Post by spideyfan914 on Jul 25, 2010 1:27:07 GMT -6
Okay, digressing from the usual depression of my blog, it's time to resume promotion of my new story, THE OVERSEERS!!! Eight daring heroes face off against the menace of Sir Arthur McKnight - with drastic results. For now, enjoy this fun little promo I've written for you, featuring the new character of Savage....
The ground was soft beneath his feet, the sky hidden by a bright green roof. The air smelled of pollen, as a warm tropical breeze hit against his back. Insects were drawn in by his sweat, and buzzed into his ear. Crouching low behind the brush, he smacked his ear and wiped the bug's remains against the mossy undergrowth.
His name was James Viktor, but he preferred to be called Savage. His keen eyes stared through the entanglements of the jungle at the prey - a renegade rhinoceros, gone ballistic from a hunter's knife. There was a camp nearby - a camp of innocent researchers, already fearful from the disappearances of three of their peers. Now this rhinoceros threatened to finish the job in one quick trample.
Savage launched to action, leaping out of the brush, snarling loudly, as he grabbed onto the rhino's back. In its already crazed state, it went ballistic, rampaging through the forest, slamming into trees, and Savage held on for dear life. Slowly, he inched his way upward, toward the rhino's neck. He could see the knife, jammed beneath the beast's ear - it had a rounded silver blade and a fringed wooden handle, with a skull-shaped keychain wrapped around it.
He reached forward to grab it as the rhino continued charging recklessly at high speeds. A low-hanging branch zipped toward Savage, and he ducked down seconds before he could reach the source of the berserk. The time for subtlety was over - Savage lunged forward, grabbing the knife and pulling it out of the animal in one quick motion!
But the rhino did not stop - it kept on charging, already too crazed to slow down. It kept on charging right toward the campsite; only one solution remained. Wielding the knife, Savage dashed forward, strangling the rhino by its fat neck, reaching around and stabbing the blade deep into its heart.
The beast let out a mighty roar, as it fell to the ground, tumbling and rolling and sliding to a stop. And as for Savage - he was trapped beneath the creature, pinned against the ground, battered and bruised. The camp, however, was safe, and that was all that mattered….
"At last…. Savage - I was beginning to think I'd never catch you."
As his vision went blurry, Savage could see a man approaching, a man with a skull-shaped key chain wrapped around his belt….
He roared as he awoke. There were bars - he'd been caged. Quickly, he examined his surroundings. He was in a cage, hanging from a large landbridge. The area was dark, and many caves surrounded him. It was probably nighttime now.
In front of him, a man sat by a campfire, roasting some kind of ribs. He had short brown hair and a small beard. He turned to face Savage with black eyes. His outfit was unmistakably that of a hunter. In his belt, he hoisted an arsenal of weapons - knives, guns, smoke pellets, tranquilizers - and though he had placed the belt aside for now, he still hung a large rifle around his back.
"Oh, good," he said, standing up, "you're awake."
"Who are you?" Savage snarled.
"My name is Pierre Gaston. Much like you, I am a hunter, except I hunt for the thrill…. and the profit. It appears that you've attracted a hefty price for your head, and what kind of man would I be to decline such a rare challenge?"
"You're a fool! You think these bars can hold me!"
"Frankly, yes. You see, I'm burning an incense underneath your cage, and the smoke contains large amounts of depressants. Even at your full strength, you'd have trouble breaking through steel." He stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Though I will admit that it's impressive how neatly you've recovered your wounds…. Most would have been killed by that kind of beating…."
"I heal well."
"A plane should be landing now - I believe that it holds some men who are ready to bid into the millions. They will be here in a few days."
"The Overseers will get worried when I don't return," Savage warned him. "You think you can fight off the whole team? You're just one man…."
Gaston smiled. "Actually, I've already worked that out. You see, I've planted bombs all around the campsite. Those people are completely at my mercy, and I've convinced them to simply tell the Overseers you're still working with them."
"Those are good people - they'd never give in to you!"
