Felix and the Trick or treat

            On a cool autumn night a small black cat wearing a small black hat, sat on a fence. The cat had a collar, attached to the collar was a little black bowtie. Below the bowtie hung the nametag. “Felix” was engraved on the small metal oval hanging from the cat’s orange color. With the combination of the gentleman’s hat and bowtie, Felix looked like he was ready for a night on the town. More accurately his owners dressed him up for Halloween before letting him out for the night. Despite not dressing himself Felix still walked with a certain level of confidence and looked handsome in his little outfit.

            A full moon lit up the sky and stars sparkled like diamonds against black satin. The town of “Maple Hill” was small and rural. It was a safe town and most people knew their neighbors. On Halloween Parents felt safe enough to let their kids trick or treat without an adult, usually an older sibling would look after the younger ones, or a child would go with friends. Felix bounced a little as he walked. The crisp air and the smell of baked goods tickled his nose and gave him energy. The sound of crunching leaves mixed with the giggling of children and the low howl of the wind.

            As Felix enjoyed his night of strolling the town he saw an unfamiliar cat. He knew every cat in the neighborhood just as the humans knew at least the face of every person in town. This cat was a girl cat, she was all black and had piercing green eyes. She wasn’t dressed up and didn’t have a collar. Felix was enchanted and walked right up to the slender black cat. Felix’s yellow eyes, black fur and black and orange outfit looked great on Halloween night, but somehow this new cat seemed to fit the night even better.

            As he approached this cat, she turned to him and smiled. Which was strange because cats can’t really ‘smile’. Felix stopped and was more cautious when he approached. The Female cat patted Felix’s head. Then turned to leave. Felix was about to approach but before he could the black cat turned into a crow, black with emerald green eyes. The crow looked at Felix as he stumbled backward. Then without a word or even a caw, the crow took off silently into the night.

            Halloween is a special time of the year when people dress up, eat candy and just for a brief time just might believe magic is real. On Halloween it doesn’t matter if you are a human or a cat, if something looks strange, maybe give it a second look.

In the Mirror

            Joseph stared blankly at the mirror. He studied his reflection, every flaw, curve and movement of his face. His Bathroom mirror opened into three sections. When he opened them outward his single reflection turned into three. If he angled them at a right angle he could see ten or more sides of his face as the reflections bounced off of each other.

            Joseph stared into the sea of reflection, he could see every angle of his head and saw literal sides of himself that he had never seen before. This is how he looked to the rest of the world. Most people only see one side of themselves. A straight mirror only shows you the angle you present. But while you look at the ten percent of yourself the world sees everything.

           

            The reflections on the mirror all looked off in different directions, exposing a piece of themselves. Then all at once, they began to talk. Each small reflection spoke and loudly announced all of Joseph’s personal feelings. He saw and heard the whole spectrum of what he was capable of thinking and doing. One reflection recalled the time he was very brave and saved a cat from being run over. While another endlessly spoke about that one time he was rude to that one girl. The reflection added that Joseph was not only rude, but didn’t even remember her name. All of his reflections spoke of random events, some important and others not so much. “Why are vegetarians so stuck up? Isn’t that baby cute? No, babies are gross. Man I should probably go to the dentist, I wonder how much they cost. Did that guy flip me off? He’s dead!” the reflections spoke.

            Joseph was getting overrun with a clash of ideas and memories. He closed the mirrors halfway. Only his three reflections remained. “I just want to eat meat, screw and maybe beat the crap out of somebody” said the left side reflection, and then added a beastly growl. “I could read books and watch the rain all day and maybe snuggle. Oh! I have an idea for something new to paint!” said the right reflection. The middle reflection just stared hopelessly out, looking back into Joseph’s eyes. “Who am I?” Muttered the middle reflection. Joseph closed the mirror completely and took one last look at his reflection.

           

            There was only one reflection in the mirror now and he was shaking his head, and then smiled. “I am the guy talking to himself in the mirror”

Soldiers Memory

            The rain poured down oppressively. The sky was dark and a small girl named Jill stood in the pouring rain. Jill was eight, wore a nice spring dress and had bare feet. She danced through the rain, ignoring the gloom of the day or how drenched she was getting. Her mother called her name “Jill its time to come inside and wash up” Said her mother, who had her head poked out of the upstairs window to their house. Jill looked out and surveyed the backyard during this rainstorm like it was a great wilderness or some kind of tropical jungle. A look of amazement filled her eyes as her mind pieced together the ‘missing pieces’ of what her eyes left out. “Jill, Now!” Her mother said. Time must have passed between Jill’s warnings, but the girl was so caught up in the wonderment of nature that she lost track of herself and time.

            “Jill!” yelled a voice with extreme urgency. Rain poured down in buckets. The ground was more mud than dirt at this point. A heavily armed soldier ran over to Jill, a look of fear and desperation filled his eyes. “Jill! Answer me!” Jill opened her eyes and looked up. “Mom?” Jill said. “Get it together!” Said the soldier. “Jill shook her head. and her vision cleared. “Sergeant Myers!” Jill replied. Myers nodded and smiled “Lets get you up soldier, we need you on your feet” He said. Jill shakily stood up. As she stood her memories came rushing back. They were in battle and a bomb went off, the explosion sent her flying and the shockwave knocked her out. “I think I’m ok” Jill said. She was also heavily armed and carried the same standard weaponry as her fellow soldiers.

            Gunshots were fired and bullets whizzed passed the two soldiers. “Get down” Said Myers. They both dropped down into the mud and readied their weapons. “Jake, Thank you for coming to get me. I just want you to know you have been a great friend and commanding officer” Jill said. She held her gun steady and aimed unwavering. When she spoke to Sergeant Myers it was with a professional tone. She didn’t know if either of them would survive this battle, but she wasn’t going to fall to pieces either. They were both trained soldiers. “Its Still Sergeant Myers, Private. And we will be fine” Myers replied.

            Rain poured down, thunder rang out and lighting struck off in the distance. The fighting grew more intense and it seemed like hell was crashing down around them. Between the weather and gunfire Jill could no longer hear Myers giving orders. She kept shooting. Enemy soldiers lined up into her sights and she picked them off, one by one. As she watched each body fall, she tried to ignore her memories as they conflicted with her harsh realities. “If I survive this, I’ll deal with it then” She thought. Jill needed to stay focused.

            The battle raged on, but despite chaos a deep seeded memory lingered in Jill’s mind. This full grown woman, who had so many life experiences, joined the military, killed and watched her friends die, she was once just a little girl. She was a little girl who like to play in the rain and mud. She was curious about nature and like wearing pretty dresses.

            When moments like that pass, when people change and times get tough. It is important to reflect on those precious moments and remember who you are. To keep a piece of your true self regardless of what life throws at you.

Magic in the rain

The rain beats down behind me, my body is soothed by the sweet sound of rain pattering on the leaves outside. Many don’t understand the feeling, they don’t see the magic in the rain. But I’ve lived long enough to know there is something special there, that rain is indeed magic.

            Any weather can change the scenery so dramatically and with every weather type it can trigger a new emotion. When it rains I feel a mix of happiness and sadness, a sort of nostalgia. If you have fond memories from when it rains, then those memories are all linked together by the rain. The rain brings them out of you feeling almost as fresh and new as the first time. Like unpacking Christmas decorations. You have memories so deeply connected to those simple objects you can remember every good and bad moment when you look at them.

            The world is a little more peaceful when it rains, and you notice this more when you go out into the rain. No people and almost no cars on the road, just the rain, you and your thoughts. The skies take on a light gray color, causing any and all surrounded lights to shine even more brilliantly.  A single lamppost might go unnoticed normally, but when it rains the light from that lamp shines so beautifully. The contrast of the bright light as it peers out into the darkness and fog. This might be why I love lighthouses so much, especially on a rainy day. There is something comforting about a bright light or beacon shining out from the darkness, guiding everyone to shore. The darkness of night and the gray skies of a rainstorm can’t shut off the light.

            I think of all of this and sigh happily. I am sure there is a scientific reason to explain away why I feel how I feel about the rain, but I do not care. For me, rain is magic and as long as I live I will continue to believe so.

            The rain is slowly dying away and with it, so goes my inspiration. I hope you enjoyed my rambling fellow traveler and I hope you find your magic in the rain.

