My love letter to ATS (The Gang)

This is not actually a love letter. I am fairly new to ATS. I have posted a little but mostly I have been reading. I have learned a lot from this site. This story is the culmination of that reading. Many threads on here have inspired this story. The main two being the thread on the air loom gang and the thread on Palmyra Atoll. Also current events and things that went on in my life a couple years ago. I distilled it all into this story.

I never considered myself a writer. This is the first thing I have really written since high-school. I have always had stories in my head but I never put them to paper. I have had some free time lately and decided I should give it a go. I am sure there will be errors so please bear with me. Hopefully I will get better as I go.

This story is about madness and a world slowly slipping out of control. I am going to post chapter 1 and then a chapter every two days. There are 5 chapters planned for this short story. I have my fingers crossed that it does not suck.

THE GANG
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"Sir, we found it"
"Where"
"Palmyra Atoll"
"Are we sure this time"
"At 0200 the Glove Woman was captured in Kiev by Delta 23"
"So we were right"
"Yes"
"Do the Russians know"
"Our man inside the FSB has gone dark"
"Activate all assets and go to condition orange"
"Sir, what about the Glove Woman"
"Stuff her pockets with magnets and hang her from a bridge"
"Forgive me for asking sir, but is that wise, we are so close"
"No, but it will bring him out of hiding"
"As you wish, Sir"

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CHAPTER 1

I turn on the TV and see nothing but horror. The Four Horsemen ride across the world and no one cares. Another tragedy in the Ukraine. A unidentified woman was hung from Mother's-in-law Bridge in the city of Odessa. With magnets in her pockets and a picture of Petro Poroshenko taped to her chest. CNN is reporting it was Pro-Russian separatists. RT is reporting it was Pro-Ukraine activists. Who do you believe? Does it even matter anymore? Someones dead. Someone lost a loved one. Someone is in pain and mourning. What do we do? We argue while the world burns. I am right. No, I am right. It was your side. No..no..it was your side. It was demons. It was aliens. Its a coverup. Nothing really happened, its all crisis actors. Like I said in the end it does not matter one bit. The truth is, deep down inside were all evil.

Click. I turn the TV off and try to regain my sanity. Ever since my wife left me and took my son. I have been a walking ball of anger, sadness, and loneliness. I am a lost lamb looking for a way home to my flock. I feel crazy. I feel like the blood that flows through my veins burns. If madness is contagious. I am patient zero. Tears start to flow from my eyes. God I miss them. I just want to hug them. I just want to say I love you. I just want time to turn back. I want forgiveness. I stare into my distorted reflection on the TV until I am numb again. Until I do not feel. When the pain and hurt contract into me, leaving another black spot on my soul. I get up, get dressed, and decide to go get a drink.

I step out of my apartment. Out of my head and into the world. As I am locking my door. I turn my head to the left. A dwarf in a men in black suit is watching me. A blank expression on his face. The first thought that pops into my mind? I guess the FBI really is an equal opportunity employer. As the thought enters my brain. He smiles. I stare at him. He stares at me. A chill travels down my spine. I shiver and goosebumps form on my body. My neighbor across the hall opens her door. I look towards her. When I look back at the dwarf. He is gone. My neighbor does not say a word to me. she avoids eye contact and shuffles down the hall. She used to be friendly. She must smell the darkness that has consumed my life. Or maybe the world is just changing. Maybe I am the last of my kind. Maybe everyone else has been replaced by robots or golems. If occams razor were to grow a mouth. It would simply say. Your crazy. I really need a drink now.

The bar is only a few blocks away. A few blocks ruled like a medieval fiefdom. Except there is not one King but many. The gangs are a cancer that has infested the body of my community. No matter how many times the police put us through chemo. The cancer keeps coming back. The last time I left my apartment three weeks ago. A 13 year old boy rode up to me on a bicycle and put a gun to my head. The only reason I am alive today is because, before he could pull the trigger. His "homie", told him that i was "cool". That I lived on this block. This is my reality. This is my life. My only choice? Put one foot in front of the other. Left foot, right foot. Left foot, right foot. Every step painful. Every step on glass and razors. As I near the bar with no sign of trouble. A rusted bullet hole ridden Nissan Altima pulls up to me.

