BRODSKI'S LAST FLIGHT: A JASON X SHORT STORY

BY JAKE REED

Based on characters created by Victor Miller

and appearing in JASON X by Todd Farmer


Introduction: This short story was inspired by a deleted scene from Jason X which featured Jason Voorhees entering into a fight with Brodski (played by Peter Mensah). Since we were unfairly robbed of that glorious brawl, I have written this short story to satisfy my own personal itch to see Jason and Brodski trade a few blows. Originally, the fight took place after the grunts are all murdered; here, it is moved to the end as Brodski returns from his EVA. What follows is a bone-breaking brawl between Brodski and Jason as the Grendel literally implodes around them! I hope you enjoy reading it; if so, I have a few more Jason X-inspired short stories coming, along with some other works (including page-one rewrites of some of my other works). Happy reading!


Dramatis Persona

Sgt. Elijah Gulliver Brodski – Marine grunt; badass

Jason Voorhees – Notorious serial killer; smelly


Sgt. Elijah Gulliver Brodski rushed back to the airlock along the outer hull of the Grendel, gripping the plates to propel himself forward, almost cheetah-like in his movements! The ship was crashing around him, whole sections of the hull imploding all at once in a ghostly-silent spectacle of destruction.

He reached the airlock and pulled himself in, righting himself on the "floor" before closing the doors and turning the artificial gravity on; the heavy boots of the suit clanked down and anchored him to the floor as he suddenly shifted from total weightlessness.

Deep within the hull, Brodski heard more implosions, and he felt his heart start to race! The others...!

"Rowan, get Tsun out of there!"

"Brodski!" Rowan LaFontaine screamed back over the com.

"Go!" Brodski yelled! He turned towards the airlock exit and pressed a button on the pad, causing it to whoosh open.

No time to ditch the suit, Brodski thought. I'll just have to book it!

Brodski darted down the hallway, quickly navigating the maze back towards the emergency shuttle dock! The floor was littered with burning debris while fallen panels revealed sparking circuitry within the walls! Finally, he came to the command module outside the emergency dock, the low lights flashing on and off. Off to the side, Brodski noticed a hulking form coming up the steps from the VR bay...

Jason Voorhees. But no longer the flesh-eaten, rotting carcass of a serial killer he was previously; now, he had been reborn, merged with the 25th century technology around him thanks to the restorative power of the futuristic nanoants! The right arm and the left leg, both of which had been recently blown off his body, were rebuilt as cybernetically-enhanced prosthetic limbs. His whole body had been rejuvenated, every dead cell restored and functioning at 1000% capacity; muscles bulged underneath the leather-and-chrome armor that covered him as a skin.

Jason came up the stairs and made for the open door of the emergency shuttle bay, at the end of which Brodski could see Rowan bending down to pick up Kay-Em's head, turning to run down the passage as Jason ran on her heels!

"Hey! Asshole!" Brodski shouted, causing the chrome-plated beast to stop his pursuit of Rowan, and turn his head back towards the Marine.

While they were rebuilding him, the nanoants had also taken Jason's hockey mask (a piece of facial armor Brodski knew was once part of a sport that was banned in the 21st century), and crafted it into a slick, chrome mask that served as Jason's new face, out of which stared two, inferno-red eyes. Brodski shivered when he saw these eyes, but he never wavered in his challenge, staring at Jason from across the room.

Brodski slammed his fist down on the console next to him, causing the bay doors to flash closed; clearly angered, Jason turned his body fully to Brodski, his cybernetic fist clutching the space-age machete in rage!

"Time for a fair fight, motherfucker!" Brodski shouted. Jason's red eyes drew tight, his muscles spasming with anger and hatred. Over an intercom, Brodski heard the shuttle pilot counting down the launch!

"10... 9...8...7...6...5...4...3...2...1... Disengaging!"

The blast of the shuttle rockets outside was their bell.

Brodski charged across the room towards Jason, who did likewise with long, patient strides. Jason grabbed at Brodski's helmet, then tried to swing the machete at him, but Brodski raised his hand and blocked Jason's arm, the sudden stop causing Jason's machete to fly from his hand, barely missing Brodski's suit!

Brodski brought up his free hand and clocked Jason on the side of the head, causing the monster to briefly loose his grip; that was long enough for Brodski to back away! Quickly, Brodski climbed behind Jason, throwing his arms around his opponent's beefy neck and pulling him down to the ground!

"This all you got, motherfucker?" Brodski let out a pained grunt as Jason began punching at Brodski's arms. "I'm... disappointed!"

Jason lifted his head and slammed it back against Brodski's exo-suit helmet! There was a crack, telling Brodski that the suit was compromised and promising him that he wouldn't last long in space once the ship exploded! Briefly distracted, Brodski loosened his grip, allowing Jason to roll off him and onto his knees! Jason prepared to stab down with his machete, but Brodski brought up his fist and clocked Jason square on the mask, the metal-on-metal clang acting as the end-of-round bell as he fell to the ground.

Brodski stumbled to his feet and checked his helmet's face shield; the crack ran almost straight vertical over his left eye, a small ring right in the middle where Jason's head had impacted it.

"Motherfucker!" Brodski swore! Behind him, he heard the tell-tale clanking of Jason getting back on his metal feet; time for round two.

