320 lines
17 KiB
Plaintext
320 lines
17 KiB
Plaintext
Urica's face contorts in grotesque fashion. She reaches up and grasps her
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throat, almost choking--her eyes feeling like they're bleeding, her nose
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running. She feels almost faint. Looking up, she sees the man looking over
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her in a most sinister fashion. She feels as if death has overcome her.
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"Never eaten Holy seaweed before, eh?"
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+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
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| Demons landing on your burners and taking you to hell isn't what Theo |
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| consider's a "good time." As a matter of fact, he's rather distressed by |
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| the whole idea. Escaping from Oxynford, the old hermit in an even older |
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| home, Urica searches for drake in the desert town. Finding him, and |
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| continuing their quest in an unknown land and an unknown time, our trio |
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| makes their way through the continuing adventure of Stare Decisis... |
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+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
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Alexander of Atlantis presents...
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[\] Stare Decisis
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\_-::::::::::::-_
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Chapter Eight (8)
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- VALHALLA -
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-::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::-
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Alexander of Atlantis's Stare Decisis will return..
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-::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::-
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+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
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| "It's the best thing since peanut butter!" |
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| |
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| "It's got what it takes. What, I have no idea." |
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| |
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| "Mega k-k00l uzer, d00dz." |
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| |
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| "It's better than pulling your hair out." |
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| |
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| =>It's back and its better than ever. Give it a call; it will change |
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| the way you look at bulletin boards... |
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| |
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| =The Haunted House: 408/773-1202; 3/12b= |
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+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
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-::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::-
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We now return to Stare Decisis: VALHALLA..
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-::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::-
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Theo zoomed down the turnpike at 100 kph. The lights along the side of dazed
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him somewhat, in an almost hallucinagenic effect. He jogged himself awake, and
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drove on. Drake and Urica slept peacefully, the former in the back, snoozing
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away, and the latter sitting shotgun seat in the car, her arms holding her
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magic book almost as a teddy bear, her head rested on Theo's shoulder. He
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sighs, and turns his attention full force to the road. "We're at least a few
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kilometres into this," he tells himself. "It's got to end somewhere." He
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checks the gauges to the car. "Gas: Good," he checks internally; "Temp? Ok.
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Oil? Fine. Atomic? Fine. ERS? Fine. Level? Upward." He pauses. "Upward?
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That's odd. It's only a slight incline," he notices, squinting at the dial.
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"But its definately upward." He turns for a second, and decides not to wake his
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friends. The lights zoom by, quite blandly. Theo shook the sleep from himself
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and concentrated again. It was getting harder..Everything seemed so much the
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same..
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CLOP CLOP CLOP. Theo was lying beside the road. The stagecoach had
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thundered off after he had fallen, and his head ringed incessently. He shook
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it, which only seemed to gangle things up worse. The dark horse approached
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him, muffing and neighing anxiously, while the hooded figure dropped off
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quietly, and approached Theo, who was still in no state to battle any demon
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from hell.
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"And what do we have here?" It said. "A young adventurer, perhaps?" It
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seemed like a tale out of one of Theo's fictional books. "What one was that?"
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he wondered, "Hmm.."
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"Long ago," the Dark figure started, "I was placed here to guard the roads-
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keep them free of any scum and rodents such as yourself."
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Theo concentrated...What was the name of that book...
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"And for a while, perhaps centuries, no one transported this road without my
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knowledge. If they were unworthy, their journey had an end quite different
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than expected.."
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"AHA!" exclaimed Theo, pulling himself up to his feet, but still too weary
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not to have to lean against the wall. "The Tortured Storyteller!" he said,
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pointing a finger at the figure. "By .." OH NO! What was the name of the
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author??
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The figure seemed to smile. "You cannot guess my name, quick mortal? Then
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you shall die for lack of the answer!" And from NOWHERE came a long double
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handed sword, literally bounding down the roadside toward the hooded figure.
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But Theo wasn't about to let the sword reach its owner. The thoughts snapped
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into place. "By Dark Shadow! It's a tale of a Storyteller who goes madly
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insane and kills any roadside travellers that cannot create an adequete ending
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for his tale!"
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The figure scowled. "Perhaps." The sword stopped, just metres away from the
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outstretched hand of the figure. But Theo was going in for the kill now.
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"You cannot be more than a figment of my imagination," Theo told, "Because
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why have you stopped now that I've recognized you?" Theo felt assured. He
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stepped forward to brush the imaginary figure away, and hit his hand against
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the quite solid horse that stood before him. The horse neighed, and with a
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flash, the double handed sword jumped into the hands of the hooded figure..
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"And how real does THIS feel?" the figure yelled, bringing the sword to bear
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upon Theo's outstretched hand.
