The Bloody Marys - Prologue

I'm finally back with a new story. I know it's been a while but had to come up with a really good story to engage my readers. I had been trying to figure what my next story should be about, whether it should be a sequel or an entirely new story. I had gotten a lot of good reviews for my story Friday the 13th and so I decided I'll try my hand at some more sci-fi by writing a sequel - make that a prequel. 

Have to thank Smriti and Phoenix who were the ones who were really keen on me doing more sci-fi. I hope this is something along the lines of what you were looking for in my story. 
I shall be trying out something new with this story. I had been informed by a few of my readers that they don't get updates when I put a new chapter up so this time I'm uploading each chapter as a different post. I hope you all get the updates now.

Enjoy the read.


Prologue


The Prophecy


As the moon draws closer to the earth. A multi colored star will appear near it. The waves of the oceans will start frothing. For 5 hours this shall take place. On this day, in 5 pre-selected households around the world, 5 girls would be born, each born an hour apart.

They'd be born through unnatural births. Born in blood. Each given a special gift that no other on earth possess. The gift that would be used to fight the undead.

The Bloody Marys - Chapter 1

25 years ago:

In a lantern lit room in an ancient citadel a group of 5 hooded figures gathered around a fire. They stand on 5 spots in the ground. A sixth spot remains vacant. The robes are black and cover their faces.

Suddenly a figure appears from the shadows and walks to the only vacant spot left. The figure is the only one not covered with a hood even though she wears a black robe similar to the others. The figure is a woman in her 30s. She is known as the Librarian. Her silky black hair falls down her shoulders.

The people gathered here this night are the last remaining members of the secret society called the Kryptos. The Kryptos are the protectors of the future, lead by the Librarian.

[Librarian - She is the keeper of the book of Nebulon the prophet.]

The Librarian addresses the gathering. 'People you know why I have gathered you all here today.'

One of the hooded figures known as Reaper replies 'Yes. Tonight is the night they are born.'

[Reaper - The name given to the assassin. He is a trained killer chosen to protect the Librarian.]


'What do we do Librarian?' says another hooded figure known as Lady Mantis.

[Lady Mantis - Another assassin famous for seducing her male enemies and then killing them. Another bodyguard of the Librarian]

'The 6 of us shall go to the 5 locations and make sure no harm befalls them during or after birth.'

'Do you really think the prophecy will come true?' replies Scientist

[Scientist - The man who invented the transporter that is used to teleport people to different locations]

'The book of Nebulon has not been wrong. They will be born tonight when the Moon is closes to Earth. They will be born through bloody births.' says Destructor

[Destructor - He is the demolition expert in the group.]


'Healer you know what you have to do once we have them?' asks the Librarian.

'Yes. Just make sure we get them without any harm.'

[Healer - She is the doctor who can treat almost all the ailments known to man.]


'Fine so now that we are all clear and in accordance shall we make a move. Scientist are you ready?'

'Yes let's make a move.'

The 6 of them walk up to the transporter. The Librarian keys in the coordinates.

A flash of light and poof a cloud of smoke.

The Bloody Marys - Chapter 2

Deep in the Amazon forest a figure runs. He jumps over logs increasing his speed with each step he takes. He reaches a village and runs to the center of it. The entire village has gathered there. In the center of the gathering is a pier with a naked pregnant woman lying on it.

Suddenly a man with a headdress made of porcupine quills comes to the center just as the running figure stops near the pier. He drops the bag he has slung over his shoulders and says in an ancient dialect 'Witch Doctor I have brought what you asked for.'

The witch doctor walks up the bag and and pulls out a snake known as the Jararaca. The Jararaca is a pitviper and one of the most poisonous snakes in the Americas. The witch doctor takes a sheepskin bag and draws the venom out of the snake. He then drapes the snake over the woman. She yells as her contractions start getting stronger. As she starts pushing the witch doctor cuts of the head of the Jararaca and pours the blood on her face. He then slits the snake down its body and let's the snakes blood cover her body.

One of the village women tends to the pregnant woman and helps her with the delivery of the baby. The witch doctor then let's the snakes blood envelope the baby as it is pulled out.
The witch doctor then dribbles some of the venom into the mouth of the mother. Her gums and skin start bleeding. Her eyes start to hemorrhage. Her body goes into shock just as the witch doctor slits her throat.

