Too much focus can be a bad thing. Here you are, dedicated to a specific goal, and bam!, this totally new thing comes out of nowhere to knock you completely off track. The next thing you know, you're knocked on your backside and you're lost.
That's the sort of thing I was hoping for at that moment. That's certainly what we needed. Thankfully it's what we got.
From the nearby doorway, which I could now see, in burst Harry and Larry. They took in the situation, quickly locating us and our predicament. Harry had nothing specific to say, just “Hurry! Hurry!”
At this point, this was not meant for us. It was directed at Larry, who was rummaging in his equipment bag. Larry produced a device from this bag and held it above his head. Clicking it on, he smiled brightly.
The dead gun men that had risen, fell again. Set reeled back as if struck. I saw or heard nothing that would cause this reaction. That was less important at the moment than the fact that there was a reaction as well as that Harry's “Hurry! Hurry!” was now meant for myself and Ms. Chapman. I nudged her. She moved. We ran.
For being a rather large man, Harry is quite nimble and quick on his feet. There was never a concern that we were going to run into him. Fear can be an impressive motivator. The path was dark with obstacles and corners but Harry knew the way and he was easy to keep an eye on, especially as he danced around display cases.
Even more impressive was that Larry passed us all up once we reached the exit. Smiling again, he held the door open for us as we dashed out of this enclosed exhibit hall and returned to the open area of the second floor.
This exit left us at the foot of the up escalator to the third floor. There was a gentleman waiting for us there, encouraging us to go upstairs again. Since Harry followed this advice without question, I did as well.
Who was this guy?
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Thursday, April 22, 2010
I Am Afraid
My brain was screaming for action but my body remained frozen, whether due to shock or some influence of the green light or whatever. Slowly it turned its head, taking us in, one by one. A quiet smile played upon its face. “So much life. I have been in the abyss too long. You creatures are strong here. Not strong enough.” It examined one of its hands. “This vessel. So fragile. It will suffice.”
The other gun man in the room pointed his gun at his former boss. “What did you do to Johnny?” he demanded.
“Johnny?” There was a moment of confusion. “Do you mean this creature here?” it asked, gesturing to the crumpled figure on the ground.
The gun remained on target. “You know I do.”
“I blessed him. He has become the first to be enlisted in my Army of the Dead. I am sure he will be more useful in that role than he was in this existence.” That must have been all the gun man needed to hear. He fired his gun at his former boss. From the way the body reacted, the bullet connected with it but was unable to knock it down. Another bullet was fired with a similar reaction. The man's confidence in his firearm visibly faded as he emptied the clip. “I see that you are eager to join my Army.” Calmly he stepped towards the gun man, who remained frozen in his position. With the gentle placing of his hands on the gun man's shoulders, the gun man collapsed, dropping like a marionette who had its strings cut.
The loud report of gunfire in such a confined spot had been enough to shake me from my haze. I pushed myself away from the possible path of bullets. As the creature had approached the gun man, I had approached Ms. Chapman. She was still frozen, rooted to the spot. I nudged her with my shoulder. “Come on, time to go.” This did little to unphase her. I would have liked to have drag her away but we were both still bound, out wrists trapped behind our backs by a sturdy plastic loop. It also occurred to me that I wasn't sure which path to take to escape. I knew essentially where I was but, not having been in the exhibit previously, I didn't know the twists and turns. A moment's hesitation could be our end.
I continued nudging her, trying to break her free. Just as she seemed to be reacting, the creature turned its attention to us. There was something in the coldness of its stare that froze a person in place. “You two. Not warriors like these were I sense. You have intelligence. The Army also requires strategists. Planners. Officers.” Still with the faint smile playing about its lips, it advanced towards us. “You will do nicely.”
“Intelligence?” I echoed, babbling with nerves. “I don't know about that. I mean, I think I'm clever. My mom thinks I'm smart but most moms think highly of their children, right?”
“Under my influence, your nonsense will be removed; your intelligence focused. You will prove to be very useful.” It continued to advance. “What do you accomplish here? You eat, you work, you sleep, you reproduce. What impact do you have, truthfully? In my service, you will do great things. Powerful things. You will be important.”
Ms. Chapman was now pushing back against me. As I backed up, so did she. At least for the moment we were keeping some distance between us and it. “It's not every day you get a job offer,” I joked. Surprising how helpful a joke, even a bad one, can be in a situation like this. “What does the position entail?”
