Stranger Tides

by Jack Castle

  Henry tugged on the hatch with all his might, but Maddie could see the Lamppost Man had ruined everything. There really was no escape.

  Refusing to give in, Young Henry wrenched a steel pipe from the railing and held it like a club. “Maddie, stay behind me,” he shouted, nearly knocking her out with his backswing.

  Maddie lurched forward. “No, Henry. He’ll kill you.”

  To their surprise, the Lamppost Man tucked his cane under his armpit (Did he have that before?) and started clapping. “Oh bravo! Bravo maestro. Playing the part right to the end.”

  “Stay back! You come one step closer, and I’ll brain you good.” Henry took a swing at the Lamppost Man as he approached. The imp dodged nimbly back, surprised, and thoroughly entertained.

  “Oh come-come-come now, Henry. Your mission has been accomplished. You needn’t pretend anymore.”

  Maddie, shaking her head, “What are you talking about?” Turning toward Henry she asked, “What’s he talking about?”

  The Lamppost Man smiled and sighed at the same time before answering. As though explaining to a small child he said, “Who do you think sabotaged The Dauntless?” Raising his eyebrows he added, “Hmmmm?”

  Maddie’s eyes narrowed. “What are you saying?”

  “Don’t listen to him, Maddie,” Henry said. “He’s lying. I would never betray you, or Traxx.” He swung the pipe again at the Lamppost Man for emphasis.

  Again the Lamppost Man leapt nimbly out of the way. Maddie suspected he could have dispatched Henry easily with a wave of his hand, as he did the others, so it was no small secret she was beginning to wonder why he didn’t do just that.

  To Henry he said, “Think about it dear boy, all the blackouts? Waking up in usual places? Places you have no right being?”

  Maddie took a few tentative steps away from Henry and heard herself ask, “Is this true, Henry?”

  Not willing to tear his eyes from the Lamppost Man, Henry shot back, “No!” and then risking a glance at Maddie and seeing her face for the first time he answered, “At least I don’t think it is.”

  If Maddie wasn’t close to tears before, she certainly was now. People she had sworn herself to protect had been killed. The Leftenant… and now Henry… a saboteur! Softly she weeped, “Oh Henry. Say it isn’t true.”

  The Lamppost Man nodded enthusiastically. “It is true. It’s very true. Every word of it.”

  Defeated, Henry dropped the pipe to the deck. He stood there in shock as the Lamppost Man pushed him aside without even a glance at him.

  “Wait,” Maddie said, causing the advancing Lamppost Man to skid to a halt. “Was all this drama just to kidnap me?”

  The Lamppost Man put his gloved fists on his waist, bent forward slightly and responded, “My, my, aren’t we a tad self-centered.” Putting the back of his hand to the side of his mouth and speaking across it he said, “Newsflash, the world doesn’t revolve around you, Maddikins.”

  They both heard a clucking rooster sound emanating from the Lamppost Man’s vest. “Oh my,” he said, patting his vest. “Well, it’s about time.” Finally locating his pocket watch, he removed it from his coat and jerked comically at the sight of the time. “Oh, we’ve taken much too long.” He moved back over to the railing and gazed into the storm. “Why our ride is nearly here.” He clapped briskly a few times and gestured for her to come join him. “Come, come. No time to doddle now.”

  Beyond the Lamppost Man, Maddie saw a brief flash of light. In seconds an egg-shaped vessel, one that reminded her of an angry hover drone, flew out of the clouds and over to hover beside the Dauntless, matching its speed perfectly.

  Staring at the egg-shaped vessel, Maddie was suddenly reminded of the children’s nursery rhyme, Humpty-dumpty sat on the wall. Humpty-dumpty had a great fall. The hovering egg-ship cracked open, revealing a cockpit barely large enough for two passengers.

  The Lamppost Man seemed quite pleased with himself. Still gripping the handrail, he turned back toward her and said, “Oh, I think you’re going to enjoy this.” Seeing Maddie shake her head no, he said, “Come now, Maddie. We really do have to be going.”

  Maddie shouted back, “I’m not going anywhere with you!” She looked to Henry, but he still stood on the deck with his arms slumped down by his sides, in stupefied shock.

