Phantasm: SurVIval
Author: Gigi Bannister; Reggie Bannister
Date: 2024-09-29 00:00:00+00:00
Description: Evil mortician, the Tall Man, his protégé', (the Lady in Lavender), and an enhanced minion, PhrankenGraver, continue to pursue the hero trio, Reggie, Mike, and Jody. Joined by friends, old and new, they choose to take the fight to their nemesis in an effort to SurVIve! Written by Gigi "Fast Elk" Bannister, contributed to by Reggie Bannister, and illustrations by Russell GreWolf Mauck: Phantasm SurVIval, is the sequel in book form to, Phantasm V: Ravager," and continues the adventure with the help of some very special phriends. It is the first in a series of books, "Phantasm Phan Phiction"(c) b
Publisher: Ya Doggie Press

PHANTASM:

Written by

Gigi “Fast Elk” Bannister

Co-Author

Reggie Bannister

Contributing Editor & Illustrator

Russell GreWolf Mauck

Forward by

Scott V. Pensa

Based on Phantasm I-V characters and storyline creations
of Don Coscarelli, Starway International, & Silver Sphere Corp with expressed permission.

Based on the Phantasm: SurVIval script by Gigi Bannister and Reggie Bannister ©2021

Production Magic Inc

Dba Ya Doggie Publishing

Special Publication ©2024

This book is a work of Phiction. The characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the authors’ imaginations and are not construed as real… in this dimension. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living, dead, historical, undead or otherworldly, is completely by coincidence.

Phantasm: SurVIval.

Copyright 2024. By Gigi “Fast Elk” Bannister

All Rights Reserved
gigifastelk@gmail.com

Artwork design: Gigi “Fast Elk” Bannister/ Russell GreWolf Mauck.

The author would like to acknowledge the following:

Wolfwood Studios

GreWolf Tactical Arms

Steampunk Creations

Chad Koehler and Sean Dunlap.

Jed Rowen – Phranken-Graver

Del and Sue Howison of Dark Delicacies.

“Women of Phantasm Documentary” (2023) Cast and Crew (Now on the YouTube “Women of Phantasm Channel.)

“Phantasm: Phranken-Graver” (2023) short Cast and Crew

Mark Phillips of Nightmares Unlimited.

Michael Baker of Baker Props.

From the Author, Gigi Bannister:

“I would like to express my dearest and deepest thanks to:

My beloved Reggie Bannister.

Russell GreWolf Mauck

Scott V. Pensa

Kristen Deem

Rudy Munos

The Phantasm Phamily,

And:

The Women of Phantasm:

Kate Coscarelli

Kathy Lester

Terrie Kalbus

Lynn Eastman Rossi

Mary Ellen Shaw

Samantha Phillips

Paula Irvine

Cindy Ambuehl

Gloria Lynne Henry

Sarah Scott Davis

Dawn Cody

Melanie A. Kaye

Heidi Marnhout

Chloe Kay

Cean Okada

Eternal Phantasmic Thanks to:

Don Coscarelli for unleashing his creation into the universe 45+ years ago. May we be blessed with many more years of creative entertainment from your gifted and witty repertoire.

No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (including space gates), electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, by cellphone, digital scanning, mental telepathy, or otherwise, without express written permission of the author and/or publisher.

Phantasm Phan Phiction (Vol 1)

First Edition: October 2024.

ISBN:  9798337531496

Phantasm: SurVIval is eternally dedicated to those who made this Phranchise possible: Phans.

“You can’t say Phantasm,
without saying ‘Phan.’” - Gigi Bannister

∞

4A&P

Forward

By Scott V. Pensa

From an early age, I remember being at my grandmother’s house and watching Phantasm on the little screen with my two uncles (two brothers who were mechanics).  Unbeknownst to my grandmother, she thought I was sleeping on the couch while my two uncles watched the movie but, I was secretly watching with them.  This film captured by immediate attention from the villain, the Tall Man, a sexy Lady in Lavender, and the interaction between Reggie, Mike, & Jody.  I remember watching the ending scene where you think it’s over and Mike returns to his room and shuts the mirrored door and the Tall Man is in the reflection and says that famous line “Boy!!!”  Then Mike is pulled through the mirror by one of those hooded dwarfs and the film ends right there.  As a kid watching, all I could ask is what happened to the kid Mike, is there another film to watch, I was hooked forever…a phan forever.

Years later I watched Phantasm II when it debuted on the big screen at my local multiplex, which so happened to be on my other grandmother’s birthday.   I found Phantasm II very captivating and that the film picked up after the ending of the first film, it was what I was waiting for all of these years.  When future films were released, the films continued with the same concept of beginning where the film ended from the previous films.   The story in this book continues from the ending of the fifth film and flows in the direction of how I could see a Phantasm VI film being made. This storyline is the one that I’ve been waiting for ever since the ending of the fifth film.

Reggie and Gigi Bannister, what better two alumni of the Phantasm franchise to continue the story of these beloved characters.   Of course, we all know the Ice Cream Man, Reggie Bannister, who has been in five Phantasm films and countless of other films.  Reggie’s wife, Gigi Bannister has been a Phantasm fan from the beginning.  Not only being a fan of the Phantasm films, Gigi has also worked on Phantasm IV and Phantasm V as the Special Effects Coordinator.  Gigi has been in the film industry for more than 40 years as a director, writer, actress, producer and manager.  Gigi has also written and directed the documentary Women of Phantasm. I’m glad to see that the two of them have collaborated together in creating a phantastic continuation of the Phantasm story.

I’ve known Reggie and Gigi Bannister for a couple of decades from attending horror conventions and seeing them at almost every Phantasm event or appearance. While meeting them and their fellow Phantasm alumni, I would always speak with them about Phantasm (of course) and what other projects they were working on.  The entire Phantasm alumni are a multi-talented group of people. When Reggie and Gigi mentioned that they were writing a continuation of the Phantasm series, I couldn’t wait to read their book.  As a lifelong Phantasm Phan, this is an honor that Reggie & Gigi would give me the opportunity to read their continued storyline from the Phantasm universe.

From reading the pages of Phantasm VI: Survival, I’ve been able to finally get some questions answered.  I know most of you like the mystery of Phantasm but, I really don’t want to give too many details of these chapters away.  The storyline continues in the apocalyptic universe where the fifth film ended, you will find out the origin story of the Lady in Lavender, further explanations of the entity we all know as the Tall Man, and what happened or happens to certain characters of this franchise.  This Phantasm story also introduces a number of new characters in the franchise.  When I read this book, the written dialogue of these characters let my imagination hear these characters voices spoken from these pages.

At the ending of this book, this is how the storyline that I hoped the Phantasm franchise would continue and begin for another book. You have to think of this book as another work of Phantasm fiction that will certainly entertain us fans (phans).

The Phantasm story is “Never Over!”

Chapter1:

The muffled buzzing sounds of a dirt bike break through the Dasht-e Lut desert morning, it grows louder as a young rider zip and scrambles his way through dunes, scorpions, and scarce vegetation in the simmering heat waves. The name refers to the Shahdad Kaluts (or pillars of Aad) and it is, literally, the hottest place on planet Earth where temperatures rise to between 150F (65.56C) and 170F (76.67C) before noon. The Lut desert in Persia eventually gives way to a small blip of Iranian ruin civilization named Keshit and an oasis where the rider jams through the tiny village in the middle of fucking nowhere, through ruins through ancient Kahlout towers, and jigging and jagging back and forth between the ruin walls made of Chineah (layers of dried mud). Trying to avoid what few people are in the nearly abandoned dust covered market area serving the tourist trade and expeditions. A driver in a makeshift rickshaw, made from a horse-drawn truck bed, clods along franticly attempting to get out of the way of the erratic tricked out dirt bike. The rider makes his way turning over abandoned carts and baskets along the path - dropping where they lay – spilling goods on the red sand.  Eventually, the rider clammers through the clutter of the marketplace, inhabited by the sounds and colors of tourists, hucksters and bargain hunters, located on the parameter of a village where he suddenly bursts into the massive desert landscape ahead.

The speeding bike hustles along in the blinding desert heat as ripples hover over the horizon giving mirages of buildings, villages, and oasis that were never there. The bike rider’s face, a young male, who is sweating profusely under a scarf in the heat. His eyes are stressed, frequently looking behind himself, then down at the bag with its twitching contents, and then to his six position again. The rider wears a scarf on his head and face, desert clothes, and worn desert combat boots. He keeps looking back over his shoulder - obviously feeling he is being followed by something or someone - and then down again at the saddlebag. His eyes are expressive and worried.

Something is moving around inside the frayed kaki canvas bag frantically trying to get out. Slight mechanical sounds come from inside the bag which can be heard over the sound of the bike.

Off in the distance, the young rider is being chased by a militia group in Up-Armored Humvees, Military Jeeps, and they are firing at him with assault weapons!  The biker makes some AMAZING moves and stunts “Indiana Jones” style to elude the sting and danger of bullets by creating a moving target, going over dunes, cars, jumping rocks… when he suddenly comes to a screeching stop atop a peak with an overlook of the endless desert valley below. He reaches into the other side of the saddle bag and produces a massive set of binoculars.  Through the LED lenses, sizing up the distance between his location and a small group of figures waiting in the shade of a huge boulder. The “boulder crew” share a canteen.

The apparent group leader of the “boulder crew” is listening to the chatter of his companions. As he does, he sees the glint of light from the biker’s binoculars.

“He’s here.” says the Group Leader. A gruff merc that hasn’t shaved or showered in a week at minimum. “All heads on swivel!”

The Leader looks through his own binoculars only to see that the young biker is being followed closely and is now under fire and THOSE GUYS look like they are trying to flee what appears to be a HABOOB - a MASSIVE sandstorm!

“HEADS UP! Incoming! On your 10!” Calls out the Group Leader.

The “Boulder Group” stops their chatter and - like the flip of a switch - goes into immediate battle mode looking in the direction of the Biker. Weapons at the ready and an EXPLOSION sounds rains sand, dirt and rocks below! The dirt bike suddenly LAUNCHES mid-air UP and over a sand dune landing HARD and knocking the rider airborne and off! He scrambles to get back onto the bike unharmed and undeterred. The Biker makes a bee line for the “Boulder Group” and is met with gunfire over his head from behind! Shots ricochet off his bike, rear bumper, and the saddle bags… Suddenly…

Another EXPLOSION and large laser beams from behind strike out! Once again, the Biker goes FLYING through the air and lands about 100 yards from the “Boulder Group” he was trying to reach, as flames and thick black smoke engulf everything in the area!  The bike is toast, smoldering and in flames. Luckily, he had the forethought to strap the Saddlebag across his back and shoulder.

The “Boulder Group” runs out after him to lend aid! Upon arrival, they remove his face wrappings. The young man - who closely resembles a Young Michael - is dying! He has a bad head wound and severe burns from the bike’s gas tank exploding.

As they arrived everything spiraled out of control! The militia is heading straight at them!

“O-h-h-h-h, sh-i-i-t, guys! We GOTTA GO! LOOK!” One of the “Boulder Group” mercs points in the direction of, not only the armed militia heading their way, but also the GIANT HABOOB which is becoming bigger by the minute engulfing everything in its path!

From behind the dune – emerging from within the Haboob – rises a GIANT SILVER SPHERE firing lasers at the group and accompanied by dozens of silver drone sentinels with blades drawn and drills buzzing!  The “Boulder Group” Leader is kneeling beside the young Bike Rider. One of the “Boulder Group” soldiers places a hand on the Leader’s shoulder…

“We gotta go, Boss. He’s gone and that shit storm ain’t gonna wait!” He takes a moment and then, looking around he asks, “Where…Where’s the package?”

The “Boulder Group” Leader gently covers the face of the young biker. He stands and takes a moment to offer respects with his hands in the heart chakra position of Anjali Mudra or Namaste. After a moment, he then crosses over to the destroyed bike - still smoldering - and reaches into the saddle bag. The “Boulder Group” Leader retrieves the contents - a black sphere - wraps it and places it in his own field satchel.

The “Boulder Group” Leader removes his own head scarf for a better look at the young man. It’s a grown MIKE! And the deceased young man is the spitting image of a young Mike as he was at 14 years of age! In Mike’s mind, he wondered if it was truly himself, having crossed over into this reality from the space gates, carrying his – their? – precious cargo.

One of the young Hindu mercenaries approaches, “Gotta GO, Boss! Outta time and burning daylight!”

Mike acknowledges the young Gunny. Before he leaves, Mike reaches into his satchel and pulls out a “sticky bomb” that resembles a silver sphere with blue ring light around its parameter.

“OK! Let’s ROLL!” Mike calls out!

Mike sets a timing device on the IED and places it beneath the smoldering dirt bike. He then crawls into the Humvee as it pulls away. The group HAULS ASS into the foothills away from the scene!

Mike looks at this watch…

“Shield your eyes and grab your cargo, boys!” Mike chimes.

A HUGE THERMAL explosion happens behind them with BLINDING blue-white light, an EMP percussion cloud of dust that rushes across the desert floor, dispelling the Haboob! It encompasses the Militia that was following and takes out the HUGE SENTINEL causing it to Explode and then Implode in a massive rolling heat cloud that rolls out and just as suddenly RUSHES back in like a giant vacuum cleaner! The “Boulder Group” of mercs only just make it to a crevasse in the boulder mountains.  Mike exits the Humvee and retrieves the black sphere from its secreted spot.

“Hey, brother.” Mike greets the sphere.

Mike tosses the black charred and banged up sphere onto the sandy ground in the cool darkened cave and then reaches back into his satchel for a flask. The scorched black metal sphere morphs into a male human being.  It’s Mike’s brother, Jody. Some years ago, the evil Tall Man had killed Mike and Jody’s parents, decimated most of their town, stole bodies of all the dead and took them through a space/time portal called the “Space Gates” that work on some sort of harmonics.  After the flying sentinels drill out a body’s brain, The Tall Man shrinks their dead shell of a body down and turns them into these minions Mike refers to as “Short, Brown, and Low to the Ground” to do the alien mortician’s bidding.  At one point, the Tall Man had put one of those gold ball things in MIKE’S head, but he somehow managed to get it out and still keep his brains and sanity intact.  Jody… evolved.  Everybody’s encounter with the Tall Man is different and with a different outcome.  When the Tall Man came for Jody, Mike – and their best friend and resident Veteran bad ass, Reggie – thought Jody was a goner.  But Jody was able to manipulate the sphere so that now he could change to and from the black orb at will!  It has proven to be a very useful skill set!

“That was close… You okay, brother?” Mike takes a swig of the flask and winces while checking out Jody sideways.

“Never better.” Jody replies, dusting himself off.

Mike takes another hit from the flask, pours a shot into two beat up metal coffee mugs and fills them with hot strong coffee. Mike hands Jody the coffee from the wood fire inside the cave where the group has taken refuge.

Grateful for the warmth, Mike continues to drink his coffee. “Always creeps me out when you do that voodoo that you do with the whole morphing from Jody-sphere to Brother-Jody and back.”

“Not a walk in the park for me either, little brother.” Says Jody as he flashes his smile. “Cramps my style, don’t ya know.”

Chapter 2

The crackle and crunch of boots on the snow makes a louder than normal echo in the silence of the forest.  A person could easily be convinced they are the sole survivor in this world on days like this.  The lone walker stops momentarily to scan his surroundings and takes in some fluid from a flask. He squints through snow goggles, scanning the treetops for birds.  Birds are a great early warning signal when something is amiss. But not today. Today, the sun shines brightly on the new snow and the crisp air smells of fresh cedar pines and sequoias.  The snow fall from the night before was so light and fluffy, it’s up to the top of the man’s artic boots. He takes a step, and his boot goes down two feet! He almost falls but manages to catch himself with his hand carved walking stick. It has an eagle, a buffalo and an elk engraved into the fine manzanita wood with a deep varnish. Near the crown, an emblem for the Army Communications Division, and the words, Sp4-Vietnam 1963-1965. Pulling his booted foot back out, he looks at where he had stepped before.  The glimmering Winter sun shone into his footprint in the deep snow which cast azure blue and as pure as a glacier. He smiled to himself for just a moment at the beauty and then continued on his way.

The solitary male figure with a heavy cold weather parka, boots and gear pack eventually made his way to a remote bunker.  As he arrives at the reinforced Cold War exterior door to the Quonset hut buried into the mountain side, he stomps his boots to remove the wet mud and snow. Knowing he has been seen on the security monitors, he gives a kind of “peace sign” to those inside. The exterior door opens, and he enters the secured bunker, taking several moments to allow his eyes to adjust while removing his goggles.

The man lowers the hood on his parka and then removes his skull cap and gloves. He’s balding, with long grey hair, and a face worn with time and loss, sporting a full salt and pepper beard.  It’s Reggie, the intrepid ice cream man turned survivalist.

As his eyes begin to adjust from the brightness outside, Reggie takes mental stock, “It seems like a nightmare… one from which we can never awaken” He thinks to himself. “So many deaths, over so many years… I’m tired and there’s no end in sight.” He rubs the feeling back into his hands, and then his face.

“What happened to the world?!?” thought Reggie.  “I was just an ice cream man in any town America… doing what I did… in similar times. Serve ice cream to folks from my store and drive the company truck through the neighborhood; play music with my best friend, Jody (both of us finally safely back home from ‘Nam), and Jody’s little brother, Mike. Drinking brews and cruisin’ for hot babes. I watched as Mike became a man and then my best friend. In the montage of my mind, I see our families and friends and even acquaintances we hoped to be friends, all dying because of this damned Tall Man and his evil flying menaces. Just like he took my wife and child years ago! What he did with them I can’t fathom.”

“There was that Woman in the bar with Jody, and then the cemetery… boy she turned out to be a real bitch! She killed Tommy, then she TRIED to kill ME! Tall Man turned all that gorgeous pulchritude into some sort of evil hag to do his bidding! That’s just kind of how it is now. Can’t get close to a gal without the Tall Man taking them. Life was good. Then, shit hit the fan in the world, and it got real, really fast.” Reggie allowed his mind to wander as he looked around the darkened bunker and began to warm up. Happy to be warm and to see his friends – well, ‘family,’ really.

“We chased that mother f–- that TALL MAN all over the place and all we found was death and destruction in his wake. I’ve been killed so many times only to find… it was just a dream… or just some fucked up multidimensional game of his.  At least, you keep hoping, ‘It’s just a dream.’ Or a Nightmare.

Reggie reflected for a moment on the depth of depression he had felt for so long and how it has affected his life.  “What life? You can’t call what we live a ‘life’ anymore. It’s an existence. From one moment of extreme loss to the other. I can’t remember the last joyful or happy time I’ve had.” The flash of a memory from the distant past suddenly came forth.  One of Reggie, Mike and Jody on the hood of the Cuda on a cliff at sunset drinking Dos Equis and playing music.  “Yeah… that was a great time. One of the few that someone didn’t die in the next moment.”  Then he remembered once when Mike was smaller, around 14 years old, at Reggie’s ice cream parlor.  “Mike was always pulling pranks on us, so Jody and I got the better of him and got Mike drunk for the first time that night!! Then we had an ice cream food fight after closing time.”  Reggie smiled to himself at the memories. Brief as they are.

Reggie sees his face as a reflection in a bar mirror just inside the outer door. The entryway was dark and dank, and lit only by an antiquated exit sign and a dim red bulb that kept blinking and buzzing.  He notes the image of his weathered and aged face, then rubs the scruffy, unkempt full beard. “Hmmm…Gotta fix that.” He mutters.  Reggie shakes his head, takes a deep breath, and turns to walk into the inner bunker removing his cold weather parka. As he wrangled the massive inner blast door opened, Reggie could feel the warmth of the ancient HVAC turbines rising from below. A staleness lingered in the air and the odor of WD40, gun oil, and ozone wafted in the draft which rushed out as he opened the door.

The bright arc of a welding torch sparks to life and adjusts down to a glow as gloved hands polish and dry fire a newly minted weapon. A massive instrument that resembles a cross between the 4-barrel shotgun and Sentinel Arms Striker-12 capable of spitting out 12-gauge shells from a high-capacity magazine or belt. The heavily gloved hands forge a weapon in fire, bending and branding to perfection.

The smell of solder and forged metal is in the air as the gunsmith gives birth to a NEW kind of weapon. On the work bench lay Reggie’s infamous 4-Barrel Shotgun, a machete, a side arm, some 12-gauge shotgun shells, and some different colored sentinel spheres in various stages of assembly - or disassembly. A closed guitar case stands in the corner and a guitar sits on its stand with some strings, picks, and a tuning fork on the work bench (several in fact), boxes and Bottles of Dos Equis beer are everywhere as well as an open bottle of Black Label 12-year-old Scotch and a half drank glass. On the working anvil, the gloved hand expertly applies bond and puts the ignited welding torch to the base metal. It’s obviously a monster of a weapon.

“That Tall Man mortician came from some other dimension accessed through these… far-out chromed space gates and from some… weird-ass Red Planet where it’s always hot as hell. The Tall Man HATES the cold. That’s our secret weapon! That’s why we’re here…in this forgotten frozen piss-hole in the wall.”  Reggie remembers his encounters with the Red Planet and how intensely scorching it was. “Hotter than Death Valley.” He thought.  His body still bears battle scars from the last time he came back through the space gate on the Red Planet, which was ages ago, even though it seemed like only a few moments. Reggie looks down at the scars on his hands as he removes the heavy artic gloves.  “They get stiff in the cold now.”  My little friend, Chunk, had fared even worse when he took out one version of the Tall Man.  Now Chunk is covered head to toe with burn scars. He would have died if Rocky hadn’t reached through the dimensional portal after him and pulled him out before he fried like a tater tot! They’ve been thick as thieves ever since.”

“We battled that Tall Man in every conceivable fucking way, and he keeps coming back. Keeps reincarnating.  Keeps… killing - destroying town after town…collecting bodies of the newly dead and shrinking them into these… DWARVES or something … that can pass through his dimensional portal.” Reggie recalls.  “But, WHY? What does he DO with them?” he wonders.

“He took… everything! My family…my home. Jody became the essence of himself as  some sort of black ball thing that shapeshifts between the sphere and Jody. Then, Mike had one of those Gold Fuckers stuck in his head for God knows how long… and the Tall Man took it back… or DID he? I mean, there’s the scar on the right side of Mike’s head, right? Hard to tell any more. And… every… single… person I’ve ever cared about becomes one of those damned banshee devils of the Tall Man… all, that is, except these guys.”  Reggie takes stock of his crew in the bunker.

Hands remove welding gloves that protected them at the work bench, and it’s … ROCKY! She presents Chunk with the fruits of her design - a BAD-ASS 12-gauge Gatling monster! On the side, engraved: “The Beast!” It’s almost as tall as Chunk!

“I’ll take that, Squirt.” Reggie says, as he steps in, reaching for “The Beast” from Chunk and loads the mag with 12-gauge shells.

Chunk gives Reggie a “fuck you” look and reluctantly hands Reggie the weapon. The trio place ear protectors on as Reggie takes aim down the indoor firing range.

“Think you can handle that, Baldy?” Chunk retorts with a smirk.

“You’re fucking kidding, right?” chuckles Reggie. “Wanna be the practice target, Boy Wonder?”

At the end of the bunker from where they were, Rocky placed mannequins dressed as Gravers in grey work jumpsuits and gas masks for targets.  Reggie takes aim, plants his feet firm, and sets his site.

“… and DON’T call me ‘Baldy!’ Squirt.” BLAM!!!

Reggie lets fire in a HORRENDOUS LOUD ECHOUS SOUND of gunfire as it shatters the emptiness of their surroundings. The percussion nearly knocks Reggie off his feet and Rocky and Chunk duck for cover!

“Holy SHIT!!!” Chunk screams as he hides behind the bodacious booty of Rocky!

“WOAH, Reg! You trying to blow the top off the whole damned place?!?!” Rocky calls out.  Rocky suddenly notices Chunk holding onto her right hip and turns. Looking down she forcefully displaces his tiny, scarred hands from her ass. “Are you DONE? I’m NOT your teddy bear!”

“No,” says Chunk.  “But you COULD be!” He smiles with a toothy grin. Rocky pushes his head back and he falls on his butt. “HEY!” Reggie walks over and gives him a hand up. “NO THANKS, Old Man.”

“Suit yourself.” Reggie moves on leaving Chunk to his own demise.

Looking down range to the end of the bunker, it was obvious that four of the five mannequins were smoking and obliterated. A trail of huge 12-gauge pellet holes run up the wall from behind where the mannequins stood all the way up to the ceiling. Dust was still settling and debris raining down as the trio coughed from the clouded air.

