Pure Human

Pure Human
by: Ted H

James Blake and his partner head to Albany to investigate the scene of a grisly attack on a family. Blake must find the paranormal origin to the creatures that slay in the night before the world is overrun with more. But with the signs of the origin all pointing away from the supernatural, just where does the line between human and monster lie?

-2015 National Novel Writing Month Winner

Ungodly Hour

Illusion Breaker

Look Into It

Day Drinking

Dream

Ninja

To Albany

Time Stop

Eating

Magdalena

She Must Work Out

It Came in Through the Woods

When You Dream

Reaper at Work

Nurse Gossip

Dog Hunt

I Think I Found Fido

Embrace Eternity

Breakfast at Anin's

Apples

Common Sense

Charming

Clyde vs Whitey

Who Dat Is?

Couples Counseling

Big Men on Campus

Impure

Dr. Watterson

The Melrose Theory

Attempted Arson

Shadow Caster

Pecking Order

Dead on a Mountain

Doing a Thing

To the Gas Station

Born from Nightmares

Go Time

Trick Plays

One Problem at a Time

Let Me In

Be Gone

Ethics and Morals

Closure

Pure Human - Closure

[Posted by Ted H]


Imagine The Rock when I say...FINALLY! This sage has ended. No computer problem can stop me from finishing this shit. And now with a clean month between now and NaNoWriMo, I can sit and figure shit out. Enjoy the finale...

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[Pure Human - Closure]

"This is all this guy's fault," Blake muttered as they arrived days later at the Upstate New York suburban home. Blake wore a sling supporting his arm, which he used to hold his lighter and cigarettes. "Did you even read the file Matthew gave us?" John asked, ignoring the statement. "I got the gist of it," Blake said as he used his good arm to set up a cigarette in his mouth to light up once he exits the car.
"Does it bother you," John asked, causing Blake to freeze "That Matthew can't find any record or information on Vitaearnus?" Blake shrugged "Maybe he needs to look harder," he replied, then finally exited the car. Blake smoked outside the car for a moment while eyeing the house of his earlier client, which now had a "For Sale" sign prominently featured in the yard.

"How you wanna do this?" John asked. Blake shrugged. "I just want to wrap this up and get drunk," Blake responded as he flicked his cigarette away and started towards the house. "Just be nice about it," John warned "The guy has had a rough week." Blake rolled his eyes "Then we can compare notes," he said as he reached the front door and knocked.

A few moments passed before the door slowly opened, revealing the man from the beginning. He was unshaven and had the look of a man who hadn't slept in a few days. "Seems we've all had a rough week," Blake said as the man wore a stern look on his face. "I don't care anymore," the man said as he began to close the door "You got paid, just go away." Blake stuck his foot in the door to keep it open. "Hey," Blake spat out "You want closure? Cuz I've got closure for you."

"My wife is dead," the man said.

"I know," Blake said plainly "It's in the file." The man pressed his lips and gave a stern look, but ultimately relented and allowed Blake in. "Where's Lizzie?" Blake asked as he entered "Never mind," he said quickly "I hear cartoons." There were a few packed boxes piled in the hallway and the pictures that lined the walls when Blake was first around were gone. The father was visibly upset with Blake, so John decided to divert the anger. "How did your wife die?" he asked. The father paused "They said it was a stroke, but...It couldn't have been," he said. "It wasn't," Blake said, then pressed ahead.

The three made for the living room where Lizzie sat almost in a trance watching television on the couch. "How is she holding up after her mother died?" John asked. "It's like she doesn't even notice," the father responded, tears welling up in his eyes. "What if I said she's connected?" Blake asked as he pulled his fist from his coat and blew powder over Lizzie.

"This shit again?" the father yelled as he charged at Blake and grabbed him by his collar. "Relax," Blake said. "Get out!" the man yelled. "Sir, just calm down," John tried to assure "You've seen before what Blake did was harmless."

"It's also ineffective." he man said as he released Blake. "Watch carefully and try to stay calm about this," Blake said as he raised his hand over Lizzie and lowered it down to his side slowly. As his hand fell passed Lizzie, the outward appearance she had as a child slowly faded to reveal the form of a blurry charred black figure with deep pools of white where her eyes would go.

"What the fuck is that?" the man whispered while his lower lip quivered.

"It's called a mimic sprite," Blake answered as Lizzie's facade of a normal girl faded back into view, all the while she obliviously watched television. "It's a parasite grade spirit."

"Why didn't it look like this the first time?" the father demanded. "Because it wasn't there last time," Blake said "But it was preparing her for a takeover."

"What do you mean?"

"When the sprite needs a new host, it first needs to vacate the soul from it. As little Lizzie was losing her soul, you took notice to it and mistook it for a possession."

"I...I don't understand..."

"It's a lot to take in, I get it."

The father began to weep for a moment. Blake and John stood nearby awkwardly. Lizzie continued to watch television. "Why her?" he finally asked, wiping away tears "Why my Lizzie?"

"It needs a blood relative," Blake said plainly "Your wife did this."

"What?" the father said, snapping out of his grief.

"If I used the Illusion Breaker on her before, we would have seen her for what she really was."

"When was my wife taken?"

"She lost her mother the same way when she was about Lizzie's age. The woman you thought you knew died as a child. What you loved, married and had a daughter with is now sitting there in your child's body. The father took a step back in disbelief. "What do I do?" he asked "What can I do?"

"She's pretty harmless now," Blake said while looking at the oblivious child "Give it about a week or two and the parasite will adjust to its new body, she'll act like the old Lizzie. Heck, you might just decide that everything you saw and heard today was either a dream or a hallucination, and go back to a regular life."

"A regular life?" the father asked "With that monster?"

"Raise her to be a nun," Blake said with a shrug "Keep her celibate. End the cycle with her."

"Wait, what?" the father asked, confused "Aren't you going to do something about her? This is your job."

"My job," Blake corrected "Is to identify what was happening to your daughter. A Mimic Sprite is hard to stop once it has a foothold. And even if we stopped it, your daughter's soul was already draining and your wife was gonna die anyway."

"Get that thing OUT of my daughter," the father demanded.

"That thing IS your daughter now," Blake said "There's no getting rid of it and saving what Lizzie was. And before you get any ideas of how you can get rid of that spirit, I'd advise you watch "The Omen" and see how things ended for the father there."

"What can I do about this?"

