After the Pandemic: The Enemy of My Enemy (part 24): The Empty State Building (1237 hits)
Category: Quotes & StoriesRating: 1.93 on 54 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by The Caes (View user info) at 2005-09-19 23:34:40 EDT
http://www.ubersite.com/m/61238 -- Introduction -- Jack McCallum
http://www.ubersite.com/m/61350 -- Variant C -- Jack McCallum
http://www.ubersite.com/m/61505 -- Part 1: Brianna
http://www.ubersite.com/m/61614 -- Part 2: Khalid
http://www.ubersite.com/m/63145 -- Part 3: The Meeting
http://www.ubersite.com/m/63504 -- Part 4: The Conversation
http://www.ubersite.com/m/63663 -- Part 5: The Story of Manhattan
http://www.ubersite.com/m/64024 -- Part 6: On the Streets of Jersey
http://www.ubersite.com/m/64325 -- Part 7: Tome
http://www.ubersite.com/m/64611 -- Part 8: Faing
http://www.ubersite.com/m/65301 -- Part 9: The Gathering
http://www.ubersite.com/m/65871 -- Part 10: Men Amongst Giants
http://www.ubersite.com/m/66684 -- Part 11: The Temptress and The Aristocrat
http://www.ubersite.com/m/66752 -- Part 12: Trial by Blood
http://www.ubersite.com/m/67296 -- Part 13: Words and Swords
http://www.ubersite.com/m/67769 -- Part 14: Details and Divinity
http://www.ubersite.com/m/68760 -- Part 15: Into the Breach
http://www.ubersite.com/m/69588 -- Part 16: The Ambassador of New York
http://www.ubersite.com/m/69741 -- Part 17: The Devil in the Details
http://www.ubersite.com/m/70550 -- Part 18: The Joker's Wild
http://www.ubersite.com/m/71764 -- Part 19: The Remnants
http://www.ubersite.com/m/72757 -- Part 20: From Below
http://www.ubersite.com/m/73718 -- Part 21: Rise and Shine
http://www.ubersite.com/m/74077 -- Part 22: Hush Little Baby
http://www.ubersite.com/m/74577 -- Part 23: The Prince and the Aristocrat
The ceevees were out in force tonight. They stomped through the Manhattan streets with their jackboots and their stained cudgels. They kicked down doors and prowled through buildings, searching for the human refugees. They sloshed through the sewers and crawled through tunnels. But the survivors were nowhere.
It was just as Tyler hoped. The security was as thin as a bad comb-over. Most of the variants were either in the tunnels or on the streets.
Tyler and his band of remnants came into the Empire State Building through the floors. Domokos had found a tunnel network that went underneath the foundation. Faing had pounded his way through rock and dirt and they all climbed up from below.
Domokos' rats erupted from the tunnel like a geyser, spilling onto the floor and flowing down the hallways. They chittered to him, and his lips curled in a grotesque smile.
"Ugly wee beasties," Faing muttered under his breath.
"They are my childrennn." Domokos grinned, revealing a crooked landscape of fangs. "They are my pretty-prettiesss."
Bashir scouted ahead, skittering along the ceiling. When he came across a guard, silent death came from above. Domokos' kills were slightly less quiet, but much messier. Most of the noise he made came from the crunching of bones.
"Jesus Kee-rist," Cash said, looking over the jagged remains of one of his victims. "That's disgustin'."
Cash sported two silenced pistols, borrowed from Tyler's men. He boasted he could shoot a fly's nuts off from 200 yards, and it seemed he might be right. Every target he encountered received four whispered shots - two for the brain and two for the heart. The variant was always dead before he hit the ground, most of his brain and chest missing.
It wasn't long before they took the stairwell, and headed for the prisoner floors.
Tyler's team spread through the building with precision, following the blanket of death that the kin laid out before them. The Lukers dispatched a few ceevees on their own, efficient, unafraid. Their training had taken over and they moved with purpose. Tyler thought that Tony would be incredibly proud.
Domokos' rats gathered around him, perched on his shoulders and squeaking into his pointed ears. "They sssay the floor is clearrrr, exsssept for the roomsss with closed doorsss." He sniffed the air with the slits that passed for nostrils. "It reeksss of rot and sssweat here. It confusesss my prettiesss."
