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    The Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Factory
    The Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Factory
    The Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Factory
    Ebook602 pages10 hours

    The Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Factory

    By Dallas Releford

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    About this ebook

    A short story collection by author Dallas Releford that features horror, science fiction, mystery, fantasy and paranormal all blended into one volume that is sure to terrify and entertain you. This is the perfect book to curl up with on a cold, dark, stormy night. Everybody will find something that you will like.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherDallas Releford
    Release dateAug 23, 2010
    ISBN9781452324722
    The Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Factory

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      Book preview

      The Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Factory - Dallas Releford

      The Science Fiction,

      Fantasy and Horror

      Factory

      Dallas Releford

      Published by Dallas Releford at Smashwords

      Copyright 2010 Dallas Releford

      Other titles by Dallas Releford are available at Smashwords.com

      This book is a work of fiction. References to real people, places, events, organizations, areas, or locations are intended to provide a feeling of authenticity and are used in a fictitious manner. All other characters, dialogue and incidents are drawn from the author’s imagination and shouldn’t be accepted as real.

      No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without explicit permission from the author or publisher except in brief quotations used in an article or in a similar way.

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each person. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      * * * * *

      Dedication

      I would like to thank my wife Sharon for her understanding while I was writing this book.

      NOTE: My wife, Sharon Releford passed away on August 18th, 2010. She had battled ovarian cancer and stomach cancer for over three years. She was a brave, optimistic warrior who loved animals and people alike and I shall never let her out of my heart or my life. She believed she would beat the cancer up to the last minute. I would like to dedicate this book to her and to all the other women who are suffering from this dangerous disease. My heart goes out to you.

      I would like to thank Dr. Rashid Khan, my family doctor for his support. Credit is due to my agent Harriet Smith and Martin Smith for their assistance.

      Kat Tersarkissof-Garcia spent hours editing and revising this book and to her I offer my appreciation. Kat is also a great reviewer with a lot of talent. I am indeed fortunate to have her services available. She is in the process of reviewing and editing all of my books.

      I also am indebted to Sue Fitzpatrick at goodreads.com for reviewing many of my books including this one.

      Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Factory

      Edited by Kat Tersarkissof-Garcia

      * * * * *

      INTRODUCTION

      In the following pages you will find a collection of my short stories that I thought were worth publishing. Some of them were written when I was about twelve years old. I dusted them off, edited them and attempted to give them a new life. Most of these have never been published before. Some of these short stories became full-length novels. An example is the short story called The Legend of the Banshee Raiders. It was written in 1961 and became Cicada Summer and Summer of the Cicadas.

      I attempted to include science fiction, fantasy and horror in this collection, except sometimes it is difficult to tell the difference. There are thirty stories here for you to enjoy. With that in mind, I hope you enjoy these stories and you will come back for more next time. If you like what you read, you can find much more at http://www.amazon.com.

      Dallas Releford

      * * * * *

      Table of Contents

      Chapter 1 - EARTH IS A STAR

      Chapter 2 - ELEVATOR

      Chapter 3 - THE NEXT BUS TO TOMBSTONE

      Chapter 4 - CATASTROPHIC

      Chapter 5 - HORRORVILLE, USA

      Chapter 6 - AUTOMATION MANIA

      Chapter 7 - KNIGHTS OF THE FULL MOON

      Chapter 8 - LIES OF THE TRUTHFUL

      Chapter 9 - LIMBO

      Chapter 10 - BLOOD IN THE HUMVEE

      Chapter 11 - BRAND OF DISHONOR

      Chapter 12 - THE DEAD DON'T DIE

      Chapter 13 - DEATH VOW

      Chapter 14 - GANGSTERS GET CHRISTMAS PRESENTS TOO

      Chapter 15 - GRAVEYARD LUST

      Chapter 16 - COLD HANDS—HOT BLOOD

      Chapter 17 - I JUDGE THEE NOT

      Chapter 18 - LIGHTNING ROD

      Chapter 19 - LITTLE WARRIOR

      Chapter 20 - MY CHRISTMAS SHOPPING LIST

      Chapter 21 - NIGHT OF A THOUSAND FACES

      Chapter 22 - NORTH WOODS TERROR

      Chapter 23 - NOT A GHOST OF A CHANCE

      Chapter 24 - THE OLD OAK TREE

      Chapter 25 - THE OTHER SIDE

      Chapter 26 - TIMMY AND THE PIRATES OF SKULL CREEK

      Chapter 27 - PULSE

      Chapter 28 - QUARANTINED

      Chapter 29 - LORD RUTHERFORD'S QUEST

      Chapter 30 - SHADOW OF A STAR

      Chapter 31 - THE DAY THE GUNS WERE SILENT

      Chapter 32 - NIGHT OF THE INVISIBLE

      * * * * *

      Chapter 1

      EARTH IS A STAR

      Dallas Releford

      Even on a cool spring night with a million stars twinkling above her and a cold moon shining its light down on her, Serena felt as if she owned the entire universe, that everything she could see was hers and that nothing could shake her little world. Alone on the prairie with wind whistling around her like a fearsome beast, she could see the great expanse known as the Plains spread out in all directions like an endless blanket that stretched on forever. Some of her kind just called it the Prairie and let it go at that. Even though she knew she didn’t really own everything, and had no desire to possess it, she did call it home. It had been her home for a long time. A full moon painted the landscape with its green glow causing drowsiness to flow over her. She resisted and kept whispering to herself that she couldn’t go to sleep, not now anyway.

