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Chapter Fifty Four
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Inside the building . . .--------- ---------------------"You didn't have to be quite so mean," Talia chortled."Yes I did!" Tarloh shouted, then got himself back under control. With a sigh, "If I didn't nip her path to martyrdom in the bud, she would've finally convinced herself that she really was useless and probably left the Strays to go on some damn fool . . . she would've tried to go and save the world by herself. I don't know if she or the Strays would've survived that. Especially not right now.""You really think she would've left?" Anya asked."The only thing that would've stopped her was Jane," Talia said, gripping Tarloh's hand. She knew he had been right. "I should've seen it coming. She's been on the verge of breaking down since she got back and found out what Robbie had done. Between dealing with him, dealing with Jane's problems and still trying to do her regular duties of keep everRelated chapters
Midnight Strays Chapter Fifty Five
--------- ---------------A week later . . .--------- ---------------Robbie and Natasha were both cranky as hell by the time the Strays arrived at the slaughterhouse. They had gotten a message on Natasha's cell phone on where to go, but then her battery went dead so they couldn't call back. They had returned the car, taken cabs out to the nearest gas station and then hiked back in. Lothar got help carrying the heavy magical jewel all the way. His magical battle had taken a lot out of him. That, and not having ever been to this new Den before, prevented him from teleporting."They're back!" came a cry from a window as the weary travelers approached. Talia and Tarloh came sauntering out and embraced their friends, happy to see them all still alive. Robbie explained that the Raptors would be joining them that evening when darkness allowed them easier passage through the skies."This is big," Natasha said, "and they wanted to be here for it
Midnight Strays Chapter Fifty Six
------------ -------------- Outside . . .------------ --------------Jane had no taste for battle. It piled up on her tongue and dripped from her mouth as bile. Yet she found herself suspended from two large trees, looking down at a pack of rat-like beings called . . . she thought Anya had called them caval. Their participation in this was also strange, as they were a race of scavengers. Something powerful had driven them to fight. Sometimes, Jane heard wings and cries from above as the Raptors fought for control of the heavens.She saw one of the rear caval vanish into nothingness. Croc had grabbed another victim and drawn it into his dimensional rift. The group turned and one of them was leveled by a float club. 'There's Anya,' Jane thought. She grimaced. It was her turn. Magical braids wielding heavy branches descended from on high, bludgeoning the unsuspecting creatures into a fine state of unconsciousness. 'They'll never get to Red,' she to
Midnight Strays Chapter Fifty Seven
---------- -----------------------A few hours later . . .---------- -----------------------The crowd walked or glided in silence. Walking to the gates of Armageddon seemed to have a sobering effect. Lothar was staring deep into the Heaven's Eye. He'd wanted to be part of an adventure. He was beginning to wish he had nothing to do with it.Croc and Anya walked next to each other. Chris hadn't spoken to either of them since the accusation earlier, and it was eating Anya up. But she didn't know how to approach him, so she decided to wait until after this was all over.Red walked hand in hand with Jane. Red was almost ashamed to admit to herself that she felt relieved. She was just along for the ride on this one, and she had meant what she said. They would win or lose in a matter of moments. No more waiting and then, one way or the other, she would get some rest.Jane wanted to kiss the warrior goddess she had become so dependent
Midnight Strays Chapter Fifty Eight
------- --------------------A few hours later . . .------- --------------------The celebration was somewhat muted considering the circumstances. They had just narrowly averted an apocalypse of biblical proportions. Raptors and Strays mingled in the new Den engaged in numerous conversations. Most of them were genuinely pleased that there would be many more tomorrows for all of them. But not everyone was feeling relieved. Anya hadn't spoken to anyone since the battle. Neither had Red. She had collapsed shortly after Chaos had been banished. Fighting an Elder God, even in your head, was apparently an exhausting process.Jane and Robbie had been hovering over Red until she came too. Arthur had been called in to check on her, and several other allies followed along. Red had defied a god . . . they all wanted to know how."You okay?" Jane whispered when Red stared up at her, one eye beautiful green and the other eerie and red."No,"
