by Josh Kilen
"In fact there is young man. The warehouse does indeed have the electronics your "friend" told you about, but more importantly, at the heart of the building is a vault with something of special interest to my Master. You will retrieve it for us."
Rick looked reluctant, "What is it?"
"You will know it when you see it. Just be a good boy and go get it, bring it back here. If you decide not to, I don't need to remind you what will happen..."
Rick began to glow red, "Ya, I know. I'll get it for you." The Shadow Man nodded and then disappeared.
Rick took his best men and they went to the warehouse that night. The guards were taken by surprise so it was easy to get in. Once inside Rick called in the transport trucks they had stolen the night before. He turned on the lights and saw huge shelves stacked high with boxes. There was enough loot here to live off for a long time, however, his concern was deeper in the building.
As he walked through the aisles, he felt the anger growing. It wasn't hard, he had a real good reason to be so mad. His skin started to glow red as he felt the fury build up inside of him. Just ahead of him was the vault.
The vault was solid concrete and steel, and normally would be nearly impossible to penetrate without a bomb or some serious artillery. Luckily for him, Rick's fists would do the trick nicely.
He walked up to the side of the wall and began to punch through the wall, pieces of concrete and metal flying everywhere. After a series of swings, he was able to squeeze inside. In the center of the room was a glowing ball of light inside a protective cube of glass, all by itself on a pedestal.
Rick went over to pick it up and immediately the alarms went off, blaring like an air raid horn above him. He took the cube, stuffed it in the bag he was carrying, and quickly headed back to the entrance of the warehouse.
Something seemed wrong though. Then he realized that his men weren't loading the loot onto the trucks.
That's when he saw Billy and Walter standing at the entrance, with Rick's gang behind them.
Rick laughed coldly at Billy, "So, I guess this was your doing? Nice work tricking my lieutenant like that."
Billy smiled, "It wasn't all that hard, just a simple suggestion and he seemed to go for it. It's over Rick, put the bag on the ground. The police are on their way."
Rick laughed out loud, "Do you really think I'm scared of the police anymore? There ain't nothin' they can do to me. But first I'm going to show you what I'm going to do to them." and he walked toward Billy.
The gang, now loyal to Billy, tried to stop him. They all rushed forward and fought him as a group. They weren't enough. Bodies were flying everywhere, Rick at their center, glowing bright red. Within thirty seconds it was all over and his men were all lying on the ground, not moving.
Rick snarled at Billy and Walter, "What else you got? You can't stop me. I know about your power but you can't fight my rage, it's too much. Now get out of my way."
Billy remained straight faced, "I can't do that Rick, you just have to go through me."
Rick smiled wickedly, "No problem," and he ran at Billy with fists bared for attack. As he got closer he realized that this was different from last time, Billy wasn't falling down. In fact, he seemed to be smiling.
Billy felt the rage building up all around him, threatening to take over. The helmet was working well, but it was Billy's thoughts of Grace that kept the anger from getting the best of him. He smiled as he thought of her. He looked right at Rick and said, "Stop this, you don't need to be angry anymore. Feel calm."
Rick stopped dead in his tracks. Shaking his head like he had a spider in his hair. "What are you doing? Stop it! You don't understand, I have to do this!"
Billy pressed harder, "No, feel calm. No more anger, no more. You don’t want to hurt me."
The glow went away and Rick crumpled to the ground. He began to sob, tears freely falling to the ground.
Walter and Billy walked over. Walter cautioned, "Be careful, might be a trap."
Billy looked more concerned, "I don't think so, but watch my back just in case."
Billy came up to Rick and put a hand on his shoulder. Rick looked up and all Billy saw was a scared kid, no sign of the angry monster he was before.
Rick spoke through his sobs, "They're going to die now. There's nothing I can do. He took 'em and now he's going to kill them."
Billy leaned down, "Kill who Rick?"
