weighed about 300 pounds of solidly packed muscle. His eyes were dark cavernous holes and he behind his dumb grin were what looked like a row of shark teeth. His entire body looked Frankenstein-ish and was covered in scars.
The other prisoners eyed the new arrival nervously and kept their distance. They were going to have to learn to play nice sooner or later.
Outside the gates some sort of commotion had started. I locked down the yard and turned back to join my fellow guardians. An incensed mob of protestors were rushing against the prison gates. They were demanding the release of our new prisoner. We were near the lawless outland and these were its dregs. They were ghouls and fiends, not human at all. They were rushing at us with scavenged weapons and bloody claws.
The walls of the prison were imbued with our life-force and the powers of Heaven itself. As long as we stood our ground no one got in or out without our say. But there was a limit to even our powers.
They were rushing towards the gates and pounding on the walls. My felow guardians were already outside the wall. I planted my feet firmly then leapt straight into the air, vaulting myself over the wall. We could move past the wall freely but our inmates could not.
There were ghouls everywhere at least a hundred of them. It seemed hopeless but we had no choice. We had to fight. I unholstered the Eagles from my side and charged towards them spewing out blessed bullets that never missed their mark. Sarah wasn't far from me standing with her crossbow and taking them down like a sniper. Rachel was in the midst of them mowing them down with her katanas. Michael stood at the front gate with a faceful of metal of fist for anyone who got too close for comfort.
Click. Click. My clips were out. I re-holstered my Eagles. The clips would recharge themselves automatically but it would take a little time. Until then fists would work too. One of the fiends leapt at me. We grappled and I spun him around and pinned him down on the ground. It struggled and hissed at me,
"Release him! Release the Lord of Plagues!"
I grabbed a hold of it's head and flung it like a ragdoll. These were not people. These things...were already dead but fortunately they could die again.
If what the fiend had said was true then we had some bigger problems brewing. A plague lord wasn't easy to contain and we had just released one into the general prison population.
Inside the prison a massive riot was going down. The few remaining fiends broke off and retreated. The prison was a now a scene of mass carnage. Blood and body parts spewn everywhere. Above the guard towers the prison lights began to flicker as a dark mass rose above the prison and began pounding against the walls. Millions of them...locusts...
We regrouped and turned back towards the prison. The gates would hold for now but I didn't know for how long. Our new ward was going to have to go into solitary and it didn't look like he would go willingly. I gritted my teeth as I jammed fresh clips into my Eagles. There was work to do...
Click. Click. My clips were out. I re-holstered my Eagles. The clips would recharge themselves automatically but it would take a little time. Until then fists would work too. One of the fiends leapt at me. We grappled and I spun him around and pinned him down on the ground. It struggled and hissed at me,
"Release him! Release the Lord of Plagues!"
I grabbed a hold of it's head and flung it like a ragdoll. These were not people. These things...were already dead but fortunately they could die again.
If what the fiend had said was true then we had some bigger problems brewing. A plague lord wasn't easy to contain and we had just released one into the general prison population.
Inside the prison a massive riot was going down. The few remaining fiends broke off and retreated. The prison was a now a scene of mass carnage. Blood and body parts spewn everywhere. Above the guard towers the prison lights began to flicker as a dark mass rose above the prison and began pounding against the walls. Millions of them...locusts...
We regrouped and turned back towards the prison. The gates would hold for now but I didn't know for how long. Our new ward was going to have to go into solitary and it didn't look like he would go willingly. I gritted my teeth as I jammed fresh clips into my Eagles. There was work to do...
Saturday, October 18, 2008
The Dark Night
"Through the darkness you must fight, save the one, destroy the night."
My magic was still weak. I could barely muster up a small flame. I had no armor and my only weapon was a small katana the old man had given me. I still wasn't sure who or what I was looking for but I knew I was getting close.
I moved silently through the growing darkness. There was a clearing ahead and I saw them, a group of dark mages in dark purple robes gathered in a circle and chanting.
Well, this was the place. No point in treading softly at this point. I stepped out into the clearing.
"Hey! You guys started the party without me!" I yelled nonchalantly.
They all turned toward me.
"Defiler! Servant of the light! You will die!" hissed their Master. Suddenly, tendrils sprang forth wrapping themselves around his body forming a heavy armor suit, surrounding him. The staff in his hand transformed into a gigantic barbed scimitar. The others gathered behind their master watching and chanting some dark curse upon me no doubt.
With a sweep of his hand, he hurled a fireball at me. I knew there was no way I could deflect it's full force. I raised my free hand quickly trying to summon a weak shield. It shattered against the fireball's blast, covering me in flames.
"Ooh! Ooooh! So this is what fire feels like!" I shouted as I batted off the flames. "That smarts!"
"That was nothing child!" bellowed the Dark Master, "Just a test to see if you're fireproof or not! Now you will die!"
He leaped towards with the dark sword in hand. I raised my katana to defend knowing full well it didn't stand a chance of stopping the blow but as I did, engravings upon the blade began to glow. As the Dark Master's blade came crashing down upon my katana and they collided the gigantic cleaver shattered to pieces, leaving him in shock with nothing but a hilt in his hand as the pieces of his sword clattered to the ground turning to splinters of dead grey wood as they fell.
"Ha ha! Whose got the upper hand now?!" I exclaimed flauntingly.
