Short Stories/Poems

[Sekot]

For those times when I can't write on a story, which is far too often, but need to write something.


"You denied me this, of all things?"

Laugh of a madman.

"I gave you everything!"

Deep breath.

"You stupid bitch."

Sound of a gunshot.

"All I asked."

Another gunshot.

"Was that you."

A blood curdling scream.

"Give me all that you are."

Silence.

"And yet you resist."

A man stands before the mirror looking intently at his reflection. He is naked as the day he was born, a gun held in his trembling hand.

The reflection smiles cruelly, the deeply set eyes smolder with unbridled rage. The mouth opens just enough to reveal the teeth. The tongue slides itself across the pearly whites, tracing the bottoms of the canines.

The reflection's chin rises so that the eyes look down the narrow nose.

The man tries to raise the gun again.

"What are you doing?"

The man's arm shakes wildly.

"Do you really think you can kill me?!"

The reflection throws the body against the glass of the mirror, as if it could break through to the other side. The mouth is open, the laugh is that of a madman.

"You stupid son of a bitch! You really think you can kill me!"

The man's lip quivers, his eyes squint to push back the tears.

"Come on then!

SHOOT ME YOU STUPID MOTHERFUCKER!"

The yell is so loud that it causes the mirror to crack. The man closes his eyes and fires the weapon. The glass in the mirror shatters completely.

He opens his eyes and stares at the wooden back of the mirror. The gun drops from his hand and clatters onto the floor. The shaking arm lowers to his side.

"HAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!

"You really thought you could kill me!

"HAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHA!"

The man suddenly flies backwards, crashing into the wall of the room. He slumps to the floor, dazed and confused, his eyes wide.

"Such resistance, such spirit. I must break you of this."

The man looks up at his mirror image which stands above him.

"Run."

The man rises to his feet and tries to bolt out the front door. He is pushed forward by some unseen force, colliding face first with the wooden frame.

"You don't get it, do you!?"

The mirror image is right next to his bleeding face. He can hear the voice within his ear. His head is pulled back and then pushed back against the frame. Bells ring in his head.

"I am everything you are. You are everything I am. Your soul is mine and my soul is yours."

The man flies backwards, sliding several feet along the hardwood floor. The mirror image is once again above him, looking down at his prostrated form.

"Feel me burning through your skull, incinerating your mind, feeding on you until oblivion."

The man shuts his eyes, but the presence is there, in his mind. The laugh seers his ears.

"Call me Abaddon. Apollyon. Leviathon. Deceiver. Adversary. Belial. Satan."

The man's eyes fly open. The pupils dilate until only darkness remains.

"I am Lucifer."

The words are the man's.

He rises.

Possessed by the Devil himself.

He sold his soul. He gave all that he was, everything that he had.

His flesh burns with the intensity of a thousand fires. His eyes speak death. His nostrils flare and fire leaps from within. The teeth are bared.

Let loose upon the world, he will wage a war for one thousand years. At the end of this millenium, he finds himself atop a mountain.

On this mountain stands another.

The woman shines with such brilliance that all that look upon her are struck blind, all but the man who stands before her. The man has changed. The corruption of the Devil has consumed him whole.

His flesh is cracked, his eyes are wild. The woman is radiant, her appearance unmarred. They stand in contrast. The air between them crackles and snaps with radiant power.

The man laughs.

The woman stares silently.

"Who are you?!" he shouts. "Have you come to stop the Beast?!"

"Yes. I am Nameless. I am Nothing," she responds with calm.

The man laughs again. His darkness, the corrupt nature of his soul and the souls he has taken rise about him like a dark mist. The earth at his feet trembles. The grass and trees whither and die.

The woman begins to shine. Her radiance lifts the plants and they begin to flourish. She raises her arms in a welcoming gesture and her brightness meets the darkness.

They clash in such a way that the mountain shatters and crumbles. The sky opens up. The light of the sun is pushed away and the stars shine.

Six wings erupt from the woman's back. Two fold before her face, shrouding it. The man roars, his teeth serrated and covered in blood as his own pair of leathery wings push out from his spine.

They meet in midair. The clash creates a vacuum. Trees are wrenched from their places within the earth. People from miles around are struck breathless.

They touch the earth, the portion they touch implodes. A crater 10 miles wide forms in the blink of an eye. The man is monstrous, wild. He is naked, his flesh falling away to reveal muscle and bone. The woman stands robed in white. In each hand she holds a sword inscribed with golden runes.

The battle is unseen. They clash even while they stand still as stone. Their minds lash out with overwhelming power. The earth itself is torn asunder. Magma bubbles out into the open air. Rain begins to fall from the sky.

The man is cut in half. But the pieces grow back together. The woman is sliced to pieces. She reforms before her former self touches the ground.

They meet once again.

The world shudders once.

The world collapses.

The world as it was no longer exists.

The man and woman stop their fighting and look at what they have wrought.

"You failed to protect it," the man says.

"It will be rebuilt."

"I will return to pollute it like before."

"And I shall meet you again."

The man smiles and begins to fade.

The woman watches him go and then so too does she fade.

The world reappears.

Life resumes.

A man seeks to sell his soul.

A woman watches from afar.

[Sekot]

I said bring it down.
Bring it all down.

Call forth from the Nightmare
the dreams of the shattered child.

Visit upon this life a cold
call to the unholy touch.

The dreamscape changes suddenly. A cold, dark night acts as the ceiling over a vast, empty plain. Listen, hear the sound of the beast as it makes its call. Listen to the banshee's howl as it screams through the air.

