Underneath the Crust [Chapter One]

It started on the 14th of February, when the vines fell. Hell of a coincidence, huh? So from then on we all just called it V-day. 

I've spent a long time underground, with the others. We got a system working and everything. I'm a digger. I go out with a group of guys and we dig. Where are we going? Around.

We just want to find a stable place beneath the crust. The problem with that is any kind of tremor above ground is multiplied by like a fuck-ton down here. It feels like we're always running and shit.

It was cool for a little bit, I was happy going out with the boys to dig. I even had a canary with me just in case we hit some gas.

Oh, shit. This one time we did hit some gas. Well, it wasn't me, it was Kyle Daniels. What a dumb ass. We were all just working and he came down with a pick axe and then the bird stopped chirping and fell over. I was like, "SHIT!" then I bailed. The other guys followed but Craig Roberts wasn't fast enough, or maybe he wanted to die. Its not like he needed to wake up and deal with all this bullshit anymore.

Kyle was so worked up about that, that a few months later he offed himself. Thank Jesus I didn't find him, he hanged himself in his bunk. Crazy stuff, man. His skin was all pasty white and he was all sweaty.

From that day forward we started working on a new way of digging. We started going slower and taking more precautions. 

What's really cool is, that was around the time we connected with another colony's tunnel. It was like discovering we weren't alone in the world. There had been a bunch of us when V-day happened and during those weeks that followed but we all split up in hopes of making something like looked like an ant farm. So when it happened it was like a sigh of relief, we had done it. 

We sometimes trade with the guys from the others tunnels. I got a new companion from an old Indian dude from there. He gave me an African Wild Dog in exchange for some quartz I mined. SO I started training the pup.

That was three years ago, I think. Its kind of hard to tell time down here. The village chief dedicated someone to regulating a sleep schedule. That's the closest thing we have to a day system. It kind of blows, but it is what it is. 

Other than those occasional gas ruptures or run ins with giant-ass spiders, life down here is pretty boring. Its just a bunch of work. Plus, all the chicks down here are busted as fuck and none of them have bodies. So it was a real shocker when someone came knocking on our top tunnel doors saying they were from the surface. 

-Jestro

Peas and Carrots [Chapter One]

Michael tore across the road away from the wrecked and burning SUV he had just writhed out of. He could still hear the monster screaming behind him. He nearly dove into the corn field in front of him, their stiff stalks slashed across his face making him squint his eyes. The night was pitch black and Michael couldn't see a thing besides the haunting shadows illuminated by the car's fire. They snaked their ways through the cornstalks like spectral tentacles extending out to snatch him up.
From behind him he heard the beast slam its weight into the moist soil he ran along. That made Michael's heart race and his feet sped to catch up. His breath was harsh and burned as he exhaled, it felt like swallowing razor blades as he inhaled. He closed his eyes, lowered his head and pushed himself to run faster but it still wasn't enough.
Just as he hit the clearing and felt himself break free from the cornstalks he was thrown to the ground. Two massive boney hands slammed into his shoulders. His legs shot above him and he felt his back crack. The ground was tough and burned as his face smashed into it. It didn't matter that it was damp soil, it felt like sizzling concrete.
Michael didn't even have time to breathe before a dull pain began to grow on his shoulder. The pain began to heat up and soon it felt like shards of metal were being ground into his neck. He opened his eyes and saw a small country home accompanied by an old tree, tire swing and flanked by a windmill.
Michael screamed as blood started to spray from his neck, his vision was becoming blurry. He saw a broad figure emerge from the house before everything went a foggy red.

"What in the name of Christ!?" Glen Mulburry shouted as he stormed out of his house. He had heard screaming and left with his shotgun in hand. What he saw was something from a nightmare. Just on the border of his corn field lie a man who must have been in his mid-thirties with blood spraying from his neck. On the man's back crouched a pale figure - covered with tattered grey clothing, its head convulsing at the man's neck as if it was gnawing on him.
The creature heard Glen's shouting and glanced up at him. Its face was a pale blue color, almost white. The creature's head was completely bald and had two triangular ears on either side which made it look unnatural at first glance. Blood dripped en masse from its chin. Glen followed the blood up to the creature's mouth. It was a foul thing, riddled with jagged teeth that sprouted out in every direction. The jaw was massive and looked powerful enough to break steel. Glen's gaze continued to travel upwards until it met the eyes of the creature.
They were large and completely black.
Glen felt himself sliding toward the creature as he continued to gaze into the abyss just behind the skin of its eyes.
Then he was falling.
And the whole world went black.