      Down below her in a deep valley surrounded by treeless hills, Serena Merid could see her home, a long square building with a metallic round top that reflected light from the moon like a mirror. Knowing her parents didn’t like her to wander too far from the house, especially when it was so late at night, she had just about made up her mind to begin the mile journey home when she saw sparklers converging on her home. A cold hand grabbed her neck and she shivered. The sparklers were an indication of evil. She wondered what she had done to deserve such bad luck.

      With the sparklers came something horrible, something deadly. The thought woke something in her stomach that immediately began to make her nauseous.

      As she watched spellbound from the top of a hill, small dazzling lights seemed to float across the valley floor like fireflies. The placid scene looked tranquil, peaceful just like something out of a fantasy novel. She loved reading fantasy novels and science fiction too, except this wasn’t a fantasy story. This was extremely serious.

      Slowly, they floated from nearby woods surrounding the house while her family was not even aware they were there. Their silent approach was unheard by anyone in the house or undetected by their eyes. Serena knew who the sparklers were and what they were. They were death.

      The sparklers—deadly, treacherous firebugs—lighted the way for the ferocious Apache’s. They were on the warpath again. It seemed to her that they were always on the warpath against somebody. Now her family was their intended target. Weren’t they always fighting, plundering and killing? She had heard a lot of stories about them and the thought of the things they were capable of scared her almost to death.

      As she watched from shadows, uncertain about what to do, trying to remember everything she had heard about them, she felt a cold chill drift down her spine almost paralyzing her. Her Uncle Jody Clay who had fought in the Apache War way back in 2703 told her many stories about their atrocious behavior. Those stories had seemed unbelievable even back when her uncle told them to her, except she had always known they were the truth.

      According to Uncle Jody, the Apache warriors only fought at night. Their cat-like vision gave them a tremendous advantage over their enemies. To induce terror in their adversaries, they compelled thousands of firebugs to surround the enemy lighting up the area around them. To add to the terror, in the summertime they persuaded thousands of cicadas to sing their taunting songs as the Apache’s charged into the midst of their enemies. The glaring light, the melodious songs of the cicadas and the deathly, shrill war cries of the Apaches usually rendered the enemy harmless with a disease known as terror.

      Serena knew what was coming, what was to be and what she must do. There was little time for her to react. Her parents, her sisters and her brother would perish if she did not help them. That much was clear to her.

      In the dark valley below her, firebugs moved closer to the house. When they were in place with their deadly stingers poised and ready for any foolish person who might panic and dash outside into their welcoming light, they hovered, waited and watched impatiently.

      Serena tried desperately to focus her mind and send a signal to the large gray wolves that lived nearby, except she found it difficult to concentrate knowing her family were minutes away from death. The stress of knowing what was about to happen haunted her. The large gray wolves would help her, if she could manage to communicate with them. They were her friends.

      The gray wolves had made war against the fearsome Apaches for centuries and were friendly toward the colonists who had settled this land a long time ago. Serena knew they would be willing to help, if she could contact them in time. Apache meat was their favorite food.

      Hoping they could reach her in time, she sat down on a large boulder and tried to block all thoughts out of her mind. It was difficult to block her mind knowing the Apaches might attack the house any second. Relieved that the cicadas had not begun their weary war songs, yet—a clear signal that a charge was imminent—she relaxed when she discovered someone’s mind answering her call for help.

      At first, it felt as if someone was calling her name from so far away that she could hardly hear or sense it, and as she concentrated attempting to shut out the sounds of the night around her, Serena knew who was calling her name. It was not the voice of the wolves at all. That voice she now heard was distinctive. That voice belonged to someone she had not seen for a very long time.

      Watching as the firebugs built up the intensity of their light from a glow to a crescendo of brilliance that was not only blinding, but also mesmerizing, she knew that the deadly attack wasn’t far away. Closing her eyes, she listened to the voice calling her through crackling static. Perhaps the Apaches had found a way to transmit a signal that would interfere with the computer chip in her head, she thought. Hah, those dumb morons had just found out how to use a keyboard, she proclaimed as the harrowing thought floated away on the wind. She had heard they were torturing scientists—when they were lucky enough to capture them—in an attempt to acquire an education in the marvelous world of technology, a world that had passed them by a long time ago.

      Now, thinking of nothing except the voice that was almost lost in hazy static, she asked who was calling her. For a few seconds, the only thing she could hear was the night wind whistling an eerie tune. A few birds chirped in the distance although the light in the valley—that was quickly washing her home from her sight—scared them.

