Spoonerville: Teaser

Humans have short memories, each generation forgetting the horrors of the one before it. Over time they learned to compensate with stories and songs, writing and presenting, recording their past, reaching as far back as possible to define the things that sit just beyond the edges of human existence. The things we fear are older than our oldest memories, and the land we share with those things is older than us all.

There was nothing hip, cool, or new about the town of Spoonerville. It was a little logging town bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean, the north, east, and most of the south by National park land which included a massive dormant volcano. The rest of the south was a native reservation so small most folks never would have known it was there.

But folks knew about the native reservation, and the national forests, and the ocean, and the volcano. 

Spoonerville was the very real town where a very fake paranormal romance took place in a very popular book series, read by a very large number of girls and surprisingly large number of women.

The book talked about the area but the author had never been there. She discovered the town by throwing requirements into Google and uncovering the disturbingly boring town. She imagined werewolves and vampires living secret lives among the humans and falling in love with disturbingly ordinary girls who turned out to be disturbingly spectacular at everything they did, from moping to being vampires.

The author never knew what she had uncovered, the balance she had upset. She had no real respect for the underlying legends she filled her narratives with and never gave the attention the town got a second thought.

Thousands of people flocked to Spoonerville every year, expecting to see Oceanside, the nearby city where the movies were filmed. Most were upset that while the books did not over exaggerate the town the story was set in, it did not under exaggerate the town either. There were no almost famous hole in the wall restaurants, or trendy coffee shops, or cool teen hangouts. Spoonerville is, was, and always had been a logging town and nothing more. 

And so the diehard fans came to get their selfies taken in front of the Spoonerville sign and many even ventured out to the beaches the characters visited in the novels, only to discover that Quora beach was not the kind of place anyone who wished to live, would ever willingly surf.

Rodney Edgars’ family had ancient roots in Spoonerville. Roots his mother and father never wanted him to know about. Which is why they had never visited, never called, and never talked about the town. If it weren’t for the car accident that killed Rodney’s parents the summer before his junior year of high school, he probably would never have known Spoonerville ever actually existed.

But once the state shipped him off to live with his grandmother, Spoonerville became a very real place. The quirky towns folk became real, the annoying tourists became real, the native tribe became real, the beach with the angry ocean became real, the songs the ocean sang when the tide wasn’t raging became real, the laughter from something just behind the furthest trees became real, and deep in the woods, somewhere under the ancient volcano, the timeless hunger became real.

And Rodney Edgars learned that when terrors older than human memory are real, they see humans serving only one purpose, and it isn’t romantic.

Beginning September 20^th, take a tour of a little town where traditions are upheld, nature is respected, and everything closes at dusk for a damn good reason.

Welcome to Spoonerville.

Shades of Justice: Chapter 32

Sonya looked down the shaft again. She looked up for anything she might be able to use to climb down the shaft with. She saw a metal loop protruding from wall but had nothing to repel down with. “Computer, suit thing?” She said out loud.

The readout in her visor responded. [GRAYSCALE ONLINE] it flashed.

Technarious rocked violently and she held tightly onto the wall. “I need a way to repel about a hundred feet” She requested.

There was a pause as the suit went through the available options. [CALL FOR SCALING ARM] The visor flashed.

Sonya held out her left hand. “Scaling arm!” she commanded.

A reasonably sized gadget with a clasping hook at the end of it appeared around her left arm. She reached up and clasped the hook onto the loop above her. She looked down one more time and took a deep breath. “Here goes nothing.” She lept over the edge and the hook held her weight. Even with Technarious moving chaotically fighting Blinding Light she only bounced around a little as she walked backwards down the shaft as quickly as she dared.

She got to the bottom of the shaft and stepped into the next hallway. “How do I get this off my arm.” She asked her suit.

[COMMAND: RELEASE] The visor instructed.

She looked down at her arm. “Release” She commanded and the contraption opened like shuttle bay doors and dropped off her arm. Hung for a second in the air and then disappeared. She turned and ran the last little bit of hallway until she came to the room where the power core and the backup energy systems for Technarious were.

The room was filled with neon blinking lights, cords that had blue light running through them, and the main power cell which was a giant red monolith in the middle of the room.

Her visor showed her where the backup power was and once she had destroyed the connectors to all three Technarious began to shudder violently.

She was thrown against the wall but kept her eyes on the red monolith power supply. She made her way up the now slight incline to reach the power supply. She tried to lift it out of its slot but it would not budge. “Guys I can’t get the power supply out of its socket!” She updated the rest of the shades.

There was silence for a second before she Heard Kelly’s voice. “You have to destroy it Sonya. We’re getting killed up here and the city is in ruins!” she said over explosions and static.

Sonya groaned. “I’m sorry Technarious. Comedy and Tragedy!” She commanded her weapons into her hands.

