Cyber Gunslinging
A dream I had, and this is it's story.
A normal semi cloudy sunlit gorgeous day, unaware of the trouble
and dread that was in store for those witnessing it. This was a terribly
beautiful day out and about. The chaos that followed didnt start outside
however. It all started where I was. In an old antique shop. You know
the kind. The mom n pop kind of shop. The kind that gives you strange
vibes as you pass by. The one with all the yellowed walls and stained
glass lamps. Trinkets abound on shelves and counters alike. Strange
statues at every turn. An older gentleman behind the counter. A plump
jolly fellow, with a mustache, balding head, round glasses, and bow
tie with matching suspenders. There I was, observing and taking the
atmosphere in wearing my gray trench coat , my black worn jeans with
all the pockets n zippers, typical DarkCloak, right? Or so I thought.
Anyways, I'm browsing the many sights and wonders of the shop. Something
in the back of my mind telling me that I was supposed to be looking
for something in particular. Something sinister. The shop door opened,
I heard the chime behind me so I turned my head slightly to look.
A tall thin man in a black trench coat & black duster hat entered,
heading straight for the counter. It seemed as if he was completely
unaware of the kind of shop he was in. Only it didnt seem or feel
like it was a man at all. Suddenly this thing in black starts smashing
stuff, knocking things aside off the counter, the register crashing
down onto the floor, and turning his attention briefly towards the
shop keeper long enough to fling him into a wall. The black figure
then glides around the counter, tears a bookcase down and into the
floor sending books and figures flying as well. Very intent, the person
took something from a small indentation behind where the bookcase
once stood. Just as quickly as he had come in, the figure then proceeded
straight for the door, inhuman in it's calmness. Glass crunching under
neath it, carelessly stepping on priceless books and clocks.
He was gone from the store.
I wasn't sure how to react just yet, but from the corner of my eye
I could see that the owner was frantically getting up. He said to
me plain and simple... "You need to get that back! Severe consequence
would follow if we don't have it back!". I was tempted to ask who
'we' was. But I knew I had to act now, ask questions later. As I walked
fast towards the door, I could hear him rambling about the key and
the artifact of some strange name. I dont recall exactly, I just know
that it was very important, and very supernatural. As I made my way
out the door, I could see the trench coated figure pulling some poor
sap out of hisfour door beige car, and flooring the pedal in the still
running vehicle. Without hesitation, I took off after him. I gave
chase just in time to jump on the car.
Pedestrians, onlookers, and motorists all around in this moment of
sheer chaos, they must have wondered what the hell was going on. Struggling
to hang on as I lay on the back of the car, I started making my way
up to the roof. The would be thief accelerating and breaking as he
zipped through traffic, dodging poles, knocking over shopping carts,
and freaking people out the whole way... I knew where this was headed...
Our perilous speeding and struggling headed onto the express way.
I knew I had to act fast. I pull myself up holding onto the driver
side window frame and I start bashing him as he's driving, and he's
swerving and barely missing cars, trucks, even lane dividers.
We must have been going at least 80 miles per hour. He jerks my arm
back out the window, the wind resistance nearly knocking me off the
car. I managed to spiral from the momentum around and towards the
passenger door, and this was my opportunity to get myself in a better
situation. The whole appeal of being on top of the car while speeding
madly down the highway wore off very quick. I finally make it, gracefully
I am hoping at this point, to get in through the passenger window.
This only made matters worse it seemed. The wrestling and battering
continued. It then struck me. I didnt notice his face until a brief
moment as we were fighting. The moment seemed to come to a frozen
halt as I got in a glance at what I thought would be his eyes... And
my first thought was "what the fuck?".
The struggle and the winding of the car soon got me back into the
situation. I saw that we were heading towards an exit, and so I pulled
on the steering wheel while pushing his face out the window. I knew
this exit. I knew the area. It was close to my old neighborhood. I
took all this in when we jerked violently to a halt. We had just hit
a telephone pole. The cliche is that it seems to happen in slow motion.
I can't express how much that cliche' applies here. He went flying
out the car straight through the windshield, bursting out and hitting
the asphalt ahead. I recomposed myself as much as possible, and then
staggered out the side of the now smashed vehicle. Looking up, I saw
him a few feet up ahead. He then started moving, uninjured? The black
trench got up, put his hat back on as he was doing so, flashed a glance
at me, almost daring me to pursue him, and continued high tailing
it down the street.
What began as a chase, soon became a lethal shootout. He was running
through the streets, and I was not looking forward to losing my target.
Both pursuant and pursuee shooting and running, hiding behind cars
along the way, dodging traffic, pushing confused and startled pedestrians
aside, and yet it seemed as if we were on a set path of destruction.
As if this was exactly where we were supposed to be heading. He made
a quick turn into an alley, I paused, took aim, & shot his leg.
This couldnt be... it appeared as it had only made him flinch, and
he kept speeding. A roll of the eyes by my part, a frustrated grunt,
and the chase resumed. Finally, the hot pursuit came to an anxiety
and paranoia inducing halt at the mouth of the alley. Here the streets
intersected in what would form a K shape on a map. I lost him. Damnit.
I peer around, senses going crazy, looking for the faintest movement.
