Ten Years Earlier
Creighton Duke, a tall, muscular black man, had just turned in his recent bounty, a vicious wife-beater who was on the run after skipping bail. Creighton had caught up to him in a local park and taken him by surprise in order to catch him and keep the violence down as much as possible. While Creighton Duke was a strong man, capable of taking down men nearly three times his size, he didn’t like employing violence to catch his prey. He used his keen mind and logic to order to lay traps to make sure no one got hurt if possible. As soon as Duke dropped off his prey at the local police station, he received a call from a town in a local town telling him to come to the local hospital to identify a body that had been murdered recently. * Arriving at the morgue, Duke was led downstairs where a cabinet was opened and a headless body was pulled out on a slab. In a bag next to the body, a head was slowly unzipped for Duke to identify. Instead of nearly vomiting like most people would, Duke only felt heartbreak and grief for the young woman. “That’s her,” Duke said. “My cousin Sissy. She was volunteering for a summer camp this summer. How did this happen?” “Witnesses say that a masked killer named Jason Voorhees did it,” the coroner told him. “Bull. Shit,” Duke told him. “Jason Voorhees has been dead for six years. I don’t believe in ghost stories. Tell me the name of the man responsible or I’ll go out and get it, and if I catch the guy, he’ll be right here for someone else to identify.” “This is completely off the record,” the coroner told him as he pushed the body back into the freezer. “But the police report says that a mental patient has been hanging around the area, he was linked in two previous killing sprees, the first with the original Jason Voorhees and the second involving a copycat killer. Now, this is the third killing spree with the same M.O.” “So, this mental patient is going for a third round of victims, is he in custody?” “They let him go,” the coroner told him. “He was absolved of involvement when the surviving officer of the spree backed up the story.” Duke’s hand squeezed around the man’s throat and with gritted teeth and slowly squeezed. “His name.” “T— Tommy Jarvis!” “This man killed my favorite little cousin,” Duke said as he let go. “Where is he now?” “He took off right after the police arrived,” the coroner said. “Probably skipped town!” “It looks like I have new prey to hunt,” Duke said. “I’ll track him to the ends of the Earth to avenge this young lady and everyone else he’s slaughtered. And no one ever gets away from Creighton Duke when he has someone in his sights.” * Today Greenwood, Indiana In a secluded wooded area, a large three-story house sat deep in the woods. There were no neighbors around for miles and the home itself only needed slight renovations. Of course, the home itself was rumored to be haunted, something Andy Barclay would swear to since he’d heard the voices repeatedly telling to kill as he slept at night. Luckily he was able to get drunk enough to ignore the voices after a while. “It’s funny,” Jacob Johnson said as he worked on the home computer with Max Madison and Tommy Jarvis standing behind him. “There is absolutely no information about your hat, Max. I can get you a cheap knockoff, though.” “There has to be something,” Max told him. “My hat was opening portals to all kinds of different places. It’s the reason I wasn’t murdered by Jason at that cabin. I tried absolutely everything to take him out, but I couldn’t even a dent in the guy.” “Because he’s an immortal killing machine,” Tommy told him. “You think you’ve got him, but one lightning strike later and he’s back on his feet. He’s got some sort of regeneration thing going on.” “So, ever think about cutting him into pieces and burying them in different places?” Max asked as Tommy just stared at him. “Yeah, didn’t think so. So I’m basically back to square one with knowing dick about this hat.” “We’ll find something,” Jacob promised. “I’ll go to the library tomorrow and see what I can find in a physical book. In the meantime, where the hell are the others with my pizza bites?” “John and Andy will be back with groceries soon,” Tommy promised. “In the meantime, I suggest we practice at the target range while we wait.” “Oh, goody, my favorite part of the day,” Jacob sarcastically told him. * At the local grocery store, the team’s van had pulled into a parking space as Andy ran ahead to get a grocery cart with John yelling after him to slow down. Meanwhile, Creighton Duke had watched them pull in, knowing sooner or later his prey would arrive. After