It was a relatively normal day in Citytown, with the bustling
traffic competing with the sounds of construction on the new Stevens
Tower. In one of the small cafes bordering Scroom Park, Greg Smithson
relaxed, reading the Citytown News and sipping a coffee.
The editorial section was full of discussions revolving around
Flatulence Man.
There were the standard questions - Where did he come from? Where did
he get his amazing powers? Was he really a "good guy"? Who was he? -
and many people offering up their
opinions - He was really in league with Los Tostador. He is the
greatest thing to happen to the city. It's great that crime is down,
but we could do without the stink.
Greg shook his head. If only they knew, he thought, if
only they knew.
Greg folded up his paper, set down some coins for a tip, and left
the cafe, heading into the big city, hoping that this would be the day
that Flatulence Man wouldn't be needed.
[But his hopes would not come true today...]
Just a few blocks from the cafe that Greg had left, on the opposite
end of Scroom Park, a strange scene was unfolding. In a grassy field
in the park the ground was beginning to lift and heave. The ground
seemed to ripple, sending waves of dirt away from the epicenter,
knocking over those people who happened to be walking nearby.
As people began to run away from the grass field, the undulations
became more intense, yet more localized, until there was a seeming
explosion of grass and dirt, knocking over anyone within a hundred
yards of the blast.
As the flying dirt settled, those in the area noticed that the
ground had stopped its gyrations. However, there was a new concern, as
something started to crawl out of the newly formed crater in the park.
Some people stared in amazement; others ran. On one end of the
field a tall, thin man started running away, yelling, "No! No! Not
again! I am so getting out of this town!"
There were those that stayed, however, out of fear or curiousity.
And they were treated to an impressive site. The ... creature
... which emerged from the crater was easy to identify, even though it
was completely new to everyone there. It had three pairs of
insect-like legs, although as it reached the top edge of the crater it
stood upright on its powerful rearmost legs. The body was covered in a
black chitin, which framed what appeared to be a muscular, human
torso. Two very human arms extended out from its shoulders, protected
by chitin down to just above the elbows.
Suddenly the creature jumped off the top of dirt pile, landing
lightly and running quickly on its six legs. It stopped in front of
one of the bums that made Scroom Park his home.
The bum took a step back, shaking. "What the hell are you?"
"I am the Scorpion," the monster answered, "but I am not from
Hell." Suddenly his tail whipped around and stung the man in the neck,
injecting him with the Scorpion's deadly poison. The Scorpion watched
the man's body quiver momentarily. "Hell didn't want anything to do
with me." He stepped over the man's now still body, and slowly
advanced into the city.
1 comment:
Scorpions are really cool.
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