He then takes the sheepskin bag and moves to the baby. He dips a quill from his headdress into the venom and takes it to the baby's lip. Just then there is a flash of light and a lot of smoke.


When the smoke finally clears the whole gathering is in shock. The baby no longer is in the hands of the village woman but in the hands of a cloaked figure. The Librarian comes forward and talks to the witch doctor in an unknown dialect.

'Be gone you evil minion. You may fool these innocent people but you can't fool us.'

The witch doctor looks at the Kryptos and starts laughing. He let's out a shrill scream just as his skin starts falling off and he transforms into a menacing looking zombie. More shrill screams emanate from around them.

The Kryptos turn around and see a number of zombies appear.

The witch doctor continues 'Give me that baby and I shall spare you.'

'Grabel you can tell Veyrona that we are not going to let her succeed. We will not let you get the girls.' says the Librarian.

[Veyrona is the self proclaimed Queen of the zombie tribe Xandia (known as the daytime wanderers). Grabel is a member of the tribe Krux (the shape shifters) - they are the spawns of Veyrona and the King of Krux. The two tribes joined forces to take on the Krptos and had reduced the number of Krptos to 6]

Grabel laughs. 'You stupid mortal. You think these babies are going to save you? We will kill you now.' He signals to the other zombies and they converge.

Just then there is a bright light and a cloud of smoke. When the smoke clears the area where the Kryptos were standing is empty.

The Bloody Marys - Chapter 3

In Bakaara Market in the city of Mogadishu in Somalia an eerie silence prevails. No sounds of shop keepers arguing with their customers. No guns being shot of by gun dealers testing their weapons.

At that moment a flash of light and smoke suddenly appears. The Kryptos look around them and take in the surroundings.

'This does not feel right' says The Destructor.

'Yeh I agree. Reaper, Mantis scout the premises. I hope we are not too late.' says The Librarian. 

'Switch on your comexes' she adds 

[Comexes are communication devices that the scientist has created. They are invisible to the naked eye. The mic is a skin patch on the throat. The hearing device is on the teeth. Vibrations on the tooth are transmitted to the inner ear drum as sound. The Comexes are many years ahead of the technology.]

The Reaper and The Mantis take off in different directions to do a surveillance of the area.

'Oh for the love of humanity' squacks the comexes with the voice of The Reaper.

'Oh no. You got to come see this' says The Mantis. 

The Kryptos rush to where Reaper and Mantis are and they all gasp at the same time.

'I think we are a little late' says The Scientist.

'What the hell happened here?' says The Healer.

'Looks like a damn hurricane ripped through here' adds The Destructor.

The Kryptos look around them. There are dead bodies all over. Blood spewing from the bodies telling the Kryptos the deaths were recent. There are limbs hanging from doorways. Entrails strewn across the streets.

'The entire village. Veyrona has really done it' grimaces The Librarian.

Just then...swoosh booooom... A building in front of the Kryptos explodes. They immediately split up and turn towards the source of the rocket.

The Reaper is the first to spot the figure crouched near some rubble. He whispers into his comex.

'Nobody move.' He slips out his FX Lazer that was designed by The Scientist. 

[The FX Lazer gun which is a modified AK47 fitted with a powerful Lazer emitter. It can blow up a building from a range of over 2 miles and is electronically controlled with the help of an LCD screen. It has several operating modes.]

The Reaper adjusts the sight through the LCD screen until he gets a clear image.

'Uhmm. That's a human. I repeat target is a human. What do I do?' whispers Reaper into the comex.

'Are you sure?' replies The Librarian.

'Affirmative. All heat signals on my FX show him to be human' responds Reaper.

'Then stun him. We need to know what happened here.'

'Ok Librarian.'

Reaper adjusts a setting on his FX and targets the human and fires. The FX sends out a signal that hits the human and stuns him momentarily. The Healer at this moment rushes to the human to see if he is alright.

'His vitals are fine. Nice shooting Reaper.'

'Thanks Doc.'

The Healer takes out an injection and jabs into the neck of the human. The human suddenly let's out a huge breath and sits up looking at the Kryptos around him.

'You are humans' he says stunned.

'Yes we are' says The Reaper sarcastically.

'Zombies. Weird creatures. All over. Dressed like human.' Says the man rather disoriented.

'What is your name?' The Librarian asks the man.

