Post by delta on Aug 13, 2013 14:29:39 GMT -5
Here is something I had drafted to submit for the Hero, Anti-Hero, Vigilante collection. It’s unfinished but I thought I’d share and see what folks think.
Δ Delta
The door opened slowly into the darkness. With an almost supernatural ease the figure that followed it avoided the obstacles in its path. A feat all the more astounding given the staggering gait displayed by the figure. A light came on over a tidy workbench in an equally clean wood paneled garage.
As shadows dissolved in the light a man in dark clothes reached under the workbench and a clear snap was heard. He stepped over to the nearby wall and pulled open the now visible panel and placed several packages on hooks. After pushing the panel shut he let himself slump against the wall with a muffled thud.
Other overhead lights suddenly came on, and the shadows that had stayed in the comfortable areas outside the reach of the workbench light vanished. A woman’s voice shouted through the door “Fred is that you?”
She came out and asked in a demanding voice, “Where have you been? It’s almost two in the morning.”
Fred drew himself up and answered “I was over at Tony’s. We were playing cards and I had one beer too many so I walked home.
“BULL!” she shouted “I called Michelle and when I asked to speak to Tony she told me that he went to Greensville to see their nephew in the hospital! Who is she you sorry sack of … arrrh!”
She launched herself across the smooth cement floor until she was right under his nose. “I didn’t want to believe it; but all of the late nights, the time working out at the gym, the lame excuses. I wanted to believe that those scratches last month were from a stray dog but inside I knew better. I could sense it.“
“You’ve been lying to me for months. Haven’t you? You didn’t get into shape because the Doctor told you too! You didn’t even do it for me, you bastard! You were doing it for her weren’t you?"
Fred tried to step aside but she grabbed his arm and he winced at her grip.
“You haven’t been going to Michelle and Tony’s for game nights have you? You got him to lie for you didn’t you. You men always stick together when it comes to this stuff. I ought to break your neck you lying piece of scum. Does Michelle know? They’re our best friends and if you’ve got her lying to me to I swear I’ll kill you.”
“Honey please,” Fred began “you don’t know, you don’t understand. I know your angry but please just hold on. Please just let me explain“
“Explain what, explain why you’re cheating on me, why you’re lying to me? Am I supposed to understand why you’re a bastard and forgive you? I don’t want your truth! I want fairness! “Boys will be Boys” where is the justice in that! You scum sucking piece of arrrr!” and with an animal scream she began to beat on his chest with her fists.
Time ground to a tortuous slowness for Fred. With the first hit felt a blinding pain, the second brought on nausea and a spinning sensation. He began a scream of anguished pain as the third hit. He was unaware of anything but the pain for the fourth and fifth. By the sixth he had slipped into merciful darkness.
The streetlights in this part of town were dim by design. It was an attempt to save the city some money while still providing a public service. On the edge of the light stood a man who could think of many public services he wished the city would provide more of.
He hefted the bike messenger bag on his shoulder under his grey cape and checked his watch. A nod of approval and a grimace were his response. He walked down the empty street, past tall fences and weather beaten signs when he got to the end he looked for the loose piece of siding with the letter Q painted in blue on it. Someone had used white paint, now a rust-stained grey, to put a couple eyes and a nose in it so that it looked like a comic character sticking out its tongue. He knocked three times quickly then two more slowly. Glancing both ways he quickly pulled it back and ducked inside.
Inside there were a number of small huts made out of old pallets and other debris. Doors made of old tarps were pulled back from some allowing him to see people sitting inside hugging the shadows. Dim light peeked out from a couple but seemed afraid to go much further than a couple of yards.
He was met by an older man in a dirty knot hat and a big grin. “Evenin’ Mr. Superhee-ro.” He chuckled a bit at the scowl the newcomer gave him. “Come on Shad, just a bit of fun. I was hopin’ you all would come by.” He looked behind the caped figure and had a concerned look on his face.