talking to people around town he discovered that someone connected to Tommy Jarvis usually showed up every Thursday to pick up supplies, most likely with stolen money they got from one scam or another. “Alright, let’s get this over with,” John said as he took the cart. “I hate grocery shopping. I might have Cody take this over, he’s more of a social person than I am.” “That’s why you need to start dating,” Andy told him as they walked down the cereal aisle where he spotted a row of Good Guys Cereal. “You know, a date? Where you go out to meet girls? Do whatever people do when they’re with someone they like. Hold hands or pet dogs or something.” “You have no idea what men and women do together, do you?” “I do not,” Andy said. “I just know it involves birds and bees and occasionally a midget.” “Well, anyway… I’m not ready to date yet,” John told him as he turned around to see Andy using a magic marker to draw on the faces of the Good Guys on the cereal boxes, using mustaches and black eyes. “It’s been four years and you’re still hung up on the girl who broke your heart?” Andy asked as he wrote ‘fuck you’ on the forehead of one of the Good Guys. “Move on, man.” “She’s dead because I wasn’t there to save her,” John told him. “I should have fought harder for her to stay with me where it was safe.” “Didn’t Jacob get impaled because of you when him and Tommy found you?” “But he was still alive,” John stated as he grabbed a few boxes of Cheerios. “People keep forgetting that.” “What, no Frosted Flakes?” “These are healthier,” John told him as he grabbed a few more sugarless cereals. “We have to stay in shape.” “Fuck healthier,” Andy said as he grabbed some Fruity Pebbles. “I want flavor.” “Fine, you argue with Tommy,” John said as they passed the alcohol aisle where Andy stopped. John grabbed Andy by the shirt to the next aisle. “Nope. No booze. You deal with your problems like the rest of us do, with repression and self-loathing. And maybe a little crying yourself to sleep at night. Oh, we need kleenex!” As John was about to turn the corner, Creighton Duke stood in front of the cart. “John Tate?” “I go by ’Strode’ now,” John told him. “Can I help you, chief?” “My name is Creighton Duke and I’ve been searching for you and your friends for a while,” Creighton said as he pulled out a small notebook and flipped to the correct page. “Six years ago a killer came to your private school with your mother claiming him to be her brother, a violent psychopath. He killed several people before escaping.” “My Uncle Michael,” John told him as Andy quietly snuck away. “His return broke my mother, she ended up in a mental ward because of him.” “A mental ward that she escaped from over a year ago,” Duke said. “After another round of murders. You were spotted near the scene along with a man named Tommy Jarvis. What exactly is your relationship with Mr. Jarvis? Friend, relative… lover?” “Not that it’s any of your business, but he’s my best friend,” John told him. “Is there something you wanted?” “You entered this store with one Andrew Barclay. Disappeared from foster care four years ago after the murder of his foster father. I’m going to have to ask you both to come with me.” “Yeah, no, we’re not doing that,” John told him. “You can come quietly or make a scene and I can drag you out of this store by force,” Duke told him. “Either way, you’re coming with me.” “You want to try to take me?” John asked as Duke advanced toward him. “Shit, I didn’t think you’d actually do it!” “I tried to get you to come along nicely,” Duke said as Andy let out a loud whistle, causing Duke’s head to turn. A shopping car plowed through, hitting Duke and knocking him into a display of soup cans. “Waiting for an engraved invite?” Andy asked. “Move your ass, Strode!” John started to run as Duke recovered and stood up, spotting Andy. “That’s right, big boy, follow me!” Andy ran down another aisle with Duke in quick pursuit, getting angrier by the minute and having to remind himself not to hit a child. As he turned the corner, he slipped in a puddle of vegetable oil that Andy had spilled on his way up the aisle before running off again. A few minutes later, John was trying to find Andy, who rushed up to him and grabbed his arm. “Let’s go!” As he started to run toward the front, Andy grabbed his arm. “This way! Trust me!” Duke had gotten back up, and pulled a tranquilizer gun out of his trench coat. “That punk is toast!” Duke spotted footprints from the vegetable oil heading toward the front of the store, a trail made by Andy to throw him off as the two young men ran out of the emergency exit. “We gotta