Tyler wanted to move fast. The longer they lingered the sooner they'd be noticed. "Teams of three or four, spread out, check the doors. Release any prisoners and arm them. If they can walk, they can fight. Short burst to the skull and chest if you spot a ceevee, no matter how dead it looks. That's it. Let's go, kids." His team saluted and broke off.
Tyler took Rick and Neil and went down the north hallway. With Rick on point, they opened doors and cleared each room they passed. They found signs of human prisoners, but nothing more. Working bathrooms. Unmade beds, stacked up in bunks. Books and magazines long out of print. One room even had a flatscreen TV and a DVD player with the most extensive movie library Tyler had seen since the Pandemic hit.
Apparently the ceevees kept their food entertained.
They came to the next door. Neil turned the knob and pushed. It opened for him easily, too easily, and he stumbled into the room, colliding with something on the other side. Neil and the variant he had just bumped into gawked at each other, their hands still holding the opposite ends of the doorknob.
"What are you - " the variant began.
"Aahhh!" Neil shouted, reflexively stepping back. Rick already had his gun drawn, and fired two silenced rounds. The variant turned his head just at the last moment, catching the bullets in his cheek and neck instead of his brain. Rick fired again, but the veecee was already on the move. He lurched forward and grabbed Neil by the lapels, hurling him into Rick. Rick fell hard and bounced the back of his head off the tile floor.
With Neil out of the line of sight, Tyler fired his silenced pistol. The variant's head snapped back as the bullets punched into his skull. He stumbled on his heels, then dropped into a crouch and dove forward, tackling Tyler around the midsection. The air left his lungs with a wheeze as the momentum carried him into the wall.
A steel vise clamped around his throat. He was looking into the piss yellow eyes of the monster, snarling at him through cracked lips. Blood leaked from two bullet holes in his forehead and trickled down his face. Tyler's vision went black for a moment. His pistol dropped through his slack fingers as he gasped for breath.
He heard the anxious whispers of silenced gunfire, and the pressure disappeared from his neck. Tyler coughed and choked the air back into his body as his vision cleared up. Neil was backpedaling away from the creature, firing wildly as he went. He tagged the variant in the shoulder, but his other shots went wide. The hybrid advanced, curling his fingers around the makeshift handle of the iron pipe on his belt. The swing whistled through the air, ending with a crunching sound as Neil's gun-hand shattered under the impact. He dropped to his knees with a cry. The variant pulled back for another blow.
"Please don't." Neil asked simply.
The pipe crashed into the side of his head, pulling him a few inches off the ground. Neil sprawled across the hallway face down and didn't move.
"Where were we?" The variant asked, turning back on Tyler.
Tyler fumbled with his weapon as the veecee ran towards him, club whirling about his head. He finally fit his finger onto the trigger, and opened up on his chest. He heard the shots continue even after he had emptied the clip, and the variant jerked back and forth in front of him. When the thing finally collapsed, he saw Rick on the other side of it, sitting against the wall and massaging the shaggy mat of hair on the back of his head. There was smoke coming from the chamber of his gun.
Rick nodded to him in acknowledgement. Tyler nodded back.
"If this isn't the perfect time for a smoke, I don't know what is." Tyler said with a gravelly cough. He pulled out a fag and lit it up. After he blew a long jet of smoke at the ceiling, he held the pack up in an offering.
"Those things'll kill ya." Rick said flatly.
"No they won't." Tyler paused for a small cough. "They take too damn long. Is Neil alive?" Tyler stood and walked to where Neil lay. It didn't seem likely. He dropped to a knee and put his fingers to his throat.
"I got nothing. He's gone."
"That's all I needed to hear," Rick said from behind him.
Tyler caught movement in his periphery. He didn't think at what it was, but he didn't need to. Something in his gut sensed what his brain could not, and seized control of his body. He twisted toward the movement just in time. The iron pipe thudded into the arm and shoulder he had put up to protect his head. The impact knocked him on his back.
Rick was standing over him, holding the variant's club.
"The FUCK are you doing??"
Rick didn't answer, but swung the weapon down. The club clanged off the floor as Tyler rolled to the side. Tyler kicked Rick in the back of the knee, folding his leg underneath him. Rick adjusted his weight and landed on top of Tyler, dropping his elbow on his face.
"You fuh - hurrrrk" Tyler's words garbled in the air as Rick wrapped his hands around his neck. The grip didn't have the same steel as the variants. But it would do the job.
