Tales From Brightburn City... Hawke: Eternal Rain.

Chapter 9- Surprise.

(Hawke and Sinclair approach the docks; the rain had let up a bit, but it continued to drizzle.

There was an unusual calmness about the place; no one could be seen for at least a mile. The place was a ghost town.

Hawke drove through to where the units were, the security barrier was raised, and there was nobody stationed at the post. The smog slowly started to dissipate as they moved in towards unit 5.

As they got closer, through the smog, two black vans were parked up outside the unit. Hawke pulled over, about 100 yards from where they were parked,  he then turned off his engine.)

“Right, books, we’ll go around the back.”

“We’ll see if we can find an entrance. Something doesn’t seem right about this place. It looks like they are anticipating the arrival of something.”

“Have your pistol drawn and stay close; try not to make a sound.”

(Sinclair looked nervous, but this is the stuff Hawke was born to do, so she kept close whilst they stepped out of the vehicle and made their way around the back of the units.)

The Trident has all the gangs running scared. I haven’t witnessed scenes like this since the Italian mafia was run out of the city by the Russians. With all their leaders locked up in hell, panic starts to set in.

It’s similar to the military. Once the commander has been downed, there’s no strategic advantage or even order, so the soldiers are sitting ducks. Much like these punks locked in this unit.

(Hawke and Sinclair arrive at the back of unit 5. The bushes were overgrown, but Hawke stomps down the brambles and moves in with Sinclair close by.)

“Look, Hawke, a break In the wall, it’s just enough for us to crawl through. You go through. I’ll follow you in.”

(Hawke gets down on his hands and knees, the thorns on the brambles piercing his skin as he crawls through the gap. Sinclair looks left to right, then gets down onto her knees and follows him in.)

“Jeez, Hawke, your skin must be tough as iron.”

(Sinclair says as Hawke quickly puts his hand over her mouth to interrupt her, he notices something quite disturbing.)

“Shhh…”

“Look over there; they’re barely old enough to drink.”

(Hawke points over to where 3 young adults were crouched down behind a large crate, armed and shivering, scared to death, shaking like a leaf in the wind.

Holding it together, as whatever was on its way would end their existence, like an ant meeting the sole of a boot.

Hawke moves through the unit as he notices more youths hiding out of sight.

Suddenly, the heavens opened, the sound of the rain crashing off the steel roof was deafening, and thunder started to boom throughout the sky.

A larger-than-usual thud hits the roof of the unit, the youths become startled and start to panic; some even burst into tears. Hawke guides Sinclair into the shadows and silently whispers to her.)

“Call for backup, whatever you do, stay in the shadows, do not follow me, only come out when backup arrives.”

(CRASH!! A fireball smashes into the unit, through the smoke, a figure stood still on the deck, it was the Trident. It began to scan around looking for the gang members as if it could smell their presents. The Trident started to walk through the many crates that were scattered about the unit. Panic had set in as some of the youths began blubbering, you could just about hear a faint lord’s prayer but then, one of the fear-struck youths began to shout in Spanish whilst tears ran down his face, he then began to open fire on the Trident.

The Trident stood there unfazed by the outburst, the bullets had no effect as it comfortably absorbs them. Then it began to raise its hand towards the boy, the boy stood still, fear overwhelming his posture, as he had run out of ammo. The boy began to scurry about, trying to attach a new clip to his gun. Then the Trident clenches his fist; the boy was frozen, screaming out in pain, as the trident held his fate in the palm of his hand. Then with ease, the Trident crushes the boy, as his blood and guts burst like a grape. His blood washed over the remaining youths.  The remaining boys were scared for their existence, as they were crying and screaming as they just witnessed the fate of their former friend. They jump out from behind their cover, eager to avenge their former friend, and begin to open fire whilst screaming for their lives.

The Trident shows no mercy as he begins to slaughter the gang members one by one.

Quickly, in a rage, Hawke picks up the closest thing possible, as the bullets were having no effect; he runs out of the shadows with a large pole.)

“They’re just kids, you son of a bitch!”

(Hawke dives over the crates, evading bullets. As Hawke darts towards the Trident; the gang members freeze as they notice his efforts; Hawke launches 200 pounds of body weight at the Trident and drives the pole into its chest, with enough force that it perforated straight through its midriff.

The Trident drops to one knee; it then grips Hawke in one hand and throws him across the unit.

Hawke ragdolls through a wall and crashes into some lockers. Hawke lay still. The Trident fall’s onto its back wounded. Then just as the young boys circle where it lay,  a portal opens around the Trident's body. The trident falls through the portal and is gone for now.

Hawke takes a deep breath and releases a huge sigh, as He lies in the rubble of the wall he crashed through, and the many lockers bent and buckled around him.

The chaos is no more; the police arrive at the scene with their blue lights illuminating the area, and officers begin swarming in. The battle was won for now, but the war was not over yet. The remaining youth surrounded Hawke as he staggered to his feet.)

“Thank you, sir. You saved our lives.”

(A few of the youths said, relief was written on their face, they looked at Hawke as if he was some sort of hero but remained devastated as a few of their brothers answered to the wrath of the Trident.)

