World's Edge: Kind Words by M. & K.

He could see Hell in her gaze.

A fire raged in the hazel curtains that covered the whites of her eyes. A beautiful fire.

She smelled of Monsters and Mad Men. She looked desperate and half-starved. Her Auburn hair was undone and wind wracked. She was not one to appear publicly a mess.

All eyes were on him, he had to do something. Now, questions raced through his mind.

What does she want? Is it time already? Where is Rahziel? Did he send her or was it Zacariah?

He smiled slyly at her. He was not one to smile. It meant something was about to go horribly wrong.

He stood and sighed deeply, twisted his head from side to side and breathed in deep as his neck bones cracked like a boxers knuckles.

"I hate you for this" he spat at her and then he was a blur.

The couple at the table had no time to register what was happening, they were dead before they hit the ground. The waitress was not so lucky.

He had grown fond of her and that crooked smile of hers. She wasn't special Per Se but she deserved a little more...attention.

He held her close and looked deep into here eyes. His cold blue turned to dark gray and she began to shake. Slowly at first but then into a violent frenzy as blood began to seep from her mouth and nose. His head tilted down, he placed a kiss on her lips as the life slowly left her fragile body. He drank deeply of her essence.

When he had drank his fill, he laid her body on the ground. It had turned as fragile as porcelain and as white as snow.

She looked at Him uneasily. It was never something that she had gotten used to, no matter how many times she had seen it. They were similar, that much was true, yet they were nowhere near the same.

He walked back to the table and sat down, grabbing a napkin to wipe the waitresses blood from his lips.

She handed him a cigarette. He placed it in his mouth and she extended her hand towards his face. A small Green Flame leapt from her fingers as she snapped them. He took a deep drag of smoke.

He took the burning stick from his lips, looked at it and exhaled a dark purple smoke from his nose. He looked into Her Hazel eyes and flicked the cigarette into her face.

"I quit" he said in a voice like a landslide.

"Apparently not everything" she replied. Her voice was like smooth velvet.

"Which one sent you?" he asked, his patience wearing thin.

"Which do you think", she said through a wicked smile, "Your baby brother wants to see you and he's not taking any answer but yes".

World's Edge: Reunion by M. & K.

He turned to ask the waitress for some creamer - anything to cut the coffee taste and it seemed just in time for him to catch a glance of the Handle as she swiftly glided past.

He had seen Her - and that Handle before. It seemed to be a murky memory, one that made him too nauseous and dizzy to even attempt to sort out. It seemed like it was around the time of the Change, maybe right before. Did she usually have a partner? Maybe a man with slicked back hair and a long scar over his right eye. Was that right or was he fabricating memories again.

He slammed down his spoon with frustration and the clatter made the waitress and it's other two patrons, including Her, snap their attention toward him. He lowered his eyes and brought the mug to his mouth, breathing in the steam. It certainly was Her, he wouldn't mistake that smirk and those eyes for anyone else.

Now the only question was, why was she here...alone?

World's Edge: Filthy by M. & K.

He hated the light. It didn't matter if it was the sun or the fake lights that the Filth had taken upon themselves to hang from every available rafter, roof and nail. He hated it all. He especially hated this flickering nonsense which was currently plaguing his eyes.

The coffee, if you could call it that, was coming back on him. It was quicker than usual he noted to himself, normally it would be another half-hour before the burning in his chest. The burning where his stomach should be...if he had one. The Change had taken care of that. He was something different now.

Something More. Something Less.

The waitress smiled at him as he opened the door. It was toothy and crooked. He reached for his side, instinctively with battle honed reflexes, and then took a deep breath.

She was just trying to be welcoming he told himself. She was not a threat. At least not to him.

He sat in the booth closest to the door, his long black coat dripping water noisily onto the floor. It mixed with the dirt and grease to become a murky puddle. He didn't even hear her approach, she had the footsteps of a phantom. He was too busy looking for the glimmer...too busy to notice the Ivory Handle in her right hand.

Worlds Edge: Shadow Play by M. & K.

As He watched the peons on the street dart through the rain with their flimsy umbrellas and newspapers held over their heads in a feeble attempt to stay dry, he noticed a persistent glimmer out of the corner of his eye. He slowly turned his head to get a better view and it suddenly disappeared. Now he felt like he was the one being watched.

