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Chapter Forty Two
Last Updated:
2023-07-24 17:00:59----------- -------------
Out east . . .----------- -------------Jane and Red were moseying down an old dirt road towards the town's only hotel. The sheriff had offered to give them a lift, but it was only a couple of miles and the two women, especially Jane, needed to walk off some frustration. The sheriff had given Jane some information that she has asked for, and they had agreed to rendezvous the next morning to work out some legal matters.Jane felt like someone riding a roller coaster whose heart was still beating in her chest, but who could finally see the end in sight. She wanted off that crazy ride and get her feet under her for the first time in many years."Talk to me," Red said after a lengthy silence. "What's going through your head?"Jane leaned against her girlfriend. "Nothing. I'm so used to it being dark in there . . . in my mind . . . and scary and chaotic. But now I don't know what to think. I'm not used to itRelated chapters
Midnight Strays Chapter Forty Three
---------- ----------------At the motel . . .---------- ----------------It wasn't as romantic as Jane would have liked. Neither woman had engaged in much personal grooming for weeks and both smelled like they had just been in a fight. They were bruised, battered, and Jane was still ginger with her healing arm. But nothing short of an act of God was going to keep them apart that night.As soon as they had paid the deposit and gotten in the room, Jane had turned and with a bit of her traditional shyness returning, she slowly raised up on her toes, keeping contact with Red's eyes until the last possible second, and then kissed her. She could taste Red's sweat (and a little bit of her blood), but she couldn't remember anything feeling as good as those lips against her own."Are you sure you want this now?" Red asked."Yes," came the reply. "I really do."Red picked Jane up, minding her arm, and carried her over to the ful
Last Updated : 2023-07-25Midnight Strays Chapter Forty Four
--------- -----------At the Den . . .--------- -----------Robbie was sitting alone near one of the entrances to the tunnels. He was dead tired and had drifted off several times while leaning against the inside of the overflow tunnel. But he wanted to wait and see if his sister was going to call again. Like everyone, he had been stunned to hear that the Dark One was dead, and wanted to fill big sis in on the new plan. Then, at one moment he opened his eyes and noticed there was someone else in the tunnel with him."Not much of a lookout, are you?" the large man asked in an amused tone. The man was almost as big as Tarloh. Huge shoulders and arms, and his broad chest and powerful legs were clad in something that resembled snake-skin armor.'No,' Robbie thought, preparing to wolf-out. 'Crocodile armor.'"Ho there short stuff," the man continued, a smirk on his lips. "If I wanted to fight you, I'd have started and finished by now.
Last Updated : 2023-07-26Midnight Strays Chapter Forty Five
----------- --------Elsewhere . . .----------- --------"Man, the slums around here have gone straight to hell," Tarloh said as they scratched another possible new home off the list. "I can't believe I said that and was actually surprised."Talia and Shield had convinced the big man that he needed to get out and get some fresh air, so he had gone "house shopping" with them. They were trying to keep with Red's wishes of not removing themselves too far from the people they were trying to protect, but they hadn't found anything with the infrastructure needed to set up shop. They'd have to reroute power and water and keep both sets of tampering hidden."Maybe we SHOULD stay in the Den," he muttered."No, we need to get out," Talia reminded him. "We've been over this. You're just saying that because you hate shopping.""True."Shield shook his big head. "Listen, the slaughterhouse is still the best bet, but even it
Last Updated : 2023-07-27Midnight Strays Chapter Forty Six
Red and Jane lay in bed, quiet in each other's arms. Jane had gone through another day of interviews, and it had been taxing. She kept having to answer officials' questions about what had happened with her stepfather all those many years ago, why she hadn't said anything, why she had run away and where had she been. But that part was getting easier for her. What was getting harder was having to explain what she was doing now, and how could people get a hold of her?Jane had been very careful about what she said. She was between jobs and between homes at the moment. She was in a serious relationship. She wasn't there to get any money from her mother. She wasn't looking to profit from her stepfather's actions or death. But all these questions kept bringing up feelings for Jane and putting ideas in her head. She had made a decision about what she wanted, and she had just told her lover."Are you sure?" Red asked, obviously pensive."Yeah." Jane snuggled close
Last Updated : 2023-07-28Midnight Strays Chapter Forty Seven
----------- -----------In Mexico . . .----------- -----------"You've got to be kidding?!" Robbie exclaimed at the hapless cactus that stood before him. "The trail . . . the rumors . . . they HAVE to be here!"Natasha stood next to him. "Unless these 'Raptors' look much different that you described, then they're NOT here."Lothar looked perplexed, his chubby face contorted. "I don't get it. The crystal pointed to here. If they're gone, they can't have gone far."This little group of Strays and allies had been driving around Mexico for days, trying to find a group of flying outworlders called the Raptors. For creatures with enormous wingspans and distinct appearances, they were remarkably good at hiding. They kept to the unpopulated areas wherever they went and traveled at night. All of them were nocturnal anyway.Robbie rolled his eyes and gripped his hair. "Aurgh! I . . . I . . ." He didn't know what to do. Leadership
Last Updated : 2023-07-29Midnight Strays Chapter Forty Eight
--------- -------------------A few hours later . . .--------- -------------------Tarloh, Talia, Shield and Nathaniel all arrived at the hospital within minutes of each other. They had been enjoyed a brief meal when they got a frantic phone call from Anya. Something had happened to Croc."What happened?" Tarloh said when Anya and Johan met them in the lobby."He . . . huh . . . he went through and then his hand came out and he was panicking and we helped pull him through but he got real sick and was throwing up . . ."Talia wrapped her arms around Anya's shaking shoulders. The girl was spooked. "Is he . . .""He's alive," Johan said, a little more collected than his female counterpart. "The doctor's said he's lost the use of one eye, but no one has any idea what could have caused it. Needless to say, I think Croc found something bad. Maybe what we were looking for."A doctor came over and informed them that th
Last Updated : 2023-07-30Midnight Strays Chapter Forty Nine
------------- ----------------Back in Springfield . . .------------- ----------------Croc opened his one good remaining eye. He was in a hospital. He'd been in enough of them in his life to know what they looked like. It was mostly dark except for the moonlight streaming in through the window, meaning he'd probably been out for a while, and he was alone. He was a bit surprised by that. He didn't imagine the Strays as being the types to just run off and leave him, but it occurred to him that they might not have had much choice. He sat up, feeling a little sore from his vomiting episode, but otherwise in good condition."Hey," came a voice from the air next to him. Croc jumped a bit before he recognized the voice. He was in a delicate state of mind."Well hell-ooooooooooooo nurse," he said, forcing a smile. "I thought you'd gone off and left me, now that my good looks are scarred a bit," he joked half-heartedly, touching the patch over h
Last Updated : 2023-07-31Midnight Strays Chapter Fifty
--------- -------------------A little while later . . .--------- -------------------Talia and Red were still up at the cave that Red and Jane might likely call home. It would take a lot of work to get it comfortable for both summer and winter weather, but it seemed to strike a primal chord with Red. Jane just wanted her girlfriend to be comfortable.Jane excused herself and went back to the main building. She found Tarloh and Anya and Croc talking financial matters."Hey little one," the co-Captain of the Strays said when the shy girl approached. He noticed Croc eyeing the young woman, and then he noticed Anya elbowing Croc in the ribs while shaking her head. Croc quickly got the hint that this wasn't someone to play around with."Huh- . . . hey," she said, forcing herself to not stare at the ground. "I didn't mean to interrupt.""It's okay. What's on your mind.""I . . . I need to find a job," she muttered.
Last Updated : 2023-08-01
Latest chapter
Midnight Strays Chapter Fifty Nine ( ENDING)
--------------- -------------Six months later . . .--------------- -------------Jane leaned the broom up against one of the front windows of the Kwik-R Stop where she worked. It was a warm summer night, so she was able to clean up the parking lot without a jacket. She paused and ran her finger over her name pin, which was now done up in faux gold rather than the regular white plastic."Assistant manager," she muttered happily. The promotion only meant an extra dollar an hour, but it was still special for her. She had done a good job, and she had been rewarded. Of course, it also meant extra responsibility, but she didn't mind. It was good honest work. She still worked nights, but never alone. Her company insisted on having at least two people on graveyards. Her coworker for the evening was a pimply-faced college student named Earl, trying to save some extra money over the summer. He was a nice kid. He had tried hitting on Jane for a while befor
Midnight Strays Chapter Fifty Eight
------- --------------------A few hours later . . .------- --------------------The celebration was somewhat muted considering the circumstances. They had just narrowly averted an apocalypse of biblical proportions. Raptors and Strays mingled in the new Den engaged in numerous conversations. Most of them were genuinely pleased that there would be many more tomorrows for all of them. But not everyone was feeling relieved. Anya hadn't spoken to anyone since the battle. Neither had Red. She had collapsed shortly after Chaos had been banished. Fighting an Elder God, even in your head, was apparently an exhausting process.Jane and Robbie had been hovering over Red until she came too. Arthur had been called in to check on her, and several other allies followed along. Red had defied a god . . . they all wanted to know how."You okay?" Jane whispered when Red stared up at her, one eye beautiful green and the other eerie and red."No,"
Midnight Strays Chapter Fifty Seven
---------- -----------------------A few hours later . . .---------- -----------------------The crowd walked or glided in silence. Walking to the gates of Armageddon seemed to have a sobering effect. Lothar was staring deep into the Heaven's Eye. He'd wanted to be part of an adventure. He was beginning to wish he had nothing to do with it.Croc and Anya walked next to each other. Chris hadn't spoken to either of them since the accusation earlier, and it was eating Anya up. But she didn't know how to approach him, so she decided to wait until after this was all over.Red walked hand in hand with Jane. Red was almost ashamed to admit to herself that she felt relieved. She was just along for the ride on this one, and she had meant what she said. They would win or lose in a matter of moments. No more waiting and then, one way or the other, she would get some rest.Jane wanted to kiss the warrior goddess she had become so dependent