Blake gave another shrug, then motioned to John that it was time to leave. "Raise it, or don't" he said as he handed John the file and began walking back down the hall for the exit "Put it up for adoption of whatever. Like I said, it's pretty harmless right now. Start panicking when it gets pregnant."

"You have got to be kidding me," the father bellowed in anger "You just expect me to live a normal life with this thing, this monster?"

Blake fished out his cigarettes and stopped short of the open front door. He barely looked back as he simply said "Yes."

"That thing isn't even human!"

Blake stifled a laugh as he walked out the door. "You'd be amazed at what passes for human nowadays."

Pure Human - Ethics and Morals

[Posted by Ted H]

The end is near. Writing wrap up can be a bitch sometimes...

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[Pure Human - Ethics and Morals]

            Clyde explained that he would eventually be able to pull himself together, something he neglected to mention until after Blake and John put his body parts back in their right place and allowed Clyde to heal them on. After a quick trek into the house to retrieve his shiv, he gave the trio a quick middle finger and called them homos before disappearing into the night. No one was surprised.
            Whitey had followed Blake and John back to Joey's house. Blake stayed outside while the others went inside to explain what happened with Joey. Whitey made herself readily available to consol Joey and to pray for him and Anin's soul. Between his broken arm and the mental exhaustion of the night's events, Blake was ready to check out. He situated himself as comfortably as he could in the front seat and closed his eyes to sleep. He didn't mind the corpse of Bryant in the back.
            Later, John and Whitey exited and walked slowly together to their cars. "How often do you have to do that in your line of work?" John asked "Break some bad news?"
            "More than I like," Lena responded "Often times I arrive because something terrible has happened. Take Frank Anderson for example; I get to return to him and let him know the origin of this nightmare is defeated, but that doesn't bring his family back."
            "There's closure though," John commented "And his daughter may come out of her coma. There's some hope to cling to."
            "IF she wakes up, she'll never be the same."
            "But she'd be alive."
            Lena allowed a slight smile to creep across her face. "I like your optimism," she said "You and Blake are a lot alike, but you differ from him in all the important things."
            "You really don't give Blake a fair shot," John responded "Granted, you both bring out the worst in each other. I swear, if I didn't know any better, I'd say you two were getting off on your animosity."
            Lena's smile dropped to a frown. "Don't you ever suggest I get off to anything Blake related.
            "I'm just saying," John said with his hands up as defense "You and him are a lot alike as well. And you both needed each other to fight off the scary monsters at the end."
            "I feel tainted for his assistance."
            "See, that right there is unnecessary."
            "People died directly because of him."
            "He honestly wanted to save Anin. I don't know how much clearer I can be abo-"
            "What about Bryant?"
            John paused. "I'd be lying if I said I'm upset he died," he said "But from what I understand, Clyde was the one who cut him up like that."
            "He didn't bleed out," Lena corrected.
            "How would you know?"
            Lena sighed. "Human Clay is incredibly taboo, if not outright illegal in some circles," she said "It requires a human sacrifice; One life force forfeit so it can grant a physical form to a spirit." John said nothing to the revelation. "Look," she continued "I doubt I can convince you to how the rest of the world sees Blake. I just hope you'll be careful. He seems like the type who shouldn't let anyone get close to him."

            John and Lena wished each other well and were on their separate ways. Blake didn't wake up until a rest stop near Utica. He was confused at his whereabouts as he blinked sleep from his eyes until he heard the sound of pumping gas. His broken arm caused too much pain to move, so he stayed where he was until John returned to the car. "I need a coffee," Blake mumbled. "I'm not leaving this car alone with a dead body in the back seat," John responded as he began driving.
            "I know a guy," Blake said in a dismissive tone "He'll return the car good as new."
            "Did you know Bryant would die?"
            "Pardon?"
            "That Human Clay trick. Did you know it would kill off Bryant?"
            "I take it Whitey gave you her biased take on my tactic."
            "Blake, a  lot of people have died in our line of work, but Bryant...that was deliberate."
            "It had to be someone," Blake said after a pause.
            "What gave you that right?"
            "Look, obviously there's no defending the ethics. I've already told you it was a desperation move."
            "Still..."
            "As for why Bryant; Who else was there?"
            "That doesn't make it right."
            "He wouldn't ever have to answer for what he did. No way to prove those creatures were once human. No prison sentence for releasing unspeakable evils from outside our world."
            "I'm sure even in the circles we travel, there would be an authority he would have to answer to."
            "With what proof? Circumstantial testimony from the three of us who were in there? Fat chance."
            John said nothing.
            "Look at it this way," Blake said "Because of him, we were able to stop the big bad. Redemption was forced upon him."
            "Doesn't make it right."
            "Doesn't make it entirely wrong either."
            "Not a very ethical view."
            "Utilitarianism makes more sense."
            The next several miles were in silence until Blake broke in with "And don't let Whitey fool you with her holier than thou routine. Even her moral compass waivers when there's a selfish gain for her."
            "I don't get that impression from her," John defended.
            "Holy Warriors like her are meant to be a team of two."
            "So where's the partner?"
            "Which brings us back to her moral compass..."

Pure Human - Be Gone

[Posted by Ted H]

Well that was certainly a wait. Enjoy the final confrontation. After this is some loose end tying and then we can finally call this damn project done!

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[Pure Human - Be Gone]

            -And was tumbling backwards onto the ground dragging a heavy body down with him. Blake kicked the figure up with his legs and continued the momentum over and away so the figure would land away from him.
            "What the hell is that?" Whitey screamed as Blake was quick to his feet. The figure he had tossed was indeed Vitaearnus, who slowly rose to his feet with a slow and methodical pace. "Take him down!" Blake shouted as John immediately opened fire.
            The physical form of Vitaearnus was different than previously observed. He was much taller than Blake remembered, and his tight bone colored skin extended over a sexless nude and bald figure. The most telling difference was the lack of a mouth and any facial features beyond his two sharp black slits where the eyes would go. John's gunshots disappeared into the figure but seemed to make no noticeable impact as he strode across the room.
            Whitey stepped forward passed the men and thrust her glowing hands outward as she screamed "Be gone!" Vitaearnus staggered as his form began to glow, but ultimately stepped towards Whitey and in one fluid motion, reached out and backhanded her across the room. "Scatter!" John yelled as Vitaearnus reached up with both fists and slammed them down into the floor as Blake and John dove away. John was up quickly and firing again as Blake scrambled over to Whitey.

Pure Human - Let Me In

[Posted by Ted H]

I'm pretty sure that I've fallen off the wagon so many times at this point, that the wagon should really just leave me behind...

