tospeakandlisten-blog

[tospeakandlisten-blog]

#750aday- The Stalker Pt. 3

Megan couldn't believe her ears.

"You're telling me you're the one behind all of this? All those killings??"

"Not me exactly no, but I helped cause them yes." he said.

"Let me explain. Pull into that parking garage there." he pointed to an old bank parking garage that sat between two taller buildings, one a law firm and the other the corporate headquarters for some technology company. She turned the car into the dark garage and parked it in the back. They both ducked down.

"A few years ago we started receiving a transmission on our systems from an unknown origin. We didn't know what they were at first, but the more we picked them up the more it all started to make sense. They were instructions, specifically, they were instructions to build a machine." He popped his head up, looking around to make sure they were still alone.

"It was light years ahead of anything we had ever seen. I mean it was incredible, every problem we seemed to have with modern computing technology was answered by these transmissions. We were afraid we wouldn't even have the means to build the damn thing, but low and behold we started getting instruction on how to build the tools we would need. The project was kept on the top and utmost secret level. We had just advanced our research seventy or eighty years over anything else being made today. We were going to skyrocket into a new global power with the things we learned and the tools we had access to." His face looked twisted as if he was horrified and completely infatuated at the same time.  

"Once we had everything we needed, we started to build, and once we started we realized was it was."

He looked at her, deep into her eyes, his own full of fear.

"It was a killing machine, Megan. It was perfect. A completely functional, and humanoid bipedal robot, with a working and thinking neural-net brain system, it could talk, run, think. It can move in ways humans can't think in ways humans can't, it never gets tired or sleeps. It was...perfect."

"Wait, hold on," Megan said, putting her hand up.

"How did you know it was built to kill? Didn't you have to like, tell it or program it to be that way?" She couldn't believe her own words, killer robots? This was a nightmare that was badly written.

His eyes lit up in frenzy.

"We thought the same thing too, we thought we were just building the first working and thinking android. Then we started to receive the list. It was a list of names, people from all over, people who had no connection with each other. It gave a time and location. Once the first name came in...it was gone. We couldn't track it, couldn't find it. We had no idea what it was doing...until it came back, two days later and then we received word of the death, the first name on the list. Then we knew what the list was..."

"Couldn't you stop it? turn it off once you realized what it was doing?" She asked the whole idea of this sounded completely ridiculous to her. She felt like she was playing along with some child's silly made up story.

"Whoever sent the instructions, whoever wanted us to build this thing told us, that once the machine had finished its list, they would send the final instructions on how to program it, on how to make it kill who WE wanted to kill. Which was the incentive for the higher ups to keep their mouth shut. It represented an unparalleled opportunity in the weapons sector, the ability to offer the government the ultimate spy, the ultimate assassin. They saw it as a way to end wars, to end any problem without throwing human lives at it."

She stared at him in horror.

"So that was worth the lives of all the people it killed, that it will kill?"

"No..." he said, his head down.

"No, it's not. And that's why I'm here. To save you, to stop the killings."

"Can you? How are you supposed to kill this, perfect killing machine?"

He looked down again.

"I don't know yet...I have some ideas, some things that may work based on the designs we saw."  

She laughed.

"Ha, ideas? great. Good to know my life is sitting in your hands and you have 'ideas' Holy fuck.."

She paused, the realization of her situation dawning on her.

"So what do we do?" She asked after a moment.

"First we need to leave the city, quickly. It's going to use your cell phone signal to triangulate your location. The less information it can use, the slower it'll be in tracking you."

She picked the phone up from her lap and smashed it repeatedly against the dashboard of the car.

"I have somewhere we can go." She said.

"A friend of mine has a cabin a good ways out of town, we can use it for awhile."

"Ok let's move." he said, "We don't have much time left."

She started the car, and they headed out of the city.

[tospeakandlisten-blog]

#750aday- The Stalker Pt.2

Megan tried to keep her head straight. she slowly drove her car down the busy morning streets, trying to not do anything that would attract attention to her. She couldn't even begin to know how they would find her. Did they know where she lived? Where she worked? Who her friends were? Her mind was racing at what felt like two hundred miles an hour, half full of fear and the other half trying to figure out what her best course of action was. She had some money saved up, maybe she could move out of the country, find a nice island and work as a bartender on one of those island resorts where all the sleazy Jimmy Buffett wanna-bees always hung out, wasting their day's away trying to reach some sort of alcohol soaked sun paradise after their third divorce. When she thought about it, it almost sounded enjoyable, well, more enjoyable than having her inside ripped out and tied around her neck. She had a roommate in college who was obsessed with this string of mysterious and unsolvable murders, hell everyone was at that time. It's pretty much all anyone could talk about. There had been a total of over forty killings in the course of three years. The country was all but in a panic when suddenly the messages and the killings had stopped. There hadn't been a sign of either for almost two years until today.

Her roommate had explained to her, in far too much detail, each and every one of the deaths that had happened up until that point. It was a very off chain of events indeed. If you didn't know better you'd have no idea that any of them were connected. They ranged from gun shots, brutal stabbings, poisonings, fatal car crashes, strangulations, pretty much any way a person could die, someone had been killed that way. The only thing that anyone could find that linked them all together was the message they received prior to their deaths. She sat at a stop light, trying to calm herself down, trying to create some sort of plan when suddenly her passenger door opened and a man sat down.

Megan screamed, flailing and hitting, swinging, anything she could do to defend herself. This was it, she knew it. Death was at her door and she wasn't going to go without a fight. The man was talking, saying something, well, trying to say something over the screams and blows being dealt to him from the car's driver.

"Hey, just calm down, I'm not going to hurt you, just stop!" He screamed at her and moments later she felt a heavy blow to her chest, all the air exploded out of her and she sat there stunned, clutching her chest and gasping for breath.

"I need you to calm down and relax. I'm trying to help you. We don't have much time."  The man said he was looking all around, checking every angle around them.

"Who the fuck are you! Why are you in my car!" she managed to yell, her breath finally returning to her.

"I can explain all of that to you, but we need to get out of the open. Just drive." He said.

Megan did as she was told, guiding the car down the street, one hand rubbing her chest where she was certain a fairly large bruise was already forming.

"I'm sorry I hit you." The man said, watching her, "We have very little time, and we can't afford to waste any of it."

Megan glanced over at him. He was tall, not overly large, but she could tell he was semi athletic. He wore a basic black suit and tie that you'd see on everyday business men all over downtown, short black hair, he looked fairly average all things considered.  

She thought about this for a moment.

"How do I know you're telling the truth? How do I know you aren't lying just to get me to let my guard down so you can kill me easier?" She said.

"Because, if I was the one out to kill you, you be long dead by now."

She looked back over at him, his eyes were a flurry of movement, checking every direction around them. His face set and grim.

"So, I ask again, who the fuck are you man?"

"Turn here" He pointed down an alley that cut through the business district and she turned the car at the last minute, tires squealing slightly.

"I'm a systems analyst and designer for very large and very powerful weapons manufacturing company that is contracted with the united state government," he said. "Keep making turns, drive aimlessly. We need to make sure no one is following you."

She laughed inside, she could barely comprehend half of what had happened in her life in the past ten minutes. She wasn't sure she could drive with any kind of purpose if her wanted to.

"I don't know what that means, what does that have to do with me at all? Or any of this??" she said, her mind a flurry of questions and frustration.

"It means." he said, pausing as if to brace himself for the words he was about to have to tell her.

"It means, I helped build and design the thing that's trying to kill you."  

[tospeakandlisten-blog]

#750aday- The Stalker

It was her routine, every morning, on the 9 a.m commute to work. On her lap sat a paper plate with a half eaten cinnamon bagel lightly smeared with strawberry cream cheese. Next to it, in the cup holder was a half cold cup of star bucks blonde roast, a thick and prominent red lipstick stain on the rim, the same lip stick she now was attempting to touch up, one hand on the wheel, eyes half on the road and half in the vanity mirror. The route to her work was boring and long, thirty miles of straight high way, jam packed with other cars and semi-trucks. Fathers and mothers taking their kids to school, office workers like her dreading the nine to five grind and other such travelers headed north to get their day started.