"They already have. After all, if they don't obey, they may never see their friends again…."
Savage's eyes went wide. "You…. You're the one behind the disappearances!"
Gaston laughed. "Well, I had to attract your attention somehow, now, didn't I? I knew the Overseers would send you - you've been to this jungle before, haven't you?"
"I spent sixty years of my life in this jungle…. right after my wife died…. She was old, and me - I was still young! I came to believe that everything I did would only lead to heartbreak…."
"Wow, do you always tell your enemies your sob stories? No wonder they're willing to pay so much…."
He had a few days. That would be more than enough time. Gaston would frequently leave the camp, to hunt for food (or for sport), to check on the campsite, on his other prisoners, or just because he was bored. During this time, Savage would plot. The cage was made of steel, he'd said - there was no chance of breaking through. But there was another way….
Whenever Gaston left, Savage would begin to swing. He was close to the wall, giving him something to kick off of. He would shake the cage, swinging it around as dirt gently sprinkled to the ground. And then, when he heard the sound of approaching human feet, he'd dig into the wall of earth with his nails, braking the cage's movement before he was seen. Gaston should've been able to tell had he merely investigated - he would've noticed the crumbling ceiling, the dirtied hands, or even heard the gentle swinging as he approached. But he never even considered that something might go wrong.
"Tomorrow's the big day," Gaston told Savage one night. "I've been speaking with the buyers over radio - they aren't too far, and we'll meet up in the morning." He smiled. "You ready to find out who gets to kill you, Savage? Perhaps you have some preference?"
"As a matter of fact, yes. Give me the list, and I'll tell you who I want."
"Well, there's Fang, Killer Hand, Blood Beta, and Skullman. So tell me - who's your top pick?"
Savage grinned. "You know…. My choice isn't really on that list…."
Savage lunged forward, slamming against the bars, hurling the cage forward as the earth above caved in. He watched gleefully as Gaston's smirking face skewered into one of fear, as the cage crashed into him, pushing the hunter against the opposite wall as the bridge above collapsed upon them.
Just as Savage had predicted, the hard earth had weakened the steel. He checked each bar until he found the one most damaged and wrenched at it, tearing it apart with his teeth, and burrowing through the ground. Air was minimal, but he knew how to preserve it. The whole process took maybe an hour or two, but to James Viktor, such was nothing.
Finally, he reached the surface - fresh air, at last. Now, all that was left was to find the missing people and let the Overseers know he was all right.
"You won't be getting away that easily…."
Savage turned around in time to see Gaston, dirty and bruised, aiming a rifle at his head. Quickly, Savage moved aside, and the first bullet landed in his shoulder. It hurt, but he'd had worse.
Savage leapt aside, jumping up above to the grass, as Gaston shot another bullet, this one landing in his leg. He stumbled over, falling to the ground, as Gaston quickly climbed up the rubble after his capture. He aimed his rifle at Savage's position - but the prey was gone.
Suddenly, Savage jumped down from above, grabbing onto Gaston's back, strangling him in one hand and grappling onto the rifle with the other. Placing a finger on the trigger, Savage let out four more shots, emptying the gun as he threw Gaston aside.
The hunter rose to his feet, frantically reloading.
"Your belt - it's buried, isn't it?" Savage realized. "Good to know…."
Letting out a fierce growl, Savage pounced upon his foe, sparring with him as they brawled across the ground. Gaston began to shoot his rifle wildly, trying to get an aim, when they suddenly both began to fall - they'd rolled upon a hill, and now hurled down into the caves below.
Gaston moaned in pain, then remembered his purpose a split-second later. Jumping to his feet, he looked around - Savage was not in sight in the dark tunnels. He reloaded, as he stepped deeper in. "I know you're in here, beast…. Show yourself…."
He heard a growl, and turned, shooting at the figure latched upon the wall. It dislodged, bounding at the hunter like a primal beast. Savage grabbed onto the gun, readying to crush it, as Gaston shot it off, heating up the barrel and shaking Savage's hand.