  The Lamppost Man dropped his smile and stared at her evenly. “Oh, but I think you are,” he said with a venom in his voice she had not heard before.

  The Lamppost Man began to cross over to her.

  There was nowhere else for her to go.

  Chapter 32

  Traxx

  “C’mon, there’s no time!”

  Traxx saw the sheer power of the Lamppost Man when he killed Franco. Not daring to waste another second, he quickly retreated to into The Dauntless to find the one person who might have a chance at stopping malevolent imp.

  Gazing down at them from an upper balcony, Traxx now saw that only the Lamppost Man, and Maddie remained. Did the Lamppost Man kill everyone else, he wondered. Am I too late? Movement caught his eye and Traxx spied the older boy hiding behind the elevators. No wait, Henry is there too.

  Stepping up beside Traxx was a worrisome gargoyle. Lisp heavy as ever, he asked, “What is it Masthter Traxx? Did you find my kit-ton?”

  Before Traxx could answer, Cheeves noticed the Lamppost Man below. The kidnapping imp lunged forward, grabbed Maddie by the wrist and began dragging her fighting form across the deck. The gargoyle’s eyes narrowed, and he immediately begin unbuttoning his cufflinks and rolling up his sleeves. “You were wise to call me, Master Traxx.”

  Although Traxx’s attention was divided with the scene unveiling below, he thought he detected a change in the gargoyle’s voice. It was the way Cheeves now spoke, as though he were an actor who suddenly ceased playing his role in a play.

  In a very calm, human-like manner, Cheeves began unbuttoning his vest. As he did so, he asked, “Do you want to know a secret, Master Traxx?”

  “Not now, Cheeves,” the boy replied, but again, there was something about the gargoyle’s voice. It was no longer his usual jovial, childlike self

  “The truth of the matter really is…” Cheeves turned to face him, “I don’t really eat cats. It’s only part of my backstory. I could never actually harm another animal, and personally, I think felines are simply wonderful creatures.”

  Despite the dire circumstances below, Traxx asked reflexively, “Yeah, what about balloons?”

  The gargoyle’s eyes grew wide. “Oh, balloons are another matter entirely.” Realizing he was out of time, Cheeves gave up trying to unbutton his vest all the way and tore his it from his body. He dropped to all fours and leapt over the balcony, all the while screaming… “I LOVE BALLOONS!!!”

  Traxx couldn’t explain how he knew this, but he was suddenly aware that he would never see his friend ever again.

  Chapter 33

  Cheeves

  “I LOVE BALLOONS!!!!”

  Maddie heard the familiar cry and noticed a shadow cast over the Lamppost Man was growing larger by the second.

  The gargoyle struck the Lamppost Man like a well-placed cannonball striking the mast of a pirate ship. The Lamppost Man catapulted backwards and slammed so hard into the steel railing his body left an outline behind in the metal.

  Cheeves, already on his feet, appeared wild-eyed, and his normally smiling face had been replaced by one of pure animalistic rage and sharp teeth.

  “Now, Cheeves,” the Lamppost Man said, stumbling to his feet. “Now Cheeves… I demand you stop this behavior at once.”

  With a jerk of his wrists, Cheeves extended his claws several inches. With the roar of an enraged lion, he leapt onto the Lamppost Man and began shredding him to pieces.

  The Lamppost Man cried out in pain and at one point during the mauling, Maddie saw his top hat fly off his head and go rolling across the deck.

  Just when it looked like the fight was nearly over, Maddie heard a loud yelp of pain uttered by
Cheeves.

  The gargoyle stumbled backwards and held a clawed hand to the gaping wound in his side. Maddie didn’t even know the gargoyle could bleed for she had never seen anything capable of penetrating his skin.

  The Lamppost Man’s clothes were completely ripped into strips, and she could see claw marks all over his face, neck and arms. His hair, now visible, was askew. In his hands, he was holding his cane like a spear; a steely blade was sticking out the end of it.

  Through clenched teeth he growled, “Alright monster. Let’s go again.”

  It was clearly a standoff between two titans with Maddie’s life hanging in the balance.

  Cheeves, seriously injured, stumbled a few steps into a pillar and was about to leap again. It was Maddie’s plea that stopped him.

  “Cheeves, no,” Maddie cried. “I can’t lose you too.”