Megan Smith was about as normal a girl as could be. Grew up with in a healthy family relationship, always did well in school, a sorority in college, the works. She currently worked at a local law firm, a job her father helped her get right out of college. Things were going pretty well for her all things considered. She enjoyed her job, her group of friends, her dog Mipsy of course, a small terrier she had gotten when she first moved to the city, at her father's request. He had wanted her to get a larger dog, for protection in the larger city living by herself, but Megan was worried about her ability to walk the thing when it reached its full size. After carefully touching up her makeup, she managed to not crash while pulling a brush quickly through her brunette hair, it wasn't cooperating the way she needed it to and reminded herself to put it up in a pony tail when she got to work. The stupid summer heat rarely made it where she could wear her hair down and she couldn't wait until the weather cooled down again and she wouldn't have to worry about it so much.

It was ten till 9 on Monday morning and somewhere within the depths of her brown studded Lui Buton purse, Megan Smiths phone buzzed. Hitting a red light, she reached over and rummaged through her purse with one hand till she felt the thin cold plastic of her phone. She pulled it out and glanced at it. It was a text message. Five words.

"You've been marked. Two hours.''

Megan felt her lungs seized up, her blood crept to a crawl inside her. She heard the words over and over as if time stopped. Somewhere in the world behind a car honked and for a moment the world snapped back to normal. She pulled into a gas station, her car tire running up over the curb, and the car screeched to a halt as she slammed on the breaks. She came to a stop, her eyes still glued to the phone. It couldn't be real. It couldn't be her. There was no way.

She knew what the text message was. There had been reports of other people getting them over the past few years, from all over, young, old, mothers, fathers, all types. They received the same message, and within hours, days, and one time even a week, they all turned up dead. Every single one of them. The police, FBI, CIA, any and everyone who could look into it, did and came up with nothing, clues on who could be doing it and how. It became an urban legend, people all over feared and joked about getting the message, some even resorting to never using cell phones or email, hoping to prevent themselves from being contacted.

Megan began to sob, sitting alone in her car, her mind racing over everything. She tried to lie to herself that it wasn't real, that it couldn't happen but she knew it was. That she was going to be the next unexplainable murder. She sat there, crying and thinking for what felt like forever when the shock of the situation lapsed just enough for her to realize, her time was running out. She tried to think, tried to figure out what she should do next. Should she call her parents and tell them? Would that make it worse? She didn't even know where to begin. The only thing she knew was she now had an hour and a half left to prepare, and that whatever or who ever was after her, was likely already on their way.

[tospeakandlisten-blog]

#750aday- The Jump Pt. 3

William awoke with a start, sitting bolt upright, bits of sweat dripping off his face and a sudden shooting pain in his arm. It took him a few moments to remember what happened, his mind was foggy and his vision was slightly out of focus, the surroundings looking blurred and fuzzy to him. He could see he was in some sort of covered alley way, the walls around him in various states of broken, riddled with bullet holes and graffiti. Around him were several figures he couldn't make out yet, he raised his hands to try and rub his eyes clear when it hit him. His right arm was missing. The shock of this realization sent a shot of adrenaline into him and his mind quickly became up to speed with what happened.

"What the fuck happened to my arm?!" he exclaimed, looking at it there was now a metal cuff about an inch below his elbow, small lights emitted from it. It felt strange, he could still feel his arm, his fingers but looking he knew they weren't there.  

"Hey man, you're gonna be fine. Just try and relax. You're safe for now." The voice startled him slightly. He'd forgotten that there were people around him and he saw them clearly for the first time. Three men stood around him, the one who spoke, sat closest. They all wore what looked like dive suits, thick and black, with metal rings around their necks where he assumed a helmet could be attached. They each carried large black rifles as well.  

"Where am I? What the hell was that? Who are you?" He had so many questions, each one pushing its way into his mind, demanding to be answered first.

"I understand your confusion, and we will answer that for you but now isn't the time. We have to get back before night fall or we're gonna be in much more trouble than you can imagine."

They grabbed him under the arms and helped him stand up. One of the larger men who hadn't spoken yet pointed to his pack.

"You'll need to get out that pistol." he said, his voice was gruff and horse.

"How did you..." William stammered, the whole scene flying by him at what felt like breakneck speeds.

"You're a jumper, right? That's your jump pack." He pointed to the backpack on Williams back. "All Jumpers carry a pistol in their pack incase they end up jumping into a hostile situation." This time the third man spoke, he was tall, an eye patch over one eye. He walked behind William and he felt the man open his pack and rustle around for a moment. A minute later the butt of a pistol rested on Williams right shoulder, and he grabbed it. He looked down awkwardly between the pistol in his hand and his severed appendage.

"Right handed?" the one behind him asked.

"Uh...yeah, I am...well, I was..." William said softly.

"Don't worry, we'll get you setup with an OgTech when we get back."

William had so much more questions but at the moment all he could think about was how utterly exhausted he felt. He gave a small nod that he understood.

"Can I at least know your names?" he asked, his voice sounded small and weak.

"I'm Benny." the one who gave him the pistol said. "That's Mike, and that's Sam." He said motioning to the other two. The smaller of the two wore a red medical patch on his shoulder and he assumed was the one who saved his arm. The large one, Sam looked like he walked straight out of a 1980's action movie, built like a tank, crew cut, the works.

"Ok," William said. "I'm William."

"We need to move," Sam said, checking the read out on his wrist.

"Right, let's move Billy," Benny said, giving William a pat on the shoulder.

They grouped together in a line, putting William in the middle.

"You need to be extra careful since you don't have a bite suit yet. So watch your ass and stay near us." Benny said as they walked out of the alley way and into the street. The sky was getting darker now as if the last bit of hope and light was being sucked from the sky. They walked single file down the street and William was amazed at just how...terrible everything looked. The buildings, the ones that were left standing, were covered in scorch marks and bullet holes. There wasn't an unbroken window in sight, and it made William feel sick. What had happened to this place and how many people did it leave behind? He tried not to think about it. He felt himself getting more and more overwhelmed and he knew it was best to just focus on anything else.

They walked for a few blocks before turning into what looked to be an old bank building, the tall windows that used to be the outside walls had long been smashed. They headed for the elevator that sat in the middle of the main lobby, stopping in front of the door, Benny raised his rifle a tapped it against the elevator door making a distinct pattern. After a few seconds, there was a rumbling from somewhere above and the light above the elevator door briefly flickered on. With a ding, the doors opened and they all got in. William was amazing that the elevator still worked, who knows how long it'd been sitting there unused.

They reached the top most floor and the doors opened. Stepping out William saw a large group of people working, white boards and maps on the walls, people sitting at desks going over papers. If it wasn't lit by mostly candles and fire light you would have never known that it wasn't a fully functioning office.

The walked him down one of the side hallways and into a small office that contained a restroom and a small tattered looking couch.

"This will do for now, it's not great but it'll work and you need rest," Benny said to him. William was about to protest, to ask more questions but the idea of sleep was far too alluring to him and his body was exhausted. He shook his head and collapsed on the old couch. He thought briefly about the last time it was probably cleaned, and then he was asleep.  

[tospeakandlisten-blog]

#750aday- Neon Fever Pt. 2

Morning light crept through the window and across Kain's face and he pulled the pillow over his head to escape it.

"Sir, you have a meeting with the chief this morning, remember?" the smooth voice of his office artificial intelligence system creeping out from the speakers in the ceiling.

"Clair put me on some coffee." he said, his voice muffled from under the pillow, but he knew she would understand him.

"Absolutely sir." there was a clicking noise from the kitchen and soon the smell of coffee began to fill the apartment. Of all of her features and abilities, the kitchen was where he found her the most helpful. He was always a terrible cook and while not a lack of interest, a lack of time prevented him from doing anything to fix it and thankfully the chief was able to pull some strings and get him a subscription to her service (that partly came out of his pay, of course) but it was helpful none the less.  

