The King Comes Home

?You know, with all that's going on in my head, even I sometimes forget the deeds I?ve done,? the man known as Alfonso Carlson Avery said, to the man he now held over the ledge of one of the tallest buildings in Biodome. Alfonso stood a few feet away from the dangling man, as he let one of the monsters hiding inside his head hold the man. Black tentacles, with a bluish tint, protruded from Alfonso?s right eye, wrapping themselves around the dangling man who could manage to shiver with fright. He wore what looked like a bandanna around his forehead, it had a strange aura around it.

?Sh*t, I never even asked you your name,? Alfonso said, smacking himself in the head. The tentacles brought the man face to face with Alfonso. Alfonso glared, as if reaching the man?s soul as he held him there, upside down.
?Well?? Alfonso asked.
?Its...uh...It?s Gary,? said Gary.
?Huh. I don?t like that name. I?m gonna call you something else. Hmm,? Alfonso pondered, ?Oh! I know! How about Torgo!! I love that name!?
?Uh...? Gary stuttered.
?Great! Torgo it is!? Alfonso exclaimed, then let the tentacles resume their dangling of the man over the ledge. Alfonso walked himself over to one of the overturned chairs on the roof, straightened it back up and sat down. He gave out a sigh.
?I don?t normally do this, Torgo, but I feel I can trust you. I can right?? Alfonso looked to the dangling Gary. The only response Gary could muster was a slight tremor in his face.
?Good, good,? Alfonso said, ?Well, ever since I got here I?ve felt this weight on my chest. I think I just want someone to talk to. But what about. OH! Hey! Wanna know how I got here? That?s a cool story,?
Gary said nothing, but continued quake with fear.
?Well, it was some time ago...not sure how long...I remember I had done some things...the elders didn?t like...?




Smack!

?Enough!? The large hand of a councilman hit down on the wide table to return order to a chaotic altercation. The Council of the Elders tossed insults at a convicted killer, restrained in the room with them, who apparently managed to get under some of their skin.

?Alfonso Carlson Avery!? The man who had brought order back to the room began, ?Do you have anything to say for yourself before we carry out your sentence??

The accused man sat before all the others bound tightly in ropes to a chair in the middle of the room with an eerie spotlight shining on him. A large smile shone on his face while he leaned his head back into the light with a sort of enjoyment out of these proceedings, not befitting of a condemned man at all.

?I said do you have anything to say!?
?How?s your daughter feeling these days, Councilman?? Alfonso queried as he cackled to himself, ?Does she still talk of me?!?

?I?ve heard enough of this disgusting dribble!!? the councilman shouted, ?Take him to the chamber!! NOW!!?

Two guards standing in the back, dressed completely in armor, dragged the criminal into the next room, Alfonso laughing all the way. He was slammed into the room, crashing to the floor and breaking the chair he was tied to. The guards attempt to flee the room but one is caught by Alfonso?s hand. The other, knowing what is about to happen, abandons his comrade and shuts the door, sealing both of them in the room. The abandoned guard shrieks in terror but is cut short, a gurgling sound, then nothing.

?Come on you cowards!? Alfonso shouted, ?Kill me! You miserable bastards!!?
?Are you sure about this?? one of the councilman asked.
?Its what he deserves,? the council leader responded, ?Hit the switch,?

The councilman moves his hand to the switch next to the sealed door. He waits a moment.

?DO IT!? the council leader demands.

The councilman flips the switch.

A loud clanging noise is heard in the chamber, like hundreds of gears turning at once. Then the ceiling of the chamber opened, pulling back layers of dust and rust. Alfonso looked on with confusion. What were they doing? Were they going to kill him with gas? This didn?t make any sense. His pondering was met with the shrieks of a hundred souls that began to fill the room, swirling around Alfonso, enveloping him. Alfonso had no idea of what to do next. There was nothing he could do. The souls began making their way to his right eye, clawing and screaming to get in. Alfonso screamed himself. This was a new experience for him. Fear.

