Island

[Sauce Mama]

Wow Shin! That was great! I cant wait to read more of this.

[I'M A TRASH CAN]

Awesome Chapter!

[shin]

Here comes Episode 2!

EPISODE 2 – JUNGLE

Two days have passed since the castaways awoke on the island. Since then, many have learned more about their abilities, but little about their whereabouts or why they were even there. None of them dared to venture from the relative safety of their cove… until their rations were cut short by Mr. Blob and his seemingly endless appetite.

“THAT BLOB ASSHOLE DOWNED MY BEEF JERKY!” Lou yelled at the top of his lungs.

Johnny frantically tried to calm him down, and William suggested that they search the island for food.

“No need to be so rough. He looks very well-fed anyway, no? Besides, I’m sure there are some chickens… or at least something that’d taste good grilled. I’m getting tired of eating refried beans anyway. I’d go fishing, but the sea looks dead… extremely clear, and I haven’t seen anything while I waded out there.”

Jay decided to volunteer.

“I have this invisibility thing going on. Maybe I can sneak up on the wildlife, all quiet-like. I might need some manpower to back me up if it gets nasty, though.”

A malicious smile grew on Omallama’s face. He saw an opportunity.

“Hey, uh… Jay. Yeah, Jay, right?... I’ll go with you, buddy.”

Sensing some evil intent, Johnny prepares to interfere, but Jay quickly shakes Omallama’s hand.

“Sure, when do you intend on going out there?”

Omallama twitches slightly as he draws back his hand. He joyfully replies, “Any time you’re ready… hehe.”

Within a few hours, Jay and Omallama set out. With the sun reaching the top of the sky, they hastily try to find any trace of potential food as the heat bears down.

As they approach a clearing, Omallama suddenly lunges at Jay from behind.

“YOU LITTLE BITCH. I’VE GOT YOU RIGHT WHERE I WANT YOU! GET READY TO SQUEAL LIKE A PIG.”

He quickly punches at Jay’s face, but misses narrowly. The impact disintegrates the ground beneath them.

Mandy senses a slight tremor, but shrugs it off as she helps Michael with target practice.

Amidst the dust, Jay quickly disappears and sneaks his way out of the crater. Omallama looks around in maniacal glee, and shouts: “YOU CAN’T RUN FOR LONG, YOU LITTLE FUCK! THIS IS SOME REAL DAVID AND GOLIATH SHIT HERE, AND YOU DON’T STAND A CHANCE.”

As Omallama begins his frenzied search, Jay starts quickly shaking off the dust on his clothes. He begins to run, but soon trips on a small felled tree. Omallama finds him reeling in pain, and props him up against a nearby rock.

Maniacally smiling, Omallama forms his fist, and prepares to take aim straight for his jugular.

“I always wondered what would happen if I hit someone with this force right by the neck… maybe it’ll lop your stupid head clean off. Maybe I should just uppercut you and see if your spine comes out! Aaahhh, shit, just thinking about it gets me going so bad!”

Jay winces and prepares for his seemingly inevitable death. But as Omallama’s fist nears his face, a peculiar thing happens.

His fist suddenly explodes in his face, spraying blood in all directions. His arm gradually followed, seemingly contorting and stretching itself as it disintegrated up to his shoulder.

Jay struggles to rise, looking down on Omallama as he grabs for what was left of his right arm. The skin from his wrist up to just before his shoulder lay flat, almost like a filet. The blood constantly poured from the gaping hole where Omallama’s arm once sat.

Then, from the thick undergrowth, two figures appear.

“He’s still alive, just like you asked…”

“Leave him to me, Yoon Ah. He’s got something I want.”

The male figure walks over to Omallama-- still clinging on to life, but only just. He kneels down and grabs his head.

After what seemed like an eternity of silence, Omallama starts screaming and flailing. Every orifice in his body began to bleed, and Jay could only look on in horror.

The man decided to put down his head, and Omallama fell to the ground with no sign of life.

Jay prepared to run once again, but he suddenly felt immobile. He noticed Yoon Ah holding out an arm to him, and began to struggle even harder.

“Let him go”, the man said.

