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 Posted: Fri Jan 06, 2012 7:07 pm
See now, I beg, The Western Sea which lies at the edge of the Mohaine Desert. Roland encounters the doors and the lobstrosities.
Lobstrosities are the bizarre creatures that live on the beaches of the Western Sea. They look like a cross between scorpions and giant lobsters. They're about four feet long, with sharp serrated beaks, and eyes on stalks. They constantly murmur questions: Dad-a-chum? Dum-a-chum? Ded-a-chek? Did-a-chick? They are venomous but despite this they are edible (as proven by Eddie). They assume what Roland calls "The Honor Stance" when the waves come in. "The Honor Stance" is when they hold their claws up in the air. This stance is held until the waves wash over them. The lobstrosities also appear to be more vicious at night
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2012 4:13 pm
Roland Deschain  Roland awoke to the sound he'd heard nine-teen times before. His eyes shot open and went to his guns in half a second. He tried to stand up but fell down, face first, into the wet sand. He turned his head in the sand and saw what he'd feared: The Western Sea. Immediatly his heart began racing and his ears searched the land around him for those damned questions: Did-a-chick? Dum-a-chum? Dad-a-chum? Adrenaline rushing back into his system he stood up with both guns raised. To his dismay he had wet shells and the only working shells were the eleven in his guns. He looked around the beach for his companions and possibly enemies. He found none and for a moment he thought it had all been an elaborate dream but quickly turned the thought down. He scanned the burning dunes a second time and caught Landon lying in the sand and breathing. He placed his guns in their holsters (which had, by some miracle, stayed mostly dry) and ventured to Landon. His ears kept searching for those same questions but he was beginning to thnk maybe they wouldn't come. Maybe they weren't aware of his (and Landons) presence. He reached Landon and picked him up, slinging Landons arm around his neck, and carried away from the water. He had made maybe fifty yards when he stopped and layed Landon, gently, into the dunes. Roland was just about to relax when he heard something off in the distance. (Dad-a-chick?)What was that? A question? (Dum-a-chum?)Mayhap it could have been but... (Dod-a-check?) There was no mistaking it. The Lobtrocities may not have been aware of them before but they were now. He saw one standing in the Honor Stance, waiting for the waves to crash over it. The monster looks like a cross of a lobster and a scorpian. They were deadly, mayhap deadlier then any man Roland had faced, and held a deadly poison in them. Roland began standing Landon up. "Come, get up for your father's sake," He said, "Their getting closer!"
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2012 4:27 pm
Landon Yates  Landon woke up slowly and fatigued. He moaned something along the lines of 'not right now mom' then leaned his head back. Thats when he heard the questions. Alien question that bothered him. He looked up and saw Roland was trying to wake him up, and he could see why. even with his one eye he could see the monster crawling towards them. Stopping whenever the waves crashed, holding its claws infront of itself like a boxer. He never been scared of crabs, or lobsters. This thing however scared him. He shot up and fell back down, his clothes wet and his body numb. This was when he begun to look around. Where in the hell was he? He looked at Roland. "Where the-? What the-? How the-? What happened?" He managed to say, and he got up. limping his sorry a** up away from the high tide line. His wrist was on fire. He needed to make a splint, and he felt feverish, as if he had been asleep for quite a while and gotten sick. He didn't look for infection yet. The first thing he did was scrap the dried blood off of his right eye and he saw the world clearly again. He saw the Giant Lobster-bugs and he cringed. They looked deadly. He never liked the look of lobsters, but they had only been a foot long. This thing was the size of a large corgi. He heard their calls. Dum-a-chum? Dad-a-chick? He stood on the grass, that was on one side of the beach. he soon realized they would not go pass the high tide line. He did a little dance and flicked them off with his good hand. "Can't eat me now huh you ugly a** lobster wanna-be!" He finished the dance, realizing he was tired and sore. He sat down and held his injured hand to his chest. His grin gone and his body cursing him for that stupid dance he had to pull. He smiled thinking that in a few minutes he might wake up in maine. If he did. He would go to the beach and maybe find a girl to spend the night with. He thought that would be a-okay.
