Darksiders

By Justin Perks

Darksiders starts out following a group of Darksiders from the dark side of the planet, Stasis, on what they consider an average day. Upon their return home, they hear whispers of trouble in the capitol of the Sunbathers, who reside on the sun side of the planet. Soon they are greeted by two Sunbathers that ask the Darksiders to accompany them to the capitol. There, the minister of the Sunbathers asks them to help hunt down Olaf, the man responsible for stealing the main power source, Ultimatter, from the capitol. The Darksiders accept and leave the capitol with a team of Sunbathers to assist them in their hunt for Olaf.

• Language: English
• Publisher: LifeRich Publishing
• Release date: Jan 23, 2015
• ISBN: 9781489703644

Justin Perks

Justin Perks’ love for comic books, television, films, books, and the fantasy worlds that they create gave him the inspiration for writing his debut novel Darksiders at the age of twenty four.

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

Its early morning on the dark side of the planet Stasis and the creatures stir from their sleep. A herd of apox is already grazing in a field while the alpha male stands on a rock overlooking the herd, watching out for danger that might be lurking in the forest not far from them. There’s a slight breeze and the leaves rustle in the trees the alpha apox lifts his tail and stiffens his neck moving his ears towards the forest. The breeze fades away and the leaves become silent, the alpha apox relaxes and returns to watching the herd. The herd continues to graze and after a few minutes they start to move on, the alpha apox leaves his rock as another breeze appears to rustle the leaves again. As the breeze fades away there is a thud the herd looks in the direction of the sound and sees the alpha apox lying at the base of the rock with an arrow in it. Just as the herd starts to run they realize they are in danger. Two bright lights shoot through the air followed by blasting sounds ringing out and another apox drops dead in the field. The herd takes off running in the opposite direction of the shots. As the herd enters the forest on the other side of the field four men exit the forest and head towards the two fallen apoxen. The first man is the shortest and youngest of them, he carries a rifle and several knives attached to his a belt, his black hair is short and spiked upward to form a mohawk. The next man is slightly taller and older with a bow and a quiver of arrows on his back; he removes the hood of his cloak to reveal dark brown hair that touches his shoulders. The third man is relatively the same height and carries a rifle as the first man does but has a handgun on his side instead of knives. The last man is much taller than the rest and more muscular with his hair shaved off his head and a thick black beard, carrying an ax in his hand.

Took you long enough to take that shot Henry. Said the first man as he examine the alpha apox grabbing it by the antlers looking at its eyeless face, grey fur, nostrils, a mouth, and ears that are located behind the antlers. When finished he moves on to the next apox. Henry retrieves his arrow from the dead apox and places it in his quiver then looks at the first man through squinted eyes.

You’re one to talk at least I hit my target Rodney. Henry says with a raspy voice as he moves the body away from the rock and next to the other apox. The others laugh at the remark while Rodney becomes red in the face with anger. He was about to start gutting them when stopped by the large man.

Wait. Allow me to say a prayer. Said the large man to Rodney who rolled his eyes as he stood up and backed away from the bodies of the apox. He bent his head down and clasped his hands together whispering a small prayer that none of them could clearly hear. When he finished Rodney sighed and shook his head as he went back to what he was doing before being stopped by the large man. The process of skinning and gutting the apox took several minutes to complete. The others had made a fire and were cooking breakfast while they waited for him to finish. Once Rodney had finished storing the skin, antlers, and meat of the apox he joined his fellow companions just in time to have a hot breakfast.

Jorge, why is it that every time that we kill something you always have to say your little prayer? asked Rodney. Jorge looks across the fire with a spoon full of soup that he was blowing on. He didn’t answer right away instead he continued to eat his soup. Finally he responded to Rodney’s question. Because no one else will pray for them that is why I pray when something has lost its life.

His voice was deep and clam. Rodney accepted his answer with a nod of his head and an ok. Not long after they finished their breakfast and cleared the area of any sign that they had been there. They grabbed their gear and started to head off in the direction that they had come from earlier in the morning. The dual moons were shining bright but did not make it very bright in the forest or the open field, the stars could be seen as clear as the moons were. The birds are awake and singing their songs aloud giving the dark forest a brighten tone to it. The group was on a trail now that was worn down from constant use of animals and other people that traveled through the forest. They walked the trail for a few miles before they came to another trail that was wide enough for a vehicle to travel on it. They headed left on the larger trail no longer in a single line but taking up the entire trail. They stayed on the trail for several miles before they came to a cross road with a sign pointing to the right that was labeled Tracton.

Are we there yet? whined Rodney. The others looked at him with annoyed faces.

