Sherlock Holmes Tales: Mrs Hudson

The doorbell rang at the early hours of the afternoon just when I was cleaning the dishes from lunch. I had prepared lunch early that morning, on the dire request of my tenant and his regular guest to the unit upstairs. I offered that unit for tenancy some years back and have my mixed concerns on it. After all, my tenant was peculiar in his eccentric manner. I had put up with the infernal person for some years then, and he pays well, if not timely. Not that I was in need of money; with my late husband’s estate, I am rather comfortable but the extra does pay for the sessions of bridge games with the old ladies from my boarding school. And they all adore hearing of my tenant’s adventures.

Who wouldn’t be when they have Sherlock Holmes staying at the upper level?

And he is the gentleman and me, the sweet widower; those tongues would whack for hours on the intermission during my bridge games routines. I have to admit that I feigned bashful denials but inside my heart, I was onto another Holmes. Unfortunately, he was aloft to my gazes and unbuttoned bodice (I had to admit the cleavage was more like the Red Sea parted by Moses now than the mounds of the Highlands.) I do my mutterings for my bull terrier, Billy who was my avid listener to my mutterings of the golden days when I was with a real lover. For all I could care while I am lamenting on my lost love, Mycroft could be smothering his lips at some harlot’s bosom.

The doorbell rang once more and I was back to reality.

“I am coming.” I stepped over the newspapers lined up on the flooring of my living room where I was painting the walls from the dreary pink shades to green. I heard pastel green apple was the shade of the society then. They said the shade blended in with the greens of the forest, and I was trying my artistic feels with the brush. What could be more artistic then applying strokes of straight lines on the wall?

“Good afternoon. Is this 22B Baker Street?” I looked at the lady standing there dressed in the Paris designed dress of high collared and tight bodice to the hoops within the skirt. She had with her the brolly with the delicate handle. However, I was not in the best of London, unless you considered the apron and the drably house frock from Portobello Market the design then. I looked over the lady’s shoulder and to her sides before I leaned over to her.

“Actually, it's 10, Downing Street but we are disguised today,” I whispered to her. The lady was taken aback and leaned out to look at the road sign. I knew then she was either daft like Laura from my Bridge game or Bertie who was from the stage, imitating my silliness.

“I think you are doing a good task there.” The lady smiled at me. “I never thought they needed a paint over at Downing Street, or perhaps the Ministers there needed one hogwash to their speeches.”

I laughed and invited her in. After all, it was Scottish manners and the skies were downcast outside. London never rains, it pours those days.

“Thank you.” The lady stepped in. She smelled nice with her choice of perfume, unlike mine which was a blend of paint and kerosene. She stood there at the corridor while I closed the door. I then introduced myself.

“Martha Hudson.” I extended my right hand.

“Irene…. Anther.” The lady replied. “I am looking for a Mister Holmes. I was told he stayed here.”

“Holmes….” I had to bite my tongue there. I should have known. Most of my visitors to my house were never for me unless it’s the milkman or the occasional salesman with those awful products. I once had to kick one of those infernal persons trying to sell me the Windsor Castle.

“Yes, Holmes lived here. Unfortunately, you missed him. He was called away to…. God, I know not where. I am his landlady.” That last bit came off with a tinge of “why would I care where he is”.

“And Doctor Watson was with him.” I was not being rude but I knew Holmes’ visitors came not for him alone but also the Doctor. The later was once my tenant too, before he got married and moved out. He moved back for a while when his wife died and then out again when he re-married. I did wonder if he and Holmes were at stage lovers but if there was any preference, they won’t include me. God forbid me, I was not envious. I do have my preference.

Mycroft was his name. If only he chooses to remember me.

“Ms. Hudson, if I am trouble you. Could I use the privy room?” I could not refuse the lady. After all, I am a lady and we can’t just stand behind the lamp post for that relief. I showed her the direction and then stepped back to my living room. The green was coming in fine, like the patches of the lawn during the summer. I knew it was not an easy task trying to cover the previous coat of shade. And the flooring was a mess; I am sure the Thames River looked better at low tide compared to my room.

“Ms. Watson. I think I have to go.” I heard the lady but the Merciful had his way with our choices. It rained then. I offered the lady some refreshment. I thought of my kitchen but it was piled with buckets and brushes too. I could think of one other place to have tea. After all, he was not around. I did wish then it was hospitable.

“Shall we do tea upstairs? My place here is a mess.” I told the lady and proceeded to the upper level. I have opened the door many times; announced and unannounced to deliver tea there. Holmes was a tea person with scones for his afternoon rest or discussion with the Doctor. If I had my way, I would have sent in Billy to tear a path for me to walk in but after several attempts, I had resolved to serve it by the door. The good Doctor was always kind to take the tray and poor man, he will limp on his bad foot to place the tray on the table. The Doctor was used to holding his balance while pacing his way across the flooring of papers. It must have been his experience at the Frontier then.

When I opened the door, I was surprised. It was not immaculate but tidy clean. Okay, I did exaggerate on my tenant. He was a good tenant with the occasional eccentric need to holler out at odd hours, or whine with the violin, or do some pistol practice on the stuffed parrot by the wall. Maybe I was patronaging to hide that bedeviled gentleman of the real Holmes.

“Ms Hudson?” I was brought back my senses then. I looked at the lady who standing behind me at the doorway. I guess the ingredients of the paint have made me light-headed.

“I am sorry, my dear. It’s Mrs. Hudson to be precise. I am a widow.”

“How unfortunate. I am too. My husband dies last month and which is why I am here.” The lady named Irene replied. I excused myself to go back to my opium scented kitchen to prepare the tea I promised. While waiting for the water to boil, my mind questioned why do husbands have to die before us. Well, the Doctor was an exception. He survived one and took on another to challenge himself. It then Dawns to me that we may be to blame. I could not think of many reasons; we did what we could, heck, we even fake our orgasm. Well, mine anyway sometimes. I am being honest.

“Mrs. Hudson?”

“Oh, I am unwell today.” I had to excuse myself for I was still holding the tray on my hands. The lady assisted me and offered me the seat. I declined for that was Holmes’ high back seat.

“I can’t. Not there. That is Holmes.” I took the other seat usually occupied by the Doctor. The lady took the other seat designated ‘for use by guest only’. She served tea to me while I looked at the room I was seated. It was my upper level, my fireplace, the shelves and the reading table with the gas lamp. And the curtains I have sewn myself prior to listing the unit for tenants.

Damn, Holmes has added in the birdcage and the awful violin was by the window sill. There was the bullet riddled picture of a bespectacled gentleman with the mustache over the fireplace. God knows, Holmes was shooting at someone he disliked. The poker by the fireplace side was bent at an angle; I would not imagine what he has done to that. I did see the syringe beneath yesterday’s paper. It was advised to me by the good Doctor of Holmes’ ailment and he was treated then.

“Ms. Anther, was it not your name? I meant maybe I got it wrong.” I sat there with my legs closed and my back firmed up on the hard leather back of the seat. I felt as if I was the good Doctor doing the opening words to the discussion with a potential client of Holmes.

