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2023.06.04 05:30 PunkrockPopeye Beat Em'!
 | "Beat Em'!" submitted by PunkrockPopeye to funny [link] [comments] Sometime among the events of the very first Kinder Cosmic... The director of the United States Space Force marches back and forth before a gathered group of several hardened space marines all standing at attention within a large training room as he addresses the group with a general Patton like speech. USSF Director: Ladies and gentlemen...We are at the precipice of the dawn of a new age! *The group murmurs amongst one another curiously. USSF Director: Time and time again threats from opposing galaxies, dimensions, and outer worlds; some beyond the very realm of human comprehension have descended upon our little blue marble suspended in space and threatened our quality of life, our society, our safety, our sovereignty and our very existence! *Several members of the group shudder and gasp as the director continues his sermon. USSF Director: If the citizens of this United States, no...The very world itself are to maintain our status qu- *The group diverts their attention behind the director towards the sound of a loud, laborious sigh. *The director shoots a disapproving glare at the alien grey known as Alpha as he continues to speak. USSF Director: As of late, the only force standing between the citizens of this planet and total annihilation has been... The lady astronaut and appointed liaison to the greys; one Luna Valentina gently pushes the little grey alien known as Jorg towards the middle of the room as she whispers in his earholes. Luna: ...Go ahead, Jorg! *Dressed in a bright red silk dress and miniskirt with a purple bandanna tied tightly around the crown of his head; Jorg stares at the hem of his dress with either side clasped tightly within his hands as he swings his hips from side to side and hums happily as the dress flutters back and forth. The USSF Director sighs apathetically as he continues to speak, pointing at the little grey now standing beside him. USSF Director: W-What... *The Director shields his mouth and whispers to Alpha and Luna as Jorg continues swaying unmoved and unbothered. USSF Director: What th-....What is this? *Luna laughs and smiles as she replies patiently. Luna: The only way I could get him to cooperate is if I let him wear his dress! *The Director stares at Jorg still humming and fluttering from side to side and then Alpha confusedly. Alpha: He thinks it makes him stronger... *Luna giggles as she follows Alpha’s words. Luna: He...he doesn't understand how feminism works! *The Director stares at the flamboyant grey and then Alpha once more. *Alpha throws his hands up as he replies. Alpha: Who the hell am I to tell him otherwise? As far as I know it probably does! *The USSF Director sighs frustratedly as he quips. USSF Director: Jesus fucking Christ...Can he fight wearing it? *Alpha smirks mischievously as he speaks. Alpha: ...Jorg? Jorg can fight in anything, anywhere, at anytime! USSF Director: Fine...Well I guess we'll conti- *Suddenly the Director is interrupted by a massive, muscled and imposing Sergeant who addresses the group obnoxiously. Sergeant: Why is that little alien wearing a fuckin' miniskirt!? Luna snaps defensively. Luna: HE'S IN TOUCH WITH HIS FEMININE SIDE! *A private nearby mutters knowingly. Private: Well, I heard that lil' shit is completely unhinged! *The group of hardened space marines murmur amongst one another as Luna plants her hands on her hips and speaks once more. Luna: NO HE ISN’T! HE SAVED YOUR IGNORANT ASSES! *The Sergeant points at the preoccupied grey as he speaks once again. Sergeant: That scrawny, 80 lbs, ugly ass little critter? Saved what? Ru Paul's drag race? *The private glares at the Sergeant standing beside him confusedly as he continues to speak. Private: Where the hell have you been man!? You didn't hear about what happened in Tulsa? *The Sergeant cuts a sidelong glance at the private as he continues to speak. Sargeant: Stationed abroad... No phones, or internet, or TV, or electricity, or running water...not even a fuckin working toilet! So no...I don't know "what happened in Tulsa". Private: ...Oh. Well I HEARD he leveled half a city fighting some interstellar Lovecraftian planet killer... USSF Director: OFFICIALLY THAT WAS A LEVEL 4 EARTHQUAKE! Private: SURE BOSS! whatever y'all say, it's not like it hasn't been cycling all over Tiktok for months... USSF Director: RUSSIAN PROPAGANDA! A DIVERSIONARY TACTIC TO UNDERMINE UNITED ST- *Alpha sighs again loudly. *As the group continues to bicker incessantly the USSF Commander from "Kinder Cosmic: Paradise Lost" strolls into the training room and smiles with a large grin as he leans against a supply depots consignment widow and addresses it's quartermaster casually. Commander: Has it started yet!? QuarterMaster: ....Has what started yet? *The Commander grins mischievously as he continues to speak. Commander: Say...Are you a bettin' man? Quarter Master: On what exactly? Commander: Costello over there of course! *The Quarter Master stares at the grey still preoccupied with his pretty dress and then the Commander once again. Quarter Master: That sick lookin, effeminate little space midget against ALL OF THEM!? *The Commander smiles knowingly. Commander: You bet your ass! *The QuarterMaster doubles a glance back and forth between the grey and the Commander as he speaks. QuarterMaster: How drunk are you? Commander: VERY! QuarterMaster: How much do you wanna put down on him? *The Commander reaches into his pocket then slams several stacks of money upon the window's table as he speaks. Commander: My ENTIRE goddamned pension! *The Quarter Master stares at the little grey smiling as he swings in his pretty red dress and then the hardened military veterans and finally, the grinning Commander once more. Quarter Master: You're on! *The USSF Director silences the gathered, bickering and murmuring group as he interjects. USSF Director: QUIET! *The group of military commandos quickly stand at attention as the USSF Director commences pacing and continues his addressment once again while Luna smiles knowingly and Alpha shakes his head from side to side...also knowingly. USSF Director: THE POINT IS! That we're facing a potential threat that is completely out of human understanding, the very laws of physics itself and our current martial capabilities! *The USSF Director points at the greys; Alpha’s arms folded as he stands like a solemn statue and Jorg still hyperfocused as he busily plays with his red dress. USSF Director: Although they ARE friendl- *Alpha’s face sours distastefully as he hisses underbreath. Alpha: Pshhh... *The Director darts a sharp glare at Alpha who returns it with a twisted, smug expression and then at Luna who shrugs her shoulders casually. USSF Director: ....Although they ARE NOT THE ENEMY we can not let the future of humanity... *The Director stares at Jorg who is still absolutely lost within his own world as he continues to speak. USSF Director: ...Rest upon the strapless shoulder blades of one four and a half foot; morally and mentally compromised little...whatever in the hell this thing is. *The Director points towards Jorg as he flutters and sways repeatedly. *Luna retorts defensively as Alpha comments sarcastically. Luna: HEY! Alpha: Well...I mean, he's right. Man's still kinda a misguided idiot but when he's right he's right! *The Director glares at Alpha once more as his subordinates murmur and contemplate his directive aloud amongst one another. Private: We are so, so, so completely and utterly screwed... *The Sergeant standing besides the private shrugs apathetically as he speaks. Sergeant: I don't see what the big deal is... *The director marches to and fro once again as he continues to speak. USSF Director: That being said! The ONLY WAY to adjust our combat to this new enemy is simulated combat WITH THE ENEMY! Private: I'M NOT FIGHTING THOSE THINGS! *Alpha smiles slyly and quips sarcastically as The Director retorts with a commanding tone. Alpha: ....Sissy! USSF Director: Oh yes you will private! Unless of course you want... AN EXTRA WORK DETAIL! Private: GOD-DAMNIT! *The Director grins as he continues to speak. USSF Director: Besides! You'll only be facing a single extraterrestrial opponent today, Alpha has adamantly refused to participate in this exercise... *Alpha retorts sharply. Alpha: I said, "You can go fuck yourself", that's what I said. *Luna erupts with a riotous laughter as the USSF Director glares at Alpha in return. *The Sergeant points towards Jorg still playing with his fluttering dress. Sergeant: And lil' Miss Doubtfire over here? HE'S supposed to be our opponent!? *Luna beams with pride as she retorts. Luna: I wouldn't underestimate Jorg! He's wildly talented! Sergeant: At what!? Martha Stewart style homesteading? *The group snickers as Luna giggles and returns a mischievous grin and then quips once more. Luna: THAT TOO! *Alpha clarifies casually as the group murmurs and looks on at the little grey still lost amongst the surrounding atmosphere. Alpha: Consent for Jorg is kind of a non-issue, he's barely aware of where he is half the time. When goaded he does have a certain instinctive enthusiasm for martial combat under the right conditions. I don't even know where he learned it, he just came back one day and knew it innately. Like a telekinetic amalgamation of something between Ong-Bak and Jet Li... *The Private stares at the little grey in suspended disbelief. Private: Under...what conditions? *Alpha grins knowingly; as he responds. Alpha: Basically...You've got to manage to piss him off. Private: "Piss him off?" *The Sergeant cracks his knuckles as he smiles belligerently. Sergeant: Well this should be easy! *Alpha shrugs unknowingly. Alpha: Maybe...Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't! To evoke this reaction from Jorg or to "Piss him off"; it is like this ingrained psychological trigger. It isn't so much guided as a form of premeditated anger as a kind of pro-active defense mechanism. He's not even really fully aware when he does it. I think it may be a kind of "Fight or Flight" reaction he just does. Except Jorg...well...Jorg pretty much always chooses to fight. *The privates eyes widen curiously as he stares the little grey up and down before him. Private: Is he...is he dangerous!? *The USSF Commander laughs heartily as he slams his hand upon the provisional warehouse window and retorts excitedly. USSF Commander: YOU CAN BET YOUR ASS HE IS! *The QuarterMaster glares at the USSF Commander as he chimes in. QuarterMaster: I wanna replace my bet! *The USSF Commander replies snarkily. USSF Commander: TOO LATE ASSHOLE! *Alpha, Luna, The Director and the group of soldiers all divert their attention towards the Commander and QuarterMaster until Alpha continues speaking. Alpha: Jorg!? Dangerous? I mean...IF YOU DESERVE IT then I dunno... *Alpha shrugs apathetically. Alpha: ...Maybe? I really doubt he'd actively kill anyone though. *The private throws his hands into the air and addresses Alpha frustratedly as the group murmurs amongst themselves once more. Private: THE FUCK YOU MEAN "MAYBE" AND YOU "DOUBT HE'LL KILL ANYONE"!? *Alpha shrugs once more... Alpha: It's Jorg...Jorg is Jorg! You'll see... *The private stares at the two greys one after another then retorts underbreath as he turns to walk away. Private: I'm so not fuckin doing this... USSF Director: MORE WORK DETAIL! Private: GODDAMNIT! Sergeant: Well I think they're full of shit... Private: THEY TORE APART AN ENTIRE MILITARY BASE "JUST BECAUSE". Sergeant: Of Non-combatant "week-long warriors" I bet! Might as well be a buncha national guardsmen...I mean...JUST LOOK AT HIM! *The Sergeant points towards Jorg still swaying giddily. Sergeant: ...There's no way in hell that little queer fella could take a seasoned soldier! *Luna retorts defensively. Luna: JORG ISN’T GAY! HE'S JUST SENSITIVE AND HE'S VERY SPECIAL! *Luna cuts her gaze towards Alpha seeking confirmation. Luna: He isn't...is he? *Alpha shrugs unknowingly and apathetically as the group murmurs amongst themselves once more. *The Private suddenly turns then approaches a series of lockers and containment bins stowing riot gear, defensive equipment and padded suits much like one that would be used to disarm a bomb or train a K-9 attack dog as nearly all of his peers follow suit... Private: I'm not fucking with this lil dude without my PPE! *The Sergeant snorts obnoxiously in response as he watches. Sergeant: I don't need that crap...Besides, it's hard to move or fight with all that bullshit on! Whatchu gonna do? Bumper car bang him to death with it? *The Private shrugs undisturbed. Private: ....Whatever! The crowd gathers all around the little grey warily; some armed with things like MMA gloves, hand-wraps, Batons and extended martial defense metallic rods as they all approach the grey from all angles. Suspicious and cautious at exactly what the little grey might do and exactly how he might respond. That is all but one, the boisterous military Sergeant who readies himself and then throws the very first strike at the seemingly defenseless and unsuspecting Jorg. Without ever even lifting his eyes from the hem of his dress, in a matter of moments warping the surrounding spectators very perception of time; Jorg shifts his head slightly towards the left as the Sergeant's fist narrowly misses the grey by a hair's length. *The USSF Commander slams his hand upon the provisional warehouses window once more as he retorts giddily. USSF Commander: HAH! What happens next can best be described through the conveyance of a matter of collective very short-lived and somewhat difficulty perceived moments. The next soldier and the next and the next and the next; all of them simultaneously rush towards the little grey slinging their fists and their weapons towards the inattentive and unbothered little grey. Jorg bobs, weaves, and feints his big grey bandanna wrapped head not unlike a hyperactive, super-powered Muhammad Ali; as fist and all flies from every perceivable angle, not ever touching him...not even once, his attention still diverted towards his fluttering dress all the while. Another military combatant rushes forewords and thrusts a kick towards the grey; to which he spins out of reach with seamless grace as yet another kick comes flying from it's opposing direction to which the grey quickly ducks then loops his body around from underneath...still playing with the hem of his pretty red dress still humming to himself gleefully as Luna erupts with laughter. Sergeant: What...what the hell IS THIS!? Luna: I TOLD YOU! Private: He....He never even LOOKED at us...NOT ONCE! *The Director stares at Luna and Alpha then questions them curiously. USSF Director: Why isn't he defending himself? Alpha: ...Probably because Jorg doesn't see any of you as a threat. *The boisterous military Sergeant walks towards Jorg then plants a single finger upon his forehead then slowly pushes him backwards; to which Jorg sways back then forwards then rests in the exact same position of which he'd originally been. Sergeant: What do you mean he doesn't see us as a threat? *Alpha responds casually. Alpha: I mean exactly what I said! Jorg only reacts when driven towards it from an outside stimulus; when he himself, someone he cares about, or perhaps even others are under certain conditions of diress such as a threat or pressure or the friction of oncoming conflict. It is very difficult to tell exactly when this trigger will set off from an outside perspective but FOR JORG these lines are ingrained within his very being. It's like a reflex, he doesn't even have to think about it. Private: How is it he can move so quickly like that? I could barely even see him doing it! Alpha: Part of it is because Jorg instinctively compounds his telekinesis with Kinetic energy. The other is because he's clairvoyant, prophetic even. This doesn't just apply to the precepts of time or it's passage through the universe itself but also to an outside stimulus. But just like almost all things concerning Jorg; he isn't fully aware of what he's doing and what he does it its all interdependent on outside stimulus and outside perception and interpretation. In short, Jorg is like a living mirror in everything he does and reasons for doing them. A reflection of one's self whether they even realize it or not. He could punch through a two inch steel wall or bulletproof plate glass window faster than you could blink if he wanted to... *Alpha shrugs casually. Alpha: ...Only problem is it takes alot for Jorg to actively feel inclined to do so. Well...sometimes. All that being said apparently he sees absolutely none of you as an inclination for him to act...and so...he doesn't. He doesn't see any of you as a threat! *The Sergeant fumes angrily and frustratedly as he stares at the preoccupied little alien frustratedly and then speaks angrily. Sergeant: WHADDYA MEAN "HE DOESN'T SEE ME AS A THREAT"!? I'M A GODDAMNED NAVY SEAL! I DID TWO TOURS IN AZKABAN! *Alpha replies to the Sergeant flatly and unflinching. Alpha: Exactly what I just said...Your limited human capabilities and physicality to Jorg is a non-issue. You're not big enough, strong enough, forceful enough or physically capable through your own recognizance of being a perceivable threat to him. *The Sergeant stands from the opposing side of the playful grey in the little red dress then angrily unbuttons and unholsters his service weapon as he holds it in both hands, pointed towards the ground. *The USSF Commander laughs a riotous laugh as he spectates from the warehouse window some distance away then pounds the desk upon it once more as he goads the Sergeant playfully. USSF Commander: YOU GET EM HOSS! *The Commander quickly turns towards it's QuarterMaster then whispers as he winks towards his glare. USSF Commander: ....Fucking idjit! *Luna’s eyes widen with worry as she begins to speak. Luna: I WOULDN'T DO TH- *Alpha calmly places a gentle hand upon Luna’s shoulder as he knowingly interjects solemnly yet very mischievously. Alpha: Nah....Let em'. The Sergeant steadies his firearm upon the grey methodically as all of his compatriots watch onwards nervously. And what happens next, again...Can best be explained by a breakdown of a series of events that through our perception of time unfolded within a matter of moments. ...But to Jorg himself? Well, that's another matter entirely. Just like one perceptive light switch suddenly being flicked on from deep, deep, deep within Jorg’s psyche. The little grey suddenly raises his head; his black, saucer shaped eyes widened with a perfectly aligned subconscious awareness. One of them twitching erratically above a maddened grin as above and all throughout this training room; the loud deafening roar of electric guitar reverberates one ear-splitting and most deafening melody. Loudly cutting through the awkward silence not unlike a high-powered circular saw this melody is that of the song "Beat It" the cover of an infamous Michael Jackson tune preformed by the band "Fall Out Boy". https://youtu.be/Qt54wA7Z2LY And as this guitar melody drones and roars throughout the intercom and sirens of the facility all around; As Alpha smirks smugly and Luna laughs...and then gasps. What follows suit could be quite accurately articulated as a series of movements so perceivably fast, powerful, and deadly accurate that one could quite convincingly say that Jorg DID move faster than a human could blink. He quickly utilizes his telekinetic energy with one hand to jerk the firearm out from within the Sergeant's grasp not unlike a vaulted football ripped from between a running back's fingers. And as this pistol flies and spins towards Jorg he launches himself into the air, quickly preforming a spinning back kick that smacks against the gun sending it ricocheting and flipping once more until it hurtles directly dead center of the Sergeant's face sending him spiraling and sprawled out upon the ground nearby while the gun itself deflects, is thrown against a nearby wall and then misfires. Space Marine: SHIT...MY LEG! And as the lyrics of the song echo and vibrates all throughout this training room, quaking its walls and cushioned floormats with every progressing spoken word; the frightened private quickly turns to sprint in the other direction, absolutely ANY direction away from Jorg. But little did he know; it was far, far, far too late... Jorg harnesses his telekinetic energy to rip the man's legs out from beneath him, as he does Jorg quickly sprints forward, leaps into the air again like a telekinetic grasshopper then dead drops his knee into the private's back. As Jorg "ground and pounds" the back of the privates combat protective headgear repeatedly in rapid succession; not unlike quick repeating Wing-Chun punches into the back of the man's head, striking and bouncing his forehead off of the training floor's cushioned material all to the rhythm of this melody. The surrounding marines look around at one another, murmuring in a stunned confusion as the private cries for help. Private: G-G-GET I- *WHACK! *BANG! *POW! *WHOMP! *THUMP-THUMP-THUMP! Private: GET IT OFFA ME! *The USSF Director points at the private then addresses the fearful combatants sternly. USSF Director: ...WELL!? HELP HIM! *One of the remaining combatants turns to kick Jorg off of the private when the grey quickly stops then pivots as if in anticipation of said strike; catches the man's ankle then smiles with a malevolent grin before twisting it with a loud *CRACK! *Luna squints her eyes closed and winces painfully as Alpha grins a grin very much reflective of Jorg’s and they both comment. Luna: Oooooooh! Alpha: Fuck em'... Elsewhere at the provisional warehouse window the USSF Commander slams his hand down upon the table once more as he also comments; smiling at the QuarterMaster with a shit eating grin all the while. USSF Commander: That looked like it HURT LIKE HELL! GET EM' HOSS! *The QuarterMaster also comments, sneering distastefully. QuarterMaster: I fuckin' hate you... Elsewhere amongst the whirlwind of rapid, successful strikes and all to a melody; Jorg now stands his miniskirt fluttering in training room's AC cooled air along with the motion of his movements with the Marine's now broken ankle held between the palms of his hands; the man still wailing with pain. In an amount of time accumulating to less than the passage of a few seconds; the grey spins and leg sweeps the other man's remaining limb, tossing him upwards into the air before kicking him in the abdomen with a telekinetically reinforced strike that sends the man hurtling into and bouncing off of the nearest wall. As another approaching soldier moves in to strike Jorg the grey quickly hops a foot into the air once more; then quickly plants a deflective side kick in rapid, fluid succession into the center of the man's chest which sends him staggering back just a few paces. *The soldier hardens himself as he pounds his chest then closes in on Jorg once more. Space Marine: IS THAT ALL YOU GOT!? And as this melody continues to pound with a thunderous roar all throughout the training room; Jorg smiles a sadistic smile. While the man races forwards to preform a takedown upon the little grey, Jorg quickly and acrobatically dips his head and upper abdomen towards the ground. With a certain level of martial flexibility mirroring that of a Shaolin Monk the grey lifts the pad of his foot from behind towards where his head originally was, arching it upwards and from behind his backside with his torso now angled downwards, he then slams the bottom of his foot into the Marine's forehead; stunning him instantaneously. Jorg quickly rights his equilibrium and with a fluid, unceasing movement uses that very same leg to plant a telekinetically charged front kick into the man's sternum; sending him flying backwards and crashing into yet another padded wall. Space Marine: YOU CRAZY LITTLE SHIT! A remaining marine shouts at Jorg and then races towards him from a flanked position sending his own angled "axe kick" towards the grey's abdomen. And as this melody pounds and reverberates the ether all around from every perceivable direction; without so much as a moments hesitation, forethought, or consideration Jorg side steps then archs his own leg around the own man's "Axe Kick" locking it into place. *The Marine's eyes meet the grey's; whose deep, darkened saucer shaped eyes are deadlocked onto his own. Shining with a glossy, detached madness as the grey's smile widens. And with their legs locked in place, Jorg intentionally restricts the man's movement; the Marine's remaining free leg trembles as he utters words of fear and astonishment. Space Marine: Oh....SHI- *Before the man can even get the words out the grey hops into the air with his remaining leg with the other still locked in place, then uses his free leg to dropkick the soldier dead center of his chest with another telekinetically reinforced strike before quickly releasing his leglock to send the man vaulting into another padded wall not unlike a human bullet. And as this resounding melody finally tolls onwards towards it's completion; the little grey still stands in the middle of this training room. In the exact spot in which he'd originally began; surrounded by moaning, bloody, blackened and bruised human cadavers. Who at this point are each and all very, very much alive; though perhaps their pride...not so much. *Luna shakes her head from side to side as the USSF Director speaks. USSF Director: Well...we're never doing that again! *Alpha stares at the director and smiles with an air of apathy. Alpha: I could have told you but you'd never have listened... *The private spits a mouthful of blood onto the ground as he slowly gathers his strength to try to lift himself from it, next to the still unconscious Sergeant lying face down on the floormat beside him. Private: We are so...so...so fucked. *At the provisional warehouse window the QuarterMaster counts out the last of his debt and then slams it upon the table towards the USSF Commander's outstretched smile now grinning from ear to ear. USSF Commander: It was nice doin' business with you! QuarterMaster: Shut the hell up... |
2023.06.03 19:40 Seamoose_Art NoP 2177: Blue Moon [8]
Credit for the original story goes to u/spacepaladin15. I have to say, this was easily my favorite chapter to write. I hope you enjoy!
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Memory transcript subject: Trish, Venlil civilian
Date [Standardized Human Time]: February 29th, 2177
Location: Lower sprawl of City 23, Venlil Prime
It was a long drive back down to the Den, and the whole group held their breath for every second of it with spines bristling and skin crawling. To all of them, it felt like exterminators might appear behind them at any moment if they let themselves relax for so much as a second. The only noise (aside from the whiny roar of the engine) was the hiss of a spray bottle, as James disinfected the wound at Sasha’s side with some mild antiseptic and threw a light cover of bandages over the whole affair. Those aside, the vehicle was filled with a deathly silence.
By the time they were back at the Tipped Quill, even Beast seemed cowed. Trish set it down in the adjacent side-alley, and its doors opened without so much as a screech of the unoiled hinges. They silently disembarked for the bar with all the cheer of a funeral procession, each of them constantly sneaking looks behind them. James and Burai were in front, Tressa and Trish in back, with Sasha and the cargo shielded from all angles as though they were under attack. The thick tension in the air further silenced their movements, leaving only the sound of the ashen wind outside as they walked.
As soon as the door to the Den slid shut behind them, the tension snapped. A roar of exuberant emotion from every angle nearly pushed Trish to the ground, as the rest of them erupted with cheers. It was like being at the center of a supernova, a feeling of being crushed from all angles. Trish just barely managed to stay upright from the sudden shock, ears failing to adjust for several seconds to the new baseline of noise.
“—and just threw himself at them, crying some sob story about a human hunting him. And they bought it! They actually bought it!”
“No shit they bought it! What were they gonna do, let an opportunity to put those flamers to work pass them by?”
“You know, there was a fire escape ladder on the other side of the building. If you’d let me say something before jumping, maybe I wouldn’t need to pull this quill out of your side.”
“You and I both know we— mhfff— didn’t have that sort of time. ”
The dizzying whirl of socialization around her faded into a manageable hum, nervous sharp laughter giving way to more gentle chuckles as the adrenaline faded. Trish managed to drag herself to a chair, nausea fading but legs still shaky from the sudden outburst. She should’ve thought to bring earplugs.
“Hey Trish, you good? You’re looking pretty faint yourself…” James wrapped up his work and paced over to her, his face a bizarre mix of mirth and concern.
“Fine, I’m fine. Just a lot of noise, that’s all. Is Sasha OK?”
“Yeah, just a spine in her side from that fall. It didn’t get past skin, so she’ll be just fine. Here, why don’t I get you some… hmmm, how do you feel about champagne?”
“I don’t— Champagne?”
He grinned, almost literally ear-to-ear. “Yeah, ‘course! Or cider, if that’s more your style. You know, this is a big occasion! A mysterious unmarked bag from the same contact who got us those pistols last time, we can afford a bit of celebration!”
“...Cider sounds good. This has human amounts of alcohol, right? I don’t want to dull my perception if anything comes up.”
“Relax, relax! You’re acting like there’s a squad of exterminators waiting ‘till we’re drunk to kick the door down. Trust me, it’s all downhill from here! Here, let me get you a glass…”
—
The backpack was set upon a footrest, and all lamps trained on it to make a sort of spotlight. To a rapt and silent audience, Trish walked up to their little makeshift shrine and carefully unzipped the gray fabric.
After only a couple hours and far fewer drinks than might be expected, curiosity had gotten the better of them. They all knew it would be better to wait until morning to see what was in the backpack; for something as potentially monumental as this, being well-rested and sober would be invaluable. They kept their curiosity at bay for long, agonizing hours. But it couldn’t hold. Burai made some joke about holding a ceremony to open the thing, and that was all the push they needed.
Inside the backpack, an expensive-looking technological box lay cushioned in a nest of nondescript white fabric. Trish mercilessly gutted the bag, lifting the contents up high for all to see for a moment before placing the device on the spot where the backpack had set seconds prior. After a moment’s inspection, she found a clearly-marked button on the side which she pushed without so much as a moment’s consideration. A hiss of air and a blink from the green light on the side, and the entire box split in two before sliding open. The blast of heat from the inside made Trish recoil slightly. She peered in.
Her gaze was met by a small oval, glistening slightly under the light of heating elements and LEDs. Blue, glossy with a slightly rough texture, and barely the size of Trish’s paw. She ran a claw across the side; tiny bumps coated the surface. It was extremely warm to the touch. With great care, she lifted it from its metal cocoon and held it up for the rest of the group to see what exactly they’d risked life and limb for.
The only person who seemed to recognize it was Sasha, who all but collapsed at the sight. Mouth covered with a hand, eyes wide and frantic, breathing unsteady. Burai practically dragged her to a nearby chair.
“W-What the fuck? How? How!?”
“Sasha, are you—”
Without waiting for Burai’s question to finish, Tressa rushed over to her and practically tackled her with a hug. He was coming at her from an awkward angle, so rather than a graceful embrace, it ended up with him sliding down an arm head over tail. Undeterred, he righted himself and wrapped his tail around her shaking hand.
“Sasha, breath. Five seconds in, five seconds hold, five seconds out, remember? We’ve got you.”
Gradually, her breathing stabilized, and her hands began to steady. Her eyes, however, remained wild and dilated, still roughly focusing on the small blue object in Trish’s paws. After several long seconds, she finally took the hint and carefully set it back in the case.
“Sasha, talk to me. What is it?”
Sasha’s voice was still unsteady, hands still slightly trembling as she pointed at the container. “...What is it? Do… any of you know what that is? What you’ve brought?”
“It’s an egg, isn’t it? I mean, it’s in an incu—”
“It’s an Arxur.”
“...What?”
“That’s an Arxur’s egg.”
Her words rang out like a gunshot, leaving still silence in its wake as the rest of the group processed the meaning behind them. Each person went through a set of reactions in series, timings offset. Shock, disbelief, denial, awe. Their faces and tails formed a silent orchestra of emotion.
Burai was the first to recover, and the first to speak. “How are we going to feed it?”
Sasha looked at him as though he had three heads.
“Well, it’s not like we can get synthesized meat anymore… there’s not exactly anywhere it could hunt, either. Maybe we—”
“Feed it? What fucking part of Arxur don’t you understand!? This is the same species that tore… Burai, you were there! On the cradle, you saw what they did! You should remember better than anyone! They had no empathy, no morals… They killed for fun, ate children out of their parent’s arms! And you want to…”
Sasha’s voice broke, but she continued. “...you want to raise it?”
Burai met her gaze but did not answer. In a truly rare moment, he seemed to be at a loss for words. Sasha looked around at the rest of them; they all wore the same look of determination and all failed to justify their decision with so much as a whisper of argument.
“You want to raise it?” she repeated again, louder this time, as though questioning them at higher volume would make them realize the error of their ways. “Do you think it’ll love you because you were the one feeding it flesh from birth? And… then what? What about every other species in this goddamn ash heap, will it love them enough to starve itself?” She looked around expectantly, but was met with the same steel glares.
“Well? Say something!” she spat. “Any of you!”
“Sasha…” Burai began gently, “Do you remember when Cilany’s interview first leaked?”
It was Sasha’s turn to go silent with a cold glare, apparently not seeing where the question led. The rest of the room shuddered; they’d heard the story before. He continued regardless. “The news that the Gojid once ate meat… it hit a lot of people hard. I was in a refugee shelter on Earth at the time. Nobody took it well. Nobody even talked for days afterwards. I heard a couple people tore out their claws and tried to remove their teeth. And there was this one kid… Teveq.
“He was so energetic, always off doing something. With the pups, usually, keeping them out of trouble. Or praying. He prayed to the Great Protector every night for his family to be found hiding somewhere on the cradle. Or sketching, buildings and burrows and skyscrapers. He wanted to be an architect, told me about it a few times. He was always so chatty… he kept me company when I couldn’t even bear to get out of bed. I found him in his room a couple days after we learned. He had a gun to his head.
“He didn’t pull the trigger, but it didn’t make a difference. He stopped eating, stopped talking. He stopped crying too after a few days, and he was just a breathing corpse, a corpse that lost more and more weight each day. He didn’t even pray anymore. The god he’d prayed to for protection hated him.
“When the Kolshians surrounded Earth, he didn’t leave. He wanted to burn. He thought he deserved it, because his people once ate meat.”
Sasha’s look of rage was replaced with sheer horror, but he wasn’t done. “The Federation killed him. Tore out his heart and soul, and incinerated what was left. Not just him, either. Nobody knows what the Gojid were once like before the Federation ‘cured’ us of our meat-eating sins. Nobody knows what we could’ve been, if the Kolshians had used their forces to save the cradle. Maybe they wouldn’t have done so even now, for our status as cured predators.
“The unhatched Arxur sitting on the chair; was it on the cradle? Did it personally kill Gojid? Or do you want us to kill it, burn it in cold blood just because its people once ate meat?”
This, finally, managed to shake Sasha from her stunned silence. Her rebuke was a far cry from the snarling fury she’d held just minutes ago, but she tried to make her voice firm. “Once ate meat? The Arxur can only eat meat, flesh they—”
“The Arxur are dead. They are dead, except for this little unhatched lizard. A being which has committed no sins, except by virtue of being born with a carnivorous digestive system. An innocent child, which represents everything the Federation tried to burn.”
