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Issue # 1.03: Skullduggery
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Only one man in the room was bewildered at how easily the knife was disregarded by the seemingly supernatural intruder – our hero Buddy Baker. Though, he would soon learn that this wasn’t just because of how his body wouldn’t move but also due to [i]technicality[/i]. As the monster encroached ever closer, Buddy soon got a clearer look – it was a full-on skeleton man like that from a 1920s Walt Disney Halloween cartoon. However, this one was covered in leather in the form of a jacket with logo embroideries of pit stops and a reproduction German Stahlhelm… 

It was a [i][b]skeleton biker[/b][/i]. There was no getting around the absurdity of it all, which might have contributed to Buddy’s curiosity-fueled paralysis at that moment in time.

Though while he acted like a deer in headlights, the butcher retaliated in the manner that a buck in heat would and charged in head first at their foe. Just moments before the point of impact, antlers had suddenly grown from butcher’s scalp which made contact with the cranium of the skeleton. The sound of a skull cracking and crumbling resonated through the shop, with a piece of the decaying osseous form falling to the ground. However, the being did not flinch nor react not unlike before. It grabbed on to the butcher’s horns in an attempt to wrest them away from. Others soon poured into the entrance and grabbed on to the butcher as well.

[color=FAFD0F]“Baker, I say this once more. We must leave now. The Butcher will protect us as we make our escape.”[/color] Socks would state, this time pawing at Buddy’s leg. 

Though he nodded in agreement with his feline companion, a look of concern for the butcher would stay on Buddy’s visage as he picks up Socks and makes for the back of the store. Just like the store front, various slaughtered stocks of meat were placed on hooks in the backroom storage area. These ones were still bloody. Or at least they were before a visibly accelerating decay had started to affect the ones closest to the emergency exit which meant they were just on the other side. Shambling, scary skeletons soon started shrieking, shattering slaughter store's short serene silence.  

[color=FAFD0F]“They are outside, awaiting us. Prepare yourself.”[/color] Socks would state after a hiss. 

What did he mean by [b]prepare[/b] though! His guide Silenos didn’t even get to explain why he was chosen, let alone what he’s capable of doing now aside from apparently pass out on the command of random barn animals. Now wasn’t the time to panic, even though he started doing that the moment Socks said to prepare himself. Stupid cat can’t eve- Wait. There it was, the solution to his problem laying in a corner on a tool rack: a captive bolt gun. 

[color=3865A9]“I’ve seen enough anti-meat ads on Youtube to know this’ll crack some skulls!”[/color] Buddy triumphantly states, with a nervous grin. As he picked it up, a fly had landed on his nose, prompting him to wave his hand in front of his face in an effort to drive it away. The rotting meat was now attracting carrion-eaters. This wouldn’t stop Buddy though as he battered down the exit door. A small number of the nightmarish monsters had mobbed around the door but the sudden swing knocked back a couple of the shamblers, giving Buddy the opportunity to use his humane weapon to kill these inhumane creatures. As the metal met bone, the quick release of compressed air shattered the first skeleton’s skull!

But that would be it for his bolt gun as a bullet jacket fell to the ground, causing the tool to stop operating. The justified panic soon turned up to a degree that would wet one’s pants, though Buddy wouldn’t immediately notice this due to one of the remaining skeletons decking him in the face with reckless abandon. Even without flesh, the impact of a fist on your face still hurts. Reeling and falling to one knee, another skeleton proceeded to rush towards Buddy while wielding a sharp skull shard of his fallen comrade.

In that moment of desperation, a soothing force surged throughout Buddy. It felt like adrenaline but it made his mind clear. He then focused his sight on the fly that had earlier landed on his face, sensing a connection. It was as if time had slowed down but his thoughts did not. Only the buzzing of the insect’s wings could be heard by Buddy as he carefully used the metal deadweight he was wielding to block and bash his enemy brain case. This time dilation allowed our newbie hero to methodically disarm – literally – his opponents as continued the melee. However, the mob of monsters did not stop and soon he would be surrounded. It would be at this time that Socks jumped up to his shoulder to whisper to his ear.

[color=FAFD0F]“Fly, you fool.”[/color] his companion would state. With the buzzing still in his mind, Buddy suddenly got off the ground though he had no wings and began to take flight. Erratically and flying in a spiraling pattern like that of a fly, the pair would successfully evade the skeletons, emergency staircases, clotheslines and AC units as they crash landed on to the rooftop of the neighboring apartment building. Before Buddy could catch his breath, an explosion could be heard from the butcher shop which soon engulfed it in fire. 

[color=3865A9]“Oh Christ, we need to get out of here.” [/color]he would state in shock. Leaping in single bounds with the agility of a cat, he would traverse the city’s rooftops to get away from the site of his first foray.