Day in the life

            Pain boils over, every inch of his body screams out for the end of it all, for sweet eternal sleep that will stop they wretched struggle of being alive. His body shook as his limbs twisted and writhed. A lights and sound rush past him, strange voices are heard. Then he feels piercing pain in his arm. He winces but then feels a flood of calmness wash over his body. Calm and relaxation in liquid form rushes through his veins. Everything becomes peaceful and the world goes dark. This is not the first time he has had such an experience and it wont be the last time. His name is Joe and he is nine years old.

            Joe was born with illness and will live the rest of his life with it. Pain, followed by surgery or long hospital visits then weeks of recovery. Joe thinks about his father’s old car. His dad had the car for so long it was mostly made out of spare parts. Joe feels like that car. Always breaking down and made of spare parts. He wasn’t born lucky enough to have a powerful engine or a dent resistant frame, Joe feels more like a beat up old sedan. This nine year old feels more aches and pains and has a longer medical history than his parents and rivals his grandparents.

            Many found it impressive that a child could handle such a huge burden and they couldn’t even grasp how he dealt with the pain. Joe couldn’t understand or grasp what it felt like to not be in pain. This was life and he knew no other way of being.

            In the weeks of recovery that followed a big flare up, Joe had a lot of free time at home, more than a normal child would have. He would spend hours in his room and think or sometimes read his little books. But this favorite thing was playing video games.

            He heard a large round man acting important and saying bad things about video games. “They corrupt today’s youth” and “all games are violent and lead to more violence”. Joe didn’t understand most of this. The games he played were wonderful. One afternoon he saved the world, or at least made a lot of progress toward saving the world. “Saving the world is a big job to do all before dinner” Joe said to his parents one evening during dinner when asked about his games.

            His games let him fly airplanes and drive fast cars. He could help people and find magical gems. He beat up bad guys, solved puzzles and one time built a city. Some games even let him hang out with his favorite super heroes from the comics. Video games were pure joy to him. In a world where a nine year old is fighting against his own body because of disease and illness sometimes it was nice to leave and visit a different world. A world where the rules were fair and everyone had a chance if they tried hard enough. A world where you were important and powerful and evil didn’t win.

            Joe grew up playing games. They gave him hope and set in his mind a subconscious will to fight. He began to see his illness like the evil wizard of one of his games. A thing that made people sad that he could fight against. Something that could be beaten and lead him to a happily ever after.

            Years passed and there was always some fool who had a problem with video games, but luckily the games stayed and Joe had another world to escape to and a fight he always felt like he could win.

You, me and the rain

            Its been raining for hours. Day turned to night and the rain continued. I think of you as I sit on my porch listening to the rain. Soft music echoes from inside the house, the patter of rain sounds outside and on the roof. I watch as a seemingly endless supply of rain pelts the trees, sidewalk and street.

            The world changes when it rains. The sound of rain is almost hypnotic, sending you back into your deepest memories. My body relaxes as I watch and listen. A cool breeze drifts past me. I sip from my glass and I think back.

            Rainy days always make me a little sentimental and nostalgic, every chill in the air mixed with the warmth coming from my house makes me think of you. Cuddling on the couch as we watched the rain. I get lonely and think of those days. I miss you, eternally. On warm days its easier, the sun makes me too warm and I can distract myself from my feelings. But on cool nights and especially when it rains, I feel so relaxed and happy and think, the only way this could be better is if you were here with me.

            So I sit and sip my drink, Scotch on the rocks. It lets me sleep and when I sleep I dream of your face and your gentle touch. With the rain, the wind and my thoughts of you, if I could make this night go on forever I would. A peaceful evening and a night of pleasant dreams, the light of morning comes too soon, but for now it’s just You, Me and the rain.

Memories of a Stranger - Yuri

Henry sat in the “Good Times bar”, smoke filled the room and he clutched his glass of scotch. It was a pretty quiet night at the bar. On weekends it got crowded and rowdy, but on weeknights, it was only the sad old bastards that lingered. Blues and rock style music played in the background. The music mixed with the whispered conversations from the patrons at the tables toward the back, all of this mixed together and just sounded like noise.

Henry was thirty, hardly an old bastard, well hardly old. He came to this bar every night for two reasons, his love of scotch whiskey and the information and gossip he would hear around the bar. People were always so loose with their secrets, especially on slow nights when it seems like no one is listening. Henry was an freelance investigative journalist. He would risk his neck for the top stories and sell them to the highest bidder. He made a good living off of this and found it was better than sitting at a desk all day.

Henry wore an old trench coat and a matching fedora, he had shaggy brown hair and brown eyes. He always looked like he needed a shower and a shave, though he did bathe regularly and shaved occasionally…and never flossed.

On this particular night, Henry heard two old men talking. ‘old’ is so relative. So instead of using it to describe an actual number like 70, he used the term to describe appearance. For instance, Henry wasn’t old, but he seemed old. So he often referred to himself as an old bastard. So Henry was watching these two old guys and listening in on their conversation. At first it sounded like they were talking about catching fish. These men looked like they could be fishermen. Not ‘Sunday morning fishing with your son’ kind of fishermen, the real kind. The kind that go out into the ocean and catch all the fish in the ocean so the humans on land can gorge themselves on more types of food. So anyway, back to the fish. These sly old geezers who were probably not any older than sixty, talked about fish and for an hour it sounded like they were just talking about fish. But then Henry heard something interesting. The term fish used in the wrong context or in the wrong way. Henry was pretty drunk by this point but as the conversation went on, it sounded like the word ‘fish’ was code for something else and when someone says. “The fish drop is tonight” it starts to sound like someone is talking about drugs.

Henry began scribbling in his note pad that he keeps in his coat. he wanted to make sure he didn’t forget any of the details. Henry wrote as the men talked. “The fish will be at the warehouse. Someone needs to come and get it” Said one of the men. Henry scribbled furiously. The weather that night was in the fifties and it was sprinkling rain. Cool weather, but not cold enough to keep fish fresh in some warehouse. “Wouldn’t they refer to the fish as ‘them’ not ‘it’?” Henry thought. He was pretty drunk though and wondered if he was just getting suspicious for no reason.

Then something happened that no one would ever expect to happen in a million years. A girl walked into the “Good Times” bar. The door opened and shut and the customers casually turned their heads to see who it was, as they did every time someone entered. This time though, the customer’s eyes were fixed on the newcomer. “Hey how can I help y-“ The bartender started to say then saw the girl standing at the bar. “-You?”  He finished his sentence and smiled. The girl looked to be about 25 was 5’6, thin but with subtle sexy curves. She wore a short-sleeved dress shirt un-tucked, black slacks and black dress shoes. Her hair was short and styled and dyed purple. Any skin showing showed lean toned muscle. She walked in with confidence and a sense of purpose. “Scotch neat” The girl said flatly. The bartender smiled and fixed her drink. Henry looked at the girl, he was the only one at the bar who hadn’t been staring at her like an idiot this whole time. He only looked because she ordered the same thing he had been drinking. He looked and she looked back. He smiled and held up his glass to show he had the same drink. Then he went back to drinking.

Henry was trying to listen to these ‘fishermen’ talk, but they stopped because they were too busy staring at the attractive young girl in the bar. “Old perverts” Henry grumbled. He wrote down most of the information he needed already, but could have used a few more details. “Whatcha working on?” asked the girl as she said down next to Henry. “Just some notes. So I see you like scotch” Henry said, changing the subject. The girl brushed a bit of purple hair out of her eyes and smiled “Yeah, its what my dad drank and he was tough as nails. So when I was a teenager I tried it and now I’m just used to it. Its like comfort food” The girl replied. Henry laughed. It was one of those laughs that came out so unexpectedly, like it forced its way out. “Heheh, scotch sure is comfort food for me too” he said. “My names Yuri” the girl said as she reached out her hand for a shake. Henry wiped his hands on his pants to get rid of any booze or sweat then shook her hand. “Names Henry. Yuri, that’s a strange name. No offense though” Henry said

Yuri chuckled “My father was Japanese. But I grew up in America. We settled in this city when I was a kid” Yuri explained. “Poor kid, having to grow up here” Henry replied without thinking. “I mean, Im sure you lived in a fine part of…” Henry added but Yuri stopped him. “Its fine. Don’t worry about it.” She said with a smile.

