The Fury
Issue #13
by Tom Zjaba

Chapter 14
Tables Turned

    Trying to fill his bags as fast as possible, Jack jams his clothes into a suitcase. His haste makes him drop socks and underwear on the floor. Luckily his mental powers allow him to easily retrieve them, without having to physically get them. He knows more men are on the way and he wants to get out of here as quickly as possible. With the suitcase packed, he grabs his duffel bag of money and heads out the front door. The minute he opens the front door, he feels something is wrong. He seems to be developing a sixth sense. Pausing for a moment, he looks around and sees nothing out of the ordinary. Before he can do a mental scan, two cars come rushing down the street. Both cars are big, black Cadillac that have no license plates on them. Hanging out the rolled down windows are men wearing shades and bandanas. Not only are these men hanging out the window, but they are all carrying machine guns. Jack does not need to read their minds to know what they are up to. He rushes back through the door as the cars pull in front of his house. He slams the door and hits the floor as the sound of gunfire fills the air. In seconds, hundreds of bullets are riddled into the house, putting holes in the walls, breaking out windows and destroying everything in their path.

    Jack was able to put up a mental shield, which has deflected a dozen bullets. The strain of the bullets is felt as he strains to keep up the shield. Sweat pours down his face as he crouches on the floor, watching his house get destroyed. The inside of his house has bullet holes everywhere, as the bullets keep coming. His television has numerous bullet holes through the front and in the side. His lamps are busted, his couch has a dozen bullet holes and his walls are full of holes and chipped paint. After a minute and over a thousand bullets, the gunfire stops and he hears the cars pull away. Waiting a minute to make sure they are gone, he slowly rises from the floor. Fearing they may have left some men behind, he keeps his shield up. The strain is wearing him out, but it is better than getting shot in the head. He looks around the room and realizes that everything is destroyed. Only his luggage that was inside his shield is still intact. The front window is shattered, with glass shards scattered around the room. The front door has a hundred bullet holes in it, but surprisingly is still standing. The light floods through the many holes, giving the room an strange feel. As he looks around, he sees there is nothing left. It's a good thing he has not become attached to this house as it is trashed. He walks up to the front window and looks out. He sees no one in the general area and does a mental scan of the immediate vicinity. All he gets is frantic thoughts from his neighbors who are calling the police.

    Not wanting to go back out the front door, he turns around and heads to the back door. As he steps in his kitchen, he sees that it was not spared from the onslaught as many of the bullets went through his living room walls and continued their journey through the kitchen. Not wanting to get anymore upset, he tries not to look at the mess and just walks out the back door. He keeps the shield on the entire time as the last thing he wants is to be ambushed.

    As he steps into the small backyard, he takes one last look at his house. He hates to just leave it, but it is no longer safe to live here. With the goodbyes done, he flies off into the sky and heads away from the city. Right now, he needs to get away and think of his next step. Too much has happened today to try and retaliate. It is best to go somewhere safe and think about his next move.

    The first place he thinks of is a lake that he once camped at. It was about twenty miles outside of town in a park. When he was riding the rails across the country, he remembers stopping there and spending a night. There were cabins and it was so peaceful. He thinks for a moment on which direction it was. It has been years since he was there. Not quite sure, he decides to head west and find somewhere suitable. So for the next hour, he flies west, hoping to find a good spot.

    Deacon knocks on Justin Rage's door and prepares to deliver the news. The news is anything but good. No one wants to deliver bad news, but it is part of his job. When you are second in command, you are forced to do the jobs that no one else wants to. And delivering bad news is at the top of the list. He pauses as he prepares to knock on the door. Looking up, he sees the ever present camera. When he goes to knock on the door, he hears a voice call out "Come in." That always unnerve him. Even though he knows that he is being watched, the thought still freaks him out.

    Stepping into the office, he feels the glare of Justin Rage's glare. "Is any of your news good?" he asks from behind his large desk. Deacon knows this won't be easy, but he blurts it right out. "The only good news is you don't have to pay out your bounty." Justin Rage crosses his arms and stares right at him. "I take it the bounty hunters failed." Deacon looks down as he says "Two of them were killed. The third one has fled town."

