As usual, here is your warning that this story has cursing, sex (not graphic), innuendo, and violence.  It’s my Rated-R action adventure called Derailing Bedlam.  This is the fourth outing (third official) for Cassidy and Lloyd, so feel free to click on one of the two covers to see how it started.  Each one is 99 cents!

Cover by Jon Hunsinger

Cover Art by Jon Hunsinger

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“What the fuck do you geezers want?” the shirtless teen asks as the door opens.

Lloyd uses a metal bar to deliver a quick strike to the young man’s head, the blow dropping him instantly. The rest of the Unsupervised stop what they are doing to watch their pursuers enter the weight room, all of them giggling at their friend’s defeat. Cranking the volume on a large stereo, they go back to their fun, which includes drinking and making out. The trio in the hot tub finish shedding their clothes while one of the others approaches Cassidy. He leans against the wall while blowing kisses at the mercenary, who ignores his childish attempt at seduction. A young woman on a treadmill flashes Lloyd when he looks in her direction, his yawn making her pout and cover up. Without warning, several of them throw the empty bottles at the pair and begin screaming threats if they refuse to leave.

“Looks like they’re all here,” Cassidy says, nudging the unconscious boy with her foot. She pulls out her stun gun, which causes her potential suitor to back away. “Remember that we have to keep them alive and relatively unharmed. Although, I have a feeling you might have already crossed both lines. You have got to be kidding me. How is this kid still breathing after you nailed him in the head with an iron rod? I heard the impact echo like you were hitting a baseball out of the park.”

“A protagonist only kills with one blow if he so wishes.”

“This is blunt force trauma we’re talking about.”

“All perfectly natural.”

“His skull should be cracked open like a watermelon.”

“Such is the magic and mystery of the protagonist!”

“You really make me wonder if I’m in a coma and having a nightmare.”

Rushing Cassidy, one of the young men grabs her by the waist and forces his hand under her shirt. “This one is kind of hot even though she isn’t stacked. You can tell that she has some curves and I feel a tattoo back here. Want to join me in the sauna? I can convince our parents not to go after your friend if you let me do what I want to you.”

“I’d let her go, Goodwin, since she’s obviously not into you,” a grinning redhead coos as she comes at the mercenary from the front. Practically wrapping herself around the fuming woman, the teenager giggles and lets her hands wander. “Can’t use your stun gun when we’re touching you. Not unless you want to pass out and leave the rest of us to your friend. I think I’ve heard of this tattoo design. I’d need a better look, so I might just have to remove your pants. Can’t promise Goodwin will behave if he’s right about the curves. He has such a hard time maintaining control.”

“This is just plain wrong and really testing my patience,” Lloyd interrupts, knocking both of the Unsupervised on the head with the metal bar. Spinning the weapon, he waves as the others get dressed and move to attack. “I’m surprised you didn’t kill them immediately. Then again, we aren’t supposed to do that here. You need some time to fix your clothes, kid? I can handle this if you want to take a minute.”

Cassidy darts forward and zaps an approaching brat, the young man toppling into a pile of medicine balls. “I’ll be fine. Don’t have to look nice to kick ass. These kids need to be taught an important lesson. You can bully and harass people thanks to your parents’ protection, but one day you’ll meet someone who doesn’t give a shit. We’ll beat the living fuck out of all of you and then do the same to your family if they get angry. Besides, all of you are old enough to act like adults, especially in this world.”

No longer armed, Cassidy rushes at an approaching couple and slams her fists into their stomachs. Numbed by the drugs and alcohol, they quickly recover and grab her by the jacket, which she sheds to avoid getting tossed to the floor. A breeze touches the back of her neck when Lloyd hurls the metal bar at one of the other Unsupervised, the weapon nailing its target in the groin and sending the woman to the floor. Taking a punch to the face, Cassidy kicks her other opponent in the knee and spins to catch the teen by the back of the head. She hoists him up to take his girlfriend’s next blow to his chin, but he stays conscious and throws back an elbow that knocks the mercenary away. Falling onto a treadmill, she quickly gets up and waits for the grinning brat to step onto the machine. Standing on the unmoving sides, Cassidy reaches back with one arm to turn it on and stretches forward to catch the young man by the nose. He tries to keep up with the treadmill while his girlfriend comes around the side, but she is knocked away by a quick slap across the face. The mercenary gives a sudden yank on the teen’s face, which pulls him off-balance and causes him to land face first on the running belt. He shrieks as he is sent flying back into a leg press, the weights coming down to pin him against the chair.

“How dare you destroy his beautiful face?” the young woman screams while Cassidy gets off the machine. She pounces on the mercenary’s back and tries to claw at her face, but she is swiftly caught by the wrists. “Nathaniel was so gorgeous. I couldn’t stop kissing his lips. Now, they’re strewn across the fucking treadmill. Am I supposed to kiss that? What the hell am I supposed to make out with now?”

“I really couldn’t give a shit,” Cassidy sighs as she swings her fists over her head. The blows strike the Unsupervised’s ears and sends her toppling to the floor in a dazed heap. “One, two, three . . . We only have eight here, Lloyd! Where’s the ninth one? Stop playing with your food and help me find the escapee.”