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2012 4:43 pm
Roland Deschain Roland was pissed. The 'dance' Landon had done was a waste of energy and Roland didn't feel like carrying Landon. "There is no time, maggot," he said, anger clear in his hard voice. "Now get off your a** and let's keep going." He stood himself up and looked at the dunes before them. Ahead was the forest where he and Ka-Tet 19 had slain Shardik and watched the parasites wiggle out of it's cyborg body. He heard skuttling and turned around. There was a Lobtrocity sitting just in front of thiem, arms up in the Honor Stance and waiting for them to get closer. He didn't move, instead he fired one shell into the monsters large body. It screamed but held it's stance so Roland shot it a second time. The scream was short this time and it fell dead in a few seconds. He cut it's body open and reached into the hole he'd made. The monster may have had poison but it's meat didn't hold any of this, so the beak was the part he'd avoided. He ripped the lobtrocities meat free from it's body and placed it in his gunna for later. He took a few steps to Landon, turned around, stomped on the body. This thing may have been the monster that took his finger's the last 19 times and this Roland didn't doubt. "Come on Landon, we have to keep moving..." his mind trailed off to the others, where were they? If they were here surely he could have seen them? Mayhap the lobtrocities got them? No, he thought, I would have heard their screams. Roland looked out over the sandy planes before them. The tide would come in until they reached the edge of the forest. They had little time to lose. He began walking when a terrible pain erupted from his side. The gash had stopped bleeding but the pain was unbearable. It was possible that his wound was infected with something and Roland knew what he needed. "Damn," the gunslinger was in need of Astin (asprine) and Keflex. Those were the drugs that had cured his infections the last time and they would do the trick now. "Landon, we have to find a door and fast. Otherwise I'm not too sure we're going to make it much father." They still had to find the others who had no doubt been spawned at the Way Station just as Jake and Callahan had.
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2012 4:51 pm
Landon Yates Landon got up and walked with him. Roland, you must be delusional. Where in the hell are we going to find a door in this s**t-box?" He said looking at Roland stuggle with his injuries. He didn't think it was wise to walk with those, but he didn't think it was wise to question Roland right now. Instead he made an attempt to help Roland up. He walked along side him, helping him whenever it seemed like he was going to fall. His broken left hand still held to his chest. His balance was coming back, and that was good. He frowned. He wondered where the others were. That spanish chick had been hot. But he missed the company of them. He was stuck with Roland. At least they had been from the planet earth. Only god knew where ever they were now. After a long amount of time. He was still pushing on but the silence was killing him. "Roland i have to ask. Are you an a** or a tits guy?" He said with a smile on his face. He hoped it would lighten the mood but he doubted it.
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2012 9:31 pm
Roland looked at Landon with his most serious expression he could muster, then grinned and said, "I prefer both, nice breasts and a**." He laughed light-heartedly and then asked his own question. "Landon, tell me what you did in your world, I beg ya." He was interested to know what this man did, he looked like a drinker and it was entirely possible he worked as a "cop" which would explain his gunslinging abilites.
Although Roland knew this may not have been true. In the distance, the Lobtrocities were in their honor stance and waiting for their tide to come in and draw them closer to their pray. He saw a bird coming down from the sky and picking up a small fish. Unfortunately the lobtrocites were on it in seconds and began to tear it apart. It tried to fly away but they alien monsters cut its wings free and the bone potruded from it's sockets. It's head fell to the sand and it tried to speak in it's animal tongue, mayhap for mercy, but the lobtrocities were too busy asking their questions and chopping away to listen. The bird was dead in seconds but still they jabbed and sliced at it. Feathers flew in the air and even those were eaten eventually. These monsters, it seemed, were hell-bent on eating everything living in their path.
They severed it's head and split it open and feasted on it, the birds beak, bones and organs and all were in their stomaches (if, mayhap, they had one.) and they resumed the stance waiting for the tide to come in the sweep them closer to their true prey.
Roland watched this all in horror and hurried his pace up, not wating to end up like the bird. He would have liked to go kill those beasts if he had the ammunition.