Fearful, Gaston fled the caves, running through the jungle in the dead of night. What was this monster? What was he up against? How could he ever kill it? Anything was better - anything was better than Savage!
Gaston froze. A herd of lions slept, all around him. In his panic, he'd run directly into the heart of the lions' den….
"Well, well…." a voice whispered into his ear. "I wonder what it will take to wake them up…."
"Please - no!" Gaston panicked. "Don't - I'll do anything! Anything!"
"The location of the missing researchers."
"They're hanging from the trees! High in the branches - you can't see them from below!"
"Where?"
"B-by the caves! Where we just were!"
"Thank you…. I leave you be."
Savage turned around, quietly walking away, as Gaston stared after him. It was just walking away! Walking! As though the hunter wasn't even a threat…. Well, he'd show that beast - he'd teach him to fear the name of Pierre Gaston!
Raising his rifle, he shot one single bullet at the monster's head. It fell. He had done it!
There was a faint growling…. Gaston turned slowly, fearfully - the sound of the bullet had woken the lions. They weren't too happy about that.
He ran for his life, the kings of cats chasing after him. He'd mapped the jungle before - there was a cliff nearby, a waterfall! There!
Gaston leaped for the cliff and dived into the waters below, where the lions couldn't follow! But a vine snagged his last lifeline, catching onto his foot and slamming him against the cliffside, his rifle flying down into the stream below. He could hear the cats above him, staring hungrily at their catch. There's something that differentiates cats from dogs - cats can climb.
Just then, a loud snarl echoed across the waterfall. Some greater creature, more fearsome than the lions, waited in the shadows across the waterfall. The lions looked on it in fear. It snarled again, and they ran away. Gaston stared, limply hanging from the cliffside as the creature came into view.
"You - you're alive….? But how?"
"The true hunter is in tune with all life. I could hear your heartbeat, Gaston - I knew that you were going to shoot. I merely dove down a split-second earlier, and the bullet zipped over my head."
"So…. you - you're going to get me down from here, right?"
Savage smiled, chuckling. "My advice: don't look down."
And with that, the beast ran off into the jungle, the one place he could call home.
The ground was soft beneath his feet, the sky hidden by a bright green roof. The air smelled of pollen, as a warm tropical breeze hit against his back. Insects were drawn in by his sweat, and buzzed into his ear. Crouching low behind the brush, he smacked his ear and wiped the bug's remains against the mossy undergrowth.
His name was James Viktor, but he preferred to be called Savage. His keen eyes stared through the entanglements of the jungle at the prey - a renegade rhinoceros, gone ballistic from a hunter's knife. There was a camp nearby - a camp of innocent researchers, already fearful from the disappearances of three of their peers. Now this rhinoceros threatened to finish the job in one quick trample.
Savage launched to action, leaping out of the brush, snarling loudly, as he grabbed onto the rhino's back. In its already crazed state, it went ballistic, rampaging through the forest, slamming into trees, and Savage held on for dear life. Slowly, he inched his way upward, toward the rhino's neck. He could see the knife, jammed beneath the beast's ear - it had a rounded silver blade and a fringed wooden handle, with a skull-shaped keychain wrapped around it.
He reached forward to grab it as the rhino continued charging recklessly at high speeds. A low-hanging branch zipped toward Savage, and he ducked down seconds before he could reach the source of the berserk. The time for subtlety was over - Savage lunged forward, grabbing the knife and pulling it out of the animal in one quick motion!
But the rhino did not stop - it kept on charging, already too crazed to slow down. It kept on charging right toward the campsite; only one solution remained. Wielding the knife, Savage dashed forward, strangling the rhino by its fat neck, reaching around and stabbing the blade deep into its heart.
The beast let out a mighty roar, as it fell to the ground, tumbling and rolling and sliding to a stop. And as for Savage - he was trapped beneath the creature, pinned against the ground, battered and bruised. The camp, however, was safe, and that was all that mattered….