Feel the breeze like knives across your bare flesh. Stand in all your glory before this horrid place, this horrid visage that now stares you in the face.

The face is shrouded in shadow, but you can smell the stench. Hear the breath? Feel that icy air?

Quietly whisper to whatever god you believe in. Quickly. Quietly.

For before you now stands Death in all his glory. Look into his eyes and see eternity. Look into his eyes and see the end to your story. His breath, so cold. His touch, so hot. Run from this place and never look back.

You run from the face that floats. You flee from the terror at your back. Run, scatter, dive, never look back.

Stop, no more. You look about yourself to see that you are alone. Alone in this plain of oblivion. It is alright. You may cry. Let that feeling seep within your bones, let it mix into your soul.

A blue light surrounds you. You look up to the sky and see that it has opened up before you. Cry aloud to the heavens for your safety. From the air coalesces five ghosts.

Their faces are shrouded, but their intent is clear. With outstretched arms they advance upon you. Their fingers like claws grasp at the air for your presence.

Fall to the ground, curl up in comfort. The ground may be hard but the touch of those who wish to steal you away is far worse. My little child, my little baby, I will protect you.

Close your eyes. Sleep.

Feel this single touch against your cheek. Feel it as it brushes against your skin. Rise, stand. Look upon the face of the tortured damned.

The mouth hangs agape in a silent scream of twisted agony. The eyes are open, the eyelids removed. The nose is mutilated and twisted, the lips are slashed and cut. The head is thrown back slightly at an odd angle. It wheezes, but the sound comes not from its mouth but from its neck where an open wound festers.

To end this nightmare, all you need do is embrace me. Embrace me with your body and soul.

I seek to break you, its true. This Nightmare is no accident.

Crave the Untenable
Seek the Forever Hidden
Run to the End of the World
Fall of the Edge
Embrace the Unholiest of Unions

Your Lust seeks to eat your heart.
Your Wrath seeks to eat your mind.
Your Greed seeks to ruin your wealth.
Your Envy seeks to ruin your love.
Your Pride seeks to ruin your friendships.
Your Sloth seeks to ruin your dreams.
Your Gluttony seeks to ruin your body.


I seek to ruin your life.
With tools at hand I seek you.

Evacuate the mind.
Give in to Debauchery
Give in to Hedonism

Corruption seeps. It grows and tangles. It blackens and chars.

Feel free to wake from the dream. Your torment is done.

Sleep.

My Child, I will never let you go.

Embrace me. Hold me. Love me. Die for me.

You embrace the skeletal figure.

You feel its head sling forward.

You feel its teeth lodge themselves in your shoulder.

You feel nothing more.

[Sekot]

The blade turned slowly at first, and then, with a sickening crunch, it turned at a 90 degree angle. The victim lurched, spasmed, and the lay still. Slowly the blade was removed, the bright red blood dripping onto the cooling body.

The owner of the blade rose from his crouching position. He cleaned the blade on a piece of cloth taken from the corpse before sheathing it into a holster along his thigh. Straightening, he scanned the battlefield as bullets whizzed haphazardly past him.

Dressed in full battle regalia, he was a sight to behold. In this day and age it was uncommon to see armor on a battlefield, but he wore it. Black as night, it appeared to swallow the light that surrounded him, distorting his presence. But his helm that covered his head was not distorted. It was in the image of a death's head, the eyes were darker and colder than the void.

A loud whistling pierced the air. The ground shook and dirt was kicked up into the air. And then came the fire that roared out of the crater in every direction. It passed over the armored man, but he did not flinch. Soldiers caught in the radius instantly caught fire and scattered, dropping their weapons in their futile attempts to extinguish the flames.

The ceiling of the world was dark and broiling. Smoke mixed with the clouds, lightning snapped across the sky. The man looked up, calm amidst the torrent that surrounded him. Someone flinched, a movement out of the corner of his eye. He saw a glint of light. And then he was gone.

The movement was so quick that the enemy had completely lost track of his target. Suddenly the soldier felt a presence behind him, but before he could turn he felt cold steel against his throat for a single moment. And then he collapsed, blood spurting from the fresh wound.

Another soldier raised his gun and fired, hitting the man in the square of his back. The warrior did not move, did not duck for cover. He merely turned his head to the side so that the soldier got a full view of the profiled helmet. The soldier saw the one eye as it appeared to stare directly at him, directly through him. He screamed.

The sound was cut brutally short as the warrior was instantly upon the other with an armored hand clasped tightly around his neck. The dwarf tried to struggle, but even with his immense beard in the way, he was incapable of escaping from the iron grip. There was a brief flash along the arm of the armor and then the body collapsed to the ground with the head following by rolling off the hand. The warrior loosened his grip, allowing the tattered bits of flesh to slide off the material and onto the ground.

Soldiers dressed in black and red charged over the torn lines, silent except for their footfalls. Bullets were fired, but they were far outweighed by the cries of fear and terror as the enemy humans, gnomes, and dwarves left everything behind and made a mad dash for safety.

The warrior watched them run, watched as his own soldiers charged after them. Many tried running to the beaches, tried in vain to swim to some sort of sanctuary. The black clad men stopped and raised their weapons, firing into the water. Several bodies floated to the top and were washed back onto the sandy shore. Beneath his helm, the warrior allowed a small smile.

Off the coast sat a silhouette that could strike fear and terror into the hearts of all who still felt such primal things. It was a massive ship, guns pointed toward the shore. The ground shuddered. The warrior looked up into the sky to see massive, oblong, floating objects. Dark objects, like flies, appeared to swarm about them, dancing in the darkened sky.