Jason lunged at Brodski, who turned and delivered a powerful uppercut to Jason's stomach, then reared back for another shot at Jason's head! But before this one could connect, Jason reached up and grabbed Brodski's fist mid-flight! Brodski was shocked, but only briefly; he retaliated by bringing up his leg and Sparta-kicking Jason in the chest, sending the cybernetic brute back into the shuttle door. But Jason still held Brodski's fist in his hand, bringing Brodski with him; they both fell into the door, their combined weight putting a decent-sized dent in it, but not enough to break the airlock seal.

Brodski felt Jason's grip tighten around his hand, threatening to crush the arm of the exo-suit; he used his free hand to start wailing on Jason's mask, the echoing clang of metal filling the room!

"Come on, fight back, you bastard!"

Jason responded by letting go of Brodski's hand and grabbing at his throat, lifting him up off of him! With one hand, Jason tossed Brodski across the room, landing on the bay console; Brodski seemed to hang there, not falling to the floor like he should have. It took him a minute to realize that he was hanging in the air because the artificial gravity had gone off; nearby, he heard the groaning of metal as the implosions got closer and closer. Time was running out.

Across the room, Jason floated into the air, no longer shackled by gravity. He stared at Brodski, eyes redder than ever; with one swift movement, Jason crouched and leapt off the wall, his powerful legs propelling him across the room to Brodski; their collision was magnificent, carrying them both into the wall and causing panels to bend and break away, floating off as the circuitry sparked near their intertwined bodies! Jason's hands flew furiously at Brodski, each one hitting with all the force of a semi-truck hitting an insect! Brodski could feel his suit getting crushed against him! Jason grabbed Brodski by the arm and swung him around, sending him flying up towards the ceiling!

Looking around, Jason caught sight of his machete, floating freely nearby. He leapt off the wall, grabbed the machete, then righted himself on the opposite wall, launching himself again, this time towards Brodski!

Brodski saw Jason flying towards him; the implosions were close now, and this room wouldn't exist for much longer! Brodski leapt off the wall with one leg, lunging towards the monster that was Hell-bent on ending him! Just before they met, the room around them began to fall apart, the walls imploding as debris flew into their paths, but the two fighters still came towards each other, ready to continue until the bitter end...

Rowan LaFontaine and Tsunaron watched as the Grendel imploded in the vacuum of space, luminous balls of fire erupting from the hull only to be immediately snuffed out by the lack of oxygen. But out of the fire, a figure emerged; shiny and chrome, filled to overflowing with rage and anger, Jason Voorhees was propelled towards the emergency shuttle by the explosion, machete in-hand to finish what he had started! He would not be stopped!

"My God," Tsunaron whispered. "He's coming this way!"

Rowan stared disbelieving into Jason's red eyes, causing her to think briefly back to her college days, where she first learned who Friedrich Nietzsche was.

He who fights monsters might take care, lest he thereby become a monster; for if you gaze for long into the abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.

The abyss was staring back at her, eyes as red as the flames that danced around the devil and his pitchfork!

There was a sudden commotion, and a speeding object came out of left field and tackled Jason away from the shuttle, sending both figures tumbling away towards the surface of Earth II Looney Tunes-style!

Rowan turned to Tsunaron, perplexed by what she'd just seen. "Was that... Brodski?"

Brodski couldn't breathe, the oxygen in his suit was slowly leaking out of the crack in his face-shield; but that didn't matter, because he would burn up in the planet's atmosphere before he had a chance to suffocate. He was riding Jason's back, gravity pulling them both down towards the surface! Brodski knew neither of them would survive reentry, but that didn't stop Brodski from giving Jason every last ounce of Hell that he could before the fiery end!

Brodski grabbed Jason's mask and flipped him over underneath him, bringing them face-to-face once more! Jason's eyes never twitched, never saw a flicker of fear; they just bore into Brodski's soul, promising that they would meet again in Hell!

Annoyed, Brodski began punching Jason's face over and over, sending the monster's head snapping backwards with each punch! He then grabbed Jason's mask, forcing the monster to look at him, to look at his fate!

Jason responded in kind, grabbing Brodski's helmet with both hands and began squeezing, crushing the helmet tighter around Brodski's head! There was a whoosh of air, the suit compromised! Brodski instinctively held his breath, the vacuum trying to force the air out of his lungs. He could feel his blood boiling inside him, but he never broke his focus; his eyes never left Jason's!

For what seemed like forever, they just stared at each other, two adversaries locked in an immortal struggle; the metal on their bodies began to glow red-hot from the friction of the passing air, the aura around them exploding into a fiery halo, like two angels falling from Heaven!

Knowing they were both finished, Brodski let out an amused smile as he thought back on his life; one memory leaked back up to the surface, a clip from a movie he'd seen as a child, the name long-forgotten, but the image of a knight in black armor, legless and armless on the ground, looking up at his opponent, quite clear.

"Alright, we'll call it a draw," Brodski said, the oxygen sucked from his lungs; he rested his head against the inside of his helmet, which in turn rested against Jason's mask. Their faces separated by less than an inch of Plexiglass, the two stared at each other, eyes still locked in anger, but there was also something else underneath. Was it admiration? Respect?

Brodski didn't know, didn't care. He lifted his eyes up, and just before his vision was enshrouded by fire, he saw the surface of Earth II, a massive lake just below them! Brodski closed his eyes, finally at peace, and let the fire consume him.