Warped Minds, Inc.

By

Heather J. Kintyre
 All characters and events in this book are
fictitious. Any resemblance to persons
living or dead is strictly coincidental.

Printed in the United States of America

Copyright © 2000, 2001 by Heather J.

Kintyre
All Rights Reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced or
transmitted in any form or by any means,
graphic, electronic, or mechanical,
including photocopying, recording, taping
or by any information storage or retrieval
system, without the permission in writing
from the publisher.

ISBN: 0-75961-817-8

This book is printed on acid free paper.

1stBooks - rev. 02/01/01

 Acknowledgements

I could never have written this book

without the invaluable help of the many
musicians whose music ranged from the late
1950's to the present. Many of those
musicians include but are not limited to
Buddy Holly, Harry Belafonte, Air Supply,
John Gary, John Denver, The Turtles, Ricky
Nelson, and then some.

iii
iv
 Dedication

To one of my dearly beloved and best

friends, Timmy Timid; April 16,
1986-December 23, 2000. She was a
brave little trooper who put up a
good fight before the reaper took
her, as it does for us all
eventually.

v
vi
 Table of Contents

Readjustment Blues ....................... 1

The Introduction ........................ 17
Julie’s Past ............................ 43
Julie’s Narrow Escape ................... 60
R & R ................................... 78
Julie’s Attempt ......................... 98
The Search ............................. 112
The Departure .......................... 125
The Vacation ........................... 142
Johnny ................................. 153
A Leisurely Stroll ..................... 169
A Satisfying Walk ...................... 180
A Fatal Mistake ........................ 196
Morgaine ............................... 215
The Kids ............................... 229
A Family History ....................... 246
Justice Served ......................... 263
The Break .............................. 278
Charley ................................ 293
The Meeting ............................ 309
The Void ............................... 328
The Escape ............................. 345

vii
A Forced Return ........................ 356
The Wall ............................... 377
A Deep Dark Hole ....................... 396
The Big Whig ........................... 411
Julie’s Trip ........................... 429
The Party .............................. 439
Success, At Last ....................... 453
Epilogue ............................... 477

viii
 Preface

You may notice some words seem to be

misspelled; the spelling and some
expressions go much further back than the
last thousand years or more. Such terms as
salesman, gentleman, gay, etc. are often
used according to olde English. Pan does
pretty well considering the major steps in
tyme, but some of his spelling will seem to
be a little wrong.

ix
x
 Foreword

If you are strong minded, this book’s

for you. If not, mayhap you will be after
you’ve finished...if you ever make it so
far.

xi
xii
 Introduction

Here continues the story of a family of

time lords; a few are Guardians of our
universe.

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 Warped Mind, Inc.

READJUSTMENT BLUES

While Pan was with the other time lords,

Vera had grown up, lived and escaped her
earlier life, having found and taken up
residence in a cemetery. Her name in her
reincarnated life was Stella.
In the most recent five years of
Stella’s life, before she met Pan, she was
barely twenty when she was forced to marry
a violent man. Stella had been on the run,
having escaped her married life. Stella
travelled around before settling down, and
eventually she found a cemetery that was
perfect for her new lifestyle. It was a
little over a couple months after Stella’s
escape from her violent husband Mark that
Stella would meet with Pan.
Pan returned to the tyme machine after
the time lords finished. He was sent back
to earth, the tyme machine already
preprogrammed to land at the time and place
assigned by the time lords, specifically
Zeus. When Pan went outside, he looked
around. His tyme machine had taken the
camouflaged appearance of looking like a
gray coloured marble crypt, like before. It
had the heading ‘TANNER’ written above it,
and he smiled at the humor of it. He was in
a more secluded part of a cemetery on the
edge of a still small town.
While Pan was exploring the cemetery he
spied a woman hovering over a grave. Upon a
closer look, she’s all dirty and unkempt
with ragged clothes. When the woman saw Pan

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Heather J. Kintyre

she ran off behind some trees. Pan walked

over to where she was and looked around.
Apparently she had been feeding on a corpse
that was yet to be buried.
“I suppose this is the woman.” Pan spoke
quietly and sighed as he looked up at the
sky. The Immortals could be seen faintly.
Zeus nodded his head in acknowledgment
before they all faded away. Pan looked over
towards the woman who resumed dining upon
another corpse.
“Well, I think I could do for a bracer
before I start in on this. Naturally I’ll
return to this moment in time when I’m
done.” Pan looked into the sky where Zeus
and the others faded away, but he knew they
would still be watching a little while
longer. No one could be seen, so Pan
cloaked himself as he changed into a golden
eagle and took to the air, looking over the
places below him.
As Pan’s flying gently in the air the
gentle breeze brings him to some life forms
below. Pan folded his wings in, and started
diving straight down, going as fast as he
could, as he got closer to the ground. He
screamed as he looped around, then behind,
the life form he flew passed. He’s flying
so fast that by the time the life form
takes notice and turns around, Pan’s well
out of sight. The life form heard the
scream though, and left it very disturbed.
It’s sad to know that a possible soul
mate heard Pan’s scream of pain. That was a
part of the painful mortal life Pan
renounced upon his mortal death so long
ago, yet still remembered so clearly.
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 Warped Mind, Inc.

Alas, that life force Pan startled, and

any others, weren’t capable of helping Pan
in his painful journey as a mortal. He
wanted so desperately to trust someone
honest of human descent, but his melancholy
‘gifts’ wouldn’t allow him to do so. He
still can’t trust anyone except his tyme
machine, and now he has to try to gain the
complete trust of someone else. Knowing how
he was and still is, that may not be
possible to help this woman very much since
it’s a two-way street when it comes to
absolute trust.
As Pan flew, a mysterious host gave him
some Kenya AA coffee. Pan looked up. The
starry night sky twinkles and calls to him.
Pan sighs in deep despair. With a desire to
escape the cruel world he’s confined to,
Pan flies further up and out into the night
sky.
Someone joined Pan. They also search for
their long lost loved one. Together they
fly straight and high into the distance.
They eventually fly out of the atmosphere.
They fly past galaxies at a very fast pace.
Unfortunately, the other one is becoming an
annoyance. It’s nice for a while, but Pan’s
a hermit at heart.
Now Pan’s trying to lose the companion;
she obviously lied to Pan in order to get
closer. Pan wants and needs to be alone.
The other one now refuses to leave
convinced that Pan must have been joking.
The life form has a massive ego about
itself, believing it’s irresistible to
everyone, and no one could possibly want to
be rid of her. She’s one of those super
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Heather J. Kintyre

egotistical idiots that don’t know their

ass from a hole in the ground-put in a
condensed description, a severely ignorant
pompous ass. She’s convinced that she’s
very attractive and that Pan truly desires
her. Typical of such conceited life forms.
She’s keeping up with Pan, who’s starting
to panic. He’s consumed with the desire to
be rid of this annoying life form. She’s
obstructing the freedom Pan fought so hard
and long for. Pan is flattered on one side
that anyone would desire him, but scared at
being trapped on the other. Then he was
able to detect the strong conceit, and
something else-something dangerous. Was
this another trick of Zeus? No one was
going to restrict his freedom, take him
unawares, never leaving him alone for as
long as he wants and needs.
Out of desperation Pan shed a layer of
his outer soul. It’s equivalent to
dislocating the shoulder then ‘popping’ it
back in place. The woman thought she caught
Pan; she thought that he killed himself,
and can’t understand how anyone could
reject her. The woman firmly believed that
she would be able to control Pan, and that
Pan would come around to wanting and
desiring her. When she catches Pan’s empty
shell, she’s shocked to think that Pan
actually sacrificed his life in order to
avoid her. All she has now in her arms is
the empty shell of a body. Naturally she
stops her pursuit, not seeing Pan escape.
The woman was holding the outer layer of
Pan’s soul, which looks like the actual
shape of Pan. It’s similar to how a snake
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 Warped Mind, Inc.

sheds its skin. The ‘skin’ will eventually

die and evaporate into nothing. Pan’s soul
will regenerate, but it always leaves him
feeling very tired until his soul is
restored. Even though only 10% was shed,
and Pan’s shed up to as much as 50% before
without much discomfort, it always drained
him.
The ‘shedding’ technique, as David
called it, was taught to Pan when they were
still new to having the tyme machines, and
Skyner was training Pan, as Apollo was
training David. David was experimenting
with a lot of different techniques,
mastering them all. Not many used the now
rare art of shedding the outer layer of
their souls. The shedding technique was
useful just for such purposes, as it
allowed Pan to escape back to safety.
Pan knew that she had to be a fairly new
traveller, because the time lords of older
ages knew of the ‘shedding’ technique.
Although used hardly at all, it used to be
used frequently, mostly by the women. The
fad died out when the men started ignoring
the women who used it to try gaining their
attention.
Pan went back to earth, as agreed, to
the same time and place from where he left.
Pan recovered, and then used the tyme
machine to go back in time to when he left
originally.
When Pan stepped out of the tyme
machine, he looked around. He was in the
same cemetery; there was a sloping hill
nearby, a pyramid and off into the distance
he could see the screen of a drive-in
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Heather J. Kintyre

theatre. Pan went over to investigate the

pyramid. The remaining stones to cover the
front up were left beside the front door
that looked olde. It was locked, but Pan
could see the vandalism of broken glass
inside. Disgusted, he left and went over to
some of the olde tombstones. Some were
dated back in the 1880’s, but most were
around the 1900’s, until you went into the
oldest sections.
Over on the side of the main office was
an avocado tree. Pan guessed that it was
around 25 years old. Naturally the best
ones were up higher where most couldn’t
reach them. Pan smiled to himself, and
continued walking. Along the dirt road, he
noticed the other fruit trees. One was fig,
another apricot, a lemon and a peach. Pan
went back into the tyme machine and made a
mental note to take some aluminum and make
a long extension. At one end would be a
fish net for the fruit to drop gently into
it without getting bruised.
Pan went into his laboratory and
prepared for the next few hours to slice
and dice up the rest of the corpses lining
the walk in freezer. Once he finished, he
took everything into another freezer
section, and the meats he’d use in the
immediate future were put in his
refrigerator in the kitchen. When Pan
finished, he made himself some Deep Forest
AAA coffee, and took note that he’d have to
get some more. As he was drinking his
coffee, the tyme machine informed Pan that
the fruit picker was ready for use.
“What? I don’t remember making one.”
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 Warped Mind, Inc.

“You didn’t, I did. The imagery of the final product was

enough for me to put it together. I picked your brain waves as
you were walking through the cemetery. It’s in the boot
cupboard on the way to the bedroom. Along with the fruit picker
is a sack for storing those you gather.”
“You’re so good to me. You make me feel
guilty. I didn’t get you anything,
sweetie.”
“That’s all right. Your father knew that you’d be taking
better care of me than he was, and it’s true. That’s sufficient.”
“Thank you.”
“My pleasure-Pan.”
Pan went into the boot cupboard and took
the fruit picker the tyme machine designed
for him.
“It’s a very good job. It’s just like I
imagined it-perfect. I couldn’t have done
any better. I think I’ll test it out.” Pan
could feel the tyme machine as having a
radiant smile. Pan smiled as he took the
fruit picker and walked outside. It was now
the heart of a moonless night. Quietly Pan
went over to the avocado tree, took the
avocadoes ready for eating, then went over
to the fig tree, an orange tree, and a
walnut tree and used the fruit picker on
them all. He used the lower extension on
the apricot, lemon and peach trees.
When he finished, Pan went back inside
the tyme machine. He looked like when he
was little kid, all smiles at having
something he got away with and having fun
doing it. The tyme machine was waiting for
Pan’s appearance.
“I take it that you didn’t have any difficulty.” The tyme
machine spoke with a delighted voice.

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Heather J. Kintyre

“Nope. The fruit picker works great.

Still feels like it was touched by the
grace of Tyche.”
“I hope better than that. I am much older than Fortuna, after
all.”
“That’s a point. So it has a one-sided
balance?”
“As long as you are the only one to use it, yes.”
“We’d better keep the knowledge away
from Famine, then. He always insists upon a
balance for all, and no exceptions.”
“Not to mention Cere’s, since she had Famine give
Erysichthon a hug so he’d starve to death as he ate.”
“That’s true, but Erysichthon did have
it coming. It seems most mortals get above
themselves and never take into
consideration the damage they inflict.
Myself, I would have had him suffocate.”
“Why, Pan?”
“Because oak trees, as well as the other
plant life is the only oxygen producer on
the planet earth.”
“True, but that’d be too easy.”
As the tyme machine spoke, Pan was
putting the fruit away. “So have him
suffocate slowly and as painfully as
possible.”
“I suppose that would’ve worked.”
“Not to mention less nerve-wracking for
those around him; they were forever
wondering when he was going to eat them
next. I think he was a blood type O
positive, and a big meat eater.” Pan
finished washing the dirt-covered fruit,
eating enough of it until he was full. The
rest he put in the refrigerator for later.

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 Warped Mind, Inc.

“Do you know of any good locations for

bodysurfing?”
“Not right off. Let’s check it out.”
Pan went to the tyme machine’s control
panel. Maintaining a silent communication
with the tyme machine, they looked for the
best area for bodysurfing, with the type of
wave height and break Pan was looking for.
Upon finding a good spot that was fairly
secluded, Pan took advantage. After the
tyme machine landed in the area, Pan took
his last cup of coffee and went off for a
swim. He formed some flippers on his feet
so he could swim through the water faster
and easier. He did a water ballet for a
while, and started floating lazily on his
back. The ocean current is warm. Into the
distance, a couple of marine life forms are
watching Pan. Trying to act like he didn’t
notice, Pan continued playing and
bodysurfing. The marine life forms turn out
to be a couple of dolphins and a seal.
After taking the next set of waves, the
dolphins and seal swim up. One of the
dolphins bodysurfed the first wave in the
next set with Pan. They both flipped into
the wave and went back to sea before the
water got too shallow near the shore. They
repeat this for the next two waves, and
then the second dolphin joined in and
bodysurfed on Pan’s other side. Whenever
there’s a break between the sets, the seal
and Pan played together as Pan waited for
the next set of swells; the dolphins played
chase as they raced each other.
When the tide changed and the last set
died, the dolphins, seal and Pan go out to
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Heather J. Kintyre

the edge of the surf line. The sea lion

imitates Pan as he dives under the water,
forward and backward. While under the
water, they circle each other as they play.
When the cold was starting to be felt, Pan
gathered some fresh kelp around himself,
nibbling on one of the small bulbs. The
instant Pan started back, the kelp slipped
off since Pan wrapped it around himself so
it wouldn’t tangle and snag.
Pan noticed after a while that someone
on the shore was observing him. He could
smell the faint traces of anise and black
tea combined when he got close to the
shore. The smell of the anise is slightly
different from the growing plant. After a
couple more sets, Pan caught sight of the
observer who was trying to remain in
hiding. The observer is of human origin.
The human turned away, saddened. Pan’s not
sure if he’s harmless or not, anyway. From
what little Pan was able to read his body
language, he was an honest man. It seems
that this planet was overcrowded with
humans, many of a violent nature. The more
honest ones are too afraid, like the human
on the shore who disappeared before Pan
could approach. Pan didn’t see him go; he
sighed in a compassion for the observer who
may not have had evil intentions towards
him. Pan would have been more nervous,
except only another guardian and tyme lord
can hurt someone like Pan enough to cause
damage to him physically. Mentally well,
that’s another story.
Pan walked back and entered the tyme
machine; the tyme machine took notice of
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 Warped Mind, Inc.

Pan’s disturbed mental state. Pan shook off

the sense of melancholy related to the
unknown observer as he made himself another
pot of Deep Forest Green AAA coffee. After
he drank a pot full, he started nodding off
and was soon fast asleep. While asleep the
tyme machine made sure no one would
interfere with his much needed sleep.
When Pan woke up, he felt refreshed and
ready for exploring some more of the planet
he was on. Before he did that, he’d resume
his guardian duties; not even Zeus could
keep Pan imprisoned now. Not permanently,
anyway.
Upon going into the universe, Pan saw a
couple soul mates a few galaxies away from
where he was. The colouring was off a bit.
Pan flew closer for a better look. One of
the many traits of a guardian is they are
also capable of being a special blacksmith.
Pan examined the souls and once he took a
complete reading of both of them, set to
fusing them together. There are an equal
number of raw loose ends. It’s one of a
Guardian’s tasks and obligations to align
and connect the raw ends of souls together.
By fusing the souls together, when the
souls can’t otherwise join, a lot of the
pain and suffering the souls endured is
often alleviated by the other soul.
However, in order for that to happen, the
alignment and connection must be perfect.
No guardian is allowed to cut or modify in
any way, shape or form the frayed raw ends
of the souls. The best anyone can do is use
heat from the fires built for the purpose.
Too much heat would burn the souls,
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Heather J. Kintyre

torturing and possibly killing the souls

instead of helping them. Too little heat
and the souls won’t be able to connect.
It’s a very delicate operation; unlike
developing black and white photos that had
a developing temperature margin of 50, the
joining of the souls has no margin. Skyner
was only able to show Pan the technique a
couple of times, but Pan felt he knew what
to do without causing much if any injury,
or so much they couldn’t recover.
For some unknown reason, some soul mates
aren’t always able to unite on their own
without a Guardian’s help. Whenever the
souls made a connection, a golden light
briefly lit up, and then gradually faded a
bit, as the light was dispersed like fine
dust. The light doesn’t die, as it
continues to create sparkles around the
injured area, healing as it seals. The
energy between the connected souls would
continue to maintain and strengthen the
inner light. The stronger the light shines
within the soul, the stronger the
connection. It’s too early to tell, but it
seems these souls were already shining
brighter than those Pan remembered Skyner
working on when he was showing Pan the art.
Some of the souls burn brightly through
time. They often become brighter as time
goes by. Others burned bright for a certain
length of time, then dimmed, gradually
fading as they separate, or one dies, if
not both. If it takes, after a short time
the joined souls will glow bright. Pan had
never known of a soul connection that had a
dim light upon immediate connection, but
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 Warped Mind, Inc.

there probably are such connections.

Especially true for a Guardian who isn’t
very well practiced in the art of bonding
souls. So far the tormented souls Pan’s
personally helped connect have stayed a
constant luminosity. Time would tell if
they remained in such a good condition, or
died. Pan never encountered any of these
souls whose connections eventually went
bad, or seen the remains of the dead souls
upon separation. The fusing of the souls is
hard work, but the satisfaction of seeing
his handiwork reflected in the joyous union
of the souls makes it worthwhile. No,
wealth may buy labour of others, which is
fine for some things. However, when it
comes to something like uniting souls
together, there’s no question that doing it
personally is best.
After Pan finished, he looked around and
spied a planet into the distance and took a
closer look. He went closer and saw some
great looking surf, so he entered the
atmosphere. He decided to bodysurf the
waves that are breaking about a half-mile
away from shore.
During some of Pan’s information
gathering related to various planet
studies, he came across some old writers.
One was a playwright on earth who once said
that there are more things in heaven and
earth than are dreamt of in your
philosophies. The writer was more correct
than he knew.
After Pan bodysurfed a while he saw
another human looking creature. Since the
tide has changed, the waves aren’t as good
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Heather J. Kintyre

as they were a short time ago. Pan went up

to the creature on the shore. The ‘human’
clearly is anxious to talk to Pan.
After the visit with the time lords,
Pan’s memory from the time his soul was
born was made known to him. He remembered
everything-every detail-about every mortal
life he ever lived, especially his last
one. It made Pan reluctant to talk to
anyone. Pan learned very early the value of
being a cynic. Pan’s cynical manner was
natural, having been one long before in
thousands of past lives. As a cynic he’s a
lot less likely to be taken in by any
human. For some unknown reason, every human
Pan ever knew, even as a mortal, loved
making a game out of taking advantage of
others. He never understood why they did
this. Some of what they did was too
puzzling, leaving him an outcast to their
social ways. Trying to understand human
thinking in its entirety always gave Pan a
ferocious headache, and never any solutions
to the many puzzles; after having tried and
failed many times, Pan gave it up to a lost
cause and avoided the headaches. Whenever
Pan felt an irrational longing to belong
with any social type, and especially his
own kind, he indulged in relieving the
violent pressures of various societies.
Always worked like a charm. Long ago Pan
decided that loneliness was preferable;
although Pan would never wish his cursed
gift of a melancholy manner as he has onto
his worst enemy, Pan wouldn’t want to live
without it himself. Old habits are hard to
break. At least as a time lord and Immortal
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now, Pan no longer has to worry about

death. His mortal fears have disappeared,
except one. He’s still terrified of
senility. His only other fear is that the
animals he love’s will reject him one day.
The Immortals have a life expectancy; it’s
just much longer than any other life forms
in the universes history.
The Guardian tyme lords created the
ever-expanding universe Pan was exploring
now. Their own universe, as Pan found out,
is much larger and far older than the
universe these life forms live in. The
universe man lives in, the only one man
will ever know of, sits on a table in a
‘library’ that many of the tyme lords
(often referred to as Immortals) frequently
use.
Pan is thinking of all these thoughts as
he greets and talks guardedly to the human
on the shore. The human talked a while,
mostly about his problems. Seems his wife
took to drinking alcohol heavily, became
the laughing stock of the town, an
embarrassment to her husband of 45 years,
went in and out of hospitals, took to
taking drugs mixed with the alcohol, then
started to smash up police cars, bombed a
few court buildings, molested some little
kids, and finally threw her husband out
because he kept trying to get her to stop
drinking and taking drugs. Pan listened
patiently, as usual. The man's life was
typical of most of those on the planet,
though. After a few hours the man left.
The tide is better again. After a few
hours more of bodysurfing Pan continued his
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Heather J. Kintyre

travels within the universe. No, he won’t

be going back to that planet. The mortal
was nice, and did most of the talking, but
Pan learned and saw enough to know that the
planet is no place to spend a vacation. It
was a nice break, but Pan has to return to
the tyme machine if he wants to continue to
survive as an Immortal.

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 Warped Mind, Inc.

THE INTRODUCTION

The next day Pan saw the woman in the

graveyard again. The woman stared at Pan
briefly before she ran off like a
frightened deer. Her eyes had a high level
of fear in them. Pan went back into the
tyme machine and reappeared a few hours
later. The woman had been keeping an eye on
this new contraption that popped out of
nowhere. She would always run off once she
saw Pan taking notice of her presence.
Later Pan saw her bent over something,
probably another fresh corpse. Her arms
were moving from the ground up to her face-
most likely another meal. Pan was careful
not to allow her to spot him. After the
woman finished, she slowly walked away. As
soon as she disappeared Pan walked up to
the area. Sure enough, it’s another corpse
that’s been pretty well eaten. Pan bent
down with a sigh over the still fresh human
corpse. He took his pocketknife out, and
cut a sample of some of the remaining meat
tissue and blood. Taking a small baggie out
of his pocket, Pan put the meat and blood
in the bag, sealed it up and walked back to
the tyme machine.
As Pan walked in, he was greeted by one
of his cats at the front door. His name is
Ebenezer. “Hello, Eb. What’s the problem?”
“Eh, aah ah eh.”
“Really? Since when?”
“Aah!”

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Heather J. Kintyre

“Okay, okay. Spoil sport.” Pan picked Eb

up and carried him into the kitchen. “Got
any preferences?”
Eb was looking into the cupboard that
Pan opened. There were some cans of tuna
stacked up, white and dark meat. “AAAH!”
“Okay, fine. You don’t need to scream.
Typical.” Pan put Eb down and opened up
some of the dark tuna in sauce cat food.
“So picky.” Pan dished it out, threw the
can away and walked out to the front room.
He saw another cat, Moki, coming towards
him. “Aah!”
“Well, if it isn’t Moki. How ya doin’?”
“Meerow.” Moki purred and rubbed his
body against Pan’s legs.
“Now how can I refuse a request like
that? Okay, come on.” Pan went into the
kitchen, got some salmon cat food from
another cupboard, a fork, took a saucer and
went back out to the front room. “Come on,
we’ll go to the guest room this time. Eb’s
in the kitchen eating his Tuna.” Moki
looked at Pan curiously, and then followed
Pan to the guest room. Pan opened up the
salmon dinner and dished it out for Moki.
Moki purred loudly as Pan dished it out.
“Eat hardy, matey.” He petted Moki and
patted him affectionately; then he stood up
and went back into the kitchen to throw the
can away. Afterwards when Pan walked into
the living room, he went to the hall
closet, took out a blanket and laid it on
the couch, partially messed it up, for when
Moki finished. Moki liked to knead
immediately after he ate, and if he didn’t,
he’d get too cranky for the rest of the
18
 Warped Mind, Inc.

day. He then went into the laboratory

immediately afterwards to examine the meat
tissue of the corpse sample he took, and
also another sample from a corpse waiting
patiently on the table Pan kept in his lab.
The table was aluminum with gutters running
alongside it. The table was slightly tilted
so the blood would drain into the grooves
beside the table on the far side, then into
a drain in the floor that went to some acid
below.
The Laboratory looks partially like a
torture chamber. Six stainless steel tables
were along one of the light blue tiled
walls, on the right side as you walked in,
and a table with a large rolling disc that
could slice anything long ways, and a
wooden roller at the top. Chains were
wrapped around the roll, and cuffs were
attached to the ends. In the center of this
table, partway in the wall, is another
disc; this one could be taken out by hand
or not and used to slice very fine cuts as
it went completely through the corpse.
There’s a couple upright coffins shaped in
semi-human form. When they’re open, long
spikes are seen. When the door closed, the
spikes close between one another, so more
surface of the bodies are penetrated. There
are metal cuffs attached to long chains,
replaced since Skyner used them last. The
chains are looped over pulleys so they
could be pulled up far above the floor.
Against the light blue tile wall in the
back are more cuffs on short chains. Below
the chains are some wide metal restraints.
The floor below the chains tilts to a focal
19
Heather J. Kintyre

point where another drain collects any

remaining blood and goes to the acid in
another room below. When a body can’t be
used, Pan throws it in the acid that eats
the body completely, leaving no traces. If
the acid could be examined, no traces of
human content would be found. A modified
electric chair is against this wall. The
one who sits in it will feel a long 15-inch
blade cutting into them, if a certain
button is pushed. At the other end are test
tubes and strange machinery with large and
small glass box like containers. Some of
the machinery is encased in some marble,
making it look more like a part of a fancy
wall design. The boxes look black until the
light is turned on, then it’s apparent that
they are a very dark green. The counter
contains instruments used in surgical
situations, and some unknown instruments.
During the time that Pan is in the tyme
machine, he spent several hours making
tests, going over the meat tissue. The
corpse had a lot of diseases and
infections. Whatever this ex-human died
from, it wouldn’t be surprising if one or
more of the many diseases caught up with
him. One of those diseases is a highly
contagious disease, not unlike Malaria. Pan
sighed and took the sedative gun he used to
bring humans down with when he had no
intention of killing them just yet. Loading
the gun, Pan started to go out of his tyme
machine and back into the graveyard.
First Pan had to set the controls for a
couple hours earlier. Having set the
controls for a little earlier than before
20
 Warped Mind, Inc.

the wild woman has her meal, he walked out

making it appear as if he went out of the
tyme machine, then realized that he forgot
something. He went back in the graveyard,
heading in the opposite direction he
remembered seeing the woman head off in. In
a short time, as he backtracked he spied
the woman. Hiding from view and remaining
silent so as not to startle her, Pan
checked the sites. He fired at a close
range when he got close enough. The woman
yelped at the unexpected pain. She took off
running, which made the medication work
faster. As soon as she passed out, Pan
walked over to her now unconscious body,
gathered her in his arms and took her back
into the tyme machine. Pan had nicknamed
the woman as ‘The Wild Woman’ since she was
so skittish. Like a cat Pan used to know,
this woman was very curious, but too
skittish and wild to ever come forth.
After entering the tyme machine, Pan
took The Wild Woman to the laboratory and
took the syringe he had all prepared. She
was about 5’5” tall, had light brown hair,
a fair complexion and green eyes. Her nose
was straight. There were signs of her
having had nose surgery. She wore no bra
yet she wasn’t flat as a dead man’s chest,
either. There were no signs of her having
had children. She looked to be about
twenty-five and a half according to her
skin elasticity, give or take a few months;
her diet needed some fruits. After Pan laid
her on a table, he examined her blood to
make sure the tranquilizer thinned out
enough for him to safely inject the
21
Heather J. Kintyre

antidote into her pulsing vein. When he was

satisfied, after injecting the prepared
medication into her veins, Pan carried her
back to where she fell. He left a note,
some fresh fruit and a shovel, and then
went back into the tyme machine, to take
care of butchering some corpses on hand.
A few hours passed; when the woman
recovered, she looked around. There was a
note, some fruit and a shovel nearby. Other
than that, nothing was changed; she was
still where she passed out. She felt the
area she was having some sensitivity in. It
was sensitive, but there was no pain and no
sign of any tranquilizer anywhere. She read
the note:
‘You got hold of a badly infected
corpse. I took the liberty of analyzing
your blood, then using some anti-virus
medications. I was then able to cure you
before it was too late. If you feel funny,
don’t worry about it; it’s probably the
drugs. P.S. I’ve included a shovel and some
fruit. (You need some fruit in your diet.)
You’ll save some time in the digging.
Sincerely, P. Tanner.’
The woman read the note several times.
Whoever this P. Tanner was, he wasn’t an
enemy, or she didn’t think so. He even gave
her a shovel to help her save some digging
time, and some fruit. Even so, the woman
knew only too well how appearances are
often deceiving, and she decided to keep a
closer watch on this mysterious stranger.
After a thorough search around where she
was running, the woman shook her head,
figured she was hallucinating and went back
22
 Warped Mind, Inc.

into the crypt where she spent most of her

sleep times. It would have seemed more
convincing to claim it was all a big
hallucination, except her side was still
bruised from where she was shot, and she
did have a note, some fruit and a shovel.
A few days passed; The Wild Woman
relaxed and resumed her usual cannibalistic
activities. She saw Pan periodically, but
he never got very close, and never tried to
interfere or close the distance. It was
disturbing because for some unknown reason,
Pan seemed familiar to her. After some time
passed the woman expected Pan’s appearance
to be around. She would even forget that he
was there most of the time. When Pan wasn’t
around, The Wild Woman would look around as
though something was missing. After she
finished with one of the corpses, she’d
walk away. Pan would wait for her to leave,
then walk up to the corpse and take a
tissue sample if it was a corpse he hadn’t
examined already. The woman was beginning
to relax more, but not enough for Pan to
get very close. He remained behind one of
the larger tombstones until she finished
eating. This was best since The Wild Woman
could never get over the sensation of
having known the mysterious man from
somewhere before. That made her very
uncomfortable, since all the people from
her past were all bad.
A couple of years went by like this.
Then after Pan examined one of the newer
corpses after The Wild Woman finished, he
sighed, because this time he was going to
have to tranquilize The Wild Woman again. A
23
Heather J. Kintyre

short time later, his presence was seen

again although closer. As usual The Wild
Woman was partaking of her cannibal
tendencies without being concerned about
Pan’s presence. Only this time as she stood
up, Pan walked up fast to get still closer
as she turned to leave. He shot her again
with the tranquilizer. She turned with a
deeply hurt expression in her face before
she passed out since this one was even
faster acting than the previous
tranquilizer. Pan once again gathered her
into his arms. He barely noticed the now
well-used shovel. He carried her into his
tyme machine, then into the laboratory. He
placed The Wild Woman on a gurney and
applied some restraints so she wouldn’t
bolt and then try to run away once she saw
where she was after regaining
consciousness. The straps would hold her
fast, but without hurting her. For the next
hour, Pan tended to his medical mixtures
and making the correct antidote that the
woman would need in order to be cured.
After nearly two hours passed, the tyme
machine silently communicated to Pan that
the Wild Woman was starting to wake up. Pan
started making some Kenya AA coffee. He put
the water in, started brewing it and went
back to the injection he was getting ready.
He just filled one of the syringes when The
Wild Woman groaned. She was coming around.
Pan went to her side.
“Ah, sleeping beauty awakes.” Pan took a
rubber strap and tightened it around her
arm. He waited a few seconds, and tested
one of the throbbing veins. Satisfying
24
 Warped Mind, Inc.

himself, he picked up the syringe with the

fluid in it.
The Wild Woman looked at P. Tanner for
the first time up close. Then she became
more fearful upon seeing he had a syringe
and she was restrained in a gurney. “Who
are you?” Her voice was dry and cracked
sounding.
“She speaks, also. Good.” Pan smiled
with a calmness that took The Wild Woman
off guard. He thumped the syringe for any
remaining air bubbles. Upon seeing there
weren’t any more, he started to get some
alcohol to clean a spot on The Wild Woman’s
arm where he would inject the antidote. “To
answer your question, I’m known publicly as
P. Tanner. You’re in my laboratory.”
The woman was looking around at the
strange lab. Tanner watched as she looked
around. She was curious about all of the
equipment she saw. Nothing of what she saw
helped her to remember where she first saw
the familiar man who now stood before her.
“How long have you been dining on
corpses?” Tanner looked at the woman
without any sign of horror at the idea.
The woman looked quickly at Tanner then
relaxed. Pan wasn’t expecting such a
reaction and was startled at her apparent
alarm. “Sorry. Guess I’m still edgy. By the
time you showed up I was living in the
mausoleum for a couple of months.”
“Relax. I’m not a cop or a PI.” Tanner
took a cotton swab and soaked some alcohol
on it. I didn’t expect it was too long
after I analyzed your blood the first time.

25
Heather J. Kintyre

Usually there’d be more damage if it was

too long.”
The Wild Woman looked at Tanner more
puzzled. “You speak as if you’re familiar
with those who live and survive in
graveyards.”
“No, not living in graveyards, but
cannibalism yes.” Tanner was starting to
rub her arm with the alcohol.
“What’s that?” The woman was looking at
the syringe alarmed.
“I ran a test recently on some of your
blood. You’ve been re-infected with the
same disease you had before, plus a new
virus. This is the antidote.”
The woman looked at the syringe and
started squirming as much as the restraints
would allow. “What would happen if I
refused?”
“You’d die a slow and horribly painful
death.”
“How long before it’s too late?”
“If you don’t get the antidote in the
next nine hours, it’ll be too late. After
that, all the antidotes and medicines in
the world won’t help you.” Tanner smiled as
if this was the most pleasing news she
would ever receive. “This shot will stop
the infection. It shouldn’t hurt much. Just
a little pin prick; any burning will die as
the antidote spreads throughout your
system.” As The Wild Woman looked away, she
sighed wearily. Pan started to pick up the
syringe to inject the antidote.
“Very well. Seems I have no choice.” She
turned her head in resignation and stopped

26
 Warped Mind, Inc.

squirming. As she did so, Pan inserted the

medication into a vein of her right arm.
“Sounds like you’ve had some bad
doctors.” Pan smiled with sadness, as he
knew The Wild Woman was going to be a
challenge to save from suicide. Unknown to
her, Pan had been inserting the corpses
with antidotes from the infections they
died from, and she never knew it.
Unfortunately, a few escaped Pan, and this
last one was one of the worst.
“Yeah, real horse doctors they were.
They kept jabbing me with the needles
because they couldn’t find a vein. That’s
how I got the damaged nerves in my hands.”
Tanner took the needle out and was
starting to use another cotton swab doused
in alcohol on her arm. “Interesting;
according to the x-rays of your veins, I
thought I saw some damaged areas in your
hands. That’s why I chose your arm. I hope
I’m not as bad as those you describe.”
She turned to look at Pan. “So when will
this painful event take place?”
“It’s already over. Sorry, only one shot
per customer. Can’t have you overdosing.”
Pan smiled at Julie and went over to the
other equipment on the desk. He threw the
syringe into a large tank.
Julie looked at Tanner amazed. She
smiled puzzled. “That didn’t hurt at all!”
“Thank you. My patients are usually dead
or unconscious, but it’s still nice to know
that I’m not a horse doctor.” As Tanner was
speaking the woman resumed looking over the
lab. There were dried bloodstains on the
tiled floor below the cuffs that were
27
Heather J. Kintyre

attached to some heavy-duty chains that

hung from the ceiling. The floor around the
area tilted downwards, ending at a round
drainage hole covered with a stainless
steel cover.
Pan was looking at a slide and going
over to a microscope to analyze it. “Have
no fear. Had I meant to kill you or do any
harm you’d be shackled up against the wall
over there, or being drained of your blood
over there.” As Tanner spoke his back was
turned and he was motioning in the general
areas where the cuffs were attached to the
walls and on pulleys. “You were so badly
re-infected that I decided instead of
leaving you where you fell that we should
become acquainted so I brought you here.”
“Why now? You didn’t before. More to the
point, why am I so restrained?”
“I had to restrain you because I knew
that you’d try to escape otherwise before I
could help you.”
“What am I doing here? Why are you
helping me?” She looked closely at Pan.
“Where have I known you from?”
Pan smiled at the woman’s remark.
Although Pan knew the woman was the
reincarnated Vera, and that’s where they’d
known each other, he couldn’t let her know
that, or that when they once knew each
other in her previous life they were good
friends. “What you’re doing here is being
cured. I chose to help you because I
recognized certain characteristics not many
humans seem to have. Rather, it’s bred out
of them before it gets developed. Yours

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 Warped Mind, Inc.

wasn’t.” Pan was taking the restraints off

as he spoke.
“What?”
“It’s a part of your body language. In
watching you further, I knew my first
assumptions were correct. Want some
coffee?” Pan was taking the rest of the
restraints off as the woman was having
difficulty with the clasps. It was true
that she basically had the same body
language as when she was Vera. This time
around ‘Vera’ also had a melancholy body
language much more developed than before,
which was why it was going to be a major
struggle to keep ‘Vera’ alive.
“Sure. I don’t understand. What
characteristics?”
Pan was pouring some of the coffee as he
spoke. “I refer to the way a person, or any
animal, holds themselves. It tells a lot
more about them than words ever could in
many cases. Through the art of reading body
language you can know if someone’s a liar
or not.” Pan poured the coffee as he spoke.
“I take it you don’t have any children.” He
held the coffee cup out to the woman.
The woman was rubbing her arm where the
shot was given. She looked wide-eyed at Pan
when he made the comment. “How’d you know
that?” She took the coffee as she looked at
Pan startled.
Pan smiled, as he looked sort of guilty.
“Strictly on a professional level, I took
the liberty of checking your breasts. The
coloring isn’t darkened as when women have
children.”

29
Heather J. Kintyre

The woman looked at Pan suspiciously

then.
“Don’t worry. You’re quite safe. I took
no ‘liberties’ with you. That’s not my
style.”
“I’m sorry if I was discourteous. My
name’s Julie, by the way.”
“How do you do, Julie?” Pan held out his
right hand to Julie. She gripped it. Her
grip was strong and firm, resisting the
bone crushing she was capable of. That was
a good sign. “My name’s Pan, but I prefer
either P. Tanner or just Tanner.” Pan
smiled. Julie looked puzzled at Pan. The
name was so strange, but it didn’t ring any
bells to where she knew Pan from
previously. “It’s a family joke-I think.
I’ll be changing my name one of these
days.”
Julie took the cup of coffee and sipped
it, then was surprised. “It’s good.” After
she drank some more she spoke again.
“What, the name?”
“No, the coffee.” Julie caught herself
and spoke quickly then. “The name’s not
bad, either. It’s unusual, but I’ve heard
worse.”
“Thank you, I think.” Pan was a little
puzzled about Julie’s reaction.
“How do you know that I wouldn’t take
this cup of coffee, throw it in your face,
and then escape?”
Pan smiled. “Because of your body
language. You’re too curious now. You’d
never be able to have any of your many
questions answered if you wasted this
opportunity. Therefore I knew that you’d
30
 Warped Mind, Inc.

never risk such a moment.” Pan shrugged as

though it was obvious to him, which it was
by then.
Julie’s eyes were growing larger as Pan
talked. “Amazing. Some would call you a
mind reader. You’re right, but damned if
I’ll ever know how.”
“It’s easy once you know how to read
body language. You’re an easy one to read.
For me, at least.” Pan sipped his coffee.
“I don’t know if I should be insulted or
flattered.” Julie was looking around the
mysterious lab as she spoke, then back at
Pan. “I’ve never seen anything like this.
The equipment is very strange. What is that
over there?”
“That’s where I bleed the victims before
I cut them up. Pull them up on the pulleys,
cut the throats and let the blood drain
off.” Pan smiled at Julie. “Have no fear. I
won’t be putting you there.”
“Thanks.”
“How’s the arm?”
“Okay. I do feel some of the burning
from the shot, but it’s going away.” Julie
looked around the room some more. “What are
those cuffs against the wall?”
“When I can’t get to the victim
immediately, and I can’t bleed them just
yet, I put them in the cuffs until I have
time.”
“No torturing? Some of this looks like
old Spanish Inquisition equipment.”
“No, no torturing. Such things are
worthy of only lower life forms; the only
times I torture are to teach well-deserved
lessons. Yes, some is old Spanish
31
Heather J. Kintyre

Inquisition torture equipment. Actually,

that modified rack is useful when cutting
up corpses, so I still use it.”
“Tell me more about this ‘body
language.’ I’m not sure I follow your
meaning.” Julie looked at Pan puzzled.
“Let’s see if I can describe this very
well. Humans are a lot more complex and
harder to read then the non-human animals.
I’ll try to relate some of what I was
taught, but I doubt I’ll be able to give
all of it. Mayhap in time I can relate more
as the situations arise.” Pan smiled and
rubbed his lower lip in thought. “For
example, when your spouse or lover sleeps
by you, if they bend their leg, one or
both, in a more upward position as they
sleep on their side, level with the hip and
up closer to the body, it means they’re
insecure. They are speaking the truth in
their body language as they sleep;
especially in the deeper sleep. During the
day is when the daily ‘on guard’ body
language takes over. That is, they’re
careful not to be put in a situation where
the true feelings would have to be known.”
Pan smiled at Julie’s puzzlement. “The
subconscious mind is speaking silently of
those things that were kept hidden during
the day. What it also means in these cases
is that the spouse no longer loves you as
they once did or should, and they are
insecure in their relationship. Depending
upon how close the leg, or legs, are next
to their body, determines just how bad the
situation is. If it’s near the chest or in
a complete fetal position, you’ve got
32
 Warped Mind, Inc.

troubles. It’s not always a case of abuse

only, or a recovery from an abused state
that creates this.” Pan smiled, not sure he
was explaining it very well.
“So what are you? Secure, insecure or
undecided?” Julie smiled at Pan
sarcastically.
“Me? Secure, so far. My subconscious
mind was partially opened once, and I’m
more aware of certain unconscious states
than I used to be.”
“That’s unusual. What happened?”
“When I was on a vacation, my
subconscious was opened up part way to
reveal some of the information normally
kept hidden.”
Julie was not sure she heard him right.
“Don’t worry about it.” Pan shrugged his
shoulders as though it was no big deal.
“Who are you?”
“Just a traveller.”
“A traveller. Who happened to have his
subconscious partially opened.”
“Yes. It was necessary because I was
going to need the information not too far
into my future. A long time ago my
ancestors were, then officially became
members of, a rather elite group. This
elite group helped me open up my
subconscious.”
“What?” Julie was rubbing her ears as
Pan chuckled.
“Through the naturally ancestral
inherited information, and those things I
was taught throughout my life, I came to
know of things that should be obvious to
everyone. Apparently only very few are able
33
Heather J. Kintyre

to see the obvious, and rarely as well as

myself. Amazing how it’s so well overlooked
by the human race. It’d be laughable if it
weren’t so tragic as well.”
“Who or what are these elite members?”
“They are sometimes worshipped as Gods;
some are more well known in mythology.”
“Gods? Are you serious?”
“Quite. Unfortunately, the buck doesn’t
stop there, so to speak.”
“What?”
“Well, they may have created the
universe we’re in, but you have to ask
yourself, who created the one they live
in?”
“Why would they have to live in a
universe themselves? If they’re Gods, they
wouldn’t need one-would they?”
“Oh yes, they’d have to live in one.
Just as we live on this planet, with the
set environment, it wouldn’t exist unless
it was within its own universe. You follow
me so far?” Pan tried explaining it as well
as he could.
“Yes.”
“Good. Now, what one of the members of
the elite group did was he created the
universe we’re in by accident.”
“You’re joking.” Julie smiled as she
drank the coffee.
“No. Afraid not. Not this time. Anyway,
one of them, I forget who, was playing with
his chemistry set. It caused a small
explosion. It only blew up the far side of
the bedroom wall that revealed the
outdoors. No one was hurt, nothing
seriously damaged. The experiment was
34
 Warped Mind, Inc.

thought to be a failure, and thrown away.

Before it was destroyed, it grew. When it
grew it took a pleasing appearance, and was
retrieved from the trashcan it was thrown
into. It was then donated to the local
library.” Pan smiled with delight, as Julie
got more puzzled than ever. “Anyway, to
make a long story short, these ‘Gods’ have
to live in their own environment, not
unlike our own, in order to survive, just
as we do. So the question is: if they are
all Gods, then who created their universe,
and so on back?” Pan smiled at Julie’s
bafflement. He decided he enjoyed playing
with her mind a bit. “On the other hand,
when you make a substance, of whatever
form, how do you know it’s not a smaller
universe in itself? Have you ever blown
bubbles inside of bubbles using bubble
gum?”
Julie groaned as she sighed and shook
her head. Now she felt sure that she was in
the company of a madman. Only problem that
remained was how to explain the sudden
appearance of the new crypt in the
graveyard. What’s more, she was inside of
it. On the other hand, it could be that
this is all one big dream and Julie still
needed to wake up. She pinched herself, and
then looked at Pan puzzled. “Just who and
what are you?”
“I’m just a traveller now, and just like
those I described, only most of them are
too lazy to time travel. They prefer to
watch their TV’s instead.” Pan was watching
as Julie looked around the laboratory.

35
Heather J. Kintyre

“Much of this hasn’t been invented or

ever known in human technology.” Pan smiled
as he was having fun with Julie’s continual
puzzlement.
Julie’s eyes got big. “No. You’re a time
traveller?”
“No joke. I’m a time lord, and this is
my tyme machine.” Pan patted the table he
was leaning against.
“How is it that you’re here? Why at this
point in time?”
“To answer your questions, I came here
to get away from the horrible family I was
forced to live with, and I’m here now at
this point in time because it’s advanced
enough for my purposes. I’m able to get the
raw materials for my needs when I need
them.”
“You said a horrible family. What
happened?” Julie was sipping the coffee.
“It’s a long story. I have an older
brother, Charley, who killed our father. At
least, I think so. My younger sister was a
possible conspirator to the killing. I was
gone at the time, being away on business.
When I came back, my father was dead and
only the brother and sister were left. They
became more hateful than before, since our
father wasn’t alive to keep them in line.
So I left, and eventually wound up here.”
“What about your mother?”
“She died giving birth to my sister
Morgaine.”
“That’s awful. Where are they now?”
“My sister is probably still on the
planet I left, and my brother Charley
escaped in the tyme machine; he’s now at
36
 Warped Mind, Inc.

large running loose on this planet, or some

other by now. Fortunately he can only
travel at the speed of light, so I may be
able to catch him still flying within the
galaxy.”
“What?”
“Oh, nothing. Bad habit, that. Thinking
aloud to myself.”
Julie finished her cup of coffee. Pan
smiled and took Julie’s cup. “Want some
more?” Pan smiled as he took the coffee
cup.
“Sure. It’s very good. I’ve never tasted
anything like it before.” Julie took her
cup of coffee back once Pan refilled it.
“Is your brother dangerous?” Julie took a
sip her coffee. She started drinking it.
“Oh, yes. He’s not just a cannibal, but
he especially loves to pick out those who
are very active in helping to save the
planet. At least, that’s how it was on our
home planet.”
“I take it you don’t follow such
methods.”
“No. I take only the most violent
criminals out of society and those who are
causing too much damage to other people. I
especially focus on taking those who enjoy
killing for sport only, causing pain and
torture for the non-human animals. Most of
the time I prefer to feed them to their
friends, especially when their bodies have
been ruined by alcohol and cigarettes.
That’s the difference between Charley and
myself. Charley will eat anyone while I’m
more discriminating.” Pan sighed then as he
continued. “I still don’t understand how it
37
Heather J. Kintyre

got to the last state when I knew Charley.

I was there, spent the same time and years,
and I still can’t figure it out. He used to
be a great kid.” Pan shook his head in
puzzlement.
“If you’re a time lord, then why don’t
you go back in time, and prevent the
killing of your father from occurring?”
“I wanted to, but it’s against the time
lords laws to interfere, no exceptions. I
suspect my father knew about his end, and
that’s why he gave me the keys to this tyme
machine when he did. He allowed just enough
time for me to take a vacation, become
acquainted with the other time lords and
then come back to a few minutes after I
left. I then had to leave a few days later
on family business. It was shortly after I
left that he died.”
“Regrets?” Julie sipped her coffee as
she spoke.
“Oh yes; a lot of guilt as well. There
is no death that doesn’t have some degree
of guilt in it, great or small. That’s
especially true for those defenseless ones
left behind, who have to struggle through
life the best they can.”
Julie finished her cup of coffee again.
Pan took her cup. “Want any more? There’s
plenty.”
“Sure. I haven’t had anything so good in
a long time. My compliments.”
“Thank you. I always did favor the
specialty coffees. This one’s Kenya AA.”
Pan was pouring the coffee as he spoke. He
handed Julie her cup.

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 Warped Mind, Inc.

“So tell me more about yourself.” Julie

drank some more coffee.
“Not much more to tell, really. My
brother, Charley, is dangerous though. He
won’t hesitate to kill you just to get back
at me. He enjoys torturing before he kills.
I am the only one who can stop him. I hope
I won’t have to kill him, but I may have no
choice. I don’t particularly enjoy killing,
it’s just that I often have no other
choice. Enough about me; what about
yourself? What brings you to this
cemetery?”
“I’ve had some bad times. I got tired of
having to deal with the social pressures. I
was a social worker for a time, and then I
married and started a ‘new’ life. The
husband beat me and I called it quits. End
of story.”
“I doubt that. You’re not telling me
something. I saw you dining on some of the
corpses, and hugging some others, as you’d
sleep. What’s that all about?”
“I’ve always had a taste for human
flesh, and sleeping with corpses.
Especially after the husband, who would
often wake me up by punching me somewhere
on my already bruised up body. At least
with corpses you never have to worry about
them waking up and then punching you
awake.”
“Sounds like you needed to keep a Sam
Peckinpaw Special handy by the bedside.”
“A what?”
“An eighteen inch sawed off shotgun.
Works great for blowing the faces apart as
they sleep.” Pan smiled, as Julie looked
39
Heather J. Kintyre

wide-eyed at him. “Well, you have to admit

that they have to sleep sometime. Too many
should never have been born, and killing
them is a mercy.” Pan smiled as he sipped
his coffee. “Still, doesn’t the decaying
smell get to you after a time?”
“Not any more. It used to bother me, but
once you get used to it, it’s okay.”
“Each to his own, I always say. Just not
my cup of coffee, so to speak.” Pan shook
his head in sadness.
“Don’t knock it until you try it.” Julie
smiled.
“Touché. That’s how I feel about body
surfing. Especially the more dangerous part
of sliding in the inner tube before the
large waves spit you out. Actually, if you
don’t do it just right you can easily break
your neck; I’ll never forget the cosmic
waves I’ve almost died within.” Pan smiled
as he thought about some of those
bodysurfing moments.
“Sounds dangerous. Why do you do it?”
“It’s an addictive past time; anyway,
every Guardian has to keep in top physical
shape. Best all over massage I’ve ever
known. Speaking of bodysurfing, I’m overdue
for another bodysurfing event. Care to join
me?” Pan smiled.
“No thanks, I’ll take a reign check,
maybe.” Julie smiled as she drank the last
of the coffee. “I should get back to the
crypt before I’m missed.”
“Who’s the lucky corpse?”
“The Baron. He was one of the Van
Helsing’s.”

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 Warped Mind, Inc.

Pan smiled, partly in despair at the

work in front of him, as he and Julie
walked out of the tyme machine.
When Julie went into the oldest section
of the cemetery, Pan took off for the
ocean. As he flew around he looked for the
best surfing spot. When he found a secluded
area with some surf, Pan landed in the
shelter of some nearby trees. Afterwards
Pan walked out and into the ocean. As Pan
was in the ocean, he floated on his stomach
as he waited for another set of waves.
While he waited, he curled a bunch of kelp
from nearby all around him. It helped to
keep him warm when he wasn’t swimming too
much. Finally a set came. The waves are
gentle and have strong carry. Pan kicked
into one of the waves as it picked him up;
the kelp slid away like a cocoon. When the
wave is halfway down to the bottom of the
ocean floor Pan flips over to ride on his
stomach. He repeated this process with the
next four waves in the set. When the set
ran out Pan floated on his back, he curled
up in some kelp again as he looked towards
the shore, nibbling on some of the kelp.
All of a sudden a wave caught Pan by
surprise and pushed him forward into its
curl. As Pan came out of the curl, he was
spit high up in the air. The kelp slipped
off and fell back in the ocean.
While in the air, Pan changed into a
large golden eagle. As an eagle, he
performs loops both forward and backward as
he glided on the gentle breeze. Every once
in a while he’d fly in circles in both
directions. He would glide upright and
41
Heather J. Kintyre

sometimes upside down. Pan celebrates his

freedom that’s free of all oppression and
tyranny. Despite the sentencing Zeus tried
to put on Pan, he’s still free; he always
will be free to roam the universe. If Pan
has to choose between slavery in order to
survive or death, without hesitation Pan
will die.

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 Warped Mind, Inc.

JULIE’S PAST

After a few hours Pan returned to the

tyme machine. A few days passed since the
meeting took place. Julie is more
comfortable now that she and Pan had their
talk. One day they both went inside the
tyme machine. As Pan went into the kitchen
to make some coffee, Julie went in search
of a broom to sweep out a mausoleum and one
of her favorite crypts that she liked to
haunt. She was feeling depressed and
thought a good rest might help, but before
she did that she needed to sweep out the
crypt at least since the wind blew a lot of
the leaves and other debris in. As Julie
was looking for the broom to sweep out the
mausoleum and crypt, she opened the hall
cupboard and two skeletons hanging on a
couple hangers started rattling their bones
at her.
Julie jumped back after being startled,
and then sighed. “Great. This is all I
need.” Julie was shaking her head with
partial amusement. “Pan, what’s this?”
Pan came into the room, drying his hands
on a towel. “What’s what?”
“These skeletons. Are you trying to make
my life more difficult? How am I supposed
to get anything out of the closet with
these guys taking up all the room?”
“That’s okay. There’s nothing much else
in there anyway. Don’t you have a couple
skeletons in your closet?” Pan looked
puzzled at Julie then.

43
Heather J. Kintyre

“No, just secrets.”

“That’s strange. I always thought
skeletons were standard equipment. Besides,
of all the corpses I’ve gone through, these
had the finest bones. Just look at the fine
detail on this one. I love taking it out on
occasion just to admire the bones.” Pan was
looking at it closely. “If I’m not
mistaken, it’s due for another waxing. I’ll
have to collect some more earwax from the
kid's ears again. That is, if I can keep
her from eating it. She gets stingy in such
matters.” Pan shook his head in dismay. “So
much to do, so little time.”
Julie shook her head in disgust. “Such
an inspiration. Where do you take these
guys when you don’t hang ‘em high in the
closet?”
“In the work area. When I get weary I’ll
admire the bones before I start to work
again.”
“That’s disgusting.”
“Speak for yourself. These bones are far
superior to the Baron’s.” Pan spoke
defiantly.
Julie looked at Pan and picked up on the
game. “Oh, you think so?”
“I know so. The Baron has more coarse
and rough bones like a Neanderthal. These
are smooth and elegant.” Pan was stroking
the bones and rubbing his face against one
of the skeletons as he spoke. He was trying
to make Julie angry, and she knew it. Julie
smiled as she played along.
“Next you’ll be replacing me. I thought
you liked my bones.” Julie playfully
pouted.
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 Warped Mind, Inc.

“Jealous?” Pan spoke with a pompous

manner as he was stroking the other
skeleton and rubbing the side of his face
against the rib cage.
“Take that back. I thought you said that
no one had a better pair of bones than me.
Now you’re changing your tune.” Then Julie
paused as she mumbled thoughtfully to
herself. “On the other hand, they are a
hard act to follow, I have to admit.” Pan
laughed amused as he watched Julie’s
expression.
“Awe, poor Julie.” Pan snapped his
fingers as if he had a brilliant thought.
“I tell you what I’ll do. I’ll debone you
and hang your skeleton up in my laboratory.
Then I can throw these guys out, and you’ll
no longer have to be jealous. How’s that
sound?”
Julie got a thoughtful look on her face.
“No, I don’t think so.”
Pan got a mock hurt look on his face
then. “Why not?”
“Well, I’m in the middle of using it at
the moment.”
“Oh. That is a problem.” Pan rubbed his
lips in thought. “So take it off.”
Julie looked at Pan puzzled. “I don’t
think I can. The last time I looked it was
rather attached.”
Pan sighed in mock despair. “Oh well.
Mayhap later.” He walked towards the
kitchen then. “Want some coffee and a snack
since I’m going that way?”
“Sure.” Julie smiled and chuckled. Pan
seemed to have a talent for breaking
through her melancholy moods.
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Heather J. Kintyre

Ebenezer walked in from another room and

trotted toward Pan as he was going into the
kitchen. “I suppose you want some more
tuna.”
“Aah.” Eb started to purr and rub
against Pan’s right leg with a smile on his
face.
“Oh, is that so? Since when?”
“Meah.” Eb looked smugly at Pan.
Pan sighed and shook his head. “Okay,
okay, but don’t go blaming me when your
teeth fall out.”
Eb glared at Pan then like a scolded
kid. He sniffed as if he didn’t care, he
knew better, and walked with his eyes half
closed and his head higher. Pan shook his
head in amusement and chuckled as they both
resumed walking into the kitchen.
Julie was watching this amused. She
shook her head and smiled. A few minutes
later Pan came out of the kitchen with a
couple cups of coffee.
“Sorry about the delay. These kids get
awful pushy sometimes, and with their
limitations well, I wind up having to take
care of their demands a lot of times.”
Julie chuckled as she took the coffee
cup Pan held out to her.
“I’d better get his majesty’s bed ready.
Eb gets more grouchy in his old age.” Pan
went over to the hall closet and took out a
heating pad and blanket. He went over to a
corner and put the heating pad down, the
blanket on top of it. He turned the heating
pad on a medium heat. Then as he put the
blanket down he made it into a messed up
mound. A few minutes later, Eb came out,
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went over to the bed. He sniffed it over;

after the inspection met with his approval,
he started kneading and purring. After a
few more minutes, Eb settled down in his
bed, taking a last peak at his servant,
Pan. The look Eb gave was as if saying
‘You’d better stay there in the event I
wake up.’
Julie looked at Pan puzzled, then back
at Eb. She felt like an outsider to a
communication that was taking place between
Pan and Eb. Julie looked at Pan and started
to speak. Pan held up his hand for silence,
and turned to Julie. After a couple minutes
he motioned to Julie to follow him quietly.
They both left the room as silent as they
could be. When they got in another room
away from Eb, Julie spoke quietly. “What
was that all about?”
“Eb wants to keep me pinned so I can’t
leave. Well I won’t have it. I’m taking off
whenever I feel like it.” Pan tried to
sound pompous and gave a pouting sniff.
Julie looked at Pan in a mock sympathy.
“Oh, poor Pan. You’re just a slave to the
cats and other animals. No time for
yourself.”
Pan looked at Julie as challenged and
replied in a mock pouting voice. “What do
you mean? I’m a tyme lord. I can do what I
want, whenever I want.” Pan gave a haughty
sniff after he spoke, as Julie chuckled.
“What? Abandon your wards to fend for
one another? Have you no conscience?” Julie
looked mockingly at Pan, who then motioned
to for her to remain quiet. “I’m going to

47
Heather J. Kintyre

take some time off, then go into the

laboratory to work. Care to join me?”
“Not right now, thanks anyway.”
“Suit yourself.” Pan took a stretch and
went out of the tyme machine as Julie
followed. When Julie was out of sight, Pan
cloaked himself and took a small vacation.
When he finished, he walked back into his
tyme machine nearby and went into the lab
to butcher up a corpse that was waiting for
him patiently to get on with it. After a
few hours, Julie walked in with some
coffee.
Pan held up the slim piece of skin he
examined. “What do you think, Julie?
Steaks?”
“Oh, yes. Can we get a few T-bone’s out
of this one? He’s certainly fat enough to
have a few.”
“Your wish is my command.” Pan started
dotting the corpse where he was going to
cut it. Julie put a coffee cup down on a
nearby table for Pan. The coffee was a
Mocha Java made with Ethiopia and Sumatra
beans from Indonesia.
Pan took a sip and looked at Julie. “I’m
impressed.”
Julie smiled. “I thought you’d like it.”
Julie got a bewildered look on her face
then as she watched Pan. “Pan, I always
meant to ask you. Why do you cut the limbs
off, then cut the chest open when you don’t
know if you’ll be able to use the corpse?”
“Oh, that. In the event that I have to
throw the corpse in the acid, it’s easier
to do it in parts.”

48
 Warped Mind, Inc.

“Okay, that has a reasoning to it, I

guess.”
Pan smiled his charming smile at Julie.
“Poor Julie. Mayhap one day you’ll begin to
understand how I think, but I can’t promise
miracles. You have to remember that I’ve
been around a few billion years. It may
take you many lifetimes, so don’t get
discouraged.” Pan smiled and laughed.
Julie shook her head in despair and
groaned.
“No, no. That’s all wrong. You need to
put more feeling into your groans; like
this.” Pan gave a very mournful groan then.
A cold shiver of fear ran down Julie’s
spine. She looked at Pan puzzled and
bemused. Pan smiled. “Like that.”
Julie was dry voiced. “How’d you do
that?”
“I used to practice howling under the
lonely lights of the silvery moons back
when I lived with a pack of wolves for a
time; or was it in the future? Oh well, no
matter.”
Julie shook her head again in despair.
She resisted another groan. “I’ll see you
later. I’m gonna take a short nap with The
Baron.”
“Okay, see you later.” Pan chuckled as
Julie left. When Pan finally finished, he
stood back and stretched, then sighed in
weariness. He also was due for a break.
It’d been a long time since Pan had a truly
good vacation. After spending so many hours
in the midst of butchering, even if it’s
just a short break, it’d help. With a sigh,
Pan cleaned up the lab where he was
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Heather J. Kintyre

working. It seems that a day of rest never

comes for someone like Pan C. Tanner. He
shook his head and went out of the
laboratory and into the front room of the
tyme machine.
A few days later, Pan entered the tyme
machine after having spent a couple hundred
years away on another vacation. He felt
well rested again as he went back into his
laboratory. He still has at least half a
dozen cadavers to cut up into steaks, make
hamburger out of and meat dishes to prepare
for the great banquet the nearby city was
giving. The mayor was depending upon Pan to
have everything prepared on a very short
notice, as usual. Feeling the growing
number of hungry mouths who lived with him
(Or was it vice versa?), contributing to
the pressures placed before him, Pan
decided that somewhere in between the few
minutes before the next scheduled coffee
break that he’d take another short break of
his own elsewhere.
Silently Pan walked out of the tyme
Machine. Taking a look around up at the
sky, he then looked around the cemetery.
Good, there’s no one about. Pan surrounded
himself with a simple cloak of
invisibility, and then flew up into the
atmosphere. When the atmosphere thinned,
Pan kept going, up and out into space. Once
he's in deep space-he’s able to see
everything all at once in all directions.
He looked at a spiral galaxy as at the same
time he was watching a comet as large as a
galaxy ten million light years across. It’s
a sphere of equal distance all around
50
 Warped Mind, Inc.

travelling fast. The comet plunged into the

middle of the galaxy, at least sixty
million light years across. It sprayed up
and made a wall on all sides-very similar
to a rock after it was dropped into a body
of water. The substance spread out, and
then fell to the sides to make a loop. It’s
a very beautiful sight. The comet, upon
striking, had become a part of the galaxy.
Pan travelled toward the galaxy. He weaved
out and in-between the asteroids and
planets. More than normal are still very
hot with the fusing of the comet and
galaxy. Arms that have remained unaffected
by the strike of the comet are spaced
several light years apart. Pan decided to
play hopscotch within the solar systems of
one arm, and then the solar systems within
a few others. When he finished playing he
glided over to some of the other arms
within the galaxy. He decided to fly
between the stars and planets. Pan could
see other galaxies into the distance. Since
he’s now exhausted his travels within the
galaxy he’s on, Pan flew forth to the next
galaxies within the universe.
Now Pan’s free again, even if it’s
temporary. He can't feel Zeus' presence.
Between the galaxies now he can play,
relax, float and relish the feeling of
absolute freedom. A cup of coffee is before
him now. Pan took it, smelled it for any
other substances other than the coffee, and
determining it free, drank it as he
relaxed.
Alas, all good things must end sometime,
and so when Pan finished his Kenya AA
51
Heather J. Kintyre

coffee, he flew back to earth, time

travelling as he went, so he could return
at the same moment in time as when he left.
As Pan was vacationing in the universe,
Julie was relaxing in the crypt; the
cemetery was very old. Some of the crypts
were over nine hundred years old and part
of some very olde families. There were a
lot of trees around, some large oaks, many
centuries old. Mostly a row of eucalyptus
trees bordered the outside of the cemetery.
The section Julie was living in was the
oldest section. It was in another corner of
the cemetery, which grew larger as time
went by, and more dead were buried. The
older sections were abandoned after it
filled up and the older families all died
off, leaving no one to carry the family
names. This section was sealed off by
eucalyptus trees and forgotten, making it
more private. When you walked into this
older section, you could see the abandoned
headstones now in ruins. The only buildings
that were still in good shape were the two
crypts that were made out of marble,
abandoned until Julie made them a part of
her home. Because of the lack of care, a
lot of ivy that grew in other parts of the
cemetery had found its way into the older
parts of the graveyard and had covered the
crypts, making them even more private. The
ivy would’ve grown inside, but Julie kept
the ivy cut back on the inside so it didn’t
take over her living space. Julie walked
into the corner of the graveyard where she
kept her favorite corpse stashed in one of
the marble crypts with the heading ‘VAN
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 Warped Mind, Inc.

HELSING’ above the doorway. Julie took the

corpse out of the family crypt. The last of
the family members all died out over five
hundred years ago, so the family crypt
Julie was living in most of the time was a
safe enough place for her to be. The corpse
Julie was infatuated with was from one of
these old Van Helsing coffins. It was known
as Baron Von Helsing and one of the first
of the family members, probably the one who
originally had the crypt built.
As soon as Julie saw the corpse sitting
where she last left it, she ran up to it
and screamed a cry of delight as she picked
up the corpse and hugged it with delight.
“Hello, Baron. Miss me while I’ve been
gone?” Julie gave the old corpse a kiss on
what once were lips. “I sure missed you.”
Julie lay on the ground as she hugged the
corpse. The corpse was placed on top of
Julie. This caused the arms to fall to her
sides.
The corpse was a dried up mummified
figure. The skin was well leathered and
tightly shrunken around the bones, now very
fragile as they dried out many years
before. Most of the skin was gone; it was
probably because of the mice that were
found inside of the coffin, also long dead
and mummified. The bones were of someone
with a medium build. The corpse would have
stood upright at 5’1” when alive. The eyes
were long gone. The skin that covered the
closed eyes, although drawn tight, was
mostly missing, revealing the deep eye
sockets where the eyes once were. What hair
that remained was some gray strands; the
53
Heather J. Kintyre

lips were nearly gone revealing the

remaining few teeth left in the corpse. The
patchy skin over the cheek area was drawn
tight over a mouth that showed the outline
of few teeth. The cheeks were now hollow,
revealing the high cheekbones. Parts were
exposed as if gnawed. What remained was
sunken. The indentation would have been
more pronounced, but the few teeth
remaining prevented the tightly drawn skin
over the skull from receding further in.
The neck was now thin and scrawny. There
was something wrong with the neck as if it
was once partially broken and healed over
not quite back to normal. The vocal chords
were well defined. The ribs and bones were
barely covered by skin. In places the skin
had come off, revealing the remains of the
few dried up parts left inside the corpse.
There wasn’t much left. Most of it had been
removed, the rest shriveled up almost to
nothing with the passage of time. When
Julie started moving the corpse around it
contributed to the emptying of some of the
fine dust that once was part of the inner
organs of the corpse.
Julie was hugging the corpse with her
eyes closed. Her expression was one of
ecstasy. Rigormortis having gone out of the
limbs many years ago, when the Baron’s
limbs fell to Julie’s sides, Julie
interpreted this as the Baron responding to
Julie’s infatuated disposition. Although
the Baron still had a trace of that
unnerving smell of death, Julie could
forgive him of those things that he
couldn’t help. Everyone must take the good
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 Warped Mind, Inc.

with the bad, anyway. The Baron was so

dependable, after all. He always stayed
wherever you left him. Just like a rock, he
never strayed. It was nice to know that now
Julie had someone she could count on for a
change.
Julie felt for the first time in her
life that her luck was changing for the
better. The cemetery was so quiet and
peaceful. There were no intruders, no one
showing up to visit with ill-concealed
handguns in their vest pockets. Here there
was no one to bother her unless she wanted
them to. Well, sometimes Pan would show up
unannounced, but he never made himself much
of a pest. He was more of a hermit, and
Julie appreciated the privacy.
Julie would spend most of her days out
in the open, surrounded by the beauty of
nature and the peaceful chirping of the
birds and wildlife that surrounded her. As
long as Julie stayed within the oldest
section of the cemetery, no one was the
wiser to her presence. The older section
took up nearly forty acres of land. Julie
could stash her favorite lover in the crypt
of her choice, sleep with it whenever she
wanted and no one could stop her.
Ever since Julie was a little girl she
was attracted to those who were asleep. As
soon as they stirred and showed any signs
of life the attraction would end. One day
an uncle of Julie’s died. It was the first
time Julie had ever attended a funeral, and
the first time she ever saw a corpse.
Julie’s uncle wasn’t a very nice man, but
he wasn’t as violent as most of the men in
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Heather J. Kintyre

the hillbilly family that she was forced to

grow up in and around, where most of the
family members married their brothers and
sisters or first cousins. It was fortunate
that her family tree was a little more
diverse by introducing outsiders every
other generation or so. When Julie saw her
uncle laid out so peacefully in the coffin,
Julie started to feel the sexual stirrings
and desires others normally felt for some
lover they longed for. It was then that the
desire to sleep with corpses was confirmed
for Julie. Keeping her necrophilia habits a
secret, Julie played along with the
‘normalcy’ of the rest of the family,
avoiding all physical contact with
everyone. It wasn’t noticed, and only
suspected when she had no choice but to
marry.
When she was in her late teens, Julie
would sneak into mortuaries to sleep with
the corpses and leave before anyone showed
up for work. The hillbilly relatives were
easily duped, and Julie never got caught.
Some weren’t attractive at all after they
got their heads blown off. The one who
killed the victim would claim a hunting
accident and get away with it.
When she took up residence in the
graveyard, Julie felt truly happy and at
peace for the first time in her life. It
was all so perfect-or almost, until one day
this mysterious stranger and a new marble
crypt became known. At first Julie felt the
mysterious stranger would try to harm her
in some way. When he didn’t take any
action, she relaxed a bit, but never got
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 Warped Mind, Inc.

over her initial suspicions-until some time

passed after he introduced himself to her.
Even then, Julie still has her
reservations. Time lord or not, Julie can
never trust anyone ever again completely.
Whenever Julie thought of how much she
could trust Pan, she became saddened,
because he was someone she knew she could
trust completely, and yet she couldn’t go
against her permanent deep-set suspicions.
Her ex-husband saw to that.
During the five years of marriage, Julie
pilfered money into a secret account, using
a pseudonym. Then she took a lot more in
cash and stored it well away from where her
husband and other family members lived.
When Julie’s husband beat her so badly that
she was hospitalized, she managed to
escape, but just barely. Mark was driving
up to the hospital just as she left, in the
car that was bought during their marriage.
Julie recognized the shape of the
headlights; when the car got closer, she
could trace the outline, and the
taillights. Before she left the state,
Julie traded her own car in, took a bus to
another nearby town, and went to another
used car dealership, and bought a different
car of lesser value and different enough
that it wouldn’t be easily detected at
night; that allowed her to make a clean get
away. She made sure to get a car with
dimensions and headlights that weren’t
within the same distance apart or height
from the ground as the one she had when she
was married. She paid cash for it so there
was no trace of the purchase.
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Heather J. Kintyre

When Julie finally got her opportunity

to escape from her violent husband and
leave the family behind, she couldn’t wait.
She burned all of the bridges to her old
life, never communicating in any way with
those people from her past, including but
not limited to, all of the relatives. Now
Julie kept the money she pilfered from her
bad marriage stored in the Van Helsing
crypt that she slept in. When the crypt was
built, a secret compartment was built into
the floor. You had to open a secret panel
under one of the coffins near the bottom,
then open the floor board on the floor to
reveal a section about 9’ square. It was
large enough for Julie to store her
satchels of money. Even Pan didn’t know
about this area in the crypt, nor was Julie
ever going to reveal the hiding places.
There are some things that are best not
revealed, even to a seemingly best friend.
After Julie woke up, she moved the Baron
aside and stood up.
It was early that same morning after Pan
returned. Julie entered shortly after Pan
just got rid of his annoying conscience-
again.
Julie looked at Pan with suspicion.
“What are you up to now?”
“Don’t go waking my conscience, please.
He’s my worst enemy, worse than Charley
sometimes used to be in his later years.
Besides, I would like to hear the story of
your past. What are you running away from?”
Julie sighed and sat down on one of the
chairs in the room. “You’d better make

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yourself comfortable. It’s a long story.