            Meanwhile one of the bar patrons didn’t like how chummy Henry was getting with the new girl. He was mad because this hot young girl came into the bar and sat right down next to the biggest bum in the whole bar. “Hey, Buddy. Yer bothering the lady” Said a muscular man that looked to be in his late thirties. “I was sitting here first. She sat next to me. Maybe she is the one bothering me! I don’t see you defending my honor. Am I not pretty enough?” Henry told the guy. Yuri chuckled. Henry hadn’t even turned around in his chair to say this to the man’s face. The muscular man grabbed onto the back of Henry’s coat and tried to pull him off his barstool. Before he could though, Yuri had jumped out of her seat and slammed a fist down onto the bully’s wrist, breaking his wrist. She then moved in front of him and gave him a right and left hook to the face.

The muscular man only had a chance to grab Henries coat before he was dispatched. He laid on the ground with a broken wrist and two black eyes.

Yuri sat back down and sipped her drink. Henry was smiling ear to ear. “Your quick, I should hire you to be my bodyguard” He said. “Well I could use the money and no one seems to like you around here” Yuri replied. Henry meant it as a joke, but once he thought about it, he realized it might be a good deal. “You’re hired.” He said. Yuri gave a little cheer in Japanese. Henry smiled and then looked over at the old ‘fishermen’ by this point they had run off, Probably from all the commotion. Henry might have lost the rest of his lead, but he did gain a bodyguard. So that is almost as good. He just hoped She didn’t bring more trouble with her. Henry had as much excitement as he could take for a while.

Mysterious Stranger

    In the cold of the night a lone figure stood under a street lamp. It was midnight and the city streets were empty. The surrounding houses and buildings were run down and old and litter blew around with every winter wind that rolled through. The figure of a man was wearing a black trench coat and a hat. He was trying hard to conceal his face, but while doing so looked like the most suspicious character anyone can imagine. He also seemed out of place, not only was the trench coat fairly new looking but his shoes looked expensive and his hat was clean and well cared for.
    The man stood motionless by the street lamp, he didn’t even flinch or shiver when the cold wind blew through the city. It was the kind of wind that would cut through your layers of clothes and chill you to the bone, yet the man did not move. He stood unaffected by the cold and the wind. He didn’t seem restless or bored from standing around nor was he nervous about looking so suspicious. He was like a phantom or the image of a man caste on the sidewalk.
    A car pulled up and a tall man in a suit stepped out. He didn’t speak, instead stood next to the figure like he was waiting for a bus. The man in the suit set down a brief case and adjusted his tie. “The deadline is Saturday” said the suited man. Then he stepped back into the car and the car drove off.
    The mysterious figure stood stern and imposing, unflinching at the transaction. He seemed to be a man that was so used to these kinds of meetings that they seemed mundane. Then with a loud snort the mysterious man woke up. Albert Lewis was a business man who had been waiting for the bus. He had been working twelve hours a day for the last eight days and often had to take the late bus home. Albert rustled in his coat and shook his arms to further wake up. He checked his watch and smiled. “Must of dozed off” he said. Then the bus pulled up, right on time. Albert stepped up onto the bus and took a seat. He felt silly for falling asleep standing up and was happy he hadn’t fallen over or been robbed or worse, missed his bus.
    The bus pulled away and drove off. The mysterious briefcase was left sitting on the sidewalk with no one to claim it and the ‘mysterious’ stranger was just a sleepy business man.
In the cold of the night a lone briefcase stood under a street lamp….

Windmill in the rain

            The rain poured down in buckets, the wind kicked up and rushed through the blades of the windmill. The windmill turned. The windmill blades turned and inside the grinding wheel spun. Around and around did the wheel spin. The windmill was empty, no one was there to grind wheat or corn, but still the wheel spun. Weather waits for no man and the wind blew harder and the rain poured down. Huge amounts of energy and motion poured through this old device. A towering building made with giant fans all just to turn one grinding wheel. A wheel that was small by comparison to the building and all of the effect it needed.

            The wind blew on all night and the windmill continued to turn without rest. The stone wheel grinded and sparked and embers began to fly off. Stone grinding on stone, in a building made of wood. The sparks flew and embers found a cozy home in a pile of unused wheat. The embers burned brightly, eating up the oxygen and burning the wheat. The fire burned and produced energy and heat. But there was no one around to feel its warmth or to tame it. So the fire burned on. Flames flicked the air and slowly rose up. Getting bigger and stronger. The ember turned into fire and now formed flames that burned brightly as it ate all the wheat. The fire was large now and burning bright, it crackled and flicked. Now it was so large it spread to the wood in the building, lumber and planks of wood keeping the large structure together. The fire had become greedy and ate and ate as it spread. The flames grew bigger and produced more flames as it went.

            The rain poured down and the wind kicked up. The windmill turned and the flames spread. The fire continued to grow and it burned everything in its path. Now the flames were huge and unforgiving. None could stand in its way. The flames burned the wood and destroyed the beam turning the wheel. The grinding wheel slowed down then stopped. The fire climbed higher and higher until it reached the ceiling. In its mindless hunger it consumed the ceiling too. The windmill had been protecting the flames within from the rain and the wind. Now the roof had a hole burned through it and the windmill fan blades even caught fire. The rain poured down and battled the flames but the fire was stubborn and clung onto the windmill for life. The rain beat down on the fire as the fire burned down the Windmill.

            Morning finally arrived and the storm had passed. The rain had moved on, leaving only soggy earth, the windmill burned down and the flames were extinguished, now leaving only ash. Nature can produce such fierce elements that rage on and produce infinite energy and power, but then the next moment it could all be gone, like the passing of the storm, the turning of the windmill or the burning of the flame.

Ghosts of the past

Brian lived in a one bedroom flat. He had a cat named Archimedes. But Brian usually just called his cat “Meow face”. Brian sat back in his armchair and watched television. His apartment was almost devoid of furniture, all except the TV, armchair, fridge and a mattress on the floor that he used as a bed. “Come here meow face” Brian said as he patted his lap. Archimedes purred and trotted over. The cat jumped up into Brian’s lap and instantly fell asleep. “Good meow face” He said softly as he patted his cat on the head.

Brian felt so relaxed that he began to drift off to sleep. His breathing slowed and he closed his eyes. He was so comfortable and Archimedes purring was very soothing. Just as he was about to drift off to sleep he heard loud banging noise come from his closet. Brian jumped and so did Archimedes. The two walked carefully toward the closet. No further sounds were heard. Brian leaned in and slowly opened his closet. His pulse raced as the door slowly opened. He looked inside and didn’t see anything unusual. Just his coats and a bowling ball he had been meaning to use one day. Then another loud bang was heard from the closet door. Brian jumped and then looked at the door itself. The closet was open, but something was banging on the door. “Whose there?” Brian asked. Archimedes looked up at Brian. Maybe to say “Are you talking to a door?” or maybe the cat was simply a cat and looked up because he heard his master speak.

Brian could hear whispers coming from inside the door, or rather on the other side of the door. As if the closet door was still closed. Which it wasn’t. Brian closed the door and now stared in amazement and shock an opened glowing door. The closet door could open a closet or it could open a floating door into another world. Brian put his hand through the new opened door. When he pulled his hand out a light flashed and transparent people began walking into Brian’s apartment. From the corner of his eye he could almost recognize their faces. They all looked like people he knew. Brian’s peripheral vision picked up all sorts of details on these transparent figures. Clothes, faces, hair color, skin color, it was all slightly transparent but still very vivid, but every time he looked right at them they would lack any features at all.

“Who are you?” Brian asked. A few of the figures tried to answer but they spoke only in whispers. “who are you?” Brian asked again. One the figures walked over and touched Brian’s head. Brian had a sudden flashback to playing softball as a kid. His team lost and on top of that he hurt his leg. His coach came up and comforted Brian. The mild injury and lost game didn’t seem so important because of how supportive the coach was and eventually seeing how supportive his parents were.

Brian snapped out of it but now suddenly saw that one of the figures was his coach. When looked at head on, the coach figure didn’t loose his features. “Are you all ghosts? I thought you were still alive, Coach!” Brian said. The coach smiled “We are memories, ghosts of your past. You have to sort your memories out kid, you bottle too much up,” Said the kindly coach.

Brian nodded. It was true, he bottled up a lot of his emotions and even tried to bury his most unpleasant memories. But he wondered if he was having some kind of mental break down. His memories glided around the room. Some of them seemed to be commenting on his lack of furniture. Brian knew that it was probably one of his old girlfriends. Then he got a flashback from thinking about the girl. “Your not going to buy THAT are you?” Asked Susie. The flashback ended abruptly. Brian looked annoyed now. “There is a reason I was trying to forget most of you!” He shouted. “Except you coach, not sure why I forgot about that one time you helped me” Brian quickly added, as if the coach was a real person with real feelings. “Everyone out!” He shouted. The figures swirled up in the air and Brian began having flashbacks one after another. His memories were becoming unorganized. Old Jobs, past relationships, dead pets and dead relatives, all of these memories came swirling back.