This old abandoned building had always given him a sense of calm but now his senses were tingling and he was feeling uneasy. He needed to stretch his legs and shake off the feeling.

He descended the stairs, wary of the shadows that bounced off the dirty brick wall. He walked under the awnings to avoid the rain, but it didn't really matter; he was dripping already. He decided to grab a cup of coffee, the kind that burns as it goes down and tastes deliciously cheap.

He turned down the next alley to go to his favorite hole in the wall diner, a place where you knew the waitresses had been awake for 36 hours straight and the grease soaked through every inch of the joint.

He had gotten close enough to see the fluorescent lighting inside and hear the buzz of the neon lighted sign. And then he saw the glimmer again.

World's Edge: Beginings by M. & K.

Ok, here's the deal.  My girl Kaytlin well, she wanted to work on something together.  A collaboration of sorts so we decided that we would write a story together.  I wrote the start and her the next, back and forth and so on.  There is no roundtable on this, it is purely us pushing a story forward, working two separate angles and working from two different strengths.

We haven't talked about a title, that will come later.  I've also decided that instead of waiting for the whole bloody thing to finish, or never finish and fade away, I'm going to post it in installments as they are written.  The lengths of each installment will vary and it's going to have a different feel to every section.  You don't like it, feel free to skip it.  I'm excited as all hell about it.  I think it will be a trip. Gonna do the text in different colors so y'all know who is who.  I will be Green.  I will make her Red (unless she decides different)

Here we go:

The Rain fell in sheets, like a wet blanket that meant to cover the oozing wound that was the City. It wasn't enough that it was always cold. It wasn't enough that the pollution made it hard to tell day from night. You had to have the rain. The rain slowed down the world and let the Filth breed. It was an ugly place. Failed politicians and broken promises littered the landscapes like discarded needles and broken booze bottles.

He was soaked to the bone but he couldn't feel it. He perched on the rooftop of an old abandoned project. Abandoned by the city that spawned it maybe but inside it teemed with life. Life both honest and Filthy.

He loved it here.

It was His City.

Remington Strange or I Day Dreamed this at Work One Day.

*Part One*

It has been said that God created Man in his Image.

If that was true, what kind of God created Remington Strange?

Tall he was, tall and lanky.  Arms and legs like any other man but his were slightly...off...

Off how?

Well, they were blue.

The man was blue.  As blue as the afternoon sky.

The afternoon sky was a good way to describe him.  His hair was the color of the clouds.

He kept it short, long hair was a liability in his line of work.

He kept it short because he thought the ladies liked it.

He kept it short because, well, it looked shabby if he grew it.

What line of work would suit this blue skinned, white haired man?

Why, he was a Private Dick of course.  For shame that you would even have to ask.  Have you never heard the tales of Remington Strange?

No, I suppose you haven't.  For if you had there would be no need for this Introduction.

He kept his details to himself from his true name to his age.

Some say it was because he truly didn't know, others because he liked the mystery it created.

Truth?  You'd have to ask the man.  Oh, he would tell you, over some frosty beers.  Beers that you bought.  Beers that he only drank half of because hell, he wasn't a huge fan of the drink.  He just liked to get loose. 

You can get loose and still make a profit.  The man liked money.  He liked money almost as much as he liked women.  Sad part?  He never had much of either.  Now, don't get me wrong, the man was as charming as any could imagine but good luck finding a lady that can get past the Blue.

Why was he blue?  What was with that hair?

Hell, he didn't know.

That's the truth on that matter.

He could ask his folks if he knew who they were.  Sadly, this is one of those orphan type situations.

The man spent most of his life at the Spaulding Home for Orphaned Children.  Someone dropped this beautiful blue baby boy off on the steps years ago in the pouring rain.  Poor thing.

Why did they do it?  Ask them if you find them.  The man don't care none.  Sure, made him sad that he didn't know anything of who he really was but he made the best of it.

Plus, it left him open to play the mystery angle with his clients.

Also, with the ladies.

Now, he never was real popular with the other kids.  He was your typical outcast child.  He liked to read.  What kind of books?  He liked the books about detectives. Should have seen that one coming.  Really.  They didn't pick him for sports.  Suited him fine.  He had better things to do, he had cases to solve.

Sure, they were all in his head but you have to start somewhere.

No one wanted to be friends with the little blue boy.

You didn't need friends if you had yourself a vivid imagination.