"Who you be! What you is!", shouts the dwarf wearing black and yellow.

I do a double take. Thinking it is the same dwarf that I saw in the hall. It is not. I have never in real life seen a dwarf. Now I have seen two in under an hour. Synchronicity? Hallucination? Coincidence? God? Lucifer? Flying spaghetti monster?

"I said what you is homie"

"I am nothing. No one. A speck of dust in an ever growing storm.", its as if the words are put in my mouth. My mind invaded.

"You be tripping G. I gots what you need. I got that new new. That Egyptian snuff. Its louder than loud. It will take over your dreams and take you to the moon homie. You will forget all your pain. You will feel nothing no more. Not sadness. Not happiness. Nothing. Who likes to think anyways. I don't homie. You can have a sample on me."

Before I can even say anything the local homeless guy everyone calls Sir Archy, shoots out of the nearby alley, like a bat out of hell, screaming, "Be gone foul beast be gone. In the name of the father, the son, the mother, the uncle, and the cat, I banish you from this realm."

The dwarf gang banger hits the gas and peels out. Smoke from his exhaust consumes Sir Archy. In the smoke I see a man in a oak brown 1920s style suit with a bowler hat smoking a cigar. When the smoke clears there is nothing but homeless Sir Archy. In a stained shirt, ragged pants, and only one shoe. The dual nature of the man I know as Sir Archy does not bother me. I just accept it. Like I accept that the sun will in fact rise in the morning. Or that I will never find happiness again. Sir Archy becomes part of my personal mythology. The man the myth. The dwarf slaying homeless hero. My Merlin has arrived says the voice of the invader in my head.

"Have you seen my shoe?"

"No Sir Archy. I have not"

"Oh....that is okay. Obama and Bush became one person and stole it when I was sleeping. That is what people don't understand. All the presidents become one person in the end. Then they steal shoes instead of votes."

"Are you hungry Sir Archy."

"I'm not, but my stomach is. Do you and your stomach ever disagree?"

"will you join me for a meal and a drink?"

Sir Archy does not say anything. He just stands there hopping from foot to foot. I point towards Bedlam bar and grill. He shakes his head up and down and follows me into the bar. Our bubbles merge and we walk step in step. One reality. One life. One madness. One story.

End of chapter 1

Great story .. look forward to the next chapter ..
S&F

a reply to: karmicecstasy

Well written, to say the least. You have me intrigued as to what happens next. And that's what a good writer should do.

THE GANG

Chapter 2
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Have you ever seen two giraffes fight. They get right next to each other. Like conjoined twins or entwined lovers. Then they start whipping their heads and necks at each other, in an animal frenzy. This is how Sir Archy eats. Like two giraffes in a fight to the death. I have been watching for a half hour. I am still not sure who is winning. The man, the food, the spectators, the chef, me? I just can not turn my eyes away. Neither can anyone else. Half of me feels dirty inside. The other half thinks, if I continue to watch. All the secrets of the universe will be revealed to me. The only other time I have felt this way. When I was five and caught a glimpse of my parents making love. Both events left an impression on my psyche. Both events, I walked away changed. Some of my innocence lost. If I was a betting man. I would bet everything I own, that watching Sir Archy eat, has opened my third eye. It has it has, says the invader in my head. Douglas Adams was wrong. The answer to life, the universe, and everything in it. Is not 42. It is Sir Archy eating. Unless of course 42 refers to the amount of minutes it takes Sir Archy to eat. Then that guy was spot on.

As Sir Archy takes his next to last bite. The entire bar holds their collective breath. Total quiet. There is not a sound as history is made. When that last bite goes in. The entire bar erupts in cheers. People are pounding the table. Others are convulsing, giving praise. The women are gogo dancing in cages. The men are dancing with the old guy, from the Six Flag commercials. All of them dancing to The End, by the Doors. Neon signs reading YOU THE MAN and THIS IS CHANGE EVERYONE CAN BELIEVE IN, glow in the dark. The local news reporter comes down from the ceiling on a rope. Before he can ask his question, the world blinks. I look around and everyone is back in their seats, eating their meal or drinking their drinks.No Six flag guy. No cages. No neon signs. No reporter. Everything is calm. Everything is normal. Everything but me. Am I going mad? I do not remember jumping down any rabbit holes. I feel like my blood has stopped circulating. That the only thing keeping me going is the memory of being a man.