"My parents. This guy took them away and said if I wanted them back that I had to do what he said. He even gave me my powers to make it easier. Said that he wanted a kid cause no one would be looking for a kid. He's the one who told me to lead the gangs and break into this place. But I failed, now he's probably going to kill my folks."
Billy became more worried, "Who is going to kill them? Maybe we can stop him?"
Rick shook his head, "I don't even know who it is. He hides in the shadows, pops in like a ghost. I don't even know his name. It's hopeless man." and Rick started to cry harder.
Billy looked Rick in the eye, "I promise that I will help you find your parents. If we work together we can stop this man and get your parents back."
Rick stopped crying and started to sniffle, "Sounds good, but I don't think there's anything you can do. I'm just going to take the bag back… wait where'd it go?"
The bag Rick had been carrying was missing. Rick swore out loud, "He must have got it. Guess it saves me a trip." He said, defeat thick in his voice.
Billy became more earnest, "Seriously Rick, we can find this guy and take him down."
Rick waved him off and shook his head, "No, you can try but I'm done. I ain't gonna to bother you anymore, and I'm not gonna tell anyone. Truce, okay?" Rick offered his hand.
Billy shook Ricks hand, "Sure, truce. But if you ever need me, you know where to find me."
"Ya, I know. See you around Billy." Rick ran out of the warehouse.
Walter put his hand on Billy's shoulder, "Hey, we gotta get out of here. Cops'll be here soon."
Billy nodded and they made their way out of the warehouse, with the sirens off in the distance.
Out of the shadows, two dark figures stepped out, "Very interesting. Our Master will be upset of course, but at least we retrieved the sphere." The tall one said.
"The glowing one was merely a pawn, he doesn't matter. We can make more like him. The other one, the one that can control emotions, that might be a different story. Our Master is expecting us, we should return." the other said.
And they retreated into the shadows just as the first police cars pulled up.
Chapter 14
After the exciting night in the warehouse, life was pretty normal for Billy. He played and trained with Grace during the day, and at night went out and fought crime with Walter. Now that Rick had been defeated, the criminals in the city were a lot more cautious. The rumor on the street was that the Moonlight shined brighter than ever.
Soon, summer was ended and school started again. By now Billy had gained a lot more control over his powers, and he was able to use them wisely. He didn't really try to control teachers anymore, but he did stop the occasional bully from picking on kids.
All in all, life was pretty good.
What Billy didn't see was that he was being followed. Two shadowy figures were always creeping, following, and documenting his every move. They were gathering information to take back to their Master. By the start of school, they had enough.
The two shadowy figures move easily through the night, making their way to an abandoned house just outside town. It used to be a mansion, a great palace, owned by a very rich man who was also very cruel. When he died, he had no family and the house fell into disrepair.
The shadowy figures slithered up to the front door and whispered the secret password, "Chronos". The door slowly swung open, and the shadowy figures entered. As they climbed the stairway, they heard sounds from above. The sounds of a weeping child.
As they came to the top floor they saw a dark figure on a throne, with a cage
to the side of the room. Inside the cage was Rick.
The first shadow spoke, "Master, the boy is growing in his power. He will be ready for you soon."
The other shadow nodded her head, "Oh yes, he will be ready. What else do you require of us?" and they bowed.
The figure on the throne laughed, a deep, dark, ugly laugh. Rick cringed and trembled at the sound of it. "My servants, the time will come soon, when all will be my slaves. And young Billy is my key."
The End
Preview of The Tales of Big and Little – Doom of the Three Stones
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Chapter 1
The Pizza Crust army marched forward, raising their swords and clubs, shouting a menacing pizza-crusty roar! The soldiers in the Army of Light stood their ground, but they knew that this was the last battle. The pizza crusts attacked, swinging wildly, hacking away. The Army of Light pushed back with all their might, but it simply wasn't enough… just then a great explosion in the sky blinded everyone for a moment…. wait a minute, I'm sorry, that part's at the end of the story.