Stiring finally he managed to pull himself out of bed realizing for a moment that he had forgotten to change clothes last night, which surprising to no one, he forgot to do a lot of the time. Walking over to the kitchen where the now fresh coffee had finished brewing, he opened the cabinet above the coffee maker and pulled down a small bottle of headache medicine and a bottle of scotch. He poured a small splash of the liquor into the coffee and then took a swig with the headache medicine. Sipping the coffee he glanced around the tiny apartment. Most of the other D2's had much more furniture and art on their walls, little knick knacks and things on bookshelves, teenage trophies, and prized possessions. Kain didn't bother with any of that, choosing instead to leaving the walls gray and plain. He always told himself that this wasn't his home, that somehow this was only temporary. That was over ten years ago. The D2 program had interested him because it gave him a lot of freedom that being a normal detective didn't. He was able to work out of the office most of the time and he had pretty much the discretion to do as he needed without being tied back to the department.  They had described it to him as being "undercover with the city itself" which as lame as it sounded, was right up his alley.

He downed the rest of the coffee, placing the empty mug on the counter where moments later a small opening opened below and it fell silently to be cleaned later. He washed his face quickly and headed out the door, grabbing his keys and jacket from the metal hooks where they lived.

"Don't wait up for me sweet heart." he called over his shoulder, and he saw Clair had already turned off the lights and as the door shut he heard a click as she locked it behind him.

Lighting a cigarette he climbed back in the car and cranked the engine. Kain didn't have a lot what could be considered "Passions" in life, but driving was something he could openly say that he enjoyed. The car was beautiful. A 75 classic that he got the moment he was cleared as a D2, which thankfully was around the time they came out with the twenty year anniversary of the car's model. He weaved the jet black vehicle in and out of morning traffic like a ballet dancer, effortless and precise. The streets were normal now, all the neon signs shut off during the day and sunlight kept everyone warm and honest. He preferred the night time, always had since he was a kid. Growing up loved the colorful glow the lights and signs gave off at night, like a cartoon, full of greens blues and hot pinks.

"News," he said out loud and in a moment the radio station for local and regional news was playing. The chief was no doubt going to chew his ass for his stunt last night, but he wanted to get an idea of how badly it was going to be, and within a few minutes he found his answer.

"...local authorities declined to comment on the incident, although one detective did report that the use of highly explosive radium infused ammunition which was found on the scene, which is normally only found used by high-level mob enforcers, and special forces units which leave many to believe this was a drug deal gone wrong..." "Shit."

Kain glanced down at his side where the revolver now sat as if to say, "way to go, this is all your fault..." He liked the radiation rounds or "Rad Rounds" as some of the rookies called them. It took him over six months and a dozen stacks of paperwork to get the permissions for them which he didn't mind,  but it led the chief right to him in situations like this since he was one of the only D2's qualified to use them on the force.

He pulled the car into the station garage and stepped out, tossing the finished cigarette butt on the ground. Looking down at his watch he saw it was already ten after eight. Shit. In trouble and late to hear about it. Today was barely started was not going to be a good one.  

[tospeakandlisten-blog]

750aday- Neon Fever Pt. 1

The muscle car roared around the dark street corner, smoke rising from the wet asphalt. Feet slammed against metal pedals, the car groaned in a deeper octave as it picked up speed. The street lights flashed by like a wall of paparazzi, momentary glitters of white light in a haze of neon. Another fast corner, tires screaming in protest as the car sped down the street. Moments later two more cars came screaming around the corner, barely missing the corner workers who leaped out of the way just in time, swearing and waving their purses in anger.

The matte black car led the pack, swerving and dodging surrounding cars and people as it tore through town, the pursuers not far behind. Its driver glanced in the rear view mirror and watched the cars following him. He made a split second decision, slamming hard on the brakes and turning the car fast into an old parking garage. It came to a stop at the back of the parking lot, the driver getting out and walking quickly back to the entrance. The two cars following came to a screeching stop just outside the garage, their cars straddled between the blackness of the garage and the veil of neon of the road outside. The driver walked towards the two cars, pulling a large black pistol out of his coat. The doors of the cars began to open when there was an explosion of sound. Glass, metal, and blood filled the area as the car was riddled with tiny explosions. The driver paused and waiting for the carnage to subside, taking in his chaos. Turning back to his own car he emptied the spent shells from the pistol and they fell to the ground, a soft green glow of metal leaving a trail behind him.

He fired the car back up and crept it back into the street, careful to avoid the mayhem and sped away quickly before too much attention was brought to the area. Once the coast looked clear he relaxed again, lighting a cigarette and allowing the car to drive him back to the office.  It rumbled its way into the garage and came to a stop. The driver got out, throwing the rest of the cigarette away and climbed the stairs to the dim office. The lights came on as he walked down the hallway, their presence warm and inviting. He walked the chair out from his desk and took a seat, letting out an exhausted groan as he did.

"How did it go?" a voice some somewhere above him asked, a woman's, smooth and sensual.

"Two this time Penny, and they're getting smarter. Had to go hot with made a big mess," he said. His voice gruff and low.

"I've heard, it's all over the main boards. The captain wants to speak with you about it."

"For fuck's sake Penny what's the point of working remotely in the field if he drags my ass into the precinct every other day." He said. He leaned over and punched a few button on the keypad on his desk, a small glass tumbler of dark liquor rose out and he grabbed it, taking a large gulp.

He paused for a moment, looking at the glass thinking.

"They're getting smarter Penny." He repeated, more to himself than to her. His mind drifting elsewhere.

"Is there anything you need Mr. Kain?" Penny asked, her voice like warm water down his spine, relaxing him almost as much as the scotch.

He sighed, "No doll I think I'm good. I need to rest." He said rubbing his eyes.  "Tell the chief I'll be in in the morning."

"Of course sir," She said.

Kain stared vaguely out the window, the sea of neon glowing as far as he could see. He sometimes thought about moving out of the city, of just getting away somewhere with some trees and grass. Maybe one day...that's what he always said. Maybe one day.

He downed the rest of the scotch and placed the glass back on the desk, and it disappeared moments later silently. Standing up he pulled his jacket off and threw it on the back of the desk chair. He took a moment to look around and realized that he had nothing really to look around at. The small apartment office wasn't much more than his desk and his bed, a bathroom, and a dusty old couch.

Making his way over to the bed he laid down with a groan. The chief was going to chew his ass tomorrow over the stunt he pulled in the garage. But he had no choice.

"They're getting smarter...." he said once more to himself, closing his eyes, the streams of neon glowing through the window across his face and soon he was asleep.  

[tospeakandlisten-blog]

750aday- The Visitor Pt.4

All this fear, all this horror that she was faced with reminded her of the bear. It had been a cold winter, coldest they ever spent in the cabin. There was snow almost up to the windows. Her father had filled almost the entire living room with firewood and supplies for them to ride out the storm. It was doing fine until almost midnight when the howling of the wind was overtaken by the howling of another kind. The large beast, smelling their fire and food from outside was determined to get inside and share the spoils. Her father had remained oddly calm, reassuring her that everything would be fine and that he would take care of it. He irradiated comfort to her and she trusted his words. He eventually chased the bear off with a torch, waving the fire at the beast until it fled. Marisa felt him there now, supporting her with his fire once again.

She sat in the cabin waiting for the sun to set, having slept most of the day preparing herself for what lay ahead. Wearing her thick ski parka underneath which she covered her for arms and legs in thick metal roofing material she found. Deep down she knew it wasn't enough and wouldn't do much but it made her feel better having it. It was almost time. She could hear him breathing on the other side of the door, the sun fading over the tall trees and distant mountains.