The room was silent for several minutes. Sasha sat with her head buried in her hands, occasionally stealing glances at the container within which the egg sat and the Gojid sitting across from her. Each time, she wordlessly returned to her stance with a fresh layer of unease across her face.
A voice broke the silence. Shaky, muffled and laden with apprehension. Still, it sounded somehow firm, as though it had reached some sort of conclusion. Sasha sat up slightly straighter, though she kept her face covered.
“How… how are you going to feed it?”
—
Memory transcript subject: Burai, Gojid business owner
Date [Standardized Human Time]: February 30th, 2177
Location: Lower sprawl of City 23, Venlil Prime
The rest of the group was already asleep downstairs, but Burai couldn’t make himself sleep. He’d dragged himself up to the empty bar and gotten back to work; though physically tired, the flame in his soul wouldn’t let him rest until it burned out. His passionate argument from earlier still filled his spirit with a fire which couldn’t be extinguished; he could at least put it to work tackling the awful pile of now-dried sludge he’d left for himself to clean up later.
There wasn’t much else for it to do, even if the rest of them were still awake. Sasha had conceded to not interfere with raising the Arxur; although she still wasn’t exactly thrilled about the prospect of one living at the Den, Burai’s defense had clearly knocked the wind out of her sails as far as killing it was concerned. The rest of them, having never lived in a world where the Arxur were a spectre of death and agony, were fully onboard from minute one. He might have to hold them back from cutting off their own fingers to feed the hatchling. After nearly an hour of debate, they still hadn’t established where they could get food for it.
A sharp knock on the door interrupted his thoughts and forced him to leave his task before completion once again. In his exhausted state, he nearly opened the door without even thinking. His claw was on the handle before he remembered that he’d left the hidden door to the Den wide open. He dragged himself over to the switch and lazily jabbed it, pointedly ignoring the knocks as they became more insistent.
Finally, once his little show of security theater was concluded to his liking, he sauntered back towards the door. One claw smoothed out his quills absentmindedly. He knew he probably looked like a wreck, although he didn’t have a mirror to prove it. Hopefully, whoever was outside wouldn’t take much notice. He unlocked the door and slipped it open.
“Hey! We’re closed today, but—”
[Subject death detected Memory transcription ended]
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Memory transcript subject: Trish, Venlil civilian
Date [Standardized Human Time]: February 29th, 2177
Location: Lower sprawl of City 23, Venlil Prime
It was a long drive back down to the Den, and the whole group held their breath for every second of it with spines bristling and skin crawling. To all of them, it felt like exterminators might appear behind them at any moment if they let themselves relax for so much as a second. The only noise (aside from the whiny roar of the engine) was the hiss of a spray bottle, as James disinfected the wound at Sasha’s side with some mild antiseptic and threw a light cover of bandages over the whole affair. Those aside, the vehicle was filled with a deathly silence.
By the time they were back at the Tipped Quill, even Beast seemed cowed. Trish set it down in the adjacent side-alley, and its doors opened without so much as a screech of the unoiled hinges. They silently disembarked for the bar with all the cheer of a funeral procession, each of them constantly sneaking looks behind them. James and Burai were in front, Tressa and Trish in back, with Sasha and the cargo shielded from all angles as though they were under attack. The thick tension in the air further silenced their movements, leaving only the sound of the ashen wind outside as they walked.
As soon as the door to the Den slid shut behind them, the tension snapped. A roar of exuberant emotion from every angle nearly pushed Trish to the ground, as the rest of them erupted with cheers. It was like being at the center of a supernova, a feeling of being crushed from all angles. Trish just barely managed to stay upright from the sudden shock, ears failing to adjust for several seconds to the new baseline of noise.
“—and just threw himself at them, crying some sob story about a human hunting him. And they bought it! They actually bought it!”
“No shit they bought it! What were they gonna do, let an opportunity to put those flamers to work pass them by?”
“You know, there was a fire escape ladder on the other side of the building. If you’d let me say something before jumping, maybe I wouldn’t need to pull this quill out of your side.”
“You and I both know we— mhfff— didn’t have that sort of time. ”
The dizzying whirl of socialization around her faded into a manageable hum, nervous sharp laughter giving way to more gentle chuckles as the adrenaline faded. Trish managed to drag herself to a chair, nausea fading but legs still shaky from the sudden outburst. She should’ve thought to bring earplugs.
“Hey Trish, you good? You’re looking pretty faint yourself…” James wrapped up his work and paced over to her, his face a bizarre mix of mirth and concern.
“Fine, I’m fine. Just a lot of noise, that’s all. Is Sasha OK?”
“Yeah, just a spine in her side from that fall. It didn’t get past skin, so she’ll be just fine. Here, why don’t I get you some… hmmm, how do you feel about champagne?”
“I don’t— Champagne?”
He grinned, almost literally ear-to-ear. “Yeah, ‘course! Or cider, if that’s more your style. You know, this is a big occasion! A mysterious unmarked bag from the same contact who got us those pistols last time, we can afford a bit of celebration!”
“...Cider sounds good. This has human amounts of alcohol, right? I don’t want to dull my perception if anything comes up.”
“Relax, relax! You’re acting like there’s a squad of exterminators waiting ‘till we’re drunk to kick the door down. Trust me, it’s all downhill from here! Here, let me get you a glass…”
—
The backpack was set upon a footrest, and all lamps trained on it to make a sort of spotlight. To a rapt and silent audience, Trish walked up to their little makeshift shrine and carefully unzipped the gray fabric.
After only a couple hours and far fewer drinks than might be expected, curiosity had gotten the better of them. They all knew it would be better to wait until morning to see what was in the backpack; for something as potentially monumental as this, being well-rested and sober would be invaluable. They kept their curiosity at bay for long, agonizing hours. But it couldn’t hold. Burai made some joke about holding a ceremony to open the thing, and that was all the push they needed.
Inside the backpack, an expensive-looking technological box lay cushioned in a nest of nondescript white fabric. Trish mercilessly gutted the bag, lifting the contents up high for all to see for a moment before placing the device on the spot where the backpack had set seconds prior. After a moment’s inspection, she found a clearly-marked button on the side which she pushed without so much as a moment’s consideration. A hiss of air and a blink from the green light on the side, and the entire box split in two before sliding open. The blast of heat from the inside made Trish recoil slightly. She peered in.
Her gaze was met by a small oval, glistening slightly under the light of heating elements and LEDs. Blue, glossy with a slightly rough texture, and barely the size of Trish’s paw. She ran a claw across the side; tiny bumps coated the surface. It was extremely warm to the touch. With great care, she lifted it from its metal cocoon and held it up for the rest of the group to see what exactly they’d risked life and limb for.
The only person who seemed to recognize it was Sasha, who all but collapsed at the sight. Mouth covered with a hand, eyes wide and frantic, breathing unsteady. Burai practically dragged her to a nearby chair.
“W-What the fuck? How? How!?”
“Sasha, are you—”
Without waiting for Burai’s question to finish, Tressa rushed over to her and practically tackled her with a hug. He was coming at her from an awkward angle, so rather than a graceful embrace, it ended up with him sliding down an arm head over tail. Undeterred, he righted himself and wrapped his tail around her shaking hand.
“Sasha, breath. Five seconds in, five seconds hold, five seconds out, remember? We’ve got you.”
Gradually, her breathing stabilized, and her hands began to steady. Her eyes, however, remained wild and dilated, still roughly focusing on the small blue object in Trish’s paws. After several long seconds, she finally took the hint and carefully set it back in the case.
“Sasha, talk to me. What is it?”
Sasha’s voice was still unsteady, hands still slightly trembling as she pointed at the container. “...What is it? Do… any of you know what that is? What you’ve brought?”
“It’s an egg, isn’t it? I mean, it’s in an incu—”
“It’s an Arxur.”
“...What?”
“That’s an Arxur’s egg.”
Her words rang out like a gunshot, leaving still silence in its wake as the rest of the group processed the meaning behind them. Each person went through a set of reactions in series, timings offset. Shock, disbelief, denial, awe. Their faces and tails formed a silent orchestra of emotion.
Burai was the first to recover, and the first to speak. “How are we going to feed it?”
Sasha looked at him as though he had three heads.
“Well, it’s not like we can get synthesized meat anymore… there’s not exactly anywhere it could hunt, either. Maybe we—”
“Feed it? What fucking part of Arxur don’t you understand!? This is the same species that tore… Burai, you were there! On the cradle, you saw what they did! You should remember better than anyone! They had no empathy, no morals… They killed for fun, ate children out of their parent’s arms! And you want to…”
Sasha’s voice broke, but she continued. “...you want to raise it?”
Burai met her gaze but did not answer. In a truly rare moment, he seemed to be at a loss for words. Sasha looked around at the rest of them; they all wore the same look of determination and all failed to justify their decision with so much as a whisper of argument.
“You want to raise it?” she repeated again, louder this time, as though questioning them at higher volume would make them realize the error of their ways. “Do you think it’ll love you because you were the one feeding it flesh from birth? And… then what? What about every other species in this goddamn ash heap, will it love them enough to starve itself?” She looked around expectantly, but was met with the same steel glares.
“Well? Say something!” she spat. “Any of you!”
“Sasha…” Burai began gently, “Do you remember when Cilany’s interview first leaked?”
It was Sasha’s turn to go silent with a cold glare, apparently not seeing where the question led. The rest of the room shuddered; they’d heard the story before. He continued regardless. “The news that the Gojid once ate meat… it hit a lot of people hard. I was in a refugee shelter on Earth at the time. Nobody took it well. Nobody even talked for days afterwards. I heard a couple people tore out their claws and tried to remove their teeth. And there was this one kid… Teveq.
“He was so energetic, always off doing something. With the pups, usually, keeping them out of trouble. Or praying. He prayed to the Great Protector every night for his family to be found hiding somewhere on the cradle. Or sketching, buildings and burrows and skyscrapers. He wanted to be an architect, told me about it a few times. He was always so chatty… he kept me company when I couldn’t even bear to get out of bed. I found him in his room a couple days after we learned. He had a gun to his head.
“He didn’t pull the trigger, but it didn’t make a difference. He stopped eating, stopped talking. He stopped crying too after a few days, and he was just a breathing corpse, a corpse that lost more and more weight each day. He didn’t even pray anymore. The god he’d prayed to for protection hated him.
“When the Kolshians surrounded Earth, he didn’t leave. He wanted to burn. He thought he deserved it, because his people once ate meat.”
Sasha’s look of rage was replaced with sheer horror, but he wasn’t done. “The Federation killed him. Tore out his heart and soul, and incinerated what was left. Not just him, either. Nobody knows what the Gojid were once like before the Federation ‘cured’ us of our meat-eating sins. Nobody knows what we could’ve been, if the Kolshians had used their forces to save the cradle. Maybe they wouldn’t have done so even now, for our status as cured predators.
“The unhatched Arxur sitting on the chair; was it on the cradle? Did it personally kill Gojid? Or do you want us to kill it, burn it in cold blood just because its people once ate meat?”
This, finally, managed to shake Sasha from her stunned silence. Her rebuke was a far cry from the snarling fury she’d held just minutes ago, but she tried to make her voice firm. “Once ate meat? The Arxur can only eat meat, flesh they—”
“The Arxur are dead. They are dead, except for this little unhatched lizard. A being which has committed no sins, except by virtue of being born with a carnivorous digestive system. An innocent child, which represents everything the Federation tried to burn.”
The room was silent for several minutes. Sasha sat with her head buried in her hands, occasionally stealing glances at the container within which the egg sat and the Gojid sitting across from her. Each time, she wordlessly returned to her stance with a fresh layer of unease across her face.
A voice broke the silence. Shaky, muffled and laden with apprehension. Still, it sounded somehow firm, as though it had reached some sort of conclusion. Sasha sat up slightly straighter, though she kept her face covered.
“How… how are you going to feed it?”
—
Memory transcript subject: Burai, Gojid business owner
Date [Standardized Human Time]: February 30th, 2177
Location: Lower sprawl of City 23, Venlil Prime
The rest of the group was already asleep downstairs, but Burai couldn’t make himself sleep. He’d dragged himself up to the empty bar and gotten back to work; though physically tired, the flame in his soul wouldn’t let him rest until it burned out. His passionate argument from earlier still filled his spirit with a fire which couldn’t be extinguished; he could at least put it to work tackling the awful pile of now-dried sludge he’d left for himself to clean up later.
There wasn’t much else for it to do, even if the rest of them were still awake. Sasha had conceded to not interfere with raising the Arxur; although she still wasn’t exactly thrilled about the prospect of one living at the Den, Burai’s defense had clearly knocked the wind out of her sails as far as killing it was concerned. The rest of them, having never lived in a world where the Arxur were a spectre of death and agony, were fully onboard from minute one. He might have to hold them back from cutting off their own fingers to feed the hatchling. After nearly an hour of debate, they still hadn’t established where they could get food for it.
A sharp knock on the door interrupted his thoughts and forced him to leave his task before completion once again. In his exhausted state, he nearly opened the door without even thinking. His claw was on the handle before he remembered that he’d left the hidden door to the Den wide open. He dragged himself over to the switch and lazily jabbed it, pointedly ignoring the knocks as they became more insistent.
Finally, once his little show of security theater was concluded to his liking, he sauntered back towards the door. One claw smoothed out his quills absentmindedly. He knew he probably looked like a wreck, although he didn’t have a mirror to prove it. Hopefully, whoever was outside wouldn’t take much notice. He unlocked the door and slipped it open.
“Hey! We’re closed today, but—”
[Subject death detected Memory transcription ended]
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2023.06.03 05:35 RoyalClintonApperson [Home] Hampton Bay Orleans Eucalyptus Outdoor Sectional with Almond Cushions $399.60
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2023.06.02 22:34 MadelineWuntch Defending The Draft: Denver Broncos
When unfortunate sporting historians of the future look back on the Denver Broncos 5-win 2022 NFL season there will be a lot said of Mr Unlimited’s rather limited performances and Nathaniel’s inability to hack it as a head coach and rightly so.
However, I think it’s important to at least mention the Broncos strange love affair with the medical room. 21 players took a trip to IR, multiple key starters fell victim to season ending injuries including Tim Patrick, Garett Bolles and Javonte Williams.
And in spite of all of the depressing dog doo-doo the Broncos lost by a single score an astounding 8 times. So that’s something right?
Moving into 2023, General George Paton hired his alternate namesake and former Saints Head Coach Sean Payton for the princely sum of pick 29 in the 2023 NFL Draft (Denver also sent a 2nd rounder in 2024 and received a 3rd rounder in 2024).
Only a few weeks after the appointment of Sean Payton the NFL entered its Free Agency period which led to some big changes at Mile High.
15 players were let go to sign elsewhere around the league but not an awful lot in terms of quality.
Dre’Mont Jones, DE - Seattle Seahawks (3 year, $51 Million) Dre’mont grew into a solid contributor for Denver but I’m glad the Broncos didn’t re-sign him for the money Seattle has. By far the most talented to leave the team in free agency but only a very slight miss.
Calvin Anderson, T - New England Patriots (2 year, $7 Million) Not a splashy name by any means but Anderson knew his role and performed well when called upon, A solid backup with starter experience.
Andrew Beck, FB/TE - Houston Texans (2 year, $6.25 Million) Beck is another reliable contributor who seems to have joined a number of former Broncos in moving to Houston recently. A former Salute to Service Award winner.
Mike Boone, RB - Houston Texans (2 year, $3.1 Million) Boone is a fantastic option to have for Special Teams play, however he lacks real quality when running the ball. There was optimism when he initially signed in Denver but that appears to have fallen to the wayside as he moves on rather silently.
Graham Glasgow, G - Detroit Lions (1 year, $2.75 Million) The Broncos offensive line has been offensive to watch for years. Glasgow however has been one of the bright spots, especially when he played at centre at parts in 2022.
Brandon McMacus, K - Jacksonville Jaguars (1 year, $2 Million) The last member of the Super Bowl 50 winning team has left Dove Valley. In a somewhat surprising but expected move if you look at his declining performances Denver only recently moved on from McManus. It was the right time but it sure is a sad sight to see.
De’Shawn Williams, DE - Carolina Panthers (1 year, $1.75 Million) Losing both Jones and Williams is a slight concern in terms of depth. Although Williams isn’t as productive as his former teammate he’s certainly a steal for the Panthers as a rotational/back up. He’s arguably serviceable as a starter as well and knows the defensive staff in Carolina very well.
Eric Saubert, TE - Miami Dolphins (1 year, $1.68 Million) I forgot Eric was even on the team, his receiving qualities aren’t much to go crazy for with 15 recs and 148 yards on a career best 2022 season and his run blocking isn’t fantastic either albeit it is his stronger game.
Billy Turner, T - New York Jets (1 year, $1.5 Million) Billy was a sad loss back in 2018 when he first left for Green Bay. However he couldn’t really get started and spent large parts of the season on IR.
Latavius Murray, RB - Buffalo Bills (1 year, $1.3 Million) Latavius is the biggest loss for Denver in my opinion. The only member of the team who showed passion, drive and self respect throughout his short lived time in Colorado. The Bills have a solid contributor who will definitely fit the pound the rock ethos.
Chase Edmonds, RB - Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1 year, $1.1 Million) We never got to see what Chase could do in Denver and maybe that’s a good thing if his seasons with Miami are anything to go by. I’m sure he’ll do well in Tampa’s pass heavy offence as a backup catching back.
Eric Tomlinson, TE - Free Agent Most of you have probably never heard of Eric Tomlinson and there's a good reason for that. He’s also still without a team after signing with the Texans for 15 days back in March.
Darius Phillips, CB - Houston Texans (1 year, $1 Million) Darius got a few snaps on defence but spent most of his time on special teams, a rather average contributor by any metric but does have a fair amount of starting experience in the league.
Brett Rypien, QB - Los Angeles Rams (1 year, $1 Million) Broncos fans love this guy. He’s not good at football in a practical sense and he’s likely not going to help the Rams secure any wins but he’s a really smart dude and most likely a future coach. Not to mention its fun to say “Let ‘Em Ryp” if he does ever play.
Corliss Waitman, P - New England Patriots (1 year, $1 Million) There is no chance this man will be playing for the Patriots in 2023. Punting for Denver should be quite easy compared to most of the league but Waitman set out to prove us all wrong on that one. Easily the worst punter I’ve seen in Denver for a good few years.
Lamar Jackson, CB - Kansas City Chiefs (1 year, $1 Million) Lamar didn’t really get an opportunity to feature in Denver, I’m fairly sure he’ll be a camp body in KC as well so there’s not much to add on this one.
Although we let a lot of players leave, I think we managed to re-sign the most important of all the players with contracts expiring.
Alex Singleton, MLB (3 year, $18 Million) I’m telling you now, this man is elite. His season started a little slow but he came to town with 21-tackles (19 solo) against Divisional Rivals the LA Chargers. He did a similar thing in week 15 vs the Rams where he totalled another 20 tackles.
Overall I think Singleton is starting to peak and turn into a real force in this league.
Kareem Jackson, S (1 year, $1.3 Million) Kareem has far exceeded the expectations Broncos fans had for him when he joined from Houston in 2019. Initially as a corner and later taking over a strong safety Jackson has been brilliant, his heavy hitting style has made him a fan favourite and I’m pleased to see him back yet again.
Cameron Fleming, T (1 year, $2.3 Million) Fleming was a decent enough back up for the team in 2022 that unfortunately ended up starting more than everyone would have wanted. He’s a great depth addition to bring back, let's hope it remains a depth option though.
With so many departures comes a long list of new faces for the Broncos. 13 new players joined in free agency and whilst some are better than others there’s certainly been a clear direction that Sean Payton is heading in. big men, very big men.
Mike McGlinchey, RT - (5 year, $87.5 Million) I’ve been a big McGlinchey fan since the days of his nasty Notre Dame O-Line, where he lined up alongside Quenton Nelson. Mike’s play for the 49ers whilst good has had some rather concerning points with his lack of success vs speed rushers being the overwhelmingly obvious. We’re reaching a point where McGlinchey is living off of his college performances much like Jadeveon Clowney is still renowned for “the hit”. I do believe mcGlinchey will look like a hall of famer in comparison to every Broncos Right Tackle of the past 10 years and I do believe he’ll be successful in what the Broncos want to do which is run the ball down your throat. Denver has stability at both tackle positions and that’s only going to be a positive.
Ben Powers, G - (4 year, $52 Million) The quickest path to the quarterback is the straightest. It’s important Wilson is protected from the interior of his pocket and Ben certainly has powers in that department. I don’t think it would be an understatement to call Ben Powers elite in pass pro and whilst his run blocking seems to be improving it's not fantastic. Nonetheless I think this is very similar to the McGlinchey situation where we’ve slightly overpaid but the team will have a massive upgrade at Guard.
Zach Allen, DE - (3 year, $45.75 Million) I like Allen but the concern for me here is this past year was a career year for him, and with such a small sample size of good but not elite play I struggle with the idea that he will repeat his 2022 success in 2023. His contract doesn’t appear to be overly friendly either with $19 Million in 2024 cap scheduled in the books along with half of his 2025 salary guaranteed as well.
I don’t think he’ll be a bad signing, his familiarity with DC and former Broncos HC Vance Joseph will be a good thing but for the 3rd signing in a row, and perhaps the most egregious the Broncos have overpaid for their man.
Jarrett Stidham, QB (2 year, $10 Million) I like this move a lot, Stidham is a high end back up who can provide enough of a threat to Russ that he can win games in Denver if called upon. In reality he’s a backup but a back up you can certainly have confidence in.
Chris Manhertz, TE (2 year, $6 Million) I liked the Stidham signing, I love the Manhertz signing. He’s not flashy and he isn’t going to show up anywhere with big stats, however Manhertz has consistently been an elite blocking tight end for years and its players like him that make the difference on short yardage situations.
Samaje Perine, RB (2 year, $7.5 Million) This seems to be another Sean Payton inspired move. Initially Perine was never thought of as a back who could catch out of the backfield but his year spent with Cool guy Joe Burrow in Cincinnati has shown he’s more than capable of being that guy. Working in a committee alongside Javonte Williams should bring success to this lifeless Denver offense in 2023.
Michael Burton, FB (1 year, $1.3 Million) Burton has played for Sean Payton before and that will be incredibly useful for obvious reasons. Burton has been a blocking fullback for most of his career but has shown the ability to run and catch when called upon. I like this move and its a clear upgrade on Beck.
Tremon Smith, CB/Returner (2 year, $5 Million) If Smith is only going to be a returner then I think Denver have once again overpaid for a player coming off a bad year in a position declining in value. I do think Smith can rebound and have the type of year he’s been having since 2018. Not to mention there isn’t a chance Smith can be anywhere near as bad as Montrell Washington had been in 2022.
Riley Dixon, P (2 year, $3.5 Million) Riley was drafted by Denver in 2016 before being traded to the Giants a few years down the line. Despite the advantageous altitude in Denver, Dixon wasn’t a very good punter for the team in his 2 seasons. However, in a move that shows how bad this team really has been Dixon will still be a big improvement over Corliss Waitman and thus this needs to be considered an upgrade.
Marquez Callaway, WR (1 year, $1.1 Million) Former Sean Payton disciple Callaway reuniting in Denver is a good thing from my perspective. During Payton’s last season in New Orleans Callaway managed to put up 6 touchdowns in 46 receptions. The Broncos have a busy WR room but its a room that is yet to be healthy together so this move makes sense from all angles.
Kyle Fuller, C (1 year, $1.1 Million) I don’t expect Fuller to see the field unless there’s another injury disaster as he’s arguably 3rd on the depth chart. I’m glad the team have started to add some much needed depth but there’s also a solid chance that Fuller doesn’t Fill out the roster in 2023.
Following free agency most Broncos fans felt the team needed some further reinforcements but with so few picks available to start the 2023 NFL Draft many were left wondering what kind of magic George Paton could cook up to fill the team with contributing players.
#63: Marvin Mims, WR (Oklahoma) I don’t think anybody foresaw the Broncos trading up in the 2nd round to take a wide receiver. And whilst it's not a huge need, especially with the depth addition of Marquez Callaway in free agency, I do think it's a very good pick.
K.J. Hamler has failed to stay fit and this all but spells the end for his time in Denver in my opinion. It’s no wonder the Broncos front office couldn’t resist the opportunity to take a player with 4.38 speed and a 2-year college average of 20 yards per reception. I can see his ability to line up anywhere coming in very handy in a high motion Denver offense.
What I find spectacular about Mims is his ability to genuinely do everything. He can take the top off a defense, take screens in space for first downs, and generally play well in the short, medium and long game. There'll be some minor concerns over a Oklahoma running limited route trees but given Payton’s creativity and the likelihood of being moved around to capitalize on speed mismatches I don’t really feel those concerns are overly warranted.
#67: Drew Sanders, LB (Arkansas) I think Sanders has a real shot of being the best player selected in the 2023 NFL Draft when we look back in a few years time. He was a 5-star recruit at Alabama before transferring to Arkansas in 2022. Nick Saban has since said last summer that Sanders “probably would have started” for Alabama in one of the deepest pass rushing units in college. Ultimately he starred for the Razorbacks where his athletic prowess, versatility and toughness helped him notch up 9.5 Sacks (2nd in SEC) and 103 tackles.
His ability to play inside and outside will delight Vance Joseph who will end up using him very heavily in blitz packages from both the edge and middle linebacker positions. Ultimately we’re relying on a player's superior athletic abilities to give him the edge until he learns the nuances of NFL football.
His tackle consistency vs the run needs heavy improvement if he wants to be a 3-down player for Denver at either the edge or inside linebacker positions. Part of his problem so far has been a tendency to bite on fakes and misdirections and although his athleticism has managed to shine through at the College level it won’t be as successful at the NFL level.
#83: Riley Moss, CB (Iowa) Moss, in theory, has everything you would look for in an NFL corner with the exception of real top end speed. He’s tall and rangey with good tackling instincts but there are some shortcomings which will likely affect his NFL future as a cornerback. Moss typically leaves a bit too much cushion in zone coverage which can lead to explosive receivers leaving him in the dust. In man coverage he’ll often leave the underneath to compensate for his lack of top end speed; his aforementioned tackling skills at least thrive here.
His run support is likely going to make him a real runner for the slot corner position in zone packages but his shortcomings may also lead to Vance Joseph wanting to move him to safety eventually. The biggest advantage he has going forward is his versatility otherwise he may end up as a special teams contributor only.
#183: JL Skinner, S (Boise State) Drafted predominantly for his size, Skinner stands at 6’4, hits hard and plays to his strengths. Against the run Skinner performs admirably and has fantastic angles when pursuing the runner. In coverage he’s equally as solid with the ball skills to force interceptions and pass breakups.
I can only see Skinner on a trajectory to the top and I'm excited to see him in Denver. Ultimately it will be his responsibility to cover Travis Kelce, Michael Mayer and Gerald Everett twice a year.
#257: Alex Forsyth, C (Oregon) I think the Broncos wanted to draft a center, I don’t believe that man was supposed to be Alex Forsyth. Whilst he’s good value for the 7th round, I imagine they would have rather had the opportunity to take John Michael Schmitz or Joe Tippmann. I’m not sure how this pick is going to work out. On one hand I can see him being part of the same dominant force that allowed his backs ro average 5 yards per play in Oregon but on the other hand he’s a penalty machine much like Garrett Bolles was to start his career.
Overall I think the Broncos did the best they could with the selections they had. It would have been nice to see a tackle for the first time in 6 years or another running back to support Javonte and Samaje.
My concerns with the class is that although they're talented they weren't all the biggest needs this off season.
I can see all of them with the exception of Forsyth becoming a contributing level talent with Denver and over the course of their rookie contracts.
Ultimately this is how I see the roster breaking down:
QB: Russell Wilson, Jarett Stidham, Ben DiNucci HB: Javonte Williams, Samaje Perine, Tony Jones jr. FB: Michael Burton WR: Jerry Jeudy, Tim Patrick, Courtland Sutton, Marvin Mims jr, Marquez Callaway TE: Greg Dulcich, Adam Trautman, Albert Okwuegbunam, Chris Manhertz OT: Garett Bolles, Mike McGlinchey, Cam Fleming, Isaiah Prince, Quinn Bailey IOL: Ben Powers, Quin Meinerz, Lloyd Cushenberry, Alex Forsyth, Luke Wattenberg, Kyle Fuller. DL: Zach Allen, Jonathan Harris, Eyioma Uwazurike, Jonathan Cooper, D.J. Jones, Mike Purcell LOLB: Randy Gregory, Baron Browning MLB: Alex Singleton, Josey Jewell, Drew Sanders, Justin Strnad, Jonas Griffith ROLB: Nik Bonnito, Aaron Patrick CB: Pat Surtain II, Damarri Mathis, Riley Moss, K’Waun Williams, Tremon Smith FS: Justin Simmons, Jamar Johnson, Caden Sterns SS: JL Skinner, Kareem Jackson
K: TBD P: Riley Dixon R: Tremon Smith LS: Mitchell Fraboni
There’s probably one big name missing here and that’s K.J. Hamler, who I think will get cut or traded before week 1.
Moving forward into 2023 and the 2024 off season there are a few positions Denver still need to worry about. There’s huge question marks over the ability of Russell Wilson and whether he still has the ability to play at the highest level.
We’ve also got question marks at running back with Javonte Williams coming off a huge injury. Our WR room has a lot of unknowns after Courtland Suttons failure to rediscover his form after his ACL injury whilst teammate Tim Patrick is also recovering from the same injury suffered this past season.
The offensive line still needs addressing as Lloyd Cushenberry often gets bullied in the trenches and Garrett Bolles may revert under another new offensive line coach, so far Mike Munchak is the only man to get a respectable tune from the former first round pick.
Moving on to defense and there’s less issues but still big weaknesses. I’d like to see us invest more in the defensive line and outside linebacker positions with Cooper, Bonnito, Browning and Gregory all relatively unknown in a Broncos uniform.
Ultimately if I had to narrow it down the focus going forward needs to be on center, defensive end and quarterback if things will russ doesn’t improve.
Ultimately there was a lot to like about the Broncos off season changes and everything seems to be pointing towards a more successful, creative team in 2023. We look to have added steel where it mattered across the offensive line and signing Sean Payton could prove to be the biggest acquisition of the all.
Ironically, this series is called defending the draft and that’s what I’ve struggled to do here the most. I like the class, I think there’s some high impact players there for sure, but I’ve come away wishing we’d filled some other key areas a little bit better. Ultimately you can’t always have the board fall as you want it and it’s a huge improvement from the classes John Elway managed to put together.
Thank you for reading my Denver Broncos draft/off season review. I filled in as a last minute replacement so hopefully this manages to hit the right spot for everyone.
submitted by MadelineWuntch to NFL_Draft [link] [comments]
However, I think it’s important to at least mention the Broncos strange love affair with the medical room. 21 players took a trip to IR, multiple key starters fell victim to season ending injuries including Tim Patrick, Garett Bolles and Javonte Williams.
And in spite of all of the depressing dog doo-doo the Broncos lost by a single score an astounding 8 times. So that’s something right?
Moving into 2023, General George Paton hired his alternate namesake and former Saints Head Coach Sean Payton for the princely sum of pick 29 in the 2023 NFL Draft (Denver also sent a 2nd rounder in 2024 and received a 3rd rounder in 2024).
Only a few weeks after the appointment of Sean Payton the NFL entered its Free Agency period which led to some big changes at Mile High.
15 players were let go to sign elsewhere around the league but not an awful lot in terms of quality.
Dre’Mont Jones, DE - Seattle Seahawks (3 year, $51 Million) Dre’mont grew into a solid contributor for Denver but I’m glad the Broncos didn’t re-sign him for the money Seattle has. By far the most talented to leave the team in free agency but only a very slight miss.
Calvin Anderson, T - New England Patriots (2 year, $7 Million) Not a splashy name by any means but Anderson knew his role and performed well when called upon, A solid backup with starter experience.
Andrew Beck, FB/TE - Houston Texans (2 year, $6.25 Million) Beck is another reliable contributor who seems to have joined a number of former Broncos in moving to Houston recently. A former Salute to Service Award winner.
