A 94 Cutlass Supreme SL. Sure the paints peeling and there is a hole in the armrest but damn, does it run good. It also got new tires, a new stereo system, and a dvd player. All for $600, because my step-dad knew the guy. Man, this is going to make finding a job much easier.

I removed a scene and added several more. It's 3.6 thousand words in length. I'm looking for useful feedback.

Back in the 19th century there was this unremarkable man. Nothing about him was special, he had a wife, and was in the middle class. He wore a vest that was tan and made of cotton with had buttons that were made of brass. Under that he wore a white shirt which often got dirty in his line of work, there were soot stains all over it. His pants were also tan but made of a khaki material. Black leather shoes completed the attire, and one could easily see that they were well-worn.

His hair was short and brown, with knots here and there. He also had some serious stubble around his chin and a moustache that laid flat against his upper lip and curved down. Of course there were plenty of other gentlemen who could fit this description but our story isn't about them now is it. Our man's name is Arthur Nobles, and he is an engineer, specializing in steam.

Now Arthur's day started off like any other, he would sit behind his desk, read the paper, and on especially slow days he would take a nap. Most of the time his job consist of someone saying their car broke down, or they can't get their water heater to work. These jobs can be done fast and don't get as much pay.

One time Arthur tried to upgrade someone's vehicle and it ended up catching on fire and singing his left eyebrow clean off. He decided that maybe that isn't the best choice for his line of business.

This day though a curious man would walk through the door. He looked to be in his 30's, maybe his 40's. There was an air of urgency surrounding him.

"I need your help, one of my boiler's at my steel mill burst and now my men are refusing to work. Without the boilers nothing can move around the factory." He sounded as if he needed help. Arthur figured that there would be no one else coming in today so he agreed to go check it out.

"Oh thank you so much, my name is Jean Pierrot. You will be paid handsomely for you work. Now I'm going to be busy all day so I was wondering if you could come by tomorrow instead." This didn't bother Arthur, what also didn't bother him was the crooked smile that Jean Pierrot gave him.

Jean Pierrot left and Arthur decided now was a good time to close up. On his way home he spotted a young man riding a curious instrument. It ran on two wheels and beneath the seat. Arthur asked if he could check it out.

The young man didn't see anything wrong with it and let our protagonist check it out. He paid close attention to the engine, it was very small and didn't have a water tank. "What do you use as a fuel source?" asked Arthur.

"Petroleum," replied the young man, "it's a brand new source of fuel. It'll probably beat out steam and coal power." The young man picked up his motor vehicle and pulled a cord which started the engine up. A grey smoke came out of an exhaust pipe and the vehicle took off.

"Hey, what do you call that thing?" yelled Arthur.

"A motor bike. Unfortunately I can't get a patent for it until I prove that this thing will run properly." With that said the young man lost balance and fell. "Still got a few kinks to work out."

"Good luck with that." said Arthur who now left to go home.

***

On the outskirts of the city sparks could be seen in the second story of a factory. Inside you could see Jean Pierrot moving around like a madman. "Finally, after all this time, I am prepared to exact my revenge on that bastard for stealing my woman." Sparks flew again and quickly died.

"It's finished, after months of sleepless nights it's finished. There's no way he'll survive this. Aha aha bwahahahahahahaa!" He continued to laugh later into the night, for he has created a great monstrosity, it was shaped exactly as a human body. It was manufactured in a way so that it's user's strength could be increased 10 fold.

Elsewhere at Arthur's place of residence, his wife, named Catherine, was preparing a meal for him. She was pregnant, about 6 months is a good guess, and she had gorgeous red hair. It's easy to see why someone would get upset about losing this.

"So how was work?" asked Catherine. She was now setting the table for their meal.

"Average, I do have work for tomorrow though, a strange gentlemen wants me to check out the boilers in his factory." No one had any real interest in this conversation and the meal was silent. After that the two resided to the bed room where they together and talked about the child.

"I hope it's a girl," said Catherine. "I can teach her how to cook and sew."

"Well I want a boy, that way I can teach him the trade and one day he'll surpass me." the two went on into the night, until one of them could no longer hold their eyes open. The two drifted off and prepared for the day tomorrow.

***

The morning fog was thick. Arthur had a lot of problems trying to find the factory. He met an old man and asked for directions. This particular old man looked way out of place, his skin was all in folds and face was cracked in all directions. What little hair he had on his head was silver and he had a great a beard.

"I wouldn't go there if I were you, a lot of strange activity has been going on there recently." The old man told him.

"Listen, I have a job to do, I'm not afraid of some silly little rumors." Arthur said sternly.

"Don't say I didn't warn you," he showed Arthur the way. He thanked him and left on his way.

Arthur arrived at the factory, well on the outside it looked like a factory. He opened the door and it was dark on the inside. "Mr. Pierrot, I'm here to inspect the boilers." There was no answer. Arthur took a few steps forward when the door behind him closed. He was cast in darkness.

All around him he could hear noises, the sound of the steam coming out of the pipes, the metallic clank of the machines as they ran, and a strange scraping sound which was coming closer. Before he could register the sound he was knocked on the head by something solid and hard and was knocked out.

He awoke and couldn't move at all. He was also blindfolded. Arthur struggled but the rope binding him didn't budge.

"I see you've finally awoken Mr. Nobles. Not much work is going to get done I'm afraid." the man burst out in laughter.

"Is that you Mr. Pierrot, what the hell is going on?"

"You don't remember me that well do you. Well I wouldn't expect you to, the reason we are here today happened a year ago. That's about the time you and Catherine got married correct." He was laughing again.

"How do you know my wife? What have you done to her?" Arthur was starting to get frightened.

"All these questions, I guess that's all you can really do. Well I guess I'll tell you, before you met your beloved wife I was courting her. I brought her flowers and gifts but these never really caught her eye. But then YOU came along with all your gadgets and gizmos and she instantly became infatuated with you. It broke my heart. But then I decided that if I couldn't have her no one could. So I bought this factory and studied up on engineering. After all those months of hard work I was able to complete my true vision. The Steam Asylum. Bwahahahaha." After he said those words he ripped off Arthur's blindfold.

The entire area seemed to be alive, everything was moving in and out, up and down, and left and right. The factory seemed to be a spawn of the devil if he had any interest in this kind of stuff. Above Arthur was a pendulum. It began to swing left and right, lowering with each swing.

"Well this is where I make my grand exit. Adieu Monsieur Nobles." With that Mr. Pierrot went through a door that was behind Arthur. A tumbling sound was heard and the door was locked. "I'd try and get out of those ropes if I were you." With that Jean Pierrot was gone.

Arthur was now alone, the only sounds other than those you would hear in a factory were his struggling and the pendulum swinging. With every pass it lowered about a cm, in about 10 minutes the blade will reach Arthur. He was pushing and pulling on the ropes. They didn't seem to loosen. He pulled and even tried to knock the chair over, but it was bolted to the ground.

He let out a scream of aggravation as pendulum was now about 4 minutes away. With one last bout of strength he was able to get his arm free. He used that to untie the other. It will only be a few minutes until the blade reaches the crown of his skull. He was struggling to with the knot behind his back. He could only guess now that any second the blade will reach him.

Luckily for him now was not his time and he was able to remove the knot just in time before the blade reached him. The chair, was a pressure switch and without him on it he could hear a passage open up.