"Don't fight me. Don't fight me." Rick said quietly. "It'll all be over soon. You didn't survive. You and Neil were both killed by that guard. I'm sorry."
"Sorry...my...hhhk...ass - " Muscles bulged out of Tyler's neck. He punched at Rick's ribs but he didn't have the leverage to do any damage. He reached for his face but Rick's arms were too long. Tyler's hand dropped to the floor, flopping around blindly for something to use as a weapon.
"I AM sorry. I'm sorry you weren't smart enough to step aside for the better man. I'm sorry I was so unlucky as to get there second. Selfish! I can't let you take what should be mine, just because you're selfish! Look what I have to do! It shouldn't have to BE like this!" He squeezed harder.
Tyler tried to buck him off, but Rick's weight was pinning him down too effectively.
"Give it up. You know you're no match for me. You fight, but I'm a fighter. You're half the soldier I am." He was talking through clenched teeth now. "Just let it go, and it'll be clean."
Tyler's eyes were watering. The edge of his vision was darkening, like a dying light bulb. His body was shuddering in an effort to pull oxygen in.
He felt something at the tips of his fingers.
Tyler thrust the lit end of his cigarette towards Rick's eye and twisted it in. Rick screamed and jerked back, clutching at his face.
Tyler's throat burned as the air charged into his body and slammed into his lungs. He pulled his knees to his chest and then kicked out, knocking Rick back.
Both men scrambled to their feet. Rick covered his eye with his palm, blinking tears away. Tyler's windpipe was so raw that it felt like he was breathing broken glass.
"My eye! You burned my fucking eye!" Rick yelled.
"Come on then!" Tyler responded hoarsely. "You're such a fucking badass, fight me now!"
Rick started throwing punches. Tyler immediately went back on his heels under the attack. Rick's hands were fast and accurate. He ducked and weaved and took most of the hits on his guard, but Rick landed a sweetheart of a left hook on his ribs and knocked him a good one on the forehead. Tyler tossed a few shots of his own but Rick absorbed them without breaking form.
"You're fuckin' dead!" Rick huffed as he battered him.
Tyler knew he couldn't beat him this way. Rick was too good to go toe-to-toe with. In desperation, Tyler grabbed Rick's collar and tugged towards himself, simultaneously lowering his head and pushing it forward. Rick's nose smashed into the top of his head, breaking his assault and stunning him.
Tyler didn't waste the moment. He fell with him and ended up sitting on Rick's chest. He rained his fists down on him, hammering for all he was worth. Rick covered up with his forearms, but Tyler snuck a few hits in from some odd angles. Tyler threw a left, but his arm was caught by something in mid-air. Rick had hooked his leg around his shoulder. His other leg came up across Tyler's chest, and as Rick straightened his body out, Tyler was thrown off.
Tyler rolled to his feet, but Rick made it up the same time he did and came straight for him. This time, Tyler didn't trade with him. Instead, he dove low as Rick came in swinging high. Tyler's shoulder rammed into Rick's shins, tripping him. But again, he recovered quickly. Before Tyler was solid on his feet, a kick exploded into his belly, knocking him back.
Tyler felt his heel hit something metal as he staggered backward. His eyes flicked down to confirm what it was.
Rick was charging in again. Tyler put his hands up high, exposing his midsection. Just like he hoped, Rick went for the easy target and landed a straight shot on his stomach. Tyler went down like his legs were made of string.
"Stop," he moaned from all fours.
Rick cocked his head to the side to look down on him. His wounded eye was open, but blackened, glassy, and leaking tears. He kicked Tyler in the side. Tyler rolled over and fell on the metal club that the variant had dropped, shielding it with his body.
"No more," Tyler cried. "Please, no more."
A wicked grin twisted around Rick's face. "I knew it." He dropped a short kick into Tyler's kidneys and laughed. "I knew it. You're a coward! You don't deserve her. You're as big a fake as that fucking vampyre traitor." Another kick, this time like he was playing soccer. Tyler felt a wet popping in his side as one of his ribs broke. "You can't lead, can't shoot, can't fight..." He pulled his size eleven boot back for a 4th-down punt.
