20131116
DAY FIVE 5:22AM
Knight Takes Pawn
Father Alfred Donnelly awoke to the sound of a knock on the door. He got up and slipped into a bathrobe and made his way through his home. Well, his home for now, until a shift occurred and things changed again, sometimes drastically, sometimes in little minute details. But for now this was his home, he thought. All the while the knocking insisted.
He glanced at the clock and noticed how early the time was and that he was due to get out of bed in another hour anyways.
Knocking again sounding louder and with a hint of urgency. It couldn't be Mayganne or Luger since they would sneak through the back.
"I'm coming," he stated out loud. He was used to vagrants and homeless people knocking on the door at all times in the morning, either looking to give a confession, or a place to hide from the cold. Not matter how many shifts he had been through this was one of the remaining residues in all of the versions.
He saw through the frosted glass beside the door that there were maybe three or four of them, their figures distorted but he could make out their outline.
As his hands reached for the locks a voice from the shadows scared the hell out of him.
"I wouldn't if I were you, padre," Max said in a low voice as he stepped out of the shadows.
"Max?" Father Donnelly was still in a state of shock. Fear also snuck in there and it was like he was a rabbit cornered by a crafty fox. "What's going on?"
"It seems you got a wolf in your flock," Max said as he stepped past the reverend and looked through the tinted panes beside the door. "Those men at the door are a LEGACY cell team."
"LEGACY?" Father Donnelly repeated, his mind racing over the words as if they held a specific meaning. He knew it should but he couldn't find the information he needed. "How do you know?"
"Call it a hunch," Max said. The pounding on the door got louder and seemed more urgent now. Max reached down and unzipped his jacket. Pain & Joy were ready and waiting. "You can let them in now if you want. We'll talk later since there's much to chat about."
20131115
DAY FOUR 11:33AM
Deception Point
Luger arrived through the side door of The Azure restaurant. He walked through the kitchen, not paying attention to the chef or the kitchen staff. And they paid no attention to him. He had done this a few times before, so he was recognizable and unnoticeable.
He strolled from the staff door and into the crowded restaurant; it wasn't noon yet but the restaurant was filling up with suits dining and talking business and deals. He walked to a corner booth and slid into a chair.
"What have you got?" the man in the expensive three piece suit asked. "It better be good."
"The other day a man was invited to the Rave," Luger said. "He fits the description you said to look out for."
"Did you get a name?" The man in the suit was interested and leaned forward now that Luger had a juicy tidbit to offer.
"Max," Luger said. "I didn't get his last name."
The man in the suit cracked a huge smile before he took out his cellphone and hit a number with his thumb, as he stood up and headed for the door.
"I did good?" Luger asked as he chased after the man. "Is this big money good?"
"Luger my friend," the man in the suit said. "You've just earned a $10,000 bonus."
Luger arrived through the side door of The Azure restaurant. He walked through the kitchen, not paying attention to the chef or the kitchen staff. And they paid no attention to him. He had done this a few times before, so he was recognizable and unnoticeable.
He strolled from the staff door and into the crowded restaurant; it wasn't noon yet but the restaurant was filling up with suits dining and talking business and deals. He walked to a corner booth and slid into a chair.
"What have you got?" the man in the expensive three piece suit asked. "It better be good."
"The other day a man was invited to the Rave," Luger said. "He fits the description you said to look out for."
"Did you get a name?" The man in the suit was interested and leaned forward now that Luger had a juicy tidbit to offer.
"Max," Luger said. "I didn't get his last name."
The man in the suit cracked a huge smile before he took out his cellphone and hit a number with his thumb, as he stood up and headed for the door.
"I did good?" Luger asked as he chased after the man. "Is this big money good?"
"Luger my friend," the man in the suit said. "You've just earned a $10,000 bonus."
20131114
DAY THREE 5:41AM
The Unification Coffee
He awoke in the confines of a seedy hotel room. His eyes adjusting to the predawn light. He reached for a cigarette that was on the nightstand beside his bed.
Outside the noise of the city was building, as the city's veins began to pump lifeblood into the downtown core. Though realities shifted things mainly stayed the same.
There was a rap on the door.
Max got up and peered through the peep hole to see Mayganne holding a tray of coffee. Max unbolted the door and turned the handle open. Mayganne entered.
"Mornin' Max," she said as she placed the tray down on the table. "I didn't know what you like with your coffee so I brought a mix."
