Cosmic Undead: Contenders

Robbery

The blue shirt guy stared through the dark glasses. He had an ice cream cone in his hand, slowly biting in as he observed the shadow of something that looked like a g*n. He looked away for a second. “We should go home, Tara. It’s late”, he called, loudly.

“Keep your voice down”, the cashier said. “We turned off the music for a reason”

“Sorry. I have this weird phobia for the dark”, the guy replied. “Once it’s late, I begin to see things that ain’t there”

He looked back at the glass. The g*n reflection wasn’t there. It was just the ground and a dull light. He turned his head slightly and he could see the g*n again, but at a different spot behind the glasses. He walked towards the glass slowly. His heart pounded, heavily, as he imagined an attack happening. The more he stared at the glass, the clearer the g*n appeared. He continued to approach it, breathing loudly.

“Kevin?”, a voice called behind him, startling him. It was Tara, his sister. “What’s it? What are you looking at?”

He looked back at the glass and the g*n was gone again. “Um… nothing”, he muttered. “Let’s get out of here”

The two of them walked out of the shop and headed home. Kevin forgot the incident, quickly.

The cashier sat down. He pulled a radio, on the table, closer to himself and turned up the volume. “This one should be endurable, at least”, he muttered to himself and sighed.

A lady walked to his counter and dropped her goods. He stood up and collected her credit card. “Doesn’t look like you’re enjoying your job”

“The neighbors seem to have a problem with the only fun thing around here”, he replied, as he counted her purchase. “Who thinks good music is noise?’”

The lady smiled. “Depends on your definition of good music”, she replied, as he returned the credit card to her. “There’s always a way to enjoy what you’re doing. If music’s not doing it, another thing will”

“Thank you”, the man smiled.

“What now? You going to kiss her?”, a man asked, out of nowhere, in a serious tone.

“I’m sorry. What do you mean?”

“Don’t mind him. He’s my husband”, the lady said and walked towards the exit.

The man glared at the cashier, like he’d slam his head on the counter if he got the chance. “I’ll see you later”, he muttered, threateningly, and turned.

“Everybody get down!!”, a voice ordered, loudly.

“Aargh!”, the lady screamed and ran back, as five masked men rushed in with guns.

…….

“When will Mia be back?”, Tupac asked. “I think we should go out”

“Well, she definitely doesn’t want me to go out”, Jeremy replied, lying boringly on the bed.

“You know the only problem I have with being tethered to you? It’s the part where the boringness spreads and we all lose our senses of humor”, Prof Adkins said.

“I don’t understand you. First; you mentioned spread and that means it transfers from me to you. Then; you mention sense of humor. My sense of humor’s intact”

“Okay, let’s try this”, Greg said. “You’re handsome”

“I look in the mirror everyday so I know. Thank you”

They burst into laughter. “Now, that’s it. Your sense don’t get the humor”

“What? i’m handsome. What are you laughing at?”, Jeremy asked, frowning. “That’s why Mia has a crush on me”

“That’s another joke and you know it”, Patmos said. “It’s like saying Queen Elizabeth has a crush on me”

“That’s totally different. Queen Elizabeth doesn’t even know you exist. Do you want to ask her when she gets back?”

“Don’t push your luck, Jerry”, Big Momma advised. “Don’t try it”

“Whatever”, Jeremy sprung up from the bed and grabbed a hood he had hung on the door. “We can go now but we better get back before Mia returns home”

………….

He flipped the hood to cover his face and put his hands in his pockets. “Everything feels so strange now. f**k! I used to have a better life”

“You were only gone for two years and you think it’s strange”, Tupac replied. “Imagine leaving town and returning after 25 years, then all the ones you left behind are either old or dead”

“Where are we going, Jeremy?”, Lisa asked.

“The store. It’s just down the street”, Jeremy replied, as they approached the small store.

