S. L. U. T. : Smoque pt 2

“How do I get in this place?"

"Get off the ground."

She rose up a few feet above the mossy floor.

"Some of those grenades you've got are electrical. Should take care of the piranhas and give you a bit more time before needing to deal the scaley one again."

"And when will it be safe to go into the water to go through the pipe?"

"'Bout thirty seconds?"

"Clockwork?"

"No more than 45."

"Clockwork!"

"You'll be fine! I modified your suit. And you're invincible."

“Doesn't mean it doesn't hurt!"

"Stop wasting time."

Smoque pulled the pin and tossed the shocker into the water.

It sizzled and crackled. Bubba Joe flailed around like a fish in a frying pan. His jaw opened in a silent scream.

“He's going to be so mad.” She thought. His tongue flopped out of his mouth and into the water, sending more volts through his system. She waited until he stopped twitching before diving into the water. It was still electrified but it was more of a nuisance than anything else. The piranha lay on the top of the water dead. Vile toothy things.

She grabbed the door to the pipe and turned the round handle. It looked like the type of thing you would see on a submarine. The door swung open surprisingly easy considering it looked like it was covered in rust. Water rushed past her, the pipe must have not had water in it because the pull was strong. Like water going down a drain. It pulled her in as well. Smoque was able to grab and close the door before Bubba Joe's limp body came through. She rode the water down the pipe, making sure Clockwork checked for traps or any other random dangers via the heads up display in her helmet.

"Stop!"

She braced herself against the walls of the pipe a slide to a halt.

"That drop wouldn't have been fun. Especially after you ruined the element of surprise with the involuntary scream as you dropped."

Smoque crouched at the end of the pipe and saw what she meant.

"Thanks."

"Of course. Now if you look straight ahead...."

There was the heiress. Dangling above a pool of alligators.

"Geez, Smoque, why do they always put them above pits of hungry animals?"

"Keeps the victim scared senseless and makes it harder to rescue. If she falls in the hero will feel responsible for the death of an innocent, even though said hero wasn't the one who put them in danger to begin with. This will usually cause some sort of moral internal quarrel with the hero when faced with the villain again. Makes them wonder if they can cross the line of "murder" to keep more innocents from being killed."

"That is some seriously psychological stuff, Smoque."

"Villains are messed up, Clockwork. Luckily for our hostage, so am I.

"What's that she's hooked up too?"

"It looks like she's pumping her full of something. I can't scan that far to know exactly what it is though."

"I thought you could scan anything got can see."

"I can. But you are deep underground. And the H.E.D is not clear down here. We could lose the visual at any point."

"Joy."

"Sorry. She's barricaded herself in here really well."

"So no plan?"

"Save the rich girl and keep all of your limbs?"

"Dammit Clockwork."

"What? It’s the best I can come up with, without being able to see. If we lose the visual in your helmet you'll need to describe her hookup to me so she can be removed safely."

"Guess it’s not like I could sneak her out of her anyway."

Smoque looked around for Big Mama. She was lounging in a giant rocking chair to hold her giant posterior, strumming on a banjo, singing an old bayou tune. The poor girl looked terrified.

Shooting wouldn't work, Big Mama had dragon hide scales covering her entire body. They'd bounce off and possibly hit the hostage. Smoque would have to use brute force. She laid flat against the pipe, facing outward, hovering in the middle of the tube and began to spin as fast as she could, creating a wind tunnel in the pipe in hopes of shooting herself out like a bullet. She jettisoned out of the pipe, closing her fists, aiming for Big Mama's midsection. Smoque felt Big Mama crash into the wall of computers and chemistry behind her with an "Oof" that was almost in slow motion.

She bounced back landing on her feet with her hands clasped together and swung up right, then across left and finally she jumped up and crashed straight down on the top of Big Mama's skull. Smoque did not want her getting back up. Smoque wasn't even sure if Big Mama knew who was hitting her. Not that it mattered. Bubba Joe would tell her after he regenerated.

"Clockwork, are still able to read me?"

"Yeah, I'm still in shock. Mama Marsh's face….I think you broke her skull."

