Roswell Fanatics

Warrior Chicks of Aswam




Warrior Chicks from Aswam

Author: ken_r, AKA ken242, AKA Kenneth Renouard
Rating: Adult for content and implied violence
Couples: CC
Disclaimer: no possession of characters is implied. I am using them to tell a story.

Genera: Au with or without aliens. Max makes one statement in the middle of the story about Roswell aliens. It doesn’t matter. The story takes place in a dream world.

Summary: The four couples watch a very bad Sci-Fi video. It is one of those 40s or 50s movies of Bug Eyed Monsters. Somehow, the four girls are getting sucked up into the universe of the movie. Can they break away?

I was reading the story “Calendar Girl” by mary mary or Ginger. She found that all the starlets of Roswell have posed for sexy pictures. I used the DAZ 3D program to manip pictures. I wanted to see if I could make tasteful pinup pictures. Somehow after making the pictures, I placed weapons in their hands. The story went from there.

Author’s note: If you believe you alone know the path to heaven, if you believe that you alone know what are the rules of the universe, then this story is not for you. If you believe there might be some scary things that we don’t understand out there, you might enjoy my little tale.

Warrior Chicks of Aswam

In retrospect it had been Kyle and Alex’s fault. Well, no, it could have been Tess and Isabel’s fault. Kyle and Alex had brought that terrible video, “Warrior Chicks from Aswam.” That was when the dreams had started. Well, the boys had only brought that movie because Isabel and insisted they all watch, “Love Story,” “Pretty Woman” and “Message in a Bottle,” the week before. Isabel claimed those videos were only retribution for the three hour original, “Sparticus” followed by “Braveheart,” for the umpteenth time. What had started out as a group movie night had become a battle zone.

The eight young people were all going to college in Las Cruces, New Mexico. None of them had pledged the Greek Houses and even though Max and Isabel had appeared to have more money than the rest, none of them had much money to waste on frivolities. Don’t get me wrong, Las Cruces has plenty of nightlife. The nightlife mostly included getting drunk and spending a lot of money. When you are determined to keep your grades as high as possible and your budget under control, your friends agreeing to make Friday, that night of college adventures, limited to videos and microwave popcorn, seems like a great idea.

The dream, Liz couldn’t bring herself to call it a nightmare yet, was disturbing. Weren’t nightmares supposed to be scary? What Liz was seeing was, in fact, exhilarating. Walking around barefooted, dressed in clothes, what little they were, that she would never wear in real life and, get this, Liz had been carrying a sword and shield. Wrapped about her waist was a lace of unbelievable softness. Liz could feel it wrapped between her legs to circle her hips and knotted in front, the ends hanging in front of her. She didn’t feel self conscious or embarrassed even though there were several others with her. She felt her breasts bound tightly against her chest, not through modesty, but to give her support as she ran and fought. Liz had been fighting?

Liz didn’t consider herself a complete geek. She had taken the mandatory four years of Physical Education required for graduation. Her normally optimistic disposition made her not the last one chosen in Intermural teams. She wasn’t like Kyle over whom the teams fought to have him on their side. Kyle was good at every sport. She wasn’t like poor Alex who took the one option to avoid PE and that was marching band. When Alex was cornered so he had to participate in sports, dodge ball was about the only choice. Here he was the target for all the jocks who couldn’t even count as high as Alex’s IQ.

In the dream, Liz felt proficient. The proof was that she was alive and the blood on her weapons testified that many who fought against her, weren’t.

Las Cruces was in the southern part of New Mexico, but right now, it was suffering an artic attack that might have been brought from Michigan. In the dream, the weather was balmy, Liz didn’t feel a bit cold even though, she wore heavier clothes in bed than she was wearing now. Liz had grown up working in a restaurant where the most prominent sign on the door read, “No shirt, No shoes, No service.” Her occasions in being barefoot were limited to stepping out the back door to throw out the trash in the early mornings, before pickup. Now her feet were battle hardened so she scarcely felt the grass, rocks or sticks in the field where she stood. In her dream, Liz had looked down at her feet. They were dirty, but the scary thing was, they were also covered in blood up to her knees.

It had been Alex who found that video. Kyle would hardly know how to navigate himself through the Sci-Fi section of the video store. Leave it to Alex to entice Kyle in his vengeance against the chick flicks of last week, by showing him the half-naked women on the cover of the video. The original movie had been made in the 40s or 50s, Liz was sure. Liz was also sure that the original movie had probably never made it on the US screen. At that time, censorship was being argued in the US movie world. The rest of the world, getting over the terrible war, was a lot more laid back. That night, they had hooted at the acting and the “Bug Eyed Monsters.” The actresses, though willing to shed most of their clothes, still were almost prissy as they walked in the grassy field. One of the comments from Isabel was, “How do they do all those things and remain spotlessly clean?”

One of the actresses had stumbled as she swung her sword and Kyle hooted loudly, “Grass burr.”

None of the movie women showed great muscle tone, yet they wielded the swords and shields as if they weighed nothing. Both items had to be props, cardboard or balsa wood probably. Liz felt the comfortable weight of her sword now, as she sliced the enemy and the solid feel of her shield as it turned the enemies blows. Somehow, the props in her dream were real. The thought of “slicing her enemy” bothered Liz. She couldn’t imagine what she had been doing.

Liz saw Max twice during the weekend. They didn’t get a chance to talk until Sunday. For Saturday they all had their weekend chores. Laundry, and cleaning their apartments, at least for the girls, took up a lot of their day. The guys, one load of laundry each, no matter if it was colored or white, eventually, it was all the same shade of gray anyway. The vacuum cleaner was treated as if it was a leaf blower getting most of the crap on the floor out the door. This allowed the boys to finish several hours ahead of the girls. In the brief encounters with her girlfriends, Liz hadn’t seen fit to mention the dream. She was way too embarrassed to say anything to Max. What would he think of her parading around, dressed like that, even if it was only a dream? She couldn’t imagine what Max would say about her bloody sword. Bloody sword again, what had she been doing?

In their day-to-day life in Roswell, they all had different religious faiths. Here at the university, they attended a non-denominational service, more as social, and for their boyfriends, a civilizing event. Liz could call home and say, “Yeah, mom I went to church this morning.” A least for a time, the guys cleaned up their language.

That brought a lot of comfort to her parents she knew. It was scary for parents to envision their children in hedonistic orgies away from home for the first time. Those comforting words, “I went to church this morning,” brought a lot of peace to all of the people, young and old.

Sunday afternoon, they had planned a picnic in the park. The boys had been playing ball as the girls readied the blanket spread out with lunch baskets. They hadn’t yet migrated into paired couples. The boys came back from the ball field and were stealing looks in the baskets to see what fare would be offered. Hands were slapped as the girls set out the food. None of the girls had mentioned the movie in their conversation. With the guys, Kyle was heard to say, “That blonde chick, one tug of that wrap and she would be stark naked. Now, that is something to fight for.”

Michael had growled, “Kyle, she would probably have whipped your ass, with or without clothes.”

Alex smiled, “I told you Kyle. You can find some pretty good stuff in the Sci-Fi section if you know what you are doing. Can you imagine that much skin without going ‘X’ rated?”

Max chuckled, “Yeah, and if you brought an ‘X’ rated video, can you imagine spending the rest of your college time with that room mate of yours. None of the girls would have let you into their living rooms, much less any further.”

As the picnic progressed, the couples slowly came together and when the dinner was finished someone took the basket back to the car. The park had no woods so the couples slowly migrated to parts of the park, which were relatively private. No, the Sunday afternoon at the park didn’t allow blanket Bingo, rather they just sat and whispered sweet nothings. No one brought up the subject of Alex’s video nor did Liz share about her strange dream.

During the week, there were reoccurring episodes of Liz’s dream. Except for the presence of the other three girls in the dream, nothing much happened at first. Liz was now standing with Isabel, Tess and Maria. They all had swords and shields. Since the other girls just stood around, their view slipped from her dream. They were all dressed in similar costumes, if you could call the tight binding about breasts and the length of lace about their loins, costumes.

One time as Isabel stood in front of Liz, she was trying to wipe the blood off her face with her shield hand. Liz had thought, “That is what happens when you hit an artery close up. Isabel had blood dripping all down her front.

It can be imagined with this reoccurring dream that Liz was loosing focus in her school work. Her advisor had sent her to the student infirmary to see a counselor.

“I am having this dream over and over,” Liz told the lady.

“Is it exactly the same dream each time?” the counselor, Vivian Cross had asked.

“No, it is a little different each time,” Liz answered.

“What is the dream about,” Vivian asked. She, through the years, had heard so many hallucinations and dreams that she ought to write a book. Liz and her friends were known for being a pretty clean group. Vivian didn’t, at this time, think there was anything chemical connected with this dream.

“I am standing in a field with a binding about my breasts and wearing some sort of a loincloth. I am holding a sword and shield; my body is covered with blood. I don’t think any of it is mine.”

This was a surprise for Vivian. “What brought this on!” she exclaimed.

“Oh, on video night, one of the boys brought an early Sci-Fi video called ‘Warrior Chicks of Aswam.’ The video was terrible. The dialog was stilted and the actresses acted like they were from a sorority house. It was one of those movies where you throw popcorn and hoot at even the serious parts. The boys did it to get even with us for choosing too many chick flics,” Liz explained.

“Oh, my,” Vivian breathed. “Maybe the dreams are some guilt feeling for watching trash like that. This week, why don’t you stick with ‘Bambi’ and ‘Dumbo.’ Let me know if this dream persists in returning.”

