Toads in the road

Turning left from Old Road Bwlchgwyn at the Moors Inn onto the road that takes you over the Llandegla moors, a road which I travel everyday going to and from work, the sign I see every day shone brightly in my head lights. Toads in the Road, but this time there was, they were all over the road and something I wasn’t expecting either. Because the road adhered to the national speed limit of sixty miles an hour and because I am supposed to use this speed guidance as a ceiling not a target or even, as was this case, something I can excessively beat I put my foot down. Tonight like any other night the road was deserted, really everyone was either in their own homes or out at a Halloween party and this is where I was travelling back from. Being the designated driver and having two friends who seemed to want to drink to excess early in the afternoon we made our way back home what could be to some early.

23.33 flicked over on the back lit standard green display when the car started to slide. It was a dry night and the moon was surrounded by every star visible in the northern hemisphere twinkling like a sheet of cheap Christmas lights. I was confused trying to keep control of the car when it turned sideways and gained purchase on the tarmac before flipping violently on its side and slid. Every airbag in the car inflated with the bang of the small explosive charges, a sharp smell of fireworks and the smoke from the charges filled, the out of control, car and it hit tarmac again. When this second impact came, the windows on the road side of the car shattered into small square safety cubes. Sparks emitted from the scraping roof bars until they got caught in one of last winter’s pot holes and the car started to roll over and over. Every single bit of dust, piece of paper, chewing gum wrapper and all other things that are strewn around a car started to tumble around with the small glass cube and as the other side of the car smashed on the road so did the windows on that side. More small safety cubes of glass were added to the spin cycle and mixed with all the other rubbish as the car was spinning and tumbling down the road.

The car settled about one hundred yards down the road in the trees at the start of the forest. I am not sure how long I was knocked out for but I woke upside down being held safely in place by the seat belt and the now deflated airbag pouches all around me. I wasn’t actually feeling any pain, that was until I release the seat belt and gravity took a hold of me and I fell onto the ceiling of the car. Gathering myself up I reached to the dashboard to my phone where the satnav app was indicating I was off track and need to turn around. I found the button to turn on the flash light and the upturned inside of my card the shrouded in the green glow light it was throwing out. My green glow disoriented vision realised I was facing straight out of the windscreen of the car and I turned to see the back seat and check on my friends but they weren’t there.

I pulled my way out falling in a pile on to the pine needle covered soil and used the tree that had broken the momentum of the tumbling car to pull myself to my feet and searched around the car but they were nowhere to be seen. I looked around from a stationary position and saw the wreckage all down the road, the moon highlighted the white lines and a small areas of the tarmac in a brilliant chromium white. Now I walked, following the wreckage back down the road, I was startled when I heard a solitary squawk coming from the edge of the forest. Sat to attention on a fence post just when the deciduous trees ended and an open but newly planted field of trees started.

Passed the crow I could see a fiery glow in the trees a couple of hundred yards up into the forest. I climbed the fence near where the crow was standing expecting it to see me as a threat to it but it never moved. Instead it let out a long screeching squawk followed by a small amount of little squawks. I didn’t really think much of that until there was what seemed like a distant reply, more squawks coming from the direction of the orange glow ahead of me. I stopped when I heard this reply and stayed there rooted until I was brought back to life by the flapping of the wings from the near distance behind me as the sentry crow took off a flew passed me very quickly and it was so close that it’s wings actually made contact with my head. This contact made me even more scared than I was prior to it happening and I dropped to the ground and shielded myself from anything else that may want to try and do the same.

From my crouched position I caught a glance of where the fiery glow was coming from and I could see that the glow was coming from a fire and it seems to be in a clearing in the trees and there was movement around the clearing. I stood up and ran as quietly as I could with high expectations to find my two intoxicated friends playing silly games around the camp fire in the post party and post car crash state.