“Why does it look like there’s a robbery operation going on in there?”, Billy said, casually, gaining their attention. The glass wasn’t very clear to see through but they could see through it, at least.

“And they’re not playing music. Maybe it’s actually happening”, Jeremy said and ran down to the store.

“Where are you going? You’ll get us killed!”, Becca said. “Oh. Sorry I forgot”.

Jeremy pushed the door open with his leg and walked in, dramatically. “You’ll be needing a little more makeup to make this perfect”, Patmos suggested.

“Good idea”, Jeremy muttered.

“Get down!”, one of the armed men howled, pointing a g*n at Jeremy.

“Yes”, Jeremy replied, softly. “Get down”

His eyes glowed bright red, under the hood. He made rough sharp-edged thorns grow around him, making him look like a demon.

“Holy sh-“, the robbers muttered and shot at him, repeatedly.

Jeremy remained in one position, as the bullets bounced off his body. “Is that all you got?”, Jeremy asked, when they stopped shooting. “My turn”

Jeremy stretched out his arms and the ghosts walked out of his body. Everyone stared at him, awed and horrified at the same time. They could see the ghosts in real human bodies, like humans walking out of another human.

Patmos walked to the closest robber and simply pulled the g*n out of his hand, slamming the buttstock against the robber’s head. Billy walked towards another robber, who seemed to be already shivering. He raised the g*n to shoot at Billy but Billy held the g*n in his hand. He held on tightly to the g*n till it melted. “Aargh!”, the robber screamed in pain and fell on his knees, stretching out his fingers, as the hot metal burnt his skin.

“Stay back!”, one of the robbers said, as he could see Greg approaching, and grabbed a young boy. He put his g*n to the boy’s head and held him tightly. “Stay back or I’ll shoot him”

Greg stood, smiling at the robber doubtfully.

“I swear to God I’ll shoot him”, the robber repeated.

“Fine. I’ll stand back”, Greg said and turned his back. Immediately, he pulled out two knives out of thin air and threw one back at the robber’s chest. The robber staggered back, with the knife in his chest, but didn’t let go of the boy. He was about to shoot the boy in the head when Billy threw a ball of fire at him, throwing him back against the shelves.

The remaining two robbers fell on their knees and begged. “Please, let us go. We won’t come back. I swear”, one of them said.

“No, you won’t”, Tupac said and leaned closer to Jeremy. “We are getting late”

“Let’s tie them up”, Jeremy whispered back.

“Ok. The ladies should do that. They’ve done nothing”

Jeremy looked around. Big Momma, Becca and Lisa had a cart with them, already shopping from the shelves. Jeremy pulled out a rope out of nowhere and flung it at the robbers, tying the two of them together. Greg, Billy and Patmos pulled the other three robbers and they tied them all up.

Jeremy sighed and made the thorns disappear from his body. The red glow in his eyes also disappeared but his face was still totally shadowed in the hood. “You can call the police to take care of them..... You owe me one”, Jeremy said, as he dropped some dollar notes on the cashier’s desk. The ladies put the items in a bag, handed it to Jeremy and walked back into his body. He walked towards the exit.

“Hey…”, the cashier called. “Who are you?”

“Undead”, he replied. “The Undead; that’s what they call me”

Jeremy turned, about to walk out of the store, when he saw Prof Adkins rummaging the newspapers in the store. “Prof, we’re late. It’s time to go”, Jeremy said.

Prof Adkins picked two newspapers and walked up to Jeremy. He turned to the people who were still staring at them. “You guys should probably go home too. I’m sure we are not weirdest thing in town, at the moment”, he said, handed the newspapers to Jeremy, and walked into his body.

Jeremy walked out of the store and increased his pace. Time wasn’t really on their side. “Now that you decided to go shopping, I wonder what you want me to say when Mia asks how I paid for all of this”

“You want to tell her you bought this?”, Big Momma asked. “I thought this was a secret”

“Well, now that you bought a lot of things, the secret just got overwhelming”

“You’ll just make it invisible”, Prof Adkins advised.

