Story Write Compilations Volume I Stories 43

 The Cursed Ones

 

Author's Note:

The urge of the Vampires and Lycan supporter calls for this macabre tale. So I gave them the cursed ones as the condition said it must involve the royal family. But of which the host did not say..... So we shall be silent on the identity for now.

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The road to the Manor is a lonely one at this late hour as most travelers would have taken refuge at the available Inns or for the penniless the sanctuary of God's house. It's known that these roads are devoid of life except those who are without a soul. It's a myth that many believes and bestow on the unwary traveler. But I am not of one neither an unwary traveler as I ply this road many times in day or night. Tonight I am on an urgent call from the Manor which brought me out with my trusted assistant, Jenkins. We rode past homes of the locals with their doors and windows latched from the inside as they cover themselves with the religious artifacts for fear of the unknown.

 

I could see the gates of the Manor as we drew near to it. It's brightly lighted by the owner for my sake as he knows the road coming here is unlighted most nights. As we approached the gates, it opened by itself and the carriage was to reach the front door of the Manor unhindered, and without any haste, I was alighting from it. Jenkins held onto the reins as he looked at the yard before him. He is as vigilant as always and I place my soul in his good hands as he watched my back. The main door of the Manor was opened by the Butler; dressed in his working suit, not a crease in sight the Butler led me to the Library without a word.

 

"Good evening, gentlemen. I came as soon as I got the message." I came to face before me a trio of elderly gentlemen who were probably having their cognac and smoke before my arrival.

 

"Tempest compared, your arrival is timely and fast." That is the host of the party; Wilhelm Von Mennen, last surviving of his generation and firstborn of the Mennen descending the twenty-first generation from the first Baron Mennen of Bavaria. I have also known him as my Uncle as I am the firstborn of the subsequent generation of the Mennen. But I have left my heritage for other pursuits and am now being recalled back here for this important reunion. My father has left me with the role and irresponsibility of the Mennen as I am the firstborn, but I chose to live with my means and build up my responsibility, much to his annoyance that he refused to see me even at his death bed. But I did see him after the funeral and I conveyed my love to him but not my apology for not being there. Since then the task of mine has been bequeathed to my younger brother, Peter Mennen. It's also of him that I am back here at the Manor.

 

Peter and myself are born from different mother's but we did not let the gap of fifteen years dampen our sibling love. I watched him when I was here and even away, I sent emails to him on my adventures. He took on the rein of the family business upon my father's death and assisted by my Uncle, he was the youngest at twenty of age in the family to manage a vast fortune of the Mennen but he did well as seen by the reports I get from the family Treasurer.

 

"Pardon me for my manners. A good evening to you too, Uncle Bormann, and also to you, Uncle Dietrich." Two of my father's cousins by far-flung marriage but family by blood. They are here for the money and hope to used it to get closer to the current Emperor of Germany. I turned back to my brother's guardian to inquire about my brother's health.

 

"Peter is in the next room and he rests well. But he is inflicted by the curse and you are his only deliverance from it as the firstborn must do it ..... And also be the next heir to the family business if you want to. " I can see from the corner of my eye the greedy stares of my other two uncles as they await their turn to speak on the matter. I know their speech well but I am not keen on it now.

 

"Uncle Wilhelm, let me see Peter please. Then we can discuss the other royal matter on hand." I was pushing my way past the elderly man heading for the other room. What I was to see upon opening the door was not of my expectation. The man who is my brother is shackled to the bed in a spread position by heavy chains. They have even attached a metal clasp on his neck so that his head would not be able to move. Before him on the bed, there are the wives of the elderly man from the Library with their prayer beads and reciting the passages of the holy book.

 

"Away! All of you. I will speak to my brother alone and in private." I shooed them off in disgust even though they are my aunties but no courteous bowing would suffice to see the treatment they had placed on my brother. The elderly men came into the room upon the exit of the weeping ladies but I told them to stay out from this room. They did hesitate and then they took their leave too, leaving me alone with my brother.

 

I bent down on the bed to pull at the locks on the chains but it would not break. I tugged at the clamps on the floor which held the chain in place and it won't budge too.

 

"Micheal, don't do that. You know the outcome if you released me. I am cursed and I cannot be allowed to be free. It's the law of the family for the last five generations. We are to be condemned to the pits of hell. But only you can do it as the many other firstborns have performed before on their siblings." Peter is awake and he talking to me as my hands held the chain taut from its holding. I released my pull with a sigh of disappointment. Tears from my eyes down my cheek as I avoid looking at my brother's stare.

 

"Micheal, look at me. You have to. I need to die soon but I must speak to you." I can see my brother is pulling at his bonds to looked at me, but I am ashamed to bring myself to see him in this state. He is my brother whom I remembered as running free in the corridors of the manor or laying on the grass playing his toy soldiers. I can't see him in this chained condition as it's not like him to be here.