Max had sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled on his jeans. "Thanks. What's on the agenda for today?"
"Luger is at the library at the moment, downloading some information. It seems that as shifts occur there might be residue effects. Data, information, glitches," Mayganne said as she got a coffee and took a drink. "It seems that whatever is occurring events change and re-change but some embedded elements remain the same."
"So how long have you been shifting?" Max inquired.
Mayganne paused for a moment upon reflection. "I think I became aware about five years ago."
It was Max's turn to pause. "Five years?"
Max took his cup of coffee and didn't add anything to it; he opened the tab and took a long swig.
"And you?" Mayganne inquired.
Max shrugged and said, "Since the beginning..."
He awoke in the confines of a seedy hotel room. His eyes adjusting to the predawn light. He reached for a cigarette that was on the nightstand beside his bed.
Outside the noise of the city was building, as the city's veins began to pump lifeblood into the downtown core. Though realities shifted things mainly stayed the same.
There was a rap on the door.
Max got up and peered through the peep hole to see Mayganne holding a tray of coffee. Max unbolted the door and turned the handle open. Mayganne entered.
"Mornin' Max," she said as she placed the tray down on the table. "I didn't know what you like with your coffee so I brought a mix."
Max had sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled on his jeans. "Thanks. What's on the agenda for today?"
"Luger is at the library at the moment, downloading some information. It seems that as shifts occur there might be residue effects. Data, information, glitches," Mayganne said as she got a coffee and took a drink. "It seems that whatever is occurring events change and re-change but some embedded elements remain the same."
"So how long have you been shifting?" Max inquired.
Mayganne paused for a moment upon reflection. "I think I became aware about five years ago."
It was Max's turn to pause. "Five years?"
Max took his cup of coffee and didn't add anything to it; he opened the tab and took a long swig.
"And you?" Mayganne inquired.
Max shrugged and said, "Since the beginning..."
20131113
DAY TWO 3:57AM
The Ravers
Max followed the instructions that had been given to him by the young waitress from Kelly's Diner. He walked down an alleyway and approached a red door with a squiggly S type symbol spray-painted on it.
As he approached the door he could hear the sound of techno music emanating from behind it. Maybe a good rave would tire him out, and he might fall asleep in the morning. He rapped hard, and was surprised to see that a slot opened after the first knock.
"Private function," the doorman announced from behind the slot. Max could see his eyes and hear the beat of the music. The music seemed to be beckoning him.
Max fished a blank business card out of his pocket and held it up toward the peep-slot. That's when a blacklight shined from above and the card glowed like a enchanted item.
"Alice sent me here," Max told him. And it was true; the waitress had approached him and handed him the card and told him what to do.
The peep-slot closed and then the door opened. The bouncer, a huge man, signaled Max to come in. The trance music was blaring loud. He stepped through the door.
He noticed several speakers all hooked up close to the door, and the music playing promised that this night would be a good one.
Max was tired and he didn't want to do this, but the waitress had approached him and told him that she had been watching him the past couple of days and that this might be good for his soul.
And who was Max to turn down an offer like that.
He followed the corridor down; behind him the music was fading. And that was odd indeed, instead of getting louder. He reached underneath his jacket to unholster "Pain" & "Joy" - he never left home without them; this had all the markings of a trap. Was the waitress a baiter? Damn, he was too tired to see it unfolding right in front of him.
He was greeted at the end of the hallway by a girl. She seemed to be in her late teens. "Welcome," she said. "Hank signaled us that someone was coming. I'm Mayganne."
Max's bloodshot eyes looked her over cautiously. He was tired and was thinking of just getting the hell out of Dodge while the getting was good.
"Alice sent you so you must be one of us," Mayganne said. She pointed her thumb behind her. "I trust her instincts. She has a knack of finding people like us, that's why we like to call her Mother."
Mayganne turned and went through the iron door. Max followed, still on the cautionary approach. His mind fatigued with exhaustion, but curious enough to find out what all this was about before pulling out the girls and letting them sing their song.
They were in a huge room, with over two dozen people standing about; on a platform a man in a priest's outfit stood behind a couple of turntables and speakers, but he was speaking out loud without a microphone.
"... say no this is not Hell or a version of it," he said. " I do feel that we are alive and well, and that what happens is a result of higher order. We are not simply dead and the devil just toying with us..."
"Then what is happening?" a young lad interrupted the Reverend. "Why do we notice things that others don't?"
