Striker gets himself in hot water when his ex-friend decides to get even with him. Things sure do happen!
Vol 5: Samantha's Revenge
In the barn, Striker poured a bucket of oats into a trough. His horse's ears perked at the sound of food and he excitedly dashed over to his trough. At his trough, he happily lapped up the scrumptious, wheaty substance.
"Enjoy your meal, Bombproof," Striker said as he patted the horse's back.
As Bombproof relished his tasty meal, the cowboy looked around in the barn to see if he had any more food for his horse. He opened a wooden chest and saw that there wasn't a lot of food left. He sighed.
Suddenly, a loud noise broke the silence, making him stop his work.
"I'll be back, boy. I just got to check on Kore and Seth." He walked over to the house to see someone watching Seth and Kore washing dishes. "Blitz! What the hell are you doing in my kitchen?"
Blitzo rinsed the dishes. "Oh, Strike." He laughed nervously. "I have a present for Seth."
"A present?" Seth exclaimed excitedly.
But Striker wasn't sharing his son's enthusiasm, knowing his boss's "tricks". "A present? Then why didn't you text me or Kore?"
"I just wanted to surprise you all."
"Not without knocking, Blitz," Kore admonished.
"Thank you, Kore," Striker said and to Blitzo, he added begrudgingly with a sigh, "Blitz, you can stay while I'm running errands."
"I won't be any bother, Strikes."
"Kore and Seth, make sure he stays out of trouble."
"You got it, Dad," Seth said, saluting.
Striker nodded. "Good. I'll be back before you know it." He left the house to get Bombproof.
With the cowboy imp gone, Blitzo tried to get one foot inside the house when…
"Crap! I forgot to unplug the water!" Kore gasped as Blitzo backed away while she unplugged the water with the water seeping down the sink.
Seth did the same with the other.
"Thanks, Seth." To Blitzo, she added, "You can come down now."
Blitzo offered her a bag with something whimpering inside with Kore and Seth gasping in worry. "Hold this bag and give it to Seth."
Kore took the bag and handed it to her son.
Blitzo walked across the kitchen sink and by the time he reached the edge, he suddenly began to lose his balance.
"Oh, shit!" he shouted, but luckily for him, Kore managed to catch him. Then she set him on his feet.
"You almost took a nasty fall, Blitz."
"Yeah." Blitzo brushed himself off. "I'll say, but thanks for catching me."
Seth, who was preoccupied at opening his gift, untied the bag, revealing…
"DEXTER?!" he and his mother shouted in unison.
"Yeah, his mom wanted me to bring him over to you guys."
"Dexter, what happened to you?" Kore asked with concern.
"The police took me, Samantha, and Tara and the succubi and incubi crew," Dexter replied, "But Samantha, Tara, Verosika, and the rest of the gang escaped somehow and got me out of juvie."
"Oh, Dexter! I have no idea!" Seth sympathized and he, Kore, and Blitzo wrapped the hellhound pup in their warm embrace.
…
"Kore, I've been thinking about yesterday," Blitzo said, putting his hand to the back of his head.
"What about it?" Kore asked, not quite understanding what he was talking about.
"You know when you said you wanted to tell your son about what happened between your husband and Samantha?"
Then that moment clicked. Of course, she wanted to tell Seth what happened between his father and Samantha, but did it have to happen today?
"Oh, yes, but-"
"Come on, Striker's not here." Blitzo waved a dismissive hand. "If you want your son to know the truth since you can't keep it in forever, how about you show him what happened?"
"Are you sure, Blitz? He's ten years old."
"I think he's ready. In fact, he can take a reality check."
Kore took a deep breath and knocked on her son's door.
"Come in!" Seth called.
She opened the door to see him and Dexter playing with dragons on Seth's bed, including the one Striker snatched from Loo Loo Land, which burnt down, thanks to Blitzo.
"Hey, boys, Blitz and I have something to show you," Kore told them with a nervous grin.