Too long to remain standing, anyway.”
“I’ll make some coffee, then.” Pan
smiled as he went to make a fresh pot of
Kenya AA; a few seconds later he reappeared
with the cups of coffee. Julie sighed as
Pan took a seat in the living room opposite
Julie and made himself comfortable. For the
next couple of hours they drank a couple
pots of coffee as Julie told Pan about her
past and the years of her marriage.

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Heather J. Kintyre

JULIE’S NARROW ESCAPE

For the five years of Stella’s forced

marriage to Mark, (Julie's birth name)they
had been living in a house in a small town.
It wasn’t a small house, but it wasn’t very
large, either. It was just comfortable, and
would have been too crowded if anyone else
were to live in it. They never had any
children, as Stella was manipulated into
having a tubal ligation when she was barely
a teenager. The parents Stella had treated
her like an old used dishrag; they didn’t
want Stella to embarrass them by having any
children of her own, or have any of
Stella’s children come forth, contesting
any will the parents left behind them. Mark
wasn’t much better. He tried to treat
Stella like a cheap chamber maid-but she
rebelled and Mark was forced to hire help.
Some years afterwards, the parents
unexpectedly had a financial turn for the
worse; so much for their ideas about
leaving a substantial inheritance-it didn’t
matter anyway, since Stella wasn’t too fond
of the idea of being a mother. They were
faced with bankruptcy and as a result
forced Stella to marry Mark, a well-off
relative, in order to avoid it. Mark’s
marriage present to Stella would be to save
her parents from bankruptcy, and nothing
else. To do that, Mark paid off their
commodity debts and all others. Their life
savings were not replenished, and probably
never would be.

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 Warped Mind, Inc.

Manipulated or not, it was a relief that

Stella didn’t have any children before the
marriage, and couldn’t be forced into
having children by Mark since she didn’t
love him, and most likely never would.
Mark had just entered his house after
running. He immediately saw Stella and
something deep inside of him snapped. His
remaining kindness for Stella dissipated,
as if it never existed. Mark ran over to
Stella and in a furious temper he gave
Stella a couple hard blows. Stella didn’t
expect them and she was in a relaxed
physical state when Mark gave his punches.
At that instant, just after Mark gave his
two blows, Stella collapsed. Mark was an
ex-boxer, so he knew just where to hit to
create the most pain.
“NO!” Her voice was full of pain and
torture as from the beginning of time.
Mark bent over Stella then, having
seemed to come to his senses. Stella was
crouched down in a squatting position, her
head bent over. Mark carefully stretched
her out, now feeling a sense of guilt and
sorrow for his newfound feelings. Something
similar to a love rekindled, but not as
before. A casual friendship more like, and
just enough concern to not want to see
Stella hurt as she remained collapsed and
unconscious. Her skin was going very cold
to the touch, her face becoming more ashen.
Mark ran over to the telephone and
called for an ambulance. As he was dialing
for the ambulance, Mark remembered what
Stella had once said about ambulances: ‘I
was told under strict orders to never phone
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Heather J. Kintyre

for an ambulance unless you were dead. If

you weren’t dead, just in shock, you had to
wait and be hauled to the hospital in a
car. That’s why I wasn’t tended to for
nearly four hours after I broke my leg
again. I went through hot and cold periods,
and experienced faint pulses.’ Remembering
all this, Mark told them about Stella’s
collapse. After the phone call, Mark went
over and took her pulse. It was very faint.
Five minutes passed. The ambulance
finally showed up, from one of the nearby
stations where ambulances were kept on
call, since the hospital wasn’t very close.
Mark was pacing the front as he kept an
eye on Stella. Feeling guilty, but also
near freezing from the now cold sweat of
his run, Mark breathed a sigh of relief as
the paramedics rushed in. The paramedics
rushed over and carefully put Stella on the
gurney. One of them was taking her pulse,
also barely detectable to the paramedic. He
started fixing up an I.V. Mark saw they
were about to put it into her hand. “Please
use her arm instead. She has trouble with
the nerves in her hands.”
The paramedics used her arm then without
pausing in their rushed work. “If you wish,
you can ride in the back of the ambulance
with her as we take her to the hospital.”
“Can I change first?” Mark spoke with a
tone of hope, now that Stella wouldn’t have
to be left unattended. He didn’t understand
why they couldn’t delay until he was ready.
“There’s no time. She’s going fast.”

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 Warped Mind, Inc.

“Then I’ll stay here.” Mark spoke with a

pompous tone of voice as though to say ‘so
be it.’
“As you wish.” The paramedic who spoke
looked puzzled at Mark briefly, then ran
after his partner who was starting to load
the gurney into the back of the van. One of
them closed the door behind the other one
after guiding the gurney to the van. As
Mark started to close the front door one of
the paramedics spoke. “We’ll be in touch.”
The paramedic closed the back doors of the
van. The paramedic who put the I.V. in her
arm got in the back with Stella. He turned
up the I.V. flow. Stella opened her eyes.
She was still the colour of an old ashtray
full of ashes. Her pulse was still very
faint. “Hello. Welcome back. I thought you
were a goner.”
“I may be yet.” Her voice was very weak
and slurred.
“How long were you out?”
Stella tried but couldn’t lift her arm.
The paramedic lifted her watch to where she
could read it. “Seven minutes.”
“What? Even for that short a time, under
such conditions, people don’t come so close
to death so quickly after such a collapse.
Are you sure?”
“Yes. Isn’t it nice?” Stella’s eyes
closed. She was out again. Her head turned
and her neck silently ‘popped’ again.
The paramedic saw the forced jugular
vein movement of Stella’s neck, so he
leaned forward and examined it. “My word.”
The ambulance travelled as quickly as it
could, but it still took nearly an hour to
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Heather J. Kintyre

get to the hospital. Keeping in phone

contact with a doctor, the paramedic riding
with Stella was taking notes of her vital
signs and relaying them. Finally the
ambulance stopped at the doors of the
hospital. They got out fast; the driver
went over and opened the van. They took
Stella into the hospital. The paramedic who
rode in the back spoke up. “She’s got an
old injury to her neck coming home to
roost.”
The paramedic in front took note of what
his partner said, as he was talking to the
doctor who was following the procedures,
and tending to Stella through the phone
connection with the paramedics. Everything
was being relayed to the doctor. As they
were wheeling the gurney, the doctor from
the telephone connection came running out.
“I opened up the amount of I.V. flow,
but she’s out again, her pulse is weaker.”
The paramedic who rode in the back with
Stella spoke out.
“Reverse the medication now.”
“Okay, but won’t that kill her? Her
pulse is already too low.” The paramedic
was working as he spoke. The driver joined
him.
“She’s going anyway. Reverse it, we
don’t have much choice.”
The paramedics were working fast on
this. “Okay, I’ll take it from here. Has
anyone informed her husband?” The doctor
was wondering if they had already
communicated with Stella's husband while on
the way to the hospital.

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 Warped Mind, Inc.

“No.” Stella spoke in a weak whisper.

The doctor leaned closer. Stella’s lips
moved slightly. “Please say nothing to
him.” She was out again.
The doctor and paramedics were amazed.
The doctor leaned forward, close to Stella.
“If you can hear me, please try to answer
me. Shall we let your husband know the
latest?”
“No.” Stella’s voice was faint.
“Why not?”
“He’s killer.” She was out, but not in
such a deep unconscious state as before.
The hospital being a couple towns away,
and a sixty-mile distance with a lot of
open area was enough to deter any relatives
from expanding so far-plus the fact that
they killed one another at a fast enough
rate that the relatives remained within a
constant four hundred to four hundred fifty
count.
The doctor stood up puzzled at what he
just heard. “Well, that’s enough for me.
When she comes around I’ll take action from
there. Not until then. I don’t want anyone
to say anything about her condition. Tell
her husband nothing about this latest
development.”
The two paramedics nodded agreement.
“You got it.”
“Okay, I’ll put her in one of the
private wings for now. I’ll keep you
informed, but not a word to anyone else.”
The paramedics nodded affirmatively as
they left to another call that had just
come in. The doctor wheeled Stella down the
hall and into one of the private rooms. He
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Heather J. Kintyre

was checking the I.V. and the medication

level when Stella gained consciousness
again. The doctor was unaware of this and
was about to walk out when Stella uttered a
sound. He went over to her bedside. “Doc,
please don’t let him know I’m alive.”
“What?”
“I can’t go back.”
“Why?”
“It’s death for me.”
“What happened?”
“He almost killed me again. I’ll die if
I go back.
“I don’t quite follow. He called and
asked about you. He seemed to be concerned
about you.”
“Yes, he’s a good liar. Very convincing
an actor.” Stella got a look of pain on her
face and stiffened up, as the pain got
worse. “Oh no, not again.”
The doctor went closer to look her over.
“What is it?”
“My bad leg and left hand again.”
“That I can fix.” The doctor rang the
intercom.
“Only a non aspirin pain reliever,
please.”
“Okay.”
A nurse walked in. “I want you to get me
1500 mg of some Acetaminophen
Diphenhydramine Hydrochloride.”
“Sure thing, doctor, right away.” The
nurse left to go get the medicine.
“Thank you, I think. Sounds like a
swimming pool cleaner, though.” She was
massaging her left hand.
The doctor chuckled. “Old injury?”
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 Warped Mind, Inc.

“Sort of. Back when the leg was operated

on, the I.V. they shoved in the left hand
ruined the nerves. I recovered some, but it
flares up periodically. The leg’s a lot
worse.” She stiffened up with the pain from
her leg. “Much worse.”
The nurse came in and gave the doctor
the Acetaminophen. “Anything else, doctor?”
“No, that’ll be fine, thank you.”
The nurse walked out as the doctor
poured some water into a glass.
“Take this, you’ll soon feel better.”
Stella took the pain reliever and laid
back. “So tired. No more.” Stella passed
out again.
“That’s okay, you just rest. I can
understand you’re too tired now. We’ll talk
later.”
Stella was sinking back into a self-
induced unconscious state.
“I know you can hear me, so rest assured
I won’t say anything to your husband until
later.” The doctor patted her shoulder,
sighed, and silently walked out of the
room.
Stella woke up a couple hours later. No
one was about. She got out of bed, put her
clothes on and left the hospital room to go
use a private telephone at another
location. It wasn’t going to take her very
long. She went down to a pay phone, made
some collect calls to her brokers and a
couple other transfers to some banks where
Stella was going to relocate. She then made
one last transfer from Mark’s private
account into a new account for the
immediate purposes, like now, when Stella
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Heather J. Kintyre

needed the cash before she could get away.

Having transferred the funds, Stella went
over to a nearby bookstore and bought a few
paperbacks. She then went back to her room
and put the hospital gown back on, hanging
her personal clothes up where they were
originally. It looked as though they were
left untouched. Stella was reading one of
the paperbacks when a couple hours later
the doctor came back into the room.
“Feeling better, now?”
“Oh yes, much. Still refuse to continue
living with that sore excuse for a husband,
though.”
“Why? What did he do?”
“I don’t know if I can explain it.”
“Give it a try.”
“Mark came back from his run and right
after I glanced at my watch, I saw Mark
looking at me as he never did before.”
“Looking at you, how?”
“He no longer recognized me, and then he
surprised me with a savage attack, as an
animal would do to its prey. He had a look
of ill concealed hatred. It was gone almost
as soon as it appeared-unfortunately not
before the punches. It’s at that time I
collapsed.”
“I don’t quite understand.”
“I told you that you wouldn’t.”
“It makes no sense. Not entirely,
anyway.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s not scientific. Had it
been caused by shock or something built up
within the body, I could understand that.”

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 Warped Mind, Inc.

“You could say it was a sort of shock."

Stella sighed wearily. “Yours is an
atheists mind, and that’s too bad.”
“Why’s that so bad?”
“Atheists don’t have much if any
imagination. They’re all limited to only
known absolutes, man-made and earth bound
things only. There’s no possibility for
anything new, unless it's newly man-made
origin. If it weren’t for the agnostics, a
lot of the proven experiments would never
have become a reality.”
“Even so, we’re not that bad, and I did
save your life.” The doctor looked rather
smug when he said that.
“I suppose you feel superior about that,
but I don’t.”
“What? Why not?”
“I don’t want to live anymore as I have
been existing already. It’s to survive a
fate worse than death to go back.”
“What? Why?” The doctor was appalled at
her replies.
“There’s nothing to look forward to, and
nothing to live for that isn’t clouded by
horror. I’m very tired of having to
tolerate the everyday tortures. I therefore
prefer to die rather than go back to that
life.” Stella spoke in a nonchalant, matter
of fact voice like it was nothing unusual,
nothing uncommon in the discussion of
death.
“Surely you can’t mean that.”
“Oh but I do. I especially don’t want to
go back and tolerate the life I was in with
that husband.”

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Heather J. Kintyre

“I don’t understand. How could anything

be so bad you’d prefer death over life?”
The doctor was really interested now, and
was losing all sense of time as they
talked.
“During the years I was forced to be
married, I couldn’t love the husband. I
could manage to like him enough to live
with him as long as he was under the
illusion that I loved him. Now that
illusion is forever shattered.” Stella
breathed deeply as she continued. “It also
means he knows now that I never loved him
all those years past and he’ll kill me upon
my return. He’ll torture me first. I’d
rather go fast, if I’m to die.”
“You’re serious, aren’t you?”
Stella looked at the doctor as though he
couldn’t understand anything of what she
said. “Why would I speak so if I wasn’t?”
The doctor shook his head. “I can’t
leave you here. You’re going to pull
through, so the best you can do is file for
a divorce.”
“I can’t do that. He’ll kill me first.”
“I’m sorry to hear that. I called him
and said you were doing fine. He’s on his
way over now.”
“WHAT? You betrayed me? How could you do
such a low life thing? I’ll pay you very
handsomely for your services; just don’t
let him know I’m alive. If he sees me
alive, you won’t live much longer, either.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“The Mafia replaces their women by
killing them, not divorce. He wants me
dead. Now that he believes I’m alive, he’ll
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 Warped Mind, Inc.

never let you live, either. Your saving my

life was your worst mistake.”
“Oh my god. I didn’t know. What will I
do now?”
“Whatever you do, don’t let him see me.
Say I had a relapse, I was doing better,
but I’m gone again, worse than before, in
intensive care and I can’t be disturbed.
Say I’m being tended to this minute.
That’ll buy us some time.”
“That’s fine for now, but he’s going to
have to see the dead body.”
“I’m well aware of that. This is a
pretty well stocked hospital, is it not?”
Stella looked curiously at the doctor.
“I should hope so. We have only the
finest equipment.”
“Okay, fine. You don’t have to waste
more time on any selling point. I need some
time to hide, now.”
“This way.” The doctor led Stella to
another private room.
“Oh dear. I forgot my book. Can you go
get it for me?”
“Sure. It’s still on the bed, I
believe.”
“That’s the one.”
“Be right back.” The doctor left the
room just as Stella’s husband Mark turned
the corner and was heading to Stella’s
room. He had an expensive black business
suit and tie on, dark brown hair in a
ponytail down to his lower shoulder blades.
Upon closer look, the disposable contacts
could be seen over his muddy brown eyes. He
was carrying a potted plant with a dozen
black roses, a large black bow in the
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Heather J. Kintyre

front, and black paper around the pot. Mark

stopped the doctor after reading his
nametag, confirming that he was the one
taking care of Stella.
“Hello, doctor. I just got the good
news. Can I see her now?” Mark spoke
calmly.
“Well, actually, she’s had a relapse.
She was looking so much better, and then
she collapsed and I had to put her in
intensive care. She’s being tended to as we
speak.”
“Oh, that’s too bad. I had these pitch
black roses ordered special just for my
wife. I guess I’ll just have to get rid of
them, now.” Mark tried to sound
disappointed, although his tone of voice
was very nonchalant and businesslike.
“Oh I wouldn’t say that. She may pull
through, but from the look of it, these
roses may be lining her grave in the near
future.” The doctor looked at the healthy,
but black roses and couldn’t help wondering
about the conversation he and Stella just
had.
“Really? That bad?” Mark was trying to
look sad, but the look of hope and the good
news was seen if you looked closely. It was
obvious that Mark wasn’t able to cover up
his true feelings for very long or very
well.
“I’m afraid so. I can give her your best
wishes, should she recover. If you’d like
me to take the flowers, I’ll put them in
her room. When she gets back, she’ll be
able to enjoy them. If she pulls through
this one.” The doctor was shaking his head.
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 Warped Mind, Inc.

“I’ve never seen anything like this one in

all my years of practice.”
“Okay, here.” Mark shoved the roses into
the doctors’ arms as if ready to be rid of
them. “You’re the Doc, you know what’s best
for my little girl. Tell her I wish her
well.” Mark’s voice was maintained in a
very business like manner, no remorse or
true concern was in it. The doctor was
puzzled at it. The coldness of Mark’s
attitude was getting colder; even the very
atmosphere seemed to have acquired a frosty
touch that would shatter glass with a light
touch. As Mark spoke, he even gave the hint
of a smile as he gave the doctor the potted
plant.
“Sure thing. I’ll put them in her room
right now.” The doctor took the pitch-black
roses and walked into Stella’s room.
Mark left and was walking away when he
paused and looked back down the hall.
Stella, or someone who looked like Stella,
was peering out of a room further down the
hall. When she saw Mark she ducked back in.
Mark smiled with a smug look, and slowly
turned into the next hall that eventually
went out of the hospital.
The doctor came out of the room after
having placed the roses on a nightstand
near the bed. He went out of the room, then
into the other private room. He was shaking
his head in puzzlement. “That man’s cold.”
The doctor shrugged his shoulders as if to
get rid of something unpleasant. “I don’t
know what’s going on here, but your husband
just delivered some pitch-black roses for
you.”
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Heather J. Kintyre

“Oh dear. Then it’s happened.” Stella

slowly lowered herself onto the side of an
empty bed. Her face was going pale as her
skin went cold with a light sweat.
“What’s happened? What are you talking
about?”
Stella looked at the doctor. “Don’t you
see?”
“See what? What games are you two
playing?”
“The pitch-black roses are a message to
me; sort of a calling card. Once I return,
he’ll make sure I have a fatal accident;
that is, once he finishes torturing me.”
Stella looked at the doctor mournfully
then. “Doc, you’ve got to help me now.”
“Great. How?”
“I have an idea. Put forth a death
certificate saying I’m dead. I’ll
disappear, changing my identity to
something else.”
“Now why should I do that?”
“So I can get away from him.”
“No, I can’t just generate a death
certificate. I’m sure he’ll agree to a
divorce, anyway. Mob or not, we’re not
living in the stone ages any more.”
“Tell that to the hundreds of recently
murdered ex-wives of a lot of mobsters.”
“What would you do if you left? Where
would you go?”
“Just you leave that up to me. I’m not
penniless.”
“You sound like you have this already
arranged.”
“Yes, I do. I made arrangements a long
time ago in the event of such an emergency.
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 Warped Mind, Inc.

I’ve already made the final arrangements so

I can leave quietly, having already
transferred funds to where I’ll be going.”
“I still can’t just generate a death
certificate. What about the body?”
“You said this hospital is well
equipped.”
“Yes, it is.”
“Then get me some plaster of Paris,
wire, some rubber, makeup, a wig, another
set of clothes, and a mannequin.
“A mannequin?”
“Mark is going to have to see proof that
I’m dead. We’ll have to set the stage
properly.”
“I don’t know.” The doctor was looking
at Stella as though she lost what was left
of her mind.
“Just you get the supplies together, and
I’ll take care of the rest.”
“Okay, this is very unusual, but I think
I can pull a few strings.”
“Great. Don’t worry about it, it’ll work
and you’ll be well paid.”
“That’s not what I’m worried about.” The
doctor was nervous.
“You’ll see and it’ll work out fine.
Mark will be no more the wiser. I’ll make a
clean escape, and you’ll be a rich man.”
When the supplies were brought, Stella
set about forming a makeshift face to go
with the body. “Now this part is to be
covered up with some covering so when the
coffin’s open, it won’t be seen. It’ll be
close enough to my own body dimensions that
Mark won’t know the difference.” Stella
then took some of the rest and told the
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Heather J. Kintyre

doctor what she wanted to have done.

Together they made a mask of her face, got
hold of a wig and put together a wire frame
for the stability of the corpse. When it
was all done, the makeshift corpse was put
in a coffin with the lid open. It looked
like Stella. It was so real looking that it
made the doctor cringe. If he didn’t know
better, seeing the live Stella beside him,
he’d be convinced that the one in the
coffin was Stella. Now she could slip out
during the cover of night. When she was
long gone, and when morning came, the
doctor took care of all the rest of the
arrangements. Sure enough, Mark believed
that Stella was truly dead, having seen her
supposedly in the open coffin.
Julie sighed as she looked sadly at Pan
and put her coffee cup down. “As arranged,
I transferred the money into the doctors
account, then I changed my name so there
would be no trace of the old me. In the
event that Mark ever got suspicious and
went looking for me he’d never find me.
Some months went by after I left. I finally
found a location could barely tolerate. For
two months I lived in the oldest section of
this accursed joke cemetery in a backwater
old cow town. Then one day, a couple of
months later you showed up in your strange
looking crypt out of nowhere.” Julie paused
and drank the last of her coffee. “Up until
that time I didn’t have to speak to anyone
or use my new identity. I stayed well clear
as long as I could as I put more time
between me and whatever new identity I
used. So you see, just as you have
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 Warped Mind, Inc.

skeletons in your closet, so did I.” Julie

sadly picked up her empty coffee cup and
headed toward the kitchen.

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Heather J. Kintyre

R&R

“So now you know the whole story, lock,

stock and barrel.” Julie sighed as Pan
followed her into the kitchen.
Pan shook his head and sighed as he
heard about Julie’s past. “I swore I’d
never take out any revenge against anyone
for personal reasons, but this character
sounds like he’ll be doing harm to others
if left unchecked. I’ll have to check it
out.”
“While you do, I’ll be back in the crypt
with The Baron. I’m about due for a rest, I
believe.”
“Good. Then go to it. I’ll see you
later. Just don’t let Eb get the best of
you.” Julie smiled at Pan and chuckled as
she walked off.
Pan mumbled to himself, thinking about
his next activity. The buildup of stress
was taking its toll upon Pan. He needed to
get away as soon as possible. It was bad
enough being addicted to food in order to
remain alive when he was a mortal, but now
he’s addicted to the endorphins that kick
in when so active. Not that Pan minded. If
he weren’t a tyme lord, he’d never have
enough time to be so active and get
everything else done before the days end.
Pan was thinking about what he would do
when he stepped out of the tyme machine.
After some time passed while deep in
thought, he started to watch the sky
becoming lighter; he’s watching the sun

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 Warped Mind, Inc.

come over the horizon. As he walked, he

came to a beach. There are no humans. As he
looked out to sea he saw some dolphins
playing in the surf.
Many years passed. Pan’s adjusted to his
new life. Time for a time lord is much
different than it is for a mortal. A couple
hundred years can pass on earth while the
time lords had spent only a couple of hours
in their time having a temporary break from
the constant work they performed.
Pan always preferred the company of his
non-human friends. Pan has not had, or
missed, the company of another human since
his infancy. Regarding human companionship,
Pan can never miss, or lose for that
matter, what he’s never truly had. The
desire for companionship amongst his own
kind was something Pan never wanted after
he became an Immortal, or would desire
since the majority were extremely bad
characters to be around. However, on a rare
occasion Pan became best friends with a
couple of his own kind or another species
similar to his own. One of those best
friends had died not long before. Pan will
always miss him; he was a good friend, and
an uncommon time lord.
Before that time, a couple hundred years
ago, Pan befriended a man who was a
maverick in his ways. His death was very
hard on Pan; alas, the risk of losing his
privacy is too high a price to pay, so Pan
never tried to go forth to help his
friends’ family. Instead Pan left them some
money as an anonymous benefactor and
disappeared.
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Pan found that the dolphins helped heal

his wounds, and he continued a life long
friendship with them. The dolphins are
great bodysurfers, after all.
After some years Pan grew tired of the
life he was living. He was able to deal
with his friends’ departure now, and
remember the best of times they spent
together. He took to the air once again,
flying over some snow-covered mountains.
The snow and ice on one of the
mountainsides is quite inviting; he landed
on the mountain peak that’s iced over.
After looking down the 90° slope of ice,
Pan smiled and started down. As he became
an ice skater, he started doing figure
eights both forward and backward. After he
formed ice skates on his hands, he decided
to transfer to the ice skates on his hands.
He started ice-skating in circles,
gradually making the circles smaller. He
flipped over and leaped into the air; as he
put his feet down, the ice became snow.
As the ice changed to snow, Pan changed
to skis and poles. There’s a ski slope
ahead that he decides to land on. Pan skis
gracefully doing turns front to back to
front. Then he zigzagged for a time. After
a while, Pan’s joined by another. Both Pan
and his new companion race each other,
skiing in circles as they went. There’s a
ramp ahead. Both of them take it.
The ocean is below. They both dive in
the now tropical water below. Now Pan and
his companion are both of the merfolk. In
the water, they perform water ballets as
they race each other. Pan’s companion is
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trying to capture Pan’s soul. The companion

only wishes to share his soul with him.
Soon there’s a deep friendship growing
between them. Both of them swim up into the
open although neither one needs to go up
for air, since they can breathe very well
in the depths of the ocean. By mutual
consent they decide to go into the surf
area. A good-sized wave is about to
overtake them. They bodysurf the wave, and
then the next wave comes and they ride the
inner curl. As the wave spits them out
they’re airborne again.
Pan and his companion now have ice
skates on again. As they land on their
feet, they cut into the thin ice. The ice
broke open. Pan avoided falling in as he
picked up speed. The companion dove into
the hole after he gave Pan a wink. As he
disappeared, Pan waved goodbye, and resumed
his ice-skating.
Alone again, Pan alternated between his
hands and feet. The thin ice cracked beside
Pan as he raced along side of it. The ice
is breaking up behind and along side Pan.
The music is growing stronger within Pan’s
soul. It now determines what movements Pan
makes, as he matches it, measure for
measure. He ice skated over the edge of the
mountain and fell in mid air; turning the
fall into a well-executed turn of events,
he shape changed into an eagle and flew
into a valley of green below. There are
crystal waterfalls and beautiful jungle
life all over; into the distance can be
seen trees and flowers of all colours. As
he got closer, Pan glided over into other
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areas. He flew straight and high into the

sky, performing somersaults, and eventually
leaving the planets atmosphere.
As he flew Pan’s cares and worries all
disappeared, although his memories remained
intact, with all memory of the pain and
tortures he once had to endure as a mortal.
Pan knew that he would never want to be a
full mortal again. One cycle of a few
thousand lives was more than enough-never
again. The pain he once had to live with,
for a few billion years, is forever gone.
It’s all been replaced with a peace and
calmness he’s never known before. He is
able to take his past experiences and flip
them to his benefit, without realizing how
he once had difficulty with it.
Shortly after Pan’s beyond the known
universe he’s met by a cosmic wave. The
wave is sending him kind and gentle
vibrations. Despite the waves enormous size
and extreme storms, Pan allowed the wave to
carry him. Since Pan is an old bodysurfer,
he can easily glide along the inner curl.
The inner curl of the wave never closed and
he never grew dizzy. When Pan would tyre of
the inner curl, he’d attach himself to the
wave and glide along one way or another.
Pan’s travelling very fast within the waves
carry; galaxies that are hundreds of light
years wide moved by him in seconds.
Eventually Pan came to a part of the
wall. This is the wall that encloses the
universe he’s been living in so far. The
pitch-black night is darker than any Pan’s
ever known before, with the exception of
the void. After befriending Pluto, Pan was
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released from the void. The time lords

partially opened up his subconscious mind
then as his soul was almost fully restored
in his last mortal life. That way Pan would
never be able to make any suicidal attempts
unconsciously. The partial opening, like
most assets, is both a curse and a gift.
The cosmic wave gently released Pan. He
no longer felt the cold that usually
occurred before the wall. The wave bounced
off the wall to go back into the universe.
Now is his chance. With a deep breath, he
dove into the wall. Pan felt no cold or
pain as he went inside.
Soon Pan came out into another universe.
He saw a lot of multi-colours all over in
light rays as far as he could see. The
colours took many different shapes as they
travelled within this universe before
bouncing off of the wall he just came out
of. Some of the colours had longer lengths
than others. He was able to see like a
honeybee on various planets who made honey
from pollinating vegetation. There are
galaxies, asteroids and planets in this
universe of multi-colours. Some of the
planets are within solar systems that are
not a part of any galaxy. The coloured rays
would distort, reform and continue
travelling as they bounced off obstacles.
A wave of many colours in the universe
now picked Pan up. Pan gently kicked into
the wave. As the wave started to break Pan
flipped over. He dove into the wave before
it got too close to the wall. This is the
universe where Pan truly belonged, at least
for a while.
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Unfortunately after a couple hundred

thousand years, Zeus found him. Zeus
relayed a message to the guardians in the
other universe; Pan was forced to go back
into the universe he left Julie in. He had
no choice but to see his sentence through.
With a heavy sigh, he went back.
Pan time travelled back to a few hours
after he left the cemetery and Julie. Seems
an appointment was made secretly for Pan.
It was an opportunity for Pan to kill one
of the hard core criminals and discover who
his friends were, what they were plotting,
when and where Pan could pick them off. Pan
went to the appointment, forgetting that he
had also signed himself and Julie up for a
class at the local college. While Pan was
at the meeting, somewhere in the confusion
Pan was able to kill a couple of the
criminals, draining off the blood of one
when he grew too thirsty. He would have
used something else to drink, but there
wasn’t anything else available. His coffee
was still in transit at the moment.
As Pan left the building, he became
drunk as he walked. When he found a drug
store, he went in to pick up a soda to help
thin out the blood drink he had. After a
while he was staggering down a sidewalk,
being supported by the walls of buildings
as he walked. The man that Pan drained was
a heavy-duty drug and liquor taker. Pan
held a can of soda in his left hand.
“That’ll teach me to drink ‘em before any
testing.” Pan mumbled to himself.
Up ahead Julie saw Pan and ran over. She
was angry. “Uh-oh.” Pan looked at the
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rushing figure, knowing he was in for a

lecture-then he remembered the college; he
moaned.
Julie caught sight of Pan and ran over
to him, all hot and bothered. “Pan, I
demand an explanation! I’ve been waiting
for you to pick me up for the last two
hours! Where have you been? Do you realize
that you’ve missed your first day of
class?”
“Did I?” Pan looked mockingly astounded
that he forgot. “Oh, I’m so sorry. I think
I was at a meeting instead. No, it were the
wave. Lasted longer than I thought.”
Julie looked at Pan closely. “Have you
been drinking again? You ‘think’ you were
at a meeting or in a wave? You either were
or you weren’t. Now which is it?”
Pan nodded. “Of course I’ve been
drinking. No one can survive without
drinking. Must've been more loaded than I
thought when I took 'im. I was sure I could
handle it. I can’t rightly remember; I
forgot if I forget sometimes.” Pan swung
the soda around in a circle as he tried to
think.
“I know how you spike your drinks with
rum on occasion, so don’t try to weasel out
of not drinking.”
“That’s right, matey. True, my downfall
is rum, only the finest Jamaicey, but I
haven’t been tipping the bottle yet, not
this time. Scouts honour. Not me, no siree.
I’ll admit it does make one wish he had a
good stiff drink to brace himself.
Especially when the worst is yet to come.”
Pan smiled at Julie with a sleepy look. He
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was slurring like a drunken sailor. Pan

moaned as he slid down the wall to a
squatting position. He slapped his legs as
he mumbled. “Come on, you worthless pins.”
Julie got closer to Pan and was
overwhelmed by the smell of strong alcohol.
“If you weren’t drinking, I’m the Queen of
England. Stinks like a brewery. What did
you do, Pan? Tell me what happened, and be
quick about it.”
“No, I’ll not tell a tale twice told by
an idiot. I haven’t sunk that far yet, an’
I doubts I ever will. I have to admit that
there be times I think it’d be a nice rest,
since everyone else tends to treat those
unfortunates with more kindness, but I’m
not so stupid as to think it’d be a
temporary stay.” Pan got a thoughtful look
on his face as he tried to stand up. Julie
tried helping him to his feet. He then
started thinking aloud in rather incoherent
thoughts. “Skyner tried to warn me about
how knowledge chains you. The more you
know, the more demands are made upon your
time. Awful when it happens; no privacy any
more.” Pan looked at Julie as seriously as
he could then. “Good ol’ Benjamin Franklin
said if you value time don’t waste it, for
that’s what life is made up of. Smart man
he were; well worth the time getting to
know. It’s sad that some mortals mess up
and miss the call to Immortality.” Pan was
wavering and started to slide back down the
wall he was leaning against. Julie tried
catching him before he got too far down.
“This Melancholy Man is a permanent outcast
from his own kind, always will be.” Aloud
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Pan continued speaking in partial thoughts.

“ Alone I were born, alone I’ll die the
next mortal death when it comes, however
near or far. I’ll take no one with me." Pan
collapsed into a full sitting position as
he looked at Julie. "Do you think it’s an
accident that I drive differently when I
have someone else in the ol’ thing? No,
this child of fear goes about his life
alone. It’s the only way, truly.” Pan was
swaying as he sat, as on the high seas with
rolling waves under his pins. “Poor ol’
girl-she really gets upset when I refer to
her as an old thing. Jus’ like a typical
vain woman about her age.” Suddenly Pan
cringed as the tyme machine sent him a
brief mental slap.
“You’re drunk, Pan. What happened?”
“You’re right as usual. Jus’ giv’ me a
keg o’ rum an’ a star to sail ‘er by an’
I’m happy.” Pan smiled as he drank more
soda.
“Don’t tell me, you tipped a few black
spots along the way. Pan, what happened?”
“Okay, okay, spoil sport. And yes, I did
tip a few silvers. Mostly black spots,
though.” Pan tried to stand up again, but
slid back again to the ground. “I think
I’ll need help getting up again.” Julie
helped Pan to stand up as he spoke. “I was
all hyped up to throw stones at the humans.
Instead everyone sat around and got loaded
by smoking joints. Smelly stuff. Sort of
forest fire to it.”
Julie couldn’t help laughing at Pan’s
innocence. “Some time lord you are. I
thought you were supposed to be an ancient.
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I guess you don’t know everything after

all. I also suppose you fell over the edge
you teetered on as you were stoned.”
“Yeah, I did. No, I didn’ partake of any
smokin’ either. Anyway, that was before. I
landed on a lower ledge and I had to get
bombed in order to climb out.”
Julie sighed. “There’s no hope for you.
So tell me something I don’t already know.”
”Okay, I barely got a foothold as I was
grabbing the cliff edge, then the ledge
broke off; it’s pretty smooth now. The next
time I fall over, as I’m ice-skating
between the fine line of sanity and
insanity, there may not be another ledge to
catch me. When the speed of my fall gets
fast enough, I’ll probably be killed in the
process. At least, I hope so.” Pan smiled
like a Cheshire cat who swallowed a tuna.
He was standing up and walking well enough
so that he didn’t need any more help.
Julie was happy to remove herself from
his drunken embrace. She shook her head.
“There’s no end. It’s hopeless. I’ll see
you later when you’re more rational. Oh
lord, what did I do to deserve this? I’m
off to the crypt to rest.” Julie started to
walk away disgusted.
“Julie, all lords are bad—and good.” Pan
shouted to Julie and smiled charmingly.
Julie groaned and looking up, shook her
head. “I trust that somehow you’ll find
your way home.”
“An’ may your sun always rise in the
east, yourself. Pan waved his can of soda
towards Julie as in a salute. “I’m so
tried. Gotta rest.” Pan staggered off to
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the tyme machine. The tyme machine appeared

quietly nearby. As he went in, he went over
to the controls. After twisting some
controls and punching buttons, the tyme
machine took off to parts unknown. While
the tyme machine was in deep space, Pan
went to his bedroom and fell on his bed,
dead to the universe for the time being
although still awake. It would be a few
years before the tyme machine went back to
the same time era but in a different
location. Zeus was strong, but even he
couldn’t invade the tyme machine that was
now linked to Pan. As a result, Zeus was
powerless in making sure that the tyme
machine would remain on earth.
Pan left the tyme machine after he woke
up, and went exploring. This place was
familiar, as at one time Pan used to
frequent this area. It used to be a place
he frequently exercised in some few million
years ago. In earth’s history, that must’ve
been a couple hundred years before,
although Pan was much younger then. It
changed very little since then, considering
the time passed and the destructive hands
of man. Back then when Pan started to
vacation here, he found a cliff edge. It
had a cave that Pan explored. Having found
it again, Pan went inside. There were old
cave paintings that looked like some
American Natives painted them. He looked
around and saw where the campfires were,
and where the ceremonies were held. It was
long since abandoned back then, as now. Pan
used to go back to the same place, but he
never found the cave again. He searched for
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many years afterwards. Pan continued to

vacation in this area until he found a
better location. He was never to find the
cave after the first time. Giving up all
hope, he never expected to find the cave
again. As Pan roamed deeper into the cave
he suddenly grew tired. His body got very
heavy. He found a hole up above and a large
pine tree and went over to the base and lay
down. It was then that his soul easily
separated from his body and flew away into
the bright sky.
Quite by accident Pan went back further
in time as he explored other parts of the
large cave. As he entered one area, he saw
a bright light against the walls. The light
wasn’t steady as with a flashlight. The
light seemed to move, growing brighter,
then dimmer, but never dark. There were no
shadows in any of the corners. Everything
was well lit up. He followed the light
source. As Pan turned the corner he saw a
group of Cherokee Indians lying around a
roaring fire passing a pipe of peace
around. Although he never heard the
language before, he understood everything
the Cherokee’s were saying. They spoke of
the sacred poems of their friends and their
ancestors. They discussed the sacred
prayers and promises they sent to their
gods, the promises they kept between each
other. They spoke of the importance of a
strong family and a communal bonding.
Pan went deeper into the cave. The
Cherokees couldn’t see him since he was in
astral form. They did seem to feel his
presence, though. It didn’t alarm them at
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all. A few got up and followed Pan as he

went deeper into the cave. They seemed
comforted by his presence. When Pan
returned to the campfires, he looked
around. He saw an overhang that one of the
Cherokees had prepared for him. Pan went
over to it. There’s nothing like a good
stretch for an aching back. Even in astral
form, Pan would sometimes feel achy. He
hung upside down by his astral knees as he
listened to the groups talk.
As Pan stretched and hung around, the
Cherokees resumed talking about the leader
for the next hunting party. It’s one of the
customs to share the lead of every hunting
and war party. The white man has been
invading their territory and pushing the
Cherokees further away. The land has been
decreasing along with the buffalo, their
main staple. It has been decided by some
that bringing back the scalps of the white
man would be a mark of bravery. Some of the
other Indian tribes were already scalping
every white man they killed. In the event
that the white man got smart and started
leaving them alone to live in peace, as
they have lived in peace for so many years
already, then the Cherokee’s would leave
the white man alone. No one wanted to lose
a good friend to fighting one of the pesky
white men. Most of them just wanted to be
left alone. However as long as the white
man pushed, they would be forced to push
back.
When the fire died down and everyone
fell asleep, Pan flew out of the cave. The
starry night called to him. He flew up into
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the night sky and out of the planets

atmosphere. Now Pan is free to relax as he
reflects upon the past. It is a rare honour
to be graced with such an encounter. Pan
reattached himself to his body then flew
into the night. He then went back into the
tyme machine.
As Pan entered the tyme machine, a cup
of Kenya AA coffee is before him. “What’s
this?”
“I thought you could use it.” The tyme machine
spoke mentally to Pan.
He drank it as he relaxed and thought
about the one segment in time he
encountered.
“Not bad at all. It’s just as good as my
own.” Pan smiled to himself as he replied
mentally to the tyme machine.
“Thank you, Pan.” The tyme machine spoke with
pleasure.
“I’m puzzled, though. How-what shape do
you take in order to perform these
functions? How do you do it?”
The tyme machine was chuckling over
Pan’s bewilderment. “I use the surrounding atmosphere
and take on a form with substance. Then I’m able to perform
whatever tasks I desire.”
“Form-like a pressurized air?”
“Yes.”
“Can you ever travel outside-in space
when in these forms?” Pan was very curious
about this.
“I’m not sure. I never thought about it. There’s really never
been a reason to travel that way, but I probably could. Still, I
imagine it would be dangerous.”
“Dangerous, how?”

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“If something prevented me from getting back to my ‘shell,’

the tyme machine, then the tyme machine would never operate
again.”
“That’s a point. Sort of like divorcing
your soul from your body.”
“Something like that, yes. It may be closer to when you
travel in astral form. The same rules apply; the few times I’ve
been outside of the tyme machine, I was within a step of the
threshold.”
“Interesting.” Pan smiled as he drank
some more coffee. As he continued to drink,
he thought of the event he encountered with
the Cherokees. It was a crucial piece of
information very few were to hear or know
about. Pan sighed with melancholy as he
drank his coffee.
A few more years passed before Pan
resumed his journey back to earth and the
time period where Julie was waiting for
him. He needed a long vacation to recover
from the horrible life he was seemingly
forced to live in for so long.
Unfortunately all good things have to end
some day, so after spending a couple
hundred years away, after coming back from
a walk, Pan went into to the tyme machine
and headed back to earth at the time he
left. He set the controls to go back in
time to a few seconds after he left the
cemetery originally, landing exactly where
he left.
As Pan went outside, he followed Julie
into the cemetery. Then he saw her head
back into the oldest section, so he left
her alone. Chances were she was visiting
her favorite corpse again. Pan knew from
long experience that it wasn’t good to
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trespass upon someone else’s privacy when

they preferred to be alone. Julie’s body
language was one who desired privacy right
now. Pan continued to take a stroll in the
rest of the cemetery. It was a beautiful
old cemetery, after all. This is one area
Pan never tired of being in too long.
A couple of hours passed, and Julie came
out of the trees that blocked off the
oldest section of the cemetery. She saw Pan
and walked over to him. “Hi, Pan. What
brings you out here?”
“It’s too beautiful a day to remain
inside. How about you and I going for a
walk? We could go to the museum along the
way.”
Julie smiled. “Sounds all right to me.”
Julie looked closely at Pan. “You look a
bit different. Been vacationing, I take it.
How long this time?”
“Just a couple hundred years.” Pan
smiled. “I’m starting to feel the years,
also. I’d best partake of more frequent
cannibalism dishes.” Pan sighed as Julie
smiled and took his arm.
“What’s that got to do with human
flesh?”
“It’s the only way to keep this body
from aging too fast. Unfortunately it
doesn’t stop it completely.”
“So that’s why you have to take over
another body.”
“Correct. It will finally wear out after
a few thousand years. It's about due for a
change again.”
As they walked they strolled down an old
dirt road that lead into town. They
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could’ve taken a more direct route, but

there were more people on that route.
“You’re right, it’s a gorgeous day. Just
look at the fruit trees. Those oranges look
delicious.” Julie went over and picked one.
She was taking the outer skin off as Pan
stopped. Julie looked at Pan alarmed. “What
is it?”
Pan pointed to a man some distance away.
“It seems I found my brother.”
“You jest. Surely he’s miles away from
here. Why would he stay around here?”
“I don’t know. That’s him, no question
about it. I wonder what he’s up to? Best
not to let him see us, if he hasn’t
already.” Pan and Julie went under the
cover of the trees they were standing near
by.
“Well, want some of the orange? It’s
quite good.” Julie handed Pan some slices
of the orange after she and Pan went under
the orange tree and sat down. The orange
trees branches hung down almost to the
ground and were heavy with ripe large
oranges. Pan took the slices Julie gave
him. “Thanks, Julie.” They waited for
Charley to leave before they came out of
hiding. While they waited Julie and Pan
munched on the oranges that hung overhead.
Julie and Pan then resumed their walk. As
Pan and Julie were walking, they passed the
outside of a museum, where some ‘art’ was
on display. They were looking at art that
was considered to be masterpieces.
Julie looked at Pan and shook her head.
“What is this world coming to?”

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“I’ve taken craps that look better than

this shit, that’s true. Mayhap I should
have had it all cast in brass.” Pan was
looking at the ‘artwork’ as if it hurt his
eyes. One of the nearby humans overheard
Pan’s crass remark and looked disgustedly
at him. Pan sighed as he shook his head
sadly. “No chuckle, no laughter. Everyone
seems incapable of no longer laughing to
relieve the buildup of tension created in
everyday living. Is it any wonder so many
people are going crazy? Just try to crack a
joke to a psychologist, and you’ll be
locked up for the rest of your life.” Pan
shook his head in disgust as he and Julie
walked by.
Julie laughed as she and Pan passed the
art exhibitions. “Yeah, all the world’s
going to hell in a hand basket at a fast
pace, and here we are making light of it.”
“Don’t worry about it. Better to enjoy
the lighter side of life than live with
sweet misery. Even if the humor is on the
darker side.” Pan gave Julie a sly wink and
a brief hug.
“Getting fresh, are we?”
“Why not? It’s a free universe.”
“As long as you make enough money to pay
for the freebies, sure.” Julie smirked.
After a couple more hours during the
late afternoon, Julie and Pan headed back
to the tyme machine. They had some coffee
then Julie took off to the crypt for the
night. Something about Julie’s body
language was bothering Pan. He wasn’t sure
what it was, but it disturbed him. She
sounded okay, but her body language was
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saying all was not well. After a few

minutes passed, Pan left the tyme machine
to go see what was bothering Julie, and see
if he could help.

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JULIE’S ATTEMPT

Julie was thinking once again of how

best to kill herself. She had to do it
right, or suffer having to survive in worse
physical shape than before the attempts.
That was no good, and it’d be better to not
try attempting suicide at all in those
cases. Having tried so many times before,
Julie was well versed on attempted
suicides. She really didn’t want any more
botched up jobs. She laid out a new razor
and some barbiturates she managed to get
hold of. Although she already decided the
razor method would be the best, Julie
wasn’t too keen upon having to feel the
full force of the pain that the razor would
give in the process of slicing her wrists.
She then realized that she forgot the glass
of juice she was going to lace with
cyanide. After carefully laying the rest of
the items on top of a coffin, Julie took
out a new razor blade and was looking it
over when she heard a disturbance in the
trees.
As Julie left the crypt, still with the
razor blade in her left hand, Pan walked
into the section that was closed off by
some eucalyptus trees. Pan walked up to
Julie; she immediately hid the razor blade
from his view, but not before Pan had
already seen it reflecting in the sunlight.
He knew then that Julie was holding it as
she debated slicing her wrists. He was
amazed, but not entirely surprised to find

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that Julie was having suicidal thoughts.

“Hello, Julie. Thinking about suicide
again?”
“What makes you think that, Pan?”
“Please don’t bother trying to hide it,
Julie. Even if I hadn’t seen the razor
blade before you hid it, your body language
told me something was wrong. It didn’t take
the razor blade for me to figure out it was
something possibly fatal that you were
debating.” Pan spoke as though Julie had
insulted him somehow.
“How the hell could you possibly know? I
didn’t know myself until a short while ago
that I was going to make another suicidal
attempt.” Julie looked at Pan amazed.
“That’s how body language often works.
It often reveals symptoms before the person
knows. That’s why I’m here. I knew
something was wrong, and I wanted to see if
there was anything I could do to help.” Pan
smiled sadly.
“What can I say? I’ve a hankerin’ to
die, so if you can direct me to the nearest
volcano, I’d like to partake of a lava
bath, damn the consequences. If you can,
throw in a couple big bottles of
barbiturates I’ll get the rum-Jamaican, of
course. May as well go in style.” Julie
spoke sadly. “Seriously, if you can get me
a glass of juice I’d really appreciate it.”
“Poor Julie. Is there nothing else I can
do?” Pan was very concerned about Julie’s
suicidal mannerism.
“No. Not really. On the other hand,
maybe.”
“Like what?”
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“It seems I ran out of cyanide. Can you

get me some more? I was thinking of lacing
the juice with it, but I drank most of it
before I thought about it. I’ve already
swallowed my fear and embraced bravery in
order to go forth into the unknown. That’s
no problem. I just forgot the one minor
detail is all.”
Pan looked at Julie puzzled. “That’s
it?”
“Yep.”
Unknown to Julie, Pan had actually given
her the information to commit suicide in
her last life as Vera. The other time lords
were furious, as they had cause to be.
Knowing this was being closely monitored
Pan tried his best to divert Julie’s
suicide. He had one last chance. The time
lords wouldn’t have bothered, and it was
rare. Since Pan is also a Guardian, they
were giving Pan his last chance. It would
not be extended. Pan looked at Julie in
dismay.
Julie sighed and looked sadly at Pan.
“So now that you know about the suicide
attempt, what will you do to me? Hand me
over to others who’ll force me to remain
alive? Give me some ‘happy’ drugs so I can
be under the delusion that everything’s
really fine?”
“No, never that. I learned a long time
ago never to interfere when someone is
serious and truly wants to commit suicide.
Not all suicides are death, either. The
best thing to do is let them go, because
they've gone beyond any help you can give.

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As for the juice, I suspect it was no

oversight.”
Julie, having no exact memory of Pan’s
previous encounter with her, looked at Pan
astounded. “You’re certainly different than
what I expected. I would’ve expected you to
try to stop me. Instead you tell me if I
really want to do so, go ahead. Do you even
care one way or another, Pan?”
“Yes, I care. I’d prefer that you
didn’t, but I won’t stand in your way if
suicide is what you really want to do.”
Julie went back into the crypt, put the
razor blade on the table near the door and
went back into the open air with Pan.
“Somehow, I don’t feel much like making the
attempt just now. I’ll postpone it for
another day.”
“Good.” Pan smiled and gave Julie a
brief hug, knowing Julie wouldn’t be
capable of taking her life for a while now
anyway. Her body language, although still
on the melancholy side, wasn’t depressed
enough for her to take her life at this
time. “Julie, will you please tell me why
you feel that you need to take your life?”
“It’s a long and boring story. Remind me
one of these days to tell it to you. Right
now I’m very tired, and I’d like to get
some rest, if you don’t mind. It’s
exhausting having to survive in this frame
of mind.”
“Humor me.”
“I look forward to my death so it’ll end
the continued tortures that are forever
plastered within my mind. So many horrible
memories; I tried to forget what memories
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Heather J. Kintyre

cause me pain. Too many times this is not

possible. I must therefore do the best I
can to live with them the rest of my life.
These painful memories are destroying the
world as more children of fear, like
myself, grow up and kill out of the anger
they all share. Regardless, the reptilian
brain ignites the highly unstable fuse as
these memories come forth.”
“How did you become such a child of
fear?” Pan was hugging Julie as she spoke.
“I was raised with a Butchdyke for a
mother. The Butchdyke used mental tortures,
forcing me to eventually become a child of
fear. Most Butchdyke’s take out their
hatreds on the innocents like myself. They
are the real criminals, although they’ll
never be prosecuted for their crimes. Too
many are suffering as I once did. They will
continue to suffer, if not a lot worse,
until their deaths. She didn’t want my
presence and having to raise me, and I
didn’t want to continue to survive in the
family I was born into. Blame it on my
upbringing. Some habits are hard to break.”
Julie sighed, as she was tired. “Is that
sufficient, or do I need to go on?” Julie
looked at Pan curiously.
Pan smiled at Julie and sighed with
sadness then. “Okay. I’ll be back in the
tyme machine, butchering up a couple of
human corpses if you need me. You need some
rest. I’ll just take the drugs and razor
blade if you don’t mind. See you later.”
After Julie gave Pan the razor and drugs he
walked away as Julie entered the crypt,
took the Baron’s corpse and hugging it
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tight to herself, fell into a deep sleep

that resembled one of the dead.
Being rather tired of having to deal
with the everyday pressures of life, Pan
decided to take another break. This time he
was thinking of a combination of
bodysurfing, kayaking, and mayhap a couple
other things as well. Pan put the razor and
drugs inside the tyme machine, then locked
it all up as he went back out. He went to
another galaxy with similar earth like
conditions and found a place that had some
nice sized waves. He started paddling out
to some surf on his surfboard. A set of
waves came forth, some of them near 50’
high or better. One of the waves picked Pan
up and he glided along the inner tube. The
surfboard disappeared so he could ride the
inner tube of the wave with less chance of
it trying to break his neck. A very likely
accident if the waves aren’t caught just
right. Another wave came immediately after
Pan was spit out of the wave he was in. Pan
has reformed and taken control of his
surfboard. He caught the next wave and
built up speed. As he went faster he pushed
the surfboard up and over the wave. Now the
surfboard became a skateboard.
When the skateboard appeared, the
environment changed as well. Pan was going
down a cement-like wall many miles deep and
clean of all debris. As he picked up speed
the skateboard changed into roller blades.
Using the roller blades, Pan started doing
a lot of fancy footwork. All of a sudden
his hands closed together. After separating

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Heather J. Kintyre

his hands, a pair of ice skates formed. The

environment changed again into thin ice.
Pan flipped onto his hands and cut the
now thin ice below him. He alternated
between his hands and feet, now equipped
with ice skates. As he picked up more speed
the ice melted and became water in an
ocean.
Pan is now on a surfboard in the ocean
doing a hang ten with his hands. He lowered
himself onto his feet as he went through
the tube of a big wave. As Pan got ready
for the next wave an enormous ‘thumper’
appeared. He looked way up at the top. This
is definitely one of the worst trip’s he’s
ever been on, or would've been if he had to
remain mortal. With a diabolical smile, Pan
glided toward the wave. The surfboard
disappeared as Pan became a bodysurfer. He
attached himself to the wave. While on his
stomach, the wave picked him up as he went
through the inner tube of the wave. The
ride through the inner tube is very fast.
The wave spit Pan very high up in the air.
Below him now is a mountain summit.
Now Pan forms a bicycle and upon
touching the surface, he started cycling
very fast down the mountainside. There are
a lot of tight switchbacks. This is one of
the most challenging exercise courses Pan’s
ever had. One slight loss of concentration,
and he could easily become a pancake.
At the bottom is a sandy beach. Pan
changed into a dove and flew out into the
surf. Just before a wave breaks, Pan shape
changed again, equipped with a kayak. He’s
sealed into the kayak to prevent the water
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from getting in. When Pan got far enough in

the ocean he used his ‘double’ bladed
paddle to go out beyond the big surf. As
he's paddling his kayak out, a twenty-foot
wave is ready to break on top of him. He
positioned the kayak so the current would
carry him into the wave. The kayak
disappeared. Pan is lying face down in the
water as the wave picked him up. He slid
into the inner tube. As he came out of the
wave the kayak reappeared. Pan now has the
paddle over his head. With arms straight,
he brings the flat side of the paddle down
on his left side, cutting into the water.
He pushed forward and down the backside of
the barely broken wave. The kayak plunged
down the wave. Another wave appeared. Once
again Pan tried to go through it. The kayak
stayed this time. As the kayak went through
the top of the wave, he was flipped upside
down. He did a hip snap and up righted
himself as he came out of the wave. With
the paddle, he dug in, and then pushed
forward as he plunged into the water.
The kayak disappeared, and Pan became a
merman. A dolphin is waiting for him and
greets Pan as he enters the water. Together
Pan and the dolphin swam the ocean blue
doing curls, flips and racing each other.
Sometimes Pan would embrace the dolphin as
they’d swim the deep blue seas. After a
while Pan and the dolphin went to where the
surf was breaking perfectly for
bodysurfing. Together they would bodysurf
the waves; they would curl under the wave
before they got too close to shore, and
then they’d swim out to catch another wave.
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Heather J. Kintyre

A lot of the time the dolphin and Pan would

ride the inner curls, the waves spitting
them high into the air. They would then
embrace as they both went back into the
water. When the waves died down in height,
the dolphin and Pan swim into the deep blue
sea where their home is, embracing as they
went.
Some months passed as Pan continued to
play so hard, and Pan reluctantly went back
to the time frame in the old cemetery
again. It’s mandatory that he is to do his
best to try to prevent Julie from
committing suicide. That is, if he wants to
prevent the war with Zeus. In the meantime,
Pan will partake of as many off world
excursions as he can.
A few days later Pan was starting to get
physically worse. He knew that he had to
find another body shortly. It wasn’t going
to be easy, for he didn’t want to leave
Julie for too long. She was too unstable
now and getting worse as she got older, and
it made Pan too nervous for comfort.
The next day as Pan and Julie are in the
tyme machine, after having a pot of coffee,
Pan spoke. “Julie, unless you’re planning
to spend the rest of your life scrounging
the graveyards for your food and keeping
company with the corpses, I suggest that
you get more of an education.” Pan smiled
at Julie sadly.
Julie glared at Pan with a hard cold
look. Then her gaze softened. “What are you
saying exactly, Pan? What’s wrong? Are you
too smart now that you’ve taken over
several billion years worth of memories? Am
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I not good enough for you? Besides, for

your information, I managed to stash enough
money away for my survival, thank you very
much.”
“It’s nothing like that, Julie. I like
you fine. I came to know that if you valued
your life then don’t waste your time in
ignorance, because that's the worst crime
of all.” Pan was rubbing his chin in deep
thought. “Come to think about it, the most
vital information is not learned in a
classroom. The combination of both is
best.”
“What are you talking about?”
“There’s a big difference between a
genius and an educated idiot. The educated
idiot is very easily controlled. They can’t
see the future consequences of their
actions. That’s why the governments like to
use educated idiots when certain things
requiring higher learning are involved.”
Pan looked sadly at Julie. “I don’t want
you to become one of the educated idiots,
Julie.”
“How touching. Why should I care? I’m
superior to most others as it is.”
Pan sighed sadly. “No, Julie. Don’t ever
say or believe that. An educated idiot not
only believes they’re better than everyone
else. They also believe that the knowledge
they have is always true and correct. No
one can prove them wrong, even if another
comes up with alternate views, or answers
that prove them wrong beyond any doubt. Oh,
the educated idiot is smart in his or her
area of expertise. They’re still idiots in
how they think. Including but not limited
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Heather J. Kintyre

to their emotions. On the other hand, the

genius is just as smart as the educated
idiot. In many ways, they’re smarter. They
do see the future consequences and end
results of their work, although not always
very far into the future. The genius will
recognize that he or she doesn’t know
everything, and there’s always room for
improvement. More learning, no set ideas
and if their knowledge can be proven wrong,
or have alternate, better routes to
answers, great. The genius can and will
acknowledge its value, never shunning the
one who came up with the ideas. They can
accept the alternate answers, and are
anxious to do so.”
“Sort of like an atheist attitude as
opposed to an agnostic,” Julie commented.
“Exactly. There’s a term I use a lot for
the educated idiots; that is, Severely
Ignorant Pompous Asses. Sometimes an
educated idiot will see the flaws of
remaining an educated idiot and change.
They become geniuses. The rest remain as
ever, yours truly, SIPA’s. Now the question
remains. Will you become a genius or just
another SIPA?”
Julie looked at Pan critically. “I’d
prefer a genius, myself.”
“So would I. I’d prefer that you took
that route, Julie. Don’t remain dependent
upon me or upon any of the money you
stashed away in the crypt.”
Julie gasped in surprise at Pan’s last
comment.
“Did you think I didn’t know? I
suspected it, since society is structured
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so severely around money. Don’t worry, it’s

all there, and then some.”
“I don’t believe it. Why? What concern
is it of yours personally?”
“None, actually. My only concern is for
your own safety. Your life is your own. I’d
just like to see you through it under much
better conditions.” Pan smiled sadly as he
spoke. He knew Zeus was watching this
event. “I can’t be around forever.” Pan was
thinking of how best to speak, knowing
there was a possibility that Julie knew of
her being a Chosen One by now. He knew that
Julie would relay what he said, so Pan
carefully chose his next words for Zeus’
benefit. “I’m not a full Immortal anymore,
contrary to your popular beliefs. You’ll
need something to fall back upon when I’m
gone. The money you stashed away won’t last
forever. It would’ve been gone a long time
before had I not replenished it. I can only
help you so much. I’ve done all I could so
far. I’ll try to make it back again, but I
can’t give any guarantees.”
Julie sighed and looked at Pan, more
startled at what she was hearing. She shook
her head sadly. “I never told you that some
years ago a prince from another country
proposed to me. Maybe I should have taken
the chance back then.”
“Really?” Pan looked at Julie with
interest.
“Oh yes. Maybe I should have married
him, but I wasn’t in love with him. I just
couldn’t bring myself to do it.”
“Yet you still married for money.”

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Heather J. Kintyre

“A marriage by force. At least he wasn’t

from a third world country that would make
it virtually impossible for me to escape.”
“Is this a tall tale spiced with
delusions of grandeur?” Pan looked at Julie
critically.
“Neither. I swear it’s true. Someone is
bound to know others in various
professions.” Julie shrugged her shoulders.
“That’s true. I’m surprised you turned
down the opportunity if it was authentic.”
“You said yourself I wasn’t like most
others. I guess I just verified it for you.
Without the ability to know love for my
husband, no matter what the conditions I
refused to marry.” Julie smiled again
briefly and with sadness. “Instead I was
forced into marriage. At first I thought I
could eventually love him.”
“Sometimes love can come later. There
are those who prefer to marry someone
already rich, for they know that love never
pays one’s tailor bills. Gold diggers
they’re called.” Pan looked at Julie and
smiled.
“How true. I’ve lived a long hard life,
because I wasn’t able to be financially
stable. Even so, a gold digger I’d never
be.” Julie looked at Pan with the deepest
despair she was in.
“Poor Julie. I hope you can get over the
crisis. Not all lives are so horrible. Not
yet, anyway.” Pan smiled sadly at Julie.
It wasn’t to be that much longer in
Julie’s life before she would visit the
time lords again, made consciously aware of
becoming a Chosen One, unlike now with the
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unconscious glimpses. Although the time

lords wouldn’t tell Julie about Pan, she’ll
know afterwards that Pan wasn’t helping her
purely by ‘accident.’ Pan wasn’t sure how
to correct the suicide Julie would
eventually partake of unless Pan could
prevent it. This time Pan was not going to
help Julie to rush her suicide. If Pan let
Julie know how important her continued
existence was, it could go against him. He
would have to be very careful about how
this was handled. His powers as a time lord
would be limited to surviving upon this
planet until both he and the planet died
together. “I have a suggestion.” Pan spoke
up.
“What’s that,” Julie asked.
“Let’s partake of a nice dinner with
some of the prime cuts that a couple human
corpses have been so kind to contribute. It
may be a while before you make a decision,
after all. So in the meantime let’s both
enjoy the rest of this happy day. Then at
the end of the day, under the starry starry
night we’ll go out under a silvery moon and
sing dirges in the dark. Or would you
rather howl at the lonely light? It’s going
to be a full one tonight.”
Julie smiled at Pan. “Only on a dark
distant mountain. It’s the best way to
reach for the stars.”
Johnny smiled and chuckled. “I’m game.”
They walked into the tyme machine to make
some coffee.

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Heather J. Kintyre

THE SEARCH

On the way to the tyme machine, Julie

looked in the mailbox that was usually
reserved for the cemetery grave keepers.
She took some of the mail out, and then
went back to where Pan was. They proceeded
to continue walking into the tyme machine.
Pan was watching Julie as she read one
of the papers she took out of an envelope.
Shortly after they entered the tyme machine
she sighed, wadded the note up and threw it
in the trash in the front room. “Best to
forget the jerk, Julie. He’s nothing more
than a pipe dream.”
“A what?”
“A pipe dream; an empty shell.” Julie
looked at Pan, slightly puzzled, not sure
she understood him correctly. “An
unobtainable goal; a fantasy that’ll never
come true.”
“You’ve been reading my mail.” Julie
tried to accuse Pan, but it didn’t sound
quite right.
“No, I don’t have to. Your body language
tells it all, so I therefore give you a
fair warning; pipe dreams are very
dangerous once they get out of hand. They
cause the souls to burn themselves up. It’s
a painful way to eventually embrace eternal
death.”
“Oh. Yes, you’re right. Anyway it’s his
loss, not mine. My future is already fixed
anyway.”
“Pray tell on. How did you arrange it?”

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“It’s not based upon any ‘pipe dreams,’

that’s for sure.”
“What course have you set?”
“I shall live alone for the rest of my
days. Or rather, with no humans.”
“I believe I’ll have some of the fresh
brewed coffee now. Want some?” Ebenezer was
sleeping in the corner. He stretched lazily
on the floor and got up to follow Pan.
“Sure. Jamaican Blue Mountain, right?”
“Of course.” Pan smiled as he went into
the kitchen and made the coffee. “I like
your goal. It leaves room for other
possible variables, but the overall future
structure stays the same. It shows promise.
It’s not wise to make promises you can’t
keep.” As Pan spoke he and Eb walked into
the kitchen. Shortly Pan was coming back
out with coffee cups. “What about the
cemetery excursions?”
“Well at least the corpses are all dead.
As you know yourself, the body language
buildup of humans gets too great. The only
way to stop the body language is to kill
the living entity. My threshold of human
body language tolerance is just lower than
normal.”
“Yes, I can sympathize with you on that.
I also prefer to avoid the human body
language bombardment. I’ll forever avoid
events that will draw crowds.”
“Is that why you stood me up that one
day?” Julie asked astounded.
“Afraid so. I saw more than three humans
and stayed well away.”
“Now the truth comes out. Why didn’t you
tell me back then?”
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Heather J. Kintyre

Moki waltzed into the room and jumped up

on the couch. He got on a pillow and curled
up, watching Pan as he spoke. Pan started
stroking him. Moki began his purring with
his noisy loud purr. It sounded like it was
missing in the timing.
“What’s to tell? That’s the way it’s
always been; too much confusion. Can’t get
a true reading of anyone when there’s so
many. I know only too well how humans lie,
backstab and make games out of causing
trouble for each other just for sport.”
“You sure have a bad outlook. Such a
cynical view; I thought I was bad.”
“When you’ve had as much experience as
I’ve had, you get rather cynical, Julie. It
comes with the territory. Like it or lump
it.”
“If humans are so horrible, why do you
maintain a human form?”
“For protection from humans.” As Pan was
petting Moki, Moki was curling, and turning
over. He readjusted himself, lying on his
back for Pan to pet him. Moki stretched his
legs out.
“Oh dear. You tempt me, Moki. Such sexy
legs you have.”
“What?”
“Well, he does have some sexy legs,
after all.”
“I’m not referring to Moki.” Julie was
exasperated at Pan’s attempt to change the
subject.
“Oh yeah. Mayhap you never noticed or
knew about how the humans love to create
unnecessary experiments using every kind of
animal other than their own species on this
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planet. What they really do is torture,

create excruciating pain, eventually
killing the poor helpless animal.”
“How can you know that for sure?”
“Because all the non human animals have
completely different genetic make ups
compared to ours, and the only accurate
readings for ‘human safety’ of products is
what can be obtained from using another
human. Therefore I’ve always thought of
such ‘humans’ as paid torture
exterminators.” Pan was rubbing Moki’s
belly.
“Someone really did a number on you.”
Julie was amazed at how strong Pan’s
reaction was to laboratory experiments on
animals.
“I think I’ll get another refill. Want
one?” Julie handed her cup to Pan as he got
up and went into the kitchen. Moki remained
purring as he played possum and ‘slept’ on
his pillow at the one end of the couch.
When Pan came out, he had the two cups of
coffee, handing one to Julie. Pan went back
to the couch to sit beside Moki as he
drank. Moki peeked at Pan with one of his
eyes, as he tried to look asleep. “Playing
possum, aren’t you?” Pan smiled and resumed
petting Moki who purred louder. “How long
have you been lead to believe that medical
experiments performed on other animals was
so beneficial?”
Julie looked at Pan calmly as she sipped
the coffee. “Ever since I was a little
kid.”
“How terrible. Far too many humans have
no idea of what really takes place for the
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Heather J. Kintyre

other animals when they’re trapped in those

laboratories.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re human, or at least in human form
so you’re safe from the laboratories. If
you weren’t in human form, the humans in
the laboratories would either kill you,
torture you in some crude manner in order
to ‘create unnecessary experiments in an
attempt to make sure the product is safe
for humans to use.’ That is more cruel and
inhuman than anything I may do to any
humans that I kill.” Julie was amazed at
Pan’s calmness as he spoke. He continued
stroking Moki with one hand as he drank his
coffee with the other.
“Oh, I’m not so sure about that.” Julie
remembered some of the malicious tortures
Pan used on some of the more violent
criminals he killed. She shuddered as she
thought about it.
“No? Mayhap you should try having some
cleanser shoved down your throat 24 hours a
day, seven days a week and see how you feel
about man’s ‘generous nature.’ When the
animal needs something to wash it down with
they get to enjoy the taste of some liquid
disinfectant. Can’t see very well? It could
be the nail polish smeared on your eyes.
Don’t worry. It’ll be cleaned with some
ammonia or ammonia based glass cleaner to
fix them right up. Care for a little
corrosive acid to drink the bad tastes down
with? How about a little oven cleaner for
desert?” Pan drank some more coffee. “Now
you know why I object to having certain

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products. The best way to hurt them is

financially.”
“That’s the most disgusting thing I’ve
ever heard.” Julie was squirming
uncomfortably.
“Isn’t it?” Pan looked sadly at Julie.
“Not to say you’re so old, but that’s a
long time to believe something in
ignorance. Especially when over ten
thousand animals a day die in such
laboratories around this world.” Pan sighed
as he looked at Moki. “Kind of funny.
Humans scream in hunger while at the same
time they kill other animals in worthless
experiments, rendering those animals unfit
for human consumption-so much for the
earth’s resources.”
“It sounds as if you’ve seen such
things.”
“I have, and more. Now if you were to
take the hard-core criminals and use those
same laboratory experiments on them, you’d
get much better results, and defeat the
continual rise in crime by quite a lot. At
the same time eliminating the abusive use
of the other animals.”
“That’s inhuman, Pan!”
“No, it’s not. Nothing near to the
inhuman ways the criminals have already
indulged in. Especially after the horrible
crimes they get away with. So what’s more
inhuman? Let the criminals walk the streets
to repeat their rapes, murders and whatever
else, or stop them in their tracks? Would
you prefer to allow the criminals to
continue their inhuman acts?”

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Heather J. Kintyre

Julie looked at Pan as he spoke so

rationally. Shaking her head she drank the
rest of her coffee. “I don’t know what to
say.”
“The reality is that the hard core
criminals are released because society
wants them to continue committing their
crimes.”
“What? Why?”
“Because society needs the excitement;
it’s the only way for the majority of
society to satisfy their reptilian brains
they’re ruled by.”
“I never heard of such a thing.”
“No, I don’t expect you have. When you
live as an outsider looking into the
fishbowl of society, you tend to see how
the social structures are manipulated by
the governments, and then some.”
“It’s crazy, but it’s also very sane and
rational.”
“Julie, in this world, nothing is as it
appears to be. What seems crazy is most
likely sane, and vice versa. If someone
‘crazy’ didn’t try to invent something new,
this life as you now know it would still be
back in the stone ages with animal skins
for clothes and clubs to bash the heads of
the neighboring Neanderthals who loved to
kidnap and rape the women.”
“Such insanity.” Julie shook her head
sadly.
“Speak for yourself. Tell me more about
your past. Something obviously was so
horrible that it caused you to live as you
do now, in the crypt.”