"I'm still getting normal vital signs from her. At least as normal as you can get from a giant dragon lady. Besides, she isn't even bleeding. So I'm going to tie her up. You need to tell me how to deal with this." She turned and looked at the heiress.

"Get closer. I need to see exactly how she's hooked up."

Spirit Lake: The House Next Door pt.3

Our house was a small, two story Victorian located a few blocks away from the Main Street Boardwalk. It was blue, with white trim and a separate garage just big enough to fit our one car.

I doubt I would really need the car much.

Everything was within walking distance.

No more subways or buses either. No more cabs.

No more noise, no more hectic commutes, no more crowds of people…

“We’re here.” Zack pulled the U-Haul  up the cement driveway, and put it in park.

I took a deep breath to bury the panic, and then leaned over and kissed him.

“Home sweet home.” I smiled when I spoke. 

The smile was to hide my shaking hands.

Spirit Lake: The House Next Door pt.2

I had visited Spirit Lake a few times when Zack and I were looking at houses.

I hadn’t really paid much attention, to be honest. It was probably from my inner spoiled brat refusing to accept that the move was going to be a reality.

As we drove our U-Haul along the lake front Main Street I finally was able to take it all in.

A well-kept boardwalk bordered the east side of the lake.  Small shops lined the paved streets.  A bar, a general store, a library and a few gift shops and boutiques were all that consisted of Spirit Lake’s downtown.

We passed the storefront that was now Zack’s place of business.  The big, picture window still was still foggy with soap, but the awning was up.

Beach Reads.

“You okay?”  I could feel Zach’s hand on my knee.

I nodded.

I was, or at least, I would be.

I just had to adjust.  I just had to keep telling myself that soon this place would feel like home. 

At least I had Zack. With him, any place could feel like home.

I repeated these mantras over and over in my brain. I repeated them to suppress the feeling that something about Spirit Lake felt wrong.

Something felt very wrong.

Welcome to Fantasm Fiction!

Fantasm Fiction is now live!  Here you will find several rotating series, starting with S.L.U.T from Ashtyn Foster and Spirit Lake from yours truly.  Our aim here is to find Fantasy, Sci Fi, Horror, Adventure and Mystery authors who want to give a serialized novel a try.  

Please, enjoy the first chapters of both series, and check back for new episodes, as well as updates on future series and chances to possibly get your series published on the blog as well.  

S.L.U.T. : Smoque

"How do I always get myself into these situations? Waist deep in an overrun alligator swamp, searching for a kidnapped heiress." Smoque thought. For the millionth time she cursed not being able to fly around this mosquito infested backwater toxic wasteland, but the last hero who thought he could fly directly to Big Mama Marsh's hideout got hit with a human bug zapper.

That's when the girl's mother called on S. L. U. T. Smoque hated when parents get on the news begging for help. It removed the element of surprise.

Luckily, Mrs. Daltonshire was smarter than that. She wasn't sure how the woman found her contact. But she supplied a rather nice incentive for the safe rescue her daughter. 

Is it wrong to accept payment for superheroing? There was an ongoing debate in the major circles, but not all heroes have money coming out of the capes, and she was going to need to burn this costume when she get out of this swamp, because the smell will never come out and hero costumes are not cheap. But Silkworm does the best job. So it's worth every (sometimes literal) bloody penny. 

Back to the problem at hand, Smoque could feel movement in the water. The alligators were easy. She had her guns strapped to my back and had no qualms with using them on something that was trying to eat her. Besides, it was the piranhas that bothered her. They swarm. And there was a school of them guarding the underwater entrance. She knew because of Takwesha. In the field, they called her Clockwork.

"Smoque, can you read me?"

"Yeah, I'm still here. Getting septic shock from this damn swamp water and-" just then a giant thwak sent her flying. 

"Smoque?!"

She crashed into the water down river grateful her helmet kept her from getting too much of the filthy swamp water in her mouth and bashing her head on the shallow floor.

"Busy!"

She reached for her weapons, only to find both her guns gone.

"Son of a-"

THWAK!