Mr. Pierrot's voice came from one of the tube networks. Unfortunately for Arthur Nobles, the labels were removed. "I see you were able to escape the chair, well there is a lot more factory to cover. I don't want you to get the idea of alerting any authorities, you're oh so precious wife is with me now."

"Don't listen to him dear, get help."

"Leave my wife out of this," there was a tone of fear in his voice.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, this is the most fun I've had in such a long time. I also don't want lovely Catherine to miss this. You see, we can see you, but you can't see us." This was true, they were behind a new type of mirrored glass. "I hope you enjoy a good brawl since my men will be coming in few minutes. If not, I'd suggest you run. Farewell Mr. Nobles."

Voices could be heard approaching. They were far too many for Arthur to handle so against his pride he made a run for it. He went down the new passage that the chair opened. The passage was long and dark and there wasn't much to be seen. The music of the factory could be heard all around him. The haunting medley of hisses and clanks.

Unfortunately for Arthur there wasn't much more path to go down. At the end was a pit, a chasm if you will, and behind he could hear the men growing closer. There was an intricate set of gears which could be reach the higher levels.

He had to make a move now or else he'll be captured by and his wife will never be rescued. He took a few steps back and dove across the chasm and landed on a level gear. It was able support his weight and moved at a manageable pace. He grasped a adjacent gear and began his ascent.

Several times on the way up Arthur almost lost a finger. He also heard that some of the men who followed him met their end. But this was no time to be careless, Arthur was near an opening and he had only one shot at it.

His escape was almost close enough to jump through, Arthur saw some chains, he was able to grab one and pushed off the gear. With some luck Arthur was able to make it across. The climb took a lot out of him, and what is ahead will deal more.

For when he went through the passage he saw something that could easily end his life, giant pistons were pumping all around him. The path was very linear so if he made one mistake it was the end. Somehow one of the men was able to reach the top. Arthur could feel his presence. He took a deep breath and ran through the first piston. He was able to get through before it slammed down.

Arthur tried to keep at least one piston between him and the sole pursuer. It wasn't long before he reached the end of this ordeal. The path wasn't that long, but it was terrifying and Arthur hoped he'd never have to go through that again.

Arthur kept running until he reached a dead end, there was no where to go, the door was locked and the guy following him was right there. Mr. Pierrot began to speak, "I see we got ourselves into a little predicament. The man in front of you wants to tear you limb from limb, and the door behind you won't let your through. I tell you what, I'll open the door for you.

The door behind Arthur unlocked and Arthur ran inside, it was pitch black and he couldn't see anything. All of a sudden a dull light filled the room and Arthur saw that the room was full of swords. He grabbed a rapier and stood in a fencing stance. The other man grabbed one as well.

Mr. Pierrot spoke again, "splendid, absolutely splendid. Let me tell you what, if you put on a good enough show I might just let you and your wife go. If you don't though, I'm going to enjoy ravaging every inch of her body. So, good luck.

When Mr. Pierrot was done speaking the man lunged at Arthur. He parried the attack. Arthur threw a counter attack but that was blocked. Each attack was met with another and they weren't able to go anywhere. Luckily for Arthur he was able to knock the guy back until he was at the end of a cat walk. He grabbed a chain and descended to the lower levels. Arthur did just the same.

Arthur stumbled a little after realising he was standing on a conveyor. Footing was very difficult and the man was able to gain control before Arthur and he attacked again. This time Arthur fell down and couldn't get back up. Arthur deflected hit after hit until he realised that he was nearing a furnace. He reached his arms up and caught something, it was a hook used to carry stuff around the factory. It hoisted him up and took him around the workshop, higher and higher.

The man was right behind him, and they fought while hanging from dizzying heights. Arthur was beginning to tire, the guy on the other hand wasn't. Arthur jumped off and landed on another conveyor, the man followed. It was do or die, Arthur lunged but the man deflected the sword down, Arthur grabbed the guys leg and he fell to his doom. The sound of him landing was a sickening splat.

He dropped the sword and found his way to the other side of the work floor. He opened the door and in front of him was a maze of pipeworks going every way. There was a single entrance.

Mr. Pierrot could be heard again. "I see that you were able to survive my men. I guess that just means that there will be more fun for me. You're at the labyrinth now, I hope you have fun. The tunnel goes every which way up down, left right, over and under. Have fun, but you better hurry, your wife can't keep herself off of me."

"Help me, he-" she was interrupted.

"Enough of that, have fun Mr. Nobles, that labyrinth will hot water running through it in about half an hour. I'd get going if I were you. I got the path idea from Mr. Konami."

Arthur had no idea what this meant but he crawled into the entranceway. There wasn't much room to move around in. At some points the path would get tight and at others there would be almost enough room to sit down. The path began to curve and Arthur met his first break in the path. He could go either left, up and over, or right. He decided to choose the right path but that quickly became a dead end.

"At least I can see," this was partly true, Arthur was near the exterior of the maze which allowed light to get in from the windows. He worked his way back and chose to go up instead. The It wasn't far until he had to choose another path, this time he went straight ahead. This seemed to be the right choice since it lead too another fork. It was down, left, and right.

Arthur chose to go left, but found that it quickly became too tight for him to move. He took the right path as well, but that led to a pit. He had no choice but to go back and down. It wasn't that far of a drop, he was able to right himself. Unfortunately it got almost too dark to see.

He felt as if he was in there for about 20 minutes, he had to pick up the pace or he would be severely scalded. He pushed forward coming to twist and turns but finally reached another fork, he went with his guts and chose to go down even though it was even darker still.

Now moving by feel alone Arthur was in total darkness. He couldn't afford to slow down so he continued on. He came to a fork and chose the left path. There was another fork a few seconds further and he went right. There was still another fork, he went right again but after a minute it was a dead end. He crawled backwards and chose left.

Now with only a few minutes left he had to chose the right path or else he'll be burned. Then he saw light, it came from the right path, he followed it and came out, more or less rolled out, into another open area. Only a few seconds later and the sound of water could be heard rushing through the pipes.

"Congratulations, you've made it so far, I'm sorry it will have to end here." it was Mr. Pierrot again.

"Where the hell are you, show yourself," he was frantic.

"I'm sure we'll be meeting real soon, but if you can bring your attention to your right. You'll see your lovely wife suspended above a water chamber. In about 10 or so minutes the chain she is suspended by will be lowered and she'll be boiled alive. I hope you enjoy stew." Mr. Pierrot walked out now from behind one of the machines. He was wearing some unusual armor. It covered his whole body and it was very noisy.

"What the hell is that?" asked Arthur.

"Oh this, this is my steam-powered body enhancement suit." He picked up a steel bar and bent it with a little effort. "Now imagine that was you." He was laughing again. "This lever behind me is the only way to save your lovely wife from taking a hot bath."

Arthur knew that he couldn't just charge at him and expect to get through. He had to come up with a plan. He saw some chains and came up with an idea. He grabbed them, but while he was doing that Jean Pierrot was coming toward him. Arthur was able to grab a chain and rolled under a conveyor.

Jean Pierrot smashed the conveyor. "Hiding won't help you Mr. Nobles. You're wife wouldn't like it if her husband was a coward." He was having to much fun with this.

Arthur saw an open spot in his armor, there were gears moving everywhere. He tied an end of the chain to a thick valve and waited for Mr. Pierrot to come closer.

