Two
#2 of Cope
Here is the second part to the collab story I'm working on with Bloode. Hope you enjoy.
I woke up to the sound of banging on the door. "Sir! We have a situation!" Harrison yelled from the other side. I groaned, trying to roll over. However I was held firmly in place by something warm and covered in fur. I opened my eyes and looked right into those of a familiar black wolf.
Marty smiled shyly, his golden eyes were gorgeous. I was exhausted, but something was up. So despite how nice it felt I sat up. Much to the dismay of Marty. He curled up on the other side of the bed. Watching me walk over to the door. With a sigh I pulled it open and looked at Harrison.
The Shepard looked upset, panicked. "We have to go, now." He said quickly motioning for me to come with him. "I stopped by the Station and he isn't there. Phones aren't working right, so I tried to go down to that gas station. It just gets weirder from there. Ended up right back where I started. What the fuck is going on here!"
He slumped back against the wall behind him. Tears running down his furry cheeks. "I cant deal with this, I really cant. It's like I'm losing my mind. Help me."
Marty jumped up from the bed and wrapped his arms around the other male. "You're not losing your mind. It's this place, hold it together. If you break there is no saving you." He gently lifted Harrison's chin until their eyes met. "I'll protect you, I promise. But you have to hold it together."
I raised a brow, shouldn't he be saying that to me? With a shrug I grabbed my pants and slipped into them. Fetching my shirt from it's place on the floor. As for my socks, they were too dirty to wear a second day and I just left them. I was going to have to fetch my bag from the car.
Marty helped Harrison to his feet and led him back to his room. Getting a small whimper from the other canine. I couldn't let myself get worked up. Marty was right, we had to keep our cool. Breaking down like Harrison did wont help us any.
Still, something wasn't right. Okay, so a lot of things weren't right. None of this was. I walked out of the room, bare paw. Not bothering to button up my shirt. I was just going down to the car to retrieve my bag. Upon descending the stairs I was met by the badger from the night before.
"Good morrow my good Sir. Breakfast is in the other room, if you need anything further don't hesitate to ask." He turned to walk out of the entry room but stopped mid stride. "A package came for you, runner delivered it first thing this morning." He told me motioning towards a box wrapped in brown paper and tied with twine.
I raised a brow and walked towards the counter. Looking at the box curiously. It was addressed simply, "To the occupant of Room Three." Written along the top in black ink. The letters were curled, calligraphy was a dieing style. Not something most people even bothered learning, much less put to use.
"I'll take it up with me after I grab my bag." I said dashing out the door. Wanting to get dressed so I could start my investigation. If I really was trapped here, I wanted to figure out as much as I could about this place. Maybe then I could find some clue as to how to escape.
I popped open the trunk and pulled our bags from the back. Harrison would need a change of clothes as well. I carried my duffel in one hand, the other had his suitcase. Once back inside I sat down my duffel so I could pin the box under my arm against my side. Carefully carrying everything upstairs.
It was slow, but I managed to get up the stairs without losing the box. It had some weight to it, at least fifteen pounds. I placed Harrison's bag in front of his door, it was closed and I couldn't hear anything beyond it. After a brief pause I continued down the hall to my room. Marty wasn't there, so he had to still be with Harrison.
I closed the door behind me. Tossing my wrinkled shirt to the side before unzipping my bag. I sighed, a shower wouldn't be a bad idea. So I stripped out of my pants and boxers and pulled open the only other door in the room. Finding a closet behind it. "Awesome, have to share a bathroom." I muttered to myself before retrieving my boxers.
The bathroom was at the far end of the hall, opposite the stairs. It was small, but it worked so that's all that mattered. After I was clean, and dressed in fresh clothes I returned to my room. Looking at the package I had left on my bed. "Let's get this over with," I said to myself.
I untied the twine and slowly unwrapped the box. Plain cardboard, I had expected that. I pulled off the clear tape and lifted the flaps. Inside I found a small purple sack, four magazines for a handgun and a handwritten note.
"Greetings, this package has found you in good shape. I knew it would, or I wouldn't have sent it. The bullets are compatible with your firearm. They are something special I cooked up for you. Please use them for circumstances beyond the norm. The general store in town carries the more mundane. I have also provided you with some currency."
"Should you require more, Marty can explain how to procure additional funds. Once you're situated Marty shall lead you to your first goal. Until then, enjoy your breakfast. I do so enjoy pancakes, and they wont stay warm forever."
It was signed at the bottom with only, "L."