“You all by yourself tonight? That ain’t like you to be out without your crew and I was really hopin’ that leggy super-nurse would be with you.”
“Sekhmet had to be somewhere else tonight, and watch your step Roy: she’s Horus’ sister.” He pulled a small brown paper bag and handed it to the man. “PB&J and a granola bar tonight.”
“Thank you. Horus? You guys and your crazy names.” Another chuckle while he stuffed the bag into a pocket in his cargo pants. “Which one is he? Not that he needs to worry ‘bout me. Now twenty years ago that’d be a different story.”
“He’s the one with the bird head helmet. The guy in the chain mail on his shoulders is Donnie Quickso and the guy with the construction hat is Mr. Fix-it. So, it sounds like you are more interested in her being a nurse rather than her being leggy.”
The old mans face got more serious. “Yeah, yeah. We got a new guy at the camp and his feet are in a bad way and he don’t want nutin’ to do with the hospital or even the clinic over on South.”
With that he led Shad to a lean-to with an even older looking man with unkempt hair and beard wrapped in a stained blanket and an almost visible odor about him. As soon as he saw Shad he started to get up with a panicked look. “Who sent you?”
Roy stepped up and said “It’s okay man, he’s with me. I just want him to see your feet.”
With that the man gave Shad a stern stare then suddenly threw back the blanket that was covering him and lay down. When he saw the old man’s feet he shuddered. They both had dried blood all over them and puss filled sores. As he bent in the smell made him pause involuntarily. He opened his bag and pulled out a couple bottles of water and some large packs of gauze. When he started to rub the wet gauze over one of the sores the man sat strait up and yelled.
“Devil! Defiler of good men! Be gone.”
Roy took him by the shoulder and quietly said “It’s okay man. He’s a good guy. Look at the cape. That’s Shadow Guardian. He’s a superhero not a devil. Besides, devils don’t wash people’s feet, that was Jesus’ gig.”
Shadow continued to wash the old man’s feet until the blood and grime was gone. Then he said to the man “with your permission sir, I’d like to anoint your feet.” The man nodded gruffly and Shad used the rest of a tube of antibiotic cream. “I’m going to ask a friend of mine to come here tomorrow. She’s going to take a close look at your feet.” He pause and added “you’ll like her she’s an … um … angel.” He withdrew a couple pairs of socks, another of the brown paper bags and three bottles of water. “Here, these are for you. Now stay off your feet tomorrow okay.”
The old man grunted, Roy shrugged and Shad decided that was the best he was going to get.
As Shadow went around the camp handing out his food bags and water Roy began to talk in a quiet serious tone. “There was another reason I was hopin’ the girl was going to be with you. There are a couple of young girls we’ve seen in the park, ‘bout eleven and fourteen. They’re real skittish about staying with us men but I’ve seen that chicken hawk J-Bomb sniffin’ round there. I was hopin’ super nurse would be able to get close enough to talk to ‘em.”
The ER was busy, the pace never stops, it only slows and speeds up again. The ambulance crew wheeled in yet another in the long line of new patients.
One of them reported in a calm but forceful voice “Male, mid-thirties, multiple contusions, looks to have multiple fractured ribs and a concussion. Wife says she doesn’t know what happened, she found him this way. PD will be in looking for a report.”
Shadow Guardian walked quickly to the park looking at his watch several times. It was easy bypassing the large iron gates. He just followed the worn dirt path so many feet before his had created. Behind the thick bushes there was a low point in the stone wall that people used to get in once the park was officially closed.
Gloom cloaked the park. As part of theirs cost cutting measure the city had cut the power to the park’s street lamps thinking that since the park would be closed at night nobody would need them. However the park was still inhabited at night by those who had no choice. And by those who preyed on them.
Once in the park, Shadow let his eyes grow accustomed to the darkness. Like a gargoyle, he crouched listening to the sounds around him a few moments. Quickly, he padded along the walkway heading to the area Roy had told him the girls were seen most frequently.