Brian’s head spun and he fell to the floor. His life had been a long path of twists and turns, some good and some bad, but when he tried to stuff the bad away and try not to think the bad memories it eventually built up. “So what if my ex-girlfriend was a bitch. That was her personality. I don’t need to beat myself up over the break up.” Brian muttered to himself as his memories flashed before his eyes. “I didn’t know unscrewing pieces of grandma’s wheel chair would be dangerous. I was five! I was FIVE!!!” Brian shouted, as guilt tried to grip at his every memory. “That’s enough!” He finally shouted and then stood up. He was ready to yell and scream at those annoying transparent figures, but they had all disappeared. Brian looked over and noticed the door was gone too. Then he looked down and noticed he was still in his chair. He assumed it was a dream and he had just woken up abruptly “What a crazy dream” Brian told Archimedes, who responded with a long yawn.

Though it was a brief event, it affected Brian. He remembered so much of his past, both good and bad. The good memories made him feel a little happier and his mistakes made him a little wiser. He started to try and learn from his mistakes instead of tormenting himself with guilt and obsessing over what could have been different. Though Brian dismissed the event as a dream, it still stuck with him. the rest of his life was a little better because of the lesson he learned. Meanwhile, Archimedes didn’t learn any lessons, but instead was just always content and was happy for the rest of his life, because he was a cat.

Times End

The air was chilly and cold, snow covered the ground and snowflakes drifted through the air, occasionally flying into things and getting stuck. Lanterns hung from thin black metal poles that dotted the road. The road and everything else was covered in snow. The surrounding trees were covered in snow and the lake was frozen.  Fog hung in the air, adding a pale gray and darkness to the white sheets of snow.

Through the fog a man could be seen. He wore a brown overcoat, black shoes, warm leather gloves and a scarf. He wore a bowler hat and was walking up the road. Wind blew, but he didn’t fight against it, he just walked like normal. He walked up the road calmly and didn’t seem bothered by the ice, snow, wind and cold. The man’s white hair blew around, messing it up. The man had a trimmed white beard, it came down to his neck. The man was thin and old, but didn’t seem burdened by that either. In his hand he carried a lantern. It was a metal lantern with a handle and the light was glowing a pale blue. It helped him see through the fog and did a better job than the street lamps that were burning their normal fire and producing yellow light.

The fog parted as the man passed, as if the blue light was repelling it. The man walked at a slow and stead pace, where he was headed, was a mystery. Then the man stopped and pulled a pocket watch from his side coat pocket. He looked at the time, then clicked the top several times. The very next second, the man was gone. He vanished from existence as if he never existed at all.

The old gentleman reappeared in a completely different place. This place was an empty chuck of land, floating in a dark and endless abyss. The ground was cobblestone and chest high walls were built alone the edges of the floating island. The walls were brown old brick, but were in decent condition. These plain old walls were the only thing keeping someone from stumbling off the edge and falling into the endless abyss. Old Fashioned black metal street lights sat in each corner of the main square. The square was the center of the island, from this location, little cobble stone paths ran off into different directions. Each stone path linked smaller floating islands to the main square. On the southern side of the square is a half built bridge that doesn’t go anywhere. The old man refers to is as “The Bridge to the abyss” because walking over the bridge would cause you to fall right in.

Each little connected island or ‘room’ also had small walls build along the edges, but no roof or doors anywhere to be seen. If you go to the north there is a lone door. The door has never been opened. It doesn’t seem to lead to anything though. Its just a door sitting in the middle of one of the rooms north of the square. All of this was know as the End of Time. this floating island was like a lost and found for the universe. Anything with memory and importance that is lost, ends up at the End of time. there is a room on the cobblestone island that is filled with trinkets, knick-knacks, mementoes and anything that was a physical with hopes, memories and sentimental attachment attached to it. But for the more obscure things, like a single thought or the name of a long lost friend, those things all end up in a large leather bound book. The book had its own stand and was located in the square with the old man. The man, who was named ‘Zindel’, would also use the book to summon up the words of other books and documents through history.

            The creation of the island of cobblestone and walls wasn’t a plan, but series of random events. There was a point in the future when time, the universe and all of existence ends. The dark abyss of nothing was all that remained. But such an enormous event as all of time suddenly stopping made this moment in oblivion to be linked with every time and place that had ever existed. The story of Zindel and his floating island will have to be for another day. For now, this is how the End of time came to be and how it works.

Now Zindel lives for eternity in a place were time doesn’t exists. He uses his perch to oversee time and watches it all pass before his eyes on an infinite loop. Time is a tricky thing, its hard to explain and isn’t something you can see or hold onto, yet everyone believes in it and is conscious of it at all ‘times’.

Zindel had been visiting an old wintry land that was familiar to him before he returned to the end of time. He cannot interact with anything in any time, but still likes to go visit. Occasionally Zindel will peek into a random country on earth and view a New Years Eve celebration. To him, it looks like a countdown to the end of time, but to the others, it is a great and wonderful time. It is a time for hope for the future and reflection on the past. Every year the people of the land want to receive a better year than the last one and every year seems just a new and fresh as the last one. It’s a cycle the people get stuck in. they have anticipation for the New Year and are tired of the old one. It is as if they are stuck in a time loop. Zindel watches this and laughs. The blissful optimism is as funny as it is enviable.

Time ticks on, the world clock ticks, tick tick tick. But still life goes on, so lets all enjoy this New Year and look forward to the challenges and rewards it will bring with it.

Happy New Year!

Red and the winter festival part 2

It was the night before Christmas and Yule town was just finished setting up for their Christmas Eve party. Red stepped into the town square and saw tables set up outside full of food and various drinks. There was eggnog, spiced wine and brandy and for the children there was juice, hot coco and some kind of fruit punch. The food was an assortment of cheeses, roast meat with garlic cloves, lots of fruit, cakes and pies. Red was getting hungry just looking at it all.

The mayor walked up to the center of town and stepped up onto a newly built stage. “Greetings people of Yule, let us begin the joyous celebration at once!” Said the mayor. The people in the town square cheered. The party had officially begun and Red couldn’t wait to dig into a little bit of everything. There weren’t many partygoers at first, but as time passed villagers joined the party until the entire village was there. The stage now had a band on it. They played happy, festive music that filled the air and mixed with the sound of laughter and talking.

The entire village was dressed in colorful red and green and white clothes, some had little sprigs of leaves with berries pinned to their hats or dresses and some walked around with long walking canes painted like candy canes. Red was quickly caught up in all of the merriment and festivities and for a brief time forgot the danger that forced him to flee to the winter land in the first place. As Red danced and drank a man walked up to him. “Merry Christmas!” Red said happily, not really looking at the man. “Yeah, yeah. I need a word with you” Said the man gruffly. Red turned and focused on the man standing in front of him. The man wore an old fashioned black cap, with a scarf wrapped tightly around his face, he was dressed in plain winter clothes that were colored black, gray and tan. His clothes were so plain he almost stuck out in the crowd of people dressed like candy canes and Christmas trees. Red followed the man to the edge of the party.

As soon as they were away from the rest of the villagers the man spoke up. “Listen, I’m just a messenger. I’m here with a warning. You’ve made some powerful enemies and running into the winter lands isn’t going to save you. There is someone on the outskirts of town here to kill you. If you don’t meet him in an hour, he will destroy this precious town” Said the Messenger. Red was stunned. He couldn’t believe someone found him all the way out here. “who’s after me? And who are you?” Red asked. “I was paid to tell you to go face your doom outside of town or the town gets destroyed. You don’t need to know my name. You know who is after you, the question is who did they send to kill you. I don’t know the answer” The messenger said. Then before Red could reply, the man walked off and left the village.