Mike Boone, RB - Houston Texans (2 year, $3.1 Million) Boone is a fantastic option to have for Special Teams play, however he lacks real quality when running the ball. There was optimism when he initially signed in Denver but that appears to have fallen to the wayside as he moves on rather silently.
Graham Glasgow, G - Detroit Lions (1 year, $2.75 Million) The Broncos offensive line has been offensive to watch for years. Glasgow however has been one of the bright spots, especially when he played at centre at parts in 2022.
Brandon McMacus, K - Jacksonville Jaguars (1 year, $2 Million) The last member of the Super Bowl 50 winning team has left Dove Valley. In a somewhat surprising but expected move if you look at his declining performances Denver only recently moved on from McManus. It was the right time but it sure is a sad sight to see.
De’Shawn Williams, DE - Carolina Panthers (1 year, $1.75 Million) Losing both Jones and Williams is a slight concern in terms of depth. Although Williams isn’t as productive as his former teammate he’s certainly a steal for the Panthers as a rotational/back up. He’s arguably serviceable as a starter as well and knows the defensive staff in Carolina very well.
Eric Saubert, TE - Miami Dolphins (1 year, $1.68 Million) I forgot Eric was even on the team, his receiving qualities aren’t much to go crazy for with 15 recs and 148 yards on a career best 2022 season and his run blocking isn’t fantastic either albeit it is his stronger game.
Billy Turner, T - New York Jets (1 year, $1.5 Million) Billy was a sad loss back in 2018 when he first left for Green Bay. However he couldn’t really get started and spent large parts of the season on IR.
Latavius Murray, RB - Buffalo Bills (1 year, $1.3 Million) Latavius is the biggest loss for Denver in my opinion. The only member of the team who showed passion, drive and self respect throughout his short lived time in Colorado. The Bills have a solid contributor who will definitely fit the pound the rock ethos.
Chase Edmonds, RB - Tampa Bay Buccaneers (1 year, $1.1 Million) We never got to see what Chase could do in Denver and maybe that’s a good thing if his seasons with Miami are anything to go by. I’m sure he’ll do well in Tampa’s pass heavy offence as a backup catching back.
Eric Tomlinson, TE - Free Agent Most of you have probably never heard of Eric Tomlinson and there's a good reason for that. He’s also still without a team after signing with the Texans for 15 days back in March.
Darius Phillips, CB - Houston Texans (1 year, $1 Million) Darius got a few snaps on defence but spent most of his time on special teams, a rather average contributor by any metric but does have a fair amount of starting experience in the league.
Brett Rypien, QB - Los Angeles Rams (1 year, $1 Million) Broncos fans love this guy. He’s not good at football in a practical sense and he’s likely not going to help the Rams secure any wins but he’s a really smart dude and most likely a future coach. Not to mention its fun to say “Let ‘Em Ryp” if he does ever play.
Corliss Waitman, P - New England Patriots (1 year, $1 Million) There is no chance this man will be playing for the Patriots in 2023. Punting for Denver should be quite easy compared to most of the league but Waitman set out to prove us all wrong on that one. Easily the worst punter I’ve seen in Denver for a good few years.
Lamar Jackson, CB - Kansas City Chiefs (1 year, $1 Million) Lamar didn’t really get an opportunity to feature in Denver, I’m fairly sure he’ll be a camp body in KC as well so there’s not much to add on this one.
Although we let a lot of players leave, I think we managed to re-sign the most important of all the players with contracts expiring.
Alex Singleton, MLB (3 year, $18 Million) I’m telling you now, this man is elite. His season started a little slow but he came to town with 21-tackles (19 solo) against Divisional Rivals the LA Chargers. He did a similar thing in week 15 vs the Rams where he totalled another 20 tackles.
Overall I think Singleton is starting to peak and turn into a real force in this league.
Kareem Jackson, S (1 year, $1.3 Million) Kareem has far exceeded the expectations Broncos fans had for him when he joined from Houston in 2019. Initially as a corner and later taking over a strong safety Jackson has been brilliant, his heavy hitting style has made him a fan favourite and I’m pleased to see him back yet again.
Cameron Fleming, T (1 year, $2.3 Million) Fleming was a decent enough back up for the team in 2022 that unfortunately ended up starting more than everyone would have wanted. He’s a great depth addition to bring back, let's hope it remains a depth option though.
With so many departures comes a long list of new faces for the Broncos. 13 new players joined in free agency and whilst some are better than others there’s certainly been a clear direction that Sean Payton is heading in. big men, very big men.
Mike McGlinchey, RT - (5 year, $87.5 Million) I’ve been a big McGlinchey fan since the days of his nasty Notre Dame O-Line, where he lined up alongside Quenton Nelson. Mike’s play for the 49ers whilst good has had some rather concerning points with his lack of success vs speed rushers being the overwhelmingly obvious. We’re reaching a point where McGlinchey is living off of his college performances much like Jadeveon Clowney is still renowned for “the hit”. I do believe mcGlinchey will look like a hall of famer in comparison to every Broncos Right Tackle of the past 10 years and I do believe he’ll be successful in what the Broncos want to do which is run the ball down your throat. Denver has stability at both tackle positions and that’s only going to be a positive.
Ben Powers, G - (4 year, $52 Million) The quickest path to the quarterback is the straightest. It’s important Wilson is protected from the interior of his pocket and Ben certainly has powers in that department. I don’t think it would be an understatement to call Ben Powers elite in pass pro and whilst his run blocking seems to be improving it's not fantastic. Nonetheless I think this is very similar to the McGlinchey situation where we’ve slightly overpaid but the team will have a massive upgrade at Guard.
Zach Allen, DE - (3 year, $45.75 Million) I like Allen but the concern for me here is this past year was a career year for him, and with such a small sample size of good but not elite play I struggle with the idea that he will repeat his 2022 success in 2023. His contract doesn’t appear to be overly friendly either with $19 Million in 2024 cap scheduled in the books along with half of his 2025 salary guaranteed as well.
I don’t think he’ll be a bad signing, his familiarity with DC and former Broncos HC Vance Joseph will be a good thing but for the 3rd signing in a row, and perhaps the most egregious the Broncos have overpaid for their man.
Jarrett Stidham, QB (2 year, $10 Million) I like this move a lot, Stidham is a high end back up who can provide enough of a threat to Russ that he can win games in Denver if called upon. In reality he’s a backup but a back up you can certainly have confidence in.
Chris Manhertz, TE (2 year, $6 Million) I liked the Stidham signing, I love the Manhertz signing. He’s not flashy and he isn’t going to show up anywhere with big stats, however Manhertz has consistently been an elite blocking tight end for years and its players like him that make the difference on short yardage situations.
Samaje Perine, RB (2 year, $7.5 Million) This seems to be another Sean Payton inspired move. Initially Perine was never thought of as a back who could catch out of the backfield but his year spent with Cool guy Joe Burrow in Cincinnati has shown he’s more than capable of being that guy. Working in a committee alongside Javonte Williams should bring success to this lifeless Denver offense in 2023.
Michael Burton, FB (1 year, $1.3 Million) Burton has played for Sean Payton before and that will be incredibly useful for obvious reasons. Burton has been a blocking fullback for most of his career but has shown the ability to run and catch when called upon. I like this move and its a clear upgrade on Beck.
Tremon Smith, CB/Returner (2 year, $5 Million) If Smith is only going to be a returner then I think Denver have once again overpaid for a player coming off a bad year in a position declining in value. I do think Smith can rebound and have the type of year he’s been having since 2018. Not to mention there isn’t a chance Smith can be anywhere near as bad as Montrell Washington had been in 2022.
Riley Dixon, P (2 year, $3.5 Million) Riley was drafted by Denver in 2016 before being traded to the Giants a few years down the line. Despite the advantageous altitude in Denver, Dixon wasn’t a very good punter for the team in his 2 seasons. However, in a move that shows how bad this team really has been Dixon will still be a big improvement over Corliss Waitman and thus this needs to be considered an upgrade.
Marquez Callaway, WR (1 year, $1.1 Million) Former Sean Payton disciple Callaway reuniting in Denver is a good thing from my perspective. During Payton’s last season in New Orleans Callaway managed to put up 6 touchdowns in 46 receptions. The Broncos have a busy WR room but its a room that is yet to be healthy together so this move makes sense from all angles.
Kyle Fuller, C (1 year, $1.1 Million) I don’t expect Fuller to see the field unless there’s another injury disaster as he’s arguably 3rd on the depth chart. I’m glad the team have started to add some much needed depth but there’s also a solid chance that Fuller doesn’t Fill out the roster in 2023.
Following free agency most Broncos fans felt the team needed some further reinforcements but with so few picks available to start the 2023 NFL Draft many were left wondering what kind of magic George Paton could cook up to fill the team with contributing players.
#63: Marvin Mims, WR (Oklahoma) I don’t think anybody foresaw the Broncos trading up in the 2nd round to take a wide receiver. And whilst it's not a huge need, especially with the depth addition of Marquez Callaway in free agency, I do think it's a very good pick.
K.J. Hamler has failed to stay fit and this all but spells the end for his time in Denver in my opinion. It’s no wonder the Broncos front office couldn’t resist the opportunity to take a player with 4.38 speed and a 2-year college average of 20 yards per reception. I can see his ability to line up anywhere coming in very handy in a high motion Denver offense.
What I find spectacular about Mims is his ability to genuinely do everything. He can take the top off a defense, take screens in space for first downs, and generally play well in the short, medium and long game. There'll be some minor concerns over a Oklahoma running limited route trees but given Payton’s creativity and the likelihood of being moved around to capitalize on speed mismatches I don’t really feel those concerns are overly warranted.
#67: Drew Sanders, LB (Arkansas) I think Sanders has a real shot of being the best player selected in the 2023 NFL Draft when we look back in a few years time. He was a 5-star recruit at Alabama before transferring to Arkansas in 2022. Nick Saban has since said last summer that Sanders “probably would have started” for Alabama in one of the deepest pass rushing units in college. Ultimately he starred for the Razorbacks where his athletic prowess, versatility and toughness helped him notch up 9.5 Sacks (2nd in SEC) and 103 tackles.
His ability to play inside and outside will delight Vance Joseph who will end up using him very heavily in blitz packages from both the edge and middle linebacker positions. Ultimately we’re relying on a player's superior athletic abilities to give him the edge until he learns the nuances of NFL football.
His tackle consistency vs the run needs heavy improvement if he wants to be a 3-down player for Denver at either the edge or inside linebacker positions. Part of his problem so far has been a tendency to bite on fakes and misdirections and although his athleticism has managed to shine through at the College level it won’t be as successful at the NFL level.
#83: Riley Moss, CB (Iowa) Moss, in theory, has everything you would look for in an NFL corner with the exception of real top end speed. He’s tall and rangey with good tackling instincts but there are some shortcomings which will likely affect his NFL future as a cornerback. Moss typically leaves a bit too much cushion in zone coverage which can lead to explosive receivers leaving him in the dust. In man coverage he’ll often leave the underneath to compensate for his lack of top end speed; his aforementioned tackling skills at least thrive here.
His run support is likely going to make him a real runner for the slot corner position in zone packages but his shortcomings may also lead to Vance Joseph wanting to move him to safety eventually. The biggest advantage he has going forward is his versatility otherwise he may end up as a special teams contributor only.
#183: JL Skinner, S (Boise State) Drafted predominantly for his size, Skinner stands at 6’4, hits hard and plays to his strengths. Against the run Skinner performs admirably and has fantastic angles when pursuing the runner. In coverage he’s equally as solid with the ball skills to force interceptions and pass breakups.
I can only see Skinner on a trajectory to the top and I'm excited to see him in Denver. Ultimately it will be his responsibility to cover Travis Kelce, Michael Mayer and Gerald Everett twice a year.
#257: Alex Forsyth, C (Oregon) I think the Broncos wanted to draft a center, I don’t believe that man was supposed to be Alex Forsyth. Whilst he’s good value for the 7th round, I imagine they would have rather had the opportunity to take John Michael Schmitz or Joe Tippmann. I’m not sure how this pick is going to work out. On one hand I can see him being part of the same dominant force that allowed his backs ro average 5 yards per play in Oregon but on the other hand he’s a penalty machine much like Garrett Bolles was to start his career.
Overall I think the Broncos did the best they could with the selections they had. It would have been nice to see a tackle for the first time in 6 years or another running back to support Javonte and Samaje.
My concerns with the class is that although they're talented they weren't all the biggest needs this off season.
I can see all of them with the exception of Forsyth becoming a contributing level talent with Denver and over the course of their rookie contracts.
Ultimately this is how I see the roster breaking down:
QB: Russell Wilson, Jarett Stidham, Ben DiNucci HB: Javonte Williams, Samaje Perine, Tony Jones jr. FB: Michael Burton WR: Jerry Jeudy, Tim Patrick, Courtland Sutton, Marvin Mims jr, Marquez Callaway TE: Greg Dulcich, Adam Trautman, Albert Okwuegbunam, Chris Manhertz OT: Garett Bolles, Mike McGlinchey, Cam Fleming, Isaiah Prince, Quinn Bailey IOL: Ben Powers, Quin Meinerz, Lloyd Cushenberry, Alex Forsyth, Luke Wattenberg, Kyle Fuller. DL: Zach Allen, Jonathan Harris, Eyioma Uwazurike, Jonathan Cooper, D.J. Jones, Mike Purcell LOLB: Randy Gregory, Baron Browning MLB: Alex Singleton, Josey Jewell, Drew Sanders, Justin Strnad, Jonas Griffith ROLB: Nik Bonnito, Aaron Patrick CB: Pat Surtain II, Damarri Mathis, Riley Moss, K’Waun Williams, Tremon Smith FS: Justin Simmons, Jamar Johnson, Caden Sterns SS: JL Skinner, Kareem Jackson
K: TBD P: Riley Dixon R: Tremon Smith LS: Mitchell Fraboni
There’s probably one big name missing here and that’s K.J. Hamler, who I think will get cut or traded before week 1.
Moving forward into 2023 and the 2024 off season there are a few positions Denver still need to worry about. There’s huge question marks over the ability of Russell Wilson and whether he still has the ability to play at the highest level.
We’ve also got question marks at running back with Javonte Williams coming off a huge injury. Our WR room has a lot of unknowns after Courtland Suttons failure to rediscover his form after his ACL injury whilst teammate Tim Patrick is also recovering from the same injury suffered this past season.
The offensive line still needs addressing as Lloyd Cushenberry often gets bullied in the trenches and Garrett Bolles may revert under another new offensive line coach, so far Mike Munchak is the only man to get a respectable tune from the former first round pick.
Moving on to defense and there’s less issues but still big weaknesses. I’d like to see us invest more in the defensive line and outside linebacker positions with Cooper, Bonnito, Browning and Gregory all relatively unknown in a Broncos uniform.
Ultimately if I had to narrow it down the focus going forward needs to be on center, defensive end and quarterback if things will russ doesn’t improve.
Ultimately there was a lot to like about the Broncos off season changes and everything seems to be pointing towards a more successful, creative team in 2023. We look to have added steel where it mattered across the offensive line and signing Sean Payton could prove to be the biggest acquisition of the all.
Ironically, this series is called defending the draft and that’s what I’ve struggled to do here the most. I like the class, I think there’s some high impact players there for sure, but I’ve come away wishing we’d filled some other key areas a little bit better. Ultimately you can’t always have the board fall as you want it and it’s a huge improvement from the classes John Elway managed to put together.
Thank you for reading my Denver Broncos draft/off season review. I filled in as a last minute replacement so hopefully this manages to hit the right spot for everyone.
LET’S RIDE.
2023.06.02 20:41 MrMcGibblets86 Total VR N00B asks: Is my PICO 4 defective?
Quick background: 30+ years as an IT Network Pro, 40+ years as a gamer, I just built a high-end Gaming PC with an RTX 4080 in Feb, and I built a Sim Rig last year -- but I have ZERO experience with VR. In fact, I've never even worn a headset in my life until just two days ago when I received my factory-sealed Pico 4 from an East Coast seller on eBay (I'm in California), and based on my experience and what I've read, I'm unsure if mine is defective.
The visuals tend to be dirty/cloudy looking in dark rooms with bright elements, and the overall picture appears very grainy and blurry. "The Lab" from Valve was pretty cool, but not a much contrast. Then I dare tried Assetto Corsa Competizione and it was heavily washed out and grainy. Overall, it's terrible.
I'm using Steam VR via Virtual Desktop (wirelessly) and getting solid frames rates with 150Mbit bandwidth (PC is connected to 5GHz Asus router via Ethernet). The problem isn't with frame rate, it's picture quality. I've tried a variety of IPD adjustments to no avail (even though mine is 64mm). Also, the fit on my face is painful, so I plan on replacing the face cushion.
The build date on the box says "2022 10" and I've read that those are early (and possibly bad) batches, yes?
What am I doing wrong?
How do I check/test to see if my Pico 4 is bad?
Appreciate the insight as I have no prior experience with VR and therefore I don't know what to expect or look for.
submitted by MrMcGibblets86 to PicoXR [link] [comments]
The visuals tend to be dirty/cloudy looking in dark rooms with bright elements, and the overall picture appears very grainy and blurry. "The Lab" from Valve was pretty cool, but not a much contrast. Then I dare tried Assetto Corsa Competizione and it was heavily washed out and grainy. Overall, it's terrible.
I'm using Steam VR via Virtual Desktop (wirelessly) and getting solid frames rates with 150Mbit bandwidth (PC is connected to 5GHz Asus router via Ethernet). The problem isn't with frame rate, it's picture quality. I've tried a variety of IPD adjustments to no avail (even though mine is 64mm). Also, the fit on my face is painful, so I plan on replacing the face cushion.
The build date on the box says "2022 10" and I've read that those are early (and possibly bad) batches, yes?
What am I doing wrong?
How do I check/test to see if my Pico 4 is bad?
Appreciate the insight as I have no prior experience with VR and therefore I don't know what to expect or look for.
2023.06.02 19:18 BroMandi [Home Depot] Hampton Bay Orleans Eucalyptus Outdoor Sectional with Almond Cushions - Home Depot - $399.60 + Free Shipping [Deal: $399.60, Actual: $998.98]
![[Home Depot] Hampton Bay Orleans Eucalyptus Outdoor Sectional with Almond Cushions - Home Depot - $399.60 + Free Shipping [Deal: $399.60, Actual: $998.98]](https://preview.redd.it/mty9yidq1n3b1.png?width=320&crop=smart&auto=webp&s=2fc3342789f554fa29c33d6b92a3a4dd172f1f47 "[Home Depot] Hampton Bay Orleans Eucalyptus Outdoor Sectional with Almond Cushions - Home Depot - $399.60 + Free Shipping [Deal: $399.60, Actual: $998.98]") | submitted by BroMandi to ShoppingDealsOnline [link] [comments] |
2023.06.02 02:19 hackzubbard 2024 Post-Spring/Pre-Summer Recruiting Overview
We're now in that sweet spot after A-Day and before Summer OVs/Camp Season where it makes sense to take note and reflect. Remember that camp season likely changes this board dramatically and we'll see a good # of decision (both to Alabama and elsewhere) throughout June and early July.
Rankings Note: Every comic is someone's first so here's how to read/interpret/understand the rankings listed below: Commits and Top Targets will show their 247 Composite Rank, their On3 Composite, and their Comp2 Ranking, which is just the raw average of the 2 composite ranks, rounded down. This overview will just reflect the pre-summer top targets/names to know and not the full list. Summer camp season will drastically change this list (new big board in July/August)
# of 4/5* change each year but I like a little consistency so here's generally how I arbitrarily split it, based on the average year-over-year data:
5*: #1-#32
4*: #33-#350
3*: #351-#2000
QB (1 Needed/1 Commited)
Overview: Barring something crazy, a team's QB will be the most important player on the field 9 times out of 10. Bama's looked around for a potential 2nd option but is pretty content with their 5* QB of the Future already commited
RB (1-2 Needed/0 Commited)
Overview: Alabama has good RB depth heading into 2023 but could very likely lose both Jase and Roydell at the end of the year so 2 RBs again this cycle feels right. It's doubtful it'll have the star power of the Haynes/Young duo from '23 but I would not sleep on the 2024 targets.
WR (2-4 Needed/2 Commited)
Overview: Alabama has taken 10 non-transfer WRs over the past 2 cycles so while I think they'll take a normal # in 2024, I'd lean more towards 3 than 4 total, unless a 'best available' type wants in
TE (1-2 Needed/0 Commited)
Overview: I think *how* Tommy Rees constructed/called his ND offenses is a bit overblown in how his Bama offenses will look (you play with the talent you have) but Bama has been trying to find their Kyle Pitts/Brock Bowers/Michael Mayer for years now - really since OJ Howard/Irv Smith with a brief detour into Jahleel Billingsley. Alabama would like multiple bodies here if available but would really like a least one really good on in 2024
OL (4-5 Needed/0 Commited)
Overview: Alabama brought in a big OL class in 2023, which is already living up to expectations behind the scenes. They'll try to repeat the process in 2024, as they continue to re-tool their OL room
DL (3-4 Needed/1 Commited)
Overview: Another unit Alabama's been trying to step-up, talent is a necessity in 2024
EDGE (1-2 Needed/1 Commited)
Overview: The highest star rating per capita, talent is hardly a problem here but we'd love to have more.
LB (2-3 Needed/1 Commited)
Overview: There's somewhat of a logjam of older player at the LB position so I would expect attrition after 2023, which will need to be replaced by incoming players.
DB (4-5 Needed/1 commited)
Overview: You gotta take a solid # of DBs every cycle but CB is one of the most important/most needed positions in 2024 after losses to the transfer portal.
submitted by hackzubbard to rolltide [link] [comments]
Rankings Note: Every comic is someone's first so here's how to read/interpret/understand the rankings listed below: Commits and Top Targets will show their 247 Composite Rank, their On3 Composite, and their Comp2 Ranking, which is just the raw average of the 2 composite ranks, rounded down. This overview will just reflect the pre-summer top targets/names to know and not the full list. Summer camp season will drastically change this list (new big board in July/August)
# of 4/5* change each year but I like a little consistency so here's generally how I arbitrarily split it, based on the average year-over-year data:
5*: #1-#32
4*: #33-#350
3*: #351-#2000
QB (1 Needed/1 Commited)
Overview: Barring something crazy, a team's QB will be the most important player on the field 9 times out of 10. Bama's looked around for a potential 2nd option but is pretty content with their 5* QB of the Future already commited
| Name | H.S. | Rank | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commits | |||
| 1. 5* Julian Sayin | Carlsbad in Carlsbad, CA (SoCal) | 247: #11 , On3: #14, Comp2: #12 | One of the most "ready" prospects in the 2024 class, Julian is very skilled at every facet of QB play - might not be the highest ceiling from an NFL perspective but very likely the highest floor. Julian commited to Alabama somewhat out of the blue but has been locked in since and the Tide's primary leader on offense in this class. This is your QB of the Future. |
Overview: Alabama has good RB depth heading into 2023 but could very likely lose both Jase and Roydell at the end of the year so 2 RBs again this cycle feels right. It's doubtful it'll have the star power of the Haynes/Young duo from '23 but I would not sleep on the 2024 targets.
| Name | H.S. | Rank | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top Targets | |||
| 1. 4* Kevin Riley | Tuscaloosa County in Northport, AL (Tuscaloosa area) | 247: #97, On3: #102, Comp2: #99 | A homegrown talent, Riley does it all, running with great balance, breaks contact and gets going in a hurry. Top 3 of Bama, Auburn, UGA - this should end up being an Iron Bowl battle that Alabama wins, though it does appear Riley might take his time. If Alabama pushes hard, he could be a summer commit. |
| 2. 4* Daniel Hill | Meridian in Meridian, MS (E MS) | 247: #196, On3: #194, Comp2: #195 | One of the more unique RB prospects, Daniel Hill is a big bodied guy but plays a ton of receiver as well - not a comparison but could have a Najee Harris-esque roll. Alabama is battling South Carolina here, with the Cocks having some buzz after an early Bama lean. Bama is not done here but might need to press harder. |
| 3. 4* Nate Frazier | Mater Dei in Santa Ana, CA (SoCal) | 247: #76, On3: #74, Comp2: #75 | One of the nation's top RB prospects with some of the best long speed, Nate Frazier will push for #1 back status in 2024. Frazier is pretty wide open currently, being highly desired by both the local west coast school and the SEC powerhouses. I'd have trouble projecting him anywhere yet but it would be really cool if it was Alabama. |
Overview: Alabama has taken 10 non-transfer WRs over the past 2 cycles so while I think they'll take a normal # in 2024, I'd lean more towards 3 than 4 total, unless a 'best available' type wants in
| Name | H.S. | Rank | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commits | |||
| 1. 5* Perry Thompson | Foley in Foley, AL (Mobile area) | 247: #27, On3: #29, Comp2: #28 | A taller receiver, Perry thrives with straight-line speed and a suprising ability to weave through space - Thompson earned his offer last season in camp routing up 2023 5* DBs. As a high-ranking prospect, Perry is somewhat keeping his options open and will likely take visits but has repeatedly reaffirmed his commit - Alabama's steady pursuit should allow them to hold on. |
| 2. 4* Rico Scott | Bishop McDevitt in Harrisburg, PA (Cent PA) | 247: #372, On3: #289, Comp2: #330 | A real smooth operator - plays RB and WR and is at his best going up the field. A bit of a suprise to some, Bama had seen him previously in camp and then watched his fall progress and saw what they needed to pull the trigger. I think we'll finish in the top 150-170 |
| Top Targets | |||
| 1. 4* Amari Jefferson | Baylor School in Chattanooga, TN | 247: #270, On3: #288, Comp2: #279 | My favorite realistic WR addition - his vertical and lateral speed POP off the screen, looks like a top 75 guy. Currently a Tennessee baseball commit, football is his likely future, as Alabama and Georgia battle it out. This will be a tough battle but one I very much hope the Tide wins. |
| 2. 4* Aeryn Hampton | Carthage in Carthage, TX (E TX) | 247: #116, On3: #126, Comp2: #121 | More fast than quick, Aeryn runs like a RB, weaving through traffic and hitting the jets. Aeryn has been up-front about his love for Alabama and has narrowed his list to Bama and Texas, his former commitment. Aeryn has the green light to commit but seems like a guy who could go back and forth so unclear where this ends up. |
| 3. 4* Cam Coleman | Central in Phenix City, AL (E AL) | 247: #54, On3: #25, Comp2: #38 | This guy's the real deal - big bodied but with slot speed and one of the best high-pointers in the class. Alabama's been trying to get him on campus and he's been uninterested, so the communication has been laid back. Cam and Perry Thompson kinda fill the same role so it's not a huge concern but Auburn is leading here and would give Hugh Freeze a real weapon. |
Overview: I think *how* Tommy Rees constructed/called his ND offenses is a bit overblown in how his Bama offenses will look (you play with the talent you have) but Bama has been trying to find their Kyle Pitts/Brock Bowers/Michael Mayer for years now - really since OJ Howard/Irv Smith with a brief detour into Jahleel Billingsley. Alabama would like multiple bodies here if available but would really like a least one really good on in 2024
| Name | H.S. | Rank | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top Targets | |||
| 1. 4* Caleb Odom | Carrollton in Carrollton, GA (W GA) | 247: #85, On3: #69, Comp2: #77 | A true mismatch nightmare, Odom is a true receiving threat TE, big bodied with room to grow but a little slender currently. Caleb is kinda wide open at the moment but this feels like one where Bama should start to push, with UGA snagging two of their targets in Jaden Reddell and Colton Heinrich |
Overview: Alabama brought in a big OL class in 2023, which is already living up to expectations behind the scenes. They'll try to repeat the process in 2024, as they continue to re-tool their OL room
| Name | H.S. | Rank | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Top Targets | |||
| 1. 4* OT Daniel Calhoun | Walton in Marietta, GA (Atlanta Metro) | 247: #86, On3: #106, Comp2: #96 | A mammoth of a prospect, Calhoun has the look of a SEC lineman, able to play on the left or right side of the offensive line. Top 3 of Bama, UGA, and Texas but suprise suprise, this looks like another Bama/UGA battle. Feel better about Bama in this one but it's close and OVs will be big. |
| 2. 4* IOL Casey Poe | Lindale in Lindale, TX (E TX) | 247: #142, On3: #134, Comp2: #138 | One of the most coveted interior prospects, Poe boasts both a mean streak as well as the ability to move the center, making him about as A1 as you can get for an interior OL prospect. Top 3 currently would be Alabama, Oklahoma, and UGA. Will be a tough battle but Alabama is the perceived leader heading into visits. Bama REALLY wants him. |
| 3. 4* OL Jordan Seaton | IMG Academy in Bradenton, FL (Originally from Washington DC) | 247: #41, On3: #42, Comp2: #41 | Big, athletic frame who could end up playing inside or out - Seaton prefers OT but somecurrently leaning towards IOL. Ohio State was and is very involved but Bama/UGA feel like the primary players since making the move to IMG. I believe he visited for the A-Day game and it certainly seems like Bama will be an option until the end here. |
| 4. 4* OT Marques Easley | Kankakee in Kankakee, IL (NE IL) | 247: #263, On3: #240, Comp2: #251 | A longer and leaner tackle prospect, Bama and UGA are again involved with Tennessee being the 3rd team in the mix, as well as the possible leader. Despite the Vols' early lead, this one can really go any direction after visits. |
| 5. 4* OT Weston Davis | Beaumont United in Beaumont, TX (SE TX) | 247: #180, On3: #124, Comp2: #152 | A basketball-first prospect with high-upside as an OT, Davis has some interest in Bama but local programs like Texas A&M are getting some good recent buzz. Think it'll be paramount for Weston to camp. |
Overview: Another unit Alabama's been trying to step-up, talent is a necessity in 2024
| Name | H.S. | Rank | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commits | |||
| 1. 4* DE Jeremiah Beamon | Parker in Birmingham, AL | 247: #103, On3: #98, Comp2: #100 | Alabama's most recent commitment, Jeremiah is a FORCE rushing the passer, a little undersized with plenty of room to grow before a potential reneissance. If that sounds like Quinnen Williams, it's because that's the comp he's been getting. Many thought he'd be a sooner or later kinda commit and he went ahead and stopped messing around. |
| Top Targets | |||
| 1. 5* DE Eddrick Houston | Buford in Buford, GA (Atlanta Metro) | 247: #15, On3: #15, Comp2: #15 | High upside, athleticism, and flexibility - bit of a tweener for the Saban defense who could slim down to an Anfernee Jennings role and add some weight to try and emulate Jonathan Allen. Another prospect that I think comes down to Bama and UGA, I feel better about Bama's chances here than with Eddrick's Buford teammate, KJ Bolden. |
| 2. 4* DT Terrance Hibler | Holmes County Central in Lexington, MS (Cent MS) | 247: #281, On3: #368, Comp2: #324 | A bit undersized, Terrance makes up for it with violence, punch, and pure 'want-to'. Alabama has made a great early impression, alongside local Miss State, and the Tide are in a great spot if they choose to push here. |
| 3. 3* DE Utah Commit Isaia Faga | Central in Phenix City, AL (E AL) | 247: #733, On3: #676, Comp2: #704 | Alabama has seen some recent success with Pacific Island players but it's rare to have one so local. Isaia excels at getting through traffic and getting into the backfield. Isaia's uncle is the Utah DL coach, leading to the early commitment, but Alabama is interested in seeing him camp and who knows where it could go from there. |
Overview: The highest star rating per capita, talent is hardly a problem here but we'd love to have more.
