Freeze this moment a little bit longer Make each impression a little 
bit stronger Freeze this motion a little bit longer The innocence slips 
away The innocence slips away          -- Rush, "Time Stand Still"

There is shadow under this red rock, (Come in under the shadow of this 
red rock), And I will show you something different from either Your 
shadow at morning striding behind you Or your shadow at evening rising 
to meet you; I will show you fear in an handful of dust.          -- 
T.S. Eliot, "The Waste Land"

Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration.          
--From the Litany Against Fear, Frank Herbert

*****XI*****

The pack of monsters known as the Jaws of Death stopped in their 
tracks. Marty T. Ideawasgood was jolted from his daze on the back of 
one of the creatures with its sudden jarring halt.  He scrambled down 
from the monster's back to survey the situation.  He recognized this 
place. Coltrane Park.

As he looked around, he saw nobody in the vicinity.  Marty wondered 
exactly why it was that the Jaws of Death had brought him here.

The missing creature walked up from behind him and closed the circle of 
bioengineered nightmares around the pedestal where the statue of 
Stephan Carroll once stood, trailed closely by Harlukia, holding the 
final Orb.

"Damnit!  I said we need to go find Jebdorn!  Why the hell are you..." 
yelled Harlukia, trailing off as he saw Marty standing inside the 
circle.

Marty scowled.  "I take it you have my final control Orb?"

Harlukia grinned evilly, showing his fangs, and entered the circle just 
in time to see the final three numbers on the ground begin to flash.  
He frowned.

Marty smiled triumphantly and turned to look at where the Antikythera 
Mechanism had marked the ground, just as the numbers pulsed for the 
ninth time...tenth time...

"Oh, shit."

The glowing XI pulsed one more time, then disappeared.

They never knew what hit them.

=====================================
 New Haven  
-------------------------------------
 when the clock stops, time's up

 Scene 2-2: And then there was One

 by Larry Alton "t.ogre" Garrett
                and
     David 'black dub' Brothers

 Story initiated by Thomas Wilde
         and James Howard  
=====================================

Jebdorn and Sapphia were leaping across rooftops once again.  Legion 
had decided to go to Kramer's shop and check out some of the more 
esoteric items available for his perusal, in the hopes of finding 
something he would enjoy using on the puny humans, something which to 
their limited minds would be horrific.

In mid-leap, and unfortunately between buildings and over an alleyway, 
Jebdorn made a sound like a cough and slammed into the side of the next 
building.  Sapphia and Jebdorn's limp body fell the six stories to the 
ground.

As surprised as she was by Jebdorn missing the jump, Sapphia never even 
had a chance to scream.  She landed feet-first, broke both legs in the 
process, and immediately blacked out.

*****XI*****

President Patsy was awakened by what sounded like a balloon popping, 
followed by Stiletto being tossed head-first into his lap.

"...!" he exclaimed, as the limo swerved off the road and into a wheat 
field.

Neimann, who was wearing a seat belt (unlike Stiletto, whose head 
slammed into Patsy Jr.'s two best buddies, and R.E.D. Ink, who bounced 
a knee off the passenger-side bulletproof window), hit the intercom 
button.

"What the hell is going on up there?  Why are we in a goddamn wheat 
field, soldier?"

"It appears we've had a blowout, sir.  Give me ten minutes and I should 
have it fixed and us back on the road," replied the driver.

*****XI*****

The force struck Ned sober.  He jerked his ethereal head backwards, and 
the sudden movement caused the rest of his body to follow and tip over 
the chair.  Lying on the floor, Ned shook his head to clear the rest of 
the fuzzy sensation from his mind then stood up.

"What, by the name of all that is unholy, was that?" Ned inquired.

"Well," stated Legion, "from the feel of it, it was-"

"Some sort of psychomagical energy blast," interrupted Kramer, yawning, 
who had been awakened from his nap by all the clatter.  "And just 
before it hit and your chair awakened me, I was dreaming of Sapphia 
Ashtoreth and the Antikythera Mechanism."

"Why would you be dreaming about that slattern," Ned asked, "when you 
have perfectly good attractive and transparent humans about?"

"Probably because she's here in New Haven," rumbled Legion amiably.

Ned and Kramer looked at each other, blinked, and as one turned and 
stared at Legion.

Legion grinned and shrugged.

*****XI*****

Dumb Luck, Fortune's bitter bastard child, took the shot and swallowed 
the worm.

Fortune's niece Misfortune, her husband Irony, and Dumb Luck drunkenly 
high-fived and went back to the tequila shots.

*****XI*****

"But Charlie, this woman wants us dead," exclaimed Karen.

"As far as I'm concerned, she can stay here in the street," said 
Alicia, looking scornfully down at the prone form on the ground in 
front of her. "She hit me over the head with a medical examination 
tray, for God's sake.  That's more than enough reason to leave her."

"Karen, what are we supposed to do?  We're police officers.  We protect 
and serve the people of this town," said Charlie.  "And as such, it is 
our duty to move her to the hospital.  You and I both had advanced 
first-aid training, so I know you know how to splint a leg.  The 
hospital is the only place I know that has medical supplies."