“Uh, yes. I am …. Anthere actually. It’s a family name. I am from … Wales.” The lady replied.

“I am curious. Is that a Welsh name? I have….”

“Yes, my grandfather was a stranger to the village and soon married my grandmother and named themselves the Anthere like in ‘And here’.” The lady hid her laugh behind her right hand. “I was told of that by my grandmother. God bless her soul.”

“Well, mine was Hudson and it was not the river it was named after, but the family name was Hudson for generations.” I defended my family name and then changed the subject matter.

“How may Holmes assist you? Is there a case he was to know about? Or…” I was cut off.

“No, I am not here on the need for his expertise. I am here to …. Meet an old friend. Childhood to be exact.” The lady explained. “We were once neighbors.”

That took me by surprise for all I ever knew of my tenant besides his prompt payments to occupy the upper level, and the afternoon tea, with occasional; I am being modest here, he has a stream of visitors daily as if I was the marketplace for victims and enforcers.

“Yes, I knew Holmes when he was in school days. He was staying in a modest house next to mine. His father was a medical doctor, I think. I hardly asked then but we used to meet on the street. He was with his mother most times. He has a brother Mycroft was his name but the other was at the Boarding School. So, it was always me and him.” The lady smiled. “We studied together until he went to the Medical School while I did … other subjects. Our place of study was not far apart and I do see him occasionally.”

“You knew Holmes when he ….. How as he then as a child?” I had to jump into the subject. Holmes had intrigued me of how he was brought up. I was keen on Sherlock for Mycroft was differently seen by me.

“Oh, Sherlock. He was a normal child. He was polite but it was his glare that scared me then. He will stare at you and it could be eerie. I got to know much later, that he likes to study the person personality. He scared his relatives away. I recalled one day my mum said Sherlock scared his Aunt Mabel who was there for a stay but left early. He had literally stared at her at every occasion and kept a detailed diary of the events.”

“Diary…” I was wondering if there was one on me. I mean I was the landlady and it has been years since he moved in. Suddenly then, I felt as if I was stripped and tied down on the floor. Oh, it was terrifying and sexy too.

“Diary? Yes, he showed me one day when we were studying together. He told me of the diary and we discussed the contents. He had some notes on me too. I was dismayed on what he had written but he later told me, it was his deduction of the matters when he views it. I was not offended then, but actually had an affection for him.”

An affection she said. I was impressed. I thought Holmes will die a virgin.

“Well, we split later in our life. I was in the college doing my studies and were courted by some others.” The lady blushed. “I did see him on the streets but he was always carrying a load of books. He looked like a bookish person compared to myself. I was the … society girl.”

“I heard he had no admirers and was a loner mostly in the labs. He did not do Medical like his father. He wanted to be in Scotland Yard as a detective.  He could not do that as his father had forbidden him.”

“How did you know this? You never ….. hardly meet him then?” I was inquisitive then.

“Sherlock writes to me weekly. He was not to know that I was in the same town as himself. So, he wrote to me and my Mum forwarded the mails to me.” The lady drew a sigh then. “We were corresponding like daily mails and not a word he ever said whether he likes me or not. I was …. To shy ask him.”

“Gracious me. A lady asking the Man. That will be the day when we wore the pants and hold the whip.” She smiled at my remark. The only request of mine on Man was ‘are you done yet? I got a household to take care’. I had to admit it was a harsh remark but harsher was the bucket of unwashed laundry.

“Yes, I did like him but there was no passage towards him at all. I did wonder if he was …. You know.” The ladies understand each other like the pages to the book.

I nodded.

“Was he?” The lady looked distraught at my nod.

“I wouldn’t know. I had my thoughts but the Doctor was with him and he does not look like them. And he has been seen alone with any his gender. I have not seen when he goes on his runs. He could be but I doubt so.” It dawned on me then that Mycroft could be one too. After all, he ignored my garters once I left on the staircase. He did pick it up and then left it on my kitchen table. And it was a clean one, mind you. I saw him when I was in the bathroom. I was short of that garter then.

“Tell me more of younger Holmes.” I had probed on.

“Well, he was a hard-working chap. I heard from his lecture mates,he was very diligent in his works towards  late nights and spend time at the Mortuary.” I heard the lady. Probably that was why Holmes likes to leave at night and back before dawn. I heard of such fixation … it was called … Heck! I was unsure but it involved sex. Wow! Big word for me. I had never thought I was to refer to that word in my mind. It was mind-blowing.

The rain then stopped.

The lady stood up and told me she was leaving. I smiled and then offered to walk her to the doorway but she refused.

“I will be fine.” The lady walked out while I stayed behind to clear the cups and saucers. I noticed then the picture frame above the fireplace was moved. I knew Holmes was particular in his arrangement. I moved the frame back to its original position but I could not help looking at the figure in the frame. I remembered there were some workings behind the frame. I turned to read it.

"Would she not have made an admirable queen? Is it not a pity she was not on my level?"

I remembered her name was Irene Adler. And she was just there.

Holmes living area.

I rushed to window and opened it. I saw Irene was about to step onto the hansom there on the street. I called out to her.

“Irene Adler.”

Irene turned her head to look at me. She smiled back at me before she boarded it. I turned back and then closed the window. It was later to see the note she left for Holmes.

“I was there but not seen by you for a long time. I am now a mist in the weather to you. Love, Irene.”

Days later, Holmes asked me whether anyone was here to see him when he was away. I had brought the afternoon tea to him and the good Doctor. Mycroft was there that afternoon.

“No, Mr Holmes. There was no one.” I replied.

“I am curious. I caught a scent not familiar to me.” Sherlock looked at Mycroft. “Can you?”

“I doubt Mycroft noticed anything.” I told the men and left. I heard the men asking each other if they had in any manner insulted me.

Men…. They are just dense between their ears. I had burned the note to save Holmes.

God bless the Men.

Dark 33 Have Faith will Travel

I cannot believe it then. I was to leave for the airport to visit my family members when the memo arrived at my desk. It was from the Presidential Desk.

“Negotiate for me the Greenland continent.”

“Gawd!” In my southern slang, I called on the Almighty to help me with that task since my Aunt Gretta told me to move to Germany for the sake of unification when the wall came down. I told her I can’t for I was doing my Phd in Political Science in New York and I have three kids that needed their mother.

“Well then. Bring those ‘kinder’ along then. I am sure the village could feed three more.” I declined politely although it was Fred’s insistence we go over. I knew his insistence was nothing to do with inviting but it was Oktoberfest there. He was from Glasgow and misses his beers. I do like beers but once drunk and ended up with the third ‘kinder’ I gave up drinking and took to wine.

And tequila which was fine for I had that since Middle school. We started younger at the southern borders.

I landed at Oslo with my three kinder and dragged one distraught husband who still snarls at the Danes for invading the coastlines of Ireland a century ago. I was met by my sister, the demure Isabel who had adopted that name when she married her Spanish husband. He was a businessman in the maritime lines, and they are well to do.

