The Freaks and the Dead

[Chad]

This story has a good seven years of history to it, as it started back in 2000 when my friend and I were attempting to create a story of fantastically epic proportions. Together we had written a lot of material, most of it comical and nonsensical short stories, but we also wanted to make one long fleshed-out story full of detailed action and whatnot. And so this was born. Unfortunately this is as far as we got with it, as we simply didn't know how to top it or go on with it. But now I'm bringing it back from the grave in hopes of completing it by the end of the year. (I did write a second chapter a few years ago, but that's it.) I may make some minor changes over time, but my main focus is to go on with the story instead of refining what has already been done. Enjoy!

Chapter One

Scene: Austin, Chad, and Justin, three young men in their late teens, are resting peacefully at their apartment on the day of the big high school football championship game.
“Hey guys,” said Austin, walking into the living room. Chad and Justin, having been engaged in a strenuous exercise of the thumbs (playing video games, to be exact) for over an hour now, were so focused on their current task that neither of them was paying attention to much but the sounds and pictures coming from the television.
“Uh, guys?” Austin tried again, but to no avail. Their eyes and ears were super glued to the game, while their butts were firmly planted on the sofa. Austin, not one to enjoy being ignored, walked to the television, reached around and pulled the power plug out of its socket.
“Hey, what the hell…?” muttered a confused and frustrated Justin.
“What did you do that for, man?!” asked an infuriated Chad. “I was kicking some serious ass for once!”
“Well, now that I’ve got your attention,” began Austin in a sarcastically nice tone, trying to hold back his own frustrations at the other two, “you know the big game is in an hour, and-”
“Yeah,” interrupted Chad, “we know. There are only dozens of flyers scattered all over town about it. What’s your point?”
“Besides,” added Justin. “It’s just a stupid high school football game. Who follows school sports anyway?”
Chad went to plug the television back in, but was immediately blocked by a strategically placed crotch. “If you guys would just let me finish,” reasoned Austin, “you would see the point I’m trying to make. It’s the big high school championship, so it’s a big deal to a lot of people. And because of that, the place is going to be packed.”
“And we’re really supposed to care if a few hundred extra people are going to be there?” argued Chad, once again reaching for the power cord.
“Actually, yes,” replied Austin, continuing to block Chad’s way to the electrical outlet. “We’re talking everybody, which means there will be quite a few girls there.”
“Girls, you say?” said Justin as he began to fantasize.
“Yeah, right,” mumbled Chad. “What would any girls want to do with a geek like me? Besides, the weather report says we’re going to have record low temperatures tonight, and I don’t feel like freezing my ass off.”
“That’s the thing,” convinced Austin. “The girls will be cold as well and will need a nice, warm body to cuddle up next to. Who knows, that nice, warm body could be yours.”
“Hmm, let’s see,” thought Chad. “Freeze to death and maybe get a girl, or keep warm inside and play video games all night. Let me get back to you on that one.”
“Dude, the game begins in less than an hour!” exclaimed Austin. “Either you make up your damn mind or I’ll make it up for you!”
Chad stopped for a moment, apparently in deep thought, then quickly snatched the television cord away from Austin and plugged it back in.
“Holy hell, you’ve got to be kidding me!” remarked an astounded Austin. “I can’t believe you, man! All the times you’ve said how much you want to meet some girls, and now the perfect opportunity arrives and you completely blow it off? I can’t stand to look at you! I just-”
“Hey, Austin,” interrupted Chad again.
“What?!”
“Just kidding.” Chad put down his controller and grabbed his coat from the closet.
Austin then let out a heavy sigh of relief. “Damn, man! You had me freaking out there! Hey Justin, let’s go!”
Justin woke from whatever he was fantasizing about, took a few steps toward the closet, then paused. “Uh, guys? Do you mind if I stay home tonight?”
“Aw, why? Are you afraid of the pretty ladies?” teased Austin. “Come on man, I’m sure even your scrawny ass will be able to pick up a girl!”
As Austin put on his coat, Justin replied, “It’s not that. It’s just I, I don’t exactly have a good feeling about tonight.”
“Man, you always have a bad feeling about something!” stated Austin. “And more often than not it turns out to be nothing. Now, squeeze it out and come on! We’ll never be able to meet any girls standing here blabbing about our bad feelings and boring lives!” So Justin, feeling he had no other choice, grabbed his coat and followed Austin and Chad out the door and into the bitter cold of the night.