Finally he lowered his head and gazed upon the form of a once attractive woman. Her head was bowed and covered with a hood. Her robes were slim and spartan, but bespoke of her rank. Clad in white cloth, she was in stark contrast to those around her, especially the warrior she had come to see. "Like a god you appear in the field of strife and strike down with vengeance upon your foe."

Her voice was audible ice. It froze the air between them, silenced the noise that stung their ears. Her gloved hands went to her hood and slowly pulled it back. Her grey hair was pulled back, revealing her pale, nearly fleshless face. The warrior looked her straight in the eyeless sockets. "Sekot, Dark Lord of the Forsaken."

The warrior removes his own helm, an audible hiss escaping from where it meets the neck. The face that gazed back at the priestess was hardly a face at all. It, like hers, was a skeleton's mocking a living human's. The nose was gone, the lips were torn and frayed. The eyes glowed with an unholy intensity. "The Forgotten Shadow," he spoke with a voice that sounded like gravel, "watches over us all. Mallyce, High Priestess of Shadow, lead my brethren to victory. Tear down the veil, the illusion of safety, and strike fear into their hearts and minds."

Mallyce bowed her head, "As it is commanded, my lord."

Sekot, High Warlord and Dark Lord, replaced his helm and then began to fade. His body returning to the dark plane it now resided on. Mallyce watched him go and then covered her head once more, disappearing into the crowd of tanks and men.

[Jenny (Reffy)]

(Just wanted to let you know that I read the last story with Mallyce and Sekot and I really liked it. I know it can get a little -meh- if nobody is reading your stuff. The story was short and simple. You have a real talent for battle-type-stuff. This short would work well as a prologue to a bigger story-arc. I wanted to know what victory and what they went on to do. Good work!

ps. I wasn't going to read it but the first few lines really suckered me in!)

[Sekot]

The intoxicating smell fills my nose. It sends tingles up and down my spine. My eyelids flutter as my eyes roll upwards in ecstasy. My head spins in circles, slowly...slowly. I feel the slow beat of the music in my chest, in my heart. I feel his flesh against my own, his hand intertwines with mine.

He is a monster here to eat my heart. I want, no, I need to cry for help. I need to repel this beast and flee, but I cannot. I will not. Some spell he conjured up has caught me wholly under his will. And I melt. I become liquid under his body.

"I pledge my soul to you," I whisper in his ear, my tongue flicking out to graze it once, twice. "I'm yours."

"Are you?" he whispers, I can hear his smile.

My head falls backwards. I smile and chuckle as I expel the air in my lungs. His lips press against the skin on my exposed neck, I can feel his teeth as they delicately bite down. I am alive, aware. My body feels like it will explode into a thousand tiny stars at any moment.

His body moves with mine. My senses are filled with him and him alone. My ecstasy is his ecstasy, my feelings are his feelings. A melding, a meeting, a collision.

I know this reality to be a lie.

I know him to be a liar. I know it all to be false. The memory is seared into my mind where he forcefully placed it. My eyes burn with fury, my mind is hot with unbridled anger. Rage consumes my thoughts, consumes me entirely, until all I know is pure hatred. He caused this, he turned on me, he abandoned me!

I feel the gun in my hands, the cold metal pressed firmly against my palm. My other hand twitches, spasms. I grit my teeth, my jaw tightens.

The door opens and I see his face. I see his eyes widen. I snap. The gun rises and strikes him across the face. The resistance melts away, his face folds under my punch. He steps backwards several times and nearly crumples. He holds his face, cursing my name and everything else. "Fuck!" I can hear his scream, hear his agony.

I smile, I revel in it. I step into the house and advance on him immediately. With a swift kick to his groin, he falls to the floor. Blood is on his hands, on his face, on the carpet. He shouts and groans. "What the...fuck are you doing?!" he shouts.

I deliver another kick to his rib cage. He tumbles to the side forming into a little ball on the floor. I cock my head to the side to look at him. I am amused, delighted, in fact, to see him in such pain. But it is merely physical. I know that he will never feel the emotional torment that wracks my mind. I feel what he will never know.

"Why?" I ask, croak because my mouth is dry and my throat is sore.

"Why what?!" he cries out. Blood is still coming from his nose.

"Why did you leave me?"

"Fuck! I never left you! What the fuck are you talking about?!"

"Liar," I say, my voice flat and cold.

The gun is raised, fired, and lowered. He screams in terror and pain. I smile. He clutches his foot that is now rendered useless. "I want to destroy you, to end you," I say, the words coming from some other place within me.

I am no longer in control. I am no longer an actor in this play. I am anger, I am pain, I am rejection, I am failure. He who now lays on this floor is my tormentor. He alone is responsible for who I am. He alone is the cause of everything.

This is how I rationalize my world. He who once could do no wrong in mine eyes is now the Son of the Morning. "I loved you," I say softly.

My eyes rise to a picture on the wall. It is a landscape painting. Pointless. My gun fires before I realize what I'm doing. A hole is now in the center of this painting. A mar on what was once beautiful. "What do you want?!" he cries, still on the floor with tears falling now.

"I loved you. All I know is gone."

I turn on him. My eyes are wild with fury. My hands are balled into fists. I can feel the gun bite into my flesh. My teeth gnash like that of a bulldog, "You can't save me! You can't love me! You won't love me! You betrayed me!"

The gun fires again and again.

He lays gasping for air. I kneel and press the gun against his forehead. "Armed with my hate and a handgun, I will end you. Your apology is far too late."