  Hearing this, the gargoyle turned toward her and with a sweet but sad look on his face he said, “It’s okay, Maddie. I have to do this.”

  Maddie, full on crying now, managed to ask, “Why? Why must you die too.”

  The gargoyle shrugged slightly. She thought he was going to say what he always said, how he loved balloons, in the most exuberant voice possible. That was why he surprised her when he said softly, “Because Cheeves loves you more than he loves balloons.”

  With his last ounce of strength, Cheeves lunged at the Lamppost Man one final time.

  Lampy cried, “Cheeves, stop!”

  But the gargoyle ignored this final plea and tackled the Lampost Man about his waist. This time, Cheeves hit the Lamppost Man so hard that their bodies smashed right through the steel railing. The gargoyle and imp slipped from the heavens and fell to their deaths seventy feet below. “Nooooo!” Maddie ran over to the broken railing, and stared over it. Both gargoyle and imp had already slipped beneath the waves.

  Overcome with grief, Maddie would have fallen to the deck had not Henry walked up behind her and caught her in his arms. She would have thanked him, but Henry placed a white handkerchief over her mouth. Her eyes grew wide and she tried to say, “Henry, what are you doing?” but her vision blurred as he said to her, “I’m sorry. I’m so-so sorry.”

  She felt Henry scoop her up into his arms and could only watch helplessly as he carried her into the egg-shaped vessel. The last thing she saw before drifting off to Never-Never Land and blacking out completely was Henry’s face.

  Her last thought was simply…

  Why is Henry wearing a stupid top hat?

  “We hope you have enjoyed your return visit to Stranger World and come back real soon.”

  -The Lamppost Man

  And now… here’s a sneak peek for the next new novel by real life adventurer, Jack Castle.

  Stranger World: Origins

  The White Rabbit put on his spectacles. “Where shall I begin, please your Majesty?” he asked.

  “Begin at the beginning,” the King said very gravely, “and go on till you come to the end: then stop.”

  -Lewis Carroll, Alice in Wonderland

  Prologue

  Lisa Burton

  “Would you please hold still?”

  “I will not.”

  “You don’t want me to carve your face off by accident, do you?”

  Senior hologram-engineer, Lisa Burton, activated her hydrostatic-scalpel once more and resumed re-crafting the nose of her most favored creation. Just as the blade was about to reach its target, her subject abruptly turned her face to the side… for the fifth time.

  Lisa sighed, and switched off the scalpel. Removing her safety glasses, she asked, “Now what?”

  In a crisp, British accent she replied matter-of-factly, “I dare say, I quite like my nose right the way it is.”

  Lisa hopped down from her high stool and said, “Well, there’s been some uh,” Lisa coughed into her fist, “…complaints.”

  The woman before her wore black knee-high boots, off-white trousers, and a nautical jacket. A black leather pistol belt with spare pouches ensnared her narrow waist. The taller woman arched a high eyebrow down at her and asked cynically, with only the slightest hint of curiosity, “Complaints you say, what sort of complaints?”

  Not sure exactly how to respond, Lisa settled for saying, “The guests say that you think you’re better than them.”

  The taller woman adjusted her nautical coat slightly, “I am a Leftenant in Her Majesty’s Navy and second in command of Her Majesty’s Airship, The Dauntless. So, one would think that those sniveling, puerile-infants would mind their betters and be grateful every time I bring them back in one piece from another harrowing expedition.”

  She thought about this some more. “Furthermore, I fail to see what any of that nonsense has to do with the shape of my nose.”

  Lisa knew she could easily have shut down The Leftenant’s programming to perform the cosmetic surgery, but in truth, she quite liked these little bouts of banter with The Leftenant. In fact, if an outside observer didn’t know she was a hologram, they might even say the two of them were best friends.

  Without warning, a man with a contentious mound of bright-orange hair and a face with more freckles than skin, popped up from behind the partition wall and announced, “Hey Nerd-a-Saurus-Rex. The Boss’s-Boss’s-Boss wants to see you.”

  The carrot-top’s name was Cliff Munson, or as the gene slicers down on seventh called him, Cliff Munchin.’ The latter was usually the more accurate of the two, as Cliff’s dumpy frame was hardly undersized, and he was always, always, always, eating potato chips or some other vending machine related snack.

