Stone Cold Revenge, Hugs.And.Kisses [bill gates books recommendations TXT] 📗

He hoped that she was ok. It wasn't good for the pack when one went off alone and didn't come back. Pack-member-that-gives-food-Barrel and pack-member-who-often-gets-hit-Kevin felt very scared. Did they sense the danger too? Humans didn't always have the best senses. The smell of alpha member-Shock's scent got stronger, she was close.

Klondike picked up his pace and so did his pack. Alpha-Lock was enraged, his eyes where wild and he smelled of fight. Was the person-he-did-not-know going to challenge alpha-Lock for leadership? Luring him away from very-strong-snake-person and person-of-old-not-tasty-anymore-bones in case they try and stop him? No, that didn't make sense; human packs stuck together and wouldn't want this smelling-of-danger-person as alpha.

A thought struck Klondike so hard that he almost tripped on an uneven piece of the street. Did the person-smelling-of-danger want alpha-Shock as beta, his beta? That definitely wasn't good. Where Klondike came from wolves mated for life. If a wolf wanted another wolf's mate he or she would have to challenge and kill the competition. As far as he knew humans didn't do it that way, but with the way alpha-Lock was now, maybe he had thought wrong.

They rounded the corner into a narrow alleyway. A row of stairs led down to what they could only guess was where Shock was being held. It was then Klondike smelled it, the blood. The maddening, primal instinct inducing scent of blood shed. Not just any blood, alpha-Shock's blood. Klondike let one monstrous snarl rip through the air as he charged down the stairs. A simple wooden door stood in his path; darn it, he wasn't good with doors. Clawing and slamming himself against it didn't work much. But his masters where right behind him and joined in. One combined slam and the door was blown off its hinges. There he stood the one who emitted danger. Klondike didn't think twice and did what alpha-Shock would have done. He aimed for the neck.

Klondike was the first one in; the second was Lock who had time to see the wolf dog's teeth sink into the guy who he suspected was the kidnapper. That wasn't important now; Shock had to be here somewhere. There, in the center of the room, like some sort of sick trophy, Shock was tied to an observation table. Lock didn't waste time helping Barrel and Kevin try to wrestle Klondike away from the monster who did this to her and ran straight to Shock.

He was too late. Stone had already replaced her pale green skin, strands of hair grew layers of stone, and it crept onward to her face, covering her lips. Slowly devouring, mocking him for being too late, for being too useless to save its victim. He looked into her eyes, the only thing that the stone hadn't taken, she didn't look sad. She looked happy, why did she look so happy? Her mouth had been frozen into a smile. Didn't she understand what was happening to her? What this was doing to him?

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Lock said, his voice heavy.

Shock's eyes turned sad, could she still hear him? He took her hand, it was cold, stone cold. Lock stared into her dark eyes as the stone finally blinded her, taking Shock away from the world, from death, and from him.

"LOCK!"

A scream brought Lock back to the present; he turned around slowly to see what was left of a green smoke cloud fade. On the floor three statues laid unmoving, none of them were the psychotic lab assistant. The said psycho was holding an antique gas mask to his face; puncture wounds dotted his neck but didn't bleed. As the gas disappeared Vincent started laughing. Even from with the gas mask muffling it, a cold chill ran up Lock's spine, he had heard that laugh before.

"Well if it isn't the boyfriend," Vincent sneered as he removed the gas mask, "You-"

Vincent stopped cold. Lock looked him square in his yellow eyes.

Of all people, of all things that could have done this, it had to be him.

A tense second passed, then Vincent started laughing again, "Well, doesn't fate have an interesting sense of humor. It is you isn't it? I didn't believe it when I heard… but there you are."

Lock was right, it was him. That voice, that outfit, that insane look in his eyes. Before him stood the same mad scientist that had tricked him into the woods that fateful night almost ten years ago.

"You. You did this!" Lock screamed through his teeth. Rage filled every last inch of his being.

Vincent laughed manically, "Ooohh, gonna fight this time? Or will you end up running away screaming like you did the night I died? What she saw in you I'll never know, guess you won't either."

That did it.

Lock pounced with speed he didn't even know he possessed on top of the demented scientist. On collision the bug sprayer full of the stone potion fell from the psycho's hands. Somewhere at the back of his mind Lock heard the weapon clang against the far wall, but he didn't care. All he cared about was strangling the maniac under him. He wrapped his gloved hands around the mad man's scrawny neck.