As the last soul found its way into Alfonso?s eye, he collapsed on the floor. The council members peeked into the chamber, trying to see if their plan had worked. They each looked at each other. The council leader nodded to the one who had flipped the switch. The council member slowly unsealed the door, pulling it open. He walked towards the body in the middle of the room. He knelt down, looking for a heartbeat. He found none.

?I don?t --? he was cut off as tentacle covered in razors shot through his head. The tentacle had leapt from Alfonso?s right eye. More tentacles began to find their way out of Alfonso?s eye, along with a black liquid that began dripping from him. The tentacles used themselves as legs since Alfonso was still unconscious.

?Lock the door!? the council leader screamed but it was too late. The monster was loose.

The beast lumbered towards the council leader, it knew its target and it would not rest until it had his head. It dripped the black liquid, almost a tar like substance, across the floor as it moved.

While the men brayed on the door, praying, hoping to be let out, a deep voice halted their terror with even more of the nightmare they were imprisoned with.

?Judge...jury... and executioner...? the voice emanated throughout the chamber, sending chills down the men?s spines. ?You all have so much power...now...so do I.? The voice spoke through Alfonso, but it was not his, not all of it. It spoke with a voice of the ancients, something horrible, something spoken of in legend, in the darkness, in ones nightmares.

The Alfonso beast straightened itself up, with Alfonso regaining his consciousness and walking of his own accord once more. The tentacles still thrashed about, smashing all that they could, grabbing council members and hurling them, snapping some of their necks, until he reached the leader.

?She?s going to be with us, I hope you know. And she?s going to love it,? the Alfonso beast said.
?No...no she won?t!? the council leader yelled. As he did, Alfonso ran his fist through the leader?s chest, blood began to pour like a fountain. Alfonso howled in ecstasy. However, the leader began to laugh.

?What is so funny about your own demise, you speck of sh*t?? Alfonso asked,
?I know, that you won?t....be able...to get her now...haha!? he laughed again. The leader then ripped a part of his robes off and shoved it onto Alfonso?s eye. The cloth glowed with an almost godlike presence and forced the tentacles of the beast back into Alfonso?s head. With them back in, the leader wrapped the cloth around Alfonso?s eye. Alfonso passed out again.

?There?s only one place I know of that can contain you, but god help them. I send a devil into their midst,? the leader put his hand on Alfonso?s chest. His entire body began to glow as his cloth had earlier.
?I?m sorry...Cassandra...? the leader said. Then with a burst of light Alfonso was gone and the leader fell to floor. His eyes fought to stay open. He knew he?d done the right thing yet he still felt like the devil himself, as if he sentenced millions to death. He began to close his eyes and bleed out on the floor, blood pooling all around him.

A splash of hot water hit Alfonso?s face as he was rushed awake. He was sitting in a hot spring. The splash had come from a tiny white dog who had fallen into the spring with him. Alfonso picked up the sleeping animal and stared at it, puzzled over it. He put the fuzzy white dog back on the surface behind him, not sure why he saved its life. For his amusement? Perhaps. A moment later it awoke anyway, shook itself dry, and barked at the stranger. Alfonso tilted his head to the strange occurrence. The dog barked a few more times, each getting quieter than the last until the fuzzy white dog fell asleep once more. All Alfonso could do was laugh to himself.

?Well hey there, you?re awake,? said a voice behind him, a voice Alfonso turned to find the source of. The voice belonged to an elderly woman who was coming to meet him.
?We thought we?d almost lost you. You came stumbling in from outside, just frozen to the bone. You kept mumbling ?Food, shelter, warmth,? I guess you were just in survival mode, weren?t you dear??
Had he done this? Had the beasts inside taken over his body like they had before? Did they wish to preserve his life as much as he did? Most intriguing, he thought.

?I guess I was,? Alfonso replied. Then, as the thought finally registered, he realized he was talking to another human being. A look of shock came over him. He then took a minute to look at his surroundings and noticed that there was a plethora of nubile young women standing and sitting in the room.

His one eye was wide open.

