didn’t have anything else left for this one on one match up. Just then he was hit with three more barrages of lightning and that made his screams stream out into the landscape and crack most of the trees for miles.
“Barrages” I’m channeling Naruto and Dragon Ball Z by my use of that word.
Cades pulls everything he can from the bits of nature around him to fly into the air but nature was denying him more and more by the moment. She was tired of his actions in her name.
Balsam was in pursuit right after him in flight.
Within inches of getting a hand hold on one of Cades legs he hears, ‘Let the sleep begin again’ like a whisper in the winds.
Then without warning Cades burst into a mass of blood which absorbed Balsam into it. He fought trying to break free but he didn’t have the strength left in him. Whatever this was he didn’t have a choice in taking part.
The blood mass leftovers of what was Cades, which contained Balsam, now began to descend down to the Earth as it dropped it gained more mass, and a shape, and speed.
The impact pretty much sucked for Balsam and the forest below.
A thus the Smokey Mountain Cades Crater was born. A newspaper reporter in a nearby town was trapped in an outhouse which had been thrown into his neighbor’s house. The moment of the craters impact the name Cades popped into his head and he would coin the name Cades Crater when he would write a prize winning piece on the storms days later.
It was not only an impact of force, gravity, and mass but one of magical forces and that broke open a lock in the black forests of Germany that will in time come back to haunt most of Europe and maybe also Balsam.
Again, if I don’t forget that little plot tick idea.
We find Balsam half an hour later sitting on the edge of the impact zone in the middle of the Smokey Mountains. The main thing crossing his mind at the moment is how he would kill for one of the breakfast meals they would serve on the crab fishing boat he spent a few years on. “Simple, need that” was being repeated over and over in his head.
The impact hole is 50 yards in each direction and 35 feet deep. His armor is smoking and there are new scratch marks over it and all over him. His face is very scared from injuries but even now so soon after battle they are already healing, some completely healed in fact. Victory does that sometimes for those like him.
Walking out of the forest on the other side of the crater is his love Cintron dressed in the attire of the old times. The time before the old Gods left for greener worlds.
There was still a light rain falling and it would fall for several more days.
‘The weather has to calm itself now. The Mother Nature is on nerves having been ripped at by all of us.’ Cintron
‘He sleeps again?’
‘Yes.’
‘Until they wake him again? The old Gods have left but in their footsteps is the same blindness of cruel games.’
‘And what of the Blood of Thor?’
‘My father said Midgard is under our eyes. Under our protection. I have much to think about.’
The National Guard was for the most part neutered by the sudden attack of weather. But then again who wasn’t so let’s not go after them too much. They had tried from the very abrupt beginning of the storms to try to help as many people as they could, as did also police and fire departments, but they all ended up like everyone else most of the time trying to stay alive.
It’s only been a few hours since most of the dangerous touches of the storm have stopped and already the National Guard is out in mass helping where they can. Doing the jobs they were always meant to be in action for.
Falling under the leadership of the National Guard by a beyond human notice local police and fire departments are standing post at the National Guards base of operations they have setup; while they search the areas of destruction and do what they can the more the government starts to step in for their own reasons the more the operation begins to grind and get difficult.
In other words Home Land Security is clusterfucking things per usual.
The National Guard has been instructed to consider it a war zone but that is to be kept under the tight lips for only their knowing. They have been put in more and more situations that go against their core mission.
The government knows beyond humans were involved in these storms so they want to get their eyes and arms in as much as possible to not only monitor the situation but also control others eyes into what has happen. Using the National Guard helps them do that.
The hero Pulpy, you know the U.S. governments personal beyond human, part time U.N. lapdog, Big Youth Nazi to some, and hero to many more has also been called in but he is currently in Mexico City trying to help with a disastrous fire that is raging through Mexico City; which is rumored to have been started by the hands of a beyond human fire starter.
But as with almost all reports and rumors of beyond human activity the government has no comment except for the way the U.S. government tends to comment on any beyond human information they are libel to say a cow kicked over a lantern.
He’s on his way as soon as he finishes up with what he is doing because that’s what he was told to do. A good soldier he is.
After the storms turned into a light rain Fox and Karen lead the others who were sheltered with them in the little chapel and began heading out to try and find help.
Karen had spewed something about a need to find help in case this was only a slow down point in the storms but she was really worried about Fox’s head injury.
‘You haven’t always been the most coherent person so it’s hard to judge but I think you do need to see a doctor.’
Fox smiles a large smile for her friend. She knows Karen cares about her but she always knows Karen wants to get out and see if any hope exists for finding Jeff.
A National Guard truck was parked on the curb in front of what was left of the Ripley’s Museum, which was depressing for some reason, but most of all Fox and Karen saw a sight that filled them with pure joy as a battered looking Jeff was sitting on the tailgate of the truck.
They rushed towards him.
They paused a few feet in front of the truck though when he smiled and then spoke and they saw he had lost all of his front teeth except for jagged pieces that once were his fang teeth.
‘Hey, ladies. Been up to much?’
A National Guardsmen was checking Jeff’s vital signs and giving him a shot. Karen explained to another medical officer about Fox’s injury and he led her to a chair to check on her while Karen stayed with Jeff.
‘Is she ok?’ Jeff asked Karen
A little part of Karen thought, “He asked about her first” but that thought had very little life as she was just so happy to see him.
‘I think she’s going to be ok. What happen to you?’
‘Lost a fight with some pavement, went for a swim, a fun time was had by all.’
When the medical people were finished with Jeff he jumped off the tailgate of the truck and gave Karen a big hug, ‘I’m so glad you’re ok.’
Fox smiled seeing Karen and Jeff embrace. She knows there is a very strong friendship between them. The one thing all of today’s events have told her it’s something she wanted to take on slow but slow just isn’t good enough anymore. After today she is moving forward with her heart.
The guy has a nice no butt.
A little while later in one of the makeshift tents which had been set up for storm survivors Karen and Jeff were sitting on the ground on blankets drinking hot coco.
‘So you were saved by cheerleaders.’
‘That’s not what happen.’
‘Oh, that’s how I’m going to tell the story.’
‘Ass.’
Fox entered the tent holding a small box, ‘Got a burner phone from one of the guardsmen. They’re giving them out so you can contact relatives.’ She handed it to Karen, ‘Once you set it up, you should call your mom.’
Karen began opening the packaging of the cell phone as Fox sat down beside Je
ff. Karen noticed and was happy as Fox reached out and took his hand into hers.
Jeff was about to smile but held it back. He was already getting very self-conscious about people looking at him without any front teeth.
Well it doesn’t take long before the normal insecurities of life take back over.
‘Stop it.’ Fox told him sensing his fears. And then she hugged him.
When destiny points are set they sometimes happen with such subtly it’s hardly noticeable from the mundane.
And then you have storms that fuck over half a state.
And then you also have Gail and Boston and her trip and steam punk stuff.
The United States governments official release statement on the storms in Tennessee was that rumors of beyond human activity were false and the storm was a freak weather front having come down from Canada, hovered in the atmosphere without incident until it came over the skies of the Smokey Mountains.
Most scientists said they were full of shit. But this is America and intelligence isn’t actually searched for with much effort.
They have dispatched Pulpy to help with relief efforts so “there we care.”
The truth only comes in that they have dispatched Pulpy but not to help with relief efforts. No surprise with that really. He has been told his job is to find whoever was responsible for this and detain or destroy the targets.
All world governments have dealt with weather elementals before and this is what they think this was and they know had dangerous they can be. Most of the elementals left along with the old Gods. Course most of the governments
Tin Universe Monthly #11 Page 5