Odessa, Texas The small football town of Odessa was ready for the big celebration when the local high school won the big football game that night. The town wasn’t that big and football was pretty much all they had. All the hopes and dreams of everyone who lived there depended on the football team bringing them victory. As families had gathered on the streets to start the day, a man carrying decorations ran across two young girls playing jump rope. “Are you ready for the big celebration?” the man asked as Rhoda and Esther looked up with a creepy smile. “We are here to celebrate something,” Rhoda said. “The death of everyone in this town,” Esther told him as both pulled out knives. Screaming was heard all over the street as adults started falling over dead all over the place with slashed throats and impaled bodies. Henry and Mikey opened the door to the local coffee shop as Henry smirked while holding a crossbow. “Today’s special is a very painful death,” Henry said as he fired a bolt through a man’s forehead. As people were running outside, a man was tripped as he fell forward. He looked up to see a boy wearing a white porcelain mask. “No running in the streets, you’re breaking a rule,” Jude said as Joshua walked forward with a baseball bat and started hitting the man in the head. Not too far away, Danny Strode stood near a truck as children were being rounded up and tossed in. “Get as many as you can,” Danny said. “There are special plans for the children of this town. Hurry because the Nightmare Warriors are due to arrive soon. Our special guests must be greeted warmly.” * “So, what’s this hot tip?” John asked as the van headed toward Odessa. “And what was so important that we had to get up at midnight to get on the road?” “It’s the little douche nugget with a crossbow that tried to kill me at Westin Hills a while back,” Tommy said. “He was making trouble near Odessa, leaving a trail of bodies behind him with some friends.” “Henry Evans,” Jacob told them. “Not much on him besides the police report that he killed his infant brother and tried to get rid of the rest of the family before he was thrown off of a cliff. That’s where the story gets interesting because they never found the body, but there were reports that someone found him with his face split open like a watermelon at a Gallagher show. Some sick fuck stitched him back together and I guess by then what little shred of sanity he had was long gone. Outside of a few odd sightings, there’s nothing on the kid beyond that.” “And he wields a crossbow,” Max said. “And why did we leave Cody behind again? You know, the guy who actually knows to hit a target with said crossbow?” “Because he’s still broken,” John said. “You know how he reacted after everything that happened with Robbie Freeling*. I think Cody’s got PTSD from that and from being nearly being raped by those killer trees*.” (*Last issue and Nightmare Warriors #2 - TC) “I think he just needs time to recover,” Tommy told him. “He’ll be fine, we left Andy with him. What’s the worst that can happen?” * Cody Ingalls sat on the floor of the bedroom that he shared with Jacob Johnson. Cody was in his boxers, not having left the bedroom in over a week. His spirit had been broken ever since leaving the Freeling house only for things to get worse once he got home. he had several day-old stubble on his face as he had to constantly push his hair back from his eyes as he sulked. A knock came at the door as Andy Barclay slowly came in with a tray of food, setting it on the table as he looked around to see the laundry basket in the corner. “Well, at least you’ve been changing your underwear. That’s a positive sign and…” Andy looked at the hair on Cody’s chest. “Wait, how do you have so much chest hair? I can’t even grow one!” “I’m not hungry,” Cody whispered as he leaned his head back. “Hey, I worked hard to make that toast, you’re eating it,” Andy told him. “You have to leave the house sometime. Don’t you want to meet a nice girl or something? Or what if Bridget gets a concussion and decides to come back?” “Bridget’s not coming back,” Cody told him. “I checked her Facebook like I usually do in case she tried to re-friend me and…” Cody showed Andy his phone. “She’s engaged? And she’s marrying…,” Andy looked at the burly black man in the photo. “Holy shit, look at the muscles on that guy. He looks like he could kill you with one finger and use your pelt to make a winter coat for his future wife.” “It’s over,” Cody said sadly. “No girlfriend, I’ve got a Leprechaun bounty on my head, and I’m out of clean underwear as of today. I’ve got nothing left.” “Start going commando like I do,” Andy told him. “At least you’ve got your chest hair. Seriously, what do I have to eat to get mine to grow in like that? You’ve still got your friends. And you’ll find another girlfriend. When I’m old enough to actually date Carol Anne, we’ll double date!” “Go