All the times Roland had done this quest he had regained a piece of his humanity back. He now had everything he needed include the Horn Of Eld which lay at his side waiting to be blown once he reached the Tower. He hoped it worked and he wasn't sent back to the beginning of his quest and thought that if that were the case he wouldn't have had his memories about the last quests.
"We best hurry to the Way Station. It's where the others would be," he said, "but first we have to find some astin or keflex."
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2012 9:32 pm
Roland Deschain
Roland looked at Landon with his most serious expression he could muster, then grinned and said, "I prefer both, nice breasts and a**." He laughed light-heartedly and then asked his own question. "Landon, tell me what you did in your world, I beg ya." He was interested to know what this man did, he looked like a drinker and it was entirely possible he worked as a "cop" which would explain his gunslinging abilites.
Although Roland knew this may not have been true. In the distance, the Lobtrocities were in their honor stance and waiting for their tide to come in and draw them closer to their pray. He saw a bird coming down from the sky and picking up a small fish. Unfortunately the lobtrocites were on it in seconds and began to tear it apart. It tried to fly away but they alien monsters cut its wings free and the bone potruded from it's sockets. It's head fell to the sand and it tried to speak in it's animal tongue, mayhap for mercy, but the lobtrocities were too busy asking their questions and chopping away to listen. The bird was dead in seconds but still they jabbed and sliced at it. Feathers flew in the air and even those were eaten eventually. These monsters, it seemed, were hell-bent on eating everything living in their path.
They severed it's head and split it open and feasted on it, the birds beak, bones and organs and all were in their stomaches (if, mayhap, they had one.) and they resumed the stance waiting for the tide to come in the sweep them closer to their true prey.
Roland watched this all in horror and hurried his pace up, not wating to end up like the bird. He would have liked to go kill those beasts if he had the ammunition.
All the times Roland had done this quest he had regained a piece of his humanity back. He now had everything he needed include the Horn Of Eld which lay at his side waiting to be blown once he reached the Tower. He hoped it worked and he wasn't sent back to the beginning of his quest and thought that if that were the case he wouldn't have had his memories about the last quests.
"We best hurry to the Way Station. It's where the others would be," he said, "but first we have to find some astin or keflex."
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Posted: Sat Jan 07, 2012 9:49 pm
Landon Yates Landon looked at Roland with a shocked expression. He busted out laughing, that was the last thing he expected a hardcase like Roland to say. He laughed almost losing his balance as he walked. He laughed until tears filled his eyes, and he was sore in the stomach. All of his pains momentarily reduced to moans and not screams. He thought about it. "Well i'm a failed writer, and by failed is no one would publish anything i wrote. They called me immature and illogical, but the job i had was cleaning clothes at the dry cleaning store. Only people who would let me. No one likes a drinker to work for them. No one with a respectable business." He said cringing, feeling the aches of his body flare. he didn't know what astin was, but he needed some kefleex indeed. "Where in the hell are we going to find any medicine in this s**t-box, and if the ways of stations or whatever is over those mountains, then we are 100 per-cent ******** my friend." He said cursing himself for getting shot in the wrist, better than the head, but it still hurt like a b***h.
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Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 1:36 pm
Roland Deschain
Roland looked abck, the tide had receeded and they had maybe two hours to rest before it came back in. They walked another mile or so, headed in the direction of the waystation and stopped on a small dune.
He crossed his legs and rolled himself a smoke but was dissappointed when it was wet. "s**t," was his only word on the matter. Out in the distance was a set of mountains, the peaks rising in the sky. He'd scaled them many times with his symbolic son, Jake who was now lost to him. The girl, Stool, was the female version of Jake and just as strong. He could see his eyes in hers.
Roland watched the son fall from the sky and the moon rise. He'd always seen the moon as the White and the sun as the Red. He didn't know why but he did. Mayhap it had something to do with the color of the two but he doubted it.
The lobtrocities were waiting behind them, snatching up any animals that veered to close to their path always asking their meaningless and terrible questions: Dad-a-chick? Dod-a-chock? Dum-a-chum?
Roland had done this 19 times and still those things frightened him because of their lethality. They were probably one of the few things that frightened him in this world now. He began to clean his Revolver, carefully, and with the pateince of a well versed monk.
