//------------------------------// // Chapter 11: Back in the Saddle // Story: Devil's Due // by All American //------------------------------// Author’s note: Wait… no author’s note this time?! What is this story coming to?! - With Ulik out-cold in the corner, I opened the door and was greeted by Celestia in all of her pride and glory. I motioned for her to come inside and she gave me a polite nod and waltzed in. I glanced over to Ulik and saw that he was starting to come to as he adjusted the hat on his head. I turned my attention back to Celestia as she made her way to the center of the room. “When I send you back home,” she began “you will have somewhere in the realm of three to ten hours before you are brought back.” “I’ll be quick.” I said, crossing my arms. “Nice outfit by the way. It suits you well.” “I’ll take that as a compliment.” Without another world spoken, her horn began to glow with a blinding white light. The entire room was lit up as if it was noon. A ball of light began to accumulate at the end of her horn before she flicked her head to the side and casted it to the ground. As the ball of energy connected with the ground, it expanded into a large, 2-d hole that a large city street could be seen through. I stared into the hole for a moment before Celestia spoke. “There is a side effect to this spell.” She said is a voice so small, it was like she didn’t want me to hear it. “I’m not gonna grow a tail or third arm, am I?” “Nothing like that,” she explained “when you are in there, we will be telepathically linked.” “So you’re going to be rattling around in my skull? How deep does the rabbit hole go?” “I won’t be able to dig through your memories or thoughts, but I will be able to hear everything you say and think. I will also feel all of your senses as if I was in your body.” “Oh am I going to have fun with you.” I said with my true colors starting to show through. “Please be gentle.” She asked in a pleading voice. “No promises.” With our exchange finished, I stepped into the hole and was greeted by an autumn wind and a full moon hanging over Youngstown. I turned around to see that the hole grew smaller and smaller behind me until it disappeared into nothingness. The last thing I saw was Ulik staring back at me. I turned back around and found that I stood in the middle of the Youngstown State University courtyard. I looked over at the clock tower and saw that it was just shy of 11pm. The courtyard was strangely empty as I walked along the sidewalk. YSU was a relatively new campus, so the buildings reflected that in their architecture. All of the buildings had rounded corners and were either covered in glass or concrete. I knew that my first order of business was to find myself a set of wheels. ‘You are not going to steal something are you?’ a voice in my head inquired. ‘Who the fuck said that?! Is that you conscious? I’ve had a bone to pick with you ever since that fight in ’02.” ‘No, this is Celestia, remember?’ ‘Get out of me head!’ ‘I can’t, remember.’ ‘Great.’ I cut off my thoughts as I reached the street. I could see that all of the streetlights had come to life and cars were lining the street. It was a small comfort to hear the hum of the fluorescent lights once again. I walked up to the first car on the street and jiggled the handle. ‘Locked. It’s always locked.’ I thought ‘For good reason apparently.’ Celestia shot up. ‘Shut it before I start blaring music in my head.’ The voice immediately went quiet as I walked over to the next car. I placed my hand under the handle and gave it on large tug. Locked as well. Cursing at no one specifically, I walked up to an SUV. It was a large, black Hummer H2. I gave the handle a tug and the door flew open. ‘What a dumbass.’ I thought as the voice in my head laughed at my reaction. I jumped into the driver’s seat and adjusted the mirrors. I slid the seat back and finished the mirrors. ‘I swear, whoever this thing belongs to is a friggin’ midget.’ ‘What did I say about being pleasant?’ With that said, I thought of Deadmau5’s song ‘Cthulhu Sleeps’ right when the bass drops. *WUB WUB WUB WUB WUB…* “POINT TAKEN!’ the voice called out. I mentally laughed and killed the mental music. With Celestia quieted, I leaned under the steering column and pulled the plastic cover off of the wiring. ‘I must say that I am impressed by the technological capabilities of your species.’ She said with a tone of curiosity. ‘Thanks….I guess?’ I shrugged off the comment and got back to work. I reached into my overcoat and retrieved my knife. With my knife, I began to strip away the plastic coating over the wires. I had never done this before but seeing it in the movies gave me a slight idea of how to do it. With the wires stripped, I began to touch wires together haphazardly. Red+green= nothing Blue+green= nothing Blue+yellow= a slight rumble Yellow+green= Ignition! The Hummer sprang to life and the engine gave a loud roar as played with the accelerator. I looked over at the passenger’s side and saw a large CD case on it. I lifted the CD case onto my lap and flipped it open. I found that whoever this car belonged to had a very similar taste in music. The CD case had a few Rolling Stones albums, a few Deadmau5 (speak of the devil) albums, and various other artists that would take me too long to name. I selected a Rolling Stones CD and slid it home into the radio. After a few seconds the radio FLARED TO LIFE AS LOUD AS IT COULD. “HOLY MOTHERFUCKER!’ I yelled as I turned down the radio. I shook my head and shifted into drive. This is where the fun would begin. - I had been driving along the outskirts of the city for roughly a half an hour, admiring the lights of the city when my destination came into view. I flicked on my turn signal and got onto the exit. At this time of night only the drug addicts and criminals were out. I made an immediate right turn into the abandoned foundry district. One side of the street was abandon steel mill that had closed in the 70s (a favorite hangout for addicts) and the other half was lined with houses. It was an odd street. For every twenty drug dens and gang houses, there was a house with an old couple that refused to leave. You could tell by their lawns. On each side of the house would be over grown lawns and trash but in the middle sat a perfectly manicured lawn. I continued along the street until the house I wanted came into view. ‘That is our destination Princess. Population ten. Roughly five gang members, four drug addicts, and one racist illegal arms dealer.’ ‘Sounds delightful.’ ‘I’m glad to see my sarcasm rubbing off on you.’ I pulled into the gravel driveway and shifted into park. I removed my holster, which was outside of my suit due to my idiocy, and took the handgun out. Without thinking, I pulled the slide back and shoved the gun into my over coat. With both of my hands on the steering wheel, I took a deep breath and cut off the engine. I turned to my left and opened the door. I was greeted by two thugs in red. They seemed to be roughly young and spoke like they had only ever lived with rappers. “What the fuck you want?” one of the thugs asked. I looked at them and noticed that one had an AK-47 and the other had an unidentified handgun. The thug with the AK leveled it with my face “I said, what the fuck you want, whitie!” I threw my hands up and said “I’d like to see David. I need a piece.” The one with the handgun walked up to me and press and grabbed my shoulders. He slammed me against the Hummer. “How do you know David?” he asked, trying to seem tough. “Heard his name through a friend at work a while back.” Judging from the look in the thug’s eyes, I could tell he believed me and he let me go. The one with the AK stepped forward. “I’m gonna have to pat you down first.” “Does it matter if I’m carrying? I’m going in there to buy a gun anyway.” The guard gave me the most unamused look I had ever seen. ‘I don’t like these poni- I mean people.’ Celestia said with fear in her tone. ‘Pipe down, I can handle this.’ I shot back. I place my hand on the AK’s barrel and pushed it down “There is no need for that. Go ahead.” The guard with the AK backed away and the handgun-carrying guard stepped forward. He placed his hands on my side and dragged them down the course of my body, just missing my handgun. I let out a mental sigh as the guard nodded to the other one. “He’s clean.” I turned to the AK guard and waved me inside. I stepped onto the porch as it creaked under my weight. It was obvious that whoever owned this property didn’t care for it. I stepped up to the door and knocked three times. The door flew open and a plume of pot smoke engulfed my face. A scrawny little kid opened the door, and by kid I mean he was no older than 18. The kid was dressed in rags and looked like he needed his next fix badly. “H-hi.” He said in a very timid voice “Y-you aren’t here for money are you? Please…” he pleaded before he started to cry “I’ll get your money soon! I-I-I’m sorry.” A little bit of pity began to build in my heart as I watched him cry in the door way. I walked up to him and he flinched as