As he swung it forward, Tyler swung the pipe to meet it. The metal kissed Rick's shin, blasting through the tibia and cracking the fibula. Rick wailed in pain and surprise and staggered back. Off balance, the foot of his injured leg stomped on the floor, and the jolt of his body weight completed the break in his shinbones. His leg took on a V-shape halfway between his knee and his ankle, and he crumpled to the ground screaming.
Tyler rose to one knee, holding his busted rib. "Maybe I'm half the fighter you are," he spat, "but I'm twice as fucking dirty."
Suddenly Rick was scrambling, belly crawling along the floor on his elbows. His one foot flapped about randomly. He was reaching for something, but before he got there, something hard crashed against his skull, stabbing his chin on the tiles. The world spun awkwardly around him for a moment. When it stopped moving, he saw the pistol he was racing for barely five feet in front of him. Then he saw a pair of combat boots shuffle into his narrow field of vision. One of the boots kicked the gun away.
Rick started at the boots and followed the legs, up the body, until he was looking Tyler straight in his eyes. "Fuck you."
"Fuck me?" Tyler gave him the finger. "Fuck YOU, G.I. Joe." Tyler said, and then crushed his skull.
Tyler tossed the bloody club to the floor and leaned against the wall. He slid down until he was sitting. He felt queasy. He was pretty sure he was in shock.
It doesn't feel the same, killing something that isn't already dead. In a strange way, Tyler was a little glad for that.
He heard tromping footsteps coming down the hall. It was the Lukers, coming to investigate the noises.
"A little late to the party," Tyler sighed to himself.
"God! Anyone alive here? Who's there?" The man on point called out.
"Just me." He said.
****************
"Found him, sir."
Nate hurried to his squad-mate's side. Khalid lay on the floor before him, and he looked like hell. He sported several cuts, bloodless but deep. The left half of his face was scarred and pockmarked like ground beef, which didn't make any sense...Tyler told him he had been shot point blank with a Mossberg. But most curious was the odd burn that slashed from his shoulder to his opposite hip.
"Release me, human." Abayome bit the command out.
"Let her down, Jeff. The Russian too." Nate took a second look at her face. It looked like what murder should look like. "Uh, but keep your distance."
Nate considered Khalid. He was at a loss. He slapped his face gently. "Hey. Khalid. You okay?" Nate rolled his eyes, but what more could he do? The Arab could be dancing a jig in front of him and he still wouldn't have a pulse. How do you check for life signs when the body wasn't alive in the first place?
"Step aside. I will tend to him." Nate jumped at the chilled voice. Bashir was standing right next to him.
"Jeezus," he muttered under his breath.
Bashir knelt down in front of him. "You have it?"
Nate nodded. He motioned to one of his men. He pulled a steel cylinder from his pack and handed it to Nate. Bashir took it wordlessly.
"Is he all right?" Nate asked.
Bashir did not answer. He unscrewed the top of the cylinder and smelled the contents. Most of the blood they had brought with them had been lost in the attack, but two containers remained.
"Khalid is extremely difficult to kill. This I know too well."
The tattooed man lifted Khalid's head and rested it, surprisingly gently, on his palm. He tilted the head back and put the cylinder to his lips. The red liquid poured slowly into his mouth. Not a drop spilled.
He handed the cylinder back to Nate. "The rest to them." Bashir pointed to Abayome and Svetlana, who was barely conscious.
Something caught Nate's eye. He looked at the decapitated head of the variant they found. He looked like some kind of doctor, but why these mutants would ever need a doctor was beyond him.
Wait.
Wait. Did that head just blink?
"Holy shit. That thing just blinked at me."
"What?" Abayome wiped her lips clean of blood and handed the cylinder off. "What did you just say, human?"
"Look at the head! It's blinking. I think it's alive!"
Abayome's grin was all teeth, like a panther about to feast. "Delicious," she purred.
Suddenly Khalid sat bolt upright. "El khara dah?!"
"Peace. You are safe for now." Bashir said with the voice of a statue. "We are killing the Butcher tonight, Blood Shedder. Are you fit to join us?"
Khalid flexed his fingers and stared at his palms. Fresh blood was flowing through him at last. He ached all over. His chest felt like it was still on fire. His head was pounding like he had been sleeping in the desert sun. His vision was blurry on one side and his knee throbbed painfully.
"I'm in the perfect mood for killing." He growled.
The Doctor watched as Abayome's bare feet padded across the cold floor, hips swaying with each elegant step. She stood in front of him, nearly naked and completely unconcerned. She lifted his head up so she could look at him eye-to-eye.