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[Pure Human -  Let Me In]

           Not far inside and into the living room, sitting in the same chair Melrose shot himself in, sat Anin. Her eyes were open but she was staring blankly into space. There were no other apparent injuries. Her hands were covered in blood and she was gripping Clyde's shiv. "Is she possessed?" Whitey whispered. "She ripped Clyde apart," Blake said as he stood in front of Anin. John and Whitey stayed back near the front door "Pretty sure Vitaearnus has her."
            "Oh what, no funny names anymore?" Whitey quipped.
            "Nah," Blake said "End game. No more fooling around." He pulled out the clay, now the size of a baseball, and began to smash it between his hands and rub it.
            "What is that?" John asked.
            "Human Clay," Blake answered and worked the clay faster between his hands.
            "Are you serious?" Whitey screamed.
            "We're too late and clear out of time for anything else," Blake announced as he brought his hands to his face and blew into them. "Trust me, if I had a safer play, I'd be running it."
            Whitey stood in angry silence as John asked "How dangerous is this?"
            Blake hesitated. "There's a...roughly 30% chance Anin survives this," he said. When no one responded, he nodded. "Ok then," he announced, let's embrace eternity."
            Anin's head then cracked up to look at Blake, startling Whitey and John. "Uh oh," Blake said as Anin quickly grabbed him by the neck with her right arm and easily lifted him into the air as she stood up. She took a few steps and walked around the chair to face John aiming his gun and Whitey prepping her hands respectively. "Put him...down," John said as Anin smirked, ignoring him.
            "The reclamation of my world begins tonight," Anin said with a deep voice not her own. "Oh no you don't" Blake struggled to say as he grabbed both sides of Anin's head and made her face him. "Did I not already instruct to you that your usefulness is at its end?" Blake locked eyes with Anin, ignoring the possessed words. "I know you're in there," he said "C'mon, help me, Anin. I need you to make this work." Anin chuckled as she tightened the grip on Blakes throat. "Let me in!" he choked out-
            -and crumpled to the ground in the middle of a field in a park.
            Blake cleared his throat as he stood up and looked down at his hands which were still a deep red from the clay. "Good," he said as he eyed the familiar bench. The people in this park were in the same routine they were ever in as Blake looked about. "Should really only be one place I need to look," he said as he took off running.
            At his destination, Blake found Anin. She had taken the place of Vitaearnus and she herself was fading away. "Blake," she said, sounding more like a far away echo than anything else "What do we do?"
            "We deal with the man in your head," Blake said as he looked around, reasonable sure that Vitaearnus should have appeared by now.
            "I can't," Anin pleaded, causing Blake to snap at her. "This is YOUR world!" he shouted "He is only in control because you allow it. You're fading away from existence, but not because of him, but because you allow yourself to believe he has that power."
            "I'm not strong," Anin said "I couldn't stop him from taking me, and I couldn't help you save anyone."
            "You're right," Blake said "Out in the world you're more of a burden than an aid." Blake's bluntness caused a shock on Anin's face as he continued "But we're not out in the regular world, we're in yours. And here you're invincible. Trust me when I say that in your own world, you-"
            Blake stopped as the hairs on his neck stood up. He turned around from Anin to see Vitaearnus right in front of him and grabbing him by the neck and holding him up like before in the real world. "If you insist I destroy your mind here before I kill you, so be it," he spoke as Blake avoided struggling with Vitaearnus's grip and instead pressed both his clay caked hand on both sides of his attackers head. "Is this supposed to hurt?" he was asked. Blake ignored him and addressed Anin.
            "Anin, trust me, I have a plan," he choked out, knowing there was precious little time left to act "But I need your help."
            "I'm not strong enough," Anin whined "Even if this is my world."
            "Yes you are!" Blake yelled "I'm not strong enough either but together we can get him out.
            "I'm going to break your mind," Vitaearnus said with a smile "But I will leave you alive. I'm going to turn your friends first and let them decide what to do with you."
            Vitaearnus seemed to only grow larger as Blake struggled. Blake tried a kick to the chin to buy time, but to no avail. He then noticed that there was an audience around them. The people in the park that seemed to be oblivious in their routine were now surrounding the trio amidst the struggle. Blake wasn't sure what to make of the guests until he noticed Vitaearnus give a slightly concerned look as he looked around.
            "Anin?" Blake asked. "I want you to leave," Anin said as she ceased fading and appeared more clear than ever. "Atta girl," Blake said as all the onlookers began reaching for Vitaearnus. "Away with you!" Vitaearnus spoke as he effortlessly brushed a bunch away with his free arm, but there were too many people to dismiss as they began pulling at him. He seemed to shrink back down a bit.
            "Now Anin!" Blake yelled "Force him out!" Vitaearnus began to grunt as he attempted to resist the mob on him as Blake was lowered to the ground and released, but Blake maintained his own hold on the invaders head and began pulling on it. "Get out!" Anin yelled as Vitaearnus was lurched forward by Blake as he could no longer fight off the crowd.
            "You think you can win this way?" he asked.
            "Not yet," Blake said "But it's step one."
            Before Vitaearnus could say another word, Anin screamed again "Get out!" and Blake gave one final pull-

Pure Human - One Problem at a Time

[Posted by Ted H]

3 in a row?!?!

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[Pure Human - One Problem at a Time]