Her heart was racing with anticipation. Not having any idea if any of her plans were going to work, knowing that at any moment she could just be dead...or worse. She put the thought out of her head. Those things served no purpose other than cause doubt and hesitation which she could little afford either of. She stood in front of the main door, trying to keep her mind clear and focused and ready for anything.

Stepping forward carefully took a deep breath, unlocked the door and stood back.

"Enter."

There was an almost immediate response as the door knob turned and the door swung open which was followed swiftly by a quick snap as the trip wire was cut, the wood ax, now attached to a brick for added weight swung downward hitting the creature hard in the center of the chest with a wet thud. He looked down inquiringly at the tool sticking out of him. He gave a short laugh.

"You are quite resourceful I will say."  He said, grabbing the ax and yanking it from his chest, a few drops of blood hit the floor. He held the ax briefly before snapping it completely in half with an explosive crack and tossing the pieces outside behind him.

Marisa backpedaled until was was in the doorway of the bedroom, backing through it and slamming it shut. She grabbed an old office chair and wedged it underneath the door. There was a series of exploding slams as the monster threw itself against it. It bulged and shook at the blows and was moments away from splintering completely, but she was ready. Reaching down she picked up the forbidden tool of her youth, her father's gas powered chainsaw. Pulling the chord as hard as she could, the violent machine sprung to life, vibrating and shaking in her hands. Just as the door in front her cracked and an arm shot out towards her. She raised the chainsaw high and came sweeping down on it, the sudden contact of metal and flesh sent the machine and the creature roaring in protest. She bore down hard on the handle, blood splattering against the door and back at her. Moments later the job was done and the creatures hand fell to the ground, the nub end disappearing back into the black hole.

"Eat that you shit head!" she yelled over the puttering of the chainsaw.

There was an inhuman wail from the other side of the door, followed by another hard slam, and the door finally gave way. Marisa jumped back as the one armed monster tumbled inward towards her, already swiping and gnashing its teeth at her. She found herself off balance, his mouth connecting with her forearm and immediately clamping on. the metal plates protecting her skin held but began to bend under the pressure, harder and harder. She screamed out in protest feeling the bones in her forearm bending. Swinging the chainsaw with one hand, she rested it on the plate and slide it hard towards the mouth attached to it, suddenly the teeth detached and she followed through, pushing with all her might, all her fear, and all her rage. The blade made contact with the gaping bloody mouth of the vampire and the machine tore through its head in one clean motion, covering Marisa and the bedroom in a spray of crimson.

Its body fell to the floor in a heap. Marisa stood there for a moment, exhausted, emotionally drained but above all triumphant. She stood there for what felt like forever, completely stunned at the events of the past few days. What had started as a relaxing weekend had turned into her worst nightmare, but at last, it was over.

She heard a noise towards the front of the cabin and looked up. There were three men standing there in the doorway, teeth bared, black empty eyes pointed right at her.

"May we come in?"  

[tospeakandlisten-blog]

750aday- The Visitor Pt.3

She stood there in shock, the words still lingering in her head. This couldn't be true. There was no way, vampires just were real. But something deep inside her gut told her she was right. The way he looked, the dreams, the way his voice seemed to have some sort of control over her in a way she couldn't explain. It all added up. She had studied vampires in her European Mythology class in college. It was said that vampires weren't allowed to enter a home without an invitation, which she assumed was why he was so obsessed with letting him in. So, in theory, she was safe as long as she didn't open the door. After the initial shock of her discovery wore off she took to staying in her bedroom and thinking of her options. As far as she knew there weren't any weapons in the house. Her father was never big into guns, despite his love of the outdoors so that was out of the question. She had only brought a few days worth of food with her and unfortunately, none of it included garlic, and she wasn't even sure that was an accurate defense tool anyway. But she did have the daytime, which as far as she could see was true since she had yet to see him during the day. She paced back and forth in her room, humming to herself to block the sound of his voice reverberating through the cabin walls. She needed sleep first and foremost. Her body was exhausted from the terrible sleep she had been getting. She pulled her workout bag from under the bed and rummaged through it until she found it. Setting her alarm for dawn, she plugged the headphones into her iPod and played the most relaxing thing she could find. It seemed to do the trick and she fell asleep almost instantly and for the first time in days, had a normal decent nights sleep.

Dawn seemed to come almost instantly and her body was screaming for her to stay in bed, but she knew her time was limited. Once she knew the coast was clear she opened the front door and rushed to her car, keys in hand and ready to speed away from this nightmare once and for all. But to her dismay all four tires on her car were flat, huge jagged chunks ripped out of the sides. She could make a run for it, the nearest town was only twenty or twenty-five miles from the cabin, but the roads were covered in tree and shadows and she knew it'd be a risk to assume there was enough light to keep her safe. Marisa took a look around at what she had to work with. The cabin was small, one bedroom. There was a small work shed out back that her father kept some of his landscaping tools in. She found the keys inside on the hook where her father had left them and headed towards it. The whole thing looks like it was about to fall over, a large branch sat laid across the roof from whatever storm had come through last. After a small fight to get the door open she took a disappointed look at what was there that she could use. It was much barer then she remembered, mainly consisting of a lawn mower, leaf blower, a few rakes, and shovels. She spotted something that would be useful. Her father had bought a brand new wood axe the last time they came up here, replacing the one that had broken the last winter while stock piling firewood. It was barely used, still having the price sticker on the handle.

She grabbed what she thought would be useful and began to leave when she saw it, sitting on a hook just above the door frame. Her father had always warned her to stay away from it and had gone as far as to put it high out of sight and out of reach but now she was a grown woman with some real problems and it was just the answer she was looking for. Taking her haul inside she began the next step of her plan. Behind the cabin was a large supply of wood they had planned to use over the next few summers to refurbish the worn down exterior of the cabin before her father had gotten sick. Marisa pulled the tarp off of the pile and was glad to see most of the wood undamaged. She spent most of the day boarding up the windows and back door of the cabin. She knew the...creature...couldn't get in without an invitation, but she wasn't going to take any chances. She collected long sticks from the edge of the woods and sharpened them to a point and planting them in the ground around the cabin. She finished a bit before dawn, making sure to collect firewood to build herself a fire. It was going to be a long night. She settled down next to the fire, music playing loudly in her ear, barely aware of the shouting coming through the door of the cabin. Her hands were hard at work sharpening property markers into spears. For the first time since this nightmare began, she felt good, felt as if her father was there with her, guiding her. For the first time, she had a plan.

Marisa was going to fight.

[tospeakandlisten-blog]

#750aday - The Visitor Pt. 2

Marisa was shocked at the voice. Not because he actually spoke to her, but more so how smooth and calm it was. She expected a monster, raspy and sharp but it wasn't that. It was clear and eloquent, like a car salesman. The shock of it took her a few minutes to process but finally, she got her wits back.

"Talk about what? Why are you doing this to me?"

"I'm not doing anything to you, my dear. I'm doing this for you. For the chance to join me. A chance to set you free from your mortal prison and give you a gift of eternal life. " Marisa couldn't believe what she was hearing. This guy was a complete psycho and from the sound of it, he wanted her dead. She backed away from the window slowly.

"We can do this the easy way, or we can do this the hard way." He said. "Let me in, and I'll make sure it's quick and painless. Keep me locked out, and you'll enter a hell you could never imagine."

She tried to shut the words out, to not hear him. But it was somehow inside the cabin, coming from all around her. There was no escaping the sounds drilling their way into her head. She shut herself in the bedroom. What was she going to do? This man, this...maniac wasn't going to let her leave and what was all that nonsense about eternal life and shit? This was a nightmare and she wished more than anything that she could wake up.

It was almost midnight before she dared to venture back out into the living room, and just as she feared he stood there, right where he was before, staring into her soul.

"Marisa please, it doesn't have to be like this," he said, mock concern spreading across his face. "I just want to help you."

"How do you know my name?" she said. "And how are you helping me! You're gonna kill me!"

"I know much about you, Marisa. Your death will be beautiful and glorious. You shall see the whole new world that has been sheltered from your eyes. Why not just let me inside and I can show you..."