      Opening her eyelids to reveal deep green eyes she pushed her long red hair from her face and concentrated even harder. Who are you? she asked.

      Buffalo Bart Carson, came the reply although she had to listen hard to confirm that it was indeed the voice of someone she knew. What’s wrong with your communications, Serena?

      Apaches, she answered. They must be jamming my signals although I haven’t the foggiest idea about how they are doing it. Can you come right away and bring the wolves?

      What stage of the attack are they currently in? The voice wavered in and out as if a strong magnetic storm was attempting to drive it away from her mind.

      The cicadas do not sing yet, she said hoping they didn’t start their eerie chatter anytime soon.

      The wolves will be on their way in a minute, he replied. Is it your house?

      Yes. I’m on the tallest ridge to the south. You know, it is our favorite place.

      He knew where she was talking about. Why yes, I do know where you’re talking about. It’s where the buffalo used to roam. We spent many hours there watching those magnificent creatures graze. What is your situation now, Serena?

      I can do nothing, Serena cried. Her chest felt as if it might burst. Something heavy pressed against it. They have the farm surrounded. Their light is so intense I can barely see the buildings. It is blinding. Fear paralyzes me.

      Sometimes that is best, Buffalo Bart growled hoping she would do nothing foolish. I ride on the wind as soon as I can, he added. I should be there before the wolves arrive. They come with the wind, too.

      Serena knew precisely what he was talking about. On the back of his great eagle, Claudia, Buffalo Bart would soar among the clouds until Claudia found the right air currents that would sweep them down to the Green River Basin where she was. Soon he would land that great eagle on the hill above the valley and she would see an old friend she hadn’t seen for too long. She only wished his visit was under better circumstances.

      The wolves were huge, furry and brave with sharp canine teeth and strong muscles. They would let the prairie winds push them along at an amazing speed taking advantage of its strong gusts. Of course, their speed was determined by the direction of the wind and tonight it was blowing fiercely across the prairie in her direction.

      Serena trembled so hard she lost connection with Buffalo Bart as a cool breeze passed around her. The ghosts of the plains were walking again, she thought. She had heard her grandfather speak of them, often. She had never seen them. They were as silent as the Apache, however they were harmless, or at least, she thought they were.

      She couldn’t believe her good fortune. Her good friend, Buffalo Bart, the terror of the plains, was leading the wolves to her rescue. They would arrive soon and everything would be okay. If everything was going to be okay, then why was she worried? Sucking in a deep breath, she expelled it slowly realizing that there was still cause for alarm. Dark clouds were quickly obscuring a green moon that hung above her giving the Apache the darkness they so adored. With that encouragement, they might hasten the attack. They were children of the dark and understood its features better than any other creature, even better than Buffalo Bart.

      Helpless, she listened as the first cicada begun to sing. Soon their song would build in intensity until all she could hear would be one maddening roar. Just when she thought things couldn’t get any worse, she heard the war cries of the Apache. Serena could see dark silhouettes moving through the light toward her home. Lights suddenly blazed inside the house as the residents—her family—realized what was happening. Placing her hands over her mouth she let a mournful scream escape her quivering lips. The warriors moved closer, cautiously at first. They didn’t want to die. As they crept toward the house, something cold enveloped her.

      Closer.

      The sound of laser blasts hitting sand walls reached her ears at about the same time as her heart skipped a few beats and a cold chill drifted down her spine. Clamping her hands over her ears, she tried to shut out the harrowing sounds. The sounds only grew louder.

      Closer they crept like maddened cats with a rat cornered.

      The front door burst open. Smoke erupted from the house. Shadows were dragged struggling from her once-comfortable home into the front yard. She knew terrible things would happen to them. She was helpless to prevent it.

      It was a tale told many times by ancient storytellers and those of her time. The men and boys would be tortured to death. The women would suffer a worse fate, if there were anything worse than being skinned alive, having a red-hot knife slice your flesh or having your tongue slit a few times.

      The women and girls would be raped and taken away to serve the Apache’s. The Apache’s favored slavery very much.

      The men would be tortured and then beheaded. The computer chips in their heads were worth ten thousand credits at any trading post on the plains. No questions would be asked as computer chips were exchanged for coupons.

      It didn’t matter if the chips had a little blood on them. It could be easily removed in the cleaning process. Even stolen computer chips were a valuable commodity on her world.

      As the terrible scene unfolded below her she could not comprehend the horror, fear and pain her family members were suffering. Casting her eyes up at the sky toward the green moon that the Apache worshiped, she cursed the moon, her god—who betrayed her—and threw her head back in anger.

      And howled!

      The green moon of Mars was nameless and had been for the many centuries since her kind had dwelled here on this forlorn planet. Her long red hair, her deep green eyes and her milky white skin were gifts of her ancestors who had come here centuries before she was born. This world, the fourth one from the sun had changed her race in more ways than she could imagine.

      Serena could hear her father and brothers screaming even though she was almost a mile away. In the brightness of the light from bugs she watched unable to help them. When it was all over, she watched as the silhouettes vanished into the light. She found herself unable to believe it had happened so quickly as the light moved down the valley toward the river. When they thought they were safe from pursuit, they would stop and make camp for the night.

