Roman's New Notebook

Roman had been wanting a new notebook, so he was excited to find a really nice almost new black Moleskine notebook at the thrift store. Roman was an amateur investigator, researching strange phenomena and paranormal activities, and lately his little city had been buzzing with strange reports. He bought the notebook, he was surprised at the cashier’s response, the cashier snatched it out of his hand and quickly thumbed through it.

“I sold one of these a few weeks ago and some lunatic, as big as a house came looking for it. Mmmm this one only has a phone number in it, no one will miss that I guess.” Said the little cashier.

Roman left with his treasure and headed to the edge of town to check out the site of a strange phenomenon. A few days ago, some kids reported seeing a UFO break through the roof of a warehouse and fly into space. It would have been easy to put it off to kids partying too hard and hallucinating, but the fact was the roof of the warehouse was ripped clean off. The few remnants that could be found were burned and slightly radioactive. This information had not been released to the general public but Roman had a contact with a security guard that was working at a neighboring property.

Roman poked around the completely empty warehouse for well over an hour. He eagerly jotted down details in his new notebook. He pulled out the one written on page and stuffed it in his pocket, as he hated litter. Roman was a skeptic at heart but he knew something strange had happened here, that was for sure.

When he was done at the warehouse, he decided to go and get something to eat. He sat in a drive through and waited behind several other cars for his food, he knew he should eat a healthier diet and lose some weight, he wasn’t really fat, but he was sure on the waiting list. The closer the slower his metabolism got. If it were not for the fact that he was almost 6 and a half feet tall he would definitely be chubby. He reached into his pocket to get his wallet out and pay he pulled the discarded paper out with it. Just out of curiosity and boredom

and decided to call the number. He dialed the number and listened what he heard on the other end was sounded like a strange fax machine. Roman was about to hang up when a voice came on the line, it was a sultry woman’s voice.

“Hello is this agent Sanders?” Asked the woman.

“No, my name is Roman I found this number in a notebook I picked up in a little thrift store downtown.”

“In the little animal rescue one?”

“Yep, that’s the one. I don’t know who agent Sanders is, I know who Colonel Sanders is.” He laughed but realized almost immediately that the woman was scared, and this was no time for jokes.

“If they have his notebook he has probably been captured. If you can help me, I will pay you twenty thousand dollars.”

Roman raced from the parking lot without even waiting to get his food the woman texted him an address and told him to come alone.

On the trip over He kept thinking the whole thing was crazy, and that he should not be getting into a mess like this, but then he thought about paying off his car or paying down on his student loans or blowing some of it on a new guitar he could barely play.

Roman drove up in front of the nine-story apartment building in a rough part of town. He had no problem finding the woman’s apartment, she pulled him inside and quickly slammed the door. Roman couldn’t believe it. She was gorgeous with blonde hair and blue green eye. She wore a long red dress, she looked like a starlet out of a Hollywood movie.

“Were you followed?” She asked seemingly on the verge pf panic.

“No, I was very careful, just like you said to be.”

“Did you bring protection?”

A lump formed in Roman’s throat.

“No but if you want, I will run to the drug store real quick!”

“There is no time for that besides, I don’t think guns would hurt them anyway!”

Roman blushed with embarrassment realizing by protection she meant a gun, but embarrassment turned to concern and maybe just a bit of fear. No one said anything about guns, or people or things that cannot be hurt by them. Roman decided it was worth a little risk to make 20 k and help this beautiful lady out. She gave him a duffel bag with the cash. He looked at it in shock 20 beautiful stacks of 1000 dollars each. Until he had it in his hands, he never really believed it was real. She gave him an address and told him he had one hour to deposit his money and meet her there.

As he drove home to hide the money under his mattress he began to think about his situation and the fact that this strange woman just gave him twenty thousand dollars, and never even asked him his name. He could just not go, and she would not even be able to find him. As quickly as the thoughts popped into head it vanished, Roman’s sense of adventure and love of a good mystery would never let him do that, it was his time to play the hero.

Roman arrived at the address she had given him. It was a large, abandoned factory on the edge of town. He had actually been meaning to come out here and investigate for some time, as it was said the place burned down under mysterious circumstances. As he jotted down a few things in his beautiful Moleskine notebook, the mysterious woman drove up in a restored vintage Porsche. She got out and stood by her car leaning up against it; she had traded the red dress for a form fitting black jumpsuit. She also had a pair of swords the larger of which she offered to him. Roman took the sword with reverence. It was a hand and a half, with a perfectly weighted blade. After years of SCA fighting and Ren fest shows with his group he had a lot of practice. Everything felt strange like in a dream, just a few hours ago he was going to investigate a warehouse, have some food, drive for Uber for a few hours then meet some friends. Now he was standing outside an abandoned factory with a beautiful woman, carrying a sword, about to get into, who knows what kind of mess.

