Welcome to the 19th issue of the Backstage Pass, Volume II! We have some grand surprises in store for you. First up, the vampires make a startling discover in A Vampire’s Vengeance. If you’ve been keeping up, you definitely don’t want to miss then. Follow this up with the latest from House, where our Mr. Garcia makes a startling discovery of his own, though one that’s less “Wow!” and more like “Oh fuck.” His sanity, at this point, might be questionable. Our classic horror selection brings us to a vengeance on the high seas due to the arrogance of a single man. And finally, we come rumbling through the Trading Outpost with Bus Driver. Let’s get into it →
This week was spent in more infrastructure! We’re sure you’re getting tired of reading that word in this section. Believe me when I say this: so are we. Groundskeeper awaits publishing, as does Unholy Requiem, and Body Count awaits completion. And then of course there’s Rise of the Warlock Queen. So much is waiting in the wings, and here we are plugging away at serials and software. We hope to have much more to share with you as to the completion of attractions, but for now, please enjoy the rest of your time backstage and do visit the ongoing attractions we have prepared for you here, below 👇.
This week brings a rather interesting twist to the vampires’ story. What is it? you may wonder. A-ha! You must read the new chapter to find out!
What of our beloved Mr. Garcia, caught in the dreamspace by forces beyond his reckoning? Let’s see if he’s still trapped in the corridor:
Voodoo, you say? You don’t say! Well, we don’t dive into the practice itself in this classic horror story, but we do see it at work, per one author’s perception of it, anyway:
What about cinema? So many stories, but what about the visuals? What about the visuals indeed. It appears we may have to wait another week before Calamity on Cinema returns. A shame, that.
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A traveling merchant finds himself in quite the predicament when he manages to win a duel, leading him down a dark path. A tale from the Odds ‘n’ Endings Boutique.
When we last spent time with the bus driver, the bus was finally pulling into the Trading Outpost. You can catch up with Part XVIII here. What will they find once they’ve disembarked? Let’s find out →
An older gentleman stood a few feet from the door of the bus, waiting; was this another passenger, ready to board and be on their way before any of them had any chance to rest?
The bus driver doubted it. He opened his cage, unlocked the cabin, opened the door, and addressed the waiting gentleman.
"You Manuel?" The bus driver scurried down the steps and off the bus to get out of the way of the passengers waiting to disembark. The gentleman stepped forward to greet him.
"Yes sir!"
Manuel towered over the bus driver, reaching down to shake his hand more than reaching out. The bus driver took his hand in both of his and shook with all the gratitude he could convey through such a simple gesture.
"Thank you so much for your hospitality, sir. We sure are looking forward to some good rest."
They released hands as the passengers came tumbling out of the bus. The bus driver moved to the side of the bus to open the cargo bays, with Manuel accompanying him.
"I don't know if your rest will be good," said Manual. "But we'll do our best to see to it you get some rest before the next leg of your journey." Manuel went on to explain the trouble they were having lately with infected targeting their towers. "The fuckers are getting smarter. We used to all sleep soundly under the beacons. Now we're up around the clock."
There was no sugar-coating their reality. Everyone, everywhere, acknowledged the trouble around them and those who sought to do business with anyone knew better than to downplay the danger. It was dishonesty that doomed them. Their world had fallen apart due to people's attempts to minimize the blowback from whatever caused the outbreak. The federal government at the time, led by a greedy business hack, worked to suppress the seriousness of the impending epidemic, and the entire western hemisphere had paid the price. Now, there were no countries, no states, no cities. There were only settlements and nomads, and a great barrier to the rest of the world set up by foreign governments, if all the rumors were to be believed.
Two passengers--a woman and a man, those who had operated the rail guns on their journey here--approached Manuel and the bus driver as they stood talking, each carrying a massive pack. One reached out a hand and introduced them both.
"Who do we report to?"
Manuel's dark expression changed to one of relief.
"Oh thank the gods, we need all the help we can get." Manuel turned and pointed to a door on the side of the building the bus was parked next to. "Pop right into that door. On the left you'll see another door. It'll take you behind the kitchen to a parlor. You'll find Hatchet and Scythe there. You'll report to them."
The gunners left with no hesitation and without another word. Manuel turned his attention back to the bus driver who had an eyebrow raised, prompting him to laugh.
"We all have nicknames around here. Some people like to give themselves names. Others earn theirs." He looked around and saw all the passengers were waiting with their luggage. "Why don't we get you all inside and we can chat a little more where it'll be a little more comfortable."
The bus driver turned and grabbed his own bag, a small overnight job, then closed the cargo bays. He was about to lock them when Manuel intervened.
"Might want to wait on that. Less friction if we gotta get you out of here fast and in a hurry."
We seem to have been given some pretty heavy info with regard to the infected, haven’t we? Now we know two continents are completely cut off from the rest of the world. And nicknames? How in the hell did Hatchet and Scythe get their nicknames? Were these earned? And what does Manuel mean about them not getting “good” rest? What lies in store for our intrepid adventurers? There’s only one way to find out! Come back next week!
Well, this little announcement publication may not have contained many bombs, but the stories do, if you’ve been keeping up! I don’t know about you, but we here at the Calamity are very excited to see what transpires with the vampires and their discovery. Also, is Mr. Garcia in trouble? Read the chapter and answer that for yourself. We think he is, and we don’t know what to do about it.
We hope you enjoyed yourselves immensely in your explorations backstage, this week! It is our pleasure to bring you these stories and updates. If you have feedback, if you have opinions, if you have anything at all you would like to say to us, please do so! You may reply to this email, comment on this article, or use any of the buttons below. We look forward to hearing from you!
Cordially,
Mad Alex
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