"At last…. Savage - I was beginning to think I'd never catch you."
As his vision went blurry, Savage could see a man approaching, a man with a skull-shaped key chain wrapped around his belt….
He roared as he awoke. There were bars - he'd been caged. Quickly, he examined his surroundings. He was in a cage, hanging from a large landbridge. The area was dark, and many caves surrounded him. It was probably nighttime now.
In front of him, a man sat by a campfire, roasting some kind of ribs. He had short brown hair and a small beard. He turned to face Savage with black eyes. His outfit was unmistakably that of a hunter. In his belt, he hoisted an arsenal of weapons - knives, guns, smoke pellets, tranquilizers - and though he had placed the belt aside for now, he still hung a large rifle around his back.
"Oh, good," he said, standing up, "you're awake."
"Who are you?" Savage snarled.
"My name is Pierre Gaston. Much like you, I am a hunter, except I hunt for the thrill…. and the profit. It appears that you've attracted a hefty price for your head, and what kind of man would I be to decline such a rare challenge?"
"You're a fool! You think these bars can hold me!"
"Frankly, yes. You see, I'm burning an incense underneath your cage, and the smoke contains large amounts of depressants. Even at your full strength, you'd have trouble breaking through steel." He stroked his beard thoughtfully. "Though I will admit that it's impressive how neatly you've recovered your wounds…. Most would have been killed by that kind of beating…."
"I heal well."
"A plane should be landing now - I believe that it holds some men who are ready to bid into the millions. They will be here in a few days."
"The Overseers will get worried when I don't return," Savage warned him. "You think you can fight off the whole team? You're just one man…."
Gaston smiled. "Actually, I've already worked that out. You see, I've planted bombs all around the campsite. Those people are completely at my mercy, and I've convinced them to simply tell the Overseers you're still working with them."
"Those are good people - they'd never give in to you!"
"They already have. After all, if they don't obey, they may never see their friends again…."
Savage's eyes went wide. "You…. You're the one behind the disappearances!"
Gaston laughed. "Well, I had to attract your attention somehow, now, didn't I? I knew the Overseers would send you - you've been to this jungle before, haven't you?"
"I spent sixty years of my life in this jungle…. right after my wife died…. She was old, and me - I was still young! I came to believe that everything I did would only lead to heartbreak…."
"Wow, do you always tell your enemies your sob stories? No wonder they're willing to pay so much…."
He had a few days. That would be more than enough time. Gaston would frequently leave the camp, to hunt for food (or for sport), to check on the campsite, on his other prisoners, or just because he was bored. During this time, Savage would plot. The cage was made of steel, he'd said - there was no chance of breaking through. But there was another way….
Whenever Gaston left, Savage would begin to swing. He was close to the wall, giving him something to kick off of. He would shake the cage, swinging it around as dirt gently sprinkled to the ground. And then, when he heard the sound of approaching human feet, he'd dig into the wall of earth with his nails, braking the cage's movement before he was seen. Gaston should've been able to tell had he merely investigated - he would've noticed the crumbling ceiling, the dirtied hands, or even heard the gentle swinging as he approached. But he never even considered that something might go wrong.
"Tomorrow's the big day," Gaston told Savage one night. "I've been speaking with the buyers over radio - they aren't too far, and we'll meet up in the morning." He smiled. "You ready to find out who gets to kill you, Savage? Perhaps you have some preference?"
"As a matter of fact, yes. Give me the list, and I'll tell you who I want."
"Well, there's Fang, Killer Hand, Blood Beta, and Skullman. So tell me - who's your top pick?"
Savage grinned. "You know…. My choice isn't really on that list…."
Savage lunged forward, slamming against the bars, hurling the cage forward as the earth above caved in. He watched gleefully as Gaston's smirking face skewered into one of fear, as the cage crashed into him, pushing the hunter against the opposite wall as the bridge above collapsed upon them.