“Yea, so what do you need the papers for?”

“When I was young and alive, I had the premonition that someone named Biden will rule the United States. Here it is; Joe Biden”

“Ok… but premonitions are supposed to be negative so I think that’s the wrong word”

“You want to teach me English now? ‘cause I’m pretty sure this Biden man is definitely bald”

“I can bet my net worth he’s not bald”

“Ha ha… you broke a*s piece of s**t”

***★***

“How was work, today?”, Jeremy asked, cheerfully.

“Why are you smiling at me that way? Did you throw a party while I was away?”, Mia asked, as she dropped herself on the couch.

“Yea, you caught me”

Mia smiled at him. “Your sense of humor seems to have grown while you were away”, she said.

“The sense of humor is jump-started by Confidence”, Jeremy said, replaying the incident at the store in his head. He was literally fighting the urge to tell her a thrilling story about how an hooded outcast stopped five armed robbers at the store… but she had warned him not to leave the house and she didn’t know what he was capable of doing.

“Wait! You didn’t actually throw a party, did you?”, Mia asked, staring at the ground like she could see something.

Jeremy’s eyes opened widely, as Mia stared directly at the spot he had kept the bag they brought from the store. “A party? No, I didn’t”, Jeremy replied. “Now that you’re taking it so easily, I wish I did”

“You didn’t know the plans I had for you, If that actually happened”, she replied, teasingly. “I already ordered a pocket knife. For every rule you break in this house, I’m cutting out a piece”

“You don’t mean that, do you?”, Jeremy asked.

She stood up, slowly, and walked into her room. “I think she means it, Jerry. We better sit our a*s in here”, Tupac said.

“She didn’t say good night. I think she’s gone to sleep”

Prof Adkins sighed. “She’s coming back out”, he said. “The only f*******n thing here is you going to bed before her”

Mia walked out of the room in her pajamas and sat back on the couch. “So let me tell you what happened at work, today”

“I’ll be glad to hear that, as long as it doesn’t have to do with the cops and me”

Mia chuckled. “Don’t worry. You’re safe here”, she said. “I haven’t even told Dave about you, yet”

“I would have gone to him if you weren’t caging me in here”, Jeremy replied, with a smile, to sound as nice as possible.

“Don’t ruin the fun in my story, please. This is for your safety”

“I know that, Amy… and I’m grateful. I am very grateful”, Jeremy said. “So let’s talk about how you got a raise”

“I wish”, she chuckled. “The day started nice-“

“That’s not the fun part, I bet”

“Whatever! I like to give details”

“Go on”

“It’s my boss’s birthday so he gave us gifts and he gave a discount to all customers”, she continued her story. “So let’s get to the fun part-”

“Yea, finally”

“Shut up and listen- a guy tried to steal a can of hotdogs”, she said. “The security guard caught him in the act. The guy kept looking round and round and thought he was safe. Immediately he dipped it in his pocket, the guard showed up to him. The guard acted as if he didn’t see it happen so he just walked up to the guy and touched his pocket. The guy was like, ‘what’s up with you? What are you touching?’. The guard was like ‘sorry. I think my hotdog jumped off the shelf and flew towards your pocket. I’m tryna find it’”

Jeremy laughed. “Ha ha. Crazy. I’ll like that guard”, he said. “Did you watch it all happen or you were told?”

“I was told. Whatever!... But I saw the second one so I tried to do the same thing the guard did”

“What?! Two thieves in a day?”, Jeremy exclaimed. “Your store’s jinxed; no doubt”

“Mine was an epic fail”, she continued. “The guy shouted at me, ‘you trying to harass me, sexually?’”

Jeremy laughed. “What did you do?”