away,” Cody told him. “I just want to be alone.” “Fine,” Andy said. “But I’m going to get you out of this room.” * The van pulled onto the street as the team got out and looked around. “Look at that banner,” Jacob said as he pointed up. “They’re having a football celebration for the school football team.” “Some celebration, no one’s even around,” John told them as he reached inside his jacket for his .38 while listening around. “Hear that? It’s dead quiet in this town.” Tommy stopped to listen as well before he heard a noise. “Duck!” Tommy pushed Max out of the way just before a bolt landed on the wall in front of them. “It’s an ambush!” “Yeah, but where are they?” John asked as Esther rushed around the corner, cutting John’s arm with a knife before running away. Before they could rush to his aid, Joshua ran out, hitting Tommy in the back of the knee with a ball bat. “Kids? We’re being attacked by kids?” Tommy asked. “And they’re running off in different directions, they’re trying to separate us!” Jacob realized. “I say we get in the van and—“ As Jacob said that, two dump trucks arrived, dumping dead bodies right in front of the van. “Great, I guess we have to deal with these little bastards before we can get out of here,” Max said. “Stay together,” Tommy told them as he tried to wrap John’s arm with his torn shirt sleeve. “We don’t know how many of them there are.” “I count seven,” Jacob said. “I can hear their taunting in my head. Seven voices, all of them evil.” “And there’s only four of us,” John told them. “What do we do?” “We fucking fight these little demons,” Tommy answered. * “Andy isn’t with them,” Loomis said as he watched the team carefully walk down the street. “I need that boy before we can proceed. Kill the others, we’ll just go and get Andy ourselves. We’ve known where they’ve been hiding for quite some time, with no one else there we can grab him quite easily. Send the men and tell them to bring the boy alive and kill anyone else.” As Loomis said that, two robed guards stood outside, listening to everything being said. * “Hey, you can’t do this to me! Put me down!” Andy shouted as Cody had him over his shoulder as he carried him down the stairs. “I’ll kick your ass!” “Yeah, you’re great against killer dolls, but I’ve got two feet on you and more muscle. You weigh like, ten pounds,” Cody said. “I’m putting you outside until the others get home so you’ll stop bugging me.” “You know I can just climb through a window, right?” “Windows and doors are locked, there’s no getting back in,” Cody said as he carried Andy outside and prepared to throw him into the grass. As he got ready to toss Andy, Andy grabbed Cody’s boxers to to try to hold on as he was let go, tearing them as he flew forward into the yard. As he sat up, he realized he had what was left of Cody’s boxers in his hand. “AH!” Andy shouted as he tossed them away. “I’m going back inside,” Cody said, ignoring the fact that he was now nude as he went to open the closed door and the handle wouldn’t move. “ARE YOU KIDDING ME!?” “Where are your keys?” “In my pants,” Cody said through gritted teeth. “Upstairs.” * In Odessa, Esther and Rhoda were walking with knives as they stalked their prey. “The one I stabbed is cute,” Esther said. “Maybe I’ll keep that one alive as my personal pet. I always did like younger men.” As they walked, they didn’t realize John was right behind them with a jump rope in his hand. * Jude and Joshua were in the alley, having believed they’d followed Max down the alley. “He’s here,” Joshua said. “I’ll cripple him. You slash his throat.” “That’s messy, I have to keep my clothes clean,” Jude told him. “It’s against the rules to get my clothes dirty.” “You care about your appearance, I respect that,” Joshua as he stepped forward, falling through a portal. Jude stepped back as he fell into another portal, screaming as he fell. “Have fun in Detroit you psychotic little fucks,” Max said. * Henry continued firing bolts as Tommy, who grabbed a garbage can lid and flung it as hard as he could, hitting Mikey when he tried for a running attack. “What made you little morons decide to team up?” Tommy asked as Henry to reload, but Tommy was already on him. “Jealous of our team?” “No, it had nothing to do with the money, you idiot!” Henry shouted as the two started wrestling. “Getting paid to kill people? Best job ever!” “Paid? By who?” Tommy asked as he punched Henry. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” Henry asked as he kneed Tommy in the groin. As he fell to the ground, Henry started running. “You won’t live long enough to find out!” Mikey started running after Henry, but Tommy grabbed him by the leg, tripping him up. “No you don’t!” Tommy shouted, putting his arm around Mikey’s throat. “You’re going to answer some questions, kid.” “I’ll kill you!” Mikey shouted. “Let me go!” “After you fill me in on some things,” Tommy told him as he pushed Mikey toward the street as he saw John. “You deal with the Shining twins?” “Tied up in the alley back there,” John said as he saw Max. “Yours taken care of?” “Sent them to the closest thing to Hell I could think of,” Max said. “Where’s Jacob?” “I think I saw him chasing the last kid to the park,” * Jacob arrived at the park and headed toward a tree. “I can sense you here, you know. Your willingness to shed innocent blood is like a homing beacon.” As he rounded the tree, Jacob quickly jumped back before a falling scythe could finish him. As he recognized Danny, Jacob just smirked. “The Cult did a good job of shielding you from my powers, I can only see small glimpses of what they’re planning,” Jacob told him. “What do you want with Andy?” “We want him to come home,” Danny said as he attacked in as Jacob took a deep breath and used a sonic scream to blast him back. “He is my best friend after all. He belongs to me, the Cult gave him to me to use as I please.” “He’s a person,” Jacob said as he jumped over Danny and used a spin kick to knock him off balance. “He’s finally becoming a normal kid again. The Cult’s never getting their hooks in him again.” “We’ll see once you and your friends are dead,” Danny said as he went to punch Jacob, who caught his arm and kneed him in the chest. “My friends have already beaten your crew,” Jacob informed him. “They’re on their way here now.” Danny started laughing. “Fool, we weren’t sent here to beat you, we were sent here to lure you into a trap so you could be murdered correctly.” “Jacob!” Tommy shouted as Jacob turned. When he looked back, Danny was gone. “Are you okay?” “It’s a trap!” Jacob shouted. “We gotta get out of here now!” “What are you talking about?” John asked as a rumbling started. A van nearby opened all around as a swarm of drones rose up and flew over them. “There have to dozens of them!” Max shouted as they revealed hidden weapons. “I’ll never open a portal in time to get us all through!” “We’ll be swiss cheese in seconds!” Tommy told them as the revving of a motorcycle was heard. The group turned to see a custom-built Harley spin to a stop as a man in black leather stepped off. He had a black motorcycle helmet on as he picked up a shoulder-mounted bazooka and aimed it at the boys. “Well, it was nice knowing you guys. See everyone in Hell in a minute.” “Why am I going to Hell?” Jacob asked. “The mountain of kleenex in the trash for one,” Tommy told him. “You’ve destroyed more sperm than a vasectomy clinic.” Without saying a word, the man suddenly aimed up at the drones and fired a ball over the machines. The ball exploded as thousands of tiny magnetized machines attached to themselves to the drones as they showered down. The man then pressed a detonator as a magnetic surge went through all the drones, causing a massive EMP surge that caused every drone to fall into the grass. * “What was that?” Loomis shouted as he watched the monitor. “The Nightmare Warriors should be dead! I thought the other two stayed behind! Who is that!” “Should we send more drones?” a robed man asked. “No, we’ve wasted enough resources, these fools will die another day,” Loomis told them. “We’ve only truly lost Andy for today, but we got the other thing we came for. Prepare the subjects for the test before we lose any more time.” * “Everything’s locked,” Andy said as he returned to the back of the house. “And the alarms are probably set, too. So we’d have to deal with poisoned darts and all those Home Alone style death traps if we tried to break in.” “I just wanted to be left alone,” Cody said as he sat down on the patio. “I’m quitting the team.” “Why? Just because Bridget dumped you for something bigger? Someone, I mean,” “It’s everything,” Cody told him. “Bridget, Robbie being slaughtered, having a Leprechaun bounty on my head… I’m just 16 and I’ve lost the love of my life and probably my life itself. And now I’m sitting here naked and locked out of the house. Life was just a lot easier when I was a kid on the streets trying to keep other guys from hitting on my girlfriend.” “Don’t forget you’re still wanted for murder,” Andy told him. “Yeah, life sucks. But it sucks for all of us, that’s why we’re here. We’ve all lost people we care about. My Aunt Maggie was really important to me and… the night she died I had to keep myself from crying so I could be strong for my mom. I stopped crying when I was upset except for when I knew I was alone because I had to be stronger if I wanted to survive.” Cody put an arm around him. “You’ve been dealing with this shit since you were six. Sometimes I forget how young you are. You don’t have to hold it in, kid. You need to cry, come see me. You can cry all you want, I’ve got a shoulder for you to do it on.” “So you’re going to stay?” “For a little while at least, until I get my name cleared and this tattoo off of my wrist,” Cody said as he looked at the four leave clover