Red didn’t want his trouble to effect the town so he went to meet with the mysterious assassin. Red walked for an hour and finally saw a tall thin figure standing in the distance. The figure quickly disappeared and reappeared directly in front of Red. The man wore pale blue robes with a hood, had white hair and bluish skin. The man put his hood down and stared at Red. “I am the Warlock of the winter wasteland. I live so far north that neither man nor animal lives there. It was to my surprise that a messenger from a far off land found me and offered me anything I want, the only thing I would have to do is kill a young man named Red. I used my magic and tracked you down. Now I am here to kill you. What do you have to say, Red?” Asked the Warlock. Red wasn’t sure what to say. It seemed desert assassins couldn’t survive the winter lands, so they hired one of the inhabitance to kill him. Red knew he couldn’t talk his way out of this and wasn’t sure if he could even win this fight, and he could only think of one thing to say “What was your price?” Asked Red. The Warlock smiled “Your not going to plead for your life, or bargain? I respect that. All I asked for Women, full of energy and life. Young and beautiful women are a rare commodity out in the wasteland.” Replied the Warlock

Red clenched his teeth. Red didn’t want to die, but now he knew that if he did die, helpless women would be shipped to the freezing wasteland like cattle, used as payment. Without a word Red pulled out two black and silver pistols and began firing. Streams of bullets flew at the Warlock with incredible speed and accuracy. Red never had to reload or buy bullets. His gun was given to him by Death itself and these guns could shoot bullets made of pure silver and death’s own decaying magic. The silver bullets would rip through undead and werewolves with ease and the decay magic would rot away at living tissue.

The bullets all zoomed toward The warlocks head, but before they hit, the warlock vanished in a puff of snow. “As long as there is ice and snow, I cannot be destroyed” Said the Warlock, his voice echoing through the valley. “We will see about that” Red said. He stood in place and slowly turned in a circle as he held his guns up ready to continue shooting. He wasn’t going to let the Warlock sneak up on him. A gust of freezing air and snow rushed up from underneath him, causing all of his muscles to stiffen and he was thrown off balance. The cold was so extreme some of the skin on his face and neck felt like it was burning. Luckily heavy clothing, a long coat and leather gloves covered the rest of his body.

The warlock appeared as Red tried getting the ice and frost off of his face. The Warlock grabbed a hold of Red’s neck and Red could instantly feel his skin burning from frostbite as his air way was slowly crushed by the Warlocks strong, bony grip. Red fired off shots at point blank but the Warlock was gone in a split second. Red gasped for air and coughed. Red was hunched over but tried to regain balance. He waited for the wintry bastard to reappear. The Warlock did appear again and was about to strike, but before he could, he was hit with a blinding light.

Red stumbled back away from the evil Wizard and opened fire. Two shots hit before the Warlock disappeared again. Red looked back to see where the light came from. It was from the village. it was almost midnight, which meant Christmas and the village lit up their tree and placed a bright shining star on the top. Without even realizing it, the village of Yule might have saved his life.

            The Warlock reappeared but was moving slower as the decay of death slowly poisoned him. None could escape the grasp of death, wizards and common men alike were at Death’s mercy. The Warlock pushed out his hands and shot a blast of ice. Red dodged it and opened fire. The bullets flew out like a machine gun and hit the Warlock. The evil wizard’s hands, chest and head were now full of bullets. The Warlock didn’t bleed, because he had no blood or humanity left in him, instead he just stood with a shocked expression, then a strong wind blew and his body faded into the snow.

            Red was badly injured but was able to hobble back to Yule town. Just as he arrived he heard a roaring cheer from the villagers. “Merry Christmas!!!” they said in unison. It was Christmas. The lights from the village glowed bright and sparkled like stars in the sky. Despite his injuries, Red felt an overwhelming sense of calm and joy. This is what Christmas was about, Joy and being with loved ones. Red knew he had to leave in the morning, to avoid any further threat to the town, but he would treasure his time in Yule town and always remember the Joy and happiness of Christmas.

The Journeyman part 2

Jorn kept running and the roars grew louder and more intense until finally the sound came from right above him. Jorn looked up and something dropped down from the ceiling. It smashed the stone steps and anything else in its way, making a large open space in the castle. This new creature had the shape of a dragon currently, but its body was made from a twisting shadowy darkness and it would occasionally change its size or shape in small ways. This explained how it fit through all the doors and hallways. Jorn swiped the kings sword through the air, not sure exactly were the shadow serpent was. It was so dark and Jorn could only see glimpses of shapes before the beast moved. At least the lumpy flesh monster had pale skin and solid features. There was no way to fight a dragon made of shadows in a castle where there is no light. Since flailing his sword didn’t seem to work Jorn turned around and ran back up the stairs. To get to the main exit, he would have to run past the dragon and he didn’t like that idea. So instead he backtracked hoping he could find an alternate route.

            The journeyman ran like mad as he heard the shadowy serpents body cut through the air as it moved, never touching the ground once.

Jorn was almost back to the armory, he thought maybe he could trap the dragon in there if he ran in, then double backed. It was a stupid idea but he wasn’t thinking very clearly. The dragon seemed to be getting closer and it lashed out with dark tendrils. The tendrils struck Jorns arm and back. Each strike felt like being hit with a sword that was shot out of a cannon. Jorn stumbled forward and then fell on his face. His old sword clanged against the ground and slide across the floor out of reach. The King’s sword seemed to be bound to his hand though and didn’t move when Jorn fell. Jorn was on the ground now, bleeding but still alive. He gasped for breath and scrambled to his feet. He saw movement in the corner of his eye and swung his sword. The kings blade sliced through the air and struck an oncoming attack from the dragon. The dragon roared loudly, its roar seemed to be coming from every direction.

            The Journeyman hoped to trap the dragon in the room, but now it seemed he was trapped. Jorn wasn’t a knight and didn’t think he could kill a demon shadow dragon. He would have even had a tough time even trying to kill the twisted flesh freak from earlier. Dark tendrils shot forward again, and luckily Jorn was able to strike them with his blade. The Kings blade seemed to be doing some of the work, making Jorns reflexes better and his strikes stronger.

            The dragon was tired of being slashed and instead of attacking with its tendrils or claws it opened its mouth and let out a blast of dragon breath. Jorn saw the inside of the dragon’s mouth for a split second, it looked like a glowing portal or ball of dark energy was contained within the creature’s throat. Then the dragon breath filled the air. It wasn’t fire or toxic and it didn’t even smell that bad. Instead of normal dragon breath this dragon had a demonic haze that it could breath out. The demonic breath affected the victim’s soul. It poised their very roots and prolonged exposure would turn the victim into a demon as the soul corroded away.

            Jorn’s muscles tightened in pain. His veins constricted and his eyes opened wide. He stood in this state for a few seconds as he was paralyzed with pain. He knew he needed to escape, but he was cornered and the demon breath was filling the room. The only hope was to open the dormant portal. Jorn figured he was going to die anyway, he might as well take his chances with the portal. He stumbled over to it as he felt his senses going numb. The portal was soon within arms reach and Jorn struck it with the kings blade. Blinding light bursts out from the small portal as it opened. Jorn waiting to see what he just released from the portal. He could have just released the next plague on human existence, all because he wanted to buy a few more precious seconds of life.

            What emerged from the portal was not a demon, but a knight, a shimmering knight with sturdy armor. The dragon reared back and was about to launch forward at the new intruder, but before it could, the knight lifted his sword up and stabbed it forward. Light surrounded the blade as the sword stabbed into the dragon’s head. The Shadow dragon roared and began rapidly changing shape. The shadows seemed unstable and it began lashing out all around it. The knight blocked with his shield but the force of each attack pushed him backward. Jorn realized this knight was his only chance for survival and tossed him the kings blade. The knight saw this, stabbed his own sword into the stone castle floor then caught the king’s blade. As soon as the knight touched the sword it began to glow and give off even more power than before. It was clear the knight was no ordinary man. The knight ran forward at the twisting mass of shadows. The dragon was still striking out on all directions and even though the knight was hit, he continued to charge. Then when he was within range he stabbed the center of the shadow dragon with the king’s blade. The screaming of a thousand souls echoed through the hallways and the shadow dragon melted into the ground. Once defeated all of the souls he had consumed were released into the air. They flew off rapidly in different directions like bats from a cave.

            The Knight turned to the Journeyman and returned the King’s blade. Jorn knew the knight deserved the sword more, but took it anyway. Without saying a word, the knight stepped back through the portal. Jorn was tempted to follow. The knight was so powerful that he must have been from a world were humans ruled. Before Jorn made up his mind to follow, the portal closed. The portal not only closed but also disappeared as if it never existed. Portals open all the time, the really skilled can close a portal,  but no one has ever destroyed a portal before. Jorn stared at the empty space were the portal used to be. His mind was lost in wonder and amazement. Then he realized he needed to get back to his village. The shadow dragon might have been dead, but the castle was still dangerous.