 

"Micheal....please. I begged of you. I need to talk to you." His pleading hurts mine but I had to consent to his plea. I looked at him and he smiled. "Thank you. I do miss you much. Your letters are nice to read but I am duty-bound to sit here to manage the family business as what father has dictated for me. But not you, you are a carefree soul like your mother before she was Mrs.Mennen. You have her more in you than of our father. I know I have not seen her but I see her portrait and it tells me she is a strong lady. So is her son who is also my brother. " I can see the tears also run from his eyes as he knows his time with me is going to be short.

 

"Peter, we can still beat this curse. I can bring you with me, and we can travel and do the things we want. Leave the business to the Uncles' as they are already eyeing it now. They have been but the rules said only the firstborn son can carry the name. But we need not follow the old ways. We take what we need and leave it to them. I have seen more when I was out there. I need no name to back me up when in the trade or even in conflict. Nobody outside of this county knows about us as the Mennen. The royal name means nothing but the gold we carry holds our credibility more. I have made some fortune on my own; not as big as the family but enough for me to live comfortably. Who needs so much when life is too short to spend it all. Let the grubby hands of theirs try the business instead of living on our regular handouts. Please say you do, Peter." I held my brother's hand in the hope he will say yes to me. But he declined my request.

 

"Micheal, it's not the money I am concerned about but the curse we as Mennen carry with us. It's the curse we are to get rid of or I will terrorize the people around me including me when I need to feed. It will be uncontrollable and even you are at stake......" Peter pulled at the chains as his body reacted to his thoughts of the need to feed.

 

"Here, Peter.. Take my blood. It makes no difference to me as we are family." I offered my wrist to his mouth but he shook his head in a display of refusing my blood to satiate his needs. "Peter, my blood is as good as any. Why do you refuse? I can be your feeder, and you need not take another anymore."

 

"Micheal! I cannot bear to live like this. I want to die than to always desire blood when I hunger for it. Do you know the life as a blood-sucking vampire is so disgusting and lonely? I cannot walk to anyone without the urge to bite their neck and suckle their blood. That's why we are condemned to death by the family ruling so that we do not feed on anyone or lest our kins. Let me die please." Peter is sobbing in his tears as I know he fears also death. It's one of his fears since he saw our father buried in the ground.

 

I stood up and stared at the window. I know now it's not the Uncles' who sent for me but Peter himself. I saw the wooden stake by the bedside and the mallet next to it. I picked it up and looked at the tip of the stake. It's still coated with the leftover stains of the blood of my sister which I killed when she was with the curse at the tender age of five. I placed the stake on the heart of Peter as he closed his eyes. I looked at his face; watching his lips quiver with fear knowing he is to die. I raised the mallet above my head with my right hand while my left-hand holds the stake steady.

 

"Forgive me, Peter." My right hand came down but it hit the clamps on the shackle at his right hand. The shackle gave away and I did the same to the other shackle. Peter laid there in silence as I opened the other clamps to freed my brother.

 

"Why?" Peter as asking but I had no time to explain my action. I punched him in the face knocking him out. I ran to the window and opened it wide. Beneath the window is Jenkins with the carriage and he is looking up. I grabbed the bedsheets off the bed and tore off strips of it. It's not a hard task for me as I am with the abnormal strength as one of the Cursed. I tied the strips of the sheets to form a rope and fastened one end to Peter's waist. I pushed him over the window and held the other end of the makeshift rope as I released it gradually to lower my brother to the carriage. Once that was done, I leap off the window and landed on the carriage.

 

"Ride, Jenkins." Without much ado, the trusted assistant whipped the horses to ride us out of the Manor's ground onto the dark road.

 

It was dawn when Peter awoke from his slumber. He squints his eyes as he tried to see where he is in the dark hold of the ship we are on. I was waiting for him and I walked up to him with his morning drink.

 

"Peter, you will be fine here. The place is covered by the sunlight and we are on a ship to our new home. It's one of my ships designed for us who are cursed. I am taking you to see our cousin, Count Dracula. He will know how to accommodate our needs. If you are going to ask about the business, I had arranged with London to have a suitable person to manage it for us. That person will report to us on a monthly period to our new address to be disclosed soon. Our grubby Uncles' can be retired back to their homes and await their allowance like before." But Peter is sitting there looking confused. "Yes, Peter. I am cursed too. But I learned to live with it. And so shall you. We have a long voyage and there is much I can tell you about the benefits of being cursed. Please drink up your blood. It's a fine specimen we keep on hold for the regular supply. Taste differently from your usual wenches..... This one is Morrocan."

 

 

 

Story Write Compilations Volume I Stories 41

 A New Start

 

Author's Note:

This is one of my favorites as it's the story of the Innkeeper who was in the play Les Miserables. If you have seen the play or read the book, you note that the pompous bastard became rich. But what did happen after Paris has quashed the rebellion. Here is the missing part.

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The smell of the sea is fine with my nose and to be honest, it's a lot more fresh if I am not among these sweaty bodies of those they called themselves sailors. I am Monsieur Thenardier formerly of Jondrette of the Paris society. But now I am back to my real identity of Thenardier. You're surprised that you as once knew me as the unkempt Innkeeper who will fish even your last crown off your pocket for a whiff of the dead cat I was cooking. Don't be as I was who I was and now I am back to who I was. I have been many but it comes with dire needs to blend in the times of then.