            Blake had made all the necessary preparations by the time that John and Whitey arrived. When they stepped out of the car, Blake motioned for them to follow him and Clyde on foot over a few front lawns towards Melrose's home. As expected, Whitey and Clyde nearly came to blows, but John managed to stay between them and Blake managed to keep everyone quiet. Blake checked on the dream stones, which were brightly lit up, which worried him since he doubted they were suppose to work so well far away from Anin.
            "Alright, time for action," Whitey announced.
            "Hold your horses," Blake said "The professionals have a plan."
            "We do?" John asked.
            Blake produced the time ball for Clyde "Here, eat this," he said.
            "Oh no," John said.
            While Clyde tried to swallow, Blake explained "Easy plan. Clyde goes in, incapacitates Anin and kills everything else."
            "Simple, yet very elegant," John commented while Whitey made a face. "Here, wash that down," Blake said as he handed Clyde the bottle.
            "Why does that smell like gasoline?" Whitey asked as Clyde drank.
            "He'll be fine," Blake said as Clyde finished and dropped the bottle as he looked around himself in amazement. The next instant, he disappeared. Blake smiled and laughed while John and Whitey suddenly howled in pain as they fell over, grabbing their groins.
            "Good to see Clyde is mature and all that," Blake said as he looked about for anything alerted by the sounds of the pain. "Can you guys relax?" he asked "We're in the clear so far."
John approached while limping and groaning "I'm gonna kill that fucker," he said through clenched teeth. "Someone beat you to it," Whitey said with a hint of satisfaction to what she was looking at.
            The scene ahead was one of bloodshed and body parts, mostly Clyde. "Was this part of the plan?" John asked as he and Blake ran up to most of Clyde's remains. "Kind of?" Blake said as he looked around to some of the crumpled bodies of the transformed people with their throats slit. Clyde's torso laid motionless with his head barely attached to a ripped up neck. All limbs were detached and scattered through the yard. The house he presumably entered looked mostly unchanged save for one broken and bloody window that looked like Clyde had been tossed from after his dismembering. "Is he...dead?" Whitey asked, not daring to approach from behind John. "He's immortal," Blake said "Or should be; that's why I let him drink the gasoline and whatnot."
            "Is that normal?" John asked "Would you have been ripped apart like this or something?"
            "No," Blake said "Something else did this to him,"
            "But, if your cocktail worked and time had stopped..." John began
            "Bitch..." Clyde's head spat out, startling everyone.
            "Holy hell," John said as he caught his breath.
            "What happened?" Blake demanded.
            "Your bitch friend..." Clyde said as he struggled to take in enough air so he could speak "I thought you said time would freeze......"
            "Clearly Mr. V. don't play by our rules," Blake said.
            "Whose rules?" John  asked.
            "Our realm's rules. I dunno, I should probably look into that or something."
            Whitey had been looking about at the bodies and had been counting. "Uh, you guys said there were six of those things left, right?" she asked.
            "Something like that," John responded.
            Whitey quickly looked around to the four bodies she could see. "I don't count six," she said. Blake positioned Clyde's head so he could address him directly. "Clyde, how many did you kill?" he asked.
            "Fuck if I know," Clyde responded while spitting up blood "That shit was starting to burn. I may not die but that still hurt like hell. So I decided to go after the big fish instead of fucking around."
            "That wasn't the plan," Blake said.
            "Your plan sucked. Go for plan B's flesh clay bull shit instead."
            "Wait, what's plan B?" John asked before Whitey screamed "Look out!"
            Blake and John turned to see Whitey point to two rapidly approaching figures in the dark. She then brought her hands together and began charging while Blake and John spaced apart. "John, just shoot them, we don't have time for this!" Blake yelled. "I don't do speed shots!" John yelled back "I need to aim and these things are bouncing all over!"
            Whitey's hands were glowing when she was set and extended a hand out to launch energy at one of the monsters. Nothing happened. "Real helpful," Blake quipped as Whitey looked at her hands. Blake and John backed up towards her. "I don't get it," she cried. "They're human!" Blake shouted, remembering when he first met Whitey.
            "Split!" John yelled as the two creatures lunged. John dove one way, White and Blake jumped the other. The creatures each gave chase. Blake practically threw off his coat and held it out like a matador. "Blake, this isn't a game!" Whitey yelled as the creature instead went after her. Whitey cried out and tried to run, but didn't get far when she felt claws and a body fall onto her. "NO!" she shouted as she felt her back begin being dug into and she was powerless to stop it. Blake then covered the creature's head with his coat, wrapped his arms around it and picked it up and off of Whitey.
            John, meanwhile, was circling opposite of the other creature while aiming his gun. "Make a move, you piece of shit," he said as he slowly backed up and gave himself precious distance. The creature tensed, then lunged itself in the air straight at John with a deep roar. No longer bouncing to and fro on the ground and instead in a predictable path in the air, the creature had put itself right in John's sights. With a smirk and a quick pull of the trigger, the creature's body fell to the ground near where John sidestepped, a fresh bullet hole right between the eyes.
            "Blake, what are you doing?" Whitey said as she got to her feet. "You can't hurt this thing cuz it's human!" Blake yelled as he faced Whitey with the struggling creature in his arms blinded by the coat "But you can hurt this coat, right?" Whitey's eyes went wide before she charged her hands again, then ran up and punched the creature's head with all her might and holy power. The creature elicited a short cry as it and Blake flew backwards onto the ground.
            "You guys ok?" John asked as he jogged over. "I think so," Whitey said as she caught her breath and tried to feel the wounds in her back. "Oh fuck," John said as he saw Whitey's injures and tried to look as well. "I'll be fine," she said.
            "Oh, that smell," Blake said as he got up and pulled his coat away from the creature's corpse. A bloody and chunky mess remained of its head, with some pieces sticking to the coat. "This definitely needs to be dry cleaned," he said as he picked the bigger pieces off and put the coat back on. "You are not riding in my car with that on," John announced. "One problem at a time," Blake said as he led the way into the house.

Pure Human - Trick Plays

[Posted by Ted H]

Oh. My. Gawwwwwd! Back to back posts? It's like I got my shit together or something, right?

Pure Human is finally ending. Buckle up.

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[Pure Human - Trick Plays]

