Prologue: Thanksgiving Dinner

One Autumn day in the village fruits and berries, just before sunrise, Samson and Maqsedeth (mak-see-deth) went out in search of game turkey for dinner that night. Samson had never hunted game before and today was the day Maqsedeth set aside to teach him how it was done. Samson is 6ft tall with broad shoulders, curly blond hair, blue eyes, a perfect tan, and an athletic build. On the contrary, Maqsedeth is two inches taller than him with broad shoulders, sleek brown hair, gray-green eyes, a perfect tan, and a very buff build. They both got dressed in full camouflage and packed a turkey vest for the both of them. Prior to this day, Maqsedeth had Samson practice shooting from a turkey gun until his aim was almost perfect. He also showed Samson how to use the box call and locator calls, which are the two calls he and Samson will be using on this hunting trip. So, Samson felt that he was ready as he followed Maqsedeth to the turkey habitat near the Golden Plains in front of the Magical Forest. Maqsedeth led Samson to the roost he had setup the night before and they snuck in near the location of the birds.

He began setting a ground blind right where they were standing and they quietly hid inside. Maqsedeth grabbed his turkey gun and started making crow calls until he finally saw a turkey fly down in the light of the dim sunrise breaking through the clouds. He then began using the box call to make turkey sounds. When the turkey got within 40 yards of where Maqsedeth’s and Samson’s ground blind was, Maqsedeth readied his turkey gun. He aimed it at the bird’s head, pulled the trigger and the bird squawked and fell to the ground.

“Samson, grab our bird,” Maqsedeth whispered.

Samson quickly left their ground blind and went to collect their turkey. Maqsedeth took a blood-proof game bag from their turkey vest and placed their bird inside. He packed the game bag inside their turkey vest, took down their ground blind and led Samson back to their home in the village Fruits and Berries.

While Samson cooked their breakfast, Maqsedeth scalded and plucked the turkey after which he removed the turkey’s head at the neck, cut off the wings, cleaned out its insides, removing the liver, heart and gizzard and separating them from the rest of the bird’s innards. He cut the feet at the joint, cut the tail at the base just above the gland and hosed the bird to remove the excess blood and lung tissue.

He let the bird sit in a brine for the rest of the day then he and Samson sat down to grits, eggs, and bacon. After breakfast, Samson and Maqsedeth cleaned their house, for that evening they were having company over. That afternoon, Maqsedeth put the turkey in the oven to bake so that it’d be ready in time for their thanksgiving dinner that evening. Later that evening, Samson and Maqsedeth were setting the table when the doorbell rang.

“I’ll get that,” Samson said as he went into the Foyer and opened the front door.

Standing on their porch was a tall slender male with brown skin, brown hair, and brown eyes. He wore a deep blue T-shirt, dirty blue jeans, and worn black boots. “Hey, hey! What’s up, Sam?” he said when he saw him.

Samson smiled, “Hi, Dan. It’s always good to see you,” he said.

“My man got it smelling like heaven in this place! Hey, Mr. Maqsedeth, what’s up, my man?”

“Hi, Dan,” Maqsedeth called from the living room. “It’s good to see you.”

“So, who else is supposed to be coming?” Samson asked Dan.

“Some of my homies, Jason and Ken may be on their way as well,” he replied as he followed him to the living room. “Do you mind if I reclined on ya’ll’s couch?”

“Naw, man make yourself at home,” Samson said as Dan sat across the couch. “Dinner will be ready in just a sec,” he added as he joined Maqsedeth in the kitchen.

A while later, the doorbell rang just as Samson and Maqsedeth were placing the turkey and the side dishes on the table. Samson was about to get the door when Dan stopped him, “It’s okay, man. I got it,” he said.

“Thanks, Dan,” Samson said as Dan went to the door. Samson and Maqsedeth finished setting the table just as they heard voices come from the living room.

“Hey, Dan. How you doing?” said the first voice.

“Doing good, Jay. How you and Ken getting along?” he heard Dan say.

“We’re getting along great,” Jason replied and Ken nodded in agreement.

“I want you guys to meet a friend of mine,” Dan said as he led Jason and Ken into the kitchen. “Well, a couple of friends of mine. This is Samson and Mr. Maqsedeth.”

“It’s nice to meet you guys. I’m Samson Cleopatra, but you can call me Sam,” Samson said.

“Hi, you can call me Maqsedeth,” Maqsedeth said.

Jason and Ken shook Samson’s and Maqsedeth’s hands, “It’s nice to meet you guys, too,” Ken said.

Maqsedeth and Samson led Jason, Ken, and Dan into the kitchen, “And you’re just in time, too,” Samson said. “We were just about to carve the turkey.”