 

But I missed those days; the carefree life we led with my now-deceased love, Mme. Thernardier and her foul use of the vocal words. She may be a lesser of a lady then but a vixen in my room was what produced us the two lasses of our marriage. But sadly she died of late, and she has seen me in the tatters to the silk bounded sash to hold my waist in place. Alas, life was a day's work to a day's food, but the Inn kept us going with the unwary travelers. I remember then Cosette but we had little choice but to squeeze the treasures out of her mum. I know it was evil then and so was my liaison with the Patron-Minette, but the pickings kept ut alive and well. Its gold was hard-earned and more difficult to peddle with the ever-vigilant Javert. Curses are to him then for he kept me up at nights on some and huffed my limbs on some of those runs in the dark alleys. But I did keep myself from his arm for a spell of imprisonment.

 

Vive le revolution! That was the call for the uprising in Paris in 1832. I was there with my love; fanning the hatred and joining the looters. Oh please, we were not unkind then, as we opened the Inn to the injured and tend to the dying. I admit we extract some purses and maybe a gold tooth once or twice, but we were faithful to the cause. I even brought the drinks to the barrier and quench the thirst of the fighters although all I could afford then was the plain water from my well. But I did my cause true to my heart.

 

I agreed that my mind was to get rich so that I am out of the rut of cheating. And it pleased me to said it worked as I was soon laden with wealth and allowed us to rub cheeks with the elites. It was then we became the Jondrette. It was the life of social with perfume from head to the toes and caked with powder on our face, we float in those dance halls with the accompaniment of the music. It was life then unless my love forgets her steps when a drink too big gets in her head. Then it may call for discretion as I rushed her to the carriage. She is unbearable at that state and worse as I have to stop her pawing my tights.

 

But she is gone now while my wealth increased in folds. I wished sometimes it as the other so I can get into her folds. But she left me her gentler side of our surviving daughter, Azelma who now travels with me to the new state on a new continent.

 

"Papa, how soon before we reached the shores of Montreal?" The object of my adulation grazed the banister of the ship.

 

"Soon, my dear. The Captain tells me we will dock by noon tomorrow and I hoped that we will live well here." I brought her out on the death of her sister and mother; leaving a life that I hoped she does not have to endure. It's the new land we seek and with my wealth, I shall erect a life around her befitting a lady. She would one day marry a beau of her equal and have their own family. But they would not be in an Inn or sweep the untidy floorboards; that is my past and not hers.

 

I am now Monsieur Thenardier; a rich trader although what I trade maybe not to some liking, but business is never for the faint-hearted. And if anyone raised the whispers of my life in Paris, I would not hesitate to show them what I do best with my dagger in my waist.

 

"Papa, what is the dress to wear for my arrival in Montreal?"

 

"Oui, only the finest for my daughter. Go now and seek your dress. Ask Martha to help with it." I watched as she runs below deck to seek the nanny of her dress. I called on the Captain to come forth.

 

"When we reached Montreal, send my family on board first. When we have left the port, then bring forth the cargo. I do not want her to see my trade as a slaver. Here is a gold piece for your effort." I walked away humming my favorite song; Master of the House.

 

 

Weekend Special Short Tales California 2.2 Chapter 11

 

11.

Esmeralda got the written note and then ran to meet the Padre. He was waiting for her at the darker alley and when he saw her, he pulled her to the far end.

“Chey, I had to see you. Your Voivode had forbidden me to see you.” Marcus Luiz looked at the girl. “I bring you grave news. The Enforcers are looking for you.”

“The Captain released me. He told me to stay away as usual.”

“No. Not the ones at the Dome but from the City. They want you for some crimes I know not of.” Raoul had the news from the communication unit he had with him. “The Captain told them he had released you and should be back at the Community.”

“I … I can’t leave. I have nowhere to go. The Community is my family.” Esmeralda was in anguish. “Tell me, Padre. Where can I go?”

“You … You can go to the Dome. I will speak to the Archdeacon to let you in. The Enforcers have no jurisdiction there.” Marcus looked to her. “Trust me. It’s safer there.”

“The Dome? I can’t. It’s not allowed to me. Even the Voivode had told me not to go there.” Esmeralda sighed. “I can’t go against her.”

“You will be safe there. I can protect you.” Raoul sounded desperate. “I meant I can talk to the Archdeacon. He will protect you.”

“I …I can be there. I am sorry, Padre. I need to go back now.” Esmeralda left Raoul standing alone.

“It’s not that simple, Raoul Luiz.” Raoul turned to look at who was addressing him. It was Pierre Gringoire standing there in the three piece suit.

“Pierre…”

“Don’t be coy with me, Archdeacon. I knew of you for as long time. I was with the Community to see what was your motive there? I had seen it. Your lust for the girl who is half your age is truly damning.” Pierre Gringoire smiled. “I ought to report you to the Tribunal of Deacons.”