The gun fires.

The room is silent.

I stand and look at what I have done. There is a bloody puddle on the floor. Its all over my shoes, my pants. I raise the gun to my head.

And I pull the trigger.

[Sekot]

One draped in red, the other black. They stand opposed with swords drawn. The sky above is torn in turmoil. The stars shine through the opened ceiling of the world. Thunder screams like a fighter jet. Lightning lights the world like lights at a dance club.

The woman in the red dress stands stoically against the wind. Her auburn hair flutters about her head wildly. Her blue eyes shine from their sockets, the color of tumultuous seas. She is slender and tall, a beauty to behold if not for her terrifying presence and the two large, feathery wings that extend from her spine.

The man in the all black suit stands slightly hunched over. His hands are pushed deep into his pockets. His black hair is combed nicely, straight and perfect. His pale flesh stands out starkly against his ensemble. His eyes are the eyes of a thousand lost souls, fiery with passion.

The world is weeping. It is tired and weak. These two forces are to decide its fate. They each hold the power to annihilate. They each hold the power to create. Anathema and Benediction. Holy and Unholy. Life and Death.

The woman raises her right arm, extending a hand out to her compatriot. The man raises his chin defiantly and smiles. The storm thickens, the tear in the sky widens. The world continues its requiem.

The man raises his hand and a sword coalesces within it. With a mighty swing, he brings it down. The air splits with the fall of the blade. Fire leaps up around it until it hits the ground. The resulting explosions rips through several blocks of the surrounding streets. A woman presses a child up against her chest in a futile attempt to protect it from the mysterious light that surrounds her, engulfs her and so many others, and reduces them to dust.

The light fades and the smoke clears. The two now sit within a crater a mile wide. The main straightens, the sword disappears. The woman locks eyes with him. They smile at one another. Slowly, the woman raises her hands as if to applaud. There is one clap, and then the world opens up and the sky collapses.

The sky falls, reaching for the earth. The earth rises, grasping for the sky. And they touch.

The world is inverted, capsized, turned inside out. It is eaten, devoured, consumed. The sky becomes land, land becomes sky. And then everything is where it once was. The sky is now wide open. Space looks upon the surface. The world lies bare. The two stand before each other once again, unscathed.

"Pointless posturing," the man quips, his voice deep and bellowing.

The man disappears. And so does the woman.

In a far off land that is flat and dry, a metal door hidden in the soil begins to open. The animals go silent as they hear the churning of gears and feel the turmoil of their planet. Out of this new opening rises a finger, pointed vertically to to the heavens.

Around the globe, missiles rise from their hiding places. They rise to the sky, to touch the stars. But like Icarus they plummet back to reality. People scream, they clutch themselves and each other and cry out to their deities. They scream for forgiveness. They scream in bitterness.

And then they are silent. Silent as the grave. Smoke rises from their throats until it too meets with the clouds.

Reality bends upon itself. Time stops and time moves faster and faster. Riots break out. The dead rise from the ashes and commence the consuming of all things living. Fire rains from the sky. Rain falls in sheets. Mountains explode in tremendous displays of sheer power.

The Moon trembles. It shakes and slows. And then it too begins to fall. Atop it rides the man in black. He is smiling, laughing. With arms crossed before his chest, he rides the moon to its final destination. The woman sits upon the world, her stare adamant, her jaw set, as she reaches out.

Great hands appear to hold back the moon. The man's eyes widen as he bears his teeth. The hands are incapable of holding it back. But then another hand, and another rises from the earth to hold back the moon.

The man howls an inhuman scream. He throws his arms out wide. On opposite ends of the world, Space opens. Darkness that is blacker than the void appears and begins to swallow everything about them.

The man and woman meet gazes. They quiver in rage.

Seas open and bend. Mountains break and flatten. Cities are swept off the map with a sweep of a hand. Destruction reigns. Creation is held at bay.

The man and woman are now face to face. The world shudders, crying out to its parents to stop the feud that threatens to tear it to pieces. The last person cries out, gives up its dying breath, as it has the life taken from it. The dead collapse and shatter into pieces that disappear in the wind.

A split appears down the center of the planet. The atmosphere has been stolen. Space now looks with cold eyes upon the dead and dying surface of the world. The moon crumbles, but pieces fall upon the planet. The tear collapses under the stress and soon two halves of one whole begin to orbit the other.

The core, somehow sustained, glows in the center. It burns brightly and illuminates the feuding parties. The man and woman meet. Their hands clash together, their heads are up against the other. They grimace, growl, and groan.

The two halves crumble away with the strain. They disappear within the black holes in space.

The two part. With lightning speed the man raises a handgun with a comically long barrel. He fires it, but the woman stops the bullet in the palm of her hand. She crushes it, sending colors in every direction that light up their faces. The man fires again and again but to no effect.

The woman charges him, captures him in an embrace. Together they stand upon the exposed core that once belonged to a world full of life. Out of the palms of her hands appear knives that she then drives into the man's back. He cries out and their embrace falls apart.

The man screams, howls as he tries to remove the blades. He turns his focus upon the woman and then raises a hand. Out of the palm erupts a missile far larger than any that any human could create. The woman's eyes widen as she realizes what he is about to do. But she is unable to stop him.

He drives the missile into the core. It explodes. The core, unstable, collapses and then shatters. The man and woman are blown apart, sent through space at speeds incomprehensible.

The woman recovers first. Steadying herself between two large gas giants, she then springs forward, hurtling back. The man is there waiting for her, somehow having gotten there faster. He smiles at her.

