Part 2

Part 3

Gut Check

So here we are in the Fort Worth Stock Yards trying to find the rest of out Cabal. Jason's hurting from the pummeling Jenni gave him back at my apartment, and I'm trying to pull him along while I search the grounds.

The thing that keeps going through my head, though, is this: Is Jason in love with me? I didn't even know the guy was gay. I do know, with a modest degree of certainty that I am not.

Anyway, I'm turning the corner just past Risky's Bar-B-Que when Jason says, "You're wrong."

"What? What am I wrong about?"

"You said Jenni didn't have to worry about Paradox 'cause she's a Nephandus. That's wrong. Either she has to worry about it or she's crazy. If she's crazy, she's a Marauder. And if she's a Marauder I'm not going anywhere near her again."

We stopped in front of some C&W record shop. I feel an odd sensation, a sudden pull from the inside of the shop. We push through the door, step inside, just as two Men In Black walk past.

I prop Jason up against the wall. "I always get those names mixed up. But the point is, she's gone over to the other side, or one other side. And we have to get to her before she can get to us."

Jason added, "And we have to warn the others before she can get to them."

We begin to make our way back to the door as I feel a surge in the air. The records displayed about the shop begin to rise in the air, seemingly of their own accord. Jason, with a stricken look on his face, begins to run. Needless to say I am as close behind as I can manage while dodging vinyl discs flying chaotically about the store at something approaching the speed of sound.

The other customers in the record shop are in total panic mode. Nothing in their protected lives could have prepared them for the havoc they are witnessing. I duck under a wad of plastic, sidestep around a very cute redhead wearing a poodle skirt, put on a burst of speed and run straight into Jason, who has stopped just short of the door.

"Shit!" he screams.

"Sorry. Why did you..."

"Ben. Shut up! She's here."

"Well, duh! I think I can figure..." Then I see what he means. Jenni is standing right in front of the doors. She is wearingspiked heels, fishnet stockings, a leather thong, a leather bra with the nipples exposed and she's carrying an AK-47. She looks like some adolescent boy's ultimate fantasy bitch, or maybe a really bad version of a Boris girl.

She looks at us and laughs. I notice she has blood on her face and hands. I also notice she has fire in her eyes... literally.

"Little fags, little fags, I'd let you cum, but I don't think you'd like what I have between my legs."

I frown back at Jenni. "That's horrible! You can't even misquote the Three Little Pigs with any class, you stupid bitch!"

"I think I can come up with something a bit more memorable." She lowers the muzzle of her gun, points it directly at Jason's crotch and pulls the trigger.

At which point the two Men In Black unload with some sort of energy weapons, the brunt of which is absorbed by Jenni.

Jason starts to run again, but I use the opportunity to take a shot at my former lover. I pull a pair of percentile dice from my pocket, roll them from one hand to the other as I recite my Rote. I'm not a master of Entropy by any stretch, but I can sure as Hell fuck-up a gun as complicated as hers.

Jenni turns, screaming like a banshee. She aims at the M.I.B.'s, pulls the trigger and has another surprise. I've never actually seen an AK-47 explode before, and, apparently, neither has Jenni. She is a tad miffed. She is also missing an arm and most of her torso and face. She is, however, still standing, extremely pissed, and therefore more dangerous than ever.

And then, of course, there's still the two Black Hats and a few hundred panic-stricken Sleepers to deal with.

End Game

So, Jason has run away, Jennifer is missing some body parts, there are two Men In Black here and they're actually helping us put this madwoman down, and suddenly Jennifer is talking to someone I can't see. I'm not even sure there's really somebody there, but the two M.I.B.'s take the opportunity to dive for a side corridor, you know, for a bit more cover.

I look back at Jenni, trying to decide whether to stand and fight or break and run. She has two arms again! This is just too weird. She is still talking to someone out of my line of sight. "You see? You see the sort of bullshit I have to deal with? Well, its not your problem. But you wanted me to do something for you..."

She reaches into a pouch hanging from her belt, pulls out a pocket watch and throws it toward the people, obviously friends of her's. And suddenly there is a tangible energy in the air.

Everything begins to warp, and I can feel myself being pulled out of the Ernest Tubb Record Shop. Toward Jennifer. Not where I want to be.

Jenni screams again as every unattached object within a few hundred feet begins to fly toward her with lethal velocity. She is hit with glass, metal, wood, paving bricks and the headless body of a small child. I hang on to the door of the record shop, and pray that my arms don't give out.

And then everything stops.

A cloud of dust hangs over the entire scene. There is a large pile of debris in the middle of the train tracks where I last saw Jenni. The various shops and businesses in the area are devastated. The wind has died down and I hear the distant whistle of the Tarantula Train as it makes it's way to the station.

Suddenly the two Men In Black come back into view. They walk, cautiously, up to the pile of junk, the one nearest to me giving me a short glance.

Now I can hear several people crying out for help. I hadn't stopped to think what might be happening to the Sleepers caught up in this conflagration. There must be hundreds of casualties.

The sirens start up and it seems as if every cop and EMT in Fort Worth has converged on this spot. As I step out of the shop I see that they have started helping the people nearest Exchange Street, down by Risky's Bar-B-Que.

I start to look around for Jason, making my way past the garbage and the M.I.B.'s, giving them as wide a birth as I can manage. I get about twenty feet up the track, straining my eyes through the dust cloud for any sign of my friend, when I hear the noise made by glass breaking on metal.

I whirl around and stop dead in my tracks. The dust cloud is coalescing into a definable shape, and Jennifer is climbing out of the junk pile. The Men In Black have stepped back and drawn their weapons. As they lower them to take aim at Jenni I hear the whistle of the Tarantula coming close up behind me.

It seems as if the Black Hats and Jennifer are concentrating solely on one-another and have totally missed the black cloud that has formed some semblance of a face and arms above their heads. I, on the other hand, am feeling that same energy in the air I was feeling a few minutes ago. It's Paradox, and I want nothing to do with it.

I was thinking about hitting Jenni with another Rote, shutting off the flow of Quintessence through her pattern. I think better of it now. I just turn and start running. Just in time.

The Tarantula is about five feet away as I step off the tracks. Even so, I can't hear it. It's making no noise at all. It's not moving terribly fast, but it is a train and I certainly don't want to be hit by it.

I stumble over a raised brick, falling on my face. I roll to my feet and quickly look toward Jenni and company. Jennifer laughs, throwing her head back. The Black Hats unload with everything they've got as she just laughs harder.

The cloud grows larger and I can see its eyes (yes it has eyes) starting to glow. Jennifer points her finger (the middle one) at the Technoshits, releasing a blast of pure energy, ripping their forms to shreds.

All the people in the area are rooted to the ground, staring in disbelief as this scene unfolds.

Jennifer turns, as if looking for another target. She sees me. She starts to laugh again, but she sees that I am smiling. At this point she sees the train, just as it plows into her.

The cloud rumbles, the train begins making noise (a Hell-of-a-lot-of noise) and lightening fills the spot where Jennifer stood just a second ago.

The train goes dead, and everything goes black.


To be continued...

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