Blood and Profit: Chapter 55

Kepi had not yet been to the forest. She set in motion the requests for supplies and transports and grabbed a shuttle to the forest. She was excited to see the alien forest, and the giant ship tree they were growing.

When she arrived she was disappointed to find that most of the forest was covered by the darkness that Eamon had told her about. She landed her shuttle next Eamon’s and was greeted by two Starseeds. They summoned vines from the canopy above which carried them to the tree ships clearing.

Eamon had had incredible success teaching the Starseeds the purpose of and how to make books. They had already needed them as it was clear they had been forced to cut back the collective consciousness away from the shiptree’s clearing. When the vines set Kepi and her companions down at the edge of the clearing her jaw hit the floor.

The ship tree had grown an incredible amount in such a short time. It now easily dwarfed the rest of the forest and was taking up more than half of the clearing. She found Eamon and Rootan working on books that were in different stages of assembly. Other Starseeds were filling completed books with the knowledge they could not afford to loose. They already had a large bookshelf full of completed volumes.

Kepi was stunned. “How have you gotten so many done?” She asked in awe.

Eamon turned and stood to embrace her. “Kepi! Time flies I could have sworn we only spoke a few moments ago.” He looked at the books they had completed. “The Starseeds don’t sleep and once I showed Rootan how to make a book they all took to the process like addicted bibliophiles. They haven’t stopped building or writing since.” He said with a great smile. “How goes the council meetings?” He asked.

Kepi smiled. “Better than I would have hoped.” She grabbed his hand and they began to walk together. “They aren’t stupid people. You just never learned to talk to them the way they liked to be talked to. Once they saw reason the vote was a simple matter.” She explained.

He patted her arm in excitement. “You were always more cut out for that work than I was.” He complimented.

She nodded. “Perhaps, but there are more than a few ways for a person to be useful and there is no shame in it not being through public service.” She pardoned him. “All the districts are going to start gathering supplies and ships in the next twenty four hours.” She explained.

He nodded. “Not a moment too soon, and possible too little to late” He said with a furrowed brow.

She shook her head. “What will be, will be.” She said looking up beyond the canopy in a second of silent prayer. “Will you be coming back to the capitol or staying here a while longer?” She asked him.

He stopped walking and she stopped with him. “I am making sure these people don’t lose everything because they came to help us. What in the capitol could possibly be important enough to take me away from this?” He asked.

She smiled sadly. “I’ll contact your sister and father and make sure their ready to leave then.” She looked back to the clearing behind them. “Can you even ride in that thing with them?” She asked.

He laughed. “Humans to their ships, Starseeds to theirs. I want to be left here for a while, not left behind.” He said with a smile. “Come on, let me introduce you to Rootan.” He pulled her back to the edge of the clearing where the Starseeds were working on books.

Lidarion: Chapter 27

The Womamel was just short of a week at sea and Squints had yet to leave the top deck. He ate, drank, and slept as close to the open water as he could get. On the sixth day Trent found him watching the wake as they passed through the water. Squints was standing on a box so he was tall enough to see over the side. Trent smiled as he leaned on the rear railing of the ship. “I still cannot believe how quickly you took to the sea.” He commented.

Squints didn’t take his eyes off the turmoil in the water behind them. “It’s like a part of me I never knew existed. Just waiting to be set free.” He sounded hopeful and renewed.

Trent nodded. “I’m glad someone is getting something positive out of this at least. We’re not likely to have such good fortune every step of the way.” Trent sighed.

Squints looked at his friend. “Each of us knows what’s at stake. We all have our own reasons for doing this. And contrary to what ever fantasy is rolling around your little pea brain.” He ruffled Trent’s hair and Trent shoved him back playfully. “It’s not out of some sense of misguided loyalty for you.” He assured.

Trent nodded. “I know that everyone has their reasons.” He started. “But none of this would have happened if I had just settled things with the king thirteen years ago.” He said.

Squints looked to the starboard side where on the edge of the horizon you could just barely make out the eastern most Gnomish islands. “Look, one of those is my ancestral home.” He said. “Before I stepped foot on this thing I had less than no desire to ever find out where my family came from or what they left behind when they came to Lidarion.” He watched the horizon in silence for a moment. “You left for thirteen years. And everything that happened while you were gone could have been stopped multiple times.” Squints looked back at the ships wake. “The only thing you could have done back then was love her in the privacy of night and die a little more every day once she was married off to the prince of another house.” Squints sighed. “Personally where we are now is a situation far better suited for the talents we’ve come to possess.” He smiled.

Trent looked at the water but did not see the same majesty that Squints clearly did. All he saw was the swirling churn of counter currents crashing into each other and bubbling to the surface before they faded away back into the glass like uniformity of the rest of the ocean. “I hope that fate has as high a regard for our plans and skills as you do.” Trent pretended to pray. “But that’s not why I came up here.” He switched gears suddenly. “With all the excitement I never got a chance to ask you what is supposed to be in this book that were going to collect.” He asked.