Scene: As a blustery winter chill sets in on this late November evening, Austin, Chad, and Justin make their way to the high school football field. The bleachers are filling up quickly with high school students and other people from all over the area.
A dense fog began to descend from the navy blue sky, blurring the distant scenery in the area. “Damn, it’s too cold out here!” exclaimed Chad, trembling as he looked through his breath at the near-full stands. “I’m telling you man, this isn’t going to work!”
“What are you talking about?” rebutted Austin. “This is perfect! Gentlemen, tonight we finally get us some girls!”
“I still don’t feel right about something here,” said Justin.
“And I can’t feel my face, it’s so cold!” added Chad.
“You know what your problem is? You guys are too whiny and pessimistic,” noted Austin. “No wonder you don’t have any luck with the ladies. Now come on, let’s find some seats quick!”
As if purely by luck, they managed to find a trio of empty seats way in the back of the bleachers, next to a few attractive young ladies. As they sat, the announcer’s booming voice roared over the speakers, introducing the visiting team. Various boos emanated from the home side of the bleachers.
Meanwhile, Austin leaned over to the young girl next to him and tried to make a move. “So, what’s happening there, sweet thing? You look a little cold there. You know what you need? A nice big dose of Austin to help you keep warm. Beware though, side effects may include severe pleasure and exhaustion.”
The girl, not exactly pleased with Austin’s attempt to flirt, swung her purse at him, knocking him squarely in the jaw, leaving quite a mark on his face, before getting up, knocking him once more in the crotch, and changing seats.
“Oh, freezing cold weather and bodily harm just don’t mix,” muttered Austin in a considerable amount of pain.
“Yeah, nice going Austin,” said Chad sarcastically. “You really have some smooth moves. Oh wait, no you don’t.”
“Okay, it’s official, I cannot feel my feet anymore,” complained Justin as the home team’s mascot made its way onto the field. But instead of doing its usual routine to rile up the crowd in anticipation of the game, it just stood there, nearly motionless.
After a few seconds of nothing, the crowd began to wonder what was wrong with the mascot. At about that time, powdery white flakes began to fall from the dark night sky. “Hey, what’s this crap?” griped Chad. “The weather report didn’t say anything about snow!”
“Will you lighten up?” said Austin. “I’m sure it’s just a passing shower.” Austin stuck out his tongue and caught a flake on it, but immediately did a spit take. “My god, man, when did snow start tasting like ash?”
As the flakes began to fall thicker and thicker, the home team’s coach went out to the middle of the field to check on the still mascot. He tapped the mascot on the shoulder, to which it immediately turned around. The coach was able to get in only a few words before the mascot suddenly clubbed him with a ferocious uppercut, knocking him a good five yards across the cold, hard ground, unconscious.
As gasps of uncertainty filled the stands, Justin proclaimed, “Oh man, see? I knew something wasn’t right about tonight!”
“Holy hell, what’s going on here?” wondered Austin. At about that time, a loud rumble filled the sky and a bright blinding light shone down from above, engulfing the entire field. Everyone looked up through the light to find an enormous unidentified flying object lowering itself onto the field. Screams arose and the crowd began to panic as a door on the side of the huge flying craft opened, hundreds of strange and unfamiliar creatures emerging from it.
At the same time, the team mascot ripped off its furry costume, revealing underneath a human-type creature in what appeared to be ancient Asian-style clothing. His loud, rather annoying nasally voice echoed throughout the stands as he proclaimed, “Human beings of the planet Earth, stay calm and all will be well. I have come to enlist help on my lifelong dream of ruling the universe, and so I shall begin by enslaving you all!”
The crowd, fearing the worst, had begun to panic, and before long all hell had broken loose. A chaotic horde of helpless people scattered all over the place, desperately attempting to evacuate the area, many tripping over their own feet and subsequently getting trampled on like it was a stampede. Back in the rear of the bleachers, Austin, Chad, and Justin looked on in astonishment.
“Guys, I think we’d better do something about this,” commented Chad.
“Gee, you think?!” replied Austin. “Okay, I was hoping we’d never have to do this again, but I guess we have no choice.” He pulled a necklace out from under his shirt to reveal three unique spherical jewels. “Guys, take your orbs and let’s do this thing!”
Chad and Justin each grabbed a jewel while Austin held onto the third. Upon clenching their respective orb, each of which began to flash with unimaginable power, the three teens magically transformed into a trio of supernatural beings, Chad becoming Copornocus, Justin becoming Karate Master, and Austin turning into The Count.