"Yeah, I caught it on video," Blitzo said with a heavy sigh as he turned on his phone and scrolled down until he found the video from years ago. Once he found the video, he clicked on it and showed it to the two boys.
Dexter barely remembered this because he was only a pup when Samantha's rivalry with Striker started and Seth wasn't born yet. Nevertheless, Seth gasped, heartbroken when he found out that years ago, his father never wanted a child before he was born. Not to mention, the way he treated his first friend his age outside of work and his father's ex-friend was no wonder why Samantha started hating him to begin with.
"Mom?" Seth's eyes welled up with tears.
"I'm sorry, son, but Blitz insisted on showing you and Dexter the truth about what went on between your father and Samantha," Kore apologized.
"You mean you never wanted me?" Seth started sobbing, covering his eyes and his body shook with sobs.
Kore pulled her son into a hug. "Of course, I wanted you, but if your father wasn't going to agree, I was going to have to raise you alone. I was determined to have you with or without him."
"Your mom's right, buddy," Blitzo said, ruffling the little imp's hair, "She wanted to have a child and she was glad to have you. Your father wasn't always nice."
"Yeah, he made up, but if he found out we showed him that video, he'd be furious!"
"Seth, are we still friends?" Dexter asked Seth.
Seth sniffled and turned to his first ever friend. "Yeah."
"Good. I always wanted a friend and Samantha and Tara didn't care who I was friends with as long as he is kind and understanding like you."
"Thanks, Dex." Seth wiped his tears as he pulled away from his mother's embrace and hugged the hellhound.
Suddenly, Seth felt something sharp. It felt like it was digging into his ribs, except it didn't hurt. Instead, it just made him giggle. Then he opened his eyes to see who it was.
"Oh, it's you, Dexter!" Seth laughed as Dexter continued tickling him and soon the two rolled onto the bed.
Kore, admiring the two playing together, took out her phone and began to record the scene on video mode.
She saw how happy her son and the little hellhound were playing together and having fun. Their smiles grew wider every time they tussled with each other and ran around trying to see who could catch the other. Seth began to climb a tree with Dexter even trying to join him, grabbing a piece of the trunk as he did.
When finished, she stopped recording.
"What's going on here?" Striker demanded.
He looked over to see Dexter with his son who jumped down from the tree just before Dexter could even reach the top. Dexter jumped down after Seth, landing right on top of him, laughing as he did.
Striker gasped in shock. Then he felt his face blush into a hot temperature. His teeth gritted so hard that he could break them to pieces, his eyes flared like a match that had just been lit and tail was ready to strike at the hellhound at any second.
"Striker, they were just playing!" Blitzo told him, trying to put a hand on his shoulder.
Striker struck Blitzo's hand away in pure rage, not even paying attention to what he was doing.
"He was attacking my son!"
"No, sir, I wasn't hurting him," Dexter corrected calmly.
"Dexter's right, he was tickling me," said Seth.
"Seth, stay out of this!"
"Seth's got a point," Kore tried telling her husband, "I even caught it on video."
"I don't care!" Striker's shout made everyone, including Blitzo and Dexter flinch. "Blitz! Dexter! Get the hell out of here!"
"Okay, sheesh!" Blitzo muttered as he carried the hellhound pup in his arms and cracked open Seth's window and jumped out.
"What the hell was that, Striker?" Kore demanded of her husband after Blitzo and Dexter left.
"The so-called 'pet' is Dexter."
"So?"
"So? Samantha is trying to get even with me and he used you like Samantha used me."
"And you know damn well that wasn't true."
"In fact, I learned something! You didn't want to have me before I was born!" Seth snapped.
"WHAT?!" Striker gasped and to Kore, he added, "Kore, you mean that you and Blitzo showed him the video?"
"It wasn't my idea," Kore protested, "I wanted to have Seth whether you liked it or not."
"That was years ago."