Are you kidding me? Are you a child Rodney? We’ve walked this path a thousand times and still you whine about it. Grow up before I beat you to death. Said Henry sounding fairly annoyed with the question Rodney had asked. Rodney looks at Henry with a serious face and says. I dare you.

Henry curls his fingers into a fist as Jorge steps between them shaking his head. Henry shot a look at him but relaxed and started to head towards Tracton while Rodney shot his tongue out at him. Jorge sighed and started to follow Henry down the trail, Rodney look over at the other man who had his arms crossed chuckling with his head down. He looked up at Rodney and extended his arm forward for him to start walking down the trail after the others that now had a fairly good head start on them. Henry was way ahead of the group for some time before Jorge urged the other man to go talk to him. He sped up his pace to catch up with Henry. He glanced back to see the other man catching him, and slowed down a little bit.

I’m fine Wallace I wasn’t actually going to hit him. It would be a waste of energy to do that. I was just reminding him of how childish I think that he is that’s all.

If you say so Henry just checking for the big guy back there that’s all. Wallace said.

Figure he’d be concerned about us. So what do you think we will get for the skins and meat that we got off the two apoxen? asked Henry.

We’ll find out when we get to Tracton now won’t we. So are you calm enough to be in the same area as Rodney again or what? Wallace asked him. Henry nodded and they stopped and waited for Jorge and Rodney to catch up to them. Once they caught up to them Henry walked on the other side of Jorge away from Rodney to keep himself from arguing with Rodney. They stayed separate for the remainder of the trip to Tracton to avoid any kind of argument. It had started to snow lightly by the time they had gotten to the outskirts of Tracton.

Tracton was a small town in the middle of the forest with one road in and out of it. There were only eight or nine buildings found in it and two little shack-like structures on both sides of the road for the guards that stood guard at all times. The largest building was found in the middle of town which was the inn and next to it was the saloon, across the road was the general store. The other buildings were either homes or other businesses in the town. As they approached the town and were met by both of the guards who recognized all of them and allowing them to pass without question. They headed to the general store to sell their pelts of the Apoxen they had taken down earlier that day. As they entered the store they were greeted by the owner who was an old man that wore a tucked in plaid shirt with jeans and had a pair of glasses on his head. The inside of the store was well heated and was lighted by red lights as to not cause damage to Darksiders eyes that cannot handle bright lights aside what the moons give off. The old man stood behind his counter waiting for them to come over and present him with whatever it was they had for him. Wallace approached him as the others wandered the store to see what was available for them to buy.

So old man, what can you gives us for these? asked Wallace as he pulled out the pelts and antlers of the apoxen. The man picked up the first pelt and examined it and did the same to the other pelt and antlers. When he was done, he placed them down on the counter and looked at them with his hand on his unshaven chin while he thought what the right price was for all of the items in front of him. Wallace had started to tap is fingers on the counter as he waited for the old man to say something. The man finally looked up at Wallace and said. I’ll give you two hundred licles for all of it.

Wallace looked at him in disbelief and started to shake his head in disagreement. He muttered something under his breath before returning to the old man. The others had finished wandering the store and gathered behind Wallace to find out what they had made from hunting. The man stood there waiting for a reply from Wallace as he looked at the pelts himself. Finally Wallace had come up with an offer of his own for the pelt. I’m thinking that their worth more like four hundred and fifty licles.

Not a chance Wallace your price is too high. Responded the old man in disbelef at the price Wallace gave. The highest I would go is three fifty.

Three seventy-five and that’s it or we’ll go to the Sunbather trader and see what he has to give us. I’m sure he’ll give us a hefty price for all of this. Unless Dick, you were to give us our price. Wallace said.

Dick stood there with a frustrated look on his face as he thought about the offer that Wallace had just given him. He looked at the pelts and back at Wallace thinking it over for a couple of minutes. Wallace had started to reach for the pelts when he came to a decision. Wait. I’ll give you the tree hundred and seventy-five licles for the two pelts and antlers. Don’t go to the Sunbather trader, he’ll take anything for whatever price and it hurts my business.

Dick shook on it then took the pelts to the back of his store muttering something under his breath about the Sunbather and returned with the three hundred and seventy-five licles that they had agreed on. He asked them if there was anything else that they wanted while they were in the store. They told him no and headed out of the store. Outside of the store the snow had died off but the clouds were not blocking the light from the moons still. They stood at the doorway for a few seconds to readjust their eyes a little bit from the red light of the store. They started towards the Slippery Inn across the road to store their gear that they still had on them.