Copornocus’s short stature and mediocre strength weren‘t much, but his use of guns and other related weaponry was masterful. Karate Master was a man of wise words, a slim yet skillful fighter with lightning quick speed and sturdy feet. The Count was the strongest and tallest of the three, with the killing instincts of a bloodthirsty vampire but the justice-searching mindset that only the best superheroes could have.
The Count turned to his two partners. “Okay, you guys take care of all these creepy freaks. I’m going after that Chinese dude!” As he started to rush off through the maddening crowd, he took a slight pause, turned back, and offered a few more words. “Oh, and guys? Good luck.” He gave a quick nod to the two before rushing back off, disappearing into the chaos.
Before setting off on their own journey, Copornocus and Karate Master discussed their battle plan. “Okay, I’ve got an idea,” began Copornocus, thinking ever so carefully. “There are way too many of these creatures for us to split up and take them out on our own, so obviously we’ll have to stick together. Let’s get behind one another so we can protect each other’s backs.”
“Right,” agreed Karate Master. “And don’t be quick to try and take a bunch of them out at once. Force them to make the first move on you. Let them close in a bit, and wait until they’re ready to strike. They’re likely most vulnerable when they’re on the offensive. We’ll have a much better chance here if we know what’s coming.”
“I hear you loud and clear,” replied Copornocus. “Now, what do you say we get medieval on these aliens?!” The two rushed off into the field, which was now a complete disaster area. Careful as they could be, they slowed as the strange creatures began to circle around them, dozens of otherworldly beings eyeing them up like they were some sort of dinner platter. The pair watched closely as the mysterious aliens slowly crept closer to them, their eyes remaining focused on the immediate danger surrounding them. Copornocus’s hand itched uncontrollably as it rested a mere inch from his holstered weapon, the Hydra Ray Gun.
As a bit of a stare-off began between good and evil here, Copornocus began to wonder what lies ahead for his partner and himself. How will these creatures attack? Do we have the skill to counterattack should they get an upper hand? Will the pizza place still deliver in 30 minutes or less amongst this mess? All the questions rapidly began to fill his brain, almost causing mental overload, but his cunning superhero instincts allowed him to remain calm and collective on the outside.
Suddenly, almost as if telepathically, he could feel Karate Master becoming more tense as one of the creatures began to charge at them. Just as it entered reaching distance, Karate Master swiftly reacted, almost like it was beyond his own control, grabbing his katana sword and promptly slicing the alien straight to the bone. As blood gushed out from its gutted midsection, the alien let out a deep bone-chilling scream before falling lifeless to the ground. Using whatever bit of life remained inside, it looked up hauntingly at the face of Karate Master, who then used his katana again to sever the head of the unwelcome visitor.
Witnessing this brutality like they’ve never seen anything like it before, the rest of the pack closed in further on the two heroes. Copornocus wiggled his fingers in anticipation of pulling his weapon from his belt, which hummed ever so softly as it was charging in preparation to open fire. Feeling more tense than ever now, he was no longer able to maintain his calm presence, grabbing the Hydra Ray Gun and pulling the trigger prematurely. Still, the deadly rays that shot out from the gun were enough to do the necessary damage, striking one alien just below the waist, instantly burning its legs to nothing but charred ash.
Copornocus felt a split second of satisfaction, but immediately that feeling was replaced by one of significant uneasiness. The aliens were now too close for comfort, and even with his destructive weapon he knew this was going to be an uphill struggle of a battle. Just then he felt a heavy breathing on the back of his neck. “Aw, come on, K.M., you can’t possibly be tired already!” he exclaimed, his back still turned to the direction of the breathing. As it continued, this strange breathing which seemed almost inhuman, Copornocus turned around to find that it was not coming from Karate Master, but instead from a rather large alien, its gigantic hands stretched out and ready to rip the life from the hero. Purely out of desperation, Copornocus quickly fired his Hydra Ray Gun again, blasting the creature right between the eyes. Its head snapped back as it yelled horribly, wiping and clawing at its own face in an attempt to stop the burning sensation it was now feeling. Standing his ground, Copornocus released another shot, this time catching it in the chest, completely destroying its cold heart upon impact.
