Sky High Origins-The Evil: Meaningless is more

The Microsoft Windows logo bounced from one end of the screen to the other. He stared blankly at it as the thoughts in his mind swayed like the open sea. Shouldn't there be more to this existence? He thought to himself. Was my life meant to be meaningless? Was I destined to be shackled at this office desk, imprisoned by my job and serve this sentence until I wither into nothing? My life spent serving others, yet providing no kind of satisfaction.
The chatter of fingers typing away at keyboards and the steady hum of the computers had been the soundtrack to his life for a long time now. The same song, day in and day out. All meaningless. He likened it to the monotony of the songs on that MTV his son liked so much. And all for what? To slave at his small desk so that his superiors could pay him his meagre salary and go on lavish holidays? Fat executives always appraising his performance, telling him he needed more passion and flair for his job. 'Passion' he thought. A word created by fools to mask the insignificance of their existence. 'Passion'. His wife had spoken of it as well. She had said their marriage had lacked 'passion'. So they tried for another child to try and bring more 'passion' into their relationship. When he first held his daughter, he felt something close to emotion. But not love or affection. Regret maybe, he wasn't certain. But he felt he had brought another into this world to suffer a purpose-less life. A life like his. A life of no meaning.
The phone at his desk rang. It was Human Resources and the manager had asked to see him. He got up and left his cubicle, almost dragging his feet on his way to the H.R office. He wasn't a very tall man,and he had a lanky frame. His peg-less trousers fit perfectly and matched the sweater he wore. His wife had insisted on picking out the clothes he was to wear each morning. In his opinion,it was all very pointless. What was the purpose of clothes but to hide our nakedness?-the only truth to who we really were. Perhaps there would be more to all this if humanity bore its true self. Instead we choose to cover ourselves with costly designer fabrics and portray false personas he thought. What a sad farce the human race is.
His face showed no indication of what went on in his mind. It was a blank canvas and had been that way for most of his life. He hadn't had many, if any friends over the years. Some remarked that he was 'boring'. Who were they to pass judgement? Who were they to measure his personality by their own flimsy standards? To stand him trial on some drastically flawed charges.
He pushed his spectacles back up the bridge of his nose and knocked lightly on the door of the H.R office.
The Human Resource manager spoke in length about his recent performance. About how meaningless reports had been delayed by him and how the obese bastards claimed he had not been performing well. How could they judge him? He thought. He wished he could poke out their eyeballs and suffocate them all with their overly priced ties. Wished he could staple their thick rubbery skin to the boardroom table and let them starve there. The voice of the Human Resource manager faded out as he lost himself in his macabre fantasy. These horrid products of his imagination had become frequent and many lately, they even dared to be entertaining. A smirk was creeping up in the corner of his mouth when the manager's voice brought him back to reality.
"You're bleeding," the manger said. There was a trickle of thick black liquid snailing down from his left nostril to his upper lip. From where the manger sat, it looked like a blend of clotted blood and mucus. But when he used his handkerchief to wipe himself,he noticed it wasn't blood or mucus. He excused himself and rushed to the gents.
At lunchtime he always sat and ate at a park bench that was opposite the office building he worked from. The sound of vehicles and voices of the populace rode the air. He chewed his food thoroughly and observed the people as they went about their empty lives. He believed they were motivated by trivial beliefs. Money. Fame. To provide for their families. All meaningless. If they were to all die in the end,no memory left of them; what was the point? Traffic was sluggish during lunch hour. He gazed at the people in their cars and taxis, rushing to get back to work or whatever their inconsequential destination was. After all,the only true and final destination was death,wasn't it? Death was the only thing promised to mankind and its immaterial existence. Then the only fair thing was to burn it all down. Watch them all burn to a crisp while their flesh popped and sizzled like the fat pigs they had become. And when there was nothing,maybe the world would implode in its own nothingness. Something close to a smile planted itself across his face. He had amused himself. He couldn't remember the last time he was amused.
