Chukswrites:



The dream essence he was hunting was for a completely different purpose. I guess I'll touch that in a later episode. Also, they actually sleep and dream, just as normal.

But there is a world, where the nightmares live, that's where something called a dream essence is produced.

Chukswrites:


Thanks a lot. I get super busy, that's why I take my time in updating.
I try to make it weekly though.

As for the scavenger, we'll soon see where his loyalty lies.

Chukswrites:
NEW EPISODES OF THIS SERIES WILL BE UPDATED THURSDAYS OF EVERY WEEK.

BE SURE TO CHECK IN BY THEN.

PLEASE, ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. DO NOT COPY! THE STORY IS THE INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY OF THE WRITER; IT WILL BE IN EVERYONE'S BEST INTERESTS IF IT ISN'T TRANSFERRED WITHOUT PRIOR PERMISSION.

See you Next Thursday, diligent readers

Alitair:
SLIP:
The King stared into the dim screen. His generals had informed him that this would be the last chance to communicate.
“Have all the crops been planted?”
“Yes... crrrxck... Your Majesty,” came the static-filled reply.
“The colony’s defences,” continued the King, “are all in place?”
“Of course King... crrrxck...” The connection was almost gone.
“One last thing...” He was rushing now. “Make sure that all the children are tortured.”
The Military Governor blinked, but he knew better than to disobey. “Very well, King Herod.”
The connection broke and the King sat back, satisfied. A tickle of doubt entered his brain. ‘I did say tutored just now...
Didn’t I?’

Chukswrites:
EPISODE TWO:


 Spine tingling screams, loud cracking gun shots, and the loud roars of diesel engines. I lay on the ground, the confusion around me a blurry haze. "Look, there's one!" I heard a man say and then I heard thudding of boots and the cracking of a rifle as it was cocked. As the sounds drew nearer, I suddenly gasped and opened my eyes. My chest rose and fell with each breath I took. I blinked my eyes rapidly, glad that the sun was not on my face. Wait, where am I? I thought and bolted upright from where I lay. I felt a sharp pain on my arm, and looked at the dirty white cast that bulged around it. "Relax, boy, you're arm is broken." A familiar voice. I turned to where the voice had come from; right in the far corner of what looked like a tent, I saw him. Yes, I remember, the thin man who called himself the scavenger. I looked around the tent; it was small, irregular and must have been made hurriedly. There was a small camp lamp hanging from a post that held the tent in the middle. The lamp brightened up the tent, but just enough. Moonlight escaped into the tent from a small slit at the entrance. "What sort of fellow doesn't know how to use a gun and finds himself in the widelands?" The Scavenger chuckled, he was hunched over a bristling pot steaming over a small rectangular platform. I sat up, wincing at the pain in my arm and trying to get my thoughts straight. "Thank you." I said, not exactly sure what for but remembering I had nearly died a few hours ago. Had it been that long? The Scavenger got up, the tent being just big enough for him to stand to his full height, and he walked up to me, metal jingling in his pockets, a long iron spoon in his hands. "What are you thanking me for?" He scoffed, a little too seriously. I thought he was being hostile, I couldn't answer. "You owe me your life, boy, remember?" He said, and smiled. Those teeth. He was bare chested, without a shirt, a bag of bones he was and he had a white necklace around his neck. He followed my gaze and touched the glowing purple stone attached to the necklace. "You know what this is, boy?"He asked. I shook my head, watching the purple stone glow and flicker. "This, boy," he paused, "What's your name, boy?" "I–Adam." I blurted out, remembering the tattoo. "Well, Adam, this necklace was the reason why them nightmares were after me." "Night mares?" I asked. He shook his shoulders, "Them horse riders. Nightmares, they call them." He then screwed his eyes and watched me closely, "Where are you from, Adam?" I sincerely hoped I could answer that, I also needed to know the answer to that question. "I don't know." I said. I could tell he didn't believe me. He shrugged. I heard a whistling sound coming from the pot. I suddenly became aware of the aroma of boiling meat and vegetables hitting my nose, I was hungry. My throat bobbed at the thought of food. "Hungry?" He said, watching me with amused eyes. "Yes, please." I said, rubbing my face and touching the beard growing beneath my chin. I watched the scavenger take out a brown leather bag and rummage through it. I could hear metals clanging as he shifted his hand through the bag. He retrieved a small wooden bowl and blew air into it. He then proceeded to open the pot, white steam covering his face and brisk sound of boiling filled the tent. I watched him scoop some broth from the pot, his lips hanging loose from the smoke covering his, and then he stretched his hand towards me. The tent was small so I could easily lean in and reach my hand to grab the bowl. "Use both hands, " he cautioned, "or you'll get blisters." I did as he told me. The broth was a rich smelling, sizzling thick mix of dark green vegetables and thick square pieces of light pink meat. It tasted just as good as it looked. My right arm was wrapped in a cast so I was stuck with my left. Luckily, holding a spoon with my left hand came naturally. The brisk noise of the pot reduced as he placed a lid over it and pushed it aside. He sat opposite me, a similar bowl in his hand and he hate noisily. "What's that you got there?" He asked, pointing at my left arm. I stopped eating, still chewing a piece of meat between my teeth. My gaze shifted to my left arm. "It's – a tattoo." I said. He placed his bowl aside lightly and reached for my arm. "It spells your name." He said, looking at me curiously. "I–yes.." I stuttered, my mouth open with nothing else to say. "Where are you from, Adam?" He said the name with a different tone; a harsher tone. "I have no idea, I swear." I said, gulping down the meat in my mouth. The scavenger rose up and began to walk out of the tent. He turned to me before he left. "Finish you food, boy, you don't want it to get cold." Later that night, possibly hours later, I opened my eyes when I heard the humming of something; a small radio, perhaps. I lay still, listening. I could make out the dull outline of the scavenger backing me, in a hunched position, he had something to his ears. The lamp gave out a tiny glow, and ever so slightly a rush of cold air would blow across it. ...."Adam, yes." I heard his muffled voice, "interesting, okay. Thanks." And I heard a clicking sound as the humming radio became silent. I quickly shot my eyes partially as I watched him stare at me for a long time, the purple stone giving his face a dark gleam.