“The Pierre Gringoire in person reporting me when he himself a washout. As if civilization is not yet so far advanced that may one may go stark naked, as Diogenes of old wished to do.” Raoul mocked the other with words that only the Elites will apprehend given their many modes of deceits. The words said by Raoul was to mock the other of leaving the Elites to hide with the Community as if he was like a serpent shedding its skin for a newer one.

“I do not bring my ways to the Community. I am there for one reason. And Esmeralda…”

“Say not her name, Pierre Gringoire. You will demean her good nature with it. I had seen your eyes on her. That was why she had to leave the Community and you.”

“Says who in that role? Her ‘padre’ or her soon to be lover?” Pierre hit back.

“I am her padre. I am her real padre.” Marcus snapped out. “I left her to be adopted when I was to leave the Community. I was… asked to leave.”

Pierre was stunned. He was not prepared for that statement.

“Who are you, Marcus? I do not recall your name.”

“I am Marcus Luiz the son of Stefan Luiz or you may have heard of him as Stefan the Genius. He is my father. We were…”

“You are the Voivode’s son. I was told that she …”

“My brother is with me. I had to save him from his life of debauchery to bring him to the service of the Dome. I have re-educated him.” Marcus looked towards the Dome. “We have built our life there. I will bring Esmeralda there. We will be one family again.”

“Your brother is there. He was a member of the Truands. They won’t let him alone. He will be hunted.” Pierre had challenged the Truands as the member of the Elites. Their ideals were in conflict. The Truands have used their knowledge to infiltrate the City’s system and vandalize the efforts of the Elites. The master programmer of the Truands was the one named Rival Luiz but he had been missing for some years. Some said he was killed by the Truands or by the Elites which the latter had denied.

“You hid your brother at the Dome?”

“I had to. He was wounded by rivals within Truands. I offered him sanctuary when he sought me at the Dome. I gave him a new life.” Marcus replied. “He had not done any works for the Truands.”

“Rival is a fugitive of both sides. And if you….” Pierre looked at Marcus.

“Hiding one’s identity is not new to both of us. We are in the need to survive.” Marcus glared back at Pierre. “You will do well to conceal this fact if you still want to see Esmeralda.”

“Esmeralda will…”

“Esmeralda will be with me at the Dome. I will get the Captain to bring her back. It’s obvious that she is unsafe here. I will get her back.” Marcus looked at Pierre. “You will help me.”

 

 

Weekend Special Short Tales California 2.2 Chapter 10

 

10.

I cleaned the debris and the shards of glass at the yard with the garbage bag attached to my frame. The other units were inside the Dome. I knew I was punished for leaving my post earlier but as a droid, I should not have those emotions.

Well, I did. And it was happening more often when I see her.

I approached the platform which was partially damaged in the riot. It was not the works of the gathered but more of the enforcers. They took their frustration on the left behinds or indulged themselves to the food. I was never hungry although I needed recharging of the power cells.

Then I saw the doll.

It was a dancing girl.

The doll was sewn by hand. It had on the colorful dress.

And dark hair.

It was actually fiber materials that resembled the woven strings but the shade was night dark.

I moved my sensors to detect any close proximity of the others. There were none. I reached out with one upper limb. I had contact with the doll. I knew it was inorganic material and should not feel any contact to its surface but I was …. Curious.

Curiosity kills the cat. My program reached out to me with the archive line. It was a program line to avoid the unneeded.

‘Ignore the command’. I overrode the command.

I did not sense any others which were near me picking up my reading. I did a fast retrieval and then into the bag before I moved on.

I felt the exhilaration.

Unusual command lines but it was nice.

‘Unaccepted command lines.’

Unknown to myself, I was watched.

Captain Phoebus adjusted the zoom on the vid and saw the item picked up by the droid. He was ever curious as to the action of the droid. He called to his aide.

“Bring me up the Maintenance file on E-05.”

The file was being uploaded to the Captain. At the same time, the Caretaker had the alert sent to him on his personal organizer unit..

“File command Quasimodo open.” The Caretaker read the line and then punch in the command.

“Purge the backups. Password Quasimodo.” The main server got the command and deleted the relevant files.

“Captain, the files are sent to you.” Captain Phoebus heard the aide and moved to retrieve the file. He saw the folder there and the sub-files header inside but there was no data inside.

“Why is the file empty of content? Get me the back up.” The Captain called out. The aide typed in the command lines. A series of alerts in the consoles started flashing.

“Captain, we are under attack. It’s an infection that deleting the files.” The aide called out. “I am running the shutdown process.”

The Captain saw the aides there trying to salvage the files in the server. He then called for the Caretaker.

“I don’t know anything at all about what you are saying. I don’t have any knowledge of the server.” The Caretaker had denied any involvement in the server crash. “I am a caretaker here.”

“Hush your claims, Caretaker. I have your file on papers at my chamber. I know of your previous endeavors, Jehan du Moulin was your name . Your stay here is with the protection of your brother Claude Frollo. I know of your past, and I won’t hesitate to …” The Captain saw the other had brush him off casually.

“Captain Phoebus, we all have secrets. Just like the Dome has its own. Don’t use my past to intimidate me. As for your present, I have nothing to do with it. Why would I crash the server here? The Dome has been my home for some years. My past hidden here, and my present is easy on me.”