Mr. Pierrot now had a steel bar in his hand, "Oh joy," He swung the bar around in an attempt to hit him. Arthur was fast on the other hand, the armor couldn't move fast enough to avoid Arthur shoving the chain into the opening on the armor.

The armor gave a great screech and began to buckle. The rider's scream couldn't be heard over all the gears grinding. The armor was twisting in ways the human body shouldn't, it could be inferred that the rider was now dead or pretty close. The machine came to a halt.

Arthur pulled the lever and the chain holding Catherine stopped lowering. Arthur found his way up to the platform close to her and pulled her over and untied her. She was unconscious, probably from shock. He carried her out the door to the factory.

"Looks like it was a job well done." Arthur was wrong unfortunately, as there really was a problem with the boilers which blew up soon after they left. The factory was burned to the ground with all the inhabitants inside.

***

Several months after the incident Catherine had her baby, a healthy daughter. Arthur was a little disappointed at that but they can always try for another. Business is as usual, it's good enough to keep his family fed and clothed but not really enough to get them ahead.

Luckily for Arthur no one else tried to court Catherine before they got married.

This is the revised work of my story Boiled Over. This time I changed some of the scenarios and told it from a different perspective.

Back in the 19th century there was this unremarkable man. Nothing about him was special, he had a wife, and was in the middle class. He wore an vest that was tan and made of cotton with had buttons that were made of brass. Under that he wore a white shirt which often got dirty in his line of work, there were soot stains all over it. His pants were also tan but made of a khaki material. Black leather shoes completed the attire, and one could easily see that they were well-worn.

His hair was short and brown, with knots here and there. He also had some serious stubble around his chin and a moustache that laid flat against his upper lip and curved down. Of course there were plenty of other gentlemen who could fit this description but our story isn't about them now is it. Our man's name is Arthur Nobles, and he is an engineer, specializing in steam.

Now Arthur's day started off like any other, he would sit behind his desk, read the paper, and on especially slow days he would take a nap. Most of the time his job consist of someone saying their car broke down, or they can't get their water heater to work. These jobs can be done fast and don't get as much pay.

One time Arthur tried to upgrade someone's vehicle and it ended up catching on fire and singing his left eyebrow clean off. He decided that maybe that isn't the best choice for his line of business.

This day though a curious man would walk through the door. He looked to be in his 30's, maybe his 40's. There was an air of urgency surrounding him.

"I need your help, one of my boiler's at the textile mill burst and now my men are refusing to work." He sounded as if he needed help. Arthur figured that there would be no one else coming in today so he agreed to go check it out.

"Oh thank you so much, my name is Jean Pierrot. You will be paid handsomely for you work. Now I'm going to be busy all day so I was wondering if you could come by tomorrow instead." This didn't bother Arthur, what also didn't bother him was the crooked smile that Jean Pierrot gave him.

Jean Pierrot left and Arthur decided now was a good time to close up. On his way home he spotted a young man riding a curious instrument. It ran on two wheels and beneath the seat. Arthur asked if he could check it out.

The young man didn't see anything wrong with it and let our protagonist check it out. He paid close attention to the engine, it was very small and didn't have a water tank. "What do you use as a fuel source?" asked Arthur.

"Petroleum," replied the young man, "it's a brand new source of fuel. It'll probably beat out steam and coal power." The young man picked up his motor vehicle and pulled a cord which started the engine up. A grey smoke came out of an exhaust pipe and the vehicle took off.

"Hey, what do you call that thing?" yelled Arthur.

"A motor bike. Unfortunately I can't get a patent for it until I prove that this thing will run properly." With that said the young man lost balance and fell. "Still got a few kinks to work out."

"Good luck with that." said Arthur who now left to go home.

***

On the outskirts of the city sparks could be seen in the second story. Inside you could see Jean Pierrot moving around like a madman. "Finally, after all this time, I am prepared to exact my revenge on that bastard for stealing my woman." Sparks flew again and quickly died.

"It's finished, after months of sleepless nights it's finished. There's no way he'll survive this. Aha aha bwahahahahahahaa!" He continued to laugh later into the night, for he has created a great monstrosity, it was shaped exactly as a human body. It was manufactured in a way so that it's user's strength could be increased 10 fold.

Elsewhere at Arthur's place of residence, his wife, named Catherine, was preparing a meal for him. She was pregnant, about 6 months is a good guess, and she had gorgeous red hair. It's easy to see why someone would get upset about losing this.

"So how was work?" asked Catherine. She was now setting the table for their meal.

"Average, I do have work for tomorrow though, a strange gentlemen wants me to check out the boilers in his factory." No one had any real interest in this conversation and the meal was silent. After that the two resided to the bed room where they together and talked about the child.

"I hope it's a girl," said Catherine. "I can teach her how to cook and sew."

"Well I want a boy, that way I can teach him the trade and one day he'll surpass me." the two went on into the night, until one of them could no longer hold their eyes open. The two drifted off and prepared for the day tomorrow.

***

Arthur arrived at the factory, well on the outside it looked like a factory. He opened the door and it was dark on the inside. "Mr. Pierrot, I'm here to inspect the boilers." There was no answer. Arthur took a few steps forward when the door behind him closed. He was cast in darkness.

All around him he could hear noises, the sound of the steam coming out of the pipes, the metallic clank of the machines as they ran, and a strange scraping sound which was coming closer. Before he could register the sound he was knocked on the head by something solid and hard and was knocked out.

He awoke and couldn't move at all. He was also blindfolded. Arthur struggled but the rope binding him didn't budge.

"I see you've finally awoken Mr. Nobles. Not much work is going to get done I'm afraid." the man burst out in laughter.

"Is that you Mr. Pierrot, what the hell is going on?"

"You don't remember me that well do you. Well I wouldn't expect you to, the reason we are here today happened a year ago. That's about the time you and Catherine got married correct." He was laughing again.

"How do you know my wife? What have you done to her?" Arthur was starting to get frightened.

"All these questions, I guess that's all you can really do. Well I guess I'll tell you, before you met your beloved wife I was courting her. I brought her flowers and gifts but these never really caught her eye. But then YOU came along with all your gadgets and gizmos and she instantly became infatuated with you. It broke my heart. But then I decided that if I couldn't have her no one could. So I bought this factory and studied up on engineering. After all those months of hard work I was able to complete my true vision. The Steam Asylum. Bwahahahaha." After he said those words he ripped off Arthur's blindfold.

The entire area seemed to be alive, everything was moving in and out, up and down, and left and right. The factory seemed to be a spawn of the devil if he had any interest in this kind of stuff. Above Arthur was a pendulum. It began to swing left and right, lowering with each swing.

"Well this is where I make my grand exit. Adieu Monsieur Nobles." With that Mr. Pierrot went through a door that was behind Arthur. A tumbling sound was heard and the door was locked. "I'd try and get out of those ropes if I were you." With that Jean Pierrot was gone.

Arthur was now alone, the only sounds other than those you would hear in a factory were his struggling and the pendulum swinging. With every pass it lowered about a cm, in about 10 minutes the blade will reach Arthur. He was pushing and pulling on the ropes. They didn't seem to loosen. He pulled and even tried to knock the chair over, but it was bolted to the ground.

He let out a scream of aggravation as pendulum was now about 4 minutes away. With one last bout of strength he was able to get his arm free. He used that to untie the other. It will only be a few minutes until the blade reaches the crown of his skull. He was struggling to with the knot behind his back. He could only guess now that any second the blade will reach him.