They meet again and again. Everytime a greater explosion ripples outwards, crushing anything in its path.

The woman begins to shine. The man attempts to swallow her light. Like a hungry animal he attacks her. The woman stops every attack almost effortlessly. The two stop. Stalemate.

The woman is now so bright that the man can hardly look upon her. The darkness about him seeks to feed on more, hungers for more. "Stalemate," she says.

"One more time," the man growls, his voice hoarse. "Just one more."

She reaches out a hand to him. "We have found our spirit. Where it lay dormant, it is now in tumult. Come, join me, we are through."

The man takes her hand but pulls her close. So close that they meld, the darkness and the light. "Such passion, such fury," they say simultaneously.

"Breathe life into me and create anew," she whispers.

"Create anew just to destroy it once more?" he asks with a smile.

"We have yet to find the champion who will break us of the spell. Who will ignite our spirits without destroying all that we know and love."

The man leans forward until their lips hover over the other. There is a transference, a melding, and then nothing. The two fade away, dissipate into nothingness.

Where they met now lies a planet slowly spinning.

((Yeah that made no sense. At all. Fun writing it though. =P ))

[Sekot]

I look and see an assortment of masks.

Masks. Of all kinds.

They cry out, they seek a part in the play.

Life is a play. Each audience requires a different mask.

I look at the man who stands behind all these masks and I see that he has no face. I see the body of a man, and a head, but where a face should be all I see is a blur.

There is a shimmer and a mask appears upon the face. It looks natural, fits well. It is seamless.

Another flicker and another mask. Same as before it is a perfect match.

Flicker again and again and again.

A new and different mask.

Who is the man that wears these masks? Where is his face?

I see the head shimmer and more than one mask appears. It is an abomination, an unholy thing. The masks try to vie for a part, but neither are capable. The entire body shimmers as if it tries to split, but it is unable.

Flickering, shimmering. The center cannot hold.

The man falls to his knees and presses his hands against his head. The flickering has not stopped.

He sees me, he reaches out a hand. But I cannot focus for everything changes too fast. Who am I seeing?

An array of masks for a man who has no face.

[Sekot]

Draped in light, Mikhail crouched upon the steeple of the church. Like a star he shown from the highest point in the city. The night sky was clear and the stars shown brightly, only overcast by Mikhail's radiance. Those who looked upon him trembled and dashed out of the streets.

He rose to his full height, the white light spilling about him like a cape. His face was obscured by the glaring shine. But he could see them, see them all as they ran in terror. He smiled and clapped his hands slowly, the bells ringing with each crisp sound.

"This battle between good and evil is never ending."

The voice fluttered next to Mikhail's face, passed over his cheek like a breeze. "So nice to see you here, Andrew."

Another man coalesced in midair, black smoke curling away from his clothing. He bowed to Mikhail with a wide smile plastered across his face. When he rose, he turned to look upon the same scene that Mikhail was observing. "Pretty night," Andrew said, waving a hand flippantly.

A woman on the street burst into flames.

Mikhail sighed and lifted a hand to rub his temples. "Was that necessary?"

"I'm bored," Andrew responded flatly.

"Then go find someone else to annoy!" Mikhail snapped, his eyes wide with a flash lit within the pupils.

Andrew chuckled, a wheeze that barely passed for a laugh. "Its started," he said.

"What has?" Mikhail asked with raised brow.

Andrew looked at him with another smile, taking delight in Mikhail's ignorance he glided through the air in circles around the other. "He's been chosen."

"Who?" Mikhail asked, annoyance beginning to creep into his voice as he tracked Andrew.

"Awww come on! Guess!" Andrew hissed.

Like lightning Mikhail's hand shot out and grabbed Andrew by the neck, halting the spinning. Andrew gagged and scratched at Mikhail's hand. "I have no intention of playing games," he said, ice coating his words.

Andrew relaxed and rolled his eyes dramatically. He disappeared in Mikhail's grasp, leaving only wisps of smoke behind. Reappearing behind the lighted fellow, he leaned forward to whisper in his ear, "The end times! Revelation! The final battle between Light and Dark, Life and Death, Virtue and Sin!"

"Who is he?" Mikhail asked, his eyes looking out over the city once more, but his attention elsewhere.

"No idea. I'm sure he'll show up soon, they always do," Andrew said with another wave of his hand.

A man was struck blind and deaf. Stumbling, he collapsed through a shop window.

"Again, necessary?"

"You know me, always bored," Andrew responded with a laugh. "But seriously, it seems we may find each other on opposite sides of the battlefield."

Mikhail smirked, "Just like old times."

"Exactly. But, this time, its our turn," Andrew's voice was laden with venom.

Mikhail merely nodded, "Keep dreaming."

"You doubt me?"

"You haven't won yet," Mikhail laughed, crossing his burly arms before his chest.

Andrew lowered his head and then shrugged. He raised an arm, palm upturned to the sky. Slowly he raised his head, his eyes now entirely black like twin voids. "You know full well the debauchery, the disease, the filth and sin that permeates these societies have strengthened us greatly. Do you feel it? Here in this city?"

Andrew tilted his head back, taking in a deep breath and exhaling as if in ecstasy. "Can you feel it?!"

The world suddenly shimmered and spun. The lights of the stars faded and everything went black. And then, in an instant, they were in a night club. Lights flashed, the beat hit the floors and walls with such tremendous force that almost everything shook. Smoke filled the air, scattering the rainbow lasers in ever direction. The music blared, people shouted.