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PAIN. The feeling of cool metal against all the skin in his hand, and then
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utter pain. He looked, the horse stepped forward...AND STEPPED ON HIS SEVERED
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HAND ON THE FLOOR. Theo screamed.
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"AH!" he startled himself awake. Theo was in the car, travelling through the
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tunnel. He looked to the others. It seems he had startled himself back awake,
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but not the others. He sunk back into the seat, the Nikon-irron seat- belt
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adjusting uncomfortably as he squirmed. He checked the gauges. Still going
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upward, but away from their problems--at least for now. He still needed a way
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back home.
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The memory of the dark figure still loomed. Unfortunately, at one time, it
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was more than a memory. It wasn't a fond one, either. He felt his hand drop
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from his body, and yet...He raises his hand and clenches it. "It's still
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there," he quietly tells himself. Urica squirms. "Wonder what she's
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dreaming.."
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Her face contorted in grotesque fashion.
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She reaches up and grasps her throat, almost choking--her eyes practically
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bleeding, her nose running. She wobbles in her chair, near unconsciousness.
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Looking up, Oxynford looms deathlike above her. Fear grips her.
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"Never eaten Holy seaweed before, eh?" he chuckles, as she gulps it down
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loudly. She can feel the sin being washed from her body. What an odd feeling.
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"It's...Different," she gulped. "More than just different--disgusting," she
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told herself.
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"You'll get used to it," Oxynford commented.
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Later she sat in the huge expansive library. The ghost mermaid floated down
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the hallway past her. She pulled a book from the shelf "Vrondronix Elphen"
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which was, from her memory, a coloring book for sorceresses, so to speak. She
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smiled, pushed it back in, and pulled the next book on the shelf. "Making
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friends and conquering countries." That's one that her "father" had given her.
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God was he an asshole.
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But now Urica's curiosity was peeked. She could hear the ghost mermaid
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shuffle somewhere off in the distance as she pulled the next book.
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"Oolgas tips for growing gals." Yes. It was definate now, this was a library
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of all the books she had encountered in her life. In chronological, not
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alphabetical, order. It was humongous, though! She couldn't have read all
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these books in her lifetime so far! She walked down the long aisle, and saw
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that each aisle had a name on it. Theo's and Drake's were probably somewhere
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in here, but Urica wouldn't feel right looking at their aisles. It would
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almost be like a peeping tom.
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She took a step or two and looked at the front of her aisle. "Where is
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it...Where...Is...It..." She thumbed through. "THERE." There was her first
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magic book. The one she had. She mumbled a spell and her book floated in
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front of her. Interesting. Were these copies real? She opened the copy, and
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mumbled one of its spells. The book gleamed, and she mumbled another, and it
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returned to normal. She returned it to the shelf, and muttered another spell,
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making her book vanish as well.
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It seems these copies were quite real. She placed the copy back on the
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shelf, and looked next to it. "The other two!" She exclaimed, merrily. She
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pulled the second one out and thumbed through it. No, that didn't have the
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spell they needed. She pulled the third one out, looked at the table of
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contents. "Umm...Here!" she said, and started to turn to that page.
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Just then the mermaid ghost fluttered down her aisle. "Sorry ma'am," it
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told, "but the library is closing for now, I'm going to have to ask you to
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leave."
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"Can I just look this up real quick.." Urica asked, already thumbing through
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the pages.
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"No," told the mermaid abruptly, and the book vanished and appeared back on
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its place on the shelf. "The library is closed. Please make your way to the
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exit," she indicated a now apparent flashing green exit sign at the end of the
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hall.
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Urica needed that book. She had no choice. She muttered a spell and wafted
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her hand near the mermaid ghost. A surve of electicity lit up the mermaid, and
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she screamed, fading away. Suddenly alarms were sounding, and Urica felt
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terrible. She couldn't see, because lights were flashing and all hells chaos
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was busting loose. She reached up and grabbed the book, and ran.
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Running out the door, she stopped by Oxynford, who stood before her. All he
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did was frown, with a look that could only be interpreted as disappointment,
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and smoke filled the hall, obsuring her vision. When the smoke cleared, Urica
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was alone. She looked at the book. It was the second one. In the confusion,
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she had taken the wrong one.
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-::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::-
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Alexander of Atlantis's Stare Decisis will return..
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-::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::-
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+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
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| In this world of bulletin board systems, you're probably tired of the UPS |
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| and downs of the whole deal, then call 253-8494. Its the NEW Dragon's |
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| Lair, and it's k-k00l k-rad. 3/12b. Give it a call, its worth a try. |
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+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
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-::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::-
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We now return to Stare Decisis: VALHALLA..
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-::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::-
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Well, at least she had something. She clutched in unconscously in her sleep.
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(You always have to sleep with it the first night of having it, she
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remembered.)