"I don't have all the answers," the priest stated. "It seems that there is something going on and that we all have noticed these changes while others continue to live their lives as these changes occur and are not realizing it - it's like we're shifting when realities merge..."
Max followed the instructions that had been given to him by the young waitress from Kelly's Diner. He walked down an alleyway and approached a red door with a squiggly S type symbol spray-painted on it.
As he approached the door he could hear the sound of techno music emanating from behind it. Maybe a good rave would tire him out, and he might fall asleep in the morning. He rapped hard, and was surprised to see that a slot opened after the first knock.
"Private function," the doorman announced from behind the slot. Max could see his eyes and hear the beat of the music. The music seemed to be beckoning him.
Max fished a blank business card out of his pocket and held it up toward the peep-slot. That's when a blacklight shined from above and the card glowed like a enchanted item.
"Alice sent me here," Max told him. And it was true; the waitress had approached him and handed him the card and told him what to do.
The peep-slot closed and then the door opened. The bouncer, a huge man, signaled Max to come in. The trance music was blaring loud. He stepped through the door.
He noticed several speakers all hooked up close to the door, and the music playing promised that this night would be a good one.
Max was tired and he didn't want to do this, but the waitress had approached him and told him that she had been watching him the past couple of days and that this might be good for his soul.
And who was Max to turn down an offer like that.
He followed the corridor down; behind him the music was fading. And that was odd indeed, instead of getting louder. He reached underneath his jacket to unholster "Pain" & "Joy" - he never left home without them; this had all the markings of a trap. Was the waitress a baiter? Damn, he was too tired to see it unfolding right in front of him.
He was greeted at the end of the hallway by a girl. She seemed to be in her late teens. "Welcome," she said. "Hank signaled us that someone was coming. I'm Mayganne."
Max's bloodshot eyes looked her over cautiously. He was tired and was thinking of just getting the hell out of Dodge while the getting was good.
"Alice sent you so you must be one of us," Mayganne said. She pointed her thumb behind her. "I trust her instincts. She has a knack of finding people like us, that's why we like to call her Mother."
Mayganne turned and went through the iron door. Max followed, still on the cautionary approach. His mind fatigued with exhaustion, but curious enough to find out what all this was about before pulling out the girls and letting them sing their song.
They were in a huge room, with over two dozen people standing about; on a platform a man in a priest's outfit stood behind a couple of turntables and speakers, but he was speaking out loud without a microphone.
"... say no this is not Hell or a version of it," he said. " I do feel that we are alive and well, and that what happens is a result of higher order. We are not simply dead and the devil just toying with us..."
"Then what is happening?" a young lad interrupted the Reverend. "Why do we notice things that others don't?"
"I don't have all the answers," the priest stated. "It seems that there is something going on and that we all have noticed these changes while others continue to live their lives as these changes occur and are not realizing it - it's like we're shifting when realities merge..."
20131112
DAY ONE 8:55 AM
Under the Yum Yum Tree
His fingers drumming out the beat going through his head. He didn't know he was doing it, though it made a sound throughout the diner. The ashtray dancing on the table, adding a crystal cymbal sound now and then. Music was pumping through his veins.
The waitress strolled over with a full coffee urn in her hands; she didn't have to ask if he wanted a refill since he edged the cup to the end of the table.
Max was tired, he was going on 4 days without any sleep at all. And each time he tried to put his head down to catch a few winks, his adrenal gland would kick in.
He was out of sync, out of whack. A programmed soul without software. He didn't know what was ahead, but his body was preparing for something drastic to happen.
20131111
Shorelines
The Professor held the pan over the fire, watched the eggs and bacon cooking. Frank stood at the water's edge.
"That smells great," he said. The morning was cool and grey.
Goner sat on one of the logs by the campfire. He felt happy. The trees around them, the stillness. Their shiny, colourful tents on the small peninsula, like UFOs from a psychedelic future landed in the Garden of Eden. Suki was cleaning her Godhammer. Angst was practicing one of her cheers in slow motion, like yoga with pom poms.
The Professor checked his chronometer. "I always believe in leaving enough time for a good meal before any Event."
Tatter hugged a wool blanket around her shoulders. "Do you bring them with you everywhere?" she asked Angst, referring to the shaggy bundles of colour shaking in her hands.
Angst smiled, dropping into the splits on the soft earth. "The uzis are my war-talismans, these are my peace-talismans."
Frank had joined Goner as the Professor began scooping out breakfast onto their plates. "Callan sounds like he'll be a good addition to the team," Frank said.