The beginning of this tale starts with two dogs, Big and Little. They were like any other dogs; they loved to play and get into mischief. They barked and howled, and rough housed and cuddled. But these dogs were in love with one thing, something they wanted more than anything else in the whole world. Cheese.
Glorious, wonderful cheese. Cheese that melts all ooey-gooey in the mouth. Cheese that tastes like heaven itself. They loved cheese so much that they searched for it every day. But lately, cows had begun to disappear and cheese was harder to find. No one knew why the cows had gone, they just went away. And everyone knows that cows make the best cheese.
One day, they were walking around the neighborhood when they came to a fence. Through the fence they could smell that wonderful, delicious smell; the one that made their hearts leap. CHEESE! They got up close to the fence and looked through. What they saw was a wonder to their eyes.
Through the kitchen door of the house, was the largest platter of cheese they had ever seen!
Big looked down at Little, a small bit of drool escaping from his watering mouth, "Oh Little,”, he whispered, “I want the cheese soooo bad."
Little nodded her head toward a hole in the fence, "Look over there, we could get in and take just a little cheese. No one would notice."
They both smiled. As soon as they got to the hole and started to poke their heads through, they heard a noise.
Suddenly, two huge, mean guard dogs came out of nowhere and snapped at Little's ear, almost taking a piece off. Big and Little scrambled back onto the sidewalk.
They were both breathing hard from fright, “Two guard dogs!” Big exclaimed, “How will we get in now, Little?”
But Little was clever, and usually able to think her way through these types of situations. She walked around the perimeter of the fence and surveyed all their options. The guard dogs followed them, watching through the fence and growling ferociously.
Then she looked up. Connecting the Cheese House to the building across the street was a thick bundle of power cords. If they could get up to the top of the building across the street…
Big tried not to look down. There they were, 50 feet above the street, on their way to the roof of the Cheese House. The cord swayed gently in the wind, but if you are ever suspended on a cord far above the ground, that sway sure doesn't feel gentle!
Big whimpered at Little, "Little, I don't know if this is worth the cheese."
Little looked back, "Not worth the cheese? Just think about how good it will taste! Trust me, we'll be okay."
Big always trusted Little. So they kept walking carefully, placing one paw in front of the other. Once they got to the roof they had to find a way into the house. Luckily, the owners had left a window open in the attic and they easily slipped through. They were almost there, they just needed to get down into the house and the cheese would be theirs!
Big and Little walked slowly over to the hatch that led from the attic to the main house, creeping softly so they didn't make too much noise. They carefully opened the hatch and looked down to see if the coast was clear.
"Grr…Ruff, Ruff!!!, Bark…grrr…Bark!!!!" The guard dogs were waiting for them, making such a noise. They couldn't get down that way!
Little looked around and spotted a small hole in the wall. It looked like the only other way to get down into the house. As they crept over to the mysterious hole, a voice called quietly from behind some old boxes, "I don't know if you want to go down that hole, you never know where it will lead."
Big and Little jumped back and watched curiously as a small Gnome stepped out from behind a large box. He was smartly dressed, with a red hat and a blue coat, carrying a cane that he spun in one hand. He wore a happy smile that made the dogs want to trust him.
"Let me guess," began the Gnome, with a jolly laugh, " You're both after that cheese downstairs?" The Dogs just nodded their heads. The Gnome nodded his in return. "Aye, it's the only thing worth braving those beasts to get. I'll tell you what, if you can help me with a little problem I've been having, I will help you get the cheese.” He looked from Big to Little and raised an eyebrow. “Deal?"
Big looked over at Little with pleading eyes. Cheese. Little returned his look of longing. Cheese. With unspoken agreement the two smiled, looked over at the Gnome and said in unison, "Deal!"
The Gnome jumped in air and yelling "Huzzah!” And enjoyed a brief victory dance. Then with a smile he said, “Okay, now we can go down the hole!"
The dogs looked at him cautiously. "Where does it go?" Little asked.
"Where do any magical tunnels go?” The Gnome replied with a wink. “Wherever you need them to!” He looked seriously at Big and Little, “We're off to my home, and to help me with my problem. Come on!" The Gnome jumped through the hole and disappeared.
