Gnaw Bone, Indiana
The Farmhouse
Early Afternoon
The sun was bright. The grass was green, and the trees were finally providing shade after what seemed like a decade of winter. A light breeze shook the leaves, though it could hardly be heard over the lawnmower that was roaring past Daedalus, Kosnar’s comically enormous frame piloting it.
Daedalus was crouched on the ground, studying one of probably a hundred mounds in the front yard. He looked up in annoyance as Kosnar whizzed by, grass shooting in the opposite direction. White smoke trailed the mower, either due to Kosnar pushing its weight limit, or the general condition of the mower itself. It wasn’t in good shape. Its rusted frame threatened to collapse beneath the Creeps’ enforcer. The blades cut the grass unevenly, so it was debatable whether the yard looked better after Kosnar was finished… but, nobody did.
Daedalus: Fucking moles.
He stood, stretching and looking out into the fields surrounding the property. In a few months, the property would be hidden behind the stalks of corn growing in those fields. But for now they were barren.
Daedalus glanced back at Kosnar once more before yawning and striding back toward the farmhouse.
X X X
As Daedalus entered the house, Tempest was coming up from the Underlook. Daedalus stared at him and Tempest paused mid-stride.
Daedalus: Where the fuck have you been?
The Spider King giggled.
Tempest: I’ve been here. Haven’t you seen me? Or felt my presence at least?
The architect considered.
Daedalus: Perhaps, like a ghost in the walls.
Tempest nodded slowly, and Daedalus shifted directions.
Daedalus: You’re aware that Jacky’s gone?
The Spider King seemed to smile behind his mask. He gazed at Daedalus with his good eye and nodded again.
Daedalus: Your doing? Or on her own accord?
Tempest shrugged and stepped closer.
Tempest: Jacky never needed me, Dae. The Ragdoll deserves to be free. Her liberation is just what the Coalition needs. She was a free spirit that, for whatever reason, was imprisoned here.
Daedalus: Do you think so?
Tempest: She’ll be fine! She’ll be out kidnapping a celebrity and eating Tutti-fuckin-fruit ice cream before you know it! She probably already is. And you know what? Good for her. She deserves to be happy and free just like any other creature.
Daedalus nodded.
Daedalus: And you?
Tempest: Well… she ain’t the only one who’s been liberated.
Daedalus: Then it’s time to get down to business, yeah?
X X X
The mower shut off outside. Pisces peered out from the window of the basement in silence. Thin strands of hair stuck to her porcelain white face. Her expression never changed. And her eyes were as dead as a corpse.
Her gown was covered in dirt and dust. She held a bloody teddy bear and stroked its fur absently. Her expression never changed.
X X X
Gnaw Bone, Indiana
The Farmhouse
Early Morning
It was still dark. It was the time of morning just before the birds began to sing and the sun was just creeping in the horizon.
The birds didn’t sing here. Tempest made sure of it.
He laid on his belly on the farmhouse’s slanted roof, pointing his rifle at the silhouettes of trees lining the driveway. He waited patiently, and his mind wandered to another time.
X X X
Gnaw Bone, Indiana
Lonesome Pine Road
Summer of ???
He’s a child.
Daddy’s asleep in the recliner. Mommy’s in her bedroom and the door is locked.
The boy is outside, playing across the street in the old schoolyard. He’s spent a lot of time in the schoolyard because they’re about to build houses there. Mountains of dirt left by the construction crews have created a brand new world for the boy to play in.
He loves bringing his hot wheels and building little dirt towns on top of the mounds, or having a war between his favorite action figures, fighting to the death until there’s only one king of the hill.
On this particular day, a group of older boys are watching him with mischievous intentions.
One of them has come up with a brilliant plan. They’ve wedged a long wooden plank between two of the dirt hills in the schoolyard, in a spot out of view from the street. They would capture the boy and tie him to the plank. Then they would cover him in sugar water and bird seed.
And then they would watch. And laugh. And leave him there. And make him think he would die there. Alone. With the birds and the bugs.
And they did.
He has some fight in him. All the way until they drive his head into the ground and thousands of black stars fill his vision.
He’s disoriented.
They tape his mouth shut and he can taste his own blood. The copper taste makes his belly ache. He stops trying to fight because he knows no one will come for him anyway. Daddy is too drunk. And mommy will never hear him from the depths of her bedroom. The rest of the neighborhood thinks he’s too strange, and will shut their curtains or turn the television up louder.