“I stepped back a bit. I just couldn’t continue with the dumb plan so I just shouted back ‘thief! Return the can to the shelf’. The guard showed up and dealt with him”

Jeremy laughed at her. “Epic fail”

“Don’t laugh at me”, she laughed too. “It would have worked if I were a guy”

“Or it would have worked if you didn’t touch the f*******n thing in his pants”

Mia stared at him for a second, obviously holding back a laugh. “I’ll go to bed now”, she said and stood up. “Good night”

“Dream about me”, Jeremy said, innocently, and stood up too.

Mia looked back at him for another second, still wearing the half-smile look, and nodded, before walking into her room. Jeremy stood there, wondering what was going on in her mind, for a second. “Go to bed, i***t”, Greg said. “You’re the only one awake”

“So you’re not awake?”

“Just go to sleep”, Greg said.

“I just want to be sure of what’s going on”, Jeremy replied. “I’ll go to bed and you should sleep too… and don’t masturbate in my head”

“Now that you’ve reminded me of that, I’m looking forward to doing it”

**★**

He glanced at his wristwatch. It was 2:00 AM. He had lost track of time at the bar. The whole place was properly lightened and he was buzzed, already. He walked on the empty streets, barely keeping his balance. The lights went off, suddenly. He stopped walking and looked around. The lights had gone off, everywhere, and the night was at it’s darkest. He could barely see where he was going. He heard a sudden bang, jerking him back to sobriety for a second. “Who’s there?”, he asked, standing still, and listening for any movement.

“Help!”, a voice called, sounding muffled. “I’m in the dumpsite. Please, I need to get out of here”

He couldn’t see who was talking but he could trace where the voice was coming from. “The dumpsite? How did you get in there?”

“I don’t know. I just woke up in here. Please, help me out of here”, the voice replied.

“How am I supposed to help you?”

“The gate. There is a lock there. Just break it and open the gate. Please, I need to get out of here”

“Ok”, the man walked to the gate. There was a lock on it and it needed a key to be open. “It’s locked. We’ll need a key”

“We can’t get a key. I need to get out, tonight. Try to break the lock”

The man tugged the lock and it opened, easily. “Oh”, he muttered. “Ok. It’s open”

He pulled the gate open and a muscular black man walked out, sweating. “Thank you very much. It’s hell in there”

“I’m still wondering how you got in there in the first place”

The black man stood in a spot, turning his head restively and covering his ears like he was trying to shut out a noise. “There’s something sounding. Can you hear it?”

“What? It’s totally silent and dark. Can’t hear anything”, the man replied. “Are you okay?”

‘Tick, tock! Tick, tock! Tick, tock!...’ He could hear it so clearly, like the clock was placed right on his ears. “It’s the sound of a working clock”

“Tick tock?”, the man asked and looked at his wristwatch. The black man also glanced at it as the ticking sound continued in his ears. The sound aligned with the movement of the man’s wristwatch. “Is this what you’re hearing? It’s not even making the slightest sound, as silent as the whole place is”

The black man stared at the watch. There were twenty five seconds left for the long hand to get to twelve and begin a new minute. The black man shook his head.

“Are you sure you’re okay?”, the man asked and stepped back a little. “It’s pretty dark and scary out here. You’re worsening the situation”

‘Tick, tock! Tick, tock! Tick, tock!...’ the black man rushed at the other man and grabbed his neck. “I’m so sorry”

He lifted the man up and bit into his neck. Blood gushed out as he bit deeper. He dropped the man on the ground, as the ticking sound continued. The man held his neck, choking and gasping for breath, as his hand was bathed in his own blood. The black man rushed back at him and slashed his face, repeatedly, with his sharp claws. The black man fell back on the ground, breathing heavily. “I’m so sorry”, he muttered.

