(story copyright E.N.Boyd) Contains violent and graphic content.

"NOOOO!", Tobias "Doc" Strong yelled, hurling himself at the man clad in black who'd just surprised attacked his wife, stabbing her neck. He lunged at him, and managed to grab the man's arm, preventing him from stabbing his wife again. Strong strained to turn his head in the D.E.E.P. suit to look at his wife while keeping the attacker at bay. He could see the blood pooling around Rulah's neck and head as she lay motionless on the mine floor, her face becoming pale. He could tell she was dead. His heart sank, shocked and full of rage he turned back to the man he held with his steam driven pneumatic suit. The man in black seemed to be squinting weirdly at him.

Strong didn't care, all he knew was that this villain had just killed his beloved wife, Rulah, and he didn't know why. "Paulie!", Doc yelled. Doc could also see that Paulie was unconscious on the ground, a hole smoldering in his shoulder and chest area. It appeared the burn had spread over his heart and Paulie was squirming on the ground. The rock creature had re-formed and stood upright, turning its focus onto Doc as he struggled with the man. The creature began to move towards Doc and the man looked at the creature, squinting weirdly again.

It was at that moment Doc realized this man must be a gifted human like Paulie, but with mental powers. However, his D.E.E.P. suit helmet must be blocking the mental attacks he was attempting against Doc. He looked closer at the man in black and yelled, "Why?!?", twisting his arm. He looked at the man's face and apparel and he further realized he knew who this was. Irving Talon. The rock creature seemed to respond to Talon, and virtually leaped at Doc, despite its lumbering appearance, an agility which betrayed its form. Doc picked Talon up over his head with both arms now, the pneumatic servos enhancing his strength. He waited until the rock creature came closer and then he threw Talon at the creature. The creature caught him in his arms. To his dismay, the creature held Talon, looked at him and then ripped both of the arms off the man. Screams were heard throughout the cave as the lava man dropped Talon to the ground. The creature then raised a leg and stomped Talon's head into the ground. The creature then looked at Doc and jumped back into the pond where it came from.

Doc rushed over to Rulah, and lifted an arm to check for a pulse. None. Rulah's beautiful long curly auburn hair lay about her, framing her beautiful face. A face he would no longer be able to kiss or talk to, a face he'd spent the last 20 years of his life caring and loving. No more. Sobbing, Doc looked over at Paulie and could see he had also died, his physically gifted friend and trusted ranch hand lay motionless, a large burning wound smoldering on his shoulder and all of his chest cavity, exposing the man's ribs and burning inner organs.

Doc sobbed as he picked Rulah up, and carried her up and out of the mine shaft and soon did the same with Paulie, placing their bodies on the ground to the mine's entrance. The horses gone, he left the bodies next to the mouth of the mine atop a beam which lay horizontally and haphazardly to the west of the opening.

Doc looked at the desert sky, the last bit of the sun dipping below the horizon, the beams bouncing off the visor of his helmet, the heat of the day dying off. Streams of tears ran down his face behind the mask. He looked back at the entrance to the mine, and entered it, still wearing his D.E.E.P. suit.

He made his way down the mine shaft and to the tailing pond and walked over to the remaining pieces of Talon's mutilated body. Strong could hear movement not too far from him but really didn't care. He didn't want to look at Talon, that wasn't going to be the last thing he saw this day. He looked down at the surface of the pond but couldn't see anything as the cave's interior became ever darker with the evening setting in, virtually no light entering except that provided by the glint of the bronze of his steam driven suit. He jumped into the pond. He didn't bother adjusting any of the ballasts, he allowed himself to sink into the water, not seeing anything in the dark murky water except for that same red glowing circle he'd seen earlier that day where the rock creature had emerged. He sank towards that glowing light, the red aura growing ever stronger. It appeared to be lava and in fact he hoped it was. He soon felt nothing but blackness as, engulfed by the red light which throbbed and hummed about him, he realized this mission was over, entering into the unconscious realm of what he thought must be death.

To be continued?

Forums » Fan-Fic » The Adventures of Doc Strong. Chapter 1.

Forums » Fan-Fic » The Adventures of Doc Strong. Chapter II.

Forums » Fan-Fic » The Adventures of Doc Strong. Chapter III.

Forums » Fan-Fic » The Adventures of Doc Strong Chapter IV

The Adventures of Doc Strong Chapter V.

The Adventures of Doc Strong Chapter VI.

The Adventures of Doc Strong Chapter VII

The Adventures of Doc Strong Chapter VIII.

The Adventures of Doc Strong. Chapter IX.