"Daddy!" Marlene Mulburry screamed from the living room window. She watched as her father went out to fight the monster. Her daddy always fought off the monsters under her bed and in her closet, but not this time. This time all the monster had to do was look at her father and he fell to his knees. The look on his face was absolute fear followed by nothingness.
In the time it took Marlene to blink the monster had jumped across her yard and landed in front of her father. It raised an arm, which was topped with five disgustingly long fingers that looked to Marlene like tree branches, and then swung at him. Then her window was covered in red.
Marlene closed her eyes and screamed.

-Jestro

News kinda

One of the girls I go to school with said she'd design the cover of my book once I publish it! Awwwww, yeeeeeeeeah, gurl!
Looks like Jestro is finally going to do what he's been saying he was going to do for years (besides not referring to himself in the 3rd person).
So what's it going to be everyone? Something new?
Well, I'll still write the few new ones I started.
Should I polish upan older one?
Nightmare Stare?
Confession of a Teenage Zombie?
Rabbit's Foot?
Strangers Wearing Makeup?
Star Force Gemini?
I want feedback, humans!
But in the meantime I'll continue to write. Maybe I'll add some sketches too. Like that vampire story I want to start. I'm going to redesign the traditional vampire into something that might be similar to Resident Evil 4 or like Blade 2. Not too sure yet.
Eyes Swollen Shut is also supposed to be a graphic novel, I haven't gotten to that part of it yet.
I bought a Bamboo tablet a few weeks ago, so I literally have no excuse other than laziness not to get something done.
So tell your friends that this old blog is getting a makeover!!
-Jestro

The Loop

Just here to keep myself in check.
Still procrastinating; its week 9 and I only have two weeks left after this. I'll be off for a week. That's ridiculous, right? Just a week? But I heard that at the end of the year we get a whole month off, which makes this whole one week break thing alright with me.
So I've been looking into getting this blogspot thing on my ipod so I can just write on it whenever I feel like it and then just update it to here, not going too well.
Oh, but back to the whole school thing.
I got a gig directing a student short film, well its an animated short. I'm on the writing team, no big surprise there.
That class is kind of a nightmare, I'm just hoping its some kind of scenario the teacher is putting us through to prepare us for "the industry". But once the short is done I'll post it on here so you can all see what I've spent the last nine weeks grueling over.
On another note my band (if you can really call it that), Professor Utonium's Perfect Little Girls is still working on the new album. By that I mean I'm waiting for the last of the vocalists to send me their parts. I also had to contact new people because, frankly I got tired of waiting. This album was supposed to be released June 4th. HA! That's never happened. Looking back, I was really douchey to people because I was desperately trying to get it done on time. But there are only five songs left (out of 18). So once that's done I'll put a link on here.
I want to start working on a comic. I have an idea rolling around in my head of several different "monster" stories that all exist in the same world. One of the stories is a vampire tale: I'm drawn to this one because I'd like to redesign the vampire. Something similar to 30 Days of Night and Blade 2. I even started a discussion today in my Advanced Drawing class about it. I got some great inspiration from some of my classmates.
Along with that vampire would be a hellhound of some kind. I really liked the subculture that Anne Rice created and touched on briefly throughout her books of a vampire world. I think it'd be an interesting world to create. Plus, I think that my vampire can be guarded by a hellhound. That could make for a cool relationship.
Another story would be one of possession. I'm thinking Korean or Japanese pop singer/actress gets possessed. But not by just one demon, I'm thinking several demons. There's a character from a video game called Guilty Gear, his name is Zappa. He and Emily Rose are my inspiration. I think her quest will be to rid herself of the demons, obviously. But by doing so they become trapped in her and eventually aid her in finding a way to get free.
After that the stories kind of become blurry. I like the idea of a quantum immortal and a heat seeker. I'll have to flesh them out.
Other than that its back to work.
Laterz,
-Jestro

Seventy-Seven Seconds [Chapter One]

Across the vast recesses of space eyes were focusing on the latest transmission of the M.S.S.A.G.C.R.

"And if you're just tuning in we're broadcasting live from the Escort Carrier, created by the 01 just for the games. Folks, this ship is the longest ship ever constructed in the history of space flight, its really a, really a sight to behold." A slim looking Fiod said. The broadcast was a split screen, one side showed the Fiod and the other showed two well dressed newscasters. One was a female Menkr, the other an intimidatingly large male Landi. 

"What else can you tell us about the Escort Carrier, Kariond?" The Menskr asked. There was a slight moment of silence as the transmission feed traveled to the Fiod.

