The Tenth Level
by
Robert Dominguez Jr.
March 15th, 2005
PROLOGUE
Nathan could tell from a distance, that Jimmy was already dead. His body lay lifeless and still, while small specs of dust settled across his back as he laid face flat under the hot dessert sun. Nathan held his position behind a small piece of concrete wall that was yet to be destroyed from oncoming artillery. He had long black hair that would fall to the front of his face and prove cumbersome when trying to fight his way out of bad situations that he almost always got himself into. He flipped his wrist and the chamber to the revolver flew out exposing what ammo he had left. Two rounds out of six were all he had to get from where he was, to safety. Then shots rang out as bullets hit the area just above his head.
“Hey you son of a bitch, come on out and get what’s coming. STOP hiding you bastard!” screamed the overweight man with the long beard as he took three more shots at Nathan.
“Fuck,” whispered Nathan, as he desperately tried to conjure some escape route from his spot of cover. He didn’t want to leave Jimmy lying there for the vultures, but the sun was going down and if he could get to his horse, he could lose them in the darkness. The battlefield was empty except what was left of an old concrete home and outhouse where Nathan hid behind. He carried two holsters that strapped to each thigh, both empty for the guns were already in his hands; mainly for show because of lack of ammo. He was outnumbered six to one, and with those odds, he knew he would be joining Jimmy rather quickly.
“I’m tired of waiting you piece of shit, now I’m not gonna ask anymore, you’ve got till the count of three before we come over blasting!” The burly man with his pants tucked into his boots and old faded suspenders began to reload his rifle while explaining to the others what course of action they would take. Nathan sat for a moment trying to think of anything, but ultimately he knew what he had to do, so after careful consideration he placed both weapons into their holsters and stood up from behind the concrete rubble. The outlaws seeing what was happening thought they had a clear shot and began to raise their weapons at Nathan. Dust started to fly in all sorts of directions as Nathan started to slowly walk towards the ruthless killers, all the time with his head down. Then day turned to night in almost an instant as the clouds drew together to block out the sun. The sound of crashing waves could be heard all around them; all the while Nathan kept his steady pace. The dust began to form small sand tornadoes coming from all directions. The outlaws dropped their weapons and began to run in all directions as they saw the spectacle of chaos form before their eyes.
“Where the hell you runnin to . . . this guy ain’t shit . . . blast em!” yelled the leader trying to get everyone’s attention. The outlaw turned his rifle towards Nathan and got him into his sights, when all of a sudden he stood frozen in place, unable to pull the trigger. It was then through all the noise and wind that he saw something that scared all the fight out of him. Nathan had finally raised his head and stared directly into the outlaw’s eyes; instantly he made a mad dash for the gunman.
“Number Two,” said a woman with long black hair, dressed in all black including overcoat and boots, “I know where he is.” The sound of a knife sharpening in the background could be heard until it suddenly stopped.
“As do I.”
CHAPTER I
“Clive Desert”
“How a about a large glass of water bartender?” asked Nathan as he threw a smile that never seemed to work.
“How a bout 5 yuns and then maybe I’ll get a glass for starters.” The bartender looked the part, burly and ready to fight if he had to. He was a man of few words and always straight to the point. Nathan had an athletic build and was just over six feet. He appeared to be in his late twenties, but in this day in age, how old a person was didn’t matter when people were just trying to live to see the next day.
“When did water ever cost anything?” asked Nathan in a slight sarcastic manner.
“How long you in town for this time?” asked the burly man as he wiped the inside of a glass clean.
“Just passing through to get something; I’ll be gone in a couple of hours.”
“I never would have thought I’d see your ugly face around here again?’ laughed the bartender.
“Trust me, I didn’t want to come back, I just had to retrieve something I forgot a long time ago.” Nathan played with a gold yun the whole time he spoke; twirling it in circles on the bar counter.
“Word has it that the bounty for the Crimson Butcher is up the 10 million yuns. I’m almost willing to bet your going after him . . . aren’t you?” whispered the bartender as if trying to get a secret from his customer.
“10 million is a lot of yuns, but no, I’ll leave that to the professionals.”
Then turning in his swivel chair he faced the filthy dinning area where all the dusty wooden tables sit, each with three or four half broken chairs; fights were common and expected to break out in places like this. He then pulled his dusty black trench coat together to button it close, getting ready to go out into the night air. The Clive Desert was known to be extremely hot during the day and freezing cold at night. It was usually uncommon for travelers to wander the land at night because of the temperatures and wild animals, but Nathan had to be somewhere, and he wasn’t one to waste time. Time was a luxury that he did not have. Then just when he was about to leave, a bloody stranger came stumbling through the swinging doors.
“h . e . l . p m . e . . . please,” slurred the stranger with blood flowing out of his mouth as he spoke. Nathan couldn’t help but notice the chunks of flesh that was torn from his back, as if something tried to claw it out. He then hurried over to the stranger and lifted his head and placed it gently on his lap.
“Take it easy friend. What exactly happened?” It wasn’t till after he asked that he realized that he already knew the answer.
‘It . . .,” the bloody stranger uttered each word with sobs and tears from pain and fright, “was as if the . . . devil himself attacked . . . me. I tried . . . to run . . . but it was . . . so fast.” Nathan could feel the warm blood drip onto his coat, steadily soaking through.