Luckily for him now was not his time and he was able to remove the knot just in time before the blade reached him. The chair, was a pressure switch and without him on it he could hear a passage open up.

Mr. Pierrot's voice came from one of the tube networks. Unfortunately for Arthur Nobles, the labels were removed. "I see you were able to escape the chair, well there is a lot more factory to cover. I don't want you to get the idea of alerting any authorities, you're oh so precious wife is with me now."

"Don't listen to him dear, get help."

"Leave my wife out of this," there was a tone of fear in his voice.

"I'm afraid I can't do that, this is the most fun I've had in such a long time. I also don't want lovely Catherine to miss this. You see, we can see you, but you can't see us." This was true, they were behind a new type of mirrored glass. "I hope you enjoy a good brawl since my men will be coming in few minutes. If not, I'd suggest you run. Farewell Mr. Nobles."

Voices could be heard approaching. They were far too many for Arthur to handle so against his pride he made a run for it. He went down the new passage that the chair opened. He came to a wide area with tall walls all around. The wall behind him closed and in front of him some men armed with wrenches and pipes walked into his veiw.

"The boss said the first one to kill you gets a bonus." said one of the men. They all appeared to be strong, and one could see that they were not afraid to kill someone.

"So, shall we do this," said the second armed man.

"Wait," it was Pierrot's voice, "Let's give the boy a fighting chance. A panel opened up next to the four men in the arena. There were a wide variety of weapons from blades to blunt objects, and everything in between. There were also some odd things too, one of them caught Arthur's eyes, it was a gun, but not just any old gun, this one fired metal rivets.

The others had chosen their weapons, going from left to right, a Japanese katana, a battle axe, and a morning star. They also had armor on, they were made of cast iron and covered their chest and back.

"Why do they get armor?" barked Arthur.

"There we go with the questions again, I said I'll give you a fighting chance, not an advantage. I see that everyone is ready let's get it on."

The three were trying to surround Arthur, he shot a rivet at the guy on the left and hit his leg. Some gas shot out the side of the rivet gun and he had to pull back a switch to chamber another round. The guy who was shot in the leg was limping. Now, still trying to surround him. Arthur shot some more rounds at him and was able to hit him in the forehead. He fell down dead. Unfortunately for him the gun overheated and he could no longer hold it.

The two men who were left now charged him, Arthur threw the gun at one of them and was able to trip the one on the right up. He fell onto the morning star and it embedded itself in his right arm. Arthur was able to reach the dead body and grabbed the katana. He had no idea how to use this but if he could them back he could have a chance.

The one with the morning star in his arm was now no longer worried about the bonus, he was concerned with the pieces of metal sticking in his arm. "He's all mine." said the last man standing, he was exited about all the carnage going on around him. His face showed symptoms of blood lust.

Arthur held a defensive stance trying to keep the last guy as far away from him as possible. This wouldn't prove to do much since that guy's axe was able to knock away the katana. Arthur was now running all over the arena trying to reach the panel that held the weapons. He arrived and pulled out a knife which he threw and was stuck in the thugs right arm. He was now off balance, Arthur grabbed a sledgehammer which he used to smash the guy's arm.

The man screamed and begged for mercy, "I'm sorry, it wasn't my idea, you know, it's just a job," the only honesty that came from his mouth was that it was a job. Arthur wasn't going to kill him, he still had some humanity.

Behind him the man with the morning star in his arm no longer had it in his arm, it was in his hand. Our protagonist heard him coming from behind and jumped out of the way. The weapon landed on the other's face killing him instantly. Arthur picked the sledgehammer and broke the last survivor's legs.

A door opened and Arthur went through. On the other side was a maze of pipework. He left the sledge back in the other room, it was way too heavy. Mr. Pierrot could be heard again. "I see that you were able to survive my men. I guess that just means that there will be more fun for me. You're at the labyrinth now, I hope you have fun. The tunnel goes every which way up down, left right, over and under. Have fun, but you better hurry, your wife can't keep herself off of me."

"Help me, he-" she was interrupted.

"Enough of that, have fun Mr. Nobles, that labyrinth will hot water running through it in about half an hour. I'd get going if I were you. I got the path idea from Mr. Konami."

Arthur had no idea what this meant but he crawled into the entranceway. There wasn't much room to move around in. At some points the path would get tight and at others there would be almost enough room to sit down. The path began to curve and Arthur met his first break in the path. He could go either left, up and over, or right. He decided to choose the right path but that quickly became a dead end.

"At least I can see," this was partly true, Arthur was near the exterior of the maze which allowed light to get in from the windows. He worked his way back and chose to go up instead. The It wasn't far until he had to choose another path, this time he went straight ahead. This seemed to be the right choice since it lead too another fork. It was down, left, and right.

Arthur chose to go left, but found that it quickly became too tight for him to move. He took the right path as well, but that led to a pit. He had no choice but to go back and down. It wasn't that far of a drop, he was able to right himself. Unfortunately it got almost too dark to see.

He felt as if he was in there for about 20 minutes, he had to pick up the pace or he would be severely scalded. He pushed forward coming to twist and turns but finally reached another fork, he went with his guts and chose to go down even though it was even darker still.

Now moving by feel alone Arthur was in total darkness. He couldn't afford to slow down so he continued on. He came to a fork and chose the left path. There was another fork a few seconds further and he went right. There was still another fork, he went right again but after a minute it was a dead end. He crawled backwards and chose left.

Now with only a few minutes left he had to chose the right path or else he'll be burned. Then he saw light, it came from the right path, he followed it and came out, more or less rolled out, into another open area. Only a few seconds later and the sound of water could be heard rushing through the pipes.

"Congratulations, you've made it so far, I'm sorry it will have to end here." it was Mr. Pierrot again.

"Where the hell are you, show yourself," he was frantic.

"I'm sure we'll be meeting real soon, but if you can bring your attention to your right. You'll see your lovely wife suspended above a water chamber. In about 10 or so minutes the chain she is suspended by will be lowered and she'll be boiled alive. I hope you enjoy stew." Mr. Pierrot walked out now from behind one of the machines. He was wearing some unusual armor. It covered his whole body and it was very noisy.

"What the hell is that?" asked Arthur.

"Oh this, this is my steam-powered body enhancement suit." He picked up a steel bar and bent it with a little effort. "Now imagine that was you." He was laughing again. "This lever behind me is the only way to save your lovely wife from taking a hot bath."

Arthur knew that he couldn't just charge at him and expect to get through. He had to come up with a plan. He saw some chains and came up with an idea. He grabbed them, but while he was doing that Jean Pierrot was coming toward him. Arthur was able to grab a chain and rolled under a conveyor.

Jean Pierrot smashed the conveyor. "Hiding won't help you Mr. Nobles. You're wife wouldn't like it if her husband was a coward." He was having to much fun with this.

Arthur saw an open spot in his armor, there were gears moving everywhere. He tied an end of the chain to a thick valve and waited for Mr. Pierrot to come closer.

Mr. Pierrot now had a steel bar in his hand, "Oh joy," He swung the bar around in an attempt to hit him. Arthur was fast on the other hand, the armor couldn't move fast enough to avoid Arthur shoving the chain into the opening on the armor.

The armor gave a great screech and began to buckle. The rider's scream couldn't be heard over all the gears grinding. The armor was twisting in ways the human body shouldn't, it could be inferred that the rider was now dead or pretty close. The machine came to a halt.