             Jorn slowly made his way out of the castle. Even though the castle was till full of demons, it was possible that none of them bothered the Journeyman after they all heard the shadow dragon die. Not all demons know fear, but they do know that they would prefer to stay alive. So Jorn was free to leave the castle in peace. The very moment he stepped onto the grass just outside the castle walls, the Journeyman sighed a heavy sigh of relief. He had survived and even had the king’s blade to show for it. The village would be so proud, they might even call Jorn a Hero. And even though the knight saved his life, he still made the trip by himself and did what most ordinary men would fear to do.

            As the Journeyman walked home, he couldn’t help but wonder what kind of world lay just on the other side of that portal

Czars and the Dark secret of Hallows End

            The Czars of Halloween stood at the center of Hallows End. Their names were Poe and Nyx. Nyx was tall and slim, had brownish orange eyes, olive skin and short brown styled hair. Poe was slightly shorter and didn’t stand up quite as straight, but was also slim like Nyx. Poe had thin black hair, the front came down to his eyebrows and the back went down to the bottom of his neck. He had pale gray eyes and pale skin. Since it was almost Halloween the two were dressed up. Not in costumes, but dressed up for a party. Poe wore a black bowler hat with a white stripe in the middle, a white shirt, black vest, jacket pants and shoes. He also had a black bowtie with skeletons on it. Nyx wore a black shirt and jacket, orange vest, black pants and dark green orange shoes. He didn’t have a hat, but did have a long straight orange tie with little pumpkins on them.

            The two stood in the center of the city and marveled at the decorations and lights. “I love this place year round, but there is something about Halloween that really brings out the spirit” Poe said as he stared mesmerized by a pumpkin light that was blinking and changing colors. “Yeah” Nyx muttered back as he too seemed enthralled by the majesty of this rapidly color changing pumpkin.

            Hallows End was a small town, even after years of success and tourism. The buildings looked old fashioned and twisted, some even seemed stitched together like Frankenstein’s monster. Strings of orange and purple lights ran along the tops of the buildings and orange pumpkin lanterns were strung between buildings and over entrance ways  Jack-o-Lanterns were placed at every door and most doors had Halloween wreaths set up. Made of black sticks from the dark woods and tied together with festive ribbon. The great pumpkin stood at the center of town. It was a large Jack-o-Lantern that would mysteriously start to glow when Halloween began to approach. There was also a large fountain in the town, it was a stone statue of a skeleton drinking from a beer mug. It looked as if the skeleton was drinking and water would pour out through a hole in the back of his head, never even reaching the holes in his rib cage  Every Halloween the fountain water was drained, cleaned and the water was replaced with pumpkin ale. So party goers would line up behind the skeleton and put their mugs under the hole in his head as the ale literally passed right through the poor undead statue. It was customary to then say “Thanks for the drink and sorry about your luck”. This would be said with a tone of pity as if the town really was swiping beer from a skeleton that was so desperately trying to drink something.

The residences of Hallows End were out in the streets singing, drinking and setting up more decorations for the fast approaching Halloween day. It was Hallows eve and there was still much to be done. Poe and Nyx had regained their senses four hours later after being entranced by the pumpkin that flashed lights and changed color. The all Hallows eve party was about to start. This was the countdown to midnight, which made it Halloween. Then the next day everyone would have a different kind of party that was bigger than this one, to celebrate a happy Halloween and celebration of another good year past. For in Hallows end, the end of Halloween meant the end of the year.

Poe and Nyx walked to the bar Jack and Lanterns. They smoothed down the wrinkles in their clothes with their hands as they walked excitedly to the party. “So Hallows Eve you wear party clothes, what are we going to wear for tomorrow’s party?” Nyx asked. “Well since its Halloween people dress up as monsters and such. But since Hallows End is full of creatures already, lets all just try to dress as spooky and Gothic as we can” Poe replied. “I’m going to dress up as a nun!” Said a villager, who was clearly undead. He was some kind of bluish zombie person. Poe tried not to laugh. For once he didn't have a sarcastic comment for this one.

The night continued on and the Czars were the life of the party. Drinks were flowing and everyone was in a good mood. The skeleton fountain only poured out free drinks on Halloween, so on Hallows Eve everyone would have to buy their drinks from Jack or John lantern. A friendly mustached man came up to the counter. “what can I get you?” Asked the bartender. “Just a beer please” said Poe as the two stepped up to the bar.” The bartender gave Poe one of the best pumpkin beers in the bar. “Thanks John” Said Poe. The bartender smiled “you got it right this time” smiled John. “sure did, you don’t look so much like your brother. Some people just aren't as observant as I am” Poe replied. “We aren't actually brothers, but thanks” Said John with a smile, then walked off. “How did you know who it was? Jack and John look exactly the same. They might even be the same person” Nyx said. ‘I just guesses as usual and this time got it right” Poe replied casually.

“Whooooo!” cheered a very drunk Pumpkin Jack, the towns own Halloween enthusiast and violent psychopath. Jack stumbled over to the Czars, dragging his orange cloak behind him. “you guys throw the best parties” Said Jack with a big drunk smile. Nyx was about to reply, but was interrupted by a rumbling. The ground shook and the lights flickered. It was two minutes till midnight, but the shaking became so violent that no one noticed. “I didn't think we got earthquakes here” said Nyx as he hung onto the bar. John Lantern was flung over the bar. “We don’t” he said. Pumpkin Jack seemed pretty stable on his feet for once and had a determined look on his face.

The party guests all shuffled outside to see what was happening. Then at the center of town the ground began to break apart under the Great Pumpkin. Jack jumped and knocked it over, pushing it out of the way just as a hole opened on the spot it had been sitting. Screaming souls and green energy blasted out of the ground in a loud and violent scene. The earth stopped shaking and when the souls had all flown away all that was left was a hunched over man in a black cloak. Jack seemed to know who this was and pulled out his sword. He lunged forward but was stopped at the last moment. He stood there his sword seemed to be blocked by an invisible wall. “You pathetic residence of Hallows End cannot harm me. I have been locked away in your wretched cage for one thousand years. This whole time I have absorbed the power of this town. Feeding off of it as you threw your parties and celebrated like fools” Said the hunched over hooded man.

Everyone seemed clueless about what were happening, Everyone except Jack and the mayor. These two were apparently much older than they let on. Pumpkin Jack’s sword was flung off into the trees by a mysterious force, then he too was thrown away without any effort. “I am the Lich. This used to be my home. But then a group of hooligans attacked me and sealed me into a magical cage. Then built a town over the wreckage of my castle.” The Lich explained. “You were the terror of the autumn land, we did it to save everyone” Said the mayor who seemed to show up suddenly. The mayor was short and round, but had noticeable muscles under his layers of fat, looking like in his younger years he would have been insanely strong. The mayor also had a thick mustache and a black hat.

Suddenly all of the residence of Hallows End dropped to their knees, Powerless and helpless to the Lich’s magic, everyone except the Czars of Halloween. Since they were from the Autumn forest, the Lich didn't have power over them. The two Czars stepped up in front of the crowd. “Listen buddy. You might have owned this place once, but this is our town now” Poe said. “Well the mayor runs it, but we help!” Nyx added, but still tried to sound tough. Poe nodded in agreement. “Yes I suppose its more of the mayors town. But our wealth and social status, plus the fact that everyone here likes us, kind of makes this our town too” Poe replied, no longer looking at the Lich. “that’s true but we usually just throw parties so the actual ownership…” Replied Nyx, but he was cut off when the Lich shouted “ENOUGH!” the Lich’s yell shook the town and would have forced most people to their knees out of fear.

“Short response. You are going to have to leave” Poe said. The two Czars looked determined to protect their town and the Holiday they loved. The Lich began to laugh. “you don’t even have weapons or powers!” The Lich continued to laugh. The Mayor made a strained noise. Nyx looked down and realized the Mayor had come ready for a fight. Nyx laughed when he pictured the chubby little mayor swinging a sword. The mayor brought a sword and an axe. Nyx threw the axe to Poe. “Right, now we have weapons. Lets end this guy” Poe said.