Something dropped on the paper bag in his lap that had held his sandwiches. Some black goop. Bird droppings he thought. Cursed birds. But the dripping continued. It was coming from his nose. He quickly grabbed his handkerchief from his back pocket and wiped his nose. The thought of seeing a doctor did not cross his mind. He did not trust doctors.
His supervisor did not seem to believe him when he said he was not feeling well and asked for the rest of the day off. He explained to the man that even the H.R manager could verify that he was not well. He was the one that had noticed the nose bleed he had had earlier. The supervisor looked at him and did not say a word, but his expression spoke volumes. He excused him reluctantly.
When he got home,his wife was surprised to see him. He had never taken the day off or fallen sick before. He explained that he was actually feeling better then but would take the day off anyway.
He sat in his chair,letting his mind drift. The television was on,his wife had been watching one of those mind rotting reality T.V programmes. How was it that these people could gather massive audiences and viewers,when it was clear they stood for nothing? Even though he believed standing for something only gave people false hope. False hope that there was sense in this senseless life. Because even those that claimed to stand for something,were only disillusioned cripples. Leaning on the crutches of such fickle conviction.
He got the remote and flicked through the channels. Everything was the same-Pointless, and without reason. He stopped on a news report. Wonderman had saved a factory full of workers from their demise. As usual he had flown in when almost all hope was lost. Wonderman had swooped in and saved each and every worker at lightning speed,leaving them somewhere safe. He plucked a burning transformer with his bare hands and put out the inferno that had spread with his breath. Where would the world be without Wonderman? The reporter had asked.
Wonderman,he thought,only lengthened people's suffering and disillusionment when he rescued them from sure death. He only delayed the inevitable. Stupid Wonderman.
His phone rang. It was the someone from work. As soon as the person from the office began to speak, his daughter started to cry. She wailed so loud he could barely hear what the person on the line was talking about. But he soon realised what the woman was saying to him. All she was doing was sugar coating the fact that he had been fired. Using stupid words. He simply told her he understood.
His wife came in from the kitchen holding the screaming baby. She said she had to cook and it was his turn to watch the baby. His face was blank. He gently took the baby from her while she continued to speak. She talked about how various groceries needed to be bought and how he needed to spend more time with her and the children. She was trying hard to talk over the sound of the baby crying.
He swayed the baby in his arms from left to right in an attempt to ease her crying. His wife shouted on. He kept silent. He was reminded of his childhood;that distant memory of his father and mother arguing. They had made his life miserable. He looked at his daughter's face as the tears streamed down her soft cheeks. No,he declared in his mind. She would not live to suffer a meaningless life. No one would. He then held the child by her ankles,turning her upside down. He lifted his arms higher and her screams got louder. The wailing stopped suddenly when he let go of her ankles and let her drop to the floor with a thump. His wife was at a loss for words as she fought to grasp what had just happened. Only the commentary from the news report on Wonderman could be heard in the room. He stared at his wife. A thick black slime snaked its way from his left nostril. It swayed and dangled in the air like a King Cobra about to strike. And it did. It struck through her throat and exited the back of her head covered in blood. She could not scream,she only managed to gurgle the blood coming up her throat and out of her mouth. He withdrew his black tentacle.
What is happening? He thought to himself. What is this feeling? He hunched over and dropped to his knees as vomit came from the depths of his belly. But it was not vomit. It was more of the same black goo that had been coming from his nose. It seemed to flow like an endless fountain and then covered him entirely. His hate for the triviality of this life had come alive and spewed from the depths of his very being. When he got up,his whole body was covered in the black ooze. Tentacles stood and dangled in snake-like motion all over his body.
The news report on the T.V went on about Wonderman's miraculous feats. How he had saved the people from danger countless times. Not anymore. HE would put a stop to it. HE would end humanity's suffering. As he thought this,the blackness within him festered and he grew in size. He grew so large he crashed through the roof of the house.
Steven Evans left his house a new man. A new being. HE would cleanse humanity of its meaninglessness.