That afternoon as Liz returned to her apartment, she ran into Maria. “What’s in the bag?” Maria asked pointing to the plastic bag labeled “Blockbuster.”

“ I picked up ‘Bambi’ and ‘Dumbo’. After ‘Warrior Chicks from Aswam,’ I dare the guys to refuse anything like this,” Liz stated.

Maria shook her head, “I was thinking more like, ‘Fast Times at Ridgemont High.’ It is a funny story and there is enough skin for the guys. Liz this ratings war has got to stop,” Maria stated.

Liz thought for a minute. “Maybe, you and Michael can choose the movie together next week. This week, I need something like Disney,” she said.

Isabel caught up with Liz Friday at noon. “What did you choose for a movie?” she asked.

“Maria isn’t too pleased, but I picked up ‘Bambi’ and ‘Dumbo.’” Liz stated.

Isabel sat down beside Liz. “That’s good, I am having some trouble with that movie my boyfriend chose last week. I didn’t want to say anything, but I am having strange dreams after that movie,” Izzy stated.

Liz looked up surprised. “So am I. I find myself as one of those warriors, but it isn’t like the movie; this is so real. I am holding a real sword and a real solid shield,” Liz said.

“Yeah, and I can feel the grass against my feet and I am covered with blood,” Isabel added. I believe one of the unbelievable things about the video was how clean the warriors were.

“In the dream, I have blood on my feet and I saw you try to wipe blood off your face. Nothing is so sterile like in the movie, this is so real,” Liz said.

“I remember that. In the dream, I have memories. I struck someone when they were close. Blood spurted everywhere. I saw you laughing while watching me try to wipe away the blood. Whatever that was around my chest was dripping in blood. Somehow, I wasn’t repulsed by the blood, like this was something I did every day,” Isabel stated.

“Ask Alex not to get mad, but we both need something real ‘G’ rated this weekend. That video he had last week was just too much!” Liz exclaimed.

Alex must have spoken to the rest of the guys as there were no groans when ‘Bambi’ loaded up. Liz had already spoken to Maria so the only girl who was surprised was Tess. Tess shrugged, she had a good cry when Bambi’s mother was killed and also when Dumbo’s mother was chained. Kyle was watching Tess closely. She was showing the domestic side of her. Kyle had to think, was he ready to face this side?

Before any of the guys could gripe, Maria explained that she and Michael would go together next week to pick out the movie. There were no complaints and the rest of the weekend went as normal. Monday came and Liz had had three good nights of sleep. She hadn’t talked to Isabel, but seeing her in the distance, Liz thought she looked better, also.

Monday night came and so the dreams returned. In her dream, Liz was again standing in the field. The open field, maybe, was on a mountain top. The surroundings were clearer than before. They had been standing on a field of bones. Something horrible had happened here a long time ago. Liz had reached down and taken the tails of her loin cloth and was wiping her sword clean on the cloth. Isabel was standing nearby and she had wiped the blood from her eyes, but her face was still covered in dried blood. If Maria was there, she must have been standing still. Liz didn’t have any memory of her in the dream. The strip of cloth around Isabel’s breasts was still dripping blood and it was running down her body to be caught in what ever covered her hips. Isabel could feel the wrap going between her legs, but then it wrapped around her hips like a short skirt. Now, it was catching the blood that was running down her body.

As the two women were standing, Tess walked up. In the first dream, Liz remembered Tess standing there doing nothing. Liz couldn’t even remember what Tess was wearing. Tess was now dressed much like Liz. She was carrying a shield and a sword. Her feet and ankles were bloody, but the rest of her body was relatively clean. Her sword showed no sign of being bloody. Nothing was said. They just stood around looking at each other holding their private thoughts. When Liz woke up Tuesday morning she again was tired. She stumbled through her first class and was sitting in the Student Union. Isabel came in and sat across from her. “Another rough night,” Isabel said both as a statement and a question.

“Yes, but there was one difference,” Liz replied. “Tess was there this time.”

“Isabel looked up. “Speak of the devil,” she said as Tess sat down.

Tess had been crying. “I think I am going crazy,” she whimpered.

“Dreams connected to Alex’s movie?” Liz asked.

Tess nodded. “They are so real. I see both of you covered in blood. I see Isabel, her face covered in dried blood as the blood continues dripping down her body. You are laughing as you remind her that hitting an artery spouts blood. I am carrying a sword and swinging it like a pro. With the weight of that much steel, I doubt that I could even lift. The shield is even heavier, but I get comfort in its strength. I am barefooted in the grass and my legs are streaked with blood. I have no idea where I have been, but wherever it was, there must have been a lot of blood. The clothes all three of us are wearing are ridiculous. We would all be put in jail if we dressed like that around here. The swords, the shields and the clothes are so natural in the dream. In the video, even I thought those actresses were not much as warriors. In the dream, we are walking around in the fields of blood; like that is what we are supposed to do. I can’t remember killing anyone, but killing seems to be what we do. The feeling is so foreign to me. In the dream, I look at both of you and I know you have killed many more times than I. I feel that I must try harder. Can you imagine that, wanting to try harder at killing people. Liz, Isabel, that isn’t me. I don’t think it is you, either,” Tess informed them.

“Tess, Isabel and I are having the same dream. We both saw you last night. I have been having these dreams all last week,” Liz said.

Knowing that others are having the same problem as you is not always comforting. They had no explanation to give her, so Tess went on to class. That night, Liz was almost scared to go to sleep. Sleep held terror, not comfort. Maybe, now, she could call it a nightmare.

The tails of Liz’s loincloth were now covered in blood wiped from her sword. Isabel had pulled some grass and was trying to wipe some of the blood from her face. This time when Tess walked up they saw an almost blank expression on her face. Her sword was covered in blood as was the arm which held it. “I killed both of them,” Tess murmured. “They were the same age that I am. The boy was trying to shield the girl. They were the enemy and I killed them because I was supposed to.”

When Liz woke up, there was no way she was going to class today. Liz would go to the university because she wanted to talk to Tess and Isabel. There had been something that was attacking the three women. None of them were killers and none of them could be compared to those tip-toeing starlets from Alex’s video. This was too real. It was too violent. Something they had no defense against was sucking them into some distant universe. Liz had called Alex. She wanted him to go back and find that video. There must be something in the video or maybe, on the box that might help her find an explanation.

By the time Alex found Liz, both Tess and Isabel were with her. Tess was openly crying and nothing seemed to help her. “I killed them, I killed them,” was all he heard from Tess.

Liz tried to explain. “Alex, I started having dreams right after I watched that video. It is as if I am really in the video, but not in the video we watched. I was in the real place the video represents. I am one of the real warrior chicks of Aswam. After a few dreams, I met Isabel. She was having the same dream as I. We have had some sort of violent battle. There is a lot of blood and we all have been fighting for our lives. Night before last, Tess appeared and last night she said she had killed two people. I think this is all happening some place else. I need you to get that video again. We need to see if there is something on it that is causing these dreams,” Liz explained.

Alex went to the store, but they informed him that Carlos Vargas had been the clerk on duty. The video “Warrior Chicks from Aswam” was not on their lists. “Hey, man, come back at eleven tonight and talk to Carlos.”

When Liz finally fell asleep that night, everything and everyone was already on the open space. Liz had cleaned her sword on the tails of her loincloth. Isabel had wiped most of the blood off her face and Tess was crying about the horror of killing. It was seen that a woman slowly walked up to the group. She was stumbling with every step. It was Maria. Like Isabel, her loin cloth was tied like a skirt after threading itself between her legs. Maria had a terrible gash across her middle. She was trying to stop the blood by holding the wound with her shield arm. There was no way that Maria would drop her shield or her sword. When Liz saw the wound, she sliced off a large part of her loincloth. Tearing it into strips she made a binding to go around Maria’s middle. Tess touched Liz on the shoulder and handed Liz a pad made from Tess’s own garment. Liz collected several hands full of grass and stuffed them into the wound. She bound the pad Tess had given her with the long strip from her clothes. Even in the heavy cloud of the dream world, Liz’s mind asked what kind of bacteria did those clumps of grass hold. Somehow, what she did seemed to be the right thing for the time and the place.

Michelle in LA

Natalie36

Keepsmiling7


Chapter 2

It was striking eleven when Alex walked back into Blockbusters. Alex looked around, but he didn’t see anyone familiar. “Is Carlos Vargas, working tonight?” Alex asked the cashier.

“Yeah, he is back there straightening up the movies which came in today,” the boy answered.

Alex walked to the back, but he didn’t see anyone he had seen before. “Is Carlos working tonight? Alex asked.

“Yeah, who wants to know,” the young man answered.

“You aren’t the man I saw two weeks ago? Alex stated.

Carlos grabbed Alex and pulled him further back in the store. “Hey, man, if that son-of-a-bitch stiffed you, I will make it up. Just don’t say anything to the boss,” the man said.

Alex was taken back. “No, nothing like that. I rented a video from this guy and I need to look at it again. We, maybe, lost something in the box,” Alex lied.

“Man, I had to cut out for an hour or so. My primo, Eloy, was in town from Guadalajara. I didn’t think he could get into any trouble in that short of a time. Just don’t tell the boss I left the shop in charge of a stranger,” the man Alex presumed was Carlos said.

Carlos fired up a computer in the back of the store and asked Alex for his blockbuster card number. “There is no record of you even being here, man. Either there is a mistake or that little bastard neglected to record your entry. If you returned anything he probably pocketed the charge, also,” Carlos explained.

“It was a Sci-Fi flic,” Alex stated. I think it was called ‘Warrior Chicks from Aswam,’” Alex explained.