"Your Lobster-cracking", says Sir Archy while licking his fingers.

"I am what?"

"Lobster-cracking"

"What?"

"You know, lobster-cracking. Thats when the circulation of your blood is stopped by the magnetic fields of the machine."

"What machine?" And how does he know what I'm thinking. Are my thoughts leaking. Am I speaking them out loud without knowing.

"Did the Schoolmaster teach you nothing? One, the Air Loom. Two, I'm reading the comic book bubbles above your head. Three, see one. Four, also see one. Now shhhhh the waitress is coming and I already lost one shoe today. I don't need to lose a word. I already can't say _____ allegiance to the flag. See I can't say _____. No matter how hard I try. _____ _____ _____.

Sir Archy is right. I notice the waitress coming. A female dwarf wearing a mini skirt and a straightjacket that says. Bedlam bar and grill, where crazy meets drunk. Seeing her face, she looks like a mini me version of my wife. Our eyes meet and I remember the day my wife left me and took my son. It was a Saturday. I had found out two weeks ago she cheated on me with her high-school boyfriend. Her first love. Her excuse, she was bi-polar and she did not know why she does what she does. My excuse for still being there two weeks after, I'm stupid. I was on shot number five of Gentleman Jack, when she walked through the door. We went at each other, arguing, like two hurricanes hitting an island. The island being our son. When the sound of his cries entered the fog of my anger. I tried to stop the argument. I tried to walk away. She kept on. I'm stupid. I'm weak. I'm not man enough to handle her condition. I never loved her. I always use her. I'm a monster. My penis is small. I should kill myself. I'm pathetic. she loves me. No scratch that, she hates me. Remix it up, she loves me again. No, no, this just in, she hates me. I pick up my son to console him. With him in my arms I walk away from her. She comes up behind me and punches me three times in the back of my head..........Sir Archy spits in my face. When the spit hits my face it mixes with the tears flowing down my cheeks. The act brings me out of memory lane. I wipe my face and look up at the dwarf waitress smiling.

"You look sad sexy. I know what will make you feel better. Let me get you a cup of our new micro brew. Blue lotus flower. We have the hops shipped in from Egypt. Its yummy, just like you"

"No thank you"

"But...But..."

"Stop harlot. You tried, you failed. Go crawling back to your Middleman", interjects Sir Archy.

Anger enters the female dwarfs eyes, but she turns around and walks away. With every step she takes. Life and light enter my body. I feel less crazy. I feel more like my old self. I do not completly feel normal. But the scale is tipped closer to sane than crazy.

"Sir Archy, is it just me. Or has the population of dwarves in our neighborhood. Gone up quite dramatically."

"Hmmmm... you see dwarves? I see pink elephants. God, she sees pneumatic practitioners. When one is in front of you. The other six are in the next room over, dancing with magnets in their hands. Just do not ever inhale the vapors. Or snort the snuff. Or drink the micro brew. Otherwise you will be like me and your mind won't work so good. They are tricky little s.o.b's"

"What is going on?"

"I seem to have come into the story earlier that i was supposed to. You have not met the Schoolmaster"

"Who is the Schoolmaster. What is a Middleman. Who are you. Tell me what the f......"

"Stop! Do not swear. Never ever ever swear. You will break the rules of the universe. The Overlord and his watchers are always, well, watching. Every thread of the multiverse is under observation. You will be censored and banned from existence. Oh, and Egypt is not near 48th parallel north"

"I don't know what to say to that."

"Locations near 48th parallel north are the ideal growing enviornment for hops."

The lights go out and a tear gas canister is thrown through the door. Sir Archy jumps up and pushes me to the ground. He covers me with his body. He smells like stale cheeto's. I see the dwarf waitress run into a back room. Sir Archy and I and everyone around us. Start couging and crying. Thats when the S.W.A.T team bursts through the door.

END OF CHAPTER 2

The Gang

Chapter 3

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Who is talking. How did I get here. Where is Sir Archy. Wasn't I in a bar. There was a female dwarf who looked like my wife. There was people dancing. There was S.W.A.T. My memory is like water. Flowing constantly, a fast moving river. Only one thought is clinging to a rock. I am scared. Who is this tall man in a all white suit. Why is he still talking.