“Holy SHIT!” coughed Chunk.

“You said that already, dude.” Said Reggie. “CLEAR!” as he checks the breech, leaving the weapon open and carefully laid the smoldering weapon on the work bench.

“Well? What do ya think?!?!” asked Rocky, excitedly.  “Is that kick ass or what?!?!”  She is as giddy as a schoolgirl at 5th grade show and tell.

Reggie takes a sip from the flask on the bench, coughs, pauses, “Yup… (cough) it‘1l do.”  And sports a big grin like a grandpa with a new baby.

Reggie turns back to further examine the weapon as Rocky yammers off the techno geek speak about the PSI, Rounds per minute, capacity, range, and… “A maximum EKR of 4-6-”

Reggie Interrupts, “EKR? What the hell is EKR?”

“Estimated Kill Range… EKR… I made that up myself. replies Rocky. “Cool huh?”

Chunk and Reggie react to each other and shrug, as if to say, “I guess.” much to Rocky’s dismay.

“Well, FUCK YOU both.” Replied Rocky.  “That is the baddest-ass gun on this God Forsaken fucking planet, guys.” Rocky was so tired of not getting the recognition of which she was so deserving. She was valedictorian in her class at Annapolis earning a master’s degree in Weapons Engineering.

Out of nowhere, a familiar voice could be heard.

“Weapon… not gun.” It was Mike coming in off the road with his crew.

The trio spun around – weapons drawn - facing the door in the direction of the voice. In the back light, stood another shadowed male figure with a head scarf and duster, loaded to the teeth with grenades, knives, and other weapons of war.

Chunk chimed out, “Hey, Mike! You were gone so long we thought you were dead or something!” Rocky jabbed Chunk on the shoulder.

“HEY!!! What’d I say?!?!” Getting the point, Chunk pauses. “Oh… yeah… sorry. No offense.”

Michael comes into the room approaching the trio. Behind him are several mercenary dressed commandos, plus Jody, and another female… it’s Jane, back from the dead.

“None taken.” Mike Replies. “But it’s a weapon…not a gun.”

Chunk looks up at Reggie questioning.

“It’s a military thing.” Says Reggie.  “This is my weapon,” (gestures with the weapon) “This is my gun—(Grabs his crotch.

“This is for pleasure, and this is for fun…” Jane chimes in. “Speaking of fun, what the HECK have you GOT there, Reg? We heard that bad boy go off all the way outside!”

“It’s a little gift from the Rockster.” Says Reggie.

Rocky shoots a disapproving glance to the bastardizing of her name.

“The Beast!” Rocky says, “I call it ‘The Beast!’”

“Cool… Very cool.” Says Jane admiring the Four-Barrel Gatlin design. “I’m impressed!”

Mike removed his scarf revealing a scar on the right side of his head where the Tall Man’s Gold ball was previously removed.

“How effective is it?” asked Mike.

“Bigger doesn’t always mean better.” Retorts Jody as he dropped his gear and grabbed a Dos Equis from the work bench.

Chunk pauses a moment, doing a double take at Mike’s scar, then, “Oh, uh, it’s got an EKR of 4-6. Uh, EKR that means–”

“Estimated Kill Range.” Chimed Jody, Rocky, Mike, Reggie and Jane simultaneously.

Mike looked over at Chunk, who was perched up on the workbench, “Yeah, Rocky told us she made that up.”

Chapter3

On the cold marble floor, the Lady In Lavender lay face down in a pool of sticky, slimy, yellow blood. A little worse for wear, but no evidence of the monster that resides within. The ancient stone of the mausoleum floor felt ice cold against her face as she lay prone trying to assess what had happened.

“Was it… a moment ago? A month?” she wondered. “How long have I been laying in this desolate tomb of the dead?”

Flashes intruded her mind as it grasped back to another time. A week? A month? Time seemed lost and irrelevant moving forward and backward, and in different momentums. First rapid and then slow motion.  None of it made any sense.  Did she… die? Was she ever alive? The Lady In Lavender’s mind overwhelmed her with flashing memories.

FLASH! She’s at a rehearsal of a theatrical play!

“Goodbye, Kat!” calls the director.

“Goodbye, Paul.  See you tomorrow night for tech rehearsals.” She replies. “Kat.” Lady in Lavender thinks to herself.  Is that my name? WAS that my name?

It’s late, she’s walking alone to her car. Her stiletto heels clicking and clacking rhythmically on the asphalt parking lot. She hums a familiar tune under her breath as she looks for her car keys.

“What was that song?” She thought. “Ravager? No. Something else. Ahhh… Lady In Lavender!” just as she reaches her car under the singular parking lot light.  Placing the key in the door, it sticks and she’s trying to get the key back out when she feels someone is watching!

“Who’s there?” She turns and sees nothing but black emptiness – save for a black cat that scampers across the damp pavement in search of a meal and warmth. She returns to her task and at last the door comes open. “FINALLY!” Relieved, she tosses her purse into the passenger seat and her keys drop on the ground.

“Shit!” She bends over to retrieve them and stands, adjusting her bounteous breasts in her low-cut V-neck dress.  Looking up, in front of her stands an old man, very tall. The medicinal smell of formaldehyde lingered like a cheap cologne.  He was dressed in a black suit with a white shirt, black tie and red jeweled tie pin which glowed in the light of the parking lamp.

“Can I help you, buddy?” The Tall Man suddenly reaches out and grabs Kat by her throat, lifting her off the ground and throttling her until she stops breathing. Then, blackness.

FLASH!  Kat awakens on the embalming table. The Tall Man stands over her stone faced and intense.

“Ahh, you awaken, young lady.” The Tall Man’s voice was deep, gravely, and ominous.  “Welcome to your new life.”

“New life?!?! Am I dead?’ she asks as she strains to look around the room.  It should feel colder than it does. She’s only wearing the thin lavender dress she had from before and this place looks like— “Is this a MORGUE!” Kat’s voice cracks at the last word.  The Tall Man chuckles slightly.

“Why yes, it is, my good woman.” His eyes were dark and empty. “And dead… is relative. You are now in my employ and under my control. You will assist me in my tasks at hand.”

“Tasks? What tasks? Why are you doing this to me?” Kat’s mind was reeling. What the HELL had she gotten herself into? She strained to remember if she had been drugged or if she had been drinking. But, no, she didn’t remember any of that.

“The tasks are many, my dear, and I am not really ‘doing’ anything to you. I am merely facilitating an inevitable outcome.” The old man took his pale hand and adjusted the blond tress from Kat’s face.  “You think that I have taken life from this vessel you call a body. In fact, you have lived many lives and had many forms and many manifestations.  You are as infinite as the universe.” Removing his hand, he began to work at an embalming table next to Kat’s.  “I… come from another place. Another dimension.  One where time has no meaning or limits.”

“Why are you here, then?” Kat thought, if she could only keep him talking, maybe she could distract him long enough to get loose.

“Why, to harvest the newly dead and take their vessels to my own dimension.” Turning, the Tall Man replies, “That’s where you come in.”

“What can I do? Are you going to ‘harvest’ me as well?” Strangely, Lady in Lavender felt no danger from this odd duck.

“No, my dear. All I need you to do is that which comes…” The Tall Man runs his hand along the curves of her body but never touching. “…naturally.” BLACKNESS.

FLASH!

A memory of a bar and a man comes to Kat. A young, handsome man with a beard named Tommy. Then, another, of having sex in the cemetery across the street. Just as he’s about to reach his climax she remembers producing a dagger and dispatching his unsuspecting soul.  (Kat cringes.) Then, a white room… hundreds and hundreds of shrunken bodies in black barrels ready for transport through a silver gated portal. Glimpses of images over millennia of countless civilizations and millions of lives lived.

BLACK!

As the Lady In Lavender’s thoughts returned, there was just a moment more of mental contemplation to determine what damage had been done to her vessel.  Slowly, habitually, her forefinger with a long lavender nail begins to twitch and tap-tap-tap on the floor as she collects herself and she holds her torso up. Slowly, the yellow blood around her began to form a silver mercurial liquid which began to retreat into its host. She begins to restore and regenerate back into the sexy ass creature she was before…

“Before… what?” she thinks.

She is dazed and confused at first. She stands. Drawing herself up to a full busty height. Blond strands of matted wet hair fall over her eyes.  Memories begin to return to the forefront of her thoughts again.  The chase of the Ice Cream Man down the mausoleum halls.  She had Reggie within her reach! FINALLY, the Tall Man would be RID of that four-barrel menace!

Another memory! A new presence she had never realized before! It felt omnipotent and ncient! Ever since she melded with the Tall Man in the hospital not long ago! She was no longer his mere minion – she was now a FORCE! The melding had unleashed something darker than she had ever felt before. A dynamism available to her at will to transform her into a being to be reckoned with! A BANSHEE! An EXTENSION of the Tall Man!

The last thought Lady In Lavender had was of becoming the banshee and going after that damned Ice Cream Man once and for all.  She had the advantage and was face to face with him as she reached out with her long claws, emitting an energy which LAUNCHED Reggie across the mausoleum and slamming his puny meat sack into the marble wall. Then he recovered and attacked again! Grabbing up and using that Suppressed Mac-10 with a Laser!

“Man, that little fucker won’t STOP!” she recalled.

Again, the banshee gained advantage by moving forward and going face to face!  She was about to take his life force when – BLAM!!!

“Ahhh, now I remember!!!” Lady In Lavender realized. “HE PUT A HOLE RIGHT BETWEEN MY FUCKING EYES!”

She reaches up to inspect the damage of a face now nearly restored to its original beauty. Turning, she checks her reflection in the smooth wall.  She reaches up to her disheveled long blond hair and observes the nearly disappeared  bullet hole in her otherwise flawless forehead.

“Ack! What a mess!” she remarks as she rearranges and smooths her now perfect quaff.  “Well, we’re not done with HIM.”

The empty marble halls eco with her evil laugh low and wicked.  It sounded like almost a growl.

“We’re just getting started!” She smooths the lavender dress of its wrinkles, running her manicured hands along her perfectly curved body and she smiles a crooked devilish smile.  Casually, she looks around…

“Now, where the hell are my shoes?!?!”

No sooner than she spoke, her vessel began to manifest perfect lavender Jimmy Choo stiletto pumps to her feet.

“Hmmm.” She purrs to herself. “I could get used to this.”

The Lady In Lavender cat walks down the desolate mausoleum halls and the only sound is that of the “CLICK-CLACK, CLICK-CLACK, CLICK-CLACK” of her stiletto heels on the marble tiles.

Chapter 4:

In the bunker, Reggie is reloading the 12-gauge magazine and Chunk inspects Rocky’s workmanship while she explains what each thing does. Reggie handles “The Beast” like he was slipping on a favorite pair of old shoes.

“Hey, guys… and… ladies…” says Mike. “We have a few other ‘surprises’ …if you’d care to join us outside?” Mike motions towards the blast doors.

“Better grab a coat… it’s bloody cold at there.” Seconds Jody.

The team looks at each other, shrugs and moves to join Mike, Jody and others. Outside the bunker, the group has now gathered. Reggie buttons up his old green winter military issue parka over his favorite plaid shirt and the others have assorted coats, dusters, and cold weather gear.  Mike walks over to a school bus modified into a military personnel transport.  Nearby is the Hemi Cuda up armored into a battle vehicle and numerous other modified vehicles looking like a caravan from some ‘Mad Max meets Walking Dead’ movie.

Mike takes the lead as he walks the group out to the parking area.

“Reg… everybody… let me introduce the newest recruits.”

The doors of the yellow school bus on steroids swing open and out step several rag-tag mercenary males and females ranging from 18 to 60 years. They put on their coats as they exit and adjust their gear. Many have conventional weapons, some have specialty weapons such as shoulder “Anti-Tank Weapons” and RPGs [rocket propelled grenades], and still others have improvised weapons from things they found on the road.

“Looks pretty green to me.” Says, Chunk as he pretends to be interested in one of his burn scars.

“We’ll take all we can get.” Reggie continues to put on his skull cap and gloves.

Jody joins the group. “Each of these fine folks have had similar experiences from Mexico to Canada and elsewhere.”

“Don’t let their appearances fool you.” Says Mike. “All I did was put up fliers in places we’ve been and posted to the low-tech sites and… well this is just a fraction of the group.” He gestures towards the troops. “Others are gathering supplies and still others stayed behind to defend and be lookouts. THIS…” Mike slowly walks along the group with diverse faces of men and women, boys and girls, military and paramilitary, and the ordinary.

“THIS,” Mike continues, “is the ADVANCED RED team. They’ve seen the most action and have the best field experience.”

The group lines up two abreast next to the modified bus.  Emblazoned on the front fender in red, is the name, “Ravager.” Reggie and Rocky walk along as Mike talks.  Reggie stops in front of an Asian man dressed in desert camo pants, a black muscle shirt, and leather bomber jacket with a faux fur collar. He carries nun-chucks, a Katana sword, ropes, cannisters of gas, and a black canvas bag with more weapons.

“Hey, Rockst– ROCKY,” Reggie remembered the tongue lashing he received the last time he called her that. “… this one’s right up your alley.” (chuckles)

“Very funny, Vanilla man.” Rocky quips as she eyes the young Asian man before her. Noting each of the weapons and carriage of his person.

“Hey, momma. What’s up? Name’s George.” His eyes were nearly bulging with admiration. Among other body parts.

“HEY! She’s mine, Tofu breath. Hands off!” It didn’t take Chunk long to notice another man eying his Lady.

“Oh, my bad, little man.” Replied George.  He turns to Rocky, “I just think a Girl’s gotta a right to a mind of her own. Just sayin’!”

“Who you callin,’‘GIRL?!?!’” says, Rocky.  “I’m ALLLLL WOMAN up in here.”  She shoots George a hot smile and he reciprocates with a respectful bow.

The group moves on and introduces each of the remaining members. One woman (Mary McDonnell - type) is perhaps closer to Reggie’s age but still incredibly fit. He pauses…

“Where you from, miss? Uh… ma’am… whatever. What’s your story?”  Reggie hadn’t stumbled over sentences for a gal in ages. “Why bother? They just become fodder for the Tall Man.” He thought.

“Name’s Helen. Tall man came to my rez home in Wyoming. Lots of people went missing. Government said it was a plague. They lied. We died. Now I’m here. Nuf said.”  Helen was sharp as a tack and Reggie was noticing. She was strong, independent and looked like she could handle herself pretty darned good.

“Ah… woman of few words. Nice.” Replied Reggie.

Rocky shoots Reggie a disapproving look then reaches out and shakes Helen’s hand.

“Welcome to… well, whatever THIS is.”

Reggie has seen enough and he’s ready to get back on the road.

Mike was restless and almost to himself he says, “Alright so much for this happy horse shit.” He takes a beat and starts walking and talking heading for the ‘Ravager’ bus.  “Enough with the Kumbaya. We need to get on the road for the recon. The balls make sweeps just before sundown and we don’t want to be caught flatfooted.”

Reggie looks around at the various vehicles.

“I see the bus - oh, sorry - “Ravager” and the Battle Cuda…” Reggie scans the vehicles parked and the drivers revving up their rides. “What?!?! I gotta ride shotgun again?”

“Nah, Reg.” replies Mike.  He turns to his old pal and smiles wide. “We got you covered right over here.”

Reggie and Mike walk cautiously around the ‘Ravager,’ and with a gesture of Mike’s hand, the others stand aside in a slow reveal of the ICE CREAM TRUCK  with its tires, doors, lights, all up armored and tricked out in full battle gear!

“Holy CRAP!” cries Reggie apprehensively taking in the changes, “ What’d you do to my TRUCK, man?!?!

“What’s the matter? Don’t like the modern up-armor?”  asks Helen wryly. Reggie looks back at Helen and smiles.

“Oh, so I have YOU to thank for this?” Reggie was feeling the heat of a connection between them.

“Well… I did a few… necessary modifications”  Helen leans over to lift the hood.  “ Let me show you…” As Helen leans over, Reggie couldn’t help but get a clean shot of perfect cleavage with a medicine bag nestled cozily between them.

“ Hey, I’m liking this already!” he smiles like a Coyote.

Helen moves around and proceeds to demonstrate to Reggie about the bullet proof glass, interior capabilities, satellite phone, ham radio, sentinel ball deterrents, and a dashboard tricked out like some Steampunk Batmobile with built in rocket launchers.

“And in the back,” she continued, “There’s a weapons cache.”

“So… what ARE you?” Reggie chimes, “ Some sort of Mopar Techno Genius or something?”

“No…well, sort of.”  Helen takes a moment and pauses.  “George and I grew up in the same military town of about 15,000 people. Went to the same high school near the rez. We went to war. When we came back from the National Guard on leave, everybody was either dead, dying or just… GONE.”

“The government tried to tell us it was a plague.”    George added. “Some sort of worldwide pandemic virus or some such crap.”

“When we tried to report in…” continued Helen, “Our unit was devastated. Gone. Like everyone else.

“Ah, weekend warriors. Great.” Retorted Reggie.  He’d had enough of those yahoos when he was in Vietnam.  Couldn’t find their butts with both hands if you gave them a compass and a map. Reggie opens the back door of the modified reinforced Ice Cream truck. Inside there is a combination of technological mother boards with blinking lights, cold weather temperature gauges, and… best of all… weapons. LOTS of weapons. Neatly organized.

“George and I got to see some of the action as we were vacating the A.O.—” says Helen.

“That’s military for Area of Operation.” Replies George.

“No shit. Been there. Done that…” Introspectively, Reggie was thinking, “Guess we’re STILL doing it.”

George reaches in and picks something up. He tosses it over to Reggie who almost drops it.

“Learned a few things though.” George tosses to Reggie. “Think fast!”

Reggie nearly has a conniption fit as he realizes it’s a grenade of some sort.

“What the FUCK?!?!”  Reggie felt like he had lost about two more years off his life just then.  Suddenly, he was back in tat fucking hooch with the Vietcong and whatever the fuck that FrakenGraver thing was.  “SHIT! Talk about a flashback!”

Reggie was trapped back in his memories of being back in the Vietnam war.

“My first encounter with these fucking flying sushi balls was when I was in `Nam as a Communications Specialist and Radio Operator with the Army in the 4th of the 6th Automatic Weapons Specialists. I was positioned high on a hill in a hooch with all this equipment relaying the commands forward.  They positioned us in the middle of nowhere between Twin 40’s and Quad 50’s, and the 15” guns. Hell, that’s why I’m half deaf these days!”

“One day, I was in my hooch listening to the World Series replay on American Forces Vietnam Network (AFVN), and tuning my guitar, when there was a sudden noise outside that didn’t sound familiar! I went to my door only to find everyone running around like chickens with their heads cut off!

“What’s going on!” I asked someone!

A wash woman turned and pointed at something up in the sky above my hooch! I came out and turned! There was a GIANT fucking silver metal ball that came out of NOWHERE , just hovering up there, and millions of smaller ones with various blades, drills, saws, lasers, and lights that were swarming around it like it’s damned babies! The Giant Ball stopped just over my Com Shack and started a low droning sound which very quickly became a loud HUMMING! It kept increasing until it was SO loud it EXPLODED my COM SHACK! Flames and smoke and metal shards when FLYING everywhere!

I went HAULING ASS Outta that place! I had NO IDEA where I was going, what these fucking things WHERE, or why they were HERE! I knew one thing for DAMNED sure… they weren’t Vietcong! Why? Because they were running away from these things and getting sliced and diced like fries just like the rest of us!

Finally, one guy and I made out for a hooch that was built into the side of the hill we were on and slid into a small opening JUST as some of those small flying balls went cruising by!  It looked like this place was used for storing supplies like food and such.  Normally, this guy and I would be at each other’s throats since we were on opposite sides of this crappy ass war. That didn’t matter any more than a hill of beans at this moment in time.  We waited there in the dark, afraid to breath or speak.  Not that we could even understand each other if we did.  I didn’t even have a shirt on and it was wet and starting to get chilly in that space we were holed up in.  “Charlie” gave me his Hawaiian shirt off his back.  I motioned, “No, no it’s ok.” At first. But he insisted. Finally, I remembered, I had a guitar pick in my pocket, so we traded.  Charlie liked that.

“Reggie.” I patted my chest. “Reggie.”

“Charlie.” He patted his.

“No, really. Reggie.” I patted my chest again. He tossed me a photo of him, his wife, and daughter. He motioned to turn it over. On the back, it read:

“Charlie. Nina. Tina.” Charlie smiled a toothy smile back and raised his eyebrows.

“Nice! Beautiful like angel! Đẹp nhự thiện thằn!” and I bowed slightly, handing the photo back to him.  I pulled out  photo of my family, paused a moment, and handed it to him.  Charlie smiled and nodded his head approvingly handing it back.

We heard a sudden noise in a crevasse at the back of the cave! We BOTH suddenly FROZE. With only our eyes, we searched trying to find what it was that made the sound! Charlie shook his head slightly. I turned my head for a better look and I, too, shook my head indicating I couldn’t see anything. THEN we heard it AGAIN!  Charlie reached down, slowly, and grabbed some wet mud from the cave floor.  He spread it on for camouflage on his face, bare arms, legs and on the dingy white wife beater he was wearing.  I did the same with my face and arms. Then we both hunkered down and slowed our breathing to as minimal as possible to become invisible. When, IT came!  It was MASSIVE!

“That giant damned thing was hideous and unstoppable!” thought Reggie. It must have been nearly 7 feet tall, wore a jumpsuit like the usual Gravers, but this one was different. For one, it SMELLED. You just don’t forget the smell of decomposition. Once you’ve smelled it you always remember. No wonder, that thing was hodgepodged together from other dead bodies like some Frankenstein’s Monster from an old horror film with a piece of his scalp missing and a gold sphere showing through from inside! He acted different, too, he SPOKE! We could hear him speak and giving orders to other gravers and dwarves. “Boy, that’ll put a crimp in your skivvies!” Reggie remembered. Charlie and Reggie couldn’t say much in each other’s language. Yet, they understood exactly what needed to be done. Charlie tossed Reg a grenade and showed he had one of his own. He pointed up to the opening of the “hooch-cave,” and gave each other a “thumbs up” sign before they began to move up the rickety bamboo ladder in silence.  Just as Reggie got to the top, his new companion slipped and nearly fell! Rocks began to trickle down!

The FrankenGraver emerged from the darkness of the back of his cave with a SNARL! Seems he can’t see well in the dark, but he has other senses! “Something to take note of for future encounters.” Thought Reggie. The hideous beast reached the opening where sunlight strewn down on his face causing Reggie’s companion to let out an uncontrolled scream! FrankenGraver began to climb and grab for Charlie’s foot! Reggie pulled HARD and Charlie was able to release his foot and give up his old, worn flipflop in the process.

The great monster’s face was even more hideous in the light! Details of the torture he must have endured as the human (humans?) he once was clearly evident in the scars and wounds of the mattress-stitched face. Reggie and Charlie fell back and simultaneously pulled the pins on the grenades and tossed them down the hole!  “RUUUN!” (Reggie) “CHĄY!” (Charlie) as both complied to save their lives! BLAM!!!! Trees,  flame, smoke, dirt, rocks and chunks of body parts (old and new) went flying up and then rained down on the two!  Moments later, they began to recover and realized they were safe from one danger but faced others!  Shaking their heads from MASSIVE tinnitus resulting from the percussion, they both rose and dusted themselves off as they surveyed their surroundings.  It was quiet for the moment.  Shaking hands, Charlie went up one trail and Reggie up another towards his unit. They never saw each other again.

“Those damned balls spread in days!” thought Reggie. “From Dang Var up at the DMZ, through the middle of the country down to Hanoi, Da Nang, past Ho Chi Minh, to Soe Trang and then they spread outward towards the ocean and inland towards Cambodia. The US and President Johnson, then Nixon, were being blamed for a lot of what these monsters did. They were destroying everything on both sides of the DMZ and they couldn’t be stopped!”

“Hey, no worries, old dude.” George retrieves the dud.  “They’re inert until activated by remote.” Reggie was JOLTED back to reality! Reggie shook it off.

Rocky joins the group and sees what just went down.

“Is that a fucking grenade?!?! Are you KIDDING ME?!?”  She grabs it from George’s hands and waves it in his face like a balled-up fist. “That will have ZERO effect on the Tall Man and those friggin’ gravers. ESPECIALLY those damned ball things.”

Again, George moves in on his prey and turns on his charm.

