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Caedmon · 11-07-2006, 12:28 AM

WARNING: This story WILL be violent on occasions, and will have elements of Horror located within. Please be noted that this story is not recomended for those under the age of Fifteen. If you are younger than Fifteen, please, DO NOT READ THIS.

A small farmhouse sat alone in the middle of a small copse of trees. The trees, willows all, enclosed the house on the south, east, and west side. The setting sun filtered through the willows, lighting up the west side of the house.

The small farmhouse was connected to the nearby highway by a long dirt road, one that allowed for a person sitting in the front of the house to view anyone coming down the road.

Three people were coming down that very road as the sun continued to lower, all of them on horseback.

The leader, a man whose face had been weathered and worn, sat tense in the saddle. Though much of his body would lead you to assume he was relaxed, the intensity of his cold, blue eyes and the grip with which he clutched his Kalishnakov spoke otherwise. His head was covered with a stetson, a light brown one, with a buffalo skull patch sewn onto the front. His clothes where as worn as his face, and all were in various colors of tans and khakis.

Behind him rode a young woman. In the time of Before, she would have been a fashion model, a very successful one at that. Now, in the time of After, the world had taken it's tole on her. Her face was rough, and a deep tan. Her eyes shone with inner youth, but her body spoke of a rough life. She was dressed similar to the man before her, but carried an ancient Winchester, one of the few known to still be in existence.

Taking up the rear was a youngman. His face was still smooth and un-worn. His eyes glowed from within, lit by an un-natural light. His clothes where relatively new, and were all in deep blues and greens.

The trio dis-mounted before the house, and the young man broke out all of the tools from his bag needed to groom the horses. He tossed a comb to the woman, as the older man walked into the house, his AK-47 up at his shoulder.

The door to the house was off it's hinges, and the center of the roof had caved in. The living room was relatively clear of debris, and an opening in the roof sat just above it.

"Okay guys, all clear," the man said as he stepped out of the house.

"Glad to hear hear it honey," the woman said as she kissed him, "Now, take these things inside and get camp ready."

The olderman took the gear, and started to make trips inside, setting up a two person bag and the second bag for the young man.

His wife entered soon after he had set up the fire, carrying the grooming kit under her arm.

"You and James done with the horses?" he asked.

"Yes Jayne, he said he wanted to collect some wood from the willows for during his watch, see if he couldn't work on some new gunpowder for our rifles."

"He sure is something," Jayne, the old man, said.

"That he is, all Weavers are."

"Linda, if that ain't the truth, I don't know what is," Jayne stated, looking out.

James, the young man, entered with a bundle of willow wood, and set them down a few feet from the fire.

The young man stared at the bundle of wood inside the makeshift fire ring. In his mind's eye, he called up a view of what Weaver's call the Tapestry, a great weave of all the connections between people. Focusing in, he focused on the very molecules of the wood, and began to force the molecules to move faster and faster. Soon, flames began to lick at the willow wood, and a fire had been started.

"Nice job James," Linda said, as she skewered a bit of venison on a long poker and stuck it over the fire.

James took a bit of deer himself, and followed suit.

Jayne stuck some on, and handed it to his wife. She rolled her eyes as he removed his guitar and began to strum.

Soon, he had moved into an old favorite of his, Men of Erin. Though who or what Erin was had been lost to time, it had become one of those songs that had come to stand for the sorrow of the Survivors from Before in this area.

As he continued to do so, Linda removed his poker, and held it out for him. Jayne continued to strum, and stuck out his mouth, eating the meat straight off of the stick.

James grabbed a pan, and poured a small amount of cooking oil on the pan, and dropped in small rolls of corn meal into the pan. The oil sizzled, and the smell of baking corn wafted over the small camp.

As the night deepened, Jayne dropped out of the song he had been singing, Rare Ould Times, to divide the watch.

"James, you have last watch, Linda, you have middle, I will take first. Who knows, I may just be able to finish that song I have been working on."

Linda rolled her eyes and took the dishes over to a small tub, which James had filled with water, and brought to a light simmer.

Linda cleaned the dishes, as James lowered the temperature of the flames. Jayne sat and cleaned both his and his wife's rifles.

Linda finally settled in around nine, and James got into his bag shortly after.

Jayne's watch went mostly without anything notable occuring, especially when it came to the song he was trying to write.

The same was true of Linda's, as she sat and watched the stars overhead. Every now and then, a satellite, stuck up without repair from Before, would fall from the heaven's and burn brilliantly in the upper atmosphere.

James, when his watch came, refreshed himself from within, and sat as still as a statue, focused entirely on the Tapestry.

About an hour before dawn, he noticed that a group of Them wher eapproaching down the highway. The horses had caught wind of Them, and where shying away. James bent over, and awakened Jayne.

"Hey, Jayne, They are here."

Outside, a group of strange creatures began to walk down the drive. They where covered in gray hair, and had large front teeth. Yellowish spines grew from it's back, and it's eyes glowed red under the slightest of lights.

Quillpen · 11-07-2006, 04:42 PM

Very good!I hope tom see more.

i_am_difficult · 11-07-2006, 05:39 PM

Yes. A great start, and it should be interesting to see what you come up with as you expand the plotline.

