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Forced Betrayal

Page 8

by Robert T. Jeschonek


  Oh God.

  My heart's pounding, and sweat's rolling down my sides. Chills course through my body, and my head spins.

  I look away and consider turning back. I can't do this, I shouldn't have come.

  The last time I was here was the funeral--their funeral. No flag-draped caskets or President of the United States or twenty-one gun salutes then. Just a dozen or so people, and a priest, and the pouring rain. Just me losing it, weeping and teetering, drunk and drugged. Falling to my knees in the mud.

  I haven't been back since. I couldn't bring myself to do it. Bad enough I could still imagine their ghosts; why subject myself to physical proof?

  So why come here today then? Because my life has been turned upside-down? Because I need to make a clean break with the past and get a fresh start? Because the end of the world is closer than I imagined, and I might never get another chance?

  Or is it something else?

  I think of Hericane taking Stalwart's place at the Refraxus. Driving back the Manifestation again and again. Fighting off its corrupting influence, too, as it grows stronger. Holding the monsters at bay both within and without. Never knowing more than a few moments' peace.

  She was right about her power, inherited from Epitome, being enough to fend off the great beast--but can she keep her soul pure in the process? Or will she become the next Stalwart, twisted by unnatural cravings?

  Will she falter, and allow the world to end?

  The burdens she's taken upon herself are astronomically huge. The work is thankless, without reward. She has lost or given up everything she ever cared about.

  But she does it anyway, because of that one reason. The same reason the Protectorate could have found to stop the lying, if they'd looked a little harder.

  Because it's the right thing to do.

  So okay, then.

  I take a deep breath, and I face the three gravestones again. I grip the flowers so tightly, I'm afraid the stems might snap, and I start walking.

  As I get closer, the names on the three stones come into focus. Even through my tears.

  James Taggart, Husband and Father

  William Taggart, Son

  Stephen Taggart, Son

  It was the end of the world when I lost them. It's the end of the world again.

  Maybe it's time I finally let them go.

  *****

  Also by DC Comics Author Robert T. Jeschonek

  Another Super-Hero Saga in the

  Forced Heroics Series:

  Forced Retirement

  What if Alzheimer's struck the World's Mightiest Hero? His daughter, heroic Hericane, finds out the hard way. Gripped by dementia, godlike Epitome tears apart a city, and no one can stop him. Will his madness destroy the entire world? Not if Hericane recruits the one big gun who stands a chance in Hell of stopping her father in his tracks. But the battle of the century between the super-charged titans might just kick-start the Apocalypse instead of stopping it. Because Epitome and his nemesis have much more in common than ultimate power. The shocking secret they share could turn history itself inside out.

  Now on Sale!

  *****

  Also Now on Sale

  Another Super-Hero Epic by Robert T. Jeschonek

  A Matter of Size

  Who is killing the world's smallest super-heroes? Down-on-his-luck masked avenger Man-Child takes the case, but can he save the remaining Small Wonders from a killer with a twisted crush fetish? Man-Child takes on villainous Mammon and Stigmata without missing a beat, but his own dark secret might be enough to bring him down for good. Fighting through the shadows and gutters, Man-Child confronts the horrors of yesterday and today, learning a brutal lesson the hard way: even a size-changing super-hero can't afford to shrink from the darkness around him...or in the depths of his own heart.

  Now on Sale for Mature Readers Only!

  *****

  Another Super-Hero Tale by Robert T. Jeschonek

  Heroes of Global Warming

  The world's hottest hero has gone rogue! In an age of global warming, super-heated hero Skillet looks like a lukewarm loser. But when his teammates, the Castigators, turn their backs on him, he turns the Castigators into prey. Let the hunt begin! Skillet becomes public enemy number one as he rounds up his former allies. But the secret plan behind his hunt might just save the world. The invention of evil genius Brain Fart could turn back the clock on global warming by melting down the high-powered do-gooders. Can Skillet capture the last of the heroes needed to charge the climate change reverser? Or will an out-for-blood super-hero hit squad cook his goose first? The hope of the future explodes in a fight to the death between the caped-and-cowled warriors of a doomed generation.

  Now on Sale!

  *****

  And Don't Miss This Collection of Super-Hero Comic Scripts

  Also by Robert T. Jeschonek

  7 Comic Book Scripts

  Comic book and super-hero fans, rejoice! This volume includes seven scripts—mostly super-hero tales, plus one war/horror story—from a writer whose work has been published by DC Comics, among others. Robert T. Jeschonek has written plenty of scripts in his career, and these seven will shine a light on his writing process, his wild imagination…and some thrilling and thought-provoking adventures. The first in a series collecting some of his best work, this action-packed book includes seven scripts:

  "Super-Powered Poser Blues": A super-hero stand-in runs into unexpected problems while impersonating a mighty mortal.

  "My Date With Godling": A hard-driving cosmic god-hero launches a mission under false pretenses…a mission that quickly goes from intense to insane.

  "The Mime: On Bread Alone": An endangered priest is protected by a silent hero whose make-believe performances have real world consequences.

  "Young Soldiers Never Die": A future warrior discovers that one man's idea of a perfect soldier is another man's idea of pure hell.

  "The Child Is Father to the Man": The younger selves of three great old-time heroes leap forward to the future after suffering their greatest defeat.

  "Johnstown Man: Losing Ground": A blue collar steel town hero battles crime in the age of layoffs.

  "Don't Tug on Superstar's Cape": A super souvenir hunter goes after the ultimate prize from the ultimate hero and nearly loses everything in the bargain.