“Caretaker”, The Captain was hesitant not to call the name but refer to the known designation. “I was doing a routine check on the staff, and your droid.”

“E-05? A harmless metallic box and you want to check its files. Are you loony or have you no others to look at? E-05 is a droid. It will not…”

“It picked up a doll and then stored it.” The Captain cut in.

“It should as that is garbage. There is no other interpretation. You are … Should I say overly concerned?” The Caretaker then excused himself leaving the Captain fuming with rage.

“Find me the Archdeacon.” The Captain roared out.

“Captain, the Archdeacon is not in the Dome.” The Captain was annoyed. He knew where the Archdeacon had gone to.

“Captain, we have the Chief of the Enforcers, City side calling on you. He sounded urgent.”

 

 

Story Write Compilations Volume I Stories 40

 

The Four

 

Author's Note:

Write on an empty Earth and I came up with the Four Horseman.

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Our call to Houston was not replied to despite the many attempts which we made. And finally, we decided to descend on the emergency coordinates programmed in the system. It was a smooth landing and we are now back on Earth after a two years mission to Mars. But we stayed in the craft as there was no welcoming party for our arrival. It's all quiet out there. We feared the worse but we will sit tight for now. After all, we have been away for two years and what is another one more week. Our rations will suffice and the craft is working fine with its life support.

 

"Warren, do you think we can leave now?" I am Warren Mather; Commander of Flight X102 from Mars. We left for Earth on 2nd April 2015 and now it's May 13th, 2017; the eight-day since we landed. My other three crews are getting nervous to open the door to our craft. The person who is asking is Cornelius Bend; Navigator and Co-commander. Next to him is (Ms.) Frances De Mille; our Flight Engineer and the last member is Doctor Paula Smith; Medical and Scientist. I looked at all four of them as they sit by their consoles looking at me. Since we landed; we had been busy with the instruments to do the reading outside on everything that can tell us what happened to those on Earth. But we read out of the nothing except a high spike in oxygen level. We tried to link up the Houston Main Frame but we failed as we could be not be authenticated. We checked that all we had was the last feedback on December 23th 2016, and then nothing after that date. It looked like the whole world went offline or dead on that day at precisely 2319hrs. Frances told us that the system log registered nothing after that time. So the vote was on for us to decide our next action.

 

Three weeks later after a long search for living souls in the borrowed jeep, we finally ran out of petrol on the stretch of road at Santa Rosa, Florida. I got out of the jeep and looked down the road which we came. I remembered we pass some town about five miles back and I was sure the petrol gauge was half full.

 

"Warren, you mind telling us what do we do now? We have been in this unit for three weeks and we have seen not a living soul. Empty cities and towns but there are food and drinks for us to grab. But I want to know what happened to the folks? Did they die or if they did, where are the bodies? Now we are stuck in this no-man's stretch with a dead jeep." Cornelius had been bitching since we left Houston. He is right; since we came out of the craft, we had seen no one alive or dead. It was like a ghost town but the machinery is still in place. The control screens are working and we checked that our messages came in but no one replied to us as if they are all missing.

 

It was then the ground beneath us was a dark shadow. I looked up and saw the large alien spacecraft hovering over us. Immediately, the four of us got out of the jeep and we ran off the road. But soon we find ourselves immobilized in our tracks like we are frozen in time. I see something appearing before me; it's an alien with some sort of weapon. It walked towards me and point the thing at me. But I am not shot or dead. The alien took the so-called weapon and pocket it. The next thing I know I was in some holding area with my three crews. We looked around us in this empty hold area. It a rectangle area with what may appear to be a large doorway at the rear of us. Suddenly the doorway raised itself like a garage door.

 

There are a few of our people like us walking out towards us. They came forth and hugged us as in relief we are alive. I knew them and more so one other person. I walked towards him and called out his name.

 

"James, it's me Warren. What happened back there? Where am I now?" James is the Flight Coordinator for X102 at Houston Control.

 

"Warren, thank God you are alive. We have been rescued by these aliens from Earth last year. Somehow our atmosphere failed on the day December 24th at 0001hrs. The oxygen level dropped to nil but we were all rescued up here by the aliens. They came in their large ships and took us here. They have been taking care of us while they repaired the Earth's atmosphere. They have taken us to near Jupiter since then. We were advised that your craft was sighted in Houston and we came back to fetch you. You are safe now."

 

"But James, I was on Earth. The air is breathable again. We can go back. Can you tell the aliens this and we can all go back."

 

"Is it? Please join the others while I tell the Master of the ship." James took off back behind the door while the others came swarming over me to inquire about the mission. Little I was to know later that James was to report to his Master on my findings may be detrimental to my survival.

 

"Commander Warren. I sincerely apologies for having taken you off your planet called Earth. You see we have taken your people to be our feeding stock for our people while your planet will be used as our training ground for the military. But your late arrival back to your planet gave us a new idea. You will be returned to Earth to continue in your survival there as the last four Earthlings. But mark my words, your existence will depend on your ability to evade termination by my military trainee's force of twenty million young recruits who will be landing there soon in one Earth month period. So you got shall I say 30 days to prepare yourselves for the next invasion."