    Justin turns his chair to face the large window behind him. His back is turned to Deacon as he asks "And what about the men who were supposed to make sure the job was done? Did they fail as well?" Deacon looks out the window as well. It is a spectacular view of downtown North Harbor. He waits a second for Justin to turn back around as he can see him moving. "They went there and riddled the house with over a thousand bullets. But from the police reports, only the two bounty hunter's bodies were recovered.

    Rising from his chair, Justin looks right at Deacon and says "He is still alive and probably heading this way. There is only one thing left to do." Deacon looks at him as he dreads hearing it. He just nods in agreement as Justin says "Time to send in Psyclone." As he says that, he hands the surveillance picture from the hotel elevator to Deacon. With the picture in hand, he turns and heads out of the office.

    Jack finds a lake and flies down to get a better look. He is not sure if it is the same lake that he camped out at years ago, but it looks safe and secluded. With some luck, the bounty hunters won't be looking for him out here. A few days of solititude should help him clear his head and plan his next move. He lands in the woods, so not to draw attention to himself. He then steps out into a clearing and looks out at the lake. The lake is calm with a few boats floating on it. Some people are fishing at the edge of the lake and there are a few kids swimming off to the side. He smiles as he looks around at the peaceful scene.

    His first order of business is to find a place to stay. As he looks at the various cabins around the lake, he wonders if there is a place to rent them. Thinking back to his past life, he remembers co-workers who would rent a cabin for a week. He tries to think about what they did. It was a long time ago and many bottles of cheap booze since he a steady job. The details are hazy. Did they use a relative's cabin or did they rent one in advance? He knows they would go the same time each year, so it could be some kind of time share deal. The area doesn't look very crowded, so it is possible to find a cabin.

    Walking up to a man fishing, Jack decides to see if he can get some information. "Excuse me." he says as he walks towards the man. The older gentleman dressed like a true fisherman, with wading pants and even a hat with lures on it, turns to him and says "Whatcha need?" Jack smiles as he asks "Is there a place where I can rent one of these cabins?" The guy gives him an odd look. It isn't every day that a man walks out of the woods and asks to rent a cabin. "Well, most of these here cabins are rented months in advance. Heck, some of us old timers have been coming here every year for decades." Jack keeps smiling as listens to the man talk. "Not saying you can get a cabin, but if you go down that road and veer towards the right, you will come to a small store. That there store is where you can buy all your supplies, including live bait. They also are where you get the keys to the cabins. If anyone can help you out, that is the place."

    Jack smiles and nods in appreciation. "Thanks, I will check it out." He knows it is not a sure thing, but it is a chance. With a direction, he starts heading down the road in search of the small store. If nothing else, he should at least be able to buy some supplies. He could always just camp outside.

    After a half hour walk, he finally reaches the small store. The sign outside says "Mel's Bait and Tackle." But from the various signs in the window, he can see they sell so much more. There are signs for beer, pop, potato chips and more in his window. Jack walks up to the door and reads the small sign that says "Pine Lake Cabin Rentals." As he enters the store, he sees an older gentleman sitting at the counter, reading a newspaper. He looks around the store and sees it is stuffed with merchandise. There is a row of fishing rods along the one wall. The far wall has stacks of different kinds of beer by the case. Hand written signs are stuck to the wall above the stacks, showing the different prices. Through the middle is rows of shelves, filled with food, camping supplies and basic items. On upper shelves are boxed tents, sleeping bags and coolers. The man looks up from his newspaper and says "Can I help ya find something?" Jack looks around at all the stuff and says "I was wondering if there are any cabins for rent?" The man brings the newspaper back up and says "You go online and make the reservations. All we do is hand out the keys."

    Jack walks up to the counter and stands in front of the man. He reaches in his pocket and pulls out a wad of money. He counts out a thousand dollars and places it on the counter. "I am looking for a place for a few days." He pushes the money underneath the man's newspaper. He quickly puts the paper down and counts the money. He then looks at Jack with a strange look on his face. "Say, you ain't running from the law or anything are you?" Jack laughs as he says "Do I look like a criminal to you? I am just a businessman that is burned out from work and wants to spend a few days fishing without a boss or a wife yelling at me." The man laughs as he says "I can understand that."