"This is your fitting fortune, Doctor. I am going educate you. This is what pain means." With that, she plunged her fingers into his skull.
If the Doctor had a throat, he would have been deafened by the sound of his own screams.
User Reviews
Submitted by Axolotl (user info) at 2006-04-06 11:13:09 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by thecaes (user info) at 2005-09-30 14:10:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Next part is up.
Jack, I've heard doctors say they expect a flu epidemic to hit within the next ten years, on par, if not more devastating, than the WWI pandemic that killed like, a million people in North America or something like that.
Good times ahead!
Submitted by Jack_McCallum (user info) at 2005-09-30 09:18:35 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
http://www.ubersite.com/m/74386#1619037
Submitted by bob (user info) at 2005-09-29 22:46:10 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
I live off RedBull
Submitted by thecaes (user info) at 2005-09-29 22:34:37 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Ha ha, that's fantastic!
Tons of people drink Red Bull up here. I don't particularly care for the taste, or the apparent fact that it can send me into a rampage, or that it's not recommended for children.
Actually the rampaging part sounds pretty awesome.
Writing the last quarter or so of the next installment right now.
Submitted by Jack_McCallum (user info) at 2005-09-29 21:33:18 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by thecaes (user info) at 2005-09-29 20:28:20 (#)
Ranking: 0
Li'l FYI on Red Bull -- it's recommended that you don't drink more than one can per day. In Canada there's warnings on the cans to that effect. I recently found out that the American cans don't have that warning.
It's because your government hates you.
--
Canada: Wimpy.
We've already had a case of Red Bull Rage down here.
Some guy drank a bunch of it and went apeshit and the cops took him away.
Submitted by HadToBeDone (user info) at 2005-09-29 20:53:15 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Part 24. Jesus, man. I'm pretty much out of ideas at 7.
Submitted by thecaes (user info) at 2005-09-29 20:29:32 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Next one will be up tomorrow, most likely.
Submitted by thecaes (user info) at 2005-09-29 20:28:20 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Li'l FYI on Red Bull -- it's recommended that you don't drink more than one can per day. In Canada there's warnings on the cans to that effect. I recently found out that the American cans don't have that warning.
It's because your government hates you.
Submitted by bob (user info) at 2005-09-29 20:23:41 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
new installment now
Submitted by Jack_McCallum (user info) at 2005-09-29 15:53:29 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Red Bull.
Drink some.
I'm firing some down right now for another trip to Allahtown.
It works wonders.
Submitted by Jack_McCallum (user info) at 2005-09-29 15:52:48 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I just finished writing my short-short tale using a couple of your characters.
It has a very neat twist.
I'm gonna put it in Tupperware and stick it in the fridge for later.
Submitted by Jack_McCallum (user info) at 2005-09-29 15:51:14 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick-tick
Submitted by thecaes (user info) at 2005-09-29 12:18:27 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Shut it
Submitted by Spam (user info) at 2005-09-29 04:56:30 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
a post a week huh?
You're overdue.
Submitted by mbstateside (user info) at 2005-09-23 17:09:18 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
As Tony the Tiger would say Grrrrrrreeeeeeeeaaaaat!
Submitted by thecaes (user info) at 2005-09-20 23:00:16 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
I'll do my best to speed things up Jack. Hopefully a post a week or so.
Submitted by JonnyX (user info) at 2005-09-20 19:05:53 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Jack_McCallum (user info) at 2005-09-20 17:05:24 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Caes...
I just hit page 7 of my ______ story using a few of your characters.
Kinda quiet at work right now.
Depending on who lives and who dies, I will probably have to rewrite.
I'll sit on it until you finish this series.
I guess this makes us symbiotes...
Submitted by Dirtbird (user info) at 2005-09-20 13:28:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by thecaes (user info) at 2005-09-20 13:09:13 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
That's okay Jack. It happens.
Submitted by Jack_McCallum (user info) at 2005-09-20 12:49:28 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Fuck.
Submitted by Jack_McCallum (user info) at 2005-09-20 12:49:20 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Sorry. Wish we could go back to only the 1st rating counting.
Submitted by Jack_McCallum (user info) at 2005-09-20 12:48:53 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I fucking blew out your +2 rating. Fucking goddammit.