"Yeah, why don't you go fuck yourself you creep!" she shouted back at him. She fully expected this to break him into a rage but it did just the opposite. He smiled again.

"I love your tenacity.  Don't worry, in time you'll come around to my way of thinking... And all we have is time."

She again locked herself in the bedroom for the rest of the night, making some attempt at sleeping in between bouts of uncontrolable sobbing. It was long into the night before she finally passed out and almost instantly the dreams began. Dreams full of darkness and horror. There were visions of blood and death, of her family being killed, being tortured. Their screams echoed in her mind, voices begging her to open the door, pleading that opening the door would make it all go away. She was running down a hallway, chased by unseen figures, but the hallway never ended. She kept going, running like she'd never run before, her family screaming at her to help them, to open the door so they could be free. After it felt like years passed by she finally got to the door, it's dark and looming presence filling her with dread. Her hand reached out for the door knob, everything in her mind screaming for her to open it when suddenly, she woke up.

Looking down she jumped back in shock. She was standing in the living room, her hand grasped firmly around the handle of the front door.

"You're so close. Don't stop now." a voice said and looking out the window next to the door was him, grinning madly, his teeth were impossibly long and sharp, eye wild and empty. She let go of the handle and backed away. She didn't know what was happening. Did he do this? Had he drawn her out of her room to unlock the door for him? Was he the one causing these dreams?

She shook her head, the thoughts like pins in her brain and as if he could read her thought's he spoke.

"Say it." He said. Glaring at her. She shook her head, her mind was a haze of thoughts and emotions, of sadness and fear. He repeated the order again, slower.

"Say. It. You'll feel better."

She looked right at him, tears falling down her face as the realization of her situation finally dawned on her.

"You're a vampire."

[tospeakandlisten-blog]

#750aday- The Visitor Pt. 1

Marisa looked out the window again. The man was still standing there. Staring with hollow piercing eyes that seem to go right through her soul, the dim moonlight illuminating him through the trees in a soft halo of light. He smiled at her slowly showing unnaturally white teeth that matched his pale skin perfectly. She shut the curtains again quickly. This had not been her plans for this weekend.

It started as a basic getaway, as a way to decompress from the stresses of her fathers passing. This was the place he always took her as a child. They spent many summers here when she was growing up and it was also the place that they both hid away after her mothers passing, which made this trip all the more meaningful to her.

The tiny cabin sat nestled up against the foot of a tall mountain deep in the North Carolina forests. It was perfect for a weekend get away or a full winter lock in. She had been meaning to visit since her father had gotten sick but couldn't find the time, and now her return and vow to care for that place that they both loved was her final gift to him.

The trip had started out fine. She'd spent the first few day's cleaning and straightening up the derelict cabin and the surrounding areas. She finally began to feel herself return back to normal after everything that had happened. It was the second night when she started having the nightmares. Vivid nightmares of darkness and violence. Feelings of walls closing in, and voices, voices telling her terrible things, things about death. It was the fourth night when he appeared.

Marisa was sitting on the front porch, enjoying a glass of wine and staring at the stars. She always loved how clear and bright there were so far out and it was the thing she missed most about living in the city. There had suddenly been a rustling from the woods in front of her and out stumbled a man, tattered with dark clothes. He seemed disoriented but it was late at night and several miles from any other homes she had jumped up and gone inside, locking the door to make sure.

She watched, from a crack in the blinds as he walked around the house, not speaking or making any noise. Just pacing, watching. Marisa was extremely scared. Her phone was all but useless up here and her father's radio hadn't been turned on in years and she doubted there was anyone left using them to hear her anyway. She felt trapped, confined in this place that was once her shelter and that was the worst of it.

It was almost 4 am when the fear was over taken by exhaustion and the feeling of being trapped led her to finally open the door. Stepping up to it slowly she took a deep breath and opened the door, the man was there, standing in the light of the moon.

"What do you want! Who are you!" she yelled, her voice trying to sound strong through the shaking fear.

He stood there as if contemplating his response, tilting his head slightly, before smiling, his horrible teeth glowing in the light. She slammed the door and locked it again.

She barely slept for the rest of the night, paranoid of any noise that could be an intruder attempted to get into the cabin. It was dawn before she looked again and with a wave a relief that she could drown in he was gone. After checking all the windows to make sure he wasn't hiding somewhere in the treeline, she collapsed on the bed and finally slept. Marisa awoke just before night fall, shooting up in her bed, a round of nightmares still fresh in her mind. Breathing hard she went to the front of the cabin and immediately screaming. Standing just a few feet in front of the window was the face that filled her dreams with horror, his wide grin breaking at seeing her. She stood frozen in place, unable to move or think. Exhaustion and fear controlling her. After what felt like forever, he raised a hand and motioned on a slender white finger for her to come closer. As if on command she felt her legs move on their own, bringing her closer to the window, and to him. They were only a few feet away when she stopped. She spoke once more, her voice breaking.

"What the hell do you want?" she said.

He continued to stare at her, the wide grin never moving until finally, he spoke,

"I just want to talk Marisa."

[tospeakandlisten-blog]

#750aday - The Swimmer

After much much deliberation and soul searching Adam decided that, well maybe he wasn't going to go to prom. It was a just a stupid dance anyway, and it hardly seemed worth the effort.

"Dude, just ask her! What's what worst the can happen?"

"Uh, she could punch me...or get her brother to punch me...or call the cops on me...or say no."

"...what is wrong with you man..." Two teenage boys sat in the back of their science class discussing the delicate politics of girls while attempting to finish their lab paper work before the bell rang.

"I don't even know if she's going anyway's. She could be already having plans with someone interesting."

"Mike, dude, just stop making excuses and ask her out, it's not even a big deal. You could do it right now after class."

Mike sat and thought about his options, his stomach tense at just idea. Maybe Jeff was right, what if she just said no? Would it be that damaging? He had a crush on Sarah since they were both in middle school. They had spoken before yeah, her borrowing a pencil or asking to look at his homework but never anything that made him feel like he would be able to take her to prom.

He glanced up the row of desks at her. She was a fairly normal girl, beautiful in a way Matt always would call "Classically Beautiful" instead of "High School Hot" like most other girls were. She reminded him of a Disney Princess, and unfortunately for Matt was not Disney Princess Material. Tall, skinny, messy brown hair and intermediate amounts of acne he'd been fighting for years, Matt considered himself perfectly middle of the road. He was perfectly OK with this of course, but it hardly gave him much confidence.

He decided that prom was in two weeks, and if she didn't already have someone to go with, she would soon. He knew he had to make his move.

The bell rang and everyone started to leave class. Standing up, he took a deep breath. Looking over at Jeff, who gave a thumbs up.

"No sweat man, you got this!" he said patting him on the shoulder. Matt stood and headed to the front of the class room. He had the idea to try and catch her as they were walking to their next class, and as he stepped forward his backpack caught on the bottom of the desk in front of him and he went down hard with a grunt. He popped back up instantly in an attempt to recover, spinning around to see how many witnesses there were and thankfully only a few students remained and Sarah was already long down the hall.

"Well champ, there's always tomorrow," Jeff said as they walked out.

The next day. Round two. The bell rang and this time Matt managed to exit his seat without incident. Score. He quickly moved to the front of the class as everyone filed out of the door and into the hallway. He scanned quickly to try and locate Sarah before...Crap. She was standing next to a set of lockers with four or five other girls. Far too intimidating to try and ask to speak to her alone, and doing it in front of her friends was just out of the question. Day three. This was it, he could feel it. Science class came and...she was out sick. Damn. Matt started to get worried. There was no way at least one person had tried to ask her by now. He needed to hurry up.

"Have you found a date yet?" he asked Jeff the next day towards the end of science class.

"Yeah man, had one for a while. She's on the soccer team." He said adding a wink. Jeff was always better with girls than he was. While being better looking did help his cause, he exuded much more confidence than Matt could. His years in the high school theater program had built him full of charisma and poise that made it far easier to approach women and not fumble over himself, a feat Matt was very not sure he was capable of.