Dan howled, “Alright, now that’s what I’m talking about! Nothing like nice home made cooking! I love it!”

Maqsedeth picked up the carving knife as Dan, Jason, and Ken took their seats around the kitchen table. Samson picked up a plate and handed it to Maqsedeth. He placed a slice of freshly carved turkey breast on it and Samson dropped a scoop each of dressing, green beans, and candied yams. He placed it on the table and looked at Dan, Jason, and Ken, “What part of the turkey would ya’ll like to have?” he asked.

Dan licked his lips, “Yeah, um, may I have one of the turkey legs, please?” he asked.

Samson gingerly picked up a plate and handed it to Maqsedeth who placed one of the turkey legs on it. Samson dropped a scoop each of green beans and candied yams and placed it in front of Dan. “Don’t eat, yet. Wait until everyone has been served, okay?” Samson cautioned.

“Jason? Ken? What part of the turkey would ya’ll like to have?” Samson asked them.

Jason and Ken exchanged looks and Jason sighed, “May I have the thigh of the turkey please?” he asked.

“Yeah, and I’ll have the other leg, please?” Ken said.

Samson smiled slightly, “One at a time, please?” he said as Maqsedeth placed the turkey thigh on the plate. Samson dropped a scoop each of dressing, green beans, and candied yams on the plate. He did that for the other plate as well, as Maqsedeth placed the other turkey leg on the plate. Samson placed the plate with the thigh in front of Jason and the plate with the leg in front of Ken. Maqsedeth took the last plate and placed a slice of freshly carved turkey breast, and a scoop each of dressing, green beans, and candied yams on it. He and Samson took their seats at the kitchen table.

“Why doesn’t Dan get any dressing, Samson?” Maqsedeth asked.

Samson, Jason, and Ken exchanged looks with each other. Samson cleared his throat, “Um, Dan doesn’t get any dressing because of his allergy, Father,” he stated.

“What’s his allergy?” Maqsedeth asked, taken aback.

“I’m allergic to gluten,” Dan replied, “which is a protein found in wheat or bread, so to speak.”

“Oh, okay,” Maqsedeth said, “that clears everything up. Let’s eat, shall we?”

After dinner, they went to the backyard of Samson and Maqsedeth’s house to play basketball. The air was much cooler than before because the sun had moved behind the trees and songs from the Rainbow Falls softly sounded in the distance as Samson picked the basketball up from the ground. He was about to pass it to Dan when he heard a loud whoop come from behind them. A guy in a black T-shirt, red shorts and white sneakers was trudging towards them.

“Hey ya’ll! Ya’ll mind if I join ya’ll for a game of basketball?” the guy called.

“Naw man, come on over. We were just getting started,” Samson said.

“Alright! Hey what up, Dan!” the guy said.

“What up, Trey!” Dan shouted back.

“Hey, Trey was it? My name is Samson,” Samson said.

“Nice to meet you. So, how’d you want to play this? Two teams or what?”

Samson nodded, “Yeah, two teams of three. Me, my father, and Jason against you, Dan and Ken.”

Trey nodded, “Alright, cool. That’s cool,” he said.

“Okay, let’s play,” Samson said as he passed the ball to Jason.

He dribbled the ball up the makeshift court, while Dan defended the basket, and shot the ball towards it. Samson jumped up, caught the ball and dunked it. Ken picked the ball up and passed it to Trey, who dribbled it between his legs as Maqsedeth blocked him. Trey passed the ball to Dan who shot it towards the basket but the ball clanked off the rim. Samson caught the ball in midair and shot it into the basket.

Trey whistled, “Nothin’ but net, right there!” he said. “How you gonna compete with that, Dan?”

Dan chuckled, “I got this next one,” he said as Ken passed him the ball. He dribbled it passed Jason, who was defending the basket and shot the ball towards the basket but it clanked again. Maqsedeth caught the ball before it touched the ground and dribbled it up the court. He shot the ball towards the basket and Samson jumped up, caught the ball in midair and dunked it. Maqsedeth picked the ball up from the ground, “Okay, guys, it’s getting late, but before we go back inside, our team will like to let the opposing team get a couple of shots from the charity stripe,” he said as he passed Ken the ball.

Ken shot the ball into the basket, Samson picked it up from the ground and passed it back to Ken. He shot the ball into the basket again before they all piled back inside Samson and Maqsedeth’s house just as the sun began to set. “Let me just go in here and clean up,” Maqsedeth said as he handed Samson the remote. “Turn on something we can all enjoy, okay Samson.”

Samson turned the TV on to the video input and put a movie on. Maqsedeth came in just as the intro was done playing and as soon as he took his seat on the couch, there was a knock on the door. Maqsedeth, Samson, and Ken exchanged looks, “Was there someone else coming? Dan? Jay? Ken?” Samson asked.