I placed the note to the side and opened the purple sack. Inside were more of the strange silver coins. I pulled one out and examined it. One side had a gryphon, two crossed axes were on the other. I dropped the coin back into the bag and put it into my pocket.
After I put the rest of the boxes contents into my duffel I went downstairs to eat. I was hungry, and happy to have the food. A short time later Harrison and Marty came down. Harrison still looked shaken but he was doing better. Marty sat next to me, happy to scoot close and enjoy his breakfast in my company.
I just let him, it was pointless to shove him away. The attention was nice, though it had been so long it felt strange. He wasn't giving me much time, or breathing room. Harrison barely ate anything, and didn't seem too interested in talking right now.
"So, we need to hit the store and then move out. Josiah wont be joining us, the kid however, will be. We need four, that's why answers are so hard to come by here. Don't worry, he can handle himself."
"You expect me to let some kid follow us around?" I asked Marty.
"He isn't that young, nineteen or so. He will be alright, we have been here longer than you have. Trust me, just do what we say and we will come out of this in one piece."
"You expect me to go out into that craziness?" Harrison asked weakly.
"It will be alright, just play your role and everything will work out." Marty said before unfolding a map on the table. "The town is bigger than it appears. Areas are hidden in the fog and to explore them we have to find enough totems to push the fog back. That's what the Librarian said anyway. Until now we were short the requirement to even start looking for them."
"The hotspots, you need four people in order to enter them. You can imagine how few of us out of towners are willing to do that. Most don't make it through their first week." Marty looked over at Harrison before continuing. "Lack of funds are a big problem. Basic gear, food, shelter all cost money. The locals, while friendly on the outside are anything but. Crossing them will get you killed."
"Another thing is, at the end of the first week the town goes through a purge. It's like a system reset. Outsiders are hunted down by these creatures. The Librarian calls them Fallen. If they get you, you become one. As far as we can tell they hide out in a cave beyond the fog."
"Fallen?" Harrison asked not sounding keen on the idea of staying. Not like we could leave if we tried.
"Don't worry doggy, I've seen them myself and I'm still here. Now, on to where we need to go. Shortly before you arrived in town this building just appeared. Ming's House of Mystery. I've asked around, no one seemed too interested in it. Said it has always been there, or it's nothing special."
He pointed at the map, to a building highlighted in green. It was just behind a row of houses off the main street. "Anything green is a place we have to go to. Don't ask, it's all you can get out of the old guy. For as in the know as he is, he doesn't always share things. Most of this we have to do on our own. So what all did he give you?"
The question was unexpected so it took me a second to register it. "A note, bag of coins and some ammo." I told him plainly, not going into it anymore than that.
"Should grab the ammo before we head out. Anything for him or just you?" Marty asked.
"Just me, made no mention of Harrison at all." It was odd, like he didn't expect Harrison to pull through this.
"I don't want to die," Harrison said quietly. Getting a hand to the shoulder from Marty.
"You wont die on my watch. Plus the kid will be there. I also doubt Max would just let you bite it without helping." Marty told him with a smile. "We need to get going though, store and then start our adventure."
Marty stood up and waited for us to follow. Harrison slowly got up and fixed his uniform. Straightening out the shirt before following us outside. The other wolf led the way. Which turned out to be a short walk down the street. I had forgotten how small the town itself actually was. We could see the store from the Inn.
"You know what guys? Today, today is going to be a good day!" Marty said happily. His tail was swaying behind him and he was practically skipping. Harrison however seemed like he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders.
The store looked like any other small Mom and Pop store you would find in any small town. The windows had cheap knickknacks displayed in them. Above the door was a retro Pepsi sign from days long gone. It was faded with time, but in relatively good shape despite that.
Marty held the door open for us and we stepped inside. Refrigerated cases held all the usual products, sports drinks, beer and bottled water. While the shelves were stocked with all the usual food stuffs. From chips to Twinkies. What caught my attention, and that of Harrison was what was behind the counter.
The shelves there held swords, guns and all manner of strange items. Marty clapped his hands and practically pushed us up to the counter. Motioning at the shelves, "Huh? Huh? What'd I tell ya? It's beautiful right?" He said excitedly.
"You're not right in the head," Harrison told him looking over the weapons.
I just shrugged and looked at what I could find. It was then of course, that the owner, a middle aged Raccoon jumped up from behind the counter. Nearly giving me a heart attack, Harrison fell back and I swore for half a second that he was dead.
"Welcome! What can I do for you good Sirs on this most glorious of days? Interested in something new? Hm? Hm? Hm? Well, if you will give me just a moment of your time. I will show you wonders, friend, wonders indeed." He was gone and back again in a flash. Holding a small black box in his hands. Hand carved was my guess, from some sort of tree.