“Hey, goddess. You like you some Asian?!?!”  George the lothario.

Chunk was at the end of his rope with this idiot mashing on his girl. His eyes glared with hate and menace imagining all sorts of maniacal torture he could do to this yahoo.

“Really?!?!” Rocky wasn’t amused.  They had to get out of the area! “What IS it with you knuckle draggers and your tired ass one liners? SHEESH.”

Rocky smirks a bit, pleased at the attention.

That was IT for Chunk!  “HEY! Asshole! I’m standing RIGHT HERE!” Chunk bellows!

George looks down at Chunk dismissively and laughs.  “Oh! My bad. Didn’t see you down there.”

Chunk goes to make a move on George as Rocky flat hands Chunk on the forehead.

“I can handle this.” She says. Rocky turns back to George.  “Now… about these… grenades. What do they do? Blow shit up? Or what?”

“Noooo…” says George.  “They are a cryogenic electronic magnetic pulse device or CEMPD.  Sistah over there figured out that this guy you call the Tall Man - not very original, by the way - HATES the cold.” George takes a breath.  “But that’s not enough. EMF frequencies also disrupt them and freezes them in their tracks.  Not long, just enough to get away.”

“Yeah, we figured that out some time ago.” Says Mike.  He’d had his share of the Tall Man, the spheres, and the piercing cold of the embalming rooms.

“Through observation - and some dark web online recon,” began Helen, “we determined that the Tall Man needs a warm lair. He comes from a mega hot Red Planet we think is a Gas Giant named “Nibiru.”

Reggie, Mike, Jody sharing a “knowing” look.   Michael gives Reggie the  “See? What I tell you?” expression.   Reg responds with an annoyed look.

Reggie was growing impatient and nervous because they were losing light, and those damned balls were going to be showing up soon. “So, again, what does this gizmo do?”

George reaches into the truck’s interior and produces a handheld remote. He presses the button and the round grenade in Reggie’s hands comes to life scaring the living crap out of him and Chunk.

“What the fuck, man!!!” Reggie yelled!

The device activates with blue flashing LED lights spinning around the circumference. It gets SUPER cold in moments causing Reggie to drop it. BUT IT FLOATS! The collective group watches as George controls the device.

“You’re cool, Reggie!” says George.

Reggie suddenly launches, pinning George up against the truck with the device against George’s head in his left hand and his 45.Cal side arm in his right hand under George’s chin.

“How do you know my name, punk? I don’t know you!”  In Reggie’s mind, he was back in the jungle in full blown combat mode!

Everyone is startled… but stayed deadly still afraid to move for fear of setting him off.

“Reg…”  Rocky cautiously placed her hand on his shoulder.  “Reg… (no reaction) REG!”  Reggie reacts only with his eyes.  “Reggie, everyone here KNOWS who you are, sweetie. You’re a bit of a legend in these parts…Remember?”  Rocky flashed her beautiful white smile to disarm him.

Slowly, cautiously, Reggie lowers the .45 Cal and places it in his vest holster. But he continues to hold the Grenade… which is blinking.

“I… uh, okay, man.” George slowly began. “We’re cool… I mean, YOU’RE cool… I mean…” George transitions to a firmer tone.  “You NEED to lower that fucking grenade out my face… NOW.”

George looks down and gestures with his eyes… in his hand is the remote device which has activated the grenade in Reggie’s hand. Reggie carefully, slowly, relinquishes the device to Helen as she reaches for it.

“Reggie,” Helen starts ever so carefully, gently placing her hand on his arm. “What George is so in-eloquently trying to tell you is that, well… you, Michael, Jody, and Rocky—”

Chunk looks up offended.

“HEY! What am I? Chopped liver?!?!”

“Yes, and Chunk…” Helen continues. “Actually, Chunk, our Intel said you were blown up by the Tall Man.”  She looks him over up and down. “And yet you’re here.”

“Well, don’t believe all that you hear, sweet cheeks.”  Chunk smiles. “Shit changes in a heartbeat.” (He pauses and takes a breath.) “Not like I walked away unscathed.”   Chunk raises his shirt to reveal burn scars still in the healing process.

“It’s cool, Chunk.” Says George in a ‘bro’ way. “Besides… chicks dig scars, eh ya.”

The two-fist bump in unison which is suddenly interrupted by a loud BOOM! Dust, snow, and debris go FLYING  through the air! A member of the Ravager group goes down and another is injured! Then Rocky points and the group look up!  Above the Ravager and the Ice Cream truck is a GIANT silver sphere hovering and vibrating!  A slit opens, then a single red scanner “eye” appears, and the red laser beam takes aim firing at the group. MORE explosions erupt as the beam finds its mark. Thinking fast, Reggie grabs the “Beast” and begins to fire. The rounds bounce off an invisible shield around the sphere like popcorn. The shield shimmers and sends a shimmering reddish wave around the huge ball!

Everyone runs for cover! Some of the younger ones are escorted by Rocky and Chunk to the Quonset hut war bunker.  Chunk reaches up for the entry panel but comes up just short.  He jumps… no good.  Finally, Rocky reaches the door and pops the panel with her nun-chuk. The door opens allowing admission of the group. She pushes past him as he scowls.

“Take the kids and go inside – NOW!”  Rocky has taken command! Then, more gently, “I’ll be right back.” (She kisses him on the forehead.)

“What the hell?!?!”  demands Chunk.  “What AM I, the babysitter?” Rocky grabs the old four-barrel shotgun and her backup pair of nun-chuks from the workstation and, with a spin of her heeled boots, she heads out without another word.  Chunk is left standing there mesmerized at what just happened.

Outside, the scene is gruesome with laser cauterized bodies strewn everywhere. Some just missing an arm or leg. Others completely cut in two that, moments ago, were standing in front of the group talking to each other with plans of tomorrow.  The Giant Sphere finds its mark near the Ravager bus, and it explodes instantly throwing bodies and debris everywhere.

Reggie and Helen find refuge behind the armored Ice Cream Truck.

“Helen! Come here… NOW!”  Reggie called out, trying to be heard over the commotion. “Show me how to work this fucking thing!”

Helen joins Reggie on the Ice Cream truck.  Just as Reggie’s about to jump into the driver’s seat, he sees the name on the truck… “Rocket Pop.” For just an instant, he exchanges approving glances with Helen, then they dive into the front seat.  Reg grabs his standard sunglasses from his pocket.

“Here, try these.” Helen hands Reggie some other cool looking glasses. “They confuse the sentinels.”

Helen hands Reggie a pair of tactical mirrored Aviator sunglasses with solarized mirrored lenses and she grabs a pair as they both don them. Reg looks over for approval as Helen gives a “thumbs up.” As Reggie puts the “Rocket Pop” in gear and peels out, Helen reaches into the back and pulls a grenade device, a bag of “goo” resembling thick yellow snot, and a sling shot from her pocket.

“Can you get me under the sphere?” Helen calls out over the din of the fighting.

At first, Reggie gives Helen a mortified “WTF” look, but then he complies, swinging the Rocket Pop around in a donut and placing Helen RIGHT under the belly of the Ball. With a well-placed aim, Helen shoots the grenade up and it sticks to the Sphere!

“OK! Get us the HELL out of here! NOW!” and she plops back into the Ice Cream Truck strapping as she goes.

Reggie GUNS the “Rocket Pop” and it takes off like… well, a rocket! Surprised, he looks over to Helen for an explanation.

“Nitros.” Helen says with a grin.

“No complaints!”  Reggie replies with a huge grin.

Reggie power shifts, punches it, and they take off. As they do, however, they find they are being pursued by “baby spheres” emitting from the giant “mother sphere” hot on the heels of Reggie and Helen. A HUGE BLAST of WHITE LIGHT blinds the two! Then the giant sphere EXPLODES and then IMPLODES! A BLINDING BLUE-WHITE light collapses into a dead black inert sphere of nothing that suddenly drops on the ground with an iron CLANK. The remaining ball is smaller than the Jody ball and ten times heavier! Driving to the top of a close hill, Reggie and Helen take a moment to survey the damage down below. The scene was in chaos! Smoke and fire were all over the debris strewn site. Michael, Jody, Rocky and George are all firing conventional weapons at the sentinels, Gravers and Dwarves which seemingly come out of nowhere like a swarm.

Rocky and George are fighting back-to-back in unison. They are using their respective martial arts skills and weapons attacking the Gravers and Dwarves and defending the entrance to the bunker. Mike grabbed a shoulder rocket and a grenade launcher and with some of the others initiated a counterattack against the sentinels. Chunk is trying to get the kids under control who are crying for their parents.  Except for one little guy, about eight years old.  He walks over to where his duffle bag lays.  Chunk is franticly trying to get him to come back – afraid he’ll draw the attention of a sphere!  With dogged determination, the little guy dressed in a hockey mask, baseball jacket, jeans and cleats, grabs an aluminum baseball bat and SWINGS AWAY sending a sentinel over the GREEN WALL!

“WOAH! WHAT THE HECK, GUYS?!?!”  Chunk is apoplectic jumping up and down! “Did you SEE THAT KID?!?!”

He looks around for someone to tell and sees…the rest of the boys and one girl all around the same age heading over to the bus. One by one they start grabbing baseball bats and slamming away at the sentinels sending them back towards the Mother Ship and bouncing them off her shield!  The sentinels disburse and give up heading back into the main ship. Bats in hand, the ball team high-five each other and Chunk as they take their victory walk back into the bunker.

Inside, the smaller kids are trying to control the dwarf minions outside! The scene is utter confusion as Chunk tries to get the kids to calm down and they are crying, screaming, running around, and tossing pillows and balls around. Chunk gets hit right in the face with a cloth replica of Reggie.

“Cute.”  Chunk tosses the doll. Looking over at the lead kid with the batting team, Chunk asks, “That was an awesome job you guys – and girl – did out there. You should form up a team!”  The kid’s face suddenly went solemn and his eyes distant.

“We had one.” He begins. “And a coach! But those…ball things came and killed them all. Got our parents too.”  He looks out the door and sees Mike.  “If it wasn’t for Uncle Mike, I don’t know WHAT would have happened to us!  He saved all our lives!” Looking back at Chunk with a smile.  “Uncle Mike told all of us stories about you, and Rocky, Uncle Jody and Reggie all fighting the Tall Man.”  He looks Chunk carefully and cocks his head to the side slightly, “Is it true you went over to the Red Planet to kill that sum-bitch?”

“HEY! Language!” Chunk smiled to himself. “Yeah, it’s true.”

“Is it true that you got all burnt up until Rocky pulled you back here?”

“Yeah.” Smiling. Chunk really didn’t want to admit he was liking this kid. Every time he began to like someone too much, something happened to them. He couldn’t stand it if it was this kid.

“Well…” the kid was hesitating and looking at nothing on the floor.

“What? Go ahead you can ask me anything.”

“Can I see your scars?” the boy asked with a huge grin. He had lost a tooth along the way which had just began to grow back.

“I see you lost a tooth there.” Chunk remembered his mom and stepdad giving him the old “Tooth Fairy” routine. He was buying into it too until he caught his drunken stepfather trying to retrieve the $20 bill from under his pillow that he accidentally placed instead of a $5 bill. He was about the age of this kid. “Tooth Fairy leave you anything?”

“Naw.” The kid replies quietly. “I’m too old for baby stuff now. I gotta take care of all these kids.” He looks around.  “I was team captain. So, I guess it’s my job now that all our parents are gone or were left behind.”

Chunk put his arm around the kid’s shoulders in a hug.

“It’s okay, kid. I got your back.”  He patted the blond hair of the boy’s head. He was thinking that this is SO wrong. These kids shouldn’t have to be dealing with all this horror. “I’ll help you with them, okay? Uncle Chunk will be here.” He could feel a slight whimper from his charge.

“Thanks.”  The boy got up and started to walk away.

“Hey kid!”

“Yeah?” the boy turned back to Chunk.

“What’s your name, little man?”

“Jimmy.  Name’s Jimmy.” And with that, Jimmy turned and walked back to his “team” and began to give instructions on how to calm the smaller kids down. In minutes, they produced protein snacks from their bags and juice boxes and gave them to the younger kids and alternated bathroom breaks. Then he made sure the older kids had water and protein bars as well.  When they were all eating, Jimmy sat down on the duffle back and watched over everyone with his bat at the ready foregoing eating himself.  Something not unnoticed by Chunk.  A loud noise outside grabs Chunk’s attention!

Chunk walked to the blast door partially ajar and looked out.  Outside, sentinels have returned, and they suddenly act as one single unit,  swarming like a flock of birds making dive bomb strafing runs at the group of adults! Lasers could be seen striking everything in sight!

Reggie and Helen are terrified as they observe from their position on the cliff. Helen hands Reggie a pair of high-tech field binoculars which zoom in and detect distances. They’re covering hundreds of yards in seconds!

“We gotta go back, Reggie!” says Helen.

“Shit. Yeah… get in.” Then had a thought. “Drive.  I got something for them.”  Suddenly, Reggie sees a vantage point opposite their position.  “Helen, can you get me over THERE?!?!”

Reggie points to a higher plateau above and to the left of where they are now.  Helen jumps into the driver’s seat and fires up the Rocket Pop truck. Below are dozens and dozens of hooded dwarves and gravers joining the sentinels in the fight.

“Does a bear do it in the woods?!?!”

“Girl after my own heart.” Reggie responds smiling and loading.

“Later, lover.”  Causing Reggie to catch his finger in a breech. Sucking his thumb, he gives a quick look to Helen, and they exchange smiles.

Helen runs the Rocket Pop truck over to the opposite rim and positions them facing the carnage below.

Several sentinel spheres break away and come after Reggie! They come RIGHT UP TO HIM, HOVER, swarm around him but they do not seem to recognize him! One larger one comes right up to his eyes. It sees itself reflected in his glasses but doesn’t react.

“Don’t… move, Reg!” Helen whispers. “They can’t see you if you don’t move!”              “NO… PROBLEM!” Reggie replies in a low voice.

The spheres emitted a red horizontal laser light which scans Reggie and Helen up and down. But they seem to hold for a minute at eye level. The one on Reggie seems to be suspicious and holds for a long moment at eye level.  It releases the blades and drill… and then approaches only millimeters from his face. But Reggie doesn’t budge. The other sphere emits a low sound, and the Reggie sphere spins in response, retracts the blades and drill and the two spheres return to the swarm.

“Close!” Letting out a breath, Reggie removes his glasses and wipes the sweat from his brow.

Reggie grabs “The Beast” and goes to town taking out hooded dwarves, gravers and sentinels alike. SUDDENLY the drones, creatures and gravers all disappear as quickly as they showed!

The core group of humans collects near Ravager in a 360-degree formation.

“What the hell just happened?!” calls out Mike.

“I’m not sure.” Says Jody. “They just sort of…”

“…disappeared.” responds Rocky.

“Oh, maaan. This is NOT good.” Says George as he pivots scanning the horizon.

Reggie and Helen arrive at  the compound below just as the doors to the bunker open allowing the kids out, and the injured and dead to be brought in on anything they can use for stretchers.

“What the HELL, man?” exclaims Reggie.  “Did you SEE that? Where the HELL did they GO?!?”

“The drones operated with one like mind… like… birds.” Says Rocky. (Notices the glasses.) “Hey, cool shades, Rocketman.”

“What the fuck was all that about?” says Chunk as he brings up the rear from the bunker. “Hey, where’d ya get the Ray-Bans, Reg?”

“That’s what I was about to tell you before all hell broke loose.”  Says Helen. “One of the things, we’ve discovered, besides the aversion to cold, there seems to be a developing hive collective mentality.”  Helen pauses a moment to retrieve the tactical specs Chunk took from her to try on. “Also, they seem confused by these tactical mirror aviation glasses.”

“I don’t know how long that will last.” Replies George. “They learn pretty fast.”

“Well, if there’s a Hive Collective…” says, Rocky.

“And IF the Tall Man is in the other dimension…” says Mike continuing the train of logic.

“Who is controlling them HERE?!” Chunk and Reggie finish the thought.

The group exchanged worried glances.

“We should get back inside before these damned things come back.” Says Reggie as he scans the upper cliffs around them.

“They wont.” Says Helen pensively. “ Not tonight anyway.”

“Why not?” ask Chunk and George in unison.

“Because the temperature is dropping. COLD is our friend!” Turning to go into the bunker, Helen adds. “Right, Ice Man?” she taps Reggie on his parka shoulder.

“Right.” Reggie says. Then, almost to himself. “I hope so.”

Chapter 5:

A  baptistry is filled with lavender water and alabaster jars of oil adorn the alcoves. Fine folded linens awaiting to caress a feminine body.  Flowing gossamer fabrics hang from columns and blow slightly in the breeze, as steam rises from the water. The Lady In Lavender makes her way to the steps where her attendants await. Like the Venus di Milo rising, she ascends from the steaming water fragranced with myrrh, frankincense, and lavender. While two attendees - Tanesha and Alchemy dressed in gold embroidered Sumerian garments - attend their mistress and wrap her in the Turkish linens. A vision of loveliness.

In her inner sanctuary, Lady in Lavender is a newly formed figure, and is now wholly functional, dressed in a formal, formfitting, bejeweled lavender gown fully displaying her “assets” and is beautifully quaffed and composed. She uses a golden trocar to stir yellow tinted waters in a large ornate water font. Lady In Lavender leans to observe something curious in the yellow tinted waters. Her expression goes from elation to raising a single eyebrow, then darting her glance as if controlling something with her mind. Her expression darkens with concern as she witnesses something that threatens to defeat her mission.

Briefly reflected in the font, her face changes from her visage to that of the Tall Man and back again as if it was a ripple in time. She finishes viewing her deeds reflected in the ember waters showing scenes of her past battles. Spinning around on her heels, she leans against the font. She is NOT happy!

“I am going to need some help…” She breaks into evil grin.

Lady In Lavender is sitting on an ornate golden throne - adorned with jewels - with rubies  centrally featured and an ornate red pendant around her neck.  The lair is surrounded by flowers and the Mistress drinks from a bejeweled communion chalice. The door opens and an expressionless man dressed in a black suit and tie enters.

“Prepare my serfs.” She commands.

The mindless assistant bows and turns to do her bidding. Two gravers dressed in worker jumpsuits and gas masks are pushing a gurney down the mausoleum corridor and out the back. The gravers arrive at an exterior vestibule mausoleum with the name, “Morningside,” over the archway. The gravers then make entry and return with one body after another, finally descending into the older parts of the darkened mausoleum to female bodies - removing them one by one. Later, in a large stark embalming room lay several covered female bodies that have been prepared for The Lady in Lavender to inspect as her reanimated minions.

“Rise, my lovelies. Rise and walk with me.” She commands.

With a wave of her arms, sentinel spheres emerge from behind the Lady in Lavender and hover over each of the female bodies on the slabs. The spheres hum louder and louder and as a red laser light begins to scan the female bodies head to toe, the bodies begin to breath. One by one, they sit up as the coverings drop and they are dressed in simple white chemise shifts.

These are the faces of women from the past. The women of Reggie the Ice Cream Man – nemesis to the Mistress and the Tall Man. They have been reincarnated throughout the ages, time and time again, at the behest of the Lady in Lavender. Dawn, Jennifer, Liz, Jeri, and Edna each rise in succession. Some have had their looks restored with the spheres removed from their empty heads. Some… not so much, revealing the damage and ravage of time. The Lady in Lavender regards each one.

“Rise my ladies.”  She commands. “Rise and come with me.”  The women obey, now dressed immaculately. They arrange themselves around the steps on the throne of their mistress, like favored jewels in a crown.

Chapter 6:

Across time and space, in a private bright and lovely spiritual temple, a beautiful face is in deep meditation. Dressed in gossamer gowns, barefoot, sitting in a Lotus position. This is a woman deep in meditation. Her eyes suddenly POP OPEN IN FEAR!  The woman is the Fortune Teller’s granddaughter, Sarah, now grown.   She immediately picks up a sage bundle,  lights it from a white candle before her and strikes a tuning fork with a resonating reverberation!  Sarah then takes a Sacred Eagle feather and uses it with the sage to smudge in prayer.  She rises, places them in a reverent fashion on an altar, then finds her phone and nervously calls a friend.

“Sally?” Sarah asks franticly! “They’re back!” (Pauses) “Yes, we have to GO! NOW!” An hour later, a vintage VW Bug drives up in front of the gates where the remote ancient mountain retreat located in the San Bernardino mountains. Sarah had sought refuge in the old, abandoned Mozumdar temple for almost 40 years now. Everyone in her family was gone. Sarah had lost her grandmother long ago when she was still a young girl. Her parents before that. She never married after Jody was drafted into the Vietnam war. How could she even think of marrying someone with all that the Tall Man was doing to destroy this world, this universe?!?!  She worked with Sally and others like Mike, Jody and Reggie, using her gifts of foresight and channeling to track the Tall Man and the sentinels and stay ahead of them. Giving folks left in villages and towns (as there are no cities left to her knowledge in this country) the heads up and means of escape and refuge if needed.

Sarah - now dressed in Khaki pants, field boots, and a rucksack - appears at the doors of her mountain home drinking from a water canteen. She approaches the VW and opens the door to get in. Her best friend, Sally, is driving and there’s another woman in the back seat.

“Hey, girl!” Susan calls to her. “HURRY! Get in! We gotta GO!”

“So, you guys got it too?” asks Sarah as she adjusts the seatbelts.  They were still the old lap band belts. Sarah laughs to herself. So many memories in this little Bug car. Drive-In Movie nights, followed by burgers at Reggie’s Ice Cream Shoppe! Then down to the beach for a late-night raging bonfire with beers, Pepsis and SMORES! “Those days were so different from now.” Sarah thought.

Sally drives away from the curb with gusto with a little power shifting, missing a gear and making a horrible grinding sound. Smiling, “Hey, Grind em, you’ll find em!” They all laugh.

Sally is dressed in a military jumpsuit - ala Rosie Riveter - with a western style duster. Sarah notices the woman in the back seat is dressed in stylish hiking clothes and a North Shore coat, matching boots,  fashionably coordinated but not prepared for “action.”

“Oh! I’m sorry I’m Sarah!” She offers her hand.

“Hi!” (Shakes hands.) “I’m Susan. Well, Susy.”

Sarah looks to Sally for clarification. Sally, while driving, realizes an explanation is in order.

“Oh, Susan was Jody’s gal back in the day. Susy, Sarah’s a spiritual medium. Like her grandmother before her. The Tall Man took both of your families. (pause) And mine. And everyone else’s” Sally and the others get quiet and pensive for a moment.

Sally changes her demeanor suddenly - the eternal optimist - she responds brighter:

“But, HEY! Misery loves company, right?”  Sally punches into fourth gear. “Let’s go kick some apocalyptic butt!”

“Where do we go, Sal?” asks Sarah.

“Reggie.” Sally responds.  “Reggie’s always at the center of this.  He, Mike and Jody have been through SO much but they’re making headway with weapons, tech, intel AND they have friends and a following!”

“So… we have to play it by ear.” Says Sarah. “Jody told me their coordinates and—”

“You talked to Jody?” An old spark reignited in Susan’s voice. (pause) “Is he ok?”  Old memories rushed through her mind of dates with Jody, working at his parents’ bank, graduating high school together. The day Jody proposed! They had everything planned out! Then the draft came. Jody, Reggie and so many others had to go to Vietnam and fight that awful war. When they came back, they were all different. All of them. Jody included. He met with her over dinner one night, she thought he was going to set the date for the wedding! Instead, Jody said he needed time to get himself together and broke off the engagement. It was the same night the Tall Man came to town and killed Tommy, their friend. Tommy was like the core of the group. Now, he’s gone.

It wasn’t long before many others started dying too.  Someone would die and their family would have a funeral. The next thing anyone knew, the body would disappear!  It took MONTHS to find out the mortician was the Tall Man! Mike Pearson knew right away. He tried to tell everyone, but he was only 14 years old, and a smart ass that liked playing pranks.  Nobody believed him until it was too late.  By then, Reggie and Jody were fired up in military mode. People were dying left and right, and life was completely different in the world. No one seems to die of “natural” causes anymore. Nobody is having funerals now, either. They can’t trust that their loved ones will still be in the ground the next day. Families started cremating. Then the Tall Man started switching bodies out before they were placed in the retort!

“Well, as good as can be expected.” Sarah replies. “ They’ve been on the road a long time now…Years… (Pauses.) A person can change a lot in all those years.” Sarah and Sally exchange knowing glances.