tattooed on his arm. “Really should see if I can find a guy that can remove curses.” A few raindrops hit Cody’s forehead as he looked up just the should of thunder was heard. Rain started pouring as he stood up. “Figures. Let’s find shelter before we catch pneumonia.” * “When I get out of here, you are so dead!” Mikey shouted as he was shoved into the van with his hands bound behind his back. “You won’t because we let you, you’re all going to be slaughtered!” “Pipe down,” Jacob said as he shoved one of Mikey’s socks into his mouth. “Let’s get this freakshow home so we can torture him.” “Hang on,” Tommy said as he approached the man on the motorcycle. “Who the hell are you?” The man removed his helmet to reveal his reddish blonde hair as he looked at the four men. “John Connor, and I just saved your asses,” “And how exactly did you know to come here?” Tommy asked. “Because the Cult of Thorn has all of us on their shit list,” Connor told him. “And unless we do something, I think they’re going to destroy the world and bring on a whole new Judgement Day. As of now, they might be in a race with Skynet to wipe out humanity.” * Andy found a blanket and brought it to Cody, who was by now shivering in the cold. “Take it, you need it more.” “I’m sorry I got so upset,” Cody said as his voice shook with cold as he wrapped the blanket around his shoulders. “I just… I loved Bridget. I thought we were going to be together forever. Just the thought of her marrying another guy… I mean, I saved her from a Leprechaun for cryin’ out loud. She’d be pushing out a liter of Leprechauns if I hadn’t come for her.” “I’ll bet baby Leprechauns are adorable,” Andy said as he sat down. “She was just a girl, though. You’ll find another one.” “I don’t want another one,” Cody told him. “I want the one. The one who loved me despite being a poor kid conning his way through life. She helped me make friends, she stood up for me against the people who said I was just a street punk that’ll never go anywhere. She meant everything to me. I would have died for her.” “That’s sweet,” Andy said as he slapped Cody. “Get over her, she’s gone. We need your head in the game! We’ve got undead murderers, dream stalkers, killer dolls, and Leprechauns coming for us! You gotta focus or we’re all going to die!” “You’re right,” Cody said. “I just— I don’t know how to deal with losing someone else that I care about.” “You’ll find a way,” Andy said as the rain stopped. “I think my bedroom window’s unlocked. I can climb the trellis and get in.” “Just be careful, I don’t want you to fall and break your neck,” Cody told him. “Once you get up there, toss me down my pants and some shoes.” “Got it,” Andy said as he headed for the house as Cody stood there. Seconds later, sounds of fighting were heard. Cody dropped the blanket and ran out, seeing a group of men holding Andy. “Put the kid down!” Cody shouted as he grabbed a metal pole as the men started laughing. “Or what? Is fighting naked your superpower?” the man asked as Cody found himself surrounded. “No, this is!” Cody swung the pole and started attacking the men, quickly knocking them all to the ground. “And because you’re such dicks, I’m gonna t-bag all of you!” A shot rang out, hitting Cody in the shoulder as the last man held onto Andy. He walked toward Cody as he lay in the grass as Andy struggled in his grip. He aimed the gun as Andy screamed. “NO!” Andy shouted. “Leave him alone and… I’ll come peacefully.” “You were already my prisoner,” the man said as Andy dropped the pocket knife he’d pulled out of his pocket. “He lives and you live.” The man put the gun away as Cody stared up at Andy. “Why?” “Because you’re my friend and I don’t want to see anyone else I care for die, either,” Andy told him as he was led away. “I’ll save you,” Cody said as he passed out. * Max and John picked up a dead body and carried it out of the way of the van. “You know we’re gonna get blamed for this slaughter,” John said. “Not like Tommy and Cody aren’t already wanted for murder,” Jacob said. “Probably Max, too for those people Jason Voorhees killed at Crystal Lake. I’ve got an amber alert on me since the police think Tommy kidnapped me and Andy’s considered a runaway. Just another reason for the police and feds to hunt us.” “So here’s my question,” Max asked. “Where are all the kids? Think about it? Everybody we’ve come across is an adult or late teenager that could fight these pricks. So where are all the younger kids?” “The Cult might have picked them for something,” John told them. “The sooner we this asshole back to question him, the better.” “So, Connor,” Tommy said as they cleared the way to their van. “What’s your story?” “I’ll tell you on the way to get your friends,” Connor told them. “I need your help to make sure that Judgement Day doesn’t come.” 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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