            "Did I mention I hate you people, right?" Clyde asked while Blake drove through the streets with one eye on the road and the other on the faintly glowing sleep stone.
            "Only every five minutes," Blake responded.
            "They're going to fire me," Clyde complained.
            "Aren't you either already dead or immortal?"
            "You don't get it; I can't reap anymore. So either I get reassigned to some shitty job or I get sent back to hell."
            "Last I checked, your poor scheduling wasn't my problem. Neither was Whitey getting in the way last time."
            "And that bitch just conveniently just so happens to be rolling in your crew now?"
            "I really would hesitate to say convenient. Necessary, more likely."
            "And who the fuck is this idiot?" Clyde asked while gesturing to the back where Bryant sat.
            "Him?" Blake said "Kind of the guy responsible. Whitey's in town to get you fired mostly because of him, too. So in a way, he's the guy you should be mad at."
            "A pleasure," Bryant said mockingly "You know, this is starting to feel more and more like a kidnapping by the minute."
            "Be quiet," Clyde barked.
            "How are you even helping him?" Bryant complained "You hate him and his associates, if that story about the girl you told earlier is to be trusted."
            "Amazing what a payment of a carton of cigarettes will do, right?" Clyde said back.
            "I said we'd share the carton," Blake corrected him.
            Blake had a destination in mind, and as he drove closer to it, the stones he had began to glow brighter. "I hate it when I'm right," he mumbled as he drove onto the street where Melrose had lived. "What's here?" Clyde asked as Blake took notice of how silent Bryant was in back. "What those things consider their father lived here. It's safe enough until the Faded Man can come into this world."
            "Faded Man?" Clyde asked "The big bad anus guy?"
            "Yeah," Blake said as he pulled over well short of his destination. He opened the door and climbed out. "I assume there's a plan?" Clyde said as Blake looked down the streets to see many of the houses were dark and seemingly abandoned, and the rain making the entire scene slightly more foreboding than Blake wanted it to be.
            "Plan?" Clyde reiterated, snapping Blake from the moment "Do you have one?"
            "Of course I do," Blake said as he popped the trunk and started rummaging around.
            "Ok, that's cool," Clyde said as he adjusted his jacket over his head to shield from the rain as he stuck a cigarette into his mouth "Cuz your homo friend kinda implied earlier on the phone that you guys were a bit clueless."
            "Nah," Blake said without looking up "I had a plan the whole time. A couple actually. I just wasn't about to share them right away."
            "Why the secrecy?" Clyde asked while patting himself down to find his lighter.
            "Neither are very appealing. And one is straight up illegal."
            "I like em already!"
            "Good," Blake said as he produced a rubber hose for Clyde "Now take this and go siphon some gas.
            "This isn't a movie," Clyde said "And why do you even need gas? Is that why we stopped?"
            Blake pulled out the bottle from before with some gas still left inside. "We need it for Plan A," he said.
            "What th-" Clyde started before he caught himself and just reached for the bottle "Never mind. Surprise me." Blake smiled as he handed the bottle off. "Don't forget to call John and have him get here. "Right," Clyde said sarcastically "Because why wouldn't I want my two most favorite people ever to be here?"
            "Please?" Blake reiterated. "Yeah, yeah," Clyde said as he took his phone out and walked away. He disappeared with the bottle while Blake worked on his other plan. When Clyde returned, he was almost ready.
            "You do know gas prices are dropping now, right?" Clyde said as he produced a full bottle of gasoline "No need to steal."
            "Yeah, I'll take that into consideration," Blake said as he wrapped up what he was working on and was able to address Clyde "Out of curiosity, how did you get the gas without a hose?"
            "I went under some cars and poked a hole in the gas tanks with my shiv," Clyde said as he produced his weapon.
            "That thing was strong enough?"
            "You assume this is an everyday, run of the mill tool and not something utilized by an employee of Hell?"
            "Fair enough."
            "So what's the other thing you're working on?"
            "Plan B," Blake said as he held up a small sized chunk of what appeared to be red play-doh "But it's not ready yet. I'll need you and that shiv to complete it."
            "That depends on the request. First of all, get your own weapon..."
            "Nah, I just need you to go to Bryant and get me a pound of flesh."
            "...Cute."
            "No, really. A literal pound of his flesh. But leave him alive...So go with the legs or something like that."
            "I didn't peg you for a complete psychotic..."
            "Hey, now's not the time to critique my job. I'm trying to save the world here."
            "The whole world?"
            "Well...Albany for starters."
            "And you want me to horrifically cut up some guy I don't even know?"
            "I figure you could use the therapy."
            A smirk escaped from Clyde as he turned his head towards where Bryant was. "A literal pound?" he asked.
            "Maybe a little more for good measure."
            Clyde fully smiled now. "After the week I've had," he said as he walked over to the door "Hell yeah." He brandished his weapon and opened the door. "Skip the speech and just get it done," Blake called as the door slammed shut and the screaming began. Blake took the time to get the finishing touches done on everything else.
            The rain had begun to pick up into another downpour when Clyde had finished and the wet smack of cut up flesh barely registered to Blake as he prepped under the shielding of the trunk hood. By that time, the chunk of clay in Blake's hands was about the size of a golf ball. "Now help me add the flesh," he said as he juggled the clay in one hand while kneeling down to grab some flesh while trying to stay shielded from the rain.
            "Seriously," Clyde asked as he grabbed some flesh and plopped it on top of Blake's project "What is this?"
            "Well when it's done," Blake began as he worked the new ingredient into the ball "It's called Human Clay. It can only be made and utilized if the gathered flesh comes from someone who is still breathing, so I hope you didn't go overboard in there."
            "Relax," Clyde said as he ducked under the trunk hood to try to light his cigarette finally "What does Human Clay even do?"
            "Well, we'll need it for plan B."
            "And?"
            "I'm taking this straight out of The Evil Dead 2 playbook."
            "...I'm a bit fuzzy on my 80's movies."
            "Step one is to make the big bad, Vitaearnus, manifest in the real world. That gives us something to banish. Step two is to...well, banish it."
            "...Inspiring," Clyde mumbled sarcastically.
            "Yeah, well it's plan B for a reason."
            "And what's plan A?"
            Blake held out the water bottle for Clyde to take, then after rummaged into his pocket to produce the Time Ball. "Plan A is for you to drink that gas, treated with a certain concoction of additives of course, then swallow this ball."
            "And that will...?"
            "Stop time. Allowing you to stab away at all of Vitaearnus' pet monsters and take them out of play leaving just him and us...and Anin. Make sure you check to see if she's possessed or not."
            "And if she is?"
            "Don't hurt her either way. If she's already possessed, we'll deal...somehow."
            "So...back up. I'll stop time if I swallow this shit you're handing me?"
            "With the ball swallowed, yes."
            "Are you fucking with me? You're fucking with me."
            "I did this prior and I think it might have killed me if I held out too long. But you? You can't die."
            "A fact you plan to exploit I see."
            "Hey, when something big goes down, you gotta bust out the trick plays."

Pure Human - Go Time

[Posted by Ted H]

Holy hell, what's happening people!!!

Pure Human finale is being written (yes, again) but I figure I'd post this little bit, as it leads up to the endgame of the story...

...Trying to put a bow on this story before I begin other things...

