Date: Sat, 29 Sep 2012 08:19:05 +0000
From: Michael Offutt <kavrik@hotmail.com>
Subject: Wraith Chapter Twenty - Gay Science Fiction

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                                    *****

                               Chapter Twenty

      The Butcher sniffed the air like a bloodhound. He let the end of the
huge cleaver he carried drag upon the ground as Doctor Pestilence stepped
forward into the center of the tank.  Sparks leapt from the tip as it
scraped across the floor. Beneath their feet, water from the last flushing
created small reflecting pools, and the Butcher's huge shoes made the
bottom of the tank sag and pop like the inside of a giant drum.

      Gingerly, the doctor reached down and picked up Jordan's old, stinky
sneakers. He sniffed at one and grinned in pleasure. The Butcher grabbed
the other and held it to his nose. A moment later, he licked it, extending
a huge tongue that drooped from his lips...a thing so large it resembled
the tentacle of an octopus.

      Dr. Pestilence giggled. "T-there's nothing quite like the scent of a
virile young boy."

      "But where is he?" the Butcher asked, aroused and irritated that he
could not satisfy his lust. Behind them, the Pet sat upon the ground and
fondled the boy's shirt in a manner that seemed reminiscent of memory.

      To the left, the flue valve opened. The female soldier primed her
rifle, but the doctor held up his hand. The Butcher had not yet
noticed--too busy playing Jordan's high tops across his face and running
his fingers along the inside of the shoe to unseat the insole.

      But the doctor noted the change. He grinned so wide that his ears
moved.

      From the other side of the portal emerged the "fap fap" sound of a
boy deep in pleasured masturbation.

      Doctor Pestilence took a step and craned his neck, drool falling from
his lips. And he peered through the opening before him. He saw the naked
boy with his back to him. Sweat dripped from the lean, muscular skin of his
back and swirled around his naked toes. He heard panting and marveled at
the unblemished perfect flesh that now stood only paces away.

      As silent as death, he slipped through the valve into the next tank
and approached the image of Jordan from behind.

      "Y-you are so b-beautiful," the doctor whispered, stuttering on words
that caught in his tightening throat. He extended a trembling hand, scalpel
gripped tight, and made so because of the excitement that stirred between
his legs. "I-I only want to cut a little piece off. T-to taste you...t-the
Butcher will want more. B-but not I. Not yet. I-I have all night to enjoy
you." Behind his crooked shoulders, the woman followed. Then the door
closed, sealing them off from the others.

      The doctor's stretched out his hand, long skeletal fingers trembling,
and tried to cut Jordan on the arm. But it flickered through the image.

      "What's this?" Doctor Pestilence asked with surprise.

      Kolin fell down upon them from the ceiling and fired the corobidian
net from the cannon on his right arm. It struck the female bodyguard so
hard, it threw her against the wall of the silo, leaving lacerations across
her face. It left her pinned there, unable to raise her weapon.  Once on
his feet, Kolin whirled on the doctor who had lost all pleasure from his
horrific face.

      "W-what have we here?" Doctor Pestilence asked. "A-a trap. I-I shall
enjoy cutting into you."

      Kolin swung his sword and the doctor parried it with "Tickler," his
scalpel. But the cibrian edge made short work of the surgical instrument,
cutting it in half. The doctor shrieked, losing the tips of his fingers
which struck the floor like small sausages. He hesitated a moment and
bolted for the iris valve to escape to the other tank.

      But the way had been shut.

      Kolin swung his sword in an arc. He lopped off the doctor's head,
showering the room in a fountain of blood. With his wrist blades he caught
the doctor at the waist and cut him all the way through to the other
side. He fell in three pieces, twitching, and quivering before he stopped
moving. Smoke sputtered from the fleshy remains.

      "No!" The female guard screamed. "You'll pay for this! He'll rip you
limb from limb!" She started cackling madly and tried desperately to free
herself from the energy net. "No one kills one of the four! Horseman and
Bringer of the Apocalypse! No one! Zechariah curse you! The Lord of Flies
will suckle the marrow from your bones! The flies are a comin' and they'll
lay maggots in your head!"

      "Oh shut up!" Kolin said. His voice echoed from the sides of the
silo.

      He shoved the twin cibrian blades mounted on his wrist through her
eyes. The woman's mouth dropped open in shock. Blood, gray matter, and spit
slid down her face.

      Kolin pulled his blades free just as a hammering noise caught his
attention. From his flank, something huge struck the metal wall and left
behind huge indentations.

      The Butcher..., Kolin thought, and he prepared himself for what would
soon come crashing through into the tank.