Yoon Ah dropped her arm. Jay felt the tension in his body release, but he still stood frozen in fright.

The mysterious stranger walked closer, and promptly introduced himself.

“I know why you’re here, and because of that, I’ll make this short.

I’m Shin.

Do you want to live?”

[I'M A TRASH CAN]

[E.V.I.L.]

Chapter one was amazing! I have still yet to read C2 though

[Macseed]

Chapter one was amazing! I have still yet to read C2 though

READ EET

[shin]

Howdy!

Shin here with a little Christmas extra.

Due to an anticipated delay in the next two episodes, I have compiled a soundtrack for "Island".

It contains original album art, with each character's track being given a different cover.

If you haven't been keeping up, the covers themselves also represent each character's abilities/backgrounds-- some even do a little foreshadowing.

The songs are also specially chosen for each character.

The .rar also contains the main theme for "Island", Devin Townsend's "Kingdom" and a special track dedicated to a yet-to-be-revealed character.

Download it here! (.rar file)

[shin]

Here's Episode 3!

"ENCOUNTER"

Back at the camp, Johnny Wumbo is faced with a frustrating problem.

“I feel like I can't even get 100 yards past the shoreline... what the hell is going on?”

“What's stopping you?” Lou asked.

“Seems like there's some mad strong force. Like an invisible wall, y'know? I know I can reach out farther than this-- I've gone clear across one side of this island to the other before...”

William dropped in on the conversation, “I doubt whoever left us here wanted us to leave... on that subject, did anyone catch the helicopters flying around after dark?”

Mandy raised her hand and said, “Yeah... I could feel the vibrations they were leaving in the air too. So weird... kept me up last night. Kinda makes me worried too... Jay and Omallama still haven't returned.”

Suddenly, Mandy felt a series of faint tremors.

“Wait... Can you hear that?”

A flurry of rotors, not unlike a thunderstorm crescendos from the distance.

“There must be ten, twelve of them... what the hell are they doing here again?” Johnny thought to himself.

Mandy spoke with a slight tone of worry.

“It's not a flyover like last time-- it sounds like they're landing somewhere.”

Michael hopped up, extremely enthusiastic, and sprinted towards the jungle.

“It must be rescue! They came here to save us!”

“God damn it, Michael! Get back here!”

Lou sighed in frustration. “Ah... fuck. Should we go after him, Johnny boy?”

“Well, it could be rescue. If we follow him, we--”

Before Johnny could continue, screaming and gunshots interjected his words.

The entire group suddenly stood up, alert.

Faint chatter could be heard.

“Subject: Michael has been neutralized.”

“Send medevac here, one of my boys got some serious acid exposure.”

“Shit, Jack, your leg! Damn freak melted it clean off...”

After what felt like an eternity of silence, Michael's bullet-riddled body flew out of the bush with incredible speed, then landed violently in the sand.

“Hm... well, I guess we don't need to catch up to him now.”

“Agh, Johnny, this isn't time for your black humor shit! It's obvious they're not here to airlift us out.”

Lou cracked his knuckles and an aggressive demeanor took over his face.

“They'll pay. They don't know who they've crossed.” Omega's body suddenly became coated in metal.

The sound of an entire battalion's boots crunching through undergrowth drew closer and closer, until it transitioned into automatic weapons fire.

Omega signaled everyone to quickly huddle behind him as he gave cover, extending his arm into a broad shield.

Behind him, William hastily began to give them orders.

“Alright, this is how it'll go. Omega will charge up and break their formation, and all of you disperse. Take as many as you can handle, but don't go too crazy. I don't want friendly fire. I'm honestly not sure if we're going to die now, but if we do, we might as well go with more bark than whimper.”

Lou scoffed and clenched his fists.

“We're fucking super-powered, kid! I think we can handle a couple dozen grunts each, no problem.”

William dryly smiled, then turned to Omega.

“Okay, guys! Three, two, one...”

Omega began to charge, with everyone following behind.

As Omega drew closer, spikes protruded out of his shield.

He busted through the formation, impaling several soldiers along the way.

“BREAK!” William shouted.

Everyone quickly scattered and took on several men each.

M stayed behind Omega, then leapt ahead of him.