Squints shrugged his shoulders. “All the book I found said was where the book that mentioned the sigils was located.” He admitted.

Trent tried not to look surprised. “Located on the continent, located in the building, located on the shelf between this book and that book? Where is this thing? I can read, what the hell did we just sail across the world to get Squints?” He was getting excited.

Squints held up his hands. “Relax I  have the name of the book we’re looking for, and where in the library to look for it.” He assured.

Trent nodded. “Ok and where on the continent is the library?” he asked.

Squints smiled awkwardly. “We’re traveling with royal gold, I’m sure when we dock it’ll be a simple matter to find someone who knows where the library is and take us there.” Trent was so mad he was turning red in the face. Squints hopped off his box. “Oh what? Like you were going to suggest we not go and let those people die? It’s more than nothing to go on so keep your pants on!” He shouted as Trent chased him into the hold.

Melody and Harmony: Chapter 1

Four miles an hour. That’s how fast Foster liked to set the engine on his skateboard when he rode down the Harmony’s sidewalks. He loved the beat his wheels pounded out every time he went over the divots in in-between the concrete slabs. With his headphones on he couldn’t hear them but he felt the CLUNK-CLUNK of each one as he rolled over them and it pulled the music from his ears all the way down to his feet.

He lived a few miles beyond the electric blue environmental shield that protected the wealthy Melody’s inner city, he had never been under the shield and had never given it much thought. He was a fringer, just as his parents, and their parents, and their parents before. He loved the feeling of the unfiltered sun on his back as he rode through the unshielded slums of Melody. He wasn’t worried about cancer, or sunburns, everyone’s clothes had protective UV layers built into them and like all but the poorest of the fingers he never went outside with uncovered skin and always in the early morning or late evening just before sunset.

It was evening shift change now. Foster didn’t look anyone in the eyes as they were either leaving or starting work. He knew in his heart that he was never going to be one of the wage slaves, trading his life for slightly less than his family needed to survive. He had grown up listening to his father talk about that life and now as a young adult he feared it greatly.

He rode into a street side marketplace. Hundreds of carts were loaded with questionable food, second hand electronics, and scraps of clothing. He rode through the shoppers, leaving ripples in the waves of people he passed by. The band of his over ear headphones were sunglasses dark enough to hide his eyes from everyone who tried to catch his attention.

He slipped out of the market as quickly as he had entered it and turned down an alley. He stopped his board next to a large sky blue steel door. The color had not always been sky blue. The years of sun had caused it to fade from a much more remarkable blue. He picked his skateboard up off the dirty alleyway and held it in his left hand. He knocked three times on the faded blue sky door with his right hand.

It felt like the door was never going to open, which is what alerted him to the fact that he was beginning to get nervous. He took a deep breath and tried to steady his nerves, but when the door opened slowly his heart beat kicked up a notch.

The automated door creaked and screeched as it opened up to him presenting an airlock lit by neon white light. The walls were white and completely bare. He stepped into the airlock and noticed the giant one way mirror on the wall. The outer airlock door closed behind him.

In the upper corner by the outer airlock door there was a speaker that had been spray painted white. “Stow your board.” It squawked.

Foster looked into the one way mirror for a second and then slowly slid his back pack off his shoulders. The backpack was covered with cloth patches that were styled to resemble pieces of an old pirate treasure map. He released the clips of two straps on the back of his bag and pressed a button on his wrist control. The board folded up until the wheels nearly touched each other. He took the folded up board and held it to the bag with the straps he clipped back in place.

With his bag back on his shoulders he stood back up and looked back into the one way mirror.

The inner door of the airlock opened much faster and much quieter. A song came through the inner airlock door and Foster could feel the beat in his chest. He pressed a button on his wrist command and his music in his headphones gave way to the music of the club as he stepped inside. 

University of Console Heroics: The End

Finals were over. The quad is filled with students enjoying the onset of summer. Sanders and Bannister exit the Hall of 2D studies together. Bannister is carrying a small box of trinkets from his office. Sanders stops and turns around to look back at the building. Bannister copies him. “So, you aren’t going to miss this? Not even a little?” Sanders asked.

Bannister shook his head. “Maybe someday down the line. But right now I feel like I’m being reborn.” He explained as he turned away from the building.

Sanders nodded. And continued walking with Bannister. “Oh, thanks for keeping me in the class.” He said spotting his friends sitting under Thompson’s big tree further down the quad.

Bannister nodded. “It’s didn’t seem fair to let you screw yourself over.” He admitted.