Once he'd finished his task he placed his dry shells into his gun and waited. The tide would be here soon and that Roland didn't doubt at all. Above them, the moon began to go back to it's hiding place and the sun blazed it's red-orange glow. The world had moved on here so much so that time itself had forgotten where it was and what it was entirely. The gunslinger guessed that the night had only lasted an hour, maybe two, and now the new day began with it's same eratic schedule.
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Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 1:51 pm
Landon Yates Landon took of his jacket it, nursing it carefully over his left wrist. He tied it around his waist. His torso now covered by a bloody tee shirt. He walked up to nearby tree that had fallen over. It was puny but it would work. He broke off two branches and placed them on either side of his broken wrist. He then used the pull string of his hoodie to tie it in place. He cringed in pain, but the splint was necessary. He then ventured to the edge of the sea as Roland cleaned his gun. He washed his wound. And tied them off with pieces of his hoodie he used the throwing knives to cut the pieces off. He bundled some cloth on this right ear, and tied it around his head with a smaller piece of cloth. It slightly covered his right eye, but he needed to keep the wound closed off from the world. He undressed and washes most of the blood off of himself, and then got dressed again. His left hand trying to do many tasks, he had to remind himself not to use it. When he was finished with it all he walked up to Roland. He looked at him with his tired dark green eyes and sat down across from him. "Let me have my gun, I still have my pack and most of my gun's ammo. I will need it, this world feels hostile." He wondered if Roland wouldn't give him his gun. He didn't think Roland was like that, but you never know. He was tired but they still had a walk ahead of them. The day was just beginning after all.
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Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 4:44 pm
Roland Deschain
Roland reached with his still intact right hand and pulled out the sandalwood guns., His guns. His key. They seemed to glow in the dim light of the beach and held an almost magic to them. If Roland remembered correctly, these guns were made from Arthur Elds sword, Excalibur. If they had then they were magicl indeed.
He looked at the gun, examining every scratch on it. These guns were old and powerful. wery powerful indeed. He placed the gun in his left hand and held it there for a moment, then flipped it so he was holding the strong barrel. He looked at Landon.
"This is yours now," he said, a hint of sorrow could be heard in his voice. Giving away his gun was like giving away part of his way to the Tower and indeed he was. The guns were the key to the top of the Tower.
He placed it in Landons lap and looked back at the shore. The sands seemed to flow forever like the Western Sea. In the distance saw a small brown rectangular shape. It seemed like a door to him. He looked back at Landon and then at the lobtrosities. The tide had just pushed forward and so did the devils.
"Landon, we best get moving," the gunslinger stood up and began to wipe sand clinging to the back of his jeans. "And fast." Roland pointed to the door in the distance. "If we don't get moving the door could dissappear." his eyes could make out two words on the door.
Las Vegas
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Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 5:57 pm
Landon Yates Landon took the revolver, he still had the makeshift holster he built and it slid in the holster smoothly. Its weight was comforting. He looked at the object Roland was talking about. "Damn Roland there are doors in the s**t-box" He said forcing himself up. He looked at the lobster-monster and he knew they would be getting closer as the tides rose. He felt his legs try and buckle but he locked them and walked on, walking let the blood flow through his body. He felt a little better once he got moving and he saw two words on the door. Roland had seen it sooner than he had, but he saw it none the less. He smiled a broad smile. "I have always wanted to go to vegas, maybe we can get some tail. The way you look though, i doubt you could even get something to eat." He laughed a healthy laugh. He wasen't rusty in the old laughbox like good ol Roland was. He looked over at the gunslinger and his cruel face. He shivered. He didn't want to end up like that. He finally reached the door, having to skirt around a lobster thing because it came pretty close to him. With its stupid questions. He stuck his middle finger up at it again. He was in a way, not shocked by ending up on an alien planet or the fact that he was walking to a door in the middle of no where. He did after all come from a world where it had gone to hell. He was just glad to not have zombies up his a**. He looked at the door and it was hinged to nothing. He frowned. This was weird. He walk around it, and he noticed it disappeared as he walked around it. This made him frown again. This was some weird s**t. Roland it seemed had seen all this before and was focusing more on the door, rather than examining it. He stood next to Roland and waited for his move.