*End Part One.*

Teaser Trailer or The Emmy Kraken: Prologue

On the Ocean there sailed a ship.

The ship was big, perhaps the biggest ever built by human hands. 

Sadly, it was not the biggest ever conceived but when those who follow dreams will often smack their heads on glass ceilings.

The ship was big.  It cost a lot of money.  It was full of people.

These people, why, they wanted to party.

There were drinks, oh yes, drinks to be had.  There was food from all around the world.  Someone spent a fortune to create this floating metropolis.

Theaters, work-out studios,tennis courts.

You want it?  They had it. 

The ship was Impregnable.  It was gorgeous.  It was...well...it was gaudy.

Inside were mosaics of all kinds, from naked folk to gods of the sea.  Pleasant to the point of being offensive perhaps but it would depend on ones inner workings. 

It sailed across the sea.  Lord, it was loud.  These people were here for fun.  The noise could wake the dead.  It could wake the sleeping giants under the Earth.  It would wake the Dragons that slumber in the mountains around the world.

It woke something much worse.

It woke the EmmyKraken...

Now for Something Completely Trademarked or Solo Album

Sitting on the couch with an empty plate that once held delicious Mazzio's Pizza.

One half full can of Ski.

One Noisy Dog that doesn't realize she weighs close to one hundred pounds has made her bed across my Hobbit like feet.

Underworld: Evolution is in the DvD player.  Yes, its a DvD because I am broke so take your Blu-Ray nonsense and go bother some other brother.

I aspire to have one by Christmas but lets continue.

Not sure why I put this in but meh, its in and I'm writing so all is well.

Danielle is asleep.  I believe the Dozer is as well.

Just Me, Lucy and Kate Beckinsale.

I am getting surgery tomorrow.  It is not dreadful.  It is Wisdom Teeth removal.

I can only assume I will come out of this slightly dimmer like when you replace a 60 watt bulb with a 45.

Also, I believe there will be painkillers.

As I watch this movie, telling myself that once I finish typing this I will change it to something more tolerable (28 Days Later sounds good) I have begun to imagine how this procedure will go tomorrow.  I will now lay it out for you, Dear Friends, in my own special way.  Lets begin.

10:00am - Danielle drops me off at the Dentist because she thinks that I will be unable to drive myself home.  I feel otherwise but because I am smarter than the average married man I silently agree and shuffle inside.  Book in hand because my appointment isn't until 11:00am.

*This Movie is not good.  This dog is drooling on my feet.*

11:00am - I am taken in and strapped down.  Curious.  The doctor comes in, all smiles as usual, and briefs me as to what is about to transpire.  I am wary.  He leaves.

11:15am - He returns with two nurses and begins to set-up his equipment.  He preps a needle and reaches for my arm, telling me that he has decided it be best for me to not be awake for this after all.  I am hesitant.  He is a professional.  I give him access to my vein.

11:20am - I am asleep.

*Scott Speedman is a terrible actor.  I mean, really.*

12:00pm - I am awakened by strange noise.  My eyes are hazy.  The nurses move to calm me.  They appear to be Dinosaurs.  Upon further inspection, yes, they are Dinosaurs.  I am confused.

12:10pm - The Doctor re-appears.  I am still restrained.  I am not happy.  Why are there Dinosaurs working on my teeth?  Did I miss an article in Mens Health somewhere along the line?  I try to ask questions to no avail.  My mouth is incredibly numb.  Probably a good thing.  Also, it smells of Strawberries in this office.

*Killed a Spider.  God, I hate Spiders*

12:15pm - Doctor begins to speak to me in a strange voice.  My eyes are clear enough now to see that he is not a Doctor but a Jester.  I feel that a credential check may have been in order.  Sadly, too late now.  More confused by the minute.

12:30pm - Evil villain soliloquies commences.  Something about bloodlines and a revolution.  My mouth hurts.  I am no savior, merely a dental patient.  He must be confused.  I listen.  After a time, I decide he must be stopped.  But how?  Ah, an idea.

*How awkward it must have been for the director of this movie to film a sex scene with his ex-wife and Scott Speedman.  It's awkward enough for me.  Because I don't like Scott Speedman.  Also, COOKIE BREAK

12:45pm  - Finally done talking.  Ok Mister Jester Man and your Velociraptor assistants, prepare to feel the rage of me with some friggin' Wolverine claws.  Bet you never saw that coming did you dummies?