Illustration by the deathly talent that is Lo.

From Zero to Hero

'From Zero to Hero'. I first heard or read that tagline in the synopsis for The Mask, staring Jim Carey. If you ask me, that's one of his greatest roles, and one of my favourite movies of all time. Jamie Kennedy should be shot dead for that sodomisation of a sequel he made (Son of The Mask). I wonder why Dark Horse agreed to put that stupid movie out. But enough about that...
I had first typed this on my phone from the office at this temporary job I got. Most people would be glad to be doing nothing and just 'socialising' on Facebook or Twitter. So would I usually. But recently I realised I lose because I CHOOSE to. Whether consciously or not, I choose to lose. For example; I would like to be a professional writer someday soon. I've been told I need to write everyday if I'm to get better at it. But I usually come up with excuses; I have no inspiration; I'm tired; I need to watch some T.V first....the list is endless. I choose not to write and therefore I choose to lose. Another example is how I'd go out at the weekend and just let all the good looking girls slide. I like girls, especially pretty ones :). But if you really know me, you know I'm a shy person. I can make conversation with some, but I don't go in for the kill. I came out of a long term relationship a while ago (still nothing but love for you mami!) and I think I got too comfortable in it. I'm afraid to step out of that comfort zone. That's another story though. My point is, I choose not to step to that girl I can tell is checking me out too. Therefore, I CHOOSE to lose.
We sit down and let shit happen to us too often, instead of going out there and happen TO shit. And we choose not to take the blame for it. I didn't do this because I didn't have enough money. I didn't do that because I don't know how to. Excuses. Go borrow some money! Go learn how to do that! Be proactive you bum! We are so satisfied with basic things and the status quo. We don't want to expand our horizons and make the most of our lives, careers or whatever it is we do.
I sat at that desk because I chose to lose again. That job was crap and made me realise I really don't want to be an accountant all my life. Accounting is crap. I have no prior work experience, and maybe it all gets better with time; but still, I realise I want little if anything to do with this line of work. People had told me to use it as an opportunity to gain work experience until something better came up. That 'you have to start somewhere'. I say we aim low. Not to toot my own horn, but I am talented. I know with the right mentor-ship, the right information and some hard work I could go places. I can't be stuck here taking orders from Davis! I have a world to either save or take over, I can't be here!
Recently I came to the resolve that I will do my best to write everyday and improve my skills (not that I will publish a new post everyday! Easy you fiends!). And believe it or not, a number of things have been happening and been set in motion. After I collaborated with Lo and published Sky High II: Sky is the Limit, my blog reached its highest page views ever. Some may argue that page views are nothing to go by,but they still flatter the crap outta me! Almost everyday after my resolve, I have seen my Twitter Timeline flooded with links to resourceful stuff on writing and self improvement. Coincidence? I think not. I had sent a couple of emails to a local magazine on doing some freelance writing for them a while ago, I only got one response from the three I sent. One morning, my mother calls, telling me she found the same magazine on the shelves (I had asked her to get it for me before I'd sent my emails so I could see what type of articles they publish). I almost said no, but I thought,what the hell? So she got it. Barely hours later, I received a response from the magazine, and turns out, a good friend of mine is sub-editor there! I sent them two pieces and they are supposed to review them. Not convinced? Well, about a week later, I received a call from a guy telling me that he heard I could write and would like to meet me. He came over to the digs and explained to me that he and some well known names have a project to make and publish a comic. They were looking for some script and story writers and he was there to recruit me. (He was putting together an elite team I thought. On some Avengers shit! My good buddies Lo, Jay a.k.a Dagger, and Nunu have also been recruited by the way.). So now I'm supposed to attend a workshop to brainstorm with the same people and make Zambia's first kick-ass comic! If you are still not convinced I was meant to write, you should go suck an egg.
So I have decided that from hence forth,I will not lose. I will take up whatever opportunity I can. I will open doors for myself. I will do all in my power to make my situation work. If all goes according to plan, I'll find a good accounting job and save enough to leave the profession. I will also use my other talents to broaden my horizons. There is no creativity in accounting and I am wasting my time here. It may take some time and definitely won't be easy,but I will wear my own mask and go from zero to hero! #GetWitItOrBlow

Sky High II :Sky is the limit

I suggest you read Sky High (If I should die...: Sky High http://bit.ly/zomJIQ ) before you read this.
The illustration is by the talented Lo,my good friend and Cohort.

