Free Serial Read - Jack Primus Part Two - Broken Bones

By Michael D. Griffiths

 

Everything hurts. I can barely lift my arms to type.

They found us. The Darcarre, the Darcarre and their army of the damned. After my night with Hannah, well… I guess I was a little distracted and got a little sloppy. It’s hard to focus when you are happier than you have been in months. Head in the clouds and that whole thing.

So it went something like this. I was just getting a damn soda, when a brace of Darcarre blocked my path. How did I know they were Darcarre, the wearing black from crown to boots is always a giveaway. They said something along the lines of, “How long did you think you could hide from us Primus?”

I might have done something like flip the them bird, before a broken broom and a rusty knife filled my fists. I was about to utter one of my witty comebacks, when my world went to hell. Now you have heard about people getting hit by a car, but usually that is when someone is driving it.  Nope, that wasn’t how it went down this time, I was hit by a car, a huge SUV, that was being swung like a weapon. I barely saw the Xemmoni before my life become a tangle of broken bones and red pain.

It might have been a Caradon. The man had tattered dripping flesh pouring from him in sick matted waves and was as tall as a house. The Darcarre only laughed as the Freak moved in for the kill. I tried to get onto me feet, but it is hard with multiple compound fractures. I managed to use the healing spell Phillip had taught me, but it wasn’t enough; I had never been more wounded!

With a snarl, the Caradon raised a  sportscar over his head to finished the job and that was when Hannah drove her car through his legs! They snapped like twenty foot twigs and the car came pummeling down onto his skull.

She might have shouted something like, “get in, they are coming!” but I was barely conscious. Seeing their ally down, the Darcarre were moving in. Screaming as my severed bones ground together, I somehow made it to her now battered ride. With a tear of smoking rubber, Hannah raced from the parking lot as weapons shattered the car windows. Some type of Bestow, probably Black Veins hit me and I, well I almost passed over.

Somehow Hannah got me out of there. She is my new angel and has gone for medicine and supplies. We are safe for now, but how long will that last???

Hopefully I’ll have a chance to heal and hopefully you will hear from me again.

JP

***

I’m still hurting. Even with my healing skills, broken bones take a long time to mend, especially when you have to fix all of them.

Hannah is my angel. She is the only thing that is helping me get through this hard time. Without her care, I’m not sure I would be making it. She had gotten me food and medical supplies and well, everything else a man could need.

Still, I hate to put her in danger. I don’t know what I would do if she was hurt. I just need to heal, before we can go, but we are playing a deadly game. The Darcarre can track like no other race of Xemmoni. If they find us, before I am ready, you might not see another post. Okay, Hannah is back, thank Yig she is safe.

Fight the good fight out there everyone, that’s it for now.

Jack
***
I was healed about the time that we began to run out of cash or at least I did and I’m not the type of guy to want to run up a lovely woman’s credit card bill. Hannah has turned out to be such an unexpected angel and without her help, I might not have been able to get through this.  Although, as I get attached to her, I feel uneasy. I’ve had bad luck mixing my Stalwart duties with the fairer sex.

That was when the blizzard hit. Heading out of Ouray was now an impossibility. Seeing as we were stuck there, the hotel owner took some pity on us and allowed me to extend our stay with the unusual currency of a few pieces of gold. We joked that we had inadvertently taken the tender back to what the mining town was like a century ago.

The snow washed over the town in white, silent waves. They kept the main streets of town clear, but the Million Dollar Highway quickly became a hopeless cause. We were snowed in, trapped. I had hoped that this would keep the Xemmoni from being able to get to us.

I was wrong.

I was sitting in one of the small pubs the high mountain town had to offer. Hannah and I were trying the hedge around the issue of whether we are going to stay together after our escape, when she suddenly went pale. I had been sitting so I could come my eyes on the street, but the villains have come in through a side door.

Turning, I was shocked by what I saw. I had been hunted by the Darcarre, almost toasted by a Caradon, but these, these were flippin Glooms!!! I grabbed Hannah’s hand and we were able to duck around a corner before they could spot us. I wanted to try to make it to her ride for more weapons, but I saw two more patrolling the street.  “They travel in packs of 6. 2 in back, to out front, that still leaves another two.”

Outside the driving snow was mixing with a rolling gray fog. I cursed. “Why didn’t I notice this before?”

“So you are saying I distract you?” she joked with a smile.