“Man, I thought I had seen all of those Sci-Fi videos,” Carlos stated. “That one, I don’t remember.”

“Any chance of talking to your primo?” Alex asked.

“Not hardly, he went back to Mexico; Tia Elena was always a strange relative. She always talked about herbs and spells. I guess her kid ain’t that much better, either. Mom couldn’t wait to get him back on the bus for Mexico.” Carlos concluded.

Alex walked home; it was too late to call Liz. He would get with her tomorrow.

The four girls were sitting at a booth in a quiet corner of the Student Union. “Now I know what all of you are talking about,” Maria stated.

Tess was still crying. She had been doing this for two days, now. “Alex promised to get the copy of that video so we can try to find out what is causing the dreams. Maybe, there is some second layer, a record which you can only see looking at frame by frame. Subliminal perception is a message given some way that is not easily seen. If so, it might be causing some mental problems,” Liz stated.

Maria lifted up the bottom of her sweater. “This thing is not sub anything. It is too realistic,” she stated as they looked at her bare stomach. There was an angry red mark right where Liz had patched up the dream Maria.

“None of us are that kind of people,” Tess moaned.

“Okay, you have told my boyfriend, Alex, about the dreams. When are we going to tell the rest of the guys?” Isabel asked.

“Alex is trying to help us,” Liz stated. “How am I going to tell Max that I may be turning into a professional killer?” she concluded.

“Girls, girls, these are dreams. They don’t represent who or what we are in real life!” Isabel exclaimed.

“If I spill all my guts from a dream slasher, then please explain to Michael and my mother what happened,” Maria said angrily.

“Does anyone wonder about the strange clothes we are wearing in the dreams. The clothes in the video were bad enough. They were to stir up the guys. They weren’t practical. They were just to give the guys a hard-on. For the life of me, I can’t think of fighting battles dressed like the women in the dream,” Liz thoughtfully said.

“Yeah, dressed like that, you would get raped by men on your own side before you ever got to battle,” Tess said, for the first time in several days with a tiny smile.

Liz was still serious. “Tess remembers some man she killed, do any of the rest of you have any memory of any men?” she asked.

Maria and Isabel slowly shook their heads. Tess spoke up, “I remember one of the actresses stabbing some soldier in the movie. Kyle remarked that he would have taken the sword away and spanked the hell out of her.”

“Did any of you have any sexy or orgasmic feelings during any of the dreams?” Liz asked.

“I don’t think a face full of blood was particularly sexy,” Isabel stated.

Liz turned to Maria, “Do you have any memory how you got that gash in the dream?” she asked.

“No, I remember standing there looking at the rest of you for the longest time. Your clothes, the blood and the location we were in wasn’t registering in my mind. Suddenly, I felt a searing pain in my middle and I was trying to stop the flow of blood with my shield hand. I have no idea of how I got this wound. I remembering saying to my self, drop that stupid shield or sword and hold your guts in. I remember that would be the last thing I would do. I would never give up my weapons!” Maria exclaimed.

Alex sat down with the girls. “I can’t find it. The clerk was not one of the regulars. Carlos Vargas, one of the workers, said he had left his cousin in charge for an hour or so. The cousin was a Mexican national. He has gone back to Mexico. Carlos said something strange. He said his cousin’s side of the family dealt in herbs and magic.”

“Did you find the video any where in the store?” Liz asked.

“No, Carlos knew the Sci-Fi section pretty well. He wasn’t familiar with our video. We checked the store records, ‘Warrior Chicks from Aswam’ never was in the inventory,” Alex replied.

“We have to talk to Max and the others. If these dreams keep up, we are all going to need support,” Isabel stated.

“How do I talk to Max?” Liz asked. “Hey, Max, I have been having this dream. I am running around half naked chopping people up with a sword. That doesn’t hack it. (Pun intended.) Either Max doesn’t take me serious and gets a Kyle like grin on his face at the thought of me running around without clothes or he will decide I am going crazy. How can I make him understand?”

“I wish you wouldn’t use Kyle as some example for bad conduct. In bed, he is very tender and attentive,” Tess stated.

“Hey, it isn’t our fault that growing up, Kyle was always a horn-dog. If you have him tamed down, much to your credit. You tell him that you have been running around, not even in your underwear, slicing people up with a bloody sword. Then tell me how he takes it!” Maria exclaimed.

Alex had been sitting quietly listening. He agreed that talking to Liz about this problem had been easier than if he had heard it from Isabel. “Do you, girls think that me talking to the guys would help?” he asked.

“Could you, Alex? Could you tell Kyle that this is a dream, and the person in the dream is not me? If the situation was reversed and it was Kyle having these dreams, I don’t think I could even close my eyes when he was in bed with me,” Tess said.

Miss responsibility spoke up. “I think it should be me who talks to Max,” Liz said. “I will just have to try very hard to make him understand. No matter what my fears are, being truthful and open with Max is my responsibility.”

Maria raised her arms in chagrin. “Knock yourself out, Alex. Even in minor happenings, I never know how Michael will take things. At least by the time I talk to him, he will have settled down a bit. Tell Michael I am not running around in even less than panties swinging a sword. Tell him that I am not hurt and my guts are not about to fall out,” Maria said maybe trying to convince herself.

Alex found Michael and Max indulging in some one-on-one basketball. They were not serious about the game. For them it was more manly to talk while playing than sitting on some bench, giving everyone some vibes that they were getting confused about their orientation. If they had been drinkers, a beer or two would have worked. “Hey, Mike, I need to talk to you,” Alex called.

The game stopped and Max went over to a bench and taking two towels, he threw one to Michael. “Max, you need to go find your better half. The girls are in trouble and Liz wants to talk to you herself. Mike, it is you I need to talk to,” Alex said.

“Hey, what is this about? Liz wants to talk to Max and Maria wants you to talk to me. What’s she done?” Michael asked.

“Its not what she has done, it is what is happening to her. Maria will tell you everything, but she wants me to get you cooled off first,” Alex explained.

“She hasn’t got messed up with some other guy, has she?” Michael asked, the blood rushing to his face as his temper started to boil.

“Michael, fighting with you is half of Maria’s life. How can you think of some other guy? It is probably my fault. I am the one who found that stupid movie,” Alex started.

“That movie wasn’t half bad if you blanked out the sound and didn’t look for a plot. Them babes surely weren’t wearing very much. Even with Kyle’s wise cracks, the rest of us would have added more if the girls hadn’t been there,” Michael had to laugh.

“That is the point, the girls were there. All four of them are having bad dreams from the movie,” Alex explained.

“Is that why we had a dish of ‘Bambi’ and ‘Dumbo’ and you told us not to complain?” Michael asked.

“Exactly, all four girls are having the same dream and each night the dream is a little different. I can’t find the damned video so Liz can look at it. She seems to think that there was something on the video that triggered the dreams. Mike, don’t try to make Maria feel guilty that she was scared to tell you about this. None of the girls understand what has happened and the dreams are very troubling.” Alex hoped Michael would reach deep down to the place he really kept his love for Maria. Michael was a serious guy, but he did tend to take off ahead of his best intentions, sometimes.

Alex found Kyle in a park with some of his friends. No alcohol was allowed on campus so Kyle and his friends were sitting under the trees after breaking open a six-pack in this near-by park. Kyle respected Tess’s aversion to alcohol and she respected his need to bond with some of his jock friends. “Hey, Kyle, a minute,” Alex requested.

“Hey, bro, what’s going on?” Kyle quipped as he walked over to Alex.

“Tess is having some problems,” Alex started.

“Tell me about it. She has been doing nothing but making tears. I thought it might be that time of the month; I never can keep up with her calendar, but she never has had this much trouble. I asked her if she was pregnant and the tears got worse,” Kyle complained.

“It is more serious, something is going deep to bring up really primal feelings in the girls. They are seeing themselves in that video about the warrior chicks. What they are seeing is not like the video, it is more real. All of them are fighting and covered in someone’s blood. It’s like they are Amazons or something. Even little Tess is swinging a heavy steel sword. Now she thinks she has killed someone. That is why she is crying,” Alex explained.

“Oh, my gosh, is that why she is carrying on so much? Why wouldn’t she tell me? I would have understood,” Kyle exclaimed.

“Would you, Kyle? Tess says that if you had been the one in the dream she couldn’t have gone to sleep if you were in her bed. Are you ready to think of the love of your life as a killer?” Alex asked.

keepsmiling7

Michelle in LA: Think of this as a grade "B" fic. I wrote it for fun and to explore making the banner. I didn't sweat over it like i did in "Little Napoleon," and most of my other fics. Cute pun.

begonia9508

Chapter 3


When Max found Liz she was deep into a search engine on her computer. “Max I can’t find any trace of that damned video. Isabel, Maria, Tess and I are sharing some sort of dream. We are the warrior chicks of Aswam. We are complete with blood, weapons and the strangest clothes you can imagine. We are in some kind of war. Tess is having a break down because she believes she has killed people. It gets worse, because Isabel and I think that killing is natural for us. Maria was badly wounded and now, it looks like her body is forming a scar for real. You know that if the suggestion is strong enough, the body will react like that,” she explained.

“I understand that all of you girls are having the same dream,” Max said.