      Then they would rape her mother and sisters.

      Again and again—maybe a dozen times—they would be raped until they were nearly lifeless. Then it would stop. They needed servants.

      When the valley was quiet and her only company was a cool rushing wind, she considered wandering down to the valley, to what was once her home, to see if any of them were still alive. That absurd thought made her almost laugh. She knew that laugh would mean she was as insane as Josh Kendall, the old man who was rumored to roam the plains isolated and all alone. The Apache were master killers. They never left anyone alive when they intended to kill them. She knew in her heart that her family was dead, except for the women.

      Maybe she could rescue her mother and sisters before the Apaches could do them any more harm than they had already done. Perhaps that was a possibility, she thought.

      In the tradition of her kind she stared at that moon feeling energy pouring into her body. It was as if the moon were dumping energy into her system, like water flowing from a cliff. Sometimes, it made her drowsy when she resisted its temptation to transform her. Now, she craved, needed and desired its bountiful energy. Soon she would be ready when Buffalo Bart arrived.

      And ready when the gray wolves came running on all fours, panting, over the hill, through green grass behind her.

      She would join them for the kill.

      Knowing there was nothing she could do for her father and brothers, she turned her back to their mangled, torn bodies and walked to the highest peak behind her. With the wind in her face and her body drawing energy from the moon, she waited for the transformation.

      Transform from one thing to another like a cocoon to a butterfly, thought. Butterflies didn’t exist on her world anymore, hadn’t for a long time. A thing of beauty, she gasped out loud realizing she might never see anything so beautiful again.

      If only she could have warned her family that they were coming, they could all have had time to transform under the light of the green moon. They could have stood together and killed many of the Apache before death claimed them. Why, they might have killed them all. Apaches honored great warriors by granting them a swift death. Were-wolves were the most respected warriors on the entire planet. Serena was proud that she was one of them.

      As her skin turned pale green, her muscles expanded and her human teeth became canine, she heard a great rush of wind above her. The great eagle, Claudia sailed to the ground only a few yards away. She stood watching as the proud old hunter dismounted and walked sullenly toward her.

      Buffalo Bart already knew he was too late.

      He hadn’t changed much, she thought as she studied his tall muscular frame. Maybe he had lost a few pounds, except that was all. His long gray hair still touched his broad shoulders and his deep blue eyes still sparkled like two stars. His tall frame was enshrouded in a tan suit made from deerskin. She wondered if he felt the powerful rays from the green moon as much as she did.

      One look at his green skin as he drew closer to her told her that he had felt it and absorbed it. He was as charged as a lightning bolt in a summer storm.

      Serena, his great voice boomed. I see that I’m too late. Even from the sky I could hear them screaming. They shall be avenged and your womenfolk shall be rescued.

      It wasn’t your fault, she cried as she fell into his brawny arms and succumbed to his strong embrace. I didn’t see them in time to call for help. It happened so fast.

      He hugged her tighter. Her soft body against his reminded him of days when he was younger and had held many woman such as she. The gray wolves will be here shortly. We shall follow them until we can kill them all.

      Staring off across the moonlit plains, she said, Quatrell is mine.

      And so it will be, he agreed eagerly. Knowing she was claiming the Apache chief as her own, he gave in to her although he would make sure that she got her wish. He knew as well as Serena that Quatrell would die a miserable death. Werewolves had proactive imaginations.

      Was it always this way, Buffalo Bart? She pushed back from him and stood looking at his face. It showed signs of wear and she wondered how old he was. Wrinkles wrapped themselves across his forehead and a few formed on his cheeks. She had known him since she was old enough to remember anything. Has it always been this way, this evil?

      Buffalo Bart took her by her arm and led her to a large flat stone where he told her to sit. With his foot on the stone and his arm resting on his knee, he told her what he knew. Gazing upward, he searched the sky for what he was seeking. Pointing to a small star that was barely noticeable amongst the millions of other stars, he said, Do you see that little star right out there that is near those two big ones?

      She looked and nodded. It was a little star, a blue one that twinkled constantly. Yes, she whispered, I see it. What is it? Is it a star or a planet?

      Ignoring her questions, he said, It all started out there when that star was a world like ours. Centuries ago, our ancestors came here from that star to colonize this world after it was terra-formed during the Genesis Age. Even on that distant world, there were often devastating wars.

      The Reconstruction Years, she elaborated with a smile on her face. Those were the times when the great men and women of Earth came here after Mars had acquired an atmosphere, oxygen and gravity.

      Yes, he murmured. While they built this world and colonists settled here, great wars erupted on Earth. Scientists began to experiment with anti-matter weapons hoping to make war so horrible that nobody would want to fight. Their way of thinking didn’t work very well. That concept had been tried many times before. It always failed in the end. Except, for a while, their plan did work. It worked for several centuries. With his eyes fixed on the distant twinkling ball of light, he continued. Most races on earth thought they had reached an area of common understanding and peace ensured by a stalemate. During this area of tranquility, they managed to colonize Mars.