The bell rang and Matt hurried out of the class, he saw Sarah making her way down the hall.

"Hey, Sarah!" A voice called out behind Matt's ear. He turned and saw Jeff grinning wide. He shoved Matt forward just as she began to turn around towards them.

It was now or never. Jeff had pushed him into the pool and it was time to learn to swim.  He took a deep breath and jogged towards her.

"Hey Matt," she said, her voice was smooth and pitch perfect.

"Hey, I uh wanted to talk to you for a second." kicking, flailing his arms to stay afloat.

"Ok, what's up?" She said smiling at him. His legs found their rhythm and he balanced himself in the icy depths.

"I uh, wanted to see if you would maybe, like, want to uh, maybe go to the prom? with uh....me?" he swallowed a gulp of pool water and choked, spitting and back to flailing, getting harder and harder to breathe.

"Sure that sounds nice." She smiled at him. His head breached the water, confident and strong like a seasoned athlete. Lungs full of clean air at least.

He had done it. His heart pounding through his chest so hard he was sure his shirt was moving.  He tried his hardest to hide the grin that was prying its way onto his face.

"But you'll have to ask my dad first. Those are his rules" she said, looking happy but with a sly grin.

He felt himself go under, water filling his lungs, arms weak, vision blurry.

This was not going to be easy.

[tospeakandlisten-blog]

#750aday- The Jump Pt. 2

William stood and tried to get a grasp on his surroundings and immediately got the feeling that something was very wrong with where and when he was. Checking his read out again it read that he was around two hundred miles from the company head quarters. Quite a walk. The company built the headquarters to be ever lasting, to stand up for anything the world may through at it over who knows how many years, to ensure that anyone who jumps would have somewhere to go if they could make it there that is.

Surveying the area, his gut knotted up tighter. He stood in the middle of what appeared to once be a busy intersection, tall buildings lined the broken street that was littered with trash and paper. The sky was cloaked with thick dark clouds and there was almost complete silence. It looked exactly like how he thought the end of the world would look, and he hoped to god that wasn't the case.

Walking down the street some, looking at the giant walls of cracked concrete and broken glass he began to think about the reality that faced him. Everyone he knew, cared about, including his family were long dead now and his own death could be at any moment. The thought was sickening, he collapsed to his knees, breath short. He had tried to prepare himself for this, but there was nothing that he could have done to make this any less of the nightmare it was.

When he found the will to stand again, he found himself stumbling down a dim alley. He knew he needed to find a place to stay for the night at some point, so he might as well begin the hunt now. From down the alley, he heard a noise, something being knocked over. His heart jumped. Could it be another person? an animal? He wasn't sure, but just the idea of SOMETHING else in this dark dreary world gave him some kind of hope.

He slowly walked down towards the end of the hall, not wanting to scare off whatever it was.

"Is anyone there?" he said, not really sure what he expected in return. He knew so little about where and when he was he half expected an alien to jump out and eat him.

There was no response. He moved closer to the sounds and came upon an intersection. Just as he began to round the corner something grabbed him. He screamed. A large weight slamming into him and knocking him to the ground, a horrendous smell washing over him. A figure collapsed on top of him, it looked like a man, or at least what was left of a man. The skin was dark and wrinkled, eyes gray, mouth full of black broken teeth and covered in dried blood.  William continued to scream as he struggled to push the thing off of him, its mouth snapping wildly at him writhing violently. William struggled with the creature for what felt like an eternity when finally it found its mark, sinking its teeth deep into his forearm. He felt the warm blood run down his arm and white hot pain shot through his body. Punching and kicking with all his might, trying to get the monster to relinquish its grip proved useless. The teeth sank deeper and deeper, muscles tearing until finally, he felt the bone in his forearm crack as the pain overtook him and his vision went blurry.

Somewhere around him, there were several large explosions, a rush of movement and voices and moments later the pressure on his arm subsided.

"We need a clamp!" a voice above him shouted. Williams' eyes felt like a thousand pounds and all he wanted was to sleep, despite the immense pain in his arm.

"Don't worry pal, you're gonna be ok." Another voice said. He felt someone holding his head, the lure of sleep still strong.

"This is my last one, lucky bastard." William felt someone take his arm and slip something around it just below his elbow.

"This is going to hurt, a lot." said a voice. There was a whirling of noise like a buzz saw and the ring on his arm got tighter and tighter, the pain forcing his vision to work again. He looked down and saw a thick metal ring around his arm, the light slowly building from within it. The ring stopped buzzing suddenly and there was a bright flash of light and an incredible heat in his arm. Looking again just in time to see his hand and most of his forearm fall off and hit the ground.  

William blacked out.

[tospeakandlisten-blog]

#750aday- The Black Steel Pt.1

The great hall was vast and full of glorious paintings of previous kings and queens. Beautiful hand woven tapestries lined the wall and gold painted tile covered the floors making the whole room full of brilliant stunning light at all times. At the end of the hall sat a large and stunning throne, covered in precious metals and beautiful gems, a gift from the czar from when the kingdom first came to power in this part of the world. The great battle that set the tone of the world for centuries to come and forged a great alliance between the two kingdoms.

Two voices came from the hall, one from the throne itself, the current king Jaral Highgrave, the other from just in front of him. Two men sat, already deep in conversation. 

"Do you remember the day my father banished us from his castle for a whole week for what we did to the hand maidens dresses? I don't think I ever saw him so mad before." The king said, laughing slightly. He somehow looked strong and fragile all at once, as if decades of leading a kingdom had worn him down.

"That was a good summer wasn't it," The other man said.

"Calager, how long have you been my guard?" the king asked.

"Since the day I was able to swing a sword." Said Calager. "Your father insisted I be trained, said it was my birth rite." "More like he didn't want to the headache of attempting to separate us." they both laughed.

"...I do miss him." the king said, looking down at his throne, the seat his father sat for many years as a great leader of the Highlands.

"He would have been proud of the man you've become," Calager said, reaching forward and placing a hand of his king's knee. The king smiled.

"You're a great friend Calager, I would not have been able to be the king I am without your help and your counsel."

The two men continued to reminisce about their childhood, about fond memories, great adventures, school boy romances, and also about how their lives were changed forever the day the great king was lost to the black fever and a young boy of barely fifteen was thrust upon the throne and forced to shoulder the burden of his kingdom those many years ago. Today was the anniversary of that day and the two friends we're deep into remembrance. Somewhere behind them was a loud crack reverberated through the large hall and caused both men to jump slightly, Calagar's hand jumping immediately to the hilt of his sword.  He spun around to see a figure standing at the end of the hall, tall, draped in a black hooded cloak.

"Who are you and who gave you permission to enter the king's hall?" Calager shouted, approaching slowly, hand still firmly clasped on his sword.

"Who I am is of no importance to you. I am here for him." came a mans voice from beneath the blackness of the hood, a hand raising and pointing towards the king.

"Take one step closer and I'll ruin these floors with your insides," Calager said firmly. He unsheathed his sword and held it in front of him. His palms began to sweat in his gloves. The rest of the kings guard we on the other side of the castle for training exercises,  a decision that Calager himself had made that morning.

The hall sat still and quiet, the only sounds were the three men breathing, anticipation and dread thick in the air. The man spoke at last.

"Do not put your life on the line of fate, as fate will always defeat you. This cannot be stopped or changed. Any attempt at such will only lead to unnecessary bloodshed.

Calager heard enough. He stepped forward swiftly, raising his blade in one motion and at the moment the blade would find its mark came another loud and shocking crack, and the man was gone, Calager's sword slicing the empty air and hitting the ground with a noisy clatter.

Spinning quickly, his heart jumped. The man stood there behind the king, a dagger of black steel held to his throat.

"Please..." Calager sputtered, suddenly his most vulnerable. His king, his lord, his best friend's life now held in the hands of this man. He never felt so powerless in all his years protecting the king.