I placed a hand on his shoulder. “Don’t worry; I’m just here to see David. What are you doing in a place like this kid?” “Heroin is a hell of a drug.” He said wiping the tears from his eyes. “Why don’t you leave this place?” I asked. “Without the stuff, I’ll die.” I said. “I doubt that. You are stronger than you think.” “Thanks. David is upstairs.” I gave the kid a pat on his shoulder and sent him back into the house with me in tow. I locked my eyes on the stairs in the corner and slowly made my way toward them. My new dress shoe click against the hard wood floor as I made my way toward them. As I walked through the main room, I noticed that there were various other dregs of society as I made my way toward the stairs. I counted at least three thugs with AKs and Tek-9s as I walked along. I placed one foot on the first stair and took a deep breath. ‘I’ve never been in a more unpleasant place in my life.’ Celestia pointed out. ‘Welcome to a day in Youngstown, where every day is filled with happy people and sunshine.’ I blocked her out again and made my way up the stairs. As I walked up, I could hear yelling and crying coming from the top of the stairs. When I reached the hallway at the top, I noticed that the floors hadn’t been vacuumed in years and that the paint had begun to peel of the walls. I slowly made my way toward the door at the end of the hall and heard the crying increase in intensity. When I reached the door it flew open and a woman in the skimpiest outfit I had ever seen ran out the door and bumped into me. I towered over her at six foot when she could only be 5ft at the most. “And don’t come back, bitch!” a gruff voice called out from the room. I placed my hands on the girl’s shoulders and mover her aside. “Excuse me ma’am, I have business to attend to.” I said while pulling out my wallet. I removed a $50 and handed it to her because I sure as hell didn’t need it. “Please try to find a nice place to stay for the night.” I said as she took the bill out of my hand “And try to acquire a better taste in men too.” She walked down the hallway, wiping her tears before turning around and saying “Why can’t more men be like you?” “I asked the same question!” I said with a laugh. She smiled at me and walked down the stairs. I turned back around stepping to the room. The room was maybe 10ftx10ft and had a large mattress sitting in the corner of the room. Other than that there was nothing of interest other than the smell of crack smoke and gunpowder. I walked farther into the room and the door closed behind me. I spun around and found that a 5ft 7inch tall man with a dirty tank top and jeans was standing at the door. The man had a small Glock automatic in his hands and a cigarette in the other. He took a drag from the cig and began to scratch his neck nervously. This had to be David. “Are you a fucking fed?” he said raising the Glock to my head. I threw my hands up and said “No, I just need some guns.” “The fuck you do.” He replied “NONE of my customers come in dressed like that!” he said noticing my suit. “I assure you, I am clean. I got in here just fine didn’t I?” “What the fuck does that prove?” he asked while continuing to scratch. “You didn’t hear any shouting or gunshots did you?” I pointed out. “No.” “Thank you for proving my point.” He dropped his Glock back to his side and walked over to his bed. “What is your name?” he asked. “Names are for friends, so I don’t need one.” I said with a scowl on my face. ‘This Stallion is a pig!’ Celestia yelled from the confines of my mind. ‘I said shut up! I’ll handle this.’ I walked over to the window and place my hands on the window sill. I could see my Hummer sitting in the driveway as the thugs from earlier were eye-humping it. “If you want to do business, you’ll tell me your name fucker.” “The name is Ryan in that case.” “Sure. What are you looking for?” David asked. “Something automatic. Fully auto.” I pointed out. Without any more propagation, he stood up and walked over to his closet. He slid the door open and removed a Tek-9 from the large pile of weapons. He pulled back the action and tossed it over to me. I caught it and played with it for a moment. “To small.” I said tossing it back to him. “Ok, try this.” He said, tossing me an AK-47. “Fires 7.62x39mm and can’t be broken.” “Too much recoil, the barrel is too long, and it isn’t accurate enough.” I replied before tossing the rifle back to him. David scratched his chin before throwing a finger in the air. “I know what you want.” He said before sifting through his weapon cache. After a few minutes of sifting through the pile of metallic death, he grabbed a black rifle and tossed it over to me. “G36C. Its got a nine inch barrel and fire 750 rounds of 5.56x45mm NATO a minute.” “I like it. Matches my suit.” “Now,” he said clapping his hands together “how are you going to pay?” “In ammunition.” I said. I felt Celestia stir to life in my head and ask ‘What are you planning Ryan?!’ ‘To clean the Earth of this scum.’ David walked up to me as I set the G36c against the wall. “I could accept the trade. My ammo shipment from Mexico is late.” He explained, trying to crunch numbers in his head “How much ammo are we talking.” “One .45 ACP.” I said coldly. “What do you mean by that?!” he said as he reached for his Glock. I threw my hands out and grabbed his wrists, driving him into the wall next to the closet door. He let out a yelp of surprise as he slammed into the wall. I bent his arms into the door and slammed the door closed on them. He cried out in pain before I did it again. With a loud snap, his right arm broke and he dropped his gun into the pile. I grabbed him by his shirt and threw him into the wall behind me. When his back connected with the wall, he slid down onto his ass and grabbed his arm in pain. I slowly walked up to him and drew my M1911A1 from my jacket. As I walked up to him, I leveled the handgun with his face and he looked up at me with crying eyes. “You sell guns to criminals and children. You have chosen your path in life and now you will pay for it.” I said, flicking off the safety “I’m sorry it turned out this way.” “WAI-“ *BANG* ‘I-I-I…’ Celestia muttered. ‘I said I’d handle it.’ I ran over to the G36C and lifted it into my arms. I could hear footsteps charging up the hall as I ran over to the door and locked it. It wouldn’t hold them for long, but it would be long enough. “David! Open the door!” a voice called out as someone bashed themselves against the door. I knelt down and set the rifle on the floor. I honestly hopped this would work. I placed both of my hands on the rifle and concentrated all of my will onto it. Just like before, my mark began to feel like someone was beating it with a hammer. I grunted in pain as I focused my will onto the rifle. Just as I opened my eyes, I looked down at the gun and praised an unknown deity. The magazine had merged itself with the gun and the same floral pattern from my handgun etched itself on the side of the rifle. “Now it’s go time!” I said bringing the stock up to my shoulder. I leveled the rifle with the door and pulled back the charging handle. I let the handle fall forward with a satisfying clunk. I flicked the safety off and switched the firing mode to ‘fully-auto’. Without so much as thinking about their actions, two thugs with AKs kicked the door open and were met with the barrel of my G36. “Hello.” I said before letting out two bursts of five into each thug. Both thugs dropped to the ground and went limp. I praised my lucky stars as I ran out the door. ‘That wasn’t necessary!’ Celestia yelled in my skull. ‘But it was and don’t you fucking deny it!’ I ran to the stairs and swung the barrel of the rifle over the banister of the stairwell. My peek was met with two bursts of SMG fire that connected with the wall to my left. I lifted my G36 over the banister and let out a long burst of blind fire. I fired roughly 50 rounds before peeking my head over the ledge and saw the aggressors were cut down. I ran down the stairs and saw the two thugs were still passed out (most likely on heroin) and I let out a long burst into the sleeping thugs. With most of the guards dead (I hope), I heard a whimper come from the kitchen and I ran into it. I searched the area with my G36 and found that no one was there. I walked over to the pantry opened it while keeping the rifle leveled with the door. My rifle was met with the same kid that had opened the door. “Please don’t shoot!” he cried in fear. “I told you to leave!” I shouted back. I collapsed the stock of the rifle and grabbed the kid by the shirt collar “Your coming with me.” “Just don’t kill me!” As I dragged him along, I opened the door to the street and ran out. As we ran, I could hear sirens starting up in the distance. I opened the back door to the Hummer and threw the kid into the backseat. I slammed the door and climbed into the front seat. I wrapped the yellow and green wires together and the Hummer roared to life. I flipped it into reverse and flew out of the driveway. When I was one the street, I switched over to drive and sped off into the