Skulls covered the whole surface, top and sides. Marty held up a hand cutting him off before he could continue. "That is neither new, nor wondrous. They're with me, and by association, free from your cheap tactics. Is my item in?" Marty asked the man.
He stood silent, but only for an instant. His smile barely faltered, if it ever did. He zipped away again and was back at the blink of an eye. Holding a Katana, sheathed in black leather. Marty's eyes lit up and he was back to being excited. He clapped his hands and reached for the sword, which was pulled away from him.
The shop owner cleared his throat and held out an empty hand. Marty sighed and pulled a brown sack from his pocket. Jingling the coins with a couple quick shakes before placing it in the man's outstretched hand. The owner tossed the sword unceremoniously to Marty who quickly caught it. Holding it tightly against his chest and murring happily.
I shook my head and turned my attention to a brown leather bag that sat right behind the raccoon's shoulder. I pointed at it, "What's that?" It was rolled, and secured with two straps and buckles at either end. The raccoon snatched it up and laid it on the counter in a flash.
"This my good Sir is a real treat for any man who fancies himself a gunslinger." He said before undoing the buckles. He unrolled it and inside were four handguns and dozens of magazine slots. With at least a hundred slots for shotgun shells. "For an even hundred, she's all yours."
Marty looked up from his sword and turned to me. "That's your entire budget. Not trying to talk you out of it. But I would look closely before settling on the one item." Harrison whimpered and Marty turned to him. "Don't worry, I'll cover you. I have more daniers where that sack came from."
Once again Marty had the owner's attention. "My good Sir! The coins flow freely with you! What wealth! What generosity! I tossed my coin bag to the owner, who caught it without turning his attention from Marty. "A deal is a deal, the bag's yours. Pleasure doing business with you stranger."
Marty sighed, and looked at the various weapons displayed on the wall. "Do you have two of those?" He asked pointing to a Thompson. I hadn't seen one in years, not common like they were back in the 30s and 40s.
The raccoon took the machine gun from the wall and shook his head. "Sorry Sir, we just have the one. However, if you're looking for something that packs a punch I do have this sweet number right over here." He pulled a striker 12 from the wall and placed both guns on the counter next to each other.
"I'll take both, plus ammo. Seven reloads for each, three drum clips for the Tommy gun. The rest can be loose ammo. That double holster, the single black tactical one there. Plus a gear bag." Marty said listing off everything he wanted.
It was all gathered up in a flash. Drums were loaded swiftly and excess ammo was stashed in the backpack. "That will be five," he said with a smile.
Marty gave a slow nod and pulled coin bags from his other pockets. Placing five of them on the counter in front of the raccoon. He was so thrilled by the exchange I thought his head was going to explode. He clapped happily, "My good Sir! You're just as wealthy and generous as I thought! Surely you must stop by should you need anything, yes, anything at all!"
Marty handed me the striker 12 and double holster. Passing everything else off on Harrison. "Back to the Inn, quickly. The kid will be meeting us shortly and we still have to get some prep done." With that the wolf walked out of the store. Less energetic than he was when we entered.
Once outside I asked Marty, "What's wrong?" He turned to face us. Pausing for a second before answering.
"I've been here for a month. Shopping, I remember how I would go out a lot and buy new things. This place bums me out at times. Because it's just been me, you know? Yeah, others have shown up, how you did sort of. But they never got a box like I did. No help from the Librarian or anyone here in town. They just struggled to get by and at the end of the week, gone."
"I guess I just really need to do everything I can to make sure that stops. This place is broken, or something, and I am going to fix it. That's what I need to do, no matter what. Because I'm not like the others. Well, enough of that, let's go do this thing and save the world or whatever."
With that we finished our trek back to the Inn. Once there I dashed up to my room to put on the double holster. I slid my duty gun, a H&K .45, into the left holster. I unrolled the gun bag and looked over the four guns inside of it. Settling on the SIG .45 for the other holster.
The other two were both revolvers. One was a Magnum .500 and the other was a Colt Peacemaker. Both were fully loaded, but without reserve ammo they wouldn't serve much use for the time being. I slipped my jacket over the holster and placed the special magazines in the gun bag before closing it up. I used the strap on the Striker to attach it to the bag.
Slipping the bag's strap over my head and across my shoulder. Carrying it like a satchel. "Let's do this thing, before I decide this dream isn't worth having." I said to myself.