He pulled out what looked like a noose, snuck up behind a soldier, and loosely tied it around his neck.

The soldier suddenly froze. A grin grew on M's face as the soldier starts firing towards his own group.

Lou stormed through a group of twelve soldiers with remarkable speed and ease. It became obvious that his advanced age was not impeding on his ability to fight, and that his abilities only augmented his talent.

“HUTTAH, MOTHERFUCKER! That'll teach you to mess with Lou Scannon!”

Mandy threw her fist down to the ground, and a massive shockwave leveled the fauna, while scattering the men converging on her around the forest.

Johnny dodged the fire and melee with unbelievable ease, teleporting around the battle sporadically. He then hatched a devious idea. He stood at a clearing with his left arm extended, then appeared right behind one of the armed assailants. His extended arm suddenly manifested itself within the soldier's head, punching out his face and leaving a gaping circular maw.

Dick Stevens seemed to have no trouble dodging the bullets. He was running along with William, who quickly picked up one of the fallen men's guns.

“Here! You'll be able to do a lot more with this than I could hope.”

Dick checked the clip. It was fully loaded.

“Oh hell yes. I'm gonna be scoring so many brownie points for being the hero now.”

With haste, Dick quickly unloaded on a handful of men.

Box screamed, “AAAHHH!! LEVEL NINE FIRE SPELL GOOOOO!!!!”

The air around him was suddenly engulfed in flames. After it died out, all that remained was half a dozen piles of ash where his enemies stood. He jumped in joy, oblivious to them and started skipping along.

Zayden and Bazooka were stuck together, fending off their own pack of soldiers.

“Damn, can't let them touch you, Zayden. These goons are a lot stronger than they look.”

“I know, man.

...Hey, do that one thing. I just got a great idea.”

“Got it.”

A thick layer of fog descended on the battlefield.

The soldiers immediately stopped firing.

“Don't waste any rounds, boys... we've got to be smart about this.”

Zayden could feel the electric currents running through their muscles, while Mandy also began to hone in on their location through the slight movements they made.

Out of the fog, two confident shouts roared.

“Okay, just like we practiced!”

“DO IT!”

Silent air quickly filled up with a thousand thunderclaps. Massive bolts rained down from the sky, while Zayden's entire being became engulfed in electricity. Bolts of energy emanated and extended themselves for a great distance, incapacitating every single hostile on the field with overwhelming intensity and speed.

The fog cleared and gave way to silence again, until Lou exclaimed in amazement:

“WHAT THE HELL?! I NEVER EVEN KNEW YOU GUYS COULD DO THAT!”

Bazooka and Zayden shrugged off the compliment and dusted their shoulders.

“Heh, it only takes a little practice...”

“And lots of imagination.”

Just as the group was gathering up, Mandy stopped and sensed another helicopter.

“It's not over yet, guys. I feel something coming.”

But just as the helicopter flew overhead, something unusual happened.

The rotors suddenly disappeared, and the group caught a sizable black blur shooting from the trees to the heli. As the helicopter crashed not too far, Johnny transported himself and the others near the crash site. They were getting ready for another fight.

“How many of them, Zay?”

“Twenty. All of them seem to be alive...”

One soldier comes out of the wreckage. Dazed and confused, he looks around.

Suddenly, without warning, his chest explodes, entrails spraying the ground.

The wreckage begins to levitate as Johnny and company stared in bewilderment.

Then, a young man emerges from the woods, with who seemed to be Yoon Ah and Jay.

Lou seemed surprised.

“Hey, isn't that the girl that told us off--”

“Quiet, you old geezer! I think they'll take care of this for us.” Johnny looked on.

Yoon Ah motioned around, and dragged the remaining soldiers out of the metal.

Then, one by one, their limbs slowly began to stretch to cartoonish proportions. The jungle echoed with anguished screams, and Mandy could barely suppress her gag reflex. Suddenly, the chopper and the soldiers were mashed together into a macabre ball of flesh, blood and cold steel.

The unknown man reached out his left arm, and then a massive vortex sucked in the sphere, seemingly shrinking as it was being swallowed by his hand.