"And now Seth feels betrayed because of how you treated Dexter and Samantha, claiming you never wanted a child!"
Striker hissed, his tail rattling with the green lines in his eyes growing bigger, getting angrier at every comment. "I've wasted so much time with a total bitch like her!"
Seth felt a stab of betrayal. "Dexter is my only friend and you took that from me!"
"Because he's one of Samantha's associates! She's probably trying to get even with me ever since Blitz brought Dexter!"
"You don't know that! He's still my friend and I learned you hurt Samantha years ago like Blitz did Verosika! No wonder she's not your friend anymore!"
Seth and his mom were about to leave the room when Striker blocked their path to the doorway. "You're not going anywhere!"
"Watch us!" Kore retorted.
"We're going to find Blitz and Dexter and set things straight!" Seth replied stubbornly.
Striker let go of the doorway with an angry sigh and looked away. "Never mind. I have to feed Bombproof."
He then left the hallway to head outside and feed his horse.
Now that Kore and Seth were alone, they turned around to see that the window was still open and thanks to Blitzo. They glanced at each other with determined looks, knowing they had the same crazy idea.
"Alright, Mom, we can jump out the window." Seth crawled onto his bed towards the window and looked down from how high the fall would be.
"How high is it?" Kore asked.
"Not very high."
"Oh, good because I'm afraid of heights."
"No worries, Mom. We're going to do it together. If Blitz can do it, so can we."
Kore thought for a moment and took a deep breath. Then, she decided it was a go. "Okay, son."
"On, three."
"One, two, THREE!" On three, mother and son hopped out of the window.
However, before they could leave, Seth realized he had to close the window before his dad found out they were gone.
"Mom, we gotta close the window before Dad finds out."
Kore turned back to her son and saw what he was talking about. "Oh, right."
Seth led her to the window and she lifted him up for him to shut the window.
Once shut, Kore and Seth followed Blitzo and Dexter.
…
Striker dumped a container of pig meat into Bombproof's trough and Bombproof started to chow down.
"You've just earned yourself a nice dinner," Striker said, rubbing the horse's back, "I'll be in the house." He left the barn to head back in the house and started to sit on the couch for a bit.
Striker turned on the TV and started to watch the cowboy soaps for an hour.
An hour later, his eyes widened in realization. He forgot all about Kore and Seth. He turned off the TV and went to look for them. He returned to Seth's room, but by the time he came back to his son's room, he and his wife were nowhere in sight.
"Kore! Seth!" Striker called, looking frantically for them. Then he opened the window to see the tree Seth and Dexter climbed earlier and then he looked below the ground to see footprints. "They're gone!" Then he remembered Blitzo. "Blitz! He must have them!"
He rushed back to the barn to fetch Bombproof, who had just finished his dinner. Bombproof neighed, annoyed at someone intruding while he was eating.
"I know you don't like to be interrupted while you are eating, but I think Kore and Seth are with Blitz and I need your help finding them."
Bombproof sputtered, but took the thought into consideration. A minute later, he nodded.
"Good boy." Striker climbed up his horse and he was on his way to find his son and wife.
…
At Samantha's, Blitzo carefully parked his van next to Samantha's car. He, Dexter, Seth, and Kore stepped out of the van and walked up to Samantha's door. Blitzo knocked on the door.
Samantha sauntered up to the door and peered through a small hole to see who knocked. To her relief, it wasn't Striker. Instead, it was the I.M.P. boss.
"Come in, Blitz," she told him as he invited himself, Kore, Seth, and Dexter in.
"Here's your son, back, Sam," Blitzo informed her as he handed her the hellhound pup.
Samantha scooped Dexter up. "Thank you, Blitz." To Kore and Seth, she said, "It's nice seeing you again, guys. Let me guess, was Striker being an asshole?"
"Yes," Seth and Kore told her in unison.
"He accused me of attacking Seth when we were just playing," said Dexter.