      Then the inevitable happened, Serena interjected. War erupted slowly and ended in a blast of anti-matter bombs that turned Earth into a star.

      Yes, he agreed. Cut off from a world that no longer existed many of the humans on Mars perished. During the evolutionary process that followed over thousands of years old species died and new ones emerged. The Apache and other ancient tribes that existed on Earth in the old days developed on the Plains of Mars. Wolves and other animals common to earth appeared.

      Some of those animals had human counterparts—creatures who were half human and half animal—who evolved as Mars became much like old earth, she whispered trying to be heard above the wind.

      He leaned closer to her. He hoped that talking about the ancient times would keep her mind off her family, at least, for a little while. Wanting to keep her talking about those times until the gray wolves arrived, he whispered. Serena, we are the last of our kind.

      The words took her like a cold hand reaching down from the night sky. It was true, she admitted. They were the last of their kind. Yes, I thought there might be a chance we could reproduce and save our race. There was another family over on the West Plains. I suppose they too are gone now.

      In light from a green moon, he studied her. Having known her and her family most of his life, he could not believe that the beautiful woman sitting next to him was as beautiful as she was. Even now with soft hair growing on her face, her neck and with her elongated mouth, she was still as beautiful as she was before the transformation. Werewolves kept many of their human qualities during the transformation. Her lips were still full and pink. Her eyes were still green and enticing. Placing his hand on her shoulder, he reached forward and kissed her on her cheek. I suppose there still might be a few survivors, he said hoping to encourage her. You might find a suitable mate, somewhere, someday.

      What’s the use? The Apache will kill us all. We have been enemies since time began. The Apache killed most of the humans and they will slaughter us as well.

      Not if we kill all of them first, he countered. We still have a lot of regular wolves to help us. Their kind increases by the year. Soon they will outnumber the Apache. We still have a chance, a slim one.

      Yes, she agreed. You didn’t tell me something. What about the earth? Did anyone escape to settle anywhere else in space?

      A few, Buffalo Bart admitted. You see, Serena, when they fired up those anti-matter weapons, they destroyed the Earth that used to be out there. When the earth exploded into a ball of everlasting fire, it sent radiation in our direction. Some of the human scientists claimed that was the cause of our haphazard evolutionary process. Before all that happened, several spaceships were sent out from earth. Some of them arrived here intact. Those people now live on the other side of Mars. We are not entirely alone. I suppose it will be a long time before they discover us. Only time will tell if it will be a joyful experience. So, you see now that out of all that evil, there was some good.

      She nodded and started to ask another question just as their attention was drawn to the sound of the giant eagle shrieking and pacing around in a weary manner as it flapped its wings. Someone is coming, she said.

      He let his eyes scan the horizon in every direction looking for the gray wolves. They will be here soon, he assured her. Then, we will make those Apaches pay.

      You bet we shall, she said with a tinge of excitement in her voice. You said something about there might be a chance, Buffalo Bart. What did you mean by that?

      In the desert of Soledar, there exists a colony untouched by the Apaches, in fact, I doubt if they even know that colony is there. Most people have never heard of it. If we can defeat the Apache, there might still be a slight chance our race can survive.

      Are those people like us?

      Yes, he said. They are werewolves.

      Just like us. That has a good ring to it, she got up from the rock and stood looking up at a ridge where something had caught her attention.

      They have arrived, he said. Now, let’s get to work, shall we?

      Serena looked up at the ridges around them as hundreds of dark figures raised their heads toward the moon and howled. The welcoming call of the wild sent chills over her body and she hoped it would do more than that to the Apache.

      Sitting behind Buffalo Bart on the back of the enormous eagle with her arms stretched around his tremendous waist, Serena watched as a giant gray cloud moved across the plain below them with the swiftness of the Wind God.

      Using his ability to communicate with the gray wolves below, telepathically, Buffalo Bart directed the leader to keep his warriors moving down the valley. Near the river that ran the full length of the Valley of the Green Waters, he could see hundreds of lights. He knew where those lights came from. The Apaches were camped where the river took a sharp bend and went southwest.

      Buffalo Bart, a werewolf—and damned proud of it—since birth knew the fierce Apaches feared the wolves more than any other creature. There was reason enough to fear the wolves. The climate of Mars had assisted evolution in changing the wolves in a way that was remarkable. The gray wolves had developed a language of their own and were extremely intelligent. Gray wolves had several genes that made them all telepathic. They had many human qualities even though they looked like normal wolves.

      From the air where he had an excellent view of the Apache camp, Buffalo Bart quickly developed his battle plan. One group, half the wolf force would follow the river heading toward the left side of the Apaches while the other half attacked from the right. When the plan was implemented, it would appear as if a giant claw had closed on the Apaches when seen from the air.

      The river, cold, deep with swift currents would block any attempt the Apaches might make to escape. Surprised by his own cunning, Buffalo Bart passed the plan along to the wolves. Shortly, the gray mass began to divide into two groups. Buffalo Bart prompted the eagle to sail lower. The wolves had orders to make it their top priority to rescue the women.