The man grins. 'Valkyrie'

Suddenly the man transforms himself into a werewolf and leaps at the Librarian. As he is about to land on the Librarian he yelps and is thrown sideways. He lands on the side of the Librarian. He groans and moves his hand to his gut. He then looks at his hand and sees his blue blood.

The Reaper steps forward and puts a foot on Valkyrie pinning him to the ground at the same time pulling out a hunting knife lodged in the werewolf's gut. The Reaper twists the knife as he pulls it out making Valkyrie scream. He then looks at Valkyrie and asks 'Where is Lucius? What the hell really happened here?'

Valkyrie just grins at him. The Reaper twists the knife, pulls it out and jabs it back in extremely fast causing the werewolf extreme pain. The Reaper is about to do it again when Valkyrie shouts 'Lucius is in pursuit of the zombies. They got here before any of us and killed every last one of the humans. Lucius says they have the girl.' With that the Reaper removes the knife from Valkyrie and in the same instant pulls out a gun from under his robe and shoots Valkyrie and says 'Eat Silver Nitrate arsehole'

The Kryptos turn and go around the streets. The Librarian turns to the Scientist 'Find out where Lucius or the zombies are and quick. The rest of you comb the streets for survivors.'

Suddenly Lady Mantis silences everybody. They all stay still. Then they hear what Lady Mantis had heard. The 6 of them try to locate the sound. The Scientist quickly pulls out a triangle shaped device and taps the screen. A grey blue image of the terrain ahead pops up on the screen. He clicks the screen a few more times and the device starts vibrating. Within a second he points in a direction.

'There under the pile of rocks near that tree.'

They gasp at the sight before them. 'Born in blood she shall be. The second as the first death dealers shall be' The Librarian recites the verse from The Book of Nebulon that predicts the birth of the second girl. She walks up to the baby and picks her up.

She turns to the others. 'It is her. They've got the wrong girl.' 

The Bloody Marys - Chapter 4

A flash of light appears. 5 hooded figures appear in a clearing near a lake. The location - a small hamlet in Scotland. It is one of the remote lochs of Scotland where there are hardly any habitants.

'Aiye. Look who be here.' Says a voice with a heavy Scottish accent.

The 5 figures turn around to see a heavyset man with a scruffy beard grinning at them.

'McKinley. Good to see you old friend. Have you done what is needed?' Replies the Librarian.

'Aye me lassie. Where be my favorite Kryptos?' Replies McKinley looking at each of the Kryptos with a little disappointment in his eyes.

'The Healer is with the children. They need constant monitoring. She wished she could have been here too' replies the Librarian. 'Anyway McKinley. You know why we are here. Take us to her.'

McKinley turns and starts marching away towards the eastern part of the loch. The Kryptos follow him. They reach a run down house behind a clump of trees and McKinley stops. He looks around and turns to the Kryptos.

'Something is not right here people. Be on the look out' cautions McKinley.

McKinley knocks on the door and it is opened by a lady in her 30's. She smiles at McKinley and ushers them all in.

McKinley then asks her 'Where is the child?'

The lady leads them into a room where a mother lies on a bed with her baby in her arms. The mother looks up at the visitors. At the moment the Reaper motions everybody to keep quiet. He walks out of the room and crosses the passage way to a door on the other side. Just as he is about to open the door there is a scream from the bedroom. The Reaper opens the door as the Kryptos turn towards the mother and child to see them change form, just as the lady who opens the door does too.

'Shape shifters' scream Lady Mantis as she draws her FX. The same time McKinley draws a strange looking device and trains it onto the shape shifters and let's 2 blasts onto them just as they start to transform again.

'That makes sure they don't transform into anything else' screams McKinley as he pulls out his FX and aims it at one of the shape shifters. He takes out one just as Lady Mantis takes out another. The 3rd shape shifter runs out of the room towards the Reaper just as a shot is fired by the Destructor.

In the mean time the Reaper opens the door to find a woman tied up, bound and unconscious with a baby in her arms. Realizing the situation the Reaper grabs the baby and hands her to the Scientist and they run out of the house to avoid the firefight. As they get out they run into a number of shape shifters outside the house.

'Scientist take the girl and get her to the Healer now.' The Scientist turns around and runs back into the house. Just as the other Kryptos come out. The Librarian joins the Scientist and they head to one of the rooms and the Scientist pulls out his transporter and transports the both of them out of the place.
At the same time the remaining 3 Kryptos and McKinley engage the shape shifters in a fierce battle.