Sky let himself free fall through the air. The wind whispering in his ears and blowing through his clothes usually had a calming effect. But not today. He could see the chaos in the distance,he could almost smell the death. The air around 'The Evil',as the menace had come to be known;was blackened and almost like the night. Purple lightning licked the sky and swatted any flying supers or threats to The Evil. Thunder boomed as the purple flashes crackled in the ether,tarnishing the hopes of many. The military's largest tanks and biggest baddest guns had been brought out to neutralise the threat,but only seemed to annoy The Evil even more.
Sky gulped and then nose dived into the forest below him,being careful to avoid the branches. He set his feet on the ground softly and looked around. The battle raged on kilometres away from where he was. The green leaves whispered when the wind blew,telling the rest of the forest about the despair that lay ahead. Sky went into a fighting stance when he heard something crashing through the trees. He thought he was being attacked but couldn't tell where the attacker was coming from.
"Uuum,dude....HEY! Could you get me down from here?" a voice said from somewhere in the trees. Sky looked up and darted his eyes from tree to tree. "Over here!" the voice yelled. The owner of the voice had his parachute tangled in the branches between two trees. Sky was surprised at how he could still be suspended up there,considering his weight. This guy had the belly the size of a giant watermelon.
"Okay,hold on." Sky floated toward this large young man held captive by his own parachute.
"I would free myself,but not even my weight could break THIS fall."
Sky wrapped his arms under the larger man's own arms. "Alright,un-fasten the strap now"
It was like catching a falling sack of heavy sand,this guy had Sky wishing he had superhuman strength as well as the ability to fly.
"Thanks man! Would have sucked eggs if I missed the fight coz I was stuck in a tree! Sucked ostrich eggs if I got KILLED while I was stuck in a tree!" he said.
"My name's Freddy the flame,but my friends call me Tubby,Fatso or Freddy the fat. But I prefer Freddy the flame. See,I'm a Pyro." Freddy conjured up a flame from his palm to show Sky his pyrokinetic powers.
"My name is Sean," Sky said,"but my friends call me Sky. I prefer Sky".

They walked through the large forest in the direction of the battle. Freddy talked most of the way,sharing his experiences and tales of bravado. Most of which were part fiction. He told Sky that he'd had a hard time controlling his powers. He said once, when he was younger,he had almost burnt his room and the house down when he burped. "My step dad almost left us soon after that. But he stayed when we got a huge insurance settlement. Had me involved in a couple more insurance scams after that. Got some neat stuff from them though." He said,"But now I generally stay away from fizzy drinks. And spicy food. You never know what might come out my other end."
Sky laughed. He told Freddy about how he'd been fighting crime in his neighbourhood. "I like to help. And knowing Ma' is safe just makes me happy. Plus being a superhero is cool too," he said smiling.
They met a number of supers from the plane on their way. All of whom had been recruited by The Suit. Until recently,people with special abilities hadn't been many. And if they were,they had kept to themselves. But every once in a while videos of people performing miraculous feats would pop up on the internet. The suits had probably kept things under wraps like all secret organisations do. Some of the recruits said they had received training and had worked with the suits for some time.

Tanks and all sorts of hi-tech military weapons and vehicles lined the edge of the forest as Sky and the recruits approached an adhoc camp. Freddy held up his arm sideways to stop Sky and let the other recruits pass. One recruit ran past them at super speed,leaving a trail of dust behind him.
"What's the matter?" asked Sky.
"Dude,are you nervous as I am?"
"Yeah,I have a lump in my throat and my heart is racing like speedy over there." Sky replied pointing in the direction of the dust.
"Well,I have something to calm the nerves" said Freddy the flame as he reached into his pocket. He pulled out a small joint and held it up to Sky's face.
"....I don't know man...I--"
"C'mon! I can't do it alone! Plus we'll be a lot calmer"
Sky thought about it and then shrugged. Freddy put the joint to his mouth and flicked his thumb to light it. He took two puffs and passed it to Sky. Sky took two puffs as well and passed it back to his new friend.