      As the wolves attacked the camp, he thought about how it had once been and wondered if it would ever be any better. In the beginning, just after Mars had developed an atmosphere, millions of humans walked this land. Radiation from the new sun changed the genes of those early people. Bombarded with radiation from two suns, the planet underwent unpleasant changes. It was said that evolution wandered in several directions creating species at random. Of all the human-like races, the Apaches were the most violent. They tortured, killed and mutilated until many races became extinct. Buffalo Bart was part of a race of werewolves that had withstood the ferocity of the Apaches the longest. Now he was one of the few that were left.

      Serena was the daughter of his oldest sister, Shana. Shana was down there in that Apache camp. It was his intention to rescue her and annihilate the heathens.

      The first wolves crowded through high buffalo grass until they were in the camp. The women—naked and terrified out of their minds—were tied to stakes in the center of the camp where watchful evil eyes monitored them.

      KoTo led his advance scouts as close to the center of the camp as he could. Even the alert Apaches didn’t know that thousands of hungry canine mouths were within yards of them. The massive army now surrounded the camp and hundreds were inside the perimeter. KoTo, alert and ready, raised his head and howled. Thousands of voices answered him as they attacked guards and rushed into the sleeping camp.

      Taken by surprise, the Apache warriors had little chance to defend themselves against such an onslaught. When the battle was over and the captives were free, Buffalo Bart and Serena walked through the camp thanking the wolves for their help. As the wolves dragged Apache bodies away to the fields where they would feast well into the night, Serena was reunited with her mother and sisters. Her father and her brothers were gone. Serena would never see them again.

      Smiling, Buffalo Bart directed them toward the center of the camp where twelve Apache warriors, the absolute last of their kind were tied to posts waiting for their long transgression toward death to begin. It was a slide toward mortality they weren’t looking forward to.

      I’ve never tasted Apache meat, Serena said holding her head up baring sharp fangs that glistened in the moonlight.

      I’ve heard it tastes better after it has roasted over a hot fire for several hours, her mother declared. Then she looked at Serena and snarled. Preferably over a slow burning fire while they are alive. Her sisters giggled even though they too had felt the hot knives of the Apache.

      The feast was ceremonial in nature. Twelve of the enemy was spared because they would be tortured and then slowly roasted over an open fire in retaliation for what they had done to Serena’s family and the other werewolves.

      As Serena watched the preparations for the ceremony, she wondered what it would be like when werewolves populated the planet. They were the last surviving, intelligent species.

      Except for the monkeys, apes and a few humans.

      Those crazy, babbling nonsense-making creatures with heavy fur that served no useful purpose except to eat all day and pick bugs from another monkey’s fur would never be intelligent. She wondered if they had a real purpose for being here. Evolution didn’t make much sense to her. It had created millions of species and the werewolves would probably not be the last to be given life on the planet. Already, there were signs that the smaller creatures, insects and things like that were becoming more numerous. No, she had been wrong. Werewolves were not the only species. They were the only surviving dominant species. Werewolves never worried about the apes and monkeys. They were not as intelligent as the wolves. They were hardly worth worrying about at all.

      The End

      BACK TO TOC

      * * * * *

      Chapter 2

      ELEVATOR

      Dallas Releford

      Randall Payne stood on the grassy knoll with wind whipping tall buffalo grass around him, slapping his bronzed face with untamed fury and tossing his shoulder-length blond hair in his deep blue eyes. Sweat poured from pores in his bare skin. His well-muscled body taut, his breathing labored, he gazed across a treeless prairie where silver moonlight turned glistening bushes and tall grass into ghostly apparitions. They were creeping toward him like banshees in the night. He knew they weren’t real, that they were just tricks of the light, yet he still feared that something was out there, watching him.

      Terrified of what was before him, he dared not go back. What was behind him was more terrifying than anything he could imagine.

      Kneeling in high buffalo grass so that he was less visible to unwanted eyes, he searched the valley below until he saw what he was looking for. Anchored in a block of steel-reinforced concrete, a cable as large as his torso reached up into the sky until it disappeared from view. Letting his eyes follow the cable until it was lost in fluffy clouds, he knew where it ended. He knew that four of the large cables were anchored to the earth encompassing four square miles. The other ends of the strong cables were attached to a space station 26,000 miles out in space. That had been a feat that exceeded anything humans had ever done, he admitted to the wind as it rushed by him.

      Two thousand miles below the space station a city of thirty thousand inhabitants hung like a island suspended from four cables. Each of those cables served as a means for elevators to move back and forth between old earth and the city in space called Celestial City. It was the city above him where he hoped to find refuge from the threat behind him.

      Knowing the cables and the elevators were more than five miles away Randall prepared his mind to cope with the last of his journey. Staring up into a dark sky where millions of bright stars were displayed against a blanket of black, he searched for a single star—his star—Celestial City.

      Then just when he thought he might not see it at all, it twinkled as if beckoning to him. It was where it was supposed to be, among the stars.