“Yes, and I think it is bringing out things we are afraid of. Max, does anyone really know his or her emotions, those that are really deep down? We cover our statements and thoughts with a veneer of what is expected of us. We all have over twenty years of training as to what is acceptable to our parents and those around us. Are there monsters, down in the bottom of our minds, waiting to be set loose? Neither Isabel nor I think of ourselves as aggressive or even, highly competitive. Our dream personas are proud that we are mighty warriors. We are proud that we have won many battles. We know that the battles were won by killing. That doesn’t bother us in the dream. It is when we wake up that we quake. Are we turning into those kinds of people? In the dream, Maria is angry that she was wounded. She wants vengeance. Maria has a temper, but in life she doesn’t want to hurt people. Tess is devastated that she is turning into a killer, but she wants to be like us. Becoming like us, Max, is becoming a killer. Are killers someone you want to hold up as an example?” Liz was on the brink of a collapse.

“Liz, it is only dreams. None of you are mean or wicked people. Think of it like an action movie, like ‘Braveheart.’ Someone yells cut and all the bodies get up and walk off the field,” he explained.

“No, Max, in ‘Braveheart’ everyone knows there are special effects. In the dreams, I taste the salty taste of blood as I lick my fingers. I felt the hot flesh as I tended to Maria’s wound. Talk to Isabel. If she can, get her to tell you what it is like to cut an artery close up and find yourself covered in someone else’s blood. I never had a dream where I felt grass under my bare feet. Where we are standing, something awful happened a long time ago. I feel and hear bones crunching as I walk through the grass,” Liz stated. “Max, I know what it feels like to slice through living flesh with a sharp sword. Unlike movies, these dreams have way too much information.”

“Why do you think none of the guys have been affected?” Max asked.

“That is another question that raises the anxiety level. The movie was named, “Warrior Chicks,” not Warrior Men.” Liz stated.

“Do you share any of Maria’s anger?” Max asked.

“No, and talking to Isabel, neither of us shares Tess’s guilt. We have a sort of benevolent tolerance for her as the neophyte. Like in a few more battles she will grow out of any guilt. Tess doesn’t want to get comfortable with killing. In real life, Isabel and I don’t want to feel comfortable about killing either,” Liz moaned.

“Do you think you can ride out the dreams? Will they go away of their own in a few weeks? Max asked.

“No, Max, somewhere there is a rabbit hole and none of us wants to follow ‘Alice’ down that rabbit hole to this different world. At least with me, the rational part says run the other way, but there is something else that says, follow the warrior’s path. This path will lead you to greatness.

Alex had returned to his own true love. “Alex, I had a professor who once said, ‘Murder is a form of insanity.’ There is a tribe of Native Americans who believe that even soldiers, when they come back home from war, must be given ceremonies to cure insanity. Even when men are doing their duty to protect their loved ones, the taking of a life is insanity. Something is pulling us girls down this path. It hasn’t yet affected the guys, but we are feeling things, we weren’t meant to feel. How far is too far that even if we don’t loose our souls; the soul will be so corrupted that none of you can stand or trust us?” Isabel worried.

Maria hadn’t given Michael a chance to express his displeasure that she wouldn’t come to him when these things happened. “Michael, I don’t even know what cut me. All I know is if I see it again, I want to strike out and cut it into little pieces. Something attacked me without any provocation. If we are being sucked into the world of ‘Warrior Chicks,’ then I want to be ready. Liz and Isabel have bloodied their swords and they haven’t been wounded. Michael, I am not going to stand by and spill my guts all over the field. I was attacked and now, they will see my body count, like it says in the Bible, ‘Liz and Isabel count their slain in the thousands and Maria counts her dead in the Tens of thousands.’” Maria was difficult in this frame of mind. From experience, Michael knew that eventually she would wind down and get off this adrenaline high and burst into tears. Michael knew that he had to have the patience to catch her.

Michael tried anyway, “Maria, they were only dreams.”

Maria jerked her sweater up showing her aqua-bra and also, showing the angry red scar that was puffed up across her middle. “Michael, every time I touch this, I feel pain. No, don’t tell me it was just a dream. Something else happened here,” she screamed emphatically.

Kyle was trying, but Tess’s sobs were telling on him. How much can a guy take? “Tess, it’s only a series of dreams. The dreams were brought on by that stupid video, Alex and I rented,” Kyle tried to suggest.

“No, Kyle, it wasn’t like the movie. The actors in the movie were almost like cartoons. You said those women were like prissy starlets, dancing around. This dream was real. The boy was beautiful. He was about my age and he had no weapon. He cowered in front of his girl trying to protect her. They were the enemy. I was ordered to kill the enemy. I wanted, so much, to be like Liz and Isabel. They were mighty warriors. I had never been bloodied in battle. I struck, even though I didn’t want to. I felt the warm blood running down my arm. I felt the flesh and bones give way to my sword thrust. Kyle, I killed, even though I didn’t want to; I felt that I was doing my duty. I haven’t been able to quit crying since. I am not that person. I don’t want to be that person. If I go back in the dream, I know that I will kill again.” Tess was so inconsolable. She was filled with so many conflicting thoughts.

The four guys were sitting at the bar across from the campus. Max and Michael were drinking a coke, but Alex and Kyle were each nursing a beer. Alex wasn’t much of a drinker, but he felt need for something strong, maybe, even a shot or two of hard liquor. “I wish I had never seen that damned video,” he moaned.

Max spoke up, “I think we need to ask, what happened to the video? Liz can’t find it anywhere on line. I also think we need to ask, why only the girls are affected?”

“Hey, I can wet dream about naked chicks, all day or night. I don’t see them as real,” Kyle stated. “The girls are suffering something else. Tess won’t even butter bread for breakfast, she is now so scared of knives.”

“Yeah, and Maria is so worried about that scar. She fears that she won’t be able to wear that two piece swim suit she bought on sale at the end of last season. I haven’t even been able to get her to try it on for me. She just keeps crying that she is scarred for the rest of her life,” Michael said.

Friday night and it was once again video night. “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” was on the menu. With a group like this, the remote on pause was in demand for all the questionable scenes. When Stacy was practicing for blow jobs with the carrot, Kyle piped up, “She definitely should try harder. Hey girl open up and take it back.”

Of course this earned him a swat from Tess. That was expected. What wasn’t expected was the comment from Isabel. “If the bastard complained how I was doing it, I would bite it off like Lorena Bobbit and let him take it to the emergency room in a plastic bag.” Isabel had no idea of where this comment came from. She was much too young to know about Lorena Bobbit. (Google if you, likewise, don’t know about her) Comments like this about sexual acts were not her normal subjects of discourse.

Alex did a double take and it was several minutes before Isabel realized what she had said. Isabel turned bright red from embarrassment. She buried her face in Alex’s chest and started sobbing. The comments were subdued for a time. The Linda topless scene, where Phoebe Cates takes off part of her swim suit, at least in Brad’s or Judge Reinhold’s mind, had to go through slow motion several times. When the guys finally allowed the story to continue, Linda was supposed to go into the house and when she opened the bathroom, Brad was supposed to be jacking off. Tess made the comment, “If it had been me, I would have laid him on the bathroom floor and not let a drop of him go to waste.”

Tess wasn’t one to be vulgar and talking about her sex life like that, she did consider vulgar. Kyle did a real double take. His little sex kitten was growing some real claws.

When they got to the scene where Stacy was waiting for Mike Damone in the changing booth at her home pool, the guys fought as to who controlled the remote to see Jenifer Jason Leigh in the altogether frame by frame. Liz and Maria laughed. This was the old crowd, completely normal.

By the time Spicoli, the stoner, became a hero at the end of the movie, they were back to hoots and catcalls as the credits rolled. Maria turned to Liz and smirked. I told you, enough skin for the guys and the story line wasn’t that bad. I think Michael and I made a good choice.

They all milled around for several minutes. They cleaned up the hosts apartment and soon drifted off as couples. The night didn’t promise a night of bliss for any of them. A beg off of headaches and fatigues sent each off to their own apartments with no more than a good night kiss.

That night, the four women gathered on the open field. They all were covered with blood. Even Tess was now laughing and joking letting some amusement relieve the tension of the battle. In the distance, it could be seen that vassals and servants were piling the bodies of the enemy for cremation. At the far edge, there were several men gathering. This was the first time men had appeared in the dream. Okay, so Tess did have some memory of killing a young man and his female lover. That was another Tess and another age ago. Maria still had her scar, but it hadn’t stopped her from extracting her due. The men on the edge of the plain were advancing. The women were not at attention, so the men must be friendly. In the distance, the first thing that was finally resolved was the white shield bearing the bright red cross. Liz could imagine that she recognized Max as one of those advancing. If his battles had gone well, they, indeed, would make wild love tonight.

The men the women recognized, were still across the field when the women heard trumpets. From the opposite direction, a phalanx of warriors approached. The formation was composed of both men and women. It was seen that the shields with the red crosses stopped as the phalanx split allowing a tall Hispanic to advance. If Max had been in the army across the field, he had stopped his advance. There was a brief feeling of disappointment in Liz. That Wild love she had been hoping for would be put on hold, at least until they understood the men in front of them.

The leader was dressed in feathers as were many of those with him. There was something Aztec about the man. There was also something very dark about him and his followers. As he walked up to the women they heard, “Go to your lovers tonight. Fullfill your needs. Tomorrow, report to me; from now on you will be mine. Generalissimo Eloy Vargas now owns you bodies and souls.”

Liz looked up and it was as if a spot light had been put on the army of the red crosses. The women bowed before the generalissimo and turned to start the long trek to the army of their previous lovers. All four women had anticipation at what was in store for them, but they also had that feeling that a person would have when thinking about breaking up. Was this to be the last night they would have with the men of their choice?