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“Touché.” Julie bowed her head in

acknowledgment and smiled at Pan. She never
told him of her secret desires and longings
to sleep with corpses, although she thought
Pan knew anyway.
“Listen, I have some more human corpses
to chop up. Did you want to help or partake
of your cemetery excursions?”
“I can take a hint. I’ll see you later.
I’d much rather be alone with the Baron
right now. No offense.” Julie started to
walk out of the tyme machine.
“Suit yourself.” Pan walked off to make
some beef jerky, steaks and hamburger out
of one of the more generously endowed human
corpses. After several hours Pan grew tired
and took a break. Skinning corpses was
never an easy matter, even with the more
advanced machinery Pan developed, making it
easier to skin any corpse faster and more
efficiently. The best part of it all is
that Pan was able to keep the skins intact
for the tanning. Skyner would’ve enjoyed
using the new inventions Pan eventually
came up with. Now Pan was as old looking as
Skyner once looked, and feeling the years.
When an old body finally wears out, as
the one Pan was currently in, the old age
effects don’t make themselves known until
the last remaining hours. If Pan didn’t
find another body, he’d have to survive in
a dead body, as his own soul remained
trapped within, very much alive. It’s a
fate worse than death that must be avoided
at all costs. Still, taking another body
wasn’t all it was cracked up to be, either.

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“Not much longer now. Must locate

another body quickly.” Pan went over to the
console. The tyme machine was fitted out to
seek and pinpoint all possible life forms
on the verge of dying, as Pan was himself.
Knowing of Pan’s dilemma, the tyme machine
was searching throughout all time and space
within the universe for a body Pan would
accept.
Not much later Pan’s in the tyme
machine, flying inside another planets
atmosphere-Pan was using the cloaking
device so the tyme machine couldn’t be
detected. The air’s well polluted. Far
below Pan can see life forms of many
species. He watched the creatures that
continued to pollute the air, in addition
to the water and the land. The planet is
dying because of all this. It cries out to
Pan for a merciful death. Pan may not be
able to change what the overall future may
be for the planets just yet, but as a time
lord he does have the capability to help
the many species to live in peace on other
planets, never to be subject to torture’s
from such vile creatures like man ever
again. Many times shortly after he
transported the animals to another planet,
Pan destroyed the planet that expired
gratefully. Pan flew to another section,
trying to delay the taking over of another
body.
With the help from his good friend and
time lord David, Pan made a section of the
tyme machine that is used to transport
wildlife to other planets without taking
the wildlife out of their natural
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environment. It was a lot of work and it

took a lot of years, but it was well worth
it. There are no animals Pan can see in
this area. Pan adjusted the controls, and
flew away from the section. He went into
another section of the universe. Now he can
see wilderness below. Upon a closer look
Pan saw the trash and pollution left by the
two-legged creatures on the surface.
They’re continuing to slowly kill the
planet. Pan adjusted the controls of the
tyme machine again and went to another
area. Here he saw the same thing. He went
to another area, saw a small herd of
wildlife and coaxed them into the tyme
machine. He went to another section of the
galaxy, found more wildlife and coaxed them
also into the tyme machine, eventually
covering the entire planet. The pollution
was throughout. The animals aren’t in very
good health since they suffered from the
polluted air and land. The air is more
polluted in some sections than in others,
but the pollution is still heavy throughout
the entire atmosphere and the planet
itself. There’s a massive depletion of the
ozone layer that protects the planet and
all life upon it. There’s nothing Pan can
do to help this dying planet. Pan mourns
for the planets cry for a merciful death.
In disgust he adjusted the controls of the
tyme machine, taking him away from the
planet. He then went out into the universe,
escaping from all of the trash within and
around the planet.
Pan located more planets and scouted for
more animals he would release to survive in
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peace. A few had to remain inside the tyme

machine, since they couldn’t adjust to the
other worlds. Their health was fragile and
Pan was helping them to recover as much as
possible. After he finished his deliveries,
Pan went back to earth at the time he left
Julie.
As Pan neared his destination in the
same frame of time, the tyme machine
located a person who was young and in
physically good health, but was dying. Out
of curiosity, Pan took a closer look on the
monitor. Yes, this would be his next body,
if the dying person agreed. Pan adjusted
the tyme machine controls again and went
back to the same place a few hours later
into the future where Julie was.
A couple hours later Julie walked in the
tyme machine. She saw Pan collapsed in a
recliner in the front room. Although Julie
had seen Pan collapsed in a chair before,
this time something was different. Julie
grew alarmed. She walked up to Pan in the
chair and knelt beside him. “Pan, what’s
wrong?”
“Hello, Julie. I guess life in this body
has finally caught up with me. I’ll have to
take a short trip for a time.”
“Can I go with you?”
“Sorry, not this time. I have to do this
one alone. I’ll be back before too long.”
“All right. I just came to ask you if
you wanted to take a walk with me as I have
to pick up a few supplies, but I can see
that you’re not in any shape to do so. I’ll
go myself and be back before long.”

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“Okay, I’ll wait until you get back;

here. Take some repellent.” Pan handed
Julie a can of dog repellent spray. “Works
great on most of the pesky humans.”
Julie left to go to wherever she was
heading. As she left, Pan got the tyme
machine ready and prepared the laboratory
for the reading of the next soul, should he
gain the consent to take over the other
life form. A couple more hours passed;
Julie returned and the tyme machine was
ready to go. After Julie and Pan had a
light meal, Julie started heading back to
the front door of the tyme machine. She
paused just outside of the doors. Pan was
at the threshold. “Well, I’m off now. See
you later, Julie.” Pan gave a quick and
easy smile, but upon closer look, it was
obvious that his smile was forced.
“Wait a minute! You can’t just go and
leave me driftwood like that! I’ve got term
papers an’ crap you need to help me with.
What’ll I do without you?”
“How touching. You’ll manage somehow.
Besides, I’ll set the tyme machine to be
back shortly after I leave.”
Julie looked mournful at Pan.
“I’ll be back before you know I’m gone.
Right now I need to take a much-needed
vacation.”
“Is that a threat or a promise?” As
Julie spoke, Pan was escorting her to the
door.
“Take your pick. Just in case I get
delayed, here’s a communicator I designed.”
They stopped at the threshold of the tyme
machine. “Use it only in death type
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emergencies. Part of the time I’ll be on

the upper level of the galaxies, the fourth
galaxy over, third inner arm, second solar
system. I believe you know the place.”
“Smart ass.” Julie grumbled as she
looked at Pan disgusted.
“Well, I’m off. Oh, one other thing. I
may have another body. Goodbye.” Julie
gasped as the tyme machine slammed the door
and took off before she could respond.
Julie’s eyes got wide as her mouth dropped
open. She looked at the fading door in a
puzzled expression. Then she shrugged and
sighed as she turned away. “Give it up,
Julie. No hope. A goner.” Shaking her head
she walked away and back into the cemetery
towards one of the mausoleums.

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THE DEPARTURE

Pan travelled in time and took many

species of animals that would later go
extinct on the planets, including but not
limited to the planet earth. Only by taking
them to another planet could the species be
saved and left to live in peace.
Pan was travelling when all of a sudden
the tyme machine was unexpectedly knocked
off course and sent into a time warp. A
storm was ripping everything apart,
including time itself. If Pan hadn’t been
in the tyme machine, he also would have
been destroyed, or almost.
Time was melting. Although Pan is safe
so far within the tyme machine, all of the
indicators for the measurement of time are
starting to boil over as they melt with the
heat of warped time. The power is too
strong, and Pan has to get away fast. What
time is left unaffected by the meltdown is
not much. Pan has to use all that’s left,
riding on the current of unaffected time
itself. Using the mental link Pan shared
with his tyme machine, they flew as fast as
they could toward the wall of the universe.
Although Pan’s tyme machine is riding
slightly faster on a current of unaffected
time, the warped time is catching up to
them. They may not be able to out ride it.
He’d scream, but that would eat up what
time Pan had left. He’ll scream later. The
adrenaline is flowing fast in Pan’s veins.
The tyme machine is moving faster than it

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ever had flown before. So fast that

asteroids, ice rocks, planets and storms
have no affect upon them, as the tyme
machine kept moving. The tyme machine’s
able to go through objects without having
any collision. They’re actually able to
break the laws of physics. Had he been able
to do so, Pan would’ve been impressed, but
there was no time for that. Such thoughts
had to wait since they ate up time, and
they had too little as it was. He kept his
sight on the warped time that was closing
in. Sure enough, it’s catching up. He must
never let that happen because the
consequences would be very dangerous.
The tyme machine came to the wall that
enclosed the universe. Pan knew that if he
allowed warped time to overtake them that
they’d be frozen in place. They’d be able
to see and hear everything, and wouldn’t be
able to correct anything they could
normally circumvent. Neither Pan nor the
tyme machine would be able to think. It’s
another fate worse than death. At least in
the wall they will probably die a fast, if
very cold death inside of it.
It’s not so much his own and the tyme
machine’s death that makes Pan sad, but
he’s carrying a lot of animals he’s saved
from human like creatures, to transport to
other planets. Pan thought of these animals
as he approached the wall. They don’t
deserve such a fate worse than death. At
least everyone will die fast. That is, if
the tyme machine doesn’t smack into the
wall, finding it’s of a solid nature. If
that happened, at least their deaths would
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be over quickly. Either way it’s better

than being consumed by the warped time. As
Pan looked, warped time was getting too
close. He has to act now. He has no time to
think, just act. There is no turning back.
Closing his eyes Pan and the tyme machine
dove into the wall. A couple times Pan
went through the wall by accident. Pan’s
only hope this time is that the wall won’t
take him on this occasion as well, since
it’s an act of necessity, given no other
choice.
Now the tyme machine’s inside the wall-
Pan’s very cold, even with the shelter of
the tyme machine. He could scream now, but
there’s no need to. He can no longer tell
which way is which. Then he felt the warped
time bang into the wall. Fortunately warped
time couldn’t get inside. Using the
direction from where warped time banged
against the wall, Pan set the controls of
the tyme machine to go in the opposite
direction.
Like everything in every universe, all
directions were the same. Depending upon
where you were determined what you would
personally refer to as South, North, East,
West, and so on; all directions were
subject to change many times over when your
locations changed as well. That’s also why
it’s more difficult to give directions of
locations elsewhere in the universe, and
why a mind link is the only way the tyme
machines can locate their caretakers
anywhere in the universes.
The time spent inside of the wall seems
to have been a long time. Then quite by
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accident Pan felt a very tiny thread of

warmth as the tyme machine was travelling.
It’s hardly distinguishable, but since it’s
so cold inside of the wall, the thread
almost burned as the tyme machine touched
it. The tyme machine travelled along the
thread. The thread grew gradually bigger.
Eventually it’s the size of a small rope.
As he travelled the rope got fatter. Now
it’s as fat as the rope that the big ships
on earth used to attach their anchors to.
All of a sudden the rope went limp as Pan
reached the end of it.
Now he’s in another universe full of
thousands of different colours. The
adrenaline shut off as soon as Pan reached
safety. He immediately fell fast into a
deep sleep as the adrenaline left his
system. He never even saw or felt the floor
as the distance between the floor and Pan
closed. The tyme machine floated in the
safety of the universe next door to the one
he was once forced to live in. Time here
was stable, and everyone was safe-for the
time being.
While asleep, Pan’s conscience took the
opportunity to try persuasion. Like any
pirate conscience, whenever an opponent
seems to be weakening, they’ll strike. The
conscience would always use the name Cat in
a derogatory manner, but Pan could tolerate
the name since he held the cat species in
high esteem.
“Cat? Hey Cat. Wakey-wakey.”
“Hum? Oh, it’s you. Another one of your lectures; have you
no mercy?”

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“Come to think on it, no. Least ways not

much by your standards, I reckons.”
“What is it this time? Another attempt to stir me into killing
the humans?”
“Oh, how can you think so about me? Here
I am your own conscience, even.”
“Yeah. With a conscience like you, who needs enemies?”
“Come on, Cat. Let’s let bygones be
bygones. Least ways, I didn’t come fer
feudin’.”
“No? What did you come forth for, if not just to ship a yarn
with an old shipmate?”
“Steady, Cat.”
“Why? You can’t kill me without injuring yourself-you ol’
horse thief.”
“Hold hard. Matey.”
“Why? Am I too close to the truth? Is Zeus going to succeed
and manage to kill me?”
“That’ll never happen to you!”
“You can’t know that for sure, though.”
“No, but you do. And if my suspicions
are correct, we won’t live but a few
years.”
“Really? You sound so sure of yourself. What about Julie? I
don’t believe she’ll make it much longer-will she, ol’ buddy?”
The conscience glared, knowing any show
of emotions would verify that Pan was
right. “Come on, Pan. I’m really bored
stuck with you.”
“Oh? Galaxy trips a bit boring, are they?”
“Yes, and especially when there’s no one
to rile up in the destruction.”
“I see. Sorry, but as you know, that’s just not my style. Now
tell me why you’re pestering me this time.”
“I want action, and be quick about it.”

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Pan thought about it, and got an idea.

“Action, is it? Okay, action you’ll get. I warn you, though. When
it really starts heatin’ up, you can’t back out, and I’m not
coming to your rescue.”
“So be it. What is this action you speak
of?”
“I want the leads of all the animal exterminators on every
plane we’ve encountered life and laboratories. It’s not so easy to
come by, and there’s a lot of danger, death and destruction
getting there. Interested?”
The conscience smiled as he thought
about it. “I like it already.”
“Take all the time you need, just get it done, leave no
survivors, take no prisoners. Do it right or not at all. Until you
can present me with the information, you don’t bother me again.
Do we have a bargain?”
“All right, you got a bargain. I’ll give
it my best. I’ve got some ideas right now.
Unfortunately it’ll take more time to put
it together before it can be put into
effect.”
“Good. I’ll try my best to make it so as there won’t be any
delays on my end.”
With that, the conscience went off to
ponder on what it could do to get the
information Pan wanted, and what dastardly
tricks it could try to get away with.
As Pan and his conscience warred against
each other, Zeus had his hands full trying
to fight off all of the souls that
Prometheus brought forth. “Prometheus, What
makes you think this soul is any different
from the many thousands I’ve turned away?”
“He says he’s been to you before and
already has been cycled a couple of times.

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He claims that he’s now ready to be an

Immortal.”
Zeus shook his head in despair and
sighed. “Very well. Bring him forth.”
Prometheus bowed his head and left, only to
reenter immediately with the soul once
known in his last mortal life as Jonathan
Swift. “Wonderful, it’s you again.” Zeus
moaned in agony. This Swift character was a
notorious nuisance to Zeus. “Now why do you
believe you’re any better than before?”
“Come now, Zeus. Having seen the chaos
created by man, and having found man to be
a rather smelly creature besides, I took to
a life of seclusion. I have grown mentally
beyond the mortal human mind. I did try to
maintain a ‘normal’ appearance for a
while.”
“Yes, I know. You were married for a
time. What happened?”
“Unfortunately, my wife and children,
being of the ‘normalcy’ within the social
world, never bathed regularly. I couldn’t
tolerate the stink of them, and so I
refused to allow them into my presence very
much or for very long, even at a distance.”
“You claim that this gives you
superiority over them?” Zeus looked at
Swift’s tinted soul.
“Yes. I have found that in my remaining
years, I knew that I was superior to all
the other humans as well.”
“So you are given to delusions of
grandeur, as the insane are often famous
for.” Zeus looked over the man disgusted.
“You are convinced that you know the ways
of the time lords. Not only that, but that
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since you have actually communicated with

us directly that you’re much better than
everyone else. You’re nothing more than a
severely ignorant pompous ass, as Pan so
aptly refers to your type. You’re not
qualified, nor will you ever be so long as
you maintain these delusions of grandeur
that you’re afflicted with. Get out of my
sight.” Zeus turned away and Swift
reluctantly left.
Mars came in then with another
‘prepared’ soul. Zeus was the one with the
last word on these matters, and no soul
ever became a time lord without having to
pass Zeus’ tests. This soul was an agnostic
in his last mortal life. Like any agnostic,
he lived in a more ‘pure’ state, unaffected
by religious dogma, allowing his soul to
mature further.
Zeus looked at the soul and sighed.
“Seems we’ve met before.”
“Could be. I can’t say that I remember.”
“You lived as a mortal. Tell me of the
work you did.”
“I was a common laborer. I always wanted
to be an engineer, but I never had the
chance.”
Zeus looked at the soul more closely.
“Did you meet many others who were in
higher positions than yourself?”
“Yes.”
“How did you feel about them?”
“Some were nice, others were mean and
hateful. I never could understand the
rationale.” The soul was puzzled over this
as he spoke.

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“Did you ever envy them for their

abilities to work in their areas?”
“Sort of. I used them as a goal for
myself. Unfortunately I never made it.”
“Why not?”
“Never had enough time. When I did get
the chance, I was too old and died
instead.” The soul shrugged as if it should
be obvious.
Zeus shook his head in a positive
manner. “If you had the power to do so,
would you take revenge upon those you
thought wronged you?”
“If you mean kill, no.”
“Why not?”
“That’s a little too harsh for me. Once
you kill the one who wronged you, it’s no
longer possible to correct any of the
damage they left behind.”
“So what would you do instead?”
“I’d try to use some other means, legal
actions possibly if I had to.”
Zeus smiled then. “It seems you have
control over your emotions. I’ll grant you
a temporary time spent among the time
lords. This will allow us to examine you
further. When we are completely satisfied
with your conduct, you will be given full
powers as a time lord. If you fail, your
memory will be erased and you will be
returned to live again as a mortal.” Venus
quietly appeared at the door, as if
summoned.
The soul seemed to be amazed at the
response. “I thank you, I think.”
“You have learned the wisdom of not
allowing the negative emotions to overrule
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your better judgement.” Zeus smiled, as he

looked the soul over further. “You are
correct in your uncertainties of what lays
ahead of you. There will be a lot of work,
as there always is for every time lord.”
Zeus sighed as he looked towards the door.
“Venus can see to you now. She’ll run you
through the preliminaries. You may leave
now. I congratulate you, and welcome.”
The soul left Zeus’ presence. Venus
accompanied the soul out. Another soul came
forth. This one was from the third world of
earth, having lived life as a Moslem. He
thought he made contact with the time lords
once before. He therefore would try to
recreate the same conditions as the first
time he made contact, having created
‘mental lapses’ at these times. It was at
these times that the Moslem believed that
he was talking to his God, when he was only
talking to himself. In the conversations,
the Moslem was not always lucid.
Zeus looked at the tinted soul in
disgust. “Oh, it’s you again; I can’t say
as I’m delighted. It’s no use pretending.
What do you want this time, Moslem?”
The Moslem spoke with a very pompous and
stuck up tone of voice. He was used to
getting his way in all things, and
promptly. “I know I’m right in having
forsaken my own kind. My beliefs have
advanced because of it, leading me
eventually to you. Now I’m advanced enough,
I want to be a God, like you.
“Do you now? You poor booby; you’re
nothing more than a jumped up Lilly livered

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coward. What do you know about Immortality

and those like myself?”
As Zeus spoke, the Moslem grew uncertain
of himself. The feeling was new to him, and
made him uncomfortable. “I know you’re all
powerful and Immortal. I therefore want to
be an Immortal as well.” He spoke like a
little kid demanding his way as he threw a
tantrum in order to get it.
“That’s it?” As usual, Zeus looked
through the attempts. He was very familiar
with the techniques and manipulation
attempts. Zeus looked at the soul as though
it had lost what sense it may have once
had.
“That’s it.” Seeing Zeus’ expression of
amazement, the Moslem smiled with defiance,
having interpreted it as having won.
Zeus leered at the Moslem and looked
deep into the Moslem’s soul. No one can lie
or cover up the true events of their past
mortal lives when the soul is read so.
“What makes you think that you’re any
better off than say, Jack the Ripper,
Adolph Hitler or Vlad the Impaler? On the
other hand, St. Francis of Assisi, Carl
Sagan or John Denver?”
The Moslem took some false courage and
pumped himself up with importance. “I’m a
top ranking physician. I’m smarter than all
of them put together. They’re all a bunch
of maggots that can’t see beyond their next
meal. I therefore demand that you make me
an immortal like yourself.” Before he
finished speaking, he was yelling.
Zeus looked very irate at the
impertinent soul as he rubbed his ears.
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Heather J. Kintyre

“You demand? You go too far, Moslem.” Zeus

raised his voice to an almost shouting as
he stood up, growing to a fifty-foot height
as he did so. His intention was to
intimidate the soul, and it was working.
“Those I referred to like Hitler and Vlad
are ruled by their reptilian brains. No,
man is better than a maggot. It’s true that
man is still an infant even now. He has a
lot of growing up to do. If the truth of
Immortality were made known to man, and
parts now known as theology were made
science and vice versa, man would be a
greater danger to himself than he is
already. Therefore the truth man seeks will
never be found until he grows up-a lot.
Mayhap not even then; how amusing it would
be if man were to find out it was mostly a
lie.” Zeus was thinking about this with
some amusement. “Still, no. Too dangerous,
and I cannot destroy before the time is
right.”
“Does this mean you refuse?” The soul
spoke quietly and with humility now.
“It does. You’re worse than most of
those who claim to be human.” Zeus then
pronounced got ready to pronounce his
sentence upon him. “Those you claim of
lesser intelligence are actually smarter
than you, Moslem. Murderers, rapists,
saints and everything in between, they are
all smarter than you are or ever were. I
read no music in your soul. You’re one not
to be trusted, ever.”
“How dare you! I have my rights! I
demand my right to become an Immortal! I
made it, they didn’t. Make me an Immortal
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now!” He was throwing a tantrum and

shouting since he was so angry.
“Do you claim to know everything there
is to know?” Zeus raised his head and his
voice, in order to keep the Moslem soul
from speaking with a cocky arrogance.
“Of course. I’m a genius.”
“Then tell me, oh great one, how you
would use salt water in place of gas used
in such machines as the vehicles the humans
on earth in the twentieth century used; and
the vehicles must have as much or more
power than when they used gas.” Zeus smiled
with malice as he leaned forward and
towered over the soul.
The Moslem looked at Zeus big eyed and
took a step backward as he tried to bend
backward as Zeus towered over him. “How the
hell would I know?”
“So much for being a genius.” Zeus
shrugged his shoulders as if the issue was
unimportant. He started back to his throne.
“Apparently you don’t know everything there
is to know, do you?" After Zeus sat back on
his throne, he continued. "No, Moslem. If
the universe were ruled by jumped up, pesky
human souls so irrational as you are, this
universe would cease to exist in no time.
When I create, I also destroy. Not with any
emotional reasoning as you know it. I do so
because it’s needed, the time is right, and
never before. Vlad the Impaler, Hitler, all
those who existed, exist in this time, and
will exist in earth’s and other planet
futures may be known as madmen, murderers,
saviors, saints and everything in between;
they are all governed by their reptilian
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brains, making them dangerous as candidates

for Immortality. Yet none of them are as
dangerous as anyone like yourself.” Zeus
spoke calmly as he looked sadly at the
Moslem.
“What? I’m not like any of those!”
“No, you’re not. You’re worse. The
‘Hitler’s’ on earth acted, and will act, by
some rationale, sane or not. You, on the
other hand, act by no rationale. You act
erratically according to whether or not
you’re angry or just feel like it, no
matter what the conditions. You destroy at
these moments without thinking, without
pity. Above all else, there is no method,
no reasoning. Your mood swings violently
from calm to extreme anger in a second,
making you highly unstable and irrational.”
Zeus sighed as he continued to carry out
his sentencing. “Poor deluded Moslem. I
won’t destroy or become so angry with you.
Instead I sentence you to live out mortal
lives in one form or another until your
soul develops to the state of a soul
maturity that will be acceptable for
Immortality, if at all. You will know every
pain and pleasure along the way; you will
experience every torture that every violent
natured creature has ever created, and will
continue to create in their future. You’ll
grow weary in no time, and be forced to
continue. Then will you see and know for
yourself what’s truly involved with
becoming an Immortal. Now go away kid, you
bother me. I have better things to do, and
stop pestering me.” Zeus sighed with
weariness and called Eros forth.
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“Yes, my lord?” Eros sang it in a

cheerful manner.
“Please see to it that no one disturbs
me for the next few million years. I’m very
weary and I’m going to take a much overdue
vacation. I well understand Pan’s need to
take so many vacations.”
“Yes, sir.” Eros bowed and started to
leave the room Zeus was in. He turned back
as with a passing thought. “Zeus, what
about the many souls?”
Zeus sighed with weariness and groaned.
“According to the tints of their souls,
they will either be cycled as mortals again
or become Immortals like us. I have
constructed a nursery for these mortal
souls to be stored in until they are sent
forth to be reborn as mortals of whatever
species on whatever planet needs them. It’s
an automatic system, but it will require
someone to keep watch, making sure nothing,
or very little, goes wrong.”
“Automatic?”
“Yes. It’s similar in shape to a man-
made bell curve of equal proportion on both
sides. When the souls are completely black,
they are to be destroyed for all eternity.
Those of pure white can qualify as time
lords like the rest of us. I will continue
to maintain and keep the right to promote
them or not, as now. I must warn you, the
one tending the soul must stay away from
the darkest area, as well as the area that
distributes the souls.”
"Oh?"
"Yes, so far anyway. If they're not
careful, the dark side will capture and
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destroy them. Another trap is if they get

too close to the distribution point."
"What's wrong with it?"
"The guardian would be cycled like the
rest of the souls sent out to the various
destinations. Otherwise, it's perfectly
safe, and there's no need to get that close
anyway."
"Do you have someone in mind so far to
tend to the soul area?"
"Yes, I was thinking of Lancelot."
Eros smiled then. “Very good. I’ll tell
all the others, and contact Lancelot.” Eros
then bowed and left Zeus’ presence. The
soul chamber was set up near the outskirts
of the universe on the least populated
area. It looked like a bell curve. The
majority of souls were of a gray colour. It
went between lighter and darker, on up to
black depending upon which direction you
went.
Meanwhile, the Moslem had been cast into
a dark void; a black hole if you will, then
a few hours later he woke up from one of
his remaining dreamless states of deep
sleep. Although he remained smart, he
wasn’t as smart as he was before Zeus
sentenced him. The Moslem died a bitter
man, never knowing exactly what happened,
having no memory of his meetings with the
time lords. He never knew another day of
peace after that fateful ‘dream.’ He was
cycled many times over in one mortal life
or another. He never was to know of another
life of peace, or make any more contact
with the time lords since Zeus set up the
automatic soul storage system. He did
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suffer all of the indignities and horrors

his species would create, and then some.
His soul never made it past the light gray
colouring, so he never qualified for
Immortality.

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Heather J. Kintyre

THE VACATION

Pan woke up and looked around. He didn’t

feel nearly as bad as he remembered before
he fell asleep. He looked around and saw he
was in one of the guest rooms in the tyme
machine. He was startled to see someone
sitting on a sofa watching him. He saw the
silhouette of the life form now before him.
It was holding something. It took Pan a few
minutes to recognize that the life form was
holding a drink of some kind. It seemed to
be completely at ease.
“Hello, Pan. Have a nice nap? Good. I
take it your conscience is still at work
trying to get you in trouble.”
“Yeah. I’d like to get rid of it as soon
as possible. I don’t suppose you could help
me to get a new one, could you?”
“Afraid not. You’ll have to talk it over
with Zeus next time. Now we really have to
talk.”
“Who are you? How did you get in here? I
hate to be discourteous, but I don’t much
care to talk to anyone when I don’t know
their name or title, at least.” Although
Pan felt better than he had before the old
age symptoms set in, he was uncomfortable
not knowing how to speak properly to this
life form in front of him, plus having a
stranger in his tyme machine. Pan didn’t
feel any objections from the tyme machine,
so he wasn’t too alarmed in that regard. He
looked at his hands as the form spoke.

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“You’re in the next universe from the

one you were in. That’s also why I can’t
help you with your conscience.” The form
seemed to sense Pan’s curiosity of its
presence in his tyme machine. “Your tyme
machine is very protective. We made a
truce, and I was allowed to approach.”
Now Pan remembered. Just before he fell
asleep he went through the wall of the
universe. That explained the multi colours
all around him. After looking around, Pan
wondered if there was any chance that he
could explore the area he was in. The life
form was picking up Pan’s thoughts. It was
shining a little brighter as if it was
happy at what it was picking up from Pan’s
thoughts. “Your dilemma is noted. The time
lords from your universe spoke of you.
Although they have a reluctance to be in
your company for very long, they all speak
highly of you.”
“How long have I been asleep?” Pan was
mystified by this life form. “Who are you?”
“I’m sorry. My name is Natasha. You’ve
been asleep for a couple centuries by the
planet earth’s measurement of time.”
“A couple centuries? How? I’ve never
slept that long.”
“Then you must’ve been more tired than
you knew.” Natasha smiled as she spoke with
a gentle tone.
“The time lords from your universe made
contact with us an earth’s century ago.
They told us about the situation between
yourself, the Chosen One, and the curse you
were put under. For that reason, you will
have to be sent back.”
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Heather J. Kintyre

“When? What about the animals I’ve

transported? Did they survive?”
“The animals are fine. They have been
able to survive without much interference
from anyone, thanks to David and yourself
designing the tyme machine’s addition so
well. My congratulations, it’s a fine job.”
Pan could feel the pleasure in the voice he
was hearing. “The time warp has run itself
out and time has stabilized once again in
your universe. There is no reason to keep
you here any longer. We can send you back
right now.”
Pan looked at the life form in dismay.
“I just woke up, though. I’ve never been in
this particular universe, and as a time
traveller I’d really hate to pass up the
opportunity to see it. Far have I
travelled; is there any way that you could
delay a little longer?”
Natasha seemed to glow warmly as she
replied. “I think that can be arranged.
However, we cannot keep you too long, I’m
afraid. The most I can extend your vacation
is several hundred Pluto years.”
Pan smiled as he looked at the life
form. One Pluto year was equivalent to a
couple centuries on Earth, as Pan recalled.
“I thank you very much.”
The life form disappeared and Pan went
over to the console. The tyme machine was
filling Pan in on the latest conditions
within this universe. “Well now. Let’s see
what we have available to us.” Pan was
manipulating the control board and bringing
up pictures of the different sections of
the universe. “There’s a possible area.”
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Pan punched some buttons and set the tyme

machine for travelling to the section of
the universe he was interested in. As Pan’s
travelling within the universe, he’s
passing planets, asteroids, and galaxies
very fast. He found some planets perfect
for harboring life. He released many of the
animals on the planets he found, but some
were reserved for when Pan found his own
perfect world.
Pan came to a dark section. It’s getting
very cold. As he got closer it grew colder.
The cold had a distinct feel of something
ominous. The more Pan thought the more the
cold ate his soul. It’s definitely a part
of the wall he came through. There’s a
knowledge that should anyone try to
penetrate the wall of the universe on
purpose, where the cold comes from, they’ll
be at risk of losing their sanity before
they can come out again, if ever. If anyone
attempting to go through the wall were to
try to think as they are within the wall,
the cold would freeze their soul in equal
measure. Once seventy five percent of the
soul is frozen, you’d be as good as dead.
No one can regenerate then. Your conscience
will be dead, and you’d become a perfect
sociopath-a life force with no morals, no
cares. You’ll be incapable of caring for
anyone, or whether anyone else lived or
died. Every perfect sociopath has one
similarity in common. They’re a bunch of
Butchdyke’s devoid of any form of music in
their souls-they’re incapable of caring for
anyone but themselves, including but not
limited to their own children. Their
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Heather J. Kintyre

survival is similar to a walking dead life

form whose body language reeks of hatred.
This cold, although very severe, is nothing
compared to the cold within the wall. The
cold you’d feel would make the coldest
places on Pluto seem like a balmy tropical
day. As Pan travelled deeper in, the cold
got worse, as he expected. The wall is not
far from him now. In disgust Pan turned
away, flying back into the universe he’s
in.
While Pan’s in deep space he sees
everything all at once in all directions.
As he looked at a spiral galaxy, Pan saw a
large asteroid as large as a planet a
quarter of a light year across. It’s a
sphere of equal distance all around
travelling fast. The asteroid plunged into
the middle of the galaxy, which was at
least twenty-one light years across. He
watched the center of the galaxy spray up
to make a wall on all sides. It’s very
similar to a rock after it drops into a
body of water, only more beautiful. The
substance spread out, fell to the sides and
made a loop, then distorted into a lopsided
ball shaped sphere. It’s a lovely sight.
The asteroid, upon striking, had gone out
the other side. Pan travelled towards the
galaxy. He started weaving out and in-
between the asteroids and planets. Pan’s
able to play hopscotch within the solar
systems of one side, and the solar systems
in a few others. When he finished playing
he walked over to some of the thin arms
within the galaxy. Pan decided to fly
between the stars and planets. Other
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galaxies could be seen into the distance.

After he exhausted his travels within the
galaxy, he flew forth to the next galaxies
within the universe.
Now Pan is finally freed from the other
universe. There is more freedom for him now
than he’d ever known before, even in the
other universe. He didn’t realize just how
much Zeus’ continual presence was felt,
even when it wasn't being monitored at the
time. Never mind the weight of the
sentence. After having felt the extreme
difference between the lack of oppression
and the weight of the sentence, Pan knew
that he couldn't delay the inevitable, and
the war between himself and Zeus would have
to take place. Between the galaxies now
he’s able to take his time and play, relax,
float and relish the feeling of absolute
freedom.
A cup of coffee is before Pan now. He
took it, examined it and when he was
satisfied he drank as he relaxed. Since Pan
is limited to the amount of time he has in
this universe before they send him back, he
has to keep using his tyme machine and play
with time, so as to extend his stay within
the universe.
Pan never truly grew out of some little
kid games, especially when exploring a
universe. He started bouncing on large
transparent bubbles. On one of the leaps he
kept going up. After a while he lazily
floated by asteroids, planets and solar
systems. Then he decided to take a few more
leaps. As Pan jumped in an upward angle, he
flew between planets. He played hopscotch
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Heather J. Kintyre

between the galaxies that ranged in sizes

of several hundred to a few thousand light
years across. As Pan is hop scotching the
galaxies, he’s presented with a hot cup of
tea. It’s sweetened with a touch of anise
in it. Pan accepted the tea and floated on
his back as he drank. Ah, such enjoyment.
Upon finishing his tea the cup
disappeared and a cosmic wave came. It then
picked him up, startling Pan. There’s a
massive and violent storm in its center. As
Pan’s on his back, he’s pushed forward into
the tube of the wave. The wave spit Pan
straight up. As he flew Pan came to another
level of galaxies within the universe. He
decided to continue weaving around and
between the planets and solar systems
within a few galaxies. Pan then hop
scotched a few planets again. Their suns
helped to keep his soul warm. There are
transparent bubbles every here and there.
Pan played with them as if on a trampoline.
Another wave came. He kicked into it and
rode it backward. Whenever Pan bodysurfed
backward he’d block his breathing
passageways through his nose. As an
Immortal he doesn’t have to, but it’s an
old habit-as a mortal Pan had to do this or
drown. After a while, Pan would flip over
to ride on his stomach. He always enjoyed
bodysurfing over everything else. He’d
never known anything else that could feel
so good, being massaged all over at once.
He rode within the wave a long time. The
storms gave it more power. Alas, the wave
was nearing the end as the storm in it was
dying. The waves carry was growing too weak
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and so Pan was eventually dropped off into

some unknown region with little and no
matter. Fortunately another wave is coming.
He caught it, again kicking into the wave.
He started to ride it backward, once again
flipping over onto his stomach. The carry
of this wave is very strong with a larger
storm in it. The wave carried Pan much
further than the previous one. When the
ride ended Pan was in another section with
a path of galaxies he vaguely remembered.
This section was one that Pan saw at a
distance, but never got the chance to
investigate. Nothing like the present to
take advantage. With a smile of delight,
Pan flew forth. Once again he decided to
play for a while on the galaxies before he
took another floating break.
After Pan’s in deep space for a while,
he saw a beautiful planet and flew closer.
Upon seeing the details, he can see lots of
wildlife and foliage. No, these aren’t any
he’s transported. The animals seem to be
living in harmony with each other. Pan saw
crystal spring waters flowing into and
around a beautiful ocean that enclosed some
large bodies of land. There are no fences,
walls, or boundaries. Everything runs
freely.
He flew inside the atmosphere, then once
he landed on the surface Pan took the form
of a horse, galloping somewhat erratically.
He’s currently racing the wind; there are
butterflies everywhere of all colours and
sizes. Many of the species never existed on
the planet earth where he was supposed to
be imprisoned. Pan was running through
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valleys, each one more beautiful than the

one he left. However, there’s one valley
that’s captured his heart. On one side is
the ocean, as on the land beyond the shore
are high mountains with snow peaks. Streams
run down from the snow peaks. The water is
unpolluted and always will remain clear and
free running. When the water reached the
ocean it’s warm, with a tropical feel to
it. There’s surf that always breaks
perfectly for bodysurfing. Everywhere Pan
can see all kinds of wildlife and
vegetation. Everything here is so
beautiful. Now Pan can have the time to sit
back and enjoy as he drinks in the beauty
all around him. Where before everything was
chaos, now all is calm. Now Pan can stop to
smell the roses he missed as a mortal and a
guardian time lord in the other universe.
This planet is free of any violent
creatures’ cruel hand of destruction. Such
violent creatures claim intelligence, and
then destroy themselves along with the
planet and all the other species. So much
for intelligence, that’s not very smart
behavior.
Pan continued to manipulate time as he
remained on the planet and spent some years
in the company of wildlife friends. Pan
released more of the animals he normally
kept reserved for his personal planet. Some
of the animals are very timid, but the
planet had such a peaceful atmosphere about
it that they were able to survive and
thrive on it. Everything around is so
perfect. After spending enough time to

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become more familiar with the area, Pan

chose this planet for himself.
Since the planet is one of many within a
solar system, he’ll have to cloak the
entire solar system. This cloak will be a
shield that will protect the entire solar
system for all eternity against any cruel
destructive creatures like man. What anyone
else will see is some continued space. No
traveller will ever be able to enter the
cloak. When approaching, they’ll
automatically travel around the cloak
without any knowledge of doing so. All
indicators will never pick up the slight
difference in space.
Upon Pan’s eternal death, should that
take place, the cloak will be his gift to
the various species that live within the
solar system containing the beautiful
planet. It is Pan’s request that upon his
eternal death, his soul will be taken back
into this universe and buried beneath a
large oak tree, at the foot of the tallest
snow covered mountain on this planet. The
wildlife friends Pan has made may die
before Pan, but the forthcoming generations
will know of Pan as a good friend. They
will be the ones who will protect his
gravesite as he continues to sleep nine
feet below. It’s so enjoyable that Pan
doesn’t want to leave. Unfortunately, Pan’s
time in the universe is almost up; he’s
tired of having to manipulate time so
often, and he must eventually go back into
his own universe to face the inevitable
war.

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When the time came, the life form that

appeared before when Pan woke up reappeared
again. “I’m ready to go back now.”
The life form picked up Pan’s last
request. “I’m flattered that you would
choose our universe for your final resting
place. May you never have to go to that
extreme; instead perhaps an arrangement can
be made where the planet can be for your
vacations.”
“That would be nice. Just in case,
though.” Pan smiled, then everything
changed as the colours disappeared around
and within the tyme machine. He was back in
his own universe. Pan checked the control
panel. Now the old age symptoms were felt
once more.
The tyme machine was in the location
where it had located the person with the
young body. The tyme machine landed in a
room. Pan looked outside; the young man was
barely alive and on the verge of passing
out from exhaustion. Pan went out and
introduced himself.

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JOHNNY

A few hours after Pan had left, a corpse

was delivered to the crypt where Julie
slept. It was Pan’s now dead body. After
Julie took some liberties with the still
fresh corpse, she arranged for a funeral
home to take over the arrangements.
Pan left some instructions and some
money to take care of the expenses. In a
couple of days Pan was buried in the
graveyard near the mausoleum Julie
sometimes lived in. There was a reading of
a trust that was left by Pan. He left
everything to a nephew he had named as
Johnny C. Tanner. There were other
provisions. Pan had left a good sum of
money to Julie, but the bulk of the estate
was to go directly to his only nephew,
Johnny.
A lot of friends Pan had made were
gathered around his grave. Many were
businessmen and a few businesswomen. The
service had been going on for a couple
hours, first in a funeral parlour, and now
at the gravesite where the coffin was to be
placed in the ground. The gravesite was in
another section well away from the oldest
section where Julie lived with The Baron in
the Van Helsing crypt. Everyone was dressed
in all black.
Tanner walked up to Julie. “Hello,
Julie. Miss me?”
Julie looked at the newcomer. He also
was in all black. He had blonde hair,

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weighed roughly 185, stood about 6’6” and

looked about forty years old. He had dark
sunglasses on, was rather broad at the
shoulders and narrow in the hips. “You look
familiar. Do I know you?” Julie was eying
the stranger with suspicion, one eye opened
wider than the other in a comical manner.
“Ah, now is that any way to greet your
generous benefactor?” The newcomer took his
glasses off, revealing his blue eyes.
“Hello, Tanner. I should have known by
the body language. Are you always late for
your own funerals?”
“Invariably.” Johnny smiled and
chuckled. “How do I look familiar? This
body isn’t anything like the other one.”
“No, the body’s changed, but the manner
in which you hold yourself and the look in
the eyes is the same. The eyes were the
give away.”
“Oh. I see.”
“So who are you now?”
“Johnny C. Tanner.”
“Nice. Why’d you choose Johnny?”
“Carl, that’s the man who furnished this
body, was supposedly a cousin to the Man In
Black.”
“How appropriate.”
“I thought so. When I found out the name
I’d be using, I legally left everything in
a living trust to be given to my sole
beneficiary, Johnny C. Tanner; with a few
minor exceptions, of course.” Johnny smiled
with sarcasm. “I take it you didn’t have
any difficulty finding my old body.”

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“No, it was rather hard to miss since

you left it in the hallway of the crypt I
was sleeping in at the time.”
“Glad to hear it. I wasn’t sure exactly
where you’d be, and when bodies are left
too long in the heat, well, they get rather
smelly.”
“That’s true. Why’d you leave a trust?
Wasn’t that rather archaic?”
“Yeah, but the country I’m supposedly
residing in is still archaic. It was the
only way to avoid the lawyer/liars and
their judging buddies.”
Julie snickered. “I like the
description.”
“Thought you might. In all my long
lives, I’ve had to deal with too many. Not
all are lawyer/liars. You may still find a
few with a decent I.Q., but they’re few and
far between.”
“Oh? What’s the average I.Q. of such
vermin?”
“Forty. I hear the ones who become
judges like to eat bananas as they sit on
top of their desks. The rest strut around
like peacocks showing off their false
colours. When the peacocks get riled, the
judges scream and they have to have another
bunch of bananas before they settle down.”
Julie chuckled at Johnny’s description.
“Take care you don’t draw too much
attention your way. Some are beginning to
notice. I think they’re the lawyer/liars as
you so aptly call them.”
“Typical of the vultures; not to mention
the phony priest who’s performing the
ritual. I think I’ll have to keep an eye on
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Heather J. Kintyre

that one. His body language is very much

like a greasy used car salesman.”
Julie stepped forth and threw a half a
dozen pitch-black roses on Pan’s coffin.
“How nice; I like black.” Johnny smiled
and chuckled. Most likely they were
cuttings from the potted plant Mark gave
the doctor before Julie’s escape.
Julie smiled. “I know; Careful. We’re
drawing attention from the priest.”
“Let him gawk. He’ll be none the wiser.”
“I do so enjoy a good funeral. Don’t
you?” Julie smiled as she remembered a past
event, when one of her uncle’s died, with
fondness.
“Oh yes. They’re quite entertaining.
Besides, I don’t have to change my attire.
Aside from all that, the history you can
pick up often says more than the humans
ever would.”
“Or could.” Julie smiled as she looked
at the coffin being lowered into the
ground. “I think we should have a
celebration afterwards.”
“To the new me?”
“Exactly. Even Carl was fond of all
black attire. I think I’ll keep the black
wardrobe."
“It must’ve been a strong gene that
created the desire to wear all black most
of the time. I suspect the rumor of being
related to the Man In Black was true.” As
Julie and Johnny were returning from the
funeral, Julie started talking. “I would’ve
never guessed that you were related to the
Man In Black.”
“It goes a ways back.”
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“It must. You don’t look as dark as he

was. I don’t mean the attire.”
“Well, he was closer to the Cherokee
ancestor we shared.” They walked into the
tyme machine.
“Oh.”
As Johnny was hanging up his coat he
spoke. “Yeah, the poor man. He never
understood that for every curse is a
blessing in equal proportion, and that you
can’t abolish evil without abolishing good
in equal proportion.”
“How can that be?”
“That’s the way it is and the way it
always will be.”
“How could you know that for sure?”
Johnny smiled and sighed. “You wouldn’t
believe me if I told you. Just take my word
for it. There is much I know that I can
never speak of.”
“Why?”
“Because it can’t be scientifically
proven. Now are you going to help me put
together a few dishes to go with the
dinner, or do I have to do it all myself?”
As Julie and Johnny were preparing the
meals Julie started to speak.
“Tanner, I don’t...”
“Johnny, please. I hate formalities.”
“Johnny, I don’t understand. How can you
be so infinitely old and have the Man In
Black as your older relative? He wasn’t
even 90 years old.”
“I was wondering how long it’d take you
to get around to asking.” Johnny smiled
then. “I want some coffee. Care to join me?

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Heather J. Kintyre

Kenya AA.” Johnny looked as though he was

hiding a secret.
“Sure; you’re avoiding me again. Stop
doing that. I really want to know.”
“Okay. The body I now occupy was nearly
dead in spirit. I did a transfer just
before the last spark of life left Carl.
It’s a technique unknown to humans.”
“You mean that you can change bodies
anytime you want?”
“Not really. I have to be near death
myself.”
“You’ve lost me again.”
Johnny smiled as at a little kid. “If
you’ll remember, I was pretty old when I
left in the tyme machine. I was near mortal
death.”
“I see. Wait! What if the body you take
on is dying of a fatal disease? How can you
know what you’re getting into when you take
a body over?”
“I’ll know by the tint of the aura.”
“The what?”
“The aura; that which emits certain
colours according to the health of the
mortal. That’s how I knew that this body
was in excellent shape except for the bad
knee. It was Carl’s soul that was nearly
dead.”
“Did the soul die before you took over?”
“No, not entirely. Let’s just say that
we fused memories.”
“That’s awful. You sound like a soul
eater.” Julie looked closer at Johnny.
“What did you do, Johnny? Are you a soul
eater as well as a cannibal?”

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Johnny laughed heartily. “No, Julie;

never a soul eater. Only my brother Charley
is a soul eater that I know of. Upon
approaching Carl, he was almost dead. I
explained what I had in mind with the body
transfer. I also explained the dilemma of
having none of his memories. So with Carl’s
permission I carbon copied all of his
memories from his current mortal life. The
memories naturally go back to his latest
birth. After I finished, Carl died; in this
dimension, anyway.”
“Carbon copied? How?”
“Oh no. Some things you don’t ever
reveal even to your best friend. That’s a
secret that will die with me, amongst many
others. Unfortunately in the transfer I was
able to understand completely why he chose
eternal death over continued mortal lives.”
“How terrible. But that was him, not
you.”
“Yes, but that’s the cursed side of the
‘gift’ in transferring bodies and acquiring
new memories. Now I also will embrace
eternal death upon the death of this body.”
“Poor Johnny. Is there nothing to change
your mind?”
“No, nothing. Carl spent his entire life
debating the eternal death. It wasn’t made
without careful thought. Now I’m also too
tired to continue the mortal struggle, and
stay alive by taking on more youthful
bodies when I need to. Before it was if I
had to, and I wasn’t so tired. Now I am.”
“But life, any life, is worth having.
It’s better than being dead. That’s what I

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was taught to believe and what you told me

before, anyway.”
“Says you-I know better now. Mayhap in
your last lives you’ve never truly had to
suffer a fate or two worse than death as
Carl did. Until my last encounter with
Carl, I still held firm to that belief. Not
any more; I have my doubts.”
“It sounds like Carl had a bad life.”
“Yes and no. Parts were enjoyable.
Actually, the only good parts were when he
was alone. Gives a different view point on
the suicidal mind.” Johnny tilted his head
as if he heard something. His expression
changed to annoyance. “That’s not true. Who
says you can’t learn from the mistakes that
someone else makes?”
“What?”
“Oh, just thinking.”
“About what?”
“Carl and I avoided a lot of pitfalls by
learning from the mistakes of others. He
was much older mentally than his mortal
years.” Johnny smiled briefly and sadly at
Julie.
“You really liked the guy, didn’t you?”
“If I hadn’t I wouldn’t have taken over
the body after I carbon copied his
memories.”
“Yeah, it’s too bad Carl embraced
eternal death.”
“Actually he may not have.”
“Meaning?”
“What’s the opposite of eternal death?”
Julie looked closely at Johnny. “Are you
trying to tell me that Carl made it?”

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“Every curse has a blessing, as I said.

Carl had a better than even chance.”
“I don’t understand-not completely,
anyway.”
“Julie, if you were to place your first
fingers together, hold them upright, then
make a circular motion, you would find that
while one was moving clockwise the other
was moving counterclockwise. Both opposites
moving in the same direction, both correct.
Both sides use the same amount of time and
energy; one side can be pure good, the
other pure evil working together and
separate. Anyway, Carl may now survive in
another dimension, separate from our own.
He’d have to spend the same mount of time
in it as he spent in all of the rest.”
“Why?”
“To keep the balance of his soul within
all the other dimensions. Although we use
the same amount of time and energy within a
lot of dimensions, even if most remain
unknown, some of the dimensions survive
separate from the rest.” A cat walked in.
It was Moki. Moki started talking, making
his constant demands.
“Okay, okay. You’re sure pushy in your
cranky old age.” Johnny shook his head in a
mock disgust and smiled. “Come on, old
thing.” Together Moki and Johnny walked
into the kitchen.
Julie remained puzzled over the example
Johnny gave. A little later Johnny walked
out and went over to the hall closet, and
then over to the couch in the front room.
He took the blanket, made a heap like

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structure out of it on one of the corners

of the couch. Julie was watching this.
“What’s that for?”
“Oh, when Moki’s finished eating he’ll
need to knead. He’s fussy about what he
kneads and where. I have to mess it up a
bit, also.”
Julie rolled her eyes up and shook her
head as she groaned. “Such spoiling.” As
she looked at Moki, she wondered how he
recognized Johnny. "How did he-"
"How did Moki know me upon sight? My
body language; it alters the natural body
odor in a new body. It's not complete yet,
but it will be soon. It was enough, as it
was."
Julie sighed. "Here I thought Moki
recognized another sucker to wait on him
hand and foot. How can you spoil him so?"
“Hey, don’t knock it until you try it.
Their lives are short as it is. It may as
well be better than my own once was.”
“Meaning?”
“It was never easy, a lot of hardships
and abuse. At least the animals I take care
of won’t have anything similar.” Johnny
smiled and his expression was one of ‘end
of subject’ so Julie knew better than to
keep pressing the issue.
Sure enough, when Moki came out of the
kitchen after eating, he went over to the
couch. He jumped up and started crying with
a demanding voice. He then looked at the
blanket and started kneading in
contentment. Julie was watching this the
entire time.

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“How you ever can understand them so

well is beyond me.”
Moki went up to Julie after his kneading
and started sniffing her. He then started
chattering nonstop and carrying on. Julie
looked at Moki and shook her head amused.
“A typical Siamese. Seems Moki’s got a
crush on you.” Johnny was watching Moki
amused. Moki kept chattering. He was
looking at Julie expecting her to say
something. “Mayhap it’s something you
brushed up against. Come on, Moki. Cut it
out. She’s not your type.” Johnny shook his
head in a negative manner at Moki who was
looking at Johnny. A communication was
taking place between them. Julie was
looking puzzled at them. After a few
minutes the communication was ended. Moki
walked away. Johnny chuckled as he led
Julie out of the tyme machine. “Come on.
Let’s go for a walk. It’s too nice to stay
in and baby sit. Moki will be there for
some time yet. He’s pretty desperate.”
Julie laughed as they entered the
graveyard. Johnny closed and locked the
door. “Care to go body surfing with me?”
Julie looked at Johnny curiously. “Okay.
I’m game. I’ll give it a go.”
Johnny smiled, delighted that Julie was
finally accompanying him. Mayhap if Julie
saw there was more to life than just this
measly planet she’d be less inclined to
partake of any suicidal actions; on the
other hand, Johnny should introduce Julie
gradually to the many variations of a time
lords abilities. They walked to the beach
nearby. Johnny snapped his fingers and made
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a comment as he did so. “It seems I forgot

something. Be back instantly.” In a few
seconds, Johnny appeared with a couple
kayaks a short distance away. He put the
kayaks down on the beach in shallow water.
Julie walked over and Johnny handed her a
weird shaped wetsuit.
“Put this on.”
Julie stepped into it, not knowing the
front from back. Johnny then sealed Julie
into the kayak she was in to prevent the
water from getting in. He then handed her a
double bladed paddle. The paddle blades
were at 90° angles of each other. “Now you
will be given the temporary ‘gift’ I share
with all those who accompany me in my
adventures.” Johnny smiled as he strapped
himself into his kayak. Johnny showed Julie
how to use the paddle after he got in his
kayak.
"You have to keep one hand loose when
you need to turn the paddle for the other
side, and keep the other hand gripped firm;
just move the hand back and forth." Johnny
smiled as he showed Julie how to use the
paddle.
When they got far enough out in the
ocean, Johnny and Julie used the ‘double’
bladed paddles to go out further beyond the
big surf. Julie was amazed at her lack of
fear and confidence as she was paddling
out. A ten-foot wave is ready to break on
top of her. She positioned the kayak so the
current carried her into the wave.
The kayak disappeared, just as Johnny
had. Julie is lying face down in the water
as the wave picked her up. She slid into
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the inner tube of the wave. As Julie came

out of the wave the kayak reappeared. With
the paddle over her head, arms straight,
Julie brought the paddle down on her left
side, cutting into the water. She pushed
forward and down the backside of the barely
broken wave. The kayak plunged down the
wave. A dolphin appeared nearby Julie-she
recognized him as Johnny, according to his
body language; he now joins her.
Another wave appeared. Once again Julie
tried to go through it. The kayak stayed
this time. As the kayak went through the
top of the wave, Julie was flipped upside
down. With an expertise she never had
before, Julie did a hip snap as she up
righted herself, doing a full roll, and
came out of the wave. With the paddle, she
dipped into the water. She pushed forward
and plunged into the water. Again the kayak
disappeared; Julie now became a mermaid.
Johnny, still in his dolphin form, is
waiting for her under the water and greets
her as she enters the water nearby him.
Together they swim the ocean blue doing
curls, body surfing the larger waves,
gliding in the inner curls, performing
flips and racing each other. Sometimes as a
mermaid Julie would embrace Johnny, as
they’d swim the deep blue seas.
After a while when the surf died down,
they went to where the surf was breaking
elsewhere, perfect for bodysurfing.
Together Julie and Johnny would bodysurf
the waves. Johnny remained in his dolphin
form. They would curl under the waves
before they got too close to shore.
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Sometimes they’d flip under the waves, and

other times they’d flip backward and over
the water, then once they were in the water
they’d flip around. Then they’d swim out to
catch more waves. A lot of the time Julie
and Johnny would ride the inner curl, the
waves spitting them high into the air. They
would often embrace as they both went back
into the water. When the waves died down in
height, Julie was still in her mermaid
form, as she and Johnny would swim out to
sea. When the sun started to set, Johnny
and Julie swam back to shore. They changed
back into their human forms.
When Julie couldn’t see, Johnny took his
control device which he always kept hidden
on his person located in his collarbone,
punched some buttons and brought the tyme
machine to their location. As they entered,
Julie was still shaking off the strange
feeling of puzzlement. It’s not everyday
that you get to change from human form into
something else, and partake of an activity
that is like nothing any human or other
species on earth can perform.
“I thought you might like it.” Johnny
smiled as he went toward the kitchen. He
came out a short time later with a couple
cups of Kenya AA coffee and a couple of
towels. “Here. This might warm you up and
dry you off.” Johnny handed Julie the cup
of coffee to her and then the towel.
"It's just as well that the kayaking
wasn't longer. My arm was getting tired."
Julie looked at Johnny then strangely. “Do
you do that all of the time?” Julie asked

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Johnny puzzled. She took the coffee and

towel from Johnny.
“Oh yes, every chance I can get; often I
go off to other planets in other galaxies.
I like to play hopscotch on the planets as
I travel the arms of the various galaxies I
explore.”
“What?”
“Well, it gets rather boring being grown
up all of the time. So I partake of some
kid like activities on occasion.” Johnny
looked rather guilty at Julie as if caught.
“Planet hopping?”
“Yeah, when I’m not bouncing between
galaxies, sure. Why not?”
“I really thought you were kidding me
about most all of what you told me. I
thought I was humoring you all this time.
You mean all of it’s true? You’ve actually
been to other worlds?” Julie looked more
puzzled as she stared into her coffee cup.
“Guilty as charged, my dear.”
“You really aren’t from this planet?”
“No, I’m afraid not.” Johnny sighed
sadly. “Don’t worry about it. Some things
can’t be changed; other things are never to
be fully understood.” Johnny smiled, as he
seemed to get an idea. “I’ll tell you a
secret about those hard to understand
things.”
Julie looked up at Johnny strangely.
“What?”
“Sometimes it’s best not to think too
much about trying to understand those
things that bother you. Especially when
there’s never a concrete answer to be had.
When you let them go, as you relax the
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problems often iron themselves out. You’ll

either understand them in a fashion or
they’ll go away of their own accord-just
one conditional warning, though.
Julie looked at Johnny bewildered.
“What’s that?”
“Be very careful that you don’t convince
yourself that you know all there is to know
about everything, or anything at all-except
exercise.”
Exercise?”
“Yes; exercise in one form or another is
good for you. If you can combine both
mental and physical exercise, you’ve got
the best of both worlds. The best way to
fight senility is to keep an open mind and
never stop learning-exercise your brain at
all times.” Johnny smiled, as Julie got
more confused. He chuckled as she shook her
head.
“I don’t understand. How can this be
happening?” Julie looked at Johnny
strangely.
“As I recall, you did enjoy yourself.
That’s how it usually happens. Don’t worry
about it.” Johnny gave Julie a light pat on
her shoulder and smiled. Just then Ebenezer
walked in. “I’d better take care of Eb
now.”
Julie sighed and drank the rest of the
coffee, leaning back. “I give up. I think
I’ll take a rest after this.”
“Suit yourself. See you tomorrow.”
Johnny walked to the kitchen with Ebenezer
following. Julie put the empty cup of
coffee down and walked out to go to her
crypt and sleep with the Baron for a while.
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 Warped Mind, Inc.

A LEISURELY STROLL

One day while Johnny was walking along

State Street he started feeling rather
peckish. He bought himself a couple of
fruitcakes; one of the fruitcakes was put
in his tyme machine, cleverly disguised as
a Mercedes Benz car. The other one Johnny
thought he’d enjoy upon finding a fairly
remote place well away from the rest of the
rat race more commonly known as human
society.
Anyone who walks along State Street in
downtown Santa Barbara has to be rather
weird to begin with. Usually one of the
symptoms is strange and unusual behavior.
Mayhap Johnny’s differences won’t be
detected, and he’ll be just another face in
the crowd. Sure enough, everyone Johnny
passed was very strange. One human stood
out above all the rest, though. He kept
talking to himself as if someone else were
there to hear him. Then he would stand
opposite of where he was, start chanting,
then fall on his face as if dead. A couple
minutes later he would repeat the cycle all
over again as he slowly made his way down
the sidewalk. Johnny was so amused at this
behavior that he went across the street and
handed the human the fruitcake, laughing as
he did so. “I believe you deserve this more
than I.” Johnny walked away fast before the
human could make any response.
Johnny was still chuckling as he got in
his tyme machine. He started the Mercedes

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Heather J. Kintyre

and drove off to a more remote location.

Looking around, Johnny carefully checked
for any signs of life, and shape changed
the Mercedes into a large tree so it’d
blend in with the rest. Going inside,
Johnny went into the large kitchen area.
Johnny went into the walk in freezer and
brought out some frozen human bodies and
set them on the table that was up against
the wall. “You always were a heavy dude.”
Johnny threw the fat human on its stomach.
He went over, took a saw and started
cutting off the arms, then the breastbone.
Johnny went over and took a scalpel off a
shelf. “Now let’s see how well you’ve
maintained your body, shall we, Danny boy?”
Johnny was humming the old song ‘Danny Boy’
as he was working. He took a piece of the
skin and then took it to a high-powered
microscope and was examining it. Johnny
kept making notes without looking at his
writing, as he turned the power of the
microscope up with his right hand. The
notes were backwards.
As Johnny continued to examine the meat
tissue, Julie came into the lab. Julie
looked at the partially dismembered corpse,
then at Johnny’s notes before she looked at
Johnny. He was still looking into a
microscope, seeming not to have taken
notice of Julie’s entrance. Julie looked
back at the notes and sighed. “How am I
expected to read your notes when you keep
writing everything backward?”
“That’s easy. Either flip the page
around and hold it to the light, or if the
backside’s also written on, or it’s too
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thick to read the writing on the other

side, there’s a mirror on the wall.” Johnny
waved in a general direction with one of
his hands without taking his eyes away from
the microscope.
“I take it you found another one of the
black sheep relatives.”
“Yep. Sure did. A real shit turd with a
lemon flavored candy coating.” Johnny
looked up from the microscope. “So far this
one took pretty good care of his body. I
think we may have an eater here.”
“Which one is this?”
“Oh, this was Carl’s brother. His
presence alone was enough to cause Carl’s
mother to commit the crimes she/he did.”
“She/he?” Julie looked puzzled at
Johnny.
“Yes, during the years, his mother’s
body language went from feminine to very
masculine.” Johnny looked at Julie
seriously then. “I’m parched; you want any
fresh coffee?”
“Sure, but only if it’s some of the
Jamaican.”
“Fresh ground, your majesty?”
“Of course.” Julie tried to sound
pompous, then sighed. “Poor guy. His life
finally ends in such a death.” Julie shook
her head as she started to walk out.
“Have no pity for this one especially,
Julie. This guy was just as bad as his
mother.”
“Still...much of Carl’s knowledge
wouldn’t have existed if it weren’t for
this corpse, I assume.”

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“True, there is that. Such knowledge is

hard to come by.”
Johnny went out of the lab and made some
coffee, returning shortly afterwards with
some cups of coffee. He was cutting open
the chest of the corpse. Johnny was
‘thinning the crop.’ It wasn’t revenge for
what the relatives did to Carl. That was
bad enough. Johnny was trying to eliminate
the bad gene carriers as well as the ones
afflicted by the genes. Fortunately Johnny
was able to swap a few genes Carl had. The
worst of the afflicted ones were the
hardcore criminals society was two faced
about eliminating. Johnny had no
hesitations in destroying these bad ones.
The corpses helped to keep the walk in
freezer full of meat. Johnny took some of
the bone, and using his strength he broke
it. “There are some advantages to Carl’s
body, despite the bad leg.” Johnny smiled
as if he wasn’t sure himself that he could
break the bone so easily.
Julie was watching as the bone broke. “I
take it Carl was strong.”
“Oh yes, and very active. It’s because
of the active life that Carl lead that
enabled him to be stronger than most.” As
Johnny looked closely at the bone he broke
he spoke more to himself. “Interesting.
Clean break. Carl spent the better part of
the days and years being active.”
“What kinds of activities?”
“Kayaking, running, bodysurfing, that
sort of thing.”
“Bicycle riding?”

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“Racing actually. Never competed though;

too much of a loner. It was on a long
downhill as Carl was cycling that he had
his accident. Busted the knee up pretty
bad. As he hit, he curled into a tight
ball. He landed on his left shoulder blade,
skidded, and stopped in the lane closest to
the edge, halfway in it. The front tire was
mangled up and the front forks were like
spaghetti, but otherwise the bicycle was
okay.” Johnny was speaking more to himself
by then than to Julie as he was examining
the bone.
“Car/bicycle I take it.”
“A car/bicycle event, yes. Accident, no;
not on the subconscious level.”
“You lost me again. I wish you’d stop
doing that.”
“Best way for you to learn is to ask
questions.” Johnny smiled his sweet smile
as he looked directly at Julie, and then
turned back to the corpse at hand.
Julie sighed, exasperated. “Okay, what
do you mean the car crash wasn’t entirely
an accident?”
“On a subconscious level, Carl was
determined to commit suicide. Naturally
since it didn’t work Carl regretted it
since he had to live the rest of his life
afflicted with the bad knee. That’s the
price you often pay, though.”
“How well I know that. How old was
Carl?”
“Fifteen. Fifteen or around there is the
peak of most serious suicidal attempts. The
bicycle was just another one of many
attempts. This one was to give Carl, now
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Heather J. Kintyre

me, a physical handicap that would last me

the rest of my sometimes-mortal life. If it
hadn’t been that Carl was so desperate to
be away from the parents, he would never
have attempted that bicycle ride. This was
the first major shock since it involved a
lifelong injury where the others didn’t. At
the time Carl thought it was mostly a shock
to the system. It was, but that wasn’t all
it was. Years later he was to see with
clarity how it was another desperate
attempt to commit suicide.”
“Poor kid. Well, at least Carl finally
got his wish.”
“His death, you mean?”
“Yes.” Julie smiled briefly and sadly.
“True, as far as this dimension is
concerned; can you hand me that scalpel?”
Julie handed Johnny the instrument.
“Thanks.” Johnny was putting some of the
slices of his prime cuts on a slab away
from the table. “Julie, could you wrap
these up, label and put them in the walk in
freezer?”
“Sure. You’re not going anywhere are
you?”
“Scouts honor.”
“You were never a scout.”
“Oh that’s right. I forgot. Neither was
Carl. Oh well.” Johnny turned back to
marking the sections as he cut the corpse
up.
“Johnny, aren’t you going to save any of
the skin for later?”
Johnny stood back and looked at the
corpse as though for the first time.
“You’re right. I could use the skin for
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various tanning purposes. Make a few

handbags and shoes. Tried handlebar
grippers, doesn’t work very well.” Johnny
resumed his marking the corpse.
“Fortunately the ink is a watercolor.” As
Johnny was taking some of the intestines
out of the corpse and putting them in a
bucket, he started to speak again. “This
guy was fat. There’s going to be a lot of
fat to render. Should get quite a few
candles out of this one.” Johnny smiled as
he thought about the black candles he was
going to make. “Julie, if you ever start
becoming as active as Carl was, I’ll have
to disown you.”
Julie looked surprised at Johnny. “Huh?
Why ever for?”
“I know that you have to take the bad
with the good. Even so, when you start
indulging in activities as heavily as Carl
did, I’ll know that it’s time to call it
quits between us.”
“How do you figure that?”
“The humans Carl was forced to live with
were his worst enemies. Carl was so active
in order to stay away from them for the
better part of every day. Whenever you come
across someone so active on a regular
basis, more than likely it’s to avoid
having to be around those they are forced
to live with or be around. Especially when
they perform most of the activities alone.”
Johnny took some of the tissue over to the
table he used for examining through a
microscope.
“I believe I’m getting the picture.”
Julie sighed as she looked at the corpse,
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thinking about what Johnny was telling her

about Carl. “Poor Carl. Still, the human
problem eliminated, his body was kept in
good shape. You’ve managed to keep it
preserved pretty well.”
“Thank you, Julie. It’s probably all the
side trips I take.”
Julie looked at Johnny. “That reminds
me. I wasn’t prepared for the changes that
took place while body surfing, but I think
I can handle it next time.”
Johnny looked at Julie and smiled.
“Good. Next time when you’re ready, we’ll
do it some more.” Johnny looked back at the
corpse and sighed. “Carl sure left me an
interesting legacy. In having his memories
I can target the bad relatives; there’s a
lot of them. We have a massive amount of a
human crop to thin out. The way they keep
replenishing themselves, I’ll have many
years cut out for me.” Johnny shook his
head in sadness. “I expect this lab will
soon have an overflow of bodies to butcher
up.”
“Johnny how is it that you’re so much
older than twenty seven? That is when Carl
died and you took over. What happened?”
“Carl had a lot of crap against him. It
wasn’t his fault. His biological mother
wasn’t able to destroy Carl when she threw
him onto the basement floor. She therefore
tried destroying Carl’s reputation. She
almost succeeded. If I ever meet his mother
after all this, I’ll have to kill her for
what she did to him.”
“I thought you weren’t permitted to take
revenge.”
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“I’m not; not entirely. Her terror

hasn’t stopped with Carl, either. It’s to
save the future tortures from occurring in
many more that she would otherwise
destroy.” Johnny sighed with melancholy. “I
had to take a lot of vacations back then. I
tried to get back as soon as I could free
myself entirely of Carl’s old family. It
was a lot of work.”
“Most likely it wasn’t a very pleasant
time.”
“No, not entirely. Like most things,
there’s a balance of good and bad. In
Carl’s case, the negative side was too
great. That’s what really killed him.”
Johnny was looking in a microscope
examining some of the intestine tissue.
“I don’t remember you ever writing
backward before. A gift from Carl?”
“Yep. Carl brushed souls in the nursery
with a well-known backward writer. Since
Carl was also right handed, he was able to
write with both hands in both directions.
He practiced his backward writing all the
time and improving his speech in the
evenings.”
“Why backward writing?”
“Because it actually helps open up your
ability to use both sides of your brain;
especially when you can use both hands in
most things equally well. Besides, Carl was
always able to see everything forward or
backward easily.”
“How’s that?”
“Not sure I can explain all of it. It
was just natural. Carl taught himself to
write forward and backward with either
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hand, developing the two sides of his

brain. The connector, or corpus callosum,
grew thicker as a result and is much more
developed. When I went within, I examined
it.”
“Didn’t Leonardo DaVinci write
backward?”
“Yep. He was dominantly left handed,
though. He still had to teach himself to
write backward by looking in a mirror,
trying to see himself as writing forward. I
tried that and I can’t do it. I could feel
the brain twisting with the effort to see
myself as writing one direction, when it
was actually the other way.” Johnny was
making some notes backward without looking
at what he was writing. ”There’s a tradeoff
in that I lose my coordination now when I
look into a mirror. Cutting my own hair
takes a little more time than it should.”
“Pardon?”
“I have to go within. That is, focus on
where I am in relation to the other object.
It’s a minor loss.”
“You do have a different sound in your
speech pattern. You can see depth, can’t
you?”
“Oh sure. I’ve been trying to go within
and repair the damaged speech centers, but
I still have a long ways to go.” Johnny was
making some notes on a note pad as he
examined the meat tissue. He didn’t look up
or at the pad as he wrote. The penmanship
was still neat and cursive. Julie was
watching this amazed.
“Don’t tell me, you were never able to
go within or write backwards before.”
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“Nope. If I hadn’t had a few billion

years of life behind me, I’d have to agree
with Carl.” Johnny was finishing up his
notes as he was looking in the microscope.
“Agree with Carl on what?”
“The fact that it’s strange that others
can’t perform something so normal as
writing backward and going within.” Johnny
looked at the slide he took from the bottom
of the microscope.
“You were never normal, were you,
Johnny?”
Johnny smiled delighted. “Not if I can
help it.”
Johnny stood up to his full height and
stretched. “Oh. This one’s a major job. He
was a real tub of lard. I may have to take
a short walk when I’m finished. Care to
join me?”
Julie looked at the corpse then at
Johnny. “No, I think I’ll go back to the
mausoleum. Feeling a bit tired.”
“Suit yourself.”
Julie left and when Johnny finished
butchering, he emptied the trash in the
acid then wrapped the corpse up
temporarily. He set the corpse up on a meat
hook to hang around until he got back. Then
Johnny walked out of the tyme machine.

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Heather J. Kintyre

A SATISFYING WALK

Johnny was walking along a dirt path. On

each side is wilderness as yet untouched by
man’s unforgiving hands of destruction;
Johnny prefers to dress in black jeans and
shirt. Black suits Johnny’s disposition of
melancholy. He does his best to avoid the
negative side, but whenever Johnny started
to enjoy the twisted humor of life, the
negative side would always take its toll
more than it ever did before, using the
same amount of time spent in the positive.
It always seemed like an eternity at the
time.
Johnny was thinking about Carl’s cousin,
the Man In Black. He can’t help wondering
if the Man In Black ever broke free of his
rusty, ‘gilded’ cage at Folsom prison. He
looked at the prison then sighed as he
walked by the man made prison thinking
these thoughts. This planet is prison
enough for someone like Johnny.
A canyon of concrete and steel appears.
Another man made trap few humans can avoid.
At least Johnny has been able to escape to
the countryside. If the current social
mannerism is the way of this world then
Johnny rejects it. Upon his next mortal
death his soul will immediately be judged
and sentenced again. The judgement may or
may not be in his favour, but if it’s
possible, Johnny will try to return to this
area. It’s quite beautiful, regardless of
the prison that resides a mile away.