      Up there he might find the peace and contentment he was seeking, but for how long? If war erupted between the upper people and the lower people—as he suspected it would—Lower earth government might sever the cables leaving the city dangling on the edge of space, hanging twenty two thousand miles above the earth’s surface. This was a disaster he didn’t even want to contemplate. He was the only one with the knowledge to prevent it.

      He had to get to the elevators, catch one going up and warn the government of Celestial City about impending doom, about Marion Reid and his mad plans to kill or enslave them all. Marion Reid, the worst dictator the world had ever seen won the election two years ago for Supreme President of the Republic of Lower Earth. Since then, his relentless crusade of terror against the citizens of Lower Earth still continued and Randall counted himself among the lucky because he had managed to escape Reid’s wrath, a lucky break that he knew he would never have a chance at ever again.

      Only one thing was between him and the elevator that would haul his butt twenty-two thousand miles up into space where Celestial City waited for him like a sparkling jewel in the sky. When the government of Celestial City had learned that Marion Reid was demanding more taxes, more raw ore from asteroids and that he wanted them to sign a non-aggression pact with his administration, they rebelled. To demonstrate his authority Reid had a great wall built around the four massive cables and the elevators. Brutal guards with Laser guns patrolled the top of the wide wall and the base all around the complex. Reid controlled access to Celestial City. Cut off from the rest of the world, Celestial City became a small beacon of freedom, for those who could still remember what freedom was all about.

      Payne looked down below him at the long, wide valley. Under bright starlight he could see the medieval gray structure glistening in the distance. A single gate—the only entrance—tall and wide stood like a gaping mouth waiting to snap its enormous jaws down on anyone who dared to enter.

      Facing the gate, a small town had sprung up. Support personnel for the elevator terminal and the great wall lived in small metal houses. A store, barbershop, bar and various other businesses catered to those people who spent most of their meager earnings as fast as they earned them. Payne had heard a lot about the town and none of what he heard was pleasing to his ears.

      The situation seemed hopeless, except he had a contact in the town. Sylvia Bright was her name and she had promised she would get Randall on the elevators, for a small fee.

      He was willing to pay, no matter what it was. Desperate men had few options. After all it was pay or hang around on the Plains until Reid’s aggressor found him. That meeting would not be pleasant.

      The thought of that beast rammed chills down his spine and almost numbed his mind. Reid reserved the services of the aggressor for special enemies. Randall Payne was now a special person. In a computer chip he had implanted in his hip were Reid’s plans for taking over Earth and capturing Celestial City. Only someone like Payne, Reid’s personal assistant had access to such information. As soon as he had the opportunity he grabbed it and escaped into the dark, cold night on the Plains.

      He knew the aggressor wasn’t far behind. He wanted the chip as much as Payne wanted to give it to the people up above. As Payne watched the town below through a powerful viewing scope, taking in every detail and storing it in his perfect computer-enhanced memory, he thought about the aggressor. Two computer chips resided in his brain allowing him more computational power than most other normal humans. Nobody knew what the aggressor looked like, who he was or what he was. When he came, nobody lived to talk much about him. Some people said that he was a genetically engineered monster with long fearsome teeth; great claws that could easily rip flesh from your body and that his eyes glowed like two coals in the dark. Payne doubted most of what he had heard even though he knew the creature was dangerous.

      Form-shifter, someone else had told him. That’s what he was. He knew that meant that the creature could change into a wolf, a bear or just about anything else it wanted to. Payne knew scientists had been able to create such creatures, even though he had never personally seen one. The thought nearly paralyzed his mind.

      Payne shook his head and put the glasses back up to his eyes supposing that he would know the beast when he saw him. Then, it might be too late.

      He worried about Sylvia Bright. What if she didn’t show up in the bar where she was supposed to meet him? What if something happened to change her mind? Why was she willing to take such a terrible chance to help him?

      The wind whistled a tune he didn’t like. It groaned as if trying to warn him that someone was coming. He knew the aggressor was around somewhere, he could feel him.

      Randall had met Sylvia Bright at a party Reid had given to celebrate his victory over his opponents. He had many of those. Actually, it wasn’t much of a victory. Reid ordered his red shirts—his elite guards—to murder all of the politicians who ran against him. Everyone who opposed him fell under the knife. Their hearts were cut out and eaten before their terrified eyes.

      He could still remember her dark brown hair, her sparkling blue eyes and her charming smile. They had become friends. Although sex wasn’t permitted, they did it anyway. Sylvia was one of the lucky few who had not had her sexual organs removed. It was the law, Reid’s Law. Under his administration, babies were creations of the State and therefore, belonged to the State. Test tubes and incubators produced more than enough babies for his armies and to serve as his servants.

      During an intimate moment when ecstasy moved his tongue as much as love for the woman moved his heart, he promised her he would take her to Celestial City one day. That brought on a discussion about how it could be done. Nude, they sat on a blanket, on a low hill under a tree watching the stars and the lights of the small town.

