The Pale War

by Max Jager

  Dark lowered the big rocket launcher and looked out at the road for about two minutes before he threw the rocket launcher from the car and slid into the front passenger side seat. There was still a small amount of smoke from the last rocket fired. Alerius was on the floor of the car in the back and looked at Dark. "So what am I suppose to do back here?"

  Washington looked at him through his rearview mirror and said, "I don't know, man! Use your imagination."

  Alerius looked at Washington with this cold stair. It was extremely clear that Alerius was in no mood for Washington's attitude. There were no more cushions on the seats so there was no place in the back for him to sit. He crossed his arms and laid down on the floor.

  He looked at the sky passing on by him and it was a nice clear day. Alerius faded off into sleep as he watched the sky move. His head was not comforted by the steel of the floor but he was kind of finding comfort in the gentile rocking of the car. The engine of the vehicle was also somewhat singing him to sleep. He was pretty tired.

  The sky was a beautiful shade of blue. If he didn't know any better he would say that he was back on Earth. That calmed him even more. After so many battles and after so many alien worlds since he had left the rogue training academy just a couple of years ago, it was nice to be back in a place that reminded him, if just for a moment, of Earth. It had been a long time since he had been on Earth. So many skies with different colors and not one of them that memorable blue. Here, on this world though, was that blue. That beautiful blue. The majesty of the sky was so peaceful.

  All of it blanketed him as the mission, the fire, the hatred, the enemy, and even the fear all took a backseat in the corner of his mind. Alerius closed his eyes softly and thoughts of Earth came floating into his head. They blew into his brain like the gentile breeze from the car going so fast. The car even faded away and so did that uncomfortable feeling from the steel floor.

  He was now asleep and felt so in tune with himself. As fantastic images of Earthly landscapes cascaded his vision. This was his dream world. This was his Zen and it would be the last peaceful moment he would ever have for a long time to come!

  Planet Scalobore: Dead Grave

  Alerius was pulled right out of his dream world as Dark lifted him up out of the car. Dark had him by the back and with one hand lifted him straight up off the floor! When he was put on his feet Alerius awoke to see that they were on the other side of the bridge. Alerius rubbed his eyes a bit to get fully awake.

  He looked around and saw some trees but mostly a whitish sand with sinkholes all around. He looked at the car and saw Washington was still at the drivers helm. He had one hand on the steering wheel and was looking at the two. He smiled as he slid his white goggles down over his bulging eyes and said, "Well, this is were I bid you adieu agent. I have already said my goodbyes to Dark but I think I'll miss you the most!" He said sarcastically. "Listen agent, if you need any help getting off this rock I'll be in Dead Grave with a nice little vehicle for space transport. sort of like a back up plan. Not till later-on though, so don't go AWHAL just yet. I have a bit of business to attend to on the other side of the bridge." Washington revved the engine of the car. "Need to see a guy about an 'oil change'. Take it easy, dude!"

  Washington revved the engine again and took off down the bridge spitting up sand as he flew down the road. Alerius watched him drive off and then looked over at Dark. Dark looked at him and Alerius pointed off in Washington's direction and sarcastically said, "You know, I miss him already."

  Alerius shook his head as he turned and began to walk off into the desert. He walked very cold and cocky. Dark had a hard time taking his gaze off the bridge before he finally caught up with Alerius.

  The two of them slowly made their way through the desert. The sun was beating down on them and as they went further it wasn't getting any easier for them. The temperature felt like it was burning their skin off! Alerius was a little better off then Dark. Dark was probably use to the weather conditions on his home world of Hogarth. Hogarth's weather was not to different from Earth's northern regions. All that heavy black fur was probably boiling his skin underneath. Alerius was sweating profusely and every yard or so he would take his bandana and wipe the sweat off of himself.

  Physically he was still alright but it was just extremely uncomfortable. Any normal man probably would have collapsed but not him. It was just getting very hard to see as the suns' intense heat was making his vision blurry. Not to mention all the sweat pouring down his brow stinging his eyes.

  Dark was literality dragging himself through the sand as he trudged on. He was a determined creature but that was about the only thing keeping him fueled. His black fur was getting matted with sweat the more he pressed on.

  Alerius began to wonder if Dark was actually going to make it. He was about several steps behind him and dropping farther behind. Alerius knew there was nothing he could do. He wanted to do something but he had no water and no nourishment he could give him. All he could do was watch Dark suffer until they got to Dead Grave where they both hoped there would be some water.

  They must have walked for at least three hours before they saw any signs of life. By this time it had cooled down back to about only ninety and it was very relaxing to both. Awhile back they probably were going through a hundred and thirty degree heat! As the day had progressed on though it got cooler. By now they were so thirsty though they would have started drinking their own sweat but they didn't have to.