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Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 6:51 pm
Roland Deschain
Roland looked at the door, it was ironwood just as the last ones were. He put his scarred hand on the handle and turned it to the left.
The door swung open.
Roland pushed forward.
He was in some sort of slum, there were fires in small circular things that were covered in garbage. He assumed these were garbage holders. The air held a stench that was so foul he had to plug his nose up. The smell was familier to Roland and would be familier to any killer who had done the job on more then on occasion.
The city flashed with lights, some bright and some dimming and some in the in between. Around him were three children all of which were looking at him. He understood now. Roland wasn't in his own body, he was in the body of a child, about fourteen it seemed, and the ones around him were his friends-
"Well? You gonna pay up?"
There goes that thought. He had to blend in but-
"Pay up or we'll beat the life outta you, Chris!"
That's it.
Roland looked the child who was talking to him and spoke in his own voice which was deeper then he'd thought it would be.
"Quell your tongue maggot!"
The two boys looked at him with shocked stares. One of them spoke up with a voice bordering fear.
"I-I don't think he's gonna pay, Ronny..." his voice said it all. He was afraid. "Look, his eyes changed color!"
"Shut up, Harold, I saw, he's some sort of...freak!" the child, Ronny, swung at Roland/Chris, who dodged the blow easily and thrust his own fist forward into Ronny's neck and did so only by pure instinct.
"Oof!" He fell to his knees and clutched his throat trying to breath. The attack had been strong enough to close it off. "I...can't BREATH!!!!" He began crying and his face turned blue. "Help!! Please!!" Roland/Chris looked down on Ronny. "I'll end it then," he reached for his gun but found it wasn't there. He shrugged indifferently and raised his foot. He would end the boys pain out of mercy.
That's when the other kid acted.
He kneed Roland/Chris in the groin and grabbed Ronny. "Get up!" he'd been too late, Ronny was on the ground and his face was no long purple, it had turned to a deathly white and that could only mean that he'd died from suffication.
"You b*****d..." he cried, holding the dead boy's body in his arms. "He was my friend!"
Roland stood up from the blow that had been delivered to him and looked down on the boy with fierce eyes. "Leave me."
The child stood up and ran home with tears flying in his wake. With that done, Roland pulled back and allowed Chirs to take over for a few seconds. The kid didn't realize what happened at all due to his weak mind. (Evidenced by how easily Roland took over.) "Wha-?" He stared in shocked silence then ran off to some hiding place or another.
Roland turned his head and saw his body slumped on the ground and noticed that, like last time, he didn't feel any sort of pain. To Landon this would have looked like a movie screen.
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Posted: Sun Jan 08, 2012 7:40 pm
Landon Yates Landon stared at this with a shocked exspression on his face. He assumed Roland was in control of this body, but it guessed it was only a kid. He thought he was watching some kind of movie, some sick movie he waited and waited for Roland to give him some sort of order, untill then he would stare in awe.
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Posted: Mon Jan 09, 2012 5:47 pm
Roland Deschain
Roland didn't stay in the boy's body for much longer, instead he pulled backward and regained his old wounded body, the pain of the scars. wounds -new and old- and his age brought him a small gasp as he re-adjusted. He didn't like the boys mind, too depressing and too small. He had no doubt that the boy met there would re-appear again at some point. No doubt at all.
Roland pushed himself up from his slumped position and stretched his back. A low, dull, crack echoed from the wastes of the beach. He looked at Landon and looked back at the door. The door would be gone soon and they could waste no time. A minute here could have been an hour or day or a month, time had forgotten itself long ago.
"Come, Landon," spoke the gunslinger, "we've no time to gawk and awe at this doorway now come forward with me." Roland outstretched his hand and waited for Landon to grab it. Without Astin or whatever the damned people over in the Key World called it, they would surely be dead. Landon seemed to have the worse of it, though Roland wasn't far behind him.
In the distance, a certain mutant over in Tull plotted the murder or three girls, one a mere lass, and two others in their possible twenties. But that's a different matter, Roland and Landon are about to enter a new world, a different one, run by a man known as...
Randall Flagg.
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