Arthur pulled the lever and the chain holding Catherine stopped lowering. Arthur found his way up to the platform close to her and pulled her over and untied her. She was unconscious, probably from shock. He carried her out the door to the factory.

"Looks like it was a job well done." Arthur was wrong unfortunately, as there really was a problem with the boilers which blew up soon after they left. The factory was burned to the ground with all the inhabitants inside.

***

Several months after the incident Catherine had her baby, a healthy daughter. Arthur was a little disappointed at that but they can always try for another. Business is as usual, it's good enough to keep his family fed and clothed but not really enough to get them ahead.

Luckily for Arthur no one else tried to court Catherine before they got married.

When I can make stuff like this.

Anyone a fan of Explosm, well I bought one of their t-shirts and this is what I get. I have to wash it so it shrinks.

I've completely redone the Transylvania theme story. I've kept the same two characters but I had them do something completely different and I cut out most the monsters. Somehow I ended up with more to write.

I cut out all mention of the vampire and changed some dialogue. I added another scene and did some work on the narration.

Shade in the Dark

You want me to go out and get you something. Well there is no way in hell I'm going to do that. Going outside is like asking for a death wish. With all the shades and running around it's impossible to go anywhere. There was no problem up until a few months ago. They came in an instant, people had their shadows stolen, and some went missing.

Those shades are horrible, the only way to keep them out of you house is to paint your doorway and your windows red. One night, someone tried to get in my home. I wouldn't let them, it was a woman and her child. I could hear their screams, "oh please just let us in, my husband has gone crazy and threw us out." I almost broke down and cried, I was too scared to just let them in.

The next morning I opened the door and saw two sets of clothes covered in dust. One belonged to a little girl. I picked up their clothing and buried them in the back. Two blank headstones sat in my garden. I think the reason I buried them was because I had my wife and daughter taken away by those shades. I wish I knew there was a way to get rid of them. Some spell, some ritual, even a sacrifice. These foul beast, I want to rid the world of them.

I went to bed. I could still hear the screams of the woman and child as their humanity was taken away. If only they were not in the sun, then I could have taken them in before it got to them.

The following morning I decided that I was going to drown out all my bad thoughts with beer. Bars are now open in the day since no one can go out at night. I ordered a pint and stared at my mug. I overheard a conversation.

"Man, those shades are getting to become a real nuisance on my business."

"How come?"

"People are too afraid to even leave their homes during the day, they no longer like to buy luxury items."

"It's tough, I wish I knew where it all started."

"I heard that they came from a church in Brasov. I believe they were summoned by some twisted priest. Who knew that the book of the Occult actually contained something that worked?"

"I'll believe anything after what has happened."

Their conversation went on. After a few more drinks I paid the barkeep and went home. I was tired for some reason. In the middle of the night I heard a knock on my door. I didn't want another life taken because of my fear. I opened the door and pulled her in and shut it tight.

"You know it's dangerous to go out at night." I told her.

"I arrived in town recently and couldn't find anywhere to sleep. This wasn't the first house I tried to get into. I'm just glad you let me in."

"What are you doing traveling around?"

"I know a way to stop those beast."

"You what?"

"It's true, I was there when it all started." I got some tea ready before she could explain. "Thank you, now about two months ago. It's all my fault, only if I hadn't fallen for him and gave him the book."

"Aren't you going to explain?" I took a sip of tea.

"Yes, the shades we summoned them with a human sacrifice and an incantation. 'Beings who reside in the shadows, come to life and rid the land of vermin. Take their souls and make them yours so that you may grow stronger and increase in numbers. Write the wrongs that the human race has brought about this land.' When he said those words all of the fire in the room went out. I was scared, I got out of there. The moon was full that night so I was safe in it's light. The next morning I went back to the chamber and they were all lifeless and unresponsive. They just stood there with a blank stare. Those shades really did steal their souls."

She paused and took a drink of her tea.

"Well is there anything more I must know?" I asked.

"Yes, the sun came in through the a window and cast a ray onto one of the men, he turned to dust. I was terrified and left, but I did grab the book. How could I be seduced by such a man who would bring this living hell upon us?"

"Some men are manipulative. Now is there a way to reverse the spell?"

"Yes, it will require us to go back to the temple where it all started. We will also need the skull of a priest, and we will have to recite another incantation. I got it commited to memory. The only thing is the spell requires two people, and they need to stand at opposite ends of the spell zone and recite the spell. One more thing, it must be preformed during the full moon and when it's highest in the sky, which is in two days."

"That doesn't give you much time, if you don't do it then you'll have to wait 4 more weeks."

"Will you help me."

"I got nothing else to live for, so why not."

At the crack of dawn the next day I went to a candle store and bought as much as I could carry, and I made a trip to the cemetery where I spent an hour digging up a priest casket. It smelled horrible, but if it would stop these beast then I'll risk the damnation for it. I just realized something, I'm going to risk my life for this woman yet I don't even know her name.

I went back home and saw that she prepared a knapsack for of supplies for our venture. We left town on foot, there were no horses in town, and went toward Brasov. No one stopped us from leaving, why would they?

We mostly stuck to the open road, the shades were in the forest. We could hear them calling out to us, 'come on in, the sun must be burning you, it's nice and cool in here'. It could just be my imagination causing me to hear them but if they could talk that is what they would say.

The road was empty, not very many people travel around these days. There were very few hoof prints and carriage tracks in the ground, generally there is more. We met no one the whole way there.

We made it to Brasov before nightfall. No one would let us inside so we went to the abandoned temple. I found the chamber where the ritual was performed, it started to get dark so I went back to where she was. She got a fire started and I surrounded ourselves with candles. The light was faint but boosted with the one she started it should be enough to keep them away.

"So here I am, helping out a woman whose name I don't even know, and now we are eating and going to sleep together."

"Rachael."

"Huh?"

"My name is Rachael, yours."

"Simon."

She prepared some meat and potatoes. After supper I was exhausted, all that travelling got to me.. I went to sleep almost instantly. The next day I went out around town to see how things were. No one was talking, it was completely quiet. People would only go outside if they had to buy something and they were all hostile toward each other.

I saw a sign that peaked my interest 'House of the Dammed' it read. I went inside to see what it was all about. What I saw in there horrified me, it was all the soulless victims of the shades. They were gathered up by the townspeople, stripped of their clothing and belongings, and thrown in a cage. They didn't move or do anything, just stare into blank space. I had to get out of there before I threw up.

Nightfall finally came and Rachael and I had everything set up. We waited in the moonlight for it to be at its highest.

"This is it. I can finally atone for my sin." Rachael said.

"I won't have to live in fear anymore. When this is over want to go out and do something?"

"What?"

"Nothing."

We were silent, the moon had finally neared it's peak. We went inside and began the ritual.

In unison,"Spirits of the dark who reside in this world." All the lights went out. "You have been brought into this world now I command you to return." I felt a tugging at my heart. It was as if I was leaving my own body. "The world of the living is not your home and you are not welcome here." I can now see my own body, I'm almost completely out of it. "Now spirits of the dark BEGONE." I fell back into my body and I collapsed and passed out.

I awoke to see that Rachael was sitting above me, she placed my head in her lap but she was asleep. I picked up her hand and grabbed a sheet and put it over her. I walked back to the House of the Dammed. When I went inside everyone was freaking out. They were wondering why they were locked up, where their clothes went, and why there were so many of them.