 

It's now our 29th day since we came back to Earth. We are the last survivors but we renamed ourselves the Four Horsemen. Like in the Biblical tale, we will ride like on the last days of Earth. It's a ride to set for the battle which we would never win but we have assured ourselves of victory. A final victory for Earthlings will be ours. The landing of the invasion force came as planned on that day on the peninsula of Florida state.

 

"Cornelius on my mark, you will turn the key. Frances will assist me here while you and Paula do the same there. We will take them with us and leave them ashes." I placed my finger on the key which will unlock the detonating countdown for the nuclear bombs we planted around the state.

 

"Ashes to ashes, and goodbye Earth." I heard Cornelius reply from the other end of Florida State.

 

The secondary blast of the reserves bombs in the 20th level below ground will hasten Earth's demise if not destroyed it by now. we bid our love and goodbye to the 3rd planet from the Sun.

 

 

 

 

Trojan War Chapter 43

 

43.

If there were words to describe Troy Three, it was to say that the once beautiful landscape held a barren look with the craters and the ruined structures, and the atmosphere smell of decaying flesh. There the downed stealth fighters alongside the destroyed cannons that were defending the cities from the stealth fighters. The surface final carnage was the landing of the warriors in the armored suits and the annihilation of the defenders including the inhabitant.

The transporter craft of the Trojan side landed near the defense facility under the command of Hector with twenty armored warriors. They were all armed in the same suit worn by Paris in his battle with Menelaus. All of them carried the spear, curved sword, and shield with the hand blasters.

Heracles was in his armored battle suit designed by Ares for his use. His was a dark armored suit covered from neck to toes, and the headpiece was the Corinthian design which covered the head and neck with slits for the eyes and mouth where the cover from nose down was tilted outwards. He had on him the long-handled hammer and rounded shield.

“We need to get into the facility there.” Hector pointed to the ruined structure which was covered in rubbles. He was pointing at the huge doorway leading beneath that remained intact.

“We have to remove the rubbles there to access the doorway. I will key in the codes to open the door.” Hector continued. He approached the rubbles and noticed there were huge boulders covering parts of the doorway. He reached out with his arms to pull it but Heracles stopped him.

“This is my task.” Heracles took hold of the hammer in his hands to swing it hard on the boulder. The impact of the hammer cracked the boulders into small parts, and then Heracles moved to the next boulder while Hector and his warriors carried the smaller rocks aside.

Heracles' work was almost done when he felt the blow on his rear. It was not a blaster but a hefty push on his frame. He was pushed forward and pinned to the doorway.

“Who dares?” Heracles struggled to pull himself up.

It was half the wolves of the Wolf Brigade who had used their telepathic powers in unison to pin Heracles down.

“I thank you, Heracles for your effort.” It was Diomedes who roared out. “Now I will take over.”

“Wolves, use your force to push Heracles to break the door,” Diomedes called out the command but Hector had initiated an attack then.

“Trojans, have at them wolves.” The Trojan warriors spread their wings and took to the skies to swoop on the Argos warrior. The other six Argos warrior not involved in the action on Heracles moved into action then. They had reached for their blasters and to fire on the flying Trojans. The Trojans took evasive action and spread out before swooping at the Argos warriors. The Trojans used the speed of flight to attack the Argos warriors.

The wolves took down two of the winged warriors before they all found the cover to defend their numbers. The six wolves which were pushing Heracles had to pull back when one of theirs was shot at the chest. The injured wolf warrior was pulled to safety and the battle took to the shootout. The Trojans returned fire with their blasters.

“Are you well, Heracles?” Hector asked.

“Only my pride is wounded. I was pinned by the deceit action of the Argos warriors.” Heracles who was enraged grabbed the rocks and tossed it like projectiles at the Argos warriors.

“We need to get the door opened. Once inside we can secure this position well.” Hector told the Olympian hero. Heracles acknowledged and stormed the door with his strength. He pushed hard at it and soon the hinges on the door gave way. He was shot at the rear but Hector had jumped in to shield Heracles.

The door gave way and Heracles was in and followed suit by the Trojan warriors who flew in. Diomedes called on his warriors to pursue but they were held back by the rear guards of the Trojan’s warriors. Hector and Heracles had taken off for the chamber where the core was kept.

“The chamber is here,” Hector called on Heracles and took off around the turn. He was seen then by Heracles propelled backward and falling onto his back. Heracles reached out to the Trojan.

“I am unhurt. I was caught by surprise.” Hector said. “They are ..”

“Minotaurs. I had seen them and fought them.” Heracles looked at the two half-man and beast. They were the vanguard of another force that was there to recover the core.

“Good tidings, Heracles. I am ever pleased to see an ally of the Trojan but we are in dire times. I need the core to leverage on the power here.” It was Queen Penthesilea who greeted the Olympian. “Do not act in haste. I am with the Minotaurs. They will stop anyone who tries to get in.”

“Proceed with the recovery. We will be covered for now.” Queen Penthesilea turned to the group of her aides who were dismantling the core.