12:46pm - Chaos ensues.  All hell, yes, its broken loose up in here.

1:00pm - I walk out of the office covered in green dinosaur blood with a bag full of stolen, no, liberated dental hygiene products and wait for my ride.  My mouth still hurts.  I will have to find a new dentist.  What a strange day.

*Why are they making a Fourth Underworld film?  Is that a strange dream of mine too?  If so, it will probably be terrible.*

I'm sure the real thing will be much less interesting and much more painful.

Leon: The Professional is going in the DvD Player.

I love Gary Oldman.  He is a chameleon.

Goodnight Moon.

Story Time With Daddy or Its a Long Car Ride Home

On the way home from a wedding in Mt. Vernon last night I decided to make it my mission to keep The 'Dozer awake so that there was no powernap recharge for her special brand of lunacy.

I did this in the normal ways one torments a child:

Tickling.
Taking Away Her Blanket.
Fish-hooking.
Giving Her the Mandible Claw ala Mick Foley.

Typical things a father does to a two-year old.

Then it dawned on me that I could just tell her some stories to keep her captivated.  Brilliant.

Now, being two she doesn't have the wide range for story preference that her parents do so I had little to pick from. Luckily enough we read her the same bloody story every night so it's almost committed to memory.

The Story?

"The Rainbow Fish" by Marcus Pfister

http://www.amazon.com/Rainbow-Fish-Marcus-Pfister/dp/1558580093

(There be a link if y'all be interested.)

So, here is my abbreviated version of said story with no sleight intended to Author or Production House/Distributor:

So ok, there was this fish in the ocean and he was really pretty, like super pretty.  He was all rainbow colored and had him some silver scales.  Everyone was so Jelly of him.  So Jelly you could spread them on Toast even.  They called him The Rainbow Fish.

One day he was swimming around the Ocean doin' his Rainbow Fish thing and this little Blue Fish swam up to him.  He was all like "Hey Man, Can I get me one of them Silver Scales You Got There?  Like a Real Small one Even?" and the Rainbow Fish was all like "Naw."  The Little Blue Dude was all like "That's Cold, Bro" and swam off.

Now, he must have told all the other fish about this cause no one wanted nothing to do with the Rainbow Fish no more and he was Mad Upset.

He was so upset that he went to the Starfish, which no one does 'cause what good is a Starfish right?

Anyway, he told the Starfish what was up and the Starfish told him to go see the Wise Old Octopus down the way in a Cave.  The Starfish pushed it off on someone else.  "What a surprise" the Rainbow Fish muttered under his breath as he swam on to the Octopus cave.

"Woah there Rainbow" said a Deep Voice.  It was the Octopus.  "You look like you got Ten Tons of Trouble in a Five Ton Box.  What's up?"

The Rainbow fish took that ugly bag of snakes and laid 'em out straight for her.

"Well, what you gotta do is give away your scales.  That way you see that sharing is caring and it will make you feel better" sayeth the Octopus.

"Uhm...no?  How Could that possibly..." Rainbow began to spout but the Octopus was gone, disappearing into a cloud of ink.

Just then that little Blue Dude popped back up and was all "Hey Ninja, can I get one of them scales now?"

The RBF thought about it for a minute and then plucked out a little silver scale and gave it to him.

"Thanks bro!" said the little blue dude and off he went.

The RBF turned around to head back home, silently pondering how that little Bugger knew where he was which turned into the beginning of a conspiracy theory.  Thankfully his train was derailed by all the other fish in the Bloody ocean.  That little Blue jerk told everyone that The RBF was givin' away scales like tube socks at a Swap Meet.

So, as they surrounded him he began to pull out his scales and hand them to the other fish, just like the Wise Old Octopus had told him to do.

When all was said and done he looked out into the ocean and saw all the shining silver darting around and yea, he did feel better.  He gave all his special scales away save one. 

"I guess its good to share" he said to himself.

"Hey Rainbow!" said some Green and Yellow fish, "Get on over here and play with us!"

And away he went, as fast as a splash.

The End.


Now, Danielle tells me that I get all street when I tell stories and I guess that's true.  It's just my nature I suppose.  I also told her an abbreviated version of "The Paper Bag Princess" as well and I will post that if anyone wants to read it.