distance. - After an hour of driving around in circles, I looked in the backseat and saw that the kid was asleep. I pulled into the downtown district of the city and saw a Citi bank. I drove the Hummer up and into the drive through and came across an ATM machine. I punched in my credentials and saw my account sat at a grand. I asked for all of it and the machine began to spit out the cash in five $100s, eight $50s, and ten $10s. As the Hummer sat running, I counted the cash and found that everything was in order. I pulled out of the bank and continued down the road. - After ten minutes, I pulled into an Exxon station and pulled up to a pump. I jumped out of the Hummer and walked into the storefront as the clock stuck 2am. I open the door to be greeted by fluorescent lights and various isles of products. I began to collect things I would need to maintain my equipment. I grabbed a few spark plugs, six five-gallon gas cans, five bottles of oil, two bottles of transmission fluid, an extra Duralast battery, an air compressor that ran off of a cigarette lighter, and an emergency tool kit. I walked up to the counter and place my large basket of items on the counter. The cashier gave me a funny look before ringing up my items. “That’ll be $190.” He said, placing everything into a large bag. I handed him $300 and said “I’m going to fill up on the pump where the black Hummer sits. You can keep what I don’t use.” Before he could say thanks, I grabbed my large bag o’ shit and made my way to the pump. I took all of the gas cans out and set them on the ground next to the pump. I took everything else and threw it into the trunk and slammed the door closed. I returned the pump and began filling the Hummer and the cans. - After twenty minutes of filling the gas cans and tank, I returned to the driver’s seat. I grabbed the G36 from the passenger seat and tucked it into my coat. It was a snug fit, but you could hardly tell it was there. With my guns tucked away, I look back at the kid I had ‘saved’ from the den and shook him awake. He sat up and rubbed his eye before recoiling in fear. ‘Don’t hurt him. Please…’ Celestia begged in my mind. ‘I wasn’t going to.’ ‘What are you going to do then?’ ‘You’ll see. How much time do I have?’ ‘Less than an hour I think.’ I placed a hand on the kid’s shoulder and tried to calm him down. “Please don’t hurt me!” he begged from the backseat. “Quit assuming that shit-stain.” I barked at him “What is your name?” “Steve Brights.” He said as he began to calm down somewhat. “Listen,” I said taking my last $700 and holding it in front of him “I want you to take this.” I tossed it into his lap and he gave me a puzzled look. “Why? Is this a bribe? I swear I won’t say a thing.” “It’s not a bribe; it is to get your life back on track.” “Why do you care?” “Do you want me to take it back?” “No, it’s just, why are you helping me?” “Because where I’m going, I don’t need it.” “What do you want me to do?” “Find a job and clean yourself up. If I find that you spent this money on drugs, alcohol, or hookers, I’ll kill you myself. Slowly.” I turned around in my seat and placed my forehead against the steering wheel. “Now get out and find some place to stay.” “Thanks.” “Don’t mention it kid.” Steve opened his door and jumped out onto the concrete before turning around and asking “Could I ask where you are going?” I pulled my head from the wheel and said “To Hell and back if I don’t change my ways.” I noticed in the mirror that he gave a slight nod before running off into the darkness. ‘That was sweet of you.’ Celestia said with pride in her tone. ‘Tell anyone and I’ll break your legs.’ I shot back. I shook my head and reached for the CD case. I retrieved a Deadmau5 CD and slid it into the CD player. The song began to play and I cranked it to ear-shattering volume to cover up the emptiness in my soul. I turned the Hummer on and drove off into the night. - I drove for another half an hour before a light suddenly appeared before the hood of the SUV. I was going too fast to avoid and blasted right on through. The light blinded me as I let off the gas and slammed on the brake. My head shot forward due to the expected deceleration and connected with the steering wheel. “Goddammit.” I mutter before sitting back in my seat. I peered out of the window and noticed I wasn’t in Youngstown anymore. I could see that I now sat in the middle of Ponyville with Twilight’s house just in front of my hood. I sighed and turned off the SUV. I was back and for all I cared, I just wanted to get some damn sleep.