"Do you think I really want to go back to that place after being held 
captive in the morgue?  Jesus Christ, Charlie, I just want to wake up 
and find out that this is all a nightmare!  I want everything to be 
peaceful and quiet again like it was last week!  I want the normal 
world back!" cried Alicia.

"Well, as far as I'm con-" began Johnny, before Karen knocked him out 
with a right hook that would have made George Foreman proud.

"Karen, why did you hit him again?  Now we have to carry three bodies."

Michael Lime took the subsequent lull in the conversation as an 
opportunity to vomit.

"Oh, great," exclaimed Karen.  "Now what?"

Michael wiped his mouth and blearily looked up at the group.

"I don't think the furry guy's going anywhere.  The top of his head 
looks like it... well, exploded."

*****XI*****

Clear spots, surrounded by what appeared to be scorch marks and ash 
marked the positions at which Harlukia, Marty T. Ideawasgood, and each 
of the Jaws of Death formerly stood.  Of their corporeal forms, there 
was no trace.

The six control obs had rolled together into a group in front of the 
Antikythera Mechanism and were beginning to melt and merge into a 
reflective pool of what appeared to be liquid mercury.  Of course, if 
there was a chemist around, he would have noted that this obviously was 
not mercury, as mercury did not melt in this manner, nor did it stay in 
the slowly expanding shape of a pentagon.

An alchemist (or H.P. Lovecraft, for that matter), on the other hand, 
would have run screaming for his life about now.  John Carpenter, 
however, would have stayed to film it.

Unfortunately, none of them were present to warn the remaining 
population of New Haven.

*****XI*****

"Charlie," said Alicia. "It looks... different." She craned her head to 
look up at the hospital. "It's taller than I remember it being. Much 
taller."

"Alicia, how bad could it be? Either way, we still have to get this 
lady medical treatment. That's the important part." Charlie turned back 
and looked at Michael Lime, who was helping him carry Sapphia. They had 
her strung up in a make-shift hammock. The ride was not going very 
smoothly, and occasionally she would scream in pain. Apparently, 
unconsciousness did nothing to dull her pain. "You ready to go, 
Michael?" he asked. Michael nodded.

"Charlie," said Karen. "I agree with Alicia. This feels wrong. The 
hospital's too dark."

"Ladies, please," said Charlie. "What's the worse that could happen?"

Lightning struck high in the sky, blowing the tops off half a dozen 
trees and sending those tops flying out over the horizon. The resultant 
thunder and clamor shook the ground the crew stood on. A light rain 
began to fall.

Charlie just shrugged and grinned. He and Michael carried Sapphia 
through the hospital doors. Karen and Alicia followed.

Johnny stayed outside for a moment, looking at the town. Nothing was 
going as planned. Karen didn't trust him, and most likely hated him. He 
had no way out of town and was probably going to--

Then the rain hit him.

'Shit!' he thought. 'It burns!' He pulled his shirt over his head and 
dashed towards the hospital doors. By the time he managed to run 
inside, his shirt was burnt all the way through and his arms were a 
blistered red. Everyone stood in the now darkened lobby, staring at 
him.

"Johnny," said Charlie, "stop fooling around. We have to get this lady 
some medical attention."

"Fooling around? I'm the one with third degree burns, and I'm *fooling 
around*?!" shouted Johnny. He paused when he noticed Karen looking at 
him. "What?"

Karen studied him for a while longer. "Johnny, you betrayed our... *my* 
trust. You claimed to be something you were not, you pointed a gun at 
*me* and you expect me to take you serio--"

Karen never got to finish her sentence, as a bolt of lightning crashed 
down from the sky, turned a ninety-degree angle, entered the hospital, 
and incinerated Johnny, leaving only his clothes behind.

"...eep." Karen fainted.

"Well," said Charlie. "Who wants to carry Karen?"

*****XI*****

The mercurial pentagon in the park grew slightly. A large black gas 
rose out of it and began to slowly spread over the skies of New Haven. 
Darkness was coming, once again. This darkness was thick, almost 
palpable. It felt evil.

Once the gas was fully out of the apparent portal, a keening wail, one 
that would have quite literally have made a human being's head explode, 
erupted. A vaguely humanoid shape exploded from the pentagon, spraying 
the contents of the portal over the park. It shot up and over the town, 
looking for a place to roost. Somewhere tall... somewhere large.

*****XI*****

Kramer fell back in his chair. "Whew," he said. "It's been a while 
since I've done something like that." He shook his head a bit to clear 
it. "Ned, could you go get us some drinks? Maybe some Tibetan tea?" Ned 
obediently ran off to find the tea. A rousing gale of laughter turned 
Kramer's attention to the demon sitting across the room in a recliner. 
"What's so funny?"

Legion held up the book that he was holding so that Kramer could see 
the spine. It read 'Satanism and Demon Summoning in Twelve Easy Steps.' 
Kramer chuckled a little. "Have you read the part about you in there?" 
he asked.

Legion's eyes widened. "*We're* in this? Where am I at?"

"Ahh..." Kramer paused for thought. "Page one-fifty. Second paragraph 
from the top, third sentence."