Dan, Jason and Ken shook their heads. “Just get the door, Samson,” Maqsedeth said, just as there was a second knock on the door. Samson went to the door and opened it to find a shaggy red head wearing goofy yellow glasses on the front porch. Samson looked around outside, confused, “Hey, um, can I help you?” he asked. “Are you lost?”

“Vengeance will be that of those forsaken

During the darkest days of the year

Destruction will become of the lone survivor

And his heir will fall to fear

If vengeance takes the quicker route

Chaos will be sure to appear

Where vengeance is Chaos is sure to ensue

Woe is you during the darkest days of the year”

Samson chuckled nervously, “Okay, what’s that supposed to mean?” he asked. “Who are ‘those forsaken’? And what about the ‘lone survivor’? Who is that? What is going on?”

“When the time comes, you’ll understand then,” the man said, “but you should know who were the forsaken already.”

Samson closed the front door, “What do you mean? Who were they?” he asked.

The man smiled and touched Samson on his shoulder. He immediately recalled their last day in the City of Aristotle. He and Maqsedeth awoke to a mighty earthquake and police officers were rushing into their house forcing them out the front door towards a designated boarding area. “Women and children will board first,” a man in uniform said. “Proceed in an orderly manner. As quick as you can.”

Samson, only five years old then, looked expectantly at his father, “Daddy, where’s Mommy?” he asked him.

Mary Ann, just waking up from the loud commotion, came to comfort him, “I’m here, my baby,” she said as she kissed his forehead. “Honey, what’s going on?” she asked Maqsedeth. She looked around at the disorderly mass of people at the boarding area and sighed, “And why are there men in uniform running through our house?”

Maqsedeth looked at her, “We’re being evacuated, sweetie,” he said.

“Really? Why come?”

“Something is coming.”

“What is coming?”

“Something big.”

The sky began to get dark as people were being ordered into carriages to be carried to an evacuation shelter. “Faster, people! Women and children first! Keep order here.” They heard an officer say.

People scurried as fast as they could towards the boarding area but the road split down the middle making a chasm about a yard wide down the entire length of the road. “The other way!” someone yelled as Devious the Deceitful Dragon rose from within it and blew fire in their faces. Everyone screamed as officers worked to keep the order in the area. Devious snapped up a few of the officers and some citizens of the City of Aristotle and roared loudly.

Maqsedeth and Mary Ann kept a tight grip on Samson as the earthquake got worse. “Daddy, Mommy, I’m scared,” Samson said.

“Don’t worry, baby. Everything’s gonna be alright,” Mary Ann said as she picked him up to comfort him.

Amidst the screams of terror surrounding them, Mary Ann and Maqsedeth were able to register the sound of hooves and more carriages approaching their designated boarding area. A bugle sounded in the distance and the officers and some of the citizens parted as the patriarch came forward. The officers saluted but Juan, the patriarch, waved his hand dismissively, “At ease, soldier. You don’t have to salute,” he said. “Now, we must get everyone on board. I brought more carriages, so Captain you know what to do. Officers, make sure no one is left behind and Ptolemy, I need you close okay. We never know how long we have before Devious returns to finish what he started. Let’s get to work.”

The officers quickly ordered the citizens of the City of Aristotle into carriages, always careful that women and children boarded first. Pretty soon almost all of the carriages were full, and they almost stopped boarding when Juan ordered them to over board them. By the time they were done, Juan saw that they were short some carriages and he began to get discouraged.

“Sir, what’s wrong?” Ptolemy asked him.

Juan sighed, “I thought we ordered more carriages to be here for the evacuation,” he said.

“We did, sir, but the Board of Representatives office of the End of the World are not responding,” Ptolemy replied with an exasperated sigh. “And the Golden Twinkle kingdom said this was all they had. Sir, what are we gonna do?”

Juan sighed, “We’ll try to make this work,” he said. “I need you to get our troops ready for battle. We have no idea when Devious will be back�"”

“Mommy! No! I want my mommy! Dad, help!” he heard a child cry.

“Sir, I’m gonna have to ask you and your family to step away from the boarding area. I’m really sorry, but we can’t board you, sir. Step away from the boarding area,” an officer said.

“Ptolemy, go and see what the problem is, okay?” Juan said.

“Yes, sir,” Ptolemy said as he went back to the boarding area. There he found a young family with a small child being forced away from the boarding area. The child was blonde with rosy cheeks and blue eyes, and the man was tan with brown hair and gray-green eyes. The officer was trying to explain to the man that there was no more room for anyone else to board so they’d have to stay here until they could get some more carriages.