Vincent was un-phased. Sure he couldn't breathe but who needed to breathe when you were dead? He was, however, effectively trapped. With Lock on top of him he had no hope of getting away. His only hope of escape was a small knife he kept in his pocket. Time for a little conversation.

"Well done devil," Vincent croaked. He still needed air to talk.

"You've doomed them," Lock growled, fury making his thoughts eerily clear, "WHY?"

Vincent gurgled a little and Lock relaxed his grip, but only a little.

"Revenge," the psycho answered.

"For what?" Lock roared. The others hadn't even known him!

Vincent's psychotic smile disappeared, "Why were you chosen to live in Halloween Town?"

"Halloween Town? That's why you did this to them! Because we died on Halloween but you didn't?" It didn't make any sense! None of this did!

"Three seconds!" Vincent screamed. His hand had found the knife and stabbed Lock's side the wound wasn't serious but it did catch Lock off guard. Lock's hands let go of Vincent's neck, that's when the tables began to turn.

Vincent kicked Lock off of him and dove for his precious bug sprayer. Lock had pulled the knife out of his side and had half a second to recover before he saw Vincent pointing the sprayer at him. Vincent had him; Lock could see that right away. Somehow they had fought their way to the corner of the room. The one and only exit blocked by a lunatic with an antique spray can full of a deathless fate. Four statues looked silently on, Lock had nothing left to lose.

But Vincent apparently wasn't done ranting, "Three seconds! That's all it takes to miss that all important dead-line of midnight! To miss the chance to have all your wonderful nightmares come true? I spent my entire life as the sweet little child that every parent longed to have; and you know what? I hated it! I would have sold my soul to die and live as a citizen of Halloween Town; to grow up as a mad scientist as I always dreamed to be. So when my time came what happens? My place was taken by some little brat that died before I did and I end up in this hell hole stuck the same way I was when I died."

"Blame yourself!" Lock shouted, "It was your fault I died!"

"You were dead either way. The candy that I stole from you was tainted, if you had eaten it you would die a lot sooner than I did. Either way you would end up with a perfect life with a home, a family, and a girlfriend for God's sake!"

Lock unconsciously cringed at the word girlfriend, a word that he would have denied had the circumstances been different.

The cringe was enough for Vincent to notice, a new round of laughter was followed by Vincent's mocking tone, "I wouldn't worry about her too much. Maybe after a year or two I'll let her out. By then she might be as crazy as I am. Especially when she hears that you abandoned her here with me. Imagine how hopelessly desperate she'll be."

It was too much for Lock, this sadistic perv had to die again, even if Lock had to drag him through the gates of hell himself.

Three things happened at once.

Lock charged.

Vincent fired.

And Medusa walked in the room.


A Tribute And Message

Chapter 11 A Tribute and Message

"Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." –William Shakespeare

Vincent was no exception. The moment he decided to betray her, he was doomed. Only a mad man would have thought of it. Medusa was going to enjoy making him pay for his mistake.

Vincent had the chance to fire less than half of the potion when both Lock and Medusa attacked him. Medusa with a powerful kick to his lower back and Lock with a punch to the face. Lock tried not to breathe in the toxic green cloud as Medusa forced Vincent against the wall. Lifting him by the neck until his feet didn't touch the floor. Somehow, maybe by some ancient power she possessed, Vincent felt the pain as though he was still alive.

"The antidote," Medusa commanded, "Where is it!"

Vincent managed a scared smile as he croaked, "N-no… antidote."

"Don't give me that bull, Vincent. Even someone as demented as you would make an antidote for himself, mad or not."

Vincent closed his eyes and tried to look away.

A primal snarl ripped through the air, "Don't make me do it Vincent. You know I still can, and unlike your quaint little potion, I can make it hurt worse than hell itself. I'll ask one more time, where is the antidote?"

Vincent's smile faltered, his eyes filled with mad panic, "B-bottom sh-shelf, next to the table." Medusa tightened her grip, "*wheeze* B-b-blue potion!"

Medusa glared at him before looking back at Lock. He had managed to escape the gas by breathing through his shirt. Having heard their whole conversation Lock sluggishly sauntered toward the table that Shock was strapped to. She still smiled up at him, encouraging him to try. Right where Vincent said was a large vial of shimmering blue potion.

Medusa turned back to Vincent and tightened her grip, "This wouldn't be a trick would it?"

Vincent struggled and gasped under her grip before she loosened her grip enough for him to squeak, "N-n-no! N-no trick!"

With a final snarl at Vincent, Medusa motioned Lock to continue.

Lock, with his gloved hands eerily calm uncorked the vial and let the first