Susan leans back in her seat letting her mind drift as she watches the scenery change outside. Slowly the terrain becomes snowy, cold, and desolate.

Lady In Lavender

Lady in Lavender approaches Alchemy and sees evidence of the hole in her temple which has been covered with morticians wax. Some of it falls away to reveal a sandbag where the gold sphere once was.

“OH! Sorry sweetie!” They pause and look at the bag of sand now spilled on the floor. Alchemy does not respond. “Oh, my. Well, we can fix that with a little glue… or Botox… or something.”  The Mistress moves on to the next. Dawn, who has a drilled-out hole in her forehead, and you could see daylight through it.

“Well, this one’s an easier fix.”  The goddess raises her manicured hand to touch the hole as a cockroach pops out! “OH!” she squeaks!

“What will happen to us, Mistress?” asks Dawn.

Lady in Lavender snaps her fingers, and a Graver appears in a tuxedo bowing. She points at the bug and then the hole. Slowly the zombie like creature nods acknowledging the command and begins to chase the bug across the Lair.  Mistress snaps her fingers again, more insistently to get his attention! Then points at Dawn’s hole in her head waving her hand as if to say, “Fix… THIS.” Again, he acknowledges and leaves the room to acquire supplies.

“O h h h h … we’re going to have a LOVELY time.” Says Mistress.  “Revenge is MINE and I can right some MAJOR wrongs here.”

Lady In Lavender starts to walk back towards her throne and pauses. Turning, she addresses her court.

“Buckle up ladies. It’s going to be a BUMPY ride!”  She lowers herself gracefully onto her thrown and raises her chalice to drink.

Later that night, in Lady In Lavender’s boudoir, a huge gold framed mirror is mounted upon the wall. On each side of the mirror are heavy polished Silver Poles - the Space Gate! In a “Sleeping Beauty” moment, the Mistress addresses the reflection in the giant, ornate mirror:

“My master,” she calls to her image in the mirror. “ I have located the Ice Cream Man and his conspirators.”

In the mirror, we see the image - first blurred then cleared - it is the Tall Man! In a moment of delirium, the Mistress spins from her image in front of the mirror, to now standing in the same room with the Tall Man and through the looking glass!  She has crossed over the portal and joined him between dimensions.

“My precious.” Says the Tall Man. “ To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“My Master.”  Replies the Lady in Lavender. “The devotees are ready, and we have amassed the sentinels and our minions. Together, we shall expand our power in this realm. The Game continues!”

“Perfect. I shall await your next contact.”

The Lady in Lavender bows her head slightly to the Tall Man which has now retreated into the shadows and as the image blurs it returns to her own reflection. Lady in Lavender admires her perfect face. She produces her evil grin and her eyes shine as her pupils become gold spheres. In the opposite dimension, we see through the reverse of the mirror. The Tall Man observes Lady in Lavender as she primps.

“The Game continues… booooyyyyyy.” His voice resonates through the mausoleum causing harmonic vibrations throughout both dimensions registering on the Richter scale in this one.

Chapter 7:

Outside the bunker, the nighttime fire barrels are lit for warmth, and several groups have gathered in various stages of readiness, eating, and checking equipment. Bundled up, Chunk and Rocky are having a heated private debate.

“I am NOT staying here while you go gallivanting off with sushi dude over there!” Chunk was madder than an old wet hen and he was tired of dealing with this George come lately macking on his girl!

“I DON’T know what the HELL you’re talking about, Chunk!” Rocky was just as mad and confounded. She had enough on her plate without having to placate Chunk’s “little man” ego! “You are STILL healing from your burns! I’m still cutting up rags for your bandages!”               “So what you mean is, ‘I’d slow you down.’”

“That’s NOT what–” Rocky was cutoff mid-sentence by a major commotion over the hill. Suddenly all kinds of tactical lights come blazing into camp! “Who in BLAZES is THAT?!?!” Rocky places one hand on her nun-chucks, changes her mind, and pulls out her Marine Tanto instead.

Several vehicles arrive throwing snow and dust in the air and pitching everyone into a frenzy. A tricked out military Humvee arrives in a hurry. As it skids to a halt, it throws up snow, rock salt, and rocks in dramatic fashion. The doors open and numerous people get out in paramilitary gear. Several other vehicles, motorcycles, ATVs,  and three wheeled roadster  CAM Spyders all tricked out and up armored. The Humvee driver’s door opens, and the automatic step deploys. Tiny feet in black military boots ease down the steps and onto the ground. In all black, a female little person, very attractive, fit and authoritative begins to take charge of the operation.

“Alright, get your asses in gear.” For such a small person, she has a strong commanding voice. She switches gears. “ So, who’s running this freak show?”

Chunk stops mid argument with Rocky.   He is struck to see Amy. Rocky doesn’t see her and storms off into the bunker to finish packing - punching the door as she goes. Chunk jumps on a nearby three-wheeler and approaches Amy.

“Hey, gorgeous. What’s the hurry?” Smiling his best.

“”You in charge, pipsqueak?” Amy sizes Chunk up and down.

“Uhhh, well, SURE. Yeah, I’m in charge.” He looks around to see who’s within earshot. “Depending on your definition.” (Pauses while checking Amy out.) “What can we do ya for?”

“I just lost half my crew to those damned (waves her arms around) swarmy drone things and their damned weird ass zombie friends.”  She turns her attention back to Chunk.  “ I need ammo, food, and water for the few crew I have left.” Amy paused a moment and added a bit of girlie charm. “Can you help us out? We can pay.”

“Sure! We can find you something.”  Chunk hadn’t seen a female little person in a good decade.  Hell, he hadn’t seen a LITTLE person other than those damned shrunk down dwarve nightmares in years!  Even then he was usually running AWAY from them!  But he could spend some quality time with this one.  “ Uh, we were just getting ready to go out on a recon patrol. But I’m sure we can fix you right up.” Chunk was openly checking Amy out head to toe.

“You gonna introduce me to your little friend?” Rocky asked as she walked up as she sheathed her Marine Tanga knife with a distinctive SNAP!

“Little friend, my ass.” Amy was already tired of all the bullshit. “ I can take YOU on any day.”

“WOAH, WOAH, LITTLE BIT! I’m fine with your gig. Just wondering why you’re hitting on my man, Chunk, here.” Rocky replied with a chuckle.

“CHUNK?!?! What the hell kind of name is “Chunk?”” Amy laughed out loud.

“What’s wrong with it?” Chunk looks up at Rocky and back at Amy. “What’s YOUR name?”

From behind her a very familiar voice came.  “AMY!”

“REGGIE! My man!!! Come give Big Amy some sugar!” Reggie walked over and knelt down to Amy’s level and gave her a big hug and smooch.

“Oh, FINE. Figures ‘Baldy the horn dog’ would know her.” Chunk said disparaged.

“Amy, what the HELL are you doing here?” Reggie asked very concerned.  “ I thought you were all set, up-state somewhere?” Reggie had last seen Amy and her crew just before he left Canada to come here to Washington. Nobody but Amy knew where he was going. He had helped her set up the place there with supplies, satellite phone connections, weather monitoring stations, food stocks, even a makeshift medical station and it was all underground just like here. That was the goal! Setting up several underground bunkers across North America to establish a network. Whatever chased her down here must have been pretty serious for her to leave all that!

Amy’s tone changes and becomes remorseful.

“I’m okay. My crew needs help, though.”  She looks back as her people get out of their vehicles. “Can you fix them up with food and supplies? Gonna need some medical attention too.”

“Of course, of course.” Reggie looks around. There were only a handful of vehicles, many of which were in bad shape.  Many of the people were injured and bleeding from their makeshift bandages. “No problem. Where’s the rest of them? Are they bringing up the rear?”

“No, man.” Amy shakes her head as tears form in her dark brown eyes. “We’re all that’s left of my team.” (Pauses) “That Tall Man got them… also some female he’s got doing his bidding.  She seems to have a real hard on for YOU, big man.”

“Ahhh that would be the Lady in Lavender.” Reggie still had a few broken ribs from that last encounter they had at the mortuary months ago. “Yeah, (laughs slightly) we’ve got history.”

“Hell, Reggie.” Says Rocky sarcastically. “You got ‘history’ with damned near every female I’ve encountered.” Everyone laughs. Reggie gives a “yeah, yeah” gesture.

While everyone was still amused, a second Humvee door opens.  A man emerges and approaches the group while talking on a SAT Phone.  He is an attractive black man in his 70’s wearing military “black ops” gear with a black duster.

“Yeah, Copy that.” He says into the SAT phone. “ We’ll check in again at 0530 hrs.”  The man continues to approach the group.

“Reggie - Reggie’s Team ,” Starts Amy. “Meet Colonel Anthony Horton. US Army-Retired.”

Mike walks up to the group and sees an old friend.

“Colonel?!?” Mike can hardly believe his eyes! “ Col Horton?!?! Is that you, man?” Mike thought this man was killed in the last fire fight they saw in Afghanistan where he helped rescue Jody.

“HEYYYY, Mike!” Col. Horton reached out with both arms outstretched.  “ It’s great to see you man! But, hey, I told ya. It’s just ‘Tony.’ Especially after what we went through in the sand pit together.”

“Oh, yeah…” Mike takes a moment to search his friend’s eyes and face.  He had learned long ago to check out everyone because you never can tell if someone is a minion for the Tall Man. But, Reggie, Jody and Mike had learned that the eyes and facial features are never quite right on the clones. “Yeah.   Hey, Reggie! This is Tony.  He saved my and Jody’s a– oh, uh… well we had some adventures along the way.”

“Tony? Wow, TONY!!!” Jane makes a mad dash across from the firepit to grab a big hug and kiss from the distinguished gentleman.

“Hey, sweet thang! How you doin?” Col. Horton asks. The Colonel and Jane had made their own ‘close encounter’ of another kind late one night in a village in Gaza one year. They both knew, however, there was nothing more than that. Not then, not now, not in this world as it stands.  Too risky.

“I’m great! I’m great! It’s been a minute!”  Jane turns to Reggie. “Reggie, it was Col Horton here - sorry, ‘Tony’- who got intel on where the Tall Man was holding you captive all those years! HE helped us find you!”

“Ah, yeah, well.” Says Reggie a bit skeptical. “Thanks for that, man.”  Reggie was trapped in the Tall Man’s torture device in some hellhole for almost ten years. He didn’t know if he was coming or going, if he was alive or dead, if he was here or on the Red Planet. He still can’t stand anything tighter on his bald head than a knit cap. Reggie gets up every day wondering if the memories he has from that time of being in a nursing home are real or some mind fuck the Tall Man came up with.  Still… there’s something about this guy Reggie didn’t trust. He couldn’t put his finger on it. By all rights, he should be kissing the dude’s ass for bringing the calvary! Yet, there’s just something about him…

“No worries, Man.”  Replies Col. Horton.

“Rocky!”  Rocky turns around to see what Jane wanted and gets a SHOCKED look on her face! “ I’m sorry, let me introduce you. This is…”

“Thank you, we’ve met.” Rocky’s reply was ICE COLD. (Pauses) “Hello, dad.”

“Hey, baby girl. You look great!”  Col. Horton goes to reach for Rocky for a hug and she pulls away. “ It’s been a minute!”

Before everyone can react…A sudden loud AIR RAID SIREN SOUNDS! Instinctively, everybody scrambles and begin to race inside the bunker!

“RUN!” Reggie shouts!

“INSIDE!” Rocky calls out. “Inside, EVERYONE!

Overhead, incoming spheres are running down  the people below, firing red laser beams. Some lasers find their mark and blow shit up closer to the warming barrels. Smaller spheres chase down people, the blades deploy with the drill activated, locked onto their heads draining their brains, and spraying head matter and blood everywhere leaving them lifeless!  Dwarves come in after the drones do their thing and retrieve the bodies, dragging them away.

Thinking fast, Mike runs to the Ravager bus. Another team member runs towards the bus. A bladed sphere chases after Mike coming closer and closer. The blades pop out and the drill extends. A red laser tracks his every move!  JUST AS Mike tumbles inside the Ravager Bus,  he JUMPS into the driver seat slamming the door behind him! Mike sees the blades and poking through the up armored door of the bus. A drill activates on the other side and begins to emerge through the door with blood spurting through and sprays towards him. The paramilitary volunteer who had run to the bus with Mike is pinned against the door with the blade in the back of his head “brain draining” him! A cloud of blood flows down the glass of the bus door!

There is a starter button and Mike PUNCHES, and it FIRES UP the RAVAGER BUS. Next to the starter button, he sees a panel that says, “COUNTER MEASURES.” Mike pushes it and IMMEDIATELY an explosion of SMALL LASER DRONES deploys from the bus in all directions and the balls chase the drones!

***“FUCK YEAH!” Says Mike with a fist pump.

Mike punches the gas and RAVAGER lunges forward! Immediately STALLING!

“FUCK!” Mike slams the steering wheel in frustration. “Fucking stick, man! Who the hell drives a stick anymore??!?!

Mike tries again, IT FIRES RIGHT UP and he clutches. Mike guides the armored bus to the front of the bunker barring the drones’ access. Mike sees another button marked “Solar Panels” and presses it - they deploy. Drone laser fire bounces off the RAVAGER bus solar panels and bar  Mike’s exit from the side door. George opens the back of the bus!

“Hey, Mike! THIS WAY!”

Mike makes a mad dash to the back of the bus as one of the drones BURSTS through crashing a window and chases him between the seats. He stumbles and JUST makes it through the back emergency exit as GEORGE SLAMS it shut smashing the drone as it emits a tiny “groaning” sound!

“Thanks, man.” Mike thanks George.

The two men do an awkward fist-to-high-five, shrug it off and head to the BUNKER doors. All the while drones are zipping in trying to access the area between the bus and the bunker. Most of the Bunker team and Amy’s team make it through the massive doors of the bunker, but not without massive bleeding wounds. A smaller force hangs behind as they fend off the spheres with weapons fire and buying time for the others to get safely inside. In the distance, a small VW Bug is under siege by SPHERES.  It rapidly makes its way down the trail to the encampment. It screeches to a stop and the three female passengers hop out and make a run to the door JUST as the massive “Mother” sphere looms down for the kill!

“MIKE! Take THIS!” Cries Helen!

Helen activates and then tosses Mike one of the STICKY BOMBS. Blue lights spin around it as Mike spins around launching it in a toss and it finds its mark! Mike and George then RUN LIKE HELL just as it EXPLODES and the bunker door CLOSES just in time! Everybody is in! A MASSIVE percussion can be heard as a reverberation is felt inside and dust and debris fall. Outside, SPHERES can be heard hitting the door. Rocky puts the weapons and ammo into a locker with some of the men. Mike, George, and Tony are checking out maps on a command table with a reconnaissance team. Jody is sitting playing guitar with Susan, some of the little ones, and the moms. A young German Shepherd lies next to Jody. Reggie is in a group with Sarah, Chunk and some of the others. He’s reading maps of the area checking evacuation routes.

“Reggie, it was as clear as day.” Says Sarah.  “ The Lady in Lavender is BACK!”

“I KILLED her, Sarah.” Reggie didn’t look up as he spoke. “I put a bullet between her eyes with the Mac-10!” It isn’t that he didn’t believe Sarah’s visions.  Reggie had seen many things in his day. Some things that no human could explain to another unless they had been through what these folks had.  But he couldn’t argue with the fact that a .45 Cal bullet passed through that woman’s brain matter and came out the other side.  He last saw her laying on the ground oozing yellow shit all over the mausoleum floor.

“Yeah,” says Chunk. “And she stabbed you, and Mike had a gold sphere in his head, and Jody,” (he looks over at Jody) “WAS a sphere, and I blew up and caught fire. Not like that matters much around here, man. Shit happens.”

“I’m telling you, she’s back and so is the Tall Man, Reg!” says Sarah. She was becoming so frustrated with Reggie. He, of all people, should recognize what this means. “The Tall Man, he’s… different, somehow. It’s hard to explain. But… I SAW him. They were… joined somehow.”  Sarah could see it in her head now like it was on a tv screen! “Like they were one. You folks are in REAL DANGER.” (Looks around) “We ALL are!”

“Is there anyway of beating her?” Rocky interjected without missing a beat. “Or… him? I mean, THEM?”

“I… I think so. I think I can reach them. Telepathically.” Sarah was still in the connection. “The space gates they use to move from one dimension to another  are all based on harmonics. That’s why the tuning fork affects the Tall Man and the Spheres.  It, like… interferes with their brain signal or something.”

“Just like with the cold!” adds Helen.

“Hey, you want an Ice Cream Sandwich… go FUCK yourself!”  Reggie picks up the “Beast.” If you want a ROCKET POP… you come to ME!

“What the HELL does THAT mean?!?!” Rocky asks.

Chunk and Amy look at each other… “I don’t know.” Mike shrugs.

“I don’t want to rain on anyone’s parade here, but did you notice?’ says Chunk.  “It was fucking cold out there and we were STILL attacked!”

“Yeah! The cold!” says Amy. “I noticed that when they attacked us before up north. We had an old cold storage warehouse that Reggie helped us convert to a bunker. I mean, not as good as this one. It worked for the longest time. But they sent in these - like - Nano drones or something. Tiny little fuckers that STILL managed to infiltrate the refrigeration system and attack us from WITHIN.”

“When we bugged out, the gravers came in and took over.” says, Col. Horton. “They  turned it into a damned manufacturing plant for the drones they use!”

“Sarah, can you track them?” asked Sally. “Spy on them, maybe? Mentally, I mean.”

“Yeah, sure. Of course.” Replies Sarah.

“What will you need to do all that?” ask Rocky.

Jody and Mike exchanged knowing glances, and Jody quietly moved off to the side away from the group, as the others continue their conversations.

“Just a quiet place…”    Sarah said. “And some time alone.”

“We have some rooms downstairs on the lower levels.” Rocky said as she walked the women towards the bunker. “It’s very calm and quiet. There’s even an arboretum.”

“Perfect. I’ll go down there.” Said Sarah.

“Jody, you okay, man?” asked Mike as he noticed his brother looking woozy. Jody held his hand to his head.

“Yeah, I’m cool.” Responded Jody. “I’m just… Just feeling off.”

Rocky notices Mike and how Jody was looking very pale.

“You shouldn’t be alone. None of us should. In fact,” Rocky looks around. “Where’s Reggie?”

“Oh, I saw him slinking off a minute ago –” Chunk says and then sees the Hero! “And THERE’S the man of the hour!”

Reggie has reappeared with clean clothes (plaid shirt of course), freshly shaved, combed ponytail.  There are cat calls and whistles of approval. Reggie shrugs it off.

“Jeeze.” Reggie replies. “Can’t a guy scrape his face around here without it being a national holiday?”

“It’s okay, Reg.” Says Rocky. “We were just saying, though… We found a spybot and it’s probably not a good idea of wondering off alone right now. Buddy system and all. I was just telling the ladies here –”

“Ok.” Says Sarah. “But that really isn’t necessary.”

“ Susan you should go with her.” Rocky says.

“No! No!” exclaims Sally! “That’s ok!  Susie can stay with Jody and the kids. I’ll go with Sarah.”  Susan and Sally share a knowing smile.

Reggie is visibly disturbed by the spybot news. He gets up and heads to the mess area to get coffee. Helen joins him.

“Want some?” Reggie asks. “ Got some vanilla creamer around here somewhere.”

“Nice cologne. Old Spice?” Helen asks with a smile. Reggie nods and acknowledges. “Just hot and black, thank you.”

“DID I HEAR MY NAME?” Calls Col. Horton.

Chunk rolls his eyes and as he does, he and Amy lock eyes.  The attraction is obviously there and they, too, share a smile.

“So, Reg.” Began Helen, smiling.  “Do you always lead with a joke?”

“Well, you know.” Reggie smiled back. “I’m hot as love” A moment passes and the smile fades.  “Yeah, things get long and lonely on the road… uh… so to speak.” He takes a breath. “Every time you get close to someone, that Tall Man or his evil purple bitch takes them out.” Reggie pauses stirring his coffee .  “Or worse… he turns them. Then you gotta face them again down the road.” Reggie looks over at Susan all nice and cozy sitting with Jody. “Like they never knew you.”

Helen placed her hand on Reg’s shoulder sympathetically. “Yeah, I know. And I know YOU know. I’m here if you need me, Reg.” Reggie taps Helen’s hand and smiles as they look into each other’s eyes.

“Say, uh, Helen.”  Reggie leaned in really close.  “You got a place squared away to sleep yet? I mean, some place safe and secure?”

“Why, SIR!” Helen asks mockingly. “Are you MASHING on me?”

They both share another smile.

A Nano bot the size of a cockroach scurries along the floor of the bunker unseen by the inhabitants. Reggie’s and Helen’s boots nearly step on the bot as  they pick up Helen’s gear and begin to walk towards the elevators with Sarah.  Several Nano drones skitter across the room like tiny spiders unseen. One little Nano bot scurries about behind Reggie and Helen towards the elevator avoiding being stepped on and just narrowly being missed at times.

Another bot heads to the side room with shelves, books, and maps. Mike is there alone working and studying maps. He walks over to a globe, walks back, takes notes, drinking something in a thermos. Steam rises as he removes the top. He smells it with appreciation and sits down by the wood pellet stove to stay warm as he reads. Mike takes a sip and places the cup on the desk next to his seat returning to his reading.

Reggie and Helen in the hallway are going into the elevator and there is a quiet banter between them. Sarah indicates she’ll take the stairs and Reggie and Helen continue on in the elevator. Mike glances over as he sees Reg make his moves on Helen as the doors close. Mike smiles to himself.

“Reg, you old dog.” Mike says to himself. “You still got it.”

Mike returns to his warm seat beside the hearth as he picks up the cup. A nanobot crawls inside “just in time.” Mike takes a sip and IMMEDIATELY reacts to the tiny bot in the drink! He SPITS it out into his hand.

“WHAT THE FUCK!”

Mike examines the tiny bot with great curiosity. He grabs a magnifying glass for a closer look.  Magnified we see the tiny bot with a spider body lying on its back. It’s legs are in the air. It twitches when Mike touches it’s belly with a pencil tip. Mike is startled but is undetered.

“Let’s see what secrets you’re hiding here.”

Mike inspects the tiny bot with his pencil tip. Spreading its legs to see the belly. It’s a type of motherboard. Mike is suddenly startled when Jody’s hands appear on Mike’s shoulders!

“Jody! FUCK!”

“Sorry, little brother.” Jody laughs. “That never gets old, though.” Smiling he asks. “Whatcha got there?”

“This little fucker was taking a swim in my thermos cup.”

Jody looks closer. “Wow! Looks trippy!”

“Would have been Trippier if I had swallowed that damned thing.” Says Mike. He pauses. “What the hell IS this anyway?”

Jody takes a specimen dish from the desk and places the nanobot in it, covering it. He walks over to a microscope on the workstation. Looks into it - stands up in amazement - and looks at Mike,

“What’s wrong?” Mike asks. “What IS IT, dude?”

“Better see this for yourself, Mike.”  Jody looks again.  “ I see it and I’m not sure I believe it.” Jody gestures with his head and eyes towards the microscope.

“Okay, Big Brother.” Reluctantly, Mike walks over and takes a look.

“Although I don’t understand what all the cloak and daggar stuff is…” Mike’s sentence fades away on last like a hanging veil of smoke in the air.

The two exchange glances. On the nano bot, the face appears to be the human face of their long dead friend, “Tommy!!” Mike and Jody stare at each other for a moment.

“I’d better take this to the squints upstairs so they can figure out what we need to do next.” Says Jody.

“You mean short of burning this ENTIRE place to the ground and going someplace ELSE to start over?!?!” says Mike frantically.

Jody nods in agreement  very “matter of fact.”

The elevator doors close and Reggie and Helen kiss gently.

“Is there…per chance a hot shower?” asks Helen.

“We have a REALLY hot shower.” Replies Reggie almost boastfully.

Reggie moves in for the kill completely unaware of the tiny bot drone watching. It observes as it hears kissing sounds.

“Perhaps you need a COLD shower, Reg.” giggles Helen as she rubs his face. “And a closer shave.”

“Now WHY would you go and say a thing like that.” Says Reggie playfully. “Besides… I just showered.  Reggie suddenly ‘gets it!’ “OH! OH, yeah, right!” He laughs.

The door to the elevator opens interruptus.

Reggie and Helen exit the elevator to a lower level of the bunker. It is the sleeping area with showers and lockers. The lights come on once they arrive. They turn off when they leave the room. The little bot is right behind them.