| Name | H.S. | Rank | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commits | |||
| 1. 4* Cayden Jones | Christ School in Arden, NC (W NC) | 247: #147, On3: #171, Comp2: #159 | Alabama has been looking more and more at hybrid LB types who could end up on the EDGE or off-ball (Jihaad Campell, Qua Russaw) - Cayden Jones is another, playing a ton off-ball and walking down to the edge and will likely project into a Terrell Lewis/Dallas Turner - type role. Since last year, Cayden had been up-front about wanting the green light to commit and jumped on it when he got the chance. |
| Top Targets | |||
| 1. 5* Dylan Stewart | Friendship Collegiate Academy in Washington DC | 247: #10, On3: #9, Comp2: #9 | Maybe the top pure Edge guy, Dylan reminds me of Keon Keeley from last cycle; similar build, bend and length. Visits to Alabama, Ohio State, Miami, South Carolina and UGA have put all 5 in contention, similar to Keeley. I'd give the Gamecocks and Hurricanes the edge going into the summer but Alabama is RIGHT there and another visit to campus could flip the script. |
| 2. 4* Jordan Ross | Vestavia Hills in Birmingham, AL | 247: #38, On3: #33, Comp2: #35 | A high-end Edge, Jordan flashes natural talent that can only grow with development. A little undersized, Alabama has told him to gain weight and camp prior to a serious pursuit, giving UGA and Tennessee an early lead. This could change quickly this summer, as Jordan finds his way onto campus. |
| 3. 5* Colin Simmons | Duncanville in Duncanville, TX (DFW Metro) | 247: #4, On3: #3, Comp2: #3 | One of the Nation's top athletes, Simmons effortlessly flies around off the edge. LSU and Texas are battling it out thus far but Alabama will continue to work here. |
Overview: There's somewhat of a logjam of older player at the LB position so I would expect attrition after 2023, which will need to be replaced by incoming players.
| Name | H.S. | Rank | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commits | |||
| 1. 4* Sterling Dixon | Mobile Christian School in Mobile, AL | 247: #188, On3: #164, Comp2: #176 | Similar to Cayden Jones, Sterling is another hybrid type - beginning as an edge type with some off-ball experience, Sterling will transition to ILB this offseason for Mobile Christian and then at Alabama. A long-time commit, Sterling will take some visits but there's not a huge concern there. |
| Top Targets | |||
| 1. 5* UGA Commit Demarcus Riddick | Chilton County in Clanton, AL (Cent AL) | 247: #25, On3: #38, Comp2: #31 | Demarcus is an excellent example of a modern LB and exactly what Alabama wants from the position: excellent weaving through traffic, sideline-to-sideline movement and can shade down to rush the passer. An early UGA commit, the strength of that commitment has wavered significantly and while there's still some work to do, the feeling is he could very likely flip to Alabama over the summer. |
| 2. 5* Justin Williams | Oak Ridge in Conroe, TX (Houston area) | 247: #13, On3: #12, Comp2: #12 | Similarly archetypal LB prospect: a bit slight at the moment, he makes up for it with WR-level speed and burst, making him a real weapon against a high-powered offense. Oregon, Alabama, and UGA are the likely top 3 - Bama made a good impression this spring but needs to get him back on campus ASAP - feels like UGA could swoop in here if Riddick flips. |
| 3. 4* Bradley Shaw | Hoover in Hoover, AL (Birmingham area) | 247: #176, On3: #139, Comp2: #157 | More of a traditional ILB, football IQ and sure tackling give him a Shaun Dion Hamilton feel. Alabama, Auburn, and UGA are the top 3 schools and this feels like Iron Bowl battle, where Alabama will win or lose based on how they push to reel him in. |
Overview: You gotta take a solid # of DBs every cycle but CB is one of the most important/most needed positions in 2024 after losses to the transfer portal.
| Name | H.S. | Rank | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commits | |||
| 1. 5* CB Jaylen Mbakwe | Clay-Chalkville in Pinson, AL (Birmingham area) | 247: #19, On3: #17, Comp2: #18 | A legitimate two-way player, Mbakwe, like Kool-Aid before him, could have been a 5* WR as well as DB but prefers defense. Jaylen is the defensive leader of the class and will be pretty instrumental in how the defensive class comes together. |
| Top Targets | |||
| 1. 5* CB Charles Lester III | Riverview in Sarasota, FL (Cent FL) | 247: #16, On3: #19, Comp2: #17 | An all-around athlete with the ability to play multiple DB positions, CL3 could be commited or off the board at any moment. There's a clear interest in Alabama on his end but the Tide have yet to really push, leaving the door wide open for FSU. He OVs on June 3rd so it's likely that we'll have a better idea of where Bama goes after that. |
| 2. 4* CB Jameer Grimsley | Tampa Catholic in Tampa, FL | 247: #230, On3: #195, Comp2: #212 | Somewhat of the prototypical Saban corner, with a long and lean build and a wingspan for days. Jameer has seen his recruitment skyrocket this spring and schools like Bama, FSU, and Penn State are pushing. Bama's got a great shot for this prospect who should continue to rise. |
| 3. 4* S UGA Commit Peyton Woodward | St. John Bosco in Bellflower, CA (SoCal) | 247: #69, On3: #70, Comp2: #69 | Peyton shows good play speed and flows to the target in run defense; a good balanced safety. Peyton has not been shy about letting other programs try to flip him from the Dawgs and his family is full of Alabama fans, making the Tide a very possible flip option. |
| 4. 4* CB Zabien Brown | Mater Dei in Santa Ana, CA (SoCal) | 247: #57, On3: #56 , Comp2: #56 | Zabien is a physical pass defender who excels at getting in passing lanes and making plays on the ball - not a specimen but a true competitor. As a Mater Dei kid, the axiom has been USC most often has first right of refusal so we'll see how the summer visits go and if Bama can/will make a push here. |
| 5. 5* S KJ Bolden | Buford in Buford, GA (Atlanta Metro) | 247: #8, On3: #5, Comp2: #6 | Likely the top DB in the 2024 class, KJ is how they come; a true 5* safety. UGA has a healthy lead thus far but Bama (alongside others) will have a chance to fight back during summer OVs |
| 6. 5* CB UGA Commit Ellis Robinson IV | IMG Academy in Bradenton, FL (Originally from CT) | 247: #5, On3: #7, Comp2: #6 | One of the stickiest DBs in the class, Ellis was the other 5* CB alongside Alabama freshman Desmond Ricks at IMG in 2023. Alabama led early but UGA got the momentum and the commitment. It's likely Ellis will take visits, including a potential OV to Alabama, but I would not predict a flip to Alabama at this time or in the future. |
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2023.06.01 08:02 Lordofthe305 CPWA Octane 5-31-23
 | submitted by Lordofthe305 to FantasyBookers [link] [comments] https://preview.redd.it/8blp7duc7b3b1.jpg?width=640&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=989f00fe053028c2db4c4e2a77f3dce628bcd46b We open with a recap of last week's main event featuring Keith Yang and the Jordans (Elijah, Deron "Ron", and Cedric) taking on "The Number One Pick" LeJuan Jones and Ivan Markov. LeJuan announces the names of the other competitors for his team, who are revealed to be General Wade and Guerrilla God, the Soldiers of Misfortune. A brawl ensues throughout the main event, leading to a low blow from Ivan Markov and Brother Julius running a distraction, allowing LeJuan Jones to win the match with a Game Winner on Yang. After the match, General Wade and Guerrilla God double-team Keith Yang and double-powerbomb him through a table. General Wade, Guerrilla God, along with LeJuan Jones and Ivan Markov stand victorious over the prone Keith Yang. The moment of silence ends and we open with a 30-second intro highlighting all of the stars of CPWA as The Roots' "BOOM" plays in the background. The intro ends with Shelton Jordan holding the CPWA Heavyweight Championship belt over his head. Pyro goes off in the arena for a few seconds, followed by cheering from the crowd. Brian Kinsley: We welcome to CPWA Octane! We are coming to you live from Seattle, Washington! Brian Kinsley, Anthony Harris, and Sir Samuel Stewart, and we have a fantastic show for you tonight! We continue with the Super Junior Carnival, plus The Mortician will be in tag team action, and our main event, Shelton and Deron "Ron" Jordan take on General Wade and Guerrilla God, the Soldiers of Misfortune. Let's get right to the action! We cut to the ring. Announcer: The following contest is scheduled for... Crowd: ONE FALL! GACKT's "Redemption" plays in the arena Announcer: Introducing first, from Osaka, Japan, she is Shiori Yoshimura. Brian Kinsley: Shiori Yoshimura won the CPWA Women's International Championship from "The Iron Maiden" Mary Addams at Fatal Alliance in what seems to be the end of their rivalry. Sir Samuel Stewart: Just because you say it's the end of something, doesn't mean it won't pick back up. I'm sure "The Iron Maiden" will be waiting to get her shot again, even if she has her sights set on going for the CPWA Women's Championship. Johann Sebastian Bach's Air on G String plays in the arena. Announcer: And her opponent, from the posh hills of the Hamptons, she is Priscilla Pierce. Brian Kinsley: We haven't seen Priscilla Pierce in a few months, and that's because she was touring Japan and Puerto Rico. Anthony Harris: She could've sent us a postcard or two about her time away from here, but now she's got a big test ahead of her. Match 1: Shiori Yoshimura vs. Priscilla Pierce A decent, if not solid opener that saw Priscilla Pierce get some offense early, but Shiori shrugged it off, went on the offense herself, and didn't look back. Give Priscilla credit for weathering the storm and even trying to fight back, but it wasn't enough as Shiori ended the match with a Spinning Bison Bomb. 3 out of 5 stars. We cut backstage and we see Kevin Meyers interviewing Rory Irvine. Rory says that his first-round victory against Kelly Lawton was no fluke and he plans to go all the way just to prove that he belongs with the best in the Cruiserweight division. Rory then heads out for his match. We cut to the locker room area and we see Brother Julius approaching the Soldiers of Misfortune. Brother Julius tells General Wade and Guerrilla God that he has the plan to eliminate the Jordans and Keith Yang altogether, courtesy of "The Number One Pick" LeJuan Jones. General Wade tells Brother Julius that he and Guerrilla God are all ears. We cut back to the ring. Announcer: The following contest is scheduled for one fall and it is a quarterfinal match for the CPWA Super Junior Carnival Tournament. The O'Reillys and Paddyhats' "Barrels of Whiskey" plays in the arena. Announcer: Introducing first, from Dublin, Ireland, he is Rory Irvine. Brian Kinsley: Rory Irvine has been riding a high wave of momentum ever since beating CPWA Kelly Lawton in the first round of the Super Junior Carnival. Sir Samuel Stewart: The young lad definitely is feeling himself as the youth would say, but let's hope it doesn't come back to bite him. 80s Synth Track Nightscapes plays in the arena. Announcer: And his opponent, from Los Angeles, California, he is one-half of StarrVice, Mark Starr. Brian Kinsley: Mark Starr and MAGNUM Koyama had a decent match but it was ruined by the interference of Silver Eyes. Anthony Harris: Then after that, Silver Eyes and MAGNUM Koyama were brawling thereafter. I'm sure these two are gonna bash in the ring again. Match 2: CPWA Super Junior Carnival Tournament: Quarterfinal: Rory Irvine vs. Mark Starr Another decent match that saw some high-flying, technical holds, and a lot of hard-hitting striking. Mark Starr had control of the match, keeping Irvine grounded. Irvine started to make some offense of his own, but Starr kept him at bay. As the match ramped up, CPWA Cruiserweight Champion Kelly Lawton looked to get even against Rory, only to knock out Starr by accident. Rory would get the upper hand on Lawton, knocking him out and hitting the Celtic Crucifix Pin on Starr to win the match. Rory Irvine advances to the semi-finals where he will take on Money Mark or Owen Benoit-Jericho. 3 out of 5 stars. We cut to a graphic hyping the other quarterfinal matches of the Super Junior Carnival Tournament, including "The Korean Idol" Han Sang-Hoon taking on Steve Odenkirk, Ricky Vice taking on Devon Gatlin-Tyson, and Money Mark taking on Owen Benoit-Jericho, which is next. ***Commercial Break*** We come back from commercial break and we see Kelly Lawton groggily walking backstage. He bumps into Lord Phillip Byron IV, who scolds him for not getting his payback on Rory Irvine. "The Iron Maiden" Mary Addams approaches Kelly and tells him better luck next time. We go to the locker room area and we see Shelton and Deron "Ron" Jordan getting ready for their main event tag match. Shelton says that he wants payback for what the Soldiers of Misfortune did to Keith Yang. Ron agrees and says that the Soldiers of Misfortune will get beaten up tonight. We cut back to the ring. Announcer: The following contest is scheduled for one fall and it is a quarterfinal match for the CPWA Super Junior Carnival Tournament. Almighty 3's "To The Other MC's" plays in the arena. Announcer: Introducing first, from Opa-Locka, Florida, he is Money Mark! Brian Kinsley: Money Mark pulled off a miracle against Adam Odenkirk last week on Octane. He managed to survive the onslaught from the first round. Sir Samuel Stewart: Unfortunately, there is more onslaught on the way, and it's not gonna be pretty. Blood Brothers' "Replica" plays in the arena Announcer: And his opponent, representing The Commonwealth, from Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, he is Owen Benoit-Jericho. Brian Kinsley: Owen Benoit-Jericho had one of the best matches, if not the best match of the first round as he defeated Angel Vega. Anthony Harris: That was a hard-hitting match and it could've gone either way. Let's see how this match pans out. Match 2: CPWA Super Junior Carnival Tournament: Quarterfinal: Money Mark vs. Owen Benoit-Jericho This was the match of the night so far, and perhaps the best match of the quarterfinals. Owen took control of the match, using his amateur grappling and technical skills to ground Money Mark. Owen then used his submission holds to weaken Money Mark, only for him to survive and reach the ropes. Owen's relentlessness continued with German suplexes, but Money Mark managed to flip out of the fifth German suplex, leading to his offense. Money Mark was flying all over the ring, hitting Owen with a series of dropkicks, hurricanranas, and head scissor takedowns. Owen tried to go for the cross-face, but Money Mark hit the Moneymaker to get the win. Money Mark advances to the semi-final to face Rory Irvine. 4 out of 5 stars. We then see a one-minute hype package for The Mortician. The hype package ends and we cut back to the ring. Announcer: The following contest is scheduled for one fall with a 25-minute time limit. An organ cover to Runaway Casket plays in the arena. Announcer: Introducing first, from Resting Peace Funeral Home, he is the CPWA Television Champion The Mortician! Brian Kinsley: The Mortician made quite a surprising return at Fatal Alliance when he not only challenged for the CPWA Television Championship, but also won it! Sir Samuel Stewart: I knew I felt an eerie chill in the arena for some reason and there he was. Hp Boyz - Engineers. plays in the arena. Announcer: His tag team partner, from Maui, Hawaii, he is Kahuna Maiavia. Brian Kinsley: Kahuna Maiavia has kept busy in his native Hawaii, training local wrestlers and touring New Zealand. Sir Samuel Stewart: He told me he found some promising trainees in Christchurch and Auckland. Hope to see them in CPWA one day. Nu Breed's "Florida" plays in the arena Announcer: And their opponent, introducing first, accompanied by his alligator Sunshine, from the Sunshine State, he is the CPWA Television Champion, "Florida Man" Gary Strange Gary Strange takes out a microphone. Gary Strange: Now before I go in that ring and make mince meat out of the both of you to feed Sunshine, I have a tag team partner that I think you are familiar with, Mortician, and just like me, he's seeing red. The lights in the arena suddenly turn red as Aka-Manto Chase Theme plays in the arena. Aka-Manto rushes through the crowd and attacks The Mortician. Match 4: The Mortician and Kahuna Maiavia vs. "Florida Man" Gary Strange and Aka-Manto This felt more like a tornado tag team match rather than an actual tag team match as all four competitors brawled all through ringside. Gary Strange would isolate Kahuna Maiavia away from Mortician, allowing Aka-Manto to beat the living daylights out of him. After an utter brawl throughout ringside, Aka-Manto won the match with Redrum on the Mortician to get the win. 3 out of 5 stars. After the arena lights go out and we hear an ominous female voice. Ominous Female Voice: Pretty Boy...oh Pretty Boy...punish...them...all! Glitter Wasteland's "Cold War (Nightcrawler Remix)" plays in the arena as Pretty Boy makes his way to the ring. Pretty Boy glares at Aka-Manto and then at the prone Mortician. Pretty Boy and Aka-Manto viciously assault Mortician. Pretty Boy then performs a chokeslam and tombstone piledriver on Mortician. We cut to a graphic hyping the other quarterfinal matches of the Super Junior Carnival Tournament, including "The Korean Idol" Han Sang-Hoon taking on Steve Odenkirk, Ricky Vice taking on Devon Gatlin-Tyson, and the main event between Shelton and Deron "Ron" Jordan taking on the Soldiers of Misfortune. ***Commercial Break*** We come back from commercial break and we see Elijah and Cedric Jordan talking to each other as they are on their way to meeting Shelton and Ron. Brother Julius approaches them with a "message" from LeJuan Jones. Brother Julius slaps Cedric as he and Elijah chase Brother Julius. The Soldiers of Misfortune ambush Elijah and Cedric, knocking them out. We cut to the ring. Announcer: The following contest is scheduled for one fall and it is a quarterfinal match for the CPWA Super Junior Carnival Tournament. Rain's "It's Raining" begins to play in the arena Announcer: Introducing first, from Seoul, South Korea, he is one half of the CPWA Cruiserweight Tag Team Champions, "The Korean Idol" Han Sang-Hoon! Brian Kinsley: "The Korean Idol" Han Sang-Hoon put on a stellar match against Mexico's El Colibri in what was surely a high-flying battle. Sir Samuel Stewart: I swore if I blinked even once, I would've missed something crazy. Those two put on a tremendous match. Franz Ferdinand's "Take Me Out" plays in the arena. Announcer: And his opponent, from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, he is Steve Odenkirk. Brian Kinsley: Steve Odenkirk put on a masterful performance against Sharnaz Khan in the first round and looks do so again. Anthony Harris: He's got skills on the mat, and he can even surprise you with his high-flying. Watch out for him if he makes it all the way. Match 5: CPWA Super Junior Carnival Tournament: Quarterfinal: "The Korean Idol" Han Sang-Hoon vs. Steve Odenkirk There were lots of technical exchanges between the two competitors, a bit of anything you can do, I can do better. It was evenly matched early in the contest, but "The Korean Idol" took over the match and didn't look back. Han Sang-Hoon hit the K-Pop Drop on Steve to get the win. "The Korean Idol" Han Sang-Hoon advances to the semi-finals where he will take on either Ricky Vice or Devon Gatlin-Tyson. 3 out of 5 stars. Backstage, we see Shelton and Ron getting past several referees and road agents as they look at the prone bodies of Elijah and Cedric. Shelton and Ron ask the referees and road agents what happened, to which none of the referees and road agents knew what occurred. Unbeknownst to everyone, "The Number One Pick" LeJuan Jones and Brother Julius were standing in the background, watching everything unfold. We cut to the ring. Announcer: The following contest is scheduled for one fall and it is a quarterfinal match for the CPWA Super Junior Carnival Tournament. 80s Synth Track Nightscapes plays in the arena. Announcer: Introducing first, from Los Angeles, California, he is one-half of StarrVice, Ricky Vice. Brian Kinsley: Earlier, Mark Starr could not reach the semifinals, but Ricky Vice may have a chance to do so. Anthony Harris: I think he has what it takes, but so does his opponent. Leo Arnaud's "Bulger's Dream" plays in the arena Announcer: Introducing first, representing The Olympians, from Jacksonville, Florida, Devon Gatlin-Tyson. Brian Kinsley: Devon Gatlin-Tyson is still making a big statement that he belongs at the top of the Cruiserweight division. He defeated "The Hi-Fli Kid" Jerome Evans in the first round, albeit with help from Miles Orozco and Chip Day. Sir Samuel Stewart: There you go speaking hearsay, Brian. Jerome Evans got distracted and that allowed DGT to get the victory. He does allow me to call him DGT right? Match 6: CPWA Super Junior Carnival Tournament: Quarterfinal: Ricky Vice vs. Devon Gatlin-Tyson Earlier in the night, Money Mark and Owen Benoit-Jericho had a stellar match, but this one stole the show. Both Ricky and DGT were pulling off hurricanranas, poison ranas, headscissor takedowns, and even diving planchas on each other. The intensity was truly ramped up by the number of striking and counterstriking attacks both competitors were pulling off. Ricky looked to have the match won the Vice Lock, but Miguel Sandoval Jr. distracted the referee on behalf of DGT. This allowed Gatlin-Tyson to comeback and surprise Ricky with a cradle pin attempt, leading to a split-second DDT to get the win. Devon Gatlin-Tyson advances to the semifinals, where he will face "The Korean Idol" Han Sang-Hoon. FIVE STARS!!!!! We cut to a graphic hyping the main event between Shelton and Deron "Ron" Jordan taking on the Soldiers of Misfortune. ***Commercial Break*** Brian Kinsley: Next week, CPWA will be in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada for Octane. The semifinals for the CPWA Super Junior Carnival Tournament are set as Rory Irvine takes on Money Mark, and "The Korean Idol" Han Sang-Hoon takes on Devon Gatlin Tyson. Plus, The Mortician will be in tag team action as he teams up with Mangod against Pretty Boy and Aka-Manto. Announcer: Our main event is scheduled for... Crowd: ONE FALL!!! Pete Rock & C.L. Smooth's "The Creator" plays in the arena. Announcer: Introducing first, from Miami, Florida, the team of Shelton, Deron "Ron" The Jordans. Shyne's "Bad Boyz" plays in the arena. Announcer: And their opponents, from the Trenches, the team of General Wade and Guerrilla God, the Soldiers of Misfortune. Main Event: The Jordans (Shelton and Deron "Ron") vs. The Soldiers of Misfortune (General Wade and Guerrilla God) As great as the rest of the card was, this match was a blemish in the form of a not so good, but not so terrible match. All four competitors beat the living crap out of each other. At one point, the Jordans had the upper hand, only for Ivan Markov interfered in the match, taking out Ron. This left Shelton at the mercy of the Soldiers of Misfortune as Guerrilla God pulled off Guerilla In The Mist (Modified Gun Stun) on Shelton, leading to General Wade to get the pin. 2 out of 5 stars. After the match, the Soldiers of Misfortune, along with Ivan Markov assaulted Shelton some more and put him triple powerbombed him through a table as "The Number One Pick" LeJuan Jones and Brother Julius look on in approval as Octane fades to black. Results from FedSimulator.com https://preview.redd.it/gqtk6z3ckc3b1.png?width=3302&format=png&auto=webp&s=6ddef3d02bff8e7ab760bc779f00eb7886a89296 |
2023.06.01 02:08 Locke7768 The beginning of a YA novel incorporating Astral/Star Jelly
Hi Leon and Sasha,
I miss you guys so much. I hope that you are safe in Moscow. I think of you often. I hope that you and your mom (grandparents and Irina/Phil) are okay.
I hope you mom reads this to you. I hope that it helps you go to sleep. I will write more and post it for you to read.
Astral or Star Jelly is a real event/substance that has been found in all areas of the earth (please Wikipedia it). My friend performed a DNA analysis on a sample of Star Jelly, and the results were amazing. His group concluded that the sample mostly had mitochondrial-like DNA, but it was very different from anything reported (much longer and having possible different base pairs).
Astral/Star Jelly is often found after meteorite showers or other astral events. I found some when I was young (heavy Northern Lights and Meteor Shower event). I crafted the first chapter of a potential novel. Please give feedback. I am switching to google docs, so soon I will have links to my works.
Yes, Charlotte edited the chapter. She kept saying to keep it simple and direct. We hope to see you in Turkey this summer.
Chapter 1
The Byproduct of Gods
with revisions by your favorite daughter
📷
Her owners had held her for so many lifetimes that the stream, which flowed, near her family’s hut was gone. The trees that provided fuel, housing, and food were missing, replaced by a prairie. After all the years of the concept of returning home keeping her going, she did not feel safe. There were no people near her village, and it took her days to unearth signs of her youth. She discovered the land that she had first walked on only because the mountain and stones did not move. As she cleaned the Blue Volga granite idol of her parents’ deity, she felt nothing. The blue-green face of the god looked sad to her. He also was no longer safe. His followers were dead and his power forgotten.
Her first owner was a traveler. They moved with each new moon. Her master felt safe but she failed to understand that her entourage plodded along a predictable path. After many decades, a tale of a demon woman who did not age traveled the same circuit. Finally, a village attacked the demon. Her second owner was the daughter of the woman who bought her. The daughter decided to build a fortress and to rule her fief. Her third owner was the daughter’s son who had grown tired of never gaining his birthright. His guilt and myopic greed caused him to sell her to an alchemist. From that point on, she was an item for trade or barter.
Her final master failed to return home. She remained in his caravan for a week, performing her duties. When she had eaten all the food, she felt justified using her knowledge to destroy her metal shackles. It took her five days to dissolve her bindings with her jellies.
She thought of the places that she had felt safe. Those havens were all underground. A magician made her live in the passages beneath Kyiv when he was being hunted. The tunnels funneled the 15 rivers of the city and protected inhabitants from invaders or punishing ruling forces. For twenty years, she had lived in the coquina catacombs of Odessa. A man who thought he was a seer was convinced that his power had attracted the attention of dragons and demons. No one could approach the lair unseen.
After a week of searching the now unfamiliar area, the woman began to carve her home from the soil of her childhood. She spent fifty years making her home safe. Only she would know the paths and twists of her underground world. Only she would know where the escape exits emerged into the surrounding world.
Eventually, her home attracted others. The woman could have chased them away, but she felt a need to observe people. When the fourth generations of villagers were aging to the grave, there was no hiding the fact that she had not died. The villagers erected a semi-circular wall around the entrance to the woman’s cave. The wall grew and the woman did not protest the separation.
Generations later, people whispered that the villagers maintained the defenses of their community to keep the woman away from the town’s children at night. In the tavern, each generation of gallant males would boast that they would be the one to remove the blight of the woman from the town. When she inevitably outlasted them, she would attend the funeral of the most vocal warrior from each age group.
Daily the woman would remove more soil from her dugout. The community would search her discarded diggings for possible minerals or stones. They did not share any discoveries with the woman. During times of blight or famine, the locals would collect her soil and remove it from the community.
People would peer around the wall to scan the woman’s home. As the village grew, a leader placed two chairs at endpoints of the semi-circle barrier. During full moons, periods of strife, festivals, and other social events, menacing men sat in the chairs. Infrequently, people tried to enter the woman’s home. Aside from the guards, it was the more distraught people of the village who visited her.. The most recent person to enter the woman’s home was a grieving widow. Her grief made her seek the woman to find answers about her loss. Three mornings later, the villagers found the widow in the public square with drapes of herbs, flowers, and crafts around her limbs. The people thought the widow was dead or mindless from torture. When the widow awoke, she went to her house and began the chores for the day. When pressed about the woman’s abode, the widow would state that the home was loved, clean, and well maintained.
On the spring day when the widow was about to remarry, she was again discovered in the square coated with ropes of herbs, flowers, and idols. The woman disappeared for a decade after the wedding, but the widow brought her newborns to the opening of the earthwork to declare their names into the sunken space.
The aging hamlet relaxed when the woman was away. There was a sense of freedom in the people. They did not fear the retribution of the woman for their actions, and parents could not correct their children with threats of giving them to the woman. At times, the leaders of the people would consider filling in the woman’s hovel, but shovels and spades would split if used to cover the opening of the woman’s home. One regretful man tried using a mule and cart to dump rocks into the fastness. The stones crushed the man after his own tram flipped over on him.
Although the townsfolk feared and despised the woman, she had free reign in the village. As an indicator that she was amongst the people, the woman would adorn her head with a dark purple scarf. No other members of the village would wear that color. They looked for it whenever the woman shopped at the market. The woman paid with old and foreign coins, but the merchants welcomed the precious metals they were composed of. During the dark days of winter, the people collected the woman’s tender and deposited it into a lead box. The villagers had a belief that the more people touched the woman’s currency, the longer the winter would be.
After the community fortified against the woman, religious leaders organized efforts to erect carved idols and large wagon-wheel hexes aimed at her home. Each generation attempted to counter the woman with the current symbols of spiritual protection. The largest structure in the village was now a church, and the threshold of the church was oriented to face the woman’s home.
The woman was home when Alyona began her schooling in the church. She had learned the fundamentals of math, reading, and writing. She knew that her coursework would end soon. The village expected girls to be useful to a limit. Her mother walked her only surviving child to school along a path that would prevent their shadow from falling close to the woman’s realm. The villagers performed this ritual after someone claimed that the woman had controlled their behavior by stealing their shadow.
Alyona was daydreaming during school of a life away from the village when the woman touched her. Alyona had spent the morning in the woods collecting mushrooms and other edibles. Her findings made for great, free additions to their usually simple meals. . On days that Alyona returned with a bounty, they shared the extras with neighbors. It was a wager that these people would remember the gift and provide Alyona’s home with food during lean days.
The person gripping Alyona twirled her body so that she faced the opposite direction. Alyona assumed the culprit was another student or a young assistant at the church. It could have been a boy attempting to bully her to get her attention. She lowered her right hand, preparing to use the back to slap the violator. Alyona’s willingness to confront her accoster left when she saw the face of the woman under her purple scarf. Alyona knew she should look away from the woman, but her eyes locked with the woman’s gaze. All the stories the Alyona heard about the town ghoul stated that the woman was so old that her skeleton was all that was left of her body. The woman’s youthful face surprised Alyona. There were no lines or furrows on the woman’s forehead. If anything, Alyona would have stated that the woman’s face glowed.
I can smell it on your hands. The woman placed Alyona’s fingers under her nose. The force of the drawn air startled Alyona. She thought that the woman had pulled the top layer of skin off her index finger. Alyona’s toes curled when the woman sampled her hand. Across a church aisle, one of the priests was herding schoolchildren. He spotted the two of them. His face darkened at the sight of their contact.
WHAT IS ON YOUR HANDS, ALYONA? The priest shouted over the children.
Nothing, Sir. The woman’s tongue darted over the tip of Alyona’s index finger. I was harvesting in the woods before class.
You touched more than growths and nuts this morning, Singleton Child of the Crying Matron. The woman chewed on her thumbnail.
Alyona did not like her mother being referred to in that way, but the eyes of the woman immobilized her. How could she react forcefully to a person who was savoring her hand?
She is mine today, priest. The woman held out her other hand to the shepherd of the church. I will pay her mother for occupying her child for the day, and she will be returned unsoiled and whole.
The priest brought a gurgle of protest up but was shut down quickly.
My tunnels are beneath your place of worship and the bedchambers of Mistress Blake, The women stomped on the ground, and I know all of what has occurred within your walls.
Alyona realized that she was screaming when her throat began to sear. She expected that the woman’s hole would be dark, but the home glowed. There were mirrors and reflective glasses positioned throughout the house to harness sun rays from many holes and entrances in the surface of the residence. Therefore, Alyona was able to see herself yelling on fifty surfaces.
Hush child. The woman touched her mouth. Do not be afraid of the manner in which I inspected you. It is a show for the people. I only want to talk about your morning, and then I will let you go with a full belly and money to buy many toys.
Alyona felt her utterances dwindle down to a wheeze that slipped out her lips.
You have the scent on your fingers, girl. The woman was now examining Alyona’s left hand. It is on both hands, so you must have found a huge source.
A source? Alyona wanted to look at her hands but she maintained her attention on the woman.
Sit. The woman pointed to a well-padded chair. Sit and I will return with small pies and honey.
Alyona hovered over the seat. She wanted to be strong and to stand, but then she smelt the pies. The chair was very soft. There were no pins, claws, or spines in the cushion like she feared.
Alyona. The voice of the woman wove through the tunnels of the underground network. Alyona felt her name circle around her. She had never been afraid of her name before. Alyona Pistan…daughter of Fiva and the missing soldier.
Alyona closed her fist and felt the pain of her nails digging into her palms.
Fiva lives off the salary that the Duke must pay for your father’s military service. Your mother knows that the Duke no longer wants to pay this burden.
Alyona wanted to speak but her throat stung from screaming.
Your father’s name is Bay. He earned this title because he would not stop speaking when he was a baby. Like a horse that always had an opinion, your father would squawk at everyone before he knew words. The voice was now coming directly towards Alyona. My first gift to you and Fiva is the information that your father lives. There was a pause in the woman’s words. An enemy does not enslave him; he is lost with the simpleton that led him away. One day a map will lead him home, child.
The woman emerged from a cutout with a basket laden with pies, a pot of honey, wooden utensils, and slices of ham. In her other hand, she held a bucket of colored water.
We will eat together. The woman placed the basket on Alyona’s lap and retrieved two cups. After you accept the first pie, I will tell you an important secret of mine.
I do not think I want to know any of your secrets Starly-Gradda.