“You need to leave town; don’t come back. Some of you were lucky this time, next time you won’t be, think of all your brothers you lost, and at what cost? Stay in school, as your life depends on it.”

(Sinclair came out of the shadows, for she witnessed everything. She puts an arm around Hawke as they move out to the officers approaching the scene.)

“Sinclair, make sure those kids make it out of town; get as much info on El Gordo as you can. I’m heading to the Wishing Well. I need a drink.”

(Sinclair grabs Hawke by the hand to stop him from leaving.)

“I will. At least wait for a paramedic, please. You know Hawke, it was hard to believe at first but the way it just burst open those youths, it makes sense that it could take out mass amounts of people at once, but what about their leaders.”

(Hawke sat down on the hood of a patrol car, gripping his ribs, as one may be broken. He turned his head up to where Sinclair was standing.)

“They’re alive but imprisoned in Hell. To the Trident, killing the minions is like a sport. But the leaders, he keeps them like trophies, Imprisoning them in Hell; from time to time, he lets the demonic entities torment them; like its some sick game.”

“He won’t kill you if you’re a good person; it’s the corruption he’s after, but I don’t agree with it. All criminals should be tried and judged for their crimes. Not just culled like sheep.”

(Hawke reaches into his pocket and pulls out his carton of cigarettes, one final cig remains in the packet, so Hawke slides it out, grabs a match, strikes it off his stubble and begins to smoke.)

(The night draws in. Hawke and Sinclair are at the bar in the Wishing Well. Hawke was enjoying his fresh carton of smokes and sipping on some cheap Irish whiskey; they were both going over all the info they got from the young gang members.)

“So what they told me is that El Gordo is off the grid underground in some secluded spot out east.”

(Sinclair says as she sips on her drink.)

“No one but 3 guys know the exact location, his 2 enforcers, and well, this one is a bit weird, but his runner, Jericho. I watched him grow as a kid; I knew his mother. He’s not a bad lad, just misled. He never really had guidance from a father figure. So, he craves it from El Gordo.”

(Hawke turns to Sinclair whilst exhaling a cloud of smoke in her direction.)

“I can guarantee that if we find Jericho, we get that location.”

“Right, let’s finish this bottle and get back home. We’ll get a fresh start in the morning; we’re coming for you, Jerry boi.”

(Sinclair smiles.)

(Hawke and Sinclair enjoy the rest of their night, drinking the remains of the bottle).

(Hour’s pass. The time is eleven-fifty, Hawke and Sinclair Have finished their elixir. Sinclair gets up and puts her hand on Hawke’s shoulder.)

“Right Hawke, I’m off. I’ll see you at work.”

(Hawke was busy smoking a cigarette when he replies.)

“OK, Books, I’m not far behind you, I’m just gonna finish this cig.”

(Sinclair leaves the bar. Hawke sits for a moment and finishes his cigarette. He then waves over to Jan; Jan was clearing up the glasses on the tables.)

“See you tomorrow, Jan, I’ll have another one of those bottles, so don’t go selling them all.”

(Hawke grabs his smokes and walks out the door. The rain was pouring still, but Hawke did not care, as he walked down the street towards his apartment,

Suddenly, the lights in the city go out. Hawke is in complete darkness as he continues home.
“Not this shit again.”
Hawke said as he continues down the sidewalk. Then, one lonely street light flickered on. Let and behold, 2 figures stood under the light; it was the homeless man and his dog. Hawke still wanted to ask him a few questions so he started to wave him over.)

“Hey you, stay there. I need to ask you a few questions.”

(Hawke began to cross the road, but then the man started to run, his dog was tied to its hip, as it was not far behind.)

“Wait, come back here.”

(Hawke began to chase the man down the road. The man and his dog ran down a back alley, which was just off the street. Hawke follows them in, turning many corners and evading dumpsters. Something falls from the rooftops and bashes him on the head, sending him flying to the ground. Hawke lands in a pile of trash, he pulls himself out of the dump and gets back to his feet, brushing off the remains of someone else’s dinner. Hawke then stumbles around one final corner...)

“Surprise!”

(The devil was there standing with the Trident and Jay.)

“You can’t just let it be. Can you, Hawke, you leave me no choice”

(Jay was all over the devil, joined at his hip like she was his mistress or some cat craving attention. The Trident stood emotionless, hooded up, and smouldering like a mindless soldier. The devil made his way over to where Hawke stood.)

“I’m personally going to enjoy this, you though Mr Hawke, not so much.”

(The devil goes to grab Hawkes face, but Hawke shoves him off and takes a swing, clocking the devil clean in the jaw.)

“Get the fuck off me, you son of a bitch. I took your Trident down once already, stay out of my city as I’m not going to stop.”

(Hawke takes another swing, clocking the devil once again. The devil staggers back and wipes his mouth.)

“There is a lot of anger in you Hawke; that’s perfect. You’ll do just fine.”

(A portal opens up underneath where Hawke was standing.  Rats scurry away as a rumble began to shake the ground beneath them. Alarms of buildings and cars begin to ring out. The devil waves at Hawke.)

“See you soon Mr Hawke, we are going to have so much fun.”

(Hawke shouts out in a rage.)

“You son of a bitch!”

(Hawke falls into the portal and once again begins to plummet into the abyss.)

(