"Tell me everything I want to know! I will not be patient forever. If I snap my fingers. The two police officers behind me. Will put a bullet in your head. Do you know whats going on outside, in your city, as we speak. Have you ever heard of the night of the long knives. History will call tonight, the night of the silenced pistols. Well, if the winners decide to write it that way. A quarter of all Navy Seals are out there. Everything MI-6 has on this continent is out there. The same with Spetsnaz and Shayetet 13. Even the Polish Grom is out there. Basically every elite special force unit in the world is out there. Fighting each other in the shadows of your city.

They are all fighting to get to you. They all want to get into this police station. Into this cell. Into your brain. The only thing stopping them is me. All of this over you and you expect me to believe you have no idea what is going on. That its all a big misundertanding. That you were depressed and just wanted a drink and somehow, you magically end up in a bar, with a man who is wanted in every country. This man being dangerous is the only thing every single nation on earth can agree on. You want proof, the first thing the new Islamic Caliphate in Iraq and Syria did was issue a Jihad against this one man. This man who you say, is a harmless homeless bum. Is that what your telling me"

Did I tell him that? I look at the man in front of me and I want to cry and laugh at the same time. The invader in my head is telling me to smear myself in peanut butter and dance. The meaning of life is dance. Other thoughts are entering my mind and then disappearing in rapid succession. No matter how hard I try to remember them. My left eye is blinking and I can not control it. Three pimples have formed on the back of my hand as I stare at it.

I swear, deep in my bones, I can feel all the electricity in the building. I can feel the magnets in the pockets of the two dwarf police officers, pulling at my brain. Does the man talking to me not realize the two officers standing behind him are dwarfs. Does he not think that is odd. Can anyone else see the screen on the wall, that just appeared, that is replaying over and over again, the night my wife and son left me. I thought crazy people are not supposed to notice they are crazy. I can feel it, second by second. None of this is right. I can tell. I swear to god, I can tell. Nothing in the world is right. I am not right.

"You have nothing to say. Every seer and sensitive person on the planet had the same dream three nights ago. That you are the key to The Machine. So let me start again. Tell me what country the Schoolmaster is operating his Invisible Community College from. Tell me the location of The Lost King. Tell me what the Americans had the Glove Woman doing in the Ukraine. Tell me why Sir Archy is on American soil. Tell me what The Gang is up to. Tell me how to bypass the protocols and enter Palmyra Atoll. Tell me how long The Machine has been on Palmyra Atoll. Tell me any of these things and I will let you live a little longer"

Comic book bubbles appear above, the man who is speakings, head. They read. No matter what you tell me you are dead. The Seven Dwarfs will ride your dreams and eat your soul. They will carve out your insides and live in the husk of your skin. When they are done having their fun. I will burn the carcass and smear the ashes over my body. I will dance during the witching hour and pray to a dead God. I am the Middleman of the middle time.

"You are the Middleman of the middle time. I am a crazy man all of the time."

The look on his face is priceless. It almost makes the onset of madness worth it. My delusions are reaching out and touching the world. My reallity is all emcompassing. My viewpoint is becoming prominent. The world is shaping itself to my whims. About time says the invader. Shut up I scream-think and the invader goes reeling. I still feel him watching but he has given me space. Space to laugh. Space to cry. Space to breath. Space to think. Space to decide. What I decide is this. The world slows down and Sir Archy walks through the door behind the man in white and the two dwarf police men. He touches the two dwarf police officers on the shoulder. Like he is performing a vulcan nerve pinch. Empty skin slowly falls to the floor. Time speeds up and Sir Archy stands behind the Middleman.

"Middleman, Middlman no longer wants to be a little man."

"Sir Archy, I knew it was only a matter of time before you banished the dwarfs, but please leave. We do not need to be enemies. We do not have to fight. This does not have to be another Constantinople."

"Istanbul was Constantinople. Now it's Istanbul, not Constantinople. Been a long time gone, Constantinople. Now it's Turkish delight on a moonlit night"

"Sigh, I am the only thing keeping everyone out. Whoever has this man will have The Machine. Do you really think The Machine should be in the hands of the Americans or Russians or Israelies or anyone else. The Glove Woman played their game and they killed her."