Goner stuffed a piece of bacon into his mouth, talking and chewing. "Max once told me that Callan was a Dragon a long time ago."
Suki held out her plate. "Just eggs, please. Will Callan be able to help us find Max?"
"I hope so," The Professor said. "It wasn't so long ago," he said to Goner, "but in a very different Version."
After everyone had eaten, they all gathered down by the water. The canoes had already been loaded with the tech. The Professor opened the silver pouch and emptied the offering into the breeze.
Tatter watched each of them in turn. Frank's precise movements - he would never be entirely free of LEGACY, no matter how many worlds he traveled. Goner's wistful look back at the campsite - nostalgia for his military days perhaps. Angst's permanent half-smile - she never talked about her life before Initiation, except for the cheers. Tiny Suki, who had died and been brought back, according to the logs Tatter had read. There were others she hadn't met yet - or she couldn't remember meeting yet. Darius, Dexter, Wraith, Aqua. The time-displaced Norse samurai, Akimoto. And Maggie - no one talked about Maggie since Max had disappeared. She was like a dream they had woken up from. Tatter had almost asked Angst about it, but chickened out.
These were them, Tatter thought, as they started climbing into the canoes. "Twelve minutes until Event," The Professor said. These were the people it would happen with. Her new family.
20131110
Go Your Own Way
The wind from the portals rippled Darius' trenchcoat. "He's right, boss. We should know."
Max nodded. He looked over at Maggie, sent to her I never wanted this to happen.
She looked back at him with sad, tired eyes. I know, but it did.
The final chamber in the Temple of the Seven-Petaled Lotus looked like a vast hangar bay, all steel and starkness. Except for the seven portals, folding and swirling like rainbow liquid origami.
"It was Control."
Wraith sneered. "Why should we trust-"
Callan interjected. "Why should it matter? We're here, and this is the right thing to do."
Aqua, looking so young amongst the other warriors, asked, "But how do we know if it will work?"
Maggie replied, her voice soft, "We don't, sweetie."
Dex sighed. "Fine. Let's do it." Wraith nodded.
Max took a final pull from his cigarette. "There's likely to be fighting on the other side."
Wraith slipped her nunchakus from her belt. Dexter hefted his bat. Darius pulled his bible from his coat pocket. Aqua tightened the buckles on her gauntlets. Callan began summoning the Tiger energy within him. Maggie unsheathed her katana. She watched Max step on the butt, turn towards the bending pattern of light behind him.
? she sent. Joy and Pain were still holstered.
I'm tired of the guns he sent back, the thought weary.
And they each stepped into a different portal.
Momentually
"No!" Max shouted, jumping over the fence and sprinting over to where Goner had fallen.
The LEGACY cell team was waiting for someone to do exactly that and took the opportunity to fire.
Slugs nipped away at Max's heels, forcing him to dive for cover. Something that he didn't want to do. He crawled up beside a parked car and did a quick glance to see Goner still lying there in a pool of blood before several rounds of bullets forced him down.
"Bastards!" Max shouted. He stood up, bringing up his guns and ready to rain death on any LEGACY shirts he saw.
Frank broke cover when he saw Max. He came around a corner, barreling towards Max at full speed, hitting him and enveloping him like a football defensive line. Two bullets hit Frank in the chest, but that didn't stop him.
"Sorry Max," Frank said as he rolled off and fired back several rounds to buy more seconds of distraction. Frank was a member of LEGACY at one time and knew some of the tactics. "He's already dead."
The End of the Beginning...
Max lay on a mattress on the floor. Maggie hovered over him with a damp
cloth tending to his wounds. He was feverish and delusional at the
moment in his world of pain. He didn't know what happening to him but he
could feel immense pain. He could feel a warm liquid spreading through
his shirt, he knew that it was not water.
"Where am I?" he asked.
"You are here," she answered him as a mother with a child.
"Where's here?" he questioned.
"Here in the now," she answered.
Outside the sound of combat was close. Machine gun fired like a symphony in the night, playing music to which no one really wanted to listen to in the first place. It was hot and Max could see that not only was she covered in sweat, but it looked like she had bathed in blood as well.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"Nothing that concerns you at the moment," she told him.
Max tried to lift his head to see what was going on, but he found that task next to impossible.
"Am I okay?"
"You are fine, darling," she answered.
Max knew that she was lying.
"Where am I?" he asked.