Δ Delta
* * * * * * * *
The door opened slowly into the darkness. With an almost supernatural ease the figure that followed it avoided the obstacles in its path. A feat all the more astounding given the staggering gait displayed by the figure. A light came on over a tidy workbench in an equally clean wood paneled garage.
As shadows dissolved in the light a man in dark clothes reached under the workbench and a clear snap was heard. He stepped over to the nearby wall and pulled open the now visible panel and placed several packages on hooks. After pushing the panel shut he let himself slump against the wall with a muffled thud.
Other overhead lights suddenly came on, and the shadows that had stayed in the comfortable areas outside the reach of the workbench light vanished. A woman’s voice shouted through the door “Fred is that you?”
She came out and asked in a demanding voice, “Where have you been? It’s almost two in the morning.”
Fred drew himself up and answered “I was over at Tony’s. We were playing cards and I had one beer too many so I walked home.
“BULL!” she shouted “I called Michelle and when I asked to speak to Tony she told me that he went to Greensville to see their nephew in the hospital! Who is she you sorry sack of … arrrh!”
She launched herself across the smooth cement floor until she was right under his nose. “I didn’t want to believe it; but all of the late nights, the time working out at the gym, the lame excuses. I wanted to believe that those scratches last month were from a stray dog but inside I knew better. I could sense it.“
“You’ve been lying to me for months. Haven’t you? You didn’t get into shape because the Doctor told you too! You didn’t even do it for me, you bastard! You were doing it for her weren’t you?"
Fred tried to step aside but she grabbed his arm and he winced at her grip.
“You haven’t been going to Michelle and Tony’s for game nights have you? You got him to lie for you didn’t you. You men always stick together when it comes to this stuff. I ought to break your neck you lying piece of scum. Does Michelle know? They’re our best friends and if you’ve got her lying to me to I swear I’ll kill you.”
“Honey please,” Fred began “you don’t know, you don’t understand. I know your angry but please just hold on. Please just let me explain“
“Explain what, explain why you’re cheating on me, why you’re lying to me? Am I supposed to understand why you’re a bastard and forgive you? I don’t want your truth! I want fairness! “Boys will be Boys” where is the justice in that! You scum sucking piece of arrrr!” and with an animal scream she began to beat on his chest with her fists.
Time ground to a tortuous slowness for Fred. With the first hit felt a blinding pain, the second brought on nausea and a spinning sensation. He began a scream of anguished pain as the third hit. He was unaware of anything but the pain for the fourth and fifth. By the sixth he had slipped into merciful darkness.
* * * * * * * *
The streetlights in this part of town were dim by design. It was an attempt to save the city some money while still providing a public service. On the edge of the light stood a man who could think of many public services he wished the city would provide more of.
He hefted the bike messenger bag on his shoulder under his grey cape and checked his watch. A nod of approval and a grimace were his response. He walked down the empty street, past tall fences and weather beaten signs when he got to the end he looked for the loose piece of siding with the letter Q painted in blue on it. Someone had used white paint, now a rust-stained grey, to put a couple eyes and a nose in it so that it looked like a comic character sticking out its tongue. He knocked three times quickly then two more slowly. Glancing both ways he quickly pulled it back and ducked inside.
Inside there were a number of small huts made out of old pallets and other debris. Doors made of old tarps were pulled back from some allowing him to see people sitting inside hugging the shadows. Dim light peeked out from a couple but seemed afraid to go much further than a couple of yards.
He was met by an older man in a dirty knot hat and a big grin. “Evenin’ Mr. Superhee-ro.” He chuckled a bit at the scowl the newcomer gave him. “Come on Shad, just a bit of fun. I was hopin’ you all would come by.” He looked behind the caped figure and had a concerned look on his face.
“You all by yourself tonight? That ain’t like you to be out without your crew and I was really hopin’ that leggy super-nurse would be with you.”
