BONES: Sweet Leaf PT. I

[BONES]

“My names Dexter but people usually just call me Bones. I've been raised up in the most peculiar family, were bounty hunters. However. Let me break it down like this, we don't hunt humans per-say but the ones who break laws not necessarily written by Man.

I know it sounds pretty fucking crazy, hell I had my doubts the first couple of years of training but I caught on. The things, the monsters, we don't see are best just like that unseen but mankind has a unhealthy sense of damnation and curiosity. Did you know the Templar order was just a big cult of demon worship? The Bones family broke off from them when things began to get hinky and the Bones family in return destroyed them, a few curious eyes try to pry into the dead order but there is nothing left except rumors.

I've never personally fought a demon but my Uncle Lucius, crazy free spirited Uncle Lucius, has told me that he's so fucked up because he saw one once with his father. Said he got his powers from it. The family says he's crazy but gifted, that's why I've been with him since I turned 16. The age of account ability. I've seen him do amazing things with magic, kinda like my pops but grander and more true.

I personally can't do magic, I'm a warrior and I've got a different path, but Uncle Lucius has taught me illusions that people who don't have the Sight can't tell if it's real or fake. Take that and mix in just about every fighting style imaginable, you got me. Dexter William Bones.”

California, June 27, 2016.

Smoke billowed from under the hood of their mock 1960’s look a like Mystery Machine. Bones could hear Uncle Lucius cursing up a storm, fanning smoke out of his face, pounding on random things attached to the engine, and mostly cussing.

“Fuck dammit Bones come here,” Uncle Lucius barked switching the cigarette from one side of his mouth to the other, “I think our van just shot it's wad man! Sixteen years of fixing this piece of shit and she finally dies man during an important trip.”

The young man known as Bones slides out of the passenger side of the van tossing the black leather bound book into the seat, “Important trip? Getting weed is an important trip?”

Lucius smiles, “Oh my foolish apprentice haven't you learned that trips with your Uncle are never ordinary?”

“Like that trip to North Dakota?”

“Be a little more vague?”

“The one where we were supposed to track down a old girlfriend of yours, and it turned out she was trying to summon Lucifer himself? So we, mainly I, end up having to fight her and the band of idiot followers resulting in burning down half a town?”

Uncle Lucius chews on the end of the cigarette, eye brow cocked in thinking and he suddenly burst's into laughter.

“Good times right!”

Bones just smiles sarcastically pulling out the oil dipstick, “Right, no oil.”

“Fuck,” Lucius spat slamming ham sized fists onto the grill of the van, “Call a tow truck man and I'll call Nor-”

Lucius stopped talking, his body went stiff, shaking starts in his hands, and his eyes roll back to show whites. This was common with Uncle Lucius and usually meant something, like an unnatural unbalance of magic, was happening. For Bones it was another mission. Another cult building up its forces to summon a demon, a loved one from the grave, or worst case Voodoo magic (a subject that'll be covered another time, Voodoo was bad hoodoo.) Sometimes it was a young child with the gift like his Uncle who was experiencing a sudden surge of power through strong emotions or by accident.

“Uncle Lucius?” Bones asked stretching his hand out to grab his Uncle's wrist but this time he felt a shock. No a rip, go through his whole body. Just like he was a bolt of electricity and he could see all around him that everything had stopped. The cars, people walking, and birds stuck in mid flight. All the hairs on his neck stood up.

Then it was over.

“What the fuck was that?” Bones asked as soon as he could move again. His Uncle was flustered but merely waved his hand over the engine, “I'll explain more in time but we have to get to Norman man, now.”

The smoking ceased and the van rumbled alive, firing a shot of smoke from the exhaust. Uncle Lucius was back inside the van quickly as Bones slammed the hood down. The two had always been able to communicate, never kept secrets, and Bones looked at his Uncle Lucius like a father. This was odd behavior for his Uncle. Very odd.

California, 1995, Uncle Lucius Party Pub.

A baby in a basket sat on the dirty counter at Lucius Bones pub, screaming and crying as it tried to roll over in the basket. Lucius stood behind the counter puffing away on a joint taking short glances at the baby, another puff, a shot of Scotch, and another glance.

Across the counter were a man and a woman dressed in leather armor. The man was large with a gray cropped mullet and beard that was white. The woman was younger with long brown hair and soft green eyes, her finger was laced with the babies, and tears slid down her cheeks.

“What is your answer Lucius? You are his only hope,” the older man pleaded.

The woman looked up from the crying baby, “You know what they will do to him, a ward of our system, and he'll be cast into the human world like trash. Our world won't accept him but yours can.”

“Look man I don't know how to care for this kid,” Lucius replied taking a puff from his joint, “A fuckin baby man! Let him take his chances as a ward so he maybe can avoid the shit we see, a big favor for him Tessa if you ask me.”

“This child, this mere infant survived a Banta attack while his family was torn to pieces,” the man cried in rage slamming a fist in the counter while grabbing Lucius by the shirt and up right into his face, “Two well trained warrior's couldn't defend themselves against Banta demons but this baby! I sense the magic in him and it's strong. What was left of the Banta was oozing in magic performed by this infant! Do you sense it?”

Lucius grabbed the man by the wrist holding him and purple light surged from his palm forcing the man to let go, “I sense it just fine Daris but no. I have no parenting skills man, do you see a flock of fucking kids flowing freely around my pub?”

Tessa with her free hand reaches up and strokes Lucius cheek. He could feel her power enter him, and he was calm now. He lowers his head, “I have a brother and sister in law who can't bare children, I'll see what I can do.”

“Thank you Lucius, Lyssa and Teddy would appreciate it so much,” Tessa replied as fresh tears rolled down her cheeks but Lucius held a finger up, “If we take him he'll never know of you people and I'll take him under my guardianship to fight the fuckers you people obviously can't control. Now go man before I wisen up.”