“There’s a squad commander’s room over here.” Says Reggie. “ You can take that. It’s private. No bunk mates…. unless of course… you want one.” Reggie runs his fingers along Helen’s cheek.  Reggie and Helen embrace and share a passionate kiss. The bot is running to catch up! It runs PAST the door of the room they are in and catches Reggie’s eye.

“WOAH! What the hell?!”

Excuse me?” Helen exclaims!

Reggie places his finger to her lips. “Shhhh.”

Reggie points to the doorway and the two walk to the door. Carefully, Reggie grabs a metal tray from a table in the room. He uses it to peer around the corner. It allows them to see the little robot which is searching for them. It begins to retrace its steps and approaches their doorway as Reggie raises his leg and STOMPS THE HELL out of the robot! Parts go flying everywhere!

Helen reaches for the body of the Nano bot. She examines it to determine its origin.

“Is that one of them?” Reggie asks.

“Yes. It must have followed us down here. Good thing you got it. That’s the good news.” Says Helen.

“What’s the bad?” asks Reggie.

“Where there’s one…” Quips Helen.

“There’s more.” Reggie finishes.

Helen nods her head affirmatively.

Back in Lavender’s Lair, a bejeweled challis SLAMS into the marble wall, bounces off, spilling the red wine that slowly down the intricately veined wall onto the white marble floor like aged blood. Lady In Lavender is NOT happy as she stares intensely into the now DARK yellow waters of the ceremonial font!

“ARRRRRGH!!!! They found ANOTHER one!” She screams!

“Yes, Mistress.” Says the suited attendant.

“ALCHEMY!” calls the Mistress.

“Yes, Mistress?” Responds Alchemy, eager to please that she might be able to use her foul gifts again so soon!

“It’s your TIME!”

“FINALLY!” Alchemy SMILES! She catches herself and recomposes. “ OH! Sorry, Mistress.” Alchemy oozes a wicked grin.  She is SO prepared for her mission now!

In the bunker library, Mike has fallen into a fitful sleep on a couch near the warm wood pellet fire. He begins a frightening dream!

Mike is in the desert of the hanging tree and is being cut down by someone - or something - and lands hard on the ground banging his head and injuring his ribs. The sun is in his eyes making them sting.  A silhouetted figure reaches down to help him up. Perhaps, it is the Tall Man - but as the ominous figure moves in – he sees it is MIKE himself reaching down to help his own body up!

Mike is startled awake! Standing in front of him, in his room, IS the Tall Man!

Reaching down, the Tall Man calls to Mike. “BOOYY, you’re all grown up now. I see you’ve found your friends.”

“YOU! You’re… DEAD!” Mike is SHOCKED! “Aren’t you?”

The Tall Man smirks a smile.

“You know well, nothing is ever as it seems… BOY! Why do you never grasp that point?”

Mike is sitting alone in his room in a winged back chair. He stares straight ahead motionless. In his mind, Mike is wondering, “Is this shit REAL?!?! Or am I fucking losing it, like Reggie did?!?!”

In reality, the Tall Man is standing with Mike IN THE AIR by this throat!  The Tall Man hears a sound and thinks they are not alone. Raising one eyebrow, and with an unseen force, he commands two silver sphere sentinels from behind him. As they pass the Tall Man towards the doorway, a drone scampers across the floor to the opening. The Bots get to the doorway and the spheres pause. The drone pulls up and takes a look left and right. The sentinels ARM themselves with blades and drills and SPIN around the corner for the attack! No one is there.

The elevator doors silently close.

In the main communal area, Jody sits with a group of children playing guitar and singing songs to keep them entertained and their minds distracted from the horrors of the day. Susan sees him from a distance.

Sally helps Susan prepare meals for delivery around the bunker.

“Have you had a chance to talk with Jody since we’ve gotten here?”

“No.” Susan replies slowly as she cuts up carrots. “I’m… afraid to. What if he doesn’t remember me?”

“Oh,” Sally replies smiling. “He remembers you. TRUST that. Part of him anyway. But he has changed - somehow. Be prepared for that.” Sally hands Susan a covered dish to take over to Jody.

Susan approaches the group as the kids disburse to get food responding to the call of “Come and get it!” Susan brings Jody the plate of food and hands it to him.

“Thanks.” Jody sets the food aside and continues to play his guitar. “You didn’t have to trouble yourself, Suze. I could have gotten it myself.”

“Oh, GOOD!” Susan replies. “I was afraid you didn’t remember me. (pauses) You going to eat?”

“I… uh, I’m not very hungry just yet.” Jody tunes his guitar.

“Ok. (pauses) You… look well.”

Jody continues to “noodle” on the guitar.

“Well…” says Susan. “I should go… do… things.” She rises and starts to leave.

Jody reaches for Susan’s wrist. “Look, Suz, I’m not the same… ‘person’ you knew back then. Life was so… different then. So… innocent. The things I’ve seen since…things that I’ve done and were done to me… they changed me. Sometimes I wonder if the man I was when I was with you ever existed as all.”

Susan reaches out to touch Jody’s arm. “You’re still in there… here…” She reaches down and touches his chest.  “Somewhere. Hold on to that piece of humanity and the bond you have with Reggie and Mike. I’ll still be here when you’re ready.”

Susan gets up to leave. Jody stops her again. Their eyes lock. Jody has tears forming.

“Stay awhile.” Jody pleads quietly his voice trembling.

Susan smiles and sits beside him as he resumes playing and humming. He begins to play “Sittin Here At Midnight.”

“That’s still my favorite.” Susan says smiling. Jody returns the sentiment.

Later that night, in the lower decks of the bunker in the Arboretum, Sarah and Sally are meditating. Sally is acting as a “watcher” or protector as Sarah goes into a deep meditative trance.

Sarah opens her eyes, and she is in the Ziggurat temple of Ereshkigal in 2029 B.C. Wide-eyed, Sarah examines her surroundings at first in fear, which becomes that of curiosity. She rises to her feet and realizes she is dressed in fine Sumerian garments befitting a woman of means in that era.

Sarah admires her attire at first and then returns to her academia of studying the ancient glyphs on the wall of the dusty tomb.

“Er-esh-ki-gal… Ereshkigal.” She whispers to herself.  “Goddess of the Underworld.”

Images of war, plague, the collapse of society and the “Radcliff Wave” are all seen in red tinged flashes of Sarah’s mind! Sarah suddenly AWAKENS in a start!

“NOOO!” she screams!

Chapter 8:

Helen is going back and forth readying for her shower as Reggie rests on a hard queen bed. Exhaustion is getting the upper hand, and he decides the pillow is just too much to resist. Reggie lays back and tries to sneak a peak of Helen in the mirror as she begins to disrobe. “She is a fine body of a woman.” Reggie thinks to himself. “Man, it has been too long.”  Helen removes the towel from her hair and begins to brush her long brown locks. Reggie is mesmerized by every stroke, by the beauty and simplicity of it, by the grace with which she arranges her tresses, and how they curl naturally and fall upon her breasts. His manhood stirs and he is eager to feel her warmth and to be with a truly unincumbered, uncomplicated woman.  Finally, the effort is too much and, with that last wonderful mental vision of the two of them embraced in passion, he drifts off. Reggie awakens, opening his eyes slowly and realizes…

He is greeted with the face of the long dead Jennifer coming in for a kiss! Jennifer pulls back and Reggie then sees Alchemy (also long dead) joining her. Together they begin to seduce Reggie like a couple of ravenous succubi! Jennifer has SPHERE BOOBS again and Alchemy is topless in a thong with a GOLD SPHERE in her ripped-open scalp! They make their move to come after Reggie, WHEN - Reggie now finds himself in a motel room on the bed in a panic! Reggie pans around and Reggie is watching himself in the bed next to him! Then, Reggie is back in his body and laying on his original bed! Jennifer and Alchemy move in closer and closer to claim their prey!

In his sleep, Reggie calls out, “NO! NO!!”

The two serfs pull back and reveal they are now THE Lady In Lavender in all her glory who moves in seductively for the kill.

Reggie’s face is terrified and in the throes of a nightmare paralysis! He can’t MOVE! He looks down and he’s STRAPPED onto the bed!  The Lady in Lavender’s face suddenly turns to the CREATURE FACE, and she emits the BANCHEE SCREAM!

Reggie startles awake in a cold sweat!  His clothes are drenched! “It was just a dream!” he says to himself, half laughing it off. “Thank GOD!” he thinks. Helen emerges fresh from the shower all hot and attractive. A wave of perfumed steam wafts out of the open door and clouds the mirror over the vanity sink.

“All yours, Reggie.” Says Helen as she towels off the mirror.

“Yeah, great. Thanks.” He replies dejectedly. “Think I will. Cold shower… yeah.” He wipes the sweat from his face.

Later on, the upper deck is buzzing with everyone assembled with Sarah and Sally getting ready to speak to the group on what Sarah’s vision has seen. The elevator opens and Helen emerges with a new change of clothes smelling of fresh scented bath soap and exotic Nahema© perfume. Closely followed by Reggie who is freshly showered, shaved, changed into a plaid jacket with a black sweater, black 501 jeans, and smells of Old Spice Swagger. Chunk makes a gesture of “OK” approval at the clean-shaven Reggie and then nods in the direction of Helen with raised brow and a smile. Whereas Reggie dismisses the innuendo.

Everyone is eating and drinking as Sarah speaks to the group:

“You must understand—” Sarah begins.

“Anytime someone tells me I ‘must understand’ it’s going to be BAD news.” Says Rocky.

Sally turns to Rocky and cocks her head. “If what I saw is accurate… then…” Sarah shakes her head apprehensively. “No… No, I can’t.”

Helen walks over to Sarah and lays a hand upon Sarah’s shoulder.

“Sarah… you need to tell us everything you saw no matter HOW fantastical and unrealistic it may sound! We are not here to judge. But you have got to tell us.” Helen knelt and looked into Sarah’s eyes.  “PLEASE! All our lives could depend upon it.”  Helen momentarily holds Sarah’s face gently in her hands. “Think of the children, Sarah.”

With tears in her eyes and still trembling, Sarah nods and begins. “Okay, just don’t shoot the messenger.”  Slowly she walked over to where Mike was standing. She paused for a moment, and he realized she needed the table and stepped aside, gathering up all the maps and papers that were on it. Chunk offers Sarah a swig off a bottle.  She declines and, seeing Reggie’s glass of Johnny Walker Black, she grabs the glass and takes a hit. She lets out a cough and thanks him with a nod.

“OK, Archeologists and Genealogists have determined that the earliest known civilization settled between 5500-3300 B.C. in early Mesopotamia located at the fork of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. From there grew Sumer or ‘Samaria’ and Sumerian written history which reaches back to the 27th century BC and before.”

Sarah slowly took out a dusty book from her bag and pulls out an ancient large, folded and brittle map. Sarah spreads the map out on the tactical table and places beer and Scotch bottles on the corners to weigh it down. She leans over the map and diligently searches for a point.

“Okay… As far as I can tell… the earliest record of the Tall Man and Lady in Lavender - crossing into our world is around 2544 B.C.  Somewhere around… HERE!” Sarah points to what is now Southeastern Iraq. Mike and Jody take particular note since they and their crew have just returned from there.

“The Sumerian texts speak of a technologically advanced ancient race of ‘Giant Gods’ known as the ‘Anunnaki,’ that came to Earth from a planet made primarily of iron.  It was a dying dark and red planet called Nibiru, 492 light years from the Earth, that had a Red Dwarf sun, which was losing its atmosphere.” Sarah pulls out an orbital map and lays it on the table on top of the topographical map. “Nibiru was thought to rotate through our system – or rather our zodiac – once every 3600 years, the last time being approximately 556 B.C”

“What are you saying?” Mike chimed in and crawled onto a stool to see the materials better. He pauses as he grasps what is being said. “That… they are - what? Immortal? Aliens? Time travelers? What?”  Sarah and Mike met and locked eyes.  “No, that’s BULLSHIT!”  Mike gets up from the stool and crosses over to the refrigerator grabbing a beer from inside.  He snaps off the bottle cap and starts to take a sip. “WAIT a minute!” Mike rejoins the group at the table. “I remember now. That kook, what’s his name… uh, ‘Stitchin—”

“Zacheria Sitchin.” Corrects Sarah.

“YEAH, Sitchin! That’s the dude! That lunatic wrote science fiction novels—”

“Planet X” interjects Chunk, nodding. He looks at Amy. “Hey, I read a lot.” And shrugs.

“Right, Planet X! About Giant aliens that are supposed to have come here and – uh – oh yeah, started the human race or some shit! THAT’S what you think the Tall Man is? Some fictional character from a fake ass planet?”  Mike is pissed!  He looks around at everyone’s faces. “I got news for you! We’ve got people DYING here, lady! We don’t have time for this bullshit fairytale!”

Mike starts to leave, and Sarah says, “WAIT! Please… let me finish.”

“Come on, Mike.” Reggie says, grabbing his upper arm. Not hard, just enough to get his attention. “Give Sarah a chance.  You used to believe in her grandmother’s visions. Sarah saw something important, and we need that information to fight these fucking things.”

“Language, guys!” Says Chunk. He nods towards the sleeping children. “The kids, ya know?” Reggie nods “Okay.”

“Yeah, Little brother.  Let’s hear her out.” Replied Jody. Mike reluctantly agrees and flops back down on the stool.  Jody looks over at Sarah in a motion to “Continue.”

“It’s true, Sitchin, was flawed in many of his theories and translations. But, others, like Heiser and Alford, saw legitimacy in the core theories.”  Sarah took a breath.  With a pen she began a type of flowchart on the back of the Orbital map.  “NASA knows Nibiru as Kepler186f, and its star Kepler186, and discovered it in 2014.  Nibiru (or Kepler186) orbits its sun every 130 days and the radiation waves from its sun are so strong its atmosphere has virtually evaporated.  So, 450,000 years B.C., it is believed that Alalu was the ruler of Nibiru when the atmosphere first began to erode—” Mike cut her off again.

“Wait – I’m sorry to stop you again.”  Mike looked at Jody and Reggie. “I’m not trying to be difficult here. I’m not.”  He turned back to Sarah.  “It’s just… I remember reading in high school about how this guy…”

“Sitchin.” Sarah says.

“Sitchin. I remember reading about his BS in high school. Alot of scientists thought he was an idiot and that his interpretations were inaccurate at best and at worst total bunk.” A pregnant pause permeated the group.

Sarah took a breath and began to gather up the papers on the table.

“WAIT, Ter! Where ya goin?!?!” Sally placed her hands over the parchment to prevent Sarah from lifting it.

“Sally, nobody wants to hear this. I’m wasting time.  It would be like talking to a wall. I could communicate with a Graver better than these guys.” She turns to the group. “OH! No offense!”  The group shakes their heads, as in “None taken.”

“Personally, I want to hear everything.” A deep strong voice from the back of the room comes forward.  Col. Horton walks towards the table putting away the unlit cigar he was chewing on while he was observing the group from across the room. He stops and looks at Sarah and then the group.  “Look, Sarah and – Sally is it?” Sally nodded. “Sally are onto something.  As you are aware, the government is not always… transparent about everything.  So, I – frankly – want to hear what she may or may not know.  If it’s BS, it’s BS.”  He smiles with a broad white toothed smile.  “But we just MIGHT learn something!” Col. Horton looks at the blast door. “Besides, I don’t think any of us are going anywhere tonight.  We’ve got a blizzard out. Could someone put on the coffee?”  Col. Horton motions for Sarah to resume.

Susan jumps up and heads to the mess to begin setting up the coffee.  Sally walks over to check on the children.  Helen takes a spot upfront at the table next to Reggie for a better look.  They exchange a warm smile.

“You warm enough.” Asks Reggie motioning to his plaid jacket. Helen shakes her head “No.” and motions “She’s fine.”

“Their purpose to coming here was to recover gold which, as it turns out, was what was needed to restore the atmosphere on Nibiru. Alalu’s female mate, Ninhursag – later became Ereshkigal - eventually she assumes the vessel of the Lady in Lavender in this century - and she rose to possess great powers. Ereshkigal’s Earth followers built her an elaborate Ziggurat temple in Kutha. She was labeled as ‘Goddess of Kur’ the land of the dead or underworld in Sumerian mythology or—,” Sarah paused.

“Queen of the Dead.” Says Chunk. “Shit. No wonder we have a hard time getting rid of that bitch!”

“Yup.” Replies Sarah.

Sarah looks around the room - she’s losing their attention. Then she looks at Sally who gestures to “go on.”

“They speak of a man who became Ereshkigal’s champion in her court, if you will.” Sarah continues.  “He just ‘appears’ one day out of nowhere in the ancient writings about 34,000 years after the Anunnaki first appeared  on Earth. This is when Anu and his heir apparent, Enlil arrive. By then, Anu’s name is reflected in the cartouche was ‘Bay.’ Bay was a man of letters who could read, write and had a butt load of wealth! In fact, he was considered a chancellor in Ereshkigal’s court! Possibly a distant uncle. They appear over time in multiple religions and civilizations.”

Sarah takes a deep breath. She looks to Sally who nods to say, “Go on.” After a moment, she continues.

“We think that THIS was the Mortician Tall Man. His appearance coincides with several secret ancient rituals of the time and Bays’ arrival which was so abrupt. We think Ereshkigal (the Lady in Lavender) was given wealth, power, status and - most of all - immortality in exchange for her joining the Tall Man - Bay. Numerous scholars concluded that the extraterrestrials’ purpose in coming to Earth was to mine gold and precious elements to take back to Nibiru. They infused DNA into the existing humans here to create workers suited to mining and to be able to control their workers. Into other select humans, they infused a genetic called ORME to produce immortality. Which is recorded in the Old Testament.  This was to endow telepathy, levitate, bilocation, knowing Good and Evil in the room, projecting one’s thoughts into another’s mind, Laying of healing hands, Cleanse or resurrect the dead within two or three days after they have died after they descended to the underworld. Again, in the gospels.”

“This explains why the deepest mines on earth gold mines are.” Says Helen. Sally turns to Rocky…

“This would also explain the appearance of Tanesha in the writings and cartouche.”

“WAIT! WHAT?!?!” Now, Sarah had Rocky’s full attention! “Now I KNOW you’re full of it! I’ve known Tanesha all my life! She was my cousin for cripes sake!”

“Rocky, I saw a vision of Tanesha as Inanna, younger sister to Ereshkigal.” Continues Sarah.  “Tanesha was adorned with precious jewels and dressed in Sumerian finery standing next to a throne. She hands a golden sphere to a beautiful woman dressed in even greater finery of purple and gold and sitting on the throne, Ereshkigal, with a black Siamese cat at her feet. Tanesha bows and assumes her position next to her Mistresses right hand. To Ereshkigal’s left, is Nergal who becomes Bay - the Tall Man - dressed in fine dark linens accompanied by little people in burial robes.” Sarah takes a moment for that to set in.

“Purple Bitch has my cousin?” asks Rocky.

“Lady In Lavender was a victim too.  Because she, as Ereshkigal, broke all the rules ascending to the throne, she was forcibly abducted and drug down to the underworld, called Kur, where she was forced give the same fate to other young women.  When Lavender, Ereshkigal, was able to turn these women into her maids, she rose to be Queen and demanded tribute of them. It was Lavender as Ereshkigal who laid the groundwork for the Mortician to arrive on Earth and she then assumed the role of Goddess over the primitive societies here on Earth.”

“Well, how do they jump?” asks George. “How do the space gates - the portals - work?”

Sally walks over to the computers and pulls up a graphic projection.

“As we know, the body Tall Man assumed was an old 19th century country mortician, named Jebediah Morningside.”  Sally shows an image of a tintype of an old photo, sepia toned, faded.  “Jebediah  was also a scientist and inventor, who closely followed the works of scientist Nikola Tesla.”  She switches to an image of Nikola Tesla and Jebediah Morningside in his laboratory at Morningside Cemetery.

“Jebediah was intrigued in Tesla’s theory and workings with Energy, Frequency and Vibration. In the words of Tesla himself.” Sally continued.

“If you want to find the secrets of the Universe, think in terms of energy, frequency and vibration.” - Nikola Tesla

“This quote,” said Sally, “Drove Jebediah into obsession. Jebediah’s research eventually led him to construct a machine that enabled him to travel through space and time. Inadvertently, he matched the frequency and vibration of ‘something larger’ in the cosmos, which is now known as ‘The Radcliffe Wave,’ and was able to harness it’s power by folding the fabric of time.  Jebediah perfected the equations of Prof. Radcliff and Tesla, using harmonics and vibration.”

“Now THAT’s what I was wanting to know about.” Standing, Col. Horton chimed in. She had his full attention.  “Please! Continue!”

Sarah took over from there. “Jebediah went through the portal for the first time, traveling to a destination unknown to HIM, but later discovered it to be “Nibiru.”  He promptly returned and was irrevocably changed. The human we knew as Jebediah Morningside, never returned to his lab on Earth that night. Henceforth, he was known as the “Tall Man.”  Although Anu, Bay, or Nergal, or whomever the Tall Man incarnates have been, have all come through millions of times throughout the millennia. To the immortals, it is but a day or an hour which had passed.  To our world it has been tens of thousands of years.  Civilizations and risen and fallen because of these two intervening on our planet.”

Sally continued, “In theory, the ‘Radcliff Wave’ is a wave of mass, energy, stars and planets, which folds vertically through our galaxy - our horizontal plane – intersecting it creating an event horizon. As it shortens, the wave arms fold closer together.  The closer together the fold, the closer time and dimension become, making it possible to ‘jump’ using the portals, star chambers, or – as we know them - space gates.  That’s what those containers and dwarves and harvesting of our newly dead are all about.  He shrinks them, ships them, and puts them to work on Nibiru.  Nibiru’s gravity and that of the portal are so compressed that only the dwarves can get through intact.  The natives of Nibiru are able to pass through unharmed because of their genetics.  Those who have the DNA of the ancients, are able to pass through without harm and they are able to slip between dimensions which virtually skips through time!  So, the Tall Man has the Gravers harvest the dead to shrink them into dwarves.” Sally pauses and looks at the room.               “We’ve confirmed it.” She takes a sip from her coffee before proceeding.  Sally turns and leans against the table as the continues.  “For centuries, these dwarves were used to mine the gold and other minerals from inner Earth to be shipped to Nibiru for a method designed to save their planet’s atmosphere.  Sometime around 2000 B.C., Nibiru began to fail rapidly because their Sun, “Kelper186,” which as a Red Dwarf, as I said before, was a very unstable star that emit long range radiation storms that basically burned off the atmosphere of Nibiru – Planet X – or “Kepler 186f” as you will. By comparison, our sun is a class M, G2V yellow dwarf star, which is about 95 billion years old and still stable where Kepler 186 (the sun not the planet) is about 4.6 gigayears (that’s billions) and the current age-determination of the entire universe is between 13 and 14 gigayears. So, it died of old age.”

Sarah turns to George. “Thing is, George, the Mortician has used the portals so often, it has gained the attention of the government minded here on Earth.” Everyone turned to look at Col. Horton who shrugs as if to say, “What?!?”  “Now THEY (and then POINTS to Colonel Horton) want to weaponize and harness the Mortician and Lavender’s knowledge and technology of the portals – space gates – for military purposes! Imagine, if you will, the advantage we would have over an enemy if we could jump time and place in a war? If we could simply place our troops or weapons behind enemy lines by having them drive through a portal? Or, if we could just pop over to another dimension and pick up some extraterrestrial weapons knowledge like you’d drop in for tea? What would that kind of technology be worth in… GOLD?!?!”

Col. Horton walks over to the fridge and grabs a bottle of water, thinks twice, and grabs a beer instead. He begins to speak. “After the death of Nikola Tesla, his journals, papers, and equipment were all sent to the historical archives. About ten years ago, they were all confiscated by our government and sent to Los Alamos for further study. The use of the portals, which closely resembled Tesla’s work, gained the attention of our agencies, and an investigation was begun. The investigation led directly to the Mortician and Lavender.” Col. Horton took as swig from his beer enjoying the cool crispness of the brew which flowed down his parched throat. He smacked his lips slightly before adding: “That’s why I’m here. To keep the government from obtaining and weaponizing the technology.”  Sally pauses for a minute.

Sarah interrupts:  “BULL SHIT!!! THEY don’t want to STOP them! THEY want to ‘bargain’ with the Tall Man and Lavender!”

Everyone is SHOCKED!  Col. Horton who has an indignant look on his face as if to say, “WHAT – WHO ME!?!?!