    Turning around, he looks through the various boxes for each cabin. After a quick search, he pulls out a set of keys. "I have a cabin that is vacant for the next three days. But I need you out in two days because we need to make sure the place is clean." He hands the keys to him, but before he lets them go, he says "I will need a credit card for a deposit. Just in case you decide to trash the place." Jack smiles as he reaches in his coat and pulls out his wallet. He hands him a credit card and says "I understand."

    Once again, Deacon finds himself outside the room that houses Psyclone's legos. The guard looks at him as he says "You are a man with a death wish." Deacon looks back at him, trying to hide the fear in his eyes. If he could dump this job on anyone else, he would in a heartbeat. But he knows that Justin specifically gave him this job. He looks in the small window and sees Psyclone floating in the air, maneuvering legos around as he builds a replica of the Forbidden City in China. The work is amazing as the pieces float in the air and are moved around to their destinations and neatly stacked. He opens the door and takes a deep breath. No matter how many times he does this, it still scares him. The chill he feels down his spine is very real. Psyclone could kill him with a single thought.

    Psyclone does not acknowledge his existence. His back is turned and he concentrates on his work. Deacon walks over to one of the temples and kicks it with his foot. Pieces fly everywhere as his foot knocks a large hole in the building. The minute he does it, he pulls out a blown up picture of the Fury and holds it up. Very slowly, Psyclone turns around with a pissed off look on his face. "Who dares knock over my legos?" The knocked over pieces rise into the air and start to swirl in a circle. Deacon holds the picture out in front of his face and says "He did it. This is the man who smashed your legos." Psyclone's youthful face turns beet red, which contrasts his blond hair. "He will die!" he screams as the swirling lego pieces fly all over the room. Deacon covers his face with his hand as he is battered by the tiny bricks. Almost immediately, Psyclone turns around in mid-air and flies out of the room. Deacon puts down his arm as he watches the most dangerous man on earth fly off. He makes a sign of the cross and hopes that he is never on Psyclone's hit list.

    Later that evening, Jack is settled into his cabin. With everything packed away, he is enjoying a fire he made outside the cabin. The fire is blazing hot and he is cooking some hot dogs he bought at the bait shop. A small cooler sits next to him with a six pack of beer. He knows that he should not drink any alcohol, but after all he has been through, he feels that he is entitled to a few cold ones. With his new found powers, he is confident that he will not fall back into his old life.

    As the hot dogs are almost ready, he feels a sharp pain in his head. It feels like a knife was shoved right between his eyes. The pain is so great, he drops the stick he was roasting with, into the fire. The flames engulf the hot dogs. Grabbing his head with his hands, he screams out in pain. The pain causes him to close his eyes as he tries to will it away. But no matter how hard he tries, he cannot stop it. It gets so bad, that he feels nauseous. He starts to gag as he feels like vomiting.

    Suddenly, the wind grows in intensity. From a light breeze to powerful winds, What seems like a storm blows in out of nowhere. Swirling winds grow in strength as they whip across the fire, blowing flaming embers everywhere. Jack covers his face to keep from being burned in the face by the flaming debris. He struggles to stand up as the combination of a massive headache and tornado like winds, work against him. Against the odds, he rises to his feet and digs deep into his mind to stop the pain. It takes a great effort, but he is finally able to stop the throbbing headache.

    With the pain stopped, he looks around at the storm and the damage that is being done. Tree branches are snapping off like twigs and flying around. Some of the embers that were blown around, are now starting fires of their own as fallen leaves and broken twigs create the perfect kindling. Looking around, Jack is unsure what is happening. But what he does know is that it is no longer safe to be here. He needs to leave immediately. Grabbing his bags, he prepares to fly off, when he sees something that sends a shiver down his spine. A man floating in the air is coming down towards him. He glows in an eerie light that illuminates him. Not sure what to do, Jack just watches as he floats down and stops mere feet above him. This young man with a crazed look on his face, looks down at Jack and says "No one messes with Psyclone's legos!"

The Fury © Tom Zjaba 2006-2009