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[Pure Human - Go Time]

            The rain wasn't letting up as Blake approached the girls outside, John jogging to catch up. "We gotta find Anin," Blake said as he tossed a stone to Whitey "The longer it takes, the bigger the chance that more of those creatures will be popping up."
            "What is this, and what are you talking about?" Whitey asked as she looked at the stone in her hand.
            "Vitaearnus," Blake said "The reason behind all of these monsters, he needs to possess someone in our world so he can more easily transform people. A strong psychic fits his needs perfectly. We need to find Anin and either stop the possession, or pull him out of her."
            "I can handle the exorcism," Whitey announced. "No, you won't," Blake responded as he handed John another stone. "You can't do this alone, Blake," Whitey snapped "This is beyond a solo job for you."
            "This isn't a demon!" Blake yelled "I don't know what this is, but your exorcism practice is useless!"
            "So what, then?" Whitey asked.
            "First, let's just find Anin," Blake responded "We can figure it out afterwards."
            "Not my favorite plan," John said.
            "This is what I get for feeling optimistic," Blake responded "Just stick with Whitey and head out to around where the lab used to be."
            "Where are you going?"
            "Call Clyde, tell him to meet me where we met by the hospital," Blake said as he held his hand out "Also, I need your keys."
            "Do we really need Clyde?" John asked.
            "I'll take him to where Melrose was. We can cover more ground if we split up."
            John sighed as he tossed his keys over. "And Bryant?" he asked.
            "I'll take real good care of him," Blake said with a wink.
            "Fun plan," Kimberly said "Haven't heard my name yet."
            "Yeah, you get to go home now," Blake said "Just like Joey, you're not up for what we're about to do."
            "So?"
            "So, I need you back in Syracuse. Find Matthew, and let him know what we're about to do."
            "I don't thin-"
            "If we fail, something insane will be unleashed into this world and some sort of response needs to be coordinated as fast as humanly possible."
            "How bad could this get?" Kimberly asked, unease creeping into her voice.
            "Remember that body I brought you?" Blake said as John walked over to Whitey to inform her of the plan "Imagine if those things could be assembly line made and unleashed as an army."
            "Ok, that's bad."
            "That's apocalyptic."
            "Let's go!" John yelled, his phone up to his head as he climbed into Whitey's car.
            "You'll be fine," Blake said "Safe at least...for now."

Pure Human - Born From Nightmares

[Posted by Ted H]

Yes, I am clearly a bad person....but let's focus on how I remembered to get some writing dont for once...

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[Pure Human - Born From Nightmares]

            John wasted little time arriving to Joey's house, but the rain refused to let up. Blake climbed out and took cover under a nearby tree while waiting for the girls to catch up. "Blake, get back in the car!" John yelled from out the window, straining to be heard through the rain. Blake ignored him and looked around. Despite being in the morning, the street lights were still needed to see through the darkness and rain.
            Two more cars arrived while Blake stepped into the rain to get to the cop car parked nearby that he spotted. "Hello?" he called to it as he approached, only to realize that it was empty. "Not very comforting," he mumbled to himself as suddenly it stopped raining on him and he saw Kimberly standing next to him with an umbrella. "Didn't your momma ever warn you about catching your death in rain like this?" she asked. They returned to the tree where Whitey and John were waiting.
            "You haven't gone in yet?" Whitey exclaimed.
            "Not leaving Bryant alone," Blake said.
            "What if those things are inside right now?"
            "They're either already gone or not here yet. Simultaneous arrivals are incredible unlikely."
            "Fine," Whitey said "Let's just go."
            "You're staying here."
            "Excuse me?"
            "Like I said, no way I'm leaving Bryant alone," Blake said matter-of-factly "And Kimberly stays out here on the off chance that those things haven't arrived yet. You're on babysitting duty."
            "The hell I am!" Whitey screamed.
            "Someone's gotta protect Kimberly," Blake stated as he started walking towards the house in the rain, John quickly trailing.
            "Please don't let those horrible monsters get me, miss holy lady," Kimberly said with a pout."
            "You're on his side?" Whitey asked.
            "I was never really on yours to begin with."
            Blake and John quickly made their way to the front door. "Locked," Blake said as he tried the handle. "That's a good sign, right?" John asked. Blake ignored him and headed for the back where he hoped that the broken window was still left open. Along the way they crossed over the tattered remains of a police officer; ripped to shreds and without a head. "That's disappointing," John said as Blake jumped over and turned for the back.
            Blake carefully climbed his way through the still exposed kitchen window and started running for the stairs. "Anin? Joey? Anybody?" he yelled out to no reply. The layout of the house was chaotic, but nothing was different from when they left before. There wasn't any sign of a recent struggle. John had just climbed in himself when Blake took off up the stairs.
            "Anyone?" Blake called as he made for the bedroom. Inside was the same bloody mess they left before, the only addition was Joey face down on the ground in the middle of the room. "Don't be dead. Don't be dead. Don't be dead," Blake repeated to himself as he ran over and checked Joey's body. The man groaned as Blake rolled him over and John caught up. "Is he ok?" John asked. "Comparatively," Blake said "I'm honestly surprised yet totally grateful."
            "What happened?" Joey asked as he sat up and rubbed the back of his head.
            "We were kind of hoping you would fill us in on that," Blake said.
            "Anin!" Joey screamed as he suddenly realized and tried to jump to his feet but fell back over. "She's not here," Blake said "At least nowhere obvious."
            "Oh my God," Joey said as he rubbed his head again.
            "Talk," Blake said "Quickly."
            "Those things," Joey said "Anin knew they were coming back. They were coming for her."
            "How would she know that?" John asked.     
            "No idea," Joey said with a shrug "But I looked in her eyes and she was convinced. She said they'd kill the cops and come for her next. I suggested we'd try to run or something, but she said it wouldn't be any good. I ran for the closet where I kept a bat and handed it to her. Then I turned around to look for the lockbox where I keep a pistol and the next thing I know, I'm on the ground with you over me."
            John picked up the discarded bat and looked to Joey. "Well," he said "I think we can all agree that arming her was a bad idea. But at least we know why you're still alive."
            "Why would she do that?" Joey asked as he stopped rubbing his head "I was trying to protect her."
            "I don't think she wanted to be protected," Blake said "She knew they wanted her alive. The big bad wants her alive."
            "But why?" Joey asked.
            "I dunno," Blake said "Let's find out."
            "How we gonna find her?" John asked.
            "She knew they were coming for her," Blake said "And if she had the time to knock Joey out to spare him, what else would she have the time for?"
            "Well," John said "My first guess would be to hide. But that's clearly too easy."
            "She also knew we'd come back and attempt to find her," Blake said as he looked about the bedroom until he found what he was looking for under a pillow "So she took the time to prep and charge these." Blake held up one of Anin's sleep stones, which gave off a faint glow.
            "Clever bitch," John said.
            "The closer we are," Blake said "The brighter these glow."
            "So what are we waiting for?" John asked as he grabbed some stones from Blake and made for the door. Blake followed suit, but when Joey tried following, Blake stopped him. "What do you think you're doing?" he asked.
            "I'm coming too," Joey stated.
            "Yeah, no," Blake responded "Best leave things to the professionals."
            "Anin's my girl. No way I'm staying on the sidelines if she's in danger."
            "How badly do you think she wants you involved?" Blake asked "She just got done blindsiding you before running off with something that claims it's human. To me, that pretty much says 'Don't get involved' in bright neon letters."
            "Blake," John said as he attempted to intervene, but Blake turned back to confront him. "He's too emotionally invested," Blake stated "He'll only get in the way."
            "Still..." John attempted.
            "Remember when I let you involve yourself to save your sister? All that resulted in was you almost dying."
            "You're really gonna play that card?" John asked plainly.
            "You almost died and you knew what you were doing. This guy thinks a baseball bat will help fend off monsters born from nightmares. I'd like to avoid any unnecessary deaths tonight if you don't mind!"
            "What would you have me do then?" Joey demanded, arms in the air.
            "Be the guaranteed survivor of this entire mess," Blake said.
            Joey glared at Blake a moment before his shoulders sagged and he backed off. "Just..." he started, but hesitated. Blake rolled his eyes, but decided to humor him an extra moment. "Just promise me you'll bring her back," Joey finally got out "Or at least try to." Blake shook his head and stormed off muttering "This idiot," as he left. "We'll do what we have to," John reassured Joey before following Blake.

