Authors note: This is a revised version of my story. The character "Matthew
Burke" was already used in "Salem's Lot", so I'm changing his last name to
avoid getting accused of stealing. Thank you. -Randall Flagg2
"Fucking Tomato computer." Spike cursed as he docked the swordfish II in the bebop's hangar. He had wasted an hour of his precious time searching for their bounty and all he had come across was an empty planet with a crucified somebody on it. Still, one thing puzzled him. If there was no living creature on Calisto, how had that cross stayed in place? Surely the lack of gravity would have carried it off into space. So how could it stay there? "Oh screw it." Spike thought. "I need to concentrate on the matter at hand, which is filling my stomach." Spike climbed out of his ship and gave it a good kick, just for good luck. He pushed open the door. "Jet is dinner re-"
Spike's words trailed off as he surveyed the bebop's entry way. Lying on the ground at his feet was Faye Valentine. She was face down, the top of her head partially split open. Blood soaked the ground at his feet and where she lay. "Whoa, what the fuck happened to her?" he thought. "Jet? Ed? Anybody here?" Spike called. His words echoed into nothingness. "Jet c'mon, whatever is going on here isn't funny!" Spike picked Faye up to carry her to the kitchen. Just as he began to walk forward his eyes caught sight of Jet. Spike set Faye down and ran to his friend. He turned the large man over and gasped. Blood was flowing out of Jet's mouth, small tooth fragments mixed in like some sort of crude chunky spaghetti sauce. "Whoever did a number on them must have really meant business." Spike ran to the kitchen to the bathroom to get some gauze wrappings when a whimper from the kitchen interrupted him. Spike looked into the kitchen to see Ein on his side, a bullet hole in the right of his rib cage. Spike went to the bathroom and got some long tweezers as well as bandage wrappings. He went to Ein and examined the wound. The bullet hadn't gone in too far, but if it wasn't removed the dog could bleed to death. Spike carefully picked up the tweezers and slowly tried to remove the bullet.
"WOOF!!" Ein instantly sprang to life when the tweezers entered his body. Ein saw Spike and tried to wag his stumpy tail but could not. "Yeah, I'm here for you. Just hold still mutt. This won't take long." As if he understood, Ein lay back down and allowed Spike to remove the bullet from his rib cage. Spike picked up the welsh corgi and set him down on the table. He wrapped a bit of gauze around the dog's waist. "That should take care of you for awhile." Spike said. Behind him, Faye stirred.
"Unh. what happened?" she mumbled. Faye clutched her head. She couldn't remember what had happened. First she had answered the doorway, then she had seen a man dressed in an outrageously dated piece of clothing which had looked more like a robe than a cloth, and then. she couldn't remember what had happened after that. "I wonder where everybody else is." Faye thought. As she brought her hand off of her head she saw the blood that was decorating it. Faye screamed.
"Faye! I thought you were dead!" Spike said from behind her.
"What the hell is going on here?! Why am I bleeding?!!" Faye screamed. She looked to her side and saw Jet. Faye dissolved into sobs.
"She's crying? Now I know something bad happened." Spike muttered to himself. He knelt down and grabbed Faye to calm her. It took awhile but Faye eventually stopped crying and allowed Spike to wrap gauze around her head. Jet awoke a bit later, but he couldn't talk because his mouth felt as though somebody had ignited dynamite in his mouth. Spike helped Jet to the couch and set him down with an ice pack. Spike turned to Faye.
"What happened?"
"I don't know. I heard a knock from the hangar door and I went to answer it thinking it was you. When I opened it I saw a guy with blond hair in a white robe. Then I felt something heavy hit me in the head and I guess I passed out." That confirmed Spike's suspicions. Somebody had attacked the bebop while he was gone. But who had done it? "You say he wore a white robe?" he asked.
"I think so." Faye replied.
"Didn't that guy in the picture Ed showed us on her computer wear something similar?"
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that the robe my attacker wore was pretty similar to John's clothes." Spike didn't stick around for a moment. He went to Ed's room and fiddled with her computer until he found the data on John Mathers. The picture depicted a man with blue eyes and short brown hair. It was only from the shoulders up. Spike searched for a full photograph of the man and found one. As luck would have it the man wore a robe of white which seemed to be from biblical times. Spike carried Ed's tomato to Faye and showed her the picture.
"Yeah, that's the same robe the guy who knocked me out wore."
"So that means whoever the guy was, he was a member of Mather's cult." Spike said. "In the meantime where's Ed?" An earsplitting howl arose from the kitchen. Faye got up and went into the kitchen to see Ein howling as if she had kicked him. Alright, kicked him harder than she normally did.
"What is it? Do you know where Ed went?" Faye asked. Ein howled again. Faye had a gut feeling that something worse had happened to the child hacker. "Ed? Are you anywhere?" she called out. No answer. "Ed?! Are you hiding from us?! This isn't a game you know!" Still no reply. Faye decided that she might have to scare Ed out. "Come out now Ed! If you don't I'll break your computer!"
