Here is my short-story, Gambling on a Tightrope. I'm sorry about 'The Joker's' accent. If it is hard to read, I apoligize. And I will be writing a prequel and sequel...just fyi. Hope you guys like it!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Gambling on a Tightrope
A spider-monkey swung around a tree and was about to jump for the next branch when it saw a large bunch of yellow on the leaf-covered dirt. It scurried down the trunk of the tree. As he inspected the bundle, he found it was his favorite treat.
The monkey looked around cautiously. When content, it plucked a banana from the bundle, unpeeled it, then started to eat. He had only taken one bite when a large thunderous sound sounded, then, a tree crashed down to the earth, the monkey screeched and scurried back up the tree and swung away, only getting a brief glimpse of what it took a monster.
“Those things are creeping me out,” Corporal Mark Denan muttered at the sight of the monkey. “They’re always watching us.”
“Denan, you’re crazy,” his friend—Lieutenant Aaron Smith—laughed.
"Señor Smith!” Came a small cry from down the elephant, Smith looked at Denan.
“Looks like I gotta go babysit,” he sighed, and walked away from the control panel of the Elephant Denan was driving. He looked back to see Smith walk down a ramp towards the rescued prisoner-of-war.
The elephant had a total crew of thirteen at the moment, ten of them being marines, two being engineers and the one liberated man. They had just rescued the man from a rebel encampment, he knew a large amount of information that the URF wouldn’t like getting out. The only problem—he spoke only Spanish. Luckily, Smith was there, he had taken four years of Spanish in school and knew enough of the basics to have a conversation.
“How goes the driving?” A voice came from behind, Denan turned around to see one of the marines—Private Jonathan Wells—a large, well-built man.
“Oh…it’s, um…drive-tastic,” Denan said sarcastically, he rolled his eyes and proceeded to look out through the small window he had to see what exactly he was running over.
“That bad, eh?” Wells cocked his rifle, Denan felt a stab of fear pierce his spine. Wells—noticing Denan stiffen up—continued. “Don’t worry, I’m not going to shoot you, it’s just—this place scares me…I feel like we could be ambushed any moment…”
“We have our Warthog…it keeps rounding us from afar to scan the area,” Denan reassured, “Not much could get past it.”
“The Joker could,” Wells muttered, leaning against the wall.
“Don’t call him that!” Denan said crossly. “His name is Jacklin!”
“Benjamin ‘Joker’ Jacklin as I hear it,” Wells licked his dry lips. “I’ve heard the stories, he almost killed you and Smith before he turned.”
“Jacklin was a mastermind, he could outsmart Einstein if he had the chance,” Denan stated defensively. “He turned most of our squad against each other, and made us play his sick games.”
“So the stories are—,” A flaming pile of wreckage flew from what-seemed nowhere and slammed off the Elephant, cutting Wells off midsentence.
“Oh Shi—,” Denan fell back, only to have Wells pull him back up.
“Don’t fall down, help fight!” He shouted and ran out of the corridor into the open section of the elephant. Denan could see the others scrambling towards defensive positions and Smith rush the informant towards the enclosed section.
“Stay here!” Smith shouted in English at the man, he nodded, showing he understood.
Denan and Smith ran down the ramp to the Elephant’s bottom level, past the stationed Mongoose they went to watch the flaming wreckage. Wells was the first to notice exactly what it was…
“It’s our ‘Hog…” he muttered in disbelief, even though only a few seconds ago he had been naming what could’ve brought it down.
“How in all things alive did they launch that ball of fire through the air!” Smith shouted, turning and running back up the ramp towards the informant. “Defensive positions!” Denan followed closely behind him.
“Let’s just say I’ll cross Jungtang off my vacation list!” He brushed past the both of them to take back control of the Elephant.
“What are you doing?” Smith examined the flattened overgrowth they were passing over.
“If we sit here like ducks, we’ll be killed for sure, if we keep moving, we have a chance!” Denan shouted back. Meanwhile the two .50 Caliber turrets had been manned, two snipers were in hidden positions, trailing the Elephant, scanning for URF soldiers, and a marine held a rocket over his shoulder.
“Of what? Four miles an hour isn’t exactly enough to win a race, you know?” Smith retaliated.
That’s when the left turret began firing…
Smith turned his head, to watch exactly what was coming up, but out of Denan’s limited viewing space of the front “windshield” he couldn’t see a thing. And then, the left turret stopped firing, he heard a yell of pain and then a thud, and Denan could tell, the marine was dead.
The snipers were looking through their scopes for signs of enemy troops when a figure in tattered light battle armor walked up behind them.
“Looks like I’ve gots a couples of snipers, if I don’t stand corrected,” he chuckled, twirling a magnum in each hand. “Sorry boys, but you have gots to go, I wouldn’st wants ya’ll to gets in the way.”
They both saw the magnums flash when one bullet each penetrated their skull. The man blew a whiff of smoke coming out from his right gun and put both of them away.
“The Joker loves to do the dirty works.” He chuckled then disappeared back into the dense forest.
Denan gave up on driving and grabbed his Assault Rifle, turning around just in time to spot a URF soldier running up the ramp, he unloaded half a clip into the man’s torso—and the lifeless body rolled back down the ramp. He had no idea who was still alive and who wasn’t, Smith had taken the informant to who knows where and chaos was all around.
