Greetings All,
I know this is quite a step away from my traditional genre, but tastes change and new ideas present themselves. I hope this story is everything to you that is was to me. Enjoy!
NightSteed Out-
The air was stale in the small bar. Patrons were gathered at tables, sipping their drinks, smoking, playing cards, arguing, or attempting to get the girls to go up stairs for "a little fun". But this isn't' any normal bar. If you were to look around for half a second, you would see that every table had at least one firearm sitting on it. It had once been described as the bar at the end of the world. A place were every type of outlaw was sitting, cashing in on their latest job. One would almost expect Clint Eastwood or John Wayne to barge through the saloon doors and demand that a certain criminal come with him; dead or alive. However, instead of cattle rustlers and horse thieves, this bar was full of pirates and gangs in addition to the murders. One pirate in particular, was sitting up at the bar itself, weaving a tale about a dangerous creature to those who were drinking with him.
"Everyone knows the old myths of the supernatural. Mexico has El Chupacabra, The US has Bigfoot, and Ireland has the Loch Ness Monster" The Pirate began. "But have you heard the tale that hails from Thailand? The tale of a creature so mysterious, that just to look upon it means almost certain death? Have you heard the tale, of the creature from the Black Lagoon?"
His drinking partners listened with intense curiosity as he continued to drone on, taking another sip of their drinks as the pirate continued.
"They say this creature has a mane of Maroon, the eyes of a killer, the speed of a cheetah, and the cunning of the best fox. Yet while it is mysterious, it is easy to find. You just need to follow the carnage it leaves in its wake. But be warned, if you were to look upon it for just a split second too long, you to could find yourself a victim in its trail of death".
The Pirate chuckles slightly as he pulls out a cigarette pack. He removes one from the pack and lights it up, taking a slow drag as he continues.
"Despite the known dangers this creature possesses, there have been a few who were able to look upon the creature without suffering its wrath. I've heard of a sea captain; a man dressed in green; veteran of a war who was able to converse with the creature. With careful words, the captain and the creature came to what I am to understand was some sort of agreement. The captain would help the creature maintain is solitude in exchange for the creature assisting the captain in his endeavors. And thus the partnership began".
The Pirate finished his cigarette, putting it out an his ash tray before signaling to the barkeep to pour him another glass of rum. The barkeep looked at the Pirate carefully, secretly wishing this man would keep his crazy stories to himself, lest he not encourage the wrath of this creature. He sighs, but pours the drink into the Pirates glass.
"In time though, the captain brought on a first mate" The Pirate continued again after accepting the drink. "A man of the warmer climates, of paler skin and golden hair, who both was knowledgeable in many things, yet refused to fight along side the creature. This man, unwittingly enraged the creature, whom went on a rampage, dying the seas a permanent red. The captain, with his calm demeanor and commanding words, again persuaded the creature back to a state of calm. And thus the team of the captain, the first mate, and the creature was born. Their names were feared among the seas by any who heard them. Many tried,but none could bring them down. They were beyond any man".
The Pirate paused at this moment, again to light a cigarette. As savored the flavor, his drinking companions were on the edge of their seats, hanging on every word, waiting for the Pirate to continue.
"But the infamy of this creature had spread. A man from the old world, of eastern decent happened upon the creature. He was on a journey through the sea when while at a bar, heard tale of the creature. Startled by the tales of its violence, he was both terrified and yet at the same time, transfixed. After careful observation and intense consideration, he decided that he must speak with the creature. In a place where no light shines, he found the creature. In a moment of pure contradiction to the nature of the creature, it elected to hear the man out. The man tried to understand the creature, but the creature had no interest in explaining itself to the man. It threatened him with death should he ever try to communicate with it again. Dismayed, but not discouraged, the man left the creature be for sometime, before again attempting to speak with it. He expressed a desire to understand the creature, to know what had turned its life into a perpetual blood bath. The creature, confused that any man should want to comprehend its life, attempted to kill the little man from the east. But the man held firm, refusing to waver to the threats of the creature from the Black Lagoon. Despite the creature being poised to strike, it paused to consider the man before it, if nothing more than to observe this ignorance that was the man".
The Pirate stopped his story at this point, looking all around as if to make sure this creature was not anywhere around before continuing his tale. Noticing his pause, the bar keep made himself busy sorting bottles in the back room, scurrying away quickly, fearing that the creature might show up at any moment. The group listening to this tale also became on edge, for if the bar keep was weary of the pirates tale, what danger might they also be in. The Pirate took another drag from his smoke.
"The man, while scared he was surely going to die, tried to bestow upon the creature how much it interested him, and how much he pitied it for the life it was forced to live, from the decisions of others. The creature, shocked by what the man had said, retreated once again to its hiding place. Stunned and confused by the words of the little man. It killed anyone in its way. However, as time passed, the creature sought out the man. It aimed to prove the man wrong by killing it, that it had chosen its own life. But when it found the man and went to strike it couldn't. Despite it knowing that the elimination of the man would solve the problem, it just couldn't do it. The creature found that for the first time in its life it cared for-"
A large bang was heard from the other end of the bar as something came flying across it, shattering the glass in the Pirates hand.