As he scanned the area, Copornocus found that Karate Master was nowhere to be seen. Where did he go? He wondered to himself as the circle of aliens continued to put the pressure on him. Fearing the worst, a dark feeling of loneliness began to engulf him, but still he continued to open fire on the monstrous creatures. Feeling he was getting nowhere, it was becoming more and more clear that there was no way he could compete much longer alone in this sea of viciousness. Karate Master had apparently been taken care of, and now Copornocus felt that it was only a matter of time before he would suffer the same fate as well. Still, if this was the way it was meant to be, he would continue to fight for the sake of his own pride, and go down in a blaze of glory.
Another few moments passed, and Copornocus, who was now firing at anything that moved, was becoming increasingly fatigued and frustrated both physically and mentally. Mustering up the strength to execute one final blow, he fired his Hydra Ray Gun once more, managing to take out three creatures simultaneously, but the force from the shot caused him to fall backwards and lose grip of the weapon. As soon as it fell to the ground, an alien stomped his foot down in front of it to prevent Copornocus from picking it back up. The intimidating creature picked it up and examined it closely, a bar on the barrel of it reading “INSUFFICIENT AMMUNITION. PLEASE RECHARGE”, then tossed it away into the parade of evil beings, far out of the reach of Copornocus.
Well, this is it, he thought to himself, his body aching of exhaustion, at least I’ll have gone out fighting to the death. The aliens inched even closer now, to within breathing distance of the helpless Copornocus, who looked up through the mass and saw a small bird, flying around in circles as if it was hopelessly lost, afraid and alone, searching for some direction. Poor bird, thought Copornocus. Poor me. The horrific creatures then raised their huge arms in preparation to tear the hero limb from limb, obstructing his view of the cold November sky and the lone lost bird. Sensing that death was just moments away, he crouched down and closed his eyes, arms covering the top of his head as if they would shield him somehow. Every single organ in his body seemed to come to a halt at that moment, except for his heart, which was pounding out of his chest. The terror of the situation nearly caused him to black out.
Suddenly, he felt a light mist coat his entire body, but it felt of unusualness. It was like a type of liquid he had not come in contact with before. Complete silence followed, then slight confusion. Something in the air didn’t seem quite right. The heavy breathing of the gigantic creatures had stopped all at once. Am I dead? wondered Copornocus, his eyes still clamped shut. He wasn’t sure whether to open his eyes and see if he was still alive for some miraculous reason, or to simply lie down and rest his weary body. After a minute of catching his breath, he decided to sit up and look around, and as he opened his eyes he saw a familiar figure bending over to pick something up a few feet away amidst a heap of idle bodies.
“I believe you dropped this,” said the figure, who was slightly blurred in the vision of the tired Copornocus, holding out the Hydra Ray Gun.
“Wha- hey!” exclaimed Copornocus, his senses slowly coming back to him with each breath he took. He now recognized who the figure was, and attempted to stand up, but his momentary lack of strength caused him to fall back to the ground. “K.M.! Man, where the hell have you been? I thought I was done for!”
“Well, those creatures jumped me all at once and dragged me to the base of their ship,” replied Karate Master.
“Wait, so they took you and you didn’t yell for help or anything?” asked Copornocus.
“I didn’t yell out because I didn’t want you to panic,” said Karate Master. “Anyway, before they were able to take me into their ship I remembered this thing I had enclosed inside my katana handle.” He held out a slim pen-shaped shell which had apparently housed the strange solution that now covered the field. “This thing may not look like much, but it sure packs one powerful punch! Too bad it‘s only a one-time use thing.”
“But, how did it take out all the aliens and yet spare me?” asked Copornocus.
“It’s a bit of a complicated explanation,” began Karate Master. “Something about it targets and creeps inside alien skin and quietly does its business, while humans remain unaffected by it. I don‘t know for sure though. We have to go now, I have a few of these left and I saw a whole horde of aliens making their way to the town square!”
“Cool, just give me a minute,” said Copornocus. “I’m still trying to get my breath back.” Karate Master helped Copornocus stand back up, making sure he was ready to go back into battle, and then the two raced off into the heart of town.