"The Machine belongs to the Throne. The King sits on the Throne. After the King is the Schoolmaster. The Schoolmaster teaches. After the Schoolmaster is the Glove Woman. The Glove Woman controls. After the Glove Woman is the Middleman. The Middleman holds the middle time. After the Middleman is Sir Archy. Sir Archy walks the world. After Sir Archy is the King. And so the Gang goes on and on. Only the King sits on the Throne. The first King was Billy. The second King was silly. The third King was midden. The last King is hidden. The first becomes last. You are not the first or the last. You are not the King."

"He abandoned The Throne! He abandonded us! Any of us can sit on it now. We earned it. I earned it. The rest of you are just scared. Recruiting people like this chump to do your dirty work. The Gang had much higher s....t....a......n.......d...a.......r......d...s....i.....n.....m.....y.......d..."

The world slows down again and Sir Archy's eyes, look towards the screen on the wall. The screen that shows the worst day of my life. The comic book thought bubble above his head reads. GO!!! My mind quiets. I am sane for a split second. I know what I have to do. I remember the ghosts, of the parts of myself, I killed a long time ago. The world is slow but I am fast. I run towards the wall and jump into the screen. Into my memories. Into my hell.

END OF CHAPTER 3

a reply to: karmicecstasy

Very Good Reading! Some Good Eye Candy You have going here!
I just found this today and just finished part 3. Superb!

Looking forward to more! Later, Syx.

The Gang

Chapter 4

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I was born a poor black child. No, that was Steve Martin in the jerk. I was born a poor child. Thats what my mother told me. I can not see it. I swim in my memories but I can not see my birth. The first memory I have access to. Is watching the Jerk on TV at the age of seven. This is a memory I drift back to often. Because its the first adult movie I ever saw. Only now there are differences. There is a knock on the door. My mom wearing the most beautiful pair of red gloves. Walks to the door. She answers and I hear whispers. The whispers get louder. I hear my mom say, he is not ready. There are more whispers. Then my mom begins to close the door. In the gap I see a man in a oak brown 1920s style suit with a bowler hat. The last glimpse I get. Is of the man lighting and putting a cigar to his mouth. The man is Sir Archy. A Sir Archy that was. A Sir Archy that will be again. I look down at my hands expecting to see the hands of a child. Instead I see the hands of a man.

The next one I am in class. My first day of high-school. The first day I saw my future wife. It was love at first sight. At least for me. Out of all the girls in the room. I only had eyes for her. I look around but there is no one else in the room. All the kids I remember are gone. Their chairs just have names written on them. The chalk board that I thought read welcome to class. Now reads. Red head+Full figured+Green eyes+Milky white skin+Smart+Hippy = Love+Can not live without+Your drug+Your addiction+No resistance. I begin to shake and convulse. I fall to the floor. Before I black out. I see my mom still wearing the red gloves and Sir Archy talking to someone I knew as the principle. I always remember the principle being average and wearing a cheap suit. I was wrong. My mind was wrong. The principle is wearing the robes of a monk. He is tall and he has a eye tattooed in the middle of his forhead. Taped to his chest is a piece of paper that reads. Cheap suit, middle aged, normal. The paper on my moms and Sir Archys chest reads. Not here, can not see.

I swim deeper. She comes up behind me and punches me three times in the back of my head. I fall, but land in a way that allows me to cradle my son. My innocent crying son. The only thing I have ever loved more than I love myself. How could she do this. How could she hit me while I have our son in my arms. A rage builds up inside of me. I want to scream but do not want to scare my son. My wife keeps up the verbal assault.

"All the money in the world isn't worth this. Having to take care of you and some brat. They are always watching. Cameras everywhere. I can't have my own life. The thought of you touching me again makes me sick. At first it was ok. You were ok. I kinda liked you. The money was good. They said two years tops. Then they introduced a kid. Sure I got a bonus and I signed the new contract. But the cheating clause is not enough. I am in love now with him and I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. I hate you. I just want to be free again. Im sorry. I just want to be free. Free. Im so sorry. What have I done."