“Como estas?” The sibling of mine thought she was still in Madrid. I was to say, “Hvordan har du det’ which was Norwegian, but I think my Norwegian came like some rap lines lyrics. Isabel burst out into laughter at my attempt to speak that language. We had our hugs and kisses and then with family members. Even Fred was amicable to the friendly banter; I guess the Spanish never landed in Ireland before this. We soon convened in the lengthy long sedan courtesy of Stefan who was Isabel’s husband. He hired the sedan for us; ‘one that suits Faith’s in her daily works.’ Kind of him to remember the long convoy of lengthy sedans that was part of the Presidential usual troupe de tour. I was embarrassed that my sedan was the staff coach that sat thirty of us with the President’s posters.

We finally reached my other sister’s place; it was located ‘where you could take a ga en tur or stroll for the Danes, in a typical villavarter; that is a residential neighbourhood. Her place had the name “Bohus” which translate into ‘House to live in’. Danes have huge homes, they also called them ‘hjem’ and during the summer, they spend their holiday in a ‘kolonihavehus’ which is essentially a smaller house in a special kind of garden. Fred was not impressed. He felt his grandfather’s cottage was more comfortable. Never the less my sister Ingrid got us settled in soon enough and the surprise of the evening was we were having a costume party at the enormous back yard with the eight shaped swimming pool and the small figurine that filled it up with his ‘equally small pecker’.

I loved costume parties.

I have my costume.

I took out my wig and the suit that I bought from the warehouse near my house, and my black convent school flats courtesy of my English Boarding School days.

Ta-da, I was Margaret Thatcher the Iron Lady of the United Kingdom.

“Sinister betrayal!” That was Fred’s remark when I donned that costume. He was however dressed in the demure Irish suit of grey flannels and knee-length stockings with the leather shoes. I don’t know if he was Irish or British then.

The best was to come.

We met Cousin Heidelberg or to us the sisters, she was the Hindenburg. She was from Greenland and stormed into the backyard like an Ogre on the rampage. She likes me unfortunately too much. She rushed towards me and hugged me off my feet. Hindenburg; I meant Cousin Heidelberg was huge and taller and wider than me. She could wrestle a bull in the rodeo with seconds to spare.

“Faith, darling, I missed you at the last gathering.” I smiled meekly at the cousin of mine. During the last gathering, I was drunk and a mother of two then. Here at Oslo, I was not yet into drinking and a mother of three.

“I…” My reply was stunned off her like the bee against Goliath.

“I hear your President wants to buy Greenland. Tell him he can do it over my dead body.” I knew Heidelberg was a passionate resident of Greenland. She meant her words well. I could tell clearly even with her tough metal chest plate and rounded shield reinforced with the spear held in her right hand, she looked like one nasty warrior. ( Hail, Greenpeace here. ) The only ladylike of her was her white skirt that billowed in the wind like a huge mushroom head minus the stem. She had braided her hair to add the Viking touch to her looks.

All night, I had to listen to her talk about Greenland and why its Greenland and why we will never understand them. When dawn crept in later, I was close to having labour pain, not on my tummy but my head, I had Fred later telling me why he should have come as William Tell with the bow and arrow.

“I would have shot the Viking.”

I flew back the next week to Washington and replied the memo to the President.

“Do at ye own risk.” I quit my job then.

“I am not the first nor the last to do, Mr President,” I added to the memo reply.

Dark 32: Ghost Town

The quiet landscape there was awakened by the roar of the Cadillac De Ville Model 78 with its two doors and lengthy body frame. It was a maroon shade and had its ending years with the exhaust emitting the dark smoke. It was a rare beat to see one on the roads but that model made the long trip across several states before it reached its destination.

“Wowee! We made it.” The red hair young-looking man looked out from the driver seat. He was in his early twenties, dressed in the red shade round neck shirt and jeans with the sneakers. The young man has the freckles across his cheeks and nose. It was his ancestry inherited looks from across the continent to the northerner island of Ireland.

“Finally, we are at Grand paddy’s birthplace. He mentioned it many times when we were young.” The young man stepped out from the Cadillac and his eyes scouted the area.

“Ain’t much to see.” The voice then was the younger sister seated across him. “I was expecting …”

“Houses and shops? Marcia, this is the old western town or was a town. Grand paddy probably left here when he was in his teens. Since then, maybe no one cared about the town?”

“Well, it eerie-looking, Jack.” Marcia stayed in the car and looked out from the window. She could make out was the overgrown grassland and the uncommon pillars of structure but nothing was complete.

“Can we go?” Marcia asked her brother.

“I don’t think so. It's getting dark and I kinda lost without my GPS.” Jack replied to the sister.

“You dork! Did you not charge the phone then at the motel?” Marcia screamed out.

“No, I did not. You hoard the power cable and when I could, you made me rush out. You said we had to leave before the maid comes.”

Marcia looked away for Jack was right. She was hoarding the power cable for we needed her phone full charged and more to it, she broke the lamp in the bathroom and stuffed the bidet with rubbish. It was to leave or get caught and pay the repairs. They were low on cash and so it was the Bonnie Clyde dash to the car.

"Hey, Jack. Look at that.” Marcia suddenly called out. “Its …”

“R.E. Porter…. That’s grand paddy old man’s name. Ronald Edgar Porter.” Jack smiled. “It’s the place of his birth. But it ain’t much of a shelter.” Jack approached the derelict wooden structure. The front façade was there, and there was the mining bucket trolley in front of it. Jack recalled that their family were miners and traded in it. He saw then the grave market.

“Collette…..” Jack tried to read the name. He was autistic and reading was one of his impairment.
“Collette Ellen Porter. She was grand paddy’s mum. Our great grandmother.” Marcia had read the name when she stood by Jack. “She died young. She was sick.”

“Grand paddy told me she was a mighty fine woman,” Jack added on. He then looked to the sky and told Marcia they will sleep in the car. The latter agreed and took their shelter in the car, with the cold sandwiches and soda drinks. Soon they fell asleep.

“Get your legs moving or I will cut them off.” Jack woke up in a start. He was no longer in the car but on the back of the wagon. He was lying there with his legs hanging out. He looked up and saw his sister, Marcia standing there in the hoe sewn frock for a dress.

“Michael Frank Porter, are you coming? Mum’s calling.” Jack found himself climbing down the wagon and was stunned by the sight that greeted him. He was facing a caravan of wagons and there were scores of people of all ages. He stepped forth and saw they were in clearing with the long grass trampled by the wagons or the peoples there. He heard then the argument at the front of the wagons. He rushed over and after shoving some strangers, he found himself at the front with a view of four men withy rifles arguing with a native Indian. He could recognize the later from the loincloth and the bare chest with the streaks of shade.

“Ronald, the native says we can’t mine here. Its his land. And their dead are buried here.” Jack saw bearded man listen to the other.
“Oscar, I don’t care. I came here from Ireland to find a home for my family. Tell him to move or I will bury him here.:” The arguments continued on but Jack was deprived of it when his right ear was pulled hard. He called out in pain when he was dragged to the back of the gathering. He looked then at the person who could do that to him. It was a lady with a bonnet on the head, and a dress that may have on its ending wear through.