The lights came back on suddenly and he could see everywhere. Surely, if anyone came around, he would be seen too. He would be seen, lying beside a dead body, with blood in his mouth and on his hands. He got up on his feet, quickly, and looked around for a shade to hide in. The lights made him see a writing on the ground, from where he stood. He was going to walk to it and check it but his attention was pulled by the headlights of an approaching car. He glanced at the dead body and at the car, and at the dead body again. He needed to hide, quickly. He dashed back into the dumpsite and closed the door behind him. He looked through the holes and watched the car zoom past. He opened the door slowly and walked out. He walked towards the writing on the ground and read it. ‘Twenty four hours'.

As if hit in the head, he staggered backwards, dazed. He could hear a voice in his head. He was familiar with it. It was much more like a reminder. He just remembered how he got there and what was happening…. And he might have killed one person but he wouldn’t be stopping at one if he has to stay alive.

***★***

A portal opened and a man walked out of it. He had almost every part of his body, covered in a bright silver cloth. He glanced at the black sky, with red glowing lines on it, shaped like forks of fixed lightnings. Ahead of him was an extremely tall gate. He could guess it was about a hundred feet but he couldn’t see the end of it. The sky didn’t only look a lot closer to the ground, the top of the gate seemed to be touching the sky. He looked at left and right as he approached the gate. He couldn’t see any end of the gate. It wasn’t time to bother about how wide and tall the gate was. He had been there too many times and he never stopped to think about that. He just had a confrontation with someone and he was back to the Underworld to pursue a new goal with Hades. He walked to the front of the gate and two men showed up, standing behind. They were guards.

“Open the gates!”, the man ordered the gatekeepers, who seemed to be intentionally ignoring him. “Open the gates to me, this second, or I’ll order Hades to throw you in the lake”

“You have no identification”, one of the gatekeepers replied, standing boldly in front of him. “We can’t let you in”

“Coming from this direction is no identification enough?”, the man raised his voice.

“Pardon us. Who are you? We’ll deliver the message to Hades”

“Hermen, for crying out loud”, the man replied and shrugged, realizing it was his fault. He shapeshifted, immediately, and became the Hermen they knew..

“We are very sorry, sir. Hades gave strict orders against strangers”, the gatekeeper said and they opened the gates, quickly.

Hermen nodded and walked in through the gates, staring into the lake of fire, as he walked by it. He could see Hades, far ahead. It was a long way if he decided to walk. He opened a portal and walked into it. Another portal opened in front of Hades’ throne and Hermen walked out of it. “Hades”

“Hermen”, Hades replied with a nod. “What brings you here again? It’s twice in one week”

“I was hoping to meet Rybos here”, Hermen said. “Since it’s just us, I’ll go ahead”.

“Ok?”

“I want the game to begin”, Hermen said, with a mischievous smile, and looked back at the lake. On the other side, there was another tall gate which remained slightly opened. There were guards there too and about a thousand people walked in, one after the other, and fell into the lake, as if they were controlled.

“Where should we start?”, Hades asked and stood up from his throne.

“I want the one that escaped, earlier”, Hermen replied.

“The Beacon?”

“No. I meant the one that created Somnolence”, Hermen said. “I want to witness his savagery once more”

“He has escaped once. I don’t want to see him out, ever again”

“Relax, Hades”, Hermen said. “We own their souls, now. We can control everything and he can’t escape that”

“Ok”, Hades replied and walked closer to the lake. He stretched out his hand and ropes jumped out of his scaly arm, diving into the fire. The ropes sprinted through the countless bodies in the fire and wrapped themselves around one. Hades tugged back his arm and the ropes pulled the person out of the fire. Hades suspended him in air, as he shook in pain. “It’s your lucky day, Garullon”

“Garullon”, Hermen muttered and smiled, mischievously, as he stepped closer to the suspended man. “I like the name”

Hades glanced down. Amidst the billions of soul in the fire, he could see a huge bald black man, who wasn’t wailing. He had his hands and legs chained to the walls of the lake. He tugged the chains and struggled, all day, like he’d jump out of the fire and snap Hades’ neck.