I’m gonna admit that this portion of the story really bogged down. No matter what I tried I could not get the story to flow right. I guess it’s just at the point where you have to set up story instead of tell story. I have no idea what that means anyway here it is:
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I lay on my back in the middle of her bed with Zoe running her finger tips over my muscular chest. Warmth radiated off of her and I could feel her satisfaction as she lay there with me. I folded one arm behind my head and looked at Zoe who seemed content with prospect of being here for hours.
I looked up to the ceiling, thinking about what we had just done. There was so much passion and fire in our love making but too many other things were needling at my brain to allow me to just enjoy the sweet lethargic post coitus moments. The thought of having to take the Oni on by myself had some how become second in my mind to one other thing. Bren. What was she going to think of what just happened between Zoe and me.
I looked down to find that Zoe had fallen asleep on my chest. I lifted her off of me as easily as I could and rolled her onto the pillow next to me. I separated my underwear from my pants, snapped them up to my waist, and made my way to the bathroom in the corner of the room. I pushed the door closed behind me and took care of my business. I flushed the toilet and washed my hands in the sink and stared at myself in the mirror.
I propped my arms against the sink and studied the man gazing back at me. It was the first time I had seen myself since coming into town. My hair was shaggy and brown and a little mussed from Zoe’s fingers. I shook it with my hands and considered finding someone in town to give me a haircut.
I rubbed my chin, feeling the scratchy stubble as I peered into my own brown eyes comparing them to Bren’s when Zoe slid in behind me and wrapped her arms around my neck. She kissed me on the cheek and smiled.
“You weren’t thinking about taking of with out at least saying goodbye were you?” She slinked around in front of me like a cat and our mouths met again. I swear I could hear her purr. I looked down to see her short crimson robe, which just barely came to the top of her thighs, was open just enough to expose the underside of her bosoms.
She began to pull at the ties of the robe exposing her areolas as the red satin dropped away. The barrage of kisses began again and I lifted my head skyward trying to muster the strength to stop her. Fortunately, as she began to dive lower and lower on my body a clatter arose from the floor beneath us.
“Oh, shit.” Zoe looked panicked and ran out of the bathroom gathering my close and throwing the garments at me as she said, “That’s my dad. He’s not supposed to be home until five. It’s only three thirty.”
I caught the pants as she tossed them at me and began to hop into them. I looked down at the watch on my left wrist and saw that it was a full hour behind. If she was this concerned about her father then I had a lot to worry about. I sat on the bed sliding my shoes on. I looked around me and asked, “Where’s my shirt?”
“Shit. It’s in the other room. Shit, shit, shit.” She flew out of the room yanking the door shut behind her. I could here her footfalls on the wooden floors of the hallway. Another door slammed. I assumed it was the door to the room where our adventure had begun.
Through the door a muffled voice could be heard asking, “What are you in such a hurry for?” It must have been her father. “Why are your hands behind your back? What are you hiding?”
Now the sounds of footfalls were much louder and heavier and seem to be racing toward the bedroom door. My head spun searching for any place to hide. I stood up at the sound of Zoe’s body slamming into the door. “Dad, I don’t want you going in my room!”
Obviously ignoring her protest the door flew open and her father came bursting through the door. He was a portly man of about average height. His hair was receding and he had a bushy line of hair under his nose. He threw my black t-shirt at me with one hand and pointed his other hand at the door and screamed, “Get the fuck out of here now!”
I pulled the t-shirt over my head and threw my hands up in the air to show the sheriff I was willing to cooperate. He grabbed the collar of my shirt in his fist and pushed me out the door and down the stair of his house. Stumbling and tripping he pushed me out of the front door as Zoe jumped between the two of us again. She grabbed his arm that was still clenching my shirt, and screamed, “Stop it Daddy. He’s the one.”
Her eyes pleaded with him. He scanned her face looking for truth and then slammed the door in my face.
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I wandered back to the heart of the town and waved to Sam who was sitting out in front of the General Store in a rocking chair. My hands were in my pockets and my head was down, part from the wind and cool air that was already moving in and part from the guilt I was feeling. I prayed that Bren wouldn’t see me and come running after me like she had earlier.
“Come on over here young man and have and sit for awhile,” Sam called to me motioning me over to the store and pulling an empty rocking chair closer to his. I dropped into the chair and exhaled. “Sounds like you had a long day son.”
I turned to face the man and gave him a quick head nod. “You don’t know the half of it.”