"You will remember this day, as the day that you learned that everyone, not even the king can escape their fate."

There was a flash of movement, a spray of crimson, and another exploding crack, and the man was gone.

[tospeakandlisten-blog]

#750aday -Darkness Beyond

Old Mister Wilkens screamed, blood pouring out of the jagged and torn hole in his chest, grasping out with his hands in a futile effort as the beast slowly crawled its way towards him. The moonlight glistened against the blood that now covered the grassy moor, the air full of copper and gun powder. The other villagers rushed forward, the cracking of gunfire filled the night and the beast howled in protest, lunging forward in a furious rage. There were more screams, followed by an explosion of blood and flesh, limbs, and organs scattered everywhere as the beast ripped its way through the men.

Jasper Ravenfold galloped into the glen, his horse a blaze of dark hair and muscle. He pushed the animal faster as he witnessed the carnage and brutality that lay before him. Raising his rifle, he fired three quick shots towards the beast, the silver bullets slamming into the beast's chest, it roared in protest, dark red blood poured out of the newly formed holes and it fell to the ground. Jasper came to a stop in front of the dying beast and dismounted his horse and approached it slowly, pulling the solid silver knife from its sheath and preparing to give the monster it's final blow.

Suddenly the world was filled with light, a rushing of wind and sound.

"Jimmy, how many times do I have to tell you about reading those horror books so late at night?"  a voice came from outside the world. The covers were ripped over and a small boy, maybe eight years old lay in his bed, a dark and violent comic book in front of his face and a small flashlight clenched between his teeth.

"But mooooooom, it's getting really good!" Jimmy protested, spitting the flashlight out and grabbing for the comic, but his mother was too quick, snatching the book from his grasp. She looked briefly at the cover, a snarling and angry werewolf face looked back at her and she shook her head in disgust.

"I told you I don't want you reading this filth, let alone right before bed! It's going to give you nightmares." She said, shoving it in her robe.

Jimmy flipped himself around and allowed his mother to tuck him into bed once again, His mind still enthralled with the adventures of Jasper Ravenfold. His father had given the boy the comics, much to his mother's protest, before he had shipped off for this most recent tour. He had been obsessed with the stories, full of werewolves, vampires, zombie men and the like. It was everything a boy of his age needed to ensure many sleepless nights for himself and many stressful ones for his mother.

Laying in his bed, heart still beating quick from his adventures. He looked around his room at all the posters and movie figures, the moon light shining through his window enough for him to see everything well. He rolled over to face the window, the thumping of a storm in the distance. The moon was full tonight, making it the perfect for a werewolf story. Calming down now, he tried to find sleep, the gentle thunder lulling him to sleep and he almost grasped it when he heard a scratching at his window. His eye's snapped open and he searched for the source of the sound but found none. Maybe mom, was right, reading those comics this late at night may be messing with his head. He rolled back over again when he heard it again, this time louder and this time his panic got the best of him. Yanking the covers up over his head he squeezed his eyes shut, attempting to convince himself there was nothing there. After several minutes of tense silence, he willed himself to take another look, and this time he wished he hadn't.

There was a face staring back at him, white and gaunt, without pupils and with massive jagged teeth. It seemed to be staring past him, more so, into him. Jimmy shouted and rolled out of his bed, landing hard on the floor covering his head. Fear like he had never known before filled him. He tried to call to his mother, but he was too afraid the thing would hear him. He reached under his bed and pulled out his BB gun, cocked it and waited, trying to get the courage to look again.

After what felt like an eternity he braved himself enough to take a peek. Poking his head over his bed he looked out the window again. The face was gone. Jimmy let out a sigh of relief. It must have been in his head. His mother always said this would happen after reading his comics so late, his mind was obviously playing tricks on him.

He laid back down in his bed, resting the BB gun beside him just in case. Closing his eyes he tried to keep his mind off of anything scary, thinking about taking his bike through all the puddles the storm would leave tomorrow.

Jimmy fell asleep at last, vowing to keep his nightmare induced reading to daylight hours only when somewhere downstairs there was an explosion of broken glass and his mothers scream filled the night.

[tospeakandlisten-blog]

#750aday - The Bookstore Job

"Are you sure this is the right time." glancing at the door to the building.

"Of course, she always shows up to open the store around ten. Just be patient."

Jonah fidgeted with his gloves. "Sorry, this is just my...uh..it's my first time.."

Clark looked over at him. "Jesus fucking Christ, when were you planning on telling me this?"

"I don't know man, I just wanted you to give me a chance and I knew if I told you I was green you'd back out."

Clark exhaled sharply. "Yeah well, it's too fucking late now. So just do what I told you and we'll be fine." He adjusted the mirror of the van slightly shaking his head in frustration. "She'll be there any minute. Remember, you go in, ask her what I told you and while she's distracted I'll pick the back door lock and sneak around behind her. I'll be quick, so as long you hold your shit together we'll be in and out of there no problems."

"Yeah..." Jonah said, his face full of worry. "What if she fights us?"

Clark gave a small laugh. "She's not going to fight us. If she starts sketching out, pull your piece and she'll do whatever you want. They always do." Jonan nodded slowly. "Yeah...right."

Glancing in the mirror again Clark saw a mid-twenties girl unlocking the store the van was parked near. "Here we go," he said. " Let's give her a few minutes to get settled and then we'll head in."

Jonah nodded. "Hey man, thanks for letting me help you with this. Mike recommended you highly, especially after how the London job went so well."  

"Yeah well it's not like I had a choice, I do what the boss says and for whatever fucking reason he wanted me to bring you on this." his tone was tight and his eyes were fixed on the mirror, watching the store behind them.

"So what will happen...ya know...uh...after?" Jonah asked sheepishly.

"The fuck you mean after? We'll go back to the boss and deliver the goods. Simple as that."

"No, I mean with her. What will happen to her?"

"Listen, man, if you're going to ask this many questions this business might not be the best fit for you. There are things to worry and ask about and there are things that are better off just not knowing ya know. Keep your head clear and don't think about it. It'll be much easier to sleep at night if you do." Clark said and for a moment it sounded like he was actually trying to be helpful instead of the gruff tough guy he was so far but Jonah's stomach still turned at the words.

"Now cut the small talk and let's work. It's time."

"Right" Jonah took a deep breath and opened the van door and began to walk over to the store. The street around them was pretty much empty which made him feel slightly better. He wanted to involve as few people in this as he could.

Opening the door to the small book store he remembered his instructions and began to casually peruse the books.

"Good Morning!" came a pleasant voice from the counter. It was her. His heart beat picked up instantly.

"Morning," he replied, mindlessly scanning the books. He pulled a novel at random off the shelf and looked at it. "The Undercover Mind: Behind the Worlds Largest Undercover Operations." He flipped the book over once before putting it back on the shelf.

"Can I help you find anything?" The girl in the front called out to him.

"Actually yeah, you can," Jonah said, walking up to the front counter.

"I'm looking for a book on kidnapping." he said, struggling to keep his eyes and voice casual.

"Well, let's see what we have on on that..." She trailed off and began typing on the computer in front of her. Jonah looked towards the back of the store and could see light slowly creeping in as the back door opened.

"Were you looking for fiction or non-fiction?" the girl asked and Jonah stuttered with his answer.

"I, uh, yeah non-fiction if you have that."

"Umm ok." she said and continued typing on the computer.

Jonah looked again and saw Clark walking slowly towards them, his pistol raised and aimed at the girls head.

"Alright sweetheart, let's take this nice and easy." He said, just feet away from the counter.

The girl gasped and spun around, Clark's gun staring her right in the face.

"What the hell!" She yelled.

"You're coming with us, little lady. If you want to leave here alive you'll do exactly as we say."

At his words, she turned towards Jonah who now had his own pistol raised aimed at the girl. Her eyes sank in disappointment.

She paused for a moment before turning back towards Clark, her eyes calm and steady.