“I am Heracles and none may stop me when I am on the task.” Heracles roared back. He pulled Hector to the side and told the other to rest. “This is my real task.”

Heracles looked to the two huge man-beast standing at the height above most men and double the strength with the double curved horns on the forehead.

“Brother, we will take the oaf for a God.” The Minotaurs charged at Heracles together. Heracles knew that with their combined strength, he may be defeated. He needed a new approach. He rushed at them and the last moment, he kicked out at the left wall of the corridor and lashed out a hard swing with the left fist at the right Minotaur on the head. The impact stopped the Minotaur and collided with Heracles to the rear.

Heracles rolled away before he crouched up to face the second Minotaur who had halted to look at the other. Heracles rushed for the rear of the standing Minotaur at the midriff and pushed the Minotaur into the corridor wall. Both of them crashed through into the chamber behind the wall. Heracles once again rolled away and stood up. The Minotaur was still standing but in a daze from the attack.

Heracles rushed in with his fists punching at the Minotaur’s frame from head to chest, and then the soft flesh under the upper limbs. He heard the bones there crack and followed on with a double blow to the side of the head. The Minotaur fell to its knees before falling facedown.

“Yes!” Heracles called out and it was then he was hit from the rear. The second Minotaur had laid punches onto the Olympian back and rear of the head before it did the bear hug around the waist of the Olympian. Heracles was trapped and gasping for breath. His chest plate on the armor cracked and he felt his strength weakening from the lack of air.

It was just then Hector rushed in and the body slammed the Minotaur.  Hector was not as strong as the other two but the slam of his loosened the hold on Heracles. The Olympian took a deep breath of air to revive and then turned his body to do head butt on the Minotaur on the face. The blow drew blood on the cut at the forehead and the left horn was displaced.

“No one best Heracles in a fight!” The Olympian roared and grabbed the Minotaur by the throat with both hands. He pressed in hard until the man-beast fell on its knees.

The fight was over and so was the core.

Queen Penthesilea had absconded with it but she did not get too far with it before she handed it to another.

“Queen Penthesilea, Artemis thank you for the gift. We, the ladies of the Wind shall remain united.” Iphigenia received the core from the Queen.

“I am ever obliged to Artemis and her support of our cause is highly appreciated.” The Queen bowed to Iphigenia. “I am fortunate that the allies of ours were willing to provide the needed support and Artemis informing us of Heracles participation allowed us to improvise.”

“And our spies informing us of Diomedes were timely and allowed us the needed diversion.” Iphigenia smiled. “Long live the Winds.”

 

Arthur II Book III Chapter 9

 

9.

 

Adriane took a big gulp from her goblet while her eyes were fixated on the older man seated across the table. The uncle of the man had then excused himself armed with a jug of the mead leaving the two alone. She leaned forward to pick at the fruit there on the plate.

“When have you remained silent for more than an hour?” Adriane asked of Percival. “Was it because I lied to you about being your sister?”

“Ever since I learned how to keep quiet while elders speak,” Percival said.

“It had been ages since we last met.” Adriane smiled. “You were a kid …”

Percival recalled the day when he was still young to see things that the adults could not. He was walking in the corridors of the castle as it was called then. He was hungry and had wandered with his eyes half-closed.

“Are you lost, child?” Percival as a child of that you could only nod. He saw with his eyes then saw nine ladies in different shades of dressing in front of him.

“Mummy…”

“Mummy is not here. She is asleep.” Adriane then told him. “You do not want to wake her.”

Young Percival shook his head. He then asked for food. The nine ladies brought him to the kitchen and they cooked him a meal. Well, it did not need much cooking, there was plenty of leftovers.

It was his first time with them, and from there for a time, he was with them a lot of times. As a child, he could see them when the adults could not. He got them as his friends.

“Adriane, Adrine, Adrian, Adrie, Aileen, Alice, Alicia, Aline, and Alina.” He knew all their names but he liked Adriane most. There were no differences in seniority or age; everything was on equal terms. Although they were nine, there was never a need to take votes. All decisions were collective and none made until it was agreed on.

Percival was the small brother and was fun to be with.

“If you were a girl, we will add you to our numbers.” Adriane had told Percival.

It was fun while it lasted.

Percival grew and he lost the innocence to see them.

Till then when he had returned to his ancestral home.

“Where are the others?” Percival asked.

“We…. Well, we had our differences.” Adriane replied.

“The Nine of you were …. Sisters? How could it happen?”

“We were fine here, even when you were away but the core of our relationship went sour. We were given a task.” Adriane sighed. “We were told of the Holy Grail. Do you know of it?’

The Grail is most commonly identified as the cup that Jesus drank from at the Last Supper and that Joseph of Arimathea used to collect Jesus’s blood when he was crucified.

“I recalled that Fisher King who was my father’s guest claimed to have it with him. He was my uncle from my mother’s side. He had it in a case where he placed it over the fireplace in his chamber.” Percival replied. He had remembered the case was always closed then.

“Fisher King does not have that. In the case was your mother’s head and then added it was your fathers.” Adriane looked at Percival.