So he becomes still. The same way Pisces became still five months ago. And he lets them tie him to the plank. He can hear the birds’ wings fluttering as they gather curiously along the power lines.
He can hear them chirping, conversing, plotting.
He closes his eyes. He refuses to let them watch him panic.
The sugar water comes first. It feels admittedly cool and refreshing in the hot summer sun of southern Indiana. He can almost feel the bugs stirring in the dirty beneath him.
Next is the bird seed. They dump an entire bag on top of him. And another. And another. He’s covered in it. And so are his surroundings.
The birds don’t even wait for the boys to leave. They’re ravenous. Aggressive. Their beaks are sharp. He feels them nip at his skin at first, then slice him like a thousand razorblades.
He never screams.
“Fuck you Moseley,” one boy says.
He cries. Silently, to himself. And not until the boys grow tired of making fun of him and leave. But he never screams.
The birds eat part of his flesh as they devour the bird seed. But he never screams.
He will fear the birds for the rest of his life. But he knows it isn’t their fault. It is only their nature.
It is their nature.
X X X
Gnaw Bone, Indiana
The Farmhouse
Early Morning
Tempest: I will do to you… what nature… has done to me.
He whispered it as he pulled the trigger for the first time that morning. A bird dropped dead in the yard. Later, Kosnar would meander beneath the trees and clean up the carcasses in silence.
The sound of the beebees in his air rifle could be heard as they rolled aimlessly within the chamber.
Tempest: I know you’re watching. And I’ve kept an… eye… on you, too, Johnny. You may think it’s over. You undoubtedly believe that you drove me out of the Coalition. And for a time, it could be believed that you did.
The sound of a beebee being launched into the air by air filled the early morning air like a startled sigh. Another bird fell, hitting a limb on the way down.
Tempest: You are much more intelligent than you act, Johnny. Those who don’t recognize that, are as blind as my left eye. You’ve found something in me that no one else has been able to find… fear.
He pumped the air rifle again. It was still very dark, but a hint of pink was peeking out in the East.
Tempest: Unlike most of the people you deal with, I can see through the ‘Caps Lock’ button of your keyboard. I can see into your soul.
Another beebee fired into the trees, and another black bird fell without protest to the gravel driveway underneath.
Tempest: I can see that you’re not a joke. You’re actually a very real threat… so I’ll treat you like one. I imagine that you’re ready for this, Johnny… or you wouldn’t have poked the hornet’s nest to begin with.
He set the air rifle on the shingles and rolled to his side. He was wearing a black sleeveless shirt with the UGWC logo across the chest. Above it, the text ‘Burn This Flag’ in green basic lettering.
Tempest: The question you should ask yourself now… is what type of hornet is going to come out of that nest?
He gazed out thoughtfully from behind the mask for a long time before turning back to his stomach and arming himself, once again going to war with the birds.
He saw movement in the front yard and shifted his air rifle. For a long time, nothing moved. Just as he was turning his attention back to the birds, he saw the shadow of something drop back down into one of the holes in the yard.
X X X
Gnaw Bone, Indiana
The Underlook
Late Evening
The Astro Creeps lurked beneath the farmhouse, through the labyrinth known as the Underlook. Pisces, Kosnar, Tempest, and Daedalus crept through the corridor looking comically like some sort of reverse reality Mystery Inc group.
Daedalus: I know those moles are down here somewhere.
Kosnar grunted, his eyes rolling behind his mask.
Daedalus: They’re taunting me. They think it’s funny what they’ve done to our yard.
Pisces walked silently next to him. There was a time when she would have said something like, “I would be more offended by what Kosnar and his mower did to the yard,” but those days are gone now. On the other side of Daedalus, Tempest stifled a giggle.
Daedalus: What!? It’s true! Haven’t you ever seen Caddyshack?
Tempest: Those mounds didn’t really look like mole hills, Dae. I think it’s something else. Why don’t you just call an exterminator?
Kosnar stopped and nodded.
Then we’ll be rid of the pests, and have dinner as well, Pisces thought.
Daedalus sighed.
Daedalus: Because… this is personal.
Tempest blew a raspberry behind his mask.
Tempest: What, did one of them smile at you or something?
Daedalus: I wouldn’t laugh. There could be a bird’s nest anywhere down here.