Mikhail looked upon the crowd stoically with hands in his pockets. His clothing made of the sun was gone, replaced with a white blazer, gray t-shirt and white pants. He tilted the white fedora on his head to the left and leaned back against the bar. He waited patiently.

Andrew didn't keep him waiting long. Out of the crowd he appeared. His black hair was pointed in every direction. Shirtless, he twirled his black shirt above his head in time with the music. In his other hand he held a drink which he took a sip of. A girl almost appeared next to him, grabbing the drink out of his hand before an intense kiss passed between them. He lowered his shirt, only to have it taken out by another shirtless man who also leaned in for a kiss. They parted ways and soon Andrew was standing next to Mikhail, still gyrating to the beat of the music.

"Can you see it?!" he shouted. "Can you hear it?!"

He leaned in and grabbed Mikhail by the jaw, bringing their faces so close together that their noses nearly touched. Andrew's eyes were once again obsidian in color. "Feel it, see it, it doesn't matter. Its here, its everywhere. We want you, Mikhail. We want all of you. And we won't stop until we have you."

The scene changed and the two were standing in the middle of the plaza that was overlooked by the spire of the church. "Rot has already taken hold. All we need is one precise strike and it all comes tumbling down. Piece by piece we will destroy it all. This war will end all wars. We bid our time, we placed the corruption, and now we reap what we have sown."

Mikhail listened silently, and deep down he knew what Andrew said to be true. He watched as Andrew disappeared into a shroud of dark mist, and then he too winked out of existence.

((meh, possible story idea))

[Sekot]

The door opened and the curtains parted. I stepped over the threshold, slowly with eyes wide. Suddenly it was like I was punched in the face with the sheer intensity of the smells. Smoke stung my nostrils, sweat mingled with incense and alcohol. I heard the heavy bass line of the music, the thump thump thump in my chest. It was murky, dark and dingy. The lights and lasers were going in every direction, their beams clearly visible in the haze.

And there were people. Boys wearing tight shirts and tight shorts. Women dressed in biker uniforms and sailor shirts. Drag queens and drag kings danced, sang, and drank. Big, barrel chested men dressed in leather carried their whips and dragged smaller men behind them with leashes tied around their necks. Some danced in a massive throng of gyrating bodies that moved in tune with the music, a crowd so thick that it was just a blob in the smoke, shadow, and lights. Others were at the bar, downing shots one after another.

And still others made out on small stages, groped each other in full view, fucked each other on raised daises. I could hear their groans, their moans of ecstasy. I could hear the shouts on the dance floor, the shouts at the bar. I could hear the laughter, the tears. I could hear it all, smell it all, see it all, feel it all. My mind was on overdrive, my heart began to race. I couldn't help but smile like a small boy on Christmas.

I picked my way through the crowd and found myself outside a booth shrouded in thin, silky drapes of many colors. I heard giggling from within, and my curiosity got the better of me. I pushed aside the drape and peeked inside. My eyes locked with the one inhabitant sitting on the large couch. He smiled at me and waved me in. Struck dumb, I had no idea what I should I do. Why had I looked in? What possessed me to do something so stupid and embarrassing?

But the man's smile only widened and he furiously waved me in. His black, beady eyes spoke of drugs, alcohol, and mischief. I smiled back and moved inside, taking a seat several feet away. "Aye, what do we have here?" he asked, his words slightly slurred with the affects of liquor.

"I...I'm sorry," I stammer, unable to calm myself. "I didn't mean to interrupt anything."

My eyes turn to the two girls on either side of the man. They're topless, their breasts ample and perky. Their long, blond hair is striking, as are their light, vacant blue eyes. The man smiles, clearly on something more than just alcohol. "I see this is your first night here in the haven of the wicked!" he exclaims.

Shocked, I say nothing for several seconds. "What? You have the look of a frightened pup about you. You reek of inexperience. Come on! Have some fun! Enjoy it because the first is always the best."

The man claps his hands and a man dressed in a suit suddenly appears in the booth and walks over to the man on the couch, bending over so that the other can speak into his ear. Words are passed that I can't hear, my attention drifts to the two girls. They're blitzed out of their minds, they don't register a thing. One girl is absent mindedly rubbing the crotch of the seated man.

Suddenly the suited man rights himself and walks out. The man on the couch turns his head back to me with his toothy grin, "Name's Mike. What's yours?"

"Nick," I say quietly.

The man laughs, "Come on son! Say something!"

I can feel my cheeks redden. "What do you want me to say?"

"What are you here for?"

"I...I don't really know. I heard about this place and thought I should go," I look down at the floor, I look at the table between us, I look at the full shot glass just sitting there.

Without thinking I leap forward and grab the glass. I turn it up and down the fiery liquid inside before anyone has any time to react. I slam the glass down, eyes wide, heart racing. "Thatta boy!" the man shouts, laughing heartily.

Suddenly the curtains part and in enters another girl, topless as well. Her auburn hair is arranged in wild spikes, her breasts are painted in neon, glow sticks dangle from a string around her neck. "I heard you called?" she cooed.

She plops down next to me, instantly her hands are against my face, her lips press against my ear. I freeze, suddenly unsure of what to do. What the fuck is going on? I look at the table, another glass has reappeared somehow. I don't notice what I'm doing, I pull away and down the glass again. Mike says something else, I hear his laugh, but my world is spinning, the girl's tongue licks the inside of my ear and shivers are sent up and down my spine.

I look up, unwilling to focus my attention on the girl. I see another grinning face, this one belonging to a boy more my age. He's completely nude, his body finely muscled much like the woman at my side. He moves to sit next to me as well and soon his hands find their way onto my body. Four hands explore me, I can feel them against my chest, against my legs. I tilt my head back, my mouth hangs agape.

