Kaotic Beginnings

Kaotic Beginnings Part 4

There was no disputing that The Dragon had a few tricks up his black, leather motorcycle jacket sleeve; it seemed only a matter of hours before a brand-new flag was flying from a tall, shiny pole outside the Kaos Army headquarters. It was black. The logo General Warlock had designed was simple black and white, with a slim white border around the logo's edge. It reminded Anar a bit of a Jolly Rodger pirate's flag and he rather liked it.

He admired it proudly, flapping in the mild desert breeze while he walked around his new favourite finds: one was a World War II jeep, a bit rusted and rather the worse for wear, but still fully functioning and easy to drive, he'd spent some time throwing it around the desert, kicking up dust and feeling the hot suns beating down on him as it had no roof.

The other was a massive great hulking slab of a machine with riveted hatches and extra plates all over the place, and wheels almost as tall as he was if you counted the ears, and he always counted the ears. It had a raised enamel badge in the shape of a 'T' on the front and TITAN PHASE emblazoned on the rear. Unlike the Jeep which Anar had snagged himself from the dead Earth they had visited, along with Jerry cans of fuel to run it with, this motorised beast had been gifted to them by their boss from a world too alien for them to visit in person. As with everything they had encountered thus far it had no user manual, no instructions, absolutely no warranty, and they had to work it all out by themselves through trial and error. Under its hood, among various alien writings, was a line of familiar Earth English - Quantum Engine: do not disassemble. Authorised technicians only.

DANGER OF DEATH.

So, that was lovely. What a thoughtful gift!

Luckily Anar knew a solar panel when he saw one, and as there was no fuel cap and no charging port it was safe to assume it ran on sunlight... somehow. It was fun to drive, you sat up high on soft comfy seats and with a suspension so good you could barely tell that there weren't actually any roads out here on this funny planet, whereas the jeep was janky and squeaky, with nothing to stop your arse feeling every pebble it ran over. They were parked together side by side by the double doors; past and future, both with their pros and cons.

He missed his Ferrari. As much as it had been a passive aggressive argumentative car, it had made him feel good whizzing around in it. Throw on a pair of shades and he could be a movie star or a millionaire playboy. Neither of the options in front of him quite had that edge.

This world was still in the horse and cart stage and that immediately made him think of Destroyer the Nightmare, who he had last seen after they'd broke Jez Huttgart out of the detention centre in Hell together. Yesterday. 'Blimey, time is a weird thing', he thought, 'it almost feels like a lifetime ago.' A funny queasy feeling set in his stomach. Thinking about time just reminded him that he had literally lost fifteen years of it. He was closer to death, to checking out of the land of the living, and yet he had barely even begun to actually live. It was all so unfair. So unjust. So typical of Hell! He closed his stinging eyes and bellowed out into the emptiness, "Destroyer!"

"Settle down," came the brusque reply.

Anar turned to the familiar large, black equine creature and buried his face into the silken mane. His shoulders shook, but just for a moment.

"Are you quite all right, master Warlock?"

There was a muffled sob before Anar took hold of himself and straightened himself out again, "yes, I'm fine," he lied, sniffing and blinking rapidly. "It's good to see you again."

Large eyes scanned him with interest.

"I know. I look different. No horns, no wings, no tail. I look older too. I am aware," he shrugged and flapped his arms wretchedly, gazing to the sandy ground.