Sensing other people, he swiftly appeared in front of the still-startled group.

Taken by surprise, Lou nearly punches the unknown man... only to find his fist held in place by an invisible force.

“I have your man. Jay, I think it was... I came to give him back to you.”

Jay instantaneously appeared right next to him, as the man shoved him towards the others.

“I don't mean to harm you lot... yet.”

“Heh, you've got a lot of mouth for such a young kid. I'll give you this: your fancy little trick's something to behold. But I don't think you know who you're fucking with.”

Lou wore a cocky grin.

“...

I'm not looking to scrap, old man. I just came to give you back this pathetic shrimp. He's a bit sore in the legs, so I would be delicate.”

Just a warning, though-- our next encounter won't be so peaceful, IF you survive for that long.

Lou scoffed.

“Just exactly who the hell are you?”

He looked down, then slowly tilted his head up with a slightly maniacal stare.

“No need for names. Just know you shouldn't fuck with me.”

[crushingmayhem]

Good stuff Shin. Hope to see what you have next.

[Sauce Mama]

Another great ep Shin!

[chocolatesoup]

These are awesome.

[Webizoid]

Oh my god. THIS IS AMAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAZING! (It's reminded me that I've got to update SSB SBC Style, hehehe)

[shin]

EPISODE 4 – SEPARATION

Lou stared down the young man. His menacing scowl gave way to a forced smile.

“Let's just do the formalities here, eh? What do you say? Even if we're stranded in this hellhole without any real trace of civilization, we might as well band together. Make amends, y'know what I mean? Let's start with your name.”

He extended a hand out in a gesture of friendliness.

“It's Shin.”

Rejecting the gesture, he turned his back on the group, and began to walk away. Lou hastily reached for his shoulder in an attempt to turn him around.

“Hey, wait, I'm not done with yo--”

A swift uppercut from Shin cut his sentence short and launched him sky-high.

He followed Lou up into the air, but before he could land what would've certainly been a fatal blow, Johnny intercepted. He grabbed Lou's unconscious body and came back down to solid ground.

Before Shin could do the same, Zayden launched several bolts of lightning, all of which were reflected back. Before they could do any real damage, the group scrambled away as they harmlessly impacted the ground.

Yoon Ah pulled in Mandy, but she reacted with a well-delivered shockwave that blew her off balance. But before she could capitalize on the takedown, a booming voice erupted from the air.

“ENOUGH!”

Shin began to open a massive vortex that started pulling anything that wasn't rooted to the ground into a strange black maw.

Before they could be sucked in, however, Johnny managed to spare Lou and Dick by making a desperate grab and teleporting back to their cove.

After everyone else disappeared into the hole, Shin himself vanished.

The harmonious ocean waves did little to soothe Johnny's anxious mind as he laid Lou down on the sand, hoping for a cough, a twitch-- anything to confirm that he was alive. Dick sat down by the waves, attempting to make sense of what just happened. “Mandy... I hope... she's okay.”

As the sun's light began to tease the horizon, Lou started twitching. He then quickly sat up and, with a loud shout of pain, grabbed his face.

“AHHHHHHHHH, SHIT! MY FUCKING CHIN!!”

Johnny rushed by his side, with a genuine happiness that he had not felt in a while.

“Oh, buddy, I thought you were a goner for sure! That Asian kid decked you awful hard, I wasn't even sure you were gonna live after that! Guess whatever super-juice they gave us helps you get back from hard hits like that.”

With a youthful intensity, Lou punched the white sand.

“I CAN'T BELIEVE HE GOT A JAB IN ON ME! NEXT TIME I SEE THAT KID, HE'S GOING TO HAVE MORE TO WORRY ABOUT THAN HIS LITTLE PSYCHO GIRLFRIEND.”

After calming down, he dusted his longcoat, and walked over to Dick, who lit up a campfire.

“You alright, man? Looking a little in distress there...”

“He took Mandy, man.”

“Sounds like someone's got the hots.”

“Yeah, no kidding...”

“Don't worry, man. We'll get them back somehow.”

Lou then stood up and stared at the dusk sky.

“After all...

NO MOTHERFUCKER CAN STOP ME! I'M LOU SCANNON! HUTTAH!”