Author's note: I made a mistake. I know so little about movies, that i figure that any movie i ever saw, everyone else has seen several times. "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" is an example of teen movies made in the 80s. It is rated "R" but at the time anyone could find a way to get in. the plot is simple. Boy wants to meet girl, but girl wants to know the difference between love and lust. That is what makes this movie different, it is the girl who is out of control. Jennifer Jason Leigh plays the girl who is striving to loose her virginity. Both boy and girl have experienced coaches. Phoebe Cates' character, who has slept two or three times with a college guy, plays the experienced coach for the girl. The character played by Robert Romanus, who has read some dirty magazines gives advice to the guy. It is all about inexperience and mistakes. Maria's point is that the nude scenes can attract the guys and the girls can laugh at the humor. It was one of the early Sean Penn movies.

begonia9508

Michelle in LA: The girls are out of character of their out of character. In reality they are not mighty warriors. they are college freshmen. as mighty warriors, in the dream why do they seem to submit to the generalissimo?

Keepsmiling7: what scares the girls is that they seem to be falling into the dream.

everyone, What the girls do tonight to the gang bangers, is a surprise to them. That tells them that the dream is getting too real.


Chapter 4

Waking up Liz found herself in a sweat. Generalissimo Eloy Vargas, where had she heard that name? The way she and the other girls were dressed was similar to what was in the video. The generalissimo was something 1else. He was dressed like something Liz had seen when she was studying the history of Mexico. “Nocha Treste,” in her history book had been a series of pictures depicting the night before Cortez attacked the Aztecs. Generalissimo Vargas had been wearing long feathers. They were from some tropical bird, Liz couldn’t think of the name. His cloak was made of colorful feathers, probably parrot of some kind. Vargas and those following him were carrying wooden clubs with sharp stones set in them. The only metal seen on Eloy’s group was gold. Nothing like the steel swords and shields of the girls. The only weapons the girls had were swords and shields. In Liz’s history book, the Spanish were shown in breast plates and helmets. Nowhere in her memory did she have a vision of the white shields with the red cross. This crazy dream wasn’t following either the history books or the stupid video.

Liz hurried dressing and rushed out to the university. It wasn’t classes, which attracted her this day, but the girls agreed to meet for breakfast. Meanwhile the four men were sitting in the park. Max spoke up first, “I saw that damned dream last night.”

“Yeah, the rest of us did too,” Kyle growled.

“It wasn’t very clear,” Alex stated. “The girls were some distance away. I think I recognized them, but I couldn’t be sure. I couldn’t figure our weapons. Then, I remembered reading about the ‘Knights Templar.’ I Googled them this morning. Knights Templar had white shields with red crosses, but pictures of them were all in full armor. I think we had swords, but the only clothes I remember were underwear, loin clothes or something like that.

“There wasn’t much action,” Michael said. “Mostly, we stood around and looked at four women way in the distance. Then, there was a crowd of real ‘yahoos’ who walked or maybe, marched up to them. They were dressed in feathers, I think. I heard a lot of shouting, but I couldn’t make much of it out.”

“Yeah, guys wearing feathers, I would give anything for a chance to kick their butts,” Kyle mumbled.

“What’s that Kyle?” Alex asked. “Those bastards looked like Aztecs to me. If they were, they were carrying clubs studded with flint chips. Those weapons could be deadly.”

“Okay, then I want to dream up some tommy guns. Hell, we should have some control of our dreams,” Kyle now was shouting in frustration.

Max shook his head. “These were dreams. Dreams don’t have any substance about them, do they?”

“Look, we know that the girls are influenced by something on that video. That was probably the least ‘real’ action movie I ever saw. Isabel hasn’t read anything historical, except for French romantic novels, that I know about. We need to see if she saw those crazy feathered fellows. Liz, yes, she took a course in Mexican history. Maria has been strictly in the music department, so that leaves us to see if all the girls saw what we saw last night,” Alex stated.

Kyle grimaced, “Us standing around watching the girls from a distance wasn’t much action either. That is why I want to dream up some tommy guns. Four of those babies, and you would really see feathers fly.”

At a table in the Student Union, the four girls were talking about their experience. What was with that guy in feathers?” Tess asked. “One more step and I was going to be ready to split him in half.” Now that didn’t sound like the crying Tess of a few days ago.

Liz noticed that none of the women, now, asked if they had shared the same dream or not. Maria spoke up, “Tess, did you see those guys with feathers? Those clubs they were carrying, could do major damage if they started swinging.”

There was an anger about Tess’s face. “I am not carrying this sword around for show. I made myself kill those two lovers for duty, now, I want to kill feathered boys for pleasure. The idea that that peacock can demand us to give up our boyfriends, sucks the big one.”

Liz was still shaking her head. “The context is all wrong. We were appearing in a real version of ‘The Warrior Chicks of Aswam,’ the feathered generalissimo was out of something either Inca or Axtec. What was the connection?” she asked.

“There were some other men in the dream. I couldn’t be sure, but I think it was Alex and the guys. They didn’t do anything. They were way off in the distance,” Isabel stated.

Did you see their white shields with the red markings? They were too far away for me to see what the markings were,” Tess stated.

“I, finally, recognized the markings,” Liz said, “but they were not in the same time line with any Aztec stuff. The white shields were those of Knights Templar. Knights Templar started somewhere in the 1100’s and werer disbanded somewhere in the 1300s. That is several hundreds of years before anything occurred about Aztec or feathered warriors ever appeared. It was half a world away in Europe and the Near East.”

Maria spoke up, “What was that Generalissimo Eloy Vargas now owns you body and soul, stuff?” she asked. “Hey, we were four warriors. What’s he think that he can just appear and order us around without any blood letting?”

“Doesn’t he think the guys, if indeed that who we saw in the distance, wouldn’t have some say in who carried us off?” Tess asked. Tess had a lot of faith that Kyle would fight to protect her. Then, she remembered, she was a mighty warrior. That guilt nonsense she had felt the first time was no longer there. Give her a chance she would trim those feathers off that turkey, somewhere about his neck.

It wouldn’t be unusual for Liz to spend the whole day in the stacks of the library, but Maria, Tess and Isabel were just as determined to find about the characters in the dream. Aswan was a place in Egypt. Now, there was nothing Egyptian about their dream. Liz definitely remembered that the place they were at was said with an ”m,” Aswam. Amazons or female warriors, were from Greek history. They had been supposedly located near Scythia or the modern Ukraine. In typical Greek fashion, art depicting the Amazons showed few clothes. Especially, when it was shown them executing men where the genitalia of both was clearly shown. Stories had it that Amazon warriors would undergo a single breast removal so they could better shoot arrows. None of the four women wanted anything to do with that.

Now, “Wonder Woman’ was supposedly from the Americas. It was even clearer that she was more fiction than were the Greek Amazons. There were a couple of strippers who danced as Amazons from the “Dark Island.” At least that is what Maria had heard from a friend going with a fraternity guy.” When the four women sat down in the lobby of the library, they had accomplished little. They had lost the day, also.

Most of the time, women didn’t like to walk across the late night campus without escorts. Once away from the major buildings, it was very dark. Liz and her friends were still mumbling about what they had learned. The only reality was the totally unreal experience of that video. Isabel kept thinking about the name Eloy Vargas. It was something she had heard from Alex. She would be sure to ask him when she got back to her apartment. The field they were crossing was so dark that they couldn’t see their hands in front of them. Suddenly, they were blinded by a flashlight. “Hola, chica,” the voice said. That was the worst Spanish accent Maria had ever heard. If they were really Hispanic, they surely hadn’t listened enough to their grandmothers. Maria thought they probably were Anglos who took Spanish lessons from old Freddie Prince movies. “You are away from the frat boys. Maybe, you are seeking real men. Men with real huevos,” the voice said as he grabbed his crotch. Of course to see this, he had to lower the field of view from the light.

Maria thought there must be about ten of them. She surprised herself with the fact that she wasn’t scared. She was surprised even more when Tess stepped forward, “Hey, you think we will even be able to find your cajones,” she asked. That wasn’t Tess. Normally Tess was not that forward and never had any of them see her that aggressive.

Maria was more convinced that at least the speaker wasn’t really Hispanic. He had used the word “huevos” meaning eggs that Hispanic slang used for gonads, but the other word cajones was not clearly understood by the gang leader. The fact that cajones was used many times for courage, didn’t get through to him at all. Maria wondered when Tess learned all that slang. She had never expressed herself that way before.

The moans were heard by joggers, doing turns about the field. Campus police arrived to see ten youths from one of the local high schools spread out in the center of the practice field. “Man, it was the whole fucking football team. Those damned jocks kicked the shit out of us,” one of the vocal ones claimed. “They held us down one by one and stomped us over and over. Hey man, let me at any one of them mano a mano and I could take him. They jumped us unfairly as a gang. We were just trying to get home from youth services at the church. They were waiting for us. Man, we demand protection.” The police guessed that if that one ever got out of high school he intended to become a lawyer. There was no evidence that a bunch of jocks had been out doing anything. The police would have been even more impressed if they had known four women, girls, college freshmen, had ripped this gang apart.

Once off campus, the girls each hurried to their own apartments. They were surprised that they each found their boyfriends waiting for them. None of them had made commitments about living together, but they were all committed to each other. If they weren’t by now, the latest happenings would have forced them together. Each girl remembered, “Go to your lovers tonight. Fullfill your needs. Tomorrow, report to me, from now on, you will be mine. Generalissimo Eloy Vargas now owns you body and soul.”

This had been a sobering message. If the dream took hold of their lives, this night would be the last night they would have with their chosen love. Eloy Vargas intended to take their lives and souls tomorrow. Pillow talk that night was pretty much the same. That is, except for Isabel and Alex. “Yes, Isabel, I know the name Eloy Vargas. He is the cousin of Carlos Vargas, the man who works at the video store. Eloy is the guy who helped me check out that video. He is the one who took off for Mexico. Tomorrow, we need to find Carlos. There was something he said about his aunt and cousin being strange.