Reaching into my pocket, I grabbed a little chunk of gold. The cook quickly realized he had nothing to loose, even if the gold was a fake, and let us back through the kitchen. We are hiding back there while I type this, but I’m not going to hiding for long. These bastards want a fight? Well, they are about to get one.

Say that is a nice looking butcher knife.

The cook seemed less thrilled parting with a brace of butcher knives, but Hannah talked him into it. She is proving as useful as she is beautiful. She might even be Stalwart potential–as long as I don’t get her hurt first.

So we are making a break for it and I might not be able to write for a while, if I really have to mix it up with these freaks. I hate the flippin Glooms, but then again I guess I hate all of these damn Xemmoni. But the question remains… It was weird enough seeing a Caradon working for the Darcarre. Are these Glooms just a coincidence or could they we working with the Darcarre too? Phillip told me that Xemmoni alliances were rare at best. Something really awful could be going on. I could be at the crest of humanity’s doom right here in the snowy mountains of Colorado and not even know it.

So we still have two Glooms inside the bar, two out front and probably two out back. We need to start evening the odds before any more Xemmoni show up. I have this butcher knife, A broken, and now sharpened, mop handle, a few throwing knives, a war dagger, and my hand axe.

“Hannah, would you like the war dagger?”

How can she be smiling? “Sure Jack, I always feel safe around you. I know you won’t let them hurt me.” I love her sweet confidence in me, but I can’t help but remember that my track record says otherwise.

” Ok Hannah and I slowly crept out of the back of the Pub. Fog mixed with the falling snow to a point where visibility was only six feet. I figured the bastards could sense us, but I had a few tricks too. After enacting my Detect Darken, I sent my ability out into the storm. I was right; there were two Glooms waiting in the alley. Although they were still a good distance away, they were coming for us and from what I could tell, it appeared that they were summoning the others.

“It’s battle time,” I whispered to her. “Stay behind me. The ones from the tavern will be here first.”

So I quickly moved us behind where the door would open and put Hannah between me and a recycling dumpster.  Then, like a blast of smoke, the first of their gray tattered form was rushing out the door. He took a sharpened mop handle to the guts for his trouble. It snapped off as he tumbled down the stairs. Since it left a jagged point, the second guy got it just above the knee.

He fell as well, but as he toppled over I heard a cute grunt.  I can’t tell you how surprised I was to see Hannah on the ground, beside the first one, slicing his throat open! This surprised me more than seeing the Glooms. Something was going on. No sweet young woman starts slicing throats so quickly, no matter what has happened over the last few days. There were things she hadn’t told me, but as long as she stayed on my side, I would let it  slip for now.

Before I could let this all soak in, Hannah had elbowed the second Gloom in the face. I jerked him off of her and lifted the sucker over my head.  He was barely able to struggle before he came head first onto the side of the dumpster. Then I threw him aside. “This is one piece of trash that isn’t good enough to be recycled.” Sorry, I had to say it.

The two Glooms were now heading towards us from both sides of the alley. We each started scrambling to pick up the stray weapons. These Glooms favored odd cold iron sickles for weapons. Their sickles, what was left of the mop handles, and a few daggers went flying at the two Glooms to the west and then, just to piss them off, I headed back into the bar.

Hannah’s hand was in mine as we raced through the kitchen. We rushed by our table just in time to see the waitress about to take my pitcher. I snatched it from her hand and downed the rest with a single gulp. Hannah threw a credit card at the poor startled girl and yelled, “give yourself 20%, I pick up the card later!”

Seconds later, we were bursting through the front doors. I spied my motorcycle at once. “Hannah. I have an idea. It will be dangerous, but for some reason I think you you are up for it.”

She nodded and then asked, “what do you need me to do?”

“Okay, You ready.” She only nods. “Here goes. Time to strike back!!!”

***

Hannah didn’t seem extremely pleased to be used as bait, but she was willing. This was another point towards her being more than just a pretty face.  I just hoped she was a Stalwart and not some other race of Xemmoni that hated the Glooms more than I did. Wait, I’m not sure that’s possible.

Like a cloud of pestilence, the Glooms road their rancid fog towards her. She stood in the center of the street as snow danced around her slim body. The scene was half beautiful and half tainted, for as the  foul corrupted fog reached her, it turned the thick flanks a polluted gray.

Their voices began a taunting whisper and I saw Hannah clench her knife until her fingers were as white as the snow that covered her.

The Glooms drew in, their sickles held high. They had no love of her beauty or will to live.

They were fools, in more ways than one.