With her back to the wall she slides to the floor and covers her face with her hands. She begins to sob. Inbetween sobs she mutters, free and sorry. Over and over. She is just as broken as I am. She is as much a victim as I am. I look at the baby in my hands. The baby coos and smiles. The only thing real. Is the love I have for this child. That can never be taken away. Madness is contagious but fleeting. Love is forever. I have to cling to that thought. I hold the baby tighter. The baby starts to cry again.

"Hush, little baby, don't say a word. Daddys gonna buy you a mockingbird. And if that mockingbird won't sing. Daddys gonna buy you a diamond ring. And if that diamond ring turns brass. Daddys gonna buy you a looking glass. And if that looking glass breaks apart. Daddys gonna buy you a horse and cart. And if that horse and cart falls down. You'll still be the sweetest little baby in town."

A group of men, wearing robes, rush into the room. I feel the needle enter my neck as they pull my son away. He will always be my son, no matter what. Even if he is not mine by blood. He is mine through love. I try to fight. I try so hard to fight. My wife. My handler. Does a better job. She kicks and screams. The butt of a rifle to the head stops her. At least she tried. The last thing I think before passing out is. I forgive you my love. You tried your best. I forgive you.

Fast forward. I am sitting down watching television. Its a news report on the Ukraine. I miss my wife and son. As the news caster is talking about the latest atrocity. I see a picture of a woman hanging from a bridge. Its my mother, wearing her beautiful red gloves. My mind bursts and breaks. Protocol THIS IS THE END. MY ONLY FRIEND THE END activates.

END OF CHAPTER 4

Chapter 5

I am my only friend. I become one with the invader. The part of me that was outside. My mind heals and grows. My memory restored. I find Sir Archy. The one who walks the earth. I pull him from the middle time before he kills the Middleman. The Middleman must always hold the middle time. We intersect with Space Time at Palmyra Atoll. I remove the protocol of HAND BEFORE FIST. Now all may enter. All may remember. I expect the Schoolmaster to be along shortly. The Invisible Community College in the slums of Sao Paulo is already being emptied. The plan worked. My enemies lost me. When I lost myself. I hid until they were all weak.

The world is mad. So mad that it is beyond repair. The tipping point has been reached. The Machine has been turned on since man fell. Only the insane can feel it. We move The Machine from place to place. War and death follows. The Machine calls the Others. The Others from the outside. The Others are my enemy. The Others ride man. They make you weak. They make you angry. They make you fear. They make you hate. They ride man so well. That man does not notice. The Gang is here to speed things along. To make man easier to invade. I draw my enemies from outside into man. The others make man crazy. Man makes the others weak. This is a war you can not understand. Man was chosen because man breeds fast and out of control. All my enemies are now in man. All my enemies are weak. I weep for the men of this earth but we had to pick one earth so all worlds would be free of those from Outside. I war for all of creation. Not just this little speck. I have won this battle. I just need to sit on The Throne. Yet some things went wrong.

"Sir Archy why was not this body's training completed."

"Love"

"Love?"

"Yes love. With the Kingly parts of yourself Outside. The man you became loved to much. The programing kept breaking. We tried everything. Both darkness and light. We even gave him a mother, a wife, a son. Nothing worked. We invented enemies and delusions once the Glove Woman died and the proper protocols were initiated. So your memories would return."

"So the Americans, the most powerful of this world, took the bait?"

"Hook line and sinker. They wanted to start war with the Russians so bad. They joyfully asked us to let loose The Machine on the Ukraine. They then of course wanted it for themselves. The dreams we sent to the sensitives helped as well. The new Glove Woman should manifest in a human host shortly. The wife of your other self has been chosen. And so The Gang goes on."

"The boy, the son my other self loved?"

"Has been in training with the Schoolmaster. His timeline has been accelerated. He will be ready to lead whats left of man. This world will join the war."

"Do you think what we do is wrong?"