tell Tommy about this,” John said as they headed to the van as he looked down at Andy’s stocking feet. “Andy… where are your shoes?” “In the van,” “Why are they in the van?” * Duke tried to push the front doors open only to find that they were tied together tightly with Andy’s shoelaces. As he looked out of the window he saw the van peeling out of the parking lot. * “I can’t believe that guy thought you and Tommy were holding hands together,” Andy laughed. “You’re not, are you? I mean, I won’t judge you for it, at least let me into the loop if you’re doing that kind of thing.” “NO!” John shouted. “I mean, there was that winter we were hiding out in Canada and we had to go for three months with no heat or electricity for three months, but we were fully clothed the whole time! We just did what we had to in order to stay warm!” Andy just stared blankly at him. “And you clearly have no idea what I’m talking about. We gotta get home and hope that guy hasn’t tracked us to the house.” “We didn’t get any food,” Andy reminded him. “We still have food at home,” John told him. “We’ll get groceries later, we have to tell the others that there’s trouble.” * Max found Cody sitting out by the pool, looking at pictures of himself with his ex-girlfriend Bridget. “You missed practice,” Max told him. “Never fired a gun before. It was kind of fun.” “Wasn’t in the mood,” Cody told him. Cody wasn’t fond of guns, he’d had to listen to gunfire outside of his window every night while living with his caretaker Morty. “Still hung up on your ex?” “She’s going to come back to me,” Cody said. “Any minute now she’s going to realize she made a mistake and she’s going to pick up the phone. You’ll see.” “And what if she’s moved on?” Cody stood up and pulled off his shirt while kicking off his shoes. “I’m going for a swim,” Cody jumped into the water, getting his hair wet as he came to the surface. “Come on, get in!” “I don’t swim, not anymore,” Max said. “The guy who put Jason Voorhees down in a lake doesn’t swim?” Cody asked. “Yeah, right. Now get in here before I drag you in.” Max walked into the house as Cody swam to the edge. “You know he almost drowned when he was younger,” Jacob said as he walked out of the house. “Really traumatized him. Guy was a swimming champion and he lost his entire future in one afternoon.” “Why didn’t he say anything?” Cody asked as he stood at the side of the pool as Jacob kneeled down and smacked him in the back of the head. “Because he’s traumatized!” Jacob shouted. “Get a towel, John’s on his way in and he says something’s going down.” * “This guy’s intent of finding Jacob and getting at the rest of us,” John told the others minutes later. “We were lucky to get away.” “It’s Jacob’s grandparents,” Tommy realized. “I knew they’d eventually find a way to track us down. They must have hired someone to bring him back. Does he know where we live?” “No,” John told him. “Otherwise he probably would have confronted us here. But this guy looks dangerous.” “Relax, there’s six of us,” Cody told him. “There’s no way can he take all of us.” “Numbers don’t mean dick in our world,” John told him. “He’s right, Jason Voorhees on taken on entire groups at once and slaughtered them all,” Tommy said. “We need to be on our guard and have a plan if he shows up here. Our top priority is keeping Jacob safe. Where’d he go?” * Upstairs, Jacob was quickly packing what he could. “I gotta get out of here,” Jacob said as he packed as much underwear as he could into his backpack. “I can’t go back to that town.” Andy stood at the door, wishing he had a drink right now. “He doesn’t even know where we live.” “Doesn’t matter,” Jacob told him. “If he finds me, I’m dead. Freddy will kill me the instant I step into Springwood.” “Didn’t you beat Freddy?” “I took away his power,” Jacob said as he started shoving socks into his bag. “He’s probably already recovered and is more powerful than ever, but he’s bound to Springwood. He can’t get me if I’m nowhere near there.” “So you’re running away?” “I’m going back to L.A.,” Jacob said. “At least until I can get overseas. Maybe I’ll dick around Europe for a few years, but I ain’t going back to Springwood!” Andy walked over and slapped Jacob in the face as hard as he was able. “Listen to me, you whiny little bitch! You’re the fucking Dream Master! You have powers most of us only dream of and you’re running away just because a guy with a bad facial complexion has it in for you? Grow the fuck up. You’re not going on anywhere. You have five brothers that are going to protect you. This guy wants you, he has to go through us. So grow up and help us