“You just rest a bit old timer. Just close your eyes and rest.” Nathan knew that he was already dead, and trying to ease the transition to Heaven or Hell was all he could do. Everyone in the bar began to whisper amongst themselves, wondering what was out there and if they were going to die next if it should make its way into the saloon. Nathan placed the deceased man on the floor and then taking an apron from the bartender, covered the man’s face. Amidst the noise of crying and talking, Nathan stood up and began to make his way towards the doors.
“You don’t actually plan on going out there, do you?” asked the bartender who appeared shock and confused. “You don’t even know what did this.” Nathan never made a sound or gesture, but slowly walked towards the doors and exited. Everyone in the saloon were awe struck, thinking had this man lost his mind. Once outside he realized that it was starting to sprinkle, and the air was cold and crisp. Then lifting his head, he took a deep breathe through his nostrils and exhaled just as slowly. His horse was midnight black in color, a full-bread from the east that was tall, muscular, and strong. Nathan then pursed his lips together and whistled, instantly his horse came running from the side of the saloon. He never tied his steed because it was faithful to its master and friend. Nathan quickly jumped onto the saddle and motioned for it to gallop to the west, towards the desert. A few seconds later, an average sized woman dressed in old leather boots and trench coat came running out of the bar. She had a worn out leather hat that almost covered her eyes, but you could tell she was looking for someone, someone heading west. Then just as fast, she got on her horse and rode after him, into the pitch dark night of the Clive Desert.
Nathan rode his steed hard for almost an hour; he knew that what he was after had a head start. The sprinkles began to turn into a steady downpour. The freezing rain hit like ice picks when it clashed with his face, yet he rode on. After a couple of more minutes, he could see a clutter of movements just ahead. There was no camp fire because these creatures didn’t need it. Once he was approximately two hundred feet away, he dismounted his horse and sent it away; he would go on foot from here on in. He reached a small hill and lay flat on his belly and looked out across to where the creatures huddled together. They were large and hairy, the size of baby elephants, with large talons and razor sharp teeth. They didn’t appear to be of this world or any world for that matter. They ran around on all fours and salivated from the mouth rather profusely. Nathan counted three of them, a number he could deal with, but barely. Nathan rolled over onto his back and pulled out both six shooters from their slumber. Now was the time to make his move. He stood up and quietly made his way to their location, all the while knowing that any sudden movement would alarm them. Their hearing was horrible, but their vision was superb, he knew they could see anything in darkness as if it were day. He was now within fifty feet of them as they continued to sit huddled for warmth. Smoke rose from his nostrils as he slowly took breathes between steps in the sand. Now was the time to strike.
Nathan raised both barrels and pointed them directly at the creature’s ears. The only way to penetrate their thick skin and fur was to shoot through the ear canal and straight into the brain. As he exhaled he squeezed both triggers, then a loud thunderous roar of gunfire rang out across the desert landscape. Simultaneously, two of them went down, shaking the ground beneath him almost knocking him off his feet.
The woman on horse back almost gave up on the search when she heard the gun shot, and realized how close it was; then hurling her spurs into her steed, made her way towards the gunfire.
Nathan readjusted himself and quickly tried to aim for the remaining creature, but it was too fast and ran into Nathan sending him off into the air. He landed about twenty feet away making a loud thud as he fell on his ribs. Nathan looked up and saw that the creature was coming in for another strike, its speed was remarkable and surreal, a vision one sees but never lives to talk about. It was then that he noticed he was missing one of his guns. There was no time to ponder over his misfortune, but by now the beast was right on him and with it’s mouth open wide, lunged it’s head towards Nathan’s arm and tried to take a chunk of his flesh. Nathan, with incredible speed himself, kicked the beast on the mouth pushing himself away from the jaws of death and once clear and in mid-air took a shot, dropping the beast once and for all. Nathan landed on his back and rolled back onto his feet, when all of a sudden what felt like a burning piece of wood full of nails hit him on the back sending him hurling forwards and into a pile of sand face first. He didn’t know what happened, but whatever it was; it felt as though his back was burning. He had to act quickly, so he pulled himself from the sand and turned to see disappointment.
“Dammit . . . there were four of them!” yelled Nathan out of anger. Then raising his gun he pulled the trigger; nothing. The gun misfired, but it was too late, the beast had Nathan’s leg deep within its jaws, dangling him around jerking from left to right. He could feel a large amount of warm blood flow effortlessly out from the puncture wounds. Everything started to go dim, and if he didn’t want to die, then he was going to have to resort to measures beyond his control. Nathan began to concentrate and grabbed his wounded thigh with both hands. The air around them suddenly became stale and dry, the downpour of rain seemed to stop suddenly as if time itself had stopped, yet the wind blew harder and harder by the minute. The beast felt its mouth begin to burn intensely and finally dropped Nathan without hesitation. The creature cried in pain as part of its mouth had melted away, as if acid had burned through its teeth and lower jaw. Suddenly a shot rang out sending the beast down on its side. It twitched a little, as if fighting for what life it had left. Then finally it ceased to move, giving into death. Nathan didn’t know what happened, except that he was alive. As his vision began to blur, he could see the figure of a woman come into view. He lay flat on his back, trying to rest but actually about to black out. The woman stopped and leaned over him, looking down on his wounded body.
“How dreadful you look, you should be dead you know. But alas, I guess somebody wants you around a bit longer.” Nathan couldn’t help but notice that she looked beautiful, young and beautiful behind the exterior of brown rawhide pants and deep blue blouse; a mixture of elegance and roughness. Then everything went black and silent.
“Copyright © 2005 by Robert Dominguez Jr. All Rights Reserved.”