“Be with you in a minute,” the serial killer declares as he leans away from the large teen’s punches. After avoiding an attempt at a wide uppercut, he delivers a series of alternating jumping punches to the chin until the slightly taller fighter goes down. “Was hoping he had a glass jaw, but it was like hitting granite. I have this urge to ride a bike by the water now. At least after the crowd stops going wild and screaming . . . Uh . . . Who’s shrieking like a banshee that got her naughty bits caught in a revolving door?”

Noticing that there is a strong breeze flowing through the gym, the pair look to see that one of the back windows is open. Rushing across the room, they look outside to find a girl dangling from the side of the train. Her golden gown billows around her legs while the short-haired debutant warps her arms around the last rung of a nearby ladder. The powerful wind makes it impossible for her to get her feet planted and she uses most of her energy to continue screaming for help. When she notices Cassidy and Lloyd in the window, the girl stretches a leg in the hopes of reaching them. Because of the train’s speed, she cannot come close and nearly loses her grip on the ladder.

“Please don’t let me die!” the teenager cries as tears stream down her face. The train makes a turn and she swings out while the tracks begin to steepen. “I didn’t have any of the drugs, so I wasn’t doing any of the destruction. All I did was steal the alcohol and drink a bit because I didn’t want to get teased. Maybe I kissed two of the others on the bench press too since I lost a bet. Still, nothing I did means I should die.”

“True, but I think we need to have a long discussion about the dangers of peer pressure when your friends with a pack of douchebags!” Lloyd shouts back while he watches the ground get further away. Putting half of his body out of the window, he grabs the frame before the wind nearly yanks him out of the train. “Why did physics have to start working against us now? I can get out there, kid, but I don’t know what else to do. Moving on top of a speeding train isn’t a thing considering our budget. Not sure I can get back in the same way with the screamer on my back either. Seriously, how did she get out there?”

“Looks like she stuck this bench press out the window and used it as a ledge,” Cassidy calmly replies. Opening a nearby closet, she searches for a tether and comes back with a long jump rope. “This should do the trick. Tie it to your waist and I’ll anchor you. Don’t argue because my arms are too short to reach the ladder. I’ll use this equipment to act as a pulley or something.”

“This plan sounds half-assed.”

“Don’t worry. You’re a full ass.”

“Sweet, but you know what I mean.”

“Rock, paper, scissors?”

“I choose-”

“Rock, I win.”

“But I-”

“You always go with scissors, Mr. Stabby.”

“We’re going to discuss the wrongness of you using that name when I get back.”

Lloyd entwines the colorful rope with his belt and takes off his shoes before climbing into the open window. He waits for Cassidy to get ready with the other end wrapped around her waist and dominant arm. Gulping down the lump in his throat, he leans as far as he can and strains his eyes against the wind. He receives a glancing kick to the head that nearly sends him toppling off his perch, but he lunges forward and catches the bottom rung of the ladder. With his body billowing out like a helpless flag, he struggles to climb using only his arms and stops only when he feels the train go around a bend. After a few minutes that feel like hours, Lloyd bumps against the girl and yodels to get her attention. He is surprised that she scrambles onto him without hesitation, her arms and legs gripping his body like vises.

Lloyd starts to climb down the shaky ladder when the train levels off and the whistle screeches. Sensing that something is wrong, he looks ahead to find that they are rapidly approaching a tunnel. He presses against the side to judge if they can pass, but knows that the girl will get scraped off and take him along for the death-promising plummet. Hearing a faint voice, Lloyd looks over to see Cassidy signal him by putting out both fists and pretending to jump without leaving the ground. The serial killer nods his head and gives her a thumbs up before he launches himself out into the open air.

The first sign of trouble is the sight of his partner’s wide-eyed face and how she is nearly pulled out of the train. The mercenary plants her feet against the wall, so that she is straddling the partially open window, which shatters as the rope goes taut and turns those outside into a pendulum. Gripping the tether, Lloyd does his best to swing back to relative safety while he feels a constant pressure on his waist. As Cassidy screams and pulls, the serial killer twists to face another window and kicks with all of his strength to break the glass. He smashes through the solid pane an instant before the train plunges into a dark tunnel that goes no further than fifty yards.

“I wanted you to drop and then I’d run back to haul you up, dumbass!” Cassidy shouts as she remains curled on the floor. Uncoiling the jump rope from her body, she grabs a towel to wrap around her aching waist. “I tore my pants and possibly my groin. How are you and the death-defying dipshit doing over there?”

“She passed out as we swung and I think I bit the inside of my cheek,” Lloyd replies while getting to his feet. Getting the girl off him, he takes a single step that sends a ripple of pain up his leg. “Oh, I have glass shards in my feet. That’s going to be uncomfortable for a while. Don’t think either of us are going to be running a marathon soon. Not until we get some medical attention and time passes. Do we call it a day?”

With a low growl, Cassidy stands and limps toward her partner in order to gently pat him on the shoulder. She continues walking towards the door, which opens to let several guards and the Unsupervised’s parents into the gym. Before any of them can voice a complaint, the mercenary draws both of her pistols and fires two bullets into the ceiling. The look on her face and the smoking barrels cause the crowd to move out of her way, but the constant whispering tells Cassidy that she has yet to get her point across.