"She's gone Faye." Jet mumbled from the couch.
"What?!"
"He took her Faye. After he knocked me down I saw him shoot Ein and Ed. I think he got her with a tranquilizer gun or something. After she fell down he picked her up and carried her off. Then I lost consciousness." Jet said, grimly. Faye gasped. Ein howled again. Faye was guessing that Ein must've known that in the first place, the corgi sounded so agonized.
"So he took Ed? But what would he want with her? She's just a kid." Then he remembered that John Mathers was wanted for kidnapping of men, women and children. The words "and children" seemed to flash in his mind like Las Vegas neon. "Great. Now we have to find her." Spike growled. "But where will we find them? They weren't on Calisto which is where the data said they were located, so where could they be?!"
Somewhere on Calisto a man by the name of Matthew Straker was walking down a hallway with a certain red headed teenager slumped over his back. At the end of this hallway was a large door. He stopped in front of it. "Password please." a computer voice said.
"Worship." was Straker's reply.
"Access granted." The door swung open to reveal a sprawling field with trees and plants all around. "Such a beautiful place." he murmured. "Such beauty for god's grace during such wicked times." To the sides in this room of nature were doors. Straker turned towards a gold painted door and knocked on it.
"Enter." said a voice from within. Straker went into the room which was painted entirely white. Sitting at a white desk in a swivel chair was a tall man with short brown hair and twinkling blue eyes. Straker set Ed down and took a seat in an old wooden chair. "I can assume that she is still alive?" the man said.
"Yes Reverend John. I can assure you that she is only unconscious." Straker replied.
"Good. She has much repenting to do. Much repenting indeed." Mathers said. "You were careful to take care of the rest of those dogs onboard weren't you?"
"Yes. In the end the hellbound are cut down by the righteous. One of them was missing though."
Mathers' eyebrow went up a notch. "Which one?"
"The one with the green hair. I do believe his name was Spike Spiegal. Should we worry about him?"
"No, I don't think we should. We shouldn't worry about any of them. Those who do not believe in the lord shall not find us." Mathers turned to the still unconscious Ed. "In the meantime, take her to one of the dorms. Tommorrow we shall help this sinning girl atone for all the iniquity she has sewn." Straker scooped Ed up and walked out of Mathers' office. Tommorrow would be a big day for her. Yes indeed. It would be a big day.
Authors note: If you are wondering, I am NOT a religious person and neither is any of my family. Religion however has always been fascinating to me, so I put some darker portions of it in here. Part three still to come. Thanks for the review. Anymore? -Randall Flagg2
"Fucking Tomato computer." Spike cursed as he docked the swordfish II in the bebop's hangar. He had wasted an hour of his precious time searching for their bounty and all he had come across was an empty planet with a crucified somebody on it. Still, one thing puzzled him. If there was no living creature on Calisto, how had that cross stayed in place? Surely the lack of gravity would have carried it off into space. So how could it stay there? "Oh screw it." Spike thought. "I need to concentrate on the matter at hand, which is filling my stomach." Spike climbed out of his ship and gave it a good kick, just for good luck. He pushed open the door. "Jet is dinner re-"
Spike's words trailed off as he surveyed the bebop's entry way. Lying on the ground at his feet was Faye Valentine. She was face down, the top of her head partially split open. Blood soaked the ground at his feet and where she lay. "Whoa, what the fuck happened to her?" he thought. "Jet? Ed? Anybody here?" Spike called. His words echoed into nothingness. "Jet c'mon, whatever is going on here isn't funny!" Spike picked Faye up to carry her to the kitchen. Just as he began to walk forward his eyes caught sight of Jet. Spike set Faye down and ran to his friend. He turned the large man over and gasped. Blood was flowing out of Jet's mouth, small tooth fragments mixed in like some sort of crude chunky spaghetti sauce. "Whoever did a number on them must have really meant business." Spike ran to the kitchen to the bathroom to get some gauze wrappings when a whimper from the kitchen interrupted him. Spike looked into the kitchen to see Ein on his side, a bullet hole in the right of his rib cage. Spike went to the bathroom and got some long tweezers as well as bandage wrappings. He went to Ein and examined the wound. The bullet hadn't gone in too far, but if it wasn't removed the dog could bleed to death. Spike carefully picked up the tweezers and slowly tried to remove the bullet.
"WOOF!!" Ein instantly sprang to life when the tweezers entered his body. Ein saw Spike and tried to wag his stumpy tail but could not. "Yeah, I'm here for you. Just hold still mutt. This won't take long." As if he understood, Ein lay back down and allowed Spike to remove the bullet from his rib cage. Spike picked up the welsh corgi and set him down on the table. He wrapped a bit of gauze around the dog's waist. "That should take care of you for awhile." Spike said. Behind him, Faye stirred.