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As Johnny turned the corner along the

dirt path, he saw the minister walking up
ahead who performed the ritual over Pan’s
gravesite. Johnny remembered his name was
Oswald. Johnny talked to Oswald a couple of
times before when he was still Pan, and
neither time did Johnny like him. Once was
a social occasion at Oswald’s house. Seems
Oswald was hoping to deceive Johnny as he
tried to get some money out of him. Oswald
wanted Johnny to ‘donate’ a large portion
to the church, making the donation to
Oswald, who out of his good graces would
then give it all to the church. Oswald was
a minister of a Catholic church, now
walking the long and winding dirt road that
would pass by Johnny. He was carrying a
gunnysack that was moving slightly. Because
of the distinctive smell, Johnny knew the
contents were newborn kittens. From the
bulges, it looked like there were five.
Johnny smiled as he accosted Oswald on
his way to some destination point. “Hello,
Oswald. Going off on one of your gods
mysterious errands?”
Oswald was nervously sweating, besides
being so fat. “Yes, that’s it.” Oswald then
smiled his most phony angelic smile. For
some, Oswald’s smile would have been
convincing. Johnny saw through it and
refused to be taken in as he smiled coldly.
“I’m rather in a hurry. Otherwise I’d
stop and chat with you for a span. I told
some people I’d be in their town at a
certain time to donate some church items.
These are they. If you don’t mind, I’ll be
on my way.”
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Heather J. Kintyre

Johnny smiled again, but there was no

warmth in his cold blue eyes as he did so.
“Oh, that’s all right. I’ll walk with you.
I was just taking a leisurely stroll
myself. I need to head back anyway. Then we
can talk on the way.” Johnny gave Oswald
his sweet, seductive and charming smile
that meant death to the unwary. Oswald was
so charmed by Johnny’s smile that he
accepted.
“Well, that’d be most kind of you. I
accept your offer, Johnny.”
“The pleasure’s mine. How nice of you to
walk all that way to another town just to
give a few donated items to some needy
people.” Johnny looked cold as he smiled at
Oswald. “I’m surprised that you bother.
You’re so generous with your time.”
“Thank you, young man. I realize that
it’s a small amount, but it may be months
before this gunnysack is full, and when
you’re poor, you need the items now, not
later. Upon waiting so long, you could be
the cause of someone else dying.”
In mock surprise Johnny replied. “All
this time I thought the churches only
looked out for their own interests. My
opinion of you has gone up a notch. Then
again, if they died, you’d be out of more
money, so you slip down two notches
instead.”
Oswald glared at Johnny with a dirty
look that was also puzzled. “I don’t
understand. How is it that you feel the
church looks only after their own
interests?”

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Johnny turned to Oswald and looked at

him like the liar he was. “Poor Oswald.
Mayhap you don’t see the big picture as I
do. Or is it that you prefer to feign
ignorance?”
“What?”
“No large religion is poor. Certainly
you aren’t; the interests of all the
churches are to make money. It’s their
business to brainwash innocent people into
giving up a large portion of their hard
earned money. This way the churches stay
rich as the people stay poor. This allows
the churches to always have the people
under their firm hold. Wasn’t that your
intention with myself?” Johnny gave one of
his cold smiles, as Oswald looked shocked
at Johnny. “Remember the Spanish
Inquisition? The Catholic churches had such
a strong hold that everyone was forced to
give up all they had, and then some. If
they didn’t, they were tortured and killed
eventually. Even then, that wasn't always
enough, so the Inquisition went ahead and
tortured them for the practice, anyway.”
Oswald looked at Johnny as if he was
stricken. His face was white as a bleached
out bone. “How long have you known about
this?”
“A long time. It’s always been obvious
to me. It’s a well-kept secret that any
outsider can see if they just care to look
without blinders on.”
The kittens were moving again. Johnny
was watching. They were nearing the point
of collapse. A couple of them quietly
mewed. “By the way, what do you have in the
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Heather J. Kintyre

gunny sack other than clothes?” Johnny

looked innocently at Oswald.
Oswald gave Johnny a stone look and
snarled at him. “Don’t ever use the term
‘by the way.’”
“Why ever not?”
“Because that expression refers to an
alternate route, such as another way of
life other than the Catholic religion,
which I assure you is thee true religion.
Regardless of what you may think, god does
exist.” Oswald’s voice was getting louder,
ending with shouting.
“Spare me, Oswald. I’ve heard it all
before. Your tongue is wasted on the likes
of me.” Johnny was rubbing his ears before
Oswald finished his shouting. “Oswald, I
understand your desire to believe in your
god and all of the dogma crap that goes
with it; but have you ever stopped to
wonder if it was all a big lie? A scam?”
Johnny looked at Oswald now who looked as
though stricken by lightning. Oswald then
looked at Johnny as though he must’ve lost
his mind.
“A scam? Tanner, if I didn’t know any
better, I’d think that it was you who were
trying to pull a scam on me.”
“If you didn’t know better. So do you
really believe that this Catholic god, the
dogma and religious crap connected with it
is actually all true?”
“It’s not crap, Johnny. It’s like I tell
all the people. The Catholic church is the
true religion.” Oswald was very red in the
face with anger.

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“Oh, come now, Oswald. You know better

than that. Stop trying to beat around the
bush. I know what you preach to your flock.
I want to know if you truly believe it
yourself.”
“Tanner, please stop referring to the
Catholic religion as crap. How can you know
with such certainty, anyway?”
“I’ve been there, actually.” Johnny
smiled briefly with a deep sadness in his
eyes, and spoke again before Oswald could
respond to that comment. “Just answer the
question, Oswald. Do you, or don’t you,
believe in this Catholic religion that you
preach? Don’t think you can deceive me with
your sincerity, because you’ll never
convert me.”
“I believe in whatever gets me through
the night. There are a lot of lost souls
out there who never acquire a peace of
mind.”
“Especially a piece of your mind. I
suppose you think you have one in your tiny
white pea.” Johnny responded facetiously.
Johnny sighed and shook his head, keeping
an eye on the bag Oswald was carrying.
"Peas are green." Oswald spoke as though
it went way over his head. He spoke, as he
wasn't sure of what Johnny talking of,
since peas had nothing to do with their
discussion.
"Not the reptilian type." Johnny spoke
facetiously. “You wouldn’t happen to be
running for any kind of office now, would
you? You’d make a great politician. You
already have the hog calling voice for it.”

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Heather J. Kintyre

“Why, as a matter of fact, I am. Mayor,

why?”
“Oh, it’s just that you’re very good at
your evasions, like a politician.”
“I take that as a compliment, Tanner.”
Oswald smiled.
“I thought you would. The observation
was not meant entirely as a compliment.”
“Oh.” Oswald lost his smile.
“Now let me ask you a question, Mr.
Tanner.”
“Go ahead.”
“Why are you so against religions?”
“I’m not against them. I’m neither in
favor of them; especially when they’re the
canker sore of astronomy and such related
sciences.”
“What’s that mean?” Oswald was puzzled
over Johnny’s answer.
“It means I cannot adhere to any
religion or belief that is so restrictive
that it prevents you from thinking for
yourself. Never mind forcing you to conform
to using your right hand. Most who once
were left-handed lost the ability to use
either hand; it also promotes the killing
of innocent animals.”
Oswald looked at Johnny quickly as
though he’d been had. “The Catholic church
is very liberal. We don’t force anyone to
become right handed any more, either. I
know of no restrictions on anyone’s ability
to think for themselves.”
Johnny snickered at this as if it were a
good joke. “No, you wouldn’t. You’re as
blind as all the rest. Could it be that you
truly are so brainwashed as all the rest?
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 Warped Mind, Inc.

Do you truly believe this crap called a

Catholic religion?”
“Johnny, I’d really appreciate it if you
would stop degrading the Catholic religion.
Now tell me, how is it you find the
Catholic religion to be so restrictive?”
“What did I just tell you about the
conform or die of the Spanish Inquisition?
Better yet, I’ll tell you how all the
religions brainwash everyone so thoroughly
from the time they are a day old so that as
the humans grow up, they’re so
preconditioned that they’ll never escape
the religions.”
“Now why would any religion do that?”
“You must be awful stupid, like a Polish
flower in bloom, not to know that. Look
around you, Oswald. Your setting is one who
lives very comfortably. You’re in the
privileged position of collecting the money
of others. It’s all you know and the only
way you can survive, at the continued
poverty of your flock. You never give; only
take, like a taxman. How much did you rake
in this last time? A few hundred dollars
more, mayhap? Any takers for a few hundred
thousand for you and your other cronie
church controlling friends? People are
brainwashed into believing the crap of
their religions because this is how the
religions make the money to survive. It’s a
scam-an easy way to take free money, and a
very lucrative business at that. Nothing
personal, strictly business.”
“Let’s say that you’re right, Tanner.
Why then would the religions do such a
thing?”
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Heather J. Kintyre

“Come on, Oswald. Stop playing stupid;

when’s the last time you had to soil your
Lilly livered hands to make a few dollars
more? How many poor people have you taken
in, dishing out your empty promises of life
after death?" Johnny spoke calmly with a
smooth and even voice. "You'd love to hang
'em high again, wouldn't you? Would you be
one of those who stretched them on the
rack, or would you prefer to control the
iron maiden? How many are behind in their
payments? Wouldn't you just love to kill
them? How many have you taken so much money
from that they could barely eat while you
stay rich and fat at their expense? How
many people on set incomes have you forced
to eat dog food, or lose their homes, in
order for you to continue to eat your bon-
bons?” After Johnny finished speaking he
looked disgusted at Oswald whose skin
looked like putty that couldn’t stretch any
more.
“You sound awfully bitter about
religions, Johnny. That’s too bad, for not
all are that way. Someone must have really
done a number on you.”
“I know only too well how the religions
work, keeping the humans poor while they
grow rich. If the humans had any sense,
they’d see through the smoke screens of all
the empty promises every religion dishes
out, and how their money is going for
nothing.” Johnny spoke sadly; he never
raised his voice.
“Maybe you just ate something that’s
disagreed with you, and you’re just not

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thinking right. You’re sounding like a

raving lunatic, Johnny.”
Johnny laughed merrily at Oswald’s
stupidity. “Oh that’s rich, Oswald. You
wish I sounded like a lunatic, but I’m far
from one, and you know I’m right. Crazy I
may be in some ways, but never a lunatic.
Anyone who’s experienced so much of life as
myself would have to be a little crazy. It
could be that I’ve planted the seeds of
doubt in your mind anyway. Welcome to the
world of the agnostics, Oswald. It’s a
world full of doubts to be sure, and much
more freedom than any religion or mythology
offers. There are no boundaries, other than
the ones you personally place on them, for
whatever your reasons. It’s both
enlightening and devastating as you expand
into your new horizons. You’re no longer
under the dictations of some man made
stupid dogma. Best of all, it doesn’t
collect one gram of currency, as opposed to
your several thousand fists full of dollars
to rip everyone off financially and create
hardships for them.”
Oswald looked at Johnny wide-eyed. He
knew he was beaten and couldn't argue the
point any more with Johnny. “You still
haven’t answered how the Catholic religion
is so limiting, though.” Oswald's voice was
unsteady.
“Haven’t I? Easy-upon asking questions
relating to your god’s origins, and life
itself, you beat the crap out of them. In
the old days, hand them over to the Spanish
Inquisition, The Templars or Hitler. I
guess you were born too late-or were you
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Heather J. Kintyre

just too young when Hitler was doing his

thing? Oh yes, I know all about the
Catholic Pope Pius who worked beside
Hitler. You’d do it all again if you could,
wouldn’t you? ”
“I don’t see the point of continuing
this discussion any further.”
“Don’t you? If the questioning ones
don’t stop their ‘blasphemy’ you have them
killed; or is it excommunicated now? Will
the church make them saints afterwards when
they’re dead and can no longer defend
themselves, like they always do? Those
blasphemous thoughts, kept suppressed by
the church, lead to wisdom most of the
time. Others need a crutch and wind up
falling back into one of the religions they
once were brainwashed with, then escaped
temporarily.”
“My God, but you’re really a goner.
Seriously Johnny. I really do believe that
you need some professional help. Or are you
just overly tired? Did you get enough sleep
yesterday?”
Johnny was shaking his head amazed at
the stupidity of Oswald. “Poor stupid
Oswald. You’re so blind. No different than
another sheep led to the slaughter, aren’t
you? Who tells you when you can go to the
bathroom? Do they also wipe your ass for
you when you’re done? How many have you
licked in turn?”
Oswald stared at Johnny appalled at what
he was hearing. No one ever spoke like
Johnny. “Really, Tanner. I must say that
you need some professional help, and fast.”

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“Well, I won’t disturb you further. Why

don’t we just enjoy the peaceful
countryside together, aye?” Johnny was
smiling and chuckling at Oswald’s
ignorance. They walked along the windy dirt
road another few minutes. They made a turn
and came to a creek. Oswald looked at a
large boulder and started to go over to it.
Johnny had been keeping a close eye on the
gunnysack of newborn kittens. They were
almost dead. One was starting to go through
the death throws, and the others would
follow shortly. Johnny got an alarmed look
on his face and grabbed the gunnysack out
of Oswald’s hand. Oswald didn’t expect
Johnny to grab the sack, and his motion was
so fast that it was almost unnoticed. The
tyme machine appeared silently close by but
out of sight of Oswald. “What? Are they
dead? Sit you down father, rest you.”
Oswald smiled. “You like Shakespeare?”
“Now and then. Strange, isn’t it? I
found the more bloody plays to be some of
the most enjoyable readings.” Johnny was
looking in the gunnysack as he talked, not
really paying much attention to anything
except the kittens in the sack. “The
schools I knew on this planet always tried
to kill the desire to read those like
Shakespeare, making them seem like a major
chore. I found reading literature such as
Shakespeare to be quite pleasurable,
actually. Especially Edgar Allan Poe. That
is, until the schools tried to kill the
enjoyment. I recovered, though. Some tasted
pretty well, I must say. The noses were
rather hard, but most of the rest was good
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Heather J. Kintyre

eating.” Johnny placed the gunnysack

carefully on a rock and had his head
partially inside as he spoke more to
himself and continued. “Such a shame. A lot
of good reading goes to waste after the
schools make reading a chore. It’s no
wonder there’s so many illiterates on this
planet.” As Johnny spoke he was taking each
newborn kitten out of the sack.
“You’re completely crazy.” Oswald spoke
in a pompous ‘judgement’ manner. Johnny
looked up at Oswald then for the first time
since he took the sack away. He looked
straight into Oswald’s shifty eyes as he
spoke. “No, but I’d expect such a response
from such as you. Those like myself are not
so readily understood. Therefore, instead
of trying to understand us, those like you
don’t even try. Instead you take the easy
route and label us all as crazy, trying to
lock us away if you can’t have us deported
or killed. That’s always the way everything
goes, isn’t it?” Johnny paused after he
took all the kittens out. “Well, well.
Could it be that you were lying about what
contents you had in the gunnysack? I
thought you were supposed to be a man of
the cloth, and never lie. Then again,
there’s no cloth in here.” Johnny took out
a newborn that was orange with a white
tipped tail, and a white mouth. Johnny
looked accusingly at Oswald and shook his
head. He then took the gunnysack and shook
it upside down, showing Oswald that nothing
else was inside. “You fat bastard.”

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Oswald was so exhausted that he could

barely talk without gasping. “You speak as
though you aren’t human.”
“I’m not. At least, not entirely.”
Johnny smiled and laughed his diabolical
laugh. “Oh yes. It seems I forgot to tell
you. I’m actually Pan. I just exchanged
bodies and took a new identity in the
process. Like it?” Johnny smiled as he took
a step backward, and mockingly made a fast
turn.
“Oswald was horrified as he knew that
now he wasn’t going to survive much longer
if he didn’t escape quickly. Johnny would
never allow anyone to live with such
information, true or not. Oswald was white
as a sheet. For the first time Oswald
realized how much his fat was a handicap in
his ability to run.
“Please don’t go away. As soon as I
attend to these little ones, you’ll have
some explaining to do. Now I must really
attend to these little guys before they
kick the bucket. Please don’t go anywhere.
I have a bone yet to pick with you. Your
close friends will enjoy the free meal you
provide them-at your expense.” Johnny
smiled wickedly at Oswald, then pulled a
device out of his pocket, and punched some
buttons, as the tyme machine appeared
closer. Oswald’s eyes got big when he saw
the tyme machine.
“What is that?” Oswald’s mouth dropped
open.
“Better close your mouth or you’ll start
swallowing flies. That’s my tyme machine.
Like I told you I’m not entirely human.”
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Heather J. Kintyre

Before Oswald could respond Johnny went

into the tyme machine carrying the
newborns. As he tended to the newborns it
seemed as though he forgot all about
Oswald. Oswald, thinking himself safe after
Johnny went into the tyme machine, started
to run away as fast as his blubbered body
could go.
Johnny spent the next hour in the tyme
machine tending to the newborn kittens. He
fed them all until he was sure that they
would all be comfortable, in no danger of
dying. He then walked into the front room.
As an afterthought, Johnny took his handy
laser gun with him.
Shortly after he took over Carl’s body,
Johnny developed a laser gun that would
kill instantly and quietly. One objection
Johnny had to other weapons was the noise.
The second objection was the size when it
came to a more powerful weapon. The laser
gun replaced them all with its fine cut.
The gun was easy to use, small with a fine
cut that wouldn’t make a mess, and if
Johnny chose to do so, with one shot it
could be set to take out an entire galaxy
arm a hundred light years long and just as
wide. Just aim it at the center and the
laser spread out to engulf the rest.
Johnny went back to the controls and
reset the time for a few seconds after he
left Oswald, then walked out of the tyme
machine. Into the distance Johnny saw
Oswald waddling away as fast as he could go
in an attempt to run off. He shook his head
and shouted at Oswald. “Hold up, Oswald! I
still have a bone to pick with you. Why do
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you waddle away so fast; and from me?”

Johnny laughed and raised the laser as he
aimed it.
Oswald looked back at Johnny in horror.
He then turned and tried to waddle faster
to get away.
Shaking his head in dismay, Johnny
lowered the laser gun and as he smiled he
shaped changed into an angel with the wings
of a golden dove and flew in front of
Oswald who then screamed. Oswald looked
dumfounded and started making gurgling
noises. Johnny took his laser gun, aimed it
at Oswald’s head and cut the brain away
from the rest of his body.
Johnny flew up to Oswald, touched the
ground and resumed the human shape. He
punched a few buttons on his control device
and brought the tyme machine closer. When
the doors were opened, Johnny went in, and
came out with a plastic trash bag. He put
Oswald’s severed brain cap into the bag,
then he hoisted Oswald’s corpse over his
shoulders and took Oswald into the tyme
machine. He laid the corpse on a gurney
Johnny kept ready at the front, careful not
to drip blood on the floor. Then he wheeled
Oswald’s body into the laboratory.

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Heather J. Kintyre

A FATAL MISTAKE

Johnny tested Oswald’s corpse for any

bad meat. Determining it free of diseases,
he proceeded to peel the skin off like a
banana. Unfortunately the skin was too weak
and couldn’t be used in tanning to make
various leather products. He proceeded to
cut Oswald up into prime cuts, hamburger
and some beef jerky. Johnny was humming an
old John Gary tune to himself as he was
working. Since Oswald was fat, most of the
fat was going to be used as rendered fat to
flavor his dishes, but most would go toward
candles, perfumes and oil. It helped to
save the lives of the many whales and other
sea lives of the many who were killed for
such frivolous purposes. Johnny would also
use the fat in the preparation of some
dishes he often gave for charity. As
promised, Oswald was going to feed his
friends. Most were crooked and greasy
politicians like he was.
Usually whenever Johnny had to take over
another body, the personality would be
altered somewhat, while leaving the
original personality intact. The major
difference between Pan and Johnny is that
Johnny took a more active means of trying
to become more well known in the political
world, and focusing upon only criminals and
violent creatures like Oswald.
With the increased human population,
violent criminals were becoming more
popular, and Johnny was getting more of an

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overflow than he could use before the meats

went bad. The best way to solve this
problem is to be a little more generous
with meat in the meals. Not only did he
solve the problem of getting rid of the
excess meat, but giving free charity meals
is a great way for Johnny to become friends
with some of the major big Whigs within the
community. He never knew when having
connections was going to come in handy some
day. Especially when there was a spot of
trouble involved. Not that Johnny was one
to create trouble, but on occasion someone
would try to stir up trouble and frame
Johnny for it.
When Johnny finished packing, freezing
and cleaning up the mess left from the
excess blood, he walked out of the tyme
machine to look around the creek. There was
a bridge over the creek. Johnny walked down
and looked around under the bridge and
upstream where the creek was hidden from
view up on the road. What he found was a
lot of dead human bodies, along with some
corpses of other animals. Johnny could’ve
forgiven Oswald for killing the humans.
Humans often deserve their deaths long
before they finally die-rarely the other
animals. Those that had to die were
conditioned by humans to be so violent.
Johnny felt better for having eliminated
another human from killing his best
friends. It doesn’t matter if they claim to
be God. If anyone takes to killing others
maliciously, their lives are forfeit.
After Johnny finished, he took a walk in
the now silent town, then after a couple of
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Heather J. Kintyre

hours he started back. Once Johnny got back

to the tyme machine Julie greeted him.
“Been up to no good again, Johnny?”
“Nah. Actually, I still have a bone to
pick with a man. Care to pick a few of his
bones with me?” Johnny smiled as he and
Julie entered the tyme machine.
“Only if he’ll be good in a soup I’m
making. What’d he do? What horrible crime
was he found guilty of?”
“Killing cats and other non human
animals.”
“Humans also?”
“Them to.”
“He got his comeuppance, then.”
“Just don’t kill any cats. They’re of
the main roots that lead to all the other
non human animals I care so much for.”
Johnny walked over and held out a pillow
with the five newborns on it. The pillow
had a smooth and plush covering on it.
“They’re beautiful; how’d you get him?”
Julie looked at the kittens, delighted at
how pretty they all were. One was a dark
tabby, another was also a dark tabby, but
not as dark as its sibling, another one was
a calico with a broken arrow design on her
head, one was cream and caramel tabby with
a white tip tail, a milk-white mouth and a
lighter colouring on the belly. The other
one was mostly white with a gray tail and
gray ears and paws. They were well cared
for, kept clean and free from any diseases.
“He was carrying a gunny sack with these
newborns in it on the road outside. I took
the newborns away before they were beyond

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the point of no return. Care to see them

better?”
Julie smiled as she looked at the
kittens. “Sure.”
Johnny and Julie went into another room
where he placed the newborns gently down on
the floor inside a large box with one of
the sides cut out so they could roam
outside of it. They were waking up and
hungry again. Johnny picked up the orange
one and cupped it in his hand.
“You realize now that this cat is going
to grow up believing you’re its biological
mother.”
“Actually, it may be for the best.
Between this one and the calico, I’d say
they got the worst of the ordeal. Calicos
usually have some major quirks, anyway.
It’s almost like their trademark, along
with being female.”
“So you’re going to personally be as a
mother to them?”
“Yeah. Nice, isn’t it?”
“You should be more careful of what you
think you want. You just might get it. Far
too many times it turns out not to be so
wonderful as you expected.”
“Why Julie. You almost sound like you
have been taking lessons from Carl. Or have
I been talking in my sleep?”
“Neither. It’s just obvious to me.”
For the next hour, Julie and Johnny fed
the newborns; then when the kittens curled
up to sleep Johnny and Julie left the tyme
machine. It was starting to get rather
late.

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“I think I’ll have a short flight. Care

to join me?”
“No, I’m going to partake of a light
snack and then turn in.”
“Okay, suit yourself. I’ll be back
before you know it.”
Julie walked off and Johnny disappeared
as he cloaked himself and flew up into the
universe.
It’s just as well that Johnny enjoyed
going into the universe so often, because
if he didn’t much of the universe would be
in danger of chaos taking place. On
occasion, Johnny would explore a galaxy and
find a large section that had to be
destroyed. He used to use several weapons,
but with the laser gun he could take the
bad sections out faster. It was not only
more convenient, but in saving time he
could take care of the other areas more
efficiently and quicker than before. The
other Guardians wanted Johnny to make them
a laser gun, but Johnny knew the laser gun
was his ‘ace in the hole’ against his
imprisonment on earth. As long as he kept
the design secret and out of the hands of
the others, he had a better chance of
escaping with the other time lords’ help.
Never mind the dangers involved if the gun
was used incorrectly. Even when he had to
use several explosives to take out a
cluster of stardust several light years in
diameter, the Guardians wanted Johnny to
let them in on his secret. Those also
Johnny refused to share. Those earlier
weapons are related to his laser gun.
Johnny thought it would be best to use them
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all up and destroy the notes, but he and

the tyme machine discussed it, and if a
successor were to take over, it would be
best to have a record of the developments.
The tyme machine was therefore Johnny’s
only confident, and the only one who shared
the secret of the weapons and the laser
gun; similar to Athena being the only one
Zeus trusted completely with his
thunderbolt. The tyme machine kept the
design plans, the models of the laser gun,
and all the chemicals well hidden from all
others.
It was later that night. After Johnny
returned a couple hours after he left, he
saw Julie was dining on one of the freshly
dug up corpses again. This corpse was
buried with minimal expense, which also
meant that he wasn’t loaded full of
formaldehyde, amongst other things. That
was good, but Johnny hadn’t analyzed it
just yet, so there was no telling what he
died from, or the diseases he may carry.
A cop who was new to the area had just
started his work shift. Although the
cemetery wasn’t a part of his regular
nightly rounds, the cop was curious since
he had never been to this particular
cemetery and this section. It was along his
temporary route, but no one was going to
press the issue if the cemetery was
overlooked during the night, since it was
normally kept locked.
Johnny watched as the cop went further
in, amused as he read the outline of the
cops' puzzled body language. The cop was
taking notice of some of the graves that
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looked as though they had been dug up, and

then covered over again. He went over and
took a closer look. Some of the graves were
over a hundred years old. What was going on
here? Why would anyone dig up an old grave,
and then recover it? The cop got his gun
out. After he went in a little further, the
cop saw Julie’s dark silhouette outlined
against the nearly pitch-black moonless
night. In front of her was a large shape
that could’ve been a corpse. The cop didn’t
raise his voice or cry out. Instead he
silently walked around the area to where
Julie was. When the cop got directly behind
Julie, he walked up closer to get a better
look. That’s when he turned the flashlight
on.
As soon as the light was turned on,
Julie turned around fast. “Who the hell are
you, and why are you interrupting me?”
“I should be the one to ask you who you
are.” The cop was astonished to be face to
face with a rather good looking woman.
“What are you doing with that dead body?”
The cop flashed the light at the face of
the corpse. “Hey, I knew that guy. Didn’t I
book him on rape charges a couple of days
ago?”
“You might have at that.”
“Now he’s dead. Good, that just means
less paperwork for the department. He was a
repeat offender and I’m glad to see he’s
dead. It couldn’t have happened to a nicer
guy.” The cop looked closer at the corpse.
“What the hell happened to him? He looks
chewed up.”

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“Why should that come as a surprise?

Especially when he’s one of the more tasty
ones. Care to share part of a shoulder?”
“What? Are you serious?” Now the cop
looked closer. He saw the details he missed
before in Julie’s appearance. Julie had
dark smudges on her neck and cheek. The
corpse was missing parts of his body
because Julie had torn off chunks of his
flesh.
“Oh, great.” The cop sighed with
weariness. “You realize of course that
defiling a public cemetery is an offense,
and then to dig up and destroy a corpse is
another offense. You’re in some really bad
trouble. You know that, don’t you?” Julie
saw Johnny walking into the cemetery toward
her. He didn’t seem to be aware of the
cop’s presence.
“Not really.”
“I’m afraid that after I get through
booking you that you’ll have to get some
serious psychiatric help. This is a major
illness.” The cop was shaking his head in
disbelief.
As Johnny approached he took note of the
cops conversation, and not just the voice
tones. Now he heard the cop threatening
Julie with booking her for all kinds of
offenses. Johnny smiled as he leaned up
against one of the tombstones.
“I have to disagree with you. Anyway,
what’s the difference between eating humans
or pigs? They taste pretty much the same.”
Julie looked at the cop with an air of
arrogance.

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Heather J. Kintyre

“The difference young lady is that’s

cannibalism!”
“Since when is eating pigs cannibalism?”
The cop groaned as Julie was giving him
a hard time.
Johnny smiled as he heard the cop. On
the way back from his flight on the other
side of the planet he thought that he
should get some meals ready, and was in the
middle of getting everything together for
the slaughter of several human corpses he
had acquired during his time spent away.
“Oh. Now why would you want to go and do
a thing like that? Besides, I have
squatter’s rights! I’ve been living here in
this cemetery well over three years now.
You can’t book someone for actions they
perform on their own property.”
Johnny walked quietly up closer for a
better look. He saw Julie and the cop more
distinctly now that he was closer. Julie
watched Johnny’s approach. He smiled as he
signaled to Julie to not let the cop know
of his presence. The cop would’ve turned to
look, but Johnny gave him a false message
mentally that said Julie wasn’t looking at
anyone behind him. Julie kept talking to
the cop as if they were alone in the
cemetery.
“No, I don’t think so; squatters rights
don’t apply to public property. I’m sorry.
It looks like I’ll have to take you in.”
“What? Never. Anyway, I can’t go
anywhere looking like this. What would
everyone think?”
The cop couldn’t believe what he was
hearing. “I don’t believe this. One minute
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you’re munching happily on a corpse, and

the next you’re worried about you’re
appearance. “Just who do you think you
are?”
At this point in the conversation Johnny
made himself known. “An innocent bystander,
if you must know.” The cop twirled around
and pointed his flashlight in Johnny’s
face. “Now tell me-what’s wrong with a
little cannibalism every now and then?
Cannibalism is a way of life for many
cultures.” Johnny spoke with a nonchalant
air as he leaned against one of the larger
tombstones nearby. He was looking over his
fingernails as he spoke and using the light
from the flashlight to see his handiwork.
“A lot of tribes along the Congo river are
cannibals. They eat all the tribal members
who die. It’s their belief that the soul of
the dead one will live again. Then there’re
others who eat the freshly dead relatives
in order to take over their sins. Contrary
to popular belief, these cannibals don’t
just kill every human they come across in
order to grace their dinner table. They’re
actually a lot more civilized than other
“civilized” humans would ever give them
credit for.”
“What the-just who the hell are you?
Where’d you come from?”
“Name’s Tanner; Johnny C. Tanner. I take
it you met Julie.”
The cop looked back at Julie who was
smiling, then back at Johnny who was still
cleaning his fingernails and leaning
against the tombstone. “You know this
woman?”
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Heather J. Kintyre

“Oh yes; quite well as a matter of fact.

We’re often cutting up corpses and fixing
meals from their bodies. The mayor loves my
dishes. Speaking of which, I just came to
ask Julie if she’d like to help me butcher
the next one. Save a bit of time. I have a
lot of dishes to make up and another
banquet to prepare for. The governor is
throwing this one. That is, if I can get
the meals prepared in time. Seems I'll have
more meat than I planned for. I may have to
go in vortex, even then.”
“What the hell? Are you both mad?” The
cop was big eyed and looking like someone
threw a sack of flour in his face.
“No, it is not we who are mad, but the
rest of the world who is.” Johnny smiled at
the cop with a playful twinkle in his eyes.
“That’s it. I’ve heard enough. I’m
taking you both in. I’ll have to call for
backup, but I’ll do that once I get you
cuffed. Turn about.” The cop was scared, so
he started to blow himself up with
authority as he reached for some handcuffs
with his right hand.
“Oh, do I have to?” Johnny sounded like
a little kid who was being scolded.
“Yes.” The cop tried reaching for
Johnny’s arm, being somewhat rough about
it.
Johnny took his laser gun out of his
left coat pocket with his lightning speed
and cut the cops right arm off at the
shoulder. The cop looked astounded at the
severed arm that still held the cuffs. He
stared at Johnny. “Oh, I forgot to warn
you. I don’t take too kindly to others who
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grab me in an unkind manner. Sorry about

that.” Johnny smiled sarcastically as the
ashen face of the cop looked at his right
arm on the ground, then at Johnny. “You
weren’t using it, were you? Here, let me
put it back on for you.” Johnny smiled as
he picked the cops arm up and motioned as
if to put it next to the severed shoulder.
The cop took a step backward staring at
Johnny in horror. Johnny was smiling with
delight. The cop fainted from the shock and
soon lost too much blood from the severed
arm.
Julie got up. “Thank you, Johnny. That
was a close one.”
“Anytime.” Johnny smiled, and made a
mock salute to Julie with the bloody stump
of the cops severed arm. “Well, are you
interested in helping me?”
“Sure. It seems we’ll have some more
meat to go around. Providing this one
checks out. This one wasn’t planned as far
as I know.”
“That’s true. The sooner we get rid of
this body, the better. I’ll just check the
meat out. If it’s usable I’ll use it also
for the banquet I’m giving. I’m sure the
mayor and many more won’t complain at there
being more of my meals to go around.”
Johnny smiled and chuckled as he took a
trash bag he had handy and covered up the
head and shoulder of the cop, dropping the
arm in as a second thought. “Don’t want to
leave a trail of blood unnecessarily in the
tyme machine.” Johnny winked at Julie as he
tightened the bag around the cops’ corpse.
“Good idea.”
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Johnny paused, then the tyme machine

appeared. “If you’ll be so kind as to take
his feet, I’ll take him into the laboratory
on the gurney.” Johnny and Julie hauled the
cop into the tyme machine and placed him on
the gurney Johnny kept near the front door
for emergencies. He then wheeled the corpse
of the cop into the laboratory. Julie
followed.
“I never was too keen on cops. They’re
always about when you don’t want them,
never around when you need them-pesky
things. I refuse to trust them beyond the
end of my eyeballs. The only difference
between them and a criminal is what side of
the fence they’re on.” As Johnny spoke he
was taking some flesh samples to examine.
“How’s that?”
“There’s no difference between the
brainwaves of a cop and a criminal.” As
Johnny spoke they went to another area of
the laboratory.
Julie looked at the other freshly dead
corpse on another gurney. “I take it that’s
the one you were referring to.”
“Yep.” Johnny took one of the gurneys
and Julie took the other and wheeled them
into the lab where they drained the
corpses. Johnny went over and was looking
in the microscope. He was increasing the
magnification as he examined the tissue.
“So far so good. Now let’s see if it passes
the next stages.”
Julie was looking over the corpses.
“This one doesn’t look too bad; skin’s in
pretty good shape. Need help peeling it?”

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“I thought you’d never ask.” Johnny

smiled.
Julie and Johnny spent the next several
hours stripping, cutting and preparing
meals. When the time came, Johnny loaded up
all of the dishes and went to the scheduled
banquet. There are always some early
comers, so Johnny had them help him to
unload the dishes and put them out on the
long table for the banquet.
As usual, the mayor and some council
members showed up. The Governor invited
some judges and a couple of senator’s as
well. Everyone was raving about Johnny’s
dishes, making the banquet another success.
Everyone was in a better mood for the
delicious meals, and it was easier to get
the town business resolved quickly.
The mayor, Rufus Stoner, spotted Johnny
Tanner and walked up to Johnny all smiles,
munching happily on one of the cubes of
human meat that Johnny prepared the meat
dishes with.
“Ah, there you are, Mr. Tanner. I was
looking all over for you.” The mayor
stabbed another cube of meat and ate it.
“I see that you’re enjoying the banquet,
Mr. Stoner.”
“Oh yes. It’s even better with these
wonderful dishes you’ve prepared. Your late
relative, Pan, was also a wonderful cook.
You really must give me the recipe for
these meals so my wife can make them. I’ve
never tasted anything so wonderful. They’re
quite addictive.” The mayor was gathering
up the rest of what was on his plate and
was eating it happily.
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Heather J. Kintyre

“I’m so glad you enjoy the meals I

prepare. It’s an old family recipe that Pan
left to me some years before he died. I
hope I was able to perfect it as well or
better than those he used to fix.”
The mayor swallowed his last bite and
resumed speaking. “Your family must be
blessed with great cooks. I’d say you fix
these meals equally as well as Pan did, if
not better.”
A councilman walked up just then, also
eating one of the meals Johnny prepared.
“Mr. Stoner, are you still pestering Mr.
Tanner for his old family recipes?”
The mayor looked guilty like a kid who
got caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
“Well, there’s no harm in trying. There’s
always a chance that I‘ll get him on one of
his better days and he’ll give in.”
One of the councilmen, Mr. Beamer,
smiled and shook his head. “I’ve tried for
a long time and Mr. Tanner won’t budge I’m
afraid.” Mr. Beamer resumed eating his
meal. The mayor looked at his now empty
dish.
“I’ll be back. I really must get some
more.” Mr. Stoner walked off to the banquet
spread.
“No, I really can’t let the recipe out.
It has to remain in the family. Call it a
trade secret.”
Mr. Beamer then spoke as an idea came to
him. “Okay, but if you can’t let the
recipes out, and you can still fix meals
publicly like now, then why don’t you try
selling already prepared meals on a large
scale?”
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The mayor had walked up as Mr. Beamer

was talking, and heard the last question.
He looked at Mr. Tanner happily. “That’s a
wonderful idea.”
“What do you mean, Mr. Beamer?” Johnny
looked at Mr. Beamer, not really sure of
what he meant.
“Why not sell your meals as dinners in
grocery stores, say in the frozen food
sections?”
“I’ll bet you’d make a fortune if you
did that, Mr. Tanner. I’ve never had
anything so tasty. You’d already have one
guaranteed customer.” Mr. Beamer resumed
eating the plate of food he carried.
“Never thought about that. I’ll have to
do some more testing before I attempt such
an event.”
Mr. Stoner smiled and laughed. “Well, if
this town’s any indication, you’ll be an
overnight success!”
Johnny smiled and laughed. Little did
Mr. Beamer or anyone else know that the
testing Johnny referred to was the DNA
structure of the meat; the way things were
currently, Johnny was always running a risk
that the health department would run a
check on the ingredients and find out that
the meat was human. If Johnny went public
there would be no question that all of the
ingredients would be checked out. Johnny’s
business would be shut down before it could
ever get started. Worse, all of his efforts
to be a well-known good citizen would all
go down the tubes. To avoid such a disaster
from happening, Johnny would have to change
the DNA structure of the meat. There was
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Heather J. Kintyre

only one problem. It may also change the

taste of the meat, making enough of a
change so that the meals wouldn’t taste
quite right, if they were even edible after
the DNA changes. The skins Johnny used to
tan and make leather products with, well,
that was one thing; this was another. It
was going to be a challenge, just to see if
it could be done. In the meantime Johnny
was going to take a break from the
pressures he was under.
After Johnny walked back to the tyme
machine, he made some coffee, and then
stretched to warm up before he went off on
his break. This time he thought he’d try a
bicycle ride to start perhaps.
Johnny took a bicycle and started out.
He rides with a smooth, straight cadence.
He’s riding a 15-speed silver bicycle with
fingertip shifters. The left side controls
the front sprocket gears. There were three
sprockets in the front. The right side
controls the five gears on the back wheel.
Johnny moved his right hand down the
handlebar and shifted gears. His cadence
got easier. Up ahead is an incline; he
climbed it with the greatest of ease. The
incline leveled out. His right hand slipped
down the handlebars again to shift. This
way Johnny can maintain his smooth and easy
cadence. A long downhill is before him now.
He slipped his left hand down the handlebar
and shifts. The shifting is necessary so
Johnny won’t lose his smooth cadence to
jerky motions. At the bottom is a long ramp
on an incline. Since he’s cycling so fast,
he’s able to take it without having to
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shift gears again. The ramp isn’t very

long. It ends suddenly and he’s airborne.
The moment has arrived now for him to
decide quickly. It’s either death or life.
The bicycle changed into a hand glider;
now Johnny’s flying over some rocky
mountains. The air current of four strong
winds that are blowing lonely picked him
up. He glided along for a long time. Up
ahead he saw some snow covered mountains
and headed for them. As he glides on the
four strong winds he’s at peace. His life
is his own. Ah, freedom. It’ll always be
that way. The four strong winds carry
Johnny to a very beautiful green valley at
the foot of some snow-covered mountains a
mere stroll to the beach. There are crystal
waterfalls, clean and unpolluted streams
with clear water that flows freely as it
sparkles in the light of a shining and
golden sun.
Now the winds gently set Johnny and his
hand glider down. As Johnny touched the
surface of the land, he knew that he had
finally come home. He has found his home
away from home, once lost in a lost
universe.
There’s some surf off into the distance.
Dolphins are playing in the water. The surf
called to Johnny; the waves are big and
strong. The surf is strong but gentle with
lots of carry. They’re perfect for
bodysurfing.
From everywhere Johnny saw many animals
he once knew on earth coming out to greet
him. Many species were long deceased when
he left earth. Now everyone lives again in
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Heather J. Kintyre

perfect harmony. Although it’s Johnny’s

desire to always be here, all things must
pass eventually, including vacations.
Johnny sighed in resignation and returned
to Julie, the tyme machine and all the rest
including but not limited to the corpses
piling up in Johnny’s laboratory. With a
melancholy groan, Johnny flew back to where
he started, after saying goodbye to all his
beloved friends now gathered around the
campfire. The time lords may not allow
Johnny to return for a very long time, if
ever.
Johnny went back to the tyme machine on
earth, landing nearby the cemetery where no
one is around to see his appearance.
Although Johnny used a cloaking device,
making it possible to land anywhere at any
time, he still preferred to appear in
secluded areas, just incase.

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MORGAINE

Unfortunately, Morgaine, Johnny’s sister

of long ago, discovered some buried
writings that their father, Skyner, had
left behind. Those writings, crazy as they
were, once deciphered, told her all she
needed to know in order to fly beyond her
home planet. Now Morgaine travelled the
universe, creating destruction wherever she
roamed, not unlike Seth did a few centuries
back. She and Johnny haven’t clashed yet.
The last trip Johnny took into the universe
brought him nearby. Time wise, it would be
another few centuries before Johnny and
Morgaine were to meet up with one another.
Morgaine was creating a wake of
destruction of her own, luring innocent men
into her clutches before she killed and ate
them, similar to a black widow spider. She
liked to reel her victims in, have sex with
them, and then kill them unawares when
they’re most relaxed. She found the meat
tasted better that way. At other times,
she’d encounter someone who she found too
repulsive to get so close to. Those she’d
kill by any means that took her fancy.
Those she didn’t eat she would cut up and
donate to one of the fast food restaurants
nearby. They’d always take free meat and
Morgaine never had any trouble getting rid
of any extra she had.
At the moment, a young man in his early
twenties was trying to pick up on Morgaine,
who wasn’t looking to kill just yet since

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she wasn’t hungry at the moment. The young

man was like an annoying fly, and Morgaine
was getting irritated. “Listen up, creep.
If you aren’t out of my sight in the next
ten seconds, I’m going to kill and butcher
you. Then I’m going to take the meat parts
you provide over to Crap On The Rocks who
never turns down free meat. Do I make
myself clear?” Morgaine was currently in a
fresh body. This one was a knock out
stripper. She had a shiny sleek dress on
that revealed every ounce, every line of
her figure. She now had long jet-black
hair, deep blue eyes, high cheekbones, a
chalk white complexion and some freshly
trimmed and filed nails that were slightly
curved like a wild dogs. The blue eyes held
a confidence in them that gave no room for
doubt or fear. The voice was firm, smooth,
confident, and devoid of the slightest hint
of bluffing.
Brian smiled and ignored her. “I don’t
believe you would actually do that.”
Brian’s voice reflected his reluctance to
believe Morgaine. This was only a common
slut in Brian’s book. Although he suspected
that the woman was possibly serious, he
refused to be cowed by any woman.
“You sap. Well do you know that I’m
going to kill you; it’s reflected in your
voice.” Morgaine got an angry look upon her
face and shouted at Brian her next words.
“Now you have ten seconds to get out of my
sight before I rip your puny heart out and
shove it down your throat. Then while
you’re still choking on your blood loss
I’ll finish carving you into the choice
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cuts for the fast food restaurant nearby.”

Morgaine smiled maliciously and her voice
got low and smooth as she spoke. “I’m a big
contributor there. They know me well.”
Morgaine gave a big smile that told Brian
that he was dealing with someone not only
insane but who was truly going to kill him
if he didn’t leave immediately. Brian’s
face went white as a sheet. He started
running as fast as he could away from
Morgaine.
Morgaine decided then that it was too
late to run, and that she may as well
exercise her killing techniques. She let
out a diabolical laugh that sounded like
the combination of a banshee and a hyena
that seemed to echo with an uncanny sound
that can only be recreated by fancy studio
equipment. She lifted her head up as she
laughed, allowing Brian more time to run as
fast as he could, trying to put as much
distance between himself and Morgaine as
much as possible. When Morgaine finished
her laugh, she smiled and looked directly
at the fast disappearing figure of Brian.
With an uncanny speed, Morgaine ran after
Brian, tackled him to the ground, and bit
deep into his jugular. She ripped his heart
out and stuffed it down his throat to shut
him up. Then she tore the skin away,
exposing the free flowing blood that was
spurting out fast. Morgaine then closed her
mouth over the wound and drank deeply of
the blood. When she drained the body she
got up and hauled the corpse off to her
lair hidden nearby. She belched with
contentment as she thought to herself. “Not
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Heather J. Kintyre

too bad, a bit gamy, but not bad even then.

I was a bit parched, anyway.” Morgaine
sighed with contentment as she curled up in
her lair to sleep. When she woke up she cut
the corpse up into various cuts and donated
them to a local fast food restaurant, as
she promised to do. They thanked her very
much, as usual.
When the manager of Crap On The Rocks
saw the boxes of meat, he went rushing out
to help her. He was rubbing his hands
together, smiling like a snake and had
slicked back hair as if he used a quart of
motor oil on it recently. “Why Morgaine,
what a fine and lovely sight. It’s good to
see you again.” The manager was rubbing his
hands together like a slimy greased
salesman.
Morgaine smiled back, knowing the
manager was as dishonest as they came.
“This meat came in just a short time ago.
Some may need some trimming and extra
grinding.”
“Oh? And how much do you want for this
shipment?”
“Nothing more than the satisfaction that
it’s going for a good cause; feeding the
hungry who are interested.”
The manager smiled with delight, as he
signaled to three workers who were just
starting on their break. They rushed over
and started carrying the boxes into the
restaurant.
Morgaine smiled and started to back
away. “When I get some more, if you’re
nearby, I’ll give you some more.” She
disappeared quickly.
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Meanwhile, in the same time frame but in

another area, Johnny was taking care of
business; he and Julie were busy butchering
up another human corpse. As Julie was
helping Johnny to clean up after butchering
a cadaver she started to speak. “Johnny,
please tell me why you remain so distant.”
Julie looked at Johnny who turned his head
directly at Julie with a fast motion. They
were now going out into another section of
the tyme machine, walking down a hallway.
Johnny was thinking best how to respond to
Julie. “I only ask so I can better
understand you more. After all, you now
have a new set of memories that I have no
insight into, and you seem to prefer using
them a lot.
“Is this a complaint?” Johnny tried to
delay for some more time.
“No, I’m not complaining. I appreciate
the lack of pressure. I’ve just never known
anyone to eventually not try to make a
pass. You haven’t. You’re not like the Pan
I once knew. Pan used to have to resist. I
felt it. You don’t even have to try now.
There’s no mental effort. Why? What
happened? Is the brain somehow defective in
addition to the bad knee?”
Johnny looked at Julie with his cold
blue eyes, and then relaxed. “No, there’s
nothing wrong. Carl learned absolute
control. He got very good at it. He had a
sister who was—promiscuous. She was often
well paid for her services. Carl refused to
be anything like her or anyone else who
acted so stupidly. As for making passes,
it’s not that you don’t have some
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attraction. Just don’t want to make any.”

Johnny smiled his charming smile that
always took Julie off guard.
The kid sauntered in just at that
moment. She looked at Johnny and started to
speak.
“Ah. AA-“
“”Again? Boy, are you pushy. What day is
it?” Johnny looked at Julie.
Julie checked her watch. “A Tuesday. The
fourth.”
“Now you see? Even day.” Johnny leaned
down and waved his fingers sideways in
front of the kid.
“Aah! Aa.”
“Okay, pushy.” Johnny went over to
another door that lead outside. The kid
walked out, her head up as if to say,
‘Well, if that’s the way it is, I’m not
tolerating this any more! So there!’ As the
kid was going out the door, it was late
afternoon. There was about an hour left of
daylight before dusk; when dusk came it was
too late for the kid to be out. Johnny
sighed as he shouted to the fast
disappearing kid. “You just make sure
you’re back before it gets dusk. You know
better. Those coyotes don’t play right.
You’ll just have to wait until I’m a
playwright before you can stay out after
dusk.” The kid snorted as she trotted off
further. Johnny shook his head and sighed
as he started to close the door. “If she
can’t get her way, she’ll turn my life into
a living hell. This isn’t Grand Central
Station.” Johnny moaned as he closed the
door.
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“You spoil her something awful. Why?”

“I know. They have such short lives, and
having grown up with them as I did, I just
can’t help myself.”
“She’s a kid, who needs to be less
spoiled.”
“A kid, yes. No, not just a kid; we’re
both equally cursed and blessed with each
other, the kid and I.”
“How so?”
“She’s my kid, and no one else’s. We’re
bonded, like it or lump it.”
“I told you to be more careful.”
“I remember. I have no regrets, even
then. A life sentence it is, just as I knew
it would be then.”
Julie yawned then. “Sorry. I’m rather
tired. I thing The Baron is missing me
about now.”
“Certainly your pillow is.” Johnny
smiled. “Don’t worry about it. An authentic
yawn in someone else’s presence is actually
the best compliment you can give.”
“How’s that?”
“It means you’re comfortable enough to
relax and be yourself.” Johnny paused then
and looked wearily back toward the walk in
freezer. “I think I’ll turn in as well.
It’s been a long summer’s day for me. See
you tomorrow.” Johnny smiled as Julie went
out of the tyme machine, heading back to
her crypt.
As Johnny slept his pirate conscience
tried to take over.
“Hey Cat, Cat.”
“Huh?”
“Let’s have some fun.”
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“Not again.” Johnny gave a mental groan.

From out of nowhere a screeching seemed to
be heard, although it didn’t hurt Johnny’s
ears.
“Get lost or I’ll be the one to take you to your eternal rest,
quick-like.”
“Who the hell are you to interfere?”
“Another one of your worst enemies. Shove off, conscience.”
A machete and shotgun seemed to appear out
of nowhere.
The pirate conscience laughed. “It’s a
bluff. You can’t hurt me.”
“Wanna bet? I’m much older than Zeus; Cronus built me
with knowledge Zeus isn’t privy to. One is getting rid of vermin
like you. Now SHOVE OFF!” The Sam Peckinpaw Special got a
little closer to the conscience that backed off and disappeared.
“I thank you, my sweet one.”
“Always the flatterer, aren’t you, Johnny? I couldn’t stand
any more of his torturing you. Anyway, I knew what he had to
say; he tends to be long winded before he gets to the point. It
wasn’t much, but enough that he came forward and wanted to
have some fun torturing you as much as he could.”
“He was going to relay something?”
“Yes, and once I took the information, I got rid of him so you
could rest.”
“What was it?”
“Seems your sister made it to the planet earth. I’ve already
sent the message out to the other time lords. I know the
combination of Charley and Morgaine is too much of a handful
at this time.”
“Thank you, it saves me from having to
send the message myself; let me know when a
message comes back, please.”
“Will do, Johnny.” With that, the voice of the
tyme machine started to fade out.

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“Not so fast. You said you could get rid

of the conscience. Can you do it on a
permanent basis?”
“Maybe. I’m not sure. Temporarily, yes. Cronus didn’t give
me the information that would get rid of consciences on a
permanent basis.”
“Can you look into it, though? I’d sure
like to get rid of him.”
“I’ll check, and see what I can come up with.” As the
tyme machine smiled, Johnny went deeper
into a sleep state and was able to resume
sleeping peacefully.
When Johnny woke up, he shook his head
and groaned. Whenever his conscience
started up, it was time to get away so it
would eventually quiet back down. Only then
was there no reason to produce ‘guilt’ and
arguments that resulted.
After such a mental war with his
conscience, a nice planet far from the rat
race is in order. Some painkiller first.
This was a major headachesville, and no
mistake. It’s a trademark of the
conscience, and every external mental
conversation, to leave a massive headache
in its place. It wasn’t as awful at it
could’ve been, but it was still pretty bad.
Morgaine’s appearance was not very good
news. Johnny was going to have to find her.
First things first, and the painkiller is
more immediate at the moment. Johnny
stumbled into the kitchen where he kept the
bottle. "Where's that 'I See The Man Often'
stuff?" After scrambling around a bit,
Johnny found the painkiller in the back of
the cupboard, took a couple and went back
into the front room. He looked over the
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Heather J. Kintyre

console and chose one of his favorite

planets in another galaxy far from the
Milky Way.
When Johnny found a planet, he went out
to investigate. A short time later, he put
a pot of water over the small fire he
stoked up. He’s currently in an open
wilderness on another planet now. There’s a
flat top mountain in the distance, and a
forest between him and the mountain. It’s
good to be on a remote planet well away
from the violent hands of those like
mankind. Johnny needed the time to heal
without the constant pressures and stress
of maintaining a life amongst a human based
society.
Johnny took out the camping gear, and
while sitting in a cleared dirt area, he
stoked up the fire some more so he could
make some coffee and warm himself up a bit
before he did anything else. After he took
a few minutes to relax he started walking
around the nearby area while the fire was
getting built up. He searched for more
dried and dead wood. Eventually he
collected a lot of dead wood scrounged form
nearby areas.
Some years before Johnny met and
befriended a man who was one of the last
mavericks on the planet earth. They spent
many years together, roaming the
wilderness, hiring on ranches for a few
years or months. Those days are gone now.
As he stoked up the fire some more Johnny
thought of his once good friend. It seemed
like he had been long gone now. As Johnny
sat back against a boulder, he remembered
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the times they shared. When the fire got

hot enough, Johnny put some water in a
kettle. He sat it above the fire to boil
for his coffee. As he put the water over
the fire, Johnny saw the face of his
dearest friend reflected in the flames
smiling back at him. It caused a tear to
roll down Johnny’s face as he sighed, full
of melancholy. Johnny’s friend was of the
highest quality. He wasn’t hung up on
material things. He judged for himself and
befriended you for who, and not what, you
were in the social reputation world. He
didn’t care about any material holdings,
what you owned or not. Those things just
weren’t very important to him.
Then one fateful day Johnny and his
friend were on a ranch helping to round up
some cattle. The horse was barely broken in
and still more wild than tame; it got
scared by a rattler and bolted. His friend
was thrown off of his horse and run over by
the cattle that started to stampede as the
horse stirred them up. When the livestock
was cleared away, he was dead.
After the death of his friend Johnny
took to the countryside again. He couldn’t
stand to remain on the harsh and
unforgiving planet any longer. With the raw
pain of the loss of his friend, Johnny had
to escape. He was a loner before his friend
came along, now he’s alone once again. It’s
doubtful that there’ll ever be anyone of
such quality as his now late friend.
When the water boiled Johnny removed the
pot and put the coffee grounds in. As the
coffee set he sighed with a melancholy
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Heather J. Kintyre

frame of mind; the tears continued to roll

down his face silently. As Johnny poured
himself a cup of coffee, he sat back
against the boulder again. He sighed in
resignation as he thought of other things;
he’ll always think about his good friend
and remember the best of times they shared.
No one can take those memories away.
His friend shall always live as long as
he’s remembered. Now Johnny can remember
the good times they both shared together as
a couple of free roaming cowboys. He now
has a couple more horses. One of the horses
belonged to Johnny’s old friend. He left
Johnny his only legacy, a horse and what
few possessions he owned. Johnny will
release the horse on one of the planets
he’s using to save from extinction on other
planets.
It’s getting dark, and Johnny drank the
last of his coffee. Some wolves are now
howling at the full moon that’s rising in
the distance. Their cries have always
seemed mournful and full of pain. Johnny
played his harmonica with just as much
sorrow as the wolves’ mournful cries. He
played in accompaniment to the mournful
howls. As Johnny played, he remembers the
long ago early good old days when he and
his friend travelled together, and the
older days when he was alone. After a few
hours, the wolves and Johnny grow weary. He
packed his harmonica away, took the
sleeping bag out and made short order in
preparing his bed. Johnny got in his
sleeping bag and fell asleep, with no fear
of any danger. He knew that the wolves and
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all the rest of the wildlife, who hear and

respond to his music, protect him.
After Johnny woke up, he started taking
care of the horses. He still thinks of his
good friend when he sees his friends’
horse. One of those planets is the one
Johnny chose for the final resting place of
his eternal soul when his death took place.
That is, if he has to be buried in this
universe. It was also the fondest wish of
his now deceased friend to save as many
creatures as possible from destruction.
Johnny is doing just that, with what time
he has left.
Johnny let the horses out to roam free
on the planet. He then went out of the
atmosphere and into the universe. He’s
starting to ice skate, pirouetting as he
went between the galaxies and solar
systems. As the music played within
Johnny’s soul, he picked up his speed;
doing leaps in between the galaxies. After
Johnny made a giant leap in the air, he
came down on a bobsled. The bobsled and
Johnny entered a chosen section of the
planet. After entering the atmosphere he
travelled down a glacier mountainside. As
Johnny’s internal music changed pitch, the
bobsled went into mid air. Now Johnny is on
skis leaning in the wind. As he landed on
the next ledge he continued down the
mountainside. Johnny picked up more speed.
Now he skis over to another ledge. As he
became airborne again the skis became ice
skates. The poles have become ice skates
for his hands. Upon landing on his hands,
the ice skates cut into the thin ice and
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Heather J. Kintyre

glide through the ice like butter. When the

ice ends Johnny is doing a figure eight
tilted backwards, alternating between his
hands and feet. Unfortunately Johnny can’t
remain forever more on his chosen planet or
anywhere else until he clears himself of
the sentence Zeus and the other time lords
have set. Enough time has passed that
Johnny can now face the turmoil’s on earth
for a while as he took care of Julie’s
suicidal tendencies. With a melancholy
sigh, Johnny prepared for his return to
earth.

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THE KIDS

Shortly after his return, Johnny had

been spending some time cutting up the
violent human criminals that were stored in
the walk in freezer. Not even Julie was
permitted into the very heart of this area.
When Johnny came out, as usual, the kid
was waiting. Since she truly believed that
Johnny was her natural parent, she followed
Johnny everywhere he went, whenever she
could.
“Okay, kid. I suppose you want some more
tuna.”
“Aah.”
“Oh, is that so?”
“Waah.”
“Since when? I gave all I had. Have you
no mercy?”
“Aaah.”
“I knew it. Well, I’ll take it up with
the tribunal next time. Honest, I’m rootin’
for you, Kid. They’re bound to come around
one of these days.” As Johnny spoke, he and
Percivella were walking into the kitchen.
Johnny was grinding up some coffee. The
Kid’s favorite place to be was in the
kitchen, since that’s where the tuna was
stored.
Percivella stretched and extended her
left paw on the door that had tuna behind
it. “Aah, aah.”
“No, tuna’s got to rest. Come on, yo-yo
the sun first.”
“Aaah, aah.”

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Heather J. Kintyre

“I can’t do that, you know.” The kid

glared at Johnny. “I know, you’re just
waiting for me to unzip and all the tuna to
flops out. You’ll be ready for the great
kill, I suppose.”
“Aah.”
“Great. With friends like that, who
needs enemies?”
The coffee was almost brewed. “I know.
How about some paste?” Johnny took a tube
of tuna flavored vitamin and mineral
enriched paste and put some on his finger.
The kid ate it up like there was no
tomorrow. She was purring with delight.
When Johnny gave the kid a teaspoonful, he
stood up. She walked out of the kitchen and
jumped into a chair in the front living
room, curled up and resumed purring before
she went to sleep.
Johnny took care of some dishes in the
kitchen. He had just finished when the
coffee finished brewing and was ready. His
throat stripped as he took his coffee cup
and poured himself a cup. Julie walked in
just then. “Ah, Julie. Smelled the coffee,
have you?”
“Yeah; I’m still not quite all here.”
Julie rubbed her face from sleep. “I take
it the kid’s giving you a hard time again.”
“Yeah, keeps harpin’ at me for her tuna.
It’s an even day, and she knows it. She’ll
have to yo-yo the sun before I can give her
any more.”
“Well, mayhap she’ll like me better if I
share some of the white fancy albacore with
her.” Julie took a can and opened it up.
“I’ll save the juice for her.”
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“Oh, she’ll love you for it.

Unfortunately she may be your fair
weathered friend, so watch out.”
Julie sighed and smiled. “Well, it’s
better than not at all.”
“To a point.” Johnny smiled. Julie got
herself a cup of coffee and a fork. She
then took the can of tuna, the fork and the
coffee to the next room. Sure enough, after
Percivella smelled the aroma she opened one
eye, saw the tuna, and ignored Johnny as
she started to pay attention to Julie once
she went into the front room. Johnny shook
his head as he followed behind Julie and
watched the kid.
“Typical as ever, Kid.” Johnny went over
to the couch with his cup of coffee. He got
a pad and pen then set down. He was writing
some notes for a shopping list.
After Julie ate the tuna, she went into
the kitchen and poured the juice out for
Percivella. As soon as Percivella finished
her tuna she went over and curled up next
to Johnny. She would periodically get in
his lap, and then move to the blanket he
placed beside himself on the couch. On
occasion Johnny’s throat would strip, and
the kid would chirp out one of her
protests.
“I’ll do what I want. So there.” Johnny
spoke in a high and mighty manner to the
kid. Julie shook her head amused at the
whole thing as she drank her coffee.
When Percivella started screaming,
Johnny started coaxing the Kid onto the
blanket. “Come on, Kid. You need to knead.
I can tell. Come on, it’s good for you.”
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Heather J. Kintyre

“Waah.” Percivella started kneading the

blanket and purring. Pretty soon she seemed
lost to everything around her. After a few
minutes she relaxed and seemed to go to
sleep, all happy.
Julie walked up to Johnny then, having
finished her coffee. “Can you help me with
getting some dinner ready?”
Johnny looked at Percivella and back at
Julie. “Well, she seems to be relaxed.
Unfortunately most of the time if I move
too soon, she’ll follow. Then she’ll scream
at me again, and the process will have to
start all over again. “Anyway, I need to
finish up a thought before I lose it.
That’s the problem with so many ideas. They
disappear within minutes, sometimes
seconds, leaving fleeting glimpses. It’s a
disaster when there’s nothing about to
write with.” Percivella started snoring.
Julie sighed as she looked at the Kid, then
at Johnny. She shook her head and groaned
in despair.
“So get the tyme machine to fill you
in.” Julie looked at Johnny wondering why
he didn’t already do this. Johnny looked at
Julie surprised.
“Great idea, Julie. I wonder if the tyme
machine can help me with the kid? No, best
not to press my luck; in a few minutes I’ll
get up. This is just the skeleton of a
dream.” Unknown to Julie, it was involving
instructions for some aid of other time
lords in trying to get rid of Morgaine.
When Johnny finished, he and Julie fixed
dinner. Later Johnny and Julie were at the
dining table, enjoying some ribs. Johnny
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used a special recipe to fix them. He never

would reveal how he fixed any of his meals.
“One of these days you’re going to have
to give me the recipe for this.”
“No way, Julie. You’ll just have to be
happy with the fruit salads and vegetable
dishes.” Johnny went to the kitchen and
came back instantly with some Kenya AA
coffee.
“Another secret that you’ll take to your
grave?” Julie asked as Johnny sat the cups
of coffee down and then set down himself.
“Yep.” Johnny picked up and bit into the
rib he was enjoying. After he swallowed
Johnny commented. “Bad genes or not this
dude tastes great.” Johnny was sipping his
coffee.
“Yeah well, I still wouldn’t want to do
any gene swapping with him. This guy was a
real Jack The Ripper.”
Johnny laughed heartily. “No, neither
would I.”
A noise was heard outside the tyme
machine. Johnny’s eyes went distant and
cold. Johnny took on a hard and cold
expression. He started making a throat
stripping noise as he usually did
occasionally when his nerves were working
on overtime.
Julie was watching this. “That’s another
thing. You often get a cold look in your
eyes. I’d hate to be on your shit list.
Whose genes did you swap with? You didn’t
used to have that throat strip like sound.”
“Oh, Carl used to have a cat named
Chippy who used to make such a noise. Got
it from her.”
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Heather J. Kintyre

“What a name. How’d he come up with that

one?”
“It had nothing to do with whoring and
the like. The cat had feet that looked like
the colour of yellow corn chips to him.”
Johnny took some of the fruit salad. “Great
fruit salad, Julie.”
“Thanks.”
Johnny poured another refill of coffee.
“Okay, Julie. It’s your confession time.
Why are you set upon trying to kill
yourself?”
Julie was drinking her coffee as Johnny
spoke. She slowly lowered her cup of coffee
as she spoke with a half smile and looked
at Johnny. “Bad genes, I guess. Better not
swap any with me.”
“Come on, Julie. Fess up and stop trying
to cop out.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“How about the truth from the
beginning?”
Julie sighed gravely. “As long as my
memory serves, I had parents who were set
upon killing me. They made my life a living
hell, making no secret about being forced
to raise me. Having to survive in a family
where all you learn is fear, life is just
not worth continuing to survive in. I tried
to destroy myself so I wouldn’t have to
keep enduring the life I was forced into.”
Julie shrugged her shoulders and gave
Johnny another half smile with sadness in
her eyes.
“That may have been in your past, but
now your environment is changed. So why
keep trying to commit suicide?”
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“Some habits are hard to break, if at

all. Especially old ones.”
“Sounds like a bad conditioning, to me.”
Johnny sighed and smiled sadly.
Julie scoffed. “You sound like an old
boyfriend I once had. He was heavily into
the sciences. He used to say people were no
different than computers that ran according
to the programs they were given. Once he
was familiar with the persons programming
he could manipulate everyone accordingly.
Or he could until I came along.”
“Sounds like a real jerk.”
“Sometimes. At other times he was okay.
That’s all troubled water under the bridge
now.”
Johnny and Julie ate the rest of the
meal in silence. The silence wasn’t
uncomfortable. Then they started clearing
the table. Julie was still drinking another
cup of her coffee.
The telephone rang. Johnny looked up
questioningly. “I’m not expecting any phone
calls, are you?”
“No.”
“I wonder who that could be?” Johnny’s
throat stripped again briefly. He went over
and answered the phone. “Hello?”
(On the other end.) “This is the police
department. I’m sorry to bother you, but
we’ve had reports that one of the criminals
we just released is probably headed in your
direction.”
“I see. A real bad one, I take it.”
(The police Department) “Yeah, he’s one
of the worst. If we never see or hear from
that guy again, it’ll be all too soon.
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Heather J. Kintyre

There hasn’t been any trouble out your way,

has there?”
“No, officer. It’s been pretty quiet,
actually.”
(Police department) “That’s great. I
hope it stays that way. Personally, I hope
all goes well for you and we never have to
hear about anything this guy ever does
again. He’s very violent, so be careful. If
you need any help, give us a call.”
“Thanks, officer. I’ll do just that.
Goodbye.”
“Bye.”
Johnny hung the phone up and chuckled.
“Don’t tell me. The police are concerned
about the criminal that was just released
from jail.”
“Yes, and he’s also the one we’ve been
eating lately. They just let me know that
if they never hear from this guy again,
that’s okay. Rather late news at that. Nice
to know they approve of his disappearance,
though.”
A calico cat walked into the room. She
had the same pattern as one of the kittens
Johnny rescued from Oswald. She was a
lovely cat now. Julie watched her as she
walked very carefully away from her.
Johnny was taking the empty coffee cups
to go back into the kitchen.
“Who was that?”
“Who?”
“The cat that just left. Her eyes were
big with horror as if I was going to kill
her.”
“Oh, her. That’s Timmy Timid. I thought
I introduced you two already. No?”
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“No. She seems rather skittish.”

“Yeah, she’s always thinking
everything’s going to kill her; especially
plastic bags. The dark ones are the worst.
She always goes screaming down the halls as
if someone’s gonna up and kill her. I keep
trying to tell her that she’s safe. I can
only kill her once and she’s not dead yet.
I also try reminding her that there’s to be
no timidity while she’s inside the tyme
machine, but she seems to have a lot of
memory lapses and only remembers what she
wants.”
“Why Timmy?”
“Because she is very timid of
everything. That’s why her full name’s
Timmy Timid.”
Julie chuckled. “I like it. Sounds like
me in the olden days.”
“How’s that?”
“I was like a live wire on a wet road
for my first years, then during the forced
marriage. Always on my guard.”
Timmy Timid reappeared and looked
directly at Julie. She got wide eyed and
ran off into another room again, screaming
down the hall as she went.
“That’s one scowl.”
“Yeah, that’s another thing. I’d keep
telling Timmy to stop snarlin’ darlin’ but
she never listens. Actually she licked
herself so much that she lost a tooth and
it created a permanent snarl.”
“You sure do seem to be surrounded with
a lot of characters. I thought all cats
were alike.”

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Heather J. Kintyre

“Nope, afraid not. No other animal

species is, for that matter. Each one is as
individual as every human is from one
another.” Johnny smiled his angelic smile
at Julie.
Julie shook her head in amusement. “I
know; I found that out in a hurry.” Julie
yawned then. “I’m due for a rest. I’ll see
you later.” Julie was chuckling as she
left.
Timmy poked her head around the corner
just then as she looked at Johnny. “Okay,
Timmy. Come on, you can steal some food,
and I won’t kill you upon discovery. You
know I don’t break my promises. Come on.
We’ll get some cream for starters.” Hearing
the voice tone is more important than the
words spoken, so when Timmy Timid heard the
voice tone Johnny used, she took notice of
his body language. Determining the body
language to be safe, Timmy went up to
Johnny. She followed Johnny into the
kitchen where he got some whip cream and
put some on a dish for her. He then made
himself some more coffee. When he finished,
he went out into the graveyard to take
another active break before he resumed
working on the corpses.
Johnny searched for the perfect spot;
once he found it he went bodysurfing. As he
relaxed between a set of waves, a big wave
appeared out of nowhere. With every muscle
relaxed, Johnny couldn’t tense up his
muscles in time to react. It’s as though
some force was preventing him from acting;
calmness started to take over. The wave
took Johnny into its inner curl. When it
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started, Johnny’s arms were by his side.