“Don’t attack them unless they attack you! They are afraid of the metal used in these blades; it may be enough of a deterrent. And be as quiet as possible we may get in and out without even having to fight at all.” She crept into the husk of the factory as she whispered.

The factory was dark and smelled of old chemicals, smoke, decay, and something mildly noxious that Roman could not quite place. He was surprised to see someone had rigged torches to many of the walls, some burned with an earie blue flame. A strange chanting could be heard but he could not tell from where. As the two came around a dark corner Roman almost yelled. There was a large pile of bones, Roman tried to tell himself they were animal bones but deep down he knew some of them had to be human.

She motioned for him to be careful and they went down a dark hallway, they came to a strange metal door that was untouched by the fire. The woman tried to open the door, but it was locked. She pulled out a set of lock picks and went to work. After a few moments of intense concentration, she let out a small sigh of relief and door opened. In the room was a battered man in his late 50s, if Roman had to guess. The woman ran up and hugged the tied-up man.

“Agent Sanders you’re alive!” She shouted, with relief.

“Oh Lintanza, you found me. We need to find the Key notebook then get out of here!” Replied agent Sanders.

“And who is this big lad right here?” said sanders in a marked British accent as he extended his hand to shake Roman’s.

“I’m Roman, and to be honest sir I am not sure what the hell I am doing here.” Replied Roman in mild dismay.

“Well, that’s easy son. You are the greatest swords person of your time and geographical region!” Sanders said with a wink.

It suddenly dawned on Roman, this was no random encounter he had been chosen for this.

Rubbing his wrists where he had been tied Sanders led them through what looked like a hole in the wall into the charred guts of the dilapidated factory. Sanders Was now carrying a tiny crossbow that he had produced and assembled from a small bag the woman Roman now knew as Lintanza, had given him. The further they went the darker it became and the stronger the strange odor got.

“If we are attacked do the best to use the flat of your blade. The smell of blood will start them swarming.” Said Sanders in a quiet whisper.

Just as Sanders finished his dire warning, the hallway opened up into a large room. The floor was covered with strange runes and symbols. Roman barely had time to take it in before the trio were charged by several short figures wearing black robes and wielding daggers, he could not see their faces except for beady yellow eyes. Roman immediately swung at the one closest to him smacking it in the chest and sending it flying across the room! At the same time, he watched Lintanza smack one on the top of its head knocking it out cold. Agent sanders dispatched a few with a series of throws and impressive round house kicks. Roman had little time for admiration of the older man’s abilities as two more of the diminutive attackers charged at him, their wicked little blades flashing in the light of several of the strange torches. Roman quickly dispatched them as the crumpled to the ground unconscious. The madness that Roman’s day had become came to a head for just a brief moment as he got a good look at his attacker’s face! It was no human face but that of a rat! This was no cute rat you bought at the pet store and named after a comic book hero or famous French general, no this was a dirty evil looking sewer rat, with a face full of mean you were just sure reflected a heart full of hate. In the moment of shock Roman felt two pairs of unproportionally strong hands grab him and start to pull him down. He almost dropped his sword but Lintanza smacked one of the assailants as Sanders grabbed the other flipping it through the air into a wall. The filthy creature hit the wall with a thud, then slid down, knocked out cold.

“We will rest a second then move on, there will be more coming soon!” Lintanza said, as she caught her breath.

Roman wanted to ask what the hell these things were but could barely catch his own breath. He had not fought or sparred in almost a year and had forgotten just how much energy you expended in just a minute or two of combat. Roman realized the 20 grand was hazard pay.

As the three of them headed deeper into the building Roman realized they were descending down a series of long sloping hallways. Occasionally they would stop and Roman would jot down a note or a small sketch I his notebook. At one point they stopped so that agent Sanders could consult an odd device that Roman thought might be an electronic map. He took the opportunity to ask Lintanza just what in the heck was going on.

“They are called Grublegarbelin, or Grubs for short, they are more closely related to goblins or kobolds, despite their appearance.” Lintanza told him with a matter-of-fact tone.

“I feel like I should be shocked or scarred, but to be honest I feel vindicated. I knew there was some strange stuff going on around here, but I had no idea it was this crazy.” Replied Roman as he sat and rested a moment on a dusty crate.

“They have been here a long time, probably even longer than humans. We try and keep our distance and they mostly keep to themselves. But we knew there was going to be trouble when they took over this factory. The Agency thinks that someone or something is riling them up with a sinister plot in the works.” Replied agent Sanders as he put his device away and beckoned the two of them to follow him.

After what seemed, to Roman, like forever the three of them found themselves at a large door. First Lintanza tried to pick the lock, but she could not defeat the mechanism, then agent Sanders gave the door a mighty round house, but he too failed. Roman motioned them aside then raised the sword above his head, he wished it were an axe, and swung with all of his might. The door splintered slightly, not enough to get through but enough to motivate him to swing again. After a dozen or so blows the door hung from its hinges in splintered pieces. The two looked at Roman obviously impressed. Roman knew he would hurt tomorrow but for now adrenalin would keep him going. The room o the other side of the door was lit by more of the strange torches and in the center was a pile of notebooks just like the one Roman found in the thrift store and carried now.