Rocky is beyond shocked that the man who brought her into this world, who spouted nothing but discipline, morals, and rules all her childhood, the man who spoke of the Code, Valor and Honor… THIS man would betray the HUMAN RACE?!?! In a vulnerable little girl voice, she asks, “Dad?!?! Is this true?”

Rocky instantly becomes FURIOUS! Rocky crosses over to Col. Horton, grabs him by the collar, and plants him against the wall and whips out her Marine Tanga knife placing its sharp edge against his throat!  Beads of sweat rolled down the side of her face and stung her eyes.  “Before you breath…” her voice was quiet and intense and trembled with anger. “Before you utter a sound… you tell me you came here to see ME and not to SPY on us!”

Mike reacted instantaneously grabbing Rocky’s arm.  “ROCKY! NO!!!”

“It’s just the mission baby girl.” The Colonel smiled.  “I had to leave the military when your momma died –”

“LIAR!” screamed Sarah! “He’s a LIAR!!!”  Sarah is visibly upset and finds her voice to confront the Colonel. “You were a PART of it all! You left the military to be the new head of TECH-OPS so that you can get a government contract to ‘harness’ the Tall Man’s technology!”

Slowly, Mike convinces Rocky to let go of the Colonel. She sheaths her Tanga and walks over to a stool nearby.  Reggie makes sure he is standing between her and her dad as the Colonel begins to speak.

“In 1974, Jacksonville, Florida.” Col. Horton began slowly as he looked into the bottle of beer in his rugged hands. He picked at the Dos Equis label as a distraction.  “Three civilians, Gerri, Antoine, and their oldest son, Terry Betz, were putting out a wildfire on their property when they discovered a large silver sphere - like the one that attacked us today.  Terry was a 21-year-old pre-med student and he took the ball home to study.  The Betz’s didn’t think much about the orb until one day when Terry started strumming his guitar near it. According to Gerri, his mother, who became the family spokesman on sphere-related matters, something strange happened: the ball,”  Col. Horton paused and looked up at the others. “Started humming back. Soon the ball started displaying other unusual properties - it would roll around seemingly on its own volition, changing directions and halting abruptly. It even vibrated and emitted a high-pitched sound that sent dogs running away whining, cowering, and covering their ears.  The family complained of ongoing debilitating tinnitus and migraine headaches.” Col. Horton walked over and tossed the beer bottle and to get some coffee. Susan handed him a fresh cup with a slight smile.

“The sphere allegedly fell from the sky and started the fire.”  The Colonel continued.  “It had a rough surface and was made of an alien alloy. It was determined that inside, there were three smaller spheres made of Alloy 431 which has atomic weight of 140 grams.  With curiosity at a fevered pitch on Ft. George Island, everyone and every agency wanted to see it and even the Navy wanted a peek at the sphere. Gerri Betz wrote a contract that gave the Navy two weeks to inspect the ball at Naval Station Mayport, and contracted the government to return it if it turned out not to be military property. In local papers, the Navy stated that they’d found only that the ball was stainless steel, was not their property, and that even though they couldn’t determine what it was used for, it was most certainly from Earth. The Navy suggested that the sphere’s tendency to move around by itself was due to “a small triangular chip lodged in the surface that threw off its otherwise perfect balance,” and the fact that the “Betz’s floors were uneven.” But of course, they’d say that.” Col. Horton finished his coffee and stood.  “They even had a man whose sole mission was to concoct plausible or implausible stories about all things extraterrestrial.”

“Well, I need to hit the head.” Seeing the apprehension on the other’s faces he added, “Don’t worry, I’ll be right back. But, just to finish up… Scientists speculated that were someone ABLE to drill into the Betz sphere, the resulting explosion would equate to a thermonuclear device.  Now, personally, I don’t believe that. I am of the solid metal sphere opinion. But after what I saw today… I’m not so sure.  Anyway, the Joint Forces decided that they couldn’t chance a drone falling into the wrong hands. So, they stored it in Cheyenne Mountain in a deep isolation vault. The appearance of the Tall Man coincides with these spheres and now with all this devastation we’re sure of it.”  Col. Horton ‘Tipped’ his hat at everyone and motioned that he was heading to the latrine.

Reggie motioned to Mike with his eyes to follow the Colonel. Mike nodded and nonchalantly followed him into the men’s room.

Mike made like he was washing his hands as Colonel Horton finished up and exited a stall.  He took the sink next to Mike.  There was a pregnant pause between them.

“Ok… okay.” Col. Horton finally spoke taking a breath. “I rode here with Amy because I had intel that you guys have Sat Com links. I need to report in and give coordinates to my… clients.”

“Are you fucking KIDDING me, Colonel?”  Mike asked. “Damn it! I put my neck out for you! WHAT THE FUCK?!?!”

“It’s okay, Mike! Stand down! Stand DOWN!” Col. Horton replied placing his hands on Mikes shoulders.  “I have NO intention of contacting ANYONE after what I saw today! I’ve spoken with Amy and there’s no way we can trust anyone outside this unit.”

Mike seemed more relieved, but he still wasn’t trusting this man he’s known for ten years in the field.  The two men walk back out to the common area together.  Mike motions for Jody to come over.  Jody slides over to speak to Mike quietly in a corner momentarily. They break and Mike goes around one direction and Jody the other circling the perimeter of the common room.                             Sarah is still extremely upset.

“Reggie… it was THAT MAN’S unit that was in charge of YOUR torture assignment!”                Reggie’s face was trying to register what he was hearing.  “The Colonel’s unit was charged by the government with capturing renegades and performing experiments to extract information about the Tall Man’s world. YOU were one of the few that actually crossed over to the Red Planet and came back intact!  (FURIOUS!) Information that CAPTIVES DON’T KNOW THEY HAVE!”

Reggie moves in a BLUR and cold cocks Colonel Horton who falls to his knees! Rocky pulls her Tanga in automatic reflex placing the blade between him and her father.

“Rocky – The Tall Man TORTURED me for 10 years of my LIFE! THIS prick MADE IT HAPPEN! If Mike and Jane hadn’t found me I would STILL be there!”  Reggie walked away shaking his hand. (“Great!” he thought. “I fucking broke my hand again.”) “I still have fucking NIGHTMARES about it!”  Reggie said over his shoulder as he headed towards the refrigerator.  “I need some ice.”

This begins to register on Rocky’s face as she remembers the horrible images of Reggie captured and tortured in the Tall Man’s head device.

“Dad?!?!” Rocky is that little girl who admired her hero daddy so much. “Daddy this can’t be true.  Reggie is one of my best friends!  We’ve had each other’s backs all these years.” A tear rolls down Rocky’s face. Colonel Horton slowly removes his daughter’s field knife from his throat with two fingers. He is at first complacent. Then his face and demeanor changes - his body stiffens - Col. Horton becomes the hardened soldier again, seasoned in war and spy games!

Reggie has returned with his hand wrapped in a towel and ice.  Col. Horton raises his face and stands facing Reggie. Sweat rolls down his face and Reggie is still huffing and trembling from the encounter. Rocky’s face slides into view.

“…Dad? I don’t hear you denying any of this!”

A moment of anger takes over Rocky’s entire body as she holsters her blade and takes out her GUN!  Reggie walks over from the sink to where Rocky and Horton are and leans in to Rocky.

“Your daddy, Col Horton here,” Reggie began. “Helped the government take captives and put them in that God damned HOUSE OF PAIN I was in!”  Reggie paused and leaned in close to Rocky’s ear.  He whispered intensely. “Don’t you get it, Rocky? Daddy’s a FUCKING SPY!”

Rocky SPINS in an EXPLOSIVE move and puts the gun against Reggie’s head!

In a controlled but shaky voice Rocky stares directly into Reggie’s eyes. “Tell me quick, Ice Cream Man, why my father would spy on his OWN daughter?”

Reggie is about to speak when Sarah intervenes…

“STOP!!!  This isn’t YOU, Rocky! YOU aren’t in control here!”

Rocky doesn’t move. She shifts her eyes (only) for a moment and then back.

“Rocky you need to lower your weapon and listen to me.” Sarah says.

Rocky doesn’t move. Reggie sees Sarah out of the corner of his eye and then back to Rocky.

“You… MIGHT want to listen to the lady, Rocks.”  Reggie says slowly.

Rocky slowly turns her gaze and sees Sarah, Sally, Jane, and Susan all holding various weapons and guns… pointed at Rocky and Col. Horton. Slowly Col. Horton raises his hands. Rocky lowers her weapon.

“Rocky…” Sarah began calmly. “I saw your father in my visions. Col Horton is why I am here. It was to WARN all of you of his presence.” She pauses for a moment.  “Rocky, sweetheart, he has a sentinel in his head!”

No reaction from Rocky.

Sarah pauses looking at Sally and Susan then back to Rocky.

“You know… a sphere!”

REGGIE, CHUNK, SUSAN, and SALLY simultaneously, “A BALL!”

“QUICKLY!” calls out Sarah! “He’s controlling Rocky with his MIND! STOP HIM!!!”

Col. Horton BURSTS into action his eyes going BLACK and then turning GOLD. Rocky let’s out a primal SCREAM!

“AAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!” As Rocky collapses onto the floor!

“SHIT!!!!” Reggie exclaimed grabbing Helen and racing backwards away from the Colonel.

“NOOOO, DAD!” cried Rocky! You could hear the heart of a daughter breaking in her cry. Rocky raises her weapon as she rises and steps back to join Reggie’s side. Rocky does a “roundhouse” kick at Col Horton and… MISSES as he leans back in an UNNATURAL manner! It was like he was made of plastic!  Col Horton stands up again and GRABS Rocky’s ankle, flipping her around when Amy “bum rushes” Col Horton knocking him into the Space Gates and Amy goes through with him! In a moment, they were both gone with no trace left behind. Only a slight ozone smell left wafting in the air.

“NOOOOO!” Chunk SCREAMS, mortified!

Rocky, Mike, Reggie and the “three sisters” stand staring at the space gates as the portal begins to close with a loud SUCKING sound!  Everyone is in shock and can only stand there for a long moment in silence.  Sarah can be heard weeping to herself.

“I am so sorry, Rocky.” Reggie says, placing his arm around her shoulder.

“No, Reg. Man, I’m sorry.”  Rocky turns to look at her dear friend.  “I nearly got everyone killed by my own father - my own blood! Man, I can’t believe I let my guard down like that. That ‘thing’ just took over my dad and HE took over my mind! It was like I was trapped! I couldn’t move on my own will!  It was awful!”

“What you saw before you,”  Sally began. “Ceased being your father long ago, Rocky.”

Mike crosses to Reggie.

“That son of a bitch, Reggie.”  Mike said. “I TRUSTED him. I would have never brought him to our safe house if I’d thought he’d betray us AGAIN.”  Reggie grabs Mike by the arm and spins him around.

“Wait! Mike, what the fuck are you talking about - AGAIN?!!?” He has Reggie’s full attention again.  “Please define ‘again,’ Little Brother!”

Jody places a hand on Reggie’s shoulder scaring the crap out of him.

“SHIT, Jody! What the fuck?” a startled Reggie replies.

“Reggie… I can answer that. Can we take a breath here?” says Jody.

The guys all take a moment and de-escalate.  Tensions are running high but Jody always has a knack for bringing the temperature back down again.

“Since I’m able to transform into a sentinel –” Jody started.

“You mean that ball thing?” Chunk asks.

“What’s the little guy talking about?” A perplexed Susan asks. “Ball thing? Jody’s… human, right? I mean… I think I would know if he wasn’t our ‘Jody!’”

“That’s what he’s been trying to tell you-Suz.” Sally begins. “What WE’VE all been trying to tell you, sweetie. You need to listen to Jody.”

“The times I’ve transformed into a—“ Jody looks down at Chunk. “—a BALL, I was able to, not only see what the sentinels and the Tall Man see, but I’m able to see all their memories throughout all time.”  Jody looks around and focuses on Susan. “There’s a reason… for everything in the universe. It’s all about harmonics - vibrations.”

Jody crosses to the computers and puts in a flash drive.  “George, you wanna get the lights for us?”  The lights dim and we see a 3D projection on the Bunker wall of images falling away from the Earth to outer space, past the International Space Station, to the Voyager looking back upon the Milky Way with a 3D snap of the Universe in which we live.

Jody describes what he saw when he was the Black Sphere and crossed over to the Red Planet.  He describes a “standing wave” at the edge of the universe as he projects an interactive image where he can manipulate angles and viewpoint. It shows the “Radcliff Wave” which intervenes through the galaxy destroying and creating new suns and planets as it does.

“Our galaxy is a spiral with the sun in the center.” Says Jody. “Ours is the 3rd planet of the 3rd Sun of the 3rd universe and it is in perpetual motion.”

“See?” Sarah says to Sally.

“Our galaxy is long spiral like a flat, rotating disk with arms that encircle it. It is about 100,000 light years across and only 1,000 light years thick.”  Jody manipulates the stars. Everyone is engaged, even the kids.

Meanwhile, the tiny “bots” are infiltrating the room and spying on the group. They crawl into the rafters and into the mechanical workings.

Chapter 9 :

From the mausoleum, Lady in Lavender stands over her font viewing through the shimmering, yellow-tinted waters, the scene which plays out before her.  She’s watching the scenes in the bunker and her bots infiltrating the group.

In another area in a deeper part of the catacombs, a set of space gates appear and suddenly Col Horton and Amy tumble through the portal, emerging completely confused and dazed by the experience, as the portal closes behind them. Immediately, two gravers and multiple drones appear from nowhere and take the duo into armed custody.

“Well, ain’t this a pickle?” Amy says.

Col. Horton takes a moment. He raises one hand in a “just a moment” fashion and with the other, reaches into his waistband producing a device that looks like a tuning fork on steroids! With his thumb he’s able to flip a switch and a harmonic sound is produced. Immediately the drones and the gravers stop advancing, turn and walk away.

“Holy CRAP!”  Says Amy.  “That is SO COOL! I gotta get me one of THOSE!”

Meanwhile, the Lady in Lavender is in her throne room, becoming incredibly agitated observing through waters of the font as she sees Jody explaining away all her secrets like someone showing her drawer of unmentionables!

Back in the bunker Jody is continuing to explain what he has seen from the sentinels.  He points to a position on the projected image.

“THIS is Gould’s Belt—” says Jody.

“You mean Orion’s Belt, dontcha?” asks Chunk.

EVERYONE replies in unison, “NO! GOULD’S belt!”

“OK! Geeze!” Chunk shrugs. “Just trying to contribute here!”  Children laugh. Chunk feels dejected.

“An enormous disruption in our galaxy was discovered by the ESA –” Jody continued.

“European Space Agency.” George inputted.  “The ‘Gaia’ Satellite. It took years to analyze the data because the anomaly was so friggin’ big we - well… couldn’t ‘SEE’ it!”

George produces an antique flask and offers it to Reggie who hesitates for a moment.               “Scotch. Blended. 30 years.” George says.

Reggie shrugs with a half cock of his head then takes a long hit. Nods in approval. Then passes it back to George. Rocky shoots a disapproving look. Chunk taps Reggie on the knee. The flask goes to George who hands it to Rocky who takes a hit who hands it back to Reggie who hands it finally to Chunk. Chunk prepares for a greatly anticipated drink when… he takes a swig and it’s EMPTY.

“What the HELL do you mean you couldn’t ‘see’ it?” Rocky chimes in.  “From THIS,” (Rocky points to Jody’s imaging.) “It’s pretty fucking obvious as the nose on our faces that SOMETHING intersected our system!”

Pissed, Chunk tosses the flask then gets up and moves closer to the images, walking under the images and looks UP.

“Forest for the trees…” Chunk says shaking his head and still looking up.

“What’s that, baby?” Rocky asks.

George reacts to Rocky’s endearment.

“Jody’s right.” Chunk says. “It’s HUGE. I can see it from here. But you can’t because it’s SO BIG and YOU guys are UP there! It’s like, not being able to see the forest for the trees. Take a look – down HERE! It’s all a matter of perspective.”

Chunk points up at the images. Rocky, Helen, and Reggie all move and lay down flat on their backs to see — a HUGE Black & Red WAVE slicing vertically through the Milky Way — Stopping just short of our little Galaxy.

“Chunk’s right.” Says Jody. “The Tall Man - Who’s really a conglomerate of all his selves in all their dimensions - has been moving through space and time for … many lifetimes. He encountered our system and SOMETHING - perhaps the sounds that Reggie and many people like him discovered – caused him to stop HERE!”

Reggie removes something from his pocket. It’s his tuning fork. He strikes it. It reminds him of all the times that little piece of metal saved his life over all the years.

“It stops him in his tracks!” Says Reggie.

“Reg, my brother, it stopped the entire RADCLIFF WAVE!” replied Jody.

Reggie looks down at this hands holding the tuning fork. Strikes it again - it RINGS!

“I think…” Rocky begins. Rocky takes the tuning fork from Reggie’s hands and holds it up to study.  “I’ve got a LOT of weapons to make!”

“Wait!” says Jody. “There’s more.”

“What is this? An infomercial?” asks Rocky.

(Smiles) “No… I have more intel from when I crossed over as a sentinel - (Corrects himself.) BALL.” Says Jody.

“JODY!” Mike interjects suddenly! “You CAN’T!!”

Jody looks at Mike with curiosity.

“They HAVE to know, little brother.” Says Jody, calmly.

“Mike? WHAT THE HELL? I’m tired of all these fucking secrets!” asks Reggie. “I mean, if you know something –”

“— you need tell us ALL.” Interjects George. “We’re ALL in this as a TEAM.”

“A Family!” says Sally.

“A Species!” says Helen.

“NO!!!” George suddenly BURSTS into action and throws a Ranger’s Combat KA-BAR knife at Jody! The knife MISSES THE MARK as —the faces of everyone  FREEZE! Especially Susan - who sees Jody for the first time as he REALLY is!  Jody as the BLACK SPHERE hovering in place.

Susan emits a shriek of terror!

Gasps come from those who had never seen Jody in his Sphere form before!

“Man! I never get used to it when you DO that, buddy.” Says Reggie.

“Sorry, Brother.” Replies Jody.

Jody morphs from the black sphere to a gold metallic liquid, into standing nude while modestly covering up with his hands, and finally back into a fully clothed current Jody. Jody turns and looks at a PETRIFIED Susan.

“Hey, Suz.” Jody shrugs. “I’m sorry, tried to tell you.”

Jody addresses the group again.

“What I’ve discovered is that the whole reason for their use - the sentinels —BALLS - is that they can withstand the movement between our planet and theirs on the ‘other side’ without getting stuck between dimensions. Without being crushed that is. Also… they have a HIVE mentality.  What one knows –”

“They ALL know…” Susan realizes! “We’re all in GRAVE danger!”  (Takes a beat and looks at Sarah)

“REALLY?!?! “GRAVE” danger?” Sarah asks. “You had to say ‘Grave’ danger?”

“Heck,” Chunk shrugs. “I liked it! Nice pun.”

As Susan, Reggie and Jody walk away to the map table - Sarah stops suddenly. She’s STRUCK with terror!

“They’re coming!” Sarah says, terrified!

“No…” says Jody. “They’re HERE!”

“How long do we have?” Asks Helen as she loads her weapons.

Jane sees a Spyder spy drone and STOMPS on it… shattering it into a million pieces.

“I’d say, not long.” Says Jane as she kneels down to inspect the pieces of her “kill.”

George activates an interactive map hologram of the universe.

“Earth is the third planet of the third sun of the third solar system.” Says Sarah. “It is no coincidence they chose this place at this time to terra form this planet.” Sarah points to the projection. “The portals have aligned with a convergence of planets.”

“They have had the upper hand over the ages when there were world wars and plagues or global warming.” Sarah continues. “These were all distractions from the Tall Man’s work - he, his minions, the Lady in Lavender and those like them.”

“But we are as old as time.” Says Sarah. (BEAT) “Seers that is. There are constants in the Universe from which nothing can escape. Numbers. Harmonics. Movement. These are all languages which appear and reappear in all civilizations in all worlds in all dimensions and times. It is our strength, our weapon and our advantage.”  Sarah reaches into her Lama bag and produces a Buddhist meditation bowl.  “Tibetan Monks were great warriors and had vast knowledge about harmonics.” She strikes the bowl. “Waves of sound resonate at various speeds and frequencies. We are able to defend ourselves and this knowledge.”

“In other words,” Sally says, “We can stop these stupid balls in their tracks! If we know the frequency we can strike the bowl, a tuning fork… Hell, even half-filled wine glass can produce the correct sound. All of them at the same time can stop a SWARM!”

“I figured that out with the tuning fork.” Reggie remembered again back to the times he was able to freeze the Tall Man and the sphere’s by striking the tuning fork. “So, Sarah, does your… ‘second sight’ tell us what causes it?”

“The Tall Man is only a manifestation in this world as we see him.” Sarah begins. “Everything resonates at a certain frequency, or we couldn’t see it at all. It simply would not exist as a solid on this or any other plane. In another dimension he may appear in another form.  We are able to disrupt his frequency - his projection into this world - when we hit the right note at the right rate. In effect it freezes him and anything fluxing on his rate of vibration.”  She pauses. “Does that make sense?”

“Is that why he hates the cold?” asks Rocky.

“In a way, yeah sure.” Says Sally. “Things resonate slower in the cold.”

The team lets that information sink in. Sarah begins to “see” something.

“Ter? What’s going on? Is something wrong?” Sally asks worried about her friend. She has always been worried that one day she’d lose Sarah to one of her visions.

Sarah doesn’t respond.

“She… seems like she’s in a trance.” Helen responds.

“She is.” Says Sally. She turns to Helen. “Help me get her over here.” The two women move Sarah over to the chair. Sarah continues in the trance.

“Sarah? Can you tell us what you see?” asks Helen.

“Or where you are?” says Sally.

“Is that some sort of trance or teleporting she’s doing?” asks Reggie.

“Remote Viewing.” Chimes Chunk.

Everyone (Except Sarah) turns to look at Chunk in surprise!  (Shrugs.)

“My Mamaw used to do it.” Chunk continued. “We called it ‘the gift.’ Creepy as hell.”

Helen sits beside Sarah and Sally and places a blanket around Sarah’s shoulders. “Sarah? Can you tell us what you see?”

Slowly, Sarah begins to answer. “Yes… I see. In a darkened room there are two tall figures who are humanoid but alien in appearance. They are scientists in some sort of lab coat with a patch.” Sarah draws the emblem on paper in front of her. “It’s like an arrowhead with a lightning bolt in the middle. The beings appear to be working on someone on an examination table next to a high-ranking military soldier… The man on the table is Col. Horton!”

Sarah returns back to her person.

“The Tall Man was watching the beings work! But he wasn’t in his normal body!” says Sarah.

“Could you tell where this place was?” asks Helen.

“Yes. It’s north. In the coldest place in Northern hemisphere.” Sarah responds.

“What?” quips Chunk. “The north Pole?”

“No…” says Sarah.

“That would be Ft. Greely.” Says Helen.

“Ft Greely.” Echoes George.

“Where the hell is that?” asks Chunk.

“Technically it’s Alaska. In the 40’s it was called–” says George.

“—Big Delta.” Reggie responds. “In 1960s it was designated as a SM-1A Power Plant, but conspiracy theorists felt that was a Cold War cover. Now it’s part of the GBMD (Ground Based Missile Defense System).”

“Figures Baldy would know that government conspiracy crap.” Chunk grumbles to himself.

“Do we know where this place is at - EXACTLY?” asks Mike.

“Alaska.” Says Jody.

“More precisely,” says Reggie, “The Alaskan Triangle. Shit goes in and doesn’t come back. (Pauses) Like Bermuda… only a lot colder.”

“Sarah, can you see where exactly they’re located?” asked Sally.

“Yes. It’s a cold, flat area at high elevation.” Says Sarah. “Well protected…. remote…a mountain… with… a Glacier!”

“Mt. Hayes.” Responds Jody.

“DUMB.” Says Chunk. (He pauses as everyone reacts.) “Deep Underground Military Base.” (Pause) “WHAT? I do research too.”

Sarah continues, “…There’s a rise… a dome of some sort to the left. That is where the entrance is to the tunnels which lead to the elevators below. Far below.”

Later, Reggie, Jody, Mike, and the gang are standing before a huge mirror in the bunker. They are sizing it up and murmuring among themselves. Jody pulls a huge black satin cover off of the mirror, allowing the covering to slide to the floor melting into a puddle of dark silky fabric.

“I don’t care!” says Reggie, anxiously. “It’s too damned dangerous. What if you get caught?”