Among the hooded faces that now stared glaringly at me, I saw one face among them that was not wicked but sad. That was the one. I knew it. I didn't have time to fight all of them. This would just have to wait. As I rushed toward them, their Master lifted his hands again and a wall of dragon fire sprang up before me.
Well, I knew what fire felt like now. I was sure this would sting a bit. I raised the katana before me and pierced the wall of fire. It cut through the dragon fire like it was paper. As I waltzed through the flames licked at me but I felt no sting. In fact, the flames from the wall began to coalesce in my hands as I passed through.
I gathered a small bit of air and with the fire in my hand shot a compressed blast of air and fire at the Master and his servants as they charged towards me again, sending them flying back. Cool! I thought to myself. That's a new one. I'd have to work on that and remember it for later.
My powers alone were rather meager. What I could muster up on my own amounted to little more than parlor tricks. My power lay in the presence of greater magic. To an extent I could absorb magic around me and magic used against me then redirect it, reflect it, re-use it, and find it's weak points.
This was all good fun. If I spent the whole day with them I could probably master dark magic but, the old man had said to waste no time. As my attackers lay stunned on the ground, I grabbed the hooded mage with the sad eyes, as I did his hood fell from his face. It was not a he but a she! And an incredibly beautiful she! Well introductions could wait for later I supposed.
Light, light, light, light, light, light, light, light! I scrunched my eyes and squeezed my fists and she was suddenly light as a feather and so was I. I hauled her over my left shoulder and as I stepped off in a dash, seven doppelgangers sprang from my feet all dashing off in random directions.
As I quickly put a safe distance between me and the mages, I let a smirk curl over my face. I could still see the twisted contorted look of anger, hate, and surprise across their Master's face, beat by my mere parlor tricks.
I chuckled merrily and couldn't wait to tell the old man.
My magic was still weak. I could barely muster up a small flame. I had no armor and my only weapon was a small katana the old man had given me. I still wasn't sure who or what I was looking for but I knew I was getting close.
I moved silently through the growing darkness. There was a clearing ahead and I saw them, a group of dark mages in dark purple robes gathered in a circle and chanting.
Well, this was the place. No point in treading softly at this point. I stepped out into the clearing.
"Hey! You guys started the party without me!" I yelled nonchalantly.
They all turned toward me.
"Defiler! Servant of the light! You will die!" hissed their Master. Suddenly, tendrils sprang forth wrapping themselves around his body forming a heavy armor suit, surrounding him. The staff in his hand transformed into a gigantic barbed scimitar. The others gathered behind their master watching and chanting some dark curse upon me no doubt.
With a sweep of his hand, he hurled a fireball at me. I knew there was no way I could deflect it's full force. I raised my free hand quickly trying to summon a weak shield. It shattered against the fireball's blast, covering me in flames.
"Ooh! Ooooh! So this is what fire feels like!" I shouted as I batted off the flames. "That smarts!"
"That was nothing child!" bellowed the Dark Master, "Just a test to see if you're fireproof or not! Now you will die!"
He leaped towards with the dark sword in hand. I raised my katana to defend knowing full well it didn't stand a chance of stopping the blow but as I did, engravings upon the blade began to glow. As the Dark Master's blade came crashing down upon my katana and they collided the gigantic cleaver shattered to pieces, leaving him in shock with nothing but a hilt in his hand as the pieces of his sword clattered to the ground turning to splinters of dead grey wood as they fell.
"Ha ha! Whose got the upper hand now?!" I exclaimed flauntingly.
Among the hooded faces that now stared glaringly at me, I saw one face among them that was not wicked but sad. That was the one. I knew it. I didn't have time to fight all of them. This would just have to wait. As I rushed toward them, their Master lifted his hands again and a wall of dragon fire sprang up before me.
Well, I knew what fire felt like now. I was sure this would sting a bit. I raised the katana before me and pierced the wall of fire. It cut through the dragon fire like it was paper. As I waltzed through the flames licked at me but I felt no sting. In fact, the flames from the wall began to coalesce in my hands as I passed through.
I gathered a small bit of air and with the fire in my hand shot a compressed blast of air and fire at the Master and his servants as they charged towards me again, sending them flying back. Cool! I thought to myself. That's a new one. I'd have to work on that and remember it for later.
My powers alone were rather meager. What I could muster up on my own amounted to little more than parlor tricks. My power lay in the presence of greater magic. To an extent I could absorb magic around me and magic used against me then redirect it, reflect it, re-use it, and find it's weak points.
This was all good fun. If I spent the whole day with them I could probably master dark magic but, the old man had said to waste no time. As my attackers lay stunned on the ground, I grabbed the hooded mage with the sad eyes, as I did his hood fell from his face. It was not a he but a she! And an incredibly beautiful she! Well introductions could wait for later I supposed.
Light, light, light, light, light, light, light, light! I scrunched my eyes and squeezed my fists and she was suddenly light as a feather and so was I. I hauled her over my left shoulder and as I stepped off in a dash, seven doppelgangers sprang from my feet all dashing off in random directions.
As I quickly put a safe distance between me and the mages, I let a smirk curl over my face. I could still see the twisted contorted look of anger, hate, and surprise across their Master's face, beat by my mere parlor tricks.
I chuckled merrily and couldn't wait to tell the old man.
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