“There are those that have wronged me. They have misjudged my intentions. They must be shown the error of their ways.”
“Is it the killing that maybe makes people misjudge you?” I asked. There's a wall behind me. Crap!
“I bring peace. I bring the end to confusion. To pain. In serving me, there is only focus. All will be decided for you. The rewards are great.”
“I like the benefits package where I am, thank you.” Where's the door? There should be a door somewhere! It's too dark to see at the moment.
Our lack of movement seemed to activate something in Ms. Chapman.”What are you?”
The creature pressed. “Am I gone that long? Has the memory of me faded or perhaps disappeared? The fading coals of my remembrance shall be fanned to a raging fire. They will burn as will this world! I am Set! Seth! Sutech! I am the storm and the desert! I am your lord and master!” With a gesture the bodies of the gun men rose from the floor to stand at his side. “As they join me, so shall you.” His hands stretched out towards us.
The other gun man in the room pointed his gun at his former boss. “What did you do to Johnny?” he demanded.
“Johnny?” There was a moment of confusion. “Do you mean this creature here?” it asked, gesturing to the crumpled figure on the ground.
The gun remained on target. “You know I do.”
“I blessed him. He has become the first to be enlisted in my Army of the Dead. I am sure he will be more useful in that role than he was in this existence.” That must have been all the gun man needed to hear. He fired his gun at his former boss. From the way the body reacted, the bullet connected with it but was unable to knock it down. Another bullet was fired with a similar reaction. The man's confidence in his firearm visibly faded as he emptied the clip. “I see that you are eager to join my Army.” Calmly he stepped towards the gun man, who remained frozen in his position. With the gentle placing of his hands on the gun man's shoulders, the gun man collapsed, dropping like a marionette who had its strings cut.
The loud report of gunfire in such a confined spot had been enough to shake me from my haze. I pushed myself away from the possible path of bullets. As the creature had approached the gun man, I had approached Ms. Chapman. She was still frozen, rooted to the spot. I nudged her with my shoulder. “Come on, time to go.” This did little to unphase her. I would have liked to have drag her away but we were both still bound, out wrists trapped behind our backs by a sturdy plastic loop. It also occurred to me that I wasn't sure which path to take to escape. I knew essentially where I was but, not having been in the exhibit previously, I didn't know the twists and turns. A moment's hesitation could be our end.
I continued nudging her, trying to break her free. Just as she seemed to be reacting, the creature turned its attention to us. There was something in the coldness of its stare that froze a person in place. “You two. Not warriors like these were I sense. You have intelligence. The Army also requires strategists. Planners. Officers.” Still with the faint smile playing about its lips, it advanced towards us. “You will do nicely.”
“Intelligence?” I echoed, babbling with nerves. “I don't know about that. I mean, I think I'm clever. My mom thinks I'm smart but most moms think highly of their children, right?”
“Under my influence, your nonsense will be removed; your intelligence focused. You will prove to be very useful.” It continued to advance. “What do you accomplish here? You eat, you work, you sleep, you reproduce. What impact do you have, truthfully? In my service, you will do great things. Powerful things. You will be important.”
Ms. Chapman was now pushing back against me. As I backed up, so did she. At least for the moment we were keeping some distance between us and it. “It's not every day you get a job offer,” I joked. Surprising how helpful a joke, even a bad one, can be in a situation like this. “What does the position entail?”
“There are those that have wronged me. They have misjudged my intentions. They must be shown the error of their ways.”
“Is it the killing that maybe makes people misjudge you?” I asked. There's a wall behind me. Crap!
“I bring peace. I bring the end to confusion. To pain. In serving me, there is only focus. All will be decided for you. The rewards are great.”
“I like the benefits package where I am, thank you.” Where's the door? There should be a door somewhere! It's too dark to see at the moment.
Our lack of movement seemed to activate something in Ms. Chapman.”What are you?”
The creature pressed. “Am I gone that long? Has the memory of me faded or perhaps disappeared? The fading coals of my remembrance shall be fanned to a raging fire. They will burn as will this world! I am Set! Seth! Sutech! I am the storm and the desert! I am your lord and master!” With a gesture the bodies of the gun men rose from the floor to stand at his side. “As they join me, so shall you.” His hands stretched out towards us.