With a roar, my motorcycle exploded out of the alley. One of them was run down before the others even knew what was happening. The second took my knife and at the speed I was going, it passed through his head until it burst out of the back of his skull.

One thought enough of himself to attempt to run towards me. I hoped off the bike and let it ghost ride over the bastard. The last one attempted to escape, but Hannah was all over it. She tackled him from behind and for the second time, I saw her get down to business in a way no cute little blonde should, for she had slit his throat so wide his head was nearly taken off.

But someone was coming. The Glooms had alerted the Darcarre to our presence. My bike was still okay and I’m rattling off what has happened in case there are any Stalwarts in the area that can help us. We went back to our room to collect our meager supply of weapons.

But they are coming.

Get more Jack Primus Action Here!

ABC's Conviction's Integrity Holds Up

Hayley Atwell is sassy enough to entertain, smart witted enough to keep us on our toes and vulnerable enough for us to care. Give Haley a multi-layer character like Haze Morrison and you are creating magic. 

If you cannot tell, I really love ABC’s new show Conviction and it is not just about Hayley. One very talented actress cannot carry an entire show and keep it going. It takes thoughtful and intelligent writing, creative casting, talented actors and a production staff who knows how to tell as story. 

So here is the scoop on Conviction, Haze Morrison is a brilliant young attorney, who is also the daughter of a former U.S. president. Haze, after being picked up for cocaine possession is blackmailed to head up NYC's new Conviction Integrity Unit. She and her team investigate cases where people may have been wrongly convicted.

Sounds like a pretty standard template for a drama, but Conviction is a lot more. Let’s start with the cast, Hayley Atwell, best known for her role as Agent Carter in Marvel’s Agent Carter and Captain America plays Haze Morrison. Her team consists of Merrin Dungey known for her roles on Alias and Once Upon a Time as Maxine Bohen, an ex-NYPD Detective. Emily Kinney best known for her roles on The Walking Dead and Arrow as Tess Larson the Paralegal, Shawn Ashford best known for his role on The Following as Sam Spencer DA appointed liason, and Manny Montana know for his roles on South Beach and Graceland, as forensic investigator Franklin 'Frankie' Cruz. 

The Conviction Integrity Unit chooses a case and has five days to determine one of three resolutions. The first to let the conviction stand, the case needs to go back to trial, and if proven, the conviction reversed. They start from the beginning, interviewing witnesses, reviewing and researching all of the evidence, circumstances and testimony. At the end of the five days a verdict is rendered and the truth comes out. 

The writing is leading and deceiving, mixing and mirroring the struggles of the reviewing case with personal struggles of the characters. Not just Haze Morrison but each member of the team allowing for character depth and laying. Love it!

Also a terrific platform for social commentary as well as the exploration of characterization, and interpersonal relationships. The show has great promise and I am looking forward to the coming year.

Conviction is on ABC, Monday’s at 10/9c, check your local listing for more information.

Come Find Me!

Coming Soon - Falling Water on USA

The story of three unrelated people, who slowly realize that they are dreaming separate parts of a single common dream. Each of them is on a mysterious and highly personal quest - one is searching for his missing girlfriend, one is searching for a lost child, one is looking to cure his catatonic mother - and it is the clues found in their collective dream that come to guide them. The deeper they dig the more they come to realize that their missions touch on stakes that are much larger than their individual agendas.

 Falling Water premieres Thursday, Oct 13th on NBC!

Free Serial Read - Jack Primus by Michael D. Griffiths

 Beneath the world of normalcy we all live in lies another world, one where supernatural beings exist. These creatures of the night hunt us; want to feed on our very souls, though only a few know of their existence. One such man is Jack Primus, who accidentally pierces the veil between this world and the next. With no other choice if he wants to live, he finds himself on the run, hunted by beings called the Xemmoni, an ancient race that sees humans as nothing but cattle. They want his soul, to feed on his very essence, and they will kill all who stand in their way. But if they thought Jack would just lie down and accept his fate, they were sorely mistaken. He didn't ask for this battle, but he knew he would fight them with everything at his disposal, for to lose is a fate worse than death. He would win this war, and he would take down anyone who got in his way.

Part One
 
 Safe For A Moment

 Ophir Pass Colorado

No one will find me here. No would wants to be here or could get here even if they wanted. I’m just below the tree line in some old miner’s shack. It leaks and I’m burning a cord of wood just to stay on this side of the glowing white light that wants to get all snuggly.  There is eight miles of four foot snow between me and the nearest house, let alone road.  I’m starving, but I should be able to heal.