Scene: The Count has made his way to the school parking lot in search of the figure who claims to enslave the humans.
Man, what exactly are these creatures up to? The Count wondered to himself as he searched the parking lot for their apparent leader. After a few minutes, he was able to locate the Asian-looking maniac quite a way ahead of him, making his way toward the school building. Another being, this one with long, flowing dark hair, a distinctly feminine figure, and an interesting pair of gloves which gave off a strange radiant light, was accompanying him to the building. Where the hell are they going? wondered The Count as he raced after them, knowing whatever they were up to, their intentions were anything but good. As he came within shouting distance of the two, he yelled out, “Hey! Stop right there, you lowlife maggots!”
They paused for a moment before the mysterious long-haired figure suddenly took off into the air above the building, disappearing with a single heartbeat beyond The Count‘s eyesight. Where did she go? The Count asked himself as the other figure began walking again towards the building. “Hey! I said stop! If you know what’s good for you, you’d better not take another step!”
Another pause allowed The Count, his feet pounding of pain from the hard frozen ground, to continue drawing closer to him. The mysterious being stood there, now beside the school building, head slightly bowed as his arms stayed firmly at his sides. Finally The Count was able to catch up to him, but slowed to a creeping walk as he came within twenty feet of this strange man.
Careful now, thought he thought to himself. Who knows what this guy is capable of? “Who are you, and what do you think you’re doing trying to enslave innocent people?!”
Silence. The shady figure continued to stand motionless, his head bowed, face barely visible beneath the traditional-looking Oriental hat he was sporting. “Answer me, you pathetic little freak!” exclaimed The Count. “Just who the hell do you think you are invading our planet like this?!”
Still no response. The Count was growing increasingly frustrated by the second. “What, am I going to have to beat the words out of you? I’m going to give you five seconds to speak before I slice your damn head off like butter!” In preparation, he reached for and began to draw his deadly blade, the Demonic Edge. “All right, I guess I have no other choice…”
The Count drew close to the still figure, sword in hand, and began to swing for the fences when suddenly, quick as a bolt of lightning, the invader pulled a pair of nun chucks from his clothing and blocked the shot, pushing the sword away and coming back with a fierce shot to the left leg using the same weapon, knocking his opponent to one knee. Stunned by this man’s quickness, and now aching from the shot he took, The Count paused for a moment before raising himself back up and charging again, sword pointed straight for the head. This time the figure, with unbelievable aerial ability, jumped over The Count as he was charging, landing behind him and giving himself another opportunity to nail him with the nun chucks, this time connecting with the other leg, dropping the hero again to a single knee.
The pain echoing through his legs like a voice in an empty stadium, The Count hesitated for a moment as he struggled to once again stand himself back up. Feeling the fresh bruises on his knees, he was now completely annoyed by this man, his eyes beginning to burn bright red with anger. Turning around to face the unwelcome stranger, he closed his eyes for a second, channeling his emotions as if to transfer them to the Demonic Edge, which started to glow luminously as he slowly raised it up above his head. He then let out a deafening yell as he brought the sword crashing down, but not before the villain slid between his legs, leaving the weapon to amazingly lodge itself partially into the hard sidewalk concrete.
As The Count was left to try and remove his sword from the new crack in the sidewalk, the dark figure was able to get in position to deliver a monster shot with the nun chucks right to the small of the back, knocking his opponent to his knees. This guy is pretty damn good, sneaky and quick, The Count thought to himself as he grimaced with another newfound pain, still attempting to pull his sword out.
“So you want to know my name,” the strangely-clothed man began as he slowly walked a circle around The Count, knowing the sword was fairly well lodged in the concrete. “My name is Fei William, ruler of the planet Epsilon 119 in the third solar system. Make sure you remember that, because soon every planet in this known galaxy will feel my wrath and bow down to my awesome power!”
“What is this, a joke?” replied The Count, still on his knees and still fidgeting with the Demonic Edge. “You take over the galaxy? Look buddy, this planet will answer to no one, including a no-good sneaky rat bastard like you!”