Monday, April 19, 2010
The Exact Opposite of Good
Not having had the chance to go through the Jewels exhibit yet, I didn't immediately recognize our location. It was a larger room with a number of display cases visible in the dim lighting. At the center of this space was Ms. Chapman with her hands also bound behind her back, the gun man, and a case with a solitary green jewel. The scene was illuminated by one major light as well as a light in the display case with the green jewel. This I found odd as it was the only such display case to be so lit. Why would that one case still have power?
On the fringe of the hazy light I could make out a couple of other gun men. Either they didn't notice me rolling over or they had no instructions to shoot me if I did. Good. Finally something going our way.
Boss gun man was working the case open to get at the jewel inside. You would think that the prize of the collection, as this clearly was, would be hard to fence. Perhaps he already had a private collector lined up to buy it. Or maybe he planned to hold it for ransom. Its not like he shared his plan with us. Really, why should he? He's here to steal it and we want to prevent that if at all possible. The rest is currently only details.
The gun man's fidgeting paid off as the case finally came loose. He smiled as he removed it and set it aside. “Finally!”
As he reached for the gem, my blood ran cold. Suddenly I realized that the gem wasn't glowing due to some light hidden in the case, it was glowing on its own! Instinctively I knew this was a Bad Thing. I struggled to sit up, which can be surprisingly difficult when your hands are bound behind your back. “No! Don't touch it!”
I was ignored. Boss gun man picked up the jewel. The glow grew brighter. It was in his closed hand and I could still see it glowing through the flesh of his hand! An eerie glow that screamed of things not right.
We all seemed to realize that this was a Bad Thing. Ms. Chapman had a front row seat for the show and her eyes were open wide in alarm. Even the gun men, barely visible to me, were shifting around nervously. Boss gun man just stood there, frozen, green light pouring from his hand.
The room grew cold. At least it felt colder. Maybe it was just fear that sent shivers up and down my spine. I fought at my bonds, knowing I needed my mobility. This just felt bad.
One of the gun men stepped forward from the gloom into the light. “Paul? You okay man?” Concerned, he rested his hand on Boss gun man's shoulder.
The man's eyes rolled back into his head. Limply, he fell to the floor. Ms. Chapman's mouth opened, I think to scream, but no sound emerged. My heart was racing. I wanted to climb to my feet and run but my body was frozen. I just sat there and stared. Somehow I knew that man was dead.
Slowly, Boss gun man moved his head to observe the crumpled body at his feet. “There is no Paul. There is only Set.”
On the fringe of the hazy light I could make out a couple of other gun men. Either they didn't notice me rolling over or they had no instructions to shoot me if I did. Good. Finally something going our way.
Boss gun man was working the case open to get at the jewel inside. You would think that the prize of the collection, as this clearly was, would be hard to fence. Perhaps he already had a private collector lined up to buy it. Or maybe he planned to hold it for ransom. Its not like he shared his plan with us. Really, why should he? He's here to steal it and we want to prevent that if at all possible. The rest is currently only details.
The gun man's fidgeting paid off as the case finally came loose. He smiled as he removed it and set it aside. “Finally!”
As he reached for the gem, my blood ran cold. Suddenly I realized that the gem wasn't glowing due to some light hidden in the case, it was glowing on its own! Instinctively I knew this was a Bad Thing. I struggled to sit up, which can be surprisingly difficult when your hands are bound behind your back. “No! Don't touch it!”
I was ignored. Boss gun man picked up the jewel. The glow grew brighter. It was in his closed hand and I could still see it glowing through the flesh of his hand! An eerie glow that screamed of things not right.
We all seemed to realize that this was a Bad Thing. Ms. Chapman had a front row seat for the show and her eyes were open wide in alarm. Even the gun men, barely visible to me, were shifting around nervously. Boss gun man just stood there, frozen, green light pouring from his hand.
The room grew cold. At least it felt colder. Maybe it was just fear that sent shivers up and down my spine. I fought at my bonds, knowing I needed my mobility. This just felt bad.
One of the gun men stepped forward from the gloom into the light. “Paul? You okay man?” Concerned, he rested his hand on Boss gun man's shoulder.
The man's eyes rolled back into his head. Limply, he fell to the floor. Ms. Chapman's mouth opened, I think to scream, but no sound emerged. My heart was racing. I wanted to climb to my feet and run but my body was frozen. I just sat there and stared. Somehow I knew that man was dead.
Slowly, Boss gun man moved his head to observe the crumpled body at his feet. “There is no Paul. There is only Set.”
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