Midnight Strays Chapter Fifty Six
------------ -------------- Outside . . .------------ --------------Jane had no taste for battle. It piled up on her tongue and dripped from her mouth as bile. Yet she found herself suspended from two large trees, looking down at a pack of rat-like beings called . . . she thought Anya had called them caval. Their participation in this was also strange, as they were a race of scavengers. Something powerful had driven them to fight. Sometimes, Jane heard wings and cries from above as the Raptors fought for control of the heavens.She saw one of the rear caval vanish into nothingness. Croc had grabbed another victim and drawn it into his dimensional rift. The group turned and one of them was leveled by a float club. 'There's Anya,' Jane thought. She grimaced. It was her turn. Magical braids wielding heavy branches descended from on high, bludgeoning the unsuspecting creatures into a fine state of unconsciousness. 'They'll never get to Red,' she to
Midnight Strays Chapter Fifty Five
--------- ---------------A week later . . .--------- ---------------Robbie and Natasha were both cranky as hell by the time the Strays arrived at the slaughterhouse. They had gotten a message on Natasha's cell phone on where to go, but then her battery went dead so they couldn't call back. They had returned the car, taken cabs out to the nearest gas station and then hiked back in. Lothar got help carrying the heavy magical jewel all the way. His magical battle had taken a lot out of him. That, and not having ever been to this new Den before, prevented him from teleporting."They're back!" came a cry from a window as the weary travelers approached. Talia and Tarloh came sauntering out and embraced their friends, happy to see them all still alive. Robbie explained that the Raptors would be joining them that evening when darkness allowed them easier passage through the skies."This is big," Natasha said, "and they wanted to be here for it
Midnight Strays Chapter Fifty Four
--------- ---------------------Inside the building . . .--------- ---------------------"You didn't have to be quite so mean," Talia chortled."Yes I did!" Tarloh shouted, then got himself back under control. With a sigh, "If I didn't nip her path to martyrdom in the bud, she would've finally convinced herself that she really was useless and probably left the Strays to go on some damn fool . . . she would've tried to go and save the world by herself. I don't know if she or the Strays would've survived that. Especially not right now.""You really think she would've left?" Anya asked."The only thing that would've stopped her was Jane," Talia said, gripping Tarloh's hand. She knew he had been right. "I should've seen it coming. She's been on the verge of breaking down since she got back and found out what Robbie had done. Between dealing with him, dealing with Jane's problems and still trying to do her regular duties of keep ever
Midnight Strays Chapter Fifty Three
--------- -----------------------Twelve hours later . . .--------- -----------------------Red had only had a hangover once before in her life. She remembered suddenly why she didn't drink. But last time, she was pretty sure that the only symptoms had been nausea and a headache. This time, her entire body ached as if . . ."Wait," she mumbled. "I WAS in a fight." Bits and pieces of her night on the town were coming back to her."Red?" came a voice at the end of the bed. Jane had been reading and had fallen asleep again in a chair next to the bed. The younger girl quickly moved to Red's side."What did you do? What happened? What . . .""Red?" This time it was Talia at the mouth of the cave. "Good God girl, what the hell did you do last night?""I . . . went patrolling," Red said."By yourself?!" Talia said. "Dammit, that's just the kind of dumb-ass stunt your brother would pull!""I had
Midnight Strays Chapter Fifty Two
------------ ------------------Back in Springfield . . .------------ ------------------Red was sitting back in the cave that she and Jane were going to share. She couldn't believe that the Strays actually owned the land they now stood on. Anya's career was on the verge of exploding (in a good way) again. A supermodel apparently rising from the dead had gotten some peoples' attention. Talia was also talking about going back to work as a crisis counselor to help make some money, and Jane was currently interviewing for a cashier's job at the closest gas station to where the slaughterhouse was located.She was looking around, trying to figure out how to make the cave more habitable and wondering if Jane might be more comfortable in the main building. But there was plenty of room for a bed and she knew she could build up the front and . . ."What am I doing?" she muttered. She was playing house . . . she was becoming the woman who stayed at
Midnight Strays Chapter Fifty One
". . . shit!" Robbie shouted. He, the Strays and the Raptors were fighting for their lives in the jungles of South America trying to capture a magical jewel called the Heaven's Eye from a maniacal shaman. The adversary conjured up a set of massive earth golems to aid his followers in the defense of the jewel, and all hell had broken loose. Robbie found himself lying on his back, scrambling to get out of the way of the descending foot of a golem before it crushed him like an insect.'If I let that thing step on me, Red will have my hide,' he thought absently. Then he felt hands on his shoulders and was pulled out of the way just before the foot came down."I'm not explaining to your sister that I let you get killed," Natasha said as she helped Robbie to his feet. She looked pissed. The Strays and Raptors were generally too fast for the golems but the golems were too tough to be readily destroyed. Most of the shaman's followers had been incapacitated or had run off,