However, when the wave spit him out,
Johnny’s arms were both straight over his
head. As Johnny’s spit out of the wave, a
dolphin jumped up beside him. Johnny and
the dolphin embraced as they dove back into
the water. The waves are coming back in
another set. Gradually Johnny’s legs
changed into a fish tail as he and the
dolphin bodysurf. Whenever Johnny and the
dolphin got too close to shore, they’d curl
under the wave, going back out. Then they’d
catch another wave and ride into shore,
curling under the waves every time they got
too close. After the change was complete,
Johnny and the dolphin bodysurfed a while
longer until the surf died. Then they
embraced and took off out to sea.
After some time passed, Johnny returned
to the tyme machine early in the morning.
He was breaking eggs carefully and
separating the yolks from the whites. Julie
walked into the kitchen all sleepy eyed.
“Good morning. How was your sleep? I
hope the Baron’s behaving himself.”
“He’s sleeping with the dead.” Julie
yawned, not fully awake enough to know that
Johnny was joking with her.
“That’s good. Want to join me in an
omelet?”
“Sure, Johnny. Right now though I think
I’d like a cup of coffee.”
Johnny pointed to the coffee pot with an
egg yoke in it. “Fresh brewed. Help
yourself.”
Johnny reached for the mushrooms and fat
free cheese. He then put the egg whites in
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a pan on a low fire, put the cheese and

mushrooms in and left the kitchen with the
egg yolks. When Johnny returned he saw an
egg he overlooked. “Damn. Oh well. Use it
next time.”
Julie looked up at Johnny puzzled. She
watched as Johnny put the egg back in the
refrigerator. As Johnny put the egg back he
spoke to Julie.
“Did you know that relatively speaking,
the earth’s crust is thinner than the shell
of a chicken egg?”
“No, I always thought the earth’s crust
was stable.”
Johnny turned the egg over as he put it
back in the refrigerator. “Oh no. Well, for
the most part it is. Man’s been making it
unstable as he drills deeper holes in the
earth’s crust. You don’t think of the earth
as a living, breathing organism. At least,
not until you’ve taken a journey into the
throat of an active volcano.” Johnny closed
the refrigerator door as he spoke.
“Sounds dangerous.”
“Yeah, but what an irresistible past
time.” Johnny winked at Julie who smiled
over her coffee cup. He retrieved the
omelet, and set it in front of Julie, then
went over and started making his own.
“Speaking of irresistible, where’s the
kid?”
Julie looked up as she spoke. “Last I
saw her she was lying upside down with her
paws in the air as she was listening to
some Pink.”
“Which one?”
“Learn to fly, I think.”
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“That’s good. At least someone else can

take over for a time. Otherwise she follows
me everywhere she possibly can.”
“She is one strange cat. She looks funny
when she’s on her back all stretched out.”
“Yeah, she does. That’ll keep her busy
for a while. Don’t tell her it’s her tuna
day. She’ll pester me until I give her
some.”
“No problem. Just keep the Floyd going.
I can’t baby-sit her forever.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean. I have some
meat dishes to prepare again for some big
banquets the mayor is giving, plus an
additional half dozen cadavers to cut into
prime cuts, turn into hamburger and put in
the dishes. Mayhap the dishes are
addictive. Seems I’m getting more requests
for my meat dishes. I’ll be busy all day
and then some, and I don’t want the kid to
be near the dangerous machinery.”
Julie just finished her omelet and wiped
her mouth. “I told you to be careful. I’m
just surprised that she’s not here
following you again as she normally does.”
Johnny sat down with his omelet. “May as
well take advantage.” He made a short order
of his omelet, went to the sink and rinsed
off the plate.
Just then the kid waltzed in, crying.
Johnny sighed and shook his head. “I knew
it. I could feel the vibrations and I knew
she’d be waking up shortly.” He sighed as
he looked at Percivella. “Okay, okay.”
Julie looked at Johnny and the kid. She
followed as they went into the front room.
Johnny and Percivella went over to the
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couch in the front room. Johnny got a

blanket out of the closet that the kid
preferred. He put this on his lap. The kid
jumped up and started crying as she
kneaded. After a couple minutes the kid
settled down on the blanket and cupped her
head in Johnny’s hand. Percivella was so
relaxed it was bordered on the pitiful. She
was a dependent independent sort of cat.
Julie watched this amazed. The kid
started snoring with contentment as Johnny
shook his head. After a few minutes the kid
got up and went to lie in a cardboard box
Johnny had in a corner of the front room.
Julie chuckled as she watched the kid.
“Do you think we should mail her to her
mother priority class now?”
Johnny smiled and laughed as he looked
at the kid. “Come on. We have some corpses
to cut up and meals to prepare.” Johnny
spoke quietly so as not to wake the kid who
resumed snoring like a dove with a squeaky
voice.
Julie and Johnny went to the laboratory.
They spent the next few hours cutting and
packing the meat of some humans.
When they came out the kid woke up. She
was crying again. Johnny smiled, looked at
the light and decided it was okay for a
time.
“What is it this time?” Julie was
looking at Percivella trying to understand
her variations.
“She wants out again.” Johnny looked at
Percivella seriously then. “Fortunately she
doesn’t know that she slept through the
night. You’re not going to go dancing with
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the coyotes, either. They’re no fun. You’ll

just have to wait until I’m a playwright
before I can play right with you.”
Julie chuckled at this ‘serious’
scolding Johnny was giving the kid. “I have
a long day ahead as well. I’ll be going in
and around the outskirts of town to pick up
what supplies I’ll need. I’ll let her out.”
Julie was chuckling as Percivella followed
her to the front door. Julie let the kid
out, and then went back to where Johnny
was.
“Be careful of my brother, Charley. I’ve
heard rumors that he’s increased the void
where he takes all of the humans and drains
their souls.”
“Any more good news?”
“Not really. Just be careful, and take
this.” Johnny held out a small weapon to
Julie. It was another laser gun that Johnny
made. Unlike his own, this one wasn’t able
of destroying on any scale anywhere near to
what his own was capable of. “It’s enough
to stun the victim at a close range.” The
time lords, having given Johnny a second
chance to try to correct his error, will
try to make sure that he is confined to the
earth if he failed to prevent Julie’s
suicide. That is, if he made any slips and
let the secret of his laser gun become
known. He made sure that the laser gun he
gave to Julie was not only disposable, but
it was a lot weaker than the one he used
while in the universe, and it couldn’t
kill. When it came to caution, it’s better
safe than sorry. If anyone ever managed to
break into the making of the laser despite
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the safety precautions that Johnny took,

then they still wouldn’t know how to
develop a laser gun to destroy. “There’s a
dozen fires in it; use it only if you have
to.”
“Will it kill?”
“No, not this one; it’ll allow you
enough time to get well away from the
danger zone, though.”
Julie looked suspiciously at Johnny.
“How is it you happened to have this on you
right now?”
“I was working on it at the time before
I started the omelets. Once the charges are
all used up it can be thrown away.
Actually, once you fire the last charge
you’ll have ten seconds to throw it away
before it self-destructs. The one tampering
with it will lose their face in five
seconds.”
“Why’d you make one to self destruct?”
“So no one else can break into how it’s
made.”
“What happens to the victim once they’re
shot? Any big gaping wounds?”
“No. They just faint. Then they wake up
a few hours later with a big headache.
Those who try to tamper with it though,
their faces blow apart.”
“What happens if I don’t throw it away
in time?”
“It’ll burn your hand. When it self-
destructs, it leaves no trace. If you throw
it on the ground, it’ll disappear upon
self-destructing. Just make sure you throw
it at least five feet from you.”

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Julie sighed and put the disposable gun

in her pocket. “I’m going back to the
cemetery for a bit.”
“Okay, fine. Just make sure that you
don’t allow anyone you don’t know to get
very close. Until my brother’s no longer a
danger, I strongly suggest that you carry
the gun.”
Julie sighed and walked out of the tyme
machine.

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Heather J. Kintyre

A FAMILY HISTORY

A few hours later as Johnny came out

from his shower, with a blue towel wrapped
around his waist, Julie walked in. It
didn’t look like she had the disposable
gun. “Johnny, can you ever be serious about
anything?”
“Sure, but there’s no fun in that. Why?”
Johnny was towel drying his hair as he
spoke.
“Because I’d like for you to tell me if
you ever had any children.”
“Oh, that. A very long time ago, yes.”
“What happened?”
“The horny guy went off and had a big
family.”
Julie laughed. “How long ago was that?”
Johnny thought for a minute. “Must be
near 15,050 years ago now. I think I ate a
few of the descendants. In fact I’m sure I
did.”
“You ate you own grand kids?”
“Not all of them. Some were nice ol’
chaps. Well, by that time the genes I once
used were practically nonexistent. The
victims really had it coming. They always
do when I take ‘em.”
“Conceit? You sound so sure of
yourself.”
“Conceit, no. Those I share with you are
of the most violent types. They love to
kill for pleasure. Like Charley they don’t
care. Charley will eat anyone. If you

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happen to be a good guy, he’ll really enjoy

the slow torturous deaths more than usual.”
“Tell me more about Charley.”
“At one time Charley and I were
brothers. We came to earth in the same tyme
machine—this one. Come to think about it,
I’m surprised that Charley didn’t take off
and go to another planet. Then again,
humans are running rampant on this planet.”
“How could he take off? You’ve got the
tyme machine.”
“True, but Charley nor I really need the
tyme machine. Well, not all of the time.”
“What?”
“It’s true. As time lords, we’re not
confined to using only the tyme machine.”
“What do you do then?”
“We fly.”
“Okay, and I’m Tinkerbell. Glad to meet
you.” Julie extended her hand to Johnny
then smiled and laughed as Johnny looked at
her puzzled.
“No, really. The tyme machine is for
saving time between long distances. Amongst
other things.” Johnny patted the wall
nearby.
“Have you been downing acid?”
Johnny checked himself. “Nope. Flesh is
still all intact.”
“LSD?”
“Oh, that. No, don’t need it. Why bother
when there’s no need for it?”
“Cute. So what speed are you capable
of?”
“At a relaxed speed, I can pass by
galaxies several hundred thousand light
years wide in about five of your seconds.”
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“That’s unheard of. Now I know you’ve

gone potty.”
“Not lately, no; that reminds me-be back
in a minute.” Johnny disappeared and
reappeared fully dressed a couple seconds
later. That’s better; anyway, don’t knock
it until you try it.”
“Yeah, sure; anyone can take off
whenever they want, they’re just lazy. Beam
me aboard, Scotty.” Julie was laughing at
Johnny’s innocence as she spoke.
“Who’s Scotty?”
Julie sighed. “Hopeless.”
“Careful, Julie. I may have to take some
drastic action.”
“Oh, like what?”
“I’ll take away your corpse privileges
for a month.” Johnny had a snobbish sound
in his voice as he spoke.
“You wouldn’t.”
“I would.”
“You can’t.”
“I can.”
“You won’t.”
“I will.”
“You shouldn’t.”
“I think I should; anyway, why not? It
can be done.”
“Except you’re a pushover, remember?”
“Oh yeah.” Johnny tried to sound
disappointed, then looked up and spoke
cheerfully. “Only to a point. Tell that to
the dearly departed corpses that line the
walk in freezer.” He looked around then.
“Speaking of which, I think I’ll change it
around again.”
“What?”
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“I need to change the room in the walk

in freezer. May as well change the rest of
the floor plan of this ol’ girl. No
offense.” Johnny patted the wall again, and
felt the tyme machine smile; she was
delighted to hear Johnny speak so as he
teased Julie. Since both of them were of a
suicidal disposition, such conversations
were good for them both. “Give it a better
decor while I’m at it.”
Johnny looked toward the kitchen. “Did
you want some coffee? I just made some
fresh brewed. I can’t stand old coffee; it
gets too green and muddy tasting when it
sits too long.” Johnny was walking into the
kitchen to pour himself some coffee. Julie
followed.
“Only if you tell me about Charley. I
really want to know.” As Julie spoke she
got herself a cup.
“Want some shoulders to go with the
coffee? Mayhap some of the arms?”
“Would you stop that? Tell me more about
Charley! And stop trying to change the
subject!” Julie was pouring some of the
coffee.
Johnny smiled as he and Julie walked
into the front room and sat down. “You’re
cute when you’re angry, by the way.” Johnny
blew a kiss at Julie who was glaring at
him, then turned red. “Oh. Oh yes. When we
were small, for a time both of us suffered
some abuse at the hands of those who were
assigned to raise us. It’s sad that humans
treat others so horribly because the
children they raise aren’t of their own
loins. Everyone is unique and would never
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be who they are, or were, if any of the

conditions in their ancestry were slightly
altered.” Johnny sighed and shook his head
as he drank some coffee. “Just another
reptilian trait humans are governed by.”
“So what happened? Why is Charley so
cruel in his methods of destruction?” Julie
was listening carefully as she drank her
coffee.
“Charley couldn’t see, understand, and
embrace the balance. He took a more
negative view to all human life-typical of
the ignorant. Not just the cruel ones. I
tried to help him, but you can only help so
much. Then they use you, like a sociopath,
without mercy. It was then that we parted
company. It’s funny. I never missed him
that much. Actually, if I ever saw him
again it’d be too soon.”
“So now what’ll you do if you do meet
Charley again after all these years?”
“I’ll have no choice but to kill him.
Well, there is an alternate method, but
it’s very dangerous. It’s the only way to
stop him and save his life. If I don’t stop
Charley first, he’ll certainly kill me. He
wants the tyme machine so he can create a
mass destruction throughout the universe.
Mayhap the others as well.”
“The others?”
“Yep. Something I learned upon carbon
copying Carl’s memories during his
restoration was there's more than the two I
once went into. I’m rather anxious to
explore them, also.”
“Tell me more. In fact, tell me about
all of it.”
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“No, Julie. ‘Blue World’ Moody Blues and

‘Opposite Tables’ John Denver.”
“What?’
“Oh, I forgot you’re not that familiar
with the references. Sorry. It’s a
shorthand that Carl used because of his
speech problem.”
“Explain yourself.”
“It was a way for Carl to give lengthy
discussions without spending a lot of time
talking. I just forgot that you aren’t
familiar with a lot of the music I listen
to.” Johnny smiled then resumed drinking
his coffee. “Put another way, there’s
knowledge that’s best left unsaid. Remember
what happened when Einstein made it public
about his discovery of how to split the
atom?”
“The eventual H-bomb.”
“Exactly. There are a lot of things Carl
learned about me. He knows that I have
information that could easily destroy one
or all species using nonviolent means. If
the knowledge were to be made known to you,
then once you were put under torture, all
of what I told you could be revealed and
made known to Charley or anyone else. This
world and many more would die.”
“Ah, come on. Try to make my day and
give it a go. Who’s going to notice me
anyway?’
“Charley already has, according to the
tyme machine. He would love to have such
knowledge. He’d drain you to get it; he’s
probably thinking of ways to get close
enough to take you. He’d love to use it to
destroy all life on this planet. Seth’s
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Heather J. Kintyre

destruction would look like kindergarten

attempts in comparison.” Johnny looked at
Julie’s pocket, and didn’t see any bulge.
“That reminds me. Do you still have the gun
I gave you?” Johnny took another disposable
gun out of a pocket and placed it on the
table.
“Yes.”
“Good. Have you used many charges? Need
another?”
“No, I’m okay. I can take care of
myself.”
“To a point. Never underestimate your
enemy. Charley’s no one to discard so
easily. Should he torture you, the Spanish
Inquisition methods will pale in
comparison.”
“No, really I’m fine. I haven’t used
any. Guns are too noisy, anyway.” Julie
looked at the disposable on the table.
“Why’d you develop this disposable gun
anyway?”
“Mostly because I can’t run anymore in
this body. Anyway, I found it’s easier and
faster to reel the victims in with this
type of gun. Not only that, but I don’t
have to worry about getting the victims to
a more secluded spot.”
“What’s this gun do?” Julie was looking
at the disposable gun.
“It makes the victim faint. They remain
unconscious long enough for me or you to
get them ‘help’ via the tyme machine.”
“Why a disposable gun, though? Wouldn’t
it be better to have a gun that can
reload?”

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“Yes, but if the gun ever fell into the

wrong hands it could be taken apart,
revealing how it and the internal workings
were made. That disposable gun, like the
other one, will automatically self-destruct
as soon as it’s tampered with, leaving no
traces. I couldn’t do that with a
refillable version.” Johnny smiled as he
spoke; he knew that to tell Julie of his
own weapon would be too dangerous, since
Zeus would be reading her every thought and
action since her birth; the knowledge was
unnecessary for Julie, anyway. “Want to
help me bring in one of the victims?”
“Maybe. What do I have to do?”
“First you’d better take the gun. Then
just make yourself out as a woman walking
alone on a seemingly empty street.”
“Sounds easy enough.”
“It will be. When he starts to get
close, use the gun.”
“Oh. Do I have to?”
“Yes. And don’t worry about the noise. I
already took care of that.” Johnny knew
that until Julie saw the gun in action,
she’d never use it. His brother Charley
being at large, Johnny wanted to take no
chances with his ward.
Within the hour Julie and Johnny got
ready and went to a location nearby a
prison where the next victim was soon to be
walking a deserted street near by. Johnny
hid himself nearby just in case Julie
refused to use her gun. As arranged, the
killer soon arrived. Upon seeing Julie
alone he started to go after her. Julie
looked at the man, frozen. She had the gun
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in her pocket, but she refused to use it,

as Johnny knew she would. Johnny raised his
gun and fired at the man. The man
immediately fainted at Julie’s feet.
As Johnny walked out of hiding, Julie
looked at him in puzzlement. “I didn’t hear
anything. What happened?”
“I fired my gun. I told you, I took care
of the noise problem.”
Johnny started picking up the criminal.
Julie was looking at the criminal Johnny
hoisted over his shoulder, like he was a
gunnysack of rice. He paused briefly, and
the tyme machine appeared looking like a
medical clinic. “Don’t worry about it,
Julie. This man’s out for several hours at
least.” Johnny stopped at the tyme
machine’s double doors, now open. “After
you, Julie.” Johnny and Julie walked in the
tyme machine. The doors closed silently. A
gurney was near the front door. Johnny
walked over and laid the criminal on the
gurney, then wheeled him into the
laboratory. After Julie and Johnny were
safely inside with the doors shut, the tyme
machine silently went back to the secluded
location.
As Johnny took the unconscious body to
the laboratory, Julie went into the kitchen
to make some coffee. “Nothing personal, ol’
chap, but just in case you wake up too
soon, I can’t have you escaping.” As Johnny
was talking he was strapping the criminal
with restraints so he couldn’t move. “I’d
rather like to have more coffee before I
start the slaughter. I’m sure you won’t
mind the delay.”
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Johnny stood back after he finished.

“Yes, that should do it.” Johnny picked up
one of the aprons he always used to keep
the mess off his clothes. It was due for a
good cleaning and not just a rinsing, which
Johnny had been doing instead.
“Hello, Johnny. Coffee’s just made.”
Julie handed Johnny a cup. After she drank
a cup of coffee, Julie yawned and left to
go back to her crypt and The Baron.
As Johnny was drinking another cup of
Kenya AA coffee, while still in human form,
he decided to do some painting. Johnny has
an artists’ talent similar to Leonardo
DaVinci, who was his student and later his
teacher part time. The skylight is
revealing a starry starry night. There’s an
oil painting before him. The scene is of
snow-covered mountains with streams,
animals of all kinds and a sweet, gentle
and beautiful music in the air.
Johnny couldn’t concentrate after a time
so he went outdoors. The night sky called
to him. The stars twinkle and shine very
bright. He shape changed into a phoenix. He
took off, flying up and out of the
atmosphere. He saw some passing comets, so
he flew over and slipstreamed a couple.
After a while he saw a lovely planet; he
started doing loops, then dove into the
planets atmosphere, far away from the
planet he started from. As he touched the
planets surface, Johnny’s immersed in a
liquid, not unlike water, but not water. He
shape changed to a dolphin.
Johnny was swimming gracefully
performing twirls, swirls and somersaults
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with the greatest of ease. He swam this way

for a very long time. Then the night sky
called to him again, and back into the
universe Johnny must go.
Once again Johnny shape changed, this
time into a large golden hawk flying beyond
the atmosphere of the planet he left
behind. He flew back to the planet earth.
Although many years have passed since
Johnny left, he time travelled backward so
that no time passed on earth. His cup of
Kenya AA coffee is still hot as he picked
it up and took a sip, smiling to himself
sadly as he drank and looked at his
painting. He sighed as he looked at the
painting and some others he’s done. Alas,
it’s all very nice, but still not very
good. When Johnny finished his cup of
coffee, he went back into the kitchen for a
refill.
As Johnny was walking into the kitchen,
Timmy Timid looked up in horror. She was in
the middle of eating some dry cat food just
before the kitchen door. Johnny smiled,
trying to make her relax. “I caught you in
the act. Stealing food again, I see. You
can’t deny it, Timmy. It’s okay, this time;
I’m not gonna kill you. I’m too tired just
now so take it easy. I just need to go over
to the sink. I sure needed that break.”
Johnny smiled sadly and sighed. He walked
slowly and quietly past Timmy as he
remembered the massive amount of work he
now had to take care of after his many
years away. Timmy looked at Johnny with her
big saucer eyes as though she didn’t trust
Johnny. “Timmy, when have I ever killed
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you? Would you stop it? When have I ever

hurt you? Stop making me feel so guilty.”
Johnny got an idea then. “I know what you
need. Cream. Want some cream?” Timmy Timid
no longer looked scared as she looked at
Johnny with a gleam of hope in her eye.
“That’s better. Here you go.” Johnny put
some whip cream on a plate for Timmy, and
then placed it in front of her. Johnny
petted Timmy a little as she started on the
whip cream. “You see? You just needed your
raisin plumped. Your brain was getting too
dry, that’s all. Now don’t go screaming
down the hall again just because I’m here.
I’m still no monster.”
Johnny went back into the laboratory to
take care of the criminal who was waiting
to be slaughtered. This one was going to
grace the tables of a fancy dinner the
mayor was giving for some ‘supposedly’
important politicians.
Several hours passed, and Johnny finally
came out of the laboratory carrying the
messy apron. It had a lot of bloody lumps
on it, as usual. Johnny started making
himself some Kenya AA coffee and cleaning
up. Timmy came in with her timid manner.
She looked so pitifully at Johnny that he
stopped in the middle of preparing the
coffee. He then smiled and dished out some
more whip cream for her. “Here you go. Eat
hardy, matey.” Johnny smiled at Timmy with
her big saucer eyes. He carefully put the
plate down, stood up and went back to take
care of the bloody apron. There were traces
of fresh blood and old ones from some of
the corpses Johnny cut up. He was loading
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the washing machine after rinsing some of

the bloody lumps off of the clothes when
Julie walked in. Timmy Timid was half
finished with the whip cream by then. Julie
was walking into the kitchen, walking
slower as she got closer to Timmy. Timmy
looked at Julie with no terror in her eyes.
Julie looked at Timmy surprised. “Well,
that’s a first. Timmy’s not running away in
terror from me.” Julie spoke quietly as she
passed by Timmy.
“That’s because I gave her some cream.
Plumped up her raisin of a brain.”
Julie looked like she just woke up a
little while before.
“How was your night? Are the corpses
behaving themselves? I suppose the Baron’s
sleeping with the dead.” Johnny smiled at
Julie amused.
“Very funny. It’s nothing I can’t handle
for a change.” Julie glared back at Johnny,
letting Johnny know she wasn’t amused at
his comment.
Julie opened up a bottle of pills and
took out a pink coloured one.
“Pain?”
“Yeah. Nerves were destroyed in my hands
causing the muscles to act up on occasion.
It gets annoying when you’re trying to keep
a tight grip on something.”
“Not to mention dangerous when it’s
heavy weights you’re lifting. Better stick
to the machines.”
“I intend to. I’ve often had to take the
weight off by transferring to my feet.
Can’t do that with free weights.”

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“That’s true.” Johnny was gathering some

eggs from the refrigerator.
“Want an omelet?”
“No thanks. Already had something to
eat.” Julie sat down at one of the dining
room chairs.
“Dining on the corpses again?”
“Sure. No sense in ruining a good thing.
I’ll just have some coffee if you don’t
mind.”
Julie started to walk closer to Timmy.
She forgot to slow back as she approached
Timmy Timid.
“Julie, when you approach Timmy, you
always have to walk slower so she won’t
think you’re trying to kill her.”
Timmy Timid looked at Julie and sprinted
out of the kitchen.
“Great. Forgot, sorry.” Julie yawned as
she started to walk again.
“Don’t worry about it. I’ve been around
Timmy since she was born and it still took
well over two years before she wouldn’t
stop running away from me upon sight.
You’re lucky. She’s not taking as long with
you.”
“Wonderful,” Julie grumbled. She went
over to the cupboard and got herself a cup,
then poured herself a cup of coffee.
Johnny prepared his omelet and sat down
at the table. Julie was then almost ready
for her second cup of coffee.
“I have another human to take out. Care
to join me?”
“Depends. What’d this one do?” Julie
drank the rest of the coffee and went over
to pour herself some more.
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“He’s another mass murderer. He’s being

released reluctantly by the jailers.”
“Why? If he’s so violent, either kill
him or keep him off of the streets.” Julie
walked over and resumed sitting and
drinking her coffee.
“That only happens in a perfect world.
Reality is that they have to release the
hard core violent offenders to make way for
the non violent ones.”
“That’s stupid.”
“I know. It’s only going to get worse
before, if ever, it gets better. Therefore,
since society refuses to kill the guy
because of their stupid religious morals, I
have to kill him before he kills more
innocents. Care to come?”
Julie sipped her coffee as she thought
about it. “He sounds dangerous. Is he
guaranteed to attack?”
“Given the chance, yes.”
“Yeah, sure. Now that I know the gun
won’t take my hearing away.”
Johnny laughed. “Julie, if you try to
use a gun in public, it’s bound to be
noticed when it makes any noise. It’s a lot
easier if it makes no noise at all.”
“It doesn’t give out a high frequency I
hope.”
“Nope. The kid wouldn’t allow that, even
if it wasn’t damaging.”
“What’s the kid got to do with it?”
“It’s her perfect pitch. She’s a
complainer. She yells enough at me as it
is. That’s also why she has to listen to
her music as she eats her tuna.”

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Julie chuckled as she drank the rest of

her coffee. She got a refill then went into
another room.
Johnny left only to return to the
kitchen shortly. As Johnny was entering the
kitchen Percivella followed and was talking
to him.
“Ah. Hah—hah.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Ah.”
“I just gave you some.”
“Ah—ah.”
“Oh, dear. I swear I did. I gave it all
and then some.” Johnny tried to sound
worried with his hands open. “See?” He held
them out for Percivella to smell.
“AAH! AH-AAH.” She didn’t believe
Johnny.
“Never. I gave it all at the office.
Honest, I did.” Johnny spoke in a
complaining and whiny tone of voice, with a
touch of the mournful howl he picked up
from his years spent living with a pack of
wolves. “How do you expect tuna to recover
when you keep demanding more all the time?”
“Ah. Ah-ah.” Percivella was walking in
front and rubbing against Johnny’s legs
with a ‘come on and give in’ body language.
“Okay, okay. I’ll get you another can.”
Johnny sighed, stood up and got a can out
Julie just walked in from the other room
going for some more coffee. “The kid’s
rather chatty again. Are you sure she’s not
part Siamese?”
Johnny looked at the kid closely. “Yep.
I’m sure. No Siamese lines.”

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“What’s she want this time, as if I

didn’t know?”
“Another can.” Johnny sighed. “I’m just
glad she’s not addicted to ‘Coke’ or some
other expensive substance. She’d cost me a
fortune in supplies.”
“You might want to keep your voice down.
She might hear you and get ideas.”
“That’s true.”
The kid was walking around the kitchen
floor impatiently. “Ah. Hah—hah.”
Johnny looked at the kid mockingly.
“Okay, okay, hold your horses. I’m gettin’
it. The things you make me do.”
Julie was smiling and shaking her head.
“How do you understand her?”
“I just do. Carl grew up with cats. They
taught him how to read body language.”
Johnny looked at the kid as he opened up a
can of tuna. “And how to understand them.
Typical of the cats; they’re so pushy.
Anything else while I’m here little one?”
“Hah.” The kid looked at Johnny with a
gleam of mischief in her eyes.
Johnny shook his head. “I should’ve
known.” Johnny went over and pressed some
buttons on the wall that controlled the
music. ‘Learn To Fly’ by Pink Floyd was
soon heard playing. “She wants some music
as usual, while she eats her tuna.”
Julie was laughing now. “Are you
finished with your chores now? Or does her
majesty require anything else?”
“Let’s not stay to find out.”
Julie and Johnny left the kitchen and
went into the living room.

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JUSTICE SERVED

The telephone rang in the front room by

the control panel. “You expecting any phone
calls?”
“Nope. Better answer it, though. Might
be important.” Julie looked at the phone
curiously.
Johnny walked over and answered the
phone. The conversation was short. When it
was over, Johnny walked over to Julie with
a disappointed look on his face.
“Seems we have another violent criminal
to take out. This one’s a bomber. The
charity dinner at the rec. hall was
postponed.”
“Oh?”
“The bomb is scheduled to go off when
the rec. hall’s at a full capacity, not
before.”
“Can they find the bomb?”
“No one’s found anything yet.”
“Probably won’t, either.” Julie drank
some more coffee after she spoke.
Johnny looked at Julie then
questioningly. “Come again?”
“If it were me and I planned to kill a
lot of people with a bomb, I’d make the
threat first, then when the anxiety died
down I’d plant the bomb. Then I could blow
the place to smithereens while it was full
of people.”
“Yeah, that’s a possibility. If it were
myself, I’d say nothing and just do it. Now
I need to figure out this guys’ movements

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Heather J. Kintyre

so I can take him out. After all, I have a

lot of meat and dishes that will go to
waste if they aren’t used within a short
period of time.”
“Not to mention a lot of disappointed
people who go to those charity dinners not
for the meetings but only for the meals.”
Johnny smiled and scoffed at the
comment. “I’ll be in the lab working if you
need me.”
“Okay. I think I’ll clean up a bit
before I go back to the cemetery.” Julie
walked back into the kitchen and was
gathering up some dishes. After she cleaned
up the dishes, she went into the bathroom
and had a hot shower.
The laboratory was adjoining the
kitchen, but Johnny preferred to use the
other entrance located just on the other
side of the front room. Some hours passed
while Johnny was cutting up several humans.
Most of them were going to be used in the
charity dinner. With a sigh, Johnny went
into the kitchen and made some coffee and
warmed up some ribs.
The Kid walked in and started demanding
more of her tuna.
“Okay, okay, what day is it?” Johnny
went out and looked at a calendar. It was
an odd day. He smiled at the Kid. “It’s
your lucky day. Not to mention mine, since
you tend to get too grouchy. Even the
kneading can’t cure it for too long.”
Johnny and Percivella walked into the
kitchen. Johnny spoke as he opened her can
of tuna. “At least it’s not caviar or fancy
salmon.” After he scraped the tuna out, he
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went over and made himself some coffee.

When it was done he poured himself a cup.
Johnny had a favorite coffee cup that had a
mirror image on it of two pigs. On their
bodies were hearts. They had wings also
with hearts instead of feathers. It was a
spoof of an old play that Johnny never
cared to see. After he had his coffee,
Johnny got up to stretch. He then left the
tyme machine and walked out to enjoy the
rest of the day.
Johnny was walking along when he heard a
commotion ahead of him. He cloaked himself
when he saw no one else around. He then
went as close as he could without having to
bear the bombardment of the body language
from the humans.
A man was positioned on top of a church
tower. He had a rifle and a handgun. Johnny
was watching the man who was very depressed
according to his body language. He was
starting to take pot shots at the humans
below. It’s obviously his intention to do
some killing before he took his own life.
From what Johnny can tell, the man has a
lot of anger and sadness in his mind. It’s
very likely that no one he’d ever known was
able to understand and comfort him when he
was so overcome with extreme pain. Johnny
watched as the humans started to gawk and
squawk at the man, now drawing a large
crowd. As he shot at them the people run
away.
As Johnny continued to watch, he saw how
the man changed from who he normally was.
Someone or something else was guiding his
final hour and was in complete control in
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Heather J. Kintyre

his last few minutes. Johnny knew such an

entity; he called it the Cold One. The Cold
One is a perfect sociopath that often takes
over humans, changing them into a perfect
Sociopath. Those who resist like this man
commit suicide. Now the Cold One, who took
the man over when he killed the man’s soul,
laughs at the scattering humans below. The
man may have tried at one time to control
the Cold One, but apparently the man was
being bombarded with too much too soon, and
he lost control as the Cold One now had
control over him. The man now knows that he
has to die, or give up and become a
sociopath like so many others who
surrendered to the Cold One. It’s a last
desperate attempt to destroy the Cold One,
saving whatever may be left of his soul.
As Johnny watched the man, he saw him
succumbing to the very dark and cold void
Johnny was once within himself. As Johnny
remembered the void, he reflected on how
he’d never known such darkness except once
before. It’s not just cold; it’s a very
painful death of the soul. It almost
consumed Johnny, and then Pluto released
him. Pluto was a terrifying god, and one of
Zeus’ brothers. He was also a perfect
gentleman, and very nice. Johnny remembered
when he felt the voids presence and it
frightened him.
As Johnny kept watch, he saw that the
man was within a few seconds of ending his
life. The man’s no longer afraid as he’s
swallowed his fears, making fear his
backbone. He knew he couldn't afford to be
afraid now. With a great despair the man
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aimed the handgun at the upper temple of

his brain, tilted about 45°, and pulled the
trigger. Blood sprayed everywhere and
rained down on the crowd below him that was
too close. Johnny sighed as he watched the
man’s tragic end.
Pan shook his head sadly. Such a sad
world when good people have to die. The
Butchdyke’s of society mold their children
of fear who often grow up, taking their
lives eventually or, like Julie, trying to.
One day soon only the Butchdyke’s will
survive. Mayhap then they’ll all slit one
another’s throats as their criminal minds
go into full tilt. That would be nice. Then
in the process of evolution, another race-
better than the last one, can take over.
Johnny shook his head sadly as he resumed
walking a while longer, then returned to
the tyme machine. Johnny went in and
started for the kitchen.
Julie was putting some dishes away as
Johnny was making some coffee to go with
some leg thighs he was preparing for a
snack. Julie couldn’t help be curious about
the human corpses that now kept piling up.
Johnny was rearranging his laboratory to
keep up with the increased population of
human corpses. After Johnny made the
coffee, he went into the front room.
Percivella walked in. She started rubbing
her ear hard. Johnny walked up to her and
smiled as he checked her ears. “Oh good.
Just in time to help me.” Johnny stood up
and went to get some Q-Tips and heavy
mineral oil.

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Julie walked into the living room as

Johnny returned with the mineral oil.
Johnny started cleaning the kid’s ears out.
“What are you doing, Johnny?”
“Oh, the kid and I are gonna clean our
ears out then wax the skeletons down that
are in the closet.” Johnny smiled at Julie
as he was gently taking the excess wax out
of the kid’s ears. He had a tissue nearby
that he was putting the q-tips on.
Julie shook her head, groaned and rolled
her eyes. “I should know better by now. Ask
a stupid question.” Julie shook her head in
dismay. “Johnny, don’t you ever feel the
slightest bit guilty about eating human
flesh? I remember what you said about you
not being of the human race. You are in a
human body, though. Doesn’t that make you
feel the slightest bit uncomfortable when
eating another human?”
“No, not really. Actually, I’m just
skipping a step or two.”
“What? You lost me again.”
Johnny took the tissue of Q-Tips, stood
up and then took them to the trash. “If you
think about it, we’re all cannibals.”
“How do you figure that one?”
“When a human dies, the body nourishes
the worms, the trees, and vegetation in the
area; some is consumed by the humans,
others by other animals. When they die, the
nutrition is carried into other areas over
the earth. It fertilizes the trees, soils
and whatever else that feed the cattle,
etc., which in turn gets consumed by human
and other animals alike. This is more
direct, and I’m just skipping a few steps.”
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Johnny gave Julie his angelic smile that

always took her off guard.
Julie smiled, sighed and shook her head.
“Ask and ye shall receive. Remind me not to
ask any more ‘guilt’ questions, okay?”
Johnny laughed as he got up and went
into the kitchen to resume preparing the
human thighs for one of his meat dishes.
“Okay.”
“Johnny, I was wondering, well,...”
“Another ‘guilt’ question, Julie?”
“No, not that. I’m not sure how to ask.
I have no complaints about the meat. It’s
great. I just wonder why you don’t use
other animal sources as well.”
“I prefer to leave the non human animals
alone. I have used some, when they were
dying in agony and I had to kill them to
end their torture. I just prefer not to use
them. Humans really do have it comin’
anyway.”
“Okay, just curious.”
Johnny smiled and they both resumed
fixing the meals. When it was done they
started eating the delicious human thighs
Johnny prepared.
“I sure wish you’d let me in on how you
do these meals.”
“Can’t, Julie. If the knowledge ever got
any further, we’d both suffer.”
“I know.” Julie sighed and they resumed
eating in silence.
When Johnny finished and saw Julie was
also finished he smiled. “I think I’ll go
for a walk now. Sometimes a long walk’s in
order after a meal. Care to join me, my
dear?”
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Heather J. Kintyre

“No that’s okay, I’ll just clean up a

bit before I go back to the mausoleum.”
Johnny smiled and took a light jacket as
he started out the tyme machine.
“Lock up when you leave.” Johnny wasn’t
worried, since he knew that the tyme
machine would automatically lock once Julie
left.
“All right.” Julie smiled at Johnny who
went out for his walk.
As Johnny was walking along a dirt road,
he time travelled back in time. When the
area stabilized, he looked over the
beautiful countryside. On one side were
trees, and beyond the trees some flat
terrain that continued for a couple of
miles. Beyond that some rolling hills were
seen. On the other side was a lake. Beyond
the lake and into the distance were some
snow-covered mountains. Johnny started
walking toward the snow-covered mountains.
At the foot of the first mountain far far
below the base were some tall pine trees in
a valley of green. Johnny resumed his walk,
around the base of the mountain. After a
while Johnny came to the secluded area
where he could relax and be with the
wildlife. There’s another large area of
vast painted deserts before the forest
started. The wildlife has no fear of
another human invading their privacy, never
having known violence. There are many trees
around Johnny. Some are small while others
are large shade trees. The trees house many
different animals. A wide variety of birds,
squirrels and other tree dwellers can be
seen.
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Johnny took to living amongst the

wildlife part time for the past few years
now. Everyone who lives around Johnny knows
and loves him well. He was a best friend to
everyone of a gentle nature. The winters
were always violent but the area around
Johnny has remained untouched by the
destructive hand of nature or man. Sunsets
are colourful as the skies are all on fire.
This winter is different. A massive
lightning storm is taking place. Many of
Johnny’s wildlife friends have already
died. He’s sheltered all of those he could,
but many more are dying. It breaks his
heart to bury them under the trees they
once lived in, or in a favorite spot of an
area they lived on. When the devastating
winter ends, half of his wildlife friends
are dead. Johnny knew that they would’ve
preferred that he not mourn their lives too
long. Life continued on for those living,
regardless of any changes that take place.
Life and death are often cruel that way.
The living is often left behind to deal
with life’s cruelties.
Johnny turned back in disgust after the
winter ended. He needed a change from the
area he was in. He headed back to the tyme
machine and set the controls to go back to
the time and place he left, so no time
would seem to have gone by.
Johnny was making more coffee shortly
after he returned from his walk. As the
coffee brewed he went into the lab to look
at some slides. After a few minutes he went
into the kitchen, made a light snack and

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drank the coffee. When he finished he went

back into the laboratory for a few hours.
Julie entered while Johnny was in the
laboratory, and not seeing Johnny she went
to get herself a snack out of the
refrigerator. She had her back turned, and
didn’t hear Johnny approach. Johnny crept
up behind Julie and grabbed her. Julie
jumped like a live wire upon contact. She
yelped in surprise. “What the hell are you
trying to do to me, Johnny? Scare the shit
out of me? You could at least wait until
I’m constipated before you do that.” Johnny
started laughing, and when Julie realized
what she said, she joined in. “Hello,
Johnny. How was your walk?” Julie gave
Johnny a kiss and a hug.
“Nice. I wish they all were so
refreshing.” Johnny smiled sadly at Julie
as he released her from his embrace.
“Poor Johnny. Always haunted with the
bad memories. How is it that you were the
one to survive with such horrors?”
“That’s an unsolvable question. You may
as well ask why the moon isn’t made out of
green coloured Swiss cheese.”
Julie sighed as she looked at Johnny,
shaking her head. She resumed getting some
meat out. She took what she was going to
eat and put the rest away. She warmed it up
and got herself some mango juice as she
prepared the table for her snack.
Johnny went into another part of the
tyme machine. He was looking for his laser
gun and a backup of refills. Using a mental
conversation, the tyme machine told Johnny
the gun and a refill was in the old antique
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drawer in the ancient gallery. Johnny

unlocked the drawer, took the gun and
refill out then went back to the front
room. Julie just finished eating.
“Actually, I just came back to ask you
if you’d like to come with me. I have to
take one of the violent criminals out
again. Care to join me?”
“Okay. Let me get a sweater.” Julie took
the sweater hanging on the coat rack as
Johnny and Julie left the tyme machine.
“Killing doesn’t seem to bother you too
much, does it?”
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“What I mean is, don’t you feel that
you’re putting yourself on the killers
level every time you kill one of the
victims?”
“No, not really. Do other humans feel
they are putting themselves on the level of
every animal they kill or eat for food?
What I’m doing is not only gathering my own
food supply, but making life a little
easier for the remaining two faced humans
who refuse to kill them.”
“No guilt whatsoever?” Julie and Johnny
were walking out of the tyme machine.
“Nope.”
“What if the victim is wealthy?” When
they stepped outside, the tyme machine’s
doors closed and locked. They started
walking towards the prison nearby.
“What about it?”
“Well, wouldn’t that make a difference?”
“No. I don’t care what their material
worth is. If they’re violent, I’ll kill
them. They can’t hide forever behind their
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wealth. I’ll take them, no matter what.”

Johnny paused then. “Now that you mention
it, the criminal we have to kill next is a
very wealthy man. Still, for all his wealth
and refinement, he’s a killer.”
“You aren’t persuaded or awed by such
things, are you?”
“Nope. I don't care if they're God. If
they qualify, I’ll either save their lives
somewhere down the road, making their lives
easier, or I’ll decorate my table with them
as my dinner. That is, if I don’t serve
them in another charity drive.”
“Pick a few bones?”
“You’ve got it. At least they’re not as
bony as perch.” Johnny smiled, as Julie
looked puzzled. “That reminds me. When can
I have your bones for the laboratory?”
Johnny smiled and Julie played along with
the joke.
“Later.”
“Well, I just thought since I’ll be
butchering this guy, I could also remove
your skeleton at the same time while I’m at
it. I could even skin you alive if you
want, free of charge.”
“No thanks. I’ll pass on your generous
offer.”
“What’s the reason for refusal this
time?”
“It’d hurt.”
“Oh. Well, I could give you an
anesthetic first.” Johnny was sounding
hopeful.
“No, I never trusted those drugs. What
if it wore off before you were finished?”

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“That is a risk, but a very small one.”

Johnny was rubbing his chin in thought.
“No, really. It’s okay. You don’t need
to be bothered with having to go through
the trouble of removing my skeleton just
yet. Besides, what about afterwards?”
“What do you mean?”
“The recovery time would be very
painful.” Julie tried to sound very
serious.
“Well, then how about I keep you doped
up?”
“Nah, I’d rather not become a drug
addict, thanks anyway. It’s bad enough
having to remain addicted to food and
fluids to stay alive.”
“Yeah, that’s a point. Well, when can I
have the bones, then?”
“I guess you’ll just have to wait until
I’m dead.”
“Awe, gees; that sucks. It takes all the
fun out of it.” Johnny made a little kid-
pouting attempt.
“Better luck next time.” Julie was
smiling as she thought about the imagery of
it.
“Spoil sport.” Johnny sniffed playfully.
Johnny was looking at Julie as a kid who
had his favorite candy yanked away.
“I’ll tell you what I’ll do, Johnny.”
Johnny perked up and looked at Julie
with a malicious twinkle of hope in his
eyes.
“Upon successfully committing suicide,
you can skin me afterwards, taking the
skeleton for your laboratory. You can even

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use the skin for tanning purposes if you

desire. How’s that sound?”
“Sounds great. Will you let me know
after you die?” Johnny mockingly asked.
“I don’t think I can, but I’ll try.”
Julie looked up ahead at the criminal.
“Oh, okay. Seems I’ll have to settle for
that or nothing at all.” Johnny was
grumbling to himself as he spoke. Julie was
chuckling.
“As I recall, Jim Morrison tried to
cross the boundary after he died. He never
made it back to the living. What makes you
think I could do any better?”
“Good point. Damn. So if you die
somewhere else, I’ll never get word of it
so I can take the bones. How could you?”
Johnny pouted and Julie snickered. She
looked at a figure walking up ahead.
“Call me selfish." Julie smiled. "I
think there’s our target.” Julie was
looking into the distance, and saw a man in
prison garb walking across the street as
yet a few blocks away.
Johnny spied the freshly released
criminal. He handed Julie her disposable
gun.
“Now remember. Let him get up close to
you.”
“How close is that?”
“About ten feet or so.”
“Oh, that’s not bad. I was hoping to
have some distance between me and the
criminal.”
“Well, I don’t like physical contact
myself. Not when it’s violent. Ten feet
will allow you to shoot point blank.”
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Julie saw the criminal. He hadn’t seen

Julie and Johnny yet.
“Okay, got it. Go hide.” Julie was
walking along with the gun concealed in her
left pocket, her hand ready to aim and
shoot when he got close enough.
As predicted, the criminal started
walking towards Julie upon seeing her. His
pace picked up. As he walked he held
himself more rigid, as if ready to brace
himself for using some strength as he
knocked Julie out. Julie looked at the
criminal calmly, smiled a bit to reel him
in. When he got twelve feet away, Julie
took the gun out of her pocket, aimed and
shot him. He immediately fell to the ground
in a dead faint. She looked at the criminal
amazed. “Amazing. It worked so fast! How’d
you do that?”
“Secret ingredient.”
“Don’t tell me. Another secret you’ll
take to your grave.”
“Yep.” As Johnny spoke, the tyme machine
appeared nearby, looking like a medical
clinic. He then bent down, hoisted the
criminal over his shoulders like a sack of
sugar and started walking towards the tyme
machine. “Shall we?” Johnny spoke to Julie,
motioned with his free arm in the direction
of the tyme machine. “After you.”
Julie smiled and went in front of
Johnny; the tyme machine doors opened as
Julie and Johnny went inside. He then
placed the unconscious criminal on the
gurney Johnny kept near the front door for
such purposes. The doors closed silently as
soon as they were over the threshold.
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THE BREAK

“Just look at that slob. I think we’ll

be able to get some chops off of this one,
at least.”
“That is, if he’s not all diseased.
Appearances can and often are deceiving.”
Julie was looking over the corpse. His skin
was badly damaged from acne scarring. He
wasn’t very attractive.
“Too true, Julie. It’s unfortunate about
the skin. Well, there might be some I can
salvage. Have to drain him first. While he
drains I’ll check him for bad meat.”
“Sounds like a good idea. Want some
coffee while you wait to get into the more
heavy duty work?”
“Sure. Use the Kenya AA on the second
shelf, towards the back.”
Julie was looking over the criminal.
“Johnny, there’s an experiment I’d like to
try. Save the hair for me, okay?”
“Sure thing.” Johnny looked puzzled at
Julie. “Care to enlighten me?”
“No, I won’t reveal my experiment before
its time. If it works, fine. Only then will
I tell you what it is. If not, fine. You’ll
never know about it.”
“Should I cut it off or do you want the
scalp?”
“I’d prefer the scalp, if you don’t
mind.” Johnny sighed as he looked at the
criminal. Julie never asked for the hair
off any of the victims before. This one had
a rather unusual shade of light brown, but

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nothing special that he could see. Johnny

shrugged his shoulders, shook his head and
wheeled the criminal in for his blood
draining.
When Johnny wheeled the criminal in the
laboratory, he put the cuffs on the ankles
of the feet and went over to a wheel
against the wall. It controlled the chain
that went up a ways, wrapped around a
couple pulleys, and then dropped down, with
the cuffs attached to the ends. Johnny
turned the wheel four turns then went
towards the gurney.
As Johnny passed the criminal, he patted
the rear end. “Don’t worry. I never leave
anyone hanging around for too long.”
The criminal groaned. In a weak voice he
spoke. “That’s nice.”
Johnny didn’t expect an answer, and he
looked back at the criminal astonished.
“What was that?”
The criminal groaned. “Water, please.”
Johnny was rubbing his chin in thought.
“The charges must be going weak after a
certain period of time. You should be out
for several more hours, surely.”
The criminal groaned. “Water, please.
And don’t ever call me surly.”
Johnny smiled. “A wise guy. In a bit;
I’ll be right back.”
Johnny shot another charge into the
criminal then and left the laboratory for
the living room. Julie had a couple cups of
coffee she was setting on the coffee table.
“How’s the patient?”
“He’s coming around.”

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Julie looked at Johnny wide-eyed. “You

jest.”
“Nope. He asked me not to call him
surly. Have no fear. He’s hanging around.
He can’t get out of the cuffs.” Johnny sat
down in his chair.
Johnny leaned forward quickly. Julie was
white as sheet. Julie was looking beyond
Johnny towards the laboratory. “Never count
your chickens before they’re hatched.”
Johnny looked quickly at Julie as though
to decipher some hidden message in her
face. What he saw was a look of someone who
was watching some life force approaching
from behind. Johnny slowly turned, and sure
enough the criminal was standing before the
back of Johnny’s chair with a wire wrapped
in both of his hands. The wire was drawn
tight as though ready to place it around
Johnny’s neck once he sat down, preventing
Johnny from putting his hand or anything
else between his neck and the wire. The
criminal had a maniacal smile on his face.
Johnny calmly put his coffee cup down, then
stood up and faced the criminal. “Hello, my
dear chap. We were just talking about you.
Care to join us?” Johnny looked at the
criminal with a pleasant smile that went to
an icy look as he finished speaking.
The criminal wasn’t used to being talked
to in such a manner. Puzzled, he was taken
aback. It was just time enough for Johnny
to reach into his pocket and take his gun
out, then shoot the criminal again.
Julie looked at the criminal with
distrust. “Are you sure that he’s out for a
while?”
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“Long enough for me to drain him right

away as I should’ve done in the first
place.” Johnny hoisted him over his
shoulder again and took him back to the
lab. This time Johnny handcuffed him to the
wall as well as shackled his ankles. Then
Johnny took some chain and looped the chain
through some hooks beside the criminal,
chaining him to the wall as well. He then
took a strap and ran it across the
criminals’ neck and attached it to some
braces in the wall nearby.
“That should keep you from escaping.
Just to make sure, I’ll adjust the cuffs so
you can’t slip out of them.” Johnny
tightened the cuffs to reduce the room
between the wrist and the cuffs. “I do so
hate to be interrupted when it’s a coffee
break of Kenya AA.” Johnny sighed as he
walked out; his throat stripped. The
criminal was unconscious still.
As Johnny walked back into the living
room, Julie looked up.
“How’s the patient?”
“Sleeping like a baby. The charge was
fresh, so this time he should be out for
quite a while. Long enough for me to have a
coffee break.”
“I sure hope you’re right this time.”
Julie sighed with weariness. “I may have to
spend more time than normal in the
mausoleum after that scare.”
“Well, I chained him up against the
wall, adjusted his cuffs so he couldn’t
slip out of them if he tried. Even if he
wakes up he won’t be able to escape.”

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“Yeah well, I’ll feel a whole lot better

when he’s dead and in a meat dish.”
“I know what you mean. So will I.”
Johnny and Julie were drinking the
coffee. They had a couple cups each. Johnny
sighed. “Well, I guess I’d better get this
fun over with. I swear my work is never
done. No time lord ever gets a break.”
Johnny got up to stretch. He cracked his
neck. “One of these days this neck is going
to stick in one position.”
“Yours, also?”
“Yeah. Sometimes it gets pretty bad.”
Johnny was massaging his neck.
Julie smiled and stood up. I’ll see you
later. I’ll be in the mausoleum if you need
me.”
“Sure.” Johnny walked back to the
laboratory. The criminal was unconscious
still. His head hadn’t moved since Johnny
left. Johnny went over to the desk and
started getting some slides out. He turned
the high-powered magnifier on and was
preparing some test tubes when he heard the
criminal groan again. Johnny turned to the
criminal. “You must have one hell of a
recovery system, or my shots go weak pretty
fast.”
“I always recover fast.” The criminal
whispered. His head moved. He was looking
at the chains, then at his cuffed hands and
feet.
“”Good attempt, but this won’t hold me.”
The criminal tested the cuffs.
“Really?”
“Really.” The criminal moved his hands
and then the cuffs opened. “You see?”
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“Oh dear. This is a problem. Oh well.”

Johnny took the gun and fired another round
into the criminal again. Johnny put the gun
back in his pocket, went over and took the
bindings off of the criminal. He reattached
him to the cuffs to be hung by his ankles,
immediately took a long sharp knife and
slit the criminals throat. Johnny used a
deep cut; no one ever came back to life
after being cut so. The blood loss alone
would kill them before they regained
consciousness.
Sure enough, the criminal never made
another movement or sound. He never
regained consciousness and soon the
majority of his blood had drained out.
Johnny had in the meantime examined the
body tissue for harmful diseases. The
criminal was clean so far, but there was
one last test. As Johnny took a test tube
for his testing, Julie walked in and saw
the criminal hanging upside down with his
throat slit.
“Nice. Where’s the blood go?”
“To another acid filled section.” Johnny
was looking at the test tube he placed
behind a dark pane of glass.
“What’s that do over there?”
“Checks radiation poisoning and other
harmful elements. Something I developed in
my earlier years.”
Julie looked at it closer. “I’m afraid
that’s beyond me.”
“That’s not surprising, since most of
this equipment is still far beyond the
human capabilities and understanding.”
Johnny took the test tube out.
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“It passed. We have ourselves an eater

here.”
“Oh, good. I was going to ask if you if
I’d be able to pick a few bones with you.”
Johnny chuckled. “Only if you tell me
what you want the hair for.”
“An experiment. If it works, I’ll show
it to you. I really can’t tell you any more
than that.” Julie looked at the corpse of
the criminal. “Now he’s really dead.”
“Yes, I’m afraid so. No one can survive
a draining.”
“What if you were to pump the blood back
in after a near empty draining?”
“Oh, he’d still be dead. Why would you
want to do that?”
“Well, let’s say someone you knew
decided to commit suicide. They slice their
wrists, and the blood is almost all out of
their body when you find them. Could you
revive them with some blood?”
Johnny looked closely at Julie as though
she was not telling him something. “If
they're still barely alive, yes. If not,
no, can’t say as I could. Are you
considering such a suicide, Julie?”
“No, not right now, anyway. I was just
curious. I’m always curious about one thing
or another. You know that.” Julie patted
Johnny’s cheek lightly. She smiled then
laughed as Johnny looked at Julie with
concern. “You have to learn to lighten up.”
“Only when all the universes freeze
over.” Johnny shook his head, remembering
back when she was Vera. He looked at Julie
and sighed with melancholy as he turned
back to the corpse of the criminal.
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Julie looked at the corpse, then at

Johnny. “How much was this guy’s wealth
anyway?”
“Let’s see.” Johnny walked over to a
computer and punched up some information.
“Several million, last count in liquid
assets.” Johnny walked back to the corpse
and started working the cuffs as he lowered
the corpse gently to the ground. “Nothing
worse tasting than bruised meat.” Johnny’s
throat stripped.
Julie was looking at the information on
the computer, then back at Johnny. “This
doesn’t phase you the least bit, does it?”
“No, why should it?”
“Well, when someone’s so rich, others
are going to ask questions.”
“So let them. Another unsolved murder
mystery, possibly. The body of a master
criminal mysteriously disappearing; more
will be relieved than miss this one. His
estate will pass to more deserving humans.”
“I hope you’re right.”
Johnny stretched and arched his back.
“It’s too bad Carl partook of the tree
climbing. He accidentally let go and broke
branches with his lower back as he twisted
on the way down. Now the back’s weaker.
I’ll have to go within again and see what I
can do.” Johnny sighed.
“You didn’t pick it up in the tint of
his aura?”
“No-oh well. Just have to partake of
some more activities as well.”
“How’s that help?”
“The activities help to make the back
stronger. That also helps me to repair some
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of the damage when I go within. Especially

when I’m in a bear form or some larger
animal running as fast as possible. It’s
only then that I can bypass the bad back
and kneecap.”
Julie looked at Johnny as at a madman.
If she hadn’t partaken of some of his
activities, she’d refuse to even talk to
Johnny in these moments. She doubted him
when he was Pan, before Julie experienced
some of Johnny's active moments. Especially
when he started to sound like a drunken
sailor.
“You’d better be careful. I think the
time lords may be getting a little annoyed
at you.”
“Why would you say that?”
“This unusual weather was never
predicted.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Johnny smiled
and gave Julie a brief hug, which she
returned. Julie walked away then to go back
into her closed off cemetery section.
Johnny looked up into the sky and took
off. He’s soon once again in deep space; he
found a beautiful planet as he flew around.
It has been such a long time. Finally he’s
been able to find a good home. There is a
lot of ecstasy in being able to find a
place you can vacation on a lot of the
times. Johnny’s been populating such
planets with more gentle animals; they now
call their new planet home. No longer are
they in fear of tortures created by the
destructive hands of man or any other such
creatures. It’s a perfect planet in every
way for those animals. No animal will ever
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evolve into a creature that will develop

inventions, eventually destroying
everything and everyone around him/her,
including the planet as well.
Johnny came from a planet where there
were creatures that claimed intelligence.
They destroyed each other with their new
technologies and sciences-so much for
intelligence. Although there were some
benefits to it, the high cost of
destruction was too heavy a price to pay.
It is Johnny’s intention to make sure that
such things don’t happen here, despite the
sentence Zeus is trying to make.
Here the lands are covered with lots of
vegetation and wildlife. Food is plentiful
for all. There is wildlife that is both
known and unknown to many on earth. There
is life here that went extinct on the
planet Johnny came from, and also on earth.
Man killed many of the species Johnny saved
in his time travels. Some of the life was
supposed to be extinct for many thousands
or millions of years when he took over
helping Julie. But here all life exists
side by side in harmony. As Johnny was
standing on the land, he looked at some
snow-covered mountains. There are crystal
streams with clear, pure water running
freely to the ocean. The water never was,
or ever will be, polluted. Behind him is a
long sandy beach with no hidden rocks in
the ocean. Dolphins frolic in between the
edge of the surf line and the deep waters
of the ocean; it’s perfect for bodysurfing.
Wildlife came up to Johnny. They are
curious. Many species were once enemies.
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These were never seen together in a

peaceful setting. No animal capable of
exercising violence in the name of science,
prosperity, or intelligence, will ever set
foot here. The ecology of the planet will
change only by the forces of nature, and
never by any other means. The only shelter
areas are what the planet provides.
Johnny placed a permanent shield around
the planet and its solar system to protect
the planet; the shield will never interfere
with the natural atmospheres of this and
the other planets, or the sun that warms
them all.
This planet would have been a good
choice for Johnny’s final resting place.
Although normally it is a given that seeing
your personal gravesite would horrify you,
for Johnny there’s no terror; all he feels
and knows is calm and a peace deep within
his soul. It’s a wonderful feeling Johnny
never experienced before, even when he was
one with the universe for the first time-so
long ago. Back then his soul expanded and
covered the wall that enclosed the
universe.
There is music in the air. Although it
started from a human origin, the music is
devoid of any human influence. There is no
pollution from the music. The oceans are
full of wildlife now. Whenever Johnny goes
out into the ocean, he is greeted as a good
friend. Some of these species were known as
being of a violent nature. However, at any
time when he goes out into the ocean, for
whatever reason, they protect him. On land
and in the water, the species provide
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Johnny with a love and affection that was

only hinted at on the planet he was once a
mortal on. Johnny has to protect their
home, even in death. His shield is his gift
to them.
After Johnny spent some years on the
planet, he took off, to go back to earth
again. Julie’s right about the impatience
of the other time lords, and Johnny’s been
delaying his sentencing. Unknown to Julie,
the saving of her life is the end result.
Johnny shape changed into a large bird
similar to a phoenix. He flew forth into
the black starry sky of the night. He flew
into the section of the universe where
Earth is located. As he flew he executed
large circles backward and forward. Johnny
was able to twist as he glided along so
smoothly, flying freely within the
universe. Finally he’s free and alone. What
a beautiful feeling-and what a depressing
thought it is to have to lose freedom like
this.
While travelling back to Earth, into the
distance Johnny saw a beautiful planet. He
flew toward it. The planet is within a
solar system. There’s a sun with a light of
gold. The suns rays touch and warm his
soul. As Johnny travelled, he checked over
all the galaxies to make sure they were
operating properly. Seems one of the
planets with life was swallowed up in a
supernova; the death of the planet was
inevitable, as the sun had grown too old,
and exploded. Oh well; Johnny resumed his
travels and landed in a beautiful valley on
the planet he had his eye on before he got
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sidetracked. Gentle rain fell from the

clouds up in the sky. Even the rain is warm
without feeling muggy. There is no
pollution. The entire planet is untouched
by any creature that could come along and
destroy it. Not far away is a beach with
perfect bodysurfing waves. The opportunity
is irresistible.
Johnny spent some time bodysurfing;
several sets ended, as he waited for
another to come. As he waited he laid upon
his stomach. A set came; Johnny gently
kicked into the first wave. The gentle
giant picked him up, pulling Johnny into
itself. The water surged all around him. It
made a pillow as well as a rolled up
blanket that massaged him all over all at
once. Johnny finished with the first wave
and continued to bodysurf the rest the same
way. Sometimes he’d flip over to ride in on
his stomach, but always getting an all over
massage. After nine waves the set ended.
Once again Johnny continued to float on his
stomach as he waited for the next set. He
was watching the ocean-he never saw
anything that could be a wave. Then all of
a sudden a big wave unexpectedly came
forth. The current pulled Johnny into the
wave. Since every muscle is relaxed, he
couldn’t react in the split second he’d
need to get out. Johnny went through the
inner curl of the wave. As he went through
the curl he wasn’t conscious. When the wave
spit him up into the air he became
conscious again.
As Johnny’s in the air he changed into a
bald eagle. As a bald eagle he flew up and
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out of the planets atmosphere. He resumed

watching over the galaxies and maintaining
the universe as he played on the asteroids
and planets. As he played he found another
planet with a young sun that’s been warming
it. This is another good candidate for some
of the animal life that Johnny is trying to
save from extinction. As Johnny flew, he
thought of the animals and the future of
the planet earth with despair. In the event
that he can’t save Julie, he’d be condemned
to having to live the rest of his life on
earth; restricted to time travel on the
earth, dying when the planet earth was
destroyed, very much like a vampire,
thought to be Immortal by humans. How
limited their minds are.
Up ahead, Johnny saw the deceptively
beautiful planet known as earth. With a
sigh, Johnny increased the shield around
himself to prevent any radar detection from
humans, and then time travelled back to the
same time and place as when he left.
Shortly after Johnny entered the
cemetery. He looked around, and finding he
was alone he let down his cloak, then saw a
commotion off into the distance. Not
wanting to draw any attention to him,
Johnny cloaked himself again, flew up to
the treetops and hovered just above the
center. At the edge of the cemetery, near
the entrance, a human was recently killed
and it’s stomach not just knifed, but the
intestines lifted out and spread around
him. If Johnny didn’t know better, he’d
suspect it to be the work of his sister
Morgaine. The manner of death is like her
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trade mark; there’s no way Morgaine could

have gotten off the ‘home’ planet, and this
section is so far away, the chances are too
slim. Unless......
Oh no. The tyme machine told him she was
nearby, but Johnny thought she might be on
a different planet near by, a galaxy or two
away, at least; at the most one of the
inner arms in the same galaxy. Just the
thought of Charley getting in touch with
Morgaine was a horrible thought.
Unfortunately, Charley does have the
capability to time travel without the tyme
machine. If he time travelled, oh, what a
disaster that combination would be. How
could he contact Morgaine, though? Charley
was a regular time lord, not a Guardian.
Johnny flew over to a closer section,
and then silently walked over to the tyme
machine, entered and went to make himself
some coffee. He silently conversed with the
tyme machine before he went into the
laboratory to cut up several more corpses
waiting for his attention.

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CHARLEY

A man named Tom just entered the office

where he worked. Upon seeing his boss,
Charley J. Tanner, he tipped his hat and
was proceeding to walk on.
“Why, hello, Tom. You’re just the man I
was looking for. Please. Come have a seat.
Let’s have a little talk while we wait.”
Charley was patting a leather-covered chair
beside him as he was speaking in a very
soothing voice that’s usually reserved for
little kids.
Tom stopped when Charley started
talking. He started getting very nervous
the more Charley spoke in his ‘soothing’
voice. Whenever Charley talked in such a
voice, it always meant trouble. A couple of
Tom’s friends disappeared mysteriously. He
couldn’t prove it, but Tom always felt that
Charley was behind the disappearances. One
fateful night after Tom had just talked to
his friend, Jim Tyler, he heard Jim being
talked to in the same ‘soothing’ voice that
Charley was using now with Tom; Jim
disappeared. Tom listened in on the almost
one-way conversation between Charley and
Jim. Although Tom saw them both sitting in
the two chairs where Charley now sat, Jim
all of a sudden disappeared. Charley
mentioned having taken Jim to his void,
whatever that was. Whatever it was, it
wasn’t good.
“Why Tom. If I didn’t know better, I’d
say that you were nervous. There’s no

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reason to be nervous. The chair’s

comfortable. Please; come sit by me.”
“Can I take a rain check on your offer,
Charley? I’m rather in a hurry and pressed
for time.”
Charley looked suspiciously at Tom and
mumbled under his breath. “No, Tom’s not
smart enough.” Charley looked directly at
Tom who was starting to grow pale. “I don’t
care if you’re in a hurry. As your boss, I
insist that you sit down and chat with me.
I don’t care if you have an appointment
with god. CANCEL IT!” Charley then lowered
his voice and resumed his ‘soothing’ tone
as he calmly patted the chair again. “You
may even enjoy yourself. I know I will.
Come over here and sit down.” Charley
chuckled diabolically.
“You’re scaring me, Charley. Stop it.
Whatever you’re up to, I don’t want any
part of it. Please let me go now. I’ll hand
in my resignation within the hour if you
wish.” Tom then started to walk away again.
Charley stopped him. “Now, now Tom.
There’ll be no need for that. Come over
here and SIT DOWN!” Charley was screaming.
Tom froze in mid step. It was as though the
blood in Tom’s veins turned into ice water.
Tom’s face reflected how his entire body
went cold as some force stronger than his
own directed Tom to the chair beside
Charley. Charley now spoke to Tom in his
‘soothing’ and calm voice again. “It’s all
right, Tom. Just relax. The chair’s
comfortable, as I said. You won’t feel a
thing. I promise.” Charley laughed in a
hearty diabolical manner.
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Tom was very pale, but able to talk. Had

he been able to move he would’ve run for
his life. He turned to Charley. “What do
you plan to do to me?”
Charley looked mockingly disappointed at
Tom. “Poor Tom. I don’t know why, but I
often get the feeling that some of you
humans don’t like or trust me. That makes
me feel very bad. I’d like to help relieve
you of these foolish thoughts. Then you can
see how stupid it all was.”
“What do you want with me?” Tom asked
again.
“You poor sot. I only want to help you.”
Charley was continuing to speak in his calm
and ‘soothing’ voice, but now with a sly
smile on his face like a sidewinder
hypnotizing its victim.
“Please stop beating around the bush.
Let’s just get this unpleasantry over with,
shall we?”
Charley looked at Tom as a little kid
would look at someone who just interrupted
his fun. “You always were a party pooper,
weren’t you, Tom?” Charley sighed wearily.
In a lighthearted manner he shrugged his
shoulders. “Oh well. Your wish is my
command.” Charley snapped his fingers.
Instantly Tom and Charley were in a place
Tom had never seen before. Everything was
dead. Even the soil felt dead under Tom’s
feet. There were dead trees, rocks and
tombstones as far as the eye could see.
Charley laughed like a madman. “Welcome to
my voided area. There ain’t nothin’ psychic
about this place.”

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Heather J. Kintyre

“Why have you brought me here? Where is

this place?”
“To answer your questions in reverse,
this place is nowhere on earth. This is the
void zone that lives within me. I developed
this place to what it is now. Fascinating,
isn’t it?”
Tom shivered and rubbed his shoulders.
“I hate it.”
“Oh. That’s so sad. I was hoping you’d
like it because it’s going to be your new
residence. I’ll even place your dead soul
nine feet below over there under the dead
pine tree. Then I’ll lace your grave with
pitch-black roses. Dead ones, of course.”
From outside the telephone rang; Charley
paused as he grumbled to himself. He picked
it up seemingly out of thin air as far as
Tom could see. “Oh damn. Don’t these stupid
humans know to leave me alone at these
times?” Charley answered the telephone in
front of him. One of the employees seems to
have misdialed. It was his intention to get
another service department for some
additional parts. “Idiot. You got the wrong
department again.” When Charley dropped it,
it seemed to disappear as he tried to drop
it back in the receiver, but it didn’t drop
back in place as was intended.
Tom had been going colder as he fell to
his knees. Where he was white before, now
he was a deadly ashen color. “Oh God.”
“No God can help you here. No one can;
not even my brother Pan.” Charley laughed
like a madman. Charley snapped his fingers.
“Oh, that’s right; his name’s Johnny now.
How thoughtless of me.” Charley looked at
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Tom and smiled wickedly. “You know all

about it though, don’t you Tom?
“How—no. I don’t know what you’re
talking about.”
“How do I know you’re holding out on me?
I know when I’m being spied upon.”
“No, I know nothing.”
“Oh but you do, dearest Tommy. I intend
to drain you dry. I will absorb your soul
and all your knowledge will be mine.
Especially everything you know about my
brother.”
“No. No, you can’t.”
“Oh, but I can and I will.”
“Why? I don’t understand. I may have met
Tanner briefly, but that’s all.”
“Typical. Humans are well known for
their lying. You were a good friend of my
brothers; you now know all of the details
to his ‘new’ identity. I must know all of
the information for myself.”
“That’s no reason to kill me. You could
easily have asked. I would’ve told you.”
“What? So you could lie again to me,
running off to my brother for protection?
Oh no, Tom. That kind of behavior will
never do. This way is best. Only by the
absorption of your knowledge can I be sure
that there are no lies. I will know
everything. Everything you would’ve
normally hid from me will be revealed.”
Charley smiled wickedly. “I tell you what.
When I meet up with your precious Johnny,
I’ll bring him here and bury him beside
you. Not that you’ll know about it, but
I’ve always had a soft spot for
sentiments.” Charley laughed. “Any last
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Heather J. Kintyre

words before I take your soul, Tom? That’s

too bad. I guess the cat’s got your tongue.
Oh, don’t look so sad, Tom. You’ll live
again—through me. Sort of.” Charley laughed
his diabolical laugh as he got a look of
ecstasy on his face. He seemed to glow as
he absorbed Tom’s soul. “Ah, yes; such a
fine mind. Soon to be all mine-ALL MINE!
Oh, the joy of it all.” Charley was hissing
like a snake as he whispered in his
ecstasy.
A noise was heard from the outside; it
was coming from the telephone. Tom’s soul
was almost dead when Charley broke away.
Charley didn’t remember having answered the
telephone previously without hanging it up.
It seems that the telephone was still
connected. The man one the other end, a
good friend of Tom’s, never heard the
distant sounding voice Charley was using.
He therefore stayed on the other end of the
line as he listened further to Charley.
Tom’s body, like Jim's, was gone from the
chair he sat in. “Good. Another soul nice
and dead, just the way I like all humans to
be. They’re so much easier to work with
that way.” Charley sighed. “Still, it’s too
bad I had to kill Tom. Oh well. Easy come,
easy go.” Charley didn’t notice the sudden
dial tone after he spoke.
At this time Johnny was examining some
flesh from one of the corpses. He was in
the middle of changing the DNA structure so
it wouldn’t be detected as coming from any
human. This is how Johnny is able to sell
the tanned leather from his corpses,
providing they stood up to the tests Johnny
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had to perform. As he was finishing the

last test, the telephone in his laboratory
rang. “Hello?”
“Is this Johnny Tanner?”
“Speaking.”
“You don’t know me, but you know my
boss.” He paused to take a deep breath. “I
don’t know where to start, or how to put
this. I called as soon as I hung the other
connection up. Is there anywhere we can
meet in person and talk?”
“Okay. Tell me, first. Who am I speaking
to, and who’s your boss?”
“My name’s Harry Thomas and my bosses
name is Charley Tanner.”
“Okay, I know him quite well. I’ll meet
with you let’s say in an hour. Do you know
where the park is on the outskirts of
town?”
“Sure.”
“Okay, I’ll meet with you there; you’ll
see a park bench with a bush close to one
side of it; I’ll meet you there.”
“Thanks. Bye.”
Johnny and Harry both hung up. Johnny
finished up the last experiment, cleaned up
and took his handy fainting gun, just in
case there was trouble. He went into the
cemetery, told Julie he’d be back shortly,
and then went towards the park, as
scheduled. Knowing he was going to not get
another chance for a long time again,
Johnny took a vacation and went off for a
few years to roam the universe and take
care of his guardian duties before he
returned to the situation at hand. Upon his
return he appeared cloaked and when no one
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could see, Johnny let the cloak down. He

walked over to where the bench was nearby.
Three men were sitting on the bench with
the bush and a hedge nearby. Johnny had
checked behind the bush, and saw that no
one was listening on the other side. He
detected no listening devices. There was no
one else about, so Johnny started to walk
in the direction. The park was a large
green area and some sand in the little tot
area. The grass was mowed recently. The
smell of freshly cut grass could still be
smelt a little. There were swings and
slides for little kids near a telephone
booth. The ground cover was all sand around
the swings and slides. There was a cement
walkway dividing the play area where the
swings were. A wooden fence enclosed part
of the play area. The bench the three men
were sitting on had a hedge on one side,
ensuring some privacy. Johnny walked up to
the three men on the bench.
“Hello. My name’s Tanner; is one of you
named Harry? You phoned me?”
One of the three men breathed a sigh of
relief and smiled. “That’d be me, sir.”
Harry extended his hand. Johnny shook his
hand. The grip was firm but not hard.
Harry’s brown eyes were steady and his
bearing was one of confidence. This gave
Johnny an indication that at least he
wasn’t trying to pull any hidden tricks.
Even so, Johnny was still on his guard. The
three men were dressed in light blue
coloured jeans and polo shirts, no ties.