Lips are pressed against mine and I close my eyes. I feel our tongues meet, electricity passes over them in the exchange. I don't know if its the man or the woman. I don't care. My shirt disappears, my pants follow and soon I am naked as the day I was born. I feel hands everywhere, my hands are everywhere. More fiery liquid is poured down my throat. I'm losing it. Hell, I've lost it.

Suddenly I'm being pulled up from the couch. I open my eyes and see that my arm is firmly held by the boy as he leads me out onto the dance floor. I turn to see that the woman with the spiky hair is waving goodbye with a smirk. She then allows the curtain to close, some other man inside.

I want to ask where Mike went, but I don't know how. The boy is now pressed up against me, I can feel his sweaty chest against my own. Hands brush against me, bodies brush against me. I look behind myself to see another woman pressed up against my rear. Her lips meet mine, her teeth nibble on my bottom lip.

My world is crashing, crumbling. I can feel the music, I hear the breaths of hundreds, the groans, moans and shouts. The lights flash so wildly that all I see is color ever changing. I am trapped in this world, my mind lost to the sex, drugs, and music. I flit from room to room, people after people pass me by.

I pass a girl dressed in attire that would be considered normal in the real world. I see her wide eyed stare, her mouth slightly agape. She stands straight as a board, her hands firmly planted at her side. I grin as I walk away, my eyes meeting hers. She turns away, her cheeks red. I don't care, soon she too will be lost within the mass.

[Sekot]

Listen carefully to the sound of the nightcall.

Hear the whisper of the dream world.

Swift does the nightmare come, swift does the day break.

I shall shatter the illusion, tear through the veil.

Dance all night, dance until you forget. Move and twist under the starlit sky in hopes that it all goes dark. Call forth the twisted charade.

Bring on this mask and despair. Wear the identity of another and play the part perfectly.

I heard the call of a bird, it called my name. The voice then becomes a scream so loud that reality breaks.

Do you hear the banshee? Can you hear the requiem? See the tears as they burn from the heavens.

I cried aloud for the lost soul, but it was my own. Gone gone gone. I can hear the banshee and I take comfort in the shriek.

I take comfort in the insanity, the disjointed world I perceive.

Dance! Dance until the day no longer comes. Dance until white becomes black and black becomes red.

See the rivers of red as they tumble through space. See as they separate and spin around each other like twisting ribbons. Colors that explode with the force of a hurricane.

I can feel them against my skin, it tingles. The yellow hits my face like a hot breeze. The red slices through me like knives. Blue washes over me like water. Every color, unique sensation.

But its gone, passed me by. I watch it leave, wave goodbye.

Its not enough, never enough. Let me dance, let me lose control. See the harlequin smile, hear the clap of hands. All to a beat I do not know.

Twist, spin, move. Don't ever stop.

Hear my laugh, the laugh of a deranged. I want you, to taste you. My eyes burn like fire. I want to dance in your mind, twist through your thoughts, tango with your inner self.

I can feel it all, every part of me is alive. Shatter the nightmare, break the dream. Call forth the power of gods to end the reality you want to change. I am subject to your perception. Bring out the wicked sword of your unborn hopes.

Play with me, play this dance, play this game. Move this piece, move that piece. Together we shall serenade our eventual self destruction. I am the unkind. I take delight in this show, in this neverending play.

[Sekot]

Blitzed out of my mind. Words floating in the air.

I raise my hands and I see the end.

Locusts wrapped around me, they spread the disease.

This is it. This is all.

Prepare for it. Here it comes.

Crescendo, climax.

Bring it up. Tear it up.

Bang bang bang bang.

Crash down. Rock the floor.

I am the Dancer. I am the Harbinger.

I spread the disease, the Plague.

Not enough, never enough. More. More.

Consume it all, bring it all.

My world is alight.

Blue, Black, Red, Yellow.

These are the colors of destruction.

Come with me, move with me. Participate in my own reality.

Fluid, intangible, ethereal. I am the incorporeal nightmare.

Hands touch. Grasp. Feel. I am alive. electrified.

Swept away. My mind is gone. Lost in the multitude.

Share it all, give it all up. Whisper to me your darkest secrets. Let me in to the deepest part.

Bring it up. Tap the foot. The beat is life.

Freedom of consciousness, string the thoughts. With words paint the picture.

I spread my wings. I let loose the tirade. Look into their lifeless eyes and see the Fever.

Beware. Do not enter here. There is never any turning back.

I will make you feel. I will make you see.

Annihilate.

Explode.

Carry it on. This Plague that I spread. Omega.

Clap clap clap. We are the Undead.

Single minded devotion.

I am. We are. Forever shall we be.

[Sekot]

Have you heard the call of the Undead? Have you heard the lament of the damned?

We sing the Requiem. We sing the song of the dead. We stand at our own funerals.

We watch as we are buried.

Apathetic. Lifeless. Soulless. Greed.

I am Wrath. I am the Destroyer.

Here the Mantra of the Zombie. Listen quietly to the Ghost Story.

It tells the tale of an unlife. We are the Undead. We are the Mindless.

Consumed, taken in. Believe me now. We gave in.

In my hands I hold the cold flame. On my face I have the paint of war. On my chest is decorated the Anthem of the Dead.

Feel my heart. Feel no beat. See my body. See it dance. See it move.

I am alive. I am alive. I am alive.

My mind is not my own. I have given up. Spin spin spin spin.