Even with the amorous activity of the night before, Isabel and Alex were up before the sun. They had an early breakfast at the Student Union of the university. They weren’t surprised that none of the other couples were present. Except for the nagging feeling that Carlos had important information about his cousin, Alex wouldn’t have been up that early either. Alex had done all he could to assure Isabel that he would be as close to her as he could be. Isabel still felt that unless they found out something new, she and the other three women didn’t have much chance. In the dream, the four guys were all a great distance away, while Eloy and his entourage were right there declaring possession. The girls didn’t appear to have defense against Eloy. What could four guys, of unknown ability at least ability known to the warrior girls, do against the large body of soldiers following the generalissimo?

“It may take some time to find Carlos. Remember, he works the midnight shift at the video store,” Alex stated.

“If we have to wait until late tonight, it may be too late,” Isabel replied.

“That is why we got up so early. You don’t see the other guys and gals having breakfast around here,” Alex said. “I want to be at the video store the minute it opens. We have to talk someone into giving us information to find Carlos.

“What has that little bastard done, now?” was the first thing the manager said when Alex and Isabel asked him about his employee.

Isabel put her hand up to her mouth in mock dismay. “Oh my, he is helping us plan a series of videos for school. I hope that doesn’t get him in trouble.”

“Well, if it is for a school, it is probably okay,” the manager growled.

“If it is a problem, I am sure that Hollywood Videos will help us. We surely don’t want to get Carlos in trouble,” Isabel continued. This pompous jackass of a manager might scare off the only lead that they had to this video and what it was or did. Carlos had told Alex that there might be something strange about the video and about his cousin. It was clear that the manger didn’t know anything about either.

The manager quickly retreated. “No, no, I am sure that if Carlos was going to so much trouble, we would be happy to serve.”

The manager hadn’t been much help. On the way out, Alex and Isabel heard a, “Hist, hist,” noise. Looking over they saw a young man motioning to them. “Hey, are you Alex?” the young man asked.

“Yeah,” Alex answered. “You know Carlos?”

“Yeah, man, we are buddies. Carlos has been turning everything upside down looking for you. What gives man?” he asked.

“Carlos is helping us find out some important information about a video,” Alex told him.

“You mean that Aswam, shit! Don’t say anything to the manager, but that cousin of Carlos is one loco hombre. He sat there all the time Carlos was gone looking for something. When you showed up he pushed the rest of us out of the way to direct you to that movie. When you came back to see Carlos the other day, Carlos almost had a ‘cow.’ When he couldn’t locate the video in the files, he called his mama. Since then, he has been like a man possessed. He runs around like he was chased by la fantasma. Don’t tell the old man; he is hard enough on us as it is. Carlos wants to see you something bad,” the clerk stated. He passed Alex a card with the name Carlos Vargas and an address written on it.

Once out of the store, Isabel reached over and took the card out of Alex’s hand. “Alex, I know he may be in bed, but this is important. We all feel that something is going to happen tonight. I talked to Liz yesterday and we agree that whatever this is, it is bound to be bad,” Izzy said.

“Yeah,” their knock was answered by a surly youth in a white tee shirt and Levies.

“We are looking for Carlos Vargas,” Isabel stated.

“Ain’t nobody here with that name,” the youth answered. Isabel imagined that he was somewhere in mid-school age. The youth, immediately tried to close the door.

Alex pressed hard against the door as from somewhere in the house a woman’s voice was heard. “Who is it, Benito?” She asked.

“Two Anglos, asking for Carlos, ma,” Isabel guessed that it was Benito who answered.

“Well, ask them who they are? Don’t act like you were raised in a bean field,” the woman’s voice was heard.

A Hispanic lady of about forty approached the door and as she passed Benito, she slapped him up the back of his head. “I am sorry,” she apologized. “You do the best you can to raise them. Then they go to school and saints only know who they hang out with. Can I help you?” she asked.

----------------------------

Little Napolleon, the 13th victim

Murder on the Rio Puerco

These two stories are mysteries involving aliens along with humans. I have expanded "my" immigration policy to include those "Not of this Earth."

begonia9508

Michelle in LA: Alone we are all screwed. The girls need help from a comparative stranger. What are ten gang bangers when you have faced the feathered serpent.

mary mary: Uzis are Israeli machine pistols. James Bond would like them. I prefer the American MAC 10. A macho guy like Kyle would probably choose the Tommy gun.

keepsmiling7: Especially if the feathers came from a severed neck and were sticking to a wet sword.



Chapter 5

“My name is Alex Whitman and this is my girl friend, Isabel Evans,” Alex began.

“Come in, please. Carlos has been looking all over the university for you,” the lady stated.

Alex and Isabel entered the comfortable home. There was no lawn in front, but there had been rose bushes against the house. Inside, Isabel saw potted geraniums in the windows. Just off the room where they had been welcomed, Isabel saw an alcove in the wall. There was a hand carved santo in the alcove along with a lit candle. The lady turned to Alex. “How much did you have to do with my sobrino?” she asked.

“If we are talking about Eloy Vargas, he rented me a video at the shop where Carlos works,” Alex answered.

At the mention of the name Eloy Vargas, the woman became visibly nervous. “Please be careful how you use that name. I hadn’t seen my sobrino for some time. I only remember him as a niño back in Mexico. My sister played with the dark art, may my sainted abuela be forgiven. Our abuela, how do you say,.. grandmother, taught both of us about our past. I learned about a lot of healing herbs and things to make people happy. Not so my sister, she wanted dark powers. That is not the way of Brujaria. Dark powers lead to more darkness, at least, from the way we were taught. As soon as I saw that Eloy had become a Brujo of darkness, I sent him home. That might be part of the rudeness you saw in Benito,” Mrs. Vargas explained. “I think he was forming a hero worship about Eloy.” It was seen that she made the sign of the cross when saying the name “Eloy.”

“Eloy rented us a video about strange beings. It looked like a badly produced movie about women warriors. Now, the four girls in our group are having strange dreams. I don’t believe in it, but the girls think something bad is going to happen in the next dream,” Alex stated.

“Señior Alex, that is the trouble with many of you Anglos. You think that, how do you say, … science has all the answers. You have to believe or you can’t break free. I had no idea of what my sorbrino had done, but when Carlos told me that he had rented a video to some university students, I sent Carlos out to find you. The girls in your group have a right to be frightened. It is possible for a man of the dark arts to steal the souls of others. I don’t know how far this has gone, but if you don’t stop it soon, you may rescue the girls in body, but their souls will always be in danger,” Mrs Vargas explained.

Isabel leaned forward. “What do we do?” she asked.

“Ah, señorita, you must believe that good is stronger than evil. Do you have religious training?” Mrs. Vargas asked.

“We all go to church together, every Sunday. I don’t know what we believe,” Isabel explained.

“It is good that you all go to church together on Sunday, but you need to be returning from an affirmation in good before you spend another night in dreams,” Mrs. Vargas instructed. “Tonight, all eight of you must attend the mass at the Catholic Center, for the night you are good Catholics. I will speak to Father O’Malley” she continued.

Alex spoke up, “Maybe two of our group are Catholics for real. I don’t know what the rest of us believe.”

Mrs. Vargas shook her finger at Alex. “Tonight, young man, you are all faithful followers of turning against evil. You will not only attend, but you will take part in every part of the worship.” Mrs. Vargas handed Isabel a small pouch. “This has nothing to do with the mass, but pollen causes plants to germinate and tonight, you want your foray against the forces of Eloy to germinate well. Before you enter the church, make sure each of your party takes a pinch and scatters it to the winds.” It was seen that at the mention of Eloy, Mrs. Vargas crossed herself again. For his aunt, Eloy was a person to be feared.

Alex and Isabel were back on campus. “This sounds like a lot of superstitious mumbo-jumbo, to me,” Alex stated.

Isabel didn’t smile. “Alex, there was no mumbo-jumbo about how that crazy guy in the feathers looked at us. I don’t think Sir Isaac Newton, or René Des Cartes are going to get us out of this,” Isabel said.

The afternoon had been taken up with arguments, discussions and finally tearful pleading to follow Mrs. Vargas’s advice. Max found it the easiest as he had always said all his faith and beliefs would be in Liz.

Father Clarence O’Malley found himself wishing for Leprechauns and Unicorns of his homeland. Evil, backsliding and temptation existed no matter where you went. It was just that in the old country, the old fables were more familiar. Anita Vargas was a good woman. She had three children, a girl and two boys. Recently in confession, she had expressed worry about her youngest son. At first, Father O’Malley didn’t fully understand. Anita had tried to explain about healing and Father O’Malley didn’t see any difference in this from the herb women of his own country. Finally, Anita got it across that the hands that could heal could also destroy. Then, Father O’Malley understood that some of her family practiced very dark arts. Her request could be looked at as blasphemy to those back east or maybe in the Vatican, but eventually, she explained that the eight young people needed to leave the mass with the belief that the power of good could over come evil. Now that was something Father O’Malley could understand. If it looked like an exorcism, the Church had strict rules. No one could say anything about cautioning college kids about moral behavior.

Father O’Malley spent much of the rest of the day in prayer and research. He wanted the words he said tonight to change the hearts of these college students. Anita assured him that they were all good kids. They just had strayed in the way many college youth do when faced with the words of men, against the words of God. Anita also stressed that there were other forces, which she plainly described as those of El Diablo, approaching these students. That, again, was something the good father could understand. He had seen so many promising youth loose all the teachings of their parents when first away at school.