I found the keys and opened their cages, they came out and some of them even attacked me. I explained that I wasn't the one who put them there and they were there because they had their souls stolen by the shades. They calmed down and I found the store room where all their stuff was. I guess the owner of this building didn't care since the front door was unlocked. I left afterward and went back to the temple.

I found Rachael still asleep, I put my head against hers and I went to sleep. We both woke up when a sunbeam greeted us.

"It's over." She said. "We did it Simon."

"Yeah it is, I guess this is where we part ways huh?"

"No one says we have to just leave each other."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"My life here is over, there is no where left for me to go."

"I have room at my house, you can stay as long as you like."

"Thank you, I accept your invitation."

Rachael and I went back to my home and we started our lives together. At first we were just friends, but she helped me get over my loss and we grew closer. Next thing you know I got engaged to her. We're getting married this fall.

I think less and less of that time, but I think it's a good thing, it means I'm over it. We have a whole new life ahead of us, for better or for worse.

I wrote a second story for the contest. This one follows the Arabian theme. I don't know which one is better, so if anyone decides which one is better I will use that one.

Marik of Arabia

My name is Marik. I'm a guard at the Arabian Palace of Omar. I have a dilemma, I am in love with his daughter yet I am basically a servant. If I even shown signs of interest in Princess Aria then they would quickly chop off my testicles. Sultan Omar wants his daughter to marry a prince but all her suitors don't make her happy in the least. If only there was some way I could prove myself that I was worthy of such a beautiful woman.

Tonight I was posted to guard her bed chamber, for some reason that night I was more tired than usual. On most days I could stand up all night looking at the stone walls, just following the contours of the layout. If you were to ask me I could tell you about every single inch of the wall in the palace. I've been a guard for 8 years so I know my way around.

My vision began to fade as my eyes shut. No matter what I tried to keep myself up nothing worked, I eventually slipped off into a deep sleep. There was a poking on my side, I didn't move. Eventually someone punched me and I woke up.

"The princess, she's been kidnapped."

"Kidnapped!? How's that possible?" I asked.

"The thieves must hove broke in and took her while you were sleeping. When the sultan finds out you're in for it."

"When the sultan finds out what?" A man wearing a fancy turban and fine robes and a very solid and strong face, came from down the corridor as he spoke.

"W-w-well you see sir, th-the princess was k-kidnapped on my w-" I stuttered.

"KIDNAPPED!!" He screamed. "I sentence you to venture out into the desert and never return."

"But sir."

"I am sultan and my words are final."

He left and I was dragged off by some other guards and stripped of all my belongings.

"These belong to the sultan, not you."

We made it to the end of the city when one of them threw me a bag of wather.

"Don't drink it all at once, this is going to have to last you."

With that I was shunned from the city. Sentenced to venture out alone into the harsh and unforgiving desert. I walked for several hours drinking as little of the water as possible. I wished the sultan would have assigned me to guard a caravan once in a while, that way I could at least know the way to an oasis.

I walked over dune after dune when I saw something, I went closer to find a feeble man who looked as if he could die at any minute. I could see his cracked lips try to say something.

"Water." He said in a raspy voice.

I was almost out of water but I couldn't let my conscious bear denying a dying man his wish. I picked up his head and poured the last of my water down his throat. I could see some life come back into him. He got up and began to say something.

"Thank you for such kindness. There aren't too many people left in the world like you. I fell that you should know something before I die. About 3 miles north of here is an oasis. At the bottom of the lake is a mystic treasure. Only those with pure thoughts in their head may get it, anyone else will be drug to the bottom and held there to die. I was going to go myself but then I collapsed. I couldn't make it if I tried anyway, it's too far for a feeble old man like me to go."

"I'll take you there."

"You're too kind, you could just leave me here you know."

"No I can't. Leaving a person to die just doesn't sit right with me."

"Well if you insist."

I helped him onto my back and we made our way to the oasis. It was a hard walk but I knew that I could make it. The trees were always on the horizon, almost taunting me. After a few hours we finally made it and I let the old man down and I plunged my face in the water. I opened them and saw to my horror the remains of many men who tried to get the treasure and failed. I pulled my head out and gasped for air.

"I'm sure you could get it. Anyone one with impure thoughts would have been drug down."

"Who exactly are you?"

"Me, why I'm the last owner of the treasure at the bottom of the oasis. Long have I searched for someone worthy of it."

"Huh?"

"Just dive down and get it, then you will find out."

"I'm not so sure that's a good idea." I said.

"You were shunned from Arabia right?"

"How did you know that?" I'm positively shocked.

"Does that matter? I want you to be the new owner of the mystic treasure. So go ahead, you have nowhere to go back to anyway."

He had a point. I took in a few short breaths and one long one then dove into the water. I was going surprisingly fast. I saw a glimmer off of something. When I reached it I found just an average looking lamp. I saw nothing else and went back up with it. I got out of the water and laid down in the sand.

"This can't be that treasure you spoke of. It looks so common."

I began to dry it off by rubbing it against my shirt. The lamp began to heat up to the point where I couldn't hold it. I quickly dropped it and smoke came out of the spout. The smoke was collected in a general area and it began to materialize. A figure appeared of a large man, actually it was only his upper body, wearing fancy clothing.

"Who dares to disturb my slumber?" His voice boomed out.

"Well, it is I, Marik of Arabia."

"I see, well before I can go back to sleep I will grant you 3 wish. Before you make one there are several rules which you must follow. Rule 1, I can't kill anyone. Rule 2, You can't make anyone do anything against their free will. Rule 3, you can't wish for more wishes. And Rule 4, you can't wish to have any of the rules changed. Now, do you have anything you might want, money, power, maybe being a prince."

"A prince is nothing if he doesn't have a princess or a kingdom. Wait a minute, I wish I knew where Princess Aria is."

"As you wish."

A film of smoke covered the water and an image appeared.

"The princess is in the slums of Arabia, it appears that she is unharmed. It appears her captors are saying something."

"Man it was a good thing you slipped some sleeping powder in that guards food," said one of them.

"Yeah, and did you hear, he was shunned from Arabia for it. He's scorpion food by now."

The two began to laugh deeply.

"The boss will surely reward us for what we've done."

That was all that can be heard as a map appeared on the lake bed. It showed the exact location of where the princess is and how to get there. The image faded and the smoke cleared.

"I hope that my service has been useful."

"Trust me, it has."

I filled up my water-skin and walked back toward Arabia. The old man said he wanted to stay behind. On the way there I happened across a caravan. I was able to swift talk the caravaner to give me a new set of clothes. He was heading toward Arabia so I tagged along as well.

We finally at the walls when I looked up at them. I wasn't even gone for a day and they already seem so much bigger. The guard didn't give me a second look as we got inside. It gave the man back his clothes and began to run back toward where the princess was.

"Thank you for helping me out. I don't know how I can repay you."

I arrived. It was a pretty upscale building for it being in the slums. I realized that I couldn't just walk up in there with no weapons. I rubbed the lamp once again.

"You summoned me master?"

"You can just call be Marik." I explained.

"What is your wish Marik?"

"I could really use some weapons to defend myself. Genie, I wish that I was armed well enough to be a one man army."

"As you wish."

Two scimitars materialized on my back, two daggers on my waste, a bag of a type of dust, and a bow. I thanked the genie and put the lamp up.