figure out how to stop this guy because no one’s taking my family anywhere.” “You think I’m family?” Jacob asked. “You guys are the brothers I never had, and never really wanted,” Andy said. “You guys have always been to bat for me, so now it’s my turn. Get your ass downstairs, we’re not letting anyone take you.” Jacob sniffled a little as he hugged Andy. “Okay, now you’re making it weird.” * “This guy’s hanging around town, waiting for us,” Tommy said. “At some point, someone’s going to tell him something that’ll bring him to us, so we have to counter that. Maybe lead him somewhere where we have the upper hand.” “The farther away from this town, the better,” Cody told him. “Maybe somewhere so we can face him one to six.” “We also need to find out as much as we can about this guy,” Tommy said. “You said his name was Creighton Duke? Maybe there’s something online about him.” “I’ll start checking,” Max told him. “Maybe Jacob can get inside his head.” “No,” Jacob immediately said. “I’m done invading people’s private space. I don’t like going into people’s dreams without their permission.” “Fine, but in the meantime, someone should go back into town and trail this guy,” Tommy said. “John? Take the van, but be careful. As soon as we figure out a game plan, we’ll call you with the details. Stay safe, buddy.” “I don’t remember volunteering for this,” John said as he grabbed his keys. “You’re the only one with a license besides me.” “I have a learner’s permit,” Cody said. “That expired two months ago.” “We need more older dudes in this group,” John said as he left. * “Why can’t I use my sword?” Andy asked as he was handed a .38 to keep in his back pocket. “I’m better with a sword.” “Because you have to be close in range to use a sword, and it this guy’s as dangerous as I assume, I don’t want you getting close to this guy,” Tommy said. “John, Cody and I will take him hand to hand if it comes to it. If all else fails, Max is to take you and Jacob and portal away.” “Portal to where?” Max asked as he sat at the computer. “I don’t even know where to go where we’d be safe. I haven’t even used this power since Crystal Lake.” “Anywhere that’s not here,” Tommy told him as he saw Jacob sitting on the couch, handing him a gun. “Relax, he’s not getting anywhere near you.” “You can’t protect me forever,” Jacob said. “Even if we beat this guy, how do we know they won’t just hire someone worse?” “Why don’t I just go to Springwood and talk to your grandparents?” Tommy said. “Make them see that you’re not safe in that town.” “Because Freddy will get you,” Jacob told him. “Or they’ll have you arrested. Or my Grandpa will shoot you himself. You wouldn’t be safe in Springwood.” “We’ll figure something out,” Tommy promised. “But you’re not going back there.” “Alright, here’s everything on Creighton Duke,” Max said as he looked at the screen. “It’s not much, but he’s a bounty hunter, and he’s good at what he does. No one’s ever gotten away from him. And apparently, he’s after you, Tommy.” “What? Why?” “For kidnapping Jacob, you idiot,” Max told him. “His grandparents are offering a 5,000 dollar reward for his safe return. Plus Duke has money out for info leading to your location. Not you, just your location.” “Probably wanting to take me in himself,” Tommy said. “If he’s so hard up for this fight, I’ll go to him. Alone.” “You can’t!” Jacob said as a crash was heard from outside. The group looked out the window to see the van sitting in a ditch. “JOHN!” The team rushed over to the van, finding no one in the driver’s seat, only John’s torn shirt sitting in the seat. Tommy saw a note and picked it up. “He’s got John,” Tommy said. “There’s an address saying to bring Jacob or we’ll never see John again.” “Well, looks like tonight assholes die,” Andy said as he pulled out the .38. “He’s fucked with the wrong group.” “Let’s go get our boy back,” Tommy told them. “Jacob, I want you to stay behind.” “Fuck. That,” Jacob told him. “He kidnapped our brother. We’re taking this asshole down a notch, so all bets are off. Let’s get John back.” * In an old abandoned factory the next town over, an unconscious John had been handcuffed to a pipe with his hands over his head. Not too far away, Creighton Duke sharpened a knife in the corner. The others that came he’d only capture and take to the police, and Jacob & Andy would be returned to Jacob’s grandparents and the foster care system. But Tommy? Tommy Jarvis wouldn’t leave the factory alive. * “This is the place,” Tommy said as the van pulled up to the factory. It didn’t take long to get the van out of the ditch once everyone pushed at