Omega, followed by others, slowly began to wake up. They found themselves in a cold void, with an unknown light emanating above them. The floor felt hard and frozen, but almost alien in nature.

Shin walked into the light, his face looking just as frigid as the surface they were on.

Yoon Ah regained her composure and stood behind him.

Furious, Mandy stood up and charged towards Shin. Before Yoon Ah could defend him, Mandy violently shoved her out of the light.

The anger in her escalated to the point where the ground began to tremble. She picked him up by the collar of his tattered shirt.

“Now... you're going to tell me something, and you're going to tell me NOW.

Just why are we here, and why the fuck are those grunts after us?”

[Macseed]

Wow that episode rocked.

[shin]

EPISODE 5 – GAME

The void shortly ceased to rumble, and a nigh-impenetrable air of silence hung overhead. Shin stared coldly at Mandy, her hands still locked in an assertive grip on his shirt. A concerned look took over his stony expression after what felt like an eternity. The rest of the group looked on, anxious to see what would happen next.

Shin grabbed for Mandy's forearms with an even mightier grip. But before he could capitalize on this, she shoved the back of his head to the floor and lifted it back up.

“Don't think I'm not wise to your bullshit! One move... one move, and I'll push your head clean off its socket! Don't think I can't do it, you fucking psycho.”

Shin chuckled under his breath, still seemingly in pain from earlier.

“Oh... I'm not doubting your capabilities here. But I'm wondering... is one fight really what it took to desensitize you and your group? Your group was killing soldiers left and right as if it was some kind of game--”

Mandy delivered a solid hook to Shin's face. Bones cracked, and the punch seemed to knock him out cold.

“We did what we had to do... we had no choice.

We had no choice...”

She broke into a sobbing fit, hands frantically wiping away the tears, mind in a jarred state of confusion. Omega crawled over to her and gave a long hug, in an attempt to console her.

“None of us chose this, Mandy... we're with you. We'll survive.”

“Thanks, Omega. At least among this insanity, we can still cling on to some of our humanity.”

As they were locked in an embrace, a booming laugh echoed off of unseen walls.

Shin and Yoon Ah walked into the light, both looking as if they were never harmed. Suddenly, he began to multiply before their eyes. Yoon Ah held out a single hand, freezing everyone in their place. Shin's clones took one person in the group each and tightly grabbed their heads.

Images and sensations frantically flashed by.

A family picture.

Being sent off to deployment.

Smiling faces of friends.

A happy soldier drinking with his platoon.

A mission briefing from an old man.

Landing on the island.

Being burned alive, shocked, impaled by the “freaks” they were ordered to kill.

The Lindemann formula.

Lab subjects gaining unusual abilities.

Abduction.

Jericho Castle.

Shin's words blurred in and out of their attention.

“All of you? Survive? That's a fucking riot.

I thought we were all going to pull together the first time I was left here. I had friends too. Friends that I struggled to remember, until I held their bloodied bodies in my arms. They were all decent people. None of us were at each other's throats until that son of a bitch Jericho intervened. We had survived together, tried to escape together, and for most of my time here, I swore we were all going to die together as well. I was the only one in my group to survive the first time I landed here, and I was given one night to return back to my home... only to find the family I knew had disappeared into the shadows.

Never to be seen again.

You people will have nothing to go back to. It's what I've told the last eight groups I've seen get dropped off here to be left for dead. They didn't believe me, and they all either ended up killing each other or dying by Jericho's hands. If you fuckwits want to make the same mistake, it's all on you. But just know that once you're on this island... one way or another, you aren't leaving the same person as you came.

The abilities you have came at a price-- you unwittingly and unknowingly sacrificed whatever life you lived before. Once Jericho sees you have 'potential' and you have outlived all of your friends, it'll cease to become your abilities anyway. You'll become one of his super-grunts, and will probably ship you off to be used in some privately-funded mission off in some unnamed part of the globe. Once you're here... you're a lost cause and a threat to the world.

Because of that... I must eliminate your useless selves, take your abilities for myself and face Jericho. I can't make it this easy, though. We'll make it a fun game of hunter versus hunted. You, Jericho's men, Yoon Ah and myself.