I went in the front door.

"I'm looking for Princess Aria." I said.

"Well she isn't the type to come around here," someone said.

I grabbed and slammed his head on the table. I put one of my scimitars on the back of his neck.

"I have a feeling that you do know, but you're not telling me."

"What gave you that idea?" he asked.

"I got from a reliable source that she could be found somewhere around here." I picked up his sandwich and began to eat it.

"You can kill me if you want, you'll never make it out of here alive." He laughed.

I felt someones hand on my shoulder. It was a big burly man going for my face. I dodged it and saw a door in the back. I grabbed some of the powder I got from the genie and it made a burning smokescreen that didn't affect me. I made it to the door and burst my way through.

There, I saw the princess in all her beauty. She saw me.

"You're that guard that's always staring at me." she said.

"Be quiet," said one of the men as he slapped her.

I became infuriated. "If anyone lays another hand on her they will regret it for the rest of their short lives."

"Do you really think you can take us all on?"

"It's worth a shot."

I charged straight for the princess, I couldn't take all these people, I wasn't the most skilled guard at fighting.

"He's going for the girl, get him."

I was met by two men armed with scimitars. I too my daggers and threw them at their chest, they hit their target, and they fell. I was stopped by someone holding Princess Aria at knife point.

"Don't come any closer or the princess will get it." He edged his way up some stairs, until he was gone.

I ran for the stairs but I wasn't fast enough and I had to fend myself. They lined themselves up on the steps and I was high enough so they couldn't get me from the ground. I took out my scimitars and faced off against them. Luckily I only had to fight a few at a time or else I would be in trouble. A man sliced at my chest but I blocked it. He tried to stab me but I stepped to the side. He attacked me again, but this time I countered and I got him in the neck. The body got in the way of my pursuers so I took the opportunity to run up the stairs. At the top was a door to cover the steps, I locked it so they couldn't get me. The guy was still here.

"I see you have arrived. Well it's too late. More men are on their way and the ransom money will be mine." He snarled.

"Do you really think I'll let you get away with that?"

"Why are you so persistent? Weren't you the one that was shunned from the city? Oh I get it, you're in love with the princess aren't you? No way could she love her own servant."

"You have no say in the way the princess feels about others."

"Why should she care about you, she's royalty, the only person they care about is themselves."

"I still love the princess and if you hurt even a hair on her head you'll die before it can touch the ground."

He touched the princess's head and plucked out a single hair and proceeded to drop it. I charged at him and he threw the princess off of him. He dodged my sword and I stumbled and rolled off the edge. The building was several stories tall and I wouldn't survive the fall. I grabbed the edge of the building and held on as well as I could.

"You should let go love bird, maybe you can fly." He was laughing maniacally. "Here I'll help you." He stomped on my hands, they were already burning from the heat of the sun on the stone.

One of my hands came loose and it lost it's grip.

"I see our little bird is still trying not to leave the nest." All of a sudden lurched forward and fell over the edge. "You stupid whore."

"You all right?"

It was the princess, she came to my rescue. She pulled me up. I could hear the lock begin to give on the stairs. I looked around and saw a clothesline. I snapped one side and wrapped it around my arm.

"Hang on tight."

"I don't think this will work." I jumped when she said that. She was right though, the rope snapped right after we stopped a foot from the ground.

So, want to go home?" I asked her.

"I would appreciate it if you escorted me."

"My pleasure."

We walked to the palace, no one recognized her which made this a lot easier, and we made it to the gates.

"Before we go in, how did you find me?"

"With this." I took out the lamp and rubbed it. The genie came out.

"What is your final wish Marik?"

"I don't have one right now."

"Then why did you summon me?"

"To show the princess how I found her."

"Don't summon me again, unless it's your last wish." With that the genie went back into his lamp.

Aria told the guard to open the gate and we walked through. All the guards came to greet her, they were happy that their princess was home.

"How did you manage to escape princess?"

"With the help of Marik." She said.

"Marik? But he's the one who let you get kidnapped in the first place." he said.

"He was drugged with sleeping powder, no one can stay up with that stuff."

The sultan came out of the palace and greeted his daugter.

"Ah, Aria, I'm so glad your safe. Now we can arrange for your wedding with the Prince of Thebes."

"But father, I don't want to marry him. He only wishes to expand his kingdom, nothing else."

"Do you have a better idea then?"

"How about the man who rescued me?" I felt my heart jump at this.

"Actually I would like to meet him so I can properly congratulate him."

"He's right there." She pointed at me.

"Him?! But he was shunned, how did he get back into the city?"

"He came to my rescue daddy, he fought for my life and to prove his love for me."

"Love, you mean this guard was in love with you. I'll never allow it, never."

Hearing these words she began to cry and I fell silent. I grabbed the lamp and began to rub it.

The genie came out. "What is your wish Marik?"

"I wish that the Sultan would allow me to marry his daughter."

"I can't do that."

"Why not?" I asked.

"It is against his free will, I can do nothing."

"Then go back in your lamp." The genie went back in and I was discouraged.

The sultan spoke up, "So you really love my daughter? Will you promise to protect her and make sure no harm comes to her?"

"Always."

"Then... I approve, I just want to see my little girl happy."

With these words said I felt overjoyed. We were married that week. I've never been so happy in my life. I was also promoted to head of the guards, so I was the one giving the orders.

"What are you going to do about the genie and his last wish?" she asked.

"I completely forgot." I got the lamp and summoned the genie.

"Yes, Master Marik?"

" I wish you had a female genie in there to keep you busy during the time when no one summons you."

"As you wish." The genie clapped his hands and nothing happened.

"Where is she?"

"In the lamp. Now if you'll excuse me, the lamp and I are going somewhere far away."

The lamp was levitating and disappeared. Everyone had their wish granted, and everything seemed good for now.

This is my piece for the writing contest but I don't want to submit it just yet. I want it to be read over and critiqued for any flaws so that I may fix them. I would appreciate any feedback and I'll try to critique other's submissions if they do mine.

Beast of the Night

It was not safe to go out at night, at least after the incident. It was about 2 months ago and the world has never been the same since.

***

In a cemetery that had no source of light, except for the occasional lightning bolt, was lit up with almost an ethereal glow. No shadows were cast, it seemed as if there was no light source at all. In the center of the cemetery was a mausoleum. Deep inside there were all sorts of twist and turns, a labyrinth if you will.

In the most open area a circle was drawn on the cobblestone with a pentagram inside. In that circle was wolfsbane, some type of voodoo powder, a marionette, and a human skull was in the center. A man in a purple robe was saying some type of enchantment.

"Beast of the night, awaken from your long sleep so that you may walk the land of the living. Hades, Mot, Nergal, Hades, and Lucifer, I beseech you to give life back to those that only exist in our nightmares. Arise, Arise, and take the what should be yours."

He then pulled out a knife and slit his wrist and let his blood spill onto the pentagram. It then spread out and the light grew even brighter than it once was. He couldn't see anything for a minute but when his sight came his wish had been accomplished. Standing in front of him were a werewolf, a zombie, a shade, and a vampire. They assaulted him and left to the world above.

***

They came from the bone yard. We were just a small village. They took us down pretty fast. It wasn't long before everyone in town became a zombie, werewolf, vampire, or had their shadow stolen. Having your shadow stolen is the worse, if you are outside in the sun your body will turn to dust, and you eventually become unresponsive and can do nothing more than just stand there. When you're a zombie you're dead so it doesn't matter, and vampires still have some humanity to them. I just wish the werewolves would turn back to human during the day.

