| www.midnightentertainment.net Welcome to the Online Home of Midnight Entertainment "The Future of Entertainment Begins at Midnight..." |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| |
 |
| Extra Ordinary: Beginnings The Teaser |
| A Special Preview of the upcoming Illustrated Novel... |
| Downtown St. Louis at 4 a.m. had that strange, not quite bustling, not quite active, pre- dawn atmosphere. Pockets of activity on a street here and there were the only action as the city seemed to be tossing and turning, but not yet ready to stretch its figurative legs and wipe the sleep from its even more figurative eyes. A lone police patrol car made its way along a dark street lined with even darker alleys. The night had been quiet and uneventful for the two officers in the car. One, young and fresh-faced, was riding shotgun and the other, the veteran of the pair, was always…ALWAYS the driver. Shotgun glanced at his partner and broke the silence. “Have you seen the new XP-38?” |
| The driver nodded and said, “Yeah, some of the guys showed it to me…” As their car passed another alley, neither saw the enormous shadow cross behind them nor whatever it was that cast such a large shadow dart into the darkness. But, the rookie heard something. In a world of extra ordinary wonder and abilities beyond imagining, he was one of the blessed. At least, that’s what his mother always said. He, on the other hand, didn’t see a future as a costumed hero for someone whose only special power was hyper-audience…a facility for super-hearing. But, sometimes it came in handy. “What was that?” he asked, turning in his seat to look towards where he heard some sort of movement from behind the vehicle. Startled, the driver slammed on the brakes and angrily asked, “What?” “I thought I heard something back there.” The senior officer picked up his flashlight, turning it on, and shining it down the alley. “You and your ‘super-hearing,’” he grumbled, “Some guys fly, others bench press 747’s…you…” Shotgun interrupted, “Hey, having hyper-audience is no picnic for me. You think I like getting crap from you and the guys?” The driver shined his light around the alleyway’s entrance, the beam moving from the dirty grey of the street to the grungy brown bricks on either side of the alley. A newspaper page bounded out of the darkness, blown by a gentle breeze. Even with the flashlight, they couldn’t see much farther than a few feet beyond their car. “When’s the city going to finish fixing the street lights around here?” the driver wondered aloud, “It’s been six months since Voltage was down here causing trouble.” His partner held a finger to his lips and whispered, “Quiet…something’s out there. I can hear it breathing.” The driver put the car and reverse, backing up and turning the car towards the alley before hitting the high beams. The entrance to the alley lit up and the patrol car started to make its way into down the side street. They passed a fire escape on one side and a trash dumpster a little farther along. The abandoned buildings on either side showed years and years of disrepair and neglect. “Back around ’85, Johnny Granato rolled up on this construction site…” the driver said while still keeping his eyes scanning the alley. His partner scowled, “I was barely three years old in ’85.” “Anyway,” the driver continued, ignoring his young partner, “Johnny G. and his partner roll up to this work site and they hear this noise like kids whispering and clanging metal.” The young cop turned from his window and asked, “Where was this?” “The Union Station rehab,” the driver explained, “So, Johnny yells ‘Youse kids better come out with your hands high.’” “Very dramatic,” the rookie said, rolling his eyes sarcastically. The car’s headlights fell on a stained mattress where a number of rats were dining on scraps of discarded fast food. As the bright light hit them in mid-feast, the rats scattered into the shadows. “Damn rats,” the driver said, “That’s what you heard, right there…” Shotgun waved him off and said, “Never mind the rats. What happened to your friend?” “Oh, right…well, the noises stopped. But, before Johnny can grab the radio to call it in, they get attacked by these smash-faced, ugly-as-sin, little trolls.” Recognition spread across the younger man’s face as he said, “Wait…I read about this in school. The Troll Riots, right?” The driver nodded. “Right…the construction was wrecking their underground city or some nonsense and Johnny Granato stepped right into the thick of it. Took the Young Guardians and some of the other local capes to stop them.” The rookie peered through the front windshield, looking for any sign of where the mysterious noises were coming from. At the same time, the mention of the Young Guardians brought back memories from his childhood. “You know,” he said, “I had the biggest thing for Lori Liberty when I was a kid. How old was she then? 14…15?” His partner nodded and responded, “14. Same as my daughter.” Just then, the car’s police radio startled them as the static-filled voice of the police dispatcher came from the speaker. “Central Dispatch to 240-Robert. 240-Robert, respond with your twenty.” Shotgun grabbed the radio’s microphone and answered, “240-Robert to dispatch. We’re in an alley near the intersection of Fifth and Market. Investigating a possible disturbance.” “Why don’t you tell them your ‘super-hearing’ is acting up again?” the driver joked. The dispatcher said, “We are also receiving reports of a disturbance in your vicinity. The watch commander wants you to report back after finishing a sweep of the area.” Just then, a tremendous thud from behind the car rocked the two officers and shook the car as if a momentary earthquake tremor had the alley. The rookie had dropped the microphone and his partner had lost hold of his flashlight, which hit the floor and shone its beam straight into his eyes. Picking up the flashlight, the driver whispered, “I don’t need super-hearing for that.” “I don’t even want to know what that was,” Shotgun said in similarly hushed tones, “Let’s get out of here.” The driver put the car in reverse and looked in the rear view mirror as he prepared to back out of the alleyway. But, when he gazed into the mirror he saw something unbelievable, something no amount of training or experience could prepare him for. Filling the entire back window was the head of a large, dragon-like creature with blazing red eyes and long, blade-like teeth. Scales covered its face like armor and it steamed up the window with every breath it exhaled. A low rumbling could be heard building into a slight growl. The driver slowly reached over and put his hand gently on his partner’s arm. “Don’t make a sound,” he mouthed silently. As it had before, the car radio came to life and static filled the car before the dispatcher said, “Central dispatch to 240-Robert. Respond.” The reptilian creature roared an ear-shattering cry before stretching from its crouch. At its full height, the dragon was over 30 feet tall with clawed talons for hands and feet. Spreading its arms showed leathery, bat-like wings. The beast raised a claw and balled it into a fist before smashing it back down into the trunk of the police cruiser. Bits of steel and plastic flew in all directions as the monster swept its head down, opened its huge jaws, and grabbed the car with its gleaming teeth. Holding the car dozens of feet above the ground, the behemoth thrashed it back and forth. At times, the car would crash into one of the derelict buildings which lined the alley. The two officers in the car held on for dear life, screaming each time the car would fly back and forth. Inside one of the abandoned buildings, a raggedy homeless man sat in front of a sad, little fire trying to keep warm and singing to himself. Every so often, he would stoke the embers with a length of pipe which was alternately his walking stick, hammer, weapon, and all-purpose tool. As he tended to the fire, he sang, “Farewell and ado to my fair Spanish maiden…Farewell and ado to my Lady of Spain…” Suddenly, the wall across from him exploded in a rain of concrete and moldy drywall as the police car came smashing through the building. The homeless man screamed in shock, managing to lock eyes with the two cops inside the car. They screamed back in horror as the car came within inches of the old man. Just as the man had a split second to react to this new development, the car came whipping past him again, and was pulled out of the building. The hole left in the wall made it look like someone had taken a bite out of an apple. He looked down and saw a gaping hold where his fire used to be. Looking back to the hole, he could see the huge creature attacking the car. It had now stopped thrashing the car back and forth and had started banging it against the street below. (Click for more...) |