Other links:
Sapphire Angel, Superheroine (Book 1)
Power Play (Book 2)
Deconstruction (Book 3)
Savage Dawn (Book 4)
Savage Vengeance (Book 5 - this story)
VIOLENCE WARNING: The two stories in the Savage Gang saga, and especially the second story, involve a gang practicing extreme violence toward everyone — women, the elderly, the protagonist, etc. The stories contain mature sexual content and violence as well. I am placing this warning on all chapters, including those without such violence, so you can choose whether to continue.
CHAPTER 7
Beth Harper stood, hands on hips, watching Conner walk away from her, weaving through a crowd of thousands. Strange multi-colored skyscrapers twisted in the wind above him, as if on swivels. The crowd parted as Conner turned to face her, and she gasped. She knew it was Conner, but the features of his face were missing, replaced by blank, undefined flesh. His face bulged where his nose should be, but had no nostrils. His eyes were empty, sunken pits. He had no mouth.
Conner gave a nod in her direction before he dissolved into nothingness, as if exploding into millions of tiny fragments.
This is your fault, a voice echoed in her ears. Conner’s voice. You killed me. You couldn’t let it go.
Beth placed a hand over her gaping mouth, choking back a sob.
It’s true, came another voice. A deep, scratchy voice, still in her head.
Beth looked to her left, knowing the voice came from there, even though she heard it only in her mind. A man stood a few feet away. Maximus Savage. He loomed over her like a monster, muscles rippling under his dark shirt, his face twisted in a frightening leer.
Beth flinched, wondering where the gang leader had come from. She took a step back, ready to run, when she realized a change had come over her. Moments ago she had been wearing tight jeans and a sweater, yet now she was Sapphire Angel, with her iconic costume hugging her slender form, and her white skirt brushing against the top of her long legs.
She looked back to Savage, and he grinned a malevolent grin.
You don’t remember, do you? he asked, and she couldn’t be sure if the words came from his mouth, or if they sounded in her head.
She watched him, unable to muster words.
Can't you still feel the pain? he continued. I crushed you, stood over your broken body, and took these. And now all is right!
He held up her necklace in one hand and her blue and white minidress in the other.
Beth gasped and looked down. She was naked. Except for the necklace. The necklace, which Savage held a moment earlier, hung in place around her neck. And then it disappeared, fading away. She wore nothing. She shivered, wrapping her arms around her body, before jerking her head up at the sound of Savage’s voice.
Your sacrifices — losing him — were for nothing. And now YOU’RE nothing. You’re a fraud. You weren’t worthy to wear it!
Savage reared back, ready to deliver a devastating and decisive punch. Beth held up her hands and winced, waiting for the blow. For the inevitable. Without her necklace, she stood no chance. Which meant she was a fraud. She was a heroine only because of the necklace. She added nothing to its awesome power. She was unworthy.
The punch came, flying toward her face.
Beth awoke with a shout. Sitting up in a bed, it took her a moment to catch her bearings. She looked around, wiping perspiration from her face. She was alone; the threat was gone.
The young woman scowled in annoyance. She was Sapphire Angel, the mightiest person on the planet, adored by millions. Savage’s escape — and her inability to take the gang down — must be weighing on her subconscious, causing her to doubt herself.
No, that wasn’t it. The doubts had been there before, first emerging after a trip to Colorado, when an opponent had stripped her powers from her. She had buried those feelings almost instantly, but not before facing a reality — no matter how confident she was in her abilities as Sapphire Angel, she felt utterly helpless without her powers. Like a fraud. The dichotomy had made her consider some hard truths — Why me? Why do I deserve this? The necklace should have chosen someone else. Someone strong.
She had only raised the issue once, with Stanley and Ethan, before forcing it from her thoughts. Stanley and Ethan had reminded her she was strong — in Colorado, she had taken down a brute, Gregor, without her powers. And Stanley had stressed that her worth went beyond physical abilities.
She had thought the doubts were a one-time thing, forever banished, but the dreams brought them back. Or perhaps the dreams were showing her she hadn’t put her doubts to rest, especially compared to someone like Savage. He was a natural beast, and didn't need a necklace like she did.