  Don't miss this collection of seven comic book scripts for one low price. It’s the latest book from award-winning storyteller Robert T. Jeschonek (My Favorite Band Does Not Exist), a master of unique and unexpected fiction that packs a punch.

  Now on Sale!

  *****

  About the Author

  Robert T. Jeschonek is an award-winning writer whose fiction, comics, essays, articles, and podcasts have been published around the world. His young adult urban fantasy novel, My Favorite Band Does Not Exist, was named one of Booklist’s Top Ten First Novels for Youth. Simon & Schuster, DAW/Penguin Books, and DC Comics have published his work. He won the grand prize in Pocket Books' nationwide Strange New Worlds contest and was nominated for the British Fantasy Award. Visit him online at www.thefictioneer.com. You can also find him on Facebook and follow him as @TheFictioneer on Twitter.

  *****

  E-books by Robert T. Jeschonek

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  6 Fantasy Stories

  6 More Fantasy Stories

  Blazing Bodices

  Earthshaker – an urban fantasy novel

  Girl Meets Mind Reader

  Groupie Everlasting

  Heaven Bent – a novel

  Rose Head

  Snowman's Chance in Hell

  The Bear in the Cable-Knit Sweater

  The Genie's Secret

  The Return of Alice

  The Sword That Spoke

  Erotica

  Kiss of the Acolyte

  Horror

  Bloodliner – a novel

  Diary of a Maggot

  Dionysus Dying

  Fear of Rain

  Road Rage
>
  Humor (Adults Only)

  Dick by Law – a novel

  Literary

  6 Short Stories

  Getting Higher – a novel

  Mystery and Crime

  6 Crime Stories

  Crimes in the Key of Murder

  Dancing With Murder (a cozy mystery novel)

  The First Detect-Eve

  The Foolproof Cure for Cancer

  The Other Waiter

  Who Unkilled Johnny Murder?

  Poetry

  Flight of Ideas

  Science Fiction

  6 Scifi Stories

  6 More Scifi Stories

  6 Scifi Stories Book 3

  Beware the Black Battlenaut

  Give The Hippo What He Wants

  Lenin of the Stars

  Messiah 2.0

  My Cannibal Lover

  Off The Face Of The Earth

  One Awake In All The World

  Playing Doctor

  Resist the Red Battlenaut

  Scifi Motherlode

  Serial Killer vs. E-Merica

  Something Borrowed, Something Doomed

  Star Sex

  Teacher of the Century

  The Greatest Serial Killer in the Universe

  The Love Quest of Smidgen the Snack Cake

  The Shrooms of Benares

  Universal Language – a novel

  Superheroes

  6 Superhero Stories

  7 Comic Book Scripts

  A Matter of Size (mature readers)

  Forced Retirement (Forced Heroics Book 1)

  Forced Betrayal (Forced Heroics Book 2)

  Forced Partnership (Forced Heroics Book 3)

  Heroes of Global Warming

  Mr. Sandman: The Dream Lord Awakens - graphic novel script

  The Masked Family – a novel

  The Wife Who Never Was

  Thrillers

  Backtracker – a novel

  Day 9 – a novel

  The Trek It! Series

  Trek This!

  Trek Off!

  Trek Fail!

  Trek Script!

  Trek Script 2

  Trek Novel!

  Trek You!

  Trek It!

  Young Readers

  Dolphin Knight – a novel

  Lump

  Tommy Puke and the Boy with the Golden Barf

  Tommy Puke and the World's Grossest Grown-Up

  *****

  Now on Sale from Robert T. Jeschonek

  A Young Adult Fantasy Novel That Really Rocks!

  One of Booklist's Top Ten First Novels for Youth

  Being trapped in a book can be a nightmare—just ask Idea Deity. He’s convinced that he exists only in the pages of a novel written by a malevolent author . . . and that he will die in Chapter 64. Meanwhile, Reacher Mirage, lead singer of the secret rock band Youforia, can’t figure out who’s posting information about him and his band online that only he should know. Someone seems to be pulling the strings of both teens’ lives . . . and they’re not too happy about it. With Youforia about to be exposed in a national magazine and Chapter 64 bearing down like a speeding freight train, time is running out. Will Idea and Reacher be able to join forces and take control of their own lives before it’s too late?

  School of Rock meets Alice in Wonderland in this fast-paced, completely unpredictable novel of alternate realities, time travel, and rock ‘n’ roll. If your favorite band does not exist . . . do you?

  "Overall, My Favorite Band Does Not Exist is a wacky and enjoyable trip...full of intriguing, imaginative concepts that keep a reader hooked." –Thom Dunn, The Daily Genoshan

  "This first novel has all the look of a cult fave: baffling to many, an anthem for a few, and unlike anything else out there." –Ian Chipman, Booklist Starred Review

  "Chaos theory meets rock 'n' roll in adult author Jeschonek's ambitious, reality-bending YA debut." "...this proudly surreal piece of metafiction could develop a cult following..."–Publishers Weekly

  "Reading this reminded me of authors like Terry Prachett and Neil Gaiman…" –BiblioJunkies

  Now Available from Graphia Books!

  *****

  FORCED BETRAYAL

  Copyright © 2012 by Robert T. Jeschonek

  www.thefictioneer.com

  Cover Art Copyright © 2012 by Ben Baldwin

  www.benbaldwin.co.uk

  Published in January 2012 by Pie Press by arrangement with the author. All rights reserved by the author.

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are products of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Design by Pie Press

  Johnstown, Pennsylvania

 

 

 


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