After what seemed like forever, a matter of seconds sluggishly taking
place, I see his head just through a car window. He seemed preoccupied
with something, as if he was completely unaware of where he was, and
what had just taken place... almost as if he was stopping for a conversation?
This was my moment, I decided to 'get his attention' again.
The bullet went right through the first and second window. exploding
in a glittery mess. Oh I had his attention all right. the shoot out
was officially continuing. Like rabid gunslingers, we shot at eachother
while moving like skilled gymnasts. Bullets flying every which way
as windows got smashed both on vehicles, buildings and houses, not
to mention the ones ricocheting off brick walls, fences, and the dumpsters
behind me. The popping sounds, accompanied by the whizzing ricochets
all seemed to be melodic. It was very dramatic. I stopped briefly
for we both had to reload.
Lucky for me I was behind a nice heavy pick up truck, and he was
right in the middle of the street. I was all loaded up and good to
go. Diving out again from behind the truck I finally shot him good.
He wasnt done reloading, and the hit landed somewhere in the throat.
Though I wasnt completely surprised after shooting him in the leg,
shockingly enough, it didnt kill him... just stunned him and immobolized
him enough for me to get up close. I took a good hard swing at him
knocking the mysterious black trenched figure down and on his back.
It was then that I really got a good look at him.
No not him...
It.
My disbelief from before was not imagined. This thing I had been
fighting was not even human at all. As it lay there stunned, attempting
to recompose itself from what I am guessing was surprise, I saw that
it's eyes were not even placed like a human's... It's eyes were arranged
more like a bug, or even more like a strange kind of video monitoring
using many little cameras and LED's. I suppose it didnt expect someone
like me to have gotten the best of it. I knew what had to be done.
I shot it in the head, and it fried, spazzed, and short circuited.
It gave a shudder as bolts, wires, and what have you fell out everywhere.
It's trench falling aside, I saw it. I picked up the relic. The item
this thing was coveting oh so much. I couldnt help but wonder why.
Why such an intricate machine was sent out to retrieve this? Why was
this relic so important? What consequences and who's? These questions
spiraled through out my mind like a tornado in Kansas.
Looking at the relic, I started walking back towards the alley.
Suddenly... I heard screeching, cars puling up all over behind me
on the K intersection. It couldn't be. That's probably what the trenched
creature was doing... the conversation as it was spacing out behind
the car.
Back up.
Squads of those things coming out of each vehicle. It was quite
a sight. Quite a creepy sight for they all looked the same. A brief
moment came to pass. I stood there before them, putting the relic
away inside my coat as robotic 'eyes' met mine. I looked across them
all before me. A hammer the size of hell was about to be dropped right
here, right now. I reacted the only way I could at this point. Guns
drawn, I started shooting like there was no tomorrow. They responded
in kind.
If the shooting from before was melodic, then this... this was a
grand symphony of burnt gunpowder, flying bullets, and spent casings.
There was too many of them I realized, as I started to retreat back
into the alley. Walking backwards, I steadily kept shooting, and so
did they. I felt something hit me. I had gotten shot. Something wasnt
right. It didnt feel right. It felt like a stone was tossed at me
and nothing more. I was shot in the arm. It was fine, the only thing
was getting jerked a bit from the impact, however the pain was next
to nothing.
A bit startled at what had happened, regardless I kept shooting,
reloading, and shooting some more. If there ever was a moment for
another one of those slow motion cliche's, this was it. Bullets whizzing
past me, the dumpster behind me in the alley now quickly becoming
swiss cheese. As much as I moved, as much as I weaved and tumbled,
I got shot again, and again. In the knee, in side of my stomach. Felt
those. The stomach hurt a little more, knocked the wind out of me
a bit, and the gunshot to the leg made me stagger at the point of
impact, this and nothing more. Somehow I was fine. Regardless of how
this was going, I kept blazing, the barrels on my guns searing hot,
as I took many of them out since there was so many of them in clumps.
Amazing, there was at least 18 of them left. Another impact, suddenly
I am looking at the sky, as I got shot right over my eye in the forehead.
My head snaps forward again,the impact from that shot was major. They
were intent on destroying me, this I knew, but I also sensed fear
in them... I kept shooting, but their gunfire had started to overwhelm
me, and I started slowing down. I just knew I had to be going down.
Needless to say, I kept pumping rounds off. Their aim seemed to be
getting better or I seemed to be moving slower. I felt more bullet
impact in the face. This couldnt be pretty. 'It's over...' I thought...
'ok, it's over'.
But it wasnt.
Despite all logic told me, I was not going down. I wasnt dying. And
then it happened, my field of vision started cracking, holes in my
sight, shattering even. As if the image before me was all painted
on glass over the deepest, emptiest, & blackest void. I was shocked.
I felt... that perhaps I was like them? But there had to be more to
this story!
What was going on with me? Yet more questions bubbled up, as more
and more of them were shot down. Was I actually surviving this? The
same question came up screaming at me... AM I ONE LIKE THEM? Maybe
more advanced? It instilled part horror, part anger, & in some morbid
and curious way, I felt wonder. I felt power. What was I that these
beings were fighting me, what was I that I could face them like this?
I did not know the answer. In fact I didn't know if I wanted to know
the answer. I just kept shooting... shooting... and my vision kept
getting fuzzy, as it kept shattering, cracking, breaking apart, and
it all faded to black as I woke up.