“Michael Porter, you are too young to standing there with your father. Now help your sister take the things down. We are staying here.” Jack was sent off to do his errands, He later found himself staring at a young boy of age ten in the mirror and not the Jack of the twenties. He was shocked by the new image and was to scream out in fright when he saw the bearded man approached the wagon.

“Where’s your mum?” Jack was stunned and then baffled. His mother had died some years back.

“Jack, be the man you will be. Where’s your mum?” The bearded man named Ronald asked once more. It was then the lady referred to as his mother appeared. The couple stepped off and whispered to each other. Jack could see that his mum was afraid and later cried on Ronald’s shoulders. Ronald then left the lady and approached Jack.

“Michael, we are in a hostile land. Do you remember how I teach you to shoot? Well, these are not a rabbit and polecats but savages. You must protect your mother and sister at all times. And the land.” Ronald told Jack then. “Be brave.”

Jack closed his eyes and then nodded.

“Michael, wake up. The others are ready.” Jack opened his eyes and he was no longer at the ground but seated on the chair in the wooden structure. He looked around and saw the place was the front of the store with the long counter and the glass window shelves; all filled with mining equipment. On the flooring at the walls were the shovels and picks with the wheelbarrows. There were gas lamps and lanterns. He saw himself on the man’s height mirror by the wall. He was no longer the ten years old lad but a square-shouldered huge frame man with the moustache that looked like his grand paddy.

“Michael, they are coming. I counted four cars and they are armed.” The scrawny figure in the overall told Michael. “The lads are ready.”

Michael looked to the doorway and saw four men still in their mining overalls and holding the rifles close to their chest. He had seen those men used the rifles in the Great War; they are deadly and killer beneath the dust-coated overall.

“Okay, lads. We came back to the land after sacrificing some years fighting those Germans. And we ain't giving up on our backyards.”
Jack then got up from the chair and grabbed the rifle of his own. “We will see the back of their butts or die trying.”

“Give it up, Michael. This is not our land. We are ….” Jack saw himself in the new form hugged by a woman. He knew that face anywhere. It was his grandmother, Etta Simmons. She was a lot younger then compared to the photo he had seen.

“No, this is our land. We took it from the Indians and worked our sweat here. No one tells us where to go. R.E. Porter will stay till the day we are ready to give it away.” Jack then in the image of Michael then looked at the lads. “Right, lads, we are not giving it until we are satisfied.”

“Michael, do be careful. I need you home when our son or daughter will call your name.” Etta told her husband. Jack pulled her arms off his and walked with the lads to the road outside. The town named after his father, Ronald E. Porter was then a booming town with over twenty shops and houses with many more homes outside the town boundary. The rail tracks from the mines ran parallel to the road, where the rows of mining trolleys stood there on the tracks. The mine was two miles away from the town called Porter’s Mine. The ores were then transferred to the main rail line where it will be brought to the cities.

Michael saw the two natives Indians seated by the tracks smoking with their pipes. His father had fought them on occasions with knives and tomahawks or with bullets against arrows. It was all the same, Porter Mine grew from the ten families than to the stronger fifty families. The natives Indians have resigned to the outskirts of the town and the new poachers came.

Money and land grabbing tycoons. They wanted Porter’s Mine.
“The hell with your offer.” Michael had then stepped behind the mining truck to reload. He was with the lads in an exchange of fire near the mine. They were facing eighteen gangsters with automatics but the miners were veterans at the firefights. 

“Nobody tells Porter when to leave.” The bullet impacted on Michael on the side of the head and darkness overtook him.

“Tom, wake up.” Jack heard the voice and opened his eyes. He was no longer at the mine but someplace cosy and warm. He reached for the side of his head and felt nothing there that was not to be there.
“Tom, if you think your armpit is the erogenous zone well, I am not keen on that.” Jack pulled his arm back and then to look at the person next to him. He was in bed and that other person was his mother. And she was beautiful

And she was naked.

Jack sat up in a jerk moment and swung over his legs. He saw himself looking at his own body. God, it was not his but he recognised the chest hairs. It was his father’s. He avoided looking at the genitals and it was then his mother’s voice was heard again.
“Was that it. Tom? A few thrusts and then the blow over. Well, I am still here.” The arms snaked around his waist toward his legs. He jumped off the bed and looked for the clothes. He was sure there were some clothes. He found it then. He grabbed his pants and stepped into it.

“Thomas Edgar Porter, you are a …. Worse than the whores down in the city.” Jack heard the wrath of the lady whom he recognised as his mother. He then saw himself in the mirror at the dresser. He was his father; younger and handsome. He must have been in his early twenties. He looked at the dresser and saw the bottles of lotions and stacks of powder. He saw then the calendar that showed the date. He was not even born then; not for another eight more years.

Wait, he did recall his parent married not that year but some years later. He looked out and saw the place was still the land that he recalled as Porter’s Mine.

“Thomas, are we still on or shall I look for my beau at Princeton?” Jack heard the threat. He knew who was in Princeton. The wart that excels in everything academic except sports and sex.

“Oh, no.” Jack could not believe he had such thoughts. He was with his mother then. He saw the discarded dress and handed it to his mother without a backward glance.

“What is wrong with you? One moment, you pawing me like a horny coyote and the next you are the prima donna persona.” Jack heard the lady complained. He felt the dress thrown over his head and was dragged to the bed by the vixen.

“Did I just call my mum, vixen?” Jack closed his eyes. He was autistic but certain words came to him naturally. Jack felt the hands roving over his body and then reached for the hook by his pants.

“No! It was wrong.” Jack turned and sprang out of the bed once more.

“Now tell me, Thomas Porter. Are we still a couple or not?” Jack heard the warning. By chance then, he saw the letter on the floor. It was his draft letter to join the Army. He was not smart and pieced the puzzle together.

He was leaving Porter’s Mine.

It was then he was pushed against the wall and knocked his head.
“Coo, baby. We are leaving soon.” Jack opened his eyes then. He was so weak and unable to move well. He saw himself swathing in the cloth and held close to the bosom. He looked up and saw it was his mother. He was a baby in her arm, and then he caught a glance of his father. The other was loading the bags into the boot of the Cadillac.

“Time to go, darling. We will build a new home for ourselves.” Jack heard his father. “Porter’s Mine will be closed.”

“I love the place. I grew up here.” Jack’s mother spoke out.

“So, did we the Porters’ but its time to leave. The town is dead and the Government is taking back the land for the Indian new reservation. It was never ours in the first place. We borrowed it and its time to return.” Jack heard his father’s words. “Grand paddy once told my dad, son, we are squatters here. All of us will live here for a time and then leave. Only the land lives on. Be proud that Porter’s Mine once lived here.”

“Only in name,” Jack muttered those words out but he was no more the baby in his mother’s arms. He was back in his true form, the guy who drove miles to see Porter’s Mine.

“You said something, Jack,” Marcia asked him. “Oh, its dawn. Can we find our way back?”

“Sure. We found our way here and we shall find it …. Back to other places. After all, we re just passers-by the place.” Jack replied.

“You are loco or high?” Marcia asked.

“I am fine. Porter’s Mine a ghost town now. Let them ghosts occupy it. I will find another and made it mine like what R.E. Porter did.”