He chuckled out loud and slapped me on my leg. “I imagine not. I imagine not. Did you get your questions answered?” I looked at him surprised and he waved his hand at me, “Ms. Dorothy told me you were going to see Zoe Calhoun about some questions you needed answering.”
I nodded my head in understanding, “Oh, I gotcha.” I rubbed my hands together then wiped them on the leg of my jeans. I shook my head and said, “No, no. She told me a couple of things that were helpful but for the most part I’m still in the dark.”
Sam rocked back in his chair, “I saw you walkin’ with Bren Davis earlier. Nice girl, huh?”
I felt the pit of my stomach tie in knots. Just the mention of her name sent shockwaves of guilt coursing through my body. “Yeah. She is…” and she didn’t deserve what happened to her today. I sat silent in my own remorse.
“Oh, hell,” Sam broke the silence and rose out of his chair. “Cindy Prescott is heading this way. I better head in before she rips me a new one for being outside.”
I sat there in the chair after Sam walked away and ran over the information that Zoe had given me. I have to fight these monsters but at least Zoe would be there to help me, I guess. I rocked back in the chair until I saw the sun begin to retreat behind the buildings and the town begun to slow down more than it already was.
I lifted my body from the chair and walked toward the hotel. I hugged Ms. Dorothy when I passed through the door and then headed to the stairs and up to my room. Vi passed me in the hallway and I smiled at her as she passed. She blushed and looked to floor and hurried on by. A twinge of guilt hit me again and I climbed into my bed and slept.
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I only slept a few hours before I was awoken by the sound of howling and snorting. I gazed out of my window at a pair of Oni fighting with each other. I pulled on my pants and headed down the stairs. If it was going to be my job to protect the people of this town then I might as well make sure they have a decent night’s sleep.
I walked out of the hotel to the General store and smashed the chair that I had sat in earlier on the ground. The sound rang out through the night and I felt the air thicken around me. I lifted one of the splintered rungs of the chair from the ground and ran toward movement in the distance. I made a curve at the post office and came face to face with the massive creature.
The Oni roared at me, its mouth hanging agape and hot moist air boiling out at me. I flipped my crude tool in my hand and threw it like a spear into the opening. Its cry was stopped short in a gag and I sprinted to it grabbing my weapon before it was swallowed up in the Oni’s dying flames.
I sighed waiting for the other Oni to come and avenge their fallen brethren. And they did. My ears were flooded with the sound of stampeding feet. The four Oni bounded down the street ready to rip me to shreds. They howled and snarled rushing at me with all of their power.
The leader of the pack approached me and pulled back his arm ready to swat me with his claws. I jumped into it nearly missing his razored paw and drove my steak into his abdomen and up into its heart, assuming that it had a heart. I yanked my stake from its flesh and spun in a half circle stabbing another Oni without looking. The weight of the Oni at the end of my spear vanished as the creature smoked and disappeared into flames.
I stood in the center of the street finding myself caught in a perilous situation. One Oni stood growling to my left and one crouched to my right. With a grunt they charged at me with intent to smash me between their massive chests. With a signaling grunt they rushed at me. The creatures bore down on me but I stood my ground waiting for the right moment. For this to work I would have to time my move perfectly.
I gripped the rocking chair shard in my hand. By now it was charred and burnt from the Onis flaming bodies. Smoke traveled up from its tip. Both creatures were on me now and I jumped into the air. I kicked off of the Oni’s chest and flipped upside down above the monsters. I could see the top of the creatures’ heads and I dropped my spear down impaling the two Oni on the stake.
I dropped down to the ground and landed in a crouch. Another night of battling Onis was over. I started the short trek back to the hotel. I rounded the corner of the post office and walked right into the grip of an Oni. Green goo dripped from its mouth and I could see the hole where my improvised spear had been. It lifted me up into the air and I clawed at its mitt trying to free myself. I kicked at its body and jerked in its grasp when it cast out its arm and sent me careening into the column in front of the post office that Bren and I had leaned against earlier.
I felt a rib crack with collision and I slumped down to the ground. The ogre began to close in on me but all I could see was a giant gray mass moving toward me. My eyes had blurred over. I must have a concussion. I wrapped my arm around my chest and spat a wad of blood to the ground.
The monster stood over me and I waited for its razor like claws to bury into my flesh. The monster lingered over me, its drool dripping down onto my jeans and then I heard the wet thwack that was my death. The Oni’s lip curled up and smoke rose up around it and then it burst into flame and in its place stood the blurry image of a person.
“Jason?” the blob asked.
The world began to spin and then darkness began to creep into the corners of my vision. The person moved in closer bending over me and then everything went black.
The Shady Ninja 