  Normally, Lisa’s work and rank afforded her a minimum of no less than three floors, but due to last month’s attacks, she had been forced to share her office space with some of the other designers and creationeers.

  If that wasn’t bad enough, Cliff Munson was easily her least favorite co-worker. Like most things in Stranger World, Cliff was a perfect dichotomy in that his work was as brilliant as his lab was an untidy dung heap. He had several degrees from M.I.T., but he gave off the impression of a slovenly dimwit, trapped inside the body of an overweight man in his late thirties. Cliff had an almost childlike enthusiasm, and yet also, an incredible mean streak. He was like the neighbor’s kid who liked to fry ants with a magnifying glass.

  Still, why would Corporate want to see me? She wondered. Typically, when a creationeer gets called upstairs, it was usually for a termination. What could I have possibly done? She realized Cliff was still watching her with a bemused look upon his face. Refusing to let him see her sweat, but failing to keep her voice from wavering, she asked, “Do you know what they want?”

  Cliff must have picked up on her non-verbal cue, because he appeared more tickled than ever when he answered, “Dunno, lab rat, they didn’t say.”

  Numbly, Lisa nodded. “Okay, thank you.”

  Cliff was always calling her names like that: bookworm, lab-rat, Vampira. Unfortunately, most of them were fairly accurate. She almost never saw the sun, usually arrived at work long before everyone else, and left long after the sun went down. Also, she had taken her current employment straight out of college eight years ago, and the J-O-B was so demanding, she rarely had time for a social life.

  Cliff shuffled around the partition dividing their workstations in his ridiculous foam slippers. “I don’t know what you did, but it must be pretty bad for you to get called upstairs.”

  Munch-MUNch-MUNCH…

  As usual, Cliff was loudly snacking away and leaving behind enough crumbs to fill an entire pastry shop. Deep down, what she wanted to say was, Hey Cliff, in case you can’t read the ka-bizillion signs, the entire floor is clearly designated as a clean and sterilized area. So, here’s an idea, whaddya say, now and forever, leave your germy crumbs out of the tissue sequencer? But,…because she had worked with Cliff long enough to know it would be only wasted breath, she chose to avoid confrontation, and settled for saying, “Okay, Cliff, thanks for letting me know.”

  The Leftenant would’ve socke
d him a good one, she thought, and even now the Leftenant was arching an eyebrow toward her as if to ask why she wasn’t doing that very thing.

  Lisa whispered to her creation, in reproach, “Not you, too.”

  The Leftenant straightened her nautical coat with a firm swift tug, stuck her untouched nose into the air, and responded in equal volume. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. I didn’t say so much as a word.”

  MUNCH-CRUNCH-MUNCH…

  Cliff swallowed noisily, nearly choking, and said, “Hey, I’ve been meaning to ask you something.”

  Oh goodie, look who’s still here, the Leftenant managed to say to her with only the merest of glances.

  Cliff must’ve missed it for he asked, “Why Leftenant? That doesn’t even make sense.”

  As Lisa returned the scalpel to its proper place, along with all the other tools in her tool tray lined up at precise right angles, she fought down a sigh and explained. “The word Leftenant is an archaic spelling of Lieutenant, which is actually derived from the Latin words, locum tenens. When literally translated, it means, taking the place of."

  MUNCH-MUNCH-CRUNCH.

  “Yeah… if that’s the case, then how come that’s not the way we spell it now?”

  As Lisa removed her gloves and disposed of them properly, she replied, “The only reason we spell it wrong is Charles Merriam and Noah Webster, of Merriam and Webster Dictionary, chose the spelling that sounded more correct over the actual original French word.”

  “Oh, alright, alright,” Cliff said, and continued munching away like a dim-witted buffalo.

  Thinking about the V.I.P. waiting for her, she began switching off her work station, and thought, I really don’t have time for this.

  Tossing his reddish curls toward The Leftenant, Cliff asked, “So how come she looks like you?”

  This was preposterous of course. Lisa was well aware of how many creationeers would build biologicals in their own image, but Lisa refused to stoop down to such narcissistic levels. Firing back, she said, “What are you talking about? She doesn’t look a thing like me.”