"Unh. what happened?" she mumbled. Faye clutched her head. She couldn't remember what had happened. First she had answered the doorway, then she had seen a man dressed in an outrageously dated piece of clothing which had looked more like a robe than a cloth, and then. she couldn't remember what had happened after that. "I wonder where everybody else is." Faye thought. As she brought her hand off of her head she saw the blood that was decorating it. Faye screamed.
"Faye! I thought you were dead!" Spike said from behind her.
"What the hell is going on here?! Why am I bleeding?!!" Faye screamed. She looked to her side and saw Jet. Faye dissolved into sobs.
"She's crying? Now I know something bad happened." Spike muttered to himself. He knelt down and grabbed Faye to calm her. It took awhile but Faye eventually stopped crying and allowed Spike to wrap gauze around her head. Jet awoke a bit later, but he couldn't talk because his mouth felt as though somebody had ignited dynamite in his mouth. Spike helped Jet to the couch and set him down with an ice pack. Spike turned to Faye.
"What happened?"
"I don't know. I heard a knock from the hangar door and I went to answer it thinking it was you. When I opened it I saw a guy with blond hair in a white robe. Then I felt something heavy hit me in the head and I guess I passed out." That confirmed Spike's suspicions. Somebody had attacked the bebop while he was gone. But who had done it? "You say he wore a white robe?" he asked.
"I think so." Faye replied.
"Didn't that guy in the picture Ed showed us on her computer wear something similar?"
"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that the robe my attacker wore was pretty similar to John's clothes." Spike didn't stick around for a moment. He went to Ed's room and fiddled with her computer until he found the data on John Mathers. The picture depicted a man with blue eyes and short brown hair. It was only from the shoulders up. Spike searched for a full photograph of the man and found one. As luck would have it the man wore a robe of white which seemed to be from biblical times. Spike carried Ed's tomato to Faye and showed her the picture.
"Yeah, that's the same robe the guy who knocked me out wore."
"So that means whoever the guy was, he was a member of Mather's cult." Spike said. "In the meantime where's Ed?" An earsplitting howl arose from the kitchen. Faye got up and went into the kitchen to see Ein howling as if she had kicked him. Alright, kicked him harder than she normally did.
"What is it? Do you know where Ed went?" Faye asked. Ein howled again. Faye had a gut feeling that something worse had happened to the child hacker. "Ed? Are you anywhere?" she called out. No answer. "Ed?! Are you hiding from us?! This isn't a game you know!" Still no reply. Faye decided that she might have to scare Ed out. "Come out now Ed! If you don't I'll break your computer!"
"She's gone Faye." Jet mumbled from the couch.
"What?!"
"He took her Faye. After he knocked me down I saw him shoot Ein and Ed. I think he got her with a tranquilizer gun or something. After she fell down he picked her up and carried her off. Then I lost consciousness." Jet said, grimly. Faye gasped. Ein howled again. Faye was guessing that Ein must've known that in the first place, the corgi sounded so agonized.
"So he took Ed? But what would he want with her? She's just a kid." Then he remembered that John Mathers was wanted for kidnapping of men, women and children. The words "and children" seemed to flash in his mind like Las Vegas neon. "Great. Now we have to find her." Spike growled. "But where will we find them? They weren't on Calisto which is where the data said they were located, so where could they be?!"
Somewhere on Calisto a man by the name of Matthew Straker was walking down a hallway with a certain red headed teenager slumped over his back. At the end of this hallway was a large door. He stopped in front of it. "Password please." a computer voice said.
"Worship." was Straker's reply.
"Access granted." The door swung open to reveal a sprawling field with trees and plants all around. "Such a beautiful place." he murmured. "Such beauty for god's grace during such wicked times." To the sides in this room of nature were doors. Straker turned towards a gold painted door and knocked on it.
"Enter." said a voice from within. Straker went into the room which was painted entirely white. Sitting at a white desk in a swivel chair was a tall man with short brown hair and twinkling blue eyes. Straker set Ed down and took a seat in an old wooden chair. "I can assume that she is still alive?" the man said.
"Yes Reverend John. I can assure you that she is only unconscious." Straker replied.
"Good. She has much repenting to do. Much repenting indeed." Mathers said. "You were careful to take care of the rest of those dogs onboard weren't you?"
"Yes. In the end the hellbound are cut down by the righteous. One of them was missing though."
Mathers' eyebrow went up a notch. "Which one?"
"The one with the green hair. I do believe his name was Spike Spiegal. Should we worry about him?"
"No, I don't think we should. We shouldn't worry about any of them. Those who do not believe in the lord shall not find us." Mathers turned to the still unconscious Ed. "In the meantime, take her to one of the dorms. Tommorrow we shall help this sinning girl atone for all the iniquity she has sewn." Straker scooped Ed up and walked out of Mathers' office. Tommorrow would be a big day for her. Yes indeed. It would be a big day.
Authors note: If you are wondering, I am NOT a religious person and neither is any of my family. Religion however has always been fascinating to me, so I put some darker portions of it in here. Part three still to come. Thanks for the review. Anymore? -Randall Flagg2