Harrison and Marty were already downstairs. Harrison was wearing his holster over his uniform. With the Thompson over his shoulder and the bag on his back. He looked nervous, but kept his cool. Marty wore his Katana on his back, having no other gear with him.
I was about to say something when the door swung open and a teenage cougar walked inside. I had totally forgotten about him. Marty had mentioned him, I recall that. But it totally slipped my mind until I saw him. His hands were in the front pocket of his red hoody. The hood was up, covering his ears.
It wasn't cold out, but he kept the hood up. Marty smiled, "Welcome to the party. Guys, this is the kid, kid, this is Max and Harrison. Now, on to adventure!" Harrison just sighed and gave a nod. This was going to be fun. Harrison was so out of it he wouldn't be useful at all. Not to mention the kid, he was just a kid after all.
He didn't have a gun, or any visible weapon. I shook my head, making it a point to stick close to him. Marty would have to watch out for Harrison on his own. The cougar looked at me curiously but didn't say anything. He scowled a little and just kept walking. Yeah, he was definitely still a teenager.
Marty led us between two houses and down a narrow ally before our target came into view. It was a small fifteen by fifteen foot Victorian style house. With a wooden sign above the door that read, "Ming's House of Mystery." Just like Marty said.
Marty walked up to the door and pointed at the small note. "Requires four to enter." He said reading it out loud. "I tried to get in myself but it was stuck. Wouldn't budge at all, which is weird since I was persistent." He gave a light kick to emphasize his point.
I drew my H&K and walked up to the door next to Marty. "You open, go low, I'll go high. Check my corner, I'll check yours." I told him.
"Marty gave a nod, alright. On three." He said with a short pause. "Three!" He shouted, popping the door open and dropping down on his knee. It was dark inside, pitch black. I couldn't make anything out at all. Marty inched inside, throwing caution to the side. Vanishing entirely into the darkness.
"Marty, what do you see?" I asked quietly. There was no response. After waiting a few seconds longer I turned to the other two. Harrison was panting nervously. "Stay here," I said but before I could do anything the cougar just walked passed me and into the house. Vanishing completely from view. "Damn it kid! Kid?"
I sighed and looked at Harrison. Come on, stick close. Call out anything, should you see something." I told him. He gave a weak nod and then followed along side me into the darkness. A wave of cold air washed over me and in an instant it was gone. We were in a small room, dimly lit by a half dozen candles.
I looked around confused, this wasn't here just a second ago. But here it was, a fully furnished room. The kid sat at the round table, hands folded together. Marty was busy examining the curtains. Moving from one to the next, looking behind it. Harrison tugged on my arm and I turned to look at him.
"The door," he said quietly motioning back behind us. It was gone, replaced by a solid wall. I gave him a nod.
"Just relax, sit next to the kid and we will sort this one out." I told him before walking along the wall. There was nothing at all behind the curtains, just a solid wall. The only other feature in the room was the fireplace. It was round, large enough for any of us to fit inside.
I was about to walk over and look up the chimney when Marty yelped. I quickly turned back just in time to see a female dragon slip into the room from behind a curtain Marty was standing right next to. She wore robes made of red and gold silk.
Smiling at us as she walked over to the table and took a seat next to the kid. The cougar looked at her, giving a nod. Harrison just stood frozen in place. Marty took a deep breath and rubbed his chest. Recovering from what he would surely call a near death experience.
"Sit, sit." She said in a thick Chinese accent. Motioning at the empty chairs, beaming her bright smile at each of us. Five chairs, I hadn't bothered to notice that before. I doubt Marty had either. We were too caught up in examining the room we were trapped inside of.
Harrison took a seat on the other side of the kid. While Marty sat right next to the dragon. Leaving me with only one spot left, between Marty and Harrison. So I took my seat at the table and waited for the dragon to continue.
"My name is Madam Ming. Welcome to my House of Mystery. Do you like it?" She asked looking us over.
"It's a nice place," the kid said softly. Marty raised a brow at that and I was surprised the quiet teen had picked now to say anything.
"Yes, it is, isn't it? Smart boy, though you would prefer I call you a man. So young Ben, a man I shall call you." She said before pulling a small metal box from her left sleeve. "We don't have much time sadly. Yes, haste. So questions will have to wait for now. But you all have figured some things out so far."
"Brought together from lands near and far. That is the nature of this place. There are others like it. I'm from another such place, Zhishi. It is a place within a rift. These are places where time has no meaning. They exist in another world more or less. Something is coming, and you must be ready."
Well there it is, if you want to see more be sure to watch and subscribe. Please be sure to vote and comment below. The next part will be out in a couple weeks so stay tuned.