once. “Alright, Max & Cody, you two sneak in through the back. Andy and Jacob, you climb that fire escape and go in through that window up there. I’ll go in through the front door and hopefully draw his fire. We’ll all meet up to find John. And if things go south, Max, you get Jacob and Andy and portal the hell out of there.” “I don’t like this,” Jacob said. “I don’t want to run away like that.” “Look, it doesn’t matter what happens to me and Cody,” Tommy said. Cody raised his hand to protest as Tommy looked at him. “But if you get taken to Springwood, it’s all over. This is all to protect you.” “Even if all of you die?” “Let’s just hope it doesn’t come to that,” Tommy said. “Let’s do this so no one dies, not even this asshole who took our friend. He’s human from what I can tell, and we don’t kill humans.” As the team got out of the van, Duke watched them on a surveillance camera as they headed toward the building. * “Here we are,” Andy whispered as he pried the window open once they reached the top of the fire escape. “If this guy’s hurt John…” “I’m sure he’s okay,” Jacob said as they crawled through the window. “Why haven’t you gone into his dreams to check on him?” Andy asked. “You could probably even find out where he is in here.” “Because I’m scared,” Jacob told him. “I’m scared to look because… what he is hurt or worse and I can’t do anything to help him? What if he hurts any of you? I’d never forgive myself.” “You’re scared?” Andy asked. “John’s the first person since I lost Danny that I’ve seen as a true brother. I mean, you’re all like family now, but John? I do care about him more than anyone. I don’t want to lose him, either.” “Andy Barclay actually cares about someone?” Jacob asked. “I never thought I’d— Oh, fuck.” Jacob felt his neck, where a tranquilizer dart had just been shot into him. He fell to the ground as Andy pulled out his gun. “JACOB!” Before Andy could stand up, two darts were shot into his chest. He fell backward as Duke stepped into the light. “They’re just tranqs,” Duke told him. “Powerful ones. You’ll both be asleep for at least 12 hours, just long enough to kill Jarvis and get you two home safe.” * Cody and Max broke through the back door of the factory as Cody pulled out a flashlight. “How are you at hand to hand fighting?” Cody asked Max. “Not very,” Max told him. “Got beat up a lot in school. You?” “Raised on the streets after my parents died,” Cody told him. “My guardian Morty took me to the local gym a lot. Learned how to defend myself through boxing.” “You don’t have any other family?” Max asked. “I have an older sister somewhere, but I’ve never met her,” Cody told him. “They put her up for adoption when she was born because my parents weren’t ready to have a kid yet. She’d be about five years older than me now.” “Ever think about trying to find her?” “Nah,” Cody said. “Why would she want the loser brother she never met hanging around? Besides, she’s probably got a good life now.” A creaking sound came from across the room as Cody pulled out a small crossbow. “Where’d you get that?” Max asked. “The weapons cache,” Cody told him. “I hate guns. Alright, asshole, let John go and I won’t have to use this.” “Go ahead,” Duke told him. “But you might want to step a little closer.” “Max, go find Andy and Jacob, keep them safe,” Cody said. “I’ll keep this guy occupied.” The two stepped forward, hearing a strange noise like a string snapping. They looked down to see two snares wrap around their ankles before yanking them into the air, suspending them upside down in the air six feet over the ground. As soon as they were pulled up, Max’s hat fell off of his head, landing on the ground. “Behave yourselves, boys,” Duke told them. “You won’t be there for long. I’ll call the police to get you once I’ve finished my business here.” “That’s nice of him,” Cody laughed as he looked at Max and stopped. “We’re going to jail.” * Tommy had his gun ready as he stepped through the back entrance of the factory, finding he was in a loading dock. “Alright, just have to figure out where he’s keeping John,” Tommy told himself. “I just hope the others are okay.” As Tommy slowly walked through the area, a security camera was keeping an eye on him as Duke watched from a security room, waiting for the right moment to avenge his lost loved one. TO BE CONTINUED…
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Ed's Note - Be sure to catch up on Mighty Max, and then NW: The Gathering, before you carve into Nightmare Warriors!
by Tobias ChristopherJust a body. Meat, bones, some skin... Archives
July 2020
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