I had to kill my child who was turned into one of those beast. She was bitten by a zombie and she came at me, I had no choice but to defend myself. I nearly killed myself in sadness. My wife disappeared one day only to find her clothes covered in dust. I have to get out of this town soon. It will be tough to move around since zombies and werewolves rule the day, and everyone of them runs the night. I can't take it, I have to go now or I'll die from madness.

There is this silver cross my grandfather gave me before I passed on. I was able to get the blacksmith to make a knife from it and I found several rosaries in the church. On my waist are two revolvers with silver tipped bullets, I got it from the excess from the knife, on my back is a bag full supplies. I probably won't survive the tomorrow, hell, I don't even think I'll make it halfway to the next town.

That night I was visited by someone unexpected. There was a knock on the door, I was careless and told him to come in. I realized my mistake and got a rosary from the nightstand and went to the door. It wasn't what I expected, it was actually a woman, she wasn't a vampire seeing as she didn't look frightened at my rosary. Gesturing my hand I allowed her in. She was in a panic, it looked as if she'd been running all night.

"What are you doing out at night?" I asked her.

"I was thrown out of this guys house because I wouldn't offer him my body as payment for safety. You see I have no home, I've been staying alive by staying at many stranger's houses. I'm just glad someone actually answered my knocking. Thank you, from the bottom of my heart."

I was preparing some tea for us.

"You can stay here if you want, I'm leaving tomorrow, I can no longer stay here," I told her.

"You'll never make it to the next town," she warned.

"I already had that in mind. If only there was a way to stop this."

"I remember a tale my mother told me when I was just a child. When the beast of night are awaken. A maiden and a young man who has nothing left to lose will travel through the darkest caverns facing the most impossible odds. There they will find the birthplace of them. With a rosary, a bit of silver, soot, some source of light, and the blood of a virgin, followed by an incantation.

Beast of the night go back to sleep and never arise again. Odin, Zeus, Yahweh, and Allah, by your power I beg of you to send these foul creatures back to where they came. Never shall you walk this land and never shall you see the light of day."

"The tea is done." I handed her a cup. "The virgin blood is the only hard thing to come by."

"Don't look at me."

"I wasn't implying anything."

"Only if it will stop these creatures."

"Do you really think we could stop this?" I ran my finger around the rim of my tea cup. It was still too hot to drink.

"If I recall correctly they came from the cemetery. In the center is a mausoleum. Maybe there is where they all came from." She took a sip of tea. It was still too hot.

"I'd give it a shot, even if it doesn't work it's still worth a try." I took a drink of tea and jumped up because it hadn't cooled down enough. She began to laugh. "We'd better go to sleep so we have energy for tomorrow."

We finished our tea and to sleep. She slept in my bed, and I slept in what was once my daughters. I haven't been in her room since. It reeks since I never got rid of the body. That night my dreams were filled with images of death, I hope this isn't some type of omen.

***

The following morning we set out. We could see the cemetery. Zombies were everywhere, I'm sure none came out of the ground since we bury our dead in coffins and they're six feet under. We made our break for the mausoleum. There was a werewolf which I shot in the middle of the forehead. It fell down to the ground and turned back into a human, he was smiling, he finally left his living hell. The door was open at the building and we made our way.

Inside the catacombs were all vampires and the deadly shades. We decked ourselves in rosaries so the vampires would avoid us but there was nothing to stop the shades. We came to a dead end, we were corned there seemed no way we could get out of this. It was then that my female friend began to murmur something. As long as she kept talking the shades wouldn't come any closer.

We made our way finally to the most open area of the catacombs. There was a body being picked apart by rats and a circle. We shut the door and barred it anyway we could. She took out some chalk and began to draw a new circle with a cross and placed each item at each point. She beckoned me and disrobed. She began the incantation, She pulled down my pants and sat me in the cross point.

The door broke open as she said the last word and destroyed her purity when the ground around us lit up and a shock wave that could be felt worldwide. Everyone who was turned into a werewolf or vampire turned back to human, and anyone who lost their shadow had their's quickly returned. Unfortunately anyone who was turned into a zombie just died. We were there in the dank catacombs exhausted from what we've just done, we knew no one would have known what we've done, but we didn't care since our lives could go back to normal.

"I never did ask your name," I said.

"It's Rachael. Yours?"

"Simon."

"What are we going to do now?" She asked.

"Go to the market and get some ingredients for a stew."

"Can I join?"

"I was planning on it."

That night we gave my daughter a proper burial and ate till we could no more. I told her Rachael she could stay as long as she liked. She accepted and in a few months we got married. I never forget my wife and daughter but we fought for a new life for everyone everywhere. She's pregnant now, and we are hoping for a daughter.

No one will forget those events, and hopefully future generations never will.

Alone
by, Anthony Thorstad

A young man is strapped to a chair blindfolded. He appears to be in his late teens. His hair is short and brown and I could tell you the eye color yet it's disguised by the blindfold. His t-shirt is bloodied and torn here and there. His pants are dirty and torn and he's only wearing one shoe. The other one he must have left back where he was before he came here. He's unconscious.
The ropes seem cheap but pretty strong. The man is tied up for every opportunity. The whole of both arms are tied to the arm of the chair. His chest is lapped over so many times it's a surprise he can still breathe. Attached to the leg of the chair is well his legs. They've been strapped down tight enough to where he can no longer move them. There is no way he could get out.
A solitary incandescent light shines over the man and a bit of the surrounding area. The light wavers due to either faulty electricity or the bulb isn't in all the way. Withing the visible area are crates, drops of blood, an aluminum baseball bat with a dent in it, a pizza delivery cap, and a wall with a boarded up window.
The crates are made of wood and are stacked no higher than two. There is a shipping label on the side that bears the resemblance of an eagle or hawk. Some are opened but there contents are empty. All that is left is a bunch of straw that kept the contents safe, or hidden.
The drops of blood probably came from the young man or some other victim. They really aren't that important.
The baseball bat probably explains his condition. It's the average kind you'd find at a sport store, minus the rubber interior. It was cast off pretty far from the man, possibly he tried to escape before being tied up.
Only one wall could be seen, all there was is a green pane boarded up window. Nothing can get it and nothing can get out.
The pizza delivery hat raised a bunch of questions. Did it belong to one of the attackers, did the young man own it, did the young man witness something he shouldn't have during work, or once again did it belong to another victim but was left behind.
A noise could be heard. It was the door but far off. There were heavy footfalls, probably boots. The man is finally stirring. His blindfold came loose and he can see where they are coming from. His eyes are green. What he saw next would determine his fate. But what did he see. They were coming closer. The man couldn't make out the figures but he was struggling. The steps kept the same tempo, almost like a metronome.
He was probably counting the steps as they came closer. They couldn't be far off now. The silhouette is now visible and there are three of them. One seems pretty small but he's in the lead. The other two are quite large. The stopped right out of the circle of visible light.
The solitary light flickered and shut off. All was silent for a few moments but it was interrupted by a loud crash. Nothing can be heard now, except for the metronomic steps of the three men as they leave.

I'm trying to come back now, I've been away for months but I think I can do it. It will take some effort but I think I can do it. Help me folks. Get me re-interested in NG.