Tempest stopped abruptly and Pisces stared at him in silence. Daedalus did his best impression of Principal Vernon, holding a fist with his pinky and index finger pointing at the Spider King.
Daedalus: Don’t mess with the bull, young man.
Tempest sulked. When he noticed Pisces staring, he flipped her the b—… he flipped her off. She only stared vacantly back at him.
He was about to say something to her, but the sound of scratching caught his attention. No one else seemed to hear it. He followed the sound off to the right. Behind the door of Room 148 is where the scratching was coming from. It was definitely an animal.
He considered telling Daedalus, but Mystery Inc was already further down the corridor. None of them seemed to notice that he wasn’t with them. He reached into the pocket of his jumpsuit and pulled a big key ring out with hundreds of keys clinking together.
Each key had a unique number on it. He flipped through them, and after a few moments, found the key to Room 148. He unlocked the door and stepped inside.
The room was silver. Or so it seemed. The curtains were silver, or were they pink? The carpet was soft and inviting, and it was silver too. He gazed around curiously, memories of finding Pisces swarming his mind like an angry colony of bees.
The walls were beautiful but eerie. The trim looked like silver tinsel on a Christmas tree. His eyes caught on the bathroom door, and as if in response, the animal scratched from beyond.
Behind him, the door clicked shut with a sigh. When he whirled around, she was standing there, glaring but grinning. Her eyes were purple. Her teeth were pearl white. And she was beautiful.
Magdalena: Doors are funny in this universe. They take you places. Just ask the Dark Man.
Tempest: Do we share the same universe?
Magdalena: The same universe? The same world? Darling, the Astro Creeps and the Dark Man are in the same goddamned neighborhood! I would go so far as to say you’re practically neighbors. In terms of drawing Mr. Rogers, it appears you both got fucked there, huh?
Tempest: I guess so… how do you know this?
Magdalena: Because… I am a gooooooood.
Her mouth opened wider than natural as her voice became demonically deep. Tempest chuckled softly.
Tempest: God?
He shook his head slowly and pointed to himself.
Tempest: No gods here. No gods… No laws.
Magdalena smiled and walked away from him, venturing deeper into the room. Somehow he knew she was a ghost. From the bathroom, he could hear the animal scratching again.
Tempest: So what are you doing here?
She burst out laughing.
Magdalena: Me? I live here. This is my home. My question is, what the fuck are you doing here?
He thought for a moment.
Tempest: I’m looking for a mole. It’s digging holes in our yard. And I can hear it scratching from your bathroom. I just—
But she was gone. He was alone in Room 148. Alone with that scratching. He cautiously stepped towards the bathroom. As he pushed the door open, the scratching stopped. It heard him. He came into the bathroom and it was silent.
When he turned to walk away, he heard the child’s voice from the drain. The same voice that Beverly Marsh probably heard.
Voice in the Drain: Help me. Help me, please. It’s dark here.
Tempest sighed and hovered over the sink’s drain, looking down at it with his right eye.
Tempest: I’ll bet you think this is Derry, Maine huh? It’s not, though. It’s not even Boulder, Colo-fucking-rado, and you’re standing on the wrong side of the drain anyway. We’re the monsters here, not you.
Silence filled the bathroom. And then he heard a voice from his childhood. He heard a voice of one of the older boys who fed him to the birds.
Voice in the Drain: Fuck you, Moseley.
He backpedaled away from the sink. The sound of birds cawing inside the drain was suddenly deafening. He turned and power walked out of the bathroom. Magdalena and Johnny Hitmaker stood in the middle of Room 148 with frozen mannequin grins. Tempest ignored them and was surprised to find the door opened on his first attempt. He slammed the door behind him.
Standing in the corridor of the Underlook’s first floor, Tempest looked around. The other Creeps must have gone down to a lower floor. He relaxed a little and looked back towards Room 148. He could hear Magdalena Lockheart laughing from inside. Laughing, not giggling, because she was an adult, not a child.
And then he heard the scratching again. It was under the floor, and it was moving slowly down the hallway. So Tempest followed. He followed until the sound made a sharp left, behind the door of Room 175.
He gazed at the door defiantly.
And then opened it, charging inside, but halting quickly. Not because he was scared or startled or terrified. It was because he was cold. He was freezing, in fact.