Submitted by Yes (user info) at 2005-09-20 12:33:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
fucking awesome.
Submitted by JMG114 (user info) at 2005-09-20 12:22:08 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Nice. I love the dialogue and the action descriptions. You're quite good with that.
Submitted by zakalwe (user info) at 2005-09-20 12:04:32 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
hmmm
Submitted by zakalwe (user info) at 2005-09-20 12:03:58 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
ah, the veecee I was talking about had his neck broken, not severed. though you could ask how he breathed and expelled the air required to speak without the use of his lungs? or can you still breath with a broken neck? I wonder.
Submitted by thecaes (user info) at 2005-09-20 11:58:51 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Well, I don't want to give it away for everyone. I can email you if you like.
Submitted by Jack_McCallum (user info) at 2005-09-20 11:43:50 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Submitted by thecaes (user info) at 2005-09-20 11:33:03 (#)
Ranking: 0
Jack, you can of course borrow some of the surviving characters -- just let me know if you're going to bump any of the major ones off. What's the deal with your hole in the ground post, anyway? I know you intended it to be a multi-author project like ATP, but you never actually said that in your post...
--
It was, but I'm so fucking busy these days my mind is all over the place.
Plus, I just got the idea for borrowing one of your characters, or maybe two.
I'm gonna start writing now, with generic characters. It'll just be a one shot. Once your series is done and I see who survives, I can plug them in.
Unless you can tell me now.
Tyler? Khalid?
If one is guaranteed to live I'll use him.
Of course, if you asked me to divulge something like that I'd say FYA.
Submitted by thecaes (user info) at 2005-09-20 11:33:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Heh, I had no idea what you guys were talking about with curriculum vitae. Had to google it.
Oh, and I forgot a couple people:
Benny, I dont' have any plans for what to do next, but I tell you what I WON'T be doing...super long series like this. I might just stick to one-shots for a while.
Jack, you can of course borrow some of the surviving characters -- just let me know if you're going to bump any of the major ones off. What's the deal with your hole in the ground post, anyway? I know you intended it to be a multi-author project like ATP, but you never actually said that in your post...
Submitted by thecaes (user info) at 2005-09-20 11:26:04 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Ooooh, lots of questions on this one! That's probably a bad sign, but I like talking about this stuff.
Spam, ceevee and veecee are interchangeable. I was just looking for different names to be calling the creatures, and since the abbreviations come from C Variant or Variant C, I thought both would be valid.
I don't think I have the energy to publish a book on this by myself, as it would require a LOT of fleshing things out, but I'm very flattered at the suggestion. I would however, totally be willing to contribute my part of the ATP world into a larger book.
Tim, I was trying not to get too bogged down on descriptions when I was talking about that cylinder o' blood. I think I often over-describe things so I was trying to be a little streamlined. I pictured it as being the size of one of those 2L plastic coke bottles (don't know what that is in ounces), but twice as tall. I think 4 litres is about...52 ounces? Also, Abayome really didn't need much blood; she wasn't really wounded in comparison to Khalid or Svetlana. In my head, the vampyres need blood in relation to how much they exert themselves or are hurt. I wanted to focus more on the conflict in this story rather than the mechanics...this thing is already WAY longer than I intended.
Spam/Bigbabylons -- I'm pretty pleased by the amount of hits this series gets. Not a lot, but it does okay for big long fiction.
Zak -- I don't know who you're talking about -- there was that variant that they interrogated when they first came to Manhattan, but they broke his neck, they didn't decapitate him. Is that what you mean, or did I mess up? Hmm, gotta go back and check now...
Thanks a lot guys. Glad you're enjoying it.
Submitted by nrduncan (user info) at 2005-09-20 10:55:36 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I Have been waiting on this for a couple weeks now. How dare you make me wait.
On the other hand it was worth the wait. I can't wait for the next one.
Great stuff.
Submitted by Jack_McCallum (user info) at 2005-09-20 09:15:05 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Enjoyable stuff. Glad you didn't kill off Ty.
When this series is done I may be tempted to borrow one or two surviving characters for a one shot that could offer an interesting twist...
Submitted by Benny (user info) at 2005-09-20 09:06:38 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Very well described fight scene there. Rick was a bit of a turd burglar so it's no great shame that he is dead (he was a good fighter though).
Khalid going apeshit on the Viet Cong Cariculam Vitaes is going to be awesome. If you are starting to rap this up do you have any idea what you are going to do next?