Tessa leaned over the basket kissing the baby on his cheek, “Take care Dex.”

California, June 27th, 2016. Norman's House

Norman Gold was once a hardcore banger for gangs back in the late 70’s to late 80’s until he was diagnosed with lung cancer, they gave him a year in 88 but here he is alive and ate up with cancer all these years later. His tiny run down trailer sat in an empty lot at the center of meth capital in Oakland. So here they sat at each side of the wheelchair bound Norman who was steady rolling a joint of the oddest red colored weed Bones had ever seen.

“So this vision or feeling, how long did it last?” Norman weezed out as the oxygen machine pumped the most air it could push, “And how long did it last for you?”

“I didn't see anything man, just a strong vibe or force,” Uncle Lucius recalled as he flapped his hands around, “And it lasted for me about six seconds”

“Same for me but only a few seconds shorter,” Bones added watching Norman's shaking hands, “Like as soon as I touched Uncle and it was over.”

“Far out. I don't know what it was but it happened for a reason,” he said as he twisted the paper up in one motion and a quick lick with a yellow and red dotted tongue, “My eyes say on the east coast for maybe a year or two,” he paused to breathe, “That seismic activity on a large scale has been going down. A lot of funky shit man.”

“Probably cult shit man, like maybe they are being successful with it?” Uncle Lucius asked taking the joint and lighter.

“Not for you Lucius but the boy, let him try the sweet leaf and see if it shows him anything,” Norman whizzed again snatching the joint and handing it to Bones, “I know you ain't a smoker but this is rare shit man. It's said to be grown in a cave in Japan that leads to Hell itself.”

Bones took the joint and put it in his mouth, it caught fire as soon as he touched it with flame. He took three deep inhales of the devil grass and went into a fit of coughing. The smoke that swirled around his head was a deep purple with green tinted edges.

“So when does-” Bones began and the answer he was wanting took effect immediately. His head dropped, shoulders lax, and his fingers wrapped tightly around the chairs arms. The nails actually digging into the wood splitting his nails and blood slowly flowed out.

The room was black at first when he opened his eyes, so black in fact he couldn't even see his waving hands in front of him. “Where am I?” He asked to no one but someone in fact answered, “The Veil of your life and the one to come Bones.”

Light finally flooded into the room, it's source was his own body. The room was empty except for the clouds of smoke that danced with strange images: a rabbit in a top hat, floods of candy that the rabbit rode, beaten people screaming in pain, and finally all that he saw was eaten by a mist of solid Darkness.

several hours later…

Bones woke up on his back in his Uncle's van, his head was pounding with pain. Both of his eyes could barely stay open as he looked around, “What happened?”

“That bud wrecked you man,” Lucius barked with laughter, “I mean you was talking in tongues brother! Freaked Norman out but he said our next case is on the east coast man. The source of all this commotion is in South Carolina.”

“Shit,” Bones replied sitting up, “You got details on this cult?”

Lucius packs a pack of cigarettes on the dash, “Not a cult.”

“Really? One person or a few? No one man has that much power right?”

Lighting a smoke he smiles as Bones climbs into the passenger seat, “One man brother. Ive sent a letter to our cousin's who are battling him, not at the moment of course, but they are welcoming us as best as they can.”

“You don't sound so thrilled about them? And battling them? Like Magic or Pokemon?” Bones snickered.

“You ever like wrestling?”

Greenville, NC. 2016.

“Are they really our cousin's?” Bones scowled looking at photos, “Their ghastly man and horrible people.”

Uncle Lucius was occupying himself with a soda vending machine giving it a hip check once or twice, “See man that attitude is exactly what's going to keep this family torn apart.”

“You told me you could barely stand them Uncle?”

“Well I'm turning over a new leaf bud,” he grunted as he hip checked the vending machine once more, “Yes their psychopaths, yes their violent murders, and yes once I knocked one of those bastard brothers out over a beer. Fuck it man, the past and shit,” finally a soda drops and then another, “But over here their family the only family man. So we play nice and show them our West coast vibes.”

“I can do that,” Bones smiled putting the pictures down, “Wrestling though. And your sure everything is set up? I'm actually doing this?”

Uncle Lucius gave a old hippie hand gesture (pinky and thumb) and a wink, “Were golden pony boy! What do you think?”

“I think their is nothing Pure about Pure Class Wrestling, I've looked into some of these peoples backgrounds,” Bones began looking at photos, “I believe we are exactly where we need to be man. Not only for Nathan but the others too.”

“You had a good look at this Ryan kid?” Lucius sat on the picnic table beside Bones pulling out a cigar from the breast of his lounge jacket, “Cackle on the surf tube says that you two have a lot to prove man. Big names, big talent, and bigger men stock the Pure Class gene pool man. Not groovy shit.”

Bones sat silent for the most part picking at the corner of the table. This was a heavy task and if his slender ass was going to get what he came for it'd the time for games were over, but he couldn't let the Pure Class curse get to him. Bones had to play by his rules, the laws of man, and the teachings of his ancestors.

Pure Class took the most mundane of humble men, women with virtues, and twisted them into living nightmares. What did all these people actually come every other week to do? To gain?

Titles? Bones didn't think so.

Money? Not that either.

Blood? Bingo.

They came to spill and collect blood.

“I have no ill will towards Mister Key's,” Bones finally broke the silence, “I just plan to show up and show out the man. We both are flashy. We like the sport of fighting another being. When it's all said and done only the best will come out the winner dude.”

Uncle Lucius had the 1,000 yard stare just nodding his head, “Deep shit nephew, but that's the ticket to feeling good and keeping up. Just don't make my hard work with you look foolish man.”

Bones smirked, “No way Uncle.”