“SILENCE!” William boomed as he struck The Count again with the nun chucks, this time in the back of the neck, causing his head to snap forward and receive a mouthful of his own weapon. As The Count’s head was writhing in excruciating pain, William continued. “I’ve come here after researching what strange powers are contained within each planet this side of our solar system, and I’ve found that somewhere on Earth exist three people containing magical orbs with the capability of producing and harnessing dangerously high amounts of energy. Those very gems are the key I need to help me power my intergalactic weapon of destruction so my dream of universal domination can come true!”
“Heh, you think you can retrieve the orbs that easily?” snapped The Count, strong as he could be in his stance though still stinging from the nun chucks. “As long as my buddies and I have a say in this, there’s no way you’re taking anything or anyone from this planet back to your home for any reason!”
“My, aren’t we resistant?” said William, arrogance apparent in his voice. “I already know it is you and your friends who possess the orbs I seek. Nonetheless, I’ve fought tougher challenges plenty in my life, and have always come out victorious, so what you do say we do this the easy way and you give up before I humiliate you?”
“No chance in hell,” replied The Count in a scarily low tone of voice, feeling the Demonic Edge finally start to loosen from the sidewalk.
“Very well then,” remarked Fei. Maneuvering behind The Count once more, he prepared to deliver the knockout blow, winding up with all his might, but as he began to swing his shot was immediately blocked by the Demonic Edge, which was finally pulled from the crevice it had made in the ground. Pushing off with immense power, William was knocked back a step, and The Count quickly hurled his weapon back at the villain, snagging his shirt just enough to fling him with great force to the ground.
Making the presence of his strength and intimidation felt, The Count stood over William and gazed eerily with his fiery eyes through his opponent‘s soul, retinas burning with the intention to end this battle by any means necessary. He knew he had to make quick work of this or else he may be at a disadvantage, his slow reactions to this point costing him a world of hurt so far. William’s clothing still snagged by the sword, The Count flung him with immeasurable strength off the ground and slamming into the wall of the building. The force of the impact seemed to leave an imprint of Fei’s body in the bricks, and caused his hat to fall like an autumn leaf to the ground. Yet unimaginably, he immediately used his legs to kick The Count in the midsection, freeing his shirt from the sword and pushing The Count back a few steps. Not wasting any time, The Count maintained his focus and quickly charged back towards William, Demonic Edge aimed straight for the jugular, but with a swift catlike reaction, the evildoer leapt upwards, leaving the sword to receive a large chunk of bricks.
Mightily removing his weapon from the wall with a single effort, The Count turned back around in anticipation of coming face to face with his newfound nemesis, but found that he was not anywhere in sight. What the--where did he go? The Count wondered to himself as he scanned every nook and cranny of the area, looking to find any clue as to Fei’s whereabouts. Just then he noticed a moonlit shadow of a figure that appeared to be on the roof of the single-story building. Turning back around to face the building, The Count raised his head only to meet a falling brick a split second later which nailed him square in the forehead, knocking him backwards. Startled and slightly dizzy, he quickly felt his now pounding head with his left hand and pulled it back to realize it was mostly covered in blood. Indeed, the brick had lacerated his forehead and the blood now began to trickle down his nose and cheeks. Feeling concussed, The Count stumbled for a few seconds, trying to regain equilibrium.
A few seconds later, he looked up again at the roof to find the figure moving towards the other side of the building. Here goes, thought The Count to himself as he bent his knees and with great force leapt upwards, barely making it high enough to land on the edge of the roof. The sudden motion caused his aching head to dizzy itself again, and he stumbled sideways, nearly losing his footing. Dancing dangerously close to the corner of the roof, The Count shook his head clear of the cobwebs and righted himself quickly before taking a few steps away from the edge.
Looking inward, he saw a darkened figure a number of feet away from him, apparently making his way to a vent on the roof. Oh no you don’t, thought The Count as he chased after the figure, having had enough of this. Immediately catching up, he drew his sword and prepared to slice and dice like a crazed maniac. However, his sword was met by a blocking set of nun chucks, which then went on the offensive to strike only to be blocked in return by the Demonic Edge. The figure, which did indeed turn out to be William, turned around and maintained his fighting stance. What followed was like something out of the finest wuxia movies, each combatant correctly guessing the opponent’s every move, resulting in a series of acrobatic near-misses.