Pure Human - To the Gas Station

[Posted by Ted H]

Finding time to finish....go figure...

[Pure Human - To the Gas Station]

            The rain continued to fall hard as the storms wind only intensified. Blake marveled at it as he stepped out the car while under the relative protection offered at the gas station pump overhead. John didn't need the gas, but he had mentioned to Blake that this would be where everyone from earlier would meet up. Blake spied a familiar face looking out at him from the station doors; One of the clerks who rudely denied him cigarettes before. Blake held up a pack and stuck his tongue out at them.
            "Mature," John said as he and Blake watched through the rain as two more cars drove in towards them. A flash of lightning briefly illuminated the women in their cars; Kimberly, who was afraid of the sudden lightning, and Whitey, who wore a stern expression as she drove by.
            "How nice of you to wake up and join us," Whitey mocked as she stepped out.
            "Don't you have someone else to annoy at this point?" Blake spat back.
            "What happened to you?" Kimberly asked as she ran over.
            "Our big bad is scared," Blake said "We need to figure out why and stop whatever he's trying."
            "Didn't you just get done earlier saying how we were in an optimistic situation?" John questioned. Blake sighed before continuing. "That was before he made a play at me," he responded "Apparently he has a different way to win that we weren't anticipating."
            "Seriously?" John asked.
            "Yeah," Blake said "He told me pretty much that my usefulness had ended, or something like that."
            "So you were assisting the enemy!" Whitey screamed loud enough to be heard by the gas station attendant through the storm. "Simmer down!" John yelled. "No, it makes sense," Whitey said "That's how you've been one step ahead of me this entire time!"
            "Then why did the ghost man attack him?" Kimberly asked. "Betrayed by your master," Whitey scoffed "Cry me a river."
            "Are you done?" Blake asked "Because I've been one step ahead because unlike you, I'm no amateur. This is my job." John stepped between them. "Calm down, both of you," he said "Blake, what usefulness were we providing him?"
            "Beats me," Blake said as he shrugged "All we've done since arriving is find his pets' crime scenes and kill one of them off."
            "Maybe they get stronger when there's fewer?" John asked "Like they all share the same power supply. One less using the power means more for everyone else?"
            "Nah," Blake said "Then why bother creating seven? One or two would suffice."
            "Maybe ghost guy knows how to be stronger to give his creations more juice!" Brittany said excitedly.
            "No. Guys," Blake started "He wants to amplify his influence, not strengthen its impact."
            "Amplify the what?" Kimberly asked.
            "Make it easier to...do his thing," John said.
            "He needs a better connection," Blake said "Right now he's stuck influencing people under a very specific situation. I guess he's trying to find an easier way to interact with people."
            "He would need a physical body for that," Whitey said.
            "Then why not just possess you instead of try to get you killed?" John asked.
            "And how would you be useful for a physical body?" Kimberly asked.
            Blake thought about it for a moment while a flash of lightning lit everything up nearby. His eyes then went wide as he looked to John. "We need to get to Anin, now!" he shouted. "What?" John asked. "Who?" Kimberly said. "They weren't trying to kill her last night," Blake said "They were going to abduct her!"
            "Holy shit," John said as he sprinted around to the drivers side. "What's going on?" Whitey yelled. "Just follow us, no time!" Blake yelled as he climbed into the car as John started the engine and peeled out back into the storm. "Ok, I know we just did a thing back there," John said as he drove "But I'm a little fuzzy on the details. What's going on with Anin?"
            "Why didn't those things do anything to her back at the house?" Blake asked.
            "Because they're insane?"
            "Vitaearnus needs to strengthen his influence. His goal is to corrupt more people into his monsters with less effort."
            "And how do we and Anin factor into that?"
            "We brought Anin here...and Anin has already exhibited an ability to delve into another person's mind."
            "I thought Anin can only passively observe or some shit, not actually do anything inside someone's brain?"
            "She can open the door, so to speak, which is the hard part."
            "Aw man," John said "This is our fault."
            "Nah," Blake said as he contemplated his shortening cigarette "He's been reaching out to her in her dreams for a while before she came to us. One way or another she'd have ended up here. At least this way we're in a position to help her."
            "But can we actually do anything?"
            "Just drive. Fast."

Pure Human - Doing a Thing

[Posted by Ted H]

Wow....There's a really good excuse....I'm just not gonna talk about it...