Damn Darcarre.

Who would think those alley stalkers would in in some mountain town in southwest Colorado? One called Stoner no less. Maybe it is a trap for Stalwarts.
Before I even got a chance to plug in this laptop I bought, yep actually bought. (That hive of Ripperkah in Farmington had more than a bit of cash, and I’ll never turn down a fight with those offal)

So I know what you are thinking, how are you getting this message if I’m in some remote cabin? I’m going to write this now, before I head into telluride. Damn, the middle of skiing season, that place is going to be hell, but I’m sure they have plenty of email cafes.
When I get there, I’m going to try to send this off as fast as I can. I’m sure those Darcarre at looking for me. They won’t be pleased when they find the bodies.
If you don’t receive a second post, you’ll know what has happened.
Jack Primus.

 The Hitching Post

 As you may remember, I tore my way through the drifts of snow that were nearly up to my sideburns in an attempt to put my wounded body as far from the Darcarre as possible.

Then I got a ride.
 And what a ride it was/is.
Her name is Hannah. She is a petite blonde with blazing green eyes not to different in hue from my own. At first I hoped that she might have been another servant of Yig sent to aid me, but my subtle hints were met with puzzled stares, although she was forthcoming with he own hints of a different sort. I’ve have some bad experiences with blondes in the past, but for her I was willing to make an exception.
Things were going well and I had almost forgotten I was a hunted man until she noticed the blood. She slammed on the breaks and we were nearly hit by the car behind us. Despite their honking, she refused to start the car until I was able to convince her that the blood was my own and I was in trouble.
Her nurturing instinct must have kicked in, because she started the car and insisted that she take me to a hospital. I was even more adamantly insisting that  this was something that I couldn’t allow to happen and since I have already healed the worst of my wounds it wasn’t really necessary, but I didn’t tell her that part.
So instead we stopped at the base of Lizardhead Trail and talked. A few hours later it was hard to tell which of us was falling for the other more. After locking lips for another hour after that, she was more that happy to spring for a hotel room and I told her I was willing as long as we were heading north.
Snow began to fall as darkness set in. The roads were becoming bad and the narrow headlights were soon dimmed by an endless blast of snow. It was my hope that this storm might even scare these Darcarre inside.
Somehow we made it to a little hotel know as the Lonely Oak. After we went up to the room, there were a few moments of nervious tension, because the room only held one bed. Soon this didn’t remain a problem. Let me tell you spending the night with Hannah was as wonderful as spending spending the night in the leaking miner’s cabin had sucked.
There is still no sign of the Darcarre and I can only hope that I am in the clear. I’m sighing of now. There is a warm woman waiting for me.
Jack

Wounded and weary.

I was barely able to escape Telluride. The Darcarre were waiting for me. I had just managed to get off the last post before they moved in, coming at me from every direction. I’ll tell you one thing, I’m really need to start taking heads! Since those bastards are the only Xemmoni that can heal themselves, it seemed to be about the only way you can be sure they go down,  just like zombies.

One other thing, these five foot snow drifts make things almost impossible for hitchhiking. But I’m done fooling around. These scumbags got my bike, so this is an all out war!!! No one, I mean no one, touches the bike. They have it hostage, so back to Stoner I must go. Yet, overland is almost impossible and how can I trust any rides, not that they would trust me the way I’m looking and I’m sure this bloody arm isn’t helping any.
Wait, what, someone is actually stopping. Wow, a woman no less. And pretty too. I’m going to send this off, with my luck she is probably tainted, but you never know. Wow, yeah she is cute, I might as well try.
Again, if you don’t get another post, you’ll know what happened.
In Yig I had better trust.

Get in on what happened before Jack got to Ophir Pass or Check out more of Jack’s action here!

Coming This Week - Frequency on the CW

A police detective in 2016 discovers that she is able to speak via a ham radio with her estranged father; Frank Sullivan, a detective who died in 1996 and the two must work together to change the history of tragic events to come while also getting the chance to heal their complicated relationship. 

Frequency premieres Wednesday, Oct 5th on the CW!

 

Coming Soon - No Tomorrow on the CW

Evie, a risk-averse quality-control assessor who falls for free-spirited thrill seeker Xavier only to find out he lives his life that way because he believes the apocalypse is coming. 

No Tomorrow premieres Tuesday, Oct 4th on the CW!

 

Coming Soon - Timeless on NBC!