The woman laughed and placed the small wooden spoon into the pie directly in front of Alyona.
Elder-grandmother, you call me. The woman dunked a cup into the water and held it in her left hand. I think that term is the nicest thing a child has called me in a lifetime.
Alyona brought the food to her lips. She smelt the mint, berries, and kasha. Gently she laid the pie onto her tongue. She did not chew; she only let it rest in her mouth. She expected that the food would burn or numb her. The taste was full and made her wish to spit the substance out because it was too good to be real.
Ah, she eats. The woman clapped her hands. I was your age when I saw my first god being born.
Alyona choked on the pie.
I was sitting by a riverbank when the god entered our place. The woman drank from her cup. It was a bright yellow fish with shiny scales. I saw it come from nothing to being here.
The woman snapped her fingers and Alyona swallowed her food.
No one prayed for its existence. No one was singing for it to bring salvation. The woman made circles with her hands in front of Alyona. As far as I know, simple fish do not worship gods, but a god came for the fish of that river.
The woman tapped Alyona’s hand to take another bite of pie.
It floated there. The woman held up her hands. Here I am…a young maiden…thinking a god or demon turned itself into this creature to seduce or corrupt me. Again, a chuckle came from the woman. No other god cared about this special fish. I think it was floating only because it did not realize that a fish should swim in water.
Alyona grabbed a slice of ham. It had been two months since she had meat that was not paste.
Eventually, the golden fish fell into the water and swam away. The woman pulled back her hood and revealed her full face to Alyona. I tried to follow it, but it swam away from shore, and I lost sight of it.
Alyona cleared her throat and licked her lips.
Girl, if you want a drink, just take it. The woman filled Alyona’s cup and handed it to her. The ham is not that salty, but I think your sore throat would improve if you drank.
Alyona sipped the water. It did not taste bitter. It did not smell foul. In fact, the water’s taste was a mixture of apples, roses, and plums.
I told my mother, and she whispered to my father that they needed to trade me into marriage now, before I became soft in the head. I did not want to marry at my age, so I told her that I would go find proof of my shiny golden fish. The woman used a toothpick to dollop out a portion of honey. There was nothing in the water when I returned. I waded in the cool stream. I put my head under the surface and looked at the rocks for the golden shimmer. I found nothing.
Alyona ate the ham.
I was weeping on the spot that I saw the god be born. My heart was full of dread. I started to believe that the shiny golden god was not real. I was so sad that I was quickly accepting that I would be married to an old man so that he would tolerate my problems. The woman tapped her top lip. I felt that my mother had no love for me. I thought that if the golden fish were my mother, it would love me just because that is what should be.
Alyona selected another pie. This pie contained spices and mashed nuts.
Your mother loves you. I listen to all the words spoken in this village. If a parent lacks love for their child, I correct them or have them leave. The woman did not form a fist. She turned her hand into a claw, the conviction in her words hanging in the air until she relaxed it. As all hope was gone, I put my hand down in the grass, and felt the substance.
The woman held her hand flat towards Alyona.
It was clear. It was squishy like the rendered bones of stock animals. It had a pleasant smell, but I was scared to taste it. The woman cupped her hands. I gathered this glob. I used the front of my dress to carry the material. When I believed that the last speck was contained in my clothing, I ran to my parents.
Alyona had felt something similar in the forest that morning.
My mother accused me of only finding the discarded waste of an animal. She threatened to smear it over my face. The woman moved the honey pot closer to Alyona. My father took me to the village shaman, and he looked at the material. They scraped the material off my clothes, but not around my breasts. The shaman thought it was bone waste from an owl, the eggs of a species of frog, a shell-less egg from a dying bird, a mushroom that was usually underground, or the spit of an evil spirit.
Alyona’s eyes widened.
Of course, something as amazing as what we found would be considered evil. The woman waved her hand. I have discovered many bundles and I have never seen the substance created by an evil thing.
No? Alonya asked, breaking her food-induced silence.
No, child. The woman touched the tip of Alyona’s nose. It is not to say that evil people and things are not interested in the substance, but the creation of it does not come from evil.
Alyona resumed consuming the luxurious treats.
The morning after I saw the god being born, people started to fall sick. The woman sighed. My mother blamed the god substance. It was hard for the village not to turn on me after my mother told them it was my fault. The woman’s shoulders lowered. I had not slept that night, and I did not clean after my discovery. They put me in a crate that only had three holes. My father fed me and still cared for me.
Alyona did not know how to react but to nod at the woman.
When my elder brother was close to death from the illness, my mother brought him to my crate. She told me that I would have to watch my brother die because I was an evil liar who unleashed a demon on the community. I could see him wither in pain from the openings in my prison. The woman moved a third pie in front of Alyona. The night my mother told me that my brother would die, my father talked to me. It was an act of rebellion against my mother, but he asked me if I knew what had happened. I cried to him about how this was not something I did. I pleaded with my dad that I would never make my brother suffer, and that the day watching him had crushed my will to live.
The woman tore a slice of ham into pieces and placed pieces of the meat on the floor of her keep.
My father and I wept. He told me that I was likely to die because of the sickness. The woman tapped the tray. Not that I was sick… or was likely to get sick, but because it would seem as justice to the people. I knew his words were true, but I could not think of anything else to say.
The third pie was berry and egg meringue. Alyona did not know that pies like this one existed.
I entered the crate in the dress I wore when I saw the god be born. The truth is that I only had that dress and a wedding dress. My mother kept the dress I would’ve worn to my wedding in a box near her bed. A cat approached the pieces of ham. My grandfather had given me the wedding dress when he died, but she took it from me. My father used what he received from his father to buy me the only special clothes I would have in my life. My father loved me, Alyona, just like yours.
The cat touched Alyona’s leg. It startled her, and she confirmed that the cat was not black.
We talked about the jelly I had found. My father told me that he had tried to burn it, thinking it was an odd piece of animal fat. The substance did not burn. My father then tried to crush it out of existence, but the material was soft, but not easily destroyed. The woman touched the center of her chest. My father’s words made me remember that there was still some of the jelly on my dress. I touched where they did not scrape, and there was a patch of the substance. I pinched the substance and it coated my fingers. It felt warm, but not hot.
Alyona was glad that the cat had returned to the ham.
My father grew angry. He was arguing with the air that if he were a real man, he would protect his daughter and revive his son. He was a good father. The woman showed Alyona a closed smile. He was crying because he knew he could do nothing. I was sore and battered from being in the crate. I felt so greasy and disgusting. I thought I was no longer the same girl that wandered in the meadows.
The woman offered to refill Alyona’s water cup.
For some reason, I brought the fingers I had used to touch the smear of the jelly that was on my dress to my mouth. The taste was tangy, but not foul. It was better than the food that my father had inserted into the holes in my crate. I sucked on it. With both hands, the woman rattled the basket. I felt so much better. It was amazing. I could not see it, but I felt my dry, cracked lips heal. My mind became clear. I knew what I had to do.
Alyona stopped eating to listen to the woman.
I asked my father to place my brother’s mouth in front of the biggest hole of my crate. He thought I was mad. He accused me of confessing that I pledged my soul to demons, but I told him that I felt different after praying to our god. The woman looked directly at Alyona. I rubbed my fingers on the same spot of my dress, and I placed them into my brother’s mouth. He was so weak that he did not respond to this action. I moved my fingers along his gums, his teeth, I even touched his tongue.
Alyona spoke to the woman. Was he healed right away?
The woman chuckled.
I like you Alyona, but you have the impatience of a child. The woman touched Alyona’s chin. It was not a sudden reversal, but he did not die. People died that night, but my brother lived. More importantly, he was the only person to get even slightly better. He was not running in the fields, talking to everyone better, but he was no longer crying in pain. His eyes were no longer looking like they would burst. Moreover, my father stopped crying for us.
I am glad. Alyona looked at the half-eaten pie. She wanted more of it, but she thought it would be rude to return to eating.
It was another day, another four deaths, before my father told the shaman that he thought I could heal the sick. They pulled me from the crate and inspected me. The women called for me to be stoned. The men wanted me burned. The shaman asked how my brother was alive, and how I was still in good health. The woman tapped her right temple. I knew I had to lie. I knew that I could not tell the truth. I had to convince these scared people that I was not dangerous.
The woman shuffled the half pie back to Alyona.
I fell in front of the shaman and shouted, ‘The Green Man came to me.’ I do not think you know the Green Man, child, but he was the god of the people before Christ came to the land. The woman pointed to a drawing of a large tree man. It matters not what god I said talked to me. I yelled that I knew that I did something wicked, but our god had forgiven me, and I was now able to cure the sickness that was killing the village.
Alyona returned to eating the pie.
They whipped me and bound me. I feared that they would burn my dress, so I yelled that the Green Man said that if I were to heal the village, I would need to be as I was when he forgave and blessed me. The woman opened her hands so that Alyona could see her palms. The oldest people would pray in this manner. They tied my legs together and only allowed my right arm to be free. However, that was all I needed to start to heal the people of my life.
Alyona finished her meal.
I would say our prayers; tell the people who were watching that the Green Man wanted everyone to close their eyes so that his healing ray could hit the person. The woman pulled her head backwards with a laugh. During this time, I would pull some of the jelly off my dress and stick the substance in the person’s mouth.
The woman laughed deeply.
What? Alyona asked.
I did not know that so many of my fellow villagers were missing teeth. Children of the people that always had food, had damaged and missing teeth. I was trapped and bored, so my mind began to guess how many disgusting teeth injuries each person would have.
Alyona shivered.
I thought the teeth were bad, but then it got worse. The woman looked upwards. It was on the third day of my healing that it happened for the first time. It was night, and the shaman had decided to blind me with a rag during the healing. Someone’s parents said that they did not want me to steal the soul of their child while I healed them. I placed my finger into a very small mouth, and everything was different. I did not feel a tingle from treating a person with the substance. I sang our songs to Green Man and rubbed jelly over my right fingers. I had planned to give the infant as much of the stuff as I could. The woman covered her eyes. The tiny body jumped, but there was still no response.
Why? Alyona wanted to know.
The baby was dead. I did not know if the god-gift could bring life back to a person. I was scared that if I did not return this child alive to their parents, I would be killed. The woman bobbed her head to the ceiling of her cave home. I kept doing it for a long time. I replenished the coating of my fingers four times, but still there was no living response. I finally shouted into the air. I faked arguing with the Green Man. I begged him to give me the infant. I spoke words that no one had ever heard in an odd voice that I thought would sound like the Green Man. This battle went on for minutes until I asked if whoever brought this child to me would allow the Green Man to have the special child live with him. I am not sure if the parents knew that their baby had died. I am uncertain if the parents wanted me to do something that I thought was evil, but a male voice eventually responded that it would be an honor if his young son joined the hunters of the Green Man.
Alyona gasped.
I spoke in my fake Green Man’s voice that the parents of his new hunter would be honored with a new child by the next spring. I informed the parents that they would find gifts for the next year. The woman rocked her head so that she was looking at the floor. They brought me five more dead people to heal, but no more deceased children. I did not make a fuss over the dead adults. I stated that the Green Man blamed the family for their death. If they truly believed in the power of the Green Man, they would have brought their loved ones to me before the sickness took them.
Alyona nodded her head.
On the fifth day, my fingers were raw. My nails felt like they were growing too fast. I guess I was healing and benefiting from the jelly, but I was placing the same fingers into people’s mouths most of the day. The worst problem was that my dress was getting dry. The woman traced her lips with her right index finger. I think my father was watching me. I think he saw me searching desperately on my dress for any of the substance. I believe this because he brought me fresh peas to eat that night. In the third pea he gave me, the pod was full of the jelly.
Did your village love you for healing everyone after those days? Alyona smiled at the woman.
No. The woman patted the girl’s forehead. They kept me in the crate. There was no joy for me after I found the jelly.
You saved them.
The woman breathed deeply.
I said that the Green Man had used me to save them. I was nothing but a tarnished girl who may have the power to harm or make people ill. The woman turned her head to the side.
Did your father and brother free you from the crate? Alyona looked hopefully at the woman.
No child, the town folk dispatched the shaman with me in that wooden prison out into the world to purge the town of my evil. He threatened to kill me daily. He attempted to abandon me at every opportunity. The woman cupped her hand in front of Alyona. When I sensed a second source of the god jelly, he was able to sell me to a person.
No! Alyona did not know if it was a spell, but she was extending her hand towards the woman.
The sum was so great that my parents and brother lived well. The woman clapped each hand separately. That was after the shaman took his share of my bounty and spent more money on food, drink, and women on the trip home.
That’s…..
That is life, my special girl. The woman grabbed her hand and they stood up. The woman led the pair through tunnels and caverns. Eventually, the woman pulled her through a blanket of vines that concealed an exit to her labyrinth.
Your forest, Alyona. The woman gestured to the glade Alyona crossed to enter the woods.
Alyona pulled her hand away from the woman and pulled her hair back.
I am not sure what you want me to find. Alyona looked up to the woman. She received a smile.
I have never told anyone this before, the woman stuck her tongue out to Alyona, when I first touched the jelly, I felt that there were ants under my skin. It was the power of the jelly moving through me. It was such an odd feeling that I thought it was a sign of madness.
Alyona lowered her head. I felt something like that. I thought it was worms latching onto me from the peat.
That is the place, little one. Take me there.
Alyona was about to step forward when the woman asked her another question.
What color was the substance you touched today?
It was not one color, ma’am. Alyona moved her hand down to her legs. She brushed unseen but felt passengers from her body. I grabbed it first because I thought it was rose root. My mother could turn the flower into medicine to sell or trade. Alyona knelt and touched the ground. Except that the flower was so low to the ground and it was not the red or yellow flower I normally pick. They were violet with orange centers.
They did not feel like flowers.
No. Alyona pulled her hand away from the ground. They stuck to me like honey.
submitted by Locke7768 to StoriesforLeon [link] [comments]
I miss you guys so much. I hope that you are safe in Moscow. I think of you often. I hope that you and your mom (grandparents and Irina/Phil) are okay.
I hope you mom reads this to you. I hope that it helps you go to sleep. I will write more and post it for you to read.
Astral or Star Jelly is a real event/substance that has been found in all areas of the earth (please Wikipedia it). My friend performed a DNA analysis on a sample of Star Jelly, and the results were amazing. His group concluded that the sample mostly had mitochondrial-like DNA, but it was very different from anything reported (much longer and having possible different base pairs).
Astral/Star Jelly is often found after meteorite showers or other astral events. I found some when I was young (heavy Northern Lights and Meteor Shower event). I crafted the first chapter of a potential novel. Please give feedback. I am switching to google docs, so soon I will have links to my works.
Yes, Charlotte edited the chapter. She kept saying to keep it simple and direct. We hope to see you in Turkey this summer.
Chapter 1
The Byproduct of Gods
with revisions by your favorite daughter
📷
Her owners had held her for so many lifetimes that the stream, which flowed, near her family’s hut was gone. The trees that provided fuel, housing, and food were missing, replaced by a prairie. After all the years of the concept of returning home keeping her going, she did not feel safe. There were no people near her village, and it took her days to unearth signs of her youth. She discovered the land that she had first walked on only because the mountain and stones did not move. As she cleaned the Blue Volga granite idol of her parents’ deity, she felt nothing. The blue-green face of the god looked sad to her. He also was no longer safe. His followers were dead and his power forgotten.
Her first owner was a traveler. They moved with each new moon. Her master felt safe but she failed to understand that her entourage plodded along a predictable path. After many decades, a tale of a demon woman who did not age traveled the same circuit. Finally, a village attacked the demon. Her second owner was the daughter of the woman who bought her. The daughter decided to build a fortress and to rule her fief. Her third owner was the daughter’s son who had grown tired of never gaining his birthright. His guilt and myopic greed caused him to sell her to an alchemist. From that point on, she was an item for trade or barter.
Her final master failed to return home. She remained in his caravan for a week, performing her duties. When she had eaten all the food, she felt justified using her knowledge to destroy her metal shackles. It took her five days to dissolve her bindings with her jellies.
She thought of the places that she had felt safe. Those havens were all underground. A magician made her live in the passages beneath Kyiv when he was being hunted. The tunnels funneled the 15 rivers of the city and protected inhabitants from invaders or punishing ruling forces. For twenty years, she had lived in the coquina catacombs of Odessa. A man who thought he was a seer was convinced that his power had attracted the attention of dragons and demons. No one could approach the lair unseen.
After a week of searching the now unfamiliar area, the woman began to carve her home from the soil of her childhood. She spent fifty years making her home safe. Only she would know the paths and twists of her underground world. Only she would know where the escape exits emerged into the surrounding world.
Eventually, her home attracted others. The woman could have chased them away, but she felt a need to observe people. When the fourth generations of villagers were aging to the grave, there was no hiding the fact that she had not died. The villagers erected a semi-circular wall around the entrance to the woman’s cave. The wall grew and the woman did not protest the separation.
Generations later, people whispered that the villagers maintained the defenses of their community to keep the woman away from the town’s children at night. In the tavern, each generation of gallant males would boast that they would be the one to remove the blight of the woman from the town. When she inevitably outlasted them, she would attend the funeral of the most vocal warrior from each age group.
Daily the woman would remove more soil from her dugout. The community would search her discarded diggings for possible minerals or stones. They did not share any discoveries with the woman. During times of blight or famine, the locals would collect her soil and remove it from the community.
People would peer around the wall to scan the woman’s home. As the village grew, a leader placed two chairs at endpoints of the semi-circle barrier. During full moons, periods of strife, festivals, and other social events, menacing men sat in the chairs. Infrequently, people tried to enter the woman’s home. Aside from the guards, it was the more distraught people of the village who visited her.. The most recent person to enter the woman’s home was a grieving widow. Her grief made her seek the woman to find answers about her loss. Three mornings later, the villagers found the widow in the public square with drapes of herbs, flowers, and crafts around her limbs. The people thought the widow was dead or mindless from torture. When the widow awoke, she went to her house and began the chores for the day. When pressed about the woman’s abode, the widow would state that the home was loved, clean, and well maintained.
On the spring day when the widow was about to remarry, she was again discovered in the square coated with ropes of herbs, flowers, and idols. The woman disappeared for a decade after the wedding, but the widow brought her newborns to the opening of the earthwork to declare their names into the sunken space.
The aging hamlet relaxed when the woman was away. There was a sense of freedom in the people. They did not fear the retribution of the woman for their actions, and parents could not correct their children with threats of giving them to the woman. At times, the leaders of the people would consider filling in the woman’s hovel, but shovels and spades would split if used to cover the opening of the woman’s home. One regretful man tried using a mule and cart to dump rocks into the fastness. The stones crushed the man after his own tram flipped over on him.
Although the townsfolk feared and despised the woman, she had free reign in the village. As an indicator that she was amongst the people, the woman would adorn her head with a dark purple scarf. No other members of the village would wear that color. They looked for it whenever the woman shopped at the market. The woman paid with old and foreign coins, but the merchants welcomed the precious metals they were composed of. During the dark days of winter, the people collected the woman’s tender and deposited it into a lead box. The villagers had a belief that the more people touched the woman’s currency, the longer the winter would be.
After the community fortified against the woman, religious leaders organized efforts to erect carved idols and large wagon-wheel hexes aimed at her home. Each generation attempted to counter the woman with the current symbols of spiritual protection. The largest structure in the village was now a church, and the threshold of the church was oriented to face the woman’s home.
The woman was home when Alyona began her schooling in the church. She had learned the fundamentals of math, reading, and writing. She knew that her coursework would end soon. The village expected girls to be useful to a limit. Her mother walked her only surviving child to school along a path that would prevent their shadow from falling close to the woman’s realm. The villagers performed this ritual after someone claimed that the woman had controlled their behavior by stealing their shadow.
Alyona was daydreaming during school of a life away from the village when the woman touched her. Alyona had spent the morning in the woods collecting mushrooms and other edibles. Her findings made for great, free additions to their usually simple meals. . On days that Alyona returned with a bounty, they shared the extras with neighbors. It was a wager that these people would remember the gift and provide Alyona’s home with food during lean days.
The person gripping Alyona twirled her body so that she faced the opposite direction. Alyona assumed the culprit was another student or a young assistant at the church. It could have been a boy attempting to bully her to get her attention. She lowered her right hand, preparing to use the back to slap the violator. Alyona’s willingness to confront her accoster left when she saw the face of the woman under her purple scarf. Alyona knew she should look away from the woman, but her eyes locked with the woman’s gaze. All the stories the Alyona heard about the town ghoul stated that the woman was so old that her skeleton was all that was left of her body. The woman’s youthful face surprised Alyona. There were no lines or furrows on the woman’s forehead. If anything, Alyona would have stated that the woman’s face glowed.
I can smell it on your hands. The woman placed Alyona’s fingers under her nose. The force of the drawn air startled Alyona. She thought that the woman had pulled the top layer of skin off her index finger. Alyona’s toes curled when the woman sampled her hand. Across a church aisle, one of the priests was herding schoolchildren. He spotted the two of them. His face darkened at the sight of their contact.
WHAT IS ON YOUR HANDS, ALYONA? The priest shouted over the children.
Nothing, Sir. The woman’s tongue darted over the tip of Alyona’s index finger. I was harvesting in the woods before class.
You touched more than growths and nuts this morning, Singleton Child of the Crying Matron. The woman chewed on her thumbnail.
Alyona did not like her mother being referred to in that way, but the eyes of the woman immobilized her. How could she react forcefully to a person who was savoring her hand?
She is mine today, priest. The woman held out her other hand to the shepherd of the church. I will pay her mother for occupying her child for the day, and she will be returned unsoiled and whole.
The priest brought a gurgle of protest up but was shut down quickly.
My tunnels are beneath your place of worship and the bedchambers of Mistress Blake, The women stomped on the ground, and I know all of what has occurred within your walls.
Alyona realized that she was screaming when her throat began to sear. She expected that the woman’s hole would be dark, but the home glowed. There were mirrors and reflective glasses positioned throughout the house to harness sun rays from many holes and entrances in the surface of the residence. Therefore, Alyona was able to see herself yelling on fifty surfaces.
Hush child. The woman touched her mouth. Do not be afraid of the manner in which I inspected you. It is a show for the people. I only want to talk about your morning, and then I will let you go with a full belly and money to buy many toys.
Alyona felt her utterances dwindle down to a wheeze that slipped out her lips.
You have the scent on your fingers, girl. The woman was now examining Alyona’s left hand. It is on both hands, so you must have found a huge source.
A source? Alyona wanted to look at her hands but she maintained her attention on the woman.
Sit. The woman pointed to a well-padded chair. Sit and I will return with small pies and honey.
Alyona hovered over the seat. She wanted to be strong and to stand, but then she smelt the pies. The chair was very soft. There were no pins, claws, or spines in the cushion like she feared.
Alyona. The voice of the woman wove through the tunnels of the underground network. Alyona felt her name circle around her. She had never been afraid of her name before. Alyona Pistan…daughter of Fiva and the missing soldier.
Alyona closed her fist and felt the pain of her nails digging into her palms.
Fiva lives off the salary that the Duke must pay for your father’s military service. Your mother knows that the Duke no longer wants to pay this burden.
Alyona wanted to speak but her throat stung from screaming.
Your father’s name is Bay. He earned this title because he would not stop speaking when he was a baby. Like a horse that always had an opinion, your father would squawk at everyone before he knew words. The voice was now coming directly towards Alyona. My first gift to you and Fiva is the information that your father lives. There was a pause in the woman’s words. An enemy does not enslave him; he is lost with the simpleton that led him away. One day a map will lead him home, child.
The woman emerged from a cutout with a basket laden with pies, a pot of honey, wooden utensils, and slices of ham. In her other hand, she held a bucket of colored water.
We will eat together. The woman placed the basket on Alyona’s lap and retrieved two cups. After you accept the first pie, I will tell you an important secret of mine.
I do not think I want to know any of your secrets Starly-Gradda.
The woman laughed and placed the small wooden spoon into the pie directly in front of Alyona.
Elder-grandmother, you call me. The woman dunked a cup into the water and held it in her left hand. I think that term is the nicest thing a child has called me in a lifetime.
Alyona brought the food to her lips. She smelt the mint, berries, and kasha. Gently she laid the pie onto her tongue. She did not chew; she only let it rest in her mouth. She expected that the food would burn or numb her. The taste was full and made her wish to spit the substance out because it was too good to be real.
Ah, she eats. The woman clapped her hands. I was your age when I saw my first god being born.
Alyona choked on the pie.
I was sitting by a riverbank when the god entered our place. The woman drank from her cup. It was a bright yellow fish with shiny scales. I saw it come from nothing to being here.
The woman snapped her fingers and Alyona swallowed her food.
No one prayed for its existence. No one was singing for it to bring salvation. The woman made circles with her hands in front of Alyona. As far as I know, simple fish do not worship gods, but a god came for the fish of that river.
The woman tapped Alyona’s hand to take another bite of pie.
It floated there. The woman held up her hands. Here I am…a young maiden…thinking a god or demon turned itself into this creature to seduce or corrupt me. Again, a chuckle came from the woman. No other god cared about this special fish. I think it was floating only because it did not realize that a fish should swim in water.
Alyona grabbed a slice of ham. It had been two months since she had meat that was not paste.
Eventually, the golden fish fell into the water and swam away. The woman pulled back her hood and revealed her full face to Alyona. I tried to follow it, but it swam away from shore, and I lost sight of it.
Alyona cleared her throat and licked her lips.
Girl, if you want a drink, just take it. The woman filled Alyona’s cup and handed it to her. The ham is not that salty, but I think your sore throat would improve if you drank.
Alyona sipped the water. It did not taste bitter. It did not smell foul. In fact, the water’s taste was a mixture of apples, roses, and plums.
I told my mother, and she whispered to my father that they needed to trade me into marriage now, before I became soft in the head. I did not want to marry at my age, so I told her that I would go find proof of my shiny golden fish. The woman used a toothpick to dollop out a portion of honey. There was nothing in the water when I returned. I waded in the cool stream. I put my head under the surface and looked at the rocks for the golden shimmer. I found nothing.
Alyona ate the ham.
I was weeping on the spot that I saw the god be born. My heart was full of dread. I started to believe that the shiny golden god was not real. I was so sad that I was quickly accepting that I would be married to an old man so that he would tolerate my problems. The woman tapped her top lip. I felt that my mother had no love for me. I thought that if the golden fish were my mother, it would love me just because that is what should be.
Alyona selected another pie. This pie contained spices and mashed nuts.
Your mother loves you. I listen to all the words spoken in this village. If a parent lacks love for their child, I correct them or have them leave. The woman did not form a fist. She turned her hand into a claw, the conviction in her words hanging in the air until she relaxed it. As all hope was gone, I put my hand down in the grass, and felt the substance.
The woman held her hand flat towards Alyona.
It was clear. It was squishy like the rendered bones of stock animals. It had a pleasant smell, but I was scared to taste it. The woman cupped her hands. I gathered this glob. I used the front of my dress to carry the material. When I believed that the last speck was contained in my clothing, I ran to my parents.
Alyona had felt something similar in the forest that morning.
My mother accused me of only finding the discarded waste of an animal. She threatened to smear it over my face. The woman moved the honey pot closer to Alyona. My father took me to the village shaman, and he looked at the material. They scraped the material off my clothes, but not around my breasts. The shaman thought it was bone waste from an owl, the eggs of a species of frog, a shell-less egg from a dying bird, a mushroom that was usually underground, or the spit of an evil spirit.
Alyona’s eyes widened.
Of course, something as amazing as what we found would be considered evil. The woman waved her hand. I have discovered many bundles and I have never seen the substance created by an evil thing.
No? Alonya asked, breaking her food-induced silence.
No, child. The woman touched the tip of Alyona’s nose. It is not to say that evil people and things are not interested in the substance, but the creation of it does not come from evil.
Alyona resumed consuming the luxurious treats.
The morning after I saw the god being born, people started to fall sick. The woman sighed. My mother blamed the god substance. It was hard for the village not to turn on me after my mother told them it was my fault. The woman’s shoulders lowered. I had not slept that night, and I did not clean after my discovery. They put me in a crate that only had three holes. My father fed me and still cared for me.
Alyona did not know how to react but to nod at the woman.
When my elder brother was close to death from the illness, my mother brought him to my crate. She told me that I would have to watch my brother die because I was an evil liar who unleashed a demon on the community. I could see him wither in pain from the openings in my prison. The woman moved a third pie in front of Alyona. The night my mother told me that my brother would die, my father talked to me. It was an act of rebellion against my mother, but he asked me if I knew what had happened. I cried to him about how this was not something I did. I pleaded with my dad that I would never make my brother suffer, and that the day watching him had crushed my will to live.
The woman tore a slice of ham into pieces and placed pieces of the meat on the floor of her keep.
My father and I wept. He told me that I was likely to die because of the sickness. The woman tapped the tray. Not that I was sick… or was likely to get sick, but because it would seem as justice to the people. I knew his words were true, but I could not think of anything else to say.
The third pie was berry and egg meringue. Alyona did not know that pies like this one existed.
I entered the crate in the dress I wore when I saw the god be born. The truth is that I only had that dress and a wedding dress. My mother kept the dress I would’ve worn to my wedding in a box near her bed. A cat approached the pieces of ham. My grandfather had given me the wedding dress when he died, but she took it from me. My father used what he received from his father to buy me the only special clothes I would have in my life. My father loved me, Alyona, just like yours.
The cat touched Alyona’s leg. It startled her, and she confirmed that the cat was not black.
We talked about the jelly I had found. My father told me that he had tried to burn it, thinking it was an odd piece of animal fat. The substance did not burn. My father then tried to crush it out of existence, but the material was soft, but not easily destroyed. The woman touched the center of her chest. My father’s words made me remember that there was still some of the jelly on my dress. I touched where they did not scrape, and there was a patch of the substance. I pinched the substance and it coated my fingers. It felt warm, but not hot.
Alyona was glad that the cat had returned to the ham.
My father grew angry. He was arguing with the air that if he were a real man, he would protect his daughter and revive his son. He was a good father. The woman showed Alyona a closed smile. He was crying because he knew he could do nothing. I was sore and battered from being in the crate. I felt so greasy and disgusting. I thought I was no longer the same girl that wandered in the meadows.
The woman offered to refill Alyona’s water cup.
For some reason, I brought the fingers I had used to touch the smear of the jelly that was on my dress to my mouth. The taste was tangy, but not foul. It was better than the food that my father had inserted into the holes in my crate. I sucked on it. With both hands, the woman rattled the basket. I felt so much better. It was amazing. I could not see it, but I felt my dry, cracked lips heal. My mind became clear. I knew what I had to do.
Alyona stopped eating to listen to the woman.
I asked my father to place my brother’s mouth in front of the biggest hole of my crate. He thought I was mad. He accused me of confessing that I pledged my soul to demons, but I told him that I felt different after praying to our god. The woman looked directly at Alyona. I rubbed my fingers on the same spot of my dress, and I placed them into my brother’s mouth. He was so weak that he did not respond to this action. I moved my fingers along his gums, his teeth, I even touched his tongue.
Alyona spoke to the woman. Was he healed right away?
The woman chuckled.
I like you Alyona, but you have the impatience of a child. The woman touched Alyona’s chin. It was not a sudden reversal, but he did not die. People died that night, but my brother lived. More importantly, he was the only person to get even slightly better. He was not running in the fields, talking to everyone better, but he was no longer crying in pain. His eyes were no longer looking like they would burst. Moreover, my father stopped crying for us.
I am glad. Alyona looked at the half-eaten pie. She wanted more of it, but she thought it would be rude to return to eating.
It was another day, another four deaths, before my father told the shaman that he thought I could heal the sick. They pulled me from the crate and inspected me. The women called for me to be stoned. The men wanted me burned. The shaman asked how my brother was alive, and how I was still in good health. The woman tapped her right temple. I knew I had to lie. I knew that I could not tell the truth. I had to convince these scared people that I was not dangerous.
The woman shuffled the half pie back to Alyona.
I fell in front of the shaman and shouted, ‘The Green Man came to me.’ I do not think you know the Green Man, child, but he was the god of the people before Christ came to the land. The woman pointed to a drawing of a large tree man. It matters not what god I said talked to me. I yelled that I knew that I did something wicked, but our god had forgiven me, and I was now able to cure the sickness that was killing the village.