“It’s my choice to make, brother.” Replies Jody.

“YOUR choice?!?!” says Mike. “What about US? What about the rest of the team? If the Tall Man catches you, he’s NOT going to just let you go again for another round! He’s going to KILL you - and for good this time… BROTHER.”

“I’ve survived before. WE’VE survived before.”  Jody paused a moment. “Look… there is no one more uniquely qualified to do this than me. Right? It’s not like we have a choice here.”

“This is fucking SUICIDE, man!” Reggie was almost desperate to prevent his friend from doing this crazy thing.

Jody placed both hands on Mikes shoulders as only a big bother could and looked deeply into his eyes. Mike was trying hard not to give into his base feelings knowing he could lose the last relative he had in this world… again.

“He’s right, Reg.” Mike said.

“Wait?!?! What the FUCK are you talking about, Mike?!?!” Reggie was confused. “What was all that crap about what we’ve been through? All that hell endured to bring us together just to have us torn apart again.”

Not moving his gaze from Jody, Mike repeats. “He’s right, Reg. Only Jody could possibly do this mission successfully.”  Mike turns and walks over to Reggie and places a hand on Reggie’s shoulders. “And we both fucking know it. You did it for me. Now it’s Jody’s decision.”  Mike turns and places his hands on Reggie and Jody’s shoulders in the “Three Amigos” stand. He turns to Jody, “We’ve got your six, big brother. Make sure you come back, okay?”

Reluctantly, Reggie does the same. The three of them have been through so much together, life, death, life again.  Trusting and doubting and in the end always trusting each other’s call.

“I second that.” Reggie says.

“Thank you, man.” Says Jody. “We’re family, right? Nothing’s stronger than family.”

Chunk stands to the side wiping his eyes then crosses over to break up the lovefest. He goes right for the legs.

“Alright, alright already.” Says Chunk as he wipes his nose sniffing. “Break up the hearts and flowers crap. Let’s get our Spook on and kick some Tall Man BUTT!”

Later, a blue laser swings past the Jody ball’s vision as he crosses over to the Tall Man’s dimension through the mirror. It floats silently down the majestic halls of an ancient mausoleum which is lit only by the blue hue of Jody’s sphere. Much like the presidential faces of Mount Rushmore and the Crazy Horse Memorial in the Black Hills of South Dakota, ephemeral images of faces emerge from crypt walls seen only by the dead and the undead. As the silent Jody Ball moves down the corridor, it approaches a hot blinding white room. The light adjusts and …human Jody stands in the room as he tries to make sense of what he is seeing.

“I can see it, Reg. Can you read it now?”  Asks Jody.

Back in the Bunker command center, an elaborate wall of interactive images is projected up on a bank of screens and people are working the different stations. Reggie answers.

“Yeah… thanks, Brother. We can see it all, man.”

In the mausoleum, the door “swooshes” open to a blazing white room and Jody Ball enters silently with the door closing behind him.

“Somebody’s here, Reg.” says Jody and he morphs back to the Jody Ball, taking cover behind an embalming tank.

“Alright everyone.” Announces Reggie at the command station. “Radio silence. Not even a mouses fart.”

Gravers walk into the laboratory on screen carrying a sphere and equipment and approach a man in an old-style laboratory “Johnny” coat. It’s the Tall Man! He’s accompanied by his assistant in a more modern, and curvier lab coat, the Lady in Lavender! The Lady in Lavender takes the sphere from the graver assistant.  She waves her hand over it sensuously and the sphere separates – the lid lifting – inside reveals a red light with a piece of shrunken human brain! She smiles satisfied, waves her hand again with her perfectly manicured lavender nails and the lid closes, then she places the sphere into a crypt. There are seemingly endless rooms of cubicles, with rows and rows of walls and lighted recesses, each holding a sphere hovering in perpetual silence - some with weapons, some with different colored lights. Each seemingly with a deadly purpose to be revealed.

Jody Ball hovers bearing witness to it all in the soundless tomb.

“Welcome. I’ve been waiting for you.” Calls the Tall Man to the Jody Ball in a deep, menacing voice. The figure turns and he’s younger but still indisputably the notorious Tall Man.  “My assistant will show you around. Join me, won’t you?”  His Southern demeaner could be so disarming - to the unsuspecting.

The Jody Ball floats as if on an invisible cushion of air beside the voluptuous Lady In Lavender, as she reveals and elaborates on the purpose of the room. Graciously, the Lady In Lavender approaches an elaborately ancient and intricately carved ornate Red Door – now closed. It is surrounded by a white light emitting from the cracks in the seams of the opening. The door begins to open slowly by itself.

Back in the Bunker, Reggie, Helen, George and others are viewing all of this on a huge tactical viewing screen. It is what Jody as the Jody Ball sees in the Tall Man’s dominion.  On the screen, Jody Ball enters the White Room, there are Millions and Millions of containers with shrunken bodies inside and from each, protrude a tube with yellow fluid bubbling upwards.  Jody Ball’s view follows the bubbling tubes which eventually become truncated together far above.  The beaten and weathered black sphere floats up to take a closer look inside the viewing windows of the containers. Inside one black polymer container is Jody’s old friend, Tommy, who was taken by the Tall Man years earlier, creating quite a start for, not only Jody’s consciousness, but also everyone who saw it back in the bunker!  In another container, are Jennifer and Dawn, or what was left of them, shrunken down and shriveled! The next was the great Col. Horton!

In the bunker, Rocky gasped as she saw her own father’s face, contorted and shrunken, in the darkened confines of the barrel.  Until then, she had been able to keep her feelings of loss at a far distance whenever that Tall Bastard took someone.  This was different.  It hit home and it hit HARD.

The last container was on an end, away from the others, and appeared fresh like Col. Horton’s.  Jody Ball hovered near, but it was very, very dark inside.  Jody Ball turned on his blue beam and peered inside.  “It’s HELEN, Reg!” came an alarmed Jody’s voice!  “She’s perfectly preserved but smaller! Like a child’s doll.”  Jody Ball shined his blue laser into the container to light up the contents.

The image was projected real time back on the bunker viewing screen for all to see!  Reggie’s face reacts instantly to Helen’s tiny face in the container!

“If that’s Helen…” begins Reggie as he SPUN and pulled his side arm, aiming the laser directly on her forehead! “Then who the HELL are YOU?!”

Just then, a sudden BLAST and the entire bunker EXPLODED in a ball of FLAME and yellow smoke! Sphere drones swarm around from everywhere!

“BATTLE STATIONS!” Rocky calls out on the PA, as she hits a red button on the console launching a loud siren alarm! “GET YOUR ASSES MOVING, PEOPLE!”

“EVERYONE!” Cries Helen. “Get the children out of here!”  Helen turns, and with her hand she slowly lowers Reggie’s pistol down away from her head.  She moves in and plants one on his mouth in a warm, caring, lingering kiss. Reggie was perplexed. But it will have to wait. Shit is hitting the fan!

Chapter 10:

M ike awakens on the same damned torture table that Chunk and Jane found Reggie strapped to in the Tall Man’s realm.  He assumes he’s been subjugated to his DUMB bunker. The DEEP UNDERGROUND MILITARY BASE (DUMB), ALASKA.  Mike engages his newfound telekinetic powers - as his eyes turn to gold orbs - and is able to force the restraints loose from around his head. Sparks fly as he forces the electrical current to reverse polarity and FRIES the conduits! A slightly disoriented Mike – now without the gold eyeballs - stands and looks around in a defensive position. Seeing a doorway just ahead, he apprehensively approaches to explore it. The closer he gets; the more intense blinding white light begins to hum and vibrate. Mike passes through another room and…

Suddenly, it’s 1979 in “Reggie’s Ice Cream Shoppe!”  Two male hands with long white sleeves and a black vest are packing a box marked “Menudo” containing “Rocket Pop” icicles and other assorted ice creams. As he whistles to himself, mist rises from the dry ice in the cooler. He backs into the handle opening the cooler, as “In the City” plays on the Juke box. Reggie stops at the counter where a steaming cup of coffee rests. He skillfully balances the box in one hand and takes a sip from the cup with the other then puts it back on the counter.  Pulling a flask from his back pocket, Reggie adds it to the coffee and takes a sip with satisfaction and a smile…

“(SMILES) Good to the last drop!” he says with great satisfaction.

Outside of “Reggie’s Ice Cream Shoppe” on the street, Mike (grown) sees his younger self (at fourteen) standing across the street sucking on a cherry flavored Tootsie Pop as he (fourteen) watches Reggie load his Ice Cream Truck. The two Mikes suddenly see the Tall Man walking down main street! As he does, the Tall Man morphs to the Lady in Lavender in a flowing purple gown and then SUDDENLY SHIFTS BACK to the Tall Man!  Just as quickly, he shifts again to Lavender who is now dressed in a Black form fitting pant suit, heels, white shirt, skinny tie and red tie pin - ala Tall Man - then BACK to the Tall Man, yet AGAIN!!!

“WHAT THA FU—!!!” Exclaim the two Mikes – with the younger Mike dropping his Tootsie Roll! They’ve never seen anything like it in their LIVES! Not as a kid and not as an ADULT! Not in THIS or ANY dimension!

The Tall Man stops at Reggie’s truck and is INSTANTLY frozen still by the cold of Reggie’s truck! Tall Man then becomes Lavender - then back to the Tall Man!

In the Alabama Hills of Southern California, near Death Valley, the sun creeps up in the early dawn. A lizard comes to life on a rock and runs away, in the rising temperatures.

Mike is whistling an ominous tune. In the distance there is a dark figure in desert gear observing Mike.  Mike is hanging from an old dead tree in the middle of nowhere.  A red laser cuts the rope and Mike falls to the ground. As he gathers his wits about him, the glare of the sun shines painfully in his eyes when a distinctive shadow steps in, blocking the sun and providing welcome shade and relief from the heat.  A long arm with an ominous old hand reaches down for Mike. Mike looks up but the figure is silhouetted against the blazing late morning sun. A halo appears around the figure creating a heavenly starburst and causes Mike to shield his eyes. He uses his hand to block the sun to see the figure. For one moment the figure is the Tall Man- the next it is MIKE’s mirror image - present day in dessert gear, helping HIMSELF up off the ground. Mike tries to stand but faints in the heat.

Mike awakens to the crisp coolness of the night air. It is such a relief from the burning heat of the sun from hours earlier.  A figure reaches down to help Mike up and it is Desert Gear Mike, with an “Improvised Explosive Sphere” in one hand and helping himself with the other!

“C’mon! I’ve gotta GO!” urges the Desert gear Mike.

A hearse explodes in a HUGE ball of fire only yards away! Mike is laying prone on the ground unresponsive from the hearse explosion. In the distance, Mike hears Reggie calling to him:

“MIKE! (Frantically!) MIKE! WHERE ARE YOU?”

Hands reach down, dressed in black suited arms with white cuffs, and remove a large gold sphere painfully from “Mike’s” head extracting an agonizing SCREAM! TEARS of torment stream from his burning eyes now blind with searing PAIN!  Mike’s body trembles with agony and shock, and he collapses helpless on the sandy ground as his heart takes its final beats of life.

The figure steps back and it is the Tall Man– who then becomes Tall Man Mike turning and passing through the Space Portals. Just inside, after passing through the gates, Tall Man Mike pauses examining the Gold Sphere in his hand, covered in human Mike’s blood. Tall Man Mike looks back through the portal and sees Reggie kneeling beside human Mike.

“Hold on, Mike! I’ll be back!” Reggie desperately pleads with Mike.

In the portal, Tall Man Mike “BLINKS out” just as Reggie reaches his four-barrel shotgun and jumps through the portal.  After Reggie disappears, Tall Man Mike “BLINKS” back with sphere in hand. He crosses back again approaching the body of Human Mike and kneels down, while a female hand reaches in and becomes the Lady In Lavender who strokes Mike’s head, briefly touching the gaping wound where the Gold Sphere once was. IMMEDIATELY the site is HEALED! Lady In Lavender lays her hand on Mike’s head like in a “blessing” or a caress and Mike’s eyes open!  He blinks a few times trying to focus – confused by what he sees and is feeling.

“Am I dying?” Human Mike asks.

Curiously, Mike realized that the pain was diminishing as quickly as it had started! He was beginning to feel cold, however, and wasn’t sure if it was the desert night air or if it was another dimension, or if it was death taking residence in his person.

“We’re not done with you.” Purrs the Lady In Lavender.

“What… ARE you? WHO are you?” Human Mike asks.

The Lady in Lavender smiles a perfect smile. “A darkly attractive young man.” Thinks the mistress.

“There are many references to beings who walk between worlds. They have existed for 1000s of years and will exist 1000s more.” She tells him.

Lady In Lavender strokes Mike’s head as a mother or nurse would do to her charge. Then she continued on:

“The Ancient Ones were warriors, just as you are. And, just as you are, they fought the games of Survival.” Lady In Lavender Continued.

“There HAS to be more than just… SURVIVING!” replies Mike a little stronger now.

“Why?” asks Lady in Lavender. “What else is there? It is the story of all time.”

Mike passed out as a cloud of darkness and cold engulfed him.  After what seemed to be hours, Mike was on the ground and sat up! Startled to discover no one is around and the space gates are gone! The smoldering burned-out hearse is there and nothing more save the smell of gasoline and charred plastic. Not far from the hearse Mike spots something on the ground. Cautiously, he approaches and picks it up… it is his journal and a scorched canteen. He sits down and leans against the hearse, takes a swig and cringes!

“AACK! Scotch! Must be Reggie’s!” Thinking of his friend, Mike pauses and smiles. “Fuck it.”

Mike takes a larger swig, settles down next to the hearse and begins to read.

Thousands of miles away in the DUMB bunker, an EXPLOSION RIPS through the main hall almost one mile underground! All hell breaks loose as drones fly and debris rains down. Everyone runs for cover. Rocky runs to the weapons cache and everyone grabs their whoop-ass of choice.

In the middle of a wild fight scene at the bunker suddenly everything slows to SUPER SLOW MOTION! There is an absurdly loud TICK-TOCK, TICK-TOCK as everything moves as if in a vortex of some sort! Reggie and Helen are together in the fight when Reggie realizes he can walk almost normally - slow but not frozen in time.

TICK-TOCK as every moment ticks off approaches the space gate.

TICK-TOCK Reggie walks past fighting while bullets are suspended in mid-air. He just flicks them away.

TICK-TOCK Reggie approaches the Space Gates even closer and realizes he can see “into” the portal.

TICK-TOCK time is slowing even MORE. Reggie continues to move forward. He passes a sphere and knocks it away like a pool ball.

TICK-TOCK closer still as the gates align. Reggie can almost see now … there appears to be a “line” of gates within the portal. Like looking into a fun house mirror.

TICK - Reggie stands in the middle of the gate. It is fully aligned. Reggie sees - for brief moment - himself looking at HIMSELF!

“FAR OUT!” Reggie comments to himself.

Reggie turns back to see if someone is there behind him.

TOCK - The other Reggie is GONE.

But the Tall Man IS there… who becomes… the Lady in Lavender.

Reggie blinks and the Tall Man is walking down the street as Reggie is loading the ice cream truck. Reggie can see two Mikes - one is young Mike, sucking on his cherry Tootsie Pop - the other is current Mike observing it all! Current Mike sees Reggie, they lock eyes for just a moment. Mike gestures to Reggie with his head to “look!”

TICK - It is the Lady In Lavender in a splendid absurdly long flowing lavender gown and red pendant walking down the same street as the Tall Man did. As the time ticks off it switches between the Tall Man and the Lady In Lavender.  The Lady In Lavender’s attire begins to switch to a black suit, white shirt and black tie with a red tie tack. As she walks, it becomes more and more obvious that the Tall Man is becoming the Lady in Lavender. Finally, the Tall Man turns in response to the cold of the Ice Cream Truck and becomes instantly immobilized!

TOCK - The Tall Man now faces Ice Cream Man Reggie and becomes the Lady In Lavender with a black suit and tie!

“BOOOOOOOOYYYYYYY!” Emotes the Tall Man/Lady In Lavender!

The world EXPLODES around Reggie! Spheres whizz around him like flies, buzzing, bullets fly, lasers ZOOM past, EXPLOSIONS blast, debris rains all around as time returns to “normal present.” It was like Reggie was back in `Nam!

Reggie stands in shock with chaos all around. He reaches into his pocket for his tuning fork, kneels, raises his arm and brings DOWN the tuning fork with a MIGHTY BLOW upon the fender of the Ice Cream Truck and everything STOPS!

The world is deafening silent. Reggie can hear himself breath. The breathing is loud like inside a helmet with a slight “wheeze” to it.

BREATH IN… BREATH OUT, Reg raises his eyes to see the inside of EXPLOSIONS, debris, fighting, all suspended in midair. The gate remains in front of Reggie.

BREATH IN… BREATH OUT Reggie stands with tuning fork in his hand.

BREATH IN… BREATH OUT Reggie turns his head - JUST as a saw blade drone whizzes past clipping him!

BREATH IN… Reggie lets out a yelp and falls to his knees. He STRIKES the tuning fork again and freezes in place!

BREATH OUT… Just before he passes out, Reggie’s last view is Helen who has been struck across the throat with the saw blade drone and is bleeding profusely!

Everything seems to return to a normal timeline. The chaos all around is like a war zone! We hear calls for “Medic!”

“MEDIC!” George screamed above the chaos!

George runs to Helen and removes a scarf wrapping her throat to stymie the bleeding. “MEDIC!!! GODDAMN IT where ARE you?!?!”

George turns back to Helen frantically trying to stop the bleeding.

“Oh GOD! Oh GOD! Oh GOD! Don’t GO, Helen! Please don’t DO this! We NEED you! REGGIE needs you!” George paused for just a moment and leaned in. “I NEED YOU!”

Medics arrive and begin working. They apply “Quick-Clot” Bandages, which coagulate the cuts and seal them off. The bleeding seems to stop.

“OK - GOOD, it’s stopped. She’s stabilized.” Says the Medic. “Let’s get her inside. Watch her neck.” The medic and others place Helen on a back board and take her inside the bunker.

In her lair, Lady in Lavender is “suiting up” in an ornate armor with her servants dressing her. They run to and fro’ frantically trying to please the fickle mistress.

Lady in Lavender takes an ornate goblet from her minion, stands and approaches the font of water before her. With a long lavender nail, she stirs the yellow tinged waters transforming them into a lavender mist. The mist thickens and swirls and clarifies as she sees Reggie’s face in PAIN reflected in the visage.

“Alchemy!” Lady In Lavender called for her minion. Alchemy enters wearing a stunning cat suit.

“Yes, Mistress?” responded Alchemy.

“Alchemy, have you perfected that… ‘gift’ we awakened within you?” asked the Mistress.

“You bet your sweet ass, My Goddess. Oh, sorry, Mistress.” Alchemy retorted.

With her hand Alchemy swirls a green fog of smoke from her hand. Across the room a servant Graver passes by with a sphere. Alchemy motions with the green smoke and uses it like a whip grabbing Graver by the throat bringing him to his knees and into submission before her. The sphere hovers and we hear a slight “snickering” sound from the chrome dome.

“Excellent, my deadly one. You’ll have ample opportunity to exact your revenge tonight.” Lady in Lavender lavishes praises upon her apprentice.

Alchemy CRACKS the green smoke-whip and snaps the Graver’s head cleanly off his torso with a wicked grin on her masked face. She laughs maniacally, like a demented Marie Laveau in a black sequined Mardi Gras mask.

In the DUMB bunker, Reggie sat with a face in abject pain from his wound - both physical and emotional at seeing Helen attacked by a drone. A medic arrives and is JOLTED to realize who is the victim!

“IT’S REGGIE!” (To Reggie) “Let me see….LET ME SEE!!!” demands the Medic.

Reggie’s wound is bad and bleeding profusely. An arterial spray squirts the medic directly in the face. “GREAT! Just GREAT.” Thinks the medic.

“AAACK!” The Medic wiped the blood away and applied a “Quick-Clot” Compress on the wound to stop the bleeding.  “It’s serious but not life threatening. You’ll live to fight another day, my man!”

Chunk has seen the whole Reggie thing play out from his “unique” low vantage point.  He now stands before the space gates which have since closed. He’s upset at the disappearance of Amy through the gates.  Chunk’s eyes glisten in internal pain as he makes the connection. It registers on Chunk’s face… he now knows what must be done.

Later, Chunk is in a fitful sleep about Amy and Colonel Horton being sucked through gates and is having nightmares of being in the Tall Man’s dimension and being burned alive and scarred for life. He awakes to a realization!

The loud humming of the Space Gate portal could be heard throughout the bunker. Chunk has been standing before the gate for a long time when Rocky finds him…

“S-h-h-i-i-i-t.” Chunk shakes his head to himself.

“Hey, big guy. I’m so sorry about Amy.” Rocky approached Chunk scaring him half to death. “I know you really cared about her.”

“Yeah… I’m sorry Rocky. I really did. We had so much in common, ya know?” He paused. “Rocky, I gotta go through the gates and I’m the only one who can.”

“Are you out of your shrunken fucking mind??” Rocky’s demeaner switched in a NY minute! “You’ll DIE in there! Or WORSE!”

Chunk touches his scarred hand to Rocky’s face.

“We need to know the Tall Man’s end game here. Maybe I can blend in and figure out how to stop this fucker.”

“Why does it have to be YOU?” Rocky began to tear up. “Let some other desperate assholes go.”

“Rock… who else is going to blend in on his planet? Your tofu guy? Reg?”

Chunk looks around at the bandaged broken bodies behind them and gestures with his scarred arms.

“…. them? Jody’s gone and we don’t know if he’ll be back. It has to be me. And… we’re wasting time here; I got the space gate back open, but, the portal is closing.  I gotta MOVE NOW.”

Chunk kisses Rocky and crosses over to the space gate portal. STOPS to look back. Starts to say goodbye and is SUDDENLY SUCKED THROUGH! Chunk lands with a tumble rolling down on the rocks. He stands and brushes himself off, pulls hooded robe out of his backpack, smells it (makes a stinky face) and puts it on.

“Okay…. Let’s roll, baby!”

Chunk looks around and realizes he has discovered a structure. He enters and sees a very ornate throne room. Upon a pedestal in the middle of a hot dark red room is a glowing orb. As Chunk approaches it glows even brighter. Chunk picks up the orb and it COMES ALIVE!

“SHIT.”

Chapter 11:

A my and Colonel Horton are hidden, covertly observing people being escorted by gravers and drones walking down a truly surreal red hallway.

“OK, you have the sphere in your noggin,” Amy says in a whisper. “So, where the fuck are we?”

“I have no fucking clue.” Replies Colonel Horton.  “I can tell we are in the hive somewhere.” Horton pauses sensing the air. “I feel the Tall Man’s presence and the presence of many others. But there’s no real sense of… direction. Yet.”

In another part of the lair…

“I see you, little one.” Smiles the Tall Man in an ominous voice. “And my drone has lead you right to me.”

Amy shoots Colonel Horton an angry look. He is immobile and unaware. Amy tugs on his pant leg to get his attention.

“Hey! Asshole! Where do we go now?” he doesn’t answer. Amy persists. “How do we get back? How can we find another portal? How do they know we’re here? HEY!” Amy hauls off and kicks Horton solidly in the shins! No reaction!

“Shhh…” whispers Horton.  “The Tall Man’s not talking about us… there are others.”

Suddenly up ahead and around the corner come Jody Ball and Chunk, followed by a BUNCH of humans (including a batch of kids) and a SWARM of DRONE spheres giving chase and shooting lasers at them! Jody Ball SPINS and fires a laser beam at the drones striking some, missing others, while the humans are ducking. One of the kids grabs something from their satchel and tosses it at a DRONE! It falls immediately to the ground. The kid stops and grabs it - it’s a STICKY BOMB NOW - and he spins it around tossing it like a bolero at the pursuing DRONES and GRAVERS!

A LOUD percussion and, suddenly, GRAVERS AND DRONES go flying through the air and smash against walls! A slight cheer rises from the group!

“HEY!” Chunk says, “There’s AMY and the Colonel!”

Amy and Chunk run to each other and give a huge hug and quick kiss.

“Okay, enough of that happy horse shit.” Amy regains her composure. “Let’s get a move on! Where do we go?”

“THIS way!” Replies Jody, now human again.

The entire human group jams down another short hallway towards a red door. Colonel Horton reaches and opens the door and immediately a LOUD droning humming SOUND in a RED ROOM greets them! Inside is a GIANT SPACE GATE! After everyone is inside Colonel Horton holds the door.