The Reaper suddenly takes out a small circular object and shouts out 'Guys take cover.'

He flings the object into the hordes of shape shifters and dives for cover. As he hits the ground the circular object turns blue and a circular lazer beam shoots out from it killing all the shape shifters around. The remaining shape shifters see the damage done and retreat.

McKinley gets up from behind his cover and turns to the Reaper 'I want one of those babies.'

The Reaper smiles and turns around. The Destructor takes out his transporter and the others gather around. A flash of light appears.

The Bloody Marys - Chapter 5

'Look what we've dragged in' says the Reaper as the Kryptos walk into their hideout.

The Healer looks up just in time to see McKinley walk in. She grins and runs up to him and flings her arms around him.

'Brother dearest. What the hell are you doing here?'

'Can't a man come see his little sister? Just because you're trying to save the world doesn't mean you're not my little sister anymore.'

'He would have been turned into human pulp if we had left him' says the Destructor laughing.

'That's enough people' interrupts the Librarian. 'We still have to save 2 more girls. Now that we have all greeted each other warmly we still have work to do. Reaper take Mantis, Destructor and McKinley with you and get the fourth girl and Scientist and I will go to the fifth.'

'No offense Librarian but McKinley and myself will be able to get the fourth girl. I think Mantis, Destructor and Scientist should go to the fifth while you stay here with the Healer' states the Reaper.

'I second that' adds the Mantis 'You need to be here. Like Reaper said, Destructor, Scientist and I should be able to handle the fifth.'

'Before we leave I want to ask a question to everyone. Has anyone noticed that at each birth there has been only one of the evil species there? Doesn't it seem odd that the others were not there?' Asks the Reaper.

'Yeh you're right. It's as though they are all working together.' Adds the Scientist.

'That means you all have to be careful. We don't know who else has joined them.' Cautions the Librarian. 'Go now.'

The Reaper looks at McKinley 'Well it's you and me old boy, you ready?' He pulls out his transporter.

'Who you calling old boy? And I'm more than ready to kick some other species arse.'

A flash of light and they disappear.

The Bloody Marys - Chapter 6

In a small town in south India in the state of Kerala a flash of light appears. Two figures walk away from the light. 

'If the coordinates are right then we should be 50 metres away from the village we have to go to' states the Reaper.

'Lead on fellow lead on' says McKinley.

The two of them weave their way through the small alley ways between the houses. They try to stay away from the roads as much as possible. Near the outskirt of the town in a small courtyard there is a commotion. 

The Reaper stops and pulls out his binoculars.

'Crocoserpents. This is not good for us' says the Reaper.

'What the hell are Croco-whatever-they-are?'

'Well these are mutants created by certain science experiments done in the kingdom of Krux. They are part snake and part crocodile infused into a human being' says the Reaper.

'Woah you have got to be kidding me' replies McKinley. 'But they're just creatures. We should be able to take them on easily right?'

'They are the worst of the enemies we've met so far. They are extremely smart, fast and powerful. They are fantastic shooters and can kill with a bite, a scratch or a swing of their tail. They were created by this guy called Icabard Shredder. The King of Krux's faithful scientist. The shape shifters we met in Scotland are part of his army as well. They are children of his union with Veyrona.'

'Well I'll be damned. So it is true that the zombies and the shapeshifters are together.'

'Yes McKinley. They were united long back when Krux married Veyrona. It was the only way they could defeat the Kryptos.'

'You mean you guys have been beaten before?' Says McKinley rather surprised.

'Yes. But they din't count on the Librarian stopping them in their tracks. That's why the five of us are so loyal to her. These five girls we are saving are going to be the ones that bring the Kryptos back and restore harmony to this planet.'

'Can I join the Kryptos?'

'That's for the Librarian to decide.'

'Well I better prove my worth now. Let's go and raise a ruckus' says McKinley all geared up.

Just then McKinley sees something move from the corner of his eye and before he could react the Reaper jumps at McKinley knocks him to the ground while drawing his gun and firing. 

The Reaper then stands up properly and offers McKinley his hand and helps him to his feet. McKinley turns and sees the crumpled body of a crocoserpent.

'Thanks Reaper.'

'All part of being a team. Now pay attention to your surrounding. It's going to be tough getting this kid. It looks like they are still searching for her.'

'No they've got her look' says McKinley pointing at 5 crocoserpents quietly peeling away from the group. The rest of them start to disperse.