      It can be done, she had said. It would be easier for me to get us through.

      How? Randall had inquired.

      Easy, she bragged stroking his bare nipples with the tips of her fingers. I have something the guards want. He imagined each finger was a tiny vibrator that sent tantalizing waves of pleasure to his body. He was willing to do anything for her, even risk his own life, if she would help him reach his goal.

      What? They face death if they let anyone through those gates that aren’t supposed to go in there.

      The stakes are high, she admitted. However, they figure I am worth the risk.

      You have given yourself to them before?

      Not me, she protested, playfully slapping his shoulder. I bring them suitable women in return for favors.

      What favors?

      I sometimes deliver messages from rebels on earth to the government of Celestial City.

      Don’t you feel uncomfortable telling me that you are a rebel?

      I know more about you than you think, Randall Payne, she had said. I trust you.

      What do you mean by that?

      Her hands caressed his face, wiped beads of perspiration from his forehead and then her lips met his. Her kiss was long, warm and captivating. Pulling away from him, she sat quietly staring at him for a brief time before she spoke. You have spoken out against Reid. You are lucky he hasn’t heard about it. You’ll run, sooner or later and when you do, you’ll need me to take you up there. She pointed toward Celestial City and Randall cringed. Was she predicting his future?

      I’ll keep that in mind," he had said.

      Forcing himself to stop thinking about her, to put her in the back of his mind, for a moment or two, he knew it was time to go. He couldn’t crouch here in the grass forever. Placing the viewing glasses under a large tree trunk where they would not be found, he walked down a long slope that would take him to the town, and Sylvia.

      Glad that he had contacted her the other day and reminded her of her offer to help him, he entered the outskirts of the nameless town. His heart felt heavy, something felt as if it were pressing against his chest and his legs felt weak. Before he could collapse, the computer chip in his brain recognized his anxiety and sent a dose of chemicals flowing through his system. He felt strong again. Wild dogs, pigs and chickens wandered freely. Homeless people, drunks and dangerous characters loitered in the streets and on the sidewalks.

      The bar, which did have a name, was worse than he could ever have imagined. The name was burned into a wooden plank above the door. Stardust Bar didn’t seem like an appropriate name to him.

      Most of the men were armed with Maximum Laser pistols. Some of the women were armed with lots of bare flesh showing beneath short, thin dresses. Randall stepped up to the bar and bought a drink. Being as inconspicuous as possible, he looked around the filthy, smoke-filled room searching for a familiar face, one that he feared the most, the aggressor. Finally, he relaxed a little when he was sure the creature hadn’t caught up with him, yet. He would wait for Sylvia to show up and then they would leave this place, forever and together.

      Satisfied that the aggressor wasn’t the old man sitting next to him or the young engineer—he knew he was an engineer because of the uniform he was wearing—at the end of the bar he felt a little better as he waited for Sylvia.

      After a while, she appeared at the door and motioned for him to follow her. Downing the last of his drink, he walked out the door happy that he would soon be in Celestial City. He had beaten the aggressor to the elevators after all. That thought made him want to shout with joy, except he knew doing such a foolish thing would draw too much attention to him.

      He followed her down several dark alleys. Sylvia, where are you going? he asked almost out of breath already. The trip across the plains had taken its toll on him.

      She didn’t answer. He was lost. He could not see her in front of him or anywhere else for that matter. The alley was as dark as a cave on a moonless night. Sylvia.

      As he walked cautiously forward not knowing where she was or where he was going, he saw two large green eyes looking at him. Sylvia, is that you?

      Her hand slashed out. Sharp claws slit his throat. I’m not Sylvia anymore, an eerie voice shrieked.

      As the moon appeared from behind dark, thick clouds, he saw her face as his life drained from his body and he could no longer breathe. Her face was the face of death, the face of the aggressor.

      The End

      NOTE - NASA Plans Elevator To Space

      With the cost of sending materials and people into space escalating, NASA has announced plans to construct a space elevator that will allow materials and passengers to travel from earth to space. One end of the cable would be anchored to the earth while the other end would be attached to a space station orbiting at about 22,000 miles from earth. According to NASA a space elevator would essentially be a long cable with one end attached to the earth (realistically at the equator) while the other end could theoretically be held by its own outward centripetal force. Magnetically powered vehicles would climb up and down the cable serving as mass transportation for moving people, satellites and other payloads between Earth and space.

      * * * * *

      BACK TO TOC

      Chapter 3

      The Next Bus To Tombstone

      Dallas Releford

      Tombstone, Arizona was the town billed as the town too tough to die and since he was a kid, Larry Smith—an aggressive history buff if there ever was one, by the way—had always wanted to go there.

      On a cool night in September he found himself alone, walking down a long deserted stretch of West Texas highway. As far as he could remember, if he could recollect anything at all about his past, he was on US 180 when something occurred and he’d had to walk. He couldn’t remember what or why? He’d been having trouble remembering events in his life for a few days. It was as if he had just been born or had awakened from a very long sleep. He thought his troubles might be connected to the hot days and the

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