SMARMSLUT QUEEN: Hello again everyone!! Yes, we're back, now that our little medical emergency has cleared up...

SMARMSLUT ADEPT: Yes, and I'm happy to report that my nose is much better now! I only have to wear the nasal sling at night now.

QUEEN: For which we all rejoice.

SMARMSLUT MASTER: Yeah, it would've been really awkward if you'd needed the crutches too.

ADEPT: Nose crutches?

QUEEN: Anyway, we hope you enjoy this week's installment. In honor of the recently passed Halloween holiday, it's even got some scary stuff in it-

ADEPT: Ooooo...CBS programming executives?

QUEEN: I said scary, not stupid.

MASTER: Hey, those guys can be scary too-believe me.

QUEEN: Well, there will be no CBS programming executives in this story. We're saving them for our next epic, "The Magnificent Seven Wreak their Horrible and Much Deserved Revenge on the Evil Eye".

MASTER: Wow-can't wait to write that!!!

QUEEN: Well just be patient! First we must see how our poor Ezra survives his current ordeal-if he can! Now on with our story...

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Ashes of the Mind, pt 8
by the Smarm Sluts

JD gasped as he was pushed outside by the surly man guarding him; a cold wind drifted across his face as he surveyed the scene, the desert landscape now wrapped in the deepening shadows of night. As he paused, the guard pushed him along roughly with the rifle.

"Get movin'."

JD glared at him and lunged for the rifle, receiving a crack across the jaw with its butt in return. As he fell heavily to the ground, stunned, the guard kicked him.

"Get to your feet, unless you just want me to shoot you here."

JD looked up at him, panting. "What do they want with Ezra?"

"How should I know? I don't care what goes on in here, long as I get my money."

With that, the angry man grabbed JD by the collar and picked him up, pushing him forward. JD began to walk slowly, thinking as he licked the blood from his lip. He sized up the guard; the man was about the same size as JD, maybe a little bigger, but he was older and more muscular. Ezra told me to think, guess now's a good time to start. Gotta be a way out of this ...

They passed through a small gate in the asylum yard's wall and came to a large, rocky patch of desert not far from its perimeter. They walked briskly, JD being half-dragged by the guard, until they reached a rocky pit a dozen yards from the gate.

JD scanned the pit anxiously, trying to keep his fear down as he wondered what was in store for him. It didn't look so bad, it was just a big pit, about ten feet deep. He couldn't see any bones or bodies in it, or blood. But something was causing the hairs on his neck to stand up...

Then he heard it, a curious new noise rising above the desert silence; a sharp, skittering sound, like claws clicking on a marble floor, hundreds of them. Puzzled, he scanned the rocks, and gasped as the guard grabbed his arm and shoved him towards the pit with a cruel smile.

"See 'em, boy?" he growled pleasantly. JD scowled and didn't look at him, still trying to locate the source of that unnerving noise.

Then he saw something, some movement in the shadows of the rocks. Something was moving down there. There was also movement among the other rocks in the pit, he noticed, and in a few moments he realized that the entire pit was crawling with life, clattering in and out of deep holes in the rocks, emerging from their daytime siestas to go about their nocturnal lives. JD shuddered, but could not look away, determined to know what he was facing. At least then he might know how to combat it.

The noise grew louder; a few of the creatures were coming close to the brim where they stood. The guard laughed and yanked JD's head down, and the young man's eyes saw a dim shape crawl towards him in the brightening moonlight, dark but recognizable.

It was a scorpion, almost six inches long, its deadly tail hoisted high above its head as it searched for food among the rocks. JD gazed back at the pit in shock, realizing that the hundreds of forms crawling in there were all scorpions.

"Heh-not yet, ya little bastard," the guard chuckled as he kicked the scorpion away. "They don't like intruders, ya know, and they ain't gonna be too happy with you droppin' in. But if anyone finds your body, they won't think much of a man stung to death by these critters. Happens all the time out here, I'd wager. Heh."

JD thought quickly, one idea dominating all others: no way in Hell did he come out West to die in a scorpion pit.