Just as Savage had predicted, the hard earth had weakened the steel. He checked each bar until he found the one most damaged and wrenched at it, tearing it apart with his teeth, and burrowing through the ground. Air was minimal, but he knew how to preserve it. The whole process took maybe an hour or two, but to James Viktor, such was nothing.
Finally, he reached the surface - fresh air, at last. Now, all that was left was to find the missing people and let the Overseers know he was all right.
"You won't be getting away that easily…."
Savage turned around in time to see Gaston, dirty and bruised, aiming a rifle at his head. Quickly, Savage moved aside, and the first bullet landed in his shoulder. It hurt, but he'd had worse.
Savage leapt aside, jumping up above to the grass, as Gaston shot another bullet, this one landing in his leg. He stumbled over, falling to the ground, as Gaston quickly climbed up the rubble after his capture. He aimed his rifle at Savage's position - but the prey was gone.
Suddenly, Savage jumped down from above, grabbing onto Gaston's back, strangling him in one hand and grappling onto the rifle with the other. Placing a finger on the trigger, Savage let out four more shots, emptying the gun as he threw Gaston aside.
The hunter rose to his feet, frantically reloading.
"Your belt - it's buried, isn't it?" Savage realized. "Good to know…."
Letting out a fierce growl, Savage pounced upon his foe, sparring with him as they brawled across the ground. Gaston began to shoot his rifle wildly, trying to get an aim, when they suddenly both began to fall - they'd rolled upon a hill, and now hurled down into the caves below.
Gaston moaned in pain, then remembered his purpose a split-second later. Jumping to his feet, he looked around - Savage was not in sight in the dark tunnels. He reloaded, as he stepped deeper in. "I know you're in here, beast…. Show yourself…."
He heard a growl, and turned, shooting at the figure latched upon the wall. It dislodged, bounding at the hunter like a primal beast. Savage grabbed onto the gun, readying to crush it, as Gaston shot it off, heating up the barrel and shaking Savage's hand.
Fearful, Gaston fled the caves, running through the jungle in the dead of night. What was this monster? What was he up against? How could he ever kill it? Anything was better - anything was better than Savage!
Gaston froze. A herd of lions slept, all around him. In his panic, he'd run directly into the heart of the lions' den….
"Well, well…." a voice whispered into his ear. "I wonder what it will take to wake them up…."
"Please - no!" Gaston panicked. "Don't - I'll do anything! Anything!"
"The location of the missing researchers."
"They're hanging from the trees! High in the branches - you can't see them from below!"
"Where?"
"B-by the caves! Where we just were!"
"Thank you…. I leave you be."
Savage turned around, quietly walking away, as Gaston stared after him. It was just walking away! Walking! As though the hunter wasn't even a threat…. Well, he'd show that beast - he'd teach him to fear the name of Pierre Gaston!
Raising his rifle, he shot one single bullet at the monster's head. It fell. He had done it!
There was a faint growling…. Gaston turned slowly, fearfully - the sound of the bullet had woken the lions. They weren't too happy about that.
He ran for his life, the kings of cats chasing after him. He'd mapped the jungle before - there was a cliff nearby, a waterfall! There!
Gaston leaped for the cliff and dived into the waters below, where the lions couldn't follow! But a vine snagged his last lifeline, catching onto his foot and slamming him against the cliffside, his rifle flying down into the stream below. He could hear the cats above him, staring hungrily at their catch. There's something that differentiates cats from dogs - cats can climb.
Just then, a loud snarl echoed across the waterfall. Some greater creature, more fearsome than the lions, waited in the shadows across the waterfall. The lions looked on it in fear. It snarled again, and they ran away. Gaston stared, limply hanging from the cliffside as the creature came into view.
"You - you're alive….? But how?"
"The true hunter is in tune with all life. I could hear your heartbeat, Gaston - I knew that you were going to shoot. I merely dove down a split-second earlier, and the bullet zipped over my head."
"So…. you - you're going to get me down from here, right?"
Savage smiled, chuckling. "My advice: don't look down."
And with that, the beast ran off into the jungle, the one place he could call home.