I reached the edge of the clearing and I could feel the heat from a large camp fire hit my cheeks but I wasn’t greeted by two idiots dancing naked around a fire in the middle of a cold autumn night but there in the clearing there were more crows. I scanned the area before moving away and I could see on the far side of the fire was two solid trunks of wood standing bolt upright to about eight feet high. I moved further around and realise that there was rope draped over the top of each trunk and it was pulled taught. Tripping over my own feet I fell to the ground and got a view of one of my friends he was tied up in between the two up rights and from my position I could see that he was so close to the fire he was cooking.

My fall didn’t go un noticed and just a few feet away from me was yet another crow, it looked at me and then threw its head back and let out an ear piercing squawk and on hearing this from about 4 feet away another looked up and did exactly the same thing, threw its head back and squawk, this was then followed by every other crow around and after just a few seconds they all stopped and then simultaneously they all took off flying around in a big circle climbing higher and higher until they were well over the tree line and stayed in their formation.

Picking myself up I ran into the clearing and right up to the far side of the fire. Jasper was hanging naked tied by both hands and feet. Closer inspection showed that he wasn't so much tied as he had pipes through his lower arms and upper legs with harsh rope fed through the pipes and then tied straight through. The pipes through his arms must have been implanted through the gap between the radius and ulna using this to take the entire weight without being torn out from the soft fleshy skin and muscle surrounding the bones in the lower arm. The legs however seemed like they didn't need to be there as there was a single rope tied to the posts on either side and fed tightly through both rings.

The skin on Jaspers back was bubbling and being burnt badly by the furious heat coming from the fire I stood on the other side of him and looked up to see his hanging head and it wasn't until now I became scared for my own life. In the outskirts of my vision, far above my head I could see the circling crows but could only hear the violent crackling of the fire. I looked directly up to the crows and thought how Jasper was strung up like this, the crows wouldn’t be able to do it and how long was I unconscious in the car. As I looked around the clearing and my glance darted passed Jaspers strung body his eyes were open and his head upright this caught me complete unawares and the shock and fear threw me back and I landed heavily on a fallen stump, "Go now" Jasper said, "Go now before he comes."

I fell back further until I was on my back and trying to hide as much of myself behind the log, "GO NOW, OR YOU WILL BE LIKE THIS" Jasper shouted with more urgency than someone who wasn't in the position he was, saliva and blood spat from his mouth as he shouted and his voice stopped but he still seemed to be shouting. He sharply turned his head upwards and the circling crows way out in the sky all came down and slammed hard into jasper, the poles and a large area around him. The initial impact created a shock wave that threw me and the log and everything that wasn't rooted ten feet or so I hit a tree with what I initially thought was a back breaking impact but I fell to the floor and moved only to be struck by the log as it too landed on my right leg as I was trying to get up and away. The searing pain I felt as I was lucky enough to pull it free before the log settled was joined by an unnatural cracking of bones as my leg folded sideways from just above the knee.

In the clearing more and more crows were plummeting to where Jasper was and the early arrivals were tearing scorched flesh and muscle away from my friend. More and more crows filled the space until the outsides burst into flames and the inferno took hold these devil birds. The fire spread quickly around and engulfed everything including what was left of Jaspers remains.

Just as suddenly as it had spread across all the crows all the flames were extinguished somehow and everything went dark and a noticeable silence took hold. The pain in my leg was shooting and as I caught my breathe it took hold and I broke the silence with a scream, a guttural scream of shear pain that rivalled that of the commotion and blood curdling noises of flesh and bones being torn hectically away from a human being by savage crows.

The embers or the fire took hold to whatever hadn't yet burned away and a small flame danced in the centre of the clearing. Through the tears streaming out of my eyes I could start to make out the shadows cast on the trees on the far side of the clearing and saw that there was no longer Jasper strung up, there weren’t even the two posts that he was strung up from. The whole area looked like in was a Sunday school camping trip but everyone was in the woods collecting more wood for the fire. The flames playfully took hold over more un-burnt wood in the fire and the flames grew and the flickering light cast out was going to be enough for me to painfully get away from there and back to the road.

I dragged myself back towards where I had come into the clearing only fifteen or twenty minutes earlier and as I entered the clearing by where jasper was I noticed a figure, a dark hooded figure sat next to the fire. Just sat there, sat there warming him or herself. I remembered thinking to myself it is at this point everyone in those cheap made for television movies thinks that salvation has arrived and they are there to help. I however thought that the vision of someone in a hooded cloak out in the middle of the woods sat next to a fire after what I had just witnessed was far too sinister so I tried my best to crawl away as quietly as I could but the pain I was feeling from my limp and dragging leg was so bad I thought that even the deaf would have been able to hear me.

I stopped sharply as I heard a relatively quiet, "Squawk" from the other side of the fire. My breathing rate increased and I could feel the temperature drop. I looked slowly over to the fire and the hooded thing was still sat there motionless, again a quiet squawk was in the air. Pulling myself as hard as I possibly could I look back to the fire and the hooded figure was no longer there. The fear grew within me and this spurred me back to getting out of there. Reaching the edge of the clearing I pulled myself to stand on my good leg. The wall plus a good hop will mean I can get the one hundred or so yards back to the road quite quickly.

Squawk, louder and more definite this time, I couldn't make out where it was coming from. I glanced back to the fire and it was clear. Picking up the pace as much as I could I pulled myself along and hopped as best I could along that wall back to the road. In my haste I felt a pain that any one person should never be subjected to as I caught the top part of my injury on a dislodged stone in the wall. My dangling leg kicked my other leg and I fell to the floor and the pain shot right through my body, I reached down to the main area of the pain and I felt sharp bone and the dampness of blood oozing out of the open wound.

From above me I could hear the loud flapping, round and round until a quiet rushing of a large falling object and then an impact of two feet on stone, wood and mulching mud. A large hand grabbed me on one of my shoulders and picked me up roughly. I was man handled up to the head height and looking as the shadowy figure I saw what looked like a hood, the silent figure from the fire, back in the clearing. I was shaking up and down and then stopped but the hood wasn't a hood at all and the cloak wasn't a cloak either. From behind the figure opened two large black feathery wings that it gently flapped as if it was either getting ready to take off or fanning the flames of hell until from the field the other side of the stone wall was a I heard the shouts of quite a few people I looked over and saw what could only be described as a small army or a large village. The thing that held me turned its head to look over to them and for the first time I saw the silhouette of a black beak and the bleak feature of a man crow, crow man, a damn big crow. 

The thing dropped me to the floor and I fell on top of the dry stone wall. The garrison cracking of many guns echoed throughout the hills and across the moors. There was no large falling of a massive crow like thing to the ground but instead the disassembling of a forest full of crows flying up into the free sky and the gun fire continued and the thud thud thud of the dead bodies of normal hell raising crows fell in the fields, trees and even on the road.

A head appeared over the wall and I looked up to see my other best friend the other member of our exciting party night out and the other survivor of the horror that this Halloween has turned into. But it turns out that this wasn't the first time this has happened. I was transported back to the pub up the road on the corner and it's original name was The Moors Watcher and it was built to keep an eye out over the moors for the Crow Master who comes out once a year to feast on whatever and whoever it can.

Gladstone Ferry, Party 'til it's 1899

The station announcer spoke to all the New Year listeners of the top rated RAAT radio news corporation, “Now it is the long-awaited New Year’s eve show coming live from the modern 7 story party venue that will wow the world for 30 years to come, World it is my pleasure, and my wife can verify that, to introduce you to Gladstone Ferry and the man the women want and their husbands want to kill, Haaaaank Mingefield.”

As the station switch over took a short time to link up, the silent static filled the homes of millions of Hank fans and even more fans of modern radio music, the static crackle hissed and snapped to the Live Broadcast, “Welcome all you groovy listeners out there on the modern virtual air waves, this is Hank Mingefield your guide through to next year and the next big thing. It is December thirty-first in the year eighteen hundred and sixty-nine and I am here for the inaugural trip on the Gladstone Ferry. Firstly and because I am being paid more than fifteen dollars to be your MC at tonight’s ceremony I need to say a thank you to our sponsors and the owners of Gladstone Ferry – Party until 1899, Gladstone Hooter. Now a word from the man himself, Mr Hooter, what inspired you to sink a great deal of your fortune into the extremely large paddle steamer with a deck for every musical taste. I can even see you have set up a deck completely for one of your other major businesses, Hooters bar and gentleman’s lounge in every major city for every gentleman’s needs. Tell me Mr Hooter how did this all come about?” Hank finished his monologue and looked at Gladstone Hooter and nodded, Gladstone looked down towards the Microphone and lowered his head to it and said, “Firstly Hank, can you not say the word sink in context with my boat again she might get a little nervous. As for my reason why, well my wife is the reason why, god rest her soul, she made my life such a misery for so many years, bitch, when she passed on I thought what better way to take her family fortune than to piss it all up the wall. I accidentally knocked a spittoon over bent over to pick it up, on my way back to my almost standing position, I banged my head on the bar I was perching against and presto The Hooters brand was born. Something special happened to me after having a Hooters Gentleman’s Lounge in every state, I wanted to have something new, something never seen before so I dreamed up the Gladstone Ferry Music Festival. Sitting on the water and travelling around, the weather can’t harm it. Most up to date bands, new emerging talent and a lot of stuff you wouldn’t expect and only seeing it is believing it.”

Hank continued, “Thank you Gladstone, the man behind the Hooters Gentleman’s Lounge” Gladstone replied, “Thank you Hank.” Hank walked towards the boat and continued with the broadcast, “Follow me now as we climb on board the paddle steamer that will, I am sure, become what the future can only describe it as simply the best and most advanced music festival of all time. As we climb the ramp from the dock on this very cool and clear night I thank Gladstone Hooter for putting this floating boat of excitement on the Mississippi and not somewhere a lot colder at this time of year. First thing that greets you is your staff, giving you notice and advice when needed, thank you sailor. Ooooh that is important, a big flashing red neon sign stating Please DO NOT fire your guns when there is a ceiling above your head. That is comforting For all you listeners out there in the comfort of your own home all I can say is seeing is believing, Yeeeha; Just so I will keep you tuned in and listening to your number one rated radio station in the world, coming up before midnight we have an interview with not one but two of the top bands around I will be talking to Stroke Gently from the Skin Bashers and I will be taking five with the five from Bar Fighters. We will be back after this word from our sponsors.”

Many radios all over the nation cracked and awaiting the jingling chimes of washing soda adverts, the buzzing beeps of telegraphic companies who have the budgets to purchase twenty-second jingles on the most sought after radio show that can be heard adorning the modern technical airwaves. The radio crackled again the static pricked the ears of every listener and Hank kicked in again, “Welcome back all you lovely listeners, you wouldn’t believe me if I told you half the things this amazing boat has to offer the New Year revellers. But now with me I have Stroke Gently who is the lead stick master with Skin Bashers Hello Stroke”

Stroke said, “Hello Hank, before we start, have you been to the toilets here?” And Hank shook his head, “And for all the listeners out there in Radio land Hank shook his head ever the professional, well you should go and see the toilet Hank because did you know that when you put your hands under the taps they come on automatically, water shoots out onto your hands and when you move away they turn themselves off.” Hank then chirped in saying, “Listeners I did shake my head to you all on live radio but Stroke caught me off guard with his less than rock and roll question about the toilets on a paddle steamer on the most party of party nights. Stroke it is almost the eighteen seventies you know everything is moving on. Digression has meant we need to move on now the midnight hour is almost upon us and I think you are a little dull for our listeners out there, Stroke Gently from the Skin Bashers it has been your pleasure. Ladies and gentleman let me walk you around the bits of the steamer that lie between here and my next interview. We are still on the middle deck, below us there are two decks one where the lighting is dim the wheels of steel are spun by none other than the Unsocial Techno Wrangler, the happening sounds and underground breaks are played and people dance around very quick and look like they are stacking the shelves in your local twenty-four hour supermarket with cardboard boxes. The other of the two has something that I have never heard of and don’t particularly want to hear about, it is the tribute stage all about fakers singing the songs of the groups they most admire. Playing right now and I can hear them are ZZ Toppers, figure that out. We climb the stairs to the live triangle stage where I can see my next interviewees just getting ready for the performance. Ladies and Gentleman I am side stage with Dave Growls and the Bar Fighters.”

Hank:

Dave it is a new venue that only has the future to blame, how does it feel for you and the group to be playing this event?

Dave:

Hank this is the bomb, I am so happy to headline the pre midnight crowd and seeing in the new year and the new decade, as you can see this deck is full and there are people trying to fit through the tiny windows.

Hank:

How much are you switching up the set lists for tonight?

Dave:

Well Hank we have these new electrical guitars so some blasting solos and duelling between two of us and every night is different. It’s really about reading an audience. I think it’s important that they understand that it’s not like a Broadway show or a video game, it’s human and it’s real.

Hank:

We have only one minute left before you start and the audience go mental, what does the next decade have in store for you and your team?

Dave (With a growl):

We are touring for three years and a new CD coming out in January and I think we are just going to get the stage from gig to gig and enjoy what the audience gives us.

Hank:

Your last word?

Dave:

Visit our website for updates @ www.barfighters.com for all the latest updates and a regular podcast, come to the show your money will be well spent.

Hank:

Guys if only we had more time but you have two songs from your set before midnight and then I will on stage with you to count down the New Year and you will continue afterwards, best of luck to you all.

Dave:

Hank a pleasure and see you in ten minutes.

“As you all can hear, now the audience for the Bar Fighters are making a noise that can’t be mistaken, you can listen to the next two songs with me hear and the New Year will then be upon us. Ladies and Gentlemen, the Bar Fighters.” Hank announced and held out his microphone to the stage so the audience in the radio land could get the music directly into their homes live for the very first time ever. Every now and again Hank brought the microphone back to his mouth to show how excited he really is. As the second song was coming to the end and the stroke of midnight is looming Hank walked on stage, “Dave can you help me with the New Year countdown, Ladies and Gentlemen we have fifteen seconds” the guitars played to the countdown flitting from one to the other, the 10 second point came and everyone followed the big screen as the number ten appeared and turned to nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, the guitars built up to the point when Hank was in hysterics, “TWO, ONE” Hank launched himself into the air and over the audience as they carried him from the front and he said, “Happy New Year world in it now 1870 here on the Mississippi, you have been brilliant. ” the guitars thrashing loudly in the back ground and from one to another the audience passed Hank Mingefield to the back of the room away from the stage as he still shouted, “Happy New Year, 1870. I have been Hank Mingefield for RAAT News Corporation in association with Hooters Gentleman’s Lounge, gentlemen lounge all over the world. I will now pass over to my personal friend and colleague who will guide you through the rest of the night, Fearne Cottonpicker, the painted goddess. Fearne” the last words echoed throughout the radio waves all over the world as the crowd threw Hank to the floor at the back of the room whilst the Bar Fighters started their hard-core new year’s set.

Hank picked himself off the floor and walked down to the deck where Hooters Gentleman’s Lounge was and settled in and watched as the hostesses danced to great music.  He pulled a bundle of paper money out of his pocket and ordered himself a drink and settled back.

Chiick Adee - Spike Rider

"She is probably better known for her heavenly looks, rather than the fact she is the world renowned Spike Rider. Today we are happy to have a live interview with Chiick Adee. For all of you who have been in a post apocalyptical coma for the past one thousand years, Spike Riding is a race. However all the riders have all manner of Spikes, hence the name, strapped, taped or bolted to and from every possible place on their bodies to make sure they have the best possible chance to defeat all other riders they are racing, almost forgot that they are no rules and no come backs. The old adage, “What happens in the race stays in the race” was probably coined for this exact thing.

Chiick, or Miss Adee is running late as her call time was forty two minutes ago and now my programme is also going to run late. To be honest with you, I will probably stay here until she arrives; after all I am not going to cancel her. Sixteen Hundred and Sixty four confirmed kills in her last seventy seven races. She is about as hard and as ruthless as they come and I am completely frightened of her, so I am going to need to pad this until she arrives in the studio. If you have any questions that you would like me to ask her please send them into our interlink 6 address you can see on the screen just below me here. This is Jim Inkbutt in the I6 studios back in twenty minutes after the news and weather from Stacy Hungtaft and Fullman Nicefella."

Jim Inkbutt spent the next four and a half hours making small talk with listeners showing replay footage of past races from all over the world and some of the best bits from the off world racing scene, when he heard in his ear phone the words he had been waiting 5 hours to hear. "Chiick Adee is in the building and is on her way up to the studio", "Ladies, Gentlemen, children and grandparents other world beings and of course everyone else not covered by this introduction, I have just heard that she is just minutes away from the studio so we will wrap up her best of digital clips and start the roll we prepared for her entrance, Play DV" Jim said.

The DV played in the background and a camera outside the studio caught sight of her from the stair well. Jim hadn’t actually been given the correct information because Chiick Adee was in her full racing kit and was making her way up the outside of the building smashing every armoured window on the way up. The camera followed her as she caused heavy destruction throughout the glazed building and effortlessly threw herself from the side of the building onto the 88th floor landing stage right outside the studio. The camera switched to inside the studio and Jim was looking out towards the entrance not knowing her entrance was right behind him. She landed on the platform and Jim continued to look in the wrong direction until the bullet proof and sound proof arched sliding doors behind his seating arrangement broke into a billion little bullets flying through the air in every direction.

Jim lunged forward under his table and cameras moved and followed the action until she entered the studio, stamped the three foot long spikes strapped to her feet into the studio flow, followed by the six foot long spikes attached to her arms and she unclasped the restraints and dropped onto the sofa next to where Jim was originally sat. She bent down and looked under the small table by her feet and said it was OK for him to come out. Being the professional that he is Jim turned to the camera, brushed himself down and sat on the seat next to her. He looked into the camera for everyone to be addressed and all he said was, "If you are not watching this is 3D vision surround please see our sponsors pages for the greatest deals, then watch again directly from the set if for nothing else to see this spike clad beauty in everything she is offering us right now. Call me the second luckiest man in the world because in all honesty I am."

Chiick said, "Why the second?" and Jim just said, "You are married and that man gets to sleep next to you at night and only other people’s imaginations can make up anything else." Chiick turned a funny crimson colour and coyly said, "Jim shut up, you are making me blush."

Jim started the Interview with the most obvious question, “So Chiick, how did you get your name?”

“Well Jim, I am only guessing with this one, but I probably got it the same way you got yours, my parents gave it to me.” Chiick said.

“Chiick, how did they come up with that one?”

“Well Jim, they were both farmers and apparently on the day I was born a little baby chicken hatched to an old chicken that had never laid an egg before and my father was just going to kill it for the pot and I was stopped because of me.”

There was a distance alarm that started ringing but Jim and Chiick had a little giggle, “See this is what happens when you break all the windows in the building.” Jim said and continued, “Why did you do that?”

Chiick smiled, “Well Jim, that was all a publicity stunt, as you probably know there is an otherworld race being held here on earth in a one week’s time and the publicity alone that is received from this stunt will pay for the repairs on this building let alone the exposure we will get too. What do you think of my work clothes?” Chiick stood up and the automated cameras followed her, zoomed in on her and zoomed out to show a full profile, she had leather spiked suit that look as though it had been painted on. The spikes that came out around the front of the body were long and sharp whilst the ones on the back were shorter and fatter.

That alarm was still ringing in the distance but was being helped along by a deep thumping noise. All of a sudden the all of the automated cameras moved and repointed automatically over Chiick and Jims shoulders. On every monitor in the studio and in the gallery a face appeared in full screen. Green squares swarmed over the image picking out one of two hundred and thirty six defining features that the human face has, modern face recognition uses more and more points to help define bone structure as well as facial features to see through face lifts and restructuring. A new siren started to sound in the studio now and every automated weapon the studio was fitted with, trained all bullets on the figure on the balcony. The sharp crack of a bullet was heard for a split second, Chiick dodged to one side and saw the bullet propel Jim back and a mist of blood remained in the air following the wake of flying, limp body. Everything seemingly moving in slow motion, Chiick pulled her communication unit from a small pouch around her waist and attached it to the leather ribbons that weaved around the back of her head. Permanently on the other end of her headset is her agent and as the studio armaments fired in a massive explosion of bullets she said, “Mark upload my DNA to the I6 studio computers I don’t want one of these useless guns to hit me in the cross fire. Also contact the lawyers and get me a no prosecution pass on this. Get the streaming provider to activate the race cameras and hack the I6 camera array and more importantly get in touch with all of our sponsors and sell the rights.”

A Crackle back on the other end of the line said, “DNA uploaded” Chiick ran and jumped into her hand and foot spikes and they automatically detected her unique signature and clamped in place around her arms and legs. “You have the pass, the stream will be running in 2 minutes, we have Gladstone Hooter online mow and he wants exclusive rights on the whole event. 150 million he is paying.”

Chiick said, “Take nothing less than 200 million, he has the money in his shoe.”

Out on the landing stage the torrent of bullets hit the shields set out in front of the invader, he hardly moved but was being forced inch by inch back towards the edge of the stage. Chiick saw the online light appear in her goggles and looked out towards the shielded man walking slowly out on her spikes she edged closer. The unknown attacker was unable to return fire whilst his shield was engaged so Chiick made a quick charge. Seeing her come he threw down his shield generator and jumped. Chiick made it up to the edge of the landing stage and looked over to see an old fashioned parachute falling to the earth. However her attention was taken by movement in her peripheral vision and all up and around the outside of the building were literally hundreds of spiked attackers making their way up the building and Chiick said into her headset, “Mark, get Gladstone Hooter up to 500 million and if I come out of here alive I will dance totally naked in one of his Gentleman’s lounges.

Chiick stood right at the very edge overlooking the 88 floor drop and thought for a short time, the automatic camera from the studio followed her every move and hovered around her and out in thin air getting the full picture. Chiick threw herself off the platform and plummeted down the side of the building, her acceleration was increase substantially when she pulled herself into the sleekest high dive shape, face down hands right out in front of her and the spike attached to her wrists sticking out further like the tines on a fork. She heard over her headset, “Chiick, six hundred and ten million and he has booked you in on his four hundred thousand capacity other world lounge the day after tomorrow. Apparently the ticket sales are almost sold out and this has only been aired for 6 minutes.”

Hearing this she said hopefully, “Are they going to supply a costume?” Mark replied, “No negotiation on a costume. And it will be beamed live via I6 and every other medium on subscription to approximately 47 billion viewers.”

“I had better not get injured then, had I?” she said. She stuck her right arm out until she made contact with the building and then hit the first opponent directly through the protective helmet he or it was wearing the other end of her spike came out of its right foot, a quick jerk of her arm the sharp spike came out sideways. Her first contact fell through the air and took out anyone its way. She used her left arm on the building to slow herself down and moved forcefully sideways slashing each time a limb wash free of the movements. Spike riders fell out in front of her, a large explosion came from the sixty fourth floor just above her, making her way up she re-entered the building there and stood for a few seconds watching as the Spike riders on the other side of the building smashed their way through and onto the mezzanine section of the 5 or so floors above and below. Camera hover and automatic weaponry fire thousands of rounds of ammunition every second. Riders were hit and some knock back by the impact on their shields.

Fortunately it is not possible to have a complete shield as you can only use the shield to cover a one hundred and eighty degree circle around the emitter, some came to the party equipped with a front and rear emitter. Chiick saw that one of the riders had two shields defending him from the fire on both sides. She swiftly worked around the walls and with every more either killed, maimed or knocked anything in her way. Taking advantage of the opponents shielding she hit the weak point all around the edges of the shield just where they should meet and managed to remove a leg, stab he spike through an arm and as the rider flailed in pain and blood gushed from the leg stump she threw a left arm straight through his side armour and he fell. The automatic fire trained on his still warm and moving body booted the shielded and dead rider around like an old fashioned football.

Now running at speed she used the unique sharpness of her own spikes to jump and hang from the concrete structure sometime turning upside down and removing rider’s one after the other and hitting shielded ones so they fell down the open space that runs the entire height of the internal structure. In her goggles she saw the viewing figures gradually grow and grow until they hit 94.1 million, pressing a finger to the side of her goggles she turned off the display and started to run, very fast and impaled a first rider and then a second and third rider, throwing both arms to her side quickly she released the freshly dead in the quickest way, through their middles as if being split open from the middle to one side was not enough of an injury, as they fell she stamped her foot spikes through their bodies making sure the job was complete.

She jumped from the mezzanine and landed on a rider on the opposite floor and grabbed it in a bear hug impaling it on at least thirty two spikes from her body armour and without releasing it she flung herself out of the exterior window and dropped the rider into the nothingness below. Chiick impaled both her feet in glorious 3d vision through both lenses of a hovering camera and pushed off back into the building and just stopped an arm and spike width from the edge, she positioned a leg as a pivot point and slowly started to twist herself like a gyroscope using the wall for leverage her free leg was out and down and both arms at different heights and as the now grouping riders climbed the outside they were mutilated by rotating hell that Chiick Adee could be mistaken for. One after another the body parts of the climbing riders were disposed of by shear force and the automatic fire the building security.

The onslaught gradually died off and Chiick slowed down her rotation until she was stood catching her breathe looking down over edge and down over 50 floors. She said into her headset, “Mark have the police drones got my DNA, if not you have better get it to them very, very quickly” and she started to run into the heart of the building. The bullets tore big holes into the walls and floors around her, red lasers swiped around her and holes appeared in the laser wake. Jumping and falling from mezzanine to mezzanine, she lost her footing and fell landing hard inside an office suite selling the very latest in how security camera and automated weaponry. The outside wall exploded with 8 inch holes as drone artillery fired on her location, they must be using heat sensors to approximate her location. Eight spikes tore through the block walling over to her left and then the wall disappeared as it was pushed through by four riders until a blaze of crimson filled the air as the drones picked off each of them in less than a second. Chiick jumped up and exiting through the new opening she hit the sprinkler riser pipe and drowned her location in fire killing cool water and the bullets around her stopped and over the sound of the rushing water all went quiet immediately around her. Stepping out of the water for a few seconds she said, “Mark, my DNA upload where are we?” And Mark replied, “Going through now give it another 20 seconds, by the way we now have nine point six billion viewers.”

Just inches from her head the wall behind Chiick gained an extra hole; the heat from her exposed head had attracted a drone. The shock of it made her react by running and performing a dive over the edge of the mezzanine and she fell uncontrolled right down the centre of the I6 news corporation building. Bullets holes appeared following her fall, she hit steel cables holding up advertising banners when she hit the third cable the old fashioned vinyl banner caught onto the spike binding on her left arm and she was jerked violently around just feet from the ground floor reception. Swiping her other spike over her head released the last clasp on the banner and she fell feet first onto the floor and debris rained down on her head.

She let out a big sigh and before she could say anything to Mark she looked around and found she had landed in amongst a large accumulation of riders, she took a deep breath and as she started to make a move to begin the fight a massive torrent of bullets came from everywhere and every remaining rider, exploded as the armaments fired from everything now inside and outside was unleashed down on them. Mark said in her ear, “DNA uploaded to everything, 16 billion viewers” she wiped a large amount of blood from her face and took in her surroundings.

Two days later on the stage at Gladstone Hooters Gentleman’s lounge Chiick appeared on stage in nothing but a smile and a massive pay check.