As soon as the euphoria began to set in,a large muscular man stood in front of Sky and Freddy. They hadn't noticed him until he was almost literally in their faces. Freddy threw the joint to the ground and stepped on it to put it out. But it was too late.
The man towered above them and had his arms behind his back. He inhaled and exhaled deeply in quick breaths,as if to sniff them. His eyes moved from Sky to Freddy and from Freddy to Sky. Neither of the boys could meet his gaze.
"Why did you put that out?"
"Well....uum...b-because...",stuttered Freddy.
"What if I wanted a hit?" said the man.
The two boys raised their eyebrows.
"Well,I have anoth--"
"Come," the man said,"I want to show you something."
What they saw as they walked through the small camp was nothing less than gruesome. One man was struggling with consciousness and had only one wing.
"That monstrosity grabbed this guy and ripped off his wing with his teeth. Now no super with flight abilities will go near that thing,they're afraid they aren't fast enough."
The casualties seemed to get worse as they walked on. Many had been dismembered,some twisted into pretzels and others electrocuted. Some equipment and weapons had been destroyed and discarded in a kind of scrap metal grave. The faint hearted had left to go back home. And so had the deceased.
"This is probably all over the news as we speak. There should be panic and unrest spreading through the town." said the man," Good people have died here over the last few days including Wonderman. So we have no time for cigarette breaks and trips to lala land."
And with that he walked off,leaving Sky and Freddy feeling guilty and afraid.

"Don't let him shake you boys,Harry is a little hard on everyone,but he's a good guy." a voice said from behind them. A man in uniform came and put his arms around the back of their necks.
"What's HIS story?" asked Sky.
"Well,way I heard it,Harry Hardman has always been a tough guy. But he became even tougher when he came back from the dead."
"From the dead? You mean he's a ghost?" Freddy said.
"No,apparently he made a deal with the devil. Its not certain if that's how he got his monstrous strength,but he's really strong. He blames himself for that thing we are facing now. He thinks the devil sent it." ,said the man.
"I'm General Mwansa by the way. I have no abilities. This sexy lady here is The Siren, she has banshee-like powers." Said the General as a woman walked up to them.
"We have new information General. Someone from the front line made it back and says they found a weakness."
"What? That's excellent! Hardman! Hardman!" ,shouted the general. Harry Hardman came jogging.
"What is it General?"
"Brief him Siren."
"Well Boomerang came back and said he may have found a weakness in that thing. Said he noticed it cringed and was in pain when he flew and hit it in it's chest.",she said,"But unfortunately he didn't hit it hard enough and is injured now."
"We need to focus all our fire power on his chest then.",the General said.
"Yeah,but that thing is swatting all we have or striking it with lightning!",said Harry.
The two went on arguing about which strategy would be best,Siren also giving her opinion here and there. Sky and Freddy kept silent. Sky's mind was racing and he was really uneasy. Would they survive this? If they couldn't stop this threat,who would? He thought about his mother and whether she was watching all that was happening. He hated it when his Ma' panicked. He hated it when she was afraid. This thing had to be stopped. And it had to be stopped now.
"Focus all remaining fire power on the target's chest area!" General Mwansa blasted through a Walkie-talkie.
Sky suddenly jetted up to the clouds with no word and flew in the direction away from the fight.
"Where is he going?" Siren asked
"Probably home to his mummy," said Harry,"I knew that kid had no heart."
Before they could continue talking,Sky soared through the air above them,zooming toward The Evil. The air screamed as he cut through it as fast as he could.
"Is he going to do what I think he is?" Said Freddy.
"Oh my God! He's going to try and shoot through its chest!" screamed Siren.
They all looked at Sky as he flew at a blinding speed. Even he didn't know how fast he could go until then. Faster and faster he went slicing through the blue yonder. Until *BANG*,Sky had broken through the sound barrier and caused a sonic boom. The Evil did not notice Sky torpedo toward it until it was too late. Sky pierced through its colossal body like a hot machete through butter. The monstrosity fell to the ground. Sky crashed through some trees and everything went black.
When the others got to where Sky had fallen,he was covered in a mixture of blood and black goop.
"See Mr.Hardman," Freddy said,"you said he had no heart. Now he's covered in nothing but heart."