They enter the inn and were greeted by the clerk behind the counter and a few people that were at a table close to the fire place. The clerk behind the counter was a tall well rounded woman with long black hair that came down just past her shoulders. She stood there smiling at them as they approached the counter.

We got two apoxen for you today Belle. said Wallace as he looked back at Henry who was retrieving the meat from his pack. He lifted the meat bags from the pack and slopped it up onto the counter. Belle took a step back and with a frown said thanks sarcastically then pulled out a large table cloth and placed it on the counter. She opened the bags of meat, examined the various chunks of meat she pulled out, and then she rapped the meat in thin paper and tied it with string. She labeled it and placed it in a container of ice. She opened the heavy wooden door behind her and moved the container from behind the counter putting it in the room. She came back and removed the cloth and sighed with relief.

Thank you very much for the meat your rooms have been cleaned while you were out. And as usual your supply of meat is appreciated by me and the other guests. Said Belle with a smile wiping some sweat off her forehead. They went upstairs and as they passed Belle, they each thanked her differently. Wallace said thanks to her, Henry waved his hand and nodded at her, Jorge said thank you and that he will say a prayer for her, and finally Rodney walked by saying yes as he shook his fist and said thank you as he made his way up the stairs.

They were on the fourth floor of the inn only two more and they would be on the top floor. They walked to the end of the hall where the last four rooms were located the numbers on the doors read seven, eight, nine, and ten. Jorge opened room number seven, Henry opened room nine, Rodney opened room eight, and Wallace opened up room ten. Before they entered their rooms, Wallace told them that they would have an hour before dinner to have time for themselves to relax; or possible bathe to rid them of the smell of dead Apoxen. As they went into their rooms Rodney had one last thing to say before his door shut.

If only the smell that Henry had could be washed away. He shut his door before Henry could respond to his comment and just muttering something under his breath and closing his door followed by Jorge and Wallace closing theirs as well with grins on their faces.

An hour later they all exited their rooms and met in the entrance of the inn at the table by the fire place that had been occupied earlier in the day. They all had changed out of their hunting attire and into different clothes; they also had taken baths and removed all of the dirt, mud, and blood off of them. When they all were sitting at the table Wallace reached for three pouches that he had with him. He tossed one to each of them. They jingled as they were caught; Rodney lightly tossed his a few times to see if he could guess the amount of licles that he had.

I going to guess that we have one hundred licles each. Rodney said confidently. Henry smiled and laughed at him and said in response. Close but we each have ninety three licles each, your math is off again as usual.

Rodney looked at him with a frustrated face and Jorge patted him on the back and said. Keep at it Rodney, the more you practice the better you get at it.

Rodney just rolled his eyes at Jorge and continued to lightly toss his pouch of licles. A few minutes later Belle came into the room from a door on the opposite side of the fire place carrying a tray with silverware and four plates of food on it. She set the tray on the table and they each took a plate and some silverware. Belle took the tray and said that if they needed anything else that all they needed to do was holler for her and she went back through the door. They attached their pouches onto their belts and started eating their food. They didn’t speak through the entire meal until Wallace said. Have you all heard that the Sunbathers lost something important?

The others stopped eating and looked at him for more details of the news from the other side of the planet. Wallace had swallowed the food in his mouth and continued. Apparently the Science Academy of the Sunbathers has misplaced its Ultimatter that it houses. But this news comes from the Sunbather trader who I don’t really trust all that much.

What’s Ultimatter? Jorge asked with a puzzled look on his face trying to remember if he had heard of it before.

Yeah you lost me after that Wallace. Rodney said with the same look on his face as Jorge. Henry sat there looking at Wallace with a blank expression on his face.

Not really sure, I’ve never heard of it until a few minutes ago. But I’m sure that Henry is very knowledgeable about the subject. They looked at Henry. So, Henry can you tell us about Ultimatter?

Henry smiled and ate some of his meal. Once he swallowed he dropped his fork on his plate and wiped his mouth with a cloth that was at the table. Ultimatter is a rock that emits the most powerful source of energy on the planet. It’s used to power up the Sunbather’s side of the planet so they can have all of their factories, lights, cold air in their homes and other such necessities they believe are necessary to live. There’s only a fairly small amount of it but it is very powerful and unstable. If it is missing then not only are the Sunbathers in trouble but so are we.

How is that you know so much about this Ultimatter? asked Jorge.

I’ve helped Sunbather’s scientist in looking for more of it. Henry responded to Jorge. Jorge had a look of disapproval on his face.

Why would you help them? Jorge began with an angry tone to his voice. Why help those people that have put most of the people on this side of the planet out of home and land. You helped the same people that took me and my family away from our home and land with those factories that produce crops that we use to grow for everyone.