1mmanuel:
Getting to the secret lab they saw charts on Theodore's recent research and articles on transhumanism, there were body parts of dead animals in jars preserved by strange smelling chemicals, also was there a chemical preserved corpse of a lamb in a jar.
"sure speaks well of a principal " said Gustavo who brought out a camera and began to take pictures of the lab and it's properties
"this will fetch us money and freedom as soon as we blackmail him "
"sure " Craig agreed "he's not stupid not to realise how these evidence will ruin his career. I can only imagine the look on his face when he finds out his dirty little secret has been opened."
"if he doesn't comply to our offer, he'll have lot to loose while we will have more to gain. Let this get to the CNN, the whole Texas will be on fire " Gustavo continued taking pictures.
Craig Willers and Gustavo Mendez are both sixth grade students a year above Spock, they were both delinquents before enrolled in this special institution in Texas. Craig comes from a wealthy home but when he raped one of the younger maid working in the the mansion and sold his stepfather's precious Toyota Cresta to buy crack , he found himself in St Titus. Gustavo was raised up by a latina single mother in Los Angeles so he was exposed to the criminal world and wanted to be part of the notorious MS-13 gang. Gustavo and his buddies robbed a stall and beat up the clerk who was Islam, well they were caught by the LAPD and Gustavo was sentenced by court order to serve penitentiary at St Titus in Texas.
Spock was at the institution because of his poor leaning skills and also because his parents were ashamed of his appearance,though he was fifteen Spock resembled a twelve year old boy, he had large feet that he had to walk barefooted and finally his cat ears. Spock had been a subject of ridicule and bullying in past years, though it's still a mystery why he was named after a Star Trek character. Craig and Gustavo were one of the few persons who accepted him because of his odd look and willingness to please anyone.

1mmanuel:
For those who don't know me I'm Hugo Briggs the ordinary guy who lives on Dewlake. I'm the kind of guy girls can ignore on the the streets just because he's broke, I'm also the kind of guy that people respect if they are in trouble and I'm still the type of guy you see at the convenience store down the street working to pay for his college tuition... and lastly I'm still Hugo Briggs.
People always ask me why all sorts of annoying questions like : "Hey Hugo why on this stinky dead end job, shouldn't you be robbing banks by now?" and since I had all the time in the world and if my questionnaires were kind enough to buy me a drink I tell them : "Look, back then shoplifting was lucrative for youngsters but now everyone's broke, the banks are broke, the mayor is broke, the government is broke, the lawyers are broke, the police is broke ,even the president is broke because you're broke . How can I rob I empty vaults when the chief robbers in the government can't squeeze a cent from you? " They ask me again: "Say Hugo why are you working your ass trying to enter the Ivy Leagues. Not that you're gonna pass the entrance examination" Then I tell them" If I can't enter Cambridge, I enter Harvard, if I can't go to Harvard, I go to Yale. I'm going to college so that I can become rich like Donald Trump, marry a pretty blonde and kick annoying people like you out of America " They laugh but deep inside I had tongue lashed them.