That’s not gonna happen. No more carriages are coming, Ptolemy thought, horrified that the officer would suggest such a thing. He approached the officer, “Excuse me, do we have a problem here?” he asked him.

The officer became nervous, “Uh, no sir, there’s no problem,” he said.

“Then, what’s the commotion about?”

“Uh, this man, uh, was confused about the standard boarding procedures.”

Ptolemy crossed his arms, “Are you gonna continue to lie to me?” he asked.

“Uh, no sir.”

“Then get to it.”

“Uh, well we can’t board them. There’s no more room on the carriages. They’ll have to stay here and wait for more carriages.”

“Board them, and that’s an order!”

“Y-yes, sir. Right this way.”

Just as the man had gotten Maqsedeth, Mary Ann, and Samson to the boarding area and was about to board them, another officer came over and tried to stop them from boarding.

“We have no more space, sir. We can’t board them,” the officer said.

“I have orders from the Patriarch to board them,” the other officer replied.

“Oh yeah? Well, you can tell the Patriarch to�"”

“To what?” Ptolemy asked.

The officer went silent. “Well? Do we have a problem here? I have orders from the Patriarch to keep this line going,” Ptolemy said.

“We have no more space on these carriages! So that order is bull!” the officer said through his teeth.

“The Patriarch is the highest authority in the land. If you disobey his order, I have a warrant to arrest you,” Ptolemy retorted.

The officer glared at him but said nothing. Ptolemy signaled to the other officer to go ahead and board Maqsedeth, Mary Ann, and Samson on the carriage but before they could get on the carriage very good, the officer who opposed him rushed over to force them off the carriage. Ptolemy pulled him away from them and restrained him. He handed the man off to a troop just as the ground began to tremble tremendously. “Get everyone on those carriages, now!” Juan ordered. Everyone rushed to the boarding area just as the ground broke beneath them swallowing them whole. Even Mary Ann was taken alive.

“Mommy!” Samson cried.

“Get everyone out of here, now!” Juan ordered. “Ptolemy, over here beside me.”

The carriages took off just as the rest of city was swallowed whole. Juan, Ptolemy, and the rest of the soldiers faced Devious the Deceitful Dragon on the grassy area near the Treacherous Mountain just as the carriages disappeared from sight.

Samson bounced back to reality, when the man removed his hand from his shoulder, and gasped, “Mom,” he said. “She’s one of those forsaken. She’s coming back for revenge? Why? And who is the lone survivor?”

“Samson? Are you alright?” Maqsedeth called from inside, “You’ve been out here for awhile.” When he saw who Samson was talking to, he was confused, “Who is this? Please tell me you weren’t talking to this weird man from the streets.”

“Father, he’s not from the streets,” Samson said. He looked at the man with the shaggy red hair, “Will you answer my questions?” he asked him.

The man smiled, “You’ll understand when the time comes, but not now. You’ll see me again soon,” he said as he turned and walked away. Once the man was gone, Maqsedeth turned to Samson, “You missed the movie,” he said.

Samson was still shaken up from his meeting with the man with the shaggy red hair that he didn’t even register that Maqsedeth had spoken.

“Samson,” Maqsedeth said.

“Yes, Father?” he said.

“Are you alright?” Maqsedeth asked.

“Yes, I’m fine,” Samson said. “Father, may I ask you something?”

“Yes son. Ask on.”

“How was the new City of Aristotle saved from the cataclysm? What happened?”

“Well, according to legend, Devious the Deceitful Dragon kept with him the strongest sword and strongest power ever to be made on planet Eros, by me of course, and both are now sealed beneath the restored City of Aristotle in slumber along with that terrible dragon in the Ghost Town. Why?”

“I was just wondering.”

“Samson, what did that man tell you?”

“Some silly rhyme, but it might have been a prophecy. He said something about the forsaken of the cataclysm getting their revenge, some lone survivor and his heir, and something about the darkest days of the year. I don’t know what it means yet.”

“You really think it was a prophecy? You think you received a prophecy from that hipster? No way, son! Come inside.” Maqsedeth led Samson back towards their front door and was about to enter when Samson stopped him.

“Wait, Father,” he said.

“Yes, son?”

“Is the City of Aristotle safe?”

“Of course, son.”

“What if someone gets the idea to steal the strongest sword and strongest power? What then?”

“Don’t worry, son. No one on planet Xerox can steal those items.”

“How do you know they won’t?”

“Because only an Erosian can release them. Now, come inside. It’s time for you and your friends to go to bed.”

“Come on, Father. It’s Thanksgiving. We can stay up for as long as we want.”

“Not as long as I can help it.”

Author's Note

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