"He did? You poor baby." Samantha hugged her little hellhound pup, who nuzzled in her arms.
Tara got up from the couch and ruffled Dexter's hair.
"Sweet little Dexy," she cooed.
Dexter whimpered happily as he wagged his tail, touched by Samantha's and Tara's kindness.
"Oh, excuse me," Kore politely broke the touching moment, making Samantha, Tara, and Dexter turn their attention to her, "I caught Dexter and Seth playing together on video." He pulled out her phone.
Samantha and Tara led Blitzo, Seth, and Kore to the living room couch to sit on and watch the video Kore recorded. She turned on her phone, clicked on the video icon, scrolled on the phone to find the video of Seth and Dexter, and clicked on it to play.
Samantha and Tara watched in amazement to see their child play with Kore's child. Luckily, they saw no signs of their hellhound pup attacking the little imp.
Once the video was over, Samantha said, "You were right, Kore. Our Dexter never attacks your boy. Striker misread the situation."
"So, how did you girls escape?" Kore asked.
"I used my magic to get out of those bonds and helped Tara, Verosika, and her crew escape so we could go out and look for Dexter without being detected."
"Like you used my magic on my dad?" Seth asked.
Samantha nodded.
"I kind of laughed at that scene."
"I don't blame you, kid."
"I did the same thing," Kore confessed.
"Me, too," said Dexter.
"So, how did you make sure the police didn't catch you?" Kore asked, returning to the subject of Samantha's and Tara's escape.
"I created a portal on the wall and we jumped through it, seeing Dexter in juvie. We explained to the receptionist that we were there to visit him and get him out, telling her he was just chatting with another kid and nothing more. It took convincing, but she nodded and we let him out. When we got back here in Hell, we rinsed our mouths with mouthwash to get rid of the taste of prisoner dick."
"Yuck!" Seth made a face of disgust.
"Yuck is right. Sorry, buddy."
"No, you're fine. I'm sorry you guys had to go through that."
"Shit! I should've covered his ears," Kore complained.
"That's okay. He'll get over it soon."
"Oh, by the way, Kore, thanks for showing us the video," Tara told her.
"It was my pleasure and I was sure your boy would never hurt my son."
"Kore, mind if I tell you and your son what happened between me and your husband?" Samantha asked.
"Actually, Blitz showed them the video, so I think we know why you hate his guts so much."
"Even your son knows?"
Kore nodded. "Yes. Striker could get that way, but I don't know why. Sure, we made up, but it took time for me to forgive him before going to my ultrasound."
She and the others sat in silence for the next hour until they heard loud banging against the door.
"The fuck?!" Samantha exclaimed. "Guys, stay here. Tara and I will handle this."
Tara and Samantha got off the couch and went to see who was banging on the door through the peephole in the door.
"Ugh!" Samantha groaned as she rolled her eyes, but opened the door, anyway.
"Samantha!"
"What the hell do you want, Striker?" Samantha demanded.
"Where are Kore, Seth, Blitz, and Dexter?"
"They aren't here. So don't trespass on my property."
"I didn't come here to trespass! Your fucking hellhound almost killed my son!"
"Bullshit! I saw the video and for your information, he wouldn't hurt a fly!"
Striker put his face close to hers. "You calling me a liar, you stupid bitch! I saw that happen!"
Samantha pushed Striker aside. "Striker, that temper of yours is going to get you in a lot of trouble someday!"
Striker's face turned red as a tomato and his eyes swirled as if he were about to go insane. "Temper? Temper, bitch! You ain't seen my temper!" Striker tossed his hat on the ground and stomped on it in anger, throwing a tantrum, making Samantha and Tara laugh.
Blitzo, Dexter, Kore, and Seth watched the scene and Blitzo video recorded Striker's tantrum. Blitzo stopped recording before Striker noticed.
Striker stepped into the house and found Blitzo and the others.