Alyona returned to eating the pie.
They whipped me and bound me. I feared that they would burn my dress, so I yelled that the Green Man said that if I were to heal the village, I would need to be as I was when he forgave and blessed me. The woman opened her hands so that Alyona could see her palms. The oldest people would pray in this manner. They tied my legs together and only allowed my right arm to be free. However, that was all I needed to start to heal the people of my life.
Alyona finished her meal.
I would say our prayers; tell the people who were watching that the Green Man wanted everyone to close their eyes so that his healing ray could hit the person. The woman pulled her head backwards with a laugh. During this time, I would pull some of the jelly off my dress and stick the substance in the person’s mouth.
The woman laughed deeply.
What? Alyona asked.
I did not know that so many of my fellow villagers were missing teeth. Children of the people that always had food, had damaged and missing teeth. I was trapped and bored, so my mind began to guess how many disgusting teeth injuries each person would have.
Alyona shivered.
I thought the teeth were bad, but then it got worse. The woman looked upwards. It was on the third day of my healing that it happened for the first time. It was night, and the shaman had decided to blind me with a rag during the healing. Someone’s parents said that they did not want me to steal the soul of their child while I healed them. I placed my finger into a very small mouth, and everything was different. I did not feel a tingle from treating a person with the substance. I sang our songs to Green Man and rubbed jelly over my right fingers. I had planned to give the infant as much of the stuff as I could. The woman covered her eyes. The tiny body jumped, but there was still no response.
Why? Alyona wanted to know.
The baby was dead. I did not know if the god-gift could bring life back to a person. I was scared that if I did not return this child alive to their parents, I would be killed. The woman bobbed her head to the ceiling of her cave home. I kept doing it for a long time. I replenished the coating of my fingers four times, but still there was no living response. I finally shouted into the air. I faked arguing with the Green Man. I begged him to give me the infant. I spoke words that no one had ever heard in an odd voice that I thought would sound like the Green Man. This battle went on for minutes until I asked if whoever brought this child to me would allow the Green Man to have the special child live with him. I am not sure if the parents knew that their baby had died. I am uncertain if the parents wanted me to do something that I thought was evil, but a male voice eventually responded that it would be an honor if his young son joined the hunters of the Green Man.
Alyona gasped.
I spoke in my fake Green Man’s voice that the parents of his new hunter would be honored with a new child by the next spring. I informed the parents that they would find gifts for the next year. The woman rocked her head so that she was looking at the floor. They brought me five more dead people to heal, but no more deceased children. I did not make a fuss over the dead adults. I stated that the Green Man blamed the family for their death. If they truly believed in the power of the Green Man, they would have brought their loved ones to me before the sickness took them.
Alyona nodded her head.
On the fifth day, my fingers were raw. My nails felt like they were growing too fast. I guess I was healing and benefiting from the jelly, but I was placing the same fingers into people’s mouths most of the day. The worst problem was that my dress was getting dry. The woman traced her lips with her right index finger. I think my father was watching me. I think he saw me searching desperately on my dress for any of the substance. I believe this because he brought me fresh peas to eat that night. In the third pea he gave me, the pod was full of the jelly.
Did your village love you for healing everyone after those days? Alyona smiled at the woman.
No. The woman patted the girl’s forehead. They kept me in the crate. There was no joy for me after I found the jelly.
You saved them.
The woman breathed deeply.
I said that the Green Man had used me to save them. I was nothing but a tarnished girl who may have the power to harm or make people ill. The woman turned her head to the side.
Did your father and brother free you from the crate? Alyona looked hopefully at the woman.
No child, the town folk dispatched the shaman with me in that wooden prison out into the world to purge the town of my evil. He threatened to kill me daily. He attempted to abandon me at every opportunity. The woman cupped her hand in front of Alyona. When I sensed a second source of the god jelly, he was able to sell me to a person.
No! Alyona did not know if it was a spell, but she was extending her hand towards the woman.
The sum was so great that my parents and brother lived well. The woman clapped each hand separately. That was after the shaman took his share of my bounty and spent more money on food, drink, and women on the trip home.
That’s…..
That is life, my special girl. The woman grabbed her hand and they stood up. The woman led the pair through tunnels and caverns. Eventually, the woman pulled her through a blanket of vines that concealed an exit to her labyrinth.
Your forest, Alyona. The woman gestured to the glade Alyona crossed to enter the woods.
Alyona pulled her hand away from the woman and pulled her hair back.
I am not sure what you want me to find. Alyona looked up to the woman. She received a smile.
I have never told anyone this before, the woman stuck her tongue out to Alyona, when I first touched the jelly, I felt that there were ants under my skin. It was the power of the jelly moving through me. It was such an odd feeling that I thought it was a sign of madness.
Alyona lowered her head. I felt something like that. I thought it was worms latching onto me from the peat.
That is the place, little one. Take me there.
Alyona was about to step forward when the woman asked her another question.
What color was the substance you touched today?
It was not one color, ma’am. Alyona moved her hand down to her legs. She brushed unseen but felt passengers from her body. I grabbed it first because I thought it was rose root. My mother could turn the flower into medicine to sell or trade. Alyona knelt and touched the ground. Except that the flower was so low to the ground and it was not the red or yellow flower I normally pick. They were violet with orange centers.
They did not feel like flowers.
No. Alyona pulled her hand away from the ground. They stuck to me like honey.
2023.06.01 01:57 Locke7768 New YA Fantasy novel examining Astral or Star Jelly
Astral or Star Jelly is a real event/substance that has been found in all areas of the earth (please Wikipedia it). My friend performed a DNA analysis on a sample of Star Jelly, and the results were amazing. His group concluded that the sample mostly had mitochondrial-like DNA, but it was very different from anything reported (much longer and having possible different base pairs).
Astral/Star Jelly is often found after meteorite showers or other astral events. I found some when I was young (heavy Northern Lights and Meteor Shower event). I crafted the first chapter of a potential novel. Please give feedback. I am switching to google docs, so soon I will have links to my works.
Chapter 1
The Byproduct of Gods
Her owners had held her for so many lifetimes that the stream, which flowed, near her family’s hut was gone. The trees that provided fuel, housing, and food were missing, replaced by a prairie. After all the years of the concept of returning home keeping her going, she did not feel safe. There were no people near her village, and it took her days to unearth signs of her youth. She discovered the land that she had first walked on only because the mountain and stones did not move. As she cleaned the Blue Volga granite idol of her parents’ deity, she felt nothing. The blue-green face of the god looked sad to her. He also was no longer safe. His followers were dead and his power forgotten.
Her first owner was a traveler. They moved with each new moon. Her master felt safe but she failed to understand that her entourage plodded along a predictable path. After many decades, a tale of a demon woman who did not age traveled the same circuit. Finally, a village attacked the demon. Her second owner was the daughter of the woman who bought her. The daughter decided to build a fortress and to rule her fief. Her third owner was the daughter’s son who had grown tired of never gaining his birthright. His guilt and myopic greed caused him to sell her to an alchemist. From that point on, she was an item for trade or barter.
Her final master failed to return home. She remained in his caravan for a week, performing her duties. When she had eaten all the food, she felt justified using her knowledge to destroy her metal shackles. It took her five days to dissolve her bindings with her jellies.
She thought of the places that she had felt safe. Those havens were all underground. A magician made her live in the passages beneath Kyiv when he was being hunted. The tunnels funneled the 15 rivers of the city and protected inhabitants from invaders or punishing ruling forces. For twenty years, she had lived in the coquina catacombs of Odessa. A man who thought he was a seer was convinced that his power had attracted the attention of dragons and demons. No one could approach the lair unseen.
After a week of searching the now unfamiliar area, the woman began to carve her home from the soil of her childhood. She spent fifty years making her home safe. Only she would know the paths and twists of her underground world. Only she would know where the escape exits emerged into the surrounding world.
Eventually, her home attracted others. The woman could have chased them away, but she felt a need to observe people. When the fourth generations of villagers were aging to the grave, there was no hiding the fact that she had not died. The villagers erected a semi-circular wall around the entrance to the woman’s cave. The wall grew and the woman did not protest the separation.
Generations later, people whispered that the villagers maintained the defenses of their community to keep the woman away from the town’s children at night. In the tavern, each generation of gallant males would boast that they would be the one to remove the blight of the woman from the town. When she inevitably outlasted them, she would attend the funeral of the most vocal warrior from each age group.
Daily the woman would remove more soil from her dugout. The community would search her discarded diggings for possible minerals or stones. They did not share any discoveries with the woman. During times of blight or famine, the locals would collect her soil and remove it from the community.
People would peer around the wall to scan the woman’s home. As the village grew, a leader placed two chairs at endpoints of the semi-circle barrier. During full moons, periods of strife, festivals, and other social events, menacing men sat in the chairs. Infrequently, people tried to enter the woman’s home. Aside from the guards, it was the more distraught people of the village who visited her.. The most recent person to enter the woman’s home was a grieving widow. Her grief made her seek the woman to find answers about her loss. Three mornings later, the villagers found the widow in the public square with drapes of herbs, flowers, and crafts around her limbs. The people thought the widow was dead or mindless from torture. When the widow awoke, she went to her house and began the chores for the day. When pressed about the woman’s abode, the widow would state that the home was loved, clean, and well maintained.
On the spring day when the widow was about to remarry, she was again discovered in the square coated with ropes of herbs, flowers, and idols. The woman disappeared for a decade after the wedding, but the widow brought her newborns to the opening of the earthwork to declare their names into the sunken space.
The aging hamlet relaxed when the woman was away. There was a sense of freedom in the people. They did not fear the retribution of the woman for their actions, and parents could not correct their children with threats of giving them to the woman. At times, the leaders of the people would consider filling in the woman’s hovel, but shovels and spades would split if used to cover the opening of the woman’s home. One regretful man tried using a mule and cart to dump rocks into the fastness. The stones crushed the man after his own tram flipped over on him.
Although the townsfolk feared and despised the woman, she had free reign in the village. As an indicator that she was amongst the people, the woman would adorn her head with a dark purple scarf. No other members of the village would wear that color. They looked for it whenever the woman shopped at the market. The woman paid with old and foreign coins, but the merchants welcomed the precious metals they were composed of. During the dark days of winter, the people collected the woman’s tender and deposited it into a lead box. The villagers had a belief that the more people touched the woman’s currency, the longer the winter would be.
After the community fortified against the woman, religious leaders organized efforts to erect carved idols and large wagon-wheel hexes aimed at her home. Each generation attempted to counter the woman with the current symbols of spiritual protection. The largest structure in the village was now a church, and the threshold of the church was oriented to face the woman’s home.
The woman was home when Alyona began her schooling in the church. She had learned the fundamentals of math, reading, and writing. She knew that her coursework would end soon. The village expected girls to be useful to a limit. Her mother walked her only surviving child to school along a path that would prevent their shadow from falling close to the woman’s realm. The villagers performed this ritual after someone claimed that the woman had controlled their behavior by stealing their shadow.
Alyona was daydreaming during school of a life away from the village when the woman touched her. Alyona had spent the morning in the woods collecting mushrooms and other edibles. Her findings made for great, free additions to their usually simple meals. . On days that Alyona returned with a bounty, they shared the extras with neighbors. It was a wager that these people would remember the gift and provide Alyona’s home with food during lean days.
The person gripping Alyona twirled her body so that she faced the opposite direction. Alyona assumed the culprit was another student or a young assistant at the church. It could have been a boy attempting to bully her to get her attention. She lowered her right hand, preparing to use the back to slap the violator. Alyona’s willingness to confront her accoster left when she saw the face of the woman under her purple scarf. Alyona knew she should look away from the woman, but her eyes locked with the woman’s gaze. All the stories the Alyona heard about the town ghoul stated that the woman was so old that her skeleton was all that was left of her body. The woman’s youthful face surprised Alyona. There were no lines or furrows on the woman’s forehead. If anything, Alyona would have stated that the woman’s face glowed.
I can smell it on your hands. The woman placed Alyona’s fingers under her nose. The force of the drawn air startled Alyona. She thought that the woman had pulled the top layer of skin off her index finger. Alyona’s toes curled when the woman sampled her hand. Across a church aisle, one of the priests was herding schoolchildren. He spotted the two of them. His face darkened at the sight of their contact.
WHAT IS ON YOUR HANDS, ALYONA? The priest shouted over the children.
Nothing, Sir. The woman’s tongue darted over the tip of Alyona’s index finger. I was harvesting in the woods before class.
You touched more than growths and nuts this morning, Singleton Child of the Crying Matron. The woman chewed on her thumbnail.
Alyona did not like her mother being referred to in that way, but the eyes of the woman immobilized her. How could she react forcefully to a person who was savoring her hand?
She is mine today, priest. The woman held out her other hand to the shepherd of the church. I will pay her mother for occupying her child for the day, and she will be returned unsoiled and whole.
The priest brought a gurgle of protest up but was shut down quickly.
My tunnels are beneath your place of worship and the bedchambers of Mistress Blake, The women stomped on the ground, and I know all of what has occurred within your walls.
Alyona realized that she was screaming when her throat began to sear. She expected that the woman’s hole would be dark, but the home glowed. There were mirrors and reflective glasses positioned throughout the house to harness sun rays from many holes and entrances in the surface of the residence. Therefore, Alyona was able to see herself yelling on fifty surfaces.
Hush child. The woman touched her mouth. Do not be afraid of the manner in which I inspected you. It is a show for the people. I only want to talk about your morning, and then I will let you go with a full belly and money to buy many toys.
Alyona felt her utterances dwindle down to a wheeze that slipped out her lips.
You have the scent on your fingers, girl. The woman was now examining Alyona’s left hand. It is on both hands, so you must have found a huge source.
A source? Alyona wanted to look at her hands but she maintained her attention on the woman.
Sit. The woman pointed to a well-padded chair. Sit and I will return with small pies and honey.
Alyona hovered over the seat. She wanted to be strong and to stand, but then she smelt the pies. The chair was very soft. There were no pins, claws, or spines in the cushion like she feared.
Alyona. The voice of the woman wove through the tunnels of the underground network. Alyona felt her name circle around her. She had never been afraid of her name before. Alyona Pistan…daughter of Fiva and the missing soldier.
Alyona closed her fist and felt the pain of her nails digging into her palms.
Fiva lives off the salary that the Duke must pay for your father’s military service. Your mother knows that the Duke no longer wants to pay this burden.
Alyona wanted to speak but her throat stung from screaming.
Your father’s name is Bay. He earned this title because he would not stop speaking when he was a baby. Like a horse that always had an opinion, your father would squawk at everyone before he knew words. The voice was now coming directly towards Alyona. My first gift to you and Fiva is the information that your father lives. There was a pause in the woman’s words. An enemy does not enslave him; he is lost with the simpleton that led him away. One day a map will lead him home, child.
The woman emerged from a cutout with a basket laden with pies, a pot of honey, wooden utensils, and slices of ham. In her other hand, she held a bucket of colored water.
We will eat together. The woman placed the basket on Alyona’s lap and retrieved two cups. After you accept the first pie, I will tell you an important secret of mine.
I do not think I want to know any of your secrets Starly-Gradda.
The woman laughed and placed the small wooden spoon into the pie directly in front of Alyona.
Elder-grandmother, you call me. The woman dunked a cup into the water and held it in her left hand. I think that term is the nicest thing a child has called me in a lifetime.
Alyona brought the food to her lips. She smelt the mint, berries, and kasha. Gently she laid the pie onto her tongue. She did not chew; she only let it rest in her mouth. She expected that the food would burn or numb her. The taste was full and made her wish to spit the substance out because it was too good to be real.
Ah, she eats. The woman clapped her hands. I was your age when I saw my first god being born.
Alyona choked on the pie.
I was sitting by a riverbank when the god entered our place. The woman drank from her cup. It was a bright yellow fish with shiny scales. I saw it come from nothing to being here.
The woman snapped her fingers and Alyona swallowed her food.
No one prayed for its existence. No one was singing for it to bring salvation. The woman made circles with her hands in front of Alyona. As far as I know, simple fish do not worship gods, but a god came for the fish of that river.
The woman tapped Alyona’s hand to take another bite of pie.
It floated there. The woman held up her hands. Here I am…a young maiden…thinking a god or demon turned itself into this creature to seduce or corrupt me. Again, a chuckle came from the woman. No other god cared about this special fish. I think it was floating only because it did not realize that a fish should swim in water.
Alyona grabbed a slice of ham. It had been two months since she had meat that was not paste.
Eventually, the golden fish fell into the water and swam away. The woman pulled back her hood and revealed her full face to Alyona. I tried to follow it, but it swam away from shore, and I lost sight of it.
Alyona cleared her throat and licked her lips.
Girl, if you want a drink, just take it. The woman filled Alyona’s cup and handed it to her. The ham is not that salty, but I think your sore throat would improve if you drank.
Alyona sipped the water. It did not taste bitter. It did not smell foul. In fact, the water’s taste was a mixture of apples, roses, and plums.
I told my mother, and she whispered to my father that they needed to trade me into marriage now, before I became soft in the head. I did not want to marry at my age, so I told her that I would go find proof of my shiny golden fish. The woman used a toothpick to dollop out a portion of honey. There was nothing in the water when I returned. I waded in the cool stream. I put my head under the surface and looked at the rocks for the golden shimmer. I found nothing.
Alyona ate the ham.
I was weeping on the spot that I saw the god be born. My heart was full of dread. I started to believe that the shiny golden god was not real. I was so sad that I was quickly accepting that I would be married to an old man so that he would tolerate my problems. The woman tapped her top lip. I felt that my mother had no love for me. I thought that if the golden fish were my mother, it would love me just because that is what should be.
Alyona selected another pie. This pie contained spices and mashed nuts.
Your mother loves you. I listen to all the words spoken in this village. If a parent lacks love for their child, I correct them or have them leave. The woman did not form a fist. She turned her hand into a claw, the conviction in her words hanging in the air until she relaxed it. As all hope was gone, I put my hand down in the grass, and felt the substance.
The woman held her hand flat towards Alyona.
It was clear. It was squishy like the rendered bones of stock animals. It had a pleasant smell, but I was scared to taste it. The woman cupped her hands. I gathered this glob. I used the front of my dress to carry the material. When I believed that the last speck was contained in my clothing, I ran to my parents.
Alyona had felt something similar in the forest that morning.
My mother accused me of only finding the discarded waste of an animal. She threatened to smear it over my face. The woman moved the honey pot closer to Alyona. My father took me to the village shaman, and he looked at the material. They scraped the material off my clothes, but not around my breasts. The shaman thought it was bone waste from an owl, the eggs of a species of frog, a shell-less egg from a dying bird, a mushroom that was usually underground, or the spit of an evil spirit.
Alyona’s eyes widened.
Of course, something as amazing as what we found would be considered evil. The woman waved her hand. I have discovered many bundles and I have never seen the substance created by an evil thing.
No? Alonya asked, breaking her food-induced silence.
No, child. The woman touched the tip of Alyona’s nose. It is not to say that evil people and things are not interested in the substance, but the creation of it does not come from evil.
Alyona resumed consuming the luxurious treats.
The morning after I saw the god being born, people started to fall sick. The woman sighed. My mother blamed the god substance. It was hard for the village not to turn on me after my mother told them it was my fault. The woman’s shoulders lowered. I had not slept that night, and I did not clean after my discovery. They put me in a crate that only had three holes. My father fed me and still cared for me.
Alyona did not know how to react but to nod at the woman.
When my elder brother was close to death from the illness, my mother brought him to my crate. She told me that I would have to watch my brother die because I was an evil liar who unleashed a demon on the community. I could see him wither in pain from the openings in my prison. The woman moved a third pie in front of Alyona. The night my mother told me that my brother would die, my father talked to me. It was an act of rebellion against my mother, but he asked me if I knew what had happened. I cried to him about how this was not something I did. I pleaded with my dad that I would never make my brother suffer, and that the day watching him had crushed my will to live.
The woman tore a slice of ham into pieces and placed pieces of the meat on the floor of her keep.
My father and I wept. He told me that I was likely to die because of the sickness. The woman tapped the tray. Not that I was sick… or was likely to get sick, but because it would seem as justice to the people. I knew his words were true, but I could not think of anything else to say.
The third pie was berry and egg meringue. Alyona did not know that pies like this one existed.
I entered the crate in the dress I wore when I saw the god be born. The truth is that I only had that dress and a wedding dress. My mother kept the dress I would’ve worn to my wedding in a box near her bed. A cat approached the pieces of ham. My grandfather had given me the wedding dress when he died, but she took it from me. My father used what he received from his father to buy me the only special clothes I would have in my life. My father loved me, Alyona, just like yours.
The cat touched Alyona’s leg. It startled her, and she confirmed that the cat was not black.
We talked about the jelly I had found. My father told me that he had tried to burn it, thinking it was an odd piece of animal fat. The substance did not burn. My father then tried to crush it out of existence, but the material was soft, but not easily destroyed. The woman touched the center of her chest. My father’s words made me remember that there was still some of the jelly on my dress. I touched where they did not scrape, and there was a patch of the substance. I pinched the substance and it coated my fingers. It felt warm, but not hot.
Alyona was glad that the cat had returned to the ham.
My father grew angry. He was arguing with the air that if he were a real man, he would protect his daughter and revive his son. He was a good father. The woman showed Alyona a closed smile. He was crying because he knew he could do nothing. I was sore and battered from being in the crate. I felt so greasy and disgusting. I thought I was no longer the same girl that wandered in the meadows.
The woman offered to refill Alyona’s water cup.
For some reason, I brought the fingers I had used to touch the smear of the jelly that was on my dress to my mouth. The taste was tangy, but not foul. It was better than the food that my father had inserted into the holes in my crate. I sucked on it. With both hands, the woman rattled the basket. I felt so much better. It was amazing. I could not see it, but I felt my dry, cracked lips heal. My mind became clear. I knew what I had to do.
Alyona stopped eating to listen to the woman.
I asked my father to place my brother’s mouth in front of the biggest hole of my crate. He thought I was mad. He accused me of confessing that I pledged my soul to demons, but I told him that I felt different after praying to our god. The woman looked directly at Alyona. I rubbed my fingers on the same spot of my dress, and I placed them into my brother’s mouth. He was so weak that he did not respond to this action. I moved my fingers along his gums, his teeth, I even touched his tongue.
Alyona spoke to the woman. Was he healed right away?
The woman chuckled.
I like you Alyona, but you have the impatience of a child. The woman touched Alyona’s chin. It was not a sudden reversal, but he did not die. People died that night, but my brother lived. More importantly, he was the only person to get even slightly better. He was not running in the fields, talking to everyone better, but he was no longer crying in pain. His eyes were no longer looking like they would burst. Moreover, my father stopped crying for us.
I am glad. Alyona looked at the half-eaten pie. She wanted more of it, but she thought it would be rude to return to eating.
It was another day, another four deaths, before my father told the shaman that he thought I could heal the sick. They pulled me from the crate and inspected me. The women called for me to be stoned. The men wanted me burned. The shaman asked how my brother was alive, and how I was still in good health. The woman tapped her right temple. I knew I had to lie. I knew that I could not tell the truth. I had to convince these scared people that I was not dangerous.
The woman shuffled the half pie back to Alyona.
I fell in front of the shaman and shouted, ‘The Green Man came to me.’ I do not think you know the Green Man, child, but he was the god of the people before Christ came to the land. The woman pointed to a drawing of a large tree man. It matters not what god I said talked to me. I yelled that I knew that I did something wicked, but our god had forgiven me, and I was now able to cure the sickness that was killing the village.
Alyona returned to eating the pie.
They whipped me and bound me. I feared that they would burn my dress, so I yelled that the Green Man said that if I were to heal the village, I would need to be as I was when he forgave and blessed me. The woman opened her hands so that Alyona could see her palms. The oldest people would pray in this manner. They tied my legs together and only allowed my right arm to be free. However, that was all I needed to start to heal the people of my life.
Alyona finished her meal.
I would say our prayers; tell the people who were watching that the Green Man wanted everyone to close their eyes so that his healing ray could hit the person. The woman pulled her head backwards with a laugh. During this time, I would pull some of the jelly off my dress and stick the substance in the person’s mouth.
The woman laughed deeply.
What? Alyona asked.
I did not know that so many of my fellow villagers were missing teeth. Children of the people that always had food, had damaged and missing teeth. I was trapped and bored, so my mind began to guess how many disgusting teeth injuries each person would have.
Alyona shivered.
I thought the teeth were bad, but then it got worse. The woman looked upwards. It was on the third day of my healing that it happened for the first time. It was night, and the shaman had decided to blind me with a rag during the healing. Someone’s parents said that they did not want me to steal the soul of their child while I healed them. I placed my finger into a very small mouth, and everything was different. I did not feel a tingle from treating a person with the substance. I sang our songs to Green Man and rubbed jelly over my right fingers. I had planned to give the infant as much of the stuff as I could. The woman covered her eyes. The tiny body jumped, but there was still no response.
Why? Alyona wanted to know.
The baby was dead. I did not know if the god-gift could bring life back to a person. I was scared that if I did not return this child alive to their parents, I would be killed. The woman bobbed her head to the ceiling of her cave home. I kept doing it for a long time. I replenished the coating of my fingers four times, but still there was no living response. I finally shouted into the air. I faked arguing with the Green Man. I begged him to give me the infant. I spoke words that no one had ever heard in an odd voice that I thought would sound like the Green Man. This battle went on for minutes until I asked if whoever brought this child to me would allow the Green Man to have the special child live with him. I am not sure if the parents knew that their baby had died. I am uncertain if the parents wanted me to do something that I thought was evil, but a male voice eventually responded that it would be an honor if his young son joined the hunters of the Green Man.
Alyona gasped.
I spoke in my fake Green Man’s voice that the parents of his new hunter would be honored with a new child by the next spring. I informed the parents that they would find gifts for the next year. The woman rocked her head so that she was looking at the floor. They brought me five more dead people to heal, but no more deceased children. I did not make a fuss over the dead adults. I stated that the Green Man blamed the family for their death. If they truly believed in the power of the Green Man, they would have brought their loved ones to me before the sickness took them.
Alyona nodded her head.
On the fifth day, my fingers were raw. My nails felt like they were growing too fast. I guess I was healing and benefiting from the jelly, but I was placing the same fingers into people’s mouths most of the day. The worst problem was that my dress was getting dry. The woman traced her lips with her right index finger. I think my father was watching me. I think he saw me searching desperately on my dress for any of the substance. I believe this because he brought me fresh peas to eat that night. In the third pea he gave me, the pod was full of the jelly.
Did your village love you for healing everyone after those days? Alyona smiled at the woman.
No. The woman patted the girl’s forehead. They kept me in the crate. There was no joy for me after I found the jelly.
You saved them.
The woman breathed deeply.
I said that the Green Man had used me to save them. I was nothing but a tarnished girl who may have the power to harm or make people ill. The woman turned her head to the side.
Did your father and brother free you from the crate? Alyona looked hopefully at the woman.
No child, the town folk dispatched the shaman with me in that wooden prison out into the world to purge the town of my evil. He threatened to kill me daily. He attempted to abandon me at every opportunity. The woman cupped her hand in front of Alyona. When I sensed a second source of the god jelly, he was able to sell me to a person.
No! Alyona did not know if it was a spell, but she was extending her hand towards the woman.
The sum was so great that my parents and brother lived well. The woman clapped each hand separately. That was after the shaman took his share of my bounty and spent more money on food, drink, and women on the trip home.
That’s…..
That is life, my special girl. The woman grabbed her hand and they stood up. The woman led the pair through tunnels and caverns. Eventually, the woman pulled her through a blanket of vines that concealed an exit to her labyrinth.
Your forest, Alyona. The woman gestured to the glade Alyona crossed to enter the woods.
Alyona pulled her hand away from the woman and pulled her hair back.
I am not sure what you want me to find. Alyona looked up to the woman. She received a smile.
I have never told anyone this before, the woman stuck her tongue out to Alyona, when I first touched the jelly, I felt that there were ants under my skin. It was the power of the jelly moving through me. It was such an odd feeling that I thought it was a sign of madness.
Alyona lowered her head. I felt something like that. I thought it was worms latching onto me from the peat.
That is the place, little one. Take me there.
Alyona was about to step forward when the woman asked her another question.
What color was the substance you touched today?
It was not one color, ma’am. Alyona moved her hand down to her legs. She brushed unseen but felt passengers from her body. I grabbed it first because I thought it was rose root. My mother could turn the flower into medicine to sell or trade. Alyona knelt and touched the ground. Except that the flower was so low to the ground and it was not the red or yellow flower I normally pick. They were violet with orange centers.
They did not feel like flowers.
No. Alyona pulled her hand away from the ground. They stuck to me like honey.
submitted by Locke7768 to fantasywriters [link] [comments]
Astral/Star Jelly is often found after meteorite showers or other astral events. I found some when I was young (heavy Northern Lights and Meteor Shower event). I crafted the first chapter of a potential novel. Please give feedback. I am switching to google docs, so soon I will have links to my works.
Chapter 1
The Byproduct of Gods
Her owners had held her for so many lifetimes that the stream, which flowed, near her family’s hut was gone. The trees that provided fuel, housing, and food were missing, replaced by a prairie. After all the years of the concept of returning home keeping her going, she did not feel safe. There were no people near her village, and it took her days to unearth signs of her youth. She discovered the land that she had first walked on only because the mountain and stones did not move. As she cleaned the Blue Volga granite idol of her parents’ deity, she felt nothing. The blue-green face of the god looked sad to her. He also was no longer safe. His followers were dead and his power forgotten.
Her first owner was a traveler. They moved with each new moon. Her master felt safe but she failed to understand that her entourage plodded along a predictable path. After many decades, a tale of a demon woman who did not age traveled the same circuit. Finally, a village attacked the demon. Her second owner was the daughter of the woman who bought her. The daughter decided to build a fortress and to rule her fief. Her third owner was the daughter’s son who had grown tired of never gaining his birthright. His guilt and myopic greed caused him to sell her to an alchemist. From that point on, she was an item for trade or barter.
Her final master failed to return home. She remained in his caravan for a week, performing her duties. When she had eaten all the food, she felt justified using her knowledge to destroy her metal shackles. It took her five days to dissolve her bindings with her jellies.
She thought of the places that she had felt safe. Those havens were all underground. A magician made her live in the passages beneath Kyiv when he was being hunted. The tunnels funneled the 15 rivers of the city and protected inhabitants from invaders or punishing ruling forces. For twenty years, she had lived in the coquina catacombs of Odessa. A man who thought he was a seer was convinced that his power had attracted the attention of dragons and demons. No one could approach the lair unseen.
After a week of searching the now unfamiliar area, the woman began to carve her home from the soil of her childhood. She spent fifty years making her home safe. Only she would know the paths and twists of her underground world. Only she would know where the escape exits emerged into the surrounding world.
Eventually, her home attracted others. The woman could have chased them away, but she felt a need to observe people. When the fourth generations of villagers were aging to the grave, there was no hiding the fact that she had not died. The villagers erected a semi-circular wall around the entrance to the woman’s cave. The wall grew and the woman did not protest the separation.
Generations later, people whispered that the villagers maintained the defenses of their community to keep the woman away from the town’s children at night. In the tavern, each generation of gallant males would boast that they would be the one to remove the blight of the woman from the town. When she inevitably outlasted them, she would attend the funeral of the most vocal warrior from each age group.
Daily the woman would remove more soil from her dugout. The community would search her discarded diggings for possible minerals or stones. They did not share any discoveries with the woman. During times of blight or famine, the locals would collect her soil and remove it from the community.
People would peer around the wall to scan the woman’s home. As the village grew, a leader placed two chairs at endpoints of the semi-circle barrier. During full moons, periods of strife, festivals, and other social events, menacing men sat in the chairs. Infrequently, people tried to enter the woman’s home. Aside from the guards, it was the more distraught people of the village who visited her.. The most recent person to enter the woman’s home was a grieving widow. Her grief made her seek the woman to find answers about her loss. Three mornings later, the villagers found the widow in the public square with drapes of herbs, flowers, and crafts around her limbs. The people thought the widow was dead or mindless from torture. When the widow awoke, she went to her house and began the chores for the day. When pressed about the woman’s abode, the widow would state that the home was loved, clean, and well maintained.