“You gotta go, NOW!” Says Colonel Horton.

“WAIT! What?!?!” proclaims a stunned Amy. “Rocky will KILL us if we don’t bring you back!”

“She’ll understand.” Says Colonel Horton.

Colonel Horton kneels down to Amy and hugs her.

“Look,” Colonel Horton says intensely. “there’s a LOT for which I need to atone now. In time, I hope Rocky will understand. But I’m trusting that you can help her see that I tried to do the right thing when it mattered.” Amy’s eyes teared up and Colonel Horton reached up to wipe her wet cheeks. “Can you do that for me?”

“I can…” Amy says smiling through her tears. “and I will.”

The Colonel and Amy hug.  Then, turning, Amy grabs Chunks hand and they run through the portal just as it closes with a resounding SWOOOOP!

Meanwhile, Rocky takes a moment to take in what has just happened. She wonders if she’ll ever see the little man ever again.  Rocky is getting ready to walk away from where the portal closed, and Chunk had just disappeared. Hearing a noise, she spins around to see the NEW portal arrive! OUT pour children, the JODY BALL, CHUNK and AMY hand in hand…. and the gate quickly CLOSES again! Rocky stands for a second waiting for one more to emerge – looking for her dad to bring up the rear.

Amy turns to Chunk and gestures “Just a minute” then goes over to Rocky. Amy jumps up onto a tree stump next to her.

“I’m sorry, Rocky.” Amy takes Rocky’s hand into hers. “Sweetie, your dad’s not coming back.”

Chunk walks over and Amy gives him a “JUST A MINUTE” look. Amy responds with an anxious shake of the head.

“Your dad gave me a message for you, Rocky.” Amy begins. “He said that you’d understand that he had to make things right. That he had to… atone for what he had done? He also said that he loved you. In the end, sweetheart, the Colonel acted like a DAD instead of a soldier. He said he wanted me to… try to help you understand.”  Amy paused for a moment wondering if she had accomplished her task.

Rocky is crying - against her will - and trying not to show it.

“Thank you for that.” Rocky says quietly.  “I appreciate it. I just… wish we had had more time together.”

Amy and Chunk take a moment and start to walk away leaving Rocky to her thoughts. George stands from afar watching the whole thing play out. He approaches the couple, and they exchange hugs then George walks over to Rocky.

“Hey.” George says tentatively. “Tough day.” George sits on the tree stump, almost misses, but quickly recovers.

“Yup.” She replies stifling a grin.

George retrieves his flask and hands it to Rocky.

“Thanks.” Rocky says as she takes a hit. “AAACK! It’s WATER!”

“Sorry!” George shrugs.

“It’s okay, man.” Rocky gives a brief smile.

Rocky takes another deep swig and hands it back to George. He takes a hit and replaces the top. Rocky suddenly grabs George and plants a HUGE long kiss on him! The two take a moment and look into each other’s eyes with deep approval and affection. Without removing her gaze or missing a beat, Rocky smiles and says:

“OKAY, PEOPLE! We’re burning daylight! Get Reggie’s Rocket Pop fired up and the Ravager gassed and loaded! Let’s get this show on the road!”

A caravan of the Cuda, Rocket Pop ice cream truck, the Ravager Personnel Carrier Bus and a myriad of other cars, motor bikes, Trykes, four wheelers, trucks pulling trailers with four wheelers, and semi-trucks all up-armored and all headed down a long, lonely stretch of road.

Overhead another unseen caravan of drone spheres approaches the convoy. Without warning, explosions erupt from lasers finding their marks on the middle vehicles!  Cars FLIP and SCREECH to a halt to avoid the carnage in front of them on the road. The rear vehicle is targeted and FLIPS landing on the lead car JUST missing the Cuda!

Inside the Cuda, now in the lead, Mike sees the carnage behind the caravan in his rearview mirror!

“OH SHIT!” Mike PUNCHES the gas!

“They’re here!” Jody concurs without even looking back through the rear window!

At the helm of the Ravager Personnel Carrier, George sees the carnage start. He deploys the detractors which fly in every direction luring some of the smaller drones away from the group. Some of the men in the carrier grab weapons from the cache in the floorboard and begin to return fire. A few are hit just as George presses a button on the console which flips the metal plates down over the windows protecting the occupants.

In back of the Ravager, George is suddenly mortified. There is a PINK HEARSE barreling towards them to beat the band with a crazy ass woman driving! It’s ALCHEMY! The Pink Hearse takes no prisoners and slams into everything in front of it! Cars go off road, sideways, flipping and on top of each other!

Alchemy grins CRAZILY as she’s creating carnage with the pink hearse slamming into anything and everything in her path! As she mows down a path to get to RAVAGER! With a flip of a wrist, she is able to SPIN RAVAGER sideways and onto its SIDE, catching it on fire, trapping people inside!

While drones are attacking, a HUGE MONSTER DRONE approaches overhead and fires lasers at the group! A direct hit to the ROCKET POP ICE CREAM TRUCK sends it FLIPPING ass end over tea kettle, back to front, and landing on its top with Reggie and Helen inside! Reggie is unconscious and Helen is again bleeding badly. She sees out the window… as ALCHEMY, now on foot, approaches with an evil grin worthy of the Lady In Lavender!

As she approaches, Alchemy brings out her Green Smoke whip and SNAPS it at Helen dragging her from the wreckage! Helen screams and Reggie begins to awaken. Regaining his orientation, Reggie realizes what’s going on and tries to reach for Helen just as she’s going out the window!

Reggie struggles with the straps and reaches for a knife in his pocket and cuts himself free. He falls upside down and lands on his head, cursing as he goes. Helen is over to the side of the road and Reggie is able to crawl over to her. Alchemy SNAPS the GREEN SMOKE WHIP grabbing Reggie JUST as he is about to reach Helen, once again snatching her from his grasp. With that, Alchemy TOSSES Reggie across the road and he lands on the hood of another vehicle with a painful THUD.

The Cuda has stopped sideways in a defensive position with other vehicles in a “circle the wagons” maneuver. They are attempting to save the remaining vehicles and people, as children are crying, and the screaming of injured and dying can be heard. Laying in the weeds Reggie begins to regain consciousness again. He raises up and sees down the road… His vision is blurred at first. Then, slowly, it begins to focus with ears ringing from the concussion.

Walking in slow motion from out of the fire, smoke and mayhem m is… the LADY In LAVENDER… her signature flowing ornate lavender gown blowing in the wind. Overhead is the HUGE SILVER SHINING MONSTER SPHERE hovering and humming a sickening low melodious drone.  Behind Lady In Lavender, emerges a nightmare Reggie had thought he’d dealt with years ago. The dense grey/lavender smoke begins to part and a familiar hideous face form. It is the FrankenGraver that steps out and fires up a flame thrower! Reggie thought that he and “Charlie” had left that beast dead and in a million pieces long ago back in `Nam!

George tosses Reggie a MOAB (Mother of All Balls) and motioned to the FrakenGraver. Reggie nods in understanding. He motions to get everyone out of here!

In the distance, Reggie sees a cave in the cliffs slightly above and behind them.

“The CAVE!” Reggie yells, pointing! “Head for the cave!”

Everyone turns around and makes a dead run up the hill to the cave. The drones give chase firing along the way. Explosions persist and bodies of the innocent fly through the air from the percussions! Spheres are ZIPPING by with blades and drills extended, taking off body parts from ears to arms, landing in foreheads and chests and emerging through mouths! Some hit with such force they plunge RIGHT THROUGH heads one after another! Still, the warrior tribe continue to RUN up the hill to the caves! Amazingly, the ones who make it are unscathed for the most part.  But there were many who didn’t make it and even more who were injured. Some were gravely injured with horrible, gaping wounds, from the drills and blades of the sentinels, searing burns from explosions, and scorching blisters and third degree burns of the flame throwers.

When he was SURE that most of them were about to get away, Reggie activated the MOAB and gave it his best fastball pitch to the FrankenGraver! The 7ft monster grabbed the MOAB and studied it curiously. It began to make a loud whistling sound which grew in intensity as the red, white and blue lights began to spin on the outside around the ball.  Reggie had begun to run up the cliff as he felt an EMF percussion behind him! Diving behind a rock, Reggie could see the EXPLOSION then IMPLOSION and saw a puff of smoke where the FrakenGraver once stood! The Lady In Lavender was still out in front and unphased! The MASSIVE drone overhead was gone, but the thousands of smaller drones were still coming!

Reggie and the Team is able to reach the interior of the cave and to regroup, only to find they are in pitch black so dark they can’t even see their hands in front of their faces!  The children are matched up with the older teens and adults, to waylay their fears and keep them from getting lost.

“Mommy?” asks one little girl.

“Yes, dear?” responds her mother in a shaken voice.

“Mommy, how are we going to see the monsters in the dark?”

“That’s a good question.” says George.  “Most of our gear is in the vehicles or the bunker.”

Reggie stumbles up to the group having climbed up the hill.  He approaches the little girl and kneels down to talk to her on her level.

“You’re a brave girl!” Reggie says, smiling. She returns a tentative smile. “What do you think we should do so we can see the monsters?”

“I know!” she says! “I have my magic watch!” She points to her wristwatch and pushes a side button.  It turns on a red light that surprisingly illuminates the cave corridor!

Reggie looks up at Rocky and George.

“I think the kid’s onto something here!”  He turns back to the young girl. “That’s a REALLY smart idea, sweetheart!  Good job.”

Standing, Reggie turns to the group.

“The red light is not as perceivable by the drones as a white light.  If we have any red or even green lights on either your cell phones, watches, field lights or anything… now is the time to light `em up!  We need to get moving!” Reggie reaches into his rear pocket and pulls out a luminescent glow stick – SNAPS it – and tosses it onto the ground ahead.  He pulls out three more and SNAPS them… holding one up to see his way and tossed one about every 10 or 15 feet as he progressed along the cavern.

Rocky and the others produce different variations of the same. Some had cell phones, others had light sticks, still others use field flashlights that had a filter of either red or green over the light.  It seemed to be working.  They could see, but there was no sign of the drones or the gravers.

The team slowly felt their way along the path in the darkness through sharp edges of what seemed like miles and miles of underground caverns.  The children and Elders in the rear and stronger warriors in front confronting and dispatching occasional Gravers, dwarves, and more Sentinel Spheres along the way. More often, the team would send up a silent hand signal to let the others know of the danger ahead and they would rapidly retreat into the crevasses and nooks, blending into the darkness by covering or extinguishing their safety lights.  Once the danger had passed, they waited a few moments and then proceeded on their way. To where, they had no idea.

Eventually, the group emerged into a VAST cavernous cave and in the middle, hovered a space gate! The Team approached cautiously, with children and Elders remaining farther behind staying closer along the walls of the cave. Some of the members with weapons, face out in a peripheral guard watch pattern. Reggie, Mike, Rocky, George and the others move in closer to investigate.

The space between the gates moved like a mercurial plasma in constant motion. The closer the group gets, the more transparent the gate became. Once they were in proximity of the mirrored gate, Rocky placed herself directly in front of the portal.  She was fascinated by the sensorial perceptions she was feeling.

“What the hell IS it?” Rocky asked in an almost dream like state.

“Space Gate.” Replies everyone in unison.

“Portal.” Says George. “It’s a window of sorts to the Tall Man’s dimension – possibly to Nibiru, the Red Planet.

The team sees a reflection as the plasma finally clears. For an Instant, they can see themselves on the other side! They were the same but alter egos of themselves. The images shift again and become… The Lady In Lavender and her Team Lavender with Alchemy, Dawn, Jennifer, and many others thought lost!

Lady In Lavender raises her voluptuous hand and a SUDDEN HUGE blast wave  surge forth through the portal, knocking Reggie, Rocky and the team down like bowling pins! Bodies are tossed through the air, across the cavern, crashing into the walls of the cave! Lady In Lavender and her minions move as one through the gates as if floating  on air! Reggie quickly begins to stir and get to his feet. He sees the Beast weapon on the ground nearby and reaches for it, but Lady In Lavender “flicks” it away with the wave of her hand, like it was nothing. Gravers begin to emerge and THERE WAS FRANKENGRAVER a little worse for wear but functional! He and his minions make quick work fighting and killing everyone they come into contact with and without regard for gender or age – young, old, male, female, child, animal - no one and nothing was exempt! It was a blood bath! The children (especially) were grabbed and carted away like cords of wood through the portal!

“NO! NO! NO!” Rocky cries out!

“STOP IT YOU MUTHAS! COME GET ME IF YOU WANT TO KILL SOMEONE!”  Reggie screams! He DIVES for the Beast Gatling Shotgun and lets loose with the rapid fire 12-gauge rounds PLOWING down the Gravers like a “Grandpa RAMBO!” Unphased, Lady In Lavender continues her mission.

“These little ones will transport nicely!” says the Lady in Lavender as FrankenGraver walked by with a little girl tucked under his arm.  She screamed uncontrollably for her mother - with tears in her eyes - as she saw her lying at the base of the cave wall, her head covered in blood! Hooded dwarves were everywhere collecting the dead and dragging them to the portal for transport. They have a new SPHERE! Dwarves attach it to the forehead of a body and remotely activate it causing the body to levitate for easier transport!

Just as the Gravers with the little girl reach the portal, Reggie fires at the Gravers hoping to stop them and the Beast rounds pass right through like they weren’t even there!  In a blink, they were gone!  Lavender raises her hand and grabs the air! Reggie is brought to his knees gasping for breath!

In the DUMB Bunker on the Lower Level, Sally and Susan have been remote viewing and can “see” what is happening. Sally and Susan with faces of agony watching their friends die and suffer. Helpless to aid them.

They can see Helen down and bleeding. Rocky has been injured and barely moving. Many others are either dead or dying. Reggie turning blue from lack of oxygen!

Sally turns and addresses other computer screens.

“My dear friends of all the Nations! The World is in need of your help! WE need your help! Our friends are dying, and the Tall Man is coming! If we don’t stop him and his demented protégé, The Lady In Lavender, YOU will be NEXT! WE are the last bastion of hope! Please follow my friend, Susan’s instructions to the letter and when our Sensei, Sarah, tells us – it is VERY important to STRIKE simultaneously creating a single note that resonates across continents! Achieving this physically will be challenging! It will require Resonance of a Fundamental Frequency—a pure, unwavering, sustained note.  This note represents a universal truth! It will represent our HUMANITY! The vibration will be at a frequency that transcends language, culture, and politics.”

Susan continues, “The next is that it is IMPERATIVE that the People worldwide focus on this shared intention. Whether it’s peace, healing, or hope, as long as the collective energy aligns, the Intent becomes the driving force.”

“Each person contributes their instrument of harmonic force.” Says Sally.  “It can be voices where singers harmonize, representing humanity’s diversity. Or Instruments: Pianos, flutes, drums—all playing the same note. Hearts: Can be the most resonant instrument of all by focusing on its rhythm and slow its pace. The Earth then itself becomes the resonating chamber.”

“At a chosen moment, the world will fall silent in open meditation.” Continues Susan. “People must listen—not with ears, but with open hearts. When struck, the note will reverberate through our collective consciousness.  As the note sustains, overtones emerge, a higher harmonic will rise, connecting all the souls of the world – THIS world.  From this connection, comes UNITY, binding the continents of Earth, resonating through Her core!”  Susan pauses.  “Finally, is the Eternal Echo. Even after this moment passes, the note of unity lingers.  It will echo in memories, dreams, shared stories and become a timeless vibration, connecting generations to come. Remember, this metaphorical note isn’t JUST about physics—it’s about intention, unity, and the power of human connection through Peace, Love, and Harmony.”

There are murmurs from the computer screens in front of the two women. Then, a sudden cheer and applause! Sally and Susan look at each other stunned and smile with a nod.

“Let’s get to work!” says Susan.

In the cavern, Lady In Lavender speaks, but her voice is that of the Tall Man, “So, Small Man, do you still wish to bargain for the lives of your … Friends?”

Lady in Lavender releases her invisible grip on Reggie’s throat.  He is bleeding but conscious and his color is returning. Mike is nearby and beginning to reawaken. Yellow blood trickles from an old wound on his head which has now reopened. Reggie slowly and painfully moves to his knees and then stands.

“Why should I bargain with you, you BITCH?” Reggie pauses for a moment to consider. “You - HE - will just change the fucking game again!”

Reggie staggers to his feet, barely able to stand. He uses the Beast as a crutch. Reggie looks around again. The feeling of anguish and anger come across his face. Mike become fully aware of his surroundings.

“REG! Don’t DO IT! Don’t listen to it!” Mike manages to gasp out.

“You still play a good game, Ice Cream Man.” Lady In Lavender replies.  “But the game continues. Make your choice… Deal or No Deal?” Her toothy grin showing.

“THIS IS NOT A FUCKING GAME SHOW!” Reggie’s rage SPILLS forth as he tries so hard to contain himself!

Susan and Sally in the DUMB Bunker use fireplace electric matches to light candles and incense as Sarah begins to chant, use tuning forks and a Buddhist bowl to produce harmonic waves.  The entire bunker begins to resonate with the harmonic vibrations. On several screens around the room are images of people in all different cultures from around the world doing the same. Australian Aboriginals playing the traditional Didgeridoo. Africana Shaman performing dances and singing; Lakota and Blackfeet on traditional drumming and flutes, Tuvan and Mongolians performing throat singing “Khoomei.”  Still others with instruments of all ilk and manifestation. Some are merely using a wooden box or guitar or drum or their hands to clap. Another raps on a child’s plastic chair with a drumstick. All are focused on one thing… simultaneously harmonizing to a certain global wave effect in order to reverse the polarity of the Tall Man’s Space Dimensional Portal… FOREVER!

The Lavender’s Lair begins to rumble, and debris falls. The ground is cracking, and fissures form. Steam is immerging from the cracks! The portal becomes unstable as the “mercurial” interior begins to flex and flow!

Mike stands and is now steady on his feet, mentally weighing the situation. He staggers to Reggie to give him help. As he is about to reach him, Mike is KNOCKED BACK by Lady In Lavender with another FLICK of her hand. He flies through the air but lands softer than before.

As the cave deteriorates, the Lady In Lavender Motions the remaining of her team to get back through the gate. None of them make it because the black Sphere solidifies as Jody and his eyes GLOW gold emitting lasers STRIKING them down!

Mike again inches towards Reggie. Once Jody has rid Team Lavender he helps Mike join Reggie. They again stand in the trifecta three brothers pose facing Lady In Lavender in complete defiance.

“You CANT WIN!” Mike says. “When will you ever GET that? LEAVE HERE and leave us the HELL alone!”

Anger resonates throughout Lady In Lavender’s entire body! In a THUNDEROUS voice of the Tall Man, she bellows, “CHOOSE, ICE CREAM MAN!”

The cave again TREMBLES nearly knocking down everyone still remaining!

“Make your move or I’ll do it FOR YOU!” The Tall Man’s voice deep and threatening from the beautiful Lady In Lavender!

Lady in Lavender stands with her back to the portal as hell breaks loose around her. A resonating sound is increasing as the gate begins to suck everything through portal into the swirling black hole now forming in the middle. It is beginning to pull on Reggie, Mike and Jody threatening to tear them from this world into God knows where on the other side!

The ragged cave roof begins to crumble, and HUGE boulders fall and cut off Rocky and the rest of the remaining team from Reggie, Mike and Jody. As the gate pulls harder and harder, the trio struggle to resist being drawn into the vortex by holding each other, their surroundings, the Beast, the space gate poles, ANYTHING to keep from going through that portal!

Lady in Lavender purposefully and slowly turns and steps through the gate and the pull intensifies even more.

Sarah, Sally and Susan simultaneously STRIKE the Buddhist bowl and tuning forks emitting a LOUD HARMONIC RINGING SOUND.

Into the computer mic, Sally shouts, “NOW! Everyone, STRIKE NOW!!! Repeat:

MAY PEACE PREVAIL ON EARTH!”

Around the world millions of instruments are STRUCK and A GIGANTIC harmonic wave washes across the entire world in a matter of MOMENTS. In SPACE, the planet Earth spins with the Sun rising behind it!  On Earth, a loud droning sound is heard building to a crescendo and EXPLODES like a HUGE NUCLEAR EMF WAVE emitting from the ground around our planet Earth and through the Core! It disburses around the world in 0.133 seconds!

In the DUMB Bunker, Sarah STRIKES a TUNING FORK which emits a second RIIIIIIIING…

Then… Silence.

In the CAVE, the space gate suddenly shuts OFF like a light switch or the closing of a door.  All shaking stops. Reggie and the brothers stand in amazement. They look at each other in confusion.

A sudden BLAST from the rubble and George emerges having cleared the cave opening and Rocky joins him with the remaining team members.

In the DUMB Bunker Lower Level, Susan and Sally pause in silence.

“Did it work?” Sally asks.

“I’m not sure!” says Susan. “Sarah?”

“Sarah?!?!” Sally walks over to put her arms around her friend.

SARAH’S eyes are wide in horror!

“OH NOOO!” Sarah turns to Sally. “They don’t KNOW!”

As the three brothers stand hugging and patting themselves on the back, the space gate suddenly comes fully alive again! The Tall Man’s ARM reaches out as Reggie’s back is to the portal! Before the Tall Man can grab Reggie, Mike shoves Reggie out of the way and into Jody’s arms! The Tall Man’s arm GRABS Mike and he is pulled into the vortex! The gate SWIFTLY CLOSES!  There is a DEAFENING SILENCE.

“NOOO!” Yells Reggie with an agonizing SCREAM as he falls to his knees in despair!

Later, nothing is moving, No one is present. Everyone has left the cave.

The black Jody Sphere glides almost silently in and comes to a stop hovering in front of the space gate - now dormant. The Jody Sphere then passes through the portal and disappears.

In the Lady In Lavender’s lair, Jody Sphere silently glides though the empty ornate chamber to the mirror gate and pauses. He hears a sound, and SPINS then takes cover behind a nearby column. From his secreted space, he sees Lady In Lavender stand before the Mirror saying something in a muffled tone.

In the mirror, is a familiar silhouetted back of the Tall Man Mortician standing in shadows. The Jody Sphere bumps into the column making a clinking sound and SUDDENLY, INSTANTLY AND SIMULTANEOUSLY - The Lady in Lavender turns - her face is that of the BANCHEE - the Tall Man figure turns in the mirror gate and moves into the light from the shadows! It is - the face of MIKE!

Without hesitation and in the persona of the “darkly handsome body” of Mike Pearson, we hear the familiar voice of the Tall Man echoing throughout the lair, the mausoleum, and the DUMB Bunker, “BOOOOOYYYYYY!”

The End?

The Authors:

Reggie Bannister & Gigi “Fast Elk” Bannister

Gigi (Author) and Reggie Bannister (Actor & Contributing author) met at a screening of Phantasm III: Lord of the Dead at UCLA.  Reggie has acted in all five Phantasm films.  Gigi was on Phantasm IV: Oblivion, Bubba Ho-Tep and Phantasm V: Ravager as SFX, Makeup and hair to Reggie, plus several other positions as well as written, produced and directed a series of documentary interviews in online YouTube Channel, “Women of Phantasm.” Ravager was her premier as the first female Co-Producer in the franchise. In 2016, Gigi began writing a script, Phantasm VI: SurVIval (the name went through several revisions.) and, together with a cast and crew, Reggie and Gigi produced a Pitch Deck, Script, and short. After the passing of Angus Scrimm (aka Lawrence Rory Guy, the Tall Man), it was decided - with Don Coscarelli‘s permission - to translate the script into the first Phan Phiction novel of the same name. Gigi and Reggie are both Army Veterans and live happily in the 1946 Cabin where “Ravager” was partially filmed.

Editor/Illustrator

Gigi “Fast Elk” Bannister and Reggie Bannister have previously published a children’s book, “The Adventurous Mr. Tiggy,” about an orange cat with orange eyes.  All the animals make fun of Mr. Tiggy until one day in the park where he saves the day and proves, “Sometimes It’s Good to be Different!”

(Available on Amazon or Shopify.)

https://nightmarez-cafe.myshopify.com

The Adventurous Mr Tiggy: Sometimes It’s Good To Be Different! Amazon.com.

Look out for the Bannister’s next Phantasm Phan novel in the series,

“Phantasm 1850!”

Being hammered out now!

Table of Contents

- Chapter 2

- Chapter 4:

- Chapter 5:

- Chapter 6:

- Chapter 7:

- Chapter 8:

- Chapter 9 :

- Chapter 10:

- Chapter 11: