Tholos.



She seems to Samantha Bliss to be more in a daze than hurt, but she isn’t letting her guard down just yet. And as Morganna relates to them the events that she stumbled onto Samantha can feel a burning rising from the pit of her stomach.
“I thought when I first got here that he was alone.. He was standing over the bloody body of a young girl, she was wearing the third piece of the stone around her neck. He ripped it from her corpse as I was walking up, he looked right at me and next thing I knew I had three of those hounds on me, I fought them off just as he was hitting the path. Just like a fool I followed him and the other three hounds came up behind me and took my legs out from under me, I took out two of the hounds but he still has the other four with him.”
Samantha Bliss stands to address the members of team Alpha.
“If he has the stone, we have to go after him, Klinger hang back with your team, check the outlining areas for any sign of survivors, they may have a root cellar or something where people could hide. We aren’t leaving here for threshold until we know if anyone is alive. Sil, Ajax, Priss and I will go after the stone. And Kling?” she leans towards him nodding in the direction of Morganna.
“Keep an eye on her.”
As they turn to leave Morganna addresses her . Her voice much softer than before.
“Samantha?”
She turns to face Morganna.
“Yes Morganna?”
“If you cross it up with him, you’ll have a better chance if you leave the hounds to Sil. She’s too fast for them. And of course You already realize..”
She stares silently studying the Angel.
“You can’t let him leave this place with the stone.”

Release The Hounds.



She lets Sil take the lead down the trail with her Ajax and Priss right behind her. The little spitfire seems to be able to smell the hounds, and is the most familiar with them more so than anyone else is in the group.
They follow her lead into the deep woods up one incline and down the next, until they come to a steep slope heading up the side towards a cliff face. She stops to address Samantha Bliss.
“They’re up there, Probably in that cave Samantha. Do you want me to go in first?”
She looks up at the cave opening.
“We’re going to stay close Sil, just in case you get into trouble.”

Almost as soon as she enters the cave mouth the first two hounds are at her, and Sil quickly dispatches the first one but the second is faster than she expects and takes her off her feet and is on her, snarling and biting. That is until the massive hands of Ajax find their way around its throat. Literally ripping it off of Sil . He pushes on the smaller animal and it lets out a small whimpering noise as he snaps its neck and throws it to the side.
He reaches down helping Sil to her feet. And gives her a little wink.
“Just thought you could use a little help.”
Samantha and Priss catch up with them. Sil Smiles at her.
“ Maybe we should do this together?”
She nods. Further into the cave they hear the faint echoes of the other two Hounds, Tholos isn’t far now.

Scratch. ABT. Copyright © 2007.

Undergrowth.




One by one they slowly make their way along the winding dirt path amidst the dense curtain of trees and foliage. The silence here is disturbing to Samantha Bliss, only a short time ago they could hear the unmistakable sounds of gunfire and screaming coming from up the mountainside. Lifeguard tells her that he has not heard from Klinger’s group in almost thirty minutes. And he was growing concerned. So now here is Samantha Bliss, Priss, Ajax and the little spitfire known as Sil, cautiously making their way single file up the path. All around them the only sounds they hear is the uncomfortable all consuming silence. All walking again towards the unknown, but this is what they do, when the concern for your own safety is outweighed by the concern for the well being and safety of others. Weapons drawn they approach the first clearing, when all at once they find themselves staring down the weapons of Klinger’s rear flank. It is Church, he holds two fingers up to his lips and motions to Samantha Bliss and the others to spread out. She nods and motions to the others. It is then that she sees Klinger just ahead, she can tell by the look on his face that there is something very wrong. They have come upon a small cluster of woodland shacks numbering between ten and fifteen, all of the inhabitants lay dead, in small pools of blood, they all spread out clearing each shack one at a time with weapons drawn, each time with the same result. All dead.. Men.. Women.. Children all slaughtered. Klinger’s teeth slowly clamp down on the cigar between his lips. He looks up at Samantha Bliss.

Wounded Immortal.





“ They’ve been dead less than two hours .. I’m guessing that the ones we encountered down the side of the mountain didn’t even know.”
“ Yeah. Either that Kling or they thought that you were the ones that did it.”
His steel blue eyes slowly scan over the bloody scene.
“Yeah.. That seems likely we only tangled with them awhile ago though, they all had bows, there were six that we had to take out, they must have been out hunting when they came back to this.”
“Samantha! Over here!”
She turns towards Sil’s voice and begins to walk towards her, all of the while silently surveying the grim scene around her. When she arrives Sil’s is leaning over something that she has found in the wet soil.
“What is it Sil?”
“A paw print.”
She kneels beside of Sil. slowly pulling the Plasma rifle to her side.
“And just why is this significant?”
Sil stands abruptly and stares into the deep woods.
“Because it isn’t of an animal that you are going to find on earth.”
Priss appears at their side and kneels down slowly to examine the paw print.
She slowly looks at Samantha Bliss and then rises. Her own eyes now begin to scan the deep woods.
“Tholos.. He’s here.. He probably followed Morganna.”
The members of team Alpha begin to congregate around Priss.
“He is a known associate of Forge’s.. he’s a tracker. And he always has a team of Hell hounds with him. Forge must have brought him to Oxenburgh with him. And when she took out Forge he must have followed Morganna here to retrieve the piece of the Stone.”
“Hell Hounds?.. Oh great, so how many are there?”
Sil stands silently staring into the woods. Priss walks up beside of Klinger and puts her hand on his shoulder.
“There are usually six to a pack.”
Sil has begun to walk up the path into the darkened woods. Samantha Bliss nods to Klinger.
“Some of you better stay here I’ll see what she’s up to.”
Twenty feet down the path she sees Sil coming back towards her. Helping a wounded Morganna back to the clearing.


Scratch ABT. Copyright © 2007.

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Difficult Choices..



You went to the place called Oxenburgh never dreaming that the demon called Forge actually knew the location of the third piece of the stone. His arrogance let him be sucked in by Thresholds phony story about it being somewhere in Oxenburgh, so Forge thought that he would have ended up with sole possession of two of the four pieces. And then he and his band of wraths ran into you, you slaughtered them, even flat out murdered a few.. Doing what is necessary isn’t always easy.. Difficult choices. This life that humans cling to, seems to be full of them. And in your short time here you’ve already made more than a few haven’t you Morganna? So. Now what will you do? If the human that is in actual possession of the third piece of the stone will not relinquish it? Will you make yet another difficult choice? Ahh.. but push such matters of dire consequence to the back of your mind now Angel, there is a little devil at your heels.. And the one called Sil will not be so swift in bowing to your cause.. She is coming Morganna.. For your head.

She stands looking strait down the cliff face. She cannot see how far exactly the bottom extends to as it is covered in mist and fog. She stands staring for a moment into that abyss pondering such things as fate and death. She underestimated Samantha Bliss and team Alpha, and now they are closing in on her sooner than she would have hoped. She still doesn’t have the stone, and Sil is coming fast at her heels.. She is different that one. Almost like Samantha Bliss. Tough as nails.. Harder than steel.. Quick.. Deadly. She steps into the clearing her eyes completely focused on Morganna, both Sai’s drawn ready to rumble.. The Angel almost catches herself smiling before turning to face her.
“You must know that you can’t beat me Sil.”
Her eyes narrow and she stares at her emotionless and unwavering.. She slowly begins to circle Morganna.
“Trying is still free though isn’t it Angel?”
She draws a deep breath and steps towards the little one known as Sil. She knows.. No matter the outcome this will not be easy. The blade lifts in her hands and her fingers begin to tighten. “Another choice Morganna. You’ve made more than a few to get the job done.. But it is far from over”

Raging Against The Righteous..



She swings the blade in a low arch but Sil is already out of the way and has nearly ripped her side open with a counter attack. And now she comes at Morganna with a venom that is new to her. Steel blades cross over and onto steel blades. The mist is higher now as she peers over the side of the cliff face. She holds her side as the gash that Sil has given her widens.. All of those wraths.. All of those red soldiers. Even Forge himself wasn’t this difficult to see to his end.. Such venom.. Such anger .. Difficult choices indeed. But you must live on to find the stone.. She turns to the cliff face once again and stops to look back at Sil, before jumping into the waiting abyss.

Moments seem like hours when you are waiting.. But she isn’t . Sil walks back down the trail towards her comrades to see if they are all well, a half of a mile in she hears Samantha Bliss’s voice echoing through the woods.
“Sil?.. Are you ok?.. We’re over here.”
She hastens her step ever watchful for booby traps set by locals that may have missed her on her first pass through here as she followed Morganna to the cliff’s edge. She meets up with them a full twenty yards further down the trail, for the most part the core of this group remains unharmed. Aside from a small wound on Priss’s abdomen which has been attended to. Samantha Bliss seems relieved to see her as she relates the events that had unfolded on top of the cliffs. She listens intently.
“And you don’t think that she had the third part of the stone with her?” Samantha asks.
“No.. in fact. I think that someone that is living up here may have it.. Morganna hasn’t found what she came for yet Samantha. Or she wouldn’t still be here.”
Samantha Bliss stares down the trail contemplating Morganna’s fate at the bottom of the cliffs..
“You’re right Sil.. She isn’t finished yet.. Lets go find Klinger and the others.”

~Scratch~ ABT Copyright © 2007

Its been awhile since my pen has, (dare I say?) graced these pages. But I reopened this blog this morning and stuck with it until I had stamped every single entry of “The Demon Chronicles.” yep, all thirty seven of them. So to regain my perspective I went back and reread much of the later part of the series, and figured out some rather important things concerning this story.. And so I have started writing Episode Thirty Eight, hopefully It hasn’t lost any of its luster for me, because as I have rediscovered.. I really enjoy writing about this particular core of characters. And so without further hesitation I will once again pick up where the story left off on July 6th. Samantha Bliss and Team Alpha Live on.. Now if you will excuse me, I have some writing to do.

Long Live Threshold!.

~Scratch~