Let's begin...”

Everyone's vision suddenly grew black, and they felt themselves being transported, as if on some ethereal ascension to heaven. They awoke, however, to something far less divine.

Mandy found herself in a desert. Zayden woke up atop a precarious ocean cliff, next to William and Omega. Mr. Box awoke at the peak of a snowy mountain. Jay and M faced the familiar jungle. Bazooka found himself in a dark, damp cave. Mr. Blob felt water surge into his lungs harmlessly as he regained consciousness at the bottom of what seemed to be a lake.

A final message from Shin boomed into their minds.

“Your battle has just begun.”

[Macseed]

Crap I'm facing Aquatic Nuggets. Stupid black magic

[shin]

Hello! I am back to work on "Island", and I can't wait to get this rolling again!

The next few episodes will be a series of separate character accounts, titled "Tribulations".

First off will be Mandy, then whichever random characters I decide to do next.

Expect the first episode of "Tribulations" within a few hours!

[The Crow]

HUTTAH MOTHAFUCKA

[shin]

TRIBULATIONS

Mandy, Part I

Stinging grains of sand welcomed Mandy into her predicament. Strong wind had whipped up every particle that wasn't planted into the ground, blocking out the high noon's sun and painting the sky a rusted red. Mandy calmly began to walk, being careful not to get a mouthful of the desert.

She thought to herself, “I must still be on the island... there has to be a way out if I keep walking.”

After what seemed like hours, however, the desert never gave way. The sandstorm calmed down, only to offer Mandy the last view she needed. Dunes stretched for miles,

no perceptible end in sight.

Feeling immense despair, she collapsed into the soft sands.

Suddenly, she woke up in her own bed.

Her boyfriend laid next to her, snoring peacefully. A faint breeze carrying the smell of her neighbor's lawn wafted its way into her mind. Streetlights dimly shone into her room.

Mandy stared at the ceiling for a few moments, then felt a sinking feeling in her stomach.

As she blinked, she was suddenly transported to the passenger seat of her boyfriend's car. Before she could react any further, a minivan slams into the driver's side at breakneck speed. She could see it clearly-- the glass shards impaling his face, frozen in a terrified expression, body contorted sideways by the car's frame giving way... every crack in his skeleton a sharp pang that would've made her ears bleed had it been any louder. Somehow, she remained physically unscathed-- very much differently from how she remembers the incident. Her mind, however, was torn just as it was on that fateful day. She let out her scorn through an ear-piercing scream, and forced her jammed door open with a shockwave. As she crawled out in shock, the driver of the van casually walks out with no visible scratches.

A red flag rose in Mandy's head.

“Wait...

He lived through the accident? I don't remember him being that old either...”

The man drew closer, revealing a holstered pistol. Mandy, still reeling from the impact, found herself unable to move. As he drew his gun and cocked the hammer back, Mandy clenched her fists and closed her eyes harder than she ever had before. But before the gun could even fire, she felt the world around her jerk around violently.

She woke up, hoisted over Johnny's shoulder as he picks Mandy up off a cot in what seemed like some kind of infirmary.

Several unconscious soldiers laid around, with one man lumped over inches from where she laid. The man quickly wakes up and firmly clutches Johnny's arms.

“Well, look what we've got here... two for one.”

Mandy, almost by reflex, launched him across the room before he could say anything else.

“Better make like the wind!”

Johnny firmly clutched Mandy and disappeared into thin air, to come back into the cove. Lou and Dick, however, were nowhere to be seen.

“We're trying to find the others. I'm glad I got to you just in time, though.”

Mandy, still half-asleep, weakly replied.

“H... how did you know to come get me?”

Johnny scratched his head.

“I'm not too sure myself. I felt as if I could sense when any one of us are in danger.

Speaking of weird shit going on in my head, I heard a voice in my thoughts just as we bolted out.”

“What did it say?”

“It told me that we need to be more careful about the man who was going to kill you.”

"Did the voice tell you who that man was?"

"Yeah... it was someone that went by the name Jericho Castle."

[Webizoid]

You are brilliant, you know that?