Stanley’s postponement of their meeting wasn’t helping her state of mind, either. The whole situation was ridiculous, though. She knew who she was. What she could do. It was just a dream. Yet two phrases remained in her mind and refused to leave.
You’re a fraud. You’re not worthy.
Maximus Savage also dreamt, as if the two mightiest people in the city, perhaps in the world, were connected. In his dream, Savage glared at Sapphire Angel. She seemed different than he remembered. Gone was the supreme confidence. Now she was lost. Distressed.
And then he understood why. He looked down, seeing her famous costume in his hands, the smooth fabric caressing his skin. It was only then that he realized she was naked. Why he hadn’t seen it before, he didn’t know, but now he understood the reason for her dazed expression.
I remember, he sneered, sending his thoughts to her. I crushed you, stood over your broken body, and took these. And now all is right!
Except all wasn’t right. Sapphire Angel dissolved in front of him, replaced by a man holding a SIG Sauer P320 pistol, pointed at Savage. Savage raised his eyes, confused, and met the gaze of Earl Galloway, his commanding officer from years earlier. The two men stood in a clearing, with the mountains of Afghanistan looming beyond a ring of barren trees.
As he watched, Galloway’s form shimmered and changed, splitting into two mirror images. The images wavered, before splitting into four, and then eight. Within seconds, Savage’s entire field of vision was filled with cloned copies of Galloway, all observing him with cold detachment.
And then Galloway was gone. Eyes still watched Savage, but now they belonged to thousands of strangers, all regarding him with the same clinical detachment, and each holding a Glock 45 in one hand, and waving a small American flag with the other. Their mouths moved in unison.
You served your purpose, Max, the voices echoed, the sound pounding his skull and making him wince. But we can’t leave any evidence of your work behind. If the American public ever learned of our program — to get leverage over our enemies by butchering innocent Afghan civilians — it could land many people in deep trouble.
But… Savage’s forehead wrinkled in confusion. I was saving American lives!
Too bad, Max, the voices throbbed. Do you expect us to appreciate what you did? How naïve are you?
Thousands of fingers tightened and pulled thousands of triggers.
Other links:
Sapphire Angel, Superheroine (Book 1)
Power Play (Book 2)
Deconstruction (Book 3)
Savage Dawn (Book 4)
Savage Vengeance (Book 5 - this story)
What the fr......
That "twin dream" sequence was AMAZING! Literally nothing like anything I've ever read or written in a long time! Oh, boy.....part of me hopes that that's foreshadowing (maybe we'll see Earl Galloway again in the present day after he's only been mostly in Maximus Savage's flashbacks) and part of me DOESN'T hope that that's foreshadowing (the first half with Beth/Sapphire, Conner, and Maximus Savage). I thought I was in for a quick read today when Substack informed me that this segment was about a 5-6 minute read, but I found myself rereading that chapter like nobody's business!
As you've probably said about my works in the past, multi-dimensional villains really are the best. As they say..... "if you want to make a great story, make a great hero. If you want to make an amazing story, make a great villain". Or something to that effect. Maximus Savage is clearly more than just your average muscly street gang member.....he's got ties to various other operations as well which seem way, WAY more shady and shifty than he could ever hope to be. I mean.....if Earl Galloway is still around in the present day, I have a feeling he'd be the actual main villain, with Maximus Savage as nothing more than a victim. Or maybe Augustus Bell is still secretly in league with Galloway after having pretended to serve Savage all these years.
It's always the higher-ups, man.....always the higher-ups. I will say this, though; if it does turn out that Savage kills Conner, I'm literally going to be rooting for Galloway to actually show up and pull the trigger on Savage in turn at a later point as well. Dude was a complete unaccommodating mess towards Sapphire, but that by no means warrants death. Conner, not Savage or Galloway. That was.....clear, right? xD
If that was less a "dream" and more of a "vision" regarding the future, then I'm all for it! Felt so lifelike.....keep up the good work!