“You are still innocent inside of you.” Adriane smiled. “You were shielded by us.”

“Shield? But why?” Percival asked.

“You were never to know. You left young...”

“Was it your doing?” Percival confronted her. “Did you…. All of you manipulated my mind?”

“No, we did not. You were upset with your father. And more to it. We can’t access you nor could you with us.”

“If I can accept that what about this on Fisher King? He was my mother’s uncle.”

“He was but he also loved your mother. He had her killed by mistake and regretted it. He had her head in the case for his remorse to share her with your father.”

“Fisher King killed my mother? It made no sense.” Percival looked at Adriane.

“Fisher King … He was … He was given a task. Your mother was a threat to us. She saw us and wanted to remove us. We cannot afford it and we had Fisher King kill her.”

“And did my father died?”

“That is another tale.”

Don’t we all have a tale to tell?

“I hardly remember much of Mount Badon?” Arthur laughed. He was drunk like the other two in the feast. “I like the mead here. It’s fresh.”

“It’s brewed near here. The folks here loved it.” Belvedere spoke up. “I will have some barrels sent to Camelot.”

“That won’t be necessary. I don’t want to have a war between Camelot and Gurnion.” They laughed and then Arthur looked to Kay.

“Tell me, Sir. Who are you and what made you come here?” Kay looked up from his mead and smile.

“Mead and … ladies,” Kay replied.

“Are you Irish? That is from the North.” Arthur looked at the huge man.

“No further than that. We are the people of our land and we have repelled the Anglo Saxons if that was your question.” Kay was direct with his words. “I have fought with the Ghost to fight the raiders.”

“You knew Lancelot…. I mean that he was Ghost then.”

“Ghostly, I will gamble on that. He is a great warrior. He may lack our strength,” Belvedere touched his goblet with Kay. “The Ghost is a skilled warrior with his fabled sword.”

“I know Lancelot and his fabled sword. Arondight was the name.” Arthur was not to be left out. “I hold Excalibur. Do you know of it?”

“Excalibur? I heard of the tales. It’s a mighty sword and was known that only a King could wield it.” Arthur had his left hand at the hilt of Excalibur.

“Aye, and we have our strengths.” Belvedere toasts the brawn that he and Kay shared.

“And our shield will hand us the added strength to stop the invaders.” 

“Aye, with the two of you and the shield, Gurnion is in safe hands.” Arthur laughed and joined the merriment. He then looked at Kay. “Do you have an army?”

“The armies I have are my arms. I can take on hundreds with them.” Kay mocked the King on his question. His words were on the feat of Arthur at Mount Badon.

“I am in the travel on the land. Would you join me?” Arthur turned to Belvedere. “And you too, Belvedere? We will have more feasts to enjoy.”

It was feasting on the return at Joyous with Lancelot as the host. He had held three days and nights of merriment with his people, and there was more food than they have ever seen since the defeat for the Anglo Saxons.

“Aye, Sir Lancelot. We are happy and rejoicing daily with our lives. We had not these days for years and now when we have it, we will rejoice into it.” A local had praised the knight while wandering minstrels and artisans performed their charms.

“Refill your cup, Sir.” Lancelot looked at the voice and saw it was Lady Elaine. She had leaned forward to fill his cup while his sight was filled with the ample bosom on display. He was already intoxicated from the mead drink had nodded.

“Yes…” Lancelot slurred in his reply. He handheld the goblet with the shaken left hand. He felt the weight of the mead when it was filling up the goblet. He almost lost his hold and was assisted by Elaine.

“Let me help you to your chamber. You need to rest.” Elaine took the goblet from the knight’s hand. Lancelot stood up and almost fell back but he was held by the lady.

“Thank you. Guinevere. We will move now.” Lancelot uttered the name of his love. Elaine looked at him but did not reply. She heard the name. They took the slow wobbly walk out of the Hall towards the stairs to the chamber at the next level.

“Aye, Lancelot. You will have a handful soon.” A passing guest commented and Lancelot mumbled a cursing reply. Soon, they were at his chamber and he was led to his bedding. He stood there while the lady removed his waist belt to place it at the table near the bedding. She hesitated at removing the tunic but he smelled bad with the mead and morsels of meat on it.

“I will be fine,” Lancelot uttered. “I will  ...”

Elaine left him standing there to fetch the cloth from the washbasin. She returned with it and found him standing there in the nude with his back towards her. She took the wet cloth to wipe his neck and down his neck. He stood there with the head downwards. He turned to face her with his face upturned. She avoided looking down and continues with her wipe on his chest. Her wipe trailed down and then it reached his pelvis.

“Hold me, my love.” Lancelot grabbed her hand towards his manhood which was hard on the feel of the lady’s ministration.

“I love you.” Lancelot gyrates his hips on her hand. “I …”

It was over soon, and the knight was soon asleep on the bedding with the cover over him. Elaine stepped away towards the basin. She looked at the smear on her hand. She dipped her hand into the cold water and shuddered from the icy feel. She stood there leaning with her hand and her thoughts were far. She then stepped away and one look at the knight.

“Good night, Sir.” Elaine took her to leave.