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Harry presented the other two men to

Johnny. Their names were Cayatano and
Frank.
“Okay, tell me what just happened.”
“I don’t know how. I mean, it’s so weird
and everything.” Harry was puzzled and not
sure about what he was going to say.
“I can understand that. My brother is a
strange character, to put it mildly.”
“That’s an underestimation,” Harry
affirmed.
“I know. I knew Tom, and he told me some
of what he heard, but he didn't tell me
everything. Tell me everything of what you
saw and heard. Don’t worry about what I may
think. Don’t try to alter or change
anything. Just relax and tell me, okay?”
“All right, I’ll do my best.” Harry
described what he heard and the one-way
conversation that followed. "Tom told us
that he heard a nearly one-way conversation
between Jim Tyler and Charley. He described
it as being eerie, and very similar to the
one I heard; Tom was scared, and he told me
that if I ever knew of any foul play
regarding himself, that I should contact
you."
Johnny listened carefully, and then when
it was over he got up and sighed. “Poor
Tom. Sounds like I have my work cut out for
me for the next few weeks, at least. Now
how can we arrange it so I can meet with
Charley, and the three of you at the same
time?”
“Why us?” Cayatano spoke up with a
worried look on his face.

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“I may need your help. I need to know

how I can meet with Charley in a more
neutral spot, secluded as possible, in
order to help him. Don’t ask me to explain,
I doubt you’d be able to understand it.”
“Well, I think we can arrange for
Charley to be at a restaurant near the
outskirts of town on a Tuesday afternoon.
This next week, around three?” Harry looked
at Johnny then, wondering if Johnny was
going to be able to help them. From what
Johnny could pick up by the body language,
everyone expected him to run away instead.
“Sounds all right to me. I’ll be there,
and stop worrying. I’ll take care of
everything.” Johnny smiled and tried to get
the bodyguards to relax. “Are you three the
only bodyguards Charley keeps?”
“No, there’s Paul, Fred, James, Roy and
Mike. They’re new and don’t know much of
what’s going on,” Cayatano commented.
“Have you talked to them?”
“No, I haven’t had a chance.” Cayatano
was looking worried at Johnny as he spoke.
“I doubt they’d believe us anyway. I
wouldn’t believe it myself but I know
Harry, and he’s not one to make up such
stories. Never mind the strange things I’ve
seen already.” Frank was shaking his head
in puzzlement.
“Like what?” Johnny asked.
“I would often see bloody sheets
covering what looked like a person.
Sometimes it’d be wheeled in on a gurney,
taken in the back way, under cover. Other
times I’d see The Reaper carrying a bloody
sheet covering what looked like a body into
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a back room. I know that no one was

supposed to see what was taking place
during those times. Then I’d hear Charley
making some more whispered comments to The
Reaper about killing someone well known in
the town. Next thing I’d hear was the
newspapers and radio reporting someone’s
disappearance. If that weren’t bad enough,
I’d hear sly comments about how human meat
was preferable to any other meat on the
market.”
“Is Charley a cannibal?” Frank was
nervously looking around, not sure about
having the bush nearby to conceal prying
ears.
“How safe are we from him? Will we even
live to see tomorrow?” Frank was clearly
alarmed about his position.
“Don’t worry about being overheard. I’ll
know if anyone tries to come, no matter how
silently. Now tell me, who’s The Reaper?”
“None of us know his real name, and none
of us dare go near him or talk to him at
all. Calls himself The Reaper. He’s the
main bodyguard and right hand man to
Charley.” Harry shrugged his shoulders.
“Sorry; wish I knew more.”
“Can you really help us, Mr. Tanner?
We’re not cowards, but there’s some things
about Charley that go beyond our
capabilities.” Cayatano was looking at
Johnny as if he didn’t believe Johnny would
be capable of helping them.
“Tom said you were the only one who
could help us with Charley. We have tried
other means before, and they all failed.”
Harry spoke in a worried voice.
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“What did you do?”

“We tried to arrange accidents and have
other hit men, very good ones, kill
Charley. Instead he managed to avoid the
accidents and the hit men all died. Charley
managed to killed them all.” Harry was very
worried as he spoke.
“There are times when I suspect that
Charley can hear us even now as we speak.
The way he seems to pick up on what we’re
thinking is uncanny.” Frank spoke puzzled.
“You’re right in that he can pick up
thoughts. He can’t hear you now; of that I
can assure you. I’ve made sure he’ll never
hear any more future thoughts you’ll have
other than the most superficial.”
“What do you mean?” Cayatano spoke
puzzled.
“I’ve cloaked you all as soon as I knew
you were the ones I was to meet. Charley
can’t penetrate my shields. I can and often
do maintain the shields at a distance well
away from myself. Don’t worry about it,
you’re safe.” Johnny spoke as if this was
something very common, and everyone was
capable of doing the same thing. The three
men shook their heads in bafflement.
“Charley is too weird. I mean, he pays
very well, but I’ve had about all I can
take. I’ll find some other way to live if
need be. With Charley, he’s getting so
crazy that I’m not sure I’ll live beyond
the next two days, maybe less. What good
will the money do me when I’m dead?” Harry
spoke then with a worried tone. Cayatano
and Frank nodded agreement.

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“I think I can handle Charley. It’s been

a long time, but not that long. If
everything works out, Charley will be okay.
If not, Charley will be dead and you three
will never have to worry about him any
more.” Johnny smiled with a reassurance.
“Oh, one other thing. When I scratch behind
my left ear, it’ll be to provoke Charley.
Don’t take anything you then hear
personally.”
The three men got up from the bench as
Johnny stood up; everyone shook hands with
Johnny, then left.
Johnny wasn’t looking forward to the
unpleasant task of having to deal with his
brother, Charley. It was going to be a
major strain. For all his strength, greater
than most Guardians and certainly more than
any humans, it still may not be enough this
time. Charley was also a time lord with the
same strengths in most areas, mayhap more
since he’s taken so many souls. Johnny
shook his head in despair. This required
some time and a lot of thought. More time
than if he remained on earth and didn’t
take advantage of another ‘vacation.’
On his way back, he went to the gym in
town. As he entered the gym and saw he was
alone, he went over to the trampoline. As
he was in midair he executed a slow
somersault, changing into a large bird and
growing wings. Cloaking himself, Johnny
flew out into the open, going higher. He
saw a lot of pain in the faces of many
species of animals. Too many animal species
have died. Those that are still alive are
now experiencing a high threshold of pain.
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There’s no end to the suffering they have

to endure. As he flew on he spied a sandy
beach. He flew over and landed to look at
the surf. It’s not very good, but the sand
was firm so he changed to human form and
started his six-mile run on the beach. When
he finished his run, Johnny looked around.
There are no humans to see, so Johnny
called the tyme machine, which silently
arrived closer.
When he went inside, he took the sweaty
clothes off. As Johnny relaxed, he covered
his hands and feet, and then started
sinking into the deepest reaches of his
mind. He’s trying to escape from where he
is at the time. After some time passes, his
heart slowed way back, barely pumping. The
bone marrow has grown cold with
Rigormortis. The air temperature equals his
body temperature. He’s dying, even though
he’s in a self induced deep trance. Death
is another risk Johnny knew he would have
to take. Sometimes the goal is worth the
risk.
It isn’t working like it should, so
Johnny escaped the planet and flew outside
into the universe. After a while, having
travelled as fast as he could, Johnny came
to one the darkest sections within the
universe. Now it’s all black and cold as
he’s now in front of the wall that enclosed
the universe. He desperately needs to get
through the wall in order to communicate
with the minds on the other side. Only with
their help can he hope to know how to save
his brother, Charley. He can feel his body
on earth dying to the point of no return.
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He knows that screaming, flying, running

and trying to break through to the other
side is a great waste of time. He may as
well save his strength. There is no time to
waste, especially if Johnny has to return
to his now nearly dead body. He must use
all of his mental strength, so he tried
another mental projection. Nothing. He kept
trying, but there’s no way to tell if
anything being sent was received. He must
keep trying. The wall seemed to absorb
every sending. Johnny knew that to try to
penetrate the wall at this time is to
willingly commit suicide. He didn’t have
enough courage and bravery as yet to try
that.
There is no courage or bravery without
fear to some degree when dealing with an
unknown. Sometimes the unknown isn’t so
scary when revealed. On the other hand,
sometimes it’s worse than your wildest
dreams. Johnny really didn’t expect it
would be this bad. Then Johnny felt the
faintest touch of warmth upon his soul, as
if a response was given to all of his
attempts. Alas, it was probably wishful
thinking. He sighed as he returned to his
now so cold and barely alive body.
As Johnny had gone within, some changes
took place on Earth. A couple violent
criminals were released from a state prison
in another country. The criminals now on
the loose were creating a reign of terror
wherever they went. They had to be stopped
as soon as possible. Since it was a Sunday
night, Johnny would have some time before
his appointment that would bring him face
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to face with his brother, Charley the

forthcoming Tuesday afternoon.

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THE MEETING

Tuesday morning Johnny was making an

omelet and getting ready for his meeting
with Charley. Julie came in, and seeing
there was no coffee, she started making
some. She carefully measured the water and
the coffee. In a few minutes the smell of
Kenya AA was taking over the rest of the
kitchen smells. Julie went over to get
herself a cup.
Johnny had just finished making the
omelet. He put the plate with his omelet
down. “Not bad.” Johnny smelled the coffee
as it was brewing. “I’ve decided to keep
you around after all.”
“Why thank ye kindly, young man.” Julie
spoke in her frail little old lady voice
and curtsied.
Johnny laughed. Julie started making
herself some breakfast. Just then the
telephone rang. Johnny got up and answered
it. A couple of minutes later he came back.
He sighed and resumed eating his omelet.
Julie sat down with her breakfast and
looked at Johnny, who finished his omelet
at that moment. “What’s wrong?”
Johnny started loading a couple of the
silent laser guns he developed. These guns
weren’t disposable like the one Julie had.
They could fire off 36 rounds before having
to reload it. These were the ones Johnny
used when he had to go into the universe
and destroy large sections of galaxies.
Johnny put one in the left pocket and one

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in the right. “Just verification for an

appointment today.”
Julie sat down with her coffee across
from Johnny. “Those don’t look like one of
the disposable guns you gave to me.”
“No. These are permanent ones. Each one
can shoot 36 humans, making them faint
before having to reload. There’s also a
setting to kill with no trace of any
remains. Right now it’s set for fainting.”
Johnny’s throat stripped.
“Why two?”
“I’m ambidextrous. Comes in handy at
times like this.”
“I take it you’ll be up against someone
dangerous.”
“Very dangerous.” Johnny took a couple
more packs and put them in his pockets.
Each pack contained another 36 rounds for
the gun. “You can’t be too careful with
someone like Charley.” Johnny then looked
at Julie who perked her eyes up; she looked
at Johnny with a questioning look. “No, not
this time. I have to bring Charley in
alone. If I bring you along I could
endanger the entire project if you got in
the way. Best that you stay here.”
“All right. I’ll have my breakfast and
more coffee before I spend some more time
with the dearly departed ones.”
“That’s a good idea. You may want to
check on the kids from time to time
throughout the day. Especially Moki and Eb.
They’re quite cranky in their older ages.”
Julie chuckled. “Okay.” She sipped the
coffee as Johnny stood up.

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“I’ll be back as soon as I can.” Johnny

then walked out of the tyme machine. Johnny
was walking toward his destination point,
Rockers Hell. Along the way, he took some
detours as he rummaged through some
bookstores and music stores.
Three of the ‘bodyguards’ told Johnny
about Charley having absorbed Tom’s soul.
The guards couldn’t understand what Charley
did or how their friend Tom had died. After
Johnny had one of the ‘bodyguards’ tell of
the exact words to the conversation on the
telephone, Johnny was able to know what
happened. What the ‘bodyguards’ didn’t know
was that now they were in a danger they’ve
never known or encountered before. It’s
doubtful any of the ‘bodyguards’ would be
able to escape a death at Charley’s hands.
For some strange reason, Charley hadn’t
killed them after they sent hit men to kill
him. Johnny wasn’t sure why Charley kept
them alive, since he most likely knew who
sent them. On the other hand, it could be
that Charley chose to keep them alive so
they’d send more hit men his way and
Charley could acquire more meat and soul
absorptions for his personal tastes and
youthful appearance. Whatever the reasons,
if Johnny didn’t act in time now, the
‘bodyguards’ would soon be joining Tom.
Charley wouldn’t allow for any of this kind
of ‘play’ to take place if he could help
it. Not when it involved knowledge about
Johnny. That’s why Tom was dead.
Johnny walked into the fast food place,
Rockers Hell, and saw Charley right away.
His throat stripped, but no one seemed to
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notice. The throat stripping was just

something that occurred randomly. Johnny
didn’t seem to have any control over it.
“Hello, Charley. I’ve been looking for
you.” Johnny was looking around and
mentally monitoring everything. Someone was
in the back section, preventing the workers
from being up in the front area where
Charley and his thugs were.
“Who the hell are you?” Charley looked
at Johnny with a challenging eye.
“Don’t you know me, Charley?” Johnny
looked offended. “I realize that it’s been
a long time now, but still.” Johnny smiled
in his most charming manner. So far, no one
was hurt in the back, just on an extended
break. It could be that Charley paid them
to remain hidden while he was in the
restaurant.
“Pan! How lovely to see you!” Charley
stood up, gave Johnny a courtesy hug and
patted him on the back. “It’s been so very
long! My dear ol’ chap! We really must
talk. Sit down, please. How long has it
been? A few thousand years at least; we
have a lot to catch up on.”
“No, surely not that long. It was you
who ran out of the tyme machine just a few
years ago, after all.”
“Yes, I’m sorry about that ol’ chap. I
had an appointment to make. I was late as
it was and I just didn’t have time to chat.
Now I do, so let’s sit a while and talk,
catch up on olde times.”
“Before you kill me, Charley?”
Charley stood back in mock horror at the
accusation. “How can you say that against
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your own brother? After all I’ve done for

you.”
“Correction. I was the one always
giving. All you ever tried to do was frame
me.”
“Frame you, Pan? You’re mistaken. I
could never lift a finger to hurt my
brother.” Charley tried to feign a mock
horror at being hurt.
“Oh, that’s right. You employ others to
do that for you. How clumsy of me to
forget.” Johnny spoke sarcastically. It
didn’t escape Charley’s notice as he sat
back down.
“You disappoint me, Pan. How could you
accuse me?”
“It’s quite simple, really. It just came
out.” Johnny’s throat stripped, and he
smiled. Someone was with the rest of the
regular workers. He wasn’t normally there.
As Johnny scanned the area, he picked up
the man’s brain waves. He was The Ripper as
the others dubbed him.
“Why, we haven’t even been together in a
few thousand years. Charley looked at
Johnny with a sad look on his face. To
Johnny the expression looked as false as
Charley’s sugar sweet tone of voice. “I
never did know when you were serious or
joking. Please. Let’s forget our old feuds
and go to my place. We have so much to
discuss.”
“No thank you; I know all about your
hospitality.”
“Oh. I’ve changed. I even have some wine
just for occasions like this.”

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Heather J. Kintyre

“Yes, I’m sure when it’s finally opened

it tastes just like fancy vinegar.”
Charley looked at his employees who were
snickering. “My own brother insults me and
there you go snickering at me behind my
back. How could you be so cruel?” Charley
spoke sarcastically, but there was also the
hint of death in his voice that Johnny
remembered; it hadn’t changed after all
these years. Johnny smiled and looked at
the employees. He recognized the three men
who informed him of Tom’s death. “Oh my.
You mean you’ve actually conned a sewer?
Aren’t we an expert now? How many sewers
did you con for your ‘wine expertise’?”
“Speak for yourself, Pan. As I recall
you have an acquired taste for coffee. Come
to think of it, how would you like some
fresh Kenya AA coffee instead? You and
Skyner used to drink a coffee very much
like Kenya AA quite a lot as I recall.”
“Not in your company, Charley.” The
Ripper was entertaining the employees with
a card game. So far he wasn’t showing any
signs of violence.
“Is that a touch of fear in your voice?
Are you afeared of your dear ol’ brother?”
“Cut the crap, Charley. You killed Tom
so you know all about my present identity.
You knew who I was as soon as you saw me.
Don’t try to deny it.”
“You’re right, Johnny. I should’ve known
immediately with your all black attire. Man
in Black? Taking over where he left off? He
was only a second cousin once removed
according to Tom’s knowledge.”

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“I guess it’s a strong gene. Carl was

maintaining such a dress code since January
of 1980.”
Charley looked at Johnny closely. “Why,
you’re still gene swapping, aren’t you, ol’
boy?”
“Guilty as charged; anyway, it’s better
than having to share the same genes that
could make me anything like the creature
you are now, Charley.”
Charley shook his head in
disappointment. “You sure know how to hurt
a guy, don’t you, Johnny?” Charley turned
to the thugs and was talking to them. “Do
you hear how he insults his own brother? He
doesn’t even have the courtesy to keep the
same genes as his own brother.” Charley
looked at Johnny again as he resumed
speaking in a pouting manner. “If I didn’t
know better, I’d think you didn’t like me
very much, Johnny. How can we remain
brothers when you keep swapping genes with
every Tom, Dick and Harry that comes along?
Have you told your victims about this? They
may not want to share their genes with
you.” Charley spoke as if he was hurt.
“I guess we’ll only be brothers in
spirit, won’t we?” Johnny gave Charley a
smugly determined look. Something was
changing with The Ripper’s brainwaves. A
possible mind link with Charley?
“You always were such a wimp. Why bother
to carbon copy a soul when you can have the
real thing? Why not just skip a step?”
“No, Charley. Such a death for every
soul is a very personal decision. Decisions
like that are to be decided without any
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coercion or pressure of any kind. When I

carbon copied every soul, I took a
responsibility to uphold the same
conditions they all were living under,
including but not limited to the
information the Immortals gave Carl.” He’d
have to silence The Ripper once he was
finished with this lot. Seems he was using
his employment to cover up his desire to
murder randomly, as well as taking out
those Charley ordered to be killed.
“Oh? And what’s that?”
“Oh no, Charley. Let’s just say that
much of the information I now have is too
dangerous in the wrong hands; like yours,
for instance.” Johnny smiled, and then
looked puzzled. “By the way, why are you
still using the primitive void? Haven’t you
developed anything better?”
“No. Why bother? Primitive or not, the
void works. It’s a perfect disposal site
for the discarded soul casings. I have no
reason to keep the casings around, so why
shouldn’t I use the void?”
“True enough.” Johnny controlled his
expressions, but what Charley just told
Johnny was that every soul he killed wasn’t
permanently dead. Now he had no choice but
to try to save those souls at the risk of
his own life. It was an obligation of every
time lord to save the buried souls of every
life form when they encounter a void like
Charley’s, and the casings weren't
destroyed. Their rebirths are determined
according to the tints of their souls once
they're taken to the automatic soul system
to be reborn again.
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“Speaking of the void, I promised Tom

that I’d bury you beside him once I killed
you.”
“My, how considerate of you to think so
highly of me. I’m honored, I truly am.”
Johnny spoke mockingly to Charley.
“That reminds me. You’ve sworn that
you’d embrace eternal death over any
continued mortal lives. So why not make it
easy on yourself?”
“What are you talking about, Charley?”
“Your soul will die the eternal death as
I drain it. I’ll be gentle. You’ll just
slip away quietly.” Charley smiled his
false sweet smile.
“How thoughtful of you to arrange a
permanent resting place for me. To have
your very own burial plot is something not
many can claim, especially as a present
from their very own brother. That’s so very
rare.” Johnny knew the death Charley would
provide wouldn’t be an eternal death, but
one of continued torture as the soul casing
remained alive. “By the way, do you still
eat the human flesh as well cooked as you
used to?” Johnny shook his head in mock
amazement at the ‘expensive’ gift.
“Of course, it’s the only way.” Charley
smiled maliciously at Johnny then. “So what
do you say, Johnny? Will you allow me to
drain you?”
Johnny spoke as if he were truly
considering Charley’s offer to kill him.
“If I were to consent to your killing me,
then I changed my mind and escaped, the
Immortals would kill me.” Johnny spoke as
though he was seriously contemplating the
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idea. “Nope, no good. Sorry, Charley. I’m

afraid I’ll have to reject your ‘generous’
offer.”
“You are afraid, and from me.” Charley
tried to look offended. “Pray tell me,
why?” Charley smiled with malice.
“It’s not fear, Charley. Not for myself,
anyway. I know what happens when you drain
others. I also know how you’d use the
knowledge I now have. I can’t allow that to
happen.”
“Never. I give you my word that I’ll
never use anything I learn from you for
malicious purposes.” Charley smiled his
sweetest sugary false smile.
“Your word isn’t worth a bucket full of
brine; I know how all your promises are
easily broken.” Johnny sighed in despair.
His throat stripped again.
“Your arguments are a cloud, Johnny.
You’re still as transparent as good old-
fashioned glass, aren’t you? Your attempts
at bravery are good, but not that good.”
Charley sighed. “Poor Johnny. I do believe
that you’re afraid of me. You’re just
another lily livered coward, too afraid to
see it through. Why?”
Johnny sighed wearily. “Afraid of you,
Charley? You need to brush up on body
language if you believe that.” Johnny
scratched behind his left ear, signaling to
the three men that what was said next would
be to provoke Charley into admitting
something he usually keeps quiet about.
“Come now, my dearest brother. Body
language? Who’s the primitive one here?
Isn’t that archaic?” Charley sighed with
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his false smile. “We really should spend

some time together. I even brought some
bodyguards to protect you against any
harm.” The bodyguards started closing
around Johnny.
“Thugs you mean. They’re your jailers.
Stop paying them so dearly, and we’ll see
just how friendly they really are. I’d be
careful when I fired them; they might fire
back. You’d be surprised at what lengths
the humans will go to in order to preserve
their cushy lives. I wouldn’t doubt they’ve
got so much background on you that any one
of them could have you imprisoned for life
many times over. At least I don’t live in a
gilded cage as you obviously do. Why anyone
would set himself or herself up so they’d
have no choice but to live in such a cage
is beyond me.” Johnny smiled his angelic
smile.
“Walls with the hidden bars still
getting too close, Johnny? Anyway, can’t
happen. I’d kill them all before they can
act.” Charley shrugged with indifference.
Johnny smiled with delight. Charley just
spoke his true feelings. “Is that so?” Now
the thugs were hesitant to act on Charley’s
orders. From the looks on their faces, they
were already thinking of what they knew
about Charley, and how they could have him
put away.
“Did you really think that I’d walk into
your company without taking precautions of
my own?”
“No, not really. No matter. I’ll manage
to kill you yet, Johnny. You’re afraid of
me. You can’t hide it.”
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“Not today, thanks anyway.” Johnny

sighed with melancholy. You’ll never know
the truth of what I tell you, so it doesn’t
matter anyway. If I were such a coward I’d
have you drain me here and now.”
Charley shook his head in
disappointment. “Is there no way I can
convince you that I mean you no harm?”
Johnny looked at the thugs around him.
“No.”
“Poor Johnny. You wound me so deeply it
hurts. I can’t believe it; my own brother
turned against me. He would willingly swap
genes with someone else because he didn’t
want to share any he started out with. Is
there no justice? No mercy for such pain
you bring to me?” Charley put his hands
over his heart as he shook his head sadly.
Although he tried to look as if he were
hurt, his tone of voice held too much
jesting and his attempts were too false to
be convincing.
“I guess not. At least, not in your
case.” Johnny smiled and shook his head as
he spoke with a mocking tone. “Isn’t it a
pity?”
“Well, you may not have any mercy left
in your soul, but I have enough to forgive
and forget all the pains you’ve made me
suffer. I’m a new man, really. All I ask in
return is you allow me to give you a
merciful death.”
Johnny looked at Charley as at an idiot
savant, with the mind of a three year old.
“I can’t believe what I just heard.” In a
sarcastic manner Johnny shook his head in
amazement. “Could it be that I’ve gone
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cold? I feel no compassion as I once did.

On the other hand, your body language tells
me that you’re no better than a leech.”
Johnny shook his head, as for the loss of
someone long dead. At one time you may have
loved someone, but you can never bring back
the dead. Not as they once were. The one
who was before Johnny now was a mockery, a
shell, of the brother he once knew. Feeling
a sense of melancholy, Johnny partially
smiled as if someone put some bright light
in his eyes. “Ah, well; it’s of no matter
any more. All good things must die some
day.”
“Oh goody.” Charley clapped his hands in
delight. “I promise I’ll take it easy;
you’ll see. You won’t even know what hit
you.”
“What?” Johnny looked at Charley
puzzled. “Oh no. I can’t allow you to drain
me; I was thinking something else
entirely.”
“Bad habit that. Such habits can be
detrimental to your health if you’re not
careful. I really must insist that we go to
my place. We can have coffee.” Charley got
a smile on his face and clapped his hands
together. “I have an idea. You can make the
coffee, so it’ll be just the way you like
it.”
“Such temptation. No, really. I just
can’t make it. Mayhap I can take a reign
check on that coffee.”
“Oh, please. Why not?” Charley looked
like a little boy whose favorite toy was
taken away.

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“Let’s just say that I’d never feel safe

enough to fall asleep in your presence.”
Before Charley could respond Johnny took
the guns out of his left and right pockets
with a lightning speed. He fired it point
blank at Charley and two of the other
bodyguards. Charley and the bodyguards
fainted. Johnny turned fast. Three more
thugs made as if to stop Johnny. Johnny
fired at the remaining bodyguards, making
them faint. The three men Johnny talked to
never attempt trying to make a move to stop
Johnny. They didn’t know what to do.
“Relax, everyone’s out for a few hours.
When they wake up they’ll have mild
headaches. If you three will help me, we’ll
take Charley here to my place. It’s nearby.
Don’t worry. Charley can’t ever hurt you
again. Not unless you want him to.”
“Where’d you learn to draw and shoot
like that?” One of the three bodyguards,
Frank, spoke dazed by what he saw.
“Billy the Kid. I wound up teaching him
after a time.” Johnny flashed a smile.
“Are they dead; they don’t look like
they’re alive,” Cayatano spoke.
“No, just sleeping. They’ll wake up in a
few hours. Pardon me a minute. I have to go
back there for a moment.” Johnny walked
away before they could speak. He went into
the back. As he walked, he set the laser
gun on kill. He got the attention of The
Ripper who followed him into a small area.
The Ripper was planning to kill Johnny,
since Charley sent him a mental picture of
what Johnny looked like. Johnny positioned
The Ripper where he was hidden from view of
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the others; he fired the laser gun at him

and destroyed all traces of The Ripper’s
body. Johnny returned to where the others
were still standing listless. When Johnny
reappeared, one of them spoke.
“It’s true that Tom told us before he
died that if we ever needed help that you
could help us. You sound as crazy as
Charley.”
“Well, that’s to be expected. In
humoring the insane, if you don’t speak of
things they believe in, you can’t get very
far in their confidence.”
“You were trying to gain his confidence?
Why?”
“Well, at least enough to take him off
guard for a bit.”
Cayatano spoke more puzzled than before.
“From what I’ve heard, I don’t know if I
can trust either you or Charley.”
“I’d be worried if you felt otherwise.
What I can tell you is that Charley now
knows that you three were the informers.
He’ll do to you what he did to Tom. If you
want to live longer, help me take Charley
to my place. Otherwise I can leave here,
and in a few hours when Charley comes to he
can take care of killing you himself.”
“What about The Ripper?” Frank kept
looking back toward the employees section.
“You won’t have to worry about The
Ripper any more, whatever you decide to do.
I guarantee that he’s nothing compared to
Charley; The Ripper is an infant in
comparison.”

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The three men looked at each other. “You

give us no choice. All right; we’ll help
you take Charley to your place.”
As the three men were talking, Johnny
called the tyme machine that materialized
quietly nearby. “Good. You don’t have to
remain if you’d prefer not to.”
“Thanks. From the things Tom had told
us, we were pretty skeptical.”
“Harry was the one who overheard Charley
on the telephone?”
“Yeah; I couldn’t believe what I heard.
I’m not sure I understand what he said or
meant. All the same, Tom’s dead.”
“Yes, and you did right by arranging the
meeting. You won’t regret it and you may
have extended your lives.”
“What did Charley mean about not seeing
you for some several thousand years? Who,
or what, are you and Charley?” Frank spoke
with puzzlement in his voice. The three
bodyguards were taking Charley’s
unconscious body and walking out to
Johnny’s tyme machine, now disguised to
look like an average house.
“Good questions. The best explanation I
can give you is that Charley and I are time
lords. I’m actually a Guardian as well as a
time lord, and that gives me more of an
advantage in some ways. Charley is more of
a vampire now than anything else. He feeds
on the souls of others to maintain his
youth and extended knowledge.” Johnny was
leading the three bodyguards through the
line of trees behind the restaurant.
“It wouldn’t have taken Charley very
long to kill all those who betrayed him to
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his brother, even if this event hadn’t

taken place.”
“What was all that about you gene
swapping and carbon copying souls?”
Cayatano spoke up.
“Oh, that. All true. I’ll have you know
it’s not all it’s cracked up to be, though.
Most everything is a cursed gift. One side
good, the other bad in equal proportions.
Including the genes. I’ve been trying to
dispose of the more harmful ones, but life
hasn’t reached such a state of perfection
as yet so I still have to take the good
with the bad.” Johnny’s throat stripped
again. They stopped at the front door of
the tyme machine, and Johnny opened the
‘locked’ door. “Sort of like trying to
repair a biological cell with a
sledgehammer. As for carbon copying souls,
I refuse to destroy souls; I only carbon
copy the current life of each soul, and
only when I have no other choice. But
enough of that; if you’ll put Charley on
the table over there, I’ll take care of the
rest.” Johnny opened the door to the
laboratory and the three bodyguards took
Charley’s body inside. So far nothing
looked abnormal or uncommon to the
bodyguards. “This way, please.”
The three men were looking around the
room as they went further in. The room
started to look different as it was
equipped with a lot of operating apparatus
and machinery none of the others
recognized. “What is this place?” All three
were looking around wide-eyed with
curiosity.
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“Just a small laboratory. The details

aren’t important. What is important is that
Charley not regain consciousness for a
while yet. “No, I won’t kill him. Without
knowing what he did, he just told me that
everyone he drained is still alive. Only I
know how to save them. It’s tricky, and I
could be killed if Charley wakes up too
soon. If you don’t mind, I’d like to get
started.”
“Is there anything we can do?”
“Yes. No matter what you may hear, I am
not to be disturbed. Let no one in this
room once I close the door. Any disturbance
could kill Charley or myself. I’ll open the
doors myself when I’m finished.”
The tyme machine was monitoring Johnny’s
thoughts, and preparing for the event,
making sure Johnny wouldn’t be disturbed,
just as when he had to leave his body when
he went to the wall.
“What’ll you do, in a nutshell?”
“I’m going to rescue your friends and
release all of the rest of the souls
Charley has taken. It may take me several
days or more. There’s some food and drink
in the kitchen if you get hungry or
thirsty. Help yourself or not. Don’t worry
about trying to give me any food or water.
That’s all been taken care of. If I
succeed, Charley will be his old sweet
self. It’ll be good to meet the old Charley
I once knew.”
One of the three spoke up. “You’ll have
your privacy. No one will get by us.”
“Thank you. You don’t have to stay,
though.”
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The three men looked at each other, then

talked amongst each other. Johnny heard
them mention Julie as the weird woman who
was possibly dangerous.
“The woman you saw in the graveyard
won’t bother you as long as you don’t try
to disturb her. Appearances can be
deceiving, so take care.”
“Thanks for the warning.” The three men
turned and started walking out of the room
where Johnny and Charley were. Johnny shut
the door and locked it. Then he turned to
the table with Charley lying unconscious.
He walked over and started an I.V. that
contained a sedative that would keep
Charley from waking up while Johnny went
inside his void. It’s the only way Johnny
could save the lost souls and free Charley.
Johnny was given some information from
The Universal Mind regarding Voids, and the
technique only Guardians can use in
entering the voids of others. He would have
to use that knowledge to save Charley’s
life and release the souls Charley took.
Over the thousands of years, Charley
accumulated a lot of soul casings and made
the void larger. It was going to be a major
job digging them all up. Now is when the
work really starts. With any luck the
Immortals would help Johnny with the
restorations.
Johnny sighed as he laid himself on a
table and went unconscious. It was going to
be a long time before Johnny saw the
outside again.

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THE VOID

Johnny was now inside of Charley’s

subconscious mind where the ‘void’ was. The
void was much more extensive than Johnny
thought it was. If Charley recovered, he
may not be so well off mentally. When
anyone kept a void like Charley had, it
killed that part of the brain. Once it was
cleaned out, that section could never be
used again, except as another cemetery for
soul casings. If any parts of the brain
were injured, it wouldn’t be able to
reroute itself if the area it normally used
was voided. When that happened, all the
souls you absorbed would die the true
death, and the knowledge you once had from
all of the souls would be lost as the
injury tried to take over. A slight bump or
physical jarring could trigger it, and it
was irreversible. It was one of the curses
of having a void. Since there wasn’t
anything except a false benefit to having
one, most time lords avoided the voids like
a plague.
Johnny groaned upon seeing how extensive
it was. He sighed and started in a section
of one corner, and tried slowly working his
way around the edges. He wasn't near the
starting point several days later after he
went inside of Charley’s void. So far
Johnny had released several hundred souls
whose casings were left in shallow graves.
A few were buried deeper. They were older
soul casings, from the early days when

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Charley still believed that everything dead

had to be buried deep, or they would stink
and cause diseases.
As Johnny was working at a new site, an
Immortal appeared in front of Johnny.
Johnny recognized his old friend and
colleague David. David was in a humanoid
form. He had light brown hair, stood 6’6”
and weighed 189. He was muscular and lean.
His eyes were a sea green colour that
seemed to have a kaleidoscope effect. This
humanoid appearance was David’s favorite
form. He was rather broad at the shoulders
and narrow in the hips. He had a loose robe
on that seemed to be white, but it would
shine with various colours as he walked,
and depending upon how the light hit his
robe determined the colours. Quite a ladies
man, which puzzled Johnny at first, until
Johnny remembered that David had been on
vacation just prior to his appearance. The
vacation probably had a lot to do with the
form David had taken.
“Oh, there you are. I asked for help
when I started and you decide to show up
much later. Are all of the other time lords
so afeared of me, possibly?”
David shook his head in denial. “Now,
now, Johnny. You mustn’t lose your temper.
Besides, no one dares to give me any lip
when I put my foot down. I’ll take over
from here.
It turns out that Charley is now on the
point of waking up. If he gets any more
sedative, he’ll die from an overdose. Your
concern for Charley has been most touching
to the rest of us, so we decided to give
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you a little boost in your diggings. Our

involvement wasn’t required until now.”
David turned to one of the graves and
snapped his fingers. The grave was dug up
and the soul casing cleaned off and ready
for restoration. “If you don’t mind, I’ll
take care of restoring those already
uncovered and these yet to be uncovered.
That is, unless there are some you prefer
to restore.”
Johnny looked at his old friend and
smiled as he shook his head with amusement.
“How do you intend to restore them?”
Johnny’s throat stripped.
“If you’ll remember, there are a lot of
storage areas for souls that are used
according to the tint of the souls
colouring.”
“Yes, I remember. It’s where all the
souls are stored until they are sent back
to relive as a mortal again. What about
it?”
“In placing the soul casings in these
storage areas, they will automatically be
restored to their normally horrid selves.”
“Until the souls are continually mixed
and separated as others cross breed with
them. Anyway, with so many, won’t that
deplete the rest of the souls as well?”
“That’s true. It won’t matter, though.
Since all of the souls will have the same
tint to them, the restored souls won’t gain
or lose anything they didn’t have already.
As for the reduced soul amounts, during the
mortal lives the souls will grow back to a
full capacity.” David was looking somewhere

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else, while at the same time probing

Johnny’s mind.
“Wouldn’t it be better if you used the
overcharged souls instead? After all, there
wouldn’t be so much time waiting for
everyone to grow.”
“That’s a point. Hadn’t considered that
one. I suppose it could work.” David was
deep in thought about it. As David was
thinking, he was also trying to probe
Johnny’s most hidden thoughts.
“Taking a reading? I’ll never figure out
how you manage that trick.”
“Which one?” David was smiling with
delight.
“Never mind. There is one soul that I
would prefer to take care of myself. I know
he’s in here somewhere.”
“Whom do you have in mind?” David looked
around.
“Oh, he was one of the last victims.
Name was Tom. He worked with me for a time,
before he worked full time with Charley.”
“Oh, that one. I thought you might want
to restore Tom yourself. He’s over there.”
David pointed to another remote location.
“Now you must act quickly; Charley’s
starting to grow more alert.” David started
going over to a lot of burial spots and
uncovering the soul casings. “Yes, it is
rather larger than it used to be.”
“You’re doing it again.” Johnny smiled
as he spoke.
“Doing what?” David was clearly enjoying
himself.

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Heather J. Kintyre

“Reading my mind. How do you do that?”

Johnny looked at David with an amused but
suspicious look.
“Really, Johnny. I can’t help it if
you’re now as transparent as old-fashioned
glass.” David chuckled as he turned to
another location.
“That’s what Charley said, also. Pretty
bad?”
“Oh yes. These humans have made you
soft. Monitoring your every thought is like
pre kindergarten work.”
“That’s terrible. I’ll have to take a
few trips to the other solar systems. Can’t
have that.”
Johnny and David were making good time
in the uncovering of the soul casings. They
were almost done.
“Actually, you may get better results if
you go up five and over seven solar
systems. I prefer that other area myself.
Unfortunately it’s not as good as the other
one I just came from.”
“Really? Where’s that one? How can I get
there?”
“You have to go towards the Andromeda
galaxy, up until you get to the wall, swing
a left and continue over five arms. Then go
left again. Now you’re travelling along the
arm of galaxies in that sector. Go
straight, passing the next four thousand
galaxies.”
“Sounds like it’d take a long time.”
“Sounds like it, but it doesn’t take
very long at all. Actually, it’s one of the
smaller ‘spokes’ in the universal wheel.
Want me to set the coordinates into your
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tyme machine when we’re done? You could use

one of the worm holes to save more time.”
“Sure. I may get side tracked
otherwise.” Johnny’s throat stripped again.
“Yes, you probably would. I know of some
planets where the cat family runs the
world. Interested?” David smiled as he was
having fun teasing Johnny. “I know how fond
you are of the cats.”
“I’d be delighted. What a way to spend a
vacation. I’d like to take Julie with me.
She needs a real vacation for a change. Any
objections?”
“I’ll check with the others. Meanwhile
I’ll program your tyme machine for the
solar systems and their planets. You’re
going to need another vacation after you
finish this.”
“Yes, Charley will be his old self-I
hope.” Johnny sighed wearily.
“We figured you didn’t want him to die
since you went to all this trouble to
restore him.”
“That’s very true. It’ll be nice to have
the old Charley back. He used to be such a
great kid before Morgaine got the better of
him.”
“Speaking of Morgaine, how did she ever
get her name?”
Johnny smiled. “Actually, it was another
family joke. When our mother died shortly
after giving birth, our father, Skyner,
named Morgaine. Morgaine’s name was a
combination of mortuary and migraine
headaches that he suffered; such detail
work always gave Skyner a migraine

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headache. More so when there was a newborn

to care for.”
“Your mother wasn’t buried though, was
she?” As David spoke he and Johnny were
uncovering the soul casings in the center
of Charley's void.
“No, we had ourselves a feast on another
body. Then we dumped her body in the acid.”
“Why?”
“Many years before cannibalism became
more frequent in killing violent criminals,
it was part of the culture on that planet
to eat those closest to you who died.
That’s sort of what we did.” Johnny and
David were finishing up taking the last
soul casings out of the ‘void.’
“Still, the threat of killing and
possible cannibalism is why most of the
time lords are too uncomfortable to help
you personally.”
“Except for yourself.”
“Correct. I know you too well to be
afraid. I didn't get too many objections in
my volunteering to help you." David smiled
as they finished up removing the casings.
“There. That should do it. Now I need to
work on restoring Charley to his former
self.” Johnny stood up and stretched. He
massaged his neck as he did so.
“I did all I could for you, but your
neck problem is as good as I could get it.”
“You mean when Carl had control as yet?”
“Oh yes, that’s right. He couldn’t have
died in better company.”
“Thanks, I think. I never could fathom
your real thoughts. It’s not fair.” Johnny
playfully sniffed as if hurt.
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“Oh, poor Johnny. I’ll have to remember

to put your soul in for special
considerations upon your next mortal
death.” David then looked puzzled at
Johnny. “I received word that you will no
longer regenerate or continue mortal
existence though. What’s this all about?
Are my reports correct? What’s going on
here?”
“Your reports may be correct. I have
decided to embrace eternal death instead of
the continued mortal existence if I have
to.”
“Why? I know what the reports say, but
I’d rather hear it from you.”
“In a nutshell, existence has become too
much of a struggle. Life is not so
enjoyable anymore when all of your time is
taken up in maintaining your survival. It’s
better to embrace eternal death. No life is
worth hanging onto when it’s become so
structured that you can never enjoy the
time you have.”
“That’s not all there is to it. Come
clean, Johnny. What is it?”
Johnny sighed. “Guilty as charged. I
can’t hide this either. I prefer to avoid
the many fates that are much worse than
death. Besides, since Zeus sentenced me to
this planet and took away my freedom, why
continue to survive any longer than
necessary?” Johnny’s throat stripped.
“So the reports are accurate.” David
sighed. “You know of course the conditions
that have to be met.”

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Heather J. Kintyre

“Yes, I know. I’ll do my best, but my

future remains uncertain. That’s the scary
part.”
“Not quite as bad as anyone else’s.”
“You mean the ability to foresee the
future with given conditions.”
“Exactly. Since you took over Carl’s
knowledge, you’re familiar with why I put
that touch in there.”
“So that was your handiwork. I thought I
recognized it. You always had a certain way
of putting your personal print in your
work.”
David tipped his head in acknowledgment.
“Glad you approve.”
“Sort of. I mean, it’s a fine piece of
work, and it’s no worse than any other
cursed gift. It does create a lot of
rejections that otherwise I would partake
of.”
“Oh? How?”
“In being able to draw up the many
different scenarios that could happen,
should any of the scenarios be bad, I have
to refuse the initial action; it doesn’t
matter how good they may actually seem to
be, I have to refuse.”
“Give me an example, please.”
“Let’s say that someone was angry enough
to try to kill me. They hire someone to
locate me. I don’t know of it, naturally.
The one hired by my enemy befriends me, or
tries to. Then I am asked to go to a
certain spot—alone. With the cursed gift
you made, the ability to foresee everyone
with suspicion is a given. Since no one can
ever be your best friend, in this case it’s
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a benefit. On the other hand, if it’s a

true friend, I still have to treat them
with suspicion; at least, everyone of human
origin. Presented with the foresight to
draw up various scenarios, the possible
dangers are revealed and I can’t act.”
“Well, it still doesn’t sound too bad to
me.”
“Except what if the one in question is
truly a friend and not a villain? What if
the hired assassin becomes a true friend? I
am still restricted because they also are
forever under suspicions.” Johnny was
wishing he could make some coffee.
“Yes, I can see your dilemma. It could
be that I perfected the ‘cursed gift’ with
more of a one sided view.” David was
rubbing his bottom lip in thought.
“That’s how I knew it must’ve been your
handiwork. It’s sort of your trademark. No
offense. It’s a good job, and I wouldn’t
want to be without it. Crazy as that may
sound.”
“Thank you. I appreciate it. What about
the body language? Surely that helps to
relieve a lot of the suspicions.”
“Yes, it helps. Unfortunately it’s
crippling because I can’t be around too
many humans at any one time without having
my own soul depleted. Plus I still can’t
override the suspicion toward everyone.”
Johnny spoke with a barely concealed anger
and irritation.
“Anger, Johnny?”
“Anger? Yes I should say so. I have
tried to recreate anger in order to rid
myself of the build up of guilt when I’d
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have to kill humans. If I think about the

other animals suffering in the useless
experiments, I can dredge up some anger,
but even then it’s short lived. I can’t
hold onto any negative emotion very long. I
have to take breaks, long breaks, in
between.”
“Zeus has been irritated at your
constant vacations.”
“Irritated or not, I’m still a Guardian,
and if I don’t maintain the vacations, the
universe will be a lot worse off.”
“There are others, Johnny.”
“True, but we all know that I’m the only
one who can create and destroy on much
larger scales, and faster. I’ve saved so
much time, that I’ve made it possible for
most of the other Guardians to take much
needed time for their own R & R.”
“I know. Zeus knows it as well. I’m
pretty sure that he’s terrified of you, and
that’s why he’s trying so hard to have you
destroyed.”
“Have you discussed it with any others?”
“No, I don’t dare. Zeus would hear me.”
“Zeus can be draining to be around for
very long. It’s almost as bad as when I
have to restore my depleted soul after
being in a public situation. Takes time to
bring it back to normal. There are times
when the soul depletion can’t be avoided so
to the public I go to burn my heart and
wound my soul, and many years have still to
go. (Anyone have some Jamaican Rum handy?)
At least the crowds are kept down to a
minimum. I still have to stay on the
outskirts. I have no choice, actually.
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Whether I want to or not makes no

difference. This ‘cursed gift’ is more
cursed than gifted a lot of times.”
“Now calm yourself, Johnny. There’s no
sense in your being frustrated against me.
I did my best when I designed that
disposition.”
“Yes, I know. It’s just it has so much
negative to it.”
“Yes, Andromeda couldn’t figure out a
way around that one. We all tried to find a
loop hole there, but to no avail.” David
shook his head sadly. “Look on the bright
side, though; for any excessive amount of
negative in the ‘cursed gift’ I made,
there’s that much excess of positive in
another ‘cursed gift.’
“Yeah, that’s a point. At least it does
work with amazing accuracy. I give everyone
the benefit of the doubt, as you told Carl
before he was returned.” Johnny spoke up in
an attempt to relieve David of any bad
feelings. After all, it was mostly his
handiwork, and Johnny and David were good
friends ever since they were small kids.
“Glad to hear it. You’ve probably found
by now that it helps makes it a little
easier to live with the ‘cursed gifts’ we
gave Carl, now you.”
“How is Carl now? I haven’t talked to
him since ’83.”
“He’s doing fine. We didn’t have the
heart to give him eternal death. Zeus took
him in as an apprentice. He’ll be an
Immortal yet. One of the best we hope.”
“Can’t have a better teacher when you
already have the best there is.”
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Heather J. Kintyre

“Such flattery. Zeus is susceptible to

such praise. He loves hearing such nice
things about himself. You may make it yet
to remaining a full Immortal and Guardian
at this rate.”
Johnny was looking over some of the
gravesites. He spied a joke marker Charley
made. Johnny went over to it. It was for a
painter named Vincent. “My word. I may not
be able to change some futures, but I can
at least prevent some of the damage from
occurring.”
David smiled, and then turned to Johnny.
“I think I can leave the rest to you, now.
I hope we’ll be able to see each other
again soon under much better
circumstances.” David faded out as Johnny
watched.
Johnny stretched and disappeared
himself. Charley was soon going to wake up,
but Johnny would have at least a couple of
minutes before then, so he was going to do
some time travelling and correct what he
could of the souls Charley absorbed. He
time travelled back in time to see his old
friend.
“Hello, Vincent.”
“Hello, Tanner.”
“Why’d you do it, Vincent? Why’d you
have yourself put in this hellhole?”
“It was an attempt to try to get some
help. Unfortunately my soul still burns.
There’s no peace for me. Everyone is very
kind and sympathetic here. No one bothers
me when I want to be alone; still I can
find no peace.” Vincent smiled sadly as he
looked at the table between them and
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continued. “Your brother, Charley, has been

visiting. He said he could help me. I’ll do
anything to end this torture.”
“Poor Vincent. Locked away in another
prison. I’ve noticed in your paintings that
by substituting certain colours for the
shades of red, orange and white of fire and
smoke can allow you to see the fire within
a tortured mind.”
“Anything particular come to mind?”
“Starry Starry Night.”
Vincent smiled sadly. “You’re right
about the colours. But is it so obvious?
Did you see it in other paintings?”
“Obvious, I’m not sure. Mayhap to other
souls that also burn as ours do. Yes, I’ve
seen it in other paintings.”
“Your soul also burns? That’s something
new.”
“Afraid so, old friend. Mine is a cursed
gift that prevents me from being able to
take the measures you have—and will.”
“How would you know?”
“I’ve already been there. I’m not
allowed to change certain futures. My
brother unfortunately can’t help you as you
think. That’s why I came to give you this.”
Johnny gave Vincent a gun. “My brother has
been giving you false hopes. What tortures
you now know will be paradise in comparison
to what Charley has in store for you. Use
this instead.” Johnny smiled sadly as
Vincent took the pistol and hid it under
his shirt.
“Thank you.” Vincent spoke quietly.
Johnny and Vincent got up from the table
they were sitting at. Johnny walked out of
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the institution. Charley was scheduled to

appear again in three days, but Johnny knew
that Vincent would use the gun the next day
as he went out into a field nearby.
Looking around, Johnny saw no one about.
He then looked up into the sky. He changed
into a large golden eagle and flew into the
air. He looked around and as he flew he
came to a sandy beach. He went over, landed
on the beach and changed back into his
semi-human form.
Johnny started one of his regular six-
mile runs. As he ran, he was feeling
something strange happening. There was a
nervous shuttering taking place. Johnny
didn’t finish his run before the symptoms
were made known.
The sun has just turned supernova while
Johnny’s running on the beach. He knows
what he has to do. He increased his running
speed. Johnny now has triggered his second
wind. Alas, it’s not enough. He has less
than eight minutes before the earth is
consumed by fire. There’s a boulder up
ahead. He ran up to it, and then jumped
over; instead of running past it, as Johnny
leaped he changed into a golden eagle. He’s
flying as fast as he can. Speed is of the
essence. The universe will soon collapse
upon itself. The universe collapsing is
what triggered the supernova. Johnny knows
that if he’s caught in it, all that he will
experience is a fate much worse than mortal
death. Even worse than being sent back to
someone like Carl’s mother wrapped in a
cardboard box.

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Johnny screamed as he flew. Since he’s

taken to flying, he flew outside of the
planets atmosphere and into the universe.
All other life forms will just have to do
the best they can. He tried to warn them.
Someone may have heard his blood-curdling
scream. He’s flying on pure adrenaline.
Johnny’s never flown so fast before. Not
even when he was heading for the wall to
save Charley. Only pure terror keeps him
going. He’s so tired, but he can’t stop. To
stop is to accept a fate worse than death.
There’s no time to retrieve the tyme
machine. This time Johnny will have to
attempt the wall without any protection
whatsoever. Johnny saw a path of
destruction as he flew within space. It’s
the trash man has put into space with his
‘technology skills.’ In disgust, he speeds
up; travelling much faster than he ever has
before. Warped time is still catching up to
Johnny, though. He must escape. There’s an
asteroid belt before him. Johnny flew
through it with the greatest of ease.
Without any warning Johnny’s at the
wall. It’s now or never. It’s very dark.
Eternal death awaits the unwary traveller
inside. Well, eternal death is a lot more
preferable to a fate worse than death. He
knew that if the wave of destruction ever
caught him, then the best that he could
hope for is a slow, agonizing death. At
least in the wall it’ll be over shortly.
The wall hasn’t put forth any good or bad
vibrations. Johnny swallowed his fears and
dived into the wall. Now Johnny’s inside of
the wall-it’s dark and very cold. It’s
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Heather J. Kintyre

feeding upon his soul in equal proportion

to how much he thinks. Once seventy five
percent of his soul is eaten away, he’ll be
as good as dead, unless one of the
Immortals or his tyme machine comes to his
aid. Johnny can’t count on that happening,
even if he is an Immortal and Guardian. Not
when they have to go inside of the wall. No
Immortal is going to attempt coming close
to the wall and having their own soul
destroyed in the process.
Johnny looked around. There’s no way to
tell which direction is which. If he goes
‘forward,’ will he come out into the
collapsing universe? It’s too dark to tell
which way to go, and he mustn’t think
hardly at all. The harder he tries to
think, the more his soul is eaten away.
Just then he felt a massive vibration. The
chaos of the universe collapsing has
vibrated against the wall. Using the
vibrations to find a direction to go,
Johnny tried a direction opposite,
hopefully escaping the wall. With the
vibrations behind him, Johnny travelled
forth. A very slim trickle of warmth is
felt. It’s not really very warm, but in
such extreme cold, the frostbite in his
hands and feet came out, so it doesn’t take
much warmth to feel as if he’s been burned.
Especially when it’s in full force.
Gradually the warmth grew. Then the warmth
ended as Johnny came out into the next
universe.

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THE ESCAPE

It’s very beautiful in this parallel

universe. Johnny’s no longer cold, but the
frostbite was still there and it was
uncomfortable. It needed to be taken care
of. This universe here isn’t on the verge
of collapsing; there are many colours in
this universe, but the bands are wider and
more artistic looking. The adrenaline was
flowing slowly; it left as Johnny was
trying to gradually warm the frostbitten
hands. The loss of the adrenaline soon left
Johnny too exhausted; he collapsed into a
deep sleep. While he was asleep, the tyme
machine materialized.
Upon waking, Johnny looked around to see
where he was. He seemed to have a soft bed
of grass; fragrant flowers grew nearby.
Apparently the tyme machine was close by as
well. It picked up Johnny’s brain waves and
travelled into the wall. He didn’t notice
that it was nearby as he went through.
Johnny was watching a rainbow of many
colours into the distance. He couldn’t stop
thinking about his dear friend David who’s
still in the other universe. As Johnny
thought about David he appeared. “David!”
Johnny was delighted to see him. David
motioned to Johnny to remain quiet. Johnny
looked at David worried. David spoke gently
using mental telepathy then to transmit
information faster to Johnny. Seems no one
knew just yet about Johnny being there.
Quietly they both looked around, and then

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Heather J. Kintyre

went into the tyme machine. They located

another planet with some water. They took a
closer look.
While inside the tyme machine, Johnny
had a mental conversation with the tyme
machine. Seems she was equipped with the
ability to restore Johnny, if his soul was
ever in such dire need. She rarely had to
take on a form of substance and go outside
of the tyme machine, but she has done so a
few times in some emergency situations.
“It’s good to know that I have someone
to look out for me.”
“I hope it will never be necessary. I also am subject to losing
substance, like you. It’s just slower for me.”
Johnny smiled as he and David went to
the kitchen to make some coffee and a
couple of meals. As they travelled, Johnny
looked at David who still wanted to remain
silent. Johnny shrugged then turned his
attention to the planet the tyme machine
picked out.
As they go out, the ocean is calling to
both of them. Dolphins are inviting David
and Johnny to bodysurf with them. They went
out to join the dolphins in the surf. As
they bodysurfed the dolphins stayed nearby
without any danger of crowding. One of the
waves took Johnny into the inner curl. A
couple of the dolphins are keeping a close
watch on Johnny and David. The rest are
paying attention, but not as closely.
Johnny spent a lot of the time with David
performing water ballets when they weren’t
bodysurfing or otherwise playing. As they
bodysurfed, their humanoid bodies changed.
They gradually became one of the merfolk.
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Now the dolphins that were closely watching

Johnny and David swam up closer. The
dolphins spoke then. As they talked, David
and Johnny understood them perfectly. It’s
as though the dolphins’ speech is the
mother tongue for the two time lords. The
dolphins told David and Johnny that they
prepared homes for both of them. The houses
are built and waiting for their occupancy.
As the dolphins lead them to their new
homes, Johnny and David embrace a couple
dolphins, conserving the energy it’s going
to take for the long journey ahead. When
they reached their ocean homes, they
thanked the generous dolphins, and then
left for their own homes.
“It’s good to see you again, David. How
long can you stay?” Johnny spoke quietly as
they were inside of a cave underwater; a
bubble was created, and they looked around.
“I’m sorry about that speech delay, but
I wasn’t able to speak for a while. Anyway,
I put in for a vacation, and that’s what
I’m doing now. I’m actually helping the
time lords unofficially right now.” David
smiled and put a smug look on his face.
“Is that so? Does this have anything to
do with helping me this last time?”
“Yeah, I played the role of having been
under extreme stress. It was easy since all
the rest are so skittish of you.”
Johnny sighed. “I’ll never understand
why.”
“I can’t help it if they’re cowards.
Zeus isn’t going to like that, I know. Even
so, it’s the truth. That’s why they use the
Menotaur and the Kracken when muscle power
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Heather J. Kintyre

is required. You prefer to go about it

yourself. I always admired you for that,
and I always meant to ask you about it as
well.”
“In what way?”
“Wouldn’t you prefer to use the Menotaur
or Kracken at all times? Don’t you ever get
tired of handling everything yourself?”
“Yes, it gets tiring. Unfortunately I’m
faced with a split second decision most of
those times, and there’s no time to call
the Menotaur or Kracken. I suppose I could
go about with them as my thugs, but they’d
not only draw attention, I’d sacrifice my
freedom. For the sake of keeping my
anonymity and freedom, I’ll take care of
myself.”
“Ah, yes. Freedom is very important to
you.” David shook his head. “At the same
time, at our time of life, well, sometimes
it’s best to slow back.”
Johnny glared at David then. “Careful,
David. I’m not so old and feeble that I
can’t take care of myself. Should that time
occur, I’d take my own life; I’ve been
involved with too many suicides not to know
what to do. Whatever method I use, I’ll
make sure to leave no traces for anyone to
dip into my memory banks.” Even David
didn’t have the knowledge to build one of
the laser guns Johnny made.
David chuckled and smiled at Johnny. He
patted Johnny on his shoulder. “Lighten up,
will you? Just testing. Neither of us is so
old, and even if we were, that’s all the
better. It just means our Immortal powers
are more acute.”
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Johnny smiled as he relaxed. “Well put;

come on. I have some work to catch up on.
We can have a break afterwards.” After they
went ashore, Johnny changed into a bighorn
sheep, and David followed suit.
“If you don’t mind, I’d rather not
partake of any human meat.” David spoke
with a squeamish tone.
Johnny laughed. “Okay, no human flesh
for you, I promise. You don’t know what
you’re missing, though. Everyone else raves
about those meals.”
“Yeah, and not one of them is aware that
they’re actually eating a human, and a high
chance that it’s one of their best
friends.”
“What they don’t know can’t hurt them,
can it?” Johnny briefly changed his face
into a tabby cat, and then smiled as a cat
that swallowed a canary; one of his shiny
teeth gleamed as the sun caught it. Johnny
changed back to a bighorn face, as they
both laughed at the joke they shared
between themselves.
The universe was restored some time ago,
but Johnny wasn’t very anxious to go back
since it would mean his sentence with Zeus
would be restored.
“With the exception of Julie.”
“Yes, how is Julie? Is she still so
suicidal?”
“She’s better, I think. I’m not sure
that she won’t try again, though. The
suicidal pattern is strong in her soul.”
David sighed, and avoided telling Johnny
about his continued involvement. “It’s a
problem, all right. Zeus and everyone else
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Heather J. Kintyre

have been trying to work on a possible

antidote. A drink that could alter her
soul.”
“I don’t really like the sound of that.
It could create damage in other ways,
altering her completely. She may not be
anything similar to who she is now. Still,
it may be just as well that I’m no longer a
part of her life if she’s doing okay.”
Johnny was sad at hearing about Julie. All
things considered, he liked her and she
wasn’t as bad as many he once knew and
tried to help.
“I’m not too keen on the idea of the
drink either; most of the time lords resist
the extreme measure. They don’t want to use
the drink unless there’s no other
alternative, and even then, I’m not so
sure.” David and Johnny were walking along
a dirt trail that went across the side of a
snow-covered mountain. The trail was wide
enough for two bighorn to walk side by
side. Up ahead they saw a mountain peak
with snow that had a blue tinge to it. A
crack of lightning was heard into the
distance. Johnny and David paused in their
walk.
“Unless I’m mistaken, that’s Zeus. I
think you made him angry when you said he
was a coward.” The lightning was worse, and
a lot closer.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say you’re
right. We’d best get out of here quickly.
Who knows how long the storm will last?”
“What do you mean, if you didn’t know
better?”

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“Zeus is in the other universe. We’re

safe here as long as we’re in this
alternate universe.”
“Are we really? I doubt that. In one of
my last rests the tyme machine informed me
that all Guardians of all the universes
have been granted passes to vacation in the
other universes they don't normally live
within. Including, but not limited to, Zeus
himself. Since I’m here, I know Zeus has
been keeping an eye out for my whereabouts
since I have a sentence to carry out.
Therefore the chances of him hearing you
are quite good. Be very careful, my friend,
that you don’t anger him.”
“I’m not really worried. It’s just a
regular storm that we’d do best to get out
of.”
Johnny and David changed into large
eagles. They flew fast as they could, but
the lightning stayed very close by. The
thunder became more violent than the worst
lightning storm ever known on Venus, within
the planet earth's solar system. Johnny and
David came to an ocean.
“If that’s Zeus, the old man’s getting
weak.” David spoke in a confident voice.
“Besides, I doubt he can reach me in this
universe.”
“I’m not so sure about that.”
“I’m not worried. The doddering old man
has it coming, anyway. He’s gone senile in
his old age.” Another booming sound similar
to the cosmic storms in the alternate
universe was heard. David’s face went pale
white, then transparent.

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Heather J. Kintyre

“Careful, David. You’re making him

awfully angry. I don’t think you want to
have a similar trial as myself, or worse,
right now.” Johnny and David flew into the
ocean and changed into a couple of dolphins
as soon as they touched the water. Unknown
to Johnny and David, there are eyes looking
around the surface of the ocean blue. Zeus
was not only present, he was very angry.
The eyes became angrier looking upon seeing
David enter the water. A hand appeared and
slammed down, creating a wild hurricane. A
booming voice screamed: “Senile, is it?
I’ll show you who’s senile!” Zeus roared in
anger as another bolt of lightning came so
close to striking David and Johnny that
they not only smelled the ozone layer being
burned, they felt the heat from the bolt of
lightning. “What do you WANT from me? I
treat everyone kindly, and you mock me! I
won’t have it you insolent imp!” Zeus kept
looking around the ocean, keeping an eye
out for wherever Johnny and David may try
to exit the water.
Gradually the storm died; the ocean grew
calm. Johnny and David managed to escape
for a short time. They were both in a
rowboat now, rowing backwards. The ocean is
like glass. Suddenly out of nowhere there’s
a huge flash of lightning. It came down to
the ocean and almost touched Johnny and
David. The light almost blinded them. They
heard the violent voice of Zeus screaming
at them: “What do you WANT from me?!” They
cringed in the rowboat and row back to
shore as quickly as possible.

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“Just like old times. I remember such

storms in our universe. They all have that
one trademark of a weak old man.” David
laughed.
“Please, David. You’re making Zeus very
angry. He may never forget this one. Once
you anger Zeus, chances are he’ll never
forgive you. Now he’ll follow you for
eternity, trying to kill you as punishment.
I’d ask for forgiveness if I were you.”
Johnny shook his head sadly.
David looked at Johnny and half smiled.
“No, never; not until Cronus kicks the
bucket and all time dies-forever.”
Johnny and David don’t make it to shore.
They heard Zeus creating one of his storms
in the distance. They both shape changed
and dived into the water. They are now of
the merfolk. Johnny and David swam as fast
as they could, but it didn’t do any good.
They eventually grew tired and the sharks
started catching up to them. Finally David
and Johnny went up to the surface and shape
changed again. As they broke the surface
they changed to a couple of phoenix birds.
Johnny and David haven’t seen or heard the
violent tempered voice of Zeus for some
time. With a little luck, mayhap Zeus had
forgotten or forgiven David’s insult.
There’s nowhere left to hide, and they’re a
long ways from land. They hid in every
place available on the planet.
“Do you think we should try going to
another planet?”
“No, he’ll catch us for sure.
“Then again, mayhap you’re in luck,
David. Hopefully Zeus has forgiven you.”
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Heather J. Kintyre

Johnny spoke nervously to David who

returned a half smile.
“Sure. I wish. No, Johnny. I’ll never
beg forgiveness. That’s too demeaning. I
really didn’t know the old man could still
function so well for such a feeble old
man.”
Johnny shook his head in sadness. Fate
isn’t so kind and they both knew it. The
booming voice of Zeus is heard again. He’s
caught up to them. His booming voice is
heard again shouting at Johnny and David.
“Feeble old man, is it? What do you WANT
from me?” As Zeus shouted the words, a bolt
of lightning struck David. David’s body and
soul has been fried, and then turned to
dust. When his body was released from the
thunderbolts hold, the dust of his remains
were blown away on a gentle breeze over the
ocean.
Johnny mourned for the death of his best
friend, David. Immediately after the
thunderbolt released David’s dead soul and
body, Zeus spoke to Johnny. He had a sad
look on his face. “I’m sorry, Johnny. I
couldn’t tolerate the insults David was
giving me. If it’s any consolation to you,
I felt that David was as a son, and I loved
him as one. I also know that he was like
the brother you never had. I didn’t want to
destroy David, but I’m a proud man, and too
set in my ways to change. I know what good
friends you were to each other.” Zeus
paused then continued. “If you care to end
your life now, I will kill you as I did
David. On the other hand, you can continue

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to do your best to ensure Julie doesn’t

commit suicide. The choice is yours.”
Johnny looked up at Zeus with tears in
his eyes, knowing that any show of anger
would be worthless. Anger would probably
get Johnny in worse trouble than he was in
already. Johnny wasn’t so stupid as to
allow his emotions to override his better
judgement. Warning lights were going off,
saying that Zeus would make sure that he
would be able to dip into Johnny’s
knowledge, and learn everything he needed
to know about the laser gun, and everything
else. Not just that, but David’s death
didn’t feel right. “Very well. I’ll do my
best to help save Julie. I have no desire
to have such a horrible death as David just
had. Send me back to earth with the tyme
machine in the cemetery; at the time I left
Julie. Charley was soon to wake up after
David and I had taken care of the soul
casings.”
Zeus smiled sadly then as he sighed. As
Johnny predicted, Zeus was disappointed
that he wasn’t able to get rid of Johnny so
easily. “Very well.”
Instantly the environment changed; the
air no longer had the colorful rays as in
the other universe. Johnny was now standing
beside the tyme machine in the cemetery.

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Heather J. Kintyre

A FORCED RETURN

Johnny sighed as he went back inside the

tyme machine. Charley was waking up. He
looked at Johnny puzzled. As he looked
around he seemed to see everything as
though for the first time.
“Pan; where’s Skyner and Morgaine? Where
is this place?”
Johnny smiled then. “Good to have you
back, Charley. How are you feeling?”
“Actually, I’ve never felt better. I
don’t remember having a music stirring
within my soul.”
“That’s Apollo’s contribution. It’s not
good to be devoid of being able to enjoy
some form of music.”
“Where is this place?”
“It’s a long and sad story, I’m afraid.”
“What happened? Where am I?”
“What happened is our beloved sister
Morgaine killed Skyner. She used you as an
accomplice in the killing.”
“Skyner is dead?” Charley was appalled
at this.
“Yes, I’m afraid so. Before he died he
gave me his only true legacy; the tyme
machine we’re in now.” Johnny patted the
table beside him, which was a part of the
tyme machine. He felt her reassurance.
“Legacy.” Charley looked at Johnny
closer then. “Pan? Why, what happened?
You’re not in the same body you grew up
in.”

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“I finally grew too old to maintain that

body. I was near death when I took another
body over. I changed my name then as well.
Now I’m known as Johnny C. Tanner.”
“I’m confused. You’ll have to fill me
in. It seems I’ve lost a lot of time.”
Johnny smiled then at Charley. “My
pleasure. For now I’ll make a pot of
coffee. Our conversation is going to take
some time.”
Johnny made the coffee in the area he
kept nearby when he didn’t want to go
outside of the lab. As Johnny made the
coffee Charley looked around, walking about
and looking everything over as he went.
When the coffee was brewed, Johnny gave a
cup to Charley as they talked for a long
time and Johnny updated Charley on the
events since his last memory served. Many
days passed as they talked. Johnny answered
all of Charley’s many questions and in time
Charley shook his head at having been
updated. After the things Charley was
responsible for on this planet, Johnny knew
he couldn’t risk taking Charley out into
the town or anywhere else on the planet; he
was too well known as the evil one. As a
kindness, Johnny avoided speaking of
Charley’s years on the planet they were on.
Instead Johnny explained that they were in
deep space since Charley escaped in the
tyme machine with Johnny. It was also the
tyme machine’s queue to take off silently
to go to another planet.
“Poor Skyner. I’m sorry now that I was
so hard on him. He really tried the best he
could. I know that much of what he did was
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because I was under such a firm control of

Morgaine.”
“That’s true. He wouldn’t have had to
take the legal actions he did if he wasn’t
so pressed as he was. I only regret that I
couldn’t help you in time so Skyner could
also have the pleasure of knowing you as
you were in those old days, now restored to
your old self. That’s the way it goes, and
there’s no sense in crying over spilled
coffee."
"Was I really such an evil guy? I know
you aren't familiar with the years I spent
on this planet, but what you did tell me
of, well, I can't believe that I was so
horrible." Charley cringed as at a
repulsive thought. "I don't know about
continuing to live in the same places where
I was so well known."
“Do you feel much up to partaking of
some ice skating and travelling around the
universe then?”
Charley looked at Johnny wide eyed when
he spoke. “Are you joking? You actually can
do that?”
“Guilty as charged. I take a lot of
vacations in the universe. So many that
Zeus gets angry with me because he believes
I’m taking too much time off, and delaying
the judgement. I think he’s more tolerant
because I’m actually saving the lives of so
many species by transporting them to safe
planets.” Johnny smiled as he thought about
those times. “Most of those times while I’m
actually finding other planets suitable for
transporting the non human animals I’m also
maintaining the universal laws.” Johnny
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looked deep into Charley’s eyes as he

spoke. “Care to join me?”
“I’d love to.” Charley was astounded at
this.
Johnny and Charley went out into the
wooded area where the tyme machine landed.
After Johnny looked around, he cloaked
himself and Charley. They both flew over
the planet. Once Johnny found a good place
to ice skate, he and Charley landed on the
ice, already equipped with the ice skates.
Charley looked amazed at his feet and
hands, which now have ice skates upon them.
Johnny chuckled. “I’ve extended to you the
ability to ice skate better than any
mortal. Give it a try; follow my lead.”
Johnny motioned to the ice, which Charley
started out on. Gradually as Charley became
more comfortable, he started getting more
confident and ice-skated like he’d been
doing it for many years with confidence.
Charley started ‘running’ backward on his
ice skates. When he picked up more speed he
reached down and resumed ice-skating on his
hands. Johnny and Charley execute figure
eights backward and forward. They picked up
more speed and jumped into the air. They
both curled into a tight ball. When Johnny
uncurled he became a golden eagle, and as
Charley uncurled he became a hawk.
As an eagle and a hawk they flew far
away from the solar system, then well away
from the galaxy. They’re flying fast into
the universe. They flew past galaxies
hundreds of light years wide, and several
hundred thousand light years from the
planet earth where they started.
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Occasionally they played hopscotch and

leapfrog between the distant galaxies and
sometimes took to weaving between the solar
systems.
Johnny and Charley come to a planet and
landed gently in a dark green valley. After
they land, a cup of Kenya AA coffee is
given to Johnny and Charley by some
mysterious host. They drank it as the
animals Johnny once knew in some of his
past lives came forward to greet them. He
introduced Charley to them. Charley seemed
to be quite taken with them, and vice
versa.
After they relax for a while, they
resumed flying over the planets surface.
They found another place to ice skate and
landed on the edge of the pond. Johnny and
Charley started ice-skating. They’re
skating in a circle to their right. They
took turns twirling each other into the
air. After a dozen tosses they separated
and performed figure eights both forward
and backward, interweaving between each
other’s patterns. When they would come
together during the ice-skating they’d hug
briefly as they twirled each other,
separating as they took over one another’s
figure eight pattern. They would often flip
between their hands and feet after they
completed one of the figure eight patterns.
Some time passed this way. They came
together again, taking turns as one twirled
the other first by the hands and then the
feet. After a couple turns like this, their
souls entwined while remaining separate.
They changed into large eagles and flew out
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into the universe weaving between more

planets and galaxies, enjoying the freedom
within the universe.
Charley and Johnny found another planet
in another galaxy next door to where they
grew up-while in the air Charley saw what
looked like to him to be a perfect planet.
He couldn’t wait to run around on the
surface. Charley shape changed into a
racehorse when they landed. They spent the
next few years running freely over the
planets surface. Periodically Johnny would
take a break and go into the ocean when he
came to a sandy beach with great surf.
One day Charley approached Johnny with a
half smile. He wasn’t sure how to start.
Johnny looked at Charley’s uncomfortable
state. “What is it, Charley?”
“I’m not sure how to put this. I mean,
I’m delighted to have you with me, and I
enjoy your company and everything, it’s
just...”
“You want me to push off now.” Johnny
smiled, making Charley more uncomfortable.
“I wouldn’t put it quite that way. It’s
just that after what you’ve told me about
the time lords and everything, I don’t feel
right keeping you here so long, and I don’t
want to go back to that planet called
earth. I really like it here. I’ll miss
you, and I’m greedy. I’d like to be able to
keep you here, but I know that’d be selfish
of me.”
Johnny smiled at Charley then. “It’s
okay, and I understand. You’re right.”
Johnny looked around. “I must say that you
have good taste in planets. I wouldn’t have
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stayed so long myself but it’s so nice

here.”
“Will you come back and visit me, and
everyone else here sometimes?”
“Sure will. Just make sure you take good
care of the animals.”
“Oh, you can rest easy there. I’ll see
to it that no harm comes to them.”
“Okay, I’ll be seeing you sometime later
then.” Johnny changed into a golden eagle
then, bowed his head and gave a parting
scream back to Charley as he left the
atmosphere to go back to earth.
Johnny sighed as he went back to the
tyme machine, and then time travelled back
to earth and into the cemetery. He went
inside, and then back into the oldest area
to become familiar with everything since he
left. Instantly everything came back to
him.
Johnny had just butchered a corpse
before he partook of the conversation with
Charley and then took off for the other
planet. He hadn’t cleaned everything up
quite as well as he normally did, so he was
taking the time to do so now. As he was
doing some of the detailed cleaning up,
Julie walked in.
“Hello, Johnny.”
“Hello, Julie. Find out anything new?”
“Nothing of interest.” Julie looked at
Johnny puzzled, not sure how to approach
the subject.
Johnny picked up on Julie’s
uncomfortable frame of mind. “Okay, Julie.
Spit it out. What’s on your mind?”