Rodney was staring at Jorge with concern that he would have to leap out of the way of Jorge charging Henry. Henry sat there chewing his food, as calm as can be. Wallace was looking back and forth from Jorge to Henry waiting to see what would happen. Henry had finally swallowed his food and wiped his mouth again and said. If it means anything I didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. They forced me to help them and I wasn’t paid for it either. This was a long time ago when I was younger and I did my best to hinder their search. Besides they didn’t find any of it here.

Jorge became somewhat relaxed and apologized I’m sorry for my outburst before hearing your entire story.

Don’t worry about big guy. Henry said. They finished their meals and departed from the inn.

So gentlemen should we go to the saloon or would you prefer to go find the Sunbather and learn more of the Ultimatter problem? asked Wallace. They all stared at him like he was mad and walked passed him towards the saloon. Wallace stood there as if they hadn’t left and as the door to the saloon closed behind his friends he said. I guess we’ll go to the saloon then.

Wallace opened the door to the saloon and was blasted with red lights, patrons yelling and laughing, and music from the band that was on the stage playing. He took a few steps in and scanned the room looking to see who was where. He spotted Henry in a back corner on the other side of the room at a table with a drink on it. Rodney was at the bar talking with a group of people that he knew. Jorge was heading to the table where Henry was sitting at, he had a drink in his hand. Wallace headed to the bar and ordered a drink. He could hear Rodney telling the people around him about this morning’s hunt leaving the part about him missing out of it. When he had his drink, he headed in the direction of Jorge and Henry who were sitting at the table having a quiet conversation that he couldn’t hear.

When he sat down, they went quiet and looked at him, and then he asked. What are you two talking about?

Just contemplating what anyone would want with the Ultimatter and what the Sunbathers are doing to find it and getting it back, that’s all. Jorge said casually. Wallace slowly nodded his head a few times and sat down next to Jorge. He took a few sips of his drink before asking them.

What do you both think they will do to get it back? They looked at him and each drank from their mugs and Henry said.

Anything they can.

CHAPTER 2

I agree with him. Jorge said. It’s what supplies them power to keep from having to rely on us for all their needs such as crops, minerals, and anything else that they can’t obtain on their side.

I think that they’ll come here seeking help from us to find it. Henry said. Jorge and Wallace looked at him in confusion. They didn’t seem to quite understand what he meant. Henry continued. Everyone on this side of the planet knows that we’re good at navigating the forest, tracking, and finding lost people and such. People will point them in our direction at some point in time. The Sunbathers might even just come get us before they start searching if they are that afraid of what the Ultimatter might be used for.

You’re probably right about that. Jorge said as he took a sip of his drink. Wallace nodded in agreement with Jorge. There was a sudden laughter and all three looked over to see Rodney walking towards them with an enormous smile on his face and a mug in both of his hands. His laughing had died down by the time he got to them and sighed with relief as he sat in the chair next to Henry. He lifted the mug in his right hand to drink from it realizing it was empty he looked in his left hand to see it was half full and to a drink from it. He let out a loud belch upward in the air. Henry muttered something in disgust under his breath.

What are you guys talking about over here? Get up and enjoy the company that here tonight and live a little. Especially you. Rodney said as he pointed a finger at Henry. Henry gave him an evil look before he went back to drinking from his mug. The others were grinning at them with their mugs up by their mouths.

We are discussing what the Sunbathers will do to retrieve their lost Ultimatter. Henry said irritated by Rodney.

Sounds like an exciting conversation. Rodney said with a smile. The door opens with a rush of cold air and in stumbles a man wearing a heavy fur coat, thick gloves, a furry hat covering most of his head and a scarf wrapped around his neck. The man stomped his feet to remove the snow from his boots and took off his gloves and hat. He shook his head to get the snow off his shoulders and his grey beard. He walked over to the bar and placed his hat and gloves down and took a seat.

There’s the Sunbather lets go and have a chat with him. Wallace said to the others. They got up from their seats and headed over to the Sunbather. They had just gotten behind him when he said. I was wondering how long it would be before the four of you came looking for me. He grabbed hold of the mug the bartender handed him. Before I do anything for you fellows allow me to have a drink then we’ll talk. Meet me at my hut in about ten minutes and I’ll answer all your questions. He said while sipping his drink.

We’ll see you in ten Sunbather. Henry said as they left the saloon. Outside seemed bright like the inside of the saloon with all the light reflecting off the moon and snow. The four of them headed off in the direction of the Sunbather’s hut at the far end of the town.

It had been several minutes since they had spoken to the Sunbather in the saloon. Rodney was pacing back and forth at the entrance and the others stood off to