"Do you have any idea who my father is?" She said, her voice suddenly cold and steely. A strong scowl across her face.

"Oh yes," Clark said. "And that's exactly why we're here."

[tospeakandlisten-blog]

#750aday- The Groundskeeper

Edgar looked down at his watch. It was only ten minutes until 3 am. Taking off his glasses, he rubbed his eyes. He had thought about getting one of those tablets his grandchild were all obsessed with, but he knew he'd end up more frustrated than relaxed. 

Looking around the tiny shack, filled with nothing more than his chair, a small desk, a phone, an old shovel and a small radio he sometimes listened to music with. He knew thought about getting another puzzle, that had given him a few nights of entertainment at least. This job could be painfully boring at time, but it was his for the past thirty years and he always found a way to make it though the night. 

Edgar looked down at his chart. Three tonight. His knees ached just thinking about it. He took a sip of lukewarm coffee and stood up. Walking over to the door, he grabbed the old shovel from the corner and stepped outside. The air was cold and still, bright moonlight reaching out through the tree branches illuminating the graveyard in front of him.

Using the shovel as a walking stick, Edgar made his rounds through the dim cemetery slowly trying to stretch his legs some, wincing slightly as he climbed the hill, his knees protesting the journey altogether. 

The timer on his watch beeped just as he reached the gate that led outside. Reaching up, he closed the gate shut and locked it, turning to face the large collection of graves in front of him. He scanned the area slowly, listening hard. After a few minutes he heard it. A muffled banging sound. He started towards it as the noise got louder and louder. He finally reached where the sounds were coming from and came to a stop in front of a grave marked carefully with a black rose.

The banging came to a crescendo and there was a blast of dirt and wood as a hand shot up through the ground, nails chipped, flesh rotten and grey, clawing at the air violently. Edgar waiting patiently as the creature torn through it's encasement slowly, pulling itself free from the dirt. It was almost free when over his shoulder he heard two more sets of banging. Shit. They were closer together then he hoped. 

Edgar raised the shovel above his head and brought it down hard towards the creatures head but instinctively it raised it's arms at the last moment to block the blow. The blade of the tool stuck an inch or so into its head in a wet CHUNK sound and with a groan the creature shoved the handle upwards throwing Edgar and the shovel backwards. 

Rolling onto his knees, he struggled to get up but before he could he was hit hard by something. The corpse fell onto him hard, knocking his air out, teeth snapping hard at him. Using the shovel handle he pushed as hard as he could, turning and tossing the creature off him. He stumbled to his feet and backed up. All three of them were out now and making their way towards him. This wasn't good, but he had a plan.

Making his way back towards the shack, he weaved in and out of the grave stones until he got where he wanted. Looking back, all three of the dead were stumbling towards him in a row down a narrow path of large head pieces. 

 Taking a deep breath, he raised the end of the shovel and charged forward as fast as his rusted knees would take him. He hit the first one hard in the chest, the shovel head making a sickening sound as it pushed it's way into what remained of the creatures organs. 

All three creatures were pushed back and Edgar used all the energy he had to finally topple them over. Moving quickly, one by one he placed the end of the shovel into their mouths and stomped down hard with a wet CRACK. Their body fell still and he collapsed on the grass exhausted. He hadn't had this much trouble since his first few weeks and wondered for a moment if he should consider retiring. But those thoughts could wait. 

Walking back to the shack he put the shovel back into the corner and sat down, pulling the old rotary phone on the desk towards him. He entered the number and waited. Soon a voice on the other end came on.

"Job confirmed. Next Job is Four. Prepare accordingly."

Edgar hung up the phone and pulled out the chart and marked a four next to tomorrows date. He looked at the number while rubbing his aching knees. Maybe it was time to consider retirement after all.

[tospeakandlisten-blog]

#750aday - The Jump

"Will it hurt?" He asked, his shoes tapping nervously against the metal grate of the platform.

"Reports show no physical trauma during transmission" the technician said, his eyes glued to the panel in front of him.

Williams stomach twisted. He tried to distract myself by doing his checks again. He tightened the straps of his parachute and took a quick pull from his re-breather.

"You keep doing that, and you're going to run out your supply before you even jump." the technician said, glancing over at him.

"I'm just scared I guess." William said, trying to not let his voice shake.

"Perfectly natural." Said the tech. "Try not to think about it. Trust me, some people show up far less prepared then you."

"Really?" William asked.

"Oh yeah" the tech replied. "We had one guy last week, big fella, had to pretty much throw him through. He fought us the whole way. Was not pleased his number got pulled."

William thought back to the night his own number got pulled. His wife was understandably upset. They spent the first few nights crying together and then the rest making plans and drinking heavily. They both decided it was best to not tell the children, not yet at least. She would tell them when they were old enough to understand. He left them all a note to be given to them at the right age. He knew they would be fine. The lottery compensates the families of those chosen incredibly well.

"Five minutes." the tech said. He flipped a toggle on his control panel and the large metal ring in front of William started to hum with electricity.  

Williams shivered, shaking the nervousness out of his arms and legs.

"Will it take long?" He asked, he voice cracking slightly.

"Transmission is almost completely instant." He said.

William had seen the videos, watched the interviews. There had only ever been one person to make it back after a jump. Jerry Smith. Thirty Five years old. He was member of batch #227. Jerry showed up three years and six months after his initial transmission. Claimed he had jumped just hours ago. His appearance is what sparked the initial lottery. At first people were excited. It was an honor to be chosen, to be among the great jumpers. A chance to make history forever. Some people trained for years, preparing their bodies and minds for whatever could happen IF they were even pulled. Dedicated everything they had to their chance.

Then the deaths happened.

Jerry was  the only one to make it back, alive that is. There were reports all over the globe of people appearing suddenly in the middle of train tracks, thousands of feet in the air, a few even popped up in the middle of lakes and oceans. The company tried hard to keep these occurrences as hushed as possible as it might cause an uproar about the lottery. For the most part they succeeded. There were a few public deaths yes, but the bulk of the "bad batches" were covered up. The only reason William knew about this was his jumper briefings. You get quite a lot of perks as a jumper it turned out, besides your family being set for life, you also got a three hour pass to the restricted library files where all the company's information on the program were kept. He figured the heads of the company felt bad enough about needing so many human trials to tune the machine that they might as well share what progress was made so far.

William had studied the files extensively. Which oddly enough made him feel slightly better. He was in batch #756 and at this point of the testing they had much better control of the machine then previous batches, being able to narrow the field down to close to earths surface as possible. There was still an astronomical risk of ending up a mile in the air or a mile below the surface of the water, but those risks were lower than any batch before him. So in a way, yeah, it made him feel slightly better.

"Two minutes." The stoic voice being him control panel said.

"Where are your directions?" He asked looking up at William.

William took a deep breath a repeated the words once again out loud.

"My prime initiative is to make contact with the company as soon as possible and return to this facility if I am able."

"Good." the tech said, looking back down at his panel. There was another click and the edge of the ring in front of William began to glow blue and the humming grew louder.

He knew there was a very slim chance of him completing his directive but having something to focus on helped his nerves.

"One minute."

William closed his eyes and thought about his wife. About his two beautiful children, his mother and father and all the ones who had made this sacrifice before him. He held on tight to the straps of his suit, the whining of the machine in front of his growing slowly louder, a slight pull began around his hips.

"It's best to not resist. Try and relax." The tech yelled over the humming.

William tried to relax but failed. His head was whirling and he felt out of breath. He hoped for the best.

"Please be America." he whispered. "Please don't be too long."

He looked done again at the display on his arm.

[Sept. 25th 2043: 1659]

He took another deep breath.

There was a loud snapping noise and William was yanked forward through the ring and instantly slammed hard into something. He quickly shook himself off and tried to make it too his feet. He had fallen onto what looked like an old abandoned street.

He looked down at his display once more.

[Sept. 25th 2266: 1700]

William had jumped 223 years into the future. William had made it, and he was alive.