After a few minutes, The Count felt this action was getting nowhere, and decided it was time to get serious. As Fei prepared to deliver a blow with his nun chucks, The Count made a bold move and tossed his sword at the weapon, the contact causing William to lose grip of it. As William looked away for a split second at the sword and nun chucks falling beside him, The Count quickly charged and made an athletic football-style tackle on the villain. His heart pounding with great ferociousness, the adrenaline raced through The Count’s tense limbs like never before, his veins bulging as if they were about to break free from under his skin. Not wasting any time, he stood back up, picked up Fei and with ridiculously inhuman force slammed his body down onto the hard surface, the force of it causing a small portion of the roof to collapse, sending William’s body crashing down onto the hallway floor below.
Beginning to breathe heavy, The Count looked down through the new hole in the roof at the mess of roofing and ceiling tiles below, wiping his brow of the blood continuing to trickle down his face. Taking a moment to regain some stamina, he walked over and picked his sword back up, putting it away before dropping down the hole into the building. Taking another look at the fresh pile of dust and tiles which had apparently buried William, he began to dig through it, hoping to find Fei’s body somewhere amongst the mess. A couple minutes passed, but there was no sign of a body in the rubble. If he’s not in this pile, then where is he? Thought The Count as he continued to search feverishly for any indication that something or someone was trapped below. Still, nothing.
Right as he was ready to give up, he heard what he thought were footsteps further down the dark hall. Feeling that William somehow was left uninjured from the fall and was now making his way through the school, The Count slowly made his way toward the sound he was hearing, taking each step as quietly as he could so as to remain undetected. Coming to a corner, he moved himself against the wall, the sound of footsteps still echoing ever so lightly in his ears. As it grew louder, he braced himself to make a move, hoping to attack at just the right time.
The sound grew louder, and The Count knew it was time to react to it. He leapt out from behind the corner and made another football-style tackle, knocking both himself and the other body to the cold tiled floor. Acting out of instinct, he drew his sword and prepared to make a fatal final blow when he noticed the figure was not wearing the same clothing William was just a moment ago. Instead, this body had on a grey button-down shirt, a noticeably large keychain protruding from the side of his waist. Huh? Oh, it’s just the janitor, thought The Count as he put his sword away and stood back up, leaving the body unconscious on the floor.
At about that time, he could hear another sound, this time coming from the other end of the hall. He raced off, remaining quiet in his quest to investigate the noise. As he drew nearer, he could make out what he thought was a voice, though it was muffled beyond comprehension. However, he could tell it wasn’t William’s voice. It sounded like a more familiar, friendlier voice. Unsure and a bit anxious, but sure that he recognized the voice, The Count stopped and called out softly, “Anyone here? Justin? Is that you?”
No answer. The voice drew silent. Taking a few more steps, The Count spoke again, his voice soft and scratchy at the same time, “Chad? Are you there?”
Still no answer. There wasn’t even any indication of breathing or anything. My ears can’t be deceiving me, thought The Count as he began to feel a bit freaked out at that moment. He took a few more steps toward the next corner, peering out both sides ever so slightly, but found nothing. The halls appeared completely empty.
As he tiptoed a bit down the next hall, he heard what he thought were footsteps directly behind him. Quickly he turned around, anticipating someone or something was there, but found no one and nothing. Taking a few more steps out the next hall, The Count again thought he could hear footsteps, this time coming from the hallway he had just exited.
What’s going on? Am I hearing things? Wondered The Count as his heart began pumping faster. A third time now he heard the sound of footsteps, this time coming from quite a distance in front of him. He stopped dead in his tracks, now officially feeling frightened for the first time in as long as he could remember.
Unsure of what to do anymore, he began backtracking and backed himself into the intersection of the halls he originally came from. Not knowing anyone’s whereabouts, he just wanted to get out of the building and back out into the open. Then, at that moment, the little hairs on the back of his neck jumped up as he felt a sudden sharp, excruciating pain in his back, completely blacking out.

[elastics.]

Oh, jeez this is long! I shall read it later when I'm not as tired

So are Justin and Austin your friends? haha

And try spacing it...hard returns are super coolies

[Chad]

Ah, forgive me. I just copied and pasted from Microsoft Word. I didn't realize it would screw up the format like that.

Anywho, chapter 2 is in progress and should be up sometime this month.