Big and Little called out for the Gnome, but no one answered back. With a long sigh, Big steeled himself and said " A promise is a promise," He looked once at Little and then jumped through the hole. Little, not wanting to be a coward, but not trusting the hole completely, hesitated. She told herself, "If Big can do it, then I can too."
Tentatively, she put one paw through the hole. Nothing happened. With a deep breathe she took the plunge into the dark tunnel, and began to fall faster and faster down into the darkness…
Chapter 2
Little flew from the tunnel onto a smooth, rather springy turf. The grass was the softest she had ever felt, like the silk blanket at home she was forbidden to lay on. Little wanted to roll around in it for a while, but then she looked up!
Little stared in wonder at the light pink sky which was, she thought, just like when you get to lick a candy cane and the colors run together. Next to a bright orange sun, spanning across the sky were seven moons, all different shapes and sizes. Little had never seen anything like it.
Big and the Gnome had already gotten to their feet and the Gnome was searching the horizon. Big was just standing, mouth hanging open, staring at the sky.
"They were right here when I left," The Gnome whispered to himself, but the Dogs could still hear him.
"Who are you looking for?" Asked Big.
The gnome looked at Big and said, "The Crusts."
Big and Little had no idea what that meant; they looked at each other in confusion. There was a low rumble and the ground began to shake beneath their paws.
On the horizon, marching over the hill, came an army of pizza crusts. The Gnome jumped into a battle stance, pulling out a fold-able battle ax. Big and Little looked at him in amazement. Big turned back to the advancing crusts. “What are…I don't…how did…” he managed to get out. "What do we do? Is this the favor you wanted?" Little asked.
The Gnome looked at the dogs and said, "I know that this is frightening, but I wouldn't have asked if I didn't think you were up to the challenge. I was sent to your world in search of help. Maybe you are the two of legend, the two who will save
us all! We shall soon see.” Pulling himself to his full, if insubstantial, height the Gnome looked from Big to Little. “Let's defeat some pizza crusts!" he roared. And the Gnome sprinted with surprising speed toward the crust army.
Big and Little, encouraged by the Gnomes words, began to charge as well, baring their teeth and growling. The attack was terrible. The Crusts were armed with clubs and sticks, though some had small knives. These weren't enough to do much damage, but they could still hurt badly.
The Dogs rushed into the crust army behind the Gnome and immediately started to bite and chew. Big took a bite of a Crust and tasted it's buttery goodness. "These Crusts are Yummy," he thought to himself and attacked with extra fervor. Dodging clubs and batting away knives with his paw, Big was starting to enjoy himself, but he was also getting very full. He looked back to see if Little was okay, just in time to see a crust jump from behind and land a heavy blow with his club. She let out a whimper and then crumpled to the ground.
"Noooo" Big cried out as he trampled through the remaining army to get to Little. He stood guard over her body, and devoured any crusts that dared come close.
The Crusts were quickly disappearing. Between strikes from the Gnome's battle ax and Big's ferocious appetite, they didn't stand a chance. Eventually the last of the Crusts ran back over the hill, shrieking in high pitched, annoying voices.
The Gnome yelled after the retreating crusts, "Go on, run you cowards! Good riddance!" and then went over to Big and Little. Big was licking Little's wounds and making sure that she was taken care of. The Gnome knelt down and laid his hands on her head. Sparks of light shot out from underneath his hands. All of the sudden Little's eyelids fluttered and she smiled up at the two. "Did we get 'em?" she asked.
"Oh yes, we got them," Big told her, and then moaned. "and I am so full."
The Gnome laughed, "Thank you my friends. I can't tell you what a treat this has been. I have a feeling this is just the beginning. Now, about your little cheese problem…"
“Wait just a minute!” Little said as she stood to her feet. "What. Just. Happened?!?” she demanded. “We were attacked by pizza crusts! How? Why?"