Legion flipped to the page and read it over. His eyes narrowed for a 
moment, and the chains about his arms and legs tensed. Then, he began 
to laugh. "Th-(hahahahaha) these humans, man! They got us all wrong! I 
(hahahahaha) think we're gonna miss (bwahahaha) you guys after I (hah!) 
kill all of you." Legion fell from his chair to the floor, the book 
still in hand.

"I hope that you can at least keep your impulses in check for a little 
while longer."

"Nah, we like you. You've got style. I'll let you live for a while, 
then I'll kill you." Legion turned back to his book, still lying on the 
floor. He chuckled. "Virgin sacrifice on a harvest moon, followed by an 
orgy... yeah right! These mortals. Man."

Kramer pursed his lips. "Sounds fair enough." Kramer turned to the 
near-nude man lying on the floor. "Johnny Basquain, you've got a lot of 
explaining to do."

Johnny looked at Kramer. Johnny looked at Legion. Johnny looked around, 
and stood up. Yes, things were going downhill, indeed.

*****XI*****

Charlie, Alicia, Michael Lime, and a newly awakened Karen wandered the 
halls of the hospital. Alicia was confused. The halls were shaped 
different, as if they were turned on an angle, or perhaps made taller. 
The hospital lights were mostly out, and those that worked flickered in 
and out of service.

"I think the elevator's are this way," said Alicia.

Charlie and Michael carried Sapphia along for a little longer. 
"Alicia," said Charlie, "have you ever thought about why these lights 
are still on, and the elevators still work? Wouldn't you think that the 
power would've been cut a few days ago?"

All the lights in the hospital dimmed and flickered out.

"Charlie?" said Karen.

"Yeah?"

"Please, just don't... talk for a minute. 'kay?"

"Will do."

They continued walking for a while, when the lights turned back on. 
"See?" Charlie said. "Wasn't my fault." The women glared daggers at 
him, and they continued on.

*****XI*****

The elevators, of course, didn't work. So, they made their way towards 
the stairs. This being a split-level hospital, the Emergency Room was 
one level higher than the entrance. Carrying Sapphia down stairs was 
difficult. She occasionally moaned in pain, a deep unearthly moan. By 
the time they reached the Emergency Room, both Charlie and Michael were 
sweating and unnerved.

"Charlie, this is wrong. We need to go back," said Alicia.

"Alicia, I've already explained this. We need to get her-"

"Medical attention," interjected Karen. "Yes, we know. But, this does 
*not* feel right."

They walked on.

*****XI*****

A tall, dark man sat in a laboratory. His lab coat was tattered and a 
dirty shade of white. He muttered slightly to himself as he read from a 
large book that sat on an examining table. On the examining table to 
his left sat a horribly disfigured body. It was shorter than a normal 
human, and had four arms. Its chest was opened and various organs from 
it floated in bottles near the man.

Alicia and Karen threw open the doors behind the man and held them open 
as Charlie and Michael carried Sapphia in and set her slowly on another 
table. "Karen," he said, "you've had the most medical training. What do 
we need?"

The man stopped reading and began listening.

Karen and Alicia walked over to the table. Karen pursed her lips. 
"Um... something to make a splint with. Something rigid. Check in that 
cabinent under the bed." Michael obediently reached under the table and 
came up with two splints. "We'll need more," said Karen. "Her legs look 
like they have multiple compound fractures. We'll need bandages, pain 
killers... but I'm not sure if I know how much to give her. We need to 
weigh her."

"Excuse me," said the man behind them. Alicia, Charlie, Karen, and 
Michael turned as one and looked at him. "You're interrupting my 
research. I have a *lot* of technology to catch up on." With a wave of 
his hand, they were thrown into the far wall. They slumped over, 
unconscious.

"Hello," said the man. "What's this?" he stood and walked over to the 
table that held Sapphia. "Hm... a new subject. This will be fun."

Stephan Carroll walked back to his chair and sat down. "I'll do her 
just as soon as I finish with this gremlin, here. Indeed."

*****XI*****

At the top of the hospital, the humanoid shape from the portal settled 
into place. They were plenty of living vessels in this building below. 
Even a few inanimate ones.

It was time to return to former glory. It had rested in the dark for 
long enough.

*****XI*****

"Hey, Kramer, I've got a question." Legion said from the ground, 
interrupting Kramer's conversation with Johnny.

"Yes, Legion?"

"Did you know that the dude who created this town, Stephan something. 
Did you know that he actually sold his soul?"

"Tradition says he sold it to Satan."

"Nope. The thing he sold his soul to is much worse. Trust us."

*****XI*****

Author's Notes:

I finished this five minutes before the dead line. As such, it is 
rushed. Hopefully, it is wholly readable and understandable.

Of course, it is too damn short.

This is a lot darker than the rest of NH, sorry 'bout that. It just 
sorta flowed, and the humor didn't. ^_^

This is one hell of a curve-ball, eh? Have fun with it.

BIIIIIIIIG thanks to the man, the myth, the legend, t.ogre. He let me 
write with him, despite complications.

Thanks to Nash for reading it over before I sent it in.

out. david 'black dub' brothers 10.14.2k2, 11:53pm