"You are here," she answered him as a mother with a child.
"Where's here?" he questioned.
"Here in the now," she answered.
Outside the sound of combat was close. Machine gun fired like a symphony in the night, playing music to which no one really wanted to listen to in the first place. It was hot and Max could see that not only was she covered in sweat, but it looked like she had bathed in blood as well.
"What's going on?" he asked.
"Nothing that concerns you at the moment," she told him.
Max tried to lift his head to see what was going on, but he found that task next to impossible.
"Am I okay?"
"You are fine, darling," she answered.
Max knew that she was lying.
Wink
Morganfokker slid the open folder towards Adella Cube. Adella looked at it and her eyes widened in mock surprise with a hint of knowledge.
"When Mrs. Henricks asked Max to draw a picture of his home, this is what your son came up with."
She glanced at the picture that Max drew: it depicted a multi-coloured gateway shimmering in the mirror and Max had drawn himself looking in and what looked like to be millions of images of himself looking in other directions.
"Mrs. Cube..." Morganfokker began.
"That's Ms.," she corrected. She glanced over at Max who was sitting there looking at his sneakers. She could see that he was ashamed, as if he was caught with his hands in the cookie jar. "Max's father disappeared a while back.
"Well, now I am beginning to understand why he is borderline EI," Morganfokker said. "I would like to see your son for more testing. Not that it's mandatory, strictly volunteer. I want to get deeper into his pysche."
20131109
Prologue: Hunters Stance
Max,
Maggie, Angst and I stood outside the cemetery. I didn't know where it
was, some hick town in some backwater county, but to me all cemeteries
looked the same. It didn't matter if we arrived in the dawn or the
middle of the afternoon, for some reason it always transformed into a
dark night.
Maggie had said something about the demonic manifestations and the aspect of negative energy which caused the unnatural phenomenon. I had been through this several times before but each time it gave me the creeps.
Now here I am staking out another demon. A demon that is terrifying a small town.
Max's long coat flutters open with the wind. A cigarette is in his mouth as he glances down at his watch. 1:11 pm.
"All set?" he asks.
Maggie had said something about the demonic manifestations and the aspect of negative energy which caused the unnatural phenomenon. I had been through this several times before but each time it gave me the creeps.
Now here I am staking out another demon. A demon that is terrifying a small town.
Max's long coat flutters open with the wind. A cigarette is in his mouth as he glances down at his watch. 1:11 pm.
"All set?" he asks.
> Debashis in Plureality 5
bright. sunny day. puffy clouds. warm wispy breeze.
grainy filmy image.
commotion. just over there. pan out. turn to the commotion. focus in, too far in, blurry and focus out. see more clearly.
he’s being pulled. three others. are pulling him.
words and shouts, nothing really intelligible.
Chaos. Loud. Emergency. Urgent. Disorder.
imperative to Intervene. but no manuals. no rules. no protocol.
just observe?
he’s not resisting the others. can’t.
Heart.Beats.Faster.
he is losing strength. dragged to the street.
they are intervening. violently. they are intervening.
he’s weak. grainy scene. sunny sky in sepia tones? moving toward black and white and grey.
they’re pounding on him. on his chest. some kind of system re-boot??????
getting darker and scene fading. they’re still pounding on him. no energy left. his eyes are trying to stay open and he stares at everything and anything. scene keeps fading. they’re still shouting and yelling. scene fades and pans out.
no-manuals-no-rules-no-protocol
can only observe. can’t intervene.
fade to white. heart beats loud.
grainy filmy image.
commotion. just over there. pan out. turn to the commotion. focus in, too far in, blurry and focus out. see more clearly.
he’s being pulled. three others. are pulling him.
words and shouts, nothing really intelligible.
Chaos. Loud. Emergency. Urgent. Disorder.
imperative to Intervene. but no manuals. no rules. no protocol.
just observe?
he’s not resisting the others. can’t.
Heart.Beats.Faster.
he is losing strength. dragged to the street.
they are intervening. violently. they are intervening.
he’s weak. grainy scene. sunny sky in sepia tones? moving toward black and white and grey.
they’re pounding on him. on his chest. some kind of system re-boot??????
getting darker and scene fading. they’re still pounding on him. no energy left. his eyes are trying to stay open and he stares at everything and anything. scene keeps fading. they’re still shouting and yelling. scene fades and pans out.
no-manuals-no-rules-no-protocol
can only observe. can’t intervene.
fade to white. heart beats loud.
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