The Lich chuckled and then slowly began to stand up straight. As the Lich moved the sound of bones snapping and popping could be heard. Finally the Lich stood up over six feet tall and the cloak fell off. The Lich stood as a giant skeleton, green and purple flames burned inside his skull and his bone hands glowed with magic. He wore black wizard boots, and ripped black pants. His spine bones were sharp and Jagged and his empty eye sockets glowed yellow. Then Poe noticed a hole in the back of the Lich’s head. “Doesn't he look like a larger meaner version of the statue?” Poe asked. “He is. The statue was made in honor of his defeat” Said the mayor as he struggled to move and talk.

            After hearing this the Lich became enraged. Green flames burst up all around him and he pointed a magical staff at the Czars. “this is the staff of souls. I will use it to enslave your souls and torments you for all of eternity. Your misery and torment will fuel my magic as I conquer this land” the Lich said then began to laugh. The laugh was cut short when Poe’s Axe struck the Lich in the head then bounced off and rolled back toward Poe. Poe ran up a little to retrieve his weapon as the Lich to put his head back on straight. The Lich now had an axe chop mark on the top of his skull. “Fine, if your in a rush to die” The Lich said. Then dark energy waves shot forth and hit the Czars and all of the citizens of Hallows End. Poe and Nyx clenched their teeth and tried to move despite the pain they now felt.

            The Lich spun his hand around and darkness rose up into the air, the starry night sky was blocked out by an unnatural evil magic. Now the sky looked like a swirling abyss of darkness and shadows. “Already starting to feel like home” The Lich said. Nyx stood up and rushed forward with his sword. “You can’t do this to our town!” He said then stabbed his sword into the Skeletons rib cage  “I don’t have muscle, flew or organs, stabbing wont do anything” The Lich laughed. His hands burst with green flames and he reached down to grab Nyx. At that moment Nyx turned his blade with all of his strength. This twisted the sword up and broke several bones in the Lich’s rib cage. The Lich recoiled and his hands lost their fire.

            The Lich rushed forward to attack Nyx before he got away. Right before The Lich got to Nyx another flying axe came sailing forward and hit the Skeleton Lich right in the chest, breaking the rest of his rib cage  The two regrouped and moved back to avoid direct attacks. The Lich stood up and used his staff of souls to heal his broken bones. Soon he was back to full strength. Poe grinned “thank you for showing us your weakness” Poe shouted to the Lich. Without the powerful soul magic, the Lich was just another skeleton.

            Nyx nodded to Poe then ran straight at the Lich again. The Lich looked ready, his skeleton hands glowed with a green death magic and one touch could wither a person to bones. The Lich shot blasts of shadow energy out at Nyx as he rushed forward. Nyx dodged those and got up right to the Lich. The Lich reached down and was going to grab Nyx before he could strike. Then Poe flanked the Lich from the side and slashed his axe down with all of his might. He slice the Lich’s arm off, the Lich turned and tried to attack Poe with his other arm but at that moment Nyx stabbed his blade into the Lich’s skeleton face. The sword went right through the evil wizards head and made a second hole, going straight through between the eyes and out the back of the head. This hole was above the original, made by Jack a thousand years ago, when Jack stabbed his pumpkin blade through the Lich’s mouth and out the back of his head where the spine met the skull.

            The Lich let out a loud shriek and dropped his staff. He staggered backward and the two Czars went after the staff. As it hit the ground they both slammed their weapons down onto it as hard as they could. The staff shattered and all of the trapped souls were released. Then the remaining magic mixed with The courage of the Czars and went into their weapons. Poe’s Axe became large and bent like a scythe. It was black with a skull at the top and a shiny silver blade at the end. Nyx’s sword became a straight long sword, with a pumpkin for the pommel and a black hilt with orange gems. The blade was also silver and looked a little like a pumpkin carving knife, but as a sword.  “The Carver” which Nyx now calls it is different than Jack’s pumpkin sword. Jack’s sword was jagged and the hilt was orange with a Jack-o-lantern face burned into the blade.

            The two Czars marveled at their new weapons almost as much as they marveled at the glowing color change pumpkin. Then they both turned and saw the Lich was still standing and trying to summon the last of his magic to attack again. Before the Lich could do anything. Poe and Nyx attacked, slashing their weapons down at him. Orange and black energy streamed from their combined weapons as the two struck the evil Lich. The attack was so strong the Lich exploded into dark energy and his bones turned to dust.

            Hallows End had been saved and the Czars had been rewarded with fancy new weapons. The citizens cheered as the Czars slowly walked back to the bar. “I need a drink” Poe said. “Me too” Nyx replied, sounding tired.

The two drank and then slept. The next day was Halloween. The darkness in the sky had disappeared, the hole in the center of town was filled, the Great pumpkin was placed back on its spot and any damage done to the town was now fixed.

            Poe and Nyx started getting ready for the big spooky Halloween party. They wore black robes, Nyx had a hollowed out Jack-o-lantern over his head and Poe had a skull mask. “So we let home, started new lives in Hallows End, became rich and powerful, threw the best parties, defeated a Lich, saved the town and gained powerful magic weapons. What should we do now?” Asked Nyx with a smile. “Now we celebrate Halloween” said Poe as he pulled his black hood over his head.

The house of Darkwood

            In the land of holidays and seasons there rests the autumn forest, where people live with eternal fall scenery and bountiful harvest, and then there is Hallows End, where everyone celebrates Halloween and the spooky side of a fall night. Between these two places is the Haunted forest, a forest were ghosts and spirits dwell in such numbers that it seems that every tree and plant has a mind of its own. The forest has a way of playing tricks on people and has even been known to trap people forever if they wander in alone. Once a year large groups of people travel to Hallows End to celebrate Halloween by traveling through the haunted forest and as long as everyone stays together it is a safe journey.

            For the most part everyone in the Autumn Forest, Hallows End and even the people of other lands, love Halloween. Everyone except Joseph Mcgree and his wife Sarah Mcgree. This seemingly normal couple live just outside the dark forest and always dreads Halloween. The Dark Forest is the most narrow point of the Haunted forest as the forest comes to a cliffside and ends short of the drop. Its just called the Dark Forest because its dark and spooky like the Haunted forest, but this section of trees isn’t haunted. All year the Dark Forest only look menacing, but is actually as safe as any normal forest, but on Halloween creatures and monsters branch out from the heart of the Haunted forest, making the Dark forest and all of the immediate surrounding areas dangerous for anyone who is out at night and not part of a large group armed with torches and weapons.

            It was the night before Halloween and the Mcgrees stayed in as usual. They didn’t enjoy Halloween in general but the added danger made things worse. Joseph was reading when he started to hear scratching at his door. It sounded like a small animal, maybe a lost dog or a stray cat. Normally one of the Mcgrees would answer the door, but this close to Halloween they wouldn’t open the door for anyone after sunset. The scratching continued and Joseph tried to ignore it. He had to keep telling himself it was probably a tricky spirit trying to lure them outside. Sarah looked up and Joseph just shook his head. The two went back to their reading. Then they heard a soft and sad meowing. “its not Halloween yet” Sarah said. She imagined a scared cat outside, alone and so close to the dark forest at night. “No, it could be anything” Joseph said. In honestly he was thinking the same thing as his wife, but they both needed to keep each other in line during dangerous times.

            The night dragged on. Sarah was walking to their bedroom and saw a cat jump up to their window. “it is a cat!” Sarah called to Joseph. Joseph got up from his chair and looked. There was a black cat in the window, it was small and sad looking. “Maybe we could open the window quickly” Joseph said hesitantly. Just as he said this the two heard footsteps outside. They looked at each other and went to the next window to see who was outside. They both looked and didn’t see anyone. Then the scratching at the door started again, but the cat was still at the first bedroom window. Sarah left the bedroom to check the front window. “If there are monsters outside, the cat could get eaten” Joseph said to Sarah, he spoke loudly so she could hear him from the bedroom. She didn’t respond.

            Joseph slowly walked to the window, as he did the cat stood up and rubbed against the glass. “I will just grab the cat quickly” Joseph muttered. He slowly opened the window and reached his hand out for the cat. By this time the cat had a strange twinkle in its eye. Joseph realized, if this was a real cat, why wasn’t it purring, or meowing or making any noise. Just as Joseph opened the window, Sarah walked in holding an orange and white cat. “Don’t be mad, but I double checked before I opened the door. There was a cat outside. Just not the one by the w…” Sarah said but stopped talking as she saw the window open and something horrible was standing in place of the black cat.