Sanders nodded. “You’re going to be at dad’s tonight for dinner?” He confirmed. Bannister nodded and Sanders took a step towards the tree. “I’ll see you later then.” He waved as he took off toward the tree. Joining Cynthia, Foster, and Thompson.

Thompson kicked at Foster with a barefoot. “Well Foster, you made it to the end of your first semester of college. How do you feel?” He asked.

Foster sighed. “A bit like I’m witnessing the end of the world.” He admitted.

“Ok explain.” Sanders demanded.

Foster shrugged. “It’s never going to be like this again. Next semester will be infinitely different than this one.”

Thompson nodded. “And yet, creepily enough, almost exactly the same.” He confirmed.

Foster pulled his knees up to his chin and used them to rest his head. “It’s like we build the same sand castle at low tide just to see what changes from version to version.” He sighed again.

Cynthia rolled her eyes. “Could you two just be happy for one moment?” She asked.

Clay, Faith, and Lacey joined the circle, sitting in the shade of the tree. “Evidence shows they are both capable.” Clay replied.

Sanders shook his head. “Yeah but chicks dig moody guys.” He joked.

Cynthia noticed Lacey’s outfit. “Oh my god I love your shirt, did you get that at Forever Ten Two?” She asked.

Lacey nodded. “I did. We should go shopping soon.” She offered.

Cynthia smiled. “That would be awesome.” She confirmed

Porter walked up with four drinks in a carrier. Clay looked up at him shielding his eyes from the sun. “Which of those is coffee?” He asked.

Faith slapped his shoulder. “They are all coffee dork.” She said.

Porter shook his head. “No, these two are epic poems.” He said as he handed the girls their drinks. “These two, are coffee.” He said as Clay reached up to grab his drink. They clinked their cheap paper cups together.

Lacey puts her cup down and sees a very nice car parking in the distance. She slaps faith’s shoulder. “That’s it, that’s the car the lady from nationals drove. I want one of those so bad, It’s my dream car.” She said wishfully.

Porter’s ears perked up and he took note of the car she was pointing out. “Color preference?” He asked.

She seemed taken aback for a second. “Um, in a perfect world? They come in a shade called Midnight Lust. IT’s like a little darker than blood red.” She explained as Porter nodded.

Foster kicked at the empty drink carrier with his shoe. “Thanks for brining drinks only for yourselves, definitely feeling the love over here.” He playfully complained.

Clay held up his coffee as if he were toasting Foster. “S’what friends are for noob. Letting you know where you’re wanted.” He said as Foster playfully flipped him off.

They spent the rest of the day visiting together under that tree. Trying to make the last of the semester last as long as possible before they all went back to their homes, their ‘normal’ lives. Their separate worlds, it was easy work, spending time together, making the most of every moment at the University of Console Heroics.

Shades of Justice: chapter 31

Technarious was now back on his feet. His eyes were red and while there was visible damage on his body he was still very much in fighting shape. He opened his mouth and fired an energy beam at Blinding Light.

Blinding Light reached up with its right hand and the beam hit the bracer armor and hit the street several stories below, destroying everything in a twenty foot radius.

Blinding Light Reached its left hand to the sky and a lightning Bolt delivered the Lightning blade to its grip. The Lightening Blade was a massive two handed sword that crackled with electricity. Blinding light dropped into a defensive stance.

Technarious laughed. “Oh my little baby shades, we both know you don’t have the guts to kill me.” Technarious kicked what remained of a destroyed building. “You’re pathetic.” He shouted. “I could destroy this entire city and you’d still be frozen in indecisive terror!” He clenched his left fist and a long blade extended out from the outer part of this bicep. He swung his arm at the nearest undamaged building and just before the blade hit Blinding light dashed forward and blocked his swing. He looked at the robot and smiled. “Well now. Looks like there’s still some life in you yet.” He said as they wrestled over the fate of the building.

Deep inside Technarious Sonya was running as fast as she could down hallways of piping and cables. Following the digital path in her visor. She came to a gap small enough to jump and took it without evening thinking. The path showed that she had almost two hundred feet before she reached his power core.

Blinding light had pushed Technarious’ swing back far enough to save the building. He stepped back but didn’t appear shaken. “Not bat little babies. That might even be your first real success as a team.” He sarcastically gave them a slow clap. Blinding Light lunged forward with the lightning blade and Technarious parried easily. “Now, now. Just because you saved a building doesn’t mean the day is won children.” He took a retaliatory swing and cut deeply into Blinding Lights left leg. Sparks and fire exploded out from the wound.

In Blinding light’s command center The shades were looking at a read out of their status. It showed their energy reserves down by a third. “Sonya what’s your status?” Dante asked.

Inside Technarious Sonya was standing at the edge of what looked like an elevator shaft. Her map readout showed that the next hundred feet went straight down the shaft. “I need more time.” She replied.