“You are loco.”

Dark 31 Mantis and Sex

I rolled over to the side with my right arm hanging on the side of the bed. It was an intense day; we had robbed the bank twenty miles away, was having a gunning battle with the cops, before we got away. We then drove into the obscure roads before taking the main ones to avoid the roadblocks. Once we were cleared, we then nestled in the motel by the beach, have the fun of being rich and the fuck among ourselves. It was a foursome; with me being the only whore, I had the privilege of being fucked in all the holes they could reach. I felt Matt stirred beside me and then his body curled up spooned to my body. He was still in semi hardness and was nestled in between my thighs. I could have moved to accommodate him but I was sore all over. Three men with the added enhancement do not just fuck you; they ravaged you. More so when we are loaded with five hundred thousand in cash notes. And inside me was probably more in millions. I swore I was wet not my piss but their contribution which I was not able to hold it all.

I turned my sight to the other two sleeping figure prone on the bigger sized bed. It was shared all four of us earlier but after the vigorous workout, I slipped over to the smaller bed. Matt soon joined me here and gave me the once over treatment. I could make out the shape of Brett there. He was a huge one and damned well had me screaming but my vocal cord was stifled by Brett’s brother, Michael. The later was not a ladies’ guy; he took me on the other places hard and brutal too like his brother. If I had thought otherwise, I would have screamed raped.

I felt Matt waking up in his sleep. He was getting aroused. It was probably the leftover scents or my body warmth for he was squirming to inch into me. I pushed back with my body for I was hanging over the edge. He accommodated me and substituted with the entry into me. It was not my butt so I was not complaining then. I felt him lubricating there; heck I was with some loads there. I moved my body to allow him access, and then he stayed there. He was not moving but I knew his moves. I press back and forth to do the works. I may be sore then, but soon the pleasure of the act was driving my hormones crazy. I moved faster and he woke up to it. He then moved in tandem with me and he came. It was all in me before some seeped out. He then rolled over onto his back and sighed. I knew the feeling but I was not satisfied. I pushed myself away and got off the bed. Matt just rolled over without a glance at me.

I staggered to the bathroom and saw myself in the mirror. I was not Ms Beauty nor Ms Universe with my body dimensions but I knew what a fucked-up image looked like. My hair was a mess; I had one a mask during the heist, but I looked worse than Porky in the looks at the mirror. I sat down on the bidet and ran the water up my channel. It was not a douche job but the water eased the muscles there. I looked from my seated position towards the bedroom. The three guys are all sleeping. Well, I won’t say they deserved it. The whole planning went into chaos when the two police officers walked into the bank unannounced.  It was Matt who reacted first; he shot them down with the automatic at the doorway. It panicked the others, and Brett at the tellers with his brother in his angry reaction shot the kneeling guard. I ran to the tellers where I pushed the brute of his shotgun.

“Stop your shooting. Get the money and leave.” I then ran to the Bank Manager desk and saw the alarm had been sounded. It was only seconds later for us to leave. I shot Mr. Kaplan in the face. The bastard foreclosed my farm three months ago. We rushed out and took to the getaway car. It was parked outside, and we drove off with Matt at the steering while I rode shotgun. The brothers were in the rear and we would have gone scot-free if not for silly Brett once more shooting at the police car on the opposite lane. That triggered the high-speed chase with the gunfight. We evaded the officers when we got the leading car to crash into a school bus. We did not stop to count the casualties but drove on. We changed the car as planned at the basement carpark and then it was an easy ride to the motel.

We had the bags opened even before the door was closed. The brothers tossed their shotguns to the side and went for the money. I snuck off to the bathroom to ease myself. I had pissed in my pants during the getaway. I did not drink much those days, nor did I smoke. It was for the baby’s inside me. I was not sure if it was Matt or who was with me three months ago. Or it was Mr. Kaplan then whom I thought a fast hitch might get me extended on the loan. The bastard loaded me with his millions of bull-shit and left me homeless by the weekend.

Who cares? I was with some money now. Just before the heist planned with Matt for over two weeks, we fucking work on the plan in between the fucking. I was horny then and the doctor said it could be the pregnancy.  The doctor told some mothers experienced such urges during their first trimester. I laughed then at the doctor; I would have him fuck me for he was looking at me between my legs but I doubt the oldster could raise himself. Soon Matt finalised the deal with the brothers and we did the heist.

Well, the orgy came later.

It was the money who drove us to do it.

Or drugs.

“Hey, we have to celebrate.” It was Brett who brayed his needs. He was clutching his groin then. He looked at Matt who shook his head.

“We can’t be seen on the street now. Let us lay low for the night. Then we can split the money and leave.” It was a piece of fair advice by the head honcho but Brett was inching to be laid. He even offered me money.

“One grand, lady. I will take an oral job.” I laughed at his offer but soon with Michael displaying the drugs and the drinks we had stashed in the room I was taking any comers to my lair. Matt was a fair guy; we were partners in crime and fucking but he was not my boyfriend to screen me from the other urges. Soon before I know it, I was humped in all three holes. Michael being the gay take on the holes he was familiar with but he was accommodating than Brett. I was handed like a cabbage patch doll before Matt displayed me his other preference. He went at it with Michael while Brett was dunking me from the rear. It was like a duel in the arena for them.

Prayed for my baby? I was not sure if I can recall being with one. If I did, it was then seated on the bidet. I touched myself and looked for any bleeding signs. There was some redness but no blood. I then stood up and moved to the medicine cabinet. I reached for the top of it and withdrew the small automatic and the silencer with it. I attached the two and then snapped in the ammo. A 45 slug will leave you a huge hole. Even big Brett would not need to lubricate first.

I stepped back to the bedroom.

I shot Brett and Michael in the face. Then I shot them for the double-tap in the heart. I could not resist it and took the additional shot in the groin of Brett between the balls and his dick. I did a mess of it there. I then turned to Matt who was still snoring in his sleep. He was recovering in his sleep. He was probably dreaming of some gal back home in his town. I climbed on and straddle him. I had him placed inside me, lubricating him to hardness.

“Huh….” Matt moaned in his sleep while I leaned over towards his face with my nipples touching his nose. He moaned on when my hands went towards his ears. I was still holding the automatic lined next to his left ear. All it took was a pull of the trigger and then another one more before I drenched the pillow with blood. He did not cry out but he gave me a final load. It was more like sexual asphyxiation but that time I overdo it.

 

Soon I have had the bags outside the room, and was locking the door when I met the hotel staff. He offered to take the bags for me to the car. I gave him a hefty tip for his effort. 

“Thank you, Ms. Mantis. I really appreciate the tip.” The staff named Robert was happy.

 

“Well, Robert. Don’t fuck with it. It’s not worth the value.” I left Robert smiling then.

 

 

Dark 29, House of Mantis

“Mistress Mu, I will not be defeated.” The defiant voice from the General named Chao Li had sounded towards me from across the Great Hall. I stood there in my armoured warrior suit armed with the halberd that was coated with the blood of its slain adversaries. I have with me the personal line-up of guards from Commander Shang detachment. These eleven warriors swore to protect me when we started off the campaign against the warring General Wang who had reneged on the obligation to the Emperor of the Empire. The General had occupied the far eastern land of the Emperor in collaboration with the enemy, Emperor Ming of the Yang Dynasty.

