Tome City > Macabre Skies

Full Gloom. 22 - Shaft.

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Chinaren:
Author's note: This is a fresh thread, as the original one had polls that were 'stuck', and it was annoying me.  So I've had the posts split off the old thread and attached here. 



With no small amount of trepidation, let me introduce...







Warning!

Full Gloom is the sequel to Gloom Rising, which contains material which is unsuitable. 

Those of low age or with low tolerance for blood, sex or totally inappropriate material should probably steer clear.  Or at least read with trepidation. 

Chinaren refuses to take responsibility for any offence and/or mental damage caused by reading the Gloom stories.

Thank you for reading, have a nice day.




Prologue.

The soul of Ben Mean screamed as it swooped down upon the wailing form of the child.  Not a real child of course, he should be so lucky, but a soul trapped within the form of one.  A fellow Damned if you looked at it from one point of view. 

Food, if you looked at it from another.

The kid screamed again. Louder this time, as Ben knocked the small form to the ground and hovered over the body. 

“Let me go!” his prey wailed, scrambling to get away.

Ben would have smiled, had he been able.  He would have been horny, had he been allowed such.  He’d have been reveling in the imminent slaughter, would that such feelings worked here. 

As it was he felt mild satisfaction.  It was better than nothing.  The food shrieked like the little girl it resembled as he sank his teeth into the shoulder, ripping the rubbery substance that passed for flesh in this cursed place. 

Chewing it as fast as he was able, dripping whatever the blood was made out of down his chin, the Soul of Ben cackled, paying no heed to the suffering of his fellow Damned. 

If it had been dog eat dog when he was alive, it was anything eat anything else here, and he, Ben Mean, was not going to be the victim.  He’d never been the victim, and he’d be damned if he was going to start now.

Apart from the fact he was already damned of course.

Wails from overhead alerted him to danger from above.  He glanced up, to see three shadowy forms swooping down on his position. 

Snarling, Ben tore another chunk from the child’s side, trying to wolf down as much as possible before the others arrived. 

They were poor specimens too, he saw as they closed.  He’d be able to take any one of them easily on his own, maybe two, but three was too much of a risk.  His own substance was just as energy laden as the sniveling wretch underneath him, and far more valuable. 

With one last bite, from the child’s ass, he leaped into the air, snarling at the encroaching thieves, who replied in kind. 

As he watched them circle over the prey he’d run down he almost decided to risk it.  Had they not left one of them on guard, staring up at him as he floated higher, he just might have. 

Thwarted, he flew into the swirling darkness that was world he existed in.  Eyes darting from side to side, failure of vigilance could result in another Damned getting the jump on him, he chewed his captured substance.  Even as he did so it started to dissolve, to fade away. 

Such were the torments of the Damned.  Food that satisfied for moments only, constant fear of being attacked by those stronger, and the fear of being unable to find something to sustain yourself on.  Without food souls faded fast, becoming prey for others.

Once you lost strength you were unlikely to be able to hide or run long enough to recover it.  Eventually you became little more than a babbling wisp of smoke, floating in the turbulent void, the mind a gibbering mess of insanity.  Ben sneered.  He would never become such, whatever it took.

The meal now gone, he floated over to a darker cloud of putrid gas drifting overhead.  Several other souls hovered around, but he judged them no immediate thread, and settled down to hover in the haze at the clouds edge, ignoring the pain that the tendrils of mist inflicted on his semi-solid form.  The more cover he had, the safer from detection he was.  Pain could be enjoyed anyway, if you looked at it the right way. 

A sharp crack jerked him out of his reverie.  Looking left and right he failed to see anything other than the usual dull red glow that constantly permeated this place.  Below, the grey volcanic landscape stretched on for as long as the senses could see.  White forms squirmed over the surface at points, often attempting to flee from the misty hunters soaring above.

Where had the sound come from then? 

Ben turned, forcing himself to venture into the cloud slightly, an act that threatened to overcome even his tolerance for agony. 

There!  There it was!  He gaped in wonder.

A light.  A bright, pure point of light in the eternal gloom of Damnation! 

With a feral grin, Ben streaked towards it.  Whatever it was, he was going to have it, if it meant the death of a thousand babies, it was his.

Ben Mean, Damned Soul, moved into the light.

ashkent:
Not, as it first sounded, another Full Moon spoof (thankfully), but I think I may well track this one. :)

Chinaren:

--- Quote from: ashkent link=topic=1727.msg22060#msg22060 date=1269207478 ---Not, as it first sounded, another Full Moon spoof (thankfully)

--- End quote ---

OMG, I didn't even think about that!   :fart:   I wouldn't even do a spoof of that stuff.  Gah.

Anyway, welcome on board Ask.  This is an Interactive Tale, but the prologue doesn't have a SP. Chapter one will remedy this situation. 