  They first saw a small black object in the distance. They had reached a small patch of desert that went on for about two miles. It wasn't white either. It was a burnt yellow. It seemed almost orange. Right in the middle was this black shadow. As they approached it, it slowly got bigger and bigger. Until, finally, they were so close they could now make out exactly what it was. Dead Grave. It was the town alright. They could now see the small amount of buildings which inhabited the space of yellow desert.

  Most of the buildings were caked with sand and dirt and only a few of them were neatly kept. All of them were mostly made out of metal. Their was a vehicle repair shop, a motel, a bar; which was in good condition, a big bordello, also in good condition; and a small wooden building with writing above the door:

  MACEY'S LAW

  YOU HATE'EM, WE KILL'EM. PAY US FIRST THOUGH.

  Alerius could only shake his head with slight disgusted humor. They had approached the town from the side and they both noticed a small road etched into the sand. This road went straight through the town and all of the buildings were on the right side of it except for the repair shop. They both had had the repair shop's back to them so they circled around and came upon the entrance to the town were there was a sign that read:

  WELCOME TO DEAD GRAVE

  WE WELCOME YOUR CASH TOO. HOPEFULLY YOU HAVE A LOT.

  Alerius and Dark looked at each other not knowing exactly what to expect from the citizens. If there were any. They didn't see not a single person out on the street. They heard no noises that could be taken as voices or otherwise. Alerius got this feeling of alertness. They both walked into town and both of them were on alert. Alerius looked at Dark and asked, "Why do I have this bad feeling their expecting us?"

  Dark's head was jolting around like mad. His teeth were bared and his fists were tightened. He was also making this small growling sound as he walked with Alerius. Alerius nodded his head and said, "Yeah, I hear you." Agreeing with Dark that something was definitely wrong with Dead Grave.

  The two of them got close to the repair shop. They both approached the front of the building expecting someone inside but there wasn't a sign of life. There was a vehicle in the shop but neither one of them could make it out. Both of them were still suffering from thirst. They both found a drinking fountain by the side of the building. They spent at least ten minutes at it. Each one of them taking turns letting the water from it soak into their systems. They both went back to the road when they were satisfied.

  A small gust of wind kicked up through th
e town and the two watched diligently as the small wave of dust crossed their path. The gust was eerie and a small howl came from it. Alerius and Dark were ready. They stopped at the gust and looked around. They both couldn't see anything but they could hear something now. They hadn't heard it when they first entered the small town or when they had gone over to the repair shop but they could hear it now. It sounded almost like music. They both knew were it was coming from too.

  They were right by the bar and that was were the music was coming from. They both stood outside of the bar and it was better looking then any other building in town. The bordello was pretty fixed up but there was still noticeable erosion of the metal from the years of dust and rot. Not on the bar though. It's metal had a beautiful coat of red paint and a big neon sign that was blinking the words:

  BENJAMIN'S SALOON

  BUY THE BEER

  BUY THE WOMEN

  BUT DON'T TRY TO BUY ME!

  It was becoming more and more apparent to Alerius that this place was really lacking imagination in all these stupid slogans they had lying around.

  What was even more apparent though was how obvious Benjamin had made his whereabouts known. Alerius walked right up to the two metal doors right under the big neon sign. He looked at them a bit. They were completely void of any wear-and-tear. They were shining examples of what the entire bar was. A clean and well kept place. At least, that's how it looked from the outside.

  The music that was coming from the inside seemed to tell a different story. Alerius knew on the inside was nothing but sin and degradation. He knew that the bar was probably going to be a cornucopia of evil. Alerius reached for the door handle and slightly pushed it. He heard the door unhinge and he heard the music volume increase. He pushed the door open wide and he couldn't have been more right!

  Inside his eyes were met with a feast of carnal delight. He saw plenty of people over by the bar having drinks on these well kept stools. One person over in the corner was being straddled by some kind of alien Alerius could not identify. It was a piggish looking person but was certainly not one of those scalbs he had run into earlier. All he knew was that this disgusting thing was green in color, was a female of its species, and had these gross tentacles which seemed to envelope the guy in the corner.

  Alerius saw in the middle of the bar this big stage with these huge speakers in the back. On the stage was two jelly-serpentine creatures that were wriggling around each other. Both seemed to be females and both were all over each other. Alerius felt like he was ready to puke! They were both wriggling around each other on some golden pole. Alerius wanted to rip his guns out right now and just kill everything in the entire place! From what he could hear and feel behind him, Dark was thinking the same thing.

  Alerius could feel Dark's hot breath on his shoulder as he growled at the disgusting sights. Alerius just whispered over his shoulder at Dark, "Easy. We have nothing to do with these people. Although I feel like mowing down this entire damn bar!"

  To the left of the stage was a bunch of tables with mostly aliens that were passed-out with bottles in front of them. Most of the aliens Alerius couldn't identify. A couple of them though looked very familiar. One, in the way back by one of the big speakers, was a passed-out nebron! One of those ram-like demons like the ones he met on Reign. This one though was a skinny little thing. It didn't look like it could kill a mouse! It looked really old too and had chunks of stuff in its beard.