The eight college students were outside the Catholic Center just before 6:00 that evening. Kyle and Michael were still holdouts. “Maria, what difference does it make if I sprinkle that pollen in the air or not?” Michael complained.

“Yeah, we are talking about dreams. I can kick that feathered general’s butt any day of the week. Sprinkling that fairy dust ain’t gonna make no difference,” Kyle groaned.

“Look guys, I know you don’t really believe me, but mom met some scary people in the days before we came to Roswell. Not everything is straight forward science. There are too many questions about these dreams for us not to consider that there are some frightening things out there we can’t explain. Mrs. Vargas gave us advice and that advice is how to cope with something from her family’s dark side. Please, for our sakes, let’s follow her instructions,” Maria pleaded.

Max was holding the small bag of pollen that Mrs. Vargas had given Isabel. “Hey, UFO’s crashing in Roswell is unbelievable. We have lived with this all our lives. Every family has it’s black sheep. Mrs. Vargas told Alex and Isabel that the black sheep in her family might have done something to alter our lives. I think we ought to listen to what she says. She set up this service and gave us a little guidance.” Max reached into the bag and took out a pinch of pollen. “It’s not going to hurt me a bit to do this.” Max took the pollen and holding it high he released the grains from between his fingers. Liz followed him immediately.

Maria took a pinch of pollen next and held the bag toward Michael. “Michael, for me, please,” she asked.

Michael took a three-fingered pinch of the pollen and tossed it high into the air. He was followed by, Alex and Isabel. Now, Tess was holding the bag in one hand offering it to Kyle. The pollen she had taken was held while looking at Kyle with a question in her eyes. Kyle, finally, grabbed a handful of the dust and along with Tess, he held his hand high in the air as they both released the item. Max didn’t know what to do with the remaining pollen so he sat the small bag on a table as they entered the sanctuary.

Maria and Kyle both made the sign of the cross as they crossed the sanctuary. Even though Kyle pretended to be macho and worldly, the faith he was born into held on to him. Maria’s mother had been sporadic in her faith. The years of being a hippy which led through all sorts of ways, they usually ended up back in the church where Maria took her catechism and first communion. Tonight, Maria felt very close to her mother.

There was a hand full of the faithful at the service tonight. The eight students all filed into a pew. Taking their cue from Maria, the eight students knelt at the proper times during the start of the mass. The subject of the sermon was defeating evil. Father O’Malley, didn’t talk about ‘sins of the flesh.’ He didn’t talk about straying from the sanctity of the church. His sermon was about seeing evil in everyday life. He talked about supporting those you loved and being willing to give your life to save those you loved. Looking straight at the college students, he stated that this sacrifice, being willing to give your life for others, was what the church was all about.

On the way out, it was seen that O’Malley shook hands with each of the faithful, but when the eight students passed him, he made the sign of the cross and blessed each of them. Once outside, Michael shook him self and asked, “Now, we are supposed to feel better?”

“Michael, not better but we are supposed to believe in the difference between good and evil,” Maria stated.

“Maria, I know what is good. Being with you is good. Evil, I might have trouble with. It seems that anything someone disagrees with they call it evil,” Michael stated.

“Michael, if something tries to take me away from you, I would call that evil and I hope you would do anything to prevent it,” Maria replied.

Kyle, the man with the wise cracks and bad puns, was quiet for once. He was remembering long ago. His mother had left and his father was a mess. His father wasn’t even trying to hide his womanizing from the little Kyle. “Son, a man has his needs. She took it all away from me. I am just trying to get it back,” was the only explanation, Jim gave to Kyle.

Jim hadn’t set foot in a church since his wife left. He didn’t ever mention her name. When Kyle was of age, Jim still felt it was important for him to attend catechism. At that young age, Kyle felt that some of the things he saw in his father’s actions were sins. It bothered him for a time during the catechism classes, but one day, the priest said, “We are all sinners. Whether we are good or evil depends on what we do about these sins.”

Kyle looked, again, at his father. Jim Valenti had been badly hurt and reacted to that hurt. He tried to be a good father and a good man. Kyle decided to see his father as flawed, but trying really hard. That is what Kyle based his life upon. The only thing that stayed with Kyle tonight was the words of the priest, “Support those you love and be willing to give your life to save them. This sacrifice is what the church is all about.”

Like electric shocks, thoughts ran through Michael. He still wasn’t sure what he believed in, but the chance of loosing Maria, for real or imaginary in dreamland, was too great. Michael intended to be there to protect her, he decided, that was good.

Alex was still suffering guilt. His Methodist background could have railed against such Papist ideas and his scientific training could have railed against such things as Brujaria shown by Mrs. Vargas. This wasn’t about being right, it was about saving Isabel and her friends. His scientific and religious past could damn well get in line. Alex, along with the other guys was gonna be there for his girl.

This was a night for preparation. All eight went to their separate beds, the guys secretly making prayers that they would save their true loves from whatever came.

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Michelle in LA: Until we both look into the eyes of mutual destruction do we really know anyone?

keepsmiling7

Author's note: Please remember these characters are college kids and if my memory serves, they are only slightly better than high school kids in their thinking. In writing a story like this, it is important to make the characters blur dream fantasy with reality. I can easily identify with Liz, Alex and maybe, Isabel because until about 10 years ago my life was well ordered by religion, math and science. I was pushed into a chaos that I can never escape from. My understanding of cause and effect was totally destroyed. Losing the order I found from Newton’s physical laws, I began to feel that much of life was random without pattern or design. Liz and Isabel were the most confused. Like me Liz was questioning the logical world she believed in and Isabel was facing a violent world different from the pampered one in which she lived. Maria is angry. Her body was violated, probably scared for life by the wound she didn’t remember getting. It was not in her character that this anger makes her display violence, but she does. Poor Tess is the most confused. She wants to be respected by the other three girls, but to do this she must overcome her veneer of civilization. She arguably has to make the greatest change.

Max is devoted to Liz and willing to follow her in items of the sprit and faith. Alex has an amount of guilt because he brought the DVD to their group. It is his support for Isabel that finally wins out over all his background. Kyle has a childhood, religious background, which he has suppressed as he entered college. He finds the guidance of Mrs. Vargas a bit heretical. Finally, from the catechism of his childhood comes the words of the priest, “We are all sinners. Whether we are good or evil depends on what we do about these sins.” He is ready now, to do what ever it takes to save his girl. Michael has the hardest time. He is the agnostic. He can understand good, but as he says, “It seems that anything someone disagrees with they call it evil.”

Maria asks him not to look so high for his answers. “Michael, if something tries to take me away from you, I would call that evil and I hope you would do anything to prevent it.”

Brujeria is a nature religion, said to come from the old Aztecs, cleaned up and baptized. I don’t mean to imply that the characters learned to believe in this religion, but Eloy Vargas believe in it. The whole charade instigated by Anita Vargas was to get the eight subjects to believe that good conquers evil and that part of their good was the willingness to sacrifice ones self for those you love. Then, she could take actions to right her family’s wrongs

Chapter 6

The four women were again on the field where battles had been fought for years. In the far distance, it could be seen that servants were cleaning up the result of the most recent battle. There was a huge bonfire where bodies were being cremated. It didn’t make any difference because under foot were bones of the ages, evidence of death happening many times. Maria was still wearing the bandage that Tess and Liz had arranged. No one knew if she had found the enemy who gave her the wound, but her shield and sword arm were running with blood. Isabel and Tess were streaming with the evidence of the recent battle. Tess wasn’t crying anymore. She was laughing with the rest of them like the veteran she now was. Liz was the cleanest of the four women, but that was only because her skill kept all the blood to her sword and shield.

There was a break and now the girls had time to ask who were they fighting for? Even in a dream, women like Liz and Isabel demanded some logic. The sermon of the priest had talked about good and evil. Liz asked, “Which side are we fighting for?” Suddenly the right and wrong became important for the four warrior chicks.

Looking back, they could see the army of the generalissimo approaching from the right. To the left, the sun reflected from the white shields, which Liz hoped, were Max and the rest of the guys. They could hear the trumpets of the generalissimo’s army. There was chanting as the army made up of both men and women sang his name.

The army of the white shields, the red crosses of the Knight’s Templar, moved in almost complete silence. Both armies were approaching the four women. The men and women of the generalissimo were swinging the wooden clubs and from time to time, the sun glinted off the flint points that made the clubs so deadly. Liz guessed, or maybe hoped that, the army of the white shields were carrying swords or something to fight with. She hadn’t seen anything. She remembered the pictures of Knight’s Templar always showed them wearing armor. The men, which now could be seen were only dressed in some sort of loin cloth or kilts. Sweat could be seen running off their naked upper bodies. As they approached, the vision changed and it was seen that only four men comprised the army of the white shields.

This was in contrast with the generalissimo’s army of thousands. The generalissimo’s people were richly dressed in gold and feathers. Generalissimo Vargas proudly walked in front of his army. They were advancing upon, four women and four men, who were carrying shields and swinging swords. It was obvious that the general didn’t anticipate much of a battle. The generalissimo’s army spread out and forming two wings surrounded the eight students. We say students because that is what they were in some other world. Students don’t walk to class half naked, well, in California maybe. Students don’t carry swords and shields anywhere. Students don’t go around covered in blood even during fraternity rush week. Students don’t have an army of feathered Aztecs or something like that who had been dead and gone for several hundreds of years threatening to capture their souls. Until the whirlwind started, it didn’t look promising for Liz and her friends.