“I am the rightful ruler of this land and your army are intruders here.” The wounded General seated on the so-named throne of the Chao Dynasty, founded by the General three years ago against the command of the Emperor of the Empire. He had garnered an army of ten thousand strong after his reign there as Governor of State, and expanded his boundary by occupying the nearby fiefs to have under ruled under the Yang Dynasty.

“General Yang, how dare you defied the Emperor with your ambitions here?” Mistress Wu slammed the halberd to the ground with her hand. “I am ashamed of you of that.”

“Mistress Wu, once of the famed House of Mantis ashamed of me. Why should you be when once you shared my dreams and even my bed in the chamber?” General Chao Li laughed at the lady warrior who was once his mistress who served him in his chamber. “Am I that disgraceful to be seen by you in this armour, for your sight in that disgust me.”

Mistress Wu stood her there glaring at the man who had insulted her in front of her warriors. Her ascent to the role of Commanding Officer of twenty thousand strong warriors that formed her army named the Mantis warriors was not an easy task given that she was a woman and next to that, once a lover of the General. It was a concealed fact known only to the close circle of the Emperor.

“General Chao Li, I will challenge you to a personal battle according to the Mantis House rule.” It was my defiant offer then. I could kill the General with my army that had surrounded his palace but mere death will not suffice to reclaim my honour.

“Mantis House rules? Woman, you are no more than a whore in my chamber. How dare you invoke that in my presence.” General Wu retorted in anger. “I am of the Mantis House by birthright and was its last Master of the Ceremony.”

“To succeed the dying Grand Master who was your father. You are Tee Chao Li, the next generation to be the Grand Master but your betrayal of the Emperor had your name removed. Your son will be the new Grand Master.”

“My son? I have no sons. All the bitches who were my wife, borne me girls. I have no heir.” General Chao Li sighed in despair. “Not even you could I have my bastard son.”

“Well you are mistaken, once the Great General of the Empire. I have a son soon after you left. Your son was born two seasons after your betrayal. We have a son, or shall I say the House of Mantis has one now. He is under the care of the Emperor now.”

“My son? My son, which you handed to the Emperor?” General Chao Li reacted in anger. “How could you do that?”

It was then Mistress Wu motioned her guards to retreat to outside the Great Hall. She then faced the other in the emptied hall. It was a great hall decorated with the crafted drawings of the warriors the wall, some on horseback or on their feet rushing towards the enemy with the stance of the Mantis style; the family heirloom of martial arts developed by the forefathers of the House. The hall was held up by eighteen pillars with ancient wordings of the masters and the flooring was of the marble inlaid from wall to wall. There had been rows of chairs and tables for the nobles on both sides but it was then discarded or broken at the doorways. It was a flimsy defence against the might of the warriors. The General was seated on the throne of his self-declared dynasty with the leopard skin draped over the high back wooden chair with the great frame that was hung behind it. The frame held the character ‘Mantis Empire” with wordings interacting with the drawing of the mantis in its praying form. It was a celebrated form of the creature that many have said to be auspicious to see it.

“You decorated the Hall to resemble the One at the ancestral home. I am delighted that you still hold the name of the Mantis House in your heart.” Mistress Wu looked at the General. “What remains were the reasons for your betrayal? Your family have served Emperor for three generations before you.”

“Served the Emperor? We were like whores to the Emperor. We placed our lives into his service and all he gave us was land tract far from the Capital and worse to it, we were to defend it from the barbarians there. Most of us died not in his wars but in the battle to keep the barbarians off our land.”

“And you allied with them to form your own dynasty? The same barbarians that fought your forefathers and slain our people.” Mistress Wu snapped back. “Are you mad?”

“Not so much as what you did?” General Chao Li hit back. “You gave my son to the Emperor?”

“Only to protect the Mantis House. When you betrayed us, the Emperor was to destroy the House along with all the followers but I stood in for clemency. I sacrificed myself for the House. I became the whore to the Emperor. In return, he preserved the House and our son.”

“I rather die than be his slave again.” General Chao Li replied. “I have my dignity.”

“And I have our son. He is well-liked by the Emperor, and with the Emperor devoid of an heir, your son was adopted by the Emperor. He will be Emperor on one condition.”

“What condition?” General Chao Li asked.

“Your death.” Mistress Wu spoke up. With that, Mistress Wu dropped the halberd and then approached the man who was once her lover. With each step she took, she removed a portion of her armour and then appeared to the General in her flimsy silk gown worn beneath the armour.

“I stand before you, not as the Great Slayer or the General of the Army that had defeated yours. I come before you as once more your mistress. I was yours in my thirteen years of age, with my virtue intact and I had lain with you for over a decade. I could not bore you any child then, but upon our last night, I was given the gift by you. It was the blessing of the House that I shall bore you only one child. It was to be your son.”

“I…” General Chao Li dropped his sword and held out his arms to the lady who was once his favourite. “I did not….”

“Hush, my lover. Forget the past and lived to the future. Come into my bosom.” The lady embraced the General to her chest. He was once more at peace as he was then; his face buried into the soft flesh of his love. His tears flowed out like the child he once was. 

“How is my son?” General Chao Li asked.

“He is alive. He is well taken off. He has a favour to ask of you.” Mistress Wu replied.

“I know.” General Chao Li nodded. “Do it.”

The lady spread her arms out and then with her fist clasped except her index figure straighten out, she thrust the hardened figure into the General’s head at the side. He hardened index finger trained in the art of the Praying Mantis style cracked the skull and penetrated the brain tissue inside. The double blow created a sensation that spread from the brain to the toes, triggering off the nerves in the body as if he was in an orgasm, but that one was a deadly one.

“You son thank you, my love.” Mistress Wu pulled her finger off the head, and the body slacked into her’. She then grabbed him by the shoulders to lower the body towards the throne seat. She then turned to walk out of the Great Hall. She met the eleven warriors of her’ and left the last command to them.

“Burn the Hall. Nothing was to remain after it.”

“It shall be done, Mistress Wu.” The warriors replied. “Hail the Emperor’s Mother.”

Dark 30: Vengeance is Mine

1

“Emissary, your prisoners are here.” I looked up from my clasped hands on my lap towards the sight of the ragged looking human prisoners. From my seated position, I looked towards the figure who spoke. It does not matter if I smiled or not at the sight of these brethren of mine in flesh and blood for my full-face cover was of the metallic alloy that covered my face with the breathing apparatus providing me with my substance of life.

“Spare us, Jimmy. We are not your enemy”

Enemy indeed. I have with the assistance of my allies annihilated the living beings of the Earth then. I am indeed an enemy of theirs; duly named by them as Vengeance. I looked from behind my metallic face cover towards the one who had pleaded for my clemency.

Javier Fernandez, warrior and chief of the resistance and before that title was my neighbouring unit dweller with three kids that attended the same school as mine. The neighbour of mine was the model feature for the fatherhood award compared to myself who was the wimp with a family.