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Julie shook her head then. “How you do

that will never cease to amaze me. Okay,
okay. I don’t understand. I think it’s
great that I can be around you without
worrying about some unknown company
dropping by. What I want to know is how you
came to your life of solitude. Mine is
pretty straightforward. Yours is not.”
“A complex question. A simple answer I
cannot give. As simply as I can, I’ll try
to tell you.” Johnny and Julie were
cleaning up after having finished the
cleanup of the butchering area.
“Great; I’m all ears.”
“I doubt that, but I’ll try.” Johnny
looked at Julie and smiled. “While growing
up humans proved themselves to be liars.
They made it a sport to stab each other in
the back. They still practice the sport as
if it’s going out of style. It’s never
anything personal; it’s just for laughs.
Your troubles are the jokes of the other
guy. The more some human knows about you,
the more likely they’ll be able to get you
in trouble. There’s nothing they’d enjoy
more than to have you put behind bars-what
a great joke that’d be. The best sport
there is for those humans that don’t have
much of a life. I’m sad to say that’s the
majority of this human populations
attitude.” Johnny sighed then. “It’s also
why I need to be alone so much.”
Julie looked at Johnny and smiled sadly.
“Sounds like you know, or knew, such
humans.”
Johnny paused in what he was doing. He
was gazing way off into the distance. He
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gave a sad smile back to Julie as he turned

toward her. “Yes. I had the unpleasant task
of having to know and deal with such scummy
humans. Carl also until his death.” Johnny
sadly smiled.
“Why now after all this time have you
chosen eternal death over continued mortal
lives? Surely Carl wasn’t the worst of the
many merges you’ve done.”
“No, Carl was one of the better ones,
and one of the worst, true.” Johnny looked
sadly at Julie. “How can I explain it to
you when you can’t understand me? I may as
well be trying to speak to you through a 50
foot thick lead lined wall.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful. Well, give it a
go anyhow. You might get lucky.”
“Feelin’ lucky today, are we?” Johnny
tried to use a dry confident voice. “All
right. Having filled my memory banks to the
breaking point, the greatest amount of
knowledge the brain contains is how to
avoid being taken in by such creatures like
the humans so I can continue uninterrupted
with the task at hand. Eternal death is now
preferable to me. Then I will never have to
worry about ‘standing on my guns’ or
‘bracing myself’ before I try to perform
even the simplest tasks like some errand
that requires me to be around, and deal
with, humans type creatures.”
Julie looked at Johnny in dismay. “Have
you always been so cynical?”
“Yes. Mayhap it’s also hereditary.
There’s a lot of paranoia there. Carl was
one of the worst for being cynical. More

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than I was before we merged. May have to do

some more gene swapping.”
“Sounds like you got screwed royal when
you merged.”
Johnny laughed with delight. “Yes, I
suppose it does sound pretty bad. Well,
everything has its balance. Carl tried to
forget the worst of his memories, like you
did. Some things you’ll never forget. He
did the best he could to use them as
examples of what to avoid and why.”
“See what I mean? You got the short end
of the stick, so to speak. This one may
take a long time for you to readjust to.”
“That’s true, but it’s not quite as
horrible as all that.
“Carl used a lot of far distant future
scenarios, using a mental imagery game, to
make sure he could avoid the horrible
situations, and prevent them from ever
happening. The mental games are quite
useful, actually.”
Julie was looking at Johnny rather
skeptically. “So tell me. If there was
anything Carl would’ve wanted anyone to
know, what would that be?”
“You mean a legacy, sort of?” Johnny and
Julie were finished in the lab and were
walking out.
“Yes.”
“Use what time you can to make sure that
what happened to him never took place to
yourself and those around you. He felt that
he was an example of an outcome to avoid.”
“Maybe Carl wasn’t quite so strange as I
thought. Was there anything else?” Julie
went over to sit on one of the couches.
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“Yes. It was Carl’s belief that being a

Melancholy Man is not all it’s cracked up
to be.” Johnny started to go into the
kitchen. “Coffee, or anything else while
I’m goin’ in the kitchen?” Johnny was
looking at Julie amused.
“A mere snack on the side if you would
be so kind. Oh, and do you have any of that
Hot Buttered Rum coffee?”
“I’ve got some. Like I said, rum’s my
downfall. All I really need is a keg of the
good Jamaican rum, a star to sail her by,
and I’m off.” Johnny smiled wickedly.
Julie looked at Johnny amazed. “I
thought you were drunk; stoned at least.”
Johnny was speaking from the kitchen now
as he replied. “Nope. No such luck; I have
a speech problem since the merging. No big
deal. I’m workin’ on correcting it. Just
sound drunk when I get too tired.”
“Then what did you mean a star to sailor
by?”
“My home is not here. Just give me
enough rum and in the time it takes to
travel, I’ll be home before the keg’s
empty.”
Julie shook her head in despair. “I’m
not even going to try that one.”
Johnny came back from the kitchen with
some coffee and some human ribs from one of
the humans who used to be named Frederick.
“I’ll be right back. I’ll have to have a
snack myself or the coffee will put me to
sleep.” Johnny smiled and left for the
kitchen.

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Julie looked towards the kitchen

entrance. “I never heard of that one. The
coffee isn’t decaffeinated, is it?”
“No, it’s not. I don’t drink
decaffeinated. Whenever I start to grow a
little weary or relax after a tense filled
day a cup of coffee is like a
tranquilizer.” Johnny reentered the room
with part of a human leg and some ribs. He
put the food on the table. There were some
human ribs warmed up. One of the advantages
of a tyme machine is food can be warmed up
and brought out in seemingly seconds.
Johnny manipulated the tyme machine to go
forward and backward in time at such
moments.
“So tell me more about this speech
problem.” Julie took one of the ribs and
was starting to eat it.
“Not much to tell. Carl had an injury as
a baby that made it almost impossible to
speak. Humans rejected him because of it,
the non-humans accepted him.” Johnny sat
down, shrugged his shoulders and started to
eat some of the meat. “The other animals
were more than happy to accept Carl as one
of them. They didn’t care if he could speak
some human language well or not. He was a
lot more understanding than most. Being so
happy to have Carl’s company, they taught
him body language. Probably the most
important thing Carl ever learned in his
entire life; not to say that other things
weren’t and aren’t important. However,
everything else is either interconnected,
or takes a back seat, to body language.”
“How do you figure that one?”
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“Body language involves so much

knowledge and involves so many other fields
of knowledge that any one segment of
knowledge pales in comparison.” Johnny got
his cup of coffee, took a drink and resumed
talking. “As Carl was growing up his speech
problem was more noticeable. It was made
worse by the drugs he was given. That
continued to isolate him from others even
more as he grew older; it didn’t bother
Carl quite so bad as time went by. He found
there was more value in not talking to the
other humans anyway.”
“Yeah, but if Carl could barely speak
what happened later? How did he recover?”
“He recovered some. He finally got rid
of all the addictive drugs. Using music he
developed an internal stereo. It still
plays 24 hours a day. I prefer it that
way.” Johnny took another bite of the leg.
After he swallowed he made a comment. “Well
at least he was finally useful for
something.”
“What’s playing now?” Julie tried to
sound sarcastic.
“Oh, ‘Jamaica Farewell’ Harry
Belafonte.” Johnny smiled.
Julie sighed. “Okay, I give up. Stop
trying to evade the subject. Tell me more
about Carl. I mean if I’m to get a better
idea of who I’m dealing with, I’ll need to
know.”
“That’s true; especially when I’ve gone
within to make corrections to the speech
center.”
“What has the internal stereo got to do
with Carl’s speech?”
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“I would have thought that was obvious.

Carl used the voices that sang in his head
as his speech therapists. He couldn’t talk
without them.”
“How would he have known that for sure?”
“On his 16th birthday all the voices were
silent. Sure enough, Carl couldn’t talk. He
avoided everyone so he wouldn’t be put on
the spot. A normal occurrence even then.”
Johnny took a drink of the coffee.
“Was that the only flaw in the lack of
music?”
“No, there was more. He would see and
recognize others, but he couldn’t remember
who they were exactly. Some he was sure he
should know, but he couldn’t place them.”
Julie shook her head sadly. “Sounds
pretty bad.”
“Music had the ability to save and
destroy Carl’s soul in equal measure. He
did his best to stay away from the music
that would destroy him. The music he loved
to hear he indulged in playing; it’s also
my favorite speech therapy now.”
“So body language is why you avoid
crowds?”
“Yep. Too much confusion.” Johnny
polished off the leg he was eating.
“Still, what’s wrong with a little bit
of confusion?”
“Nothing if you can tolerate it. I
can’t, or not or for very long anyway. The
only way to shut the body language off is
for yourself or the other one to be dead.”
“Interesting.” Julie was continuing to
eat, now deep in thought. She had a lot to
think over.
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“If I sound different at times, it’s

probably because I’ve been going within and
enjoying my speech therapy sessions with
the music.”
“Sounds like a unique means of
therapies.”
“Depends on how you look at it. If Carl
hadn’t befriended the non-human animals, he
wouldn’t have learned the fine art of body
language so well. That would’ve been a
tragedy.” Johnny started in on another leg.
Julie put her cup of coffee down as she
spoke. “If I remember right, and I’m sure I
do, you said the better you were at reading
body language, the fewer humans you could
be around at any one time. So what’s so
wonderful about the fine art of body
language when the penalty is so great?”
Johnny was putting down his coffee.
“Actually if you’re in some entertainment
field I suppose it could drive you insane
if you knew the art of body language so
well. All the more reason I steer well away
from such professions. I’ll stick to
tanning.”
“Exactly my point. So how can it be
better? Especially in such a crowded
world?”
“It’s better to know thine enemy than to
go about in ignorance. Most of the time
humans try to pull the wool over each
other’s eyes. They say things trying to
cover up the lie. Their body language is a
truth indicator that allows you to catch
the lies and act accordingly. When too many
humans are grouped together, the body

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language becomes muddled and confusion sets

in.”
“Johnny, if humans are so disgusting,
why do you bother with a human form? I know
what you said about the safety, but surely
that’s not all. What else?”
“Well it is one of the most efficient
forms for water or land. Of course I prefer
a dolphin form in the oceans, but on land a
dolphin form would never do.”
Julie laughed. “That’s true. There must
be better forms though to choose from.”
“Well there are, but those forms are not
known on this planet. It’s best to blend in
with the crowd. No one is the wiser.”
“This is beyond me, I’m afraid.”
“Don’t worry about it. You have to
remember that I’m not originally from this
planet.” Johnny drank the rest of his
coffee.
“Just where do you come from Johnny?”
Johnny smiled as he got up. “A remote
galaxy in another part of this universe. No
human on this planet has ever seen it or
come close to seeing so far out into space.
It’s doubtful they ever will.”
“Why’s that?”
“Man will destroy himself before then;
he’s too violent.” Johnny put his plate and
coffee cup in the kitchen and came back
immediately. He sat down opposite Julie and
started drinking more coffee.
“Amuse me. Try to tell me, roughly,
where you come from.”
Johnny gazed at Julie over his refilled
cup of coffee, slowly lowered it and
smiled. “Very well. Stay there.”
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Johnny walked over and took a pad of

paper; a pencil and pen then went back to
the table. He sat down, and then drew a
large circle on the pad, and then made a
smaller circle with the pen.
“Okay, this here represents where we are
in the universe.” Johnny took the pencil
and put a dot in the center of the second
smaller circle. “This smaller circle is all
of the universe man has even been able to
see.”
“You drew it down in a lower section of
a much larger circle. Why?”
“Because that’s where we are in the
universe. I only put us in the center of
this circle because this is the central
point from where man is seeing into the
universe. As you can see, man hasn’t even
seen a tenth of the complete universe. He’s
near one of the walls, and believes it
encircles this area as I’ve drawn here.
This whole area here is devoid of any
matter, and man believes it to be a part of
the wall enclosing the universe.” Johnny
pointed to the smaller circle. “Obviously
he’s way off the truth.” Johnny smiled
sadly.
“So where are you from?”
“Over here-roughly.” Johnny pointed to a
location far away on the other side of the
larger circle, made another dot with the
pencil that represented the universes other
side closer to the wall.
“How’d you get this far? The known space
is so vast, and if it’s not even a tenth of
the entire universe, it must’ve taken you a
long time.”
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Johnny put his cup down then. “Yes and

no. When you ride a worm hole it’s faster,
but it still takes a long time, even then.”
Johnny smiled sadly and took the pad, pen
and pencil away. “As long as man keeps
dwelling in his negative emotions, refusing
to use them to his benefit, he’ll never
know the truth of what’s really out there.”
Johnny shook his head as he took the bones
and went to the kitchen to dispose of them.
“I never could understand why humans
preferred to be ruled by their reptilian
brains when they have such a high amount of
gray matter. I mean, what good is it for
them to have such an evolved brain when
they refuse to use it? When they do use
their brains it’s to destroy the planet and
each other.” Johnny shook his head in
resignation. “I doubt I’ll ever truly
understand the humans.”
“What’s playing now?” Julie tapped her
head as she looked at Johnny.
“Huh? Oh-‘Sweet Surrender’ John Denver.”
Johnny smiled at Julie.
“Damn.” Julie scowled playfully. It was
an attempt to try to take Johnny off guard,
trying to catch him when his internal
‘stereo’ was turned off.
Julie smiled as she nibbled at the last
rib she was eating. “Poor Johnny. Just
think. I was going to ask you if you’d like
to join the human race.”
Johnny glared at Julie. “That’s the most
disgusting thing I’ve heard in a long
time.” Johnny got a disgusted look on his
face. “You want me to become a member, one
of the lost, brought back into the fold?
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What the hell for? Humans have maintained

the right to be held in contempt, disgust
and humiliation. I want no part of them
personally.”
“Come now, they aren’t that bad,
surely.”
“Really? Do you want to deny it? Tell me
about how innocent man is of not killing
its own species, how smart man really is
with his great achievements such as
creating better ways to create tortures for
their own kind. Come on, try to defend the
stupidity of the Spanish Inquisition, The
Crusades, Hitler’s Pope, the war in Ireland
and so on. Tell me about the wars forever
going on in the world, man against man and
the other species on this planet. Let’s not
forget the worthless experiments man is
doing to the other species.”
Julie was amazed at Johnny’s reaction.
“You have to admit that there’s a lot of
love there, also.”
“Truly? I doubt that; I personally don’t
believe it’s authentic. How could it be
after all mankind’s done to his species and
all others? Yes, I know, he creates the
opposite as well. Somewhere you’ll find
small traces of love and caring and so on
and so forth. The sad part is, its not in
equal proportion to the evil man creates;
humans should never turn their hands
against one another anyway.”
“I don’t believe that you give the good
guys enough credit, Johnny. They’re doing
the best they can to fight the bad guys
off.”

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“Are they, really? Why should they even

have to? In the social world of the
kangaroos, the coyotes, the whales, the
octopus and all the rest, no one has to
fight others amongst their own kind off in
order to stop them from torturing others
with instruments and whatever else.”
Julie looked at Johnny strangely. “I
can’t argue with that.”
“Julie, you have to also remember that
I’m a time lord. I’m no longer confined to
having to live strictly as a mortal. No
time lord would ever want to survive again
as a mortal of any kind. It’s far too
restrictive.” Johnny smiled sadly at Julie
then and sighed.
“You sound as if you hate the human
race.”
“No, I don’t hate any race. Many are
deserving of it, but not all. It makes me
sad, is all; there’s so much I could tell
you, but I can’t.” Johnny sighed as he
looked sadly at Julie.
“Why not?”
“I’m bound by the code of honor that
every time lord has to abide by. If I ever
tried to break, bend or in any way alter
it, I’d immediately be cycled again as
another mortal. For any time lord, that’s a
fate worse than death.”
Julie looked at Johnny then puzzled.
“Okay, I won’t argue. I suppose you know of
what you’re talking about. So tell me, what
do you know of the whales, coyotes,
kangaroos and those you refer to?”
“I’ve lived with them all for a time.
Still, I’m glad I finished my snack. I
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doubt I’d be able to finish it after that

suggestion of asking me to become a human.”
Julie smiled and laughed then. “Don’t
worry about it. I won’t force it on you.
Even if I could I wouldn’t.”
“Thanks; I think.” Johnny started
carrying the rest of the remaining bones
back into the kitchen. “Poor Fred. He’s
really better off dead.”
Julie got up and went into the kitchen
to get another cup of coffee. She started
to put the bones in the trash. Johnny
stopped her.
“I’d prefer you use the acid over there.
Acid baths are a great disposal method to
get rid of remains.”
Julie went over and dumped everything in
the acid.
“For now the coffee won’t be putting me
to sleep. Not yet anyway. Did you want to
join me in cutting up and packing the meat
from a couple humans?”
“No. I need some rest myself. I’ll be in
the cemetery mausoleum if you need me.”
“Okay, you’ve got it.” Johnny started
back towards the laboratory section as
Julie walked out into the cemetery. Johnny
put some music on to work by, then spent a
few hours cutting up and packaging some
human corpses then cleaned up the
laboratory. He was tired, and not in much
of a condition to remain on earth with all
the pressures building up against him.

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THE WALL

Johnny got up to stretch; he finished

packing the meats up and went over to the
couch to sit down for a while. His body
remained on the couch as Johnny’s soul,
sometimes called the astral body,
separated. During these times, the tyme
machine would make sure that no one tried
to take over Johnny's body, and he could
always return to it.
While in astral form Johnny travelled
within the universe; he was passing
planets, asteroids, and galaxies very fast.
As he travelled Johnny’s soul would expand.
A large cosmic wave is about ready to break
on top of Johnny. As an old bodysurfer, he
attached himself to the inside curl of the
wave. Johnny slid along the inner tube of
the wave before it broke. As the wave
touched the bottom of itself, it made a
perfect curl. Johnny’s arms moved from his
sides to over his head as the wave spit him
out.
There’s a cup of hot Kenya AA coffee
before Johnny. It’s just right, neither too
hot nor too weak. He took the cup and after
smelling it, he drank it all. When he
finished, the cup was refilled again. Since
there is no visible host Johnny’s not sure
about who is refilling his coffee. It’s a
mystery why he is being so honored with
this freedom and the coffee as he travelled
the universe. Still, it’s a great way to
travel in style.

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When Johnny fell asleep it was a Monday

night; now it’s a Tuesday afternoon, three
months later. He seemingly “awoke” the next
morning, as the essence of his mortal body
remained out within the universe. As far as
Johnny could tell, someone else, some other
life force, was guiding his body that was
left on earth, in the tyme machine. Johnny
was never conscious of what he did on the
planet for the entire time his soul was
within the universe. All that Johnny knew
was that his soul was never on the planet
for the three-month duration of time. Most
of the time Johnny was a long ways away
from the known sections of the galaxies
that housed the planets man knew of.
Johnny’s planet of origin was somewhere
nearby. It’s unlikely the humans ever will
be out so far.
Johnny came to a dark section. It was
getting very cold. As he got closer it got
colder. As usual, the cold had a distinct
feel of something ominous. The more Johnny
would think the more the cold would eat his
soul. It has to be the wall that eats
souls; once seventy five percent of any
soul is frozen or destroyed in any way
shape or form, it’s as good as dead. The
soul, like a human liver, cannot regenerate
then. The conscience will be dead. If the
soul survives, it’ll be as a perfect
sociopath.
As Johnny’s soul travelled throughout
the universe, entire galaxies were flying
by him; many of these galaxies are a few
hundred thousand or more light years
across, but he passed by them in seconds.
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As he's weaving outside and inside random

galaxies, going between the solar systems
and planets, his vision is very acute. He’s
able to focus on a planet or the internal
parts of a single cell many hundreds of
light years away. As he travelled his soul
grew larger. Before long his soul had grown
so large that it covered everything within
the universe once again, short of the wall.
The only thing left now is to keep
trying the wall. Johnny travelled along it
as close as he could get; here there is no
light. The wall is a pitch-black void of
darkness Johnny’s known only once before
when he almost succeeded in committing
suicide. If Venus hadn’t used some
persuasion with Pluto, Johnny was pretty
sure the end would have taken place. There
is eternal death waiting for Johnny within
the wall. He scaled the wall looking for
any possible cracks or openings that would
allow him to escape into the next universe.
The wall’s in the shape of a sphere;
although the wall’s expanding, Johnny felt
restricted now that he has explored all the
substance within the universe. The universe
is large, make no mistake, and Johnny is
free within it, so long as he time
travelled back to his life with Julie. He
still is able to maintain and take care of
his duties as a Guardian, but it’s just not
enough a lot of times. He can’t help
feeling as if he’s a prisoner encapsulated
within a ‘bubble’ as it seemed to get
smaller when he explored it so frequently
already.

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The universe Johnny’s in both depresses

and enlightens him. He is enlightened by
his freedom within the universe, but
depressed that he cannot escape since Zeus
has enforced his authority upon the other
Guardians in the other universes. After
Johnny came back from the neighboring
universe, he was prevented from vacationing
in that one and all of the other universes.
Until Julie’s life was over, then Johnny
was to remain restricted to only the
universe Julie was in. If he saved her from
suicide, he’d be released and could go into
the other universes like the rest of the
Guardians. If not he’d be imprisoned on the
tiny grain of sand called earth in the
Milky Way System until the planet died,
just like a vampire. It’s depressing that
he’s only free to live and roam within this
‘bubble’ of a universe temporarily.
Whenever he’s finished, he has to go back
to Julie and her last years on the planet
earth.
A long time ago Johnny learned how to
live with the positive and negative sides
that reside in equal proportion within most
everything. Now as Johnny examines the
wall, and although there’s eternal death
within it, eternal life must also exist
within or just beyond the other side.
Johnny must at least try to go through to
the other side. The wall is a risk that he
will have to take if he doesn’t want to
continue to live confined inside of the
‘bubble.’ It’s either that or fight Zeus
until one or the other dies; that was an

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event Johnny was postponing until he had no

other choice, and he knew it.
Johnny knows there’s a risk of being
trapped for all eternity within the wall,
should the occasional cracks close up on
him. Not wanting to be foolhardy, Johnny
will continue to roam the fringes of the
known universe. When the first deep cracks
form in the wall, Johnny will be there to
immediately test it. He’ll keep testing the
boundaries, always on the lookout for some
cracks in the wall. He has a great desire
to escape this now prison of a universe,
never being restricted of his freedom.
In disgust Johnny turned away, flying
back into the universe. The wall is closed
seemingly forever against Johnny; there is
no escape for Johnny to travel into another
universe. Mayhap later there will be.
After spending a few more years within
the universe relaxing and enjoying what
freedom he has, Johnny turned back, and
using time travel, went back to the same
point in time as he had already done so
many times before.
One day as Johnny and Julie were
butchering a corpse Julie started to speak.
“These humans you kill; I know it doesn’t
disturb you to kill them, but also eat some
of them? You are in a human form yourself,
after all.”
“No, not really. They are all a lower
form of the human development. The earth is
overpopulated with them. In eliminating
them, it leaves room for the higher evolved
humans to survive. As for the disposal,
there’s only so much room on and within the
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earth. If the meat’s good, why bury it? If

it’s bad, throw it in the acid. A clean
disposal with no cleanup, no mess; no added
room wasted in the disposal of the
remains.”
"Not to mention the depletion of the
earth's resources, as you so candidly
pointed out."
Johnny paused then. “Exactly. Speaking
of which, I’d better get some more meat out
of the deep freeze. Be back in a little
bit.” Johnny walked out to go into the
adjoining room with the walk in freezer
where a lot of the meats were already cut
up and packaged for use.
Julie was puzzling over this. Johnny was
walking back with a couple armfuls of meat.
“But what about their families? I mean,
they must want to know what happened, have
somewhere to go to put flowers on the
graves, and such.”
“That may be, but a great majority could
care less about their families, and vice
versa. Why bother to have them buried, when
many of them can feed those still alive and
deserving to live? The disposal is very
minimal then.” As Johnny was preparing a
meat dish at that time, Julie sighed and
left to go get some more meat, in addition
to that Johnny got out, for the
refrigerator in the kitchen. The kid walked
in and started chattering up a storm.
Johnny paused in cutting up the meat into
bite-sized cubes. “Stop complaining. You
know as well as I do that it’s not a tune
day today.” Johnny took his two fingers of
his right hand and made a side fin motion
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in front of the kids face. “If tuna doesn’t

get a chance to recover, there won’t be any
more tune left.”
The kid nudged Johnny’s fingers as if to
say ‘so what.’ “Aah. Ah—ah—ah.”
“No. I tell you what. If you can yo-yo
the sun, I’ll give you some. Not before.”
“Aah.”
“You have to yo-yo the sun first.”
Julie walked in with the meats as Johnny
was talking to the kid.
“Hi, Julie.”
“Hi yourself, Johnny. I heard you
talkin’ to the kid. Yo-yo the sun?”
Johnny bent down and smiled at the kid
as he used his left fingers to make the fin
motion in front of the kid.
“Yeah. If she’d yo-yo the sun, it’d be
another day. An odd numbered day. Since
this is an even day, tuna’s got to take the
day off and recover.”
The kid went over and nuzzled Johnny’s
hand. She had a big smile on her face.
Julie was smiling as she heard the
explanations. “I see.” She put the packages
of meat down on the counter.
“Yeah. She’s just greedy. She knows
better.”
Johnny went over and washed his hands.
The kid started walking in circles and
chatting. As he dried his hands he looked
at the kid and sighed. “I don’t suppose
that I’ll be able to continue working on
the dishes for a while.” Johnny smiled,
bent down and picked the kid up. She
crawled up onto Johnny’s left shoulder,
nuzzled her face in the side of Johnny’s
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Heather J. Kintyre

cheek and purred. To Johnny it sounded

loud. Very carefully and quietly Johnny
spoke to Julie. “I could tell Percivella
really needed to be held. Come on, kid.”
Johnny carried the kid into the front room.
As Johnny walked slowly into the front
room, the kid purred louder and held
tighter to Johnny’s neck.
Julie watched and followed Johnny. She
shook her head. “Simply amazing. You never
stop surprising me.” Julie put the meat in
the refrigerator nearby, and then followed
Johnny out to the front room. “I’m going to
go rest with the Baron. I’m sure he misses
me if I’m gone too long.”
Johnny looked at Julie strangely when
she said that. It was so easy to forget
that she was so strange until she started
referring to her necrophilia habits. “Yeah,
I have more corpses to butcher; they’re in
the freezer waiting for me.” Johnny groaned
with despair as he thought about the task
that lay ahead of him. “Oh well. Best to
get it over with-eventually.” Johnny smiled
as he stroked the kid gently.
Julie went out of the tyme machine to go
to her Van Helsing crypt.
After the kid slept and had her shoulder
time, she jumped down. Johnny then walked
to the lab; many hours passed. Actually a
night and day had passed before Johnny
finished what he was doing non stop. Johnny
walked out of the laboratory and into the
kitchen, rinsing off the bloody apron he
was using.
Julie walked in the tyme machine and
continued on the way to the coffee pot.
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Whenever Johnny was in the tyme machine,

Julie could go in and out as she pleased.
Otherwise, the tyme machine was locked up.
“Hello, Johnny.”
“Hello, Julie. Find out anything new?”
Johnny followed Julie into the kitchen for
some coffee.
“As a matter of fact, I did. There’s
this TV show that pays people to go on the
show if they have some unusual talent. I
thought about you right away.”
“Really?” Johnny put the apron down as
he looked at Julie who now had her cup of
coffee. “I hope you didn’t say or do
anything rash.”
“Well, not yet. I thought I’d ask you
first. How would you like to go on the
show? You do have an unusual talent.”
“Which one?” Johnny spoke sarcastically.
“Your backward writing.”
“Never; say nothing about the writing
ability. Those shows only promote you as
another weirdo. I’m having trouble enough
dealing with the human society without
being promoted as an ‘official’ weirdo for
whatever reason.” Johnny lifted the apron
and started cleaning it again. He was
putting some liquid soap on the apron.
“You disappoint me, Johnny. It would’ve
been good for you to get the publicity.”
Johnny put the soap and apron down
again. “No, Julie. I don’t need that kind
of publicity. I’m sorry if it disappoints
you. I said no, I told you why. Please
leave it at that. And tell no one about my
writing abilities. I don’t need rumors
going around about me being any more
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Heather J. Kintyre

strange and unusual than there are

currently.” As an afterthought, Johnny
spoke again as Julie sighed with despair.
“Julie thanks for thinking about me. If all
was normal I would be interested. I just
don’t want any more attention than I get
already. You tried, I appreciate the
gesture, but no thanks.”
Now Julie looked at Johnny closer.
Something in his voice and eyes was wrong;
there was almost a fear. “What is it,
Johnny? What scares you?”
Johnny put the apron down with a deep
sigh. “Either you’re getting better, or
David’s right and I’m due for more
vacations. You’re correct, though. I am
scared.”
“Of what?”
“Staying on this planet much longer. The
future as I see it is very bad. I don’t
know that I want to stay.”
“What will you do, then?”
“Check out some of the planets David
programmed into the tyme machine. Once I
find the perfect planet, I’ll retire. One
comes very close.”
“Retire? You can’t. You’re a time lord.
You told me yourself your fate is connected
to the life of this planet. How can you
escape?”
“According to David I can possibly leave
after I’ve spent some more time on this
planet and corrected a mistake I made a
long time ago. I do so hate the
confinement, but it could be worse.”
“You speak as if it’s a prison.” Julie
scoffed.
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“It is, when you’re used to galaxy and

planet hopping with an entire universe to
play in.” Johnny spoke with a dreamy voice
then. “It’s my fondest wish to breathe
fresh air atop one of the snow covered
mountains one of these days.”
“When will that be?” As Julie spoke it
broke the imagery Johnny remembered of the
planet in the next-door universe.
“When I’ve found the perfect planet.”
Julie looked at Johnny sadly. “Can I go
with you when you go?”
“I’m sorry Julie, but no, I can’t take
anyone with me. One of the strictest rules
every time lord has to abide by is that we
can’t take anyone outside of their time
frame permanently.”
“What do you do while you go away?”
“Pardon?”
“When you’re on vacation. What happens?”
“I often play leapfrog between planets
and galaxies as I look for planets where I
can take animals.”
“Why do you do that?”
“To save them from permanent extinction.
They may go extinct on this planet, but
they’ll exist and evolve freely on the
other planets well away from any violent
creatures like man. It’s something David
and I swore we’d do for as long as we
lived.”
"What about those who live on planets
that are about to die?"
"I transport them to another. Come to
think of it, I've had to transport animals
I originally put on other planets to live

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Heather J. Kintyre

in peace; the suns were about to go

supernova."
“That’s now, but what about once you met
Carl? What happened in those years you were
away?” Johnny looked at Julie puzzled, so
she rephrased her question. “After you took
over his body, you didn’t come back right
away. Why? What happened then?”
“I had to struggle through some time
consuming classes to get degrees in Carl’s
name. Only then could I prevent the
biological disasters he had for parents
from taking any legal action against Carl.”
“You lost me—again.”
“Carl’s biological parents had the legal
abilities to have Carl locked away. That
was their intention and I couldn’t permit
it. In order to clear up the lies and crap
the biological disasters tried condemning
Carl with, I had to take the time to
acquire degrees in Carl’s name.”
“Carl’s dead. You told me so yourself. I
thought you would be the least likely to
have problems in school.”
“Yes, he's dead. He couldn’t tolerate
the excessive changes after the three-month
restoration he had undergone. My major
problem was not being able to escape into
the universe, and that is what made it a
struggle.”
“Why should that have been much of a
concern? You’re a time lord. You could’ve
just left.” Julie was amazed at Johnny’s
story.
“However, I couldn’t just leave Carl’s
remaining life in such shambles. Since I
took over his body, I felt obligated to try
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to correct a few things. Besides, in this

‘human’ society, I thought I’d use the
degrees and additional knowledge towards
some projects I have going.”
“But he’s dead.”
“Not really; I still have his identity.”
Johnny smiled like the cat that swallowed
the canary.
“You describe his parents as mean and
ruthless. What did they have against Carl?”
“He didn’t die like he was supposed to
when they threw him on a basement floor.
That’s what any other good baby would’ve
done. Since he had the audacity to survive
they tried destroying Carl legally. Come to
think of it, it could have had something to
do with the Indian genes.”
“What?”
“Oh, the Cherokee Indian ancestors of
Carl’s. Some of them had to walk what was
later called the trail of tears. You had to
be tough to survive such an event.”
“So?”
“So it could be some of those tough
genes were passed down to Carl, and that’s
what kept him alive where others would’ve
died. More than that, the ability to see
everything in both directions so easily,
without having to take time out to
readjust, writing with both hands at once,
may also be found in a gene or two of
Carl’s. I’m pretty sure it was handed down
from the female line.” Johnny was looking
into the distance as in deep thought. He
remained that way for a minute, and then
shrugged his shoulders. He resumed washing

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the apron in the sink, to get the clots off

before he put it in the washer.
“When you took over, what did you do
personally, if anything, to the parents?”
“I sued them.”
Julie looked at Johnny who was smiling
as he enjoyed himself. “Did you win?” Julie
was going into the dining room. She got a
chair and sat down as Johnny was speaking.
“Yes and no. The biological disasters
were like leeches. Only by suing could I
convince them to leave me alone. It worked.
I was then able to take care of the things
I needed to do. Then after I cleared up the
rest of the crap against Carl, using the
school system, I returned. End of story.”
Johnny’s throat stripped. “I really must
get rid of these negative genes.”
“So what’s playing?”
“‘Swayin’ To The Music’ (Slow Dancin)’
Johnny Rivers.”
“Damn.” Julie changed the subject back
to Carl. “Did you learn that much?”
“No, not really. Nothing more than how
limited the ‘teachers’ were in their
abilities to teach. Except for in the
science areas, they couldn’t provide much
more than my conscience already can, and
better.”
“Don’t tell me. You were smarter than
the teachers, and you were a troublemaker.”
“Wrong. Yes, I was smarter than the lot
of them, and no I didn’t create trouble. A
few I respected. Like I said, the less they
know about you, the better.”
Julie shook her head and looked closely
at Johnny. “It’s hard for me to believe
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that you aren’t trying to pull my leg. Is

this some famous tall tale?”
“I hate to disappoint you, Julie.
Really. I wish it were a tall tale.
Unfortunately it’s true; obviously it’s not
unheard of. It's common but not well known.
There are some horrors taking place right
now in households with parents trying to
kill their own children. I’m sure quite a
few of them are successful.”
“How’d you escape if they were so
determined to kill you?”
“The biological disasters were stupid.
They had limited capabilities. The criminal
mind usually is limited, and stupid. They
think they’re sly, even when you see right
through their plots. They can’t believe
anyone can see through them because they’d
be fooled by such acts themselves.”
“I take it you saw through the
attempts.”
“Exactly. It got easier to avoid. The
catch was that if I relaxed too much, the
biological disasters could take me
unawares.” Johnny smiled at Julie as he
finished making another pot of coffee.
“You may have thought I’m too cynical
and uncaring. Humans are fit only to
decorate the table, and so forth. It must
be a grave disappointment to find out there
are those I would never harm. Actually, if
possible, I’d circumvent their otherwise
violent deaths. Come to think of it, I
already circumvented a few. Those I saved
from dying never knew it.” Johnny smiled
then. “Want a drink?”

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Heather J. Kintyre

Julie looked like her thoughts were

interrupted as she looked up in amazement.
“Oh, sure. If you have it, Kona would be
nice.”
“Coming right up.” Johnny looked over at
the coffee pot as the Kona coffee was
finishing it brewing. Johnny was still in
the kitchen as he was putting together a
meat dish. “I have an experimental meal I
want you to try.” Johnny came out of the
kitchen and set the dish of meat in front
of Julie.
“Why didn’t you let any of the humans
know? Don’t you think they would’ve shown
some appreciation?” Julie took a bite of
the meal placed in front of her. She got a
questioning look on her face as she ate it.
She started chewing and swallowed as Johnny
spoke.
“No. How could I prove it? Let them know
about the tyme machine, Charley, and
everything else? Most likely they’d have me
jailed and throw away the key before I
would be believed. No, best to stay quiet.”
Johnny thought of the secret compartment
between his collarbones.
“You must’ve started using some other
type of meat. It’s good, just not like your
usual dishes."
“I’ll get something better. Be back in a
minute.” Johnny took the plate away and
headed toward the kitchen again.
“Even if they did throw you in jail, you
have the control communicator. You could
just have the tyme machine appear after
they left, then break free of the jail.”

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“Except for one flaw.” Johnny was still

in the kitchen as he spoke.
“What’s that?”
“They take everything away from you
including, but not limited to, your keys.”
Johnny came through the door with another
plate before Julie. He wasn’t about to tell
Julie about the tyme machine’s key hidden
between his collarbones-some things you
don’t speak of to your closest friend, and
this was one of them.
“Good point. So shape change.” Johnny
put the plate in front of Julie. She
started eating the unaltered human meat
meal before her. “Much better, Johnny.”
Julie commented after she took a bite.
“I thought so.” Johnny smiled at Julie
as she ate. He then got up, took Julie’s
empty coffee cup, and went back in the
kitchen and got a couple cups of Kenya AA
coffee. Johnny spoke from the kitchen.
“Unfortunately shape changing isn’t
possible. Too much suspicion then. Everyone
would search for me upon finding me gone.
With me missing well, it wouldn’t take most
humans long to figure that I wasn’t one of
them. Upon capture I’d be carted off to one
of their laboratories and put under pain,
like the rest of my friends.” Johnny came
out of the kitchen with the coffee and set
a cup down in front of Julie.
“It wouldn’t matter though if you could
escape.”
“Except once it was known that I escaped
and wasn’t human, no place on the planet
would be safe for me while in this form. I
could take on another form, but still at a
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high risk of capture and torture. My own

kind, sure-but they’re getting set to have
me confined as well. That is, they would if
they could.”
“That’s a point. It’s a wonder you
weren’t driven insane, with the life you
must’ve been forced to live. Especially
when you consider your brother, Charley,
and your sister Morgaine. It must’ve been
as hard for Carl to break away from his
past as you having to break away from your
own brother and sister.”
“Yes. Those weren’t one of my better
moments in time. The shock of everything
didn’t take place until months later. Then
when the shock occurred, it nearly killed
me. It was the same for Carl. Only the
shock was too great for him; his threshold
wasn’t quite high enough yet, so he died.”
“So the shock of his complete separation
from his parents killed him?”
“In part. Between the constant attempts,
the drugs, the old memories that were
revealed of his desperate suicidal
episodes, the soul restoration he just had;
all those factors when put together were a
deadly combination. That’s what finally
killed him. Carl was smarter than his
biological parents. Even so, it was too
exhausting. I envy him his quiet death.”
Johnny sighed and smiled.
“Poor Carl. Well, at least he was able
to die as he wanted.”
“Almost; it would’ve been better without
the death stone, though.”
“What is the death stone?”

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“Carl used a lot of far distant future

scenarios; a mental imagery game to make
sure he could avoid the horrible
situations, and prevent them from ever
happening.”
Julie wasn’t sure what Johnny meant.
“Pardon?”
“The death stone is a burning in the
center of the stomach. It burns like a very
hot coal until the intended victim is dead.
It’s rather nerve wracking when you don’t
know who the victim is. On the other hand,
when the soul burns, it’s not just in one
small area but the entire soul at once.”
“Ouch.” Julie looked rather pained then.
She was massaging her right hand.
“Pain again?”
“Yeah, the hands are hurting again. I
think I’ll take the rest of the day and
relax in the crypt. I could do with more
seclusion. Most of the time there’s at
least one or two humans roaming around the
graveyard elsewhere.”
Johnny smiled sadly then as he thought
of something else. “Okay, just don’t let
the maggots bite you too hard.” Knowing how
fussy Julie was about cleanliness in her
crypt, he knew this would bother her.
“They wouldn’t dare. I got rid of those
batches some years before.”
Johnny chuckled at Julie’s response.
“I’ll see you later, Julie.”
Julie walked out of the tyme machine.
She looked around, saw no one and went off
to her enclosed section of the graveyard.

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A DEEP DARK HOLE

Johnny stood up and stretched. He also

needed a long overdue vacation. With a
sigh, and knowing he was taking too many,
he went back into the kitchen and made
himself another pot of coffee. Johnny’s
drinking a hot cup of Kenya AA coffee as
he’s looking into the back yard; the view
of the yard goes as far as the horizon
allows. Johnny can’t resist the temptation;
he has to take a break.
The tyme machine disappeared as Johnny
finished his cup of coffee. He changed into
a hawk, flying high and straight up into
the sky. He glided on the air current,
performing somersaults. He dove straight
down to pick up speed as he dropped. He
dived into the warm surf. Now Johnny shape
changed into a semi-human form to bodysurf
a few waves more efficiently. One of the
waves took Johnny by surprise and sucked
him into its inner curl. His four arms,
once by his sides, are above his head as
he’s spit out of the wave feet first.
Upon being spit up into the air Johnny
flipped around and grew wings to fly into
the sky. He’s free again. He can’t feel
Zeus anywhere, and he can breathe easier
for a while. Others are afraid of Zeus’
powers, but Johnny wasn’t. For Johnny, Zeus
is more like a pesky human, or a fly that
won’t leave him alone; all Johnny wanted
was to be left alone, but Zeus was trying
to create a major war with him instead.

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Johnny was gliding on the air currents

again. The current carried him a long
distance away. After a while he dived
straight down as he gained speed, getting
closer to the land. As he almost touched
the surface he went into a curl, flying
sideways and then back up. He let out a
bloodcurdling scream. A human nearby saw
the streak of his flight and heard his cry.
Johnny flew up then remained steady on the
air current, and then gently touched down
on land.
Johnny went back to the tyme machine.
He’s back in his backyard-the tyme machine,
having remained concealed, reappeared. He
went in and prepared another pot of coffee.
He drank it, smiling to himself, all the
while looking out of the window into the
back yard.
Something’s bothering Johnny regarding
Julie-she didn’t seem quite normal,
regardless of the necrophilia, when she
left. She was more depressed than usual.
Johnny thought it might be a good time to
take a leisurely stroll around the cemetery
grounds. If Julie was okay, fine. It was a
nice day out anyway. He took his cup into
the kitchen and got ready to go for his
stroll.
Julie was sitting in the crypt with some
more barbiturates and sleeping pills in a
medicine jar. There was a glass of mango
juice and a new chrome razor blade beside
the jar of pills. Her hand was shaking so
bad that Julie couldn’t hold the razor
blade steady enough to make a deep cut as
she attempted to slice deep into her right
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wrist. “Damn.” Julie whispered the curse as

she set the razor blade on top of the
coffin lid with the pills.
Johnny walked into the cemetery just
then. Julie saw Johnny outside of the
barred door of the crypt entrance. “Anybody
home?”
“Johnny, you’re just in time to help
me.”
Johnny’s eyebrows went up as he
approached. “What can I help you with this
time?”
Julie met Johnny at the crypt entrance
so Johnny hadn’t seen the items Julie had
laid out on the coffin lid.
“Johnny, you consider yourself a good
friend to me, don’t you?”
“Yes, of course I do.”
“And friends will always be there to
help one another in their greatest times of
need, correct?”
Johnny was starting to get nervous. What
was Julie getting him into? “Yes, if
they’re truly a good friend, that’s
correct.”
“So you won’t say no to me and refuse to
help me if you’re a true friend of mine,
will you?”
Johnny was getting more suspicious as he
watched Julie. He wanted to break eye
contact to see what Julie had behind her,
but she wouldn’t permit that. “Julie, what
are you up to now? What are you not telling
me? What are you trying to blackmail me
into? Are you hiding something from me that
I should know?”
“Oh no, nothing like that.”
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“Julie, I know that look and tone of

voice. What scheme are you working on now?”
Julie sighed as she stood aside allowing
Johnny to enter. As he went into the crypt
he saw the items on the coffin. “What’s
this?”
“What does it look like?”
“Another suicide attempt. Which method
were you trying for, the pills or the
razor?”
“I wanted to do both.”
“So what’s the problem?”
Julie held up her shaking hands. “I’m
too nervous to hold the razor and make the
cuts.”
“I suppose that you want me to make the
slices in your wrists for you.”
“If you’re truly the friend you say you
are, I would expect you to do just that
upon my asking, yes.”
“I see.” Johnny went outside of the
crypt and was pacing back and forth in
front of the crypt, thinking over what
Julie was asking of him. “The way I see it,
I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t.”
Johnny stopped pacing long enough to make
this statement to Julie. He then resumed
pacing with his hands behind his back.
“Johnny, you can’t deny me my request.
If you’re truly my friend you’ll help me in
this.”
“Except it’s not your suicide any more.
It’d be murder and I’d be the murderer.”
“That’s a weak technicality and you know
it. It’d be just between you and me. Who
else will be the wiser? I’m sure not going

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to tell anyone. Come on, Johnny, are you

truly my friend or not?”
Unknown to Julie, Zeus and all the rest
of the time lords would know of Johnny’s
involvement. He was indirectly responsible
for her suicide in her previous life, and
that’s what got him into this mess. Anyone
who commits suicide as Julie did in her
previous life is normally barred from
becoming a time lord. The time lords need
all the help they can get and Chosen ones
are rare. It’s up to Johnny to stop Julie
and correct the previous mistake she made
as Vera. Regardless of her suicidal
tendencies, once she was able to become a
time lord that would automatically
disappear since vacations are always
available for them-well, most of the time,
anyway. The universe is expanding much
faster than new time lords can be selected.
The time lords are very overworked trying
to maintain order within the universe.
Unfortunately Chosen Ones are rare because
it requires a strict mental stability and
the ability to uphold the code of honor
every time lord must live by. Any time lord
who breaks any part of the code of honor is
immediately cycled again as a mortal. No
Immortal would risk such a horrible fate as
another prison sentence of mortal life.
Once was enough. To avoid the wrath of the
time lords Johnny had to think fast. Then
an idea came to him. Johnny stopped pacing
then as he remembered something Julie once
said the first time Johnny caught Julie
trying to commit suicide. “Julie, do you

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remember what you said that night when I

caught you the first time?”
“Which night are you referring to?”
“The one when you were going to slash
your wrists back when I found you in my old
body as Pan. Do you remember what you told
me?”
“Not exactly.” Julie was getting
nervous, as she did remember but didn’t
want to say. She was hoping Johnny wouldn’t
remember it too well himself.
“You said that in order to commit
suicide you had to swallow your fears.
Using fear as your backbone you then had to
embrace bravery as you went forth to face
the unknown.”
“Oh yes, so what?”
“Obviously you are not truly prepared to
go through with your suicide because you
haven’t swallowed your fears, embracing
bravery to go forth into the unknown.”
“How do you figure that one?”
“Well, if you were able to go beyond the
bravery, you’d be able to slice your own
wrists with no problem. Since you can’t,
you aren’t really ready.”
Julie got a look of disgust on her face.
“Oh damn. You’re right.”
“So you see, I’m really in no position
to take over and murder you myself. I’m
afraid that you’re not really properly
prepared. How would it be if you changed
your mind? Can you imagine the tremendous
guilt trip you’d be putting on me?”
“Hadn’t thought of it quite like that.”
Julie then took the juice and drank it. “No
sense in wasting good juice.”
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Johnny laughed. “Care to join me for a

snack and some coffee? You can always
partake of this later when you feel more up
to it. I’ll even supply you with more drink
to help you when you’re ready.” Johnny held
up his hands in resignation. “It’s the
least I can do for a friend.”
Julie smiled as she walked arm in arm
with Johnny back to his tyme machine. “I
always get so physically exhausted when I
try to make these attempts.”
“That’s all right. Lean on me and we’ll
get there. You’ll be okay.” Johnny patted
Julie’s hand as they walked forward, then
into the tyme machine. Johnny led Julie to
a couch where she laid down, immediately
falling asleep. Johnny took the opportunity
to take a break himself and went out of the
tyme machine. A good cycling event is in
order.
Johnny’s soon on a bicycle starting out;
he’s riding with a smooth, straight
cadence. He’s once again on a 15-speed
silver bicycle with fingertip shifters. The
left side controlled the three front
sprockets in front. The right side
controlled the derailleur that shifts the
five gears on the back wheel. The bicycle
has similarities in the equipment of a
triple T stem and grab-ons for the
gripping; all Campagnolo parts except the
derailleur and Phil Wood hubs. Campagnolo
derailleurs always had to be babied, but
not the Sun Tour, which made shifting a lot
easier when near the foot of a mountain,
downhill or on any type of incline.

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Johnny moved his right hand down the

handlebar and shifted gears. His cadence
got easier. Up ahead is an incline. He
climbed it with the greatest of ease. The
incline leveled out. His left hand slipped
down the handlebars, and using his small
finger adjusted the gears again to shift,
followed by the right again. This way he
could maintain his smooth and easy cadence.
A long downhill is before him now.
Johnny slipped his left hand down the
handlebar and shifted again with the
changing terrain. At the bottom is a long
ramp on an incline. Since Johnny’s cycling
so fast, he was able to take it without
having to shift gears again. The ramp isn’t
very long. It ends suddenly and he’s
airborne. The moment has arrived now for
him to decide quickly. It’s either death or
life.
Johnny changed the bicycle into a hand
glider. Now he’s flying over some rocky
mountains. The air of four strong winds
blowing lonely picked him up. He glided
along for a long time. After a while he saw
the snow covered mountains up ahead and
went over to them. As he was gliding along
on the four winds he’s at peace. No one is
going to imprison him. It’ll always be that
way. The four winds carried Johnny to a
very beautiful valley at the foot of some
snow-covered mountains. As he looked around
he saw crystal waterfalls, clean and
unpolluted streams with clear water that
flows freely as it sparkled in the light of
the golden sun. Johnny took his hand glider
and landed gently near the beach. As he
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touched the surface of the land, he

recognized the area, and knew that he had
finally come home. Johnny is no longer so
alone and lonely, feeling like an aimless
time traveller and Guardian.
There’s some surf off in a short walking
distance. Dolphins are playing in the water
as the surf calls to Johnny. The waves are
big but not too big. The surf is strong but
gentle with lots of carry. They’re perfect
for bodysurfing. From everywhere around
Johnny many animals came out to greet him.
He stayed for some years, and then once
again time travelled back to a few seconds
after he left Julie sleeping on the couch.
A few hours later, after Johnny was
working in the lab, Julie entered all
sleepy eyed. She walked over to where
Johnny was. She saw him looking over some
backward notes he made. “Hello, Johnny.
What’re you doing?”
“Hello, Julie.” As Johnny spoke he was
reading some of his writings without using
a mirror or turning the page over. “I’m
looking over some notes I made from the
latest human corpse. Interesting results.
The meat’s very well diseased. Still, the
skin is in good shape. I think it could
hold together under the tanning procedures
without falling apart.” Johnny got up. “I’d
rather like to know what you think. Follow
me, my dear.”
Johnny and Julie both walked into
another section of the laboratory where the
human corpse was still on a gurney. Julie
walked up to it.

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“You’re right. The late human does look

to be rather in good health. Are you sure
you didn’t confuse the notes with another?”
Johnny looked at the corpse. “Oh yes. I
was so amazed at the results, I double and
triple checked. The same results every
time. Bad meat, but healthy looking skin.”
Julie looked at the corpse, turning it
to one side then the other. “Yes, I’d use
the skin. No sense in wasting something
good. Would you mind if I used the corpse
first for a time before you start to work
on it? I promise I won’t damage the skin,
and it won’t rot any more than you can
tell. I won’t be long.” Julie looked at
Johnny with her most appealing look.
“How can I turn down a request like
that?” Johnny sighed. “Okay, just for
today.”
Julie clapped her hands in delight. “Oh,
wonderful! You’re so good to me.” She gave
Johnny a big hug, which he returned with a
bemused smile.
“Yeah, a real pushover.” Johnny sighed.
“Have at it, Julie. I’ll leave you two
lovebirds alone. I’ve got more villains to
take out, anyway. See you later.” Johnny
sighed wearily and shook his head. He was
feeling very tired. He decided to take a
shower and clean up a bit. He went in the
study and went over to the grand piano. He
started playing Beethoven’s ‘Ode To Joy.’
As he played, Johnny saw a tiny black hole
floating just before the wall in front of
him. The black hole grew larger as he
continued playing. When the hole grew large
enough, his soul separated and dove in. The
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separation of Johnny’s soul is unexpected;

the loss left him cold. He had no choice
but to immediately follow his soul into the
black hole. He has to hurry, as the hole is
starting to close up.
Many years passed. Whenever he’d find
his soul, it would disappear. Then one day,
quite by accident, Johnny’s soul walked up
to Johnny. When Johnny asked his soul why
he would disappear whenever he showed up,
his soul told him that it was because
Johnny wasn’t ready yet. The soul, as well
as Johnny, has acquired a lot of knowledge.
Much of the time Johnny spent was in
Beethoven’s company. Johnny’s soul spent
most of the same time gathering more
knowledge that was to be found only within
the Universal Mind. The soul shook Johnny’s
hand and agreed to reattach itself with
Johnny. When this was accomplished Johnny
went back to where he stepped through the
black hole. Sure enough, the porthole was
there. Upon stepping out, Johnny’s back to
where he originally was at the piano. The
hole disappeared immediately.
Johnny’s now the same age he was again
before going into the black hole. Julie was
at the piano as Johnny came out of the
black hole. The black hole disappeared as
Johnny stepped out. He went over and
started to play the piano again. Now he’s
an accomplished musician, having spent many
years playing the piano with Beethoven as
his teacher. He resumed playing Beethoven’s
‘Ode To Joy’ and a few other classical
pieces. When he finished, Julie smiled and
clapped, delighted in what she heard.
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“That’s wonderful, Johnny. I didn’t know

you could play.”
“Something I picked up a very long time
ago. I just got a little bit better, is
all.”
“So modest. Who taught you?”
“Beethoven.”
“Thee Beethoven?”
“Afraid so.”
“How can that be?”
“I’m a time lord, remember? I took a
vacation a few hours ago and spent some
years in Beethoven’s company. Actually, my
soul separated, and I had to retrieve it.
While I was inside, I picked up a few
things.”
“So you found a way to avoid Zeus, relax
and take a vacation from all the buildup of
daily life?”
“Temporarily, yes. Unfortunately I never
found a way to take a vacation from myself,
though.”
“What?”
“Separate myself from myself.”
“You just did that, I thought.”
“No, I mean leave my conscience behind
forever-not my soul, just the conscience.
It’d be a vacation away from the nagging
and highly critical pirate conscience I’m
burdened with. Instead I’m dependent upon
staying with it.” Johnny got a rather
disgusted look on his face then.
“What kind of vacations do you take
then?”
“I go somewhere very remote and stay
away from all life forms. It’s the only way
to ease the nagging conscience for a while.
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Then I am able to tap dance on the fine

line between sanity and insanity. Of
course, sometimes I prefer to ice skate
between the thin lines, as I’d race the
cracks beside me.”
“Really?” Julie was playing the game,
although Johnny thought briefly that she
was serious.
“Oh yes; a lot of times the ice would
break up as I turned away barely in time,
avoiding a fall into the dark cold waters
of insanity under the thin ice.”
“Are you sure you never fell in a time
or two?” Julie asked suspiciously in a
sarcastic manner.
“I’m sure.” Johnny smiled and laughed.
“Come on. I’ve had long enough here.”
Johnny went into the laboratory as Julie
went towards the hall closet. He took the
apron that he normally used, took a sniff
and decided it was overdue for another
cleaning. When Johnny returned shortly with
the apron, Julie said she was going to go
check out something in the crypt, but said
she’d be back. In the meantime, Johnny went
in the kitchen and was starting to clean
off the mess on the apron. As Johnny was
cleaning some of the bloody mess off of his
work clothes, Timmy Timid walked in and
started crying for some cream. “Okay, hold
your horses. I only have two hands, you
know. The limitations of this body have
much to be desired. I’d grow another two,
but I’ve tried that before and it scares
the living daylights out of you.” Johnny
carefully went to the refrigerator so as
not to startle her, got a can of whipped
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cream, and squirted some on a plate for

Timmy Timid who then ate it up greedily.
As Timmy was barely starting to eat the
whip cream, Percivella walked in, also
crying for her favorite food, tuna.
“All right, already! What is this? I
know you want tuna. Hang on, my hands are
rather occupied at the moment; and don’t
terrify your auntie Timmy.” Johnny washed
his hands off, went to the cupboard and
took out a can of the dark tuna. He opened
the can up and dished the contents out into
Percivella’s tuna dish. Johnny barely
finished giving Percivella her tuna when
Moki came in, wanting his pink salmon.
Johnny sighed and got a can of Moki’s
salmon food. After he opened it up and
dished it out, he threw away the can and
started back to clean the apron. Now
Ebenezer came in. He wanted his blanket
because he needed to knead. Johnny sighed
wearily, shook his head and sighed. He
followed Ebenezer out, got his blanket and
bed prepared, and went back to tend to the
apron. Julie walked in. Johnny sighed in
exasperation. “What is this, Grand Central
Station?”
Julie smiled then. “It sure is. Got any
coffee made?”
“No, but I’m sure that won’t stop you
from wanting me to make it.”
“You have to admit that your coffee
comes out better than mine.” Julie smiled
and Johnny looked dismayed at her. “Awe,
come on; don’t be a spoil sport.”

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Johnny sighed and put down his semi-

rinsed apron. “Only if you can finish
rinsing the bloody lumps off of the apron.”
“Deal.” Julie smiled and started rinsing
the apron as Johnny tended to the coffee.

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THE BIG WHIG

For some time Johnny had been working on

trying to get some connections to some of
the semi-illegal laboratories where they
conducted painful and worthless experiments
on other animals. The inhuman monsters that
conduct the experiments are all well paid
exterminators whose task it is to keep
torturing the innocent animals until they
died. Johnny didn’t want just the inhuman
monsters that performed the tortures. He
was going for the ‘big whigs’ that
controlled these places. Once they were
dead, the rest stopped, and the
laboratories were shut down. It seemed he
finally got one of the connections he’s
been waiting for. In a couple days Johnny
was to meet one of the ‘big Whigs.’ When
the two days passed, Johnny went to the
office of one of the big companies. As he
walked in the door, the ‘big whig’ with his
fish-lips greeted him. Johnny could tell
right away that this guy was a kiss ass. It
was going to be a pleasure to give this one
‘a taste of his own medicine.’ As Johnny
looked around, the big whig greeted Johnny
and asked if he’d like to go to dinner,
because he was feeling rather peckish.
“Sure. We’ll go in my car.” Johnny and
the ‘big whig’ went to a restaurant. Johnny
recognized the waiter as someone under
cover, having done some drug trading. He
caught him before the authorities got
there. Once they were served a drink,

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Johnny took a taste. “This swill tastes

like brine!” Johnny scowled and glared as
he spit the drink in the face of the ex-
criminal waiter who gave him the dish.
The waiter scowled and was on the verge
of taking his hidden pistol out to shoot
Johnny for the incident. “Just you turn
your head and stay mum.”
“Stay mum? Not after this, my fine
fellow friend. Your cover is soon to be
blown-all over the place.”
The waiter sighed and looked at Johnny.
“Okay, okay. I’ll go get something decent.
Just you stay mum a bit longer and I’ll
slip me cable quiet like and be gone.
You’ll never hear of me again.”
“Is that so, and what about all those
corpses you indulge in? They have a
tendency to wash up on the beach
hereabouts. I’ve had a few close calls in
getting the bodies away from the police. I
think it’s starting to become more noticed
that something’s not quite right in
Clover.”
The waiter smiled his snake-charming
smile and leaned close to Tanner. “Let me
try to put this simple like. The next time
I fall over the edge, it won’t be a matter
of my cable slippin’ but breakin’ the bones
of others more like. To the point of no
return, so to speak; I’ll start with
yours.” The waiter stood up and looked at
Tanner. Johnny looked more closely into the
waiter’s eyes. He saw the look of hope in
them.
“Yes, it’d make you happy if I
disappeared, wouldn’t it?”
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“Maybe, maybe. Depends upon how you look

at it. Competition wise, it could be quite
beneficial.”
“I know: there aren’t too many clean
bodies to be had nowadays.” Johnny gave his
most charming smile as he drank some water.
“Belay that, you swab!” The waiter
hissed in a low voice.
“What’s this, a flare of temper? Would
you attempt to strike a man who isn’t even
on his pins?”
“Pardon me, may I get in on this?” The
big Whig spoke with uncertainty.
“No.” Both Johnny and the waiter turned
and looked at the same time as they both
spoke.
“It may be that the next time I’ll slip
you a powder and it’ll be yourself headed
for Davy Jones’ locker, and not me at all.”
“What’s keeping you? It’s been tried
before by others better than you.”
The waiter took the brine tasting swill
away and stormed off with a hiss.
“Now are you quite finished?” The big
Whig spoke.
“For the time being; that was a criminal
of the first degree. I almost didn’t let
him go. Next time, I won’t give him another
chance.” Johnny took the water and drank a
bit.
“Am I correct in assuming that you go
after people?”
“Yes.” Johnny looked into the waiters’
eyes as he spoke. There was no room for
doubt.
The ‘big whig’ was appalled at this
conversation. The rest of the time they
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resumed silence. Johnny had the distinctive

feeling that he lost the contact. Oh well.
It so happened that Johnny was able to
obtain a list through the personal computer
lists that the company used for the
locations. Once Johnny knew the location,
he was able to infiltrate the building and
get all the information he needed. Since
this man was only the head of the one
company, it didn’t matter anymore. When the
meal was finished, Johnny and the ‘big
whig’ were once again on the way back.
Johnny was using his Mercedes, so when the
‘big whig’ got in the car Johnny was able
to take a lightly used road. There he shape
changed the Mercedes, surprising the ‘big
whig’ when Johnny quickly killed him. He
then took him into the lab and started
draining him of his blood, hanging him
upside down by his ankles.
For the next few hours, Johnny resumed
doing some analyzing of the blood and
altering the DNA structure so he could use
the skin for his leather making. As Johnny
was experimenting on the analyzing of the
blood tissue, Julie walked in.
“Johnny, I met someone who sounds really
interested in working with us. He says he’d
like to become a partner in our operation.”
Johnny sighed and looked closely at
Julie. “How much did you tell him, Julie?”
“I just glossed over that we ran a meat
business. I said it was quite profitable
and you tanned fine products from the
animals you skinned.”
Johnny sighed, took his apron off and
walked into the kitchen to clean up; Julie
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followed. He was washing his hands and

face.
“Okay, Julie. I’m willing to meet this
friend of yours, but remember. If I ever
detect anything wrong with the guy or smell
a trap, I’m out. I don’t like the idea of
having any more partners.”
“It’s a deal. We’ll be able to meet Jim
at the front of the entrance of the
graveyard.”
“How apt. He must send most of his
clients here.” Johnny smiled, and Julie
looked at Johnny with a startled glance.
When 3:25 P.M. came around Johnny was
washing some blood off and took off his
alternate plastic apron he used when
cutting up corpses while the other one was
being washed. “I guess we’d better get this
fun over with and go meet with your
friendly mobster. I think I got all of the
blood off. Do I have any remaining traces
on me, Julie?”
Julie looked at Johnny critically for
any signs from his recent butchering.
Johnny turned around. “No, don’t see any.
You’re fine. Come on, he doesn’t like to be
kept waiting.”
“What? Kept waiting? I’m a time lord. I
can manipulate time in any direction I
want. Waiting, my eye.” Johnny snarled and
looked disgusted.
“Now Johnny, don’t go getting all out of
sorts. That’s bad for your blood pressure,
and you know how it upsets the other time
lords when you use time for such ‘trivial’
corrections.”

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Johnny sighed. “Regarding my blood

pressure, last check it was 92 over 60, and
I don’t really care too much if the other
time lords like it or not, since they’re so
uncooperative and laughing at my dilemmas
when I really need their help. The only
times I ever ask them for help is when I
have no other choice. In order to ensure
that I can help myself, I turn to them, and
what do they do? They laugh at me! Why the
hell should I care if it upsets them or not
when I use the tyme machine for some
‘trivial’ purpose of my own?” Johnny’s eyes
were a brighter blue as he became angrier.
Julie shook her head and sighed. “Stop
throwing a tantrum and come on.” Julie took
Johnny’s arm and gently guided him out of
the tyme machine. She closed the door as
they went out, locking it. Johnny was
sulking in disgust as he grumbled on the
way out. They walked to the cemetery
entrance. The man Julie referred to was
there. Johnny met him-sort of, before.
Johnny immediately recognized him as the
human whom he passed in Oswald’s yard.
“Hello.” Jim held out his hand for
Johnny to shake it. Johnny shook Jim’s
hand. The grip was lacking any strength, or
firmness. It was quite soft, in fact; it
felt too soft. It rang of extreme
dishonesty. More alarm bells were lighting
up in Johnny’s mind. He smiled at Jim in a
hard mocking manner. “How do you do? You
look familiar. Haven’t we met before?”
Jim was taken back. “I don’t believe so.
I never forget a face, especially one with
such eyes. I don’t believe we’ve ever met.”
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He did remember Johnny, but he wasn’t going

to admit it.
Johnny smiled then. “I’m sorry, my
mistake. You just look so familiar to me.”
He knew Jim remembered, and he was caught.
“I’ve found that I look similar to a lot
of people. Some people tell me I look a lot
like some relative they haven’t seen or
heard from in long periods of time, others
say I look like one actor or another.”
Johnny smiled, snapped his fingers and
pointed to Jim in a friendly manner.
“That’s it, an actor. Cagney or some such
name. Why don’t we go back to my place and
have a talk? I’ve got a keg of rum you may
like. Julie told me you’re rather partial
to rum.”
“Sounds good to me. I could do with a
keg of rum about now. I’m rather parched as
it is.”
Johnny, Julie and Jim walked back to the
tyme machine. Unknown to Jim, Johnny and
Julie had a code word they used whenever
there was possible trouble ahead. Quietly
Johnny spoke to Julie. In the event that
Jim heard, he wouldn’t be able to catch on
to what was really being said. Since the
weather was on the cool side, the question
wasn’t out of the ordinary.
“How’s the frostbite, Julie?”
Julie looked calmly at Johnny and
smiled, being warned now of the possible
danger Jim now presented. “It’s okay for
now.” Julie smiled at Johnny, letting him
know she was alert for any danger.
Jim spoke up then. “You know, you have a
similar look yourself to someone. I know
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I’ve never met you before, but you do look

like some old actor. I can’t place who it
was, though.”
“Well, don’t worry about it. It’ll come
to you in time, I’m sure.” Johnny smiled
his casual smile as he unlocked the tyme
machine door. When the door opened he
motioned to Julie and Jim.
“After you.”
“They all entered the tyme machine. Jim
looked around astonished. “My god. It’s so
much larger than it looked on the outside.”
“Yes, appearances can be deceiving,
can’t they?” Johnny smiled then as Jim
turned away. Johnny’s eyes became hard as
his smile disappeared. Julie was watching
Johnny, and picked up upon his danger
signal. She didn’t lose any of her
composure, maintained her cheerful face as
Jim looked at her. “Now that we’re all
gathered together, let’s have our drinks,
shall we? What would you like, Julie?”
“A soda for me.”
Coming up, and I’ll get the keg of rum
as promised for Jim.” Johnny disappeared
into the kitchen and reappeared a few
seconds later. Jim had his back turned so
he wasn’t aware of Johnny’s sudden
reappearance so soon. Johnny very silently
put the drinks down on the table nearby.
Thinking it would take a few minutes Jim
started talking to Julie.
“Julie forgive my forwardness, but I
really don’t believe we need this turkey,
Tanner. What do you say that we get rid of
Tanner and go about it on our own?”