The guard grabbed JD's wrist, and the young man saw that his captor had pulled out a scuffed-up pair of handcuffs; he was going to chain JD up before throwing him into the pit. JD pulled away instinctively, elbowing the guard in the stomach before whirling on him and landing a solid punch to his jaw. The guard was surprised, but not for long. In only a second he had recovered enough to draw his gun and grab JD's collar, smashing the butt of the weapon across the young man's face. JD gasped but continued to struggle, grabbing for the gun as the two men scuffled around the edge of the pit, dislodging small rocks and dust as they fought. One rock was very loose, and JD had to step back quickly from it in order to stop his tumbling into the pit.

The guard slammed his fist into JD's stomach, and the young man went to his knees, gulping for air. He could sense the man towering over him, satisfied that he had won the battle.

"Now that was pretty stupid," came the disgusted remark. "You could've messed up our plan. Folks might get curious about them bruises on your face. Lucky for us, by the time anyone finds your body, your face will have done rotted off. Heh."

JD lifted his head a bit, waiting for it to stop swimming. He felt the guard yank him back up to his feet.

Think, JD. Ezra's voice advised him.

The young man blinked and looked around, his jaw set in determination. I'll think, Ezra, he promised his friend. And I'll get us both out of here.

The guard roughly pulled JD's right arm back, and he felt the cold metal go round his wrist, heard the click as the cuff was fastened into place. He concentrated, staring at the pit and its deadly contents. Then it came to him.

He stepped away from the guard a little.

"Hold still, dammit!" the guard barked, shaking him roughly. JD continued to move, turning so that his captor would have to turn too to complete his work. Finally they were again at the very rim of the pit; the sun was almost down.

The guard grabbed JD's collar impatiently. "You move another inch and-"
His words were drowned out by a rasping roar as the ledge they were standing on gave way. The air was filled with the sharp sounds of rocks and dirt cascading into the pit; the guard fell in directly, while JD, who had been careful not to stand on the loose rock, flung his arms out in time to hang on to the very edge of the rim, his legs now dangling in the air. he gritted his teeth and prepared to pull himself back up. He felt his hat tumble off into the pit and thought, Damn!

Amid the sound of falling rocks JD heard a strangled scream; looking down, he saw the guard lying in the pit, covered with a swarm of scorpions angered by this intrusion. He averted his eyes quickly, concentrating on the task at hand and not on what was happening in the pit below him.

JD slowly climbed out of the pit, his hands digging into the hard desert soil as he hauled himself up. Inching his body upward, he finally managed to get one leg over the rim, hooking it into the ground to drag the rest of his body out. He was now covered in dust and sweat; his hands were covered in small, bloody cuts from the sharp rocks. A few irritated scorpions skittered by, coming close enough to cause him to go motionless for a few moments. He gave them no cause for alarm, and they moved on.

At last he got his entire body back on solid ground, and for a few moments he lay motionless, gasping from exertion. The air was now silent, and JD had no desire to look down into the pit; he knew what he'd see. Instead he looked upwards, towards the dark form of the asylum now looming in the near distance.

His stomach tightened; Ezra was still in there, along with some maniac determined to get revenge on him. JD had to get him out. The young man assessed the situation as he painfully sat up. He had only the guard's gun; there was no way he could free Ezra by himself. He had to get word to the others, that Judge Travis had been right, the asylum was a haven for criminals, and that Ezra was in trouble. His eyes traveled to the glimmering lights in the distance: the lamps of the nearby town. Maybe someone there would help him.

JD stood up, idly brushing the dirt from his pants and ignoring the handcuff dangling from his right wrist; he'd think of a way to get them off later. The guard might have the key, but JD had no desire to go down to the pit and search the body for it. The guard would not be missed for hours-he assumed the plan had been to dispose of JD's body in some remote location, which would take some time. So he had that.

But, he thought with fear, his escape wouldn't sit well with Branford. They might take it out on Ezra. JD glanced at the pit and shuddered, feeling the evil of the place chill him to the bone; he hated to think of Ezra in there alone, suffering. He'd have to hurry.

His hat was in the pit, but he decided he'd just leave it there; he loved that hat but he wasn't in the mood to fight the scorpions for it. There were more important things to do now. JD picked up the guard's gun and headed off into the shadows, moving as fast as he could towards the lights of the desert town.