      Unable to fit through the door, the Butcher made short work of the
barrier separating the two silos.  Kolin stepped back as swing after swing
of the huge cleaver ripped the walls into strips of metal. Within thirty
second, it gave way, and the Butcher strode in completely dwarfing Kolin in
girth and height. The giant saw the bloody pieces of Doctor Pestilence
strewn about the floor and let out the most inhuman of wails. Kolin likened
it to the bellow of a huge hippopotamus near the banks of a river in
Africa.

      "I killed your Master," Kolin deliberately taunted and in a
mechanical voice. It produced the exact effect he desired.

      Howling, the Butcher attacked Kolin, swinging at him wildly with his
cleaver. Kolin sidestepped, rolled, and landed on his feet. Then he swung
his sword, aiming at the Butcher's knees. The giant deflected his blade
with the flat of the cleaver; the cibrian edge left holes in it.  However,
they also caught Kolin's sword long enough to leave him open to attack.

      "That's not good," Kolin muttered, and he tried to jerk it free. In
retrospect, he tarried too long.

      The Butcher balled his huge fist and punched Kolin in the chest. It
would have killed a normal man without the protection of body armor. But
Kolin wore a solid corobidian killsuit, and it absorbed nearly all of the
impact. The powerful thrust did hurl him six feet into the side of the
tank. He smacked against the steel wall at his back with such force, it
left an impression that matched the exact shape of Kolin's armored body.

      With a little difficulty, Kolin pulled himself free and landed on his
feet.

      Meanwhile, his adversary readjusted the cleaver in his grip, and
Kolin's sword fell free with a clatter. Kolin dove for it, and the Butcher
sent it skittering across the floor.

      The Butcher charged him and Kolin tucked and rolled under the massive
bronze feet.

      A second later, the giant kicked him and knocked all of the wind out
of Kolin's lungs.  Dazed for a few seconds, the Butcher struck Kolin across
the back with his enormous weapon.  Sparks flew from the skin of Kolin's
armor and the electronics on the inside of his helmet sputtered and almost
went dark. Kolin crushed into the floor, vision going white with pain.

      He gasped for breath.

      "Blood! I'LL RIP OFF YOUR HEAD AND DRINK YOUR BLOOD FROM YOUR SKULL!"
The Butcher yelled in triumph.

      Kolin snatched up his sword with the very tips of his fingers and
managed to escape to one side. He whirled, and cut one of the Butcher's
arms off at the shoulder. It fell with a plop and blood sprayed out in a
noxious fountain.

      "Not today you won't," Kolin stated in a flat, metallic tone.

      Enraged, the Butcher tossed his cleaver at him. Kolin ducked and the
cleaver plowed into the steel wall where it got stuck in the side of the
silo. Kolin leapt up and kicked the Butcher in the chest to knock him back
from the handle. Then he came about with his sword, lopped off the
Butcher's other arm, and took out one leg. The grotesque creature crumpled
before him, blood dripping from both nostrils.

      "H-he was perfect," the Butcher uttered, eyes going glassy.

      "You'll never touch another boy again...especially the one I love,"
Kolin stated flatly.  Then he opened his visor and spit on the Butcher's
face. With a quick stab of his twin wrist blades to the Butcher's eyes,
Kolin dropped him dead.

      He turned and looked at the Pet who stared at him from the next tank.

      Kolin strode in and put him out of his misery, taking his head clean
off at the shoulders.

      Satisfied that he had done what he came to do, Kolin knocked on the
silo door once.  "Wraith...it's finished. Let me out."

      A second later, the door opened.

      "Were you hurt?" Wraith asked him.

      "No. I've had to fight worse. I can handle a few perverted monsters."
He paused. "How many workers did he bring?"

      "Nine women. They are to be my lab assistants. I will treat them well
as long as we are here. I don't know if the monsters will take the death of
one of their leaders kindly. There are ten of the wights...guards like that
woman there. They are currently unloading supplies from the semi that
Doctor Pestilence brought to trade for the pretty blond boy--"

      "Jordan," Kolin said. "His name is Jordan. And I'll take care of
them." Kolin sighed.  "When I'm finished, I want your sentries to hide the
evidence of all this killing. When Jordan wakes up, he doesn't need to know
what almost happened to him. I don't want him to think that he owes me
anything or is obligated to me in any way."

      "Why is that important?" Wraith asked.

      "It just is," he said.

      Then Kolin took off down the hall at a fast run.  A moment later, the
sound of shots echoed through the plant. Soon after, the screaming began
and was cut short time and time again.

      Kolin spared no one.

                                    *****

                 I will post the LAST chapter sometime next week.