On the spring day when the widow was about to remarry, she was again discovered in the square coated with ropes of herbs, flowers, and idols. The woman disappeared for a decade after the wedding, but the widow brought her newborns to the opening of the earthwork to declare their names into the sunken space.
The aging hamlet relaxed when the woman was away. There was a sense of freedom in the people. They did not fear the retribution of the woman for their actions, and parents could not correct their children with threats of giving them to the woman. At times, the leaders of the people would consider filling in the woman’s hovel, but shovels and spades would split if used to cover the opening of the woman’s home. One regretful man tried using a mule and cart to dump rocks into the fastness. The stones crushed the man after his own tram flipped over on him.
Although the townsfolk feared and despised the woman, she had free reign in the village. As an indicator that she was amongst the people, the woman would adorn her head with a dark purple scarf. No other members of the village would wear that color. They looked for it whenever the woman shopped at the market. The woman paid with old and foreign coins, but the merchants welcomed the precious metals they were composed of. During the dark days of winter, the people collected the woman’s tender and deposited it into a lead box. The villagers had a belief that the more people touched the woman’s currency, the longer the winter would be.
After the community fortified against the woman, religious leaders organized efforts to erect carved idols and large wagon-wheel hexes aimed at her home. Each generation attempted to counter the woman with the current symbols of spiritual protection. The largest structure in the village was now a church, and the threshold of the church was oriented to face the woman’s home.
The woman was home when Alyona began her schooling in the church. She had learned the fundamentals of math, reading, and writing. She knew that her coursework would end soon. The village expected girls to be useful to a limit. Her mother walked her only surviving child to school along a path that would prevent their shadow from falling close to the woman’s realm. The villagers performed this ritual after someone claimed that the woman had controlled their behavior by stealing their shadow.
Alyona was daydreaming during school of a life away from the village when the woman touched her. Alyona had spent the morning in the woods collecting mushrooms and other edibles. Her findings made for great, free additions to their usually simple meals. . On days that Alyona returned with a bounty, they shared the extras with neighbors. It was a wager that these people would remember the gift and provide Alyona’s home with food during lean days.
The person gripping Alyona twirled her body so that she faced the opposite direction. Alyona assumed the culprit was another student or a young assistant at the church. It could have been a boy attempting to bully her to get her attention. She lowered her right hand, preparing to use the back to slap the violator. Alyona’s willingness to confront her accoster left when she saw the face of the woman under her purple scarf. Alyona knew she should look away from the woman, but her eyes locked with the woman’s gaze. All the stories the Alyona heard about the town ghoul stated that the woman was so old that her skeleton was all that was left of her body. The woman’s youthful face surprised Alyona. There were no lines or furrows on the woman’s forehead. If anything, Alyona would have stated that the woman’s face glowed.
I can smell it on your hands. The woman placed Alyona’s fingers under her nose. The force of the drawn air startled Alyona. She thought that the woman had pulled the top layer of skin off her index finger. Alyona’s toes curled when the woman sampled her hand. Across a church aisle, one of the priests was herding schoolchildren. He spotted the two of them. His face darkened at the sight of their contact.
WHAT IS ON YOUR HANDS, ALYONA? The priest shouted over the children.
Nothing, Sir. The woman’s tongue darted over the tip of Alyona’s index finger. I was harvesting in the woods before class.
You touched more than growths and nuts this morning, Singleton Child of the Crying Matron. The woman chewed on her thumbnail.
Alyona did not like her mother being referred to in that way, but the eyes of the woman immobilized her. How could she react forcefully to a person who was savoring her hand?
She is mine today, priest. The woman held out her other hand to the shepherd of the church. I will pay her mother for occupying her child for the day, and she will be returned unsoiled and whole.
The priest brought a gurgle of protest up but was shut down quickly.
My tunnels are beneath your place of worship and the bedchambers of Mistress Blake, The women stomped on the ground, and I know all of what has occurred within your walls.
Alyona realized that she was screaming when her throat began to sear. She expected that the woman’s hole would be dark, but the home glowed. There were mirrors and reflective glasses positioned throughout the house to harness sun rays from many holes and entrances in the surface of the residence. Therefore, Alyona was able to see herself yelling on fifty surfaces.
Hush child. The woman touched her mouth. Do not be afraid of the manner in which I inspected you. It is a show for the people. I only want to talk about your morning, and then I will let you go with a full belly and money to buy many toys.
Alyona felt her utterances dwindle down to a wheeze that slipped out her lips.
You have the scent on your fingers, girl. The woman was now examining Alyona’s left hand. It is on both hands, so you must have found a huge source.
A source? Alyona wanted to look at her hands but she maintained her attention on the woman.
Sit. The woman pointed to a well-padded chair. Sit and I will return with small pies and honey.
Alyona hovered over the seat. She wanted to be strong and to stand, but then she smelt the pies. The chair was very soft. There were no pins, claws, or spines in the cushion like she feared.
Alyona. The voice of the woman wove through the tunnels of the underground network. Alyona felt her name circle around her. She had never been afraid of her name before. Alyona Pistan…daughter of Fiva and the missing soldier.
Alyona closed her fist and felt the pain of her nails digging into her palms.
Fiva lives off the salary that the Duke must pay for your father’s military service. Your mother knows that the Duke no longer wants to pay this burden.
Alyona wanted to speak but her throat stung from screaming.
Your father’s name is Bay. He earned this title because he would not stop speaking when he was a baby. Like a horse that always had an opinion, your father would squawk at everyone before he knew words. The voice was now coming directly towards Alyona. My first gift to you and Fiva is the information that your father lives. There was a pause in the woman’s words. An enemy does not enslave him; he is lost with the simpleton that led him away. One day a map will lead him home, child.
The woman emerged from a cutout with a basket laden with pies, a pot of honey, wooden utensils, and slices of ham. In her other hand, she held a bucket of colored water.
We will eat together. The woman placed the basket on Alyona’s lap and retrieved two cups. After you accept the first pie, I will tell you an important secret of mine.
I do not think I want to know any of your secrets Starly-Gradda.
The woman laughed and placed the small wooden spoon into the pie directly in front of Alyona.
Elder-grandmother, you call me. The woman dunked a cup into the water and held it in her left hand. I think that term is the nicest thing a child has called me in a lifetime.
Alyona brought the food to her lips. She smelt the mint, berries, and kasha. Gently she laid the pie onto her tongue. She did not chew; she only let it rest in her mouth. She expected that the food would burn or numb her. The taste was full and made her wish to spit the substance out because it was too good to be real.
Ah, she eats. The woman clapped her hands. I was your age when I saw my first god being born.
Alyona choked on the pie.
I was sitting by a riverbank when the god entered our place. The woman drank from her cup. It was a bright yellow fish with shiny scales. I saw it come from nothing to being here.
The woman snapped her fingers and Alyona swallowed her food.
No one prayed for its existence. No one was singing for it to bring salvation. The woman made circles with her hands in front of Alyona. As far as I know, simple fish do not worship gods, but a god came for the fish of that river.
The woman tapped Alyona’s hand to take another bite of pie.
It floated there. The woman held up her hands. Here I am…a young maiden…thinking a god or demon turned itself into this creature to seduce or corrupt me. Again, a chuckle came from the woman. No other god cared about this special fish. I think it was floating only because it did not realize that a fish should swim in water.
Alyona grabbed a slice of ham. It had been two months since she had meat that was not paste.
Eventually, the golden fish fell into the water and swam away. The woman pulled back her hood and revealed her full face to Alyona. I tried to follow it, but it swam away from shore, and I lost sight of it.
Alyona cleared her throat and licked her lips.
Girl, if you want a drink, just take it. The woman filled Alyona’s cup and handed it to her. The ham is not that salty, but I think your sore throat would improve if you drank.
Alyona sipped the water. It did not taste bitter. It did not smell foul. In fact, the water’s taste was a mixture of apples, roses, and plums.
I told my mother, and she whispered to my father that they needed to trade me into marriage now, before I became soft in the head. I did not want to marry at my age, so I told her that I would go find proof of my shiny golden fish. The woman used a toothpick to dollop out a portion of honey. There was nothing in the water when I returned. I waded in the cool stream. I put my head under the surface and looked at the rocks for the golden shimmer. I found nothing.
Alyona ate the ham.
I was weeping on the spot that I saw the god be born. My heart was full of dread. I started to believe that the shiny golden god was not real. I was so sad that I was quickly accepting that I would be married to an old man so that he would tolerate my problems. The woman tapped her top lip. I felt that my mother had no love for me. I thought that if the golden fish were my mother, it would love me just because that is what should be.
Alyona selected another pie. This pie contained spices and mashed nuts.
Your mother loves you. I listen to all the words spoken in this village. If a parent lacks love for their child, I correct them or have them leave. The woman did not form a fist. She turned her hand into a claw, the conviction in her words hanging in the air until she relaxed it. As all hope was gone, I put my hand down in the grass, and felt the substance.
The woman held her hand flat towards Alyona.
It was clear. It was squishy like the rendered bones of stock animals. It had a pleasant smell, but I was scared to taste it. The woman cupped her hands. I gathered this glob. I used the front of my dress to carry the material. When I believed that the last speck was contained in my clothing, I ran to my parents.
Alyona had felt something similar in the forest that morning.
My mother accused me of only finding the discarded waste of an animal. She threatened to smear it over my face. The woman moved the honey pot closer to Alyona. My father took me to the village shaman, and he looked at the material. They scraped the material off my clothes, but not around my breasts. The shaman thought it was bone waste from an owl, the eggs of a species of frog, a shell-less egg from a dying bird, a mushroom that was usually underground, or the spit of an evil spirit.
Alyona’s eyes widened.
Of course, something as amazing as what we found would be considered evil. The woman waved her hand. I have discovered many bundles and I have never seen the substance created by an evil thing.
No? Alonya asked, breaking her food-induced silence.
No, child. The woman touched the tip of Alyona’s nose. It is not to say that evil people and things are not interested in the substance, but the creation of it does not come from evil.
Alyona resumed consuming the luxurious treats.
The morning after I saw the god being born, people started to fall sick. The woman sighed. My mother blamed the god substance. It was hard for the village not to turn on me after my mother told them it was my fault. The woman’s shoulders lowered. I had not slept that night, and I did not clean after my discovery. They put me in a crate that only had three holes. My father fed me and still cared for me.
Alyona did not know how to react but to nod at the woman.
When my elder brother was close to death from the illness, my mother brought him to my crate. She told me that I would have to watch my brother die because I was an evil liar who unleashed a demon on the community. I could see him wither in pain from the openings in my prison. The woman moved a third pie in front of Alyona. The night my mother told me that my brother would die, my father talked to me. It was an act of rebellion against my mother, but he asked me if I knew what had happened. I cried to him about how this was not something I did. I pleaded with my dad that I would never make my brother suffer, and that the day watching him had crushed my will to live.
The woman tore a slice of ham into pieces and placed pieces of the meat on the floor of her keep.
My father and I wept. He told me that I was likely to die because of the sickness. The woman tapped the tray. Not that I was sick… or was likely to get sick, but because it would seem as justice to the people. I knew his words were true, but I could not think of anything else to say.
The third pie was berry and egg meringue. Alyona did not know that pies like this one existed.
I entered the crate in the dress I wore when I saw the god be born. The truth is that I only had that dress and a wedding dress. My mother kept the dress I would’ve worn to my wedding in a box near her bed. A cat approached the pieces of ham. My grandfather had given me the wedding dress when he died, but she took it from me. My father used what he received from his father to buy me the only special clothes I would have in my life. My father loved me, Alyona, just like yours.
The cat touched Alyona’s leg. It startled her, and she confirmed that the cat was not black.
We talked about the jelly I had found. My father told me that he had tried to burn it, thinking it was an odd piece of animal fat. The substance did not burn. My father then tried to crush it out of existence, but the material was soft, but not easily destroyed. The woman touched the center of her chest. My father’s words made me remember that there was still some of the jelly on my dress. I touched where they did not scrape, and there was a patch of the substance. I pinched the substance and it coated my fingers. It felt warm, but not hot.
Alyona was glad that the cat had returned to the ham.
My father grew angry. He was arguing with the air that if he were a real man, he would protect his daughter and revive his son. He was a good father. The woman showed Alyona a closed smile. He was crying because he knew he could do nothing. I was sore and battered from being in the crate. I felt so greasy and disgusting. I thought I was no longer the same girl that wandered in the meadows.
The woman offered to refill Alyona’s water cup.
For some reason, I brought the fingers I had used to touch the smear of the jelly that was on my dress to my mouth. The taste was tangy, but not foul. It was better than the food that my father had inserted into the holes in my crate. I sucked on it. With both hands, the woman rattled the basket. I felt so much better. It was amazing. I could not see it, but I felt my dry, cracked lips heal. My mind became clear. I knew what I had to do.
Alyona stopped eating to listen to the woman.
I asked my father to place my brother’s mouth in front of the biggest hole of my crate. He thought I was mad. He accused me of confessing that I pledged my soul to demons, but I told him that I felt different after praying to our god. The woman looked directly at Alyona. I rubbed my fingers on the same spot of my dress, and I placed them into my brother’s mouth. He was so weak that he did not respond to this action. I moved my fingers along his gums, his teeth, I even touched his tongue.
Alyona spoke to the woman. Was he healed right away?
The woman chuckled.
I like you Alyona, but you have the impatience of a child. The woman touched Alyona’s chin. It was not a sudden reversal, but he did not die. People died that night, but my brother lived. More importantly, he was the only person to get even slightly better. He was not running in the fields, talking to everyone better, but he was no longer crying in pain. His eyes were no longer looking like they would burst. Moreover, my father stopped crying for us.
I am glad. Alyona looked at the half-eaten pie. She wanted more of it, but she thought it would be rude to return to eating.
It was another day, another four deaths, before my father told the shaman that he thought I could heal the sick. They pulled me from the crate and inspected me. The women called for me to be stoned. The men wanted me burned. The shaman asked how my brother was alive, and how I was still in good health. The woman tapped her right temple. I knew I had to lie. I knew that I could not tell the truth. I had to convince these scared people that I was not dangerous.
The woman shuffled the half pie back to Alyona.
I fell in front of the shaman and shouted, ‘The Green Man came to me.’ I do not think you know the Green Man, child, but he was the god of the people before Christ came to the land. The woman pointed to a drawing of a large tree man. It matters not what god I said talked to me. I yelled that I knew that I did something wicked, but our god had forgiven me, and I was now able to cure the sickness that was killing the village.
Alyona returned to eating the pie.
They whipped me and bound me. I feared that they would burn my dress, so I yelled that the Green Man said that if I were to heal the village, I would need to be as I was when he forgave and blessed me. The woman opened her hands so that Alyona could see her palms. The oldest people would pray in this manner. They tied my legs together and only allowed my right arm to be free. However, that was all I needed to start to heal the people of my life.
Alyona finished her meal.
I would say our prayers; tell the people who were watching that the Green Man wanted everyone to close their eyes so that his healing ray could hit the person. The woman pulled her head backwards with a laugh. During this time, I would pull some of the jelly off my dress and stick the substance in the person’s mouth.
The woman laughed deeply.
What? Alyona asked.
I did not know that so many of my fellow villagers were missing teeth. Children of the people that always had food, had damaged and missing teeth. I was trapped and bored, so my mind began to guess how many disgusting teeth injuries each person would have.
Alyona shivered.
I thought the teeth were bad, but then it got worse. The woman looked upwards. It was on the third day of my healing that it happened for the first time. It was night, and the shaman had decided to blind me with a rag during the healing. Someone’s parents said that they did not want me to steal the soul of their child while I healed them. I placed my finger into a very small mouth, and everything was different. I did not feel a tingle from treating a person with the substance. I sang our songs to Green Man and rubbed jelly over my right fingers. I had planned to give the infant as much of the stuff as I could. The woman covered her eyes. The tiny body jumped, but there was still no response.
Why? Alyona wanted to know.
The baby was dead. I did not know if the god-gift could bring life back to a person. I was scared that if I did not return this child alive to their parents, I would be killed. The woman bobbed her head to the ceiling of her cave home. I kept doing it for a long time. I replenished the coating of my fingers four times, but still there was no living response. I finally shouted into the air. I faked arguing with the Green Man. I begged him to give me the infant. I spoke words that no one had ever heard in an odd voice that I thought would sound like the Green Man. This battle went on for minutes until I asked if whoever brought this child to me would allow the Green Man to have the special child live with him. I am not sure if the parents knew that their baby had died. I am uncertain if the parents wanted me to do something that I thought was evil, but a male voice eventually responded that it would be an honor if his young son joined the hunters of the Green Man.
Alyona gasped.
I spoke in my fake Green Man’s voice that the parents of his new hunter would be honored with a new child by the next spring. I informed the parents that they would find gifts for the next year. The woman rocked her head so that she was looking at the floor. They brought me five more dead people to heal, but no more deceased children. I did not make a fuss over the dead adults. I stated that the Green Man blamed the family for their death. If they truly believed in the power of the Green Man, they would have brought their loved ones to me before the sickness took them.
Alyona nodded her head.
On the fifth day, my fingers were raw. My nails felt like they were growing too fast. I guess I was healing and benefiting from the jelly, but I was placing the same fingers into people’s mouths most of the day. The worst problem was that my dress was getting dry. The woman traced her lips with her right index finger. I think my father was watching me. I think he saw me searching desperately on my dress for any of the substance. I believe this because he brought me fresh peas to eat that night. In the third pea he gave me, the pod was full of the jelly.
Did your village love you for healing everyone after those days? Alyona smiled at the woman.
No. The woman patted the girl’s forehead. They kept me in the crate. There was no joy for me after I found the jelly.
You saved them.
The woman breathed deeply.
I said that the Green Man had used me to save them. I was nothing but a tarnished girl who may have the power to harm or make people ill. The woman turned her head to the side.
Did your father and brother free you from the crate? Alyona looked hopefully at the woman.
No child, the town folk dispatched the shaman with me in that wooden prison out into the world to purge the town of my evil. He threatened to kill me daily. He attempted to abandon me at every opportunity. The woman cupped her hand in front of Alyona. When I sensed a second source of the god jelly, he was able to sell me to a person.
No! Alyona did not know if it was a spell, but she was extending her hand towards the woman.
The sum was so great that my parents and brother lived well. The woman clapped each hand separately. That was after the shaman took his share of my bounty and spent more money on food, drink, and women on the trip home.
That’s…..
That is life, my special girl. The woman grabbed her hand and they stood up. The woman led the pair through tunnels and caverns. Eventually, the woman pulled her through a blanket of vines that concealed an exit to her labyrinth.
Your forest, Alyona. The woman gestured to the glade Alyona crossed to enter the woods.
Alyona pulled her hand away from the woman and pulled her hair back.
I am not sure what you want me to find. Alyona looked up to the woman. She received a smile.
I have never told anyone this before, the woman stuck her tongue out to Alyona, when I first touched the jelly, I felt that there were ants under my skin. It was the power of the jelly moving through me. It was such an odd feeling that I thought it was a sign of madness.
Alyona lowered her head. I felt something like that. I thought it was worms latching onto me from the peat.
That is the place, little one. Take me there.
Alyona was about to step forward when the woman asked her another question.
What color was the substance you touched today?
It was not one color, ma’am. Alyona moved her hand down to her legs. She brushed unseen but felt passengers from her body. I grabbed it first because I thought it was rose root. My mother could turn the flower into medicine to sell or trade. Alyona knelt and touched the ground. Except that the flower was so low to the ground and it was not the red or yellow flower I normally pick. They were violet with orange centers.
They did not feel like flowers.
No. Alyona pulled her hand away from the ground. They stuck to me like honey.
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2023.05.29 16:31 SleeplessFromSundown The Séance Club - The End of Windhaven Manor [Final]
This post is the final part of this story. Sorry it has taken so long to get through. And I'm not sure I even understand all of it yet. If you're new, this all started here. The previous part (Part 7) is here. Thank you to everyone who followed along.
-----
“Do you see her?” I asked in a meek voice.
“You mean that girl in black?” Harvey answered.
It was her, in the flesh. Her lips parted and formed a malevolent smile. Her dark eyes fixed on mine. My legs turned to solid lead. My feet refused to move. The anxiousness to reach Parker and Juliet and Beth in the cellar crumbled like the wood turning to ash behind us. She demanded my attention.
A hand rocked my shoulder. Harvey. I pushed him away.
“You have to go. Help them. I’ll take care of her.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll be right behind you.”
A mirage of Harvey flitted past Ally and disappeared into the kitchen. Everything blurred, everything but her.
She tilted her head to one side and bridged the gap between us with four slow and deliberate steps. She pushed her right hand out from a long sleeve and ran the black painted nail of her index finger across my cheek, the smooth lacquer cold against my skin. I shuddered as the chill spread like ice creeping up a window.
“It is such a shame to be losing you so soon. We’ve only just met, and yet I feel like we’ve known each other our whole lives. Do you feel it too?”
I shook my head. “Let me go.”
“We’re past that now Sam. I considered if we could coexist, you and I. It gave me a thrill knowing there is another one out there like me. But you insist on meddling with my work.”
“You mean locking all those girls in that filthy dungeon where they met their end? And Jane here.”
“The work is sometimes unpleasant.”
“But the pay is good?”
“This isn’t about money Sam. You and I are the same. The pain you felt from not fitting in. The lonely nights lying awake, wishing you could be like everyone else. The stares and the whispers. The rejection from those who are supposed to love us the most. I too know. But where you hid, I searched out a path where my talents were appreciated and rewarded. You don’t hate me Sam. You hate yourself for not thriving like I have.”
“Thriving? Is that what you call it?”
“By all measures yes. I am good at what I do. The best. The only. Or so I thought. And then there is you. A naïve, sheltered little boy who can barely put on his own pants in the morning. It is such a shame. And these so-called friends of yours, that was always doomed to failure. Oh and if you harbour any thoughts of them escaping, know that we blocked the little secret entrance the stable boy showed you. There’s no escape except through the fire. When they pick through the ashes of this building they will find their bones, and yours. Is this how you imagined it turning out?”
I flexed the muscles in my legs, but they refused to move. Ally smiled.
“It’s useless now Sam.”
I heard the faint whisper of Juliet’s voice in my head. She pleaded with me. Come on Sam, you can do this. I remembered the last encounter with Ally, outside the wall separating Windhaven Manor from the world. Ally had put me in the white room. I had broken free. I had overcome her power once. I had to do it again.
I took a deep breath in through my nose and cried out and willed my feet to move. Electricity coursed through my body and I directed it down to the floor. My left heel separated from the floor and that set the whole thing in motion. The dam burst. I lurched forwards and overbalanced and sprawled to the floor.
Ally crouched beside me and chuckled. “Some would call it a tragedy for a child to die so soon after learning to walk.”
I looked back towards the front of the house. The fire burned hot. Thick black smoke circled up the huge open space of the gallery. Portraits hanging on the wall bubbled and curled as flames consumed them.
A figure appeared at the foot of the staircase. The spectre of Crown. The goons had dragged his lifeless corpse out of the house, but stood before me was the spirit with unfinished business. The ugliness of his actions showed through now in death. His skin was sallow and wrinkled. His head too big for his body and his teeth yellowed. A grotesque monster made worse by his mortal demise.
Ally whispered in my ear. “He knows it was your meddling that brought about his end. I’ll leave you two alone.”
She brushed my cheek with the back of her hand and stood. As she walked away leather straps materialised out of thin air and pinned my body to the floor.
The spectre of Crown grew before me, swelling in size until he had to crouch to stay below the chandelier. He clenched his fists and with burning red eyes let out a guttural growl that skipped my ears and penetrated directly into my skull.
I tried to pull my hands to my ears but they would not come. It made no difference. The roar coming from Crown stabbed the inside of my head like a thousand daggers. I lifted my head and the growl grew to a scream that ricocheted around the inside of my skull. I couldn’t take much more. It felt as though my head would explode.
Guilt bubbled up and mingled with the fear and I shrank into the floor and wished for it to swallow me. They were down there, the only friends I had known, banging against a locked door denying their escape. I sobbed. I sobbed like I had the night my parents turned from me.
In the pit of my stomach something else grew. A seed of frustration born of a lifetime existing in a world that didn’t make sense. A world where I had no idea who I was and what I could or should do. A world in which I hid. I couldn’t do that now.
Juliet’s voice as clear as day, cutting through the racket of Crown’s scream. Do it Sam. I gritted my teeth and electricity buzzed somewhere deep inside, at first dull and imperceptible, and then amplified and resonating until it peaked into a deafening roar.
Above Crown the bulbs in the chandelier glowed white. He swivelled his head and watched them dumbly.
I concentrated, felt the energy forming an extra limb. Like the arms and legs of a newborn it flailed spasmodically. I fought to control it, to turn it to my will. I focussed on the straps pinning me to the floor. The electricity fed into the straps and turned them hot. For a moment I feared they would scold my skin, and then in a moment of release they split and flung upwards.
I picked myself up off the floor and faced the spectre of Crown. Like a spent boxer throwing one final punch I threw out my hands and screamed, willing Crown to be quiet and be still. Demanding he be so.
The floor shook. The dozens of bulbs in the chandelier shattered. The giant spectre of Crown diminished and the screaming inside my head softened until it was no more. Crown’s eyes opened wide as his mouth stitched together and his arms wrenched behind his back. I flicked my hand like I was swatting a fly and Crown flew into the corner of the room and slumped to the floor.
I bent over and rested my hands on my knees. My muscles ached, like I had run a marathon. Shadows played on the floor. I sucked in air and smoke and spluttered and coughed.
In the hallway the silhouette of Ally. She turned and shook her head. The heat of the fire intensified and crackled at my skin. If we were to make our escape, she could not be here to block us. I straightened and strode towards her.
I cycled furiously through the events of the last few days, searching for something to defeat Ally. I had to do to her what she had done to me. The time for running and breaking her spells was through.
I closed my eyes and concentrated. I stripped away everything except for the two of us. The crackle of the fire replaced with silence. The smell of the smoke disappeared. The heat washed away. One by one I shut down all my senses. When I opened my eyes a monotone room of white. Sterile calm had replaced the burning insides of Windhaven Manor.
Her eyes scanned the room and she giggled. “Cheap tricks won’t get you far,” she said. “And you learned this one from me.”
The white rippled as if the walls were made of water. She was fighting it. I concentrated, focussing all my energy, all my will. The ripples slowed and then stopped.
“You’re a fast learner,” she said. “But I have been doing this for more than a weekend.”
Strips of colour permeated the white. A rectangle of tile appeared on the floor. And then some blue from the curtain. Enough of a smouldering wall to let in some smoke. The acrid smell reached my nose and I spluttered. As each wedge of colour appeared, I filled it back in white. But it was a sinking ship and the pail I held to bail out the water would not be enough.
Ally grunted under her breath. A grunt of frustration. The white room shook and made a sound like a train bearing down.
I had to bind her. I raised my palm and coils of rope rose from the ground and oscillated like snakes around her. She swatted them away and wrenched them from the ground and flung them at my feet, limp and unmoving.
“It won’t be that easy,” she sneered.
My arms jerked behind my back. She bound my wrists and then my ankles. She pursed her lips and blew as if extinguishing a single candle on a birthday cake, and it was enough to send me to the floor. I couldn’t do this on my own. I needed help.
I shut my eyes and concentrated my energy not on my bindings, but on the woods at the back of Windhaven Manor. On the girls who escaped the dungeon and now roamed the forest, watching the house burn from behind the barrier Ally constructed.
I fed the energy coursing through my body into the giant snowdome structure until it burned hot and then like the globes in the chandelier, it cracked and exploded into the night sky. The spirits of the girls watched the shards disappear and then strode towards the Manor.
I turned my attention to the tiny room beside the pantry, where Jane Laughlin lay bound to the bed. I stood beside her and lay my hand on the shackles binding her to the bed. She shuddered as the mask came free from her mouth and then stood as the shackles broke.
I opened my eyes and the white of the room flickered off and then back on again like bad reception on a television. I had to keep the white walls up long enough for them to draw near. For them to be ready when the façade fell. Ally strode towards me, exuding confidence.
“You can’t beat me Sam.”
Ally squeezed her hands into fists and screamed. In a burst of energy she wiped the white room clear and we were back in the burning house. The air was thick with smoke. Behind me a timber beam tumbled from the ceiling and crashed to the floor. The heat and smoke sucked the moisture from my insides and I heaved out a series of coughs.
Ally opened her eyes and smiled. She had bested me. But then they came. The girls from the dungeon and Jane Laughlin surrounded her. The sum total off all the pain and hurt inflicted in this place. Everything Ally had worked to keep hidden from the world.
They lurched at Ally. She raised her hands and pushed them back one by one as they went for her. She spun on the spot, trying to keep them at bay. She could not hold them all back. The sheer weight of numbers overwhelmed. They leaned in and pushed their heads into hers and showed her what those men had done. Made her feel it. The fear and despair and anger of each individual stacked together and Ally crumpled to the floor holding her head.
“Make it stop,” she said.
They kept at her.
Jane Laughlin sidled over to the base of the stairs where Crown sat, bound and with his mouth stitched. She considered him, restrained and helpless on the floor as she had been. He fought with his restraints, and then whimpered, as she had. As I ran for the pantry and the wine cellar, the corridor filled with the muffled sound of his screams.
The door to the cellar stood open and I made the descent of the stairs in three leaps. The enclosed space already full with smoke. At the end of the long corridor leading outside, Parker and Harvey shouldered the door. Juliet and Beth screamed encouragement. The door would not budge.
“We can’t go that way,” I yelled.
They raced back up the long corridor. A sudden rush of emotion bubbled up to the surface. I was so happy to see them all still alive. My lower jaw rattled and my hands shook. I fought to hide it.
Beth reached me first. “Sam, you’re ok.”
I blubbered a response and took in a lung full of smoke. We had to get out.
The fire raged outside the kitchen door. A wave of flame climbed up and spread across the ceiling. A subtle cracking sound from above intensified and a chunk of the upstairs floor came crashing down through the ceiling, blocking the rear door. We couldn’t get out the back. The only way now was back through the house. A ball of flame whooshed through the doorway and I put my arm up too late, my eyebrows wilting in the heat.
We crouched together in the middle of the kitchen, lowering our heads to get the last of the remaining oxygen. Malicious red flames and choking black smoke surrounded us on all sides.
“Where do we go now?” Parker’s words came out between coughs. Tears streaked down his cheeks. Soot covered his brow. I wished I had an answer.
Then he was there, standing over Parker’s shoulder. Leon. With the protective bubble gone, he too was free to come in the Manor.
“The fire has not yet consumed the dining room. But you don’t have long.”
I looked vaguely in the direction of the kitchen door and blinked back the stinging from the smoke. “I don’t think we can find it in this.”
“Follow me.”
I pulled my shirt up over my head. “We have to go. The dining room, we can make it. All together on three.”
I shouted out the numbers, the sound drowned out by the roar of the fire. I grabbed Beth’s hand and yanked her into action. Leon led the way and I kept my eyes on his heels. Together we were a flurry of arms and legs bounding for the dining room. I gritted my teeth against the heat. We burst through the doorway and everything turned orange.
From below the sweater pulled tight down over my hair, I shot a glance over to the floor of the grand gallery where I had left Ally writhing on the floor. She was not there now. Nor were the spectres of the girls.
I followed Leon’s heels into the dining room. The great wooden table smouldered in the centre of the room. Brilliant orange flames consumed the thick curtains. Parker spotted his camera still atop the tripod and set to pulling the camera free before Harvey grabbed his arm and yelled something that sounded like ‘leave it’.
Harvey grabbed one of the heavy chairs with their high backs and velvet cushions and heaved it at the window in the back corner of the room. The chair disappeared into the darkness of the night and Harvey kicked at the glass shards left behind. Parker joined. We piled out the opening.
I drank in the fresh cool air of night, staggering over the narrow path beside the house and to the small strip of grass beyond. Parker collapsed beside me and pulled the laptop out from under his shirt. He tapped at the casing and for a moment a brief smile flashed across his face, but it did not last long. He wiped soot and sweat from his face with shaking hands.