This time she was being held underwater, which isn't something alligators normally do. Luckily panicking isn't something Smoque normally does. She reached into her boot and grabbed her knife. She stabbed the giant tail that held her down, wrapping herself around it, so the thing couldn't swim off and attack her again. 

When the tail rose out of the water, she was face to face with Bubba Joe. Big Mama's second in command, who happened to be a giant genetically altered alligator.

"Hey there, Bubba Joe. You wouldn't want to just tell me where the heiress is so I don't have to hurt you, would you?" 

He chuckled and grinned. He spoke in a thick deep gravelly Cajun accent. "De only one gettin' hurt 'round here is you." He then attempted to snap his jaws around her. At the very last second she let go and fell back into the water. When she came back up the gator was howling in pain, from having bit his own tail. 

"See, you say that..." she knew she shouldn't tease him but he's just so dumb, it's almost cute.

Or at least he would be if he wasn't trying eat her.

She turned and ran to the bank hoping to able to level the playing field a bit.

As she climbed out of the water and saw her TEC-9's lying near a moss covered tree. "Oh good. You flew off of me and onto dry land. Thanks guys."

"You know those guns can't talk."

"Yes, Clockwork, I know."

"What's going on?"

She grabbed the guns and fired at Bubba Joe as he lunged at her. He flew back and splashed into the river as several bullets pierced his soft underbelly. When he didn't come back out of the water, I knew he was up to something. He was down but he wasn't out. He'd heal sooner than she'd like and be at her heels again.

"Bubba Joe. That's what's going on. He tried to eat me. Again."

"Did you shoot him?"

"Of course I did."

"He's gonna be pissed."

"He usually is."

Bubba Joe was quieter and faster than someone of his size should be. Smoque kept her guns up looking quickly, but calmly in all directions. Her position was too out in the open for her liking, but there wasn't much to be done. Climbing the tree behind her could get her trapped and flying would get her zapped.

"Are you getting anything?"

"No but he is cold-blooded, so that's to be expected."

"Flying solo then am I?"

"I'm working on a way to track amphibians. Till then...you're the meta-soldier. Listen for him."

"I am not a meta anything. I'm a science project. Now, shush so I can do what you said and not get eaten."

Smoque focused on her hearing. Her own heart rate slowing, blocking out the digital noises of her equipment, listening for the heartbeat of her adversary. She heard his claws scratching into the earth as he prepared to tackle her from behind. She pivoted to the right, crouched down and sprung backwards, firing her weapons while airborne. Bubba Joe grunted as he blocked the bullets and crawled towards her fast a rattlesnake, bullets bouncing off his thick scales creating more of an annoyance then slowing him down. 

Smoque expertly dropped the empty clips from her weapons and slammed two fresh ones in from her utility belt as she turned to run.

"I knew I should have brought my swords." She thought, cursing her shortsightedness. But a moss covered cypress gave her an idea. She slowed her pace to let Bubba Joe think he was catching up, burst into a sprint, ran up the trunk, and somersaulted over him to land on his back. He reared in protest and proceeded to attempt to buck and shake her off. Which was fine by Smoque, she stuck a tiny but powerful explosive under his arm then let go. She pressed the detonator and he went flying back into the swamp.

"Clockwork, I love your bombs."

"Thank you. Is he done?"

"For now.”

“Good.”

Spirit Lake: The House Next Door pt.1

When my husband Zack decided to move us to Spirit Lake, I thought it was a horrible idea. What would a small town in central Illinois have to offer a newly married gay couple from New York?

Still, the place gave him a chance to live out his dream.

He wanted to open a bookstore.

You couldn’t open a bookstore in a big city. Bookstores were dead, replaced first by big box stores like Borders, and then when those died, the internet took over.

In a town like Spirit Lake he could live his dream.

The town was small, and thrived off of tourists looking to get away.

Nothing helped sitting on the beach more than a paperback, or a best seller.

Spirit Lake was Zack’s ideal.

When we got married I vowed for better or for worse, for richer or poorer.

Agreeing to the move was one way of living up to my vows.

So, here I am, Darren Hart-Willis, a new addition to a small town.