SHORT FAT STUBBY FINGER STORIES PRESENTS:  THE FINAL COUNTDOWN

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Episode 87

The chief inspector shook his head in a mixture of disbelief at what he was hearing, and horror at the thought of walking over the dead.  It produced images he felt would never truly leave his mind;     ‘Nightmares in waiting’, he commiserated to himself,

  ‘KABOOOOOM!’ Almost on cue the next rumble of thunder rocked the building, and a flash of lightening lit the room up as if it was the middle of the day.

  “I was not aware that we were expecting a storm.”  Chief Inspector O’Reilly noted calmly as his mind tried its best to deal with what Joseph had been telling him.  “We could do with a bit of rain.”
  Joseph winced at the sound, but said nothing about the oncoming storm.

He was more afraid of what it meant than worrying about a bit of rain.  “I am afraid our time is really running out, chief inspector.”  He remarked patiently.  “We need to finish this conversation before it is too late.  There is a creature that resides in space and travels throughout the seven universes, there are seven, according to the guardians, and the creature’s entire contributions to the meaning of life is to destroy it, by consuming it.  The creature is known under various names; The Punjaniti, Rangor, among them.  He appears to be capable of expanding his body from the size of a field mouse to that of a creature able to circumnavigate an entire planet and suck the life out of it … literally, in one sweep … which is what it does.  And at the moment, Planet Earth is on its bucket list.

  Again, without warning, the thunder roared through the building as the walls shifted slightly, and several hundred years of accumulated dust in the ancient monument to law and order in the village began floating down upon them. 

  “And now it seems that the creature is on its way.  Do you think that is a storm you are hearing?”

  “Oh, Joseph.  What is going on here.  I said that I would hear you out, but what you are telling me is absolute rubbish.  It’s just a storm coming.  We do have storms in the village, you know.”  Chief inspector O’Reilly snorted, desperately trying to get the thought of reality out of his mind “and how can this creature be on its way if it is still waiting to be invited?”
  “There is far too much involved to tell you everything, chief inspector.  Joseph snapped, his voice rising,  “Rangor is of the opinion that its minions have possession of the statue, but they haven’t.  But that is to do with his actual arrival on Earth.  In the meantime, I have already told you the creature has the capability to produce a doppelganger proxy of himself which has limited capabilities, but dangerous capabilities never-the-less.  The proxy has the capability of communicating with inhabitants of the planet, mind-to-mind, or being used to kill a proposed victim.  The proxy is, for all sake and purpose, Rangor.  And while Rangor lacks the ability to carry out any physical deeds such as destroying a prospective victim while they are on a protected planet.  Instead, when required, he extends a greater energy to the proxy, using the same source that supplies the power for his total existence. and uses mind power to initiate any physical action.  And, on top of all that, the proxy uses the rubies to destroy his victims.  I told you earlier the rubies come from a planet in the second universe and contain elements way beyond our full comprehension.  There are elements in the rubies that allow the proxy to hone onto its intended victims by a pulse transmission it emits; this takes place when a ruby has been planted on the proposed victim by one of Rangor’s minions and activated; special rubies that transmit a signal through space to the proxy to guide it to the victim or victims.  These signals can be activated in various ways by the minions, or by Rangor himself depending whether it is the minions or Rangor that want the deaths to take place.  Remember, neither one wants the deaths to be noticed for what they really are: murder.  Both parties prefer the attacks take place out of sight of the public and authorities, and the best way of achieving that is by using the proxy. 

  The rubies also are used to completely destroy the victims.  There are various elements in the rubies, and one of them allows heat to build up inside it, and that heat can be expanded to a built-up volume that completely deletes any life-forms it comes in contact with. And a variety of solid items to boot, when connected to Rangor’s mind. 

  Similarly, when the ruby is activated, the proxy receives a signal which it locks into.  The pulse the ruby emits becomes the proxy’s eyes, and controls the movement of the proxy up to the point the victim is located when normal visualisation returns.  The proxy follows the signal until it locates the ruby, and then begins to feed Rangor’s power into the ruby.  The ruby absorbs the power the proxy transmits to it, then processes it before releasing it through-out the victim’s body until it reaches boiling point, at which stage, the ruby itself explodes with so much force it destroys both itself, and the victim.”

  When the next clap of thunder arrived, it was so violent that the chief inspector literally jumped in his chair.  Something warned Joseph to look upwards, and he somehow managed to move himself out of harm’s way as a portion of a column centred in one corner of the chief inspector’s office broke free and shattered on the floor only inches from where he had been sitting.

  “I’m surprised the village has survived for so long if all of your storms are so violent.”  Joseph remarked caustically, but was surprised when he saw how ashen Chief Inspector O’Reilly’s face had become; the surge of power that had been emitted outside in the village had obviously unsettled him.

  “No, they are usually much milder.”  O’Reilly admitted a tad nervously,

  “I don’t think that I have ever noticed one of such intensity.”

  A light went on in Joseph’s head; he knew that he had one ace up his sleeve, and judging by the expression on the chief inspector’s face he was vulnerable – this was the time to play it.

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