Room 175 was a walk-in freezer. He exhaled, his breath clouding in front of his face as he stepped deeper inside the room. Pisces stood, frozen, near the middle of the room, and Tempest’s thoughts changed…
She stood among bodies. There were… corpses of unimaginable decay. Many of them were partial humans, and they all…
They all looked like unfinished versions of Konrad Raab…
Pisces flickered, like a hologram, then disappeared. And Tempest’s thoughts returned to normal…
There were bodies hanging from meathooks, all in different stages of death. In the place of Pisces stood Konrad Raab.
But he wasn’t the Konrad Raab that Tempest had grown familiar with.
This Konrad was sinister.
This Konrad was malicious and violent.
This Konrad was as cold as he ever wanted to be.
Konrad: Hello, Tempest.
Tempest: Hi, Konrad.
Konrad: Isn’t this what you’ve always wanted me to be?
The Spider King shook his head slowly.
Konrad: Oh… well, that’s a trifle upsetting, isn’t it?
Tempest: Why are you here, Konrad?
Tempest’s nemesis chuckled, an icy grin spreading on his face.
Konrad: This isn’t the first time you’ve experienced these sorts of delusions, is it? And I know you, or Daedalus maybe, have preached that Friedrich Nietzsche quote, haven’t you? How does it go, Tempest? ‘Battle not with monsters, lest ye become a monster, and if you gaze into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you’?
Tempest didn’t respond. He only looked down at the floor.
Konrad: Guess what. I am what’s in the abyss. You may not believe it. You may think I’m incapable of such a thing. But I am. You’re on the wrong side of the mirror this time, Tempest.
Tempest: I’m looking for a mole. Or an animal of some kind, it’s haunting our Underlook.
Konrad laughed at him.
Tempest: Maybe… maybe it’s you. Maybe you’re the animal haunting us, and you’re disguising yourself as my enemies.
Konrad laughed harder. Tempest peered at him.
Tempest: I like this side of you, Konrad.
His laughter stopped abruptly. Tempest didn’t laugh. He didn’t smile. He only stared at him from behind the mask. He wanted him to know he was sincere. He wanted him to know he meant it.
He turned and walked out of Room 175, and Konrad watched him in silence.
X X X
Gnaw Bone, Indiana
The Farmhouse
Early Afternoon
The Astro Creeps were lounging in the front room of the farmhouse. The television was on, and Creature from the Black Lagoon was playing silently on the muted screen. Daedalus leaned back on the couch, his hands clasped behind his head.
The hunt for the intruding moles didn’t go as planned. They never found their intruders, and thus, never executed them as he envisioned. The Architect looked around the room at his creatures.
Daedalus: Are you ready for this, Tempest?
The half-blind Astro Creep was leaning against the wall, his arms folded in front of his chest.
Tempest: I’ve been waiting for this for months now.
Daedalus: They will come for you. You’re the Astro Creep. The Spider King. The King Freak. You are the Tempest.
He leaned back further, looking up at the ceiling and laughing to himself.
Daedalus: You were never supposed to be as successful as you’ve been. And yet, here you are. You’re perhaps the most anticipated return on the roster. No one carries themselves quite like the Spider King.
Tempest nodded, but didn’t say anything.
Daedalus: What are you coming for?
Tempest: I’m coming for the World. In every sense of the word.
The Architect nodded.
Daedalus: It’s time you did. You’ve made your mark in chaos. You’ve haunted across hemispheres. Now… you take the World.
Tempest stood in silence, and for a moment, the Astro Creeps looked as still as mannequins.
Tempest: But first… The Arsonist.
Daedalus: Seb…
Tempest nodded slowly. Then they heard the scratching. No, not scratching. Tearing. Ripping. From within the walls of the room. Daedalus sat up quickly. Tempest, startled, hunched his shoulders and side stepped out of the way.
From the wall next to Tempest, a hole was clawed out, and filling the hole was the head of… a turtle?
The Astro Creeps stared at it in confusion.
Turtle: I am Maturin of the Moldives! You murdered my children and now it’s time for you to meet your maker!
Daedalus shifted his eyes from the turtle to Tempest, to Kosnar and Pisces, and back to Maturin of the Moldives. It wasn’t a mole after all, but a fucking sea turtle, that made all of those mounds in the front yard. Suddenly, the Architect’s face contorted in rage, and Tempest, sighing, reached for his air rifle leaning against the corner of the room.
Tempest: Fuck you, Eden Morgan!