An unlikely trio traveling through time to battle unknown criminals in order to protect history as we know it.

Timeless premieres Monday, Oct 3rd on NBC!

Premiering This Week - Mavel's Luke Cage on Netflix!

Given superstrength and durability by a sabotaged experiment, a wrongly accused man escapes prison to become a superhero for hire. 

Premieres Friday, Sept 30th on Netflix!

New Fall TV - FOX's Exorcist is a Don't Miss Compelling Watch

TV show based on William Blatty's 1971 novel about a priest who performs exorcisms on demonic spirits. Written and created by television newcomer Jeremy Slater, whose writing credits include films such as the Lazarus Effect, Fantastic 4 and Pet.

Father Tomas Ortega (Alfonso Herrera, “Sense8,” “The Chosen”) is the new face of the Catholic Church: progressive, ambitious and compassionate. He runs a small, but loyal, parish in the suburbs of Chicago. He has no idea that his quiet life is about to change forever. Deep in the slums of Mexico City, another priest has found himself locked in a life-and-death struggle with evil. Father Marcus Keane (Ben Daniels, “Flesh and Bone,” “House of Cards”) is a modern-day Templar Knight, an orphan raised since childhood by the Vatican to wage war against its enemies. Father Marcus is everything Father Tomas is not: relentless, abrasive and utterly consumed by his mission – and he constantly butts heads with his adversary within the church, Father Bennet (Kurt Egyiawan, “Beasts of No Nation”).

Most of us are familiar with the original Exorcist movie starring Linda Blair and Ellen Burstyn. Truth be told, when released on December 26^th 1973 it scared the pants off of the entire movie watching population. People were sick, exiting the theater in hysterics, being offended and running for church as soon as possible. There have been very few movies having a such a hard impact since then. The Exorcist became the horror standard for creepiness and just plain portrayal of evil. Trying to replicate the phenom has been basically impossible.

Knowing all of this, when FOX announced The Exorcist adaptation in its 2016 Fall lineup I was giddy and oddly reserved. Being completely honest, given the current technology and entertainment climate this show was going to either be amazingly good or horribly bad. So sitting down this evening to watch it live was a tough choice. I also chose to participate in the twitter feed while watching which is a first for me. 

So the good news is this, I was scared, I jumped, and I got creeped out. So were the other viewers watching the show and live tweeting. The pilot, Chapter One: And Let My Cry Come Unto Thee, engaged and hooked me in from the moment the dogs arrived and the inhuman wailing began. There are several reasons for this, so lets talk about why The Exorcist pilot worked.

The writing, and this is so very important in any show, particularly a horror drama. If the dialog and or the scenes are not delicate and yet strong the genre comes off as hokey and unbelievable. The scare has to be rooted in a tangible fear for it to resonate. While most of the audience will be on the fence as to whether they believe in the demonic and or have religious ties makes this a particularly tough job for this show. You do not want to alienate anyone, however you want be able to deliver a truth when needed. Again, very well planned and executed by the writers room, bravo!

Where you have excellent writing you need a superior cast to deliver the story. The casting is magnificent, the two lead actors, Alfonso Herrera and Ben Daniels are seasoned enough actors to be able to portray the characters with a depth they need. Making them believable and giving the audience empathy for them. These two actors are also not well known enough for the audience to have their resumes prevalent in their mind when watching. The only people in the cast easily recognizable are Geena Davis and Alan Ruck, both veteran film actors who add credibility to the show.

Lastly, some (namely uneducated television executives) will want to push the technology side of genre over the top. Kill them with the impossible! This can be very easily done and ruin a movie or show. I still have a little bitterness for the use of technology in the recent movie The Conjuring 2. An otherwise awesome movie, the use of technology to create the crooked man as a form the demon liked to take to terrorize the family completely threw me out of the experience. This is why in these cases, less is more. In tonight’s The Exorcist pilot I think the production staff and director made the best choice of using technology on a limited basis. Kinda like the demon, only showing itself when absolutely necessary. Good job!

Challenges ahead for the show will be numerous. Tonight they have set the bar pretty high. We will see if they can maintain the critical balance of creepiness, scare and want. You have a tough audience and only time will tell how it shakes out. My advice, center your focus on the writing, the core of good against evil and showing the hope and faith in humanity. 

The Exorcist can be seen on Friday’s 8pm CST on FOX, check your local listings. The Exorcist is being put to the three episode test, will it be compelled to stand up in the end or be defeated by lack of faith?

Come Find Me!