Link for that  is here:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_ss_i_0_9?url=search-alias%3Dstripbooks&field-keywords=the+paper+bag+princess&sprefix=the+paper

No One Can Hear You or I Almost Took It Into Space, Tarvis.

"Hurr".
"Hurr".
"Hurr".

Echoing down the corridors.

The thing was breathing, labored it would seem but alas, twas the sound it always made.

The Stomps that accompanied the sounds made the floors shake and the doors rattle.

The Beast was huge.

It stank.

It was Hungry.  It was always Hungry.  It never stopped eating.  It would eat the world if it would fit in its jaws.

No one knew it truly, the only ones to see it ended their lives in its gullet and their afterlives in piles behind it.

Animal?  ROBOT?  Alien?  Demon?

It came from the Darkness.  These fools had opened a doorway.  Stupid, stupid men.

It was a simple enough assignment.  Fifteen men and women headed out to the Frozen Wastes of the South Pole to investigate a disturbance with the Earth's Magnetic Field.  Granted, it was dangerous but it should have been Mother Nature they feared.

Not some god forsaken Beast born from Chaos.

The machine was experimental, paid for by Frost Tech Inc.  It was supposed to measure wavelengths and spot weaknesses in polarities.  Sadly, it did much more than that.  It did its job well, too well...perhaps it truly did what it was supposed to all along...perhaps this was all a lie...

The life of a man is cheap when compared to the benefit of science.

They did something, they opened something...they let something loose.

A horrific, shambling Lovecraftian beast.  Black as night, teeth the color of Onyx and able to bite through steel.  It did not sleep, it did not dream, it did not rest.  The cold phased it not at all, it was built for it perhaps with its think coat of razor sharp quills which shed everywhere it went, still it remained covered...

Where once there were fifteen, now there two.

The project director and his daughter.

They had named this beast...they called it Lucy.

She was out there somewhere, she had torn through the compound to make her own doors.  She wandered where she please, always looking for something to eat...or someone.

Trails of her slime drool were everywhere, pools of foul smelling liquid that had its own unique glow.  It was they only light that they had.  The Beast had eaten the Generators.

When they were certain that it was out in the Wastes they would move from room to room, looking for food or weapons.  Something to fight the Beast or even a way to contact someone.

Anyone.

They knew they could not run.  The Wastes would take them withing hours of leaving the walls.

They were trapped with this Horror.

They prayed it would leave.  Just go back to where it came or find somewhere new to terrorize but inside they knew it couldn't go back.  It had eaten all they equipment.  If it made for a new land, they couldn't warn anyone and the cycle would begin again.

Stopping the Beast was their only hope.

They made their way quietly to the Comm Room at the South End of the Compound, always with both ears open.  The slime pools lit their way.

Strangely enough, there was silence.

The director began to cobble parts of the broken gear together, hoping to repair the Comm unit enough for them to get a signal out.  The girl watched dutifully out one of the windows.  Looking for any sign of the Horror outside.

Nothing.

After awhile she began to drift...

Darkness took her...

A loud clang woke her from her slumber, startled, she turned to see her father smashing what he was working on to bits.  Furious with his failed attempts to fix the machine he had decided it better to destroy it.

She moved to stop him, before the noise would attract attention but it was too late.

"Hurr".
"Hurr".
"Hurrrrrrrr".

It was close.  It was hungry.

The man grabbed his daughter in his arms and ran for the door as the Beast came crashing through the wall.

They ran from room to room with the Beast right on their heels.

In the Darkness they ran, making blind turns and trying to stay ahead of the Horror behind.

The chase ended in the Kitchen.  The Freezer.

The door slid shut and all was quiet...

It seemed like an eternity had passed before they felt the familiar tremor from the footfalls of the Beast...

It was here, right outside the door.  It could smell the fear behind the steel.

It was soon to be over.

A loud howl went up on the other side of the door followed by the scraping of metal on claw.

The Beast's enormous head broke through the door, its teeth gnashing and its tongue lolling lazily in its maw.  Bio-luminescent slobber ran from its jaws like a small stream...

It pulled itself through what remained of the freezer door...it pinned the girl down with its enormous paws...she looked into its giant yellow eyes...its head lowered....


"Lucy!  Leave her alone!"

The Horse of a Dog looked upon the man with that silly dumb dog grin as she cocked her head to the side.  The girl wiped the slobber from her face, giggling and all smiles.

"Stupid Dog".