Today was another boring day, I worked at Chen Wun convenience store as a cashier, cleaner, security man, etc It was owned by Mr Chen a Korean( but people mistook him for a Chinese), we sold all sorts of commodities from smartphones to condoms to liquor to holy water. We had lots of customers because people thought Mr Chen looked like Jackie Chan who was going to use some kung-fu skills to chase the industrialists out of Dewlake, the only kung-fu skill I knew he had was to swear in Korean. As I flipped through the sports magazine I was reading at the counter while sipping a cold lemon soda the country music flowed through the store making the atmosphere more tasteless, a short boy of about sixteen walked into the stall he was dressed in a Star Wars tee-shirt ,a hooded grey jacket and a pair of faded jean, his hair was rough brown and untidy, freckles rested across his nose he had a mischievous smile on his face. With one eye on the magazine and the other on the boy which I used to monitor him in case he were a shoplifter, later he came to the counter with a bottle of beer to pay for it, I looked at it and shook my head
"Sorry kid we don't sell alcohol to underage. You could buy a soda instead if you like"
The boy squinted his eyes "what do you mean by underage?" he had a Scottish accent. I turned the bottle to the sign were it was written: Drink responsibly. Not for sales to persons under eighteen.
"oh I see" said the boy "they say we're too old to suck a woman's breast and too young to drink alcohol. What of you?"
I looked at him and responded "I'm twenty three"
"Oh I see I found it odd for you to be working here at this age, since you have a bad way of explaining things you will do well in handling chains of prostitutes on the streets" the boy said
Infuriated by his words "hey kiddo shouldn't you be at school?"
He brought out his wallet and fished out two hundred dollars, four times the money for the beer and kept it on the table... I salivated staring at the money and I let him pay for it. I was only broke. " Keep the change" he left
When the boy left I noticed he was barefooted and his feets were the largest I had ever seen, I counted the money It began to disappear before my eyes. I opened my mouth in awe, till all the cash vanished in thin air. Magic
I was still Hugo Briggs and I was still broke.

25thJOE:


Chapter 3: The Midas Formula
The Mush Cookies were deserts in the outlands, they were sandy deserts infested with mushrooms - nothing else grew except for mushrooms. No one or anything would be too stupid to live or set up a business there, except for chemical plants.
To reduce chemical pollution in the outlands chemical plants were authorized to be set up in these deserts, at least all chemical wastes could be disposed without any qualms. Rumours also had it that the government carried out experiments and high weapon testsin the deserts - their activities were hidden from public eyes. This time our friend Marcello was given an assignment to steal a so called Midas formula from one of the secret government sites located in a Mush cookie area.

The plan was this - Marcello was to sneak into the chemical plant (provided with a map around the area) without raising suspicion or get caught get into warehouse 5(where the formula was hidden) and grab it. Get out again without getting caught again... simple right?

It was friday morning the second cycle, they drove to a site known as Landers Fall where there was a mush cookie area was located. The two bouncer yesterday and Marcello who sat behind, the troll bouncer drove the Elfwagon C2(a brand of automobile), the other bouncer hummed idly to an unknown music as they sped through the dusty road, it was lonely most times except for a stray dog or deserts rats crossing by .
"so what's this Midas stuff for anyway, some new weapon?"
The bouncer stopped humming and answered
"from what I remember the boss didn't pay for asking questions? "
"I was already thinking you were the boss" Marcello snickered
The man turned back with a one-eyed glare and said "look kid keep your heads up, if you fail this mission you're dead... that's if the government dogs don't kill you first"
Marcella grinned "I'll take note of that"

CAUTION. TOXIC CONCENTRATED AREA. A rusty signboard read
They reached the Mush Cookie desert, dust mixed with the wind that blew. During the day the desert was so hot that even the deserts rabbits were forced to remove their furs, at night the temperature of the desert dropped so low that you can store your ice cream to get block frozen.
It was only a plain desert with different sizes of mushrooms growing, no sign of any chemical plant government nor private. Marcello brought out his tools:
A multipurpose lock-breaker
A chewing gum
An egg sandwich wrapped in a foil
A pocket knife
A pair of anti-illusion shades
Then he used the pocket knife to pinch a little blood on his left finger, a drop of red blood touched the sand and he placed his palm on the ground saying.
"I call thee, come forth my weapon... DUNKIRK!"
In a poof of white smoke an enchanted gun appeared, the ability to name and summon your enchanted gun was the first step into becoming a gun-runner. Marcello picked up the Dunkirk the gun was a mix between a shotgun and a crossbow, he brought out a pouch of mana bullets and loaded it into his gun. He unlocked the weapon and aimed at a desert rabbit,
"got ya" he said as he pulled the trigger, a blast of red light shot out and maimed the rabbit dead. He nodded in approval
"hurry" said one of the men "don't f*ck us up or the boss will kill you"
"will you keep quiet and let me do my job" Marcello began to eat his sandwich. When he finished he said
"I'll begin now" he wore the anti-illusion shades, it was a weird glasses that could enable one to see through magical illusions, one frame of the glasses was rectangular and yellow while the other was round and pink, there was a tiny propeller at the side of the glasses. When he wore it the propeller began to spin, a looked at the desert and before him a mist was clearing.
"an illusionary mist magic" said Marcello "what would someone hide so badly to cast an illusion?"
After the mist disappeared, the desert was not much different except for a large chemical plant in the middle of the desert, no one else could see it except Marcello with the aid of the illusionary shades.
The plant was fully functioning with workers, guards and drones. NO CERTIFIED WORKERS ALLOWED FROM THIS POINT. SITE 77. A signboard read, on a large signboard was a symbol : a picture of a golden sun with an eye at it's middle, it was the One-eyed Sun symbol of the world government.