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[Pure Human - Doing a Thing]

            Blake needed a moment to understand where he was when he awoke. The world was zooming passed in with darkness, driving rain and bright lights. It took longer than it should have for Blake to realize that he was looking up at streetlights while riding in John's car. "Good morning, princess," John said as Blake rubbed his eyes and sat up from his slouched position. "How long was I out?" Blake asked. "Long enough to have to be carried out," John responded without looking over.
            "Any resistance from those things?" Blake asked as he turned his head to see there was someone in the back seat.
            "Nah," John said "They set fire to the building and made for the hills.
            "Whimps," Blake muttered as he looked to Bryant, handcuffed and holding his injured foot. "Why is he here?" John didn't look away from the road as he said "Would you prefer we leave him to his own devices?"
            "I'd prefer if we tossed him off a bridge," Blake said "You can follow him, too. I thought you said you had him detained?"
            "He was. I had to uncuff him and toss him in here after dragging your ass out."
            "Then how did the building conveniently catch fire?"
            "They did it," Bryant said in a low voice.
            "And they spared you?" Blake asked, skepticism heavy in his voice.
            "I guess they had better things to do."
            John turned away from the road long enough to exchange a look with Blake. Blake then looked back to Bryant and shook his head. "I can shenanigans," he said "Those things don't tend to spare many in their wake. Two people I can think of weren't killed on sight, and those things instead messed heavily with both of them. So you're going to sit there and tell me that they passed you without even a second thought?"
            "Are you honestly going to try and attribute rational thought or motives to those things?" Bryant asked. "Yes," Blake said without missing a beat "Because underneath all that monster and psychotic actions, they're ultimately human." Bryant gave Blake a stern look as the other man turned back around. "Where's your phone?" Blake asked John as he worked a cigarette into his mouth.
            "In my pocket," John said "Can whatever you need wait?"
            "Seriously?" Blake asked "Which pocket?"
            "Stay out of my pants."
            "Be mature. This is important."
            "What's so important that can't wait five God damn minutes?"
            "I just woke up from a Mister Anus attack, and you're wondering what the rush is? I need to call Matthew."
            "What did you call him?" Bryant asked from the back, being ignored.
            "If Matthew had an update," John said "I'm sure he'd have notified us by now."
            "Maybe hearing what just happened to me will narrow down his search," Blake mumbled as he flicked his lighter.
            "Probably not. I'm sure what Anus did back there isn't uncommon."
            "What are you both, twelve?" Bryant said. "Can you not talk right now?" Blake said as he turned around with a freshly lit cigarette and looked to Bryant.
            "I'm just saying," Bryant protested "There's a supernatural monstrosity out there, responsible for all the death and torment going around, that you're making fun of their name. You really think it wise to antagonize something like that?"
            "I do," Blake said as he blew smoke at Bryant "And besides, Anus isn't the true monstrosity behind the death and torment. That would be you." Bryant glared at Blake as he blew more smoke and turned back around. "What have I said about smoking in my car?" John asked, annoyed. "Shut up," Blake said "I was doing a thing."

Pure Human - Dead on a Mountain

[Posted by Ted H]

So...Gonna put up my 2017 New Years Resolution to post with more regularity. Pure Human is almost done...but in my drive to get to the finish, I keep forgetting to actually update the site...

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[Pure Human - Dead on a Mountain]

            Blake should be cold, common sense dictated that since he was sitting near the peak of a mountain. He was quite comfortable though in just his trench coat. He idly thought of a cigarette, but he questioned his ability to light it with the wind blowing the way it was. "I don't particularly feel like looking around," he announced with surprising clarity and volume despite his location, a further indicator that he wasn't actually where he was perceived to be.
            The Faded Man appeared before him, walking up the mountain. "Would you prefer the park again?" he asked as he reached Blake, who stood up. "Nah, that's Anin's dream world," Blake said as he looked about to the cloudy view of his mountain top. "Makes me wonder," he continued "Is the park from Anin's dream world a real park, or just something random?"
            "Is this mountain real?" the Faded Man asked back.
            "Well this IS Everest, right?" Blake said "Or at least what I envision it to be. I doubt you picked it, since I was thinking of it on my own at the time you so rudely intruded my personal space."
            "You bring your dead to the top of a mountain?" the Faded Man asked as Blake began to understand the original question.
            "Not really," Blake said "Everest is no joke. You die, you're left behind. Already too dangerous to begin. Main focus is still how do you get yourself down; no time to think about the dead." The Faded Man furrowed his eyebrows at the statement. "It's odd, I know," Blake said as he looked towards the nearest body to where he sat "But it's a cruel world, isn't that right 'green boots'?" The dead body nearby did not respond.
            "Hmm," Blake muttered "I figured this is my world, I could get him to do something. Maybe I need to focus-"
            The Faded Man cleared his throat, grabbing Blake's attention.
            "Right, whatever," Blake said "So why are we here? A bit early to gloat."
            "You've served your purpose. I'd rather dispose of you now while I have a chance, even if the best I can muster is incapacitating you in a fire."
            "Hoping it slows my friends down and they all get caught in the blaze?" Blake tossed out.
            "Or they just leave you behind, whichever works."
            "What's the matter? I get one of your precious monsters killed and now you don't want me around?"
            "They are expendable, more so once my influence becomes amplified."
            "What makes you think you can even amplify yourself? You've relied on some pretty specific circumstances to this point in order to gain access into people. And what's to say you're gonna be allowed to even get stronger?"
            "Like you even have an inkling on how to stop me," the Faded Man taunted.
            "Then why bother with all of this? If I don't have a clue on how to win, why even concern yourself with my involvement?
            The Faded Man said nothing and smirked at Blake in a way that annoyed him. The kind of smirk you give to someone oblivious to something completely obvious to you. The superior smirk of a smug ass that made Blake want to walk over and pummel the Faded Man until he stopped. As he felt the anger, Blake noticed the wind around him start to pick up and have a bite to it as it blew passed his face. "We're done here," he said.
            "You don't decide anything," the Faded Man replied.
            "You want to strut around and show off how powerful you are," Blake said as he stood up "Show off the hold you have on humans and complain how this is your world and blah blah blah. Funny thing is, right now, you're in my world." At Blake's command, the wind of the mountain began to blow in one direction at the Faded Man, trying to blow him down the mountain.
            "Adorable," the Faded Man commented but ultimately held his footing "But this vessel is of my original creation."
            "And just like Earth, you no longer hold true control over it anymore," Blake shouted over the winds as all the dead on the mountain began to rise up and run for the Faded Man. They were pushed away at first, but soon they numbered too many as they collided to smother the Faded Man. Blake then willed a tremor through the mountain that triggered an avalanche. The falling snow began down the mountain, but curved its path to avoid Blake and head straight for the Faded Man, who was slowly being pushed back away by the wind and the dead.
            The Faded Man struggled to poke his head through the dead and to face Blake briefly before the avalanche hit. He then spoke in such a way that his voice cut through the sound of wind and chaos around to be heard clearly by Blake. "I look forward to twisting you into my pure creation once more." Before Blake even cared to respond, the avalanche crashed through and everyone was gone.