Caedmon · 11-07-2006, 06:43 PM

Jayne awoke instantly as James spoke of Them. Jayne grabbed his rifle, and pulled the recharging lever back and let it go. The rifle made it's characteristic "Kchhk," and Jayne stumbled forward to join James at the window.

Linda was right behind him, and worked the lever on her Winchester Repeater.

"James, any chance you can hit the Alpha from this range?" Jayne asked.

James drew back his bow, and accessed the Tapestry. Within it, he altered the structure, making it less flexible, so that it would fly straighter.

A half-second after he had accessed the Tapestry, he had completed the alterations, and let the arrow fly. The arrow pierced the skull of the lead Monster, and flew on through.

The lead creature fell to the ground, and the rest of his pack fell upon him. They pireced the ex-Alpha Malewith thier fangs, and pumped it full of a bio-agent designed to liquify the internal organs.

The beasts lapped up the liquified internals until they had sucked their former leader dry.

In that time, James and Linda had screwed silencers onto their guns and re-leveled the rifles.

Jayne took aim at the closest monster, and fired. The bullet left the barrel, and plunged into the closest monster's skull. The round plunged in, and burst the skull, showering the accompanying beasts with gray matter, blood, and bits of skull.

Another beast let out a howl, and his eyes began to glow a brilliant red. The others also let out a howl that lit their eyes. The pack, a group of twelve or so beasts, came charging towards the house.

Linda aimed for the Beasts, and fired off her repeater. One, two, three, four, five, shots where launched at the incoming beasts. Jayne fired as well, pouring bursts into the beast ranks.

James drew back a second arrow, and let it fly. it had been specially woven to explode upon contact with anything, and destroyed everything within twenty feet of it's point of contact.

James had expected the burst, and had woven his eyes to be shielded from the light. Jayne and Linda on the other hand, where blinded by the burst of light.

It would be several moments before they regained their night vision, so James lept out of the window and grabbed the saddles from the fence near the horses. He saddled up the horses Linda and Jayne rode on, and then jumped back into the house to grab his stuff, which he slung over his back.

"Something was sure to see that, we shoudl go, now," Jayne said.

"Way ahead of you," James stated.

The three of them where out the door and on the highway before ten minuets where up.

i_am_difficult · 11-07-2006, 09:13 PM

Perhaps you ought to describe "Them" in slightly greater detail. That might add a bit to the story.

Caedmon · 11-07-2006, 09:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by i_am_difficult

Perhaps you ought to describe "Them" in slightly greater detail. That might add a bit to the story.

Actually, I want the reader to fill it in with their own mind. That way, the reader will be more likely to choose that which scares them. That is the whole point of Them, they are to be feared. But a little FYI, they are known to us as Las Chupacabras.

Caedmon · 11-07-2006, 10:18 PM

A hooded man walked down the street, his body hunched and his gait stiff. The Ruins of St. Louis stood all around him, many of the towers long since gone, or used to prop up and re-enforce those that had still been standing. The rubble had been cleared long ago, used to build small homes that clung to the river.

The Arch, once a great symbol of the glory of the city, lay in ruins upon the bank of the river near which it once stood.

The bridges that had once connectted the two sides of the river lay in shambles, some still posing obstacles for the ships that travelled up the various rivers.

The hooded man stopped in front of the Sherrif's Department, and looked at an updated Wanted Poster, of him.

"Wanted: Jonas Archer
Crimes: Conspiracy to Committ Treason, Treason, Conspiracy to Obstruct Justice, Obstruction of Justice
Reward: 7 Million Gold"

Archer smirked at the description, and continued to read. He glanced over all of the ones in the window. Most were for minor offenses, but one caugh his attention.

"Wanted: James
Crimes: Conspiracy to Committ Treason, Conspiracy to Assasinate the Emporer, Conspiracy to Assasinate the Imperial Advisor, Conspiracy to Overthrow the Rightful Imperial Government
Reward: 70 Million Gold"

Archer's eyes widened and he let out a low whistle. He turned and walked away, his mind turning. He knew that Bounty Hunters would be flocking after this kid, probablly by the hundreds, and he could make a lot of money from the Centurions for some of those.

Archer continued on to a small bar where he had tied up his motorcycle. It was specially made, designed to resemble a horse, it's lights where hidden behind the eyes, and the handle bars behind the ears. It's legs continued down to form the front tire bars, and the rear legs formed the rear axle and part of the rear wheel section.

Archer threw back his hood, revealing deep scars covering the top of Archer's head, clear evidence of torture in his past. He covered them up quickly with a specialized helm.

Archer swung his leg up and over the bike, kicking the motorcycle over. He revved the bike, and charged out of the city.

He thought as he left, focusing on where his contacts were. Deciding, he made up his mind to head for Fort Scott. It would take him a long while, but if he rode all day, he would be able to reach the fort by noon.

And, if he was lucky, he might just be able to find Jayne, and if even luckier, get Jayne to assist him in fighting off those Bounty Hunters. Jayne always did hate the New American Empire.