Sky High

"You'll come back to me won't you?"
"Ofcourse I will Ma'! I would just die without your cooking!"
"You promise?"
"I promise"
But Sky didn't know that for certain. He wasn't sure if any of them would return.
He had lied to his mother more times than he had ever hoped to and should have been used to the feeling by now. But on this day the feeling of lying to his dear sweet mother was even more sickening than usual. Worse than the time he had lied to her about taking any money from her purse. The feeling was crawling from the depths of his abdomen up to his throat with disgusting speed.
Sky. Quickly stopped packing his bag and rushed to his toilet. He bent over the bowl like he'd been punched in the gut by a gargantuan bully. In this case that bully was reality. His breakfast sprayed into the toilet bowl and hit the water like shit from a running tummy.
"Are you feeling alright Sky?" Even his mother had taken to calling him Sky now. She hadn't called him by his birth name in months. She affectionately called him by this name even though she had not known its origins.
"Yeah,I'm fine," he said wiping his right arm across his mouth,"just a little nervous I guess." He walked back to his bed where the duffle bag he had been packing lay open,his mother looking at him with concerned eyes.
"I want you to take this with you,it was your father's " she said. "I'd been saving it for your birthday,but..." She held a silver Cartier watch in her hand,a little aged but almost in perfect condition. Its glass barely had any scratches in it and its face,a beautiful saphire.
"Ma' you've been watching too many movies," Sky said smiling and closing her palm with the watch in it."I'll be back,I promise. You can give it to me then,as my reward." He smiled again and kissed her forehead.
The duffle bag was packed with all he needed,all that remained was his brown bomber jacket. This jacket was what he was wearing when he had first defied gravity and learnt he could fly. It had become his costume. His uniform. It had developed dark patches and scuffs over the years and recently the newer scuffs had stories behind them. Over the last year he had taken to vigilante acts and superheroism. And that was natural,wasn't it? When you found out you had super powers,you became a superhero. That was the unwritten law. You owed the ordinary populace that much,they were only mere mortals after all. You pursued justice. The kind of justice that sloppy,bribe-taking,fat police men could not deliver. The kind of justice you had to lie to your mum about (and get that sickening feeling when you did).The kind of justice that got him into this mess.
The man in the suit and bowler hat had told him his country needed him,heck his PLANET needed him. He said he was part of an organisation that looked into the activities and welfare of Supers. Sky thought to himself that the suit and bowler hat were a dead give away,he should have known the man represented some kind of secret organisation. And Suits always spoke with a certain authority,in a polite but matter-of-fact kind of tone.
Sky had boarded the plane now,along with the other recruits. Atleast the ones with the stones to take this flight. He was replaying the scene when he'd told his mother that he had been drafted by the army. Just a simple peace keeping mission he'd said. He'd even gotten The Suit to put an official looking stamp on a white envelope for him to show his Ma'. Thank goodness she wasn't the type to read documents and ask too many questions. If she had been,she would have been terribly shocked at the blank pages inside the envelope. And Sky would have been even sicker.
There may be no coming back from this one. Heck,I can almost guarantee none of you will return. So kiss your mothers,fuck your girlfriends good and make the best damn sandwiches you can;because you may never get the chance ever again.
That's what The Suit had said. And what he had said was probably stone cold truth. Wonder Man had fallen after all. Earth's mightiest defender had fallen at the hands of this evil threat The Suit had raged about. This menace was the baddest of the bad and the vilest of the scum that plagued our planet,and he had slain our hero. Wonder Man that beacon of justice that had burnt bright and inspired many had been put out like a cheap match dipped in water. And now this ragtag bunch of under trained and inexperienced Supers was supposed to neutralise this evil.
Sky had only discovered his abilities roughly two years ago. Smoking pot with his friends down at the ledge in the outskirts of Sugar Valley,his neighbourhood;was a regular feature of his day. Him and his gang had been stoned as an adulterous wife in a traditionalist Islamic country,and fooling around at the edge of the ledge. He fell over sideways to what seemed like his bloody demise,until he floated upward like the froth in an ice cold beer,much to the surprise of his mates. He hovered above them but didn't immediately realise what had transpired because he had covered his eyes. The name Sky came naturally.
"We are right above the drop!" The Suit shouted as the pilot steadied the plane."For those of you that can't fly,grab your parachutes and hop on out ladies! I wish you the best,and God speed! For king and country!....Or something like that!" He was trying his best to speak above the drone of the buzzing plane engines.
Well,Sky thought as he reached the door;here goes!