  Another one was a fluffy type of alien. It had these big bulging eyes and these big pointed ears. Looking like some kind of furry bat with no wings. It was laid out against a wall with a big long neck bottle in its hand. The bottle was almost gone except for a small amount of liquid down at the bottom.

  Alerius saw behind the big speaker, where the bargon was passed out, was a door. He looked around the bar and saw no signs of Benjamin anywhere. Alerius approached the door behind the speaker, walking through the bar with Dark behind him like he owned the place. He walked past the stage not even shedding an ounce of interest at what was going on right on top of it. He walked past the laid out nebron and right up to the door. He was about to put his hand on the knob when he felt this hit on his shoulder.

  He turned around and it was Dark who had hit him on the shoulder. Not hard, just enough to get his attention. By now, Dark was turned around snarling at the two approaching scalbs. These pigs were different from the four he had encountered on the bridge and in the swamp. These two were massively built. They were also exceptionally well armed. They both had these big rifles in their possession and they moved liked trained animals. These scalbs also had on armor. It was more decorative then protective but Alerius knew that these pig creatures were not scavengers like their earlier counterparts. No, these ones were hired killers of some sort. Alerius could tell they were very good at it too.

  The two stepped right up to them. The one had his gun trained on them both while the other seemed to be just a bit more relaxed. That one walked closer to Alerius and in this snorting speak it asked, "Are you Agent Red Firius?"

  It was the same kind of voice that the one scalb used back in the swamp only this voice was more deeper. This one had a darker and more professional sound to it. Alerius was now sure that he was in the company of creatures that did this kind of stuff for a living.

  Alerius only said one word. Very low tone and very sinister. "Yes."

  The scalb that had spoken just kind of gave him a sneer and walked over to the door past Alerius. The heavily armed scalb opened the door and waved him inside. "Benjamin has been expecting you agent." That same sneer still on his face.

  Alerius didn't take his eyes off the pig and began to enter through the doorway. Dark began to follow him inside when both of the scalbs stopped him. Alerius turned and looked at Dark being halted by the two.

  The one holding open the door had its hand on Dark's chest and in this gruff snort said, "Where do you think you're going, Korzen boy? Only The Red Firius is aloud inside."

  Dark grabbed the scalb's arm from his chest, twisted its wrist, which caused it to drop its rifle, and flung it against the wall. Dark growled in its face as the other scalb locked its rifle sights on the back of Dark's head. Alerius reacted fast. He knew that Dark could have easily manhandled both of them but he was just a little irritated at how these things were acting to him.

  Alerius brought his fist down hard onto the pig's arm joint which cause the pig's arm to jolt, losing control of the rifle. Alerius then flipped the rifle in the air and grabbed it now pointing it at the silent scalb. Not taking his eyes off the pig, he began to talk to the one still held captive by Dark. "I think the, as you put it, 'Korzen boy' is coming with me."

  The captive scalb looked over at Alerius and had this harden look to its eyes. Alerius was still focused on the silent one. Knowing that Dark had full control of the other one. The captive scalb then grunted out, "Alright, but Benjamin is not going to be happy about this!"

  Alerius still not taking his eyes nor his aim off the silent pig partner just kind of smiled and said, "I don't much really care."

  Alerius then eased up a bit and handed the rifle back to the silent scalb. He watched as the scalb took back the rifle hastily and quickly set its sights back on him.

  Alerius went over to Dark, who looked like he wanted to tear the scalb to pieces, and tapped him on the shoulder. Dark slowly looked at Alerius and he made this lowering gesture with his hand. Dark put the scalb down and they both stood their looking at each other. Alerius walked through the doorframe and Dark followed still growling intensely at the pigs. They were both well in when the door got shut firmly behind them.

  The hostage scalb had slammed the door behind them. It picked up the rifle it had lost and stood by the door. The silent partner also stood by the door, guarding it. The hostage scalb looked at his silent partner and said, "Fido's going to be dog food!" The scalb then let out this snorting type of laugh and continued to guard the door along with his silent comrade. CB/M

  A
lerius and Dark had entered this small room. To the right of them was another one of those well armed scalbs in the corner. He seemed to be guarding just the room. Nothing in particular, just the room and all its contents. It gave a slight grunt at the two as they entered. It had probably heard the commotion outside.

  On the wall right by it was a lot of pictures with naked aliens in them. All female and all of them were disgusting. There was something similar about all of these pictures too. They all had this nasty looking alien in them. It looked like Washington except more devious looking. This frog-like thing had its hands wrapped around every single girl in every single picture.

  Alerius disgracefully sneered at the pictures knowing exactly who the gelantine was. He hadn't met him yet but that was quickly going to change. Alerius knew right away that he was not going to like this Benjamin. He had already had a nasty feeling about this guy but now it was only exuberated by these gross pictures.