'McKinley looks like they're preparing for a setup. Here's what I need you to do. I'm going after those five with the girl. I need you to create a diversion. I need 2 minutes to catch up with them. Your diversion needs to stop those five and give me a chance to take the baby. You think you can do that?'

'That should not be a problem at all.' McKinley runs off into the courtyard grabbing a small circular object from the Reaper as he runs past. 

The Reaper starts silently catching up with the five who have peeled away. He is almost on them when. Boooooommmmm

McKinley in the mean time had gotten into the courtyard and drawn all the attention to himself. The crocoserpents on seeing him start to converge onto him. McKinley pulls out a second object along with the circular object he took from the Reaper. He flings the circular object and just as the crocoserpents are about to reach him a flash of light appears and Boooooommmmm...

The five crocoserpents stop at the sound and turn just as 5 shots of lazer are fired knocking all 5 down. The Reaper runs to the baby and just as he's about to take the baby from the dead crocoserpent he hears a sound followed by a gurgling sound. He turns around to see McKinley with his FX trained at a crocoserpent who had a gun pointed at the Reaper.

'That was a close one wouldn't you say?' Says McKinley chuckling.

'Nice work McKinley. Good timing.'
He takes an object out of his pocket. 'Damn I love these mind controlled transporters.'

The Bloody Marys - Chapter 7

In the middle of the night at a small camping zone near Edith Falls part of Katherine Gorge in north Australia a lady goes into labour and the local doctor starts procedures to deliver the baby.

At that moment they hear a fluttering sound along with a flash of light. The doctor turns his attention back to the lady on the camping table. After a few minutes the doctor steps away with a wailing baby girl in his hand. Suddenly a hand appears on the shoulder of the doctor. He turns around and stares into the dark red eyes of a man pale as a ghost.

'Who are...' Starts the doctor.

'Give me the child and I shall let you live' says the pale faced man and he grabs the child. The mother and the doctor scream as the man pulls the child with a scowl. They see his fangs and shiver. Other figures start to appear around the pale man each equally pale in nature and with menacing fangs.

'Dekalis leave the child alone.' A voice rings across the room.

The pale man turns around to face the person who spoke. 'Ah Lady Mantis we meet again' says Dekalis
[Dekalis is the Lord of the Vampires. He is the strongest, the fastest and the most ferocious Vampire.]

'Do as the lady said Dekalis.' Says the Destructor.

Dekalis gives an evil grin and raises a hand. At the signal. The other Vampires converge on the trio. The trio open fire on them after switching their FX's to Ultra Violet blasts(Designed by the Scientist to take out Vampires as UV blasts were the only thing they couldn't survive). They drop down a number of Vampires when the Scientist notices Dekalis run away with the child.

'Mantis, Dekalis is getting away with the child' screams the Scientist.

Lady Mantis peals away charging after Dekalis with a number of Vampires following her.

The Scientist then shouts something out to the Destructor and pulls out a square shaped object and throws it into the air. The object emits a supersonic wave and then emits a bright light along with a high powered UV blast. The supersonic wave gives the Vampires in the area a numbing effect paralysing them in their tracks. The bright light and UV blast destroys the Vampires and turns them into ash.

The Scientist and Destructor look around them at all the ash around and smile at each other. Just as Lady Mantis comes charging over with a baby in her arm.

'Time to make a move boys' she screams.

The Scientist pulls out his transporter and a flash of light and smoke and then boom just as they see Dekalis leap into the air to try and reach them.

At the HQ of the Kryptos.

'How the hell did you manage to get the baby from Dekalis?' asks the Scientist.

'That supersonic wave of yours paralyzed him. I guess he was in range. Then I did what I was meant to do. Grab the kid and run like wind. I was surprised he dint catch me.'

Back in Australia when the smoke finally settles, Dekalis slaps the ground in frustration and looks up at the sky and screams.

The Bloody Marys - Epilogue

In the lantern lit room in the ancient citadel headquaters of the Kryptos 6 hooded figures gather around a fire. 

They stand on 6 spots in the ground. The robes are black and cover their faces.

'We have been successful in finding and getting the children. Now their training begins. Infants they maybe but they are not too young to start learning. So each of you knows your role so let's train the protectors of this planet. Fellow Kryptos I introduce you to' - she waves her hand and the eyes follow it to 5 cribs outside the circle 

'The Bloody Marys'

The End.