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Drake snored recklessly. Theo looked at the gauges. They were starting to
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run low on gas, and no end to this turnpike. Theo got nervous, and slowly
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stopped the car. Getting out, he saw a black button on the wall. On closer
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investigation, he pushed it, and a door swung open into the bare, cold white
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walls of the turnpike. He turned back toward the car, where sounds of sleep
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eminated.
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"Hey, I've got a breakin on corridor A," he heard somewere off in the
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distance. Just then, down the white and barren hall, an old man hobbled down
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the hallway. Theo just stood and watched him. The old man hobbled up to the
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other side of the car, and stopped. Theo took a good look at him: He was
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hunched over, with a reddish tattered shawl drawn all about his body. Theo
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opened his mouth to ask him who he was, but just then, the man looked up,
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tapped the cars hood with his index finger, tapped his head, blinked his eye,
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and disappeared.
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Drake walked nonchalantly into the swinging doors of the tavern, and found
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himself inside a 20th century bank. He walked up to the first teller, as if in
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a dream--the place was spotless and well lit. There was an organist playing in
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the corner, and everyone bustled about their business like it was nobody elses.
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He grabbed his bank book and approached the fourth teller.
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Her face was white and she looked really tense. "What's yer problem, honey?"
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he asked, wondering if she was too paranoid to go out back, take off her
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clothes, and let him massage her nice firm br--
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"Sir," she said in a supercharged tone under her voice, "the teller at window
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number two is getting robbed. Don't make any big moves, he thinks we don't
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know yet."
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Drake looked. The man was looking around nervously, and Drake could see the
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outline of a gun in the man's pocket. Drake quietly put his head forward, as
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to not make the man suspicious, and nonchalently headed toward the door. The
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number two teller was quietly filling up a bag under her counter.
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Drake walked calmly toward the door, whispered something to the policeman,
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who jumped for a second, but rapidly regained his composure. After a nod from
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the number four teller, the policeman slowly walked toward the number two
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teller, and Drake quickly exited the bank..
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Theo stopped a second. Someone was coming! He hopped back in the car,
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squealing the tires, he tore off quickly. Awaking Urica with a jerk, he headed
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recklessly down the turnpike. "All white," he told her, "all the same. Some-
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thing had to give.." he told her how he found the door. He watched the sped-
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ometer. It raced up toward 100 kph, and onward. Theo and Urica looked onward,
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and there ahead was a door open in the side of the hallway. Theo was going to
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fast to stop, so they sped onward. Then, not more then moments later, a door
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approached quickly from the left. This time Theo brought the car to a scream-
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ing halt. Jumping out quickly, he and Urica listened..
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"Quick, get them! They've opened Hatch A! Isn't anyone listening to me?
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Damnit, I'll do it myself."
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Theo and Urica looked at each other, widemouthed. "Of course!" said their
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expressions.
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"A Moebeus strip turnpike. Why the hell not?" said Theo.
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Drake walked outside, and ducked as he heard gunshots, and screaming. He,
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being the couragous stupid type, ran back for the door. As he pulled the glass
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door open and jumped inside he dived to the side as the guy shot toward the
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door, blowing the glass out. The cop was on the ground, bleeding, but luckily
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the robber hadn't gotten anyone near him as a "hostage". Drake jumped at him,
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knocking his hand, sending the gun flying. A cop ran from the vault, and
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pulled his gun.
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"Freeze!" He yelled at Drake. Almost in slow motion, everyone yelled "NO!"
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But it was too late. The gun fired. Drake collapsed into the softest pain he
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ever felt.
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"UH!" Drake awoke, screaming. He fingered his stomach, remembering.
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Stretching he looked around and found he was alone in the car. There was a
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door open to the side, so he got out of the car, and walked to the door in the
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turnpike.
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Inside Theo and Urica stood above a rather nervous looking geeky man, sitting
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in front of a computer console. Theo turned to Drake, and smiled.
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"Welcome to Valhalla, Drake."
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"Uh, thanks. Are we having fun yet?"
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"Beyond comprehension."
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"Oh good."
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+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
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| Oh, the trials and tribulations our thankless Trio goes through! First |
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| Urica lowers herself to stealing to try and save her friends, and yet fate |
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| takes the solution from her. Then Drake, in his act of courage is killed, |
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| while Theo is still tormented by his visit to hell. Remembering never |
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| became such a cumbersome task. Speeding off down a Moebius strip to no- |
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| where, and yet finding knowledge in everything, our trio heads on into the |
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| world of Stare Decisis next time in Bypassing Existance.. |
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+----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
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==============================================================================
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Alexander of Atlantis presents Stare Decisis: Valhalla (chapter 8)
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(c)1984-7 COA Ltd. Productions
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|