“Notice the floor, it is obviously trapped, if we take more than one notebook it will trigger that!” agent Sanders said as he pointed to a ceiling covered in wicked spikes.

“Whoa just like in those movies.” Said Roman.

“Art imitates life” Replied Sanders.

“Or maybe these guys watched those movies?” Lintanza interjected with a just perceivable hint of a chuckle.

Roman watched quietly as both agent Sanders and Lintanza circled the stack of notebooks. With closer inspection Roman could see they were not all exactly the same but similar in appearance. After a moment Sanders pointed to one of the books Lintanza peered at it. Roman went over to look at the one Sanders was pointing at, and realized it was the only book that said Moleskine. agent Sanders carefully removed the book from the pile. He waited a second to see if there was any reaction from the mechanical roof or floor, when there was none, he flipped through the book then shook his head with approval.

“Bravo, this is it!” Agent Sanders cried out in triumph.

The sound of his cheers was just enough to set the trap in motion. They all had to bolt through a doorway to their left, they made just in time before the deadly, trapped ceiling came smashing down.

“We need to hurry” Said Sanders. “That will definitely bring more Grubs to investigate! This should be a shortcut.”

The three ran up a short hall. Roman was disheartened to see a steep staircase ahead of them. He really needed to get more exercise he thought, as he felt winded just looking at it.

The three exited the building, it was dusk, and the sky was painted with the last of the days fading sun.

For just a moment Roman wondered why they had not used the shortcut to begin with. His thought was cut short by the terrible sights and sounds before him.

A hideous monster that was shocking even after the day’s events awaited them. It was as big as a bus, it looked like a cross between a crab and a lobster it had two massive pinchers, but above that was a second set of appendages each ending in huge chainsaw like machines. Where barnacles might have been on an ordinary creature, this abomination had a crust of human skulls and other bones mixed with some unknown grime. Roman looked on in sadness and horror as it was finishing sawing and tearing his not quite paid for car into pieces. It looked at them and began to charge in their direction. All four arms and a huge pair of jaws were snapping and waving murderously.

“Feel free to use the deadly edge of your sword, Roman!” Shouted Lintanza over the roar of the spinning blades.

Roman watched the creature and could see that it was as slow as it was big, he also paid close attention to the range of motion of the terrible limbs. Roman ran in a half circle around the horror and swung his blade. The creature’s exoskeleton was too tough to pierce so he began to look for where it was jointed and aim for those spots. He had watched as Lintanza moved around to the other side and he assumed she was doing the same thing. Agent Sanders kept his distance, firing glowing bolts from his small crossbow, this seemed to anger it he continued to back away as it lumbered after him. Roman stabbed with all of his might and the monster let out a terrible shriek, bluish green blood leaked from the wound. More shrieks told Roman Lintanza was finding her mark as well. The monster slowed as agent Sanders was backed all the way to the doorway they emerged from. Sanders tried to duck into it, but it was too late the monster pinched off the better part of one of his arms. Sanders slammed the door against the creature, with his remaining arm. The monster was week, but it started to saw through the door before it finally collapsed in a heap. The thing stank and Roman realized it had been the noxious odor he had been smelling all along. While Roman tried to process the event that had just taken place, he watched Lintanza use a device like the one agent Sanders had earlier. She spoke a few words into it then went to look after Sanders.

Agent Sanders other than missing an arm seemed no worse for wear.

“Oh man I think it ate your arm!” Said Roman in a mix of horror and shock.

“Its Okay chap, it will grow back.” Sanders smiled through his pain as he responded.

Roman was amazed to see a small nub already starting to form in the spot a gaping and most likely fatal wound should have been. Just as the sun completely abandoned them for another day Roman saw something in the sky above them. It was less what he did not see as what he did that told him a large and silent craft was above them.

Roman awoke from what he thought was the strangest most vivid dream he had ever had. Almost immediately the soreness a fatigue in his muscles brought it all back. He was sitting in a car, one much nicer than his now destroyed one, it was the restored Porsche. Next to him in the passenger’s side was a gleaming sword. In his lap were two Moleskine notebooks, the one he bought, and a new one as well. He opened it and the first page was written on. Roman smiled as he read it.

“Roman, you did wonderfully, and I cannot thank you enough! We will call on you for help again soon. Sorry about leaving you like this, but I hate goodbyes; and the extraction craft’s engines tend to cause people who are not used to being around them black out. There is a little bookstore I have drawn a small map to help you find it, check there on Tuesdays look in the Moleskine notebooks, that is how we will contact you. A few more missions like that and we might ask you to become an agent. XOXO L.”

PS the car is yours the title is already in your name!