Tumble fall break crash.

Escalate the move. This is not enough. Never enough. I hunger for the flesh. Single minded devotion to the Cause.

I want the Angel, but I am the Demon. I am the Abomination.

Coherent plea. Insanity.

Crave the body. Gnash your teeth. Immortality.

This night is a promise. It will never end. Never ever never end.

Blast the speakers, blast the ears. Do you hear this call? Can you hear the scream?

In hellfire we breath. In inferno we live. Our breath smells of sulfur. Our eyes smolder.

Open the earth. Swallow us whole. Bend break snap.

Make us bleed. We dare you.

We are the Undead.

[Lilam]

((Not sure how I've managed to never post here, but just wanted to know that this is great stuff. While I have a little fangirl spasm every time I read something with with Sekot and/or Mallyce, I also enjoy reading your other little stories. It's kind of neat to see you write something different. I'm totally blown away with how versatile your writing style is. Anyway, love your stories, love the thread and most importantly, love you in the awkward and overbearing way that only a crazy fangirl stalker can!))

[Sekot]

((LILAM - I love you! I will love you forever and ever just cause I can.))

I looked into his eyes and saw the terrible storm of a euphoric dreamland. He promised me, with those golden eyes of his, the world. I wanted to lose myself in the abyss, swallowed by oblivion. I wanted to taste the scent of passionate carnage.

Such twisting turns, such torrential emotions. Feed, breathe, grasp, lust. Fearing him, I was his slave. Down on my knees in obeisance. My body was his. I was a puppet with many strings. I am a clown, a mime, an entertainer. Watch me dance, watch me flail. Twist, spasm, gyrate, twirl, grate, grind, spin.

Like flame, like wind.

Who can stop me? Who can tell me? Hold me, tighter, harder.

I am this lost, this confused, in this dreamlike state. I feel nothing and I feel everything. Break free, step back. Blow it all away.

Commence the change, set yourself free. Shatter the conception, shatter the reality. Create anew, condense and evaporate. With your hands, with your mind imagine a new picture.

Whisper it to me, into my ear. Let it grow and transform.

No longer the slave, no longer the puppet. I dance to the tune I alone hear. March step bambambam.

Have I lost it?

My grin is wide, my mind lost. I tear out his golden eyes. I replace my own.

I am the slaver, I am the puppeteer.

This is my reality.

Move your body. Move your soul. Your body is out of control. Move your body, move your soul. Your body is on the floor.

This tasteful air, this electrifying touch. Captivated. I am the dynamic. Rock the floor. Can you keep up? I am the Master, the Overlord.

Hear the call, hear the beat. Clapclapclapclap.

Stand before me. Stand still. Feel the world move about you. Feel the floor shake, the air breathe. Feel the thunder clap. bambambambam. We are the ethereal dream.

[Sekot]

Smoke curled from his open mouth, out from within the dark abyss and across the thin lips. It lifted up around the nose and shrouded the sunken eyes until it evaporated nothingness. It was slow, graceful. He lifted the cigarette to his mouth again and took another long drag. The end of the cigarette burned bright yellow, the paper on the end crinkled and fell away. The white stick was lowered, there was a pause, and the smoke returned.

His spindly fingers clutched the cigarette between them, the nails were yellowed and covered in dirt. A black snake was coiled around his arm, tattooed deeply into his flesh. Sinewy and thin, it branched off several times to curve around the entire appendage. The biceps and triceps were nearly nonexistent, thin almost to the bone.

Another drag. The muscles in the rounded deltoids bunched. The chest rose and fell. Smoke was exhaled. The fingers opened, releasing their grip on the cigarette which then tumbled slowly, end over end, to the floor. His heel came up and smothered the last few glowing embers.

With a heavy sigh, he pushed himself off the crate he sat upon and rose to his full height. He threw his arms out wide, stretching the muscles that had tightened in the posture assumed previously. He took pause, breathing softly as his grey eyes searched the room from end to end.

It was a large and cavernous space, bodies were littered everywhere. The sound of inhaling and exhaling breaths filled the air like a hum of wasps. He placed a hand on his stomach, feeling the hard abdominals that showed through the minimal body fat of malnutrition.

Slowly he stepped over the outstretched arms and protruding legs, over the intertwined bodies of men and women alike. It was a slow process, a careful maneuvering, a dance to let the dead sleep.

He made it to the only door and opened it swiftly before stepping out into the warm sun of the early morning. His eyes immediately squinted against the harsh change in lighting. He raised a hand to shield his eyes and wait for the adjustment.

The door behind him opened and another body stepped out. He moved his head only slightly so that he could look at the newcomer out of the corner of his eye. "Long night?" he asked, his voice hoarse and quiet.

The girl merely nodded her head. Her shoulder length blonde hair was frazzled and pointing in every direction. She too squinted but did not remove her arms from around her body to shield her eyes. Lowering her head, she stepped up next to the other and let out a sigh of her own.

She, like him, was scantily clad. He had no idea where his clothes were and he doubted that she knew either. "Fun night last night?" she asked, her voice also hoarse from overexertion.

He lifted a single shoulder in a mere shrug. Truthfully, he did not remember. He lifted his head to gaze across the river from the warehouse he had just exited. Towers, smoke stacks, rose to the heavens like skeletal fingers. Some spewed flame several feet into the air. A black smoke hung low over the city itself. It reeked of oil and rot.

"See you tomorrow night?" he asked.

He turned not waiting for an answer. They both knew they would be back. Back to the same warehouse, the same old motion. It was all intoxicating, unbelievable, exhilarating.