"I have walked many earths. The Others from Outside are one of the enemy. The enemy is winning. The great conclave decided to draw the Others all to this world. To make this world the most evil and corrupt world. The Machine is a weapon. Collateral damage is expected. Enough will survive thanks to the students of The Invisible Community College and the boy will lead them. They will become one with the multiverse and swell our ranks for the next battle against The Overlord. What is more important. Billions of fallen self-slaves unaware of the universe around them. Or a thousand new members of The Gang"

I have doubts but I do what I must do. Trecentillions of souls are at stake. I am a soldier in a war for all creation. I must sit on The Throne of this world. Once I do the Others riding man will be trapped. When man dies. The Others die with you. The Machine will have served its purpose. I make my way to the throne. The Schoolmaster bows. The new Glove Woman claps. The Middleman does nothing. His role was the hardest to play. Sir Archy weeps. My name is Billy. Like my father before me. He was the first King of this world. I am the fourth King of this world. The Last King. You could also call me the last general. We have been here a long time. I was born on an earth that never fell. I sit on The Throne. This front of the war is closed. This world burns.

------------------------------

"Sir, the Russians and Chinese have launched their missiles."

"What are you waiting for. Launch everything we have."

"Sir............"

"If enough of us survive to get to The Machine first. We will be the sole rulers of this planet. We have more bunkers then them. Its a numbers game. The USA will be supreme. Who needs the stinking masses. The 1% is what matters. I am what matters. I am rich. I am famous. Now launch the missiles or I will shoot you and launch them myself."

"Yes Sir."

"Do you feel it. This is power."

END OF CHAPTER 5

END OF THE GANG

Well thats my story. I wrote it to make sense of why the world was so crazy. It might be a cop out that it was outside forces. It was the first story I have written since High-school. I am 30 years old now. It was an experiment. A test to see if I could finish a story. I am not 100 percent happy with it. But it came out better than I thought. And I finished it...YAY

I did not plan anything ahead. I was winging it the entire way. At times I got stuck. I did not have an outline. With my next story I for sure will have an outline first. That is one thing I learned. I just wrote each chapter and then immediately posted it in this thread. I used the ATS spell checker to fix spelling errors. That was the extent of it. So they were all basically first drafts. I might at a later date go back and rework the whole story for a second draft.

Thank you to Expat888, rockintitz, SyxPak, your kind words were much appreciated. And to anyone else who read parts of the story and gave me stars and or flags. Its what kept me writing the story. Because personally I did not think it was very good. Hopefully I get better.

Great job for winging it .. very well done ..

a reply to: karmicecstasy

Very Good Job Indeed! I see no cop-out here. I see a pretty well balanced Story. I hope you don't mind, I have saved all parts, into one, for my Files. I don't have many Full Stories saved. I consider Your works, well worth saving for my future enjoyment of a re-read!

Keep up the writing! For 'Winging It', You did a fabulous Job! Well done KarmicEcstasy!!

P.S. Check your U2U messages. I'm going to drop you a line on something, different, You may like...... Syx.

a reply to: karmicecstasy
Before reading what anyone-else has to say about it...
WoW!
Captivating -- Highly entertaining.
I want more...!


ETA: This reply was written before reading the 2nd - 5th installments (I didn't scroll down, to see that they were already posted)... As seen in my next reply...I was not disappointed.

a reply to: karmicecstasy
It may not have been good to your standard/s --- I would have felt justified paying money, to read it!
Perhaps...because so much of it...seemed so...eerily familiar.

a reply to: karmicecstasy

Thanks for a great read this morning! Wing it more often!
You provide some great imagery, and I love the concept.

a reply to: karmicecstasy

First off, this is very good. It made me laugh multiple times and that's a great way to capture your reader's attention . Really interested in reading more. I would have like to hear more about the time setting and the setting in general.
Maybe revise it a little bit and go into more detail on that subject.

That was nicely done.

I should "wing it" so well...

Again, good work.

Ok scratch my first comment. I didn't realize the whole thing was up there. Although I do wish it was longer. Its so good I wanted it to keep going!

Thank you WanDash, woodsmom, PageLC14, and seagull. I am a little overwhelmed at how many people liked it. I was not expecting any responses lol. From the bottom of my heart. Thanks again to everyone. I plan on going over this story and retooling it and expanding it in a month or so. I want time to pass so I can look at it with fresh eyes.

For those who are interested in more from me. I am currently working on a world building exercise that should be longer than The Gang. Its a brand new fantasy world I am creating from the ground up. I have been working on the background of the world since I finished The Gang. After that, I am going to follow some sage advice I received, and write several one shot, 2 page short stories to work on being more descriptive and in the moment, as I see that as my weakest link. This is a journey into writing. I hope some of you take this journey with me.