Chinaren:
The cruiser’s powerful nuclear fusion engine hummed as Gloom powered it through the busy traffic, the sound only partially masking the siren that wailed out in front of them.  The car’s police override automatically took control of the vehicles ahead and steered them out of the way to allow him a clear path.  It was like the parting of some ancient sea, allowing him access to the holy land. 

In this case though, the holy land was a lorry full of imported hookers.  Gloom grinned at the thought of a cab full of new pussy and pushed the gas pedal down a little further.  The speedo touched nearly three hundred, and several warning lights blinked on the dash, alerting him to the fact that he was now redlining the safety limits. 

“Fantastic,” he said, and accelerated some more.   Angry horns honked in his wake as he bullied his way through. 

“This velocity is not advised Gavin,” said a female voice that only he could hear.  At the same time the car slowed slightly, to just below the recommended pursuit speed.

“Spoilsport,” scowled Gloom. 

“I am merely protecting you,” the AI chip inside his head answered evenly.

“Sometimes I wish I’d had you taken out.” The police officer tapped at his head, as if he could affect the implant.  It didn’t reply, and he sighed.  The fun had been taken out of his little ride.

Still, he reflected, the drive was only the starter.  He smiled again as he slid off the main highway and slowed further, the automatic systems taking it to its programmed destination.

“Assault in progress, Red Farm middle school.  All units in the area respond.” A message crackled over the radio, automatically muting the music he’d had playing.

“Fuck that,” Gloom said, toggling the volume down.  He took manual control and swung the car into the narrow alleys toward the city wall, reducing the speed further as dark buildings towered above him. 

Level twenty one had once been the main import/export level, though this had long since moved to the new Industrial zone.  The gates out of the city were still there though, and they came in handy for moving contraband in and out of the New Fallow, both with and without the authority’s knowledge. 

“Here we go,” Gloom said, pulling the cruiser up near a large warehouse made of ancient ‘crete, now stained black with pollution. 

As the engine powered down, he performed a quick scan of the area, alert for threats.  The district was classified as unsuitable for human habitation, but he knew that had never stopped anybody before.  Now unregulated gangs roamed at will, controlling the streets with just as much brutality as the police could offer.

The scan clear, Gloom slid out of the vehicle, firearm loose in his hip holster, just in case.   His dark blue uniform made him an automatic target for just about anyone around here, and he snarled at the thought, recalling the days before his demotion.

“Fucking bitch,” he muttered to himself, meaning ex-commissioner Ice.  She may have ‘retired’, forced to fall on her sword by Powers behind the scenes actually, but she’d made sure that Gloom had fallen with her.  Admittedly he’d managed to wiggle out of being kicked off the force entirely, but demotion to uniform had come as a hard blow. 

Still, life wasn’t all bad.  As a seasoned officer he’d soon carved out a cushy place for himself in the traffic division, helped by kickbacks to the local commanding officer of course.  Ten percent was a reasonable price to pay for freedom to act on his own.  Ten percent of the deals that Captain Arthur Middle knew of anyway.   A grin worked its way over Glooms face as he walked around the corner and sent a command to the large double doors set into the wall ahead of him.

A low rumble swept over him, and the ground beneath his boots vibrated as the giant egress slid open.  Yellow like filtered in, and Gloom quickly donned his shades, squinting as natural sunlight from the setting sun encroached onto the darkness of the old loading bay, driving back shadows and exposing the chipped and tattered walls for the aged and grime ridden things they really were.

Outside he could just about make out the withered landscape, more like the surface of Mars than Earth.  Just about every plant for a hundred clicks around the city had been killed by the waste pumped out by the billions inside the giant human hive.  Only mutant roaches and their kin lived out there now, their food sources the debris from the city and each other.

A rectangular shape blocked out the sunlight as it slowly drove forward through the entrance, and Gloom stepped back again to allow the giant rig to fully pull in.  Once the five trailers of the land-train were safely inside, he ordered the doors to close behind it. 

They shut with a low booming noise just as a man in brown overalls climbed out of the control cab of the now stationary vehicle.

“You Gloom?” the man asked.

“Jesus, shout a bit louder won’t you?” the police officer replied through clenched teeth.  “I think some of the cunts up on Ten didn’t hear you.”

“Yeah, sorry.” The man, who’s square chin was covered in stubble, didn’t sound apologetic.

“You have my package?” Gloom held out a hand.

“Straight to business eh?  Sure.  It’s in the safe with the other cargo.”

“Lead on then.” He gestured, and then followed the driver back towards the rearmost cab.  He waited until the man had climbed the ladder and opened the access hatch before following, senses alert for treachery.  It wasn’t very likely admittedly, he’d done enough business with this crew before, but you could never tell.