"Blitz? Kore? Seth? Dexter?" he asked.
"Do you like videos of yourself throwing a tantrum like a whiny bitch and being an asshole to people, including your ex-friend and kids?" Blitzo demanded.
Striker struggled to find the right words, but all that came out was, "W-what?"
"Speaking of video, I actually caught your behavior toward Samantha and Dexter years ago."
Striker looked like he was about to yell at him, but Seth put his hand up, cutting him off.
"Samantha said you walked out on her when she needed help," Seth chided.
Striker sighed calmly. "I wanted nothing to do with kids back then."
"Oh, sure. You gave Mom the impression you never wanted me based on that video."
"But I apologized to your mother, deciding that having you wasn't so bad."
Samantha snickered darkly. "Aww, isn't that beautiful? A man who the boy is forced to call father and wife she is forced to call husband is admitting something."
"Samantha, stay out of this," Striker snarled.
Samantha walked over to him with a coy smile which made Striker growl under his breath. She then mockingly put her finger under his chin as she said, "Come on. Yesterday, Tara and I were sucking prisoner dick with Verosika and her posse in jail until I helped all of us escape, including our little one, Dexy."
"What? You were in jail? What happened years ago, why can't you let that shit go?"
"Why can't you admit you hurt me years ago when you mocked poor Dexter and refused to help me find a home for him? You're a damn hypocrite. You never wanted a child, but what changed your mind? You complained about being treated like shit by the overlords, yet you were uncaring enough to make fun of a child, anyway. I adopted him hours after failing to find a home for him since no one else wanted him."
"I'm taking Seth and Kore home. I'm what's best for them."
Seth and Kore walked over to Samantha's side.
"NO!" Seth snapped tears streaming down his cheeks, "You're what's best for YOU!"
Striker looked at his son, a tiny gasp was heard and his eyes widened at the sight of his behavior. Striker was about to speak, but Seth cut him off, wiping his tears as he did.
"Well, I'm not you, Dad. I'm on the side of people you hurt!"
Samantha laughed wholeheartedly, knowing Seth and his mom were on her side. "Limp dick cowboy to the end. You can't teach an old demon new tricks."
"Just go, Striker!" Kore yelled.
Striker sighed, but this time with guilt and he lowered his head in shame. "You're right. I should've been careful with my words years ago. If you have enough, my door is always open." He started to walk away with everyone in the living room watching him and closed the door behind him.
Samantha scoffed. "We got rid of him, didn't we?"
"Good riddance," Tara agreed.
"You can say that again," said Blitzo.
…
As Striker rode down the street with Bombproof, a tear began to fall down his cheek. He wiped it with his sleeve quietly, letting it get a little wet. Striker didn't care. As he continued his ride on Bombproof, he began to reflect on the things Samantha, Blitzo, Seth, and Kore said. The words that echoed in his mind were:
"Striker, that temper of yours is going to get you in a lot of trouble someday!"
"Do you like videos of yourself throwing a tantrum like a whiny bitch and being an asshole to people, including your ex-friend and kids?"
"Limp dick cowboy to the end. You can't teach an old demon new tricks."
"Samantha said you walked out on her when she needed help!"
"Aww, isn't that beautiful? A man who the boy is forced to call father and wife she is forced to call husband is admitting something."
Striker groaned as he clutched onto the reins, wanting the voices in his head to stop.
"Speaking of video, I actually caught your behavior toward Samantha and Dexter years ago."
"Why can't you admit you hurt me years ago when you mocked poor Dexter and refused to help me find a home for him? You're a damn hypocrite. You never wanted a child, but what changed your mind? You complained about being treated like shit by the overlords, yet you were uncaring enough to make fun of a child, anyway. I adopted him hours after failing to find a home for him since no one else wanted him."
As the thoughts in his mind increased, he didn't pay attention to him striking his own horse's flank.
"NO! You're what's best for YOU! Well, I'm not you, Dad. I'm on the side of people you hurt!"
