|| -------- -- -----  A E R I E   O B L I V I A N A . singular book of text wandertainment by Frank Edward Nora ------------------- ----------- THE CARBONIZE NEIGHBOR--CUP 1--"NEXT" --------  ||  Severe Repair  ||  The Carbonize Neighbor  ||  -------> (Cup SRcn001, Created v2 (6/7/99), Copyright 1999) = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = = The TV flickered on and the tape began. It was an awkward moment--very, very awkward. Seen from a distance through an open door, President Emmerdine remained sitting behind his desk, but looked as if he might jump up at any moment. Granticaine Chug Perion had burst into the room moments before--pausing a second to catch his breath--even with the object of his mayhemmed advance right in front of him. Then the three-man TV crew bounded in, the crew which had been following Granticaine throughout his horrifying assault. A small TV set, barely visible, embedded in the President's desk, showed that he was acutely aware that Captain Perion had, in the past few hours, not only verified rumors of his supernatural strength, but had easily surpassed even the most outlandish whisperings. Emmerdine glanced down at his TV and noticed that he, himself, was now on worldwide broadcast. He flicked a glance over to the camera, then back to his TV. "I suppose." he began, slowly turning back to face the camera, "I ought to make a statement." Out of the corner of his eye, Emmerdine could see Granticaine smiling broadly, but he tried his best to ignore it. "These are difficult times for my people." Emmerdine said, holding his hands out in front of him as if pleading. Then standing up, he said "Our struggle against the tyranny of Dramptica unites us." In the next instant, an object dropped from the ceiling neatly into Emmerdine's hand--a pistol. "We judge our strength by the strength of our enemies!" Emmerdine yelled, and then began firing the pistol at Granticaine--shot after shot--spent rounds clinking onto the wood floor. But Granticaine stood firm, wearing a calm expression as he took bullet after bullet into his chest, apparently unaffected. Emmerdine's eyes widened, and he continued to fire, one after another. After all 30 rounds were spent, the President clicked the gun half a dozen more times before giving up. The smile returned to Granticaine's lips. Emmerdine dropped the gun and looked straight into the camera. "My fellow Rovlanlampians, we are defeated. Surrender peacefully, for now." the leader said, holding his hands out again. "There will be time to continue the struggle--oonf!" Granticaine sprang forward and tackled Emmerdine just as another gun was dropping from the ceiling. The gun clanged onto the floor as Grant easily ripped Emmerdine's arm off. He shoved the President forward, and brandished the arm like a baseball bat. In another instant, Grant savagely bashed Emmerdine in his head with the arm. Emmerdine fell backwards over his desk and disappeared behind it. A moment later he emerged, a bloody mess, struggling to prop himself on the edge of the desk. Grant leapt forward and grabbed Emmerdine, lifting him partially up onto the desk. Emmerdine's lips were moving, and his bloodied eyes seemed to be pleading with Grant to listen. Grant turned his ear toward Emmerdine's lips, and nodded several times. Then, still nodding, Grant made a sudden motion, and a look of surprise, then of death, passed over Emmerdine's face. Grant then heaved the President onto the desk, sans the lower half of his body. The bloody mess landed clumsily on the desk and then rolled onto the floor with a splat. Grant then grabbed the side of the desk and shoved it aside with such tremendous force that it was propelled through a large window--resulting in a hail of broken glass. Viewers worldwide saw the camera shake as the crew tried to shield themselves from the flying shards. Granticaine knelt down, raised his fist, and then brought it down hard onto Emmerdine's dead face. He propelled his fist through the head and into the floor, splintering the wood into a gory mess. Then the soldier hero lowered his head and paused a moment. The cameraman stood up and backed away a little, trying to get a good shot of the enemy leader's destroyed face. Then Grant looked up into the camera, an unearthly fire burning in his eyes. "Next" was the word heard round the world, a word that would soon be the latest catch phrase and T-shirt favorite. The reporters dropped the camera and sound equipment and bolted away. The sideways image of Grant kneeling over Emmerdine's ruined form remained for a few moments, then sputtered into snow and static. -------> ------------------- ----------- -------- -- -----