Submitted by Professional_Peon (user info) at 2005-09-20 09:06:02 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Dude! You should end it by having Brianna wake up all sweaty (like the whole thing was a nightmare) next to a chick... hot chick. Then have hot chick be all "hey baby what's wrong?" and then have hot chick vamp out and bite Brianna in the neck.
What?
It's just an idea. Lesbianism is always a good way to end a story.
Submitted by MyNameIsTim (user info) at 2005-09-20 08:50:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
and one more for good l uck
Submitted by LadyPlural (user info) at 2005-09-20 08:49:30 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Fuck me but I love epic fight scenes like that...
Submitted by MyNameIsTim (user info) at 2005-09-20 08:46:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
awesome. totally, completely, utterly awesome.
i wish we knew more about the sweet vampires need for blood. we know they need it, but dont' know how much, how frequently...etc. we just learned that a 'container' can revive (does that word work here?) 3 of them...but i feel like we shoudl know more.
just a thought.
thanks
Submitted by hcp28 (user info) at 2005-09-20 08:45:51 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
This was great can't wait for the next one.
Submitted by zakalwe (user info) at 2005-09-20 08:12:58 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
why is it ceevee now rather than veecee?
I always thought viet-cong was more malevolent than curriculum vitae.
also, the Doctor had no throat and so could not scream, but the veecee/ceevee that was decapitated when they first hit the city was able to speak, right?
plus, I want to see Khalid lay down some almighty wrath. now.
Submitted by Spam (user info) at 2005-09-20 06:49:47 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Yeah, it'd fucking Rock.
You could have Jack's intro (padded out a little to set the rest up a little better), then smattering of shorts interspersed with Jack's Smith series here and there and then finish it all up with this masterpiece just because I think that starting and finishing the compilation with Tyler would be a nice touch.
All told it'd probably weigh in at around 400-550 pages of awesome.
Submitted by iradney (user info) at 2005-09-20 06:40:04 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
jeeeeeeeeeesus that was hardcore - SO glad Rick finally bit it at the end!! *cheers*
<3 this series
Submitted by Viper_04 (user info) at 2005-09-20 06:08:33 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
A collection of them....?
Just this series would be bordering on an entire book!
Submitted by Spam (user info) at 2005-09-20 06:06:10 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by bigbabylons (user info) at 2005-09-20 05:56:03 (#)
Ranking: 2
Why doesn't this shit get more hits, and by shit i mean excellent stuff.
--
You'd be surprised, I think the rest of the posts are averageing about 300-400 hits which is quite a bit for a 25 part series. Well deserved too.
I still think that a compilation of the ATP stories would make a fantastic book.
Submitted by bigbabylons (user info) at 2005-09-20 05:56:03 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Why doesn't this shit get more hits, and by shit i mean excellent stuff.
Submitted by Spam (user info) at 2005-09-20 04:54:40 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Awesome as always. I'm really looking forward to re-reading thisonve it's finished.
A tiny thing though, I noted that halfway through CeeVee turns into VeeCee - I suppose the two are interchangable, but wasn't sure if it was intentional?
Submitted by supadupapupa (user info) at 2005-09-20 04:31:56 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Beautiful, it's getting quite good!
Submitted by Viper_04 (user info) at 2005-09-20 04:22:06 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Nice...very nice indeed
Finally Rick died, he sucked!
Submitted by HadToBeDone (user info) at 2005-09-20 00:07:35 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Just kill everyone. That's what I do in mine.
Submitted by bob (user info) at 2005-09-20 00:03:25 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
lets see, 30-35 parts.
average of 5-7 per part.
thats already 150-245 pgs.
publish this shit.
Submitted by thecaes (user info) at 2005-09-19 23:56:42 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Thanks Saxy.
There's some 'umph' next episode. And then more on the next.
And I should probably start trying to figure out how I'm going to end this thing.
Submitted by Saxon (user info) at 2005-09-19 23:53:53 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Ive never thought the humerus was very funny.
This is a great series man. Its easy to see you are having fun writing it.
Submitted by Grownasskid (user info) at 2005-09-19 23:44:37 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
aw man, it's all comming to a head.
I liked the fight between Rick and Tyler.
This post seemed like it was missing some umph, but im guessing the umph is coming soon.
good stuff