“Jimmy, I know you are…” I had heard my name called twice then and it irks me that I am still remembered by that. I am the Lord; the only Lord of the World. I have dealt with the death of billions and the destruction of trillions. I who was once the named one as Jimmy had taken the vow of vengeance and with that vow, I had assimilated myself to the current form I have; full-body automation with only part of my brains connected to the circuitry that was my headpiece. My brain was the last remaining piece of my physical body then made up of the metallic components. It was not in its full complement for only parts of it was recovered and restored.

“Jimmy, I beg of…” I felt a surge in my circuitry on the mentioned of my name. I was the named person as mentioned before but the enemies have destroyed what was not with me anymore. I looked towards the figure I recognized as Javier with my visual contraption mounted to my headpiece. I adjusted my focus for I could hardly recognize the facial expression, but I have my trust in my system processor which was designed to do the mundane task of identification and verification.

Javier looked distressed in his ragged body amour and uniform. His left arm was missing; I recalled then it was replaced with a metallic one to perform the menial tasks it was designed for. He was covered in blood and dirt from the debris where the automation had dragged his form out from.

“Jimmy, I know …” Funny, the figure still pleaded with me without even identifying me from the headpiece. I was after all an automation at over seven feet in height and held a powerful mechanical structure that could crush his skull with small effort. I retained my form of the humanoid with the two upper and lower limbs with the torso design, apart from my headpiece which resembled a half sphere with the dark shade. I had my design apart from the other automation which was in more grotesque forms; Functionality was the key factor in the design and it worked. My automation has done what the humanoids could not complete; the annihilation of living beings.

“Emissary, we await your command.” I heard the mechanical voice of the automation next to me. It stood at over twelve feet, with a frame that was more of a four-limbed legged form with the mounted cannons on the top and side of the frame. It measured at over twenty feet with a dimension of ten feet. The huge frame weighed over a ton with the heavy weaponry on the form. It held no headpiece but the front section of the frame was equipped with sensors.

“The Emissary will not be rushed.” Another voice sounded on my other side. A voice that resembled humanoid but not the figure which appeared there. It was a translucent sphere form that floated above the surface.

“I am not talking to you, Le-Care.” The four-legged automation replied with a growl in its vocal tone. “I am talking …”

It was then I raised my hands and then unclasped it to swing it out. It was my display of silence to my allies who had fought the war with me. They knew why we are there.

“Yes, the trial is more important.” Le-Care voiced out. The sound from it was mimicked by the translator in the sphere. “We stand here today to judge the last of the human survivals of their fate.”

“Our fate? You are all monsters. You came to our world…. Our planet here and destroyed with your superior weapons.” The accused Javier Fernandez shouted out. “What is your …. Right to place judgement on us. We demand to be avenged.”

2.

Avenged was the word that triggered my synapses in the circuits attached to the last remnants of my brain. My metallic fingers clasped into the form of a fist ready to strike at the figure who was once my friend. If it was vengeance then its mine to seek.

“Stay calm, Emissary.” Le-Care sensed my emotion and reached out to me telepathically. I unleashed my control on the fist but my seated upright position remained while my visual contraption to look at the figure there.

“General Javier Fernandez, formerly of the United Forces of Earth, you stand trial with your retinue of Council Members for the murder of the planet you named Earth. It’s made known to us, the Guardians of the Milk Way namely us, the Spherion’s and The Automations. We are the guardians of the Galaxy in this sector. We were brought to your planet by a humanoid of your own named Commander Jimmy 5123 Alpha Male on a mission of mercy to save the planet.” Le-Care voiced out.

“I stand to …. comply with no alien race or to any self-declared Guardians, let alone a deserter and traitor to Earth.” General Fernandez defied the tribunal judging them. “I demand the release of my people and hand over the one named Jimmy 5123 Alpha Male. He is not deserving of the rank given to him by us, the Governing Council.”

“Unfortunately, your position is not recognised by us. We are Guardians of the …”

“Enough of your ranks. State your demands of my people.” General Fernandez cut in. “Waste not our time. You have annihilated all that is living here. And it makes no difference to us. We have no means to challenge you at all.”

I would have lied if I say I was not tormented by those words said by the other. It was partially my words spoken in defence of my action then. I recalled the day when I was brought to Council, secured with restraints and stripped of my rank as the Commander of the Colony 23; the moon of Earth. I was dragged by the guards to the Council Hall and presented to the line-up of thirteen Council Members chaired by one General Javier Fernandez.

The hall was the same one where I am seated to listen to the trial of the General. It was a semi-circular in design and three rows for the Council Members. It held twelve seats on each row; a total of thirty-six members during it prime period where the Council Head held an extra vote in the case of a tie to the votes. That numbers have dwindled over the period to the privilege thirteen and included one leader who was demented and dictatorial in power.

“Commander Jimmy 5123 Alpha Male, you are to stand trial for refusing my command to …” I recalled cutting in with my own protest.

“I am not going to kill my own colony by murdering the Moon where we resided for the last five years.” I was the Commander of the Colony there designated Colony 23. “Just as we had murdered our planet here.”

“Commander, I will caution you to refrain from interrupting me in my words.” The General looked at me. The other was dressed in the red cloak over the white suit with the tight collar and the magnificent headpiece that was a golden crown. He held in his hand the golden spectre like a magical wand. He swung that spectre to right and the display of my family members was seen there; restraint unlike myself but their restraints were a metal suit over their body except for the head. There was my wife, my two children; both boys in their teens, and my ageing mother. Without a word, the suit on my mother tightened and her body was compressed into a glob of flesh while the head fell off removed from the neck. My scream was without any sound but my soul screamed out louder than my voice.

“Now, Commander. We have an understanding now.” General Fernandez smiled. It was not a smile of a sane man but more of one with madness in his expression. “But I am a man of little faith.”

One of my sons suffered the same fate as your mother.

It was then I screamed. It was loud for I was knocked on the head by the guard. I went down on my knees.

“Now, that build up my faith to a suitable level.” General Fernandez raised the spectre to his back and scratched it. “Now, Commander. Tell me what did you mean when you said we murder Earth.”

“Do you realize that the planet is dying …. No. its near death now. You have plunged in the death plunger into the core of the planet. Are you mad?”

“That…. My God, you meant that last attempt to tap the core for its minerals. If there were any. I did not do anything wrong that my ancestors have not done any indifference to mine. We have been killing the Earth ever since we discover the Industrial

Revolution…… how long was that? A few hundred years with the missing decades here and there, when we waged war and threw more damages in the form of bombing the crust with our weapons.”

“Yes, we were murdering her for aeons,” I recalled my pathetic words to the General.

“Murder, desecrated, raped. Heck! What about this? This sceptre up your bum.” The General laughed. “It’s insane but we have been insane for long. Are you insane to stop me now?”

3.