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Julie was facing the kitchen, so she saw

Johnny out of the corner of her eye; he
motioned to Julie to remain silent about
his reappearance. Seeing the signal, Julie
didn’t let Jim know any hint of Johnny’s
reappearance. She actually positioned
herself so Jim wouldn’t turn his head to
see Johnny, believing he was still out of
the room.
“I think you’d be very foolish to try to
kill Tanner. You’re an idiot not to believe
that he couldn’t help us. What’s more, I
don’t believe we can do business
otherwise.”
Jim was still unaware of Johnny’s
presence. “I don’t know why not. We can
knock the old boy off and take over his
operation for ourselves. Looks simple
enough.”
“Like Johnny has said many times before,
appearances can be deceiving. Anyway, it
looks like our drinks are ready.”
Johnny smiled as if he had just entered
the room. Jim turned around fast at the
same time. “Here we are, Julie; your soda,
and a keg of rum for you, Jim. I hope while
I was gone you weren’t badmouthing me too
much.”
“On the contrary, I had nothing but good
things to say about you, Johnny.” Julie
spoke up.
“That’s good. Well, let’s have our
drinks as we relax and discuss business,
shall we?” Johnny led the way to the
couches. Julie took one side, Jim the
other. Johnny sat in a chair opposite them

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both. “I hope the rum is okay. I had it

delivered just the other day.”
Jim sipped the rum, and got a surprised
look on his face.
“Quite good. It tastes like a very
expensive brand. Very smooth, I like it.”
Jim was starting to not just sip it, but
guzzle it as if he couldn’t help himself.
Julie got a surprised look on her face.
“Good. I’m so glad you enjoy it. It’s
nice to know someone else appreciates the
good stuff, not just myself. Now tell me
about yourself. Were you ever married,
Jim?”
Jim put the keg down reluctantly so he
could speak. “Oh yes. She was a rare one.
The only one who could come close to
keeping up with my sexual desires and
habits. Unfortunately she grew tired of it
and we separated.” Jim then resumed
guzzling the keg of rum.
“Oh? Sounds a little like you’re hiding
something. Some personal information too
sensitive to reveal?”
Jim put the keg down again as he spoke.
He was sounding somewhat drunk now. “You’re
very good at picking up on such things, Mr.
Tanner. Yes, you’re right. The separation
dealt with a more sensitive nature that I
prefer not to discuss.” Jim tilted the keg
up and resumed drinking again more eagerly
than before.
“Then I won’t pry.” Johnny spoke
pompously. “I was just telling Julie that
no one can experience an identical past to
your own unless the other person was a

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Siamese twin for the entire duration of

their lives.”
Jim was drinking the rest of the rum and
seemed disappointed when he polished it all
off. He put the keg down sadly, and then
spoke to Johnny. “I never thought about it
quite like that, but you’re right. A lot of
what took place in my personal life I
therefore wish to keep private.” Jim was
slurring worse as he spoke. Johnny was
starting to relax more and his smile was
becoming more confident as Jim’s
‘drunkenness’ became more evident. The drug
Johnny used was starting to take its effect
on Jim. Johnny leaned forward. “I believe
we have a mutual acquaintance, Jim.”
“We do?”
“Oh yes. Remember Oswald?”
Jim now went white. “I know him, sure.”
“Seems I also remember you when you made
your way into his house. We passed each
other in his yard.”
“No, you’re wrong. I never saw you
before, Tanner.” Jim knew he was cornered,
but he kept up his lying, not quite
realizing he was had.
“Of course not. We never met formally
before today. Even so, I do remember you,
Jim. I never forget the body language of
those I take an instant dislike to.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.
I swear I’ve never met you before in my
life.” The drug was nearly at full effect.
“I apologize. I usually can hold my liquor.
May I use your couch?”
“Be my guest. Just don’t be surprised if
you never wake up.” Johnny gave a
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diabolical laugh then that made Julie’s

blood go cold.
Julie, who was sitting on the opposite
side of the couch from Jim, looked up
sharply at Johnny, as she stood up and Jim
laid down. “Okay, he’s out. Now tell me
what you know.”
“A couple months ago I was at Oswald’s
house. As I was there Oswald left the room
temporarily like to talk to one of his
servants. I overheard Oswald to say that he
wanted me killed discreetly. When Oswald
was told that I had some woman accomplice,
he requested the servant to have your Jim
boy here come to his house. Oswald came
back, we talked a few more minutes, and
then I left. Oswald was another candy
coated shit turd. Very smooth snake he was.
Anyway, as I was leaving and still in the
yard, I passed by Jim here. I then went
around to a secluded area near his house,
got the tyme machine, and manipulated time
so I could go back to the start of the
conversation between Jim and Oswald. Oswald
hired Jim to get ‘in your good graces’ so
Jim would be able to get in closer to
myself, making sure I met with a convenient
accident.” Johnny looked directly as Julie
then. “Now you tell me; what conclusions do
you draw from what I’ve told you?”
Julie was rubbing her lower lip as
Johnny talked. “Sounds like Jim was out to
do us in; so much for working with him. You
heard what Oswald said when he thought you
couldn’t hear him.” Julie sighed and shook
her head in sadness. “It’s so hard to get
good help anymore.”
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“Yes, isn’t it? Still, a wise move on

your part; I suspect that ol’ Jim here was
going to knock me off and then yourself. He
is a paid assassin, after all.” Johnny
smiled then chuckled. “I wonder if it’d
make any difference if Jim knew that his
employer was now dead, in the meat freezer,
and he wasn’t going to be paid?”
“That’s a point. Then again, he may have
already been paid some if not all for his
contract.” Julie was debating the point.
She started searching his pockets. “You’re
right. I elect that we kill him.” Julie
rolled Jim over. “It’s either us or him.
Right now we have the jump on him.” Julie
finished searching his breast pockets. “I
concur. Anyway, if Jim enjoys his work so
much, I doubt he’d really care if Oswald
was dead now. What’s more, he’d never stop
trying to kill us if we let him go.”
“Good point. That’s it, then. We kill
him.” Johnny got up and dragged Jim onto
the gurney he kept by the door, and wheeled
him into the laboratory. Julie followed.
Johnny put Jim on the table used for
whenever he cut the corpses up. This table
allowed for the blood to drain off without
it making a large mess. Johnny put some
surgical gloves on then wheeled the gurney
aside. He then took his laser gun out and
sliced the brain from Jim’s head.
“One of the easiest kills I ever made.”
Johnny smiled as the blood started running
down the sides of the table and down the
drain. “I like it. Nice an’ tidy. I suspect
that Jim kept his body in the similar shape
of a major entertainer.”
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“A what?”
“An entertainer-appearances can be
deceiving.”
Julie looked at Johnny still puzzled.
“Loaded with drugs and booze. You saw
how he downed the keg of rum. Unbeknownst
to the dearly departed Jim I had been
experimenting with the removal of the
alcohol from the alcoholic beverages. I
used a special blend of my own so it
wouldn’t be detected from the real thing. I
do so hate wasting the fine Jamaican rum on
such scum.” Johnny took a sample of the
blood over to the magnifying glass and was
examining the results.
“So Jim couldn’t have gotten drunk.”
“Oh no-normally he’d been able to drink
all he wanted. In Jim’s case I also slipped
him a powder. It created a rather drunken
disposition even so. I made sure he
wouldn’t be able to detect the difference
in taste.” Johnny got a disgusted look on
his face then. “Damn. I hate it when I’m
right during these times. Jim was loaded
with every kind of drug you can imagine,
and then some. Well, it’s off to the
corrosive acid with this corpse.” Johnny
hauled the corpse to a big tank, opened the
lid and threw the late Jim in. Then Johnny
closed the lid, rather fast. “So much for
that one.”
Julie looked at Johnny puzzled.
“Why’d you close the lid so fast like
that?”
“Well, it is rather full, and the fumes
once stirred up can be rather fatal, at
least make you sick enough to want to die
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if you breathe them. “I really need to find

a health nut. Sometimes this body really
gives me a lot of trouble.”
“I don’t understand. Why would it make
any difference?”
“Only by eating human flesh can I make
some of these annoying aches and pains go
away for a while.” Johnny was taking his
surgical gloves off as he spoke and went
over to wash his hands.
“It’s not exactly a fountain of youth,
but close. I need to have the fresh blood
of a clean human victim in order to stay in
this semi-youthful appearance. Since the
time lords refuse to help me very much,
giving me the ability to take a fresh body
as often as I need to, I have to take what
measures I can to preserve the one I’m
using. So far, I have to maintain this one.
It could be worse.” Johnny was drying his
hands as he spoke.
“By the way, why exactly did you kill
Oswald?”
“Oh, aside from when I caught him
sneaking off to kill some newborn kittens,
he annoyed me. That reminds me, it’s their
feeding time again.” Johnny and Julie left
the laboratory. They went to the kitchen,
and Johnny went to the refrigerator, got
some of the special milk formula and
started warming it for the latest kittens
Johnny had to feed. While it was warming,
Johnny took four bottles and a funnel.
“Here, you can help with their feeding,
if you like.”
Julie smiled as she took the bottles.
Johnny went into an adjoining room
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Heather J. Kintyre

reappearing a few seconds later with the

four kittens.
“Oh, they’re beautiful. How could anyone
even remotely harbor the thought of killing
such beautiful animals?” Julie looked at
Johnny and smiled. “You were right to kill
Oswald, since he was capable of killing so
callously. He deserved to die.”
The alarm went off for the warming of
the milk. Johnny poured the milk into the
bottles, testing a little that remained
near the bottom of the pan.
“Perfect; now for their feeding. If I
weren’t a time lord, I wouldn’t have any
time for much else but feeding these hungry
guys. Here. You can feed these two, I’ll
take the other two.”
After a while, Johnny started feeling
the pressure buildups from spending too
long inside the tyme machine. Johnny stood
up to stretch. “Oh, I’m so tired. I’m due
for another outing. Care to join me?”
Julie looked uncomfortable. “No, I think
once is enough for me, at least for a
while.”
“Okay, you don’t know what you’re
missing, though.”
“I think I do know. I’ll pass, thanks
anyway.” Julie headed for the crypt as
Johnny went out to another secluded area of
the cemetery and shape changed. He flew out
into the open, going higher. He went to
another section across the galaxy to
another populated planet. He saw a lot of
pain in the faces of many species of
animals. This world is too far destroyed.
Too many animal species have died here.
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Those that are still alive are now

experiencing a high threshold of pain.
There’s no end to the suffering they have
to endure. Johnny refused to remain on this
planet much longer. He paused a moment and
the tyme machine appeared nearby. Johnny
then took as many animals as he could find
into the tyme machine, to be transferred to
another planet free of the pollution and
destruction they were living with.
He flew out into the universe in the
tyme machine; now this is home. The ethical
values Johnny retains have certain
requirements. One is freedom, the other
peace. This tends to make him very alone
and lonely as he journeys through his
eternal life. It’s so very shameful when
Johnny looked around. Most of the planets
with any developed life are very close to
an irrevocable destruction. A long time
ago, when Johnny first became an Immortal,
his soul was being slowly destroyed by the
gradual destruction when he was imprisoned
on his home planet Thyme, a planet similar
to earth. He was a mortal then. Now
Johnny’s an Immortal, so far. After being
on the latest ruined planet, Johnny must
escape further into the universe in order
to survive.
When Johnny found a peaceful planet to
support life, he started releasing the
animals in the tyme machine, and then he
started his ice-skating. His glide is
smooth and easy; as he went faster, he did
curls, twists and turns on the ice.
Johnny came to a beach and shape changed
into a bodysurfer. The waves are big; he
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Heather J. Kintyre

got caught up in one. The wave took him

through the inner curl; as the wave spit
Johnny up into the air he shape changed
again.
Now Johnny shape changed into a large
dove flying high. He was doing somersaults
and tilting on one wing, and then the
other, as he circled the sky, then went
into the universe. When he found another
planet with an attractive landscape, he
landed on a mountaintop. As he flew inland,
he saw many forms of life he didn’t see at
first. He can see everything taking place
down below. For the most part what he sees
is very bad. There were tortures and much
torment tolerated by the various humanoid
species on the planet. For the billions of
years that Johnny has lived by now, he
could never understand the reasoning behind
why the many humanoid species tolerate such
horrors. He never wants to become a part of
it. He flew outside of the atmosphere and
into the universe to find a better place.
While flying around, Johnny saw a
peaceful, and very beautiful, planet. He
landed gently on its surface. As he touched
the ground he recognized it after all his
years of being away; he’s come home. This
planet is his final resting place, should
he have to be buried in this universe.

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JULIE’S TRIP

Shortly after Johnny returned, he sensed

something was wrong. He walked silently
into the area where Julie was living with
the Baron. Julie was sitting against a wall
and looking at the razor blade she was
holding over her wrist, and contemplating
what she was doing. It would be so final.
There would be no turning back.
Johnny walked in. “Hello, Julie. Still
debating your ‘final’ event?”
“Yeah. I feel like such a coward.” She
put the razor blade down beside her.
“Why?”
“I just can’t do this.” Julie put the
razor blade down with a sigh and put her
left hand to her face in exhaustion. “I
guess this means I haven’t gone beyond
bravery, swallowing my fears in order to
carry this out.”
“Oh?” Johnny looked at Julie
questioningly.
“Yeah.”
“I know what you mean.” Johnny sighed as
he remembered some of his friends in the
past that also had fallen victim to such
suicides.
“I’m so very tired.” Julie sighed
wearily.
“Well, you must know that there’s some
little ones who’ll never forgive you if you
pull off a suicide. They depend upon you.
What would they do without you?”

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Heather J. Kintyre

“You’d take care of them, as usual. What

about yourself?”
“What do you mean?”
“What about you? Would you even care,
Johnny?”
Johnny quietly took the razor blade, put
it in his pocket, and sat beside Julie; he
smiled and gave her a hug. “Of course I
care. I’d miss you terribly. Having lived
so long I know better than trying to
prevent someone from taking their life if
they truly desire to do so. I’ve known too
many fates worse than death, so I know
better than to interfere when someone is
serious about suicide.”
“Yes, I’m sure you’d go off in your tyme
machine to some other time, find someone
else, and forget all about me, wouldn’t
you, Johnny?”
Johnny looked at Julie closely. “Julie,
I may be a time lord, but I’ve never
stopped remembering and missing those I
cared for and about. Never have I stopped
missing those closest to me. I just happen
to know better than to hold back anyone
when they want to leave.” Johnny smiled and
hugged Julie again briefly. “For all those
friends, I never met anyone more unique and
dear to me as yourself.” Johnny smiled at
Julie with sadness in his eyes. Julie threw
her arms around Johnny’s neck and cried.
Johnny put his arms around Julie and
sighed.
“I’m sorry, Johnny. I, it’s the stress.
So much stress and this feeling of
abandonment of all hope.”
“Abandonment?”
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“The best I can explain it, as a

participant, is I’m surrounded by darkness.
Wherever I turn it’s a void, all darkness,
no light, no hope. The only thing left is
to get rid of this nuisance of a body so I
can finally rest. I’m so very tired, yet I
can’t do it.”
“Sounds like some of the black holes
I’ve been in a time or two.” Johnny smiled
sadly as he spoke of those times. The scary
part was he never knew how long they’d
last. “Poor Julie. It’s not true that no
one cares. We’ve all had our ups and downs.
If you’re lucky, you’ll learn from your
mistakes after the first time. It’s even
better to learn from the mistakes of others
as well; then you won’t make those same
mistakes yourself. It’s common for everyone
to repeat the downfalls of others because
they believe they’re immune somehow. Low
and behold, they’re suckered like all the
rest.”
Julie looked up into Johnny’s blue eyes.
Johnny smiled reassuringly at Julie and
gave her a kiss and hug. Julie sighed and
wiped the tears from her face as she smiled
with weariness. Johnny took Julie’s hand as
they stood up.
“Come on. Let’s get out of here.” Johnny
put his arm around Julie’s waist. Julie
leaned against Johnny as she put her arm
around Johnny’s waist. “I’m so tired.”
Johnny smiled as they walked. “I think
we should partake of some Kenya AA coffee
and mayhap a snack or two. I just finished
cutting up a couple human corpses, already
cut and packaged, ready for meal fixing. We
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Heather J. Kintyre

could have a real feast. What do you say,

Julie?”
“Sounds like a good idea.”
Johnny and Julie entered the tyme
machine and Julie sat on one of the couches
as Johnny went into the kitchen; shortly
the sound of coffee beans being ground was
heard, then the aroma of Kenya AA coffee
was in the air.
Johnny came through the door carrying
two cups of coffee.
Julie took her cup of coffee that Johnny
gave to her. “Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
Julie was sipping the coffee. She sat
back after she drank some. “You’re a real
life saver, Johnny.”
Johnny smiled as he sipped his coffee.
“How about later we go and butcher up some
corpses together? I have a couple more
hanging around.”
Julie smiled as she finished her coffee.
“Sure. It may be for the last time. Give
you something to remember me by.”
Johnny glared at Julie for the remark.
Julie laughed. “Okay, okay. Let’s go.”
Julie and Johnny went into the
laboratory and took care of several human
corpses. The time spent didn’t seem to be
too long. Julie was a good partner and they
worked well together, making Johnny wish he
were once again with Skyner, since they
also worked as a good team.
A few days later, Julie decided to take
a vacation. She was going to go to Hawaii
for a while. She thought she’d also attempt
a party to see how well her tolerance level
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was around a lot of other people at one

time. She took a plane over to Oahu. While
she was in Oahu, she enjoyed some of the
areas such as the toilet bowl just around
the corner from Jalama Bay and the Pali
Lookout where King Kamehameha threw an army
over the side. Julie was thinking of
jumping, but she preferred that her suicide
be not only instant, but also a guarantee.
It’s not worth the attempts when you have
to survive in worse physical shape than
before you made the suicide attempt.
A couple days later Julie went to an
evening party some musician was holding. A
friend was taking Julie as her guest. While
Julie was drinking some of the soda, she
met another old friend she hadn’t seen in a
number of years. They used to go to high
school together. Back then they were the
best of friends and very close.
“Niki? My God, how you’ve changed! How
have you been doing? What brings you here?”
Julie was delighted to see her old friend.
The years had changed Niki but she still
looked pretty good. She kept her slim
figure, unlike so many others Julie kept in
better contact with.
“Speak for yourself, Stella. My word,
has it been so long? Nearly a score, I
believe.”
“Time flies when you’re having fun,
doesn’t it? Actually, I changed my name
after I left my husband.”
“Really? What name do you use now?”
“Julie. I thought it was more fitting
anyway.”

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Niki stepped back a bit to look more

critically at Julie. “Yes, it is rather
becoming of you.” They both laughed.
“So what have you been doing all these
years since I last saw you?” Niki seemed
truly delighted to see Julie.
“After the forced marriage, for the next
five years I was beaten. You know what a
violent temper Mark always had.”
“Oh yes. I was appalled when I heard
about the marriage. Why’d it happen,
anyway? I didn’t think you really wanted it
yourself.”
“You’re right about that. The marriage
was forced upon me because it was the only
way the family could stay out of
bankruptcy.”
“That’s awful! How’d you get out?”
“Ever since the marriage, I started
pilfering money here and there. It was
never enough to detect, but I wound up
having a tidy little sum after a while.”
“So how did you escape?” Niki was
surprised at hearing the news.
“At first, Mark beat me every now and
then, but never really bad. Then one day
after he came in from a run, something
snapped. Well, with him being a boxer he
took his punches in just the right spots. I
was taken by surprise, to say the least.
The last time I was rushed to the hospital.
Mark stayed behind, thank God. With the
help of a doctor, I staged my death. Since
I had some money secretly stashed away, I
was able to pay for the extra services and
escape.”

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“So Mark doesn’t know you’re truly

alive?”
“No, and I’m sure he’d track me down and
have me killed if he knew.”
“So what happened after that?”
“I met a nice man, by the name of Johnny
Tanner and we remained friends for some
years after Johnny gained what remained of
my shredded confidence. It took a while,
after what I’d been through.”
“I’ll bet.”
“Enough about me. What have you been up
to, Niki?”
“Oh, after high school I went on to
college and was working on my English
degree. Then after a couple of years as I
was travelling on a country road, I came
across a roadblock. There were no signs or
previous warnings, or I would’ve taken a
detour. Instead I stopped at this
roadblock. You know who I met?”
“Who?”
“The President of the United States. He
asked me if I’d be interested in working
for him.”
Julie was surprised but it was possible.
She kept quiet and mastered her expression.
Niki still sounded sane, after all. “So
what happened?”
“We got to talking and he explained what
type of work I would do. It’s secret,
though. I dare not tell just anyone. I can
tell you that everything said to me is
immediately known to the President.” Niki
was giggling over this last bit as if it
were a joke.

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Julie looked at Niki surprised. Up until

that moment Niki seemed quite sane and
logical. Now Julie wasn’t so sure, sane
sounding or not. Remembering what Johnny
had told her about the insane mind, Julie
went along with the game and humored Niki
as one of the insane. On the other hand, if
it were true, it wouldn’t hurt to play
along anyway. “Really? How did it happen?
Tell me all about it, please.” Julie was
showing delight and happiness at hearing
this.
Niki smiled thinking she finally found
someone who truly would believe her. After
a short hesitation, Niki felt confident
enough to disclose some ‘secret’
information to Julie.
“Wow. I never met anyone like that. What
was he like?”
“Quite charming, really. He asked me if
I’d like to do some undercover work for
him.” Niki looked around as though she was
afraid someone was watching and overhearing
what she said. “Please keep this quiet, but
I have a microchip in my brain that is
connected to the President of the United
States. He sees and hears all of what I see
and hear through the microchip.”
Julie looked amazed at Niki. “Really?”
“Really; I was taken to a hospital and
after the surgery they tested it on a
monitor. It was in good working order and I
was released.”
“Sounds great. How was the microchip
planted? How’s it work?”
“Everything I saw was seen on the
monitor, and everything I said as well.
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Everything everyone says to me now is

picked up and transferred onto the monitor.
It’s being monitored 24 hours a day, they
said.”
“That part sounds awful. No more privacy
even in your own thoughts. Well, I know you
have to take the good with the bad in equal
proportion.” Julie sighed with despair. If
it were true, Mark would soon know of
Julie’s whereabouts and what she’d done.
This was not so good. On the other hand,
more likely, Niki at some time snapped and
was suffering delusions of grandeur. This
would be good for Julie, but bad for Niki.
“No, it’s not that bad.”
“You mean it’s sort of a camera; is it
transferred onto film?”
“Sometimes. It depends on if the
information is of interest to them.”
“That’s certainly unique. Never knew
that took place. Doesn’t surprise me,
though.
“So tell me, what do you plan to do,
what career are you in, or want to have
eventually?” Niki took a drink of her
martini.
“Oh, I was looking at a nursing career.
I think that would be interesting.”
“In school?”
“Part time, yes. Can’t afford to go full
time.”
“Tell me about it.” Niki sighed as she
remembered trying to survive on what they
dished out.
“The grants and loans aren’t enough to
support a bird. Even a homeless person

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would be hard pressed to survive on what

you’re expected to live on.”
“So what do you do then?”
“I indulge in taking the school loan
officers to lunch-at their expense.” Julie
smiled as she thought about some of the
tasty meals they made.
“Really?”
“Oh yes, they’re quite tasty sometimes.
Since I have to survive on a shoestring, I
have to cut corners on the food bill as
well.”
Niki smiled, not having picked up on
what Julie was saying. She gave Julie a
quick hug and left, like a whirlwind.

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THE PARTY

A couple weeks passed, and Julie met

another old friend. He was more of an
acquaintance. He invited Julie to go along
as his escort to another party that would
take place in a few days. Julie agreed, and
when they arrived she separated from her
friends company immediately. She knew the
party was wrong, and she made a mistake.
This one was a lot larger, and she wanted
to leave. While remaining on the outskirts,
Julie got a soda while she waited for her
friend.
“What do you do for a living?” Someone
walked up behind her. It was so noisy she
hadn’t heard him.
“Oh, I’m a student. I often help my
friend in his tanning work. It’s got a lot
of ups and downs. Especially when the skins
go bad.”
“Really? That’s great. Sounds
interesting.”
“Sometimes. Through the years you tend
to think most of the animals have bad skin.
That’s bad.”
“Gets to you after a while?”
“Yeah.” Julie sighed. “Can I ask you a
question?”
“Sure.”
“If you had the ability to do so, what
would you do? Let’s say you were rich. To
what use would you use the money?”
“I think I’d try to help the sick. What
would you do?”

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“Help the animals. Most likely something

like Greenpeace.”
The man was watching Julie carefully. He
lifted up his wine glass to drink. Julie
kept getting more uncomfortable. Now she
really wanted to leave. “You must like
gaughty rings.”
“Yeah, I guess I do. Excuse me, I see a
friend over there, and I need to talk to
him. See you around sometime.” The man
walked off and Julie breathed a sigh of
relief. She was walking over to the
refreshment area then. The banquet and
everything there was very expensive. The
people around her were all decked out in
their most expensive jewels and best finery
clothes. Although her own wardrobe was
nothing to sneeze at as far as more
expensive attire-she was still feeling like
a pauper next to them. Rather, she
would’ve, had she let it bother her so much
as those superficial things usually bother
most people.
Julie was drinking some soda from a can
she had asked for. The waiter was going to
open and pour it into a glass for her, but
she stopped him, insisting that she have
the unopened can. The people who were
giving the party were known to partake of
drugs, and the open drinks could have been
laced, the glasses coated with some drug.
Julie wasn’t going to run the risk in any
case, far fetched or not. She was examining
with care the unopened can for any
tampering. She wiped the top carefully in
the event the top of the can was dusted
with some drug. Some years ago Julie was
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told about a man who took a drink of some

punch at a party. It was laced with PCP and
it scrambled his brains permanently. Now
he’s a permanent resident patient in a
State Hospital. With Johnny Tanner’s
guidance, Julie learned to take a lot of
precautions that others most likely never
thought of or had to worry about. Such
lessons and taking precautions became as
easy as breathing. Having grown up in a
household where Julie couldn’t trust anyone
around her, as similar to Johnny Tanner,
some things become second nature to her.
Especially suspicion. Johnny just refined
those things already there. It may have
been this natural habit of Julie’s that
created the attention to be drawn her way.
As she was drinking, a man walked up to
Julie and started talking.
“Hello.” Julie looked at the man. He was
around sixty; his skin was wrinkled from
partaking of liquor quite a bit. His hair
had quite a bit of gray and some white
hairs starting. He wore all black, had some
expensive ring on his right hand third
finger. He was holding a champagne glass.
It was probably his sixth, at least. His
eyes had the dilated pupils from either
weak light or too much drinking. He was
well on the way to being stoned.
“How do you do?”
“How do you like the party?”
“It’s okay.”
“Did you see me back over there?” The
man pointed off into the crowded area.
“No, can’t say as I did. I’m rather near
sighted. Comes in handy whenever a crowd’s
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around. Blurs everyone in the distance.

Unfortunately it doesn’t eliminate the body
language.”
“What?” He was puzzled now. Julie smiled
as she threw him off a bit. “The body
language. Only way to shut it off is for
the other one to be dead. Something I
learned from Johnny. Look, I think I’d
rather be someplace else for a change, if
you don’t mind.”
“Well, I do mind. Where else would you
prefer to be anyway?”
Julie looked closer at the man. He
looked very familiar on closer inspection.
More warning lights were going off to be
very careful. There’s something very wrong
with his body language. “Somewhere no one
can find me, then I can be alone. I’m not
very good at these things. I’ve got to get
out of this place. Best to leave; it could
be the last thing I ever do.”
“Oh dear. That bad, is it? Maybe you
would feel better if you tried some of the
food. The spread’s quite extensive.”
“No, I really don’t think so. Mayhap
I’ll go to some snow covered mountains with
valleys of green. There can I rest and
breathe fresh air.” After talking to this
man, Julie couldn’t help wondering what the
drinks were laced with.
“You can’t just leave me in the lurch
like this. Let’s go over there, then. It’s
away from the crowd and not out of sight of
everyone.”
“Very well. What do you want to know?”
Julie sighed in resignation. It wasn’t

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going to be easy getting away from this man

so soon.
“Who are you, really?”
“Just a traveller.”
“You’re kidding.” His eyes got big. “I
thought I recognized the references. Are
you the one who writes backwards?”
“No, that’s my friend, Johnny Tanner.
Actually, he prefers it. He said it’s a lot
easier for him to write that way. Only when
he wrote backward could he avoid writers’
cramp, allowing him to write faster. I
thought it was rather inconvenient until I
got used to reading it. His penmanship
really was better when compared to his
forward writing.”
“Where is he now?”
“Probably vacationing at the foot of
some snow covered mountains on a distant
galaxy. Right now he’s probably having a
better vacation than the one I chose. Oh
well. Anyway, that’s beside the point. I
think I’d better go now. Even the outskirts
aren’t helping much.”
“I have a better idea. Why don’t we go
somewhere well away from the madding crowd?
We need to talk.”
“No, I don’t think so.” Julie smiled at
the reference.
“Okay, do you have any boyfriends? Any
commitments?”
Julie shook her head. “Personal already?
No matter.” She waved her hand. “Actually,
I do. It’s just the crypt keeper. He’s a
tough ol’ bird with a great diabolical
laugh.”
“The crypt keeper?”
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“Yes, we like to pick a few bones

together on occasion.” Julie smiled in
amusement at his puzzlement. “We both have
very discriminating tastes.”
“Really? Are these furnishings similar
to your tastes?”
“Oh boy, here we go. No, not really.”
“No?”
“Forget it. What I’d like to know is why
it’s so important for you to know.”
“So I can better stay ahead of the next
guy.”
“Why?”
“It’s important for me to do so.”
“Why?”
“I have to.
“Why?”
“If I don’t the next guy may get the
better of me.”
“So?”
“I can’t allow that to happen.”
“Why not?”
“I’m too proud of my status.”
“Why?”
“Why shouldn’t I? What’s wrong with it?”
“I’d just like to know why it’s so
important. You never gave me a good
answer.”
“I can’t help myself.”
“Why not?” Julie kept asking questions
as Johnny taught her in order to get to the
core of the real reason.
“I’m afraid.”
“Afraid of what?”
“What others may think.”
“Why would that bother you?” Julie kept
going.
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“I don’t want to appear like some low

life.”
“Why does that concern you?” Julie
refused to stop. As Johnny reassured her so
long ago, it’s the only way to get to the
core of the truth, and the only way to
defeat jealousy.
“I wasn’t always so rich myself.” This
guy was getting worried about the
questions, although they didn’t seem so
threatening as he expected.
“Ah, now we may be getting somewhere.
How do you define pauper?”
“Anyone poor.”
“Financially or mentally?”
“Financially, of course.”
“That doesn’t make any sense. What do
material holdings have to do with the
quality of the person?”
“Everything.”
“Even their mental disposition?”
“Sure.”
“How can that be?”
“Wealth reflects the quality of the
person.”
“Tell that to Einstein, Poe and Mozart
who died financially poor. As I recall,
they were pretty smart.”
“Why are you so defensive?”
“I’m not. I just want to understand what
I’ve never understood before. I still
haven’t gotten a good reason for any of
your actions. Tell me. How financially poor
were you once upon a time?”
“Bread line.
“That bad?”
“Yes.”
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“Are you afraid of going poor again?”

“Oh yes.”
“Do you believe you’ll be poor
mentally?”
“No.”
“Why not? I mean, if ‘wealth’ reflects
the mental bearing of a person, how could
you be rich mentally and poor financially?”
“Anyone smart enough mentally can become
rich financially as I am.”
“Can, but not always, or so often. You’d
be surprised at how many missed
opportunities there are. Ever hear of The
Tarney Spencer Band? They were a good
group. Or try to produce something too
prematurely. In those cases, they remain
poor. Like Mozart, Einstein and a few
others like Edgar Allan Poe. As I recall,
your music was accepted so readily because
society was ready for the change.”
“Maybe, maybe. Even so, anyone can make
it if they have the intelligence to do so.”
“So you reflect your ‘wealth’ in your
parties. You’re therefore insecure.”
“No, I don’t think so. I’m quite secure
in my current position.”
Julie sighed, as she was anxious to
leave. “Oh, I doubt that. All this can be
gone within the next hour. It’s happened
before.”
“How would you know?”
“I’ve played the commodity market a bit.
Dangerous game, that.”
“Most impressive.”
“Not really. I’ve spent my time on
‘worthless’ things you’d never understand.”
“Like what?”
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“Trying to improve myself mentally. I’d

gather information in whatever it was that
interested me at the time. Nothing you’d
understand, I’m sure.”
“No, I get the jest of it.”
“Good, glad to hear it.”
“So you don’t approve of all this
flare?” He was smiling as if he won the
contest.
“No. It’s as gaughty as the jewelry a
lot of the women deck themselves out with.
They think they look better for all their
troubles, when they’re still as stupid and
artificial as the plastic rocks around
their necks.”
He laughed delighted. “If they could
hear you say that. Just wait until I tell
them that one. Those aren’t paste, but
expensive ‘rocks’ as you call them.”
“For all the trouble, they may as well
be paste. Will you also arrange a
convenient accident for me as well?”
“A what?”
“You heard me. An accident. I’m sure
some would be angry enough to do it.
“Why do you keep asking me all these
questions?”
“Because it’s hard for me to understand
why excessive material nonsense is so
important. I mean, the only reason I can
think of for someone to go to so much
trouble like this has to be because they’re
too shallow within themselves.”
A waiter came by. The man put his empty
glass on the tray and took another full
glass. The waiter continued on.

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“You are a puzzle. Doesn’t any of this

impress you the least bit?”
“Not in any way you’d recognize, no. I’m
sure you don’t understand anyone the likes
of me. You’re too superficial for that.”
As Julie spoke he lifted the glass up to
his lips. He was trying to flash the big
fancy ring on his right hand that was
supposed to be expensive.
“Ah, I saw that. You’ve noticed the ring
I wear.”
“It is rather big and gaughty, like the
other guy I talked to.”
“Gaughty, is it? This ring cost a lot.”
“So? Looks like a gaughty and worthless
rock to me stuck on a ring band. I like
rock candy, also.”
He was looking at Julie rather
disgusted. “Is there nothing that impresses
you favorably?”
“Yes.”
“Well, what is it?”
“I don’t know if you’d understand.”
“Let me be the judge of that.”
“A natural mentality. It’s not what you
have, but who you are mentally.”
He was more puzzled as Julie spoke.
“Don’t worry about it. Most don’t
understand me; especially the more shallow
ones. They all prefer to take the shorter
route and label those like Johnny and
myself as crazy.” Julie smiled then held up
her right hand as to ward off any protests.
“Listen, I know I’ve disgusted you enough.
It’s best that I get out of here.”

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“How about I go with you, then? You

don’t disgust me. You interest me, though.
I don’t really care for crowds myself.”
This man was trying to pull the wool
over Julie’s eyes, and she wasn’t too
comfortable with the idea of his company,
especially alone.
“Yeah right; that’s why there’s only a
few hundred humans about instead of a few
thousand, correct?” Julie looked disgusted
at the host. “No thanks. I really need to
be alone.” She held her hand up. “Please.
It’s a need, not a want. I really need to
go. I guess it didn’t work after all. Is
there no way out of here?”
“I don’t understand. What’s wrong, is it
me?”
Tell me. Did you sell your soul to
obtain all of the riches and thugs you’ve
acquired so far? Are you no better than
another Dr. Faustus?”
“What? I don’t understand. Why do you
call me a Dr. Faustus?”
“Because you’ve sold your soul, haven’t
you?”
“Sold my soul? How would you know what I
did or didn’t do?”
“Your body language.”
“How? I don’t put forth any hints.”
“Oh, but you do. I look at it this way.
You sold your soul to produce what music
you could. In turn, the ‘devil’ makes sure
the music is successful, so it’ll give you
what you want. That’s your end. On my end,
I use music, devoid of any personality
behind it. The music is based solely upon
its content, nothing more. I benefit,
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without having any association with any

‘Faustus’ character. Therefore we both
benefit.”
“Yeah, but part of the agreement is that
I get whatever I want. So if I want you,
why aren’t you cooperating?”
Julie laughed heartily. He did have his
amusing moments. “I’m not one of your
‘devil’s’ servants-gold diggers. Therefore
I don’t abide by the same rules you are
subject to. What makes you think that I’d
be interested in gold digging? Especially
with someone whose sold their soul for
superficial material gains and parlor
tricks? Did you really think I’d be
impressed?”
“Well, why not? Others would be.”
“Yes, I’m sure. I on the other hand am
not. I will never in any way have anything
to do with someone condemned as you
obviously are. Take comfort. In the midst
of all creation there’s a road for you and
me. Our roads just never will meet again.”
“Are you religious?”
“No, like Johnny I’m agnostic.”
“Then how can you refer to me as being
condemned?”
“Let me try to explain as best I can.
Regardless of all I learned after living
with Johnny Tanner, I put theology and all
religions on ‘hold.’ I’d like to believe
there’s a chance of something after death,
but I can’t say for sure. No one can. If
there is a chance, you’re damned. In such
an event, I don’t want to be damned because
I’m associated in any way with the likes of
you. For no other reason, I don’t want to
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eventually reflect the false lying manners

influenced by the friends I keep around
me.”
“You are a strange one.”
“Yes, I’m sure to you I am. There lies
the difference. No one rules or governs any
control over me-excluding the conscience. I
bow to no one. Every mortal human still has
to put their pants on one leg at a time,
still eat, sleep, and shit the same as
everyone else. Mayhap you should try to
take one of the other humans. I’m sure
they’re very shallow, and would be only too
pleased to do anything you wanted. You can
flash promises of wealth and lots of
superficial material wishes their way.
You’ve already made it clear that all
humans are alike and stereotyped them into
one category.”
“You don’t speak like the others.”
“Like I said, I’m not one of the others.
It’s a hell in itself. When everyone thinks
I’m assuming something, or I must be
feeling a certain way, they’re often far
from the real truth. The only time I assume
anything is when I’m driving a vehicle.
That’s when I assume that most humans are
brainless idiots who are going to try
something stupid and get in front of my
vehicle, causing an accident so I’ll be
stuck paying them the rest of my mortal
life. Makes for better driving at that.”
“Humans? You speak as if you aren’t one
of the human race yourself.”
“I’m not; or not entirely anymore. I
can’t be comfortable with them because of
their back stabbing natural ways. It’s sad,
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because the more honest human has to suffer

with the rest of them, since they also are
capable of such deceit."
“Oh, I’m sure there’s a lot of deception
around. In my business it’s a given. You
get used to it after a while.”
“Yes, you either join them or get out.
When you acquire the fine art of body
language as Johnny and I have, there’s no
choice but to get out. There’s too much
body language goin’ around. It’s draining
me.” Julie smiled then as if she finally
understood something she was working on. “I
see. When you come here you’re in for good,
is it?” He looked at Julie funny. “You’re
strange. I’ve heard a lot of things in my
life, but never met anyone quite so
unusual. Who are you?”
“Just a traveller; now it’s time for me
to fly; bye.”
“No, wait. You must give me some way to
contact you.”
“All right.” Julie gave him a location
she wrote quickly on a scrap of paper.
“Here. I’ve also included a phone number,
just in case. Oh, one other thing. If
there’s more than yourself and your friend,
you may not see me, or Tanner; especially
if any of your thugs are around.”
“Any what?”
“Thugs. Bodyguards, you call them. We
know them as thugs. Bye.”
Julie walked away fast. The man was more
puzzled than ever. He didn’t know what to
make of the conversation.

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SUCCESS, AT LAST

A couple days later, Julie was reading

when the phone rang. It was the man from
the party. He wanted to meet her at a
public place. In a couple of days Julie was
at the arranged location. Julie had her
handy walking stick, mace clipped to her
waist, jeans and t-shirt on. She had to be
at the arranged place anyway, and looked
the area over carefully as she approached.
She didn’t see the man she talked to.
Having ordered her drink, she waited to see
what would happen. If he didn’t show once
her drink was finished, she was leaving.
Patience is the one virtue no one could
ever teach her. Julie’s walking stick is
wrapped with electric tape. It wasn’t just
a weapon, but she had a bad leg that would
go weak. The stick would then be used to
keep her from falling on her face at those
times when her leg went out from under her,
as she’d walk. In her back pocket was a
pocketknife she often used when gathering
mushrooms after a good rain. It was
connected to a chain that was clipped onto
her jeans. Before she walked to a bench to
sit down and have her drink, Julie took
some paper and a pen out of her backpack
and sat on one of the benches. She put the
mace in her lap. It ‘smelled’ wrong. Sure
enough, a strange man walked up.
“Are you the one named Julie?”
“Yes.” Julie put the pen in her shirt
pocket and folded the paper.

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“Please follow me.” He walked away. When

he turned around and saw she wasn’t
following, he looked at Julie and glared at
her. She smiled sweetly back. He walked
back to where she was.
“I’m sorry. Thanks, but no thanks. I
refuse to follow you.” Julie continued
drinking her soda. She gave the ‘thug’
another angelic and phony smile.
“The man you arranged to meet refuses to
see you here. He asked me to come get you
and take you to him. Please follow me.” He
turned to walk away.
“I said no, and I meant it. Are you
deaf? I’m going nowhere with you, your
boss, or anyone else. I don’t care if
you’re ‘God.’ Now you can tell your boss
that I will never meet with him or anyone
who acts so cowardly as he obviously is.
Anyone who has to send one of their
‘bodyguards’ in their stead is a coward in
my book. Goodbye.” Julie got up to walk
away, putting the mace in her pocket as she
stood up.
“Not so fast.” The bodyguard tried to
block Julie from retreating. He smiled as
though with intent to do some harm.
“Please get out of my way. You have no
right to hold me back or force me to do
anything I don’t want to do. Leave, before
you regret it.”
The bodyguard turned thug smiled, but he
didn’t step aside. Julie had her hand in
her pocket on the mace. She brought it out
of her pocket and very quickly sprayed it
in the thug’s face. He screamed and bent
forward. As he did so, Julie smashed his
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face in with the walking stick she kept

handy. Before he could get back up Julie
was out of sight.
The next day Julie got a phone call.
“Hello?” Julie put down her book of
Arthur Conan Doyle.
“Hi, this is the man you met at the
party. Remember me?”
“Yes, I recognize the voice. What’s the
occasion?”
“What you did to my bodyguard wasn’t
very nice.”
“Really? What he tried to do was worse.
He had it coming.” Julie was about to hang
up then.
The musician spoke just before she was
going to hang up. “I was wondering if we
could go see a movie or anything else you
want to do.”
“Surely you jest. What makes you think
I’d ever trust you after what happened
yesterday? I told you what would happen.
You blew it, royal.
The next time you try to pull a stunt
like yesterday, I may get angry. I tend to
kill when I get angry. So I don’t think
it’d be a good idea for you to try
arranging another meeting, or having me
followed. I don’t like being spied upon,
either. Once is enough. You will never get
another chance.”
“Well, what about my friend?”
“What about him-her?”
“Well, don’t you want to meet him?”
“No, not particularly. I’m sure he’s
just like you, very materialistic,
superficial and just as dishonest as
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yourself-a coward to boot. Like I said,

your friends are a reflection of yourself.
Especially when they’re long term.”
“I doubt that. For your information,
we’re not dishonest or cowards.” He sounded
rather hurt.
“Congratulations. Honesty is hard to
come by these days. All the same, I doubt
you’re as honest as you’d like to think you
are, but no matter. Yes, you are a coward.
No one acts so shallow and cowardly as you
just did with your ‘thug.’”
He sighed. “I guess I blew it badly. Yet
you haven’t given my friend a chance to
even defend himself. It sounds as though
you’ve already prejudged and sentenced
him.”
“Yes, you blew it, all right. No, no I
haven’t prejudged you or your friend. I
refuse to meet him because you’re involved.
Somehow I think it’d be just another
washout. A sham. Don’t waste my time. I’ve
got better things to do.”
“You’re a hard one to get to know. I
really think you should give him a chance.”
“Oh, really? Johnny said the same
thing.”
“What’s that?”
“I’m not so easy to get to know.”
“That’s true; so does my friend have a
chance?”
“No thank you, I’ll just skip a step if
you don’t mind.”
“No, I don’t mind, but I think he
would.”
“Oh? That’s just tough titty. I’ve had
it. Goodbye.” Julie hung up quickly.
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Whenever the phone rang, she refused to

answer it.
After Julie’s vacation, she went back to
the cemetery and spent some time taking
some college courses. Time passed, and
Julie tried to recover since she knew she
was in a state of depression. After she
completed her semesters, she took another
trip to Hawaii. She told Johnny she was
going on a vacation.
“Do you want a ride? I can take you
anywhere you want to go.” Johnny smiled
sadly at Julie. Something told him it was a
delicate situation.
“No thanks. I think I’ll go by an old
fashioned plane. I need some time to get
away from here for a while, think things
over, maybe start fresh again.”
Johnny smiled sadly, suspecting this
would be the last time he ever saw Julie.
“Okay. I wish you the best of luck. Please
take care of yourself. Goodbye.”
“Bye, Johnny. You’re a nice guy,
really.” Julie turned and walked away, back
to the crypt where she had her suitcases
stored. She then went to a bus station and
bought a ticket to San Francisco. When she
got there, she went to the airport and
bought a one-way ticket to Hawaii.
Once she landed, she went to a drug
store, and bought herself some Bacardi Rum
151. She had some barbiturates she saved
up. Julie took a bus to a park where some
active volcanoes were threatening to go
off. The park was one the verge of closing,
but Julie persuaded the park manager to

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allow her entrance with some extra cash she

gave him.
“My only request is that you tell no
one. I want to be alone. If I don’t come
back, don’t worry about it, because I
probably left by some other means.”
“Okay lady, anything you want. I’m not
so sure you know what you’re doing, but I
won’t argue. You must be pretty desperate.”
The man was looking at the money Julie had
given him.
“I am. Please keep everyone else well
away from me. It’d be best if no one even
saw me. Divert their attention for a while.
I’ll only be a couple hours.”
Julie walked out toward the volcano most
active. Since it was well after five, most
of the park employees were gone anyway. The
park ranger Julie paid went about his
rounds, making sure that Julie had her two-
hour grace period.
Julie was taking her bottle of
barbiturates and rum out of her backpack,
which she left empty and discarded. She was
starting to drink from the bottle of 151
rum and taking the barbiturates as she was
walking up the mountainside of the old
active volcano. No one was around so no one
could possibly sneak up on Julie as she was
walking. Not that they’d really want to,
since it was in the heart of a hot danger
zone. It was all the more amazing when she
saw a dark figure appear in the corner of
her eye to her left. At first Julie thought
she was hallucinating, but then she
realized who it was as Death started to
speak.
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“Hello, Julie.”
“Hello, Death. Didn’t recognize you for
a moment. Does this mean I’ll be successful
this go around?” Julie took another drink
and swallowed some pills.
“Oh yes.”
“Good. Glad to hear it. Finally I’ll be
free. I sure hope I am. After all, my eyes
hurt; the inner bones feel like they’re on
fire. I feel like I’ve just completed a 10-
mile race and my heart’s beating fast. I
can feel the blood flowing fast through my
body. I’m getting more tired as this
advances. It sure better be final for me.”
“Yes, it is. Even so, the Gods are very
upset about this, and I can’t say as I
blame them. You should be more careful.
You’re not used to that hard stuff. I may
have to take you prematurely.”
“Now that’s a joke.” Julie’s voice was
more slurred than normal because of the
hard booze and pills. “Just what do you
think I’m doing?” Julie was drinking from
the bottle, getting drunk.
“Trying to take your life.” Death spoke
in a low, quiet echoing voice.
“Right first time. I’d give you a cigar,
but I don’t smoke. Sorry about that.” Julie
was starting to stagger a bit. She had to
maintain a certain speed in her walk
because the lava was still hot and soft
under her shoes.
“This death stone sure does burn. Not
just the liquor burning.”
“The soles of your shoes are melting a
bit.”

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Heather J. Kintyre

“Yeah, I’ve noticed. Mayhap I should’ve

waited until I was a little closer before
taking to the drink and pill popping.”
Julie was looking at the still distant
mouth of the volcano. “Better make this
quick. I can feel myself slipping. At least
it’s working. My word I’m so tired. I may
not make it to the mouth of this volcano.”
“Your heart beats fiercely and so fast
in protest against the suicide you are
committing.”
“I thought so. Funny, it should rebel
so. Makes me so much more tired.”
“Isn’t that why you’ve practically
abandoned your body maintenance?”
“The cleaning, grooming and such? Yeah,
kept getting too tired. Always wanted to
sleep. Let me go now. No more oppression,
human pressures with the tyrannies. I’m too
tired to fight any more. I’ve given up.”
“It may have been better if you hadn’t
pursued this suicide at all. The Gods have
asked me to come talk you out of this if at
all possible. Everyone wants to know why
you’re doing this now.”
“Why not? It’s as good a time as any.
Just grew too tired, and now the suicide
isn’t postponed any more. I’ve been cast in
this oppressive mode far too long. Help was
denied me, so I fought. I’m too tired to
carry on or care any more. Don’t bother
trying to talk me out of it. I know you
picked up my thoughts, so you know you
can’t change my mind.”
“No, none of us can read your thoughts
since the ‘accident’ all those years ago.”
The accident Death referred to was when
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Julie was bashed against a wall of a house

as a baby.
“Really? That’s nice. More privacy that
way.” Julie took another big gulp of the
booze. “Not so bad when you get used to the
burn.” Julie was looking around for the
pills. She was patting her pockets.
“Where’d they go?”
“You took them all.”
“Oh, shucks.”
“Come on, Julie. Stop delaying me. We
don’t have much time left.”
“What do you mean we don’t have much
time? The mouth of the volcano is a ways
off yet. You’re a time lord just like
Johnny was, so you have all the time you
need or could ever want.”
“In most cases yes, not in yours. You
made sure of that.” Death was speaking with
a resigned voice.
“Oh yeah, I remember now. Good, I’m glad
I did that one. None of the Gods can alter
or change my past to prevent something like
this. Can’t read my every thought, Huh?”
“No.”
“How long will that last?”
“As long as you’re inside that body.”
“Good.” Julie tried to lean closer.
“Then I’ll tell ya. First off, you’re
wrong.”
“Wrong? Death is never wrong.” Death was
speaking with a louder and more violent
tone as the voice echoed.
“Would you please stop that? There’s no
need to shout. Never did like hog calling
voices.” Julie had her left hand sheltering
her left ear that Death was closest to.
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Heather J. Kintyre

“Anyway, this time you are wrong, my

fine fellow.” Julie was slowly staggering
up the active volcano as she spoke. “You
see I should never have been born. My death
is therefore long overdue. I’m just cutting
shorter a flaw that should never have been
made in the first place.”
Death sighed and shook its head. “You’re
drunk.”
Julie looked at Death puzzled. “I think
that was the intention; I figure it must be
working or you wouldn’t be here as you are.
It’ll be a first success in this last
mortal life. “Care to enlighten me a bit on
how much further I have to go?”
“No thanks."
“This will be the last time, no doubt. I
was to warn you of the consequences.”
“You mean about the embracing of eternal
death?”
“That’s exactly what I mean.”
“I know all about that, dear chap;
you’re a little late there. With Johnny’s
help I set the terms for myself, actually.
Understanding it completely, I now freely
embrace eternal death.”
Death puzzled over Julie’s last remark.
“I don’t understand. You didn’t have much
longer to go. Why, and what about Johnny?”
“Why, because I have abandoned all hope;
because society finally won. Life is too
much trouble to maintain within these
complex societies.” Julie was getting
sleepier as her speech became more slurred.
”What’s Johnny got to do with this?”
“Johnny will be forever imprisoned on
earth because of your suicide, never able
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to leave this planet. He will die the true

death once the planet destroys itself, if
man doesn’t destroy it before then.”
“Oh. That’s tough.”
“That doesn’t concern you?”
“No. It would have once, but no more. My
only concern is to be rid of this nuisance
of a body.” Julie was mumbling to herself.
“No. Got to keep going; too early. Can’t
stop here-too early, only in the lava, only
sure way to die. No more survivals in
pain.”
Death was taking a lot of the
information through telepathy. He just
couldn’t read her innermost thoughts.
Since the near fatal ‘accident’ shortly
after Julie was born in her last mortal
life, reading her thoughts was not so easy.
She had to be thinking the thoughts before
she spoke them in order to pick them up.
Julie looked at Death closely. “Really?
You said nothing about that. The Gods never
said anything about that. I wonder what
else they hid from me?”
“Julie, everyone is most concerned about
your suicide, including myself.”
“Really? Making them all a bit nervous,
am I? Mayhap the Gods were wrong after all
in trying to restore me. I told them to
take me back and let me die peacefully. No-
no, they wouldn’t do that. Are they truly
concerned or just worried about losing
face? Will Allah stuff them in a pig and
put an apple in their mouths?”
Death sighed and shook his head.
“Regardless of what you may think, the Gods

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truly do care. If they didn’t you would’ve

been left alone as you requested.”
“That’s rich. You can carve it on my
tombstone that I refused to believe it.”
“Why’s that, Julie?”
“Don’t you remember? I’m a child of
fear. I don’t know how to give or accept
love. Having never been taught to me, I
have no instinct or means to tell if it’s
actual love or not. What I do know instead
is the manipulations and subtle ways of how
everyone tried to use me for their own
personal gains.”
“So you’ll throw it all away now?”
“What else? No reason to stick around.
I’ve drunk all the liquor and taken all the
pills. That way the pain will be deadened
as I jump into the volcano with the hot
lava for my grave.
“It’s not cowardice when we take our
lives. We just need some extra help some of
those times as we go beyond bravery to
embrace our deaths. I finally figured that
out, because Johnny wouldn’t enlighten me
on that.”
“No, it’s a coward to take your life.
It’s a brave one who survives against the
odds.”
“Says you. Reverse it, and there’s your
truth. Everyone else is too chicken to
swallow their fears as they embrace bravery
to take their own lives.”
“I find that hard to believe.” Death
spoke with a melancholy tone of voice.
“Death, have you ever committed suicide
before?”
“Yes.”
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“Why, what was it that drove you to it?”

“It was a stupid act. I wanted
sympathy.”
“Therefore you don’t even understand
suicides. Not really.”
“What? I’m Death. I understand a lot
more than yourself.”
“Yes, you’re very good at taking lives.
What do you know about the reasoning behind
the suicides? I’m not speaking about the
sympathetic, one timer who messed up or any
of those. I refer to those like Jim
Morrison and Vincent Van Gogh.”
“Yes, I remember Jim. I left him with a
relaxed expression and a smile on his
face.” Death smiled with fondness as he
recalled the event.
“He finally got his wish, and left the
horrors of society behind. Now society is
taking another victim. It should be ashamed
of itself.” Julie slurred the words out.
“Yes, and I still don’t understand it.
It doesn’t make any sense. Why now or at
all when there’s a choice?”
“Call it enlightenment. The mother was
such a manipulator. It was mostly because
of her-him that I desired to end my life so
much. I don’t know what she did exactly or
how she managed, but after she’d finish
talking with anyone, the one she talked to
would be convinced that I was the liar and
bad guy, and she-he was the good guy. At
the same time, I have not had any contact,
no communication with the parents in over a
score. I don’t miss them at all. I do miss
the times I spent during those years when I
was alone, as well as the cats I had. So
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you can ask yourself if I’m the bad guy,

why is it I have stayed away so long, and
continued to do so the rest of my life?
“I don’t understand.”
“If you were the criminal accused of
committing the crimes someone accused you
of, wouldn’t you try to deny ever having
done them so you could stay out of jail?”
Death was thinking about what Julie was
saying. “Yes, I would deny it.”
“Without any proof, only your word
against theirs, the criminal gets away with
its crimes. I didn’t stand a chance against
the crimes committed against me. Look-I
know it’s too late for me, for I will
always be haunted by the past, even if I
did survive as an Immortal. If future
abuses can be stopped, that’s the best I or
anyone else could ever hope for”
“Then don’t do this; you have a choice.”
“No, I don’t.”
“There is, I just told you there is.”
“Oh yes, a fate worse than death. Some
choice. Suicide’s better.”
Death looked at Julie with a startled
look.
“Have you forgotten? I can see some
futures in a general viewpoint. What I see
for me is a fate worse than death; no
matter what route I try to take. When
suicide becomes the only thing left in
order to avoid such an event, that’s when
we take our lives, not before.” Julie and
Death were nearing the edge of the
volcanoes mouth. Julie stopped and turned
to Death.

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“Death, if you were forever rejected,

then lead to believe for some years that
someone else cared about you, only to find
out that some years later that they used
you instead, caring nothing for you,
wouldn’t you be a little bit upset?”
“Yes, but not enough to die over it.”
“As a child of fear, I can tell you that
when you’ve come to realize that love was
never known, it’s devastating when such
truth is revealed.”
“I don’t follow. What happened?”
“When you find that you were never
loved, you never were to understand it,
life becomes too much. I was told that I
was cared for who, not what I was, or what
I was supposed to have materialistically.
Truly loved. I was lead to believe that.
Whereas I never felt or truly knew love
before, I thought I was finally going to
understand that one part of life that so
many always claimed was so wonderful. Then
it was crushed. Burned up in a hot fire, as
hot as the lava that consumes everything in
its path. Everything I ever learned as a
child of fear had come home to roost. It
was then that all hope was abandoned.
Everything, all hopes and dreams burned up
in a massive fire. It’s ironic that I chose
the lava of an active volcano for my end,
don’t you think?”
“That’s not enough to die for. Go back.”
“Says you who can’t understand what
you’ve never known. No, never will I go
back; we all have our thresholds of pain.
Some are much greater than others. Jim

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Morrison reached his, I finally reached

mine.”
Julie looked at Death puzzled with a
drunken and sleepy smile.
“Mayhap you should do some mind reading
of the suicidal ones.”
“I still can’t allow this. You’re a
Chosen one!”
“Yeah, with a strong suicidal
disposition to go.” Julie waved her hand at
Death. “Some Chosen one; go find a better
candidate.” Julie waved the empty bottle
Death’s way.
“There is none better, or that the Gods
want. I include myself in that decision.”
What are you, a bunch of hypocrites? I
remember the Gods committed suicide when
they became too tired of continuing to
survive. They fly into the wall.” Julie
looked at Death disgusted. “Thank you no, I
resign if I have to. If I have to continue
to survive until this body wears out, in
order to become another hypocritical
Immortal, then I decline. I freely embrace
eternal death, now if need be. I refuse to
continue to survive any longer in this or
any mortal existence.” Julie took a couple
more wavering steps. “Mayhap the Gods can
find a better Chosen one. I wish them
luck.”
“No, we want others, true, but we also
want you.” Death spoke with a sad tone of
voice. “Actually, of all the Chosen ones, I
still believe you’re one of the best
choices.”
“I thank you for your flattery, but I
can’t accept it, either. So the Gods made a
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mistake. We all make mistakes from time to

time, so don’t feel bad.”
“They made no mistake.” Death spoke with
sorrow in its voice.
“Then why the strong objection? If I’m a
Chosen one, they obviously knew about this
moment in time, and don’t try to tell me
they didn’t, because I remember the Gods
are also all time lords like yourself and
Johnny.”
“How can you still be so negative? The
Gods helped you.”
“No, they all helped themselves.” Julie
looked directly into Death’s cloak. For
most it’s too unnerving. “Don’t try to
convince me it was otherwise, because it
won’t work.”
“What do you mean?”
“The Gods have their society, just as
these humans and other creatures have that
walk the earth, be it on two, four or more
legs. When someone commits suicide, it’s a
reflection of just how bad society has
become. Those who commit suicide are more
sensitive to the corrupt society, and we
just reflect it more than the rest. Did you
think I’d never figure out the backwards-
writing ability? It was a reflection of
Johnny’s ability to make use of other
capabilities both forward and backward.
Take a positive, turn it negative and vice
versa. We’re not cowards when we take our
lives. Truly, we’re not.”
“No? Then what’s you definition, Julie?”
Death was trying to play for time, so the
height of the booze and pills would wear

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off, and Julie wouldn’t be able to go

through with her suicide.
Julie read Pluto’s mind just then, and
waved her hand in a negative manner. “You
shouldn’t have done that, Death. We’re
actually terrified of our mortal deaths. We
play with you, and the more terrifying our
demise is, the more tantalizing you become
to us, as intriguing as the unknown may be
to us all.”
Death sighed. “Is there nothing I can
say or do to make you change your mind?”
“No. I’m sorry. Truly I am. I’ve had it,
Death. Society can pat itself on its back
and congratulate itself. It’s won again;
only the dogs of war will survive once
those like myself are gone. Then I hope
they have some fun as they all kill each
other in one big bloody war.”
“Why? Someone should have been able to
help you.”
“No, there’s no one. The oppression and
continual struggles to survive have finally
taken their toll. The only thing society
will ever do is either console the suicidal
one or place them in a halfway house with
some ‘reformed’ murderers; either that or
lock ‘em all up an’ force ‘em to remain
alive until they die naturally. They give
you ‘happy’ drugs that create the delusion
that life is wonderful. If that’s not bad
enough, you’re told afterwards to continue
living in the life that’s killing you. You
may get lucky enough to have the chance of
being murdered while you’re walking down
the street, mayhap near where you lived a
couple blocks away. That is, if society
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takes you seriously enough to play with

your mind.”
Death was shaking his head in dismay.
“You’re too drunk. Turn back, Julie. You
don’t know what you’re doing.”
“No, Death. I know it’s too late for me,
for I will always be haunted by the past.
If future abuses of all species can be
stopped, that’s the best I could ever hope
for. Mayhap then all the suicidal ones
before and after me will not have died in
vain. As it is I, like the rest, have too
many memories that cause me pain. I have
only one desire, and that’s to put an end
to it all.”
“Is that you justification?”
“Oh yes; that and I’m too tired so I
want out now. Why not? We’re not criminals,
although society condemns us as such.
That’s the only help you can get, and the
worst anyone can ever give. The Butchdyke’s
of society made us suicidal. They’re the
real criminals, although they’ll never be
prosecuted for their crimes.”
“I’m not sure I follow.” Death was
trying to buy some time in hopes Julie
would change her mind. Julie seemed unaware
of Death’s ploy as if she’d already
forgotten it.
“If you were the criminal wouldn’t you
claim innocence so you could stay out of
jail? What makes you think those survivors
are so innocent, and weren’t responsible
for making our lives such a living hell
that we’d desire to take our lives? It’s a
pity when those survive. Oh well. World’s

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too overcrowded anyway. Better to get out

while the gettin’s good.”
“You sound like Edgar. He also could
give good reasons to go ahead and take your
life.”
“Who?”
“Poe.”
“Oh yes. I remember his dark writings. I
used to wonder if I was Poe’s daughter, at
least in spirit. No matter.” Julie shrugged
her shoulders. “You had to be in the right
frame of mind to be able to read his works.
Otherwise you just might ‘accidentally
like’ slice your wrists.”
“That’s him, all right. A nice man he
was.” Death spoke with a fondness in his
voice when he referred to Poe. “I had to
leave him in the gutter though or draw
attention to myself when he died.” Death
sighed in melancholy as he remembered the
event.
“Tell me about Jim Morrison, though.”
“Ah yes. He also was a nice chap. One
the kindest guys I ever knew.” Death sighed
as he remembered those he took. “I’d say
all those who committed suicide were nice
basically.”
“That wouldn’t surprise me at all.”
Julie was looking down into the pit at the
lava far below. “Wouldn’t it be nice if the
booze and pills froze the central nervous
system like it did for Jim Morrison,
creating a painless death?”
“You can still turn back, Julie.” Death
had a trace of hope in his voice.
“Don’t try talking me out of it, Death.
Like Morrison before me, I’m very tired.
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Whatever I may have cared about or for is

all gone now. When everything died, the
love of the non-human animals wasn’t
enough. Not with the oppressions and such
on top of all else. I only wish to get rid
of this nuisance of a body, nothing more.”
“Are you sure?” Pluto really didn’t want
this to happen, because he really liked
Johnny and didn’t want his brother Zeus to
get away with imprisoning him because of
Julie’s suicide.
“Yes. Funny thing is I always felt a
little better when the husband and everyone
else was gone, much worse when someone was
around. Well, with the exception of the
non-human animals and corpses. It was as
though my soul was draining faster when
anyone else was about, with their cold
mannerisms.” Julie looked at the bottle in
disgust since it was empty. She threw it
into the volcano.
”I can’t allow this to happen.” Death
was shaking his head sadly.
“Yes, you can. The Gods are angry with
me; I can understand that. They wanted
another God to help maintain the ever-
expanding universe. I was there for a time,
I remember. I did enjoy the planet hopping.
Hopscotch, it was called.”
“You remember too much, Julie.”
“Regardless, I give up my right to
become an Immortal anyway; especially if it
interferes with this suicide. I have to
finish what I’ve started. Finish what I
started. I’m tired of having to survive on
this godforsaken planet any longer. It’s
sewage of a prison.”
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“You didn’t have much longer to go,

Julie.” Death spoke sadly. Julie seemed to
not hear him.
“I tried many times to postpone this. I
couldn’t put it off any more.” Julie was
looking longingly into the volcano where
she threw the empty bottle of 151 rum. “Ah,
such sweet oblivion. Soon to be mine, all
mine.” Death and Julie were now looking
into the mouth of the volcano. Julie was
looking way over into the mouth at the red-
hot lava below. “I like Morrison just
needed a little extra help, a bracer you
might say, to help me make it work; pretty
good, Huh? A masterpiece if I do say so
myself. Mayhap Ol’ Vincent even would
admire this one.”
“I can’t allow this.” Death’s voice was
speaking louder with more force and echo.
Julie cringed.
“Yes, you can and must allow it, Death.
Stop trying to use the hog calling voice.
It always did hurt my ears when that
happened. Won’t work this time. If you
can’t be nice, go away and stop pestering
me. Go pester someone else for a change. I
have a job to finish.” Julie wrinkled her
nose, as she smelled the sulfur from the
fumes. “These things always smelled bad
like rotten eggs.” Julie was wavering near
the mouth.
“No, Julie. This must be stopped.” Death
spoke in a firm and yet compassionate voice
that made Julie look his way. “Do you want
me to arrange your death like that?” Death
spoke in a gentle yet sad voice.
“I’d appreciate it if you would.”
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“Come into my cloak then.” Death had a

more compassionate tone to his voice.
“Don’t try stopping me now, Death.”
Julie had tears starting in the corners of
her eyes.
“I have no intention of stopping you
now, Julie. Come forth, Julie.” Death’s
voice held a tone of a gentle compassion
that made Julie hesitate.
“What do you want from me now, Death; a
bit of torture before I die? I’ve heard of
some of your amusements. No thanks.”
“Come. I will give you an easy and
painless death, my friend.” Death opened
his cloak. The only thing she could see was
darkness.
“Please, no more. I just want to go
home.”
“I give you my word that I shall give
you your wish, and grant you a painless
eternal death. Then I’ll take you home.
Come into my cloak.” Death spoke as to a
loved one.
“I have only one last request.”
“What’s that?” Death was speaking softly
with a grave sadness now.
“When my soul is gone, throw this tired
and broken body into the lava. No one has
ever walked out of a lava bath alive. I
don’t want anyone to attempt reviving this
old body if it should manage to survive,
even barely.”
“Nothing simpler. Very well.”
Julie referred to her early childhood
years when she was forced to survive those
days while kept barely alive.

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Julie stumbled forth into Death’s cloak.

She mumbled an apology and immediately
passed out, into the unconscious state.
As Death’s cloak engulfed Julie she died
a painless death as Death promised.
Death gently removed Julie’s tortured
soul from her tired body.
As requested, once Julie’s soul was
removed, Death flew over the volcano and
dropped the lifeless body into the lava
mouth far far below.

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 Warped Mind, Inc.

EPILOGUE

Death went back to his home after he

gave the dead soul to Zeus. As Johnny
predicted, Zeus would read every living
moment Julie lived, and before that. He
sighed in disappointment. The other Gods
also were waiting for him.
Clotho spoke first. “So here ends the
life of the Chosen One again. I guess
Johnny’s attempt to correct Julie’s suicide
didn’t work.”
Zeus spoke then. “Johnny did the best he
could. We gave him his chance, no one can
say or deny the truth of that. Having
failed in his second attempt, the end
result hasn’t changed. I vote that we keep
the curse upon Johnny, now put into full
force, ensuring that he will never die
until the earth itself dies, consuming all
in its fires.”
“Yes, I reluctantly have to agree with
Zeus, since we did give Johnny his chance.”
Venus was very sad, for she really liked
Julie and didn’t want to lose Johnny. “If
we gave Johnny any more chances, the end
result would forever be the same.”
The rest of the council of Gods all
shook their heads sadly in agreement. Zeus
took a flask from a shelf and walked over
to the world image the Gods used to watch
the universal events with at whatever time
they chose. He adjusted the screen so
Johnny Tanner was in full view. Zeus
stretched his hand forth into the screen.

477
Heather J. Kintyre

Back on earth, Johnny looked up into the

sky. He saw Zeus and the other Gods appear.
He also knew that only he could see them.
Johnny went forward toward the Immortals.
When Zeus handed Johnny the flask, he then
spoke. “The Gods have chosen. Our original
curse upon you will not be lifted. The
Chosen One, the woman you knew as Julie,
has committed suicide. We tried to talk her
out of it, but it did no good. We gave you
your second chance, which also did no good;
no one blames you, you tried. None of us
could have done any better. Take the flask
and drink the contents. The drink will
prevent you from aging like the rest of the
human population. You will remain as you
are now until the earth itself is
destroyed. We have designed it so you will
no longer be dependent upon having to use
human flesh to maintain your youth.”
Johnny took and drank the contents in
the flask. It tasted like the nectar of the
Gods. Venus smiled as she took the flask
that Johnny handed to her after he drank
it.
Zeus smiled sadly then as Venus gave him
back the flask; he spoke to Johnny. “It’s a
very sad moment now because we’ve lost two
time lords; that is, yourself and Vera. Now
you will have a major struggle in trying to
save mankind from destroying himself. It
won’t be easy. Everyone will judge and
condemn or praise and worship you based
upon what their cultures have taught them.
How can they know with any certainties that
others aren’t surviving according to what
they were taught in their cultures, far
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 Warped Mind, Inc.

different than their own? We are often

thought of as too crazy and violent.
Regardless, the human race will measure
your conduct according to their cultural
standards and what they’ve learned. They
will have no consideration for your
background, your culture and your methods.
If you allow anyone into your life, you’ll
be condemned as crazy based upon their
standards, and they will turn against you,
and try to have you put away. There are no
exceptions so far with the human race.”
“So I am to not only live the rest of my
life out on this planet, but without hope
of ever having a companion.”
“Only under very special conditions can
this happen; otherwise you will find more
pain than pleasure in the companionship.”
Johnny sighed with a melancholy he’d
never felt before.
“Zeus, I told David, now I’ll tell you.
When I die the eternal death, bury my soul
as instructed in the lyrics I’ve given to
David.” As Johnny spoke, he made a mental
transfer of the lyrics to Snow Covered
Mountains he wrote and the meaning behind
them to Zeus. The lyrics went like this:

479
Heather J. Kintyre

SNOW COVERED MOUNTAINS

(Begging Beethoven’s Pardon)

Take me to the snow capped mountains

Where no human can invade
Laughing waters flow through sweetly
Blood red roses never fade.

Take me to the snow covered mountains

Where no human can ever go.
Wildlife friends will guard my gravesite
Where I sleep nine feet below.

Travelling through the universes

Cats and dogs circling the skies
Friends forever at my gravesite
Rocky mountains at my sides.

Take me to the snow covered mountains

Where no human can ever go.
Wildlife friends will guard my gravesite
Where I sleep nine feet below.

Music’s heard in many stages

Singers dance, musicians’ play,
Songs that fill the lonely ages
Of times eternal passageways.

Take me to the snow covered mountains

Where no human can ever go.
Wildlife friends will guard my gravesite
Where I sleep nine feet below.

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 Warped Mind, Inc.

Bears will gather black wreathed flowers

Cosmic oceans move in tides
Wildlife angels fly beside me
Doves will sing by eagles’ sides.

Take me to the snow covered mountains

Where no human can invade
Laughing waters flow through sweetly
Blood red roses never fade.

Laughing waters flow through clearly

Pitch-black roses never fade.

“Why, Johnny?” Zeus was moved by what he

was given.
“I was never very good at a lot of the
other languages, despite being a time lord.
I read the translated English version for
the chorus of ‘Ode To Joy’ and it didn’t
fit with the music. I therefore wrote ‘Snow
Covered Mountains’ to compliment
Beethoven’s ‘Ode To Joy.’ I had no
intention of degrading, condemning or
eroding it. With my life having started off
so bad, there is no reason why I should
settle for a poem any less than a bright,
hopeful and cheerful melody that depicts a
form of life I always looked forward to. I
therefore chose a melody that would last
until the end of all life on this planet,
since I was faced with the possibility of
imprisonment on it.”
“Granted.” Zeus smiled sadly at Johnny.
Your powers will remain in full force,
limited only to you never being able to
leave the earth again. Your tyme machine
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Heather J. Kintyre

will no longer take you away from the

earth. You may travel anywhere in time
within the planets history. Should the
planet survive until its natural life ends,
you will die gently before the fires
consume all in its path. Your methods are
unusual, and they made us uncomfortable.
Even so, you were always one of the best
time lords as well as a Guardian. We hate
to lose you, Johnny.” Zeus was very sad at
having to relay the information. It was
very taxing on him.
“Is there no more hope any more? Can the
decision be reversed at any time?” Johnny
was full of melancholy at this harsh
sentence.
“No, not that I know of. Mayhap in a few
million-earth years the situation may
change. You may not have that long, though.
It’s up to you now to prevent man from
destroying himself and the planet, before
its time. We wish you luck.” Zeus and all
the rest of the Immortals smiled sadly as
they faded out.

482
 About the Author

Heather J. Kintyre lives somewhere in

California with her cat and husband. Warped
Minds, Inc. is Heather’s second book in the
series of The Tanner Chronicles. The first
book, ‘A Future History,’ introduces Pan
and his family. Heather is currently
working on another book titled ‘Warped
Minds In Gear.’ She lives somewhere in
California with her cat and husband, works
as a paralegal and a part time beekeeper.
She has an English degree and studies
mythology on her own; Heather has tried to
create new mythology characters, and
capture the temperaments of the known
mythology characters within their cultural
aspects based upon the information given
from Homer, Bullfinch, Graves and a few
other mythology writers. When she can do
so, she studies astronomy and world
mythology.