?I see you met Chalco already. He usually doesn?t come up to that many newcomers,? the old lady brought him back to reality, which he wasn?t so sure was real or not yet.

?Oh, the dog.? Alfonso wasn?t so out of it that he couldn?t put something so simple together. He looked over at the enthusiastically snoring animal even though he was completely drenched and had nearly drowned only moments ago.

He reclined his arm back on the sides of his bath and looked outside it where attractive hardwoods of a deep dark wood stain shone, that in itself made you want to go to sleep it was so eye-easy. The place even felt perfectly climate-controlled. And let us not forget the women.

The first to catch his eye was not very far and was seated at a table in this wide-ranging and infinite indoor spa, and to catch Alfonso?s eye meant being extraordinary ? it meant possessing blood of kings ? it meant possessing a presence that makes chance and fortune bend to your whim. She had long golden hair that ran far down her back and piercing, blood red eyes that contradicted a face of laughter at some joke being shared with her table. And If ever there was a bosom-shielding towel being worn that looked like it might fail in staying worn, it would be hers. Her chest alone was surely the encouragement of numberless whole books of poetry. She covered her laughter with her hand and a genteelness and then moved her party along to another part of the spa. She was gone.

?There?s people here...? Alfonso said at last.
?Oh yes, quite a few. I think they all came from the city I believe,? the woman replied.
?A city? Full of people?!?
?Well of course! What else would it be full of? Are you ok, dear??
?Never felt better,?

Alfonso stood up from the hotspring, noticing he had on only a pair of ill-fitting swimtrunks but not caring in the slightest bit. He stepped out and began walking to some of the women, stepping over the unconscious dog. When he found a woman that struck his fancy he approached her.

?Excuse me, but you wouldn?t happen to be from...the city, would you?? he asked.
?Um, yeah, I am actually. Why do you ask?? the woman, wrapped only in a towel, replied, not sure what to make of the one-eyed man.
?I was so hoping I could get a ride with you. I would be...forever in your debt and I could certainly,? Alfonso lifted up the cloth covering his eye, revealing a dark green eye surrounded by black skin, ?make it worth your while,?

The woman stared into his right eye, as if in a trance.
?Sure,? she finally said, ?There?s...something about your eye...?
?Yes, there certainly is,? Alfonso replied.


?And the rest, as they say, is history, my dear Torgo,? Alfonso said, still keeping his frightened new companion dangling over the ledge of the building where his story had begun. Alfonso brought Gary back to him.
?What do you want with me?? the trembling Gary stuttered.
Alfonso frowned. He ran his hand across Gary?s face, making believe his fingers were a man running up and down him.
?What do I want? Such a strange question, Torgo. What do any of us want? What do you want??
Gary remained silent, too afraid to speak.
?Ah, I think I know what you want. You see, there?s one other thing I neglected to mention in my story. After I made it to the city, I went back to where I had met that oh so helpful GeoJohnny. I felt...something...was there that I was missing. So I went digging. I dug through 30 feet of concrete, earth, and steel. You ever been to the abandoned city, Torgo? You know whats underneath? Machines. Lots of machines. Technology you wouldn?t believe. But the most fascinating, the most illuminating, held the answer to one of the greatest questions one could ask. ?Why. Is. The Biodome?? With everything going on in my head, I may only have it for a few minutes at a time, but I?ve got it now. Wanna know the answer, Torgo??

Alfonso did not wait for a reply and brought Gary?s ear up to his lip and whispered something only audible to Gary. What he heard made him stop shivering. It was a feeling beyond fear, beyond anything he could comprehend. Alfonso grinned his devilish grin and then moved Gary over the ledge once more, however this time he finally let him fall.



"My name is Alfonso Carlson Avery. I come from the land of the old ones. They did not approve of my existence and cursed me to a living hell as a Walking Prison. As I attempted to slaughter them all for this outrage they banished me to this place, known as the Biodome. It exists somewhere in and out of time and space where all things are possible. It?s full of many people and creatures. Some good, some bad, some in-between. And now, its mine..."