The following is a sample from a current work in process called Power Play. This segment comes from the chapter “Bonus Level.” This is a work in process and the final result might be different. Happy Fourth of July!
“NOOO!!” shouted Mason. The machine spewed sparks and flames better than a Fourth of July beach party. He fell to his knees and began to sob. I felt somewhat bad for him. Yes, he was trying to suck the life out of the tournament contestants in order to power his dimension drill, but he was only trying to find his lost friend.
Over Mason’s sobs, I heard a new, disturbing sound: laughter. Cold and cruel laughter coming from Christine, the assistant/Cleaner queen.
“My queen?” said one of the spider-people raising himself a little higher on his six legs.
“Fool!” hissed Christine, and I thought she was going to smack the Cleaner-subject across the face. “Your queen has been gone for many years.”
Christine pulled her fire-orange hair upwards. Along the back of her neck were what looked like black and white mushrooms. I could see pulsating black vein lines along her neck and running down towards her back and up towards her head.
She returned her gaze to us and her eyes, all four of them, were fully black. “You animals have ruled too long. Even the plants and insects have had their time to shine.” She raised her arms towards the ceiling; the drill machine launched more explosions behind her adding to the drama and making her look like some singer during a fireworks show. “Now, the fungus rises!”
The news of this new threat finally reached Mason as he stopped sobbing and slowly returned to his feet. The queen faced him with a vile and mocking expression. “Thanks to you,” she said, “I gained access to the Wyrm. Now, my lovely spores can grow across the Omniverse and once again destroy it.”
“On-once again?” asked Mason.
“There have been forty-one Omniverses before this one; each destroyed in a great Catastrophe.” She then pointed at me. “And it is all your fault.” I felt weak in my knees. How could I have caused some disaster? The fungus-Cleaner queen snapped her fingers. Three more spider-people arrived pushing in an object.
The three spider-people looked similar to the Cleaner queen; black and white fungus grew along their bodies and their eyes were all black like giant pupils. The object looked like a simple transport machine, but it also looked like a child designed it. It was made of cardboard with drawn on levers and buttons. Duct tape held up the corners and joints, and it looked like bubblegum had been placed in areas to act as patches. Laying on top of the toy machine was a familiar looking ratty red baseball cap. I knew it was the one Danny always wore. The one…I gave him as a going away present…back when we were kids.
“Behold!” said the fungus queen. “The machine that caused the time loop.” She sneered at me. “Created by you.”
Mason faced me; his mouth nearly dropped to the floor—and with how decayed the lower portion of his head looked, I wondered if his jaw might actually hit the floor. “You…made a time machine…out of cardboard?”
The ex-assistant ran a clawed finger across Mason’s cheek. “Why so surprised? Humanity can create or destroy worlds with a stroke of a pen; why not a time machine out of cardboard and tape?” She chuckled for a moment then snapped her head towards me. “That is why humans are so dangerous. They possess the most dangerous fuel source in the multiverse…imagination.”
Hope you enjoyed this brief look into an upcoming book (coming after the one I’m currently editing).
Until the next wormhole…thanks for reading!
Copyright Joe Rover 2020. All rights reserved.
Do you like sci-fi and fantasy? Hungry for adventure?
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Joe Rover 