"Just go, Striker!"
Finally home, Striker panted with exhaustion, especially from reflecting on his attitude towards Blitzo and the others. He brought Bombproof in the barn.
Bombproof regarded his owner with a sad look on his face.
"Don't worry, boy, I'll be alright," he assured his horse, "But if you need anything, I'll be in the house, going to bed."
Striker shut his horse up in the stall and on his way out of the barn, he closed the door to avoid letting predators like wolves in.
Bombproof watched his owner head to his house.
In the house, he started to lie in bed, knowing that Kore wasn't there to sleep in the same bed as him since their previous argument. He sniffed, shedding tears onto his pillow, but why would it matter? He really hurt his wife and son, and his friend, Blitzo. Not to mention, he never apologized to Samantha and Dexter. As much as he hated to admit it, he hurt them, too. With those thoughts, he started to cry softly on the pillow.
…
The next morning, Striker woke up with a depressed sigh, but managed to get out of bed.
He went into the kitchen to make himself coffee. While he waited for coffee to be made, he made himself bacon and eggs.
The bacon and eggs still sizzled when his coffee finished brewing, but he didn't care. He needed to have a decent breakfast and not just coffee.
When he finished making breakfast, he scraped the eggs and bacon onto his plate and gently pulled out his mug of coffee. First, he started to eat and then drank his coffee.
After breakfast, he headed to the barn to feed Bombproof. He poured him a trough of horse feed and Bombproof's ears perked at the sound of pouring food. So, Bombproof got up and lapped up his breakfast.
"Okay, Bombproof, as soon as we finish breakfast, then we'll head back to Samantha's because I owe her and the gang an apology," Striker told him.
…
At Samantha's, Striker hopped off his horse and knocked on the door, but this time more gentle than last time.
Samantha went up to answer the door and saw a familiar face at the peephole with a pleading face. She reluctantly let him in.
"Listen, I'm sorry about last night," Striker apologized, "I overreacted thinking Dexter was attacking my son, but I had no excuse."
"Oh, you again?" Dexter demanded.
"Oh, and I thought you never wanted me, Dad!" Seth retorted hotly.
"I know, but that was a long time ago. I didn't know how to react to the news without hurting your mother's feelings."
"I've always wanted a child, regardless," Kore told him off sourly.
"I know. It was a lot to take in and I should've been nicer to you, Samantha, Dexter. I mean all of you."
"I didn't catch it on video for nothing! It can go on your record for a long time, buddy!" Blitzo snapped.
"I get it, Blitz. It can affect someone for some time, even though Kore forgave me a few months later. I never pictured myself becoming a father until a few months later when Kore was going to her ultrasound and she needed me there. When it came time to go to the ultrasound, I stood by her side the whole time."
"So, would you like to see the video I recorded yesterday, Striker?" Kore asked.
"Sure."
Kore handed him her phone and scrolled to the one with Dexter and Seth playing together. As he watched the scene, he smiled brightly and chuckled a bit. Why didn't he see that before, instead of jumping to conclusions? He was just blinded by rage the minute he found Dexter and overreacted.
"So, what do you think, Dad?" asked Seth after the video was over.
"Well, son. You and your mother were right. Dexter was playing with you." To Samantha, Tara, Dexter, and Blitzo, "And you were right, too, Samantha, Blitz, Dexter, and Tara. My boy is growing up and he's found a new friend."
"Me, too, Striker," Kore told him, showing him Tara.
Samantha had encouraged Tara to find friends after getting to know each other for some time. Even Tara had a friend in Dexter after Samantha told her his backstory.
Striker went to hug his family, supporting them for finding new friends outside of work with Blitzo, of course, catching the moment on video.
I don't want any comments saying, "I don't like how you're portraying Striker or anyone in this!" because I find them rude!
I promise you, after this, the next entry will be C.H.E.R.U.B.