Harvey checked us all in turn, like a parent fussing over their children. We had scrapes and bruises and our skin was red and raw, but we were alright. We had survived. He ran to the front of the house and came back with palms held out by his sides. The man in the black suit, the goons Ponytail and Beanie, and Ally were all gone, along with the black van and the BMW.
Huddled together, we watched the fire consume Windhaven Manor, bright reds and oranges lighting up the windows and thick black smoke tumbling into the purple haze of sky. It was almost morning, the horizon signalling the coming of the sun.
Leon stood apart on the grass. I went to him.
“Thank you for coming back for us.”
He shrugged. “It’s something. It isn’t enough to make up for the rest.”
“You saved our lives. And those girls, they had their chance to meet their tormentors. That’s something too.”
He nodded. “What happens now?”
I turned my head sideways. “I’m still learning how all this works.”
The red of the fire reflected in his eyes. “Me too. I might go for a walk in the woods. I always liked it out there.”
He glided across the lawn and entered the trees and was gone.
The sound of sirens fought with the crackle of the fire. The fire brigade and the police. I got to my feet and shuffled to the front of the Manor. The burnt out carcasses of our cars stood by the low height wall. Black soot smudged the stone façade above the windows and the doors.
By the oak tree on the ocean side of the house stood Jane Laughlin. She peered down into a hole dug at the base of the tree. A pale and withered hand poked up out of the dirt. Her hand. They had meant to remove the body, but had aborted the task and fled.
A fire truck appeared at the head of the driveway and then another. They sped down the gravel and came to a sliding stop. A lone police car followed. Harvey sidled over.
Jane looked to the horizon. Out on the cliff edge stood a figure in a red dress. She recognised her sister Kylie immediately and ran down the slope. The two sisters embraced in the first light of the sun. I turned to the whoosh of water through a hose from the fire trucks and when I turned back, the Laughlin sisters were gone.
The members of The Séance Club, which I now consider myself a part, sat together on the low-height stone wall as the firefighters extinguished the flames consuming Windhaven Manor. The house was quiet now. The nausea and vibration I had felt that first night replaced with calm.
The police stripped the compound clean for the best part of a week. They identified Kyle the sketch artist and Hugo from the teeth that survived the fire of the hovel built over the dungeon. Hugo’s wife lay on the back lawn where Beanie and Ponytail had left her. But as to specific evidence of the crimes that occurred, they could not find enough to put a case together.
The two fires and the disappearance of Crown made some headlines, but there wasn’t enough to hang anyone else. The police claimed publicly that there was no link between the fire at Windhaven Manor and the fire at the squalid residence over the back fence. At Harvey’s behest they searched the area with cadaver dogs for the remains of the girls, but they found nothing.
Parker turned his laptop over to the police. They identified the two goons, Ponytail and Beanie, low level thugs who had disappeared from the streets years earlier. Those in the know presumed them dead. It made tracing them almost impossible. Tracing their vehicles lead to a dead end.
The man in black the suit on the other hand might as well be a ghost. On him they found nothing. They have a face, but nothing else.
As for Ally, the girl somehow managed to always turn her face away from the cameras, as if she knew where they were.
I sat in a small room at the police station for three days with Harvey putting the pieces together. He showed me a photograph of an old and gaunt man with a bent back, the last owner of Windhaven Manor before it was sold after his death. He had to be the man with the bent back from the ceremony in the dungeon, but I could not be certain. I never saw his face. Of the faces I did see, we knew Crown and Kyle and Hugo, but the others were harder to pinpoint.
At the end of it all Harvey sighed. There was nothing more we could do. But we could rest on the knowledge that the key players in the ceremony were all now dead.
Questions nagged at me. Where was Ally and what was she doing? Would she try to find me? Who was she working for?
That was the biggest question of all. Who was at the top and pulling the strings? Harvey wasn’t giving up. He was a dog with a bone at the best of times, and now he had a taste of blood. He refused to go back to the police even after Crown’s departure, which he described as the removal of a cancerous limb.
Harvey called me after the dust settled on everything. I told him that the trail had gone cold and I had no idea where Ally was. For all I knew she had evaporated into thin air. Harvey thought it unlikely, and I agreed. He told me it was time for some old-fashioned detective work. The names of the goons would be a start.
And there was something else Harvey mentioned, something that I had almost forgotten. He had always believed that his investigation into the disappearance of the girls was the reason one of his colleagues was murdered. Crown confirmed as much in the bedroom right before he was shot. Harvey thinks there is something to it. Another thread to pull, and he has a hunch. For now he’s keeping his cards close to his chest until he has some proof. I almost pressed him on the issue but decided I’d rather put it all behind me.
The story made headlines in the local press for a while, but ultimately it fizzled into a non-story, quickly forgotten by a public with a short attention spans. We all waited for a reckoning from within the police ranks, but it never came. Harvey predicted that’s the way it would go, and he was proven right.
The one item they did recover was a gold necklace with a heart pendant. The necklace Jane Laughlin wore the night of her death. The police found it where the black van had parked. After a few days in the possession of the police, Harvey arranged to have the necklace released to the family of its former owner.
The following day Mr. and Mrs. Laughlin appeared on the local news, thanking the efforts of those who recovered the remains of their daughter. It was closure, though not the kind they had hoped for. Both their girls were dead.
A week later The Séance Club convened in Beth’s apartment. Parker and Juliet were already there when I arrived. It was cathartic to talk about the events at Windhaven Manor, to compare stories and scars. I guess that’s why they have the saying about a problem shared.
After a brief silence, Beth asked, “Are you going to talk to the parents of Jane and Kylie?”
I shook my head. “What will I tell them?”
“That their daughters found each other out by the cliff edge.”
“And what about the agony of their deaths? Should I tell them that too? Besides, it doesn’t feel right. None of this feels right to me yet. And what weight do my words hold over those of some Priest talking about how he knows their souls are at rest.”
“Because you really do know.”
I shrugged. “I can’t prove any of it.”
Truth was I had no idea how to integrate the things I could see and do into my life. From childhood all I had wanted was to be like everyone else. For people not to stare or whisper as I walked by. To find acceptance. Sitting with my three new friends at Beth’s tiny kitchen table, with our shared experience behind us, I finally had it. This could be the start of something.
Parker was already planning the next Séance Club trip. An abandoned farm up north with mysterious sightings going back centuries. Juliet was already on board. I told them to wait. I couldn’t jump back in right away.
I was the last to leave, Beth and I sipping mug after mug of coffee and sharing comfortable silence. When I sighed and told her I should go, she grabbed my arm.
“I’ve never had a real family, and then I found Juliet and Parker. The Séance Club became my family. Whatever happens we are there for each other. And we mean it when we say we want you to join.”
I thought about that all night, unable to sleep.
The next morning I called Parker.
An abandoned farm up north you say?
* * * *
I navigated to the narrow alley and checked the time. The Exchange should be open. It looked out of context in the Saturday morning light. No bright light spilling from the window. No surge of Friday night after work traffic.
I slipped in the front door. A lone man lifted upturned stools down from the bar. He had his back to me and I crept across the hardwood floor in the direction of the stairs down and the bathrooms.
The vibration swelled in my chest, but I did not fear it. A dull pain rose in the base of my skull, but I gritted my teeth. A man wearing a pair of rough leather shoes came from the other end of the corridor and stopped before me.
“Are you here to help?”
I nodded.
X
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-----
“Do you see her?” I asked in a meek voice.
“You mean that girl in black?” Harvey answered.
It was her, in the flesh. Her lips parted and formed a malevolent smile. Her dark eyes fixed on mine. My legs turned to solid lead. My feet refused to move. The anxiousness to reach Parker and Juliet and Beth in the cellar crumbled like the wood turning to ash behind us. She demanded my attention.
A hand rocked my shoulder. Harvey. I pushed him away.
“You have to go. Help them. I’ll take care of her.”
“What about you?”
“I’ll be right behind you.”
A mirage of Harvey flitted past Ally and disappeared into the kitchen. Everything blurred, everything but her.
She tilted her head to one side and bridged the gap between us with four slow and deliberate steps. She pushed her right hand out from a long sleeve and ran the black painted nail of her index finger across my cheek, the smooth lacquer cold against my skin. I shuddered as the chill spread like ice creeping up a window.
“It is such a shame to be losing you so soon. We’ve only just met, and yet I feel like we’ve known each other our whole lives. Do you feel it too?”
I shook my head. “Let me go.”
“We’re past that now Sam. I considered if we could coexist, you and I. It gave me a thrill knowing there is another one out there like me. But you insist on meddling with my work.”
“You mean locking all those girls in that filthy dungeon where they met their end? And Jane here.”
“The work is sometimes unpleasant.”
“But the pay is good?”
“This isn’t about money Sam. You and I are the same. The pain you felt from not fitting in. The lonely nights lying awake, wishing you could be like everyone else. The stares and the whispers. The rejection from those who are supposed to love us the most. I too know. But where you hid, I searched out a path where my talents were appreciated and rewarded. You don’t hate me Sam. You hate yourself for not thriving like I have.”
“Thriving? Is that what you call it?”
“By all measures yes. I am good at what I do. The best. The only. Or so I thought. And then there is you. A naïve, sheltered little boy who can barely put on his own pants in the morning. It is such a shame. And these so-called friends of yours, that was always doomed to failure. Oh and if you harbour any thoughts of them escaping, know that we blocked the little secret entrance the stable boy showed you. There’s no escape except through the fire. When they pick through the ashes of this building they will find their bones, and yours. Is this how you imagined it turning out?”
I flexed the muscles in my legs, but they refused to move. Ally smiled.
“It’s useless now Sam.”
I heard the faint whisper of Juliet’s voice in my head. She pleaded with me. Come on Sam, you can do this. I remembered the last encounter with Ally, outside the wall separating Windhaven Manor from the world. Ally had put me in the white room. I had broken free. I had overcome her power once. I had to do it again.
I took a deep breath in through my nose and cried out and willed my feet to move. Electricity coursed through my body and I directed it down to the floor. My left heel separated from the floor and that set the whole thing in motion. The dam burst. I lurched forwards and overbalanced and sprawled to the floor.
Ally crouched beside me and chuckled. “Some would call it a tragedy for a child to die so soon after learning to walk.”
I looked back towards the front of the house. The fire burned hot. Thick black smoke circled up the huge open space of the gallery. Portraits hanging on the wall bubbled and curled as flames consumed them.
A figure appeared at the foot of the staircase. The spectre of Crown. The goons had dragged his lifeless corpse out of the house, but stood before me was the spirit with unfinished business. The ugliness of his actions showed through now in death. His skin was sallow and wrinkled. His head too big for his body and his teeth yellowed. A grotesque monster made worse by his mortal demise.
Ally whispered in my ear. “He knows it was your meddling that brought about his end. I’ll leave you two alone.”
She brushed my cheek with the back of her hand and stood. As she walked away leather straps materialised out of thin air and pinned my body to the floor.
The spectre of Crown grew before me, swelling in size until he had to crouch to stay below the chandelier. He clenched his fists and with burning red eyes let out a guttural growl that skipped my ears and penetrated directly into my skull.
I tried to pull my hands to my ears but they would not come. It made no difference. The roar coming from Crown stabbed the inside of my head like a thousand daggers. I lifted my head and the growl grew to a scream that ricocheted around the inside of my skull. I couldn’t take much more. It felt as though my head would explode.
Guilt bubbled up and mingled with the fear and I shrank into the floor and wished for it to swallow me. They were down there, the only friends I had known, banging against a locked door denying their escape. I sobbed. I sobbed like I had the night my parents turned from me.
In the pit of my stomach something else grew. A seed of frustration born of a lifetime existing in a world that didn’t make sense. A world where I had no idea who I was and what I could or should do. A world in which I hid. I couldn’t do that now.
Juliet’s voice as clear as day, cutting through the racket of Crown’s scream. Do it Sam. I gritted my teeth and electricity buzzed somewhere deep inside, at first dull and imperceptible, and then amplified and resonating until it peaked into a deafening roar.
Above Crown the bulbs in the chandelier glowed white. He swivelled his head and watched them dumbly.
I concentrated, felt the energy forming an extra limb. Like the arms and legs of a newborn it flailed spasmodically. I fought to control it, to turn it to my will. I focussed on the straps pinning me to the floor. The electricity fed into the straps and turned them hot. For a moment I feared they would scold my skin, and then in a moment of release they split and flung upwards.
I picked myself up off the floor and faced the spectre of Crown. Like a spent boxer throwing one final punch I threw out my hands and screamed, willing Crown to be quiet and be still. Demanding he be so.
The floor shook. The dozens of bulbs in the chandelier shattered. The giant spectre of Crown diminished and the screaming inside my head softened until it was no more. Crown’s eyes opened wide as his mouth stitched together and his arms wrenched behind his back. I flicked my hand like I was swatting a fly and Crown flew into the corner of the room and slumped to the floor.
I bent over and rested my hands on my knees. My muscles ached, like I had run a marathon. Shadows played on the floor. I sucked in air and smoke and spluttered and coughed.
In the hallway the silhouette of Ally. She turned and shook her head. The heat of the fire intensified and crackled at my skin. If we were to make our escape, she could not be here to block us. I straightened and strode towards her.
I cycled furiously through the events of the last few days, searching for something to defeat Ally. I had to do to her what she had done to me. The time for running and breaking her spells was through.
I closed my eyes and concentrated. I stripped away everything except for the two of us. The crackle of the fire replaced with silence. The smell of the smoke disappeared. The heat washed away. One by one I shut down all my senses. When I opened my eyes a monotone room of white. Sterile calm had replaced the burning insides of Windhaven Manor.
Her eyes scanned the room and she giggled. “Cheap tricks won’t get you far,” she said. “And you learned this one from me.”
The white rippled as if the walls were made of water. She was fighting it. I concentrated, focussing all my energy, all my will. The ripples slowed and then stopped.
“You’re a fast learner,” she said. “But I have been doing this for more than a weekend.”
Strips of colour permeated the white. A rectangle of tile appeared on the floor. And then some blue from the curtain. Enough of a smouldering wall to let in some smoke. The acrid smell reached my nose and I spluttered. As each wedge of colour appeared, I filled it back in white. But it was a sinking ship and the pail I held to bail out the water would not be enough.
Ally grunted under her breath. A grunt of frustration. The white room shook and made a sound like a train bearing down.
I had to bind her. I raised my palm and coils of rope rose from the ground and oscillated like snakes around her. She swatted them away and wrenched them from the ground and flung them at my feet, limp and unmoving.
“It won’t be that easy,” she sneered.
My arms jerked behind my back. She bound my wrists and then my ankles. She pursed her lips and blew as if extinguishing a single candle on a birthday cake, and it was enough to send me to the floor. I couldn’t do this on my own. I needed help.
I shut my eyes and concentrated my energy not on my bindings, but on the woods at the back of Windhaven Manor. On the girls who escaped the dungeon and now roamed the forest, watching the house burn from behind the barrier Ally constructed.
I fed the energy coursing through my body into the giant snowdome structure until it burned hot and then like the globes in the chandelier, it cracked and exploded into the night sky. The spirits of the girls watched the shards disappear and then strode towards the Manor.
I turned my attention to the tiny room beside the pantry, where Jane Laughlin lay bound to the bed. I stood beside her and lay my hand on the shackles binding her to the bed. She shuddered as the mask came free from her mouth and then stood as the shackles broke.
I opened my eyes and the white of the room flickered off and then back on again like bad reception on a television. I had to keep the white walls up long enough for them to draw near. For them to be ready when the façade fell. Ally strode towards me, exuding confidence.
“You can’t beat me Sam.”
Ally squeezed her hands into fists and screamed. In a burst of energy she wiped the white room clear and we were back in the burning house. The air was thick with smoke. Behind me a timber beam tumbled from the ceiling and crashed to the floor. The heat and smoke sucked the moisture from my insides and I heaved out a series of coughs.
Ally opened her eyes and smiled. She had bested me. But then they came. The girls from the dungeon and Jane Laughlin surrounded her. The sum total off all the pain and hurt inflicted in this place. Everything Ally had worked to keep hidden from the world.
They lurched at Ally. She raised her hands and pushed them back one by one as they went for her. She spun on the spot, trying to keep them at bay. She could not hold them all back. The sheer weight of numbers overwhelmed. They leaned in and pushed their heads into hers and showed her what those men had done. Made her feel it. The fear and despair and anger of each individual stacked together and Ally crumpled to the floor holding her head.
“Make it stop,” she said.
They kept at her.
Jane Laughlin sidled over to the base of the stairs where Crown sat, bound and with his mouth stitched. She considered him, restrained and helpless on the floor as she had been. He fought with his restraints, and then whimpered, as she had. As I ran for the pantry and the wine cellar, the corridor filled with the muffled sound of his screams.
The door to the cellar stood open and I made the descent of the stairs in three leaps. The enclosed space already full with smoke. At the end of the long corridor leading outside, Parker and Harvey shouldered the door. Juliet and Beth screamed encouragement. The door would not budge.
“We can’t go that way,” I yelled.
They raced back up the long corridor. A sudden rush of emotion bubbled up to the surface. I was so happy to see them all still alive. My lower jaw rattled and my hands shook. I fought to hide it.
Beth reached me first. “Sam, you’re ok.”
I blubbered a response and took in a lung full of smoke. We had to get out.
The fire raged outside the kitchen door. A wave of flame climbed up and spread across the ceiling. A subtle cracking sound from above intensified and a chunk of the upstairs floor came crashing down through the ceiling, blocking the rear door. We couldn’t get out the back. The only way now was back through the house. A ball of flame whooshed through the doorway and I put my arm up too late, my eyebrows wilting in the heat.
We crouched together in the middle of the kitchen, lowering our heads to get the last of the remaining oxygen. Malicious red flames and choking black smoke surrounded us on all sides.
“Where do we go now?” Parker’s words came out between coughs. Tears streaked down his cheeks. Soot covered his brow. I wished I had an answer.
Then he was there, standing over Parker’s shoulder. Leon. With the protective bubble gone, he too was free to come in the Manor.
“The fire has not yet consumed the dining room. But you don’t have long.”
I looked vaguely in the direction of the kitchen door and blinked back the stinging from the smoke. “I don’t think we can find it in this.”
“Follow me.”
I pulled my shirt up over my head. “We have to go. The dining room, we can make it. All together on three.”
I shouted out the numbers, the sound drowned out by the roar of the fire. I grabbed Beth’s hand and yanked her into action. Leon led the way and I kept my eyes on his heels. Together we were a flurry of arms and legs bounding for the dining room. I gritted my teeth against the heat. We burst through the doorway and everything turned orange.
From below the sweater pulled tight down over my hair, I shot a glance over to the floor of the grand gallery where I had left Ally writhing on the floor. She was not there now. Nor were the spectres of the girls.
I followed Leon’s heels into the dining room. The great wooden table smouldered in the centre of the room. Brilliant orange flames consumed the thick curtains. Parker spotted his camera still atop the tripod and set to pulling the camera free before Harvey grabbed his arm and yelled something that sounded like ‘leave it’.
Harvey grabbed one of the heavy chairs with their high backs and velvet cushions and heaved it at the window in the back corner of the room. The chair disappeared into the darkness of the night and Harvey kicked at the glass shards left behind. Parker joined. We piled out the opening.
I drank in the fresh cool air of night, staggering over the narrow path beside the house and to the small strip of grass beyond. Parker collapsed beside me and pulled the laptop out from under his shirt. He tapped at the casing and for a moment a brief smile flashed across his face, but it did not last long. He wiped soot and sweat from his face with shaking hands.
Harvey checked us all in turn, like a parent fussing over their children. We had scrapes and bruises and our skin was red and raw, but we were alright. We had survived. He ran to the front of the house and came back with palms held out by his sides. The man in the black suit, the goons Ponytail and Beanie, and Ally were all gone, along with the black van and the BMW.
Huddled together, we watched the fire consume Windhaven Manor, bright reds and oranges lighting up the windows and thick black smoke tumbling into the purple haze of sky. It was almost morning, the horizon signalling the coming of the sun.
Leon stood apart on the grass. I went to him.
“Thank you for coming back for us.”
He shrugged. “It’s something. It isn’t enough to make up for the rest.”
“You saved our lives. And those girls, they had their chance to meet their tormentors. That’s something too.”
He nodded. “What happens now?”
I turned my head sideways. “I’m still learning how all this works.”
The red of the fire reflected in his eyes. “Me too. I might go for a walk in the woods. I always liked it out there.”
He glided across the lawn and entered the trees and was gone.
The sound of sirens fought with the crackle of the fire. The fire brigade and the police. I got to my feet and shuffled to the front of the Manor. The burnt out carcasses of our cars stood by the low height wall. Black soot smudged the stone façade above the windows and the doors.
By the oak tree on the ocean side of the house stood Jane Laughlin. She peered down into a hole dug at the base of the tree. A pale and withered hand poked up out of the dirt. Her hand. They had meant to remove the body, but had aborted the task and fled.
A fire truck appeared at the head of the driveway and then another. They sped down the gravel and came to a sliding stop. A lone police car followed. Harvey sidled over.
Jane looked to the horizon. Out on the cliff edge stood a figure in a red dress. She recognised her sister Kylie immediately and ran down the slope. The two sisters embraced in the first light of the sun. I turned to the whoosh of water through a hose from the fire trucks and when I turned back, the Laughlin sisters were gone.
The members of The Séance Club, which I now consider myself a part, sat together on the low-height stone wall as the firefighters extinguished the flames consuming Windhaven Manor. The house was quiet now. The nausea and vibration I had felt that first night replaced with calm.
The police stripped the compound clean for the best part of a week. They identified Kyle the sketch artist and Hugo from the teeth that survived the fire of the hovel built over the dungeon. Hugo’s wife lay on the back lawn where Beanie and Ponytail had left her. But as to specific evidence of the crimes that occurred, they could not find enough to put a case together.
The two fires and the disappearance of Crown made some headlines, but there wasn’t enough to hang anyone else. The police claimed publicly that there was no link between the fire at Windhaven Manor and the fire at the squalid residence over the back fence. At Harvey’s behest they searched the area with cadaver dogs for the remains of the girls, but they found nothing.
Parker turned his laptop over to the police. They identified the two goons, Ponytail and Beanie, low level thugs who had disappeared from the streets years earlier. Those in the know presumed them dead. It made tracing them almost impossible. Tracing their vehicles lead to a dead end.
The man in black the suit on the other hand might as well be a ghost. On him they found nothing. They have a face, but nothing else.
As for Ally, the girl somehow managed to always turn her face away from the cameras, as if she knew where they were.
I sat in a small room at the police station for three days with Harvey putting the pieces together. He showed me a photograph of an old and gaunt man with a bent back, the last owner of Windhaven Manor before it was sold after his death. He had to be the man with the bent back from the ceremony in the dungeon, but I could not be certain. I never saw his face. Of the faces I did see, we knew Crown and Kyle and Hugo, but the others were harder to pinpoint.
At the end of it all Harvey sighed. There was nothing more we could do. But we could rest on the knowledge that the key players in the ceremony were all now dead.
Questions nagged at me. Where was Ally and what was she doing? Would she try to find me? Who was she working for?
That was the biggest question of all. Who was at the top and pulling the strings? Harvey wasn’t giving up. He was a dog with a bone at the best of times, and now he had a taste of blood. He refused to go back to the police even after Crown’s departure, which he described as the removal of a cancerous limb.
Harvey called me after the dust settled on everything. I told him that the trail had gone cold and I had no idea where Ally was. For all I knew she had evaporated into thin air. Harvey thought it unlikely, and I agreed. He told me it was time for some old-fashioned detective work. The names of the goons would be a start.
And there was something else Harvey mentioned, something that I had almost forgotten. He had always believed that his investigation into the disappearance of the girls was the reason one of his colleagues was murdered. Crown confirmed as much in the bedroom right before he was shot. Harvey thinks there is something to it. Another thread to pull, and he has a hunch. For now he’s keeping his cards close to his chest until he has some proof. I almost pressed him on the issue but decided I’d rather put it all behind me.
The story made headlines in the local press for a while, but ultimately it fizzled into a non-story, quickly forgotten by a public with a short attention spans. We all waited for a reckoning from within the police ranks, but it never came. Harvey predicted that’s the way it would go, and he was proven right.
The one item they did recover was a gold necklace with a heart pendant. The necklace Jane Laughlin wore the night of her death. The police found it where the black van had parked. After a few days in the possession of the police, Harvey arranged to have the necklace released to the family of its former owner.
The following day Mr. and Mrs. Laughlin appeared on the local news, thanking the efforts of those who recovered the remains of their daughter. It was closure, though not the kind they had hoped for. Both their girls were dead.
A week later The Séance Club convened in Beth’s apartment. Parker and Juliet were already there when I arrived. It was cathartic to talk about the events at Windhaven Manor, to compare stories and scars. I guess that’s why they have the saying about a problem shared.
After a brief silence, Beth asked, “Are you going to talk to the parents of Jane and Kylie?”
I shook my head. “What will I tell them?”
“That their daughters found each other out by the cliff edge.”
“And what about the agony of their deaths? Should I tell them that too? Besides, it doesn’t feel right. None of this feels right to me yet. And what weight do my words hold over those of some Priest talking about how he knows their souls are at rest.”
“Because you really do know.”
I shrugged. “I can’t prove any of it.”
Truth was I had no idea how to integrate the things I could see and do into my life. From childhood all I had wanted was to be like everyone else. For people not to stare or whisper as I walked by. To find acceptance. Sitting with my three new friends at Beth’s tiny kitchen table, with our shared experience behind us, I finally had it. This could be the start of something.
Parker was already planning the next Séance Club trip. An abandoned farm up north with mysterious sightings going back centuries. Juliet was already on board. I told them to wait. I couldn’t jump back in right away.
I was the last to leave, Beth and I sipping mug after mug of coffee and sharing comfortable silence. When I sighed and told her I should go, she grabbed my arm.
“I’ve never had a real family, and then I found Juliet and Parker. The Séance Club became my family. Whatever happens we are there for each other. And we mean it when we say we want you to join.”
I thought about that all night, unable to sleep.
The next morning I called Parker.
An abandoned farm up north you say?
* * * *
I navigated to the narrow alley and checked the time. The Exchange should be open. It looked out of context in the Saturday morning light. No bright light spilling from the window. No surge of Friday night after work traffic.
I slipped in the front door. A lone man lifted upturned stools down from the bar. He had his back to me and I crept across the hardwood floor in the direction of the stairs down and the bathrooms.
The vibration swelled in my chest, but I did not fear it. A dull pain rose in the base of my skull, but I gritted my teeth. A man wearing a pair of rough leather shoes came from the other end of the corridor and stopped before me.
“Are you here to help?”
I nodded.
X
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2023.05.26 04:19 kareylicious Nest Migration Summary - #190
The 190th nest migration happened yesterday!
[Calgary Nest Map] Direct link (http://bit.ly/YYCNestMap)
Nest Migration start: May 24, 5 pm
Next Nest Migration: June 7, 5 pm
Nests are as accurate at time of reporting. Please keep in mind that sometimes nests change when certain events begin/end.
The majority of the nest list has been provided by https://www.theraidmap.com/ If you want more pokemon, please consider subscribing.
In order to keep the nest list updated as timely as possible I would kindly request that nest only be reported in top level comments and avoid editing previous posts to include new nests. The easiest way for me to see when the list needs to be updated is to see when I have a notification from reddit and I only receive those on new top level comments. Thank you very much!
Thank you to all our nest reporters! Without you, this wouldn't be possible!
Please keep the following in mind when reporting nests:
Spawn points in nests have a 25% chance to spawn the nest Pokemon. If a nest only has a handful of spawn points it is common to not see any of the nesting Pokemon if you are only at the nest for a short period of time. Due to this please ensure you have spent enough time in a nest before reporting your findings.
Happy hunting!!
Thank you to our nest hunters!
Nest locations only: http://bit.ly/YYCNestLocations
submitted by kareylicious to PokemonGoCalgary [link] [comments]
[Calgary Nest Map] Direct link (http://bit.ly/YYCNestMap)
Nest Migration start: May 24, 5 pm
Next Nest Migration: June 7, 5 pm
Nests are as accurate at time of reporting. Please keep in mind that sometimes nests change when certain events begin/end.
The majority of the nest list has been provided by https://www.theraidmap.com/ If you want more pokemon, please consider subscribing.
In order to keep the nest list updated as timely as possible I would kindly request that nest only be reported in top level comments and avoid editing previous posts to include new nests. The easiest way for me to see when the list needs to be updated is to see when I have a notification from reddit and I only receive those on new top level comments. Thank you very much!
Thank you to all our nest reporters! Without you, this wouldn't be possible!
Please keep the following in mind when reporting nests:
Spawn points in nests have a 25% chance to spawn the nest Pokemon. If a nest only has a handful of spawn points it is common to not see any of the nesting Pokemon if you are only at the nest for a short period of time. Due to this please ensure you have spent enough time in a nest before reporting your findings.
Happy hunting!!
Reported Nests
Downtown Nests
| Pokemon | Nest Location | Spawn Points |
|---|---|---|
| Houndour | Central Memorial Park | 5+ |
| Grubbin | Eau Claire Park | ? |
| Joltik | Princes Island Park | 20 |
| Snivy | Shaw Millennium Park | 6 |
| Spearow | Stampede Park | 49 |
North East Nests
| Pokemon | Nest Location | Spawn Points |
|---|---|---|
| Purrloin | Munro Park | 10+ |
| Marill | Nose Creek Parkway / Confluence Park | 22 |
| Houndour | Rotary Park | 5 |
| Houndour | St. Patricks Island Park | 11 |
North West Nests
| Pokemon | Nest Location | Spawn Points |
|---|---|---|
| Snubbulll | Botanical Gardens of SS/Sarcee Park | 13 |
| Burmy | Bowmont Park | 15 |
| Phanpy | Bowness Park | 12 |
| Poliwag | Confederation Park | 29 |
| Tympole | Crescent Heights Park | ? |
| Snivy | Dale Hodges Park | 24 |
| Buneary | John Laurie Park | 7 |
| Tangela | Nose Hill Park | 35 |
| Snivy | Riley Park | 9 |
| Phanpy | Shouldice Aquatic Centre | ? |
| Houndour | Shouldice Athletic Park | 15 |
South East Nests
| Pokemon | Nest Location | Spawn Points |
|---|---|---|
| Poliwag | Carburn Park | 14 |
| Tangela | Lake Sundance | 12 |
| Phanpy | Pop Davies Athletic Park | 13 |
South West Nests
| Pokemon | Nest Location | Spawn Points |
|---|---|---|
| Oshawott | Canada Olympic Park | 40 |
| Wooper | Edworthy Park | ? |
| Houndour | Edworthy Park (river side) | ? |
| Bunnelby | Lindsay Park | 20+ |
| Sandshrew | South Glenmore Park | ? |
| Foongus | Stanley Park | 14 |
Unreported Nests
Downtown Nests
| Pokemon | Nest Location | Spawn Points |
|---|---|---|
| ?? | Barb Scott Park | 4 |
| ?? | Bow River Pathway Eau Claire | 5 |
| ?? | Central Memorial Park | 5+ |
| ?? | Century Gardens | 4+ |
| ?? | Connaught Park | 5 |
| ?? | Connaught School | 3 |
| ?? | Eau Claire Park | ? |
| ?? | Harley Hotchkiss Gardens | 4+ |
| ?? | Harry Hayes - Red Machine Stop | 2 |
| ?? | Haultain Park | 3 |
| ?? | James Short Park | 2 |
| ?? | Lougheed House | 5 |
| ?? | McDougall Centre | 10+ |
| ?? | Nat Christie Park | 5 |
| ?? | Olympic Plaza | 6 |
| ?? | Princes Island Park | 20 |
| ?? | Rouleauville Square | 5+ |
| ?? | Shaw Millennium Park | 6 |
| ?? | Sien Lok Park North | 3 |
| ?? | Sien Lok Park South | ? |
| ?? | South Bow Park | 3 |
| ?? | Stampede Park | 49 |
| ?? | The Family of Man | ? |
| ?? | Thomson Family Park | ? |
| ?? | Tomkins Park | ? |
North East Nests
North West Nests
South East Nests
South West Nests
Nest locations only: http://bit.ly/YYCNestLocations
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