"Like I said just now, its a massive ship. Its almost too big to believe." Kariond chuckled. "I was told by one of the many 01 crew members that it was really quite easy to construct."

"You'd think something as large as that would take an awful long time to build, am I right?" The Landi said. This particular Landi had adapted to be articulate. The muscles in its face were more developed to speak and show expression. 

"You're absolutely correct in that assumption, Munsk. I had the same question for the 01. But they informed me that despite its size, the Escort Carrier has no defense system whatsoever. That they are, in fact being escorted themselves by a mysterious Menskr fleet."

"Doesn't that just add to the wonder of all this?" Munsk asked.

"You are completely right." The Menskr host chuckled. "Kariond, what is the agenda for today's event?"

"Today we'll get to see the Anti-gravity crafts in action. Now I know it isn't an official race, but the preliminaries are just as important. This is the first time that the Mulitple Star Systems, spectators and sponsors alike get to see the crafts in action. Gotta tell you, a lot of money will be circulating today. So if I were you two I'd start placing some bets."

The two newscasters chuckled. 

"Well, thank you very much Kariond. But we have to cut to a commercial." The Menskr said.

"But when we return," Munsk added. "We'll have more on these preliminary races."

The elevator was cramped. They had all nine of them in there and it was starting to get hard to breathe. Only one of the racers felt good about the massive amounts of CO2 in the air and it was Xhouz. His people naturally breathed in carbon dioxide, like Earth plants. As they ascended not a single sound could be heard with one exception, the humming of the elevator's engine as it quickly halted to a stop. The two giant metal doors slid open silently and the racers stepped out in single file.

Beyond the doors was the uppermost level of the Escort Carrier. It was domed with a clear metal, it was the strongest part of the ship. On either side of the ship were two structures of bleachers extending the length of the ship. In between them was a drag strip and this was the main event for today's affairs.

"All racers report to your crafts."

Saldone Quilo and Briton Overseen had their crews just near the elevator. They walked with determination.

"So I hear all you owls can see the future." Saldone asked. "Is that true?"

"It is." Briton responded as she gracefully walked toward her craft.

"Then why race?" Saldone followed her, his skin turning to a soft pink color. "I mean, you already know the outcome, right?"

"No," Briton stopped and looked at him, her giant owl eyes reflecting two identical images of himself back at him. "not at all. D'caied see all possibilities."

"Isn't that unfair also?" Saldone asked. "You SEE everything!"

"Let me phrase it another way, what if your craft stalls at the starting line?" Before Saldone could respond Briton continued. "I don't see it as if, at the race there are 6,872 dimensions in which my craft will never leave the starting line. On the day of the race we shall discover which dimension we are truly in."

Briton turned and continued to waddle to her craft. Saldone was paralyzed, the realization had stumped him. "So is that how it is all the time for you?" He called after her.

"Yes, always." She turned her head around towards him as she waddled. "I'm pleased that we'll be entering one of the many dimensions where we're friends. They will give us longer lives."

Saldone was shocked and had no words, he simply smiled at the massive owl. She approached her craft and began talking to two other owls in a language Saldone couldn't comprehend. The sounds were not the kind you could make with a throat. The sound reminded him of the beaches of his home world: a place long forgotten by the galactic community. It made him smile. Before he knew it he was at his own craft.

"Are you ready to show these so called racers what real speed is?" One of the pit crew asked him. 

"You know it. Nothing says power like Fiod power converters." He replied with pride as he exchanged a glance with Xhouz. A sneer spread across its face. "That's right, landi. Fiod power converters." Saldone added with wink. 

Xhouz turned his gaze downward. 

"Forget about that worthless excuse for a racer." Luno said as he gracefully walked up beside Xhouz. Saldone and Luno exchanged an angry lock on each other's eyes until one of Saldone's crew approached the racer and muttered something to him in a native Fiod tongue.

"Your kind scare me, Luno." Xhouz shamefully admitted, his head still lowered with his gaze fixed on the metal flooring. "I am not a warrior, I was bred to race. That is all."

"I was bred to protect my people." Luno said. Xhouz looked up at him, he stood well above 240 centimeters. His posture was elegant in its power and force. Luno walked and others got out of his way, that sort of feeling was unusual to Xhouz. He couldn't help but enjoy it. "The only difference is I protect them in any way they need."

"What does that mean?" Xhouz asked.

"It means I'm racing here and now because that's what my people need. This is our war, unfortunately."

"How is that unfortunate?" Xhouz asked.