“Commander, there is another directive from the High Council. We are to activate the drills to extract the minerals from beneath the surface.” I heard the request from my aide while my focus was on the vidscreen above my head. The screen covered a half the Command Centre with its curved surface and it was displaying twelve mini vid screening of the planet Earth. Two of the screens were displaying the geographical layout, while another three was on the subterranean areas, and the others were on the weather to the drying ocean beds. I have been studying the planet from afar on the moon with new readings that were not available from my previous centre at Earth. It would have been available but the authorisation was limited then. When I reached the Moon to establish Colony 23 on a small section of the Moon, it was formed to create the Planetary Studies Centre on Moon, but I diverted half its resources towards Earth.

It was my fourth year there overseeing the five other colonies there on the Moon, when I got the directive to mine for minerals at its core I protested on the directive and delayed the works till it became imperative that I do the task or be replaced.

“Commander, High Council demands to know our progress.” I heard my aide then. I nodded. My work was going as plan but not to the design of the High Council.

“They want you to return to Earth.” I was sent back to Earth. And hence the torture of my family.

“Insanity ruled in our DNA makeup,” I replied to the General.

“I am aware of that. After all, I have been ranked in the Hall of Madness with some notable leaders like the Khan, Hannibal and even Rasputin. Those are names which you may not be familiar with for they are from the ancient era. You may have read of Trom of the States or Patin of Balkans. Heroes to some, dictators to others, and murderer to the historian.”

“Those were war faring leaders. You are the plunder of the planet. Have we not placed the planet at peril with the extraction of its minerals? We have dried up half the sea beds, where once depths of water rivalled the towers which we lived in. Have we not isolated a sixth of our surface with high levels of radiation? Have we not drained the planet of its fossil converted energy into empty subterranean caverns?” I argued back with desperation voice to protect my intention.

“Another …. What are you called? Environment Warrior.” General Javier sneered at me. “The descendant of the long list of warriors; were you not called since the age of Nuclear Age.”

“Yes, we are warriors. We have fought against leaders like yourself who had destroyed the planet here and also the adjacent ones. Mars and Venus reached by us were also subjected to the same torture.” I felt dejected by my weakness to act on it. We have progressed in our life with the ability to travel into other planets but we lack the means to do it rapidly. The knowledge of light travels evaded us, while a trip to Mars took months. Nevertheless, we created the passage towards there, and within years we desecrated the planet for our mineral needs. It was always minerals which we needed to live on. Our cities overcrowded where they are still inhabited, and the others destroyed by the war we waged on each other.

“Warrior of the planet, before you could judge me tell me what wrong had I done that was not already done by others before me?” General Fernandez laid his defence towards me. “For hundreds of years, we have plundered the planet for minerals. We killed the others for the same. As a matter of fact, in my reign, I terminated half the population of the planet here. It was in my reign that I pledged the space travel to the other planets so that we can populate there. In order for that, we need to mine the planet for the minerals we need.”

The General picked his words well. He knew that he was only doing what was needed to survive. I struggled with restraints. I knew that I was outclassed by the other and only death awaits me.

“Your silence is the acknowledgement that I am not wrong. I needed to …. No, the people of the planet needed minerals to survive. I was just their pawn in the task. And you are mine to do your part.” General Fernandez looked at me. “You failed me. And with that, I failed the people.”

Just as soon as his words ended, my other son died for my mistake. The elder and beloved child of mine imploded inside the metal restraint. I screamed out my anger but that was nothing to compare to the agony my wife felt. She had lapsed into unconsciousness then.

“You bastard, Javier.” It was my first attempt to address the General as a personal entity known to me. He ended my trial with the banishment of my wife and myself to the dark space. A floating coffin for two souls with limited life support was our prison It was the namesake torture of the General, and we were flung into space. My wife did not wake up from her state of the unconscious and eventually died beside me.

“Vengeance will be mine,” I swore then, and soon was to succumb to it but I did not. I was rescued by the Guardians.

4.

“Insanity is an inherent trait of your race genetics.” Le Care voiced out. “However, we are concerned about the damages are done in the process.”

“So, the victor decided to justify the victory.” General Fernandez retorted. “Do tell me, how did you find this weasel and had him convince that we are a threat to the Universe?”

I tensed up inside me with the connections that were linked to my core processor buzzing with signals. The General is probing on my role here. I was the one who brought the Guardians to serve justice for me. When the Guardians found me, I was at the final seconds to death, with my body functions ceasing to work except for a portion of my brain. I was saved then when the brain was secured to the metallic body I was lived within. It was from my brain that the Guardians were able to create the images that spoke of the damages to the planet.

It was from there, I learned of the Guardians role in the Milky Way Universe; they preserve the planets from destruction. Ironically, they were lacking in the duty but the Milky Way is huge. A noble ambition of them and it was from there that I pressed on the damages that were inflicted on Earth. They sent the scouts and soon I was given a hearing to explain my request.

All it took was a week to reduce Earth’s defences and then the defending forces before they annihilated the population except for the few that stood before me. It was my request then.

“It's not relevant to the matter on hand, General. We are to save the planet. And we have done that.” Le Care was blunt to the objective of their works. It was understood that the inhabitants of the planet could not be saved for they were the ones doing the destruction then.

“Then why kept us alive?” General Fernandez called out. “Are we to be your last to see victims?”

“No, General. It’s the request of Commander Jimmy 5123 Alpha Male. He wants to have his vengeance on all of you.” Le Care replied. “We are not that irredeemable when it comes to some …. requests. We do owe the Commander the deed of his action.”

It was then I stood up. I removed my facepiece to reveal the surviving brain that was implanted on the metallic body. I synthesize the voice unit and spoke once more on the surface of the planet I was born in.

“General Javier Fernandez”, my voice was delivered in a mechanical format but it was audible. “I am not surprised that you knew it was me. The sensors you have deployed was created by me to recognize brain waves. I am back as you can see and hear me now.”

“The humanoid traitor finally revealed.” General Fernandez replied. “Are you to see my death now?”

“I will be. You murdered my family before me. I will have my vengeance on you for that.”

“Vengeance? I doubt so. You are nothing but a section of the brain. How could you really hurt me? Crushed me at my flesh and bones?” General Javier laughed. “It will not bring back your family. Mine dead from the carnage your allies inflicted on the world.”

“No, I will not do that. I will take my vengeance on your mind as you did with mine. I will destroy you from within.” I motioned with my mind towards his. I have perfected the brain waves signal to work on the General’s and within it, I implored his mind with images that even in his darkest fear will never tread on. The General screamed clutching his good hand over his head. He collapsed onto his knees and then death took over his body but his soul was tormented by this mind.

“You are a vengeful person, Commander Jimmy 5123 Alpha Male.” Le Care voiced to the last inhabitant of the planet. “I am afraid that as the role of the Guardian, we have to remove you too.”

“I am aware of that. I will die in my world.” At that moment, above the atmosphere towards the Moon that orbits around the planet, a huge explosion could be heard there. The core of the Moon exploded and it was pushing the Moon on a collision course towards the planet. And the impact that will destroy the planet.

“What have you done?” Le Care cried out towards me.

“I am taking the planet and the moon with me. It dies with me. That is my final vengeance for it will never be ravaged by new inhabitants.”

“Ashes to ashes.”