            Joseph had turned his head to see Sarah as she entered the room, he saw her terrified expression and his stomach sank. He turned back around and a grizzled, hair claw grabbed a hold of Joseph’s face and covered his mouth before he could scream. The darkness of night hid most of the creatures face so all Joseph could see was a black hair arm, rough skinned, clawed hand and two black beady eyes that reflected the light from the house. The creature pulled on Joseph and tried to drag him outside. Joseph’s mind raced as this beast was tugging on his head. Then suddenly there was a release and Joseph was thrown back into the house and almost landed on the orange cat as he fell backward.

            When Joseph looked up he saw his wife holding and axe, which was now covered in a dark green blood and the window was closed. A hairy monster arm sat still and rigid on the bedroom floor and the orange cat started to attack its fingers.

            “I’m glad we decided to keep an axe in every room” Sarah said. Joseph just nodded, his eyes still wide with fear. Sarah’s mind was racing and her palms were sweaty, but to Joseph she appeared perfectly calm. “You know I had a choice between you and Mary Sue down the street” Joseph said with a smile. Sarah started to laugh. “Yes and with Mary Sue you would have enjoyed her pleasant company up until a monster pulled your head off as she stood there and screamed” Sarah replied. The two laughed for a few minutes, which helped relieve some of the stress and fear.

            After a few minutes of chuckling and eventual silence, Sarah finally spoke up “So what do you want to do for Halloween?” She said with a sly grin. “Well we need to think of a name for this cat and nothing beats reading a good book and staying in” Joseph said. “as long as you keep an axe with you” Sarah added.

Hollow city

            The city was dark, mist lingered over everything and the light from the street lamps bounced off the fog and gave the whole city an eerie feel. Jake held still, he heard the distant sound of footsteps, then a scream and gunfire. The city had gone to hell and it was everyone for themselves. It started on Halloween night. There was the usual trick or treaters, loud parties and everyone was wearing a costume.

 Jake was on his way to his friends how to attend a small party of friends of friends. He wasn’t too excited because he only knew the one, Bill. He didn’t know Bill’s friends so he hoped it wouldn’t be awkward. Jake was dressed as a private eye from the old detective movies. Someone thought he was dressed as a pimp, this comment made Jake’s soul hurt.

            Once he arrived at the party he tried to mingle and not be the awkward stranger in the corner. The small one bedroom apartment was packed with people. The hardwood floor creaked as the group of strangers shuffled back and forth from the kitchen to the living room. “please tell me you have beer” Jake whispered to Bill. Bill just smiled, nodded then pointed to the kitchen. Jake did the awkward “Sorry for pushing past you but I need to get to the other room” Shuffle. Jake didn’t usually drink, but in situations like this, he usually had to have at least one bear before he could go out of his way to start talking to people.

            The night moved along and everything was fine. Then an explosion went off somewhere in the city. “Someone lighting fireworks?” asked one of the party members. Then the building rocked and shook. Everyone had to grab onto something so they wouldn’t get knocked over. Jake looked outside and saw thick fog roll in. the streets were empty and besides that one explosion, everything was silent. Then another explosion could be heard. It was certainly not fireworks. Jake moved past the crowd of people and walked down the stairs and outside into the cool night air. He needed to see what was happening, he didn’t know why but he just felt the urge to investigate. “Just because your dressed like a detective doesn’t mean you ARE a detective” He told himself. Still he was curious and if someone was hurt after an explosion it is important that someone be around to help out, in case the police or an ambulance hasn’t shown up.

            Jake walked toward the sound of the two explosions. He stopped dead in his tracks when he saw it. Before he could get anywhere near the explosion area, a tall slender man confronted him. Using the word ‘man’ loosely because this thing was man shaped but its skin was sickly pale with a green tint. It didn’t have eyes or a nose, just a large mouth full of rows of teeth. The slender man seemed to be wearing a suit, which was a weird choice for a monster. The creature lift his arm up and reached his hand out to Jake. The hand was slender, but bent weirdly and had long fingers with sharp claw like tips. Jake felt paralyzed with fear and the slender creature slowly walked toward Jake. It’s hideous mouth curved upward like a smile as he got closer and closer. Soon the slender man was just within reaching distance, it’s fingertips just barely touching Jake’s face. A shot rang out and the slender being stopped moving. It reached up to its chest and felt a hole. Someone shot the slender man. Jake turned and saw a cop. “Get out of here son, this is no place for civilians” the policeman said. Jake nodded at the cop and then turned back to get one last look at the slender man. But the slender man was gone. When Jake looked back at the cop he saw that the creature had moved in an instant and was now wrapping its long horrible fingers around the cops neck. The evil aura of the horrible slender monster now paralyzed the police officer. Jake picked up a large chunk of concrete, which was debris from one of the buildings, and struck the beast with the heavy chunk. The slender man recoiled and let out a hissing shriek. As soon as the policeman regained his senses he opened fire on the creature, shooting it in the head. The slender man shrieked and melted into the darkness.

            “I guess we’re even” Jake said. The cop was holding his throat and nodded slowly, the events of the last few minutes slowly sinking in as reality. “My names Bob” The cop said. “Jake” Jake replied. “Well Jake, I was going to investigate the explosion, maybe we should stick together” Said Bob. “I think so too” Jake agreed. So the two men continued toward the explosion area. They both were shaken by the encounter with the slender man, but they both knew they had to stay and help out anyone they could. Along the way, Jake found a crowbar. Since the cop didn’t have an extra gun, Jake decided to keep the crowbar as a weapon.

            The fog became denser the closer they got to their destination. The sound of fire crackling and smaller explosions could be heard in the distance, then sounds of screaming and gunfire. The two rushed ahead, as they were running a fireball flew straight at them. The two jumped off in different directions and the ball of fire exploded against the street. The two looked out from behind the cover of over turned cars and saw a enormous pumpkin headed creature in the center of town. The pumpkin head had a carved face like a Jack-o-lantern, the inside of the head was lit up by some kind of constant burning flame. The head slowly spun around searching for survivors. The body of the creature was just a long twist of vines. The head was attached to a center stalk and vines stretched out from both sides of the ‘body’ like arms. The twisted stalk went down through the road and deep into the earth where it grew roots. It looked like this horrible thing just sprouted up over night. The pumpkin head spun around and could shoot fire out of its carved mouth hole and it could make vines spring out of the ground and grab people. The whole thing was as large as the downtown office buildings. The worst part of this was at the bottom of the pumpkin monster was a little opening. This weird door into the vine stalk had monsters coming out and captured humans going in. Zombies, shadow creatures, more of those slender things, tall goblins and human sized pumpkin head monsters. The mobile pumpkin heads looked like a fiery pumpkin head had replaced a normal persons head, then the person was dressed in rags. It didn’t take too long before Jake figured out what was probably happening to the captured humans.

            “This is a nightmare. I need to check on my family and call for help. We need the army or something” Bob said as he got noticeably more nervous. “Check on your family first. Someone must have called in the army by now” Jake said. Bob nodded and turned to leave. Then quickly turned back around “Hey, you should head home too. Nothing we can do here. But in case you run into trouble. Take this” Bob gave Jake his gun. Bob was carrying more than one gun. As soon as he heard explosions in the city, he figured it was a good time to grab a second or third pistol.

            Jake was thinking about returning home, but he couldn’t remember where home was. He also couldn’t think of who he would even meet once he got home. Bob left Jake alone holding a gun. Jake just stared blankly at his gun then up at the monsters. Just one of these creatures almost killed Bob and Jake and now they are splitting up. Jake shook his head. “This can’t be real” Jake muttered. He looked up and watched the scene for a second more. Monsters were being created and pumped out of that giant plant, the city had fallen into chaos, buildings were slowly crumbling and fires were breaking out everywhere. On top of all that, Jake was so scared he couldn’t remember how to get home or even the names of his family. His memories seemed to get fuzzy the more he tried to focus on them.

            He stared off into space, feeling in a daze. Sharp pain throbbed in his head and went down his spine. Jake’s vision grew blurry and he collapsed. Every few minutes he was able to open his eyes and saw that a strange shadowy creature was dragging him off. The shadow monster had glowing purple eyes and its form would twist and change constantly. He looked up at the darkened sky and felt his body slide across the ruined concrete. Jake couldn’t even comprehend what was going on at this point. He was dragged into the large plant creature. the vines and stalk had grown around a patch of road, the round patch of road had circles and symbols painted on it. Jake was dragged into the center and the circle began to glow. Jake lay on the patch of road with half wide eyes and blissful ignorance. Red light filled the area and vines descended down from the ceiling. Shadows surrounded Jake and then the next moment, all went dark.