"We are not like the Landi, we don't evolve singularly. We are all bred to be fighters." Luno said as they neared Xhouz craft.

"But this is a fight, don't you see that?" Xhouz stopped and looked up to the massive Dolphinian. The Dolphinian chuckled.

"You might be on to something there, Xhouz. I respect that." Luno continued to walk toward his own craft leaving the Landi to ponder their conversation.

"Those Landi are pathetic." Exai said as he walked beside Luno.

"In what way, comrade?" Luno asked. 

"I mean, sure this is a fight, but he should know that I'll be walking away with the gold this time." 

"Your confidence will surely be your downfall, Exai." Luno said looking straight ahead.

"Hey, man. You know what I mean, I can feel the track, I can feel it living and breathing. Everyone else is at a disadvantage." The Voidling cocked his head upwards.

"Once you take a spill in the tiny craft you won't be feeling anything." Luno said as he approached his own craft. He stopped and looked down at the quadruped. "You had better be careful, I hear your people are moving into battle formations. You'd better be on your best behavior." With that he turned and boarded his craft.

Exai turned around and sensed D'ontox behind him.

"D'ontox, you know I don't represent my people's war, right?" He asked as they started walking.

"I do. But none of that matters here." The Autechron said. "Here we are the diplomats for the entire multiple start systems."

"Damnit, man!" Exai slammed a fist into the ground. The paparazzi near them snapped digital photos at it as if their lives depended on it. "This blows, I just want to race, I don't want us to go to war."

"Then live like the rays of Kaku and go forth. They do not care what they shine on, they just shine. Its because of that that we survive."

"I uh…don't get it." 

"It means race. What happens elsewhere or because of it will happen regardless. Now get on that craft of yours and show us why you're the only racer who rides their craft like a hover cycle." With that D'ontox patted his eyeless friend on the shoulder and continued to his craft. Behind him he heard rushed feet.

"Excuse me." Alex Quibly said in an uneasy voice. 

"My pardon, Alex." D'ontox bowed his head slightly.

"I just…" He paused and glanced behind them at the Tyberoux a few dozen steps away. "I get these horrible shakes whenever I'm near them."

"I understand completely, friend." 

"Do you? Do you really?" Alex stopped and turned to face the Autechron. He looked as though he was about to say something hateful or maybe even strike, but he glanced at the Tyberoux again and held back.

"Menskar are not the only people who became enlightened by the powers of the Tyberoux, remember that."

"You might think you know what that means, but you've never been host to them. I have! And let me tell you something-" But before he could finish his sentence D'ontox removed a bit of his skin-tight crimson body suit and revealed a massive scar on the back of his neck about the size of a fist.

"By the grace of Kaku I was saved from the parasites. His sun beams shines through their darkness and woke me." D'ontox step closer to Alex. "So believe me when I say, I understand why you feel uneasy and I empathize with your plight." Then he glanced over to Sandra and her Tyberoux who were now within hearing range. "May the graful rays of Kaku bless your races, brother Quibly." Then he bowed and headed for his craft.

Alex stood there for a few moments in silence. He was in utter shock, so much so that he didn't even react when both the Tyberoux and the 01 walked past him. The two of them walked on in silence until they reached their crafts. 

Alex wondered if there were others who would join the Menskar fight against the Tyberoux. Could they really change anything? He wanted to believe so, it was the only reason he was here in this giant game. He wanted to be the reason for others to uprise from their shackles. But now he found himself inspired by D'ontox. 

With a strange and new feeling of belonging he walked confidently to his craft and prepared for the preliminary race.

-Jestro

Just a Post

So do you guys remember when I used to write all the time?
Or maybe when I finished a story?
Well, if you answered yes to either of the following, you're in for a treat.
Its always seemed to me that I would go through these strange stages in my creative process I refer to them as my absorption phase and my flood phase. And it feels about right to flood this bitch with some creativity.
It also helps that since going to art school I've not only gone back into my ways of procrastination. So I'm hoping that this will help me get back into a schedule.
So here's to getting my shit together!

So what I need from all of you is a vote: which story should I start first? I'm still working on Paranormal Anonymous and Seventy-Seven Seconds, but I want to add to that. So should I start Dollface back up? Marionette's Maze? Silver Bullet Western? Or maybe Eyes Swollen Shut?

Or did you all want something really new? If so, I have a few new ideas.
Another western, but this one is about a gunslinging gorilla.
A new vampire story.
A super hero story.
Or a novel adaptation of Gyrochan: Giant Robot? (Hey, this one is a trilogy too)

So let me know what ya'll are thinking. Help me help myself, ya dig?