Then a large cylindrical shape flew through the air and hit the Elephants lower level, a flash of light emitted from it, Denan—who had been looking straight at it—was temporarily blinded.
He was hit hard on the head and he heard one last thing before he blacked out.
“Nice to sees yous agains Denan.” Came the Joker’s maniacal laugh.
“Ugh…” black, red, and green dots were all his eyes could see, then a third of them went away, then two-thirds, finally he could see clearly, he was in a small abandoned bomb shelter, it looked like. He counted four other marines, all looking ragged and disbelieving, and the informant. Then, an intercom sounded.
“Welcomes to my deaths pits, boys, yous mays not knows this, but there is actually twos of these pits…in pits number ones: my olds friend Denan, and this dirty rottens informant. In numbers twos, we have another old friends, Smith. Wes onlys killed four of ya rottens marines, and we have fives of ya in each one, and the informant with one of yas.
“Heres thes deal, I have bombs rigged in the walls to expodes in each of yas death pit, and both of yas have the trigger fors the ones in the other pit. Ifs ones of ya doesn’t explode the others in fifteens minutes, I’lls blows both of yas up. You choose whos gonnas die.”
…the intercom went dead.
Denan stood up. “I don’t care what any of you say, I know we all don’t wanna die, but I will not kill the others, we are not pressing that button.” He indicated to a large rectangular box with a big red button on the top of it. Nobody else spoke, those a marine gave him a very dirty look.
They waited in silence for two minutes when a hatch on top of the ‘Death Pit’ opened, the Joker stood above.
“Congratulations, yous guys aren’t as concerned about your owns lives as much as the others!” He laughed his cold, maniacal laugh.
“What have you done with them?” Denan rose and took a defensive stance.
“Oh, I didn’ts do anythings, yous guys sees fors yaselfs.” He tossed a small recorder to Denan, it had a small screen, and that was about it.
Denan turned it on…
It showed Smith standing defensively between the button and Wells, who had two others marines behind him.
“Look Smith, I don’t deserve to die, and neither do you, so I say we blow the other joint and the Joker will let us go free.” He took a step closer to Smith.
“You think any of us are gonna get outta here alive?” Smith mocked. “If we survive this, he’ll put us through worse and worse. And have you forgotten why we’re even on this planet, what was the use of rescuing the informant if we’re just gonna blow him up. And Denan’s in there…”
“—Who cares ‘bout Denan, I could blow his head of his shoulders and never feel even a twinge of guilt.” He pushed Smith aside, slamming him into a wall, and slammed his fist to the button, the footage then cut.
Realization cut through Denan…of course, The Joker had lied to them, the detonator button was rigged to their own fort…
“You sick, sick man!” Denan through the recorder at the wall and lunged for The Joker, a sharp pain cut through his left shoulder, he fell onto the ground. The Joker kicked his rib.
“You idiot! Have you forgottens my likings ofs a pistol?” He stomped onto Denan’s stomach, sending a wave of nausea to add to the pain.
Leaving Denan on the floor—fighting the urge to barf-The Joker turned to two of the frightened marines. “Yous twos are strong youngs men. Buts I can’t haves ya two getting in each others way…one of ya will needs to be…eliminated.” He dropped a pistol on the ground. “Yous choose who…” he stated simply.
Denan gave in, he vomited all over the floor, then, in horror, he realized what was going on.
“Don’t—,” he began to shout, but it was too late, one of the marines—he had blond hair and blue eyes—lunged for the pistol and sent five bullets into the other one. The body fell to the floor, obviously lifeless.
“Excellent,” The Joker laughed his maniacal chuckle, kicking the lifeless body on the floor. Then it all happened too fast, a shot rang out leaving the blond marine dead, while the informant charged The Joker.
The informant knocked the Joker down, while Denan ran for the pistol. He reached it and fired into the heap on the ground…
The informant pushed himself up from his hands and knees, while the Joker lay dying. The last standing marine looked in amazement at the body, and then at Denan and the informant.
He then ran for the hatch at the top of the pit, the second his head was out a sniper bullet rang out and a headless body fell back into the pit.
The informant backed up away from the hatch…Denan gaped in amazement, the killing of Jacklyn had been so easy, compared to the misery he had been put through last time, but even when he was dead…Denan would be too.
Until he saw the grenade…it was hooked on The Joker’s belt, he grabbed it and threw it out of the hatch, while it was still in mid-air, he shot it with the pistol.
He grabbed the informant by the arm and jumped into the smoke the second he cleared it, a sniper shot hit the dirt a foot behind him, all he saw was a bunch of trees, but he ran…and ran, like a dog for a bone.
It was to his surprise when he found the Elephant again…he ran up the ramp, the informant right behind him, and gaped that the mongoose was still intact, he hopped on the driver’s seat and pulled the informant on behind him.
“Wait here!” he ran up the second ramp and looked at the coordinates, they wouldn’t get lost this time…he ran back down and revved up the ‘Goose.
“Ready?” he asked the informant.
“Rapido!” the informant shouted. Denan drove off through the jungle…Smith, he thought as he drove, Smith is the only reason I’m still here…remembering fifteen years ago.
Back at the Elephant, a man in light battle armor came out from behind a bush.
"The Joker isn't throughs yet..." he laughed, then started the walk back to base. "Justs yous see Denan."
ChucklesAnyone else here getting sick of tiny two-word posts that become huge because of the O.G. picture?