The four girls squared off facing the generalissimo. Four plus four makes eight and that “don’t make good odds” against what was before them. Liz thought, “The girls had been fighting together for some time. They knew what they could do, but what could their boyfriends do? The four girls had been side-by-side and back-to-back in many battles.” Liz knew this, but she could think of no specific battles. What would the four men add to a fight against the thousands who followed Eloy?

Michael and Kyle had grudgingly followed Mrs. Vargas’ instructions. Neither of them saw anything, in the pollen, which had to do with the sermon of good and evil or in giving the four women any protection. Eight students against an army, even though the army might have been of ‘zombies’ was not good odds.

Mrs. Vargas believed in the religion, which she had received, preparing her for her first communion as a child. She, no longer was a child. She had niños of her own. She believed in Father O’Malley. She had explained in confessions and in counseling sessions that there might be something else out there, something that Father O’Malley didn’t understand. That is why Father O’Malley longed for unicorns, banshee and leprechauns of his boyhood. They were something he could brush away.

If that damned nephew was playing around with what she thought he was, the college students needed a lot of power on their sides. There weren’t many piñon trees in the city. The university had some of them scattered across the campus. As soon as it got dark, Carlos and his mother got into his old pickup and headed to the campus. Benito didn’t want to come, but he didn’t want to grow the biggest zit ever, on his nose as his mom threatened him. He had just met Sissy Chavez. Benito really wanted to impress her. Mrs. Vargas knew how to control her children.

They needed a few fresh branches which Benito and Carlos quickly cut. What they needed most was the resin. Like any pine tree, piñon trees bleed sap from any break in their bark. The piñon was known for both the tiny nuts as well as the fragrant sap. The sap forms little nodules about the short trunk. All three of them were carefully cutting the nodules and saving them in a bag when someone across the campus yelled, “What are you people doing?”

They quickly doused their flashlights and ran for Carlos’ pickup. Carlos didn’t relax until they were back home in the barrio. He had done what his mamma told him, but it was still scary.

Mrs. Vargas had placed some scrap wood to set a farolito or small fire. She piled some fresh green branches on the small fire and smoke billowed up. The younger Hispanics of the barrio shut their windows and grabbed their inhalers, asthma kicking in with the pungent smoke of the piñon, but the older members knew what Mrs. Vargas was doing. Piñon smoke has a distinct smell. Sometimes,` it is sold for incense. A neighbor setting a small fire in the front yard and deliberately making smoke meant strong magic was needed for something.

Mrs. Vargas was sitting in a chair as the neighborhood’s elderly gathered. She explained about Eloy and his mother. The schools were crowded with illegal emigrants, they crashed the health systems, gangs came north with drugs. this was for the politicians to take care of. Bringing black magic to disturb the peace of the hood was for those who understood what to do.

As far as any of the students could see, they were surrounded by the men and women dressed in gold and feathers all bearing clubs studded with flint points. Was this the end?

There was a noise. It was a whirling noise like a strange wind. It was golden in color and it reminded Kyle of the handful of pollen he had thrown into the air. Generalissimo Eloy Vargas was standing with his hands open to welcome the women. On either side of him stood several men who made it clear that as soon as the women were removed, they would dispatch the remaining four men.

At first, the smell was very faint like the smell of a hot summer day when the winds brought in the results of forest fires, which are recurring the entire summer, from miles away. As the women of the barrio chanted, prayed and cast the nodules of Piñon resin into the fire, the smell got stronger, as did the wind. The old men of the neighborhood sat around the fire, casting a few scraps of wood or sticks into it to keep it going.

Raymond Urioste had been a fireman for years. According to the environmental folks, better known as the EPA, this was a no burn night. His men were waiting for the word to bring hoses and put out this offensive fire. As Ray approached the circle of elders, Tia Maria, the sister of his father, handed him a piñon branch. She pointed to the small fire and Raymond dutifully placed the branch adding to the smoke of the fire. On returning to the firehouse, Captain Monté called him into the office.

“Well, Ray, did you put the fire out?” he asked, well knowing that he hadn’t.

“Look, captain, there was something going on in the barrio tonight. All the elders were gathered around the fire. Tia Maria seemed to know that I would have to explain this to you and she sent you a message. Ray handed his captain an envelope.

“My sobrino is acting in good faith. Leave him alone, unless you want your daughter to get pregnant by that no good Chavez kid. What we are doing is for the good of the whole city. Come by tomorrow and I will have fresh posole and tamales ready. We can talk about getting that no good Chavez kid a job so he will be worthy of your daughter.

Eloy had stepped in front of his army, but looking through the thickening smoke, the army was more and more difficult to see. It was clear that the eight students had no idea what was happening. Eloy knew, and the look on his face was disgust. His goody, goody aunt had interfered. He thought he was safe trying this in the Estados Unidos. Back home in Mexico, his neighbors would have known what he was doing and they would have shriveled his cojones into pimples.

Michael in LA: We get old and the knowledge mixes reality with fantasy. We don't know what we have now. We used to be smart.

mary mary: Read what i wrote for Michelle

keepsmiling7

begonia9508


Chapter 7

His army now lost in the smoke, which was burning his eyes, Eloy began looking for a direction to run. There were four men in front of him. They were carrying bright, shiny white shields. Their swords were glinting light that showed through even in the heavy smoke. They were a consideration, but what scared him most was the four women. They were covered in blood and by the way they were swinging their swords, the blood wasn’t theirs.

The women were barefoot and as they advanced, Eloy could hear the bones that were all over the mountaintop, crackling as they were crushed under foot. These women were experienced. Sand burrs or sharp rocks gave way to battle hardened feet. There was one woman whose face showed anger. She was bandaged where someone had tried to gut her. Her intent was to swing her sword until there was nothing in front of her. Two of the women spread out to take him on two sides. They showed great skill as they balanced their swords in their ready hands.

Now, Eloy was not a man of action. He was a man of magic. As he was deliberating on casting a spell on the four girls, the piñon smoke got extra strong and his eyes watered so he could barely see the women. Eloy had to make a quick decision. Fighting the four warrior chicks of Aswam was not to his liking. Seeing clearly enough to bring a spell against them was becoming harder, so Eloy did the only thing he knew. Suddenly, the women saw a quetzal bird.

Quetzal birds are rare even where they have quetzal birds. It was for Liz to ask herself how she knew what a quetzal was. It would be later that she would google and find that the quetzal bird was a bird which did poorly in captivity. It was a symbol of a land further south than where Eloy lived. In Guatemala, it was the symbol for freedom. That is what Liz, Isabel, Maria and Tess were now. They were free. Eloy would go back home to bother someone else.

It was early afternoon. Captain Sal Monté drove alone into the Los Chavez Barrio. He was in uniform to make sure everyone knew who he was. Finding Mamma Vargas’ home was easy. It was the yard where there was a black circle in front of the house. Also, in the front yard, there were several older women surrounding a Coleman camp stove stirring a large pot. They must have started early, because the smell of the posole was getting strong. Off to the side, another pot was steaming as it sat on another stove. “Capitan Sal,” one lady called out. She handed him a plate with two steaming tamales all folded up in the cornhusk. They had been slowly steaming all morning. She also dipped out a generous helping of posole. Posole is a kind of soup. It is made with hominy and pork. Hominy is corn which is preserved by being soaked in Lye water. Traditionally the posole could not be preserved and was consumed immediately before it spoiled. That made it a community celebration. Tomales are bits of shredded pork, covered in a corn meal mixture and wrapped in corn husks. The best way to fix it is to steam it. Anglos usually boil the frozen product and thus loose much of the flavor.

Pointing to a table where a surely young man was already sitting, Mrs. Vargas led the captain to join the young man. “Armando, this is the papa of the girl you have been stepping out with. He is the big honcho of the local fire department. I suggest that you convince him of your good intentions toward his daughter. That includes a future with a job so you can deserve her. It would be such a shame if the Chavez house was to catch on fire and the fire trucks got lost on the way.”

Michael woke up. The sun was a lot higher in the sky than it was when he usually got up in his apartment. Maria was curled close to him. They had all gone to their separate beds that evening. Michael had no idea of how he got here. Michael now, was sure about good and evil. The good was lying beside him and evil had been defeated when it tried to take her away.

Alex woke and he had to untie himself from Isabel’s arms. When he moved she, likewise, woke up. “Izzy, with infinite universes, there are bound to be some places where the logic I grew up with doesn’t work. We were lucky to find friends who would help guide us back to the universe where we belong,” he murmured. Alex chose not to ask his intellect how he arrived here, all entwined with his girl.

Kyle woke with a weight bearing down on his body. The weight was made more because he was clutching something or as he now saw, someone, tightly to his chest. “Kyle, if you meant it when you asked me to marry you last night, we can start talking to Father O’Malley this afternoon,” Tess said. Kyle didn’t remember asking anything, but her body pressed against his and her hair spread across his chest was not something he wanted to take any chance of loosing. Kyle never asked questions he couldn’t understand. He was more a doer not a thinker

Liz and Max were both lying on their sides facing each other. “Liz, what do you think? Did it really happen? Max asked.

“I don’t know, Max. I need a shower. There is something gritty in my hair. It looks like pollen. We all have a bunch of schoolwork to catch up on, for our classes. Finals will be coming soon. We need to layout some guide lines about the movies we choose,” Liz replied.

The end

The banner shows bones across the top of the mountain. They are sheep bones. The sheep died in a surprise blizzard late one spring. They reminded me of the Hobbit when Frodo crossed the swamps where many men had died in the past. My thanks to Ginger for her help in religion. I hope I showed proper respect for everyone.

This story was just for fun. Ken r