-Jestro

Paranormal Anonymous Chapter Three

It was a day just like any other when this whole story really started. I was at work.
I work with the dead.
The morgue where I work is nothing like the ones you see in the movies, its not in a basement, its not dimly it and its not quite. At least not anymore, now it sounds more like a pet store. I asked my boss if I could star working the morning or afternoon shifts, because the rats are nocturnal and its easier for me to handle them when they're falling asleep. I bring a dog kennel meant for a German Shepard to work with me everyday, I leave it just next to the door. Its unsanitary to have rodents crawling over cadavers, you know.
The raven must understand me, because he stands in front of the kennel and stands guard. But that never stops him from randomly croaking at the rats. Even though most of them are asleep there are always a couple who are awake and chewing on the kennel. Hey, if they can chew through it within the first sixty days of me buying it, its still covered under warranty, so that's good.
I try to work as far from the kennel as I can get away with, that way if a rat or two get out I can hear them scurrying across the cold tile floor. The raven is pretty good at catching them if only one escapes, if there are two or more it becomes a job for me to take over.
Hey, at least I don't need coffee to keep me awake at work anymore.
I keep my phone on just in case one of my sisters has to get a hold of me. So when my phone started ringing that's who I assumed it was.
"Unidentified" 
"This had better not be CPS." I said to myself. "Hello?"
"Rod?" It was a girl's voice that sounded like it was being buried under the screams of a crowd, all distorted in the way that only cell phones can distort things.
"Who wants to know?" I asked as nicely as I could.
"Its me, Yasmine. Is this you?" She asked.
"Uh..." I couldn't help but pause. "Yeah?"
"Yeah? Why you say it like dat? Is it jew or not, guerro?"
"Yeah, its me. But I'm at work right now-" She cut me off.
"Hey, can I axe a favor?"
I let out a sigh. She was probably the age of my oldest sister, Nancy. So saying no might be difficult.
"Sure. What is it?"
"Jew work at dat hospital downtown, right?"
"Yes, in the morgue." I started washing my tools.
"So um, I'm like in at school, like in da front, can jew like come over?"
"Why do you want me to come to your school?" I asked.
"So like...I kinda got in a fight because of dat demon I told you 'bout."
"Alright, alright. Just relax. I'll be there as soon as I can. Just don't tell anyone about the demon, got it?" I covered the cadaver up and walked to the sink to wash my hands.
"Hey, Rod?" Yasmine asked.
"Yeah?"
"Don't jew need to know where my school is at?"
"That would help, yeah." I put the phone between my shoulder and my ear and started washing my hands.
"Its in East town." She said.
"East town, got it. What's the name?" I was drying my hands now.
"East Town High."
"Alright, I know where that is. I'll be there in twenty minutes. Stay out in the front and don't talk to-" She cut me off again.
"-to anybody, I know! Just hurry up, please." With that she hung up. I walked across the room and left. The raven swiftly flew between the closing doors, banked smoothly and gracefully landed on my shoulder with nothing more than a quick flutter of his wings. I could see him in my peripheral vision looking over my shoulder, behind me. I glanced over and saw the rats pouring out of the door. They moved liked a rug with mind, it was kind of beautiful in a strange way. And hey, they chewed through the kennel, I can get that warranty replacement, nice!
With the whole gang assembled we went out to my hoopty of a car and drove for East town.

That phone conversation might need a bit of an explanation. Sherri asked all of us to exchange numbers, as a type of battle buddy mentality. Deb told all of us who hadn't severed in the military what that meant.
"I was stationed in Japan once, I couldn't trust them Japs as far as I could throw 'em. But I could trust my battle buddy. I took comfort in knowing that even though I was in a place where they done ate fish raw and took baths in groups, I still wasn't alone."
"That's absolutely correct, Deb!" Sherri exclaimed. "Its like all of us are in a place where we are the outsiders, not by our race or our nationality, but because of our..."She paused and looked at each of us as if she was about to cry. "paranormal struggles."
After that we were all battle buddies, if any of us got in over our head it was our duty to help them out. Everyone seemed to come to me first, as if I really believed in this group. To be honest, I didn't. I just thought, somewhere down in my gut that I would need help someday and I wanted a bit of karma on my side for when that happened. I was right, by the way. I was going to need everyone's help.
But we'll get to that part when we get there, I had to start collecting my karma first and the first bit of that was in East town with a foul mouthed Latina who wore too much foundation.

-Jestro