In this case it seemed they were on the level.  The cabin was layered with foam and some kind of black sheeting, no doubt to block scanners. 

Stark lights overhead illuminated the interior, and he wrinkled his nose as he looked around.   The smell of the cargo and their waste had obviously overwhelmed the filters. 

“You’ve brought a lot this time,” he said as the driver handed him a thick brown envelope. 

“Yeah, a good haul.  The war in Canada may be all but over, but there’s still a lot of refugee’s wandering around.” He smirked.  “Easy pickings.”

 Gloom finished counting his money and pushed the envelope into an inside pocket as he examined the pathetic wretches cowering in the truck.

“Some of them are a bit young aren’t they?” he asked, taking in a small group of young girls huddled in the corner.

“What can I say?  We don’t discriminate.  Very politically correct we are.  Anyway, they’ll go for a good price.  Always plenty who like them young, and they pay premium.”

“Yeah, right.” Gloom sniffed and rubbed at his chin. “Well, whatever.  I’ll take that one.  He pointed to a thin blonde with an impressive chest.”

“What?”

“Don’t worry, I won’t be long.” He waved at the woman.  “Come over here darling.”

“Listen, these are new in, I can’t have the goods being spoiled before… Urk.” The man was cut off by Glooms gloved hand wrapped around his throat.  The police officer squeezed, using some of his enhanced muscle strength.

“Listen, I don’t know if you’re new, stupid or both, but you better learn quick.  If you want problems, then you need look no further, understand?”  He waited until the man nodded before continuing.  “On the other hand, if you want a hassle free delivery, then you need a friend.  I,” he pointed at himself with his free hand.  “I am that friend, and friends do each other favours.   Are you following me?”

The man nodded again, rather more desperately this time.  No doubt beginning to feel the lack of oxygen. 

“Good.” Gloom dropped him and turned back to the woman he’d chosen.  “Come on love, I’m going to help you settle in to your new career.” He waited as the blonde timidly approached, looking from side to side at her fellow passengers for support.  None was forthcoming, camaraderie tended to go quickly out of the window when it could be you.

“It’s alright, I won’t bite, well, unless you’re into that sort of thing.” Gloom took her hand and looked her over.  A bit skinny, no doubt rations were short in the smoking ruins of Canada these days, but still a good bit of shape to her.  She was pretty too he saw, tilting her chin up.  Blue eyes stared defiantly back at him.  Still had some spirit as well!  Nice.

“I need to use your cab for a bit,” he said to the driver, who was rubbing his throat.  The man just nodded and waved a hand.

“Good.  I can see we’re going to get on well.   Come on love.  Let’s have a bit of fun shall we?”

Seeing that she had little choice, the woman followed him, allowing herself to be helped her down from the cab.   “We’ll be nice and cozy up here,” Gloom said, putting an arm around her and giving her breast a feel.  “Very nice.  What’s your name?”

“Sam… Samantha,” she replied in a quiet voice.

“Well Samantha, you’ve landed on your feet for sure.  You do a good job for me now, and I mean really good, and your Uncle, Sergeant Gloom here, will look after you.  Consider this an interview.  You pass, you’ll have it easy.  You fail, and you’ll be working hard, though in truth, lying on your back with your legs open can’t be that bad.  You’ll be a popular one too, I can tell.”

The woman shivered under his embrace, and he smiled. 

“Come this way…” he started, but the female voice inside his head interrupted. 

“Gavin, you’re being called.  Captain Middle is trying to reach you.  He wants you to return to the station at once.”

“What?  What the fuck?” Gloom frowned and stopped, ignoring the confused look of his companion. 

“It’s a priority call,” his AI implant said.

“Shit!  Not good timing!” Gloom clenched his teeth.  He needed to get this delivery delivered; there wasn’t more than half an hour that he could dally here.  Just enough time to have a bit of fun and that was it.  Yet Middle knew what he was doing, he wouldn’t have interrupted if it hadn’t been urgent.  Then again, there was the woman.  He hated to waste such a fresh piece of meat, and he was horny.

“Damn,” he said.

>>>>>>

Okay, couple of ideas needed for the Suggestion Phase here:

What does Gloom do?  Go and answer the call? Ignore it?  What about the delivery?  What about the cargo he’s about to test?

Also, what does Middle want?  What could be so urgent?

All ideas welcome!

<<<<<<

BlackCat:
Lets see, that woman is no ordinary woman, but a higher spirit that can hide in human forms. And thus if he doesn't answer the call he might as well be bait for her. I just imagine something stronger than this guy yousay is Gloom.... maybe all the spirits are trying to get something from the new spirit.... or something. A supernatural spirit.... called Tohon an arcanain spirit or something worse...

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