Midnight Strays Chapter Fifty Nine ( ENDING)
--------------- -------------Six months later . . .--------------- -------------Jane leaned the broom up against one of the front windows of the Kwik-R Stop where she worked. It was a warm summer night, so she was able to clean up the parking lot without a jacket. She paused and ran her finger over her name pin, which was now done up in faux gold rather than the regular white plastic."Assistant manager," she muttered happily. The promotion only meant an extra dollar an hour, but it was still special for her. She had done a good job, and she had been rewarded. Of course, it also meant extra responsibility, but she didn't mind. It was good honest work. She still worked nights, but never alone. Her company insisted on having at least two people on graveyards. Her coworker for the evening was a pimply-faced college student named Earl, trying to save some extra money over the summer. He was a nice kid. He had tried hitting on Jane for a while befor
Midnight Strays Chapter One
Once again, Jane made her way home from work. She almost scoffed at the idea of calling what she did "work." It almost made it seem legitimate to sling brown sludge into bent and broken shells at the local Taco Shack. As on most days, she had scored some of the leftovers and had salivated at the thought of it. And between the doors of her place of business and what constituted her home, she had found someone worse off than herself who needed the nourishment more. This time, it was Old Ben, a homeless man she had encountered before. He had thanked her, she had smiled while her stomach rebelled, and she had been on her way home.She arrived at her dingy, twelve-by-thirteen studio apartment in the worst part of Springfield. There was a twin bed, a two-burner stove, a mini-fridge, and a tiny shower stall next to the toilet. Once inside, she secured the three chain locks and two deadbolts and finally took a moment to relax. She took off her hair net and let her raven-black hair fa
Midnight Strays Chapter Two
----------- --------------------A few minutes later . . .----------- --------------------'God, I'm late again!' Jane thought as she hurried through the streets. 'Mr. Smith is going to be so mad!' She decided to take a shortcut through some back alleys that she would normally rather avoid. Sometimes she hated living in an urban jungle. As she made her way past piles of trash, she thought of her home in the country . . . where she had lived until her father had died and before her stepfather had entered the picture. She thought of wooden fences, round bails of hay, the garden next to the house, and that old beat-up tractor that her father had taken her for rides on. That was the last time she remembered being happy.Suddenly, she heard a series of whimpers, thumps, and yelps coming from another alley nearby. It sounded like a dog in pain, being beaten by something heavy. She took a step in the other direction. She couldn't be late for work. She couldn't
Midnight Strays Chapter Three
--------- ------------------------------Some unknown time later . . .--------- ------------------------------"She seems to be waking up!" came a voice from the void. Jane wanted to open her eyes but was afraid of what she'd see. But a dull throb in her ribs caused her to moan, which had tipped everyone off. But who was "everyone?"There was a pause. "Listen, we know you're awake, so you might as well stop faking." That voice was definitely a female."And Talia should know a thing or two about 'faking' it," came a male voice."Bite me.""Not tonight. I have a headache."Jane opened her eyes, expecting to see monsters. There was an annoyingly bright tungsten light directly overhead, and Jane was lying on a long metal table. A number of young men and women surrounded Jane, including the handsome young man she had seen briefly earlier."Where . . . am I?" she groaned, trying to sit up but quickly lying back down as the pa
Latest chapter
- Midnight Strays Chapter Fifty Nine ( ENDING)
- Midnight Strays Chapter Fifty Eight
- Midnight Strays Chapter Fifty Seven
- Midnight Strays Chapter Fifty Six
- Midnight Strays Chapter Fifty Five
- Midnight Strays Chapter Fifty Four
- Midnight Strays Chapter Fifty Three
- Midnight Strays Chapter Fifty Two
- Midnight Strays Chapter Fifty One
