From: David Hibbs (midnite@iastate.edu) Subject: Story: Brother Lucas, Part 5 Newsgroups: alt.barney.dinosaur.die.die.die Date: 1996/08/04 Brother Lucas ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Part V Lucas and his host appeared in the middle of a high arched corridor. A few others shuffled their way up and down the hall, lit only by torch light, reminding Lucas alternately of a cave and a cathedral. He'd never actually been inside a cathedral before, yet somehow imagined this is how one would look. "Come, this way," encouraged his host, and so Lucas followed along. "I am not allowed to speak much of us outside of our sanctuaries," he explained. "Rather we must allow our new inductees to make their own decision, as best as they can, based on their experience and faith. You may call me Brother Thomas, or even just Tom if you prefer." "Us?" questioned Lucas. "Who are you? And why do you speak of inductees? Am I to be inducted into some secret society to serve whatever dark purpose for the rest of my life? I don't think so!" Brother Thomas could not restrain a laugh at Lucas' challenge. "No, we serve no 'dark purpose' here. Far from it. Are you to be inducted? Well, that part is entirely up to you. But perhaps you would like to know why I brought you here before you make your decision? Perhaps there is some curiosity in your heart of hearts, hmmm?" His deep brown eyes sparkled at Lucas in the torchlight as he smiled warmly at his guest. That smile and eyes struck an odd chord in his memory... they reminded him vaguely of old Mister Jones from the toy shop back home. He grunted, and agreed to follow Tom farther. They paused briefly at a cubbyhole along the way to pick up a book of some kind, which Tom handed to Lucas. "Here. Brother Jones wanted you to have this. It's the diary he kept while he was here. He spoke a lot about you, you know." "Oh no. You aren't going to tell me that Mister Jones was wrapped up in this..." "Oh yes he was," countered Thomas, grabbing the book back for a minute, then opened it to a dogeared page. "Look for yourself. Read. See if it reminds you of anything," he challenged. Lucas grudgingly took the leather-bound volume into his hands and began to read. What he read frightened him immensely; how had this been hidden from him so completely? What were those things, and why hadn't he been warned? Why did they haunt his dreams? One question did *not* cross his mind, though--that this was a fake. For right there at the bottom of the page was Jones' signature, and he'd seen that enough times while working at his store to recognize it in a flash. Lucas' anger and frustration turned suddenly to curiosity and fear. "What is this place? What are those things, and how do you fight them?" he questioned. "All in good time. I'll start with the obvious question--what this place is. This, my friend, is the Temple of Grimace, or the outer sanctum of it, at any rate. This is where we study and move around. I'll get to our activities later but..." Lucas interrupted. "Grimace? Like from McDonald's?" "Yes. He isn't exactly what he seems, you know. He's a guardian, a boon to us all. You see, years ago he knew that a great evil was trying to unleash itself upon the globe, and so he started quietly building a church to defend against that evil. What he started was the same thing that you see around you now. He forces none to join him or to take what he offers, and seeks only friends. In return, he gives the power to fight the evil and protection from it. Your friend and mine Brother Jones was your protector. While the Great Evil was seeking followers enough to gain access to this world, you were a child--the prime target for his plan. He sent his minions to trick you into following and joining, for with every child whose mind he snatched away the closer he came to entering this world. Brother Jones, through the power and gifts of Grimace and of his Church was able to defend you and keep you safe from his trickery." "So what was that that he used? How did he stop them? Those things were horrid they--" "All in due time, all in due time. You wish to join us then, and to help defend all children--even your own grandkids--from the Great Pretender?" "Yes! I must... I've seen these things... they haunt my dreams, my life. I must protect my family and all I've worked for." "Your training will begin immediately, then. Come, we will get you your robes, staff, and transporter." "Transporter?" Thomas smiled knowingly. "Well, even we can use help from technology every now and then! We still use the old tunnels--as you read in the diary there is a great network of tunnels and passages that we use to defend those in need, and we still use them. When it comes to training, though, you can't beat the help of a transporter." They arrived at a large store room, where Lucas found suitable brown robes and sandals, a long, solid quarterstaff, and had a transporter strapped to his hip. "Every day you must train. You can eat here, sleep here, and whatever else here. When you get home from work, come directly here. Your first challenge is coming much sooner than you would possibly imagine." Lucas did as he was told. He returned home, and for the next 3 weeks he studied and trained as he never had before. He studied the use of the quarterstaff, of the martial arts, and the rituals and sacrements of Grimace. And he slept straight through every night. ----------- To Be Continued in Brother Lucas Part VI "Brother Lucas" Copyright 1996 David R. Hibbs -- ______________________________________________________________________________ "In the end there will be only one OS, The Mind.. Ponder that for a while..." --unknown "But if the mind is an OS, then there will be infinite OS's, and a vast majority of them will still suck." --me ______________________________________________________________________________