“Sekhmet had to be somewhere else tonight, and watch your step Roy: she’s Horus’ sister.” He pulled a small brown paper bag and handed it to the man. “PB&J and a granola bar tonight.”
“Thank you. Horus? You guys and your crazy names.” Another chuckle while he stuffed the bag into a pocket in his cargo pants. “Which one is he? Not that he needs to worry ‘bout me. Now twenty years ago that’d be a different story.”
“He’s the one with the bird head helmet. The guy in the chain mail on his shoulders is Donnie Quickso and the guy with the construction hat is Mr. Fix-it. So, it sounds like you are more interested in her being a nurse rather than her being leggy.”
The old mans face got more serious. “Yeah, yeah. We got a new guy at the camp and his feet are in a bad way and he don’t want nutin’ to do with the hospital or even the clinic over on South.”
With that he led Shad to a lean-to with an even older looking man with unkempt hair and beard wrapped in a stained blanket and an almost visible odor about him. As soon as he saw Shad he started to get up with a panicked look. “Who sent you?”
Roy stepped up and said “It’s okay man, he’s with me. I just want him to see your feet.”
With that the man gave Shad a stern stare then suddenly threw back the blanket that was covering him and lay down. When he saw the old man’s feet he shuddered. They both had dried blood all over them and puss filled sores. As he bent in the smell made him pause involuntarily. He opened his bag and pulled out a couple bottles of water and some large packs of gauze. When he started to rub the wet gauze over one of the sores the man sat strait up and yelled.
“Devil! Defiler of good men! Be gone.”
Roy took him by the shoulder and quietly said “It’s okay man. He’s a good guy. Look at the cape. That’s Shadow Guardian. He’s a superhero not a devil. Besides, devils don’t wash people’s feet, that was Jesus’ gig.”
Shadow continued to wash the old man’s feet until the blood and grime was gone. Then he said to the man “with your permission sir, I’d like to anoint your feet.” The man nodded gruffly and Shad used the rest of a tube of antibiotic cream. “I’m going to ask a friend of mine to come here tomorrow. She’s going to take a close look at your feet.” He pause and added “you’ll like her she’s an … um … angel.” He withdrew a couple pairs of socks, another of the brown paper bags and three bottles of water. “Here, these are for you. Now stay off your feet tomorrow okay.”
The old man grunted, Roy shrugged and Shad decided that was the best he was going to get.
As Shadow went around the camp handing out his food bags and water Roy began to talk in a quiet serious tone. “There was another reason I was hopin’ the girl was going to be with you. There are a couple of young girls we’ve seen in the park, ‘bout eleven and fourteen. They’re real skittish about staying with us men but I’ve seen that chicken hawk J-Bomb sniffin’ round there. I was hopin’ super nurse would be able to get close enough to talk to ‘em.”
* * * * * * * *
The ER was busy, the pace never stops, it only slows and speeds up again. The ambulance crew wheeled in yet another in the long line of new patients.
One of them reported in a calm but forceful voice “Male, mid-thirties, multiple contusions, looks to have multiple fractured ribs and a concussion. Wife says she doesn’t know what happened, she found him this way. PD will be in looking for a report.”
* * * * * * * *
Shadow Guardian walked quickly to the park looking at his watch several times. It was easy bypassing the large iron gates. He just followed the worn dirt path so many feet before his had created. Behind the thick bushes there was a low point in the stone wall that people used to get in once the park was officially closed.
Gloom cloaked the park. As part of theirs cost cutting measure the city had cut the power to the park’s street lamps thinking that since the park would be closed at night nobody would need them. However the park was still inhabited at night by those who had no choice. And by those who preyed on them.
Once in the park, Shadow let his eyes